Movie Review - Captain Phillips

Mike and I BOTH had yesterday off. It was appreciated as it is kind of rare. Anyway, we decided to go to a movie together. We chose to see Captain Phillips. Have you heard of it? Here's the trailer for it.



Do you remember the news clips from the time Captain Phillips was actually being held by Somali pirates? I remember thinking it must have been a scary experience. His ship had been boarded by Somali Pirates. Although no one on that ship had firearms, they did have some clever ways to protect themselves. It wasn't enough, though. They were still boarded by the pirates.

Eventually, Captain Phillips was taken captive as they left in a little escape boat. It was a miserable situation that went on for days. There is controversy about Captain Phillips. Some see him as heroic while some crew members felt it was his fault this mess happened in the first place. I don't know who's right but I will say, the movie was worth the price of our tickets.

I have to give this movie a high rating as it really made you almost feel like you were there. Almost. I felt pretty tense throughout the movie. It was not relaxing, but it was exciting and fascinating to think about what you would do if you were ever in such a situation. I don't think I'd be remembered for any kind of bravery. I'm thinking I'd probably curl up in a fetal position and will myself into a fantasy world of peace and security. Insanity seems better than being terrorized.

How about you? Do you feel you have the makings of a hero?

Teacher Heroes

Watching stories out of the aftermath of the tornado that hit the elementary schools in Moore, Oklahoma really made me think about the teachers involved. As was the case in the Connecticut school shooting, teachers behaved with heroism as they tried to protect the children in their care, just as a parent would do. Whether they were protecting the children from violence perpetuated by a person or by nature, they acted as most parents would, even using their own bodies as shields.

Thankfully, most teachers will never have to face such horrible situations. Most will never have to risk their own lives to protect the children entrusted to their care. Just the same, knowing that so many would do this really makes me think again about how much we should value teachers. It also makes me wonder about the many little sacrifices teachers make for their students every day.

Teachers spend so much time with the children assigned to them for the school year, they most certainly bond with them. To learn of them acting instinctively to save the lives of the children shows their level of caring was well established before the tragedy even occurred. They didn't have time to reason, they just acted.

They acted like loving parents.

As I said, most teachers won't have to face such a dramatic situation, but I think inside many teachers there lives a hero.

photo By Paul Gooddy of freedigitalphotos.net

Thank-you, teachers, for all you give daily.

Up-Scaling Makes Me Feel Like a Hero!

There's something new going on at our Wyoming Rose Boutique.  Yes, we're still crocheting and crafting but we've added up-scaling to the mix as well.  Have you done any up-scaling that you'd recommend?

If you don't know what I am talking about, let me break it down to two simple steps.

1)     SHOP!  Maria and I aren't too excited to shop the usual way.  We aren't big on going to department stores to find our treasures.  What is the most fun is to shop thrift stores, keeping our eyes (and minds) open.  We really try to see items through our creative vision glasses.  OK, we don't have special glasses.  But we are developing an eye for potential.  We don't always know what we are searching for until we see it.  Things that catch my attention are classic styles or delicate remnants from the past.  Sometimes it is just a unique color or texture that I want to enhance.

2)     LET YOUR IMAGINATION RUN WILD!  This is the part that takes the most time.  I take one of our treasures back to my Rose Room and start experimenting.  I can't tell you how many different ideas I worked through on this golden purse, for example.  What I ended up doing is cutting out this piece of vintage lace and appliqueing it to the front of the purse.  The lace itself has some history.  My mother-in-law gave me some of her sewing things years ago (more than 30 years) and I still have some of it.  (Carol, do you recognize it?) This lace is one of my favorites as you just can't find any like it now.  Isn't it pretty?  It took this purse to a new level of of awesome.  But, I still felt like it needed something more.  I cut and twirled and tied and imagined for quite awhile before I realized this purse just needed some bling, so I made a bracelet for it.  I was really quite pleased with the result.  I like the mixture of antique and glamour, don't you?  We have it listed on our Wyoming Rose Boutique on Etsy.

I went kind of a different way with this classic red purse.  I wanted to keep it youthful and fun but it needed some personality.  I pawed through a lot of fabric before seeing how this bright apple print wanted to bring out the best of the red purse.  I put a lot of time into the process but the result was a cheerful, unique and spunky looking up-scaled bag.  What do you think of it?

I am pretty proud of this next one.  We found this chocolatey blazer and I knew right away that it was a candidate for up-scaling.  It was in excellent condition, soft and cozy - perfect for chilly days.  It already had some interesting lines.  Some of the vertical seams actually had encased elastic that gathered it up just enough to give it some drama, but it still wasn't really living up to its potential.  I took  it home and loved it up.  It had perfectly nice covered buttons but the brown on brown just went flat.  I replaced all the buttons with cool white ones that celebrated the fun of shape.  No more round boring buttons!  Then, I started experimenting with color.  I settled on a peachy cotton thread that had kind of a special smooth finish to it.  I hand-crocheted a lace that could peek out at the bottom of the sleeves.  I did not want to over do it but I still felt it needed a bit more.  I then used more of the fun thread to crochet a flower.  I centered the flower on a cut-out of more antique lace (thanks again to my mother-in-law) that was already a daisy-like design.  I centered another of the funky buttons for the center and sewed it all together.  When I attached it to the blazer, a star was born!  To see more detailed photos just click here.  

So, there you have it.  Go shopping and see if you get any fun ideas to upscale something.  I know that it made me feel rather heroic, as though I'd rescued something from boredom.  Have fun!

p.s.  Anyone who orders from Wyoming Rose Boutique can enter the secret code at check-out to receive a 10% discount.  The secret code is:  DISCOUNT