Fifteen films that will always stick with me

I was tagged by a friend on Facebook...  so here we go!

The Rules: Don't take too long to think about it. 15 films that you've seen that will always stick with you. Take no more than 15 minutes to decide. Actually this is a bit difficult for me since I'm really not much of a film buff. No particular order except for the first two...

1. The Princess Bride
2. The Lord of the Rings (Fellowship, Two Towers, and Return of the King) trilogy (I know it's three films but I like to think of it as one 18-hour extravaganza when I watch the extended DVD versions one after another!)
3. K-19
4. Jonathan Livingston Seagull
5. Sound of Music
6. Conan the Barbarian
7. The Bourne Identity, Bourne Supremacy, and Bourne Ultimatum (all excellent action films, again best if watched back-to-back-to-back)
8. Tank Girl
9. Finding Nemo
10. Wall-E
11. Fantasia
12. Star Wars
13. Roman Holiday
14. Alien
15. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Of the fifteen mentioned above, there is only one that I would NEVER see again - and that would be K-19.  It is easily the most heartbreaking movie I have ever seen.  Alien is another one that I would avoid seeing again, because it is so scary.  All the rest are favorites that I would - and will - see whenever they are on the TV or even on my iPhone (which is where the Bourne movies are at the moment).

Which movies always stick with you? 

A super day

No Super Bowl festivities here... just a beautifully warm day.  Clear, deep blue skies with little white puffs of cloud once in a while. Perfect!  We spent much of it outside, working on the fence that's been falling down since Hurricane Ike.  (Which was in 2008!)  The citrus trees are so happy to see the sun.  A little pruning and such too, but there is more cold weather on the way next week so I restrained myself. 

I used to watch football - way back when - but I can't get enthusiastic about the game anymore. It takes too long, and I have more interesting things to do.  Fortunately DH feels the same way!   

Happy World Nutella Day!

Today is World Nutella Day!  I'm a big fan of Michelle Fabio's Bleeding Espresso blog and the peperoncino and Nutella cake she cooked up sounds fabulous.  I did a very restrained celebration, with Nutella and Kedem biscuits (they are a bit like Petit Beurre).  I may make Nutella Bread tomorrow - it looks yummy.

I also searched for the Italian version of Nutella, which apparently tastes differently. It has been a couple years since I tasted the genuine article.  I'm working on finding it here in Houston. No luck at Phoencia, my go-to grocery for international foods. However perhaps I can get to Spec's downtown to check out their stock this coming week. 

For those who are interested in a little more history, here is the Wikipedia link and the Ferrero (Italian) link. 

Really really cold...

The temperature is falling into the mid-twenties (Fahrenheit) tonight. A challenge for Houston - we don't usually see that kind of cold.  I've covered the variegated ginger, the Meyer lemon, the Atlas mandarin, and the calamondin orange.  Who knows what frizzled leaves will greet me in three days time, when the temps are finally going to get somewhat reasonable. The great news is that our precipitation came in the form of rain, and was gone in just a couple hours. No shoveling here! 

Atlas Mandarin crop

Atlas Mandarin, originally uploaded by AmyEmilia.

Not much of a picture. But, this is the ENTIRE crop of Atlas Mandarins from my tiny little tree. We planted the tree a year ago. Yes, I know you aren't supposed to let such a young tree fruit, but we just couldn't bear to pinch off all of the little guys. So, I left this one.

Slowly, slowly it got bigger and bigger. I had to add a support because the little tree (it is all of 2 feet tall) was leaning perilously towards the ground. Slowly, slowly the fruit changed from deep green to lime green, and in the last 2 weeks, more and more orange.

Since we were not going to be home the next few days, I clipped it off and brought it with us. We peeled and ate it tonight. What a wonderfully tart flavor, juicy and seedless too. I think it would be better to leave on the tree another week or so, but it was still eminently edible. Here's hoping our crop at least doubles next year!

Happy Birthday, Cousin!

Coralee, originally uploaded by AmyEmilia.

Today would have been your 52nd birthday. I think of you every day, and miss you in this world. Hardly seems possible it has been a whole year.