The mystery of Mr. Grant...

What is it about Hugh Grant that never fails to amuse and charm the pants off me? It’s not like he is a fantastic actor, nor is he even stunningly beautiful – yet I’m drawn to every film he is in like a moth to a flame. I sat down and watched “Music & Lyrics” this afternoon –his latest easy paycheck which also starred another favorite of mine, Drew Barrymore. Because they were in it, I enjoyed it. It was as a light-hearted romp…just like others I’ve seen before but with different stars and situations, yet very similar. I am glad that I got to see it for free though – seriously, it could have been an ABC Family movie. I don’t think Grant even bothers to try and act any differently regardless of which bad film he is currently in. He gets paid either way and his fans (like me) will go see him regardless. Grant has gone from the English floppy-haired, boyish bumbler to the smooth, well-dressed, jaded British cad. I think I like the new version…although I will always love him in my all-time favorite “Sense & Sensibility.” I think it must be his accent. I’m a sucker for the Brits. That’s why I watch Colin Firth movies and tune into BBC America…plus John Oliver, of The Daily Show fame, is my new favorite. It doesn’t hurt that they are always dressed up in sharp suits…American boys are so damned sloppy! Why can’t a guy wear a tie anymore? That’s why I’m a Bond fan too. Anyhow, if you like Hugh & Drew, I think you’ll be happy to spend an evening watching Music & Lyrics…especially if it is a girl’s night only with a pint of Moose-tracks ice cream on the sofa kind of night.

Hey, you should check out this great new store in the Garden District. It’s called Rivet. They are a new designer toy & art gallery. They have some very wicked toy collections – intended for grown-ups. The art is dark fun too. I loved the place – of course I am a bit odd so take that into consideration. Check it out yourself. They are located at 1200 N. High St. near 5th Ave. Very interesting stuff! My friend who takes photos of dolls should look into this place to display her stuff – they’d love it (like I do!).

So, we are back from vacation. It went alright. I won’t bore you to death with all the details, but the kids did really love Idlewild Park. It had all the best carnival rides from the past (The Whip, Scrambler, Round-up, Bumper Cars, etc.) and a few newer rides as well. They could ride everything, and since they only had to wait maybe one turn for each ride, they did until their little heads were spinning! It was a great day. We also went to see the famous Frank Lloyd Wright home, Fallingwater. It was very beautiful but way too short, dark and narrow to live in now. Our family had to pay almost as much to walk through that house as I did to stay an entire night at our hotel…and we couldn’t even sit down at Fallingwater! The area we were in (Laurel Highlands - PA) was up in the mountains and it was very beautiful. We simply did not have enough time or money to do and see everything.

Because this is our family, we did have some unexpected things happen…like the first night we stayed at a hotel in the town of Blairsville. It wasn’t exactly what the website promised. The most interesting discovery was the power plant located just 5 minutes away in Homer City – a plant which looked very much like the Springfield Nuclear Plant on The Simpsons. There was even a big stream that went through the town – which we suspected had three-eyed fish in it. We laughed a lot over that…but I didn’t drink the water (ha ha). They were also apparently very proud of their “Mud Bog” – because there were signs everywhere for it. Also in plentiful supply – strip joints! Including the “world famous” Climaxxx DRIVE-THRU strip joint! I promised Brian to take him through it, but the thought of doing so in our rented mini-van was just too terrible to actually go through with. My favorite was the strip joint “Cheaters” which was located next to “Beavers Automotive”…I’m not making this stuff up folks!

We had a better time when we relocated to Somerset, but not before driving through Latrobe, PA. We went there to visit the Latrobe Brewing Co. which makes Rolling Rock Beer – Brian’s favorite. Well, it wasn’t there anymore. OK – it was, but it was a new beer plant and they had removed everything Rolling Rock a year earlier. All that poor Brian got to see was the outline of a RR horse on one building and a street sign that said “33 Street”. The lady there was very nice though and told us that the RR artifacts were moved to the Latrobe History Center…but you guessed it, the place was closed that day. Grrr! I felt very bad for my hubby – especially since the tour and brewery was listed in the most current tourist info for Latrobe. Then on our last day of vacation we went to one of those indoor water parks – and Brian broke his little toe sliding down a baby slide with Brandon. It was terrible! His whole foot turned black and blue. These things only happen to us…sigh.

Brian’s mom had triple bypass surgery last week – which put a crimp in our vacation as well. We kept trying to get in touch with the hospital and relatives but being in the mountains, we kept loosing the signal on my mom’s cell. Luckily, she made it through the surgery and seems to be doing well. They just moved her to a care facility for rehab. It means that we will have to take on some unexpected duties with Brian’s brother and aunt to take care of her for the next few months though. Since we are not the best of buddies, it isn’t exactly good news. Yet, there is no choice here but to suck it up and do the right thing.

Returning home from our vacation with only 2 slim one dollar bills, I missed out on being able to purchase the new Harry Potter book on the 21st like everyone else. Hell, I know people who have already read the whole thing! I must wait until tomorrow…and then it will be mine, all mine! Wooo-Haaa-Haaa! Ahem- sorry about that! I have heard it is good, but I refuse to know a single thing about it until I get to read it for myself – so please, no spoilers!!! I’m glad that I am finally able to get my own copy though because my daughter’s friend who lives two door’s down has a copy…and she sometimes reads it on my front step…and she’s only 10 so I think I have a good chance of taking her in a fight over it. LMAO! Oh, I’m just kidding…

The 20th was Brian and my 11th wedding anniversary! Hard to believe but true nonetheless. I wonder who picked 10 years in the pool at our reception. Sucker! ;o)

Well, it is late. I want to catch The Daily Show…so I’ll write more soon.