Won't You Be My Neighbor?

Wayne and I saw this in Bryn Mawr this afternoon and it was so good. What a remarkable man. Definitely a film not to be missed!

Kim in Ravello

As Time Goes By

(photo kidnapped from theragblog)

Years and years ago I stopped over my Mum and Dad's place one night to find them relaxing on the sofa in their jammie-jams and watching a seemingly charming British sitcom called As Time Goes By. More than likely I was visiting so as to use their computer, and as I sat at the desk I couldn't help but really enjoy not just the show, but my parents' reaction to the banter between the characters. Eventually they purchased every season on DVD and fell in love with the show. For those not in the know, it's about Jean Pargetter, performed by the lovely Dame Judi Dench, and Lionel Hardcastle, played to perfection by Geoffrey Palmer. Jean and Lionel were a serious item during the Korean War and when Lionel was shipped out, he wrote to Jean, but she never received the letter. They each assumed the other was no longer interested in the relationship and never bothered to attempt a correspondence again. 38 years later they cross paths and start their love affair all over again. 

The secondary characters of Alistair, Judy, Sandy, Penny, Stephen (my favourite!), Rocky, Madge, and Mrs. Bale are absolutely delightful, but it is Jean and Lionel that cause me to watch and re-watch the seasons in binge fashion. Next up I plan on ordering writer (of all 67 episodes!) Bob Larbey's previous sitcom featuring Judi Dench (alongside her late husband, Michael Williams) in A Fine Romance. More on that in a future post!

(photo kidnapped from comedy.co.uk)

Turquoise Door

Svengoolie

Lately Saturday nights have been spent with Pax watching Svengoolie host B-movie horror films on MeTV from 8-10. Last week we saw Barbara Stanwyck in The Night Walker and this week we are gearing up for The Leech Woman which sounds terrifying, as I'm super frightened of leeches, ever since The African Queen and Stand By Me, both of which I have seen only once. Can't do it again. Too creepy.

(post script - I was relieved to find that this film featured zero leeches.)

Yesterday in Wayne PA

Yesterday I spent the day with Bella. We hit MOM's Organic Market (naturally) for lunch and snickety-snacks then walked around Wayne. It was hot as blazes, by my standards anyways, but we dropped in to a book shop and Le Pain Quotidien for some free AC, then on a bench by St. Mary's to take in the shade and breeze. It's always so easy to connect again with Bella. The nice thing about Bella and Kay, too, is that they fill me in on their lives and remember to ask how I am. That's something that teenagers don't do, simply because it doesn't occur to them to inquire about a grown-up's work life, et cetera. I had mentioned that we were expecting to get slammed with calls on Monday and how I was dreading clocking in. So today after I logged off, I got a sweet photo of her and her BF Jacob on the beach and a nice little message. What a gal!

(damn you spellcheck!!! i type "were" and you make it "we're"!!ugh...)

Todd Oldham Jeans

These gorgeous vintage 90s jeans will soon be all mine!! littlelightVTG had a sale and I scooped up this hot lil' number with the quickness.

Found. At long last.

This afternoon Mum and I went to Arlington Cemetery, Drexel Hill and found Aunt June's unmarked grave. The only solace we took was that she is buried with her maternal grandmother. Now I'm looking to save up for a tasteful gravestone because I really feel she needs one.

Dog Man Unleashed

The second Dog Man book by Dav Pilkey is as hilarious as the first, and Jackson totally agrees. May this series never, ever, end!!!

Summertime Postie from Helen

World Refugee Day

In light of the current atrocities at our borders I decided to not protest or add further negativity. Instead I Googled "what can i do to help..." and Google completed my search with “immigrants”, which must mean that I am not alone in my quest to do more. Below I have listed some groups that I discovered. I am donating money to them because I will not be a part of the ones that stand idly by and do nothing to help. I will be one who tries because I am an immigrant, too. I may have been born an American, as were my parents and grandparents, but make no mistake, all Americans that are not Native are immigrants. We are one and we must right the wrongs.

Immigration Justice Campaign - Our mission is to fight for due process and justice for detained immigrants. The primary goal of the Justice Campaign is to increase access to legal counsel for thousands of immigrants held in detention centers. To achieve this, the Campaign is building a broad network of pro bono allies to serve the many thousands of detained individuals who would otherwise go unrepresented and training private lawyers with new tactics and strategies to enable them to vigorously defend immigrants facing removal.

Global Citizen has some fabulous resources including this list of ways to help children separated from their family at the border.

RAICES - The Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services - check out their family reunification and bond fund. Parents separated from their children at the border (and other immigrants placed in detention) can't get released from ICE custody to reunite with their families until they pay the full amount of their immigration bond. Bonds are set at a MINIMUM of $1500, and are usually in the range of $5-10K, even for asylum seekers without any criminal history.
Unlike in the criminal system, bail bond companies either do not help people in immigration proceedings or impose very strict requirements, like private ankle monitors (which families have to pay to "rent").
Donate to our fund to directly support legal services for detained separated parents and the direct funding for bonds to get parents released!!!

Young Center for Immigrant Children's Rights - The Immigrant Child and Family Rights Project will be staffed by two attorneys who will fight on behalf of individual children, advocate for systemic change to end the practice of family separation by the Department of Homeland Security, and for policies that better protect the rights of children and families.

ActBlue - Support kids at the border by donating and it will be distributed to the following groups:

Chip in to critical groups working to protect kids separated from their families by ICE:
Al Otro Lado - serves indigent deportees, migrants, and refugees in Tijuana & Los Angeles
The Florence Project - providing legal & social services to detained immigrants in Arizona
Neta - a Latinx-run progressive media platform telling the stories of what's happening on the border
Innovation Law Lab - working in immigrant detention centers and hostile judicial districts; keeping the definitive list of kids being held
Fuerza Del Valle - organizing workers & immigrant communities in the Rio Grande Valley
We Belong Together - women for common sense immigration policies
United We Dream - the largest immigrant youth-led network in the country
Womens Refugee Commission - advocating for the rights and protection of women, children, and youth fleeing violence and persecution
ACLU - fighting attacks through the legal system
Kids In Need of Defense (KIND) - protecting unaccompanied children who enter the US immigration system alone to ensure that no child appears in court without an attorney.
Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project - providing asylum seekers with legal aid and community support across the country
Human Rights First - helping refugees obtain asylum in the U.S.
La Union del Pueblo Entero - founded by Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta, a community union that works in the Rio Grande Valley from the grassroots up.

Please join me in the Low Budget Philanthropy movement and help out your community and beyond in the simplest way - donating any amount to whatever charity or organisation that you care about!

Maybe it's time for a style change...

I'm not a gal to switch up hairdo's, since I'm pretty much resigned to having short hair forever, but I am down with making some changes to my eye-wear. I love my Elvis Costello/Buddy Holly frames, but lately I've been thinking of something a bit feminine, like Marilyn Monroe or Rita Haywith's cat's eye specs. I think I may be able to pull this look off. Fingers crossed!

(Marilyn pic kidnapped from selectspecs and Rita Haywith pic from hallmarkmoviesandmysteries)

Carnival Clown House

There's a house for sale not far from me with thee ugliest colour siding I have ever seen. I can't believe they actually make aluminum siding in this colour to begin with - it's horrifying. But I looked it up online and the inside is pretty much perfect. But why? Why would anyone redo a home from 1920 in this shade of yellow? Bleck!

She Made It!

Kimmy safely arrived in Positano and I'm so happy for her! It's the most gorgeous place ever and I hope she has a wonderful week full of sun, sights, and some relaxation...

(She even found my favourite shop - Sapori e Profumi di Positano!)

Lunchin' It Up with Kay

In an extremely odd turn of events, Kay's longtime pal, Macie, lives in the complex directly next to mine and today we got to hang out in Joisey. I walked over, "picked her up" and we were off to Heart Beet Kitchen. It was really muggy and they did not have the AC on, which was a bit disappointing. I think Kayla wasn't very thrilled with her Eggplant Meatballs & Zucchini Noodle dish (It's not my favourite and I said so, but she wanted it anyways.), but I ordered the Special and it was sensational. We gabbed for a bit, ordered smoothies then dashed over to the library, and finally home to sit and relax. I can't believe she's out of high school. She is so relieved to put that behind her and move on to the next phase of her fabulous life. She's gonna make one hell of an EMT and firefighter. Watch out world, Kayla is comin' at ya.

HBO Sunday Night Finales

Back in the early aughts, a bunch of old friends would meet up every Sunday night to watch the latest HBO series at Bishop and Pax's. We started things off with Sex and the City then on to The Sopranos and Six Feet Under. The series finales were a wonderful excuse to have some bonus guests and over indulge in cupcakes, baked ziti, and cigarettes. Sunday nights at the fellas' place is no more, although I now visit them every Saturday evening, and most of the people in these photos have come and gone from our lives in one way or another, but it sure was fun at the time!

Sex and the City series finale - 22 February 2004

(Jenny Penny, Bishop, star, Pax, appropriately flashing the peace sign, and Mike)

Six Feet Under series finale - 21 August 2005

(The graveyard "dirt" that I made for the shin-dig. Note the reference to Jeremy Sisto's role as Christ, which he could never live down in this house and was forever referred to as Hot Jesus.)

(Marina and Bishop)

(Marina, star, Jenny, and Kat)

(Cerpts and his cool Converse, Mike, and Kat)

(Cerpts, Bishop, Joey, Mike, Kat, Marina, Jenny Penny, Pax down front with Miss Sable!)

The Sopranos series finale - 10 June 2007

(Pax, Bishop, Cerpts, Jenny, and Marina) 

Summertime Shoes-ies

Picked these babies up from ModCloth and man, oh, man, are they adorable. They remind me of orange cream soda and bubblegum popsicles.

Same.

Saw this on Post Secret and felt a sigh of relief. I'm not the only one!

Kayla Graduated!

It's hard to imagine that this lady is now eighteen and a high school graduate, but she is! And, as always, I'm so very, very proud of her in every way possible.

(ps - I didn't even have to ask for any of these photos - Kay knew I'd love them and sent them a few hours after graduation. How sweet is that?!)