Restoration: Week 43.

Watching movies, alone or with others, almost always restores me. It gives me new ideas to ponder, and favorite shared moments or quotations can add a strand to a bond.

This past week, I watched The Quiet Ones by myself. I like Olivia Cooke from Bates Motel. The Quiet Ones had an interesting premise but seemed rushed. Of the two twists, the small one was best, but no one really explored it.

Also by myself, I watched 3 Generations (formerly titled Ray or About Ray, which is why I couldn't find it for so long). With a stellar cast, the movie follows Ray, a transgender boy who is ready to start taking hormones while all the adults in his life are uneasy and overwhelmed but loving. Elle Fanning was good as always. And I don't even have to elaborate on Susan Sarandon. I appreciate movies that help me understand others, especially others in pain I've never experienced.

With Bruce, I watched The Lodgers, which was intriguing and unsettling. The combination of themes made it a surprisingly unique story. I would read the book!

Josh and I had last Friday together! He needed to get some running shoes (and as the moment, we can actually afford them!), so we went to Dick's. I walked to Home Goods and soaked up the Christmas silver and snowflakes. I saw a low, purple velvet bench with a low back and sides--it would be beautiful at the foot of our bed.

I walked on to Hobby Lobby, which is just huge. Most of the gel pen sets and stickers were 50% off! We went to World Market, which feels like a rich and tranquil place.

Josh and I went to lunch at Chili's. We even shared a dessert. I think that time together restored our bond.

On Saturday, my mom and Shane came to watch Oliver while Josh and I went to Josh's brother, Zach's, wedding. While Josh and Oliver met up with a relative, Mom and Shane took me to Carrabbas--always so satisfying.

The wedding was beautiful--I intend to write a little more about it later. Now, I have 2 sisters and 3 brothers. That feels like restoration.

A Lovely Weekend.

(Image: http://abigaillx.tumblr.com/)

Josh and I returned last night from a weekend in Charlotte. We went because my mother was getting married. On the way, we dropped off clothes and VHS tapes at Goodwill. We also went to Books and Quills bookstore in Indian Trail. It's a beautiful new shop with coffee new and used books. Josh picked up The Immoralist by Andre Gide and Jude the Obscure by Hardy. I got two books I can use for my creative writing class in the fall: Master Class: Scenes from a Fiction Workshop by Paul West and Best American Short Stories 2001, ed. Barbara Kingsolver (the stories are sure to be good!). I also got The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle, which I thought Oliver might like.

We arrived at Mom's little townhome, which we call Pansy Cottage. Rain and hail pelted, and Oliver had a startle response to the thunder (this is new). Mom, my brother, my uncle, Josh, and I went to dinner at Mom's finance's house. I ate generous amounts of grilled chicken, Caesar salad, all-day green beans, and crab salad with cucumber. (Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/61616486@N06/5717179283/in/photostream/)

At the wedding the next morning, I wore a pink rose pattern maternity dress I found on E-bay for $15. My mother looked stunning in a champagne lace dress with little bows on her shoes and rhinestone swirls in her hair.

She asked how she looked, and I said, "You look like a princess, but a woodland princess."

She said, "That's exactly what I was going for."

I wore the gold and clear rhinestone earrings I wore to Josh and my wedding. Josh wore the gold tie from our wedding. All the gentlemen looked sharp. The back porch was full of floating rose candles, pink ribbon, and bouquets. Afterward, I thought how lucky Oliver is to be gaining more people to love him. He hiccuped during the music. (Image: http://your-love-is-magical.tumblr.com/)

The catered brunch was incredible. I ate sausage and spinach strata, yogurt parfait with berries, a ham biscuit with Swiss cheese and honey-onion glaze, and stunning chocolate chip and cinnamon scones. The cake with white lattice work with glittery pink roses.

Exhausted after the festivities, Josh and I took a three-hour nap at the cottage. I had an excellent Michael's coupon, so we headed out to use it. Our town doesn't have luxuries like Michael's and Target. I found sage green clothespins to use as chip clips, three rolls of gorgeous green shelf paper to use in our new kitchen (green swirls, green stripes, and green with pink roses), a plastic massager to help Josh keep my angry shoulders (where I seem to be bearing the extra weight) under control, stickers for Oliver's scrapbook including black rhinestone bee stickers, cheerful bicycle stickers and Gelly Roll Gold Shadow pens for my journals, a sparkly green journal with a Victorian fairy and butterflies, and a mama rubber duckie with two babies for Oliver's baths. I could so vividly see him gripping and gumming one of the baby ducks while I bathe him in the sink. (Image: http://browse.deviantart.com/?q=photography&order=9&offset=48#/dwi4b9)

Back at the cottage, the guys and I ordered pizza and watched Doubt, which showcased Meryl Streep's incredible talent but is probably better as a play, and Super, which is probably the most bizarrely disturbing movie I've ever seen and inappropriate for all audiences.

I slept for twelve hours. We ate brunch leftovers (which Mom's new in-laws had carefully packed in a huge basket) before getting ready for a birthday lunch with my dad. At Panera, I had the strawberry, chicken, and poppyseed salad. The strawberries, blueberries, and mandarin oranges were light after all the rich fare. Dad gave Josh and me a congratulations card with green seahorses on it.

My uncle gave Oliver the party edition of Oh, the Places You'll Go! with a great inscriptions. I'm sure we'll be reading that book in the next couple of days and many times after that.

Josh and I headed home for one night before our babymoon (which begins today!). We stopped at Target to buy a white pantry that will supplement the limited cabinet space in our new kitchen and hold (we hope) a generous supply of bottles. We couldn't help looking at the baby items and giggling over little sleepers. I'm lucky to have a fellow who can do that. I also found a beautiful red maternity tank top with gauzy little flowers over one shoulder. (Image: http://happiijenny.tumblr.com/page/15...can my kitchen look like this with slightly less candy?)

I expected a stressful weekend, but instead, I now feel calm and blessed.