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| Get a pretty casserole dish! (Amazon) |
2 packages of Instant Pistachio Pudding and 2 1/2 cups cold milk.
Prepare according to package directions which basically means adding the pudding mixes to cold milk and beating with a hand mixer until thickened. Spread this mixture evenly over the previous layers in the dish.
Layer 4: The Finishing Layer
Ingredients and Directions
Spread the reserved whipped cream over the top as the finishing layer.
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
This dessert is one that everyone in my family loves. It's light, delicious, and creamy. In fact, I've never found anyone who didn't like it. Happy Valentine's Day!
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| Poldark Books on Amazon |
The latest TV series was created and written by Debbie Horsfield, based on the book series by Winston Graham.
This 2015 offering of Poldark is not to be confused with the earlier Masterpiece series in 1975 which starred Robin Ellis as Ross Poldark and Angharad Rees as Demelza.
That production covered the first 7 of Graham’s novels, and it was a huge success on Masterpiece Theatre in the U.S.
The Netflix offering debuted in March 2015 and ran until August 2019 and was offered on PBS in the U.S. Like the 1975 production, this new version of Poldark was a huge success from the beginning.
TEASER
Aidan Turner is Capt. Ross Poldark, a redcoat returning to Cornwall after the American Revolutionary War. He discovers that his father is dead, his estate is in ruins, and his true love is engaged to marry his cousin. The action-packed series is full of drama, passion, and romance.
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| Rent or Buy Episodes on Amazon |
I found the channel last year when I was doing a bit of research on historic mansions and castles.
James and his wife Emma reside at Chavenage and film their restoration and enhancement of the house and grounds, a 2,000-acre Cotswold estate that’s been in James’s family for 6 generations. The history of Chavenage is evident in every room.
The paintings that adorn the walls are breathtaking even to their frames. A centuries-old organ still works.
If you're a Poldark fan, you'll recognize the house as the family home where Poldark's uncle and family lived. Since he was the son of a second son, he didn't inherit the manor.
If you watch James's channel, you'll recognize Elizabeth's bedroom, the window from which she gazed longingly at Poldark, the drawing room where she eavesdropped on her husband's conversations.TAKEAWAY TRUTH
Be warned, Poldark is totally binge-worthy. If you like the historical series, you should watch Life at the Manor.
10 Things NOT to Give Your Valentine
1. A kitchen countertop appliance. No, she doesn't want a stick blender, espresso maker, coffee grinder, or any other kind of gadget for her kitchen. They all equal work. (Unless of course she asked for one. Then it's okay.)
2. A diet book. (Are you insane? Give the lady some chocolate for heaven's sake.)
My complaint is with YouTubers who aren't serving their audiences.
HERE WE GO
There is a lot of educational content on YouTube. In fact, you can learn how to do just about anything from replacing a hard drive in a computer to cleaning the foggy headlamp covers on a car.
Awesome, right?
What isn't awesome is that too many YouTubers are editing the sound on their videos—removing natural pauses in the video so everything becomes one continuous stream of dialogue with no breaks whatsoever.
Not only is that unnatural, it makes it difficult for the viewer to actually absorb the information being given.
From what I grasped, it sounded easy enough that I could probably do it EXCEPT she did the entire presentaton at warp speed with not even a breath of a break in the avalanche of words coming out of her mouth.
This is typical of too many videos now. If it's information I want, I have to go back to the beginning, slow the speed to 75% of normal, get a notepad to take notes, and still have to stop and rewind many times to capture this detailed tech information.
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
Blog Readers, if you also hate this rushing river of dialogue, please leave a comment. I'd like to gather some stats on this.
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| Flipped - BluRay from Amazon |
FLIPPED, a Rob Reiner film, is on Netflix now, and I loved it. If you don't have Netflix, I included a link to Amazon where you can pick up a Blu-ray copy for a low price. It's good enough that you may want to watch it again and again.
BLURB
When Juli Baker lays eyes on her new neighbor Bryce, she falls in love with him at first sight.
Bryce does not reciprocate that feeling. In fact, he doesn't like her at all. From that day forward, Bryce (Callan McAuliffe) tries his best to avoid her, but Juli (Madeline Carroll) is persistent in everything she undertakes.
Eventually, Juli realizes that Bryce does not return her feelings. Just as Bryce begins to see Juli's true worth, she decides he's an unfeeling jerk who isn't worth her time.
Billed as a young adult—the story begins at second grade and moves to junior high—the movie is based on Flipped, the book by Wendelin Van Draanen.
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| By Wendelin Van Draanen |
THE CAST
The main cast is composed of Madeline Carroll as Julianna "Juli" Baker with Morgan Lily as young Juli, and Callan McAuliffe as Bryce Loski with Ryan Ketzner as young Bryce.
Rebecca De Mornay is Patsy Loski, Bryce's mother; Anthony Edwards is Steven Loski, Bryce's father; and John Mahoney is Chet Duncan, Bryce's grandfather. (Flipped was Mr. Mahoney's final film before his death in 2018.)
Penelope Ann Miller is Trina Baker, Juli's mom; Aidan Quinn is Richard Baker, Juli's dad; and Kevin Weisman is Daniel Baker, Juli's uncle.
THE DETAILS
The movie was obviously a labor of love for Rob Reiner who served as Director, Screenplay writer along with Andrew Scheinman, and Producer with Alan Greisman also producing.
Cinematography was by Thomas Del Ruth. Editing by Robert Leighton, and Music by Marc Shaiman.
The companies involved were Castle Rock Entertainment and Reiner/Greisman Productions with distribution by Warner Bros. Pictures.
MY THOUGHTS
This movie is emotional, heartwarming, funny, and poignant. It made me remember what it was like to be in elementary and junior high and having all those feelings that come with growing up. Feelings a kid doesn't really know what to do with.
As an adult, it makes you understand how awkward boys and girls of that age are and how they don't really understand what's going on in their parents' lives because everything is still all about them. If you have kids, it may help you understand that too.
It's the kind of film you could watch with your kids and discuss what's happeneing and why it's happening—especially with the scene involving Juli's uncle who was brain-damaged at birth.
This coming-of-age story explores the sacrifices families make, how others may misunderstand their life situaiton, and the themes of first love, personal growth, and how opinions can change with insights.
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
I hope you watch it if you have a Netflix subscription—rent it or buy it if you don't. It's worth the price.
I'll admit I don't watch much football so I didn't have a "dog in the game" so to speak.
I mainly watch the commercials or the puppy bowl on other channels. This time I didn't watch the half-time show at the game or the alternative show.
Instead, I read Judgment of Paris: California vs. France and the Historic 1976 Paris Tasting That Revolutionized Wine by George M. Taber.
We'd had dinner with daughter Adina and son-in-law Mike yesterday, and Mike gave us a copy of the book because he knew how much we'd loved the movie Bottle Shock which was based on the Paris Tasting in 1976.
(By the way, I highly recommend Bottle Shock, the movie which starred Alan Rickman, Chris Pine, and Bill Pullman. If you love wine and underdog stories, you'll really love this flick.)
MONDAY, MONDAY
Like you, I'm back in the office. So far, it's been a frustrating day. I spent 4 hours looking for the page proofs for one of my backlist books. Finally found it—persistence pays off—so I think I'll take a coffee break before I tackle the rest of the items on my TO DO list.
Here's a quote for you to guide your week—especially if you're pronE to insomnia as I often am.
"If you can't sleep, then get up and do something instead of lying there worrying. It's the worry that gets you, not the lack of sleep." —Dale Carnegie
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
If you work at night instead of staring at the ceiling, you may be yawning through the next day, but you may get a lot accomplished too. What do you think?
