Friday thoughts 10/19/2018

Good morning! I did *something* to my back yesterday- I think conditions were right for it to flare up to a really nasty point, and with us trying some new stuff in PT, that was enough to tweak it and make it very, very angry. I'm going to try to take it easy for the next few days, but unfortunately, I have a LOT that absolutely needs to get done, so we'll see how well that works out. The good thing is, I have an appointment with a pain specialist next week, so I'm looking forward to that. Hopefully you're doing better than I am today!

Let's get start on the things I found interesting this week, shall we?



*The Story Behind Steel Magnolias, 30 Years Later*

One of my childhood best friends loved this movie, and I only ever watched it because of her. If you're not familiar with it, Steel Magnolias tells the story of a group of Southern women and how they love and support each other, especially through the early death of one of the members of their group. It was originally a stage play, written after the death of the playwright's sister from complications of diabetes (I've never seen it, but I'd love to). It's a serious tearjerker, but it's also chock-full of acerbic wit, humor, insight, and love.

I'd read about the playwright's sister before, but it's always nice to have a more in-depth look at anything you enjoy, isn't it? I was especially struck by when Robert Harling said, "But you know, my sister died and I wrote about it and people look at it and think it’s all limos and glamour and sitting next to Princess Di at the royal premiere. My sister had to die for all that to happen. So almost daily I think about what my life would be if she had lived." That got me thinking about how from terrible tragedies, great moments of joy can blossom. They don't take away from the tragedy or negate its effect...but we can grow as people because of them and create beauty from ashes. Steel Magnolias is one of those moments, I think.



*Time Well $pent*

A Chrome extension that converts online prices to the amount of time you would have to work to afford that item. Isn't THAT cool? 

When my ex-husband and I were first married, he was in the military and we were pretty poor. Some weeks, it was a struggle to afford groceries, and I was often aghast at how high food prices were. Because of this, I started mentally converting non-food prices into how many gallons of milk that item was worth. "A ten dollar t-shirt? We could buy three or four gallons of milk for that!" (I can't remember the exact price of what we paid for milk back then, but I do know it was more than what I paid this week, which was $1.96 at Aldi.) It's neat to see an app that does something similar and will maybe help people understand that when you're spending your money, you're giving away pieces of your life.


*Coupeville Celebrates the 20th Anniversary of Practical Magic*

Do you remember Practical Magic? It's the story of two sisters who come from a long line of witches, both of them learning to come to terms with their lineage and their powers. It's a fun, moving, lively film that was based on Alice Hoffman's novel of the same name (affiliate links!). I was in high school when the movie came out and I absolutely fell in love with it- I still remember the scene where Sandra Bullock blows a candle ON and wishing so much that I could do that! (It would save money on matches and those long clicky lighter things, wouldn't it?) I worked in a video store at the time, and I learned that the movie was based on a novel after scrutinizing the box one day, and so I headed over to the library (conveniently located right across the street from the store where I worked!) and checked the book out. I've since read and re-read it several times.

The movie and the book have some serious differences, but it's one of those rare cases in which they're both fantastic in their own right. So often, the book is fabulous but the movie just ruins it, and that's not the case here. I still love them both. I had no idea that the movie was filmed out in Washington State; it was a surprise to me when a friend who lives there posted this article. The crew did such a fabulous job turning that town into a New England wonderland that I had just assumed it was filmed somewhere out east. How wrong I was! :) 


*Oops- Ignore That Email Invitation To A Cookie Monster Cat Party, US Embassy Says*

At this point, I think we've all sent an email or a text message to the wrong person. Sometimes it's no big deal (sending a job link to your father-in-law instead of your husband, for example); other times, it's a little bit of a bigger deal, like when an American embassy sends out invitations to a cat pajama-jam.

I mean, don't get me wrong, this is something I'd absolutely show up for! The cats may not be as enthusiastic, though.



*What to Say to Little Kids Instead of 'Say Sorry'*

This is something I really like. I've long thought that forced apologies were meaningless. Daniel Tiger, which my daughter enjoys, points this out in one of their episodes, with a catchy little jingle to go with it: "Saying 'I'm sorry' is the first step, then 'How can I help?" Actions absolutely speak louder than words, and it's important that kids understand that when they hurt someone or do something wrong, they need to help make it better. It's something I work on with my daughter. She's 4.5, so it's not quite sticking all the way yet, but we're laying the groundwork. :)



And that's all for today! Hopefully my back improves over the weekend, but we'll see. I was really hoping it would get better overnight, but no dice. Such is life with chronic pain, you know?

I hope you have a fantastic weekend! What did you see online this week that intrigued you?