Winter Weary

Another beautiful morning, cloudless sky, sun peaking over the Bemus hills, as I sit here, munching on Mrs. Snavely's kuchen(thanks for the recipe Patsi), thinking about what to do today.  I finished ROOM last night, so I want to be more disciplined about writing up a review of the books I have read, something I have not been very good at doing.  I think I will read something light, The Savages, a detective novel that has gotten good reviews.  Ron and Linda came for a dinner of teriyaki steak, asparagus and twice baked potatoes, with kuchen and Turkish tea for dessert.  We ended up watching our favorite movie with them, CINEMA PARADISO, a film I have probably seen at least ten times and still love.  I have to admit I did get a bit tired of the music being played over and over in dramatic scenes, as well as a few scenes that seemed drawn out.  But I have always loved the theme, don't give in to nostalgia, don't look back, move forward, don't get stuck in trying to revisit or recreate what was.  Alfredo refuses to see Toto if he ever comes back; he does want to talk to him, he wants to hear people talk about him.  And he does, as Toto eventually becomes famous as a film maker.  The last two minutes of the film are still the most romantic and most apt ending to any film.  Because the kissing scenes were censored from the movies when Toto was young, Alfredo kept the brief clips for Toto.  As the movie ends, the mature Toto sits down in a darkened theater, alone, and looks back at all these wonderful scenes of couple kissing, one after another, emphasizing what he has lost, what he longs for, what once was, 'young love,' never to be recaptured, at least for Toto.  A great film.

Back from our trek to Clymer, to once again decide on a carpet choice.  It's about a 40 minute ride through the back roads, which was fun since we travelled roads unknown, mostly farms, modest and large, many Amish, distinguished usually by the wash out on the line despite the cold temperatures.  We like the people we are working with, just hope they have a good final price.  We did find a great place to eat, one we had hard about from a bar tender/owner in Fredonia a couple of weeks ago.  It's called  Pine Junction, and their card says finding them is half the fun, since they are set way off a minor road near Findley Lake.  It's really quite neat, pine walls, floors, with a great deck for warm weather, a huge yard, with a pile of wood for a bonfire.  It appeals to snowmobiles in the winter, as their are trails everywhere and to bikers, I assume in the warmer months, though the clientele, I am sure, includes lots of yuppies, hot for a new experience, like us.  The owner came over, introduced himself, told us all about the place. They have bands on weekends occasionally, and once it gets warmer, he'll get out the grills and start doing  ribs, his specialty.  I got a pulled pork sandwich with slaw, Evie sweet potato fries,  both quite nice.  It has a nice feel, warm, walls filled with signs like "Who cut one", above a series of pine trees, with one downed; clearly, they have a sense of humor. We will be back.