London-Madame Tussaud's!

I know it is corny, but…

I recently returned home from a 3 week trip to Istanbul and England.  My friend Kim and I had planned this trip for over a year.  Kim planned all the Istanbul part and I took the easy part and planned some of the England part.  One of the weeks in England was spent at Oxford taking a class.  I will talk about that in another post.  But I am going to start at the end of the trip with our stay in London.  I have to go back a couple of years though to preface why our visit to Madame Tussaud’s was so exciting for me. 

In the summer of 2010, Kim and I had been in London and the one place I told her that I had to visit this trip was Madame Tussaud’s.  I had been there before but I had recently found out that one of my favorite Bollywood actors, Shah Rukh Khan, had had his statue added to the small group of Indian movie stars and I had to go see it!  She was a good sport and went but when we got there we couldn’t find his statue anywhere and when we asked, I was informed that it was on loan to the Los Angeles CA Madame Tussaud’s.  It had been sent in conjunction with the opening of his movie “My Name Is Khan” earlier that year.  I was VERY disappointed...

Disapointed in 2010

...but I also remembered that my husband and I would be visiting LA a couple of months later so, my photo shoot with SRK would have to wait.

Fast forward to September and Bruce and I were in LA and went to the museum on Hollywood Blvd. and this time I checked before buying tickets to see if SRK was still there.  The attendant had to check with the manager but I was sadly informed that his statue had just been sent to the NYC 2 weeks earlier.  My hopes were dashed.  As much as I love his movies, I was not going to make a special trip to NYC chasing down his statue! 


Now 2 years later, we are on a visit again and I scheduled in advance tickets to go to Madame Tussaud’s.  I am even more excited this time because 2 other of my favorite Indian actors had been added since 2010 so I had really high hopes for this time! 


We arrived just as they opening and the line was already quite long but we didn’t have to wait more than fifteen minutes.  We didn’t stay long in the “movie star” room because most of them were the same as last time but the two I did stop at were Colin Firth (YUM!) and Daniel Radcliff (for the grandkids…of course). 

My Favorite...Shah Rukh Khan

Then we hurried on to find my Bollywood favs and find them we did! Their collection is growing. They have six in total now. I was in heaven to say the least! 

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

Hrithik Roshan

Madhuri Dixit

And one more of Shah Rukh Khan

Amitabh Bachchan(from 2010 trip)

Salman Khan(also 2010)

Now they need to get just a few more and here are my requests:   Aamir Khan, Kajol, Rani Mukherjee, Madhaven, Shahid Kapoor, and Juhi Chawla for starters...then...

Review of "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen"...Ewan McGregor Can Fly Fish Too!

Is there anything Ewan McGregor can’t do?

Let me say up front and I am not ashamed to admit it but as an actor, I love Ewan McGregor.  I see pretty much everything he is in, unless it is rated “R” or has a sad ending, like Moulin Rouge!  So, you have to trust me that his new movie “Salmon Fishing in the Yemen” is worth going to, even if you don’t like him as much as I do.  It was the funniest movies I have seen in quite a while.  It is based on the novel of the same name, written by Paul Torday. 

It takes place in London; where Harriet (Emily Blunt), an investment professional, is assigned to help a sheikh from Yemen, find the help he needs to bring the hobby of salmon fishing to his country of Yemen.  

Sheikh Muhammed, played wonderfully by Amr Waked, has a desire to help is country and he sees this project as a way to do this.  He contacts his investment firm and they contact the top man in England, Dr. Alfred “Fred” Jones (McGregor), who is over all the fisheries in the country, and an expert salmon fisherman, to help with this project. 

At first, Fred treats this request as a joke, knowing it is impossible to do but when his boos gets a “request” from the Prime Ministers PR person; he is forced to agree to see if it is feasible.  The PM’s PR person, Patricia Maxwell, is played by the wonderful actress Kristin Scott Thomas. 

As much as I love McGregor, and Blunt, Kristin Scott Thomas steals every scene she is in!  She is hilarious.  I have seen her in a few comedies but she is always the “straight” man without the lines but she has all the zingers in this movie. 

The story itself is great but the politics are the best part of this movie. 

As Dr. Jones is forced into investigating the possibilities of this really happening, his weak marriage crumbles more as his wife moves to Switzerland for a job opportunity so he puts his all into having this project work and as he does, he becomes more excited about the realization of the sheikh’s dream.

There is romance, comedy, suspense, and some tender moments that even brought tears to my eyes.  The scenery is also beautiful!  Besides being filmed in London, it was also filmed in Scotland, and Morocco (filled in for Yemen).  

It is a story of having faith in the impossible, and it delivers the entertainment 100%.  Try to find it in your area, and if not, get it in your favorite movie queue asap! 

As Good As The Real Butter Beer

Last December I went with my husband to Florida where he was attending a Business Conference.  We rented a vacation home for a week and my parents joined us to keep me company while Bruce was at his meetings.  One of the days we were there we visited Universal Studios and “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter”. 

At the entry gates of Hogsmead

The Hogwarts Express with the Conductor.

It was the most amazing themed attraction I have ever been to! (Sorry Disney).  There were only 3 rides, but the Hogwarts ride was the best and longest ride I have ever been on, it was amazing!  Even though there were only 3 rides, we spent the entire day just in this section of Universal Studios, where they had recreated the village of Hogsmead as described in the books.  There were so many shops and things to see that the time passed quickly.  We had lunch at “The Three Broomsticks” and of course we had to have the famous butter beer! 

In front of The Three Broomsticks Restaurant

Now if I had ever written a book, especially a book of fantasy, I think I would worry about someone creating an actual item that I had in my book, and I wonder if Ms. Rowling worried about what the butter beer would turn out like.  Well, it is wonderful!  Really, it is one of the best drinks I have ever had! ( I know I am using that phrase a lot but…).   I wanted to have as much as possible because I knew it would be a while before I got to have some again!  You could have it either of two ways, frozen/slushy or just cold.  Bruce had it frozen and I didn’t.  It was quite sweet, so it was more like a dessert than a drink to have with our lunch.  I can still taste it in my memory!

About ready to taste for the first time, Butter Beer!  YUM!!!

When I got home, my mom sent me a copy cat recipe that tastes almost as good as what they had at the park.  She found it in an article by Heather Witherspoon (McClatchy Newspapers), along with a few other “Harry Potter” recipes in addition to the Butter Beer.  I made it for my family one Sunday night when they were all over for dinner, and then I also had it for the neighbors when our street had our Christmas luminary and dessert night.  Everyone that tried it LOVED it!  I slightly tweaked it when I made it for my family to make it a bit easier and it was just as good.  I will put her recipe here then explain the variation that I made:

Butter Beer

1 c light or dark brown sugar

            2 T water
            6 T butter
            ½ t salt
            ½  t cider vinegar
            ¾ c heavy cream, divided
            Four 12-ounce bottles of cream soda

Directions:

In a small sauce pan, over medium heat, combine the brown sugar and water.  Bring to a gentle boil and cook, stirring often, until the mixture reads 240° F on a candy thermometer (I just did the drops in cold water until it forms the soft ball stage).  Stir in the butter, salt, vinegar, and ¼ c. of the heavy cream.  Once the mixture has cooled, stir in rum extract (this is not a typo, I know it is not listed in the ingredients, so I just added 1 teaspoon and it was sufficient.  You may want to add more to according to your taste). 

(*see below))  In a medium bowl, combine 2 T of the sugar mixture and the remaining ½ c of cream.  Use an electric mixer to beat until just thickened but not completely whipped, about 2-3 minutes.  To serve, divide the sugar mixture between 4 tall glasses (about ¼ c per glass).  Add ¼ cup cream soda to each glass and stir to combine.  Then continue to fill each glass to the top with the cream soda, and then spoon some of the whipped topping on top of the soda. 

*(Here is where I changed the recipe)
My alternative:  Instead of following the recipe at this point, here is what I did.  I had 12 ounce cups.  I put 2 tablespoons of the sugar mixture into the cup, 1-2 tablespoons of un-whipped heavy cream and mix those in the cup until combined.  Then pour the cream soda into the cup.  It makes its own foam, just like when you make root beer floats, so you don’t need that extra step of whipping up the flavored foam. 

Looking up at Hogwarts from Hogsmead

The Village of Hogsmead

The Frog Choir from Hogwarts singing "Bubble bubble, toil and trouble..." See, Shakespeare is EVERYWHERE!!!

So, try this delicious treat on your Harry Potter fans and it will tide you over until you have a chance to try the real thing when you go to “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter” at Universal Studios in Orlando Florida. 

My Report on my Annual Jane Austen Tea Party! (yes I know I am a month late in reporting this!)

I have some events that I need to write about that happened in December. The first is, of course, my Jane Austen Birthday Tea party that was held on Dec. 14^th (her actual birthday is Dec. 16^th). So we will call this “catching up time”! 

As I mentioned, we had our Jane tea party on Dec 14^th, due to the fact that Thursdays are “Grandma Day” at my house and it takes me a day to recover from that, so Wednesdays are the best day for me.  I have such great friends that are Jane Austen enthusiasts, which humor me and make it fun for all. 

This year I even had 2 cuties dress up with me, which is not required and is above and beyond, but they were adorable! 

My adorable daughter in law, Suzi, with me.  We are doing, what we now in our family affectionately call, "a Suzi pose". 

Caitlin Porter, the second biggest Jane Austen fan (next to me...or maybe we are tied)!

We even had a trivia contest and the prize went to Kim although it was a hard fought battle that went into a 3 question over time, due to a tie on the quiz.  Kim won the prize by answering the final question of “What was Jane’s sister’s name?”  The answer is Cassandra. 

Nancy, Leslie, Kim (the winner), Lori, Joan, and Teresa

(starting from the front and going clockwise),LaDawn, Sheli, Diana, Suzi, Rochelle, Bonnie, and Marie.  Marie is the only "Jane Austen heathen" here that I am trying to convert. 

But when she won, no one was surprised, since she had studied Jane Austen at Oxford University!!! 

Carrie. Anita, Ora, Caroline, Caitlin, (Dorothy was here but had to leave before I remembered to take a group shot)

I served chicken salad, egg salad and cucumber sandwiches, berry tarts, lemon cookies, creame(no I didn't spell it wrong, this is how it is spelled in England) wafers, strawberries, scones with clotted creame and fruit preserves, a variety of teas and a pot of wassail. 

Anyway, it was a fun day, with great friends, great conversation, great fun and I love my friends who like to come every year. 

If you are a Jane Austen fan, I highly suggest you start this tradition! 

The Hunger Games-May the odds be ever in your favor!

 

Three of my daughters (well, technically one is a daughter in-law but she is a daughter to me), had been after me for at least 2 years to read the book The Hunger Games. After hearing the premise of the story, I was surprised that they would think I would enjoy it. The thought of reading a book where, in a future world, in the country of Panem (formally the USA) and food is scarce, 12 districts (kind of like Provinces) were forced to enter 2 or their children between the ages of 12-18 years old in a competition the “Capitol” called the hunger games each year. In this competition the 24 kids would kill each other in a “themed” arena, in order to win the coveted price of extra food for their district for the next year and a few other perks and prizes. These hunger games had been going on for the past 73 years.
Now for someone who loves a happy ending and will READ the ending before starting a book to make sure it is happy, I just couldn’t see how it would be possible to have a happy ending in this book! I found out I was TOTALLY WRONG!!!!!

I have never read a more exciting book, but I will warn you, make sure you start it when you have a lot of free time because once you finish the first one you will HAVE to read the 2 sequels, Catching Fire and Mockingjay. I am glad I finally read them after all three books were out because I couldn’t have waited 1 ½ -2 years in between the books. They are insanely exciting!

To the book- As mentioned above, the 12 districts were ruled over with an iron fist by the “Capitol” with their peacekeepers. Each district specializes in producing something the Capitol needs to survive. For example, District 3 produce general electronics, Four-fishing, Seven-Lumber, Eleven-Agriculture, and Twelve-mining, just to name a few.

There had been 13 Districts at one time but District 13 rebelled and started a Civil war and after the Capitol beat them, they were destroyed and the Capitol initiated the hunger games as a reminder to all the other Districts that they, the Capitol, are in control.

That is all background information that you find out in the first 2-3 chapters while we are also introduced to Katniss Everdeen from District 12 on the day of the reaping, which is the name of the occasion when each year the districts pick out the next 2 kids that will play in the hunger games. This year will be the 74th hunger games. Katniss has snuck out of the electric fenced in district to go to the woods to hunt, (which is forbidden), to try to calm her thoughts before the reaping begins that afternoon. Once the District inhabitants are assembled in the square for the drawing, the action of the story never lets up until the last sentence of the book.

Please read these books! They are very well written and have a lot of great lessons in them for kids! I wish I could go into more of the story but I don’t want to ruin any of the excitement for you. There are many great characters, like, Gale Hawthorne, who is Katniss’ best friend and hunting partner, Peeta Mellark, Effie Trinket, Hamish Abernathy, and many, many more. The author even is able to fit in a sweet little romance if you can imagine that in this book! Read it before the movie comes out next spring. I can hardly wait for it! Luckily, I can re-read the books to tide me over until is does. Enjoy the 74th hunger games and “May the odds be ever in your favor!"

Documentries Can Be Fun Also!

I don’t seek out documentaries to watch but occasionally there is one that catches my eye, either by the content, review or word of mouth.  “Exporting Raymond” was one I saw a trailer of on imdb.com after seeing that it was playing at a local theater. 

I have always loved the TV show “Everybody Loves Raymond” and seeing the behind the scenes business of shows and movies are one of my favorite things so being able to see the process of a TV show being created in a different country was VERY intriguing.  My husband was a harder sell until I got him to watch the trailer and he was willing to give it a try. 

Phil Rosenthal was the creator of the TV show, “Everybody Loves Raymond” (ELR).  After the show wrapped up production for US television, he was contacted by the Sony company about the possibility of re-creating the show in Russia.  He was surprised at some of the American shows that had been successfully remade in other countries.  He agreed to proceed with this opportunity and headed for Russia, after bidding goodbye to his colorful family, many who were inspirations for the story lines in ELR.   Immediately in Russia, it is not the contrast of cultures that is what makes this documentary so enjoyable to watch but it is Rosenthal’s reaction to all that happens around him that is so funny.  He is hilarious, not just his comments but his face registers every feeling he is experiencing without having to say a word many times.  (see the trailer at the link below):

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi92380441/

The show is eventually made but that doesn’t ruin seeing the process that goes into it finally coming to fruition.  If you don’t think you would like to watch a documentary, try this one.  It is just fun!  Even if you have never even seen an episode of “Everybody Loves Raymond”!

Don't be shocked...I am back after a 5 month spell of laziness with a movie review of "Seducing Dr. Lewis"

One of my favorite things to do in my free time or for entertainment is watch a good movie.  I don’t care if I have seen a movie many times; I will watch it again and enjoy it as much as the first time.  I recently got a movie on net flix entitled “Seducing Dr. Lewis”.  It is a foreign movie, (if you call Quebec, Canada foreign), and it is in French, which is such a beautiful language to listen to. 

The movie is set in a quaint little fishing village in Quebec that is experiencing the effects of the bad economy and many of the 100+ citizens are out of work, or barely getting by.  A company has agreed to build a factory in the area IF the village leaders can get a full time doctor to live and practice there.  The former mayor of the village, who has had to accept a job in the nearest big city, promises his friends before he leaves that he will try to help them find a doctor and get him to come.  Meanwhile, the village leaders send out many requests to try to entice one to come but none have even thought twice about considering it.  Then one night, while the former mayor is on duty as a policeman, he pulls over a man who has some marijuana in his car.  As he is going through the arrest process he comes to find out that the driver is also a doctor.  They make a deal that he (the former mayor, now policeman) will not process this arrest warrant IF the doctor will agree to visit this village and treat the people for 2 weeks.  The doctor of course accepts this proposal rather than loose his license. 

Now the village prepares for him to come.  They learn all they can about him, his likes, dislikes, hobbies, sports, favorite food etc.  They also fix up the town to make it as picturesque as possible in preparation of his coming. 

They leave nothing to chance in order to keep this doctor in the village and that is where the comedy begins.  Several things happened to the plan by chance and with luck, but the journey to the end of the story is a fun ride. 

My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed this fun and different comedy.  If you still aren’t convinced that you would like a foreign film due to the sub-titles, this is a fun one to try to see with.  Check it out and let me know what you think. 

I Now Know Who John Galt Is!!!

First, let me say, Atlas Shrugged  by Ayn Rand, was not a book that I would have read on my own accord.  I was stressed out enough in the sixth installment of the Harry Potter books, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, when Professor Umbridge took over the school and kept adding new policies and directives. 

So, a book about the Government usurping power from the people of America was just too frightening and in my opinion too relevant in today’s world.   

However, the book was recommended to me by my friend Kim, as a gift idea for my husband, who is impossible to buy gifts for, but he is a news junkie. 

Kim, on our trip in Belgium

He is one of these people that if he wants something, he buys it(if we have the money), and so there is never a “wish list” for me when it comes to birthdays, and Christmas.  It is very frustrating but…that is a topic for another blog. 

Anyway, Bruce, my husband, commutes between 80-90 miles a day to work so he listens to many podcasts while in the car.  So a book on CD was really a perfect gift idea.  It would take weeks to listen to all 50 CD’s!  Well, he still hasn’t listened to it; another gift bites the dust… (again, rants for that other blog post). 

To justify the money spent on yet another ignored gift (can you tell I am bitter?), I adopted the cd’s and began listening to it.  I was immediately hooked into the story of Dagny Taggart, the strong but still feminine businesswoman, and the Taggart Transcontinental Railroad Company. 

The characters were very 3 dimensional for me also. Actually, the one character that was the LEAST 3 dimensional was John Galt.   Maybe it was because he was in the shadows for most of the book so he wasn’t as developed as the other characters were, like, the ingenious Hank Reardon, pathetic Jim Taggart, devoted Eddie Willers, and the nauseating Wesley Mouch, and the others that we interacted with regularly.  But despite that, it was the characters that got me emotionally involved in their lives.  

Again, I wonder if this is because of the political climate of today and you could put real faces to the fictional names in the story, but it made the story very engrossing and I looked for opportunities to get in my car just so I could listen to it.  Luckily it was before the awful jump in the gas prices. 

I marveled at how, no matter what the government threw at businesses to take more power and initiative away from them, Dagny was able to find a way to work around it.  I also found it ironic that it was a woman who didn’t give up when all the businessmen did. 

Ayn Rand

I wonder if Ayn Rand felt she was being a bit sexist in making Dagny the last holdout in fighting against the government, or maybe just giving women more of the power she felt they deserved in the ‘50s when this was published. 

SPOILER ALERT!!!  I did have to borrow the book from Kim so I could read the ending a few times to reassure myself that the “people” would prevail over the government because I got very discouraged at times by all the power that the government was able to usurp from the businesses and the individuals that created and ran them. 

There were a couple of points in the book that seemed a bit implausible to me, the first was the "refractor waves".  I am not a scientist so I don’t know if “refractor waves” really do what the book says they do, but either way, it was still very entertaining.  The other point was who Dagny ended up “being with” in the end.  I won’t name names but she had much more passion for the first two men in her life, than the one she decided to stay with at the conclusion, but at least it was a happy ending. 

I highly recommend this book to EVERYONE, no matter what side of the political fence you are on.  I don’t know if it would change anyone’s mind in what policies they think are right or wrong but, it did really made me think about the world we live in today and what could possibly happen in the future if we stay on the same path we are on now.