Thanksgiving 2019

Yesterday my family celebrated Thanksgiving and it was such a fun day!  My Mom, Marilyn, Tashena (she is home from college for the weekend and it is so good to see her), and I went out in the snow to see Frozen II in the afternoon and I loved it even more the second time!  They really liked it, too!

After the movie we had the traditional Thanksgiving dinner including both turkey and ham, cheesy potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, pomegranate salad, rolls, and a relish tray.  Everything tasted so good!  Here are the usual awkward photos that I get every year because my family won't cooperate.  You're welcome!

After dinner we all took a little nap and then played our favorite card game, Shanghai rummy!  Tashena won (but I came in second place).  After cards we had pie and then Marilyn, Tashena, and I went to see Frozen II yet again (because we are crazy).  It is so much fun going to movies late at night and we were quite giddy by the time we got home!  I really enjoyed spending time with my family yesterday and I am so glad that they are all as crazy as I am!  I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends doing the things you love!

Frozen II

I have taken my nephew Sean to a movie over the Thanksgiving break every year since he joined our family so it was fun to continue the tradition by seeing Frozen II together yesterday.  Both Sean and I really enjoyed it!  Several years after Elsa (Idina Menzel) is crowned as Queen of Arendelle, she is trying to enjoy a normal life with Anna (Kristen Bell), Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), Olaf (Josh Gad), and the reindeer Sven.  However, she hears a mysterious voice calling to her and decides that it is coming from the Enchanted Forest where her grandfather, King Runeard, signed a treaty with the Northuldra people to create a dam.  This resulted in a war which angered the elemental spirits of air, water, fire, and Earth, causing them to surrounded the Enchanted Forest in a mist trapping everyone inside.  Elsa and the others travel to the Enchanted Forest where she searches for answers about Arendelle’s past, what happened to her parents, and where her powers come from.  She and Anna must ultimately work together to right the wrongs between the people of Arendelle and the Northuldra.  There are two other amusing subplots involving Olaf, who is confused about growing up, and Krisfoff, who struggles to find a way to propose to Anna.  I found the story to be quite compelling with sophisticated themes about colonization, the treatment of indigenous peoples, and respect for the environment interspersed with the same themes of female empowerment and freedom to be who you are that I loved in the original.  The animation is absolutely stunning and I especially loved the Enchanted Forest with its autumn leaves shrouded in mist and the use of ice sculptures to represent past events.  I also really liked the giant Earth spirits.  Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez return with some fantastic songs including "Into the Unknown," "The Next Right Thing," and "Show Yourself."  These songs are very powerful but I have to admit that my favorite is "Lost in the Woods" sung by Kristoff in a sequence that looks like the greatest 80s music video ever!  I pretty much giggled throughout the whole thing which caused Sean to lean over and give me the "look."  I loved this movie and I would recommend it for the whole family this holiday season.

Knives Out

Along with Little Women, Knives Out is my most anticipated movie this holiday season.  I couldn't wait to see it so I did so at my earliest opportunity which was last night.  It is an absolute hoot and I laughed out loud from beginning to end.  Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer), a successful mystery writer, assembles his dysfunctional family together for his 85th birthday and is found dead the next morning.  His death is ruled as a suicide but a world-renowned detective, Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig), is anonymously hired to investigate and he immediately suspects foul play.  He, along with a local detective (Lakeith Stanfield) and a state trooper (Noah Segan), begins interviewing the family members and staff in a hilarious crosscutting scene where they all turn on each other.  We meet his daughter Linda Drysdale (Jamie Lee Curtis), her ne'er-do-well husband Richard (Don Johnson), and their playboy son Ransom (Chris Evans); his son Walter "Walt" Thrombey (Michael Shannon), his wife Donna (Riki Lindhome), and their internet troll son Jacob (Jaeden Martell); his lifestyle guru daughter-in-law Joni (Toni Collette) and her social justice warrior daughter Meg (Katherine Langford); his elderly mother Wanetta (K Callan); his housekeeper Fran (Edi Patterson); and his nurse and confidant Marta Cabrera (Ana de Armas).  They discover that everyone has a motive to kill Harlan and that everyone has an alibi but, after more twists and turns than you can keep track of, Blanc finally discovers whodunit!  It is basically a hilarious spoof of the mystery movies of the 1970s but the script is incredibly clever (with just a bit of social commentary thrown in for good measure).  It is quite suspenseful, with shocking clues that change the entire narrative, and it kept me guessing until the very end!  The ensemble cast is fantastic and everyone looks like they are having so much fun playing these over-the-top characters!  I especially loved Collette's portrayal of the flaky Joni and Evans's against type portrayal of the naughty boy Ransom.  This movie is so entertaining and I highly recommend it for a fun night out!

Note:  There is a quote from the musical Hamilton and I was the only one in the packed theater who got it because I was the only one who laughed (rather loudly!).

My Favorite Team vs. My Hometown Team

I have been watching hockey with my Dad for as long as I can remember and we always try to go to at least one Colorado Avalanche game in Denver in the fall and one in the spring.  For our annual fall trip we decided to see the Avalanche play the Toronto Maple Leafs.  Even though both of us are from Ontario, we never cheer for the Leafs (we even cheered for the Avalanche against the Leafs when we were in Toronto a few years ago).  We got up really early yesterday morning and drove to Denver in time to relax before the game.  I always like to get to the Pepsi Center early so I can watch the practice skate, see the starting lineup, and hear the national anthem.  Because the Avs played a Canadian team, we got to hear "O Canada" and both my Dad and I sang really loud!  The Avalanche started really well with a goal from Nathan MacKinnon in the first 31 seconds of the game!  They kept on the attack for the first five minutes of the game and the Leafs couldn't do anything.  Then all of a sudden Toronto scored four goals during the rest of the first period (including one by former Avalanche player Tyson Barrie).  It kind of deflated the crowd a little bit.  During the second period the Avalanche changed goalies from Grubauer to Francouz and he was able to stop the offense.  The Avalanche got a goal by Andre Burakovsky in the second period and another one by Valeri Nichushkin in the third period to get within one.  The Avalanche pulled their goalie during the last few minutes and they really tried to put the puck in the net (it was very exciting) but the Leafs ended up getting an empty net goal to win the game 5-3.  So in the battle between my favorite team and my hometown team, my hometown team won!  Even though the Avalanche lost this game it was still so much fun!  I love everything about hockey, especially watching games with my Dad!

Note:  My favorite player, Mikko Rantanen, didn't play tonight because he is still recovering from an injury (he is close to returning because he has been attending practice skates) but I finally got to see the young phenom, Cale Makar, play in person and he is amazing (he scored in his first game in the NHL which happened to be during the Stanley Cup playoffs).

The Rite of Spring

I always look forward to attending a Utah Symphony concert but I was particularly happy to be at Abravanel Hall last night after a long and difficult week.  I really needed something to take away my stress and last night's performance did not disappoint!  A small chamber group performed Symphony No. 10 by Joseph Haydn while standing (it looks so cool when the musicians play standing up).  This piece is light and effervescent and I especially enjoyed the finale because it really gets going.  Next the full orchestra was joined by pianist Till Fellner for Piano Concerto No. 20 by Mozart, my favorite composer.  I became enchanted with Mozart after watching the movie Amadeus when I was in high school and listening to him was my first introduction to classical music.  I especially love this piece (it is rumored to be one of Mozart's favorites as well) and I added this concert to my season package just so that I could hear it.  The second movement is absolutely beautiful (it is featured during the end credits of Amadeus) with a melody played by the solo piano that is so tender and romantic.  In addition to the beautiful melodies that Mozart is known for, I think this piece is also a bit moody and tempestuous, especially in the restless third movement.  I loved Fellner's performance because, in my mind, his tempo was absolutely perfect (many soloists have a tendency to rush the second movement).  After the intermission, the orchestra performed The Rite of Spring by Igor Stravinsky and it was epic!  It is rumored that a riot broke out during its premiere and I certainly understand why!  The music depicts a pagan ritual involving the sacrifice of a virgin who dances herself to death and, oh my goodness, it is so frenzied!  I loved it, especially the dramatic themes played by the strings in unison, the fanfares played by the brass, and the wild timpani (I enjoy watching Eric Hopkins play and during this piece it seemed like he was in constant motion).  This will probably end up being one of my favorite concerts of the season so I definitely recommend getting a ticket (go here) to tonight's performance of the same program.  You'll think me later!