Curtains!

MK and I made curtains for the new townhouse. Thank goodness for MK, without whom this project would not have been possible (or nearly so successful). They turned out exactly as I had imagined! I love the sheer fabric - with a slightly puckered texture - and the way it looks in the space (the rabbit likes it too). The fabric was v. slippery to work with when sewing, so I consider it quite a feat that I didn't butcher the final product. It was extremely helpful for me to have a second pair of hands. MK made the curtain on the right and I made the curtain on the left (with some help). We don't have curtains in any of the other rooms, so another sewing project is around the bend.

The Great Pie Crust Success of 2009

Amy and I successfully made the foolproof pie crust for Shabbat dinner. The pie itself (a combination of tart cherries, raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries) was a little tart! However, the pie crust was flaky and delicious.

I have borrowed The Pie and Pastry Bible from my boss, MK and now have an arsenal full of pie recipes which I am excited to make. Now that I have successfully made one pie crust, I feel drunk with success - like I could make any of the pies in the book. That may or may not be true, but you are sure to see the results of those labors in the future!

Inglorious Bastards/Basterds

In light of the soon-to-be-released Quentin Tarantino movie, Inglorious Basterds, the husband got the 1978 movie on which Tarantino based his remake. All of 99 minutes long, it still took us two separate days to watch it. My overwhelming sentiment is that I can't even begin to imagine why anyone would remake this movie. If I had to create a tagline for the 1978 version, I guess I'd say "Imagine The Great Escape, but with a cast of characters that you really care little about and a 'love story' that is too contrived to even be enjoyable. The special effects are neither good enough to be impressive nor bad enough to be laughable."

That being said, based on the trailer, Mr. Tarantino took significant liberties in adapting this film. I don't think the remake will bear that much resemblance to the original. I don't necessarily mean that as a compliment. The original was awful, disjointed, and incoherent. The remake looks down-right unwatchable. As a tagline "You've never seen war until you've seen it through the eyes of Tarantino" is not going to convince me to see this movie. I thoroughly appreciate Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction. The latter ranks among my favorite movies of all time. However, I am almost entirely convinced that I appreciate those movies in spite of, not because of Tarantino.

Tarantino still owes me for the 4 hours of my life that I wasted watching Kill Bill Vol 1. and 2 (don't ask me why I saw the second one, I can't give you a satisfying answer). I'm not going to waste any more time watching Inglorious Basterds. Not after I already lost 100 precious minutes watching the original.