Hello March!

On March 1, 2025March 1, 2025 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized16 Comments

Today it is sunny and snowing – and this is so like March here in Michigan. It doesn’t know whether it is winter or spring and just throws everything at us at once.

I love March. Do I love it more than I love October? Probably, because something very special happened ten years ago in March. And as you probably have guessed, that something (someone) is Wyatt! Wyatt turns ten tomorrow! I can’t believe my tiny little peanut baby is now going to be double digits. He is growing up! I will probably be all weepy and emotional tomorrow; in fact, I guarantee it. We are going to the zoo to celebrate, because that is where we went on his first birthday together. Of course then he was in one of those babywearing carriers and in a cozy little full body bear coat thing that you tuck little kids in and he looked super adorable. He also shares a birthday with Dr. Seuss, which I think is perfect for a boy who loves books. We took him there for his birthday too, and look how giant Billy’s hand looks next to him!

March is also the birthday of three other very special children in my life – I have two cousins who had children in March, and then my brother’s youngest daughter, Hurricane, was born two years ago in March as well! Her birthday party is in a few weeks. We don’t usually do a big party for Wyatt, and after age like five I think, didn’t have a real party at all, preferring to go away for the weekend somewhere nature-ish. Last year we went to a dark sky park; the year before that we went to the wolf sanctuary. But we decided for number ten we would give the big old party. So Wyatt is having a wolf themed party at the nature center next weekend with most of his family in attendance, along with some friends as well. I am extremely nervous about getting everything perfect because I am a weirdo, and I am trying to remind myself that is not the important part.

I think March is so full of magic and wonder, don’t you? Here in Michigan, it is the turning point month usually. We have wild weather to start the month, cold and snowy somedays, warm other days. The day Wyatt was born it was the coldest day of the year, in the negative temps, and this year it is going to be 30 degrees. Other years it has been warmer – I think last year we were wearing sweatshirts and no coats up north on our trip. Spring bulbs might be starting to wiggle their way up to the surface. (and for other nature nerds, worms are as well) Birds are returning. Soon we will hear the spring peepers going crazy in the marshes and ponds, one of my favorite sounds of spring. On warmer days we might see a bee lazily bumbling around, maybe a bit confused about why she is awake. Spring ephemerals will soon be able to be spotted in the woods, adding a tiny bit of color. In short, the world here is waking up, and it always seems so magical. We are starting to emerge from our cozy winter cocoon as well.

It would be hard to ignore St. Patrick’s Day, with its leprechauns and rainbows. I love to visit the fairy tales and mythical creatures of Irish lore in March, and this year Wyatt and I are going to do a little study on them. I have books and stories lined up, from real life people like St. Patrick and Brigid, to people of myth and legend like Finn MacCool, and then scary little creatures such as pookas and water horses and banshees. I think it will be a fun little shake up for school.

It is funny because the book Wyatt and I are reading for school is a more fun book than anything else. We were supposed to be reading Ronia, the Robber’s Daughter for language arts but neither of us could get into it so I switched to one of Wyatt’s books, The Wolves of Greycoat Hall. Well anyway, this book takes place in Scotland so we are going to be learning a bit about Scotland as well.

Last year Billy and our friends and family built a ramp for Wyatt, so he can go outside into the yard and play. One of our friends convinced us to make it a little bit wider, so that he can also go outside and play on the deck itself, which we did. I am so grateful for this suggestion because Billy and I realized that without it, he would only have been able to play on the driveway as wheelchairs are not good on grass. We were so focused on the getting outside part that we neglected to think about what would happen next! Billy finished it up right as the weather was turning, so we didn’t get to get outside with him too much before it was too cold. But now with the weather turning, I am excited to get outside with him more. We have been coming up with different activities and items for him to do out there, from a basketball hoop to a mounted bow and arrow (for kids, not like real arrows, he would kill a neighbor accidentally) to a raised garden bed on legs that he can roll up to and plant things. I am excited, and I know he will be too.

I could go on and on today I think! I should probably wrap this up before it becomes a novel!

So, that being said, that is it from me today. Whatever you do today, try to do something that makes you smile!

Friday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On February 7, 2025 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized10 Comments

Hello everyone! I am so out of sync this week. I don’t know what it happening but I feel like I am just over here spinning my wheels but getting nothing done. I think I need to make a list, and just start working through it, instead of whatever the ADHD I’ve got going on over here. I am just trying to do too much at once, as well all do from time to time! I am behind on everything – school, my house, calls I need to make, catching up reading blogs and comments, just everything. I will get there though.

We started off pretty well. We had a great weekend. On Saturday, we went to my dad’s for the day and hung out with him and my stepmom. It was a very nice, relaxing way to spend the day. Then Sunday, Billy and I took Wyatt to a children’s book reading and author signing. There were two authors there, Kristen Remenar, who wrote The Groundhog’s Dilemma, an adorable little picture book, and Vicky Lorencen, who wrote The Big Book of Barf. When I saw that The Caboose bookstore in Royal Oak, which is the children’s bookstore area of Sidetracks Books, was hosting this I knew that Wyatt would love it, especially the barf book. And of course he did. He was a little bashful when meeting the authors at the end, and having his books signed, but he had fun.

Then for some reason, the rest of my week went wonky. Not bad, just like I said, out of sync. It was just one of those weeks I guess. I have no idea what happened to Monday, Tuesday Wyatt’s medicine issues reared its head and he threw up, Wednesday, actually… Wednesday was pretty good.

Wednesday Wyatt had therapy, and he kicked butt! He walked so far and did an awesome job!

Then Wednesday evening I went to my friend Kelly’s, and we hung out just chatting and drinking tea.

I told her that I felt like I was hanging out in a British Museum, her house is so beautiful. (you can see Kelly in the background there, telling her kids to get ready for bed)

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Then Thursday I was all in a kerfuffle. We were expecting a delivery of medical equipment for Wyatt, a special seat for his walker, and it totally threw me off! I decided to just give up and give in after that, and chalk this week up to just what it was. Weird. Next week will be weird too. I am attending an advocacy leadership training online for three half days in the morning, and I have two different grandparents and Billy lined up to do the Wyatt things while I am doing it. I made up “sub plans” for those mornings too! Wyatt’s grandmother is doing a Valentine’s craft project with him on her watch, Billy is doing some dinosaur STEM stuff (and math), and my Dad is going to some hands on history with Wyatt. My dad was a special education teacher, then a principal, before he retired so hopefully it is like old hat to him. If not they can all just hang out. I will do the rest of school in the afternoon.

I am excited but nervous about the training! It’s been a minute since I did anything like this. I do think I can make it through three half days of training, and I think it will be fun; I just need to feel a bit more confident in speaking in a group again!

And with all that being said, I should probably get a move on! Have a good one everyone, and try to do something today that makes you smile!

Hello February!

On February 3, 2025 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized12 Comments

Hello February!!

Lately in the mornings, I have been standing at our back door, holding a cup of tea, and just looking out at the yard until my feet get too cold and I have to go all the way back in. The yard is just that February in Michigan kind of yard – muddy, dead plants, gray skies. There is a feeling of waiting about it. It is pretty forgotten for the moment, except when I take Wyatt out in his wheelchair, since our ramp is in the back of the house so he can use the yard during the good weather, so for the most part, the yard is not used, at least by us. I do see signs of animals out there though. There are obvious signs that rabbits congregate out there nightly, and I find broken shells of nuts littered about the deck occasionally from the squirrelsBut . Today I could have sworn I heard an early frog and shucked my boots on to go investigate – it would be too cold for a frog to be awake! I didn’t find him though. I will keep looking. There is also the big tabby with the ear tip that I have named Angus-Fergus, who leaves little cat footprints in the snow and sleeps under the deck at night. One time I surprised him when I opened the door, and he reared back in surprise and shock, his eyes wide. We just looked at each other and I told him he was ok, and he sauntered off to do whatever was on his agenda, our surprise meeting forgotten for the moment.

January was spent with a lot of at home days, focusing on school and the things I need to do around here. Just normal life stuff, without too many adventures. Lots of cozy moments with my kiddo, reading at night, or watching television with Billy in the evening once the house has been put to bed – Wyatt bathed and pajamaed, the creatures all fed, the kitchen cleaned up from dinner and the sound of the dishwasher running in the background. I foresee many of these same evenings ahead of us in February as well, although we do have some new things starting and some events on the horizon. I am planning Wyatt’s tenth birthday party, for one. It is next month but I am a planner so I will spend sometime working out all of the details.

I even have something new for me in the books! I am taking a leadership advocacy training course next week for three days, and I am sort of nervous! It has been a while since I have done anything like this, and it is for a few hours everyday. I even had a bit of homework for this week, which was actually more fun than work. I wouldn’t even classify it as work honestly. I had to create a collage to introduce my family, and I have to talk for two minutes about us. Can I do this? I will have to practice!

This is what I came up with. I had to add some bunting, because I love bunting and always have it hanging in my house for every season. It just makes everything feel so bright and fresh.

I also learned that February is National Embroidery Month, in addition to Black History Month. I have been doing a bit of a deep dive on the history of women and community and resistance and handicrafts the past few days, and I have a whole new section on my TBR just for this topic. I have also read that “grandma-core” hobbies like sewing and knitting and baking are helping teens these days handle stress. I know that it helps me to self-regulate, as my husband puts it, to sit and embroider at night.

Wyatt also starts his new bowling league this month. He is so excited about it! It was started by a group that sets up activities for special needs kids and adults, and they are in teams by age. Wyatt is Team Thundering Turkeys!

Despite some new activities on our horizon, the majority of our month will be spent the same as January. Snug in our little house, surrounded by each other, maybe if we are lucky a good cat on our laps, purring away, a nice cup of tea, a good book. Planning for spring but enjoying the season we are in.

Whatever you do today, try to do something that makes you smile. Even if it is just a small thing, like ten extra minutes in the shower or taking a minute to look outside, and just observe the world.

Friday Morning Coffee Catch Up – Dragons!

On January 17, 2025January 17, 2025 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Coffee Catch UP26 Comments

Hello everyone! Thank goodness for coffee this morning. I am chilled today, with the intense cold that we are having. Next week we have a deep freeze, with temps dipping down into the negative numbers. I hope to get all prepared today and tomorrow so that we barely have to step foot outside unless we have to, like for appointments and therapy. Poor Billy though will still have to leave for work in it.

This week has been another week of focusing on work – although we did throw some fun things in as well!

Wednesday Wyatt had physical therapy, but this week he had therapy, then a two hour wait before math tutoring, which was in the same building. So in between we went to the Henry Ford Museum! It was a fun way to spend a few hours. It was super weird, because it was an odd time and no one was there. Just a few other people but the museum is so big that we felt like it only Wyatt and I walking around.

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We are actually going to call off tutoring next week due to the cold, and just go home after therapy.

Yesterday, I decided to shake things up! Instead of our normal day of school, we celebrated Appreciate a Dragon Day. Wyatt has been working so hard that I thought he deserved a fun school day. So, it was all dragons all day! We started with reading books about dragons, then moved on to studying the dragons of Wales. We will be looking at Chinese dragons on Chinese New Year, so I thought we would stick with Western style dragons this week. I bought a unit study on Etsy that was about different dragons of the world, and we combined that with the book Dragonology, and had a blast. It felt like school, but… was all fun. Wyatt had to label cities on a map of Wales for one of the activities, and one of the names of the cities made me do a double take! It is, ahem, Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, on the Isle of Anglesey. According to this article written by Rick Steves, it means “St. Mary’s Church in the hollow of white hazel near a rapid whirlpool and the Church of St. Tysilio near the red cave”. It had a smaller name until a tailor added to the name to try to attract visitors. I have to admit, I am a person who would definitely make a stop there because of the name!

Then, I had two projects lined up to make – an art project and a STEM project. However, the art project took us so long that we never made it to the STEM project! I will save it for another day. The art project turned out so cool though – it took us like two hours to make it together! We also listened to a dragon book on Spotify while we worked.

After that we took a bit of a break – or rather, Wyatt did. I was getting ready for the final part of Dragon Day- we were having a dragon themed dinner, snack, and then we were watching How to Train Your Dragon. I kept it simple, and it turned out pretty cute!

We all had Dragon’s wings grilled cheese (cheese on Black Rye bread cut into dragon wings), dragon scales (Doritos), and our snack was popcorn with Swedish fish bowls, because Toothless the dragon in the movie loves fish! Unfortunately, my little dragon explorer didn’t make it to the movie! He zonked out ten minutes in. Lol. So we turned it off and we will watch it either Saturday or Sunday instead.

Tonight I will be glad to plop into bed and just chill out, after a long week. I am going to my mom’s first though, to hang out for a bit, then when I get home, I will shower, get in my pajamas, and crawl into bed to watch some television and stitch and read my book! I started Hans Brinker yesterday and it is so good so far, although I am barely into it yet. This weekend we are finishing up some things so that next week we can stay tucked into the house as much as possible.

As for Dragon Day, this is what we read and used!

(This section does contain Affiliate Links from Amazon and Etsy)

A Friend for Dragon || Dragons Love Tacos || Dragonology || Attack of the Underwear Dragon || The Truth About Dragons || Rise of the Earth Dragon (listened on Spotify)

Wyatt’s favorite of the group was A Friend for Dragon. It was pretty funny honestly. Dav Pilkey is awesome. I loved The Truth About Dragons, which is about biracial identity, and it was absolutely beautifully written and illustrated.

And for the Dragon study by country, I used this.

Dragons of the World Study by Wildfeatheredu

And now for some random photos!

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And that is it from our very cold corner of Michigan! I hope that whatever you do today, you do something that makes you smile!

Thursday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On January 9, 2025January 9, 2025 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized18 Comments

Hello everyone!! This week has been beyond chilly and I am so grateful that I have not had to venture out into it too much. I did see that a lot of the country is cold right now too and I hope you are all staying warm!

After New Years, we were able to just relax a bit more. We had a few commitments but for the most part, we spent time just hanging out at home together.

We did go out twice, at least. Wyatt was invited to go bowling with some of the kids in his old preschool class, so we went and did that. He loves bowling so much! And strangely, the very next day a local adaptive group posted that they were forming a bowling league, so I signed Wyatt right up, immediately! I think he will have so much fun!

Speaking of Wy-guy, he has been kicking butt and taking names at therapy! He is working so hard at walking. This kid is tough. Like seriously tough. At his last therapy appointment, he walked 48 feet before he needed a break. Yesterday, and with a two week break because of the holidays in between, he still walked 112 feet before needing a break! He is making significant improvements every week and he is so proud of himself, as he should be! This is an older picture, when he was first using this system back in September, and has been making such big gains every week since then!

We have also been working really hard in our homeschool and Wyatt has been making some gains there too! He is just kicking butt all over this week. We started all new books this week too which is fun. In literature we are reading My Side of the Mountain which is super interesting, from my perspective as a parent, because this kid just takes off to live alone on a mountain? Are his parents looking for him? What is happening? That is all I can think about as we read this one together. Wyatt likes it, but has said he would not like to sleep outside in a bed a leaves and branches and I told him that was a good choice.

In history, we are covering the colonial era, and our book to accompany the lessons we are doing is The Courage of Sarah Noble. It is so funny to me that I didn’t read either of these books as a kid. We are also going to read Sign of the Beaver and also The Witch of Blackbird Pond. My degree is in history so this kid of mine will be learning about American history probably this year and next, with how long I spend on each time frame. We move slowly through time over here! I also need to add in a week or two of Michigan’s place in history during this time frame, because Michigan looked pretty different from New England during this time frame. I found a fiction book to accompany some of the history we will be discussing about the French and Native Americans here, and Pontiac’s War. The park, which was once the land where Pontiac and his people gathered before their attack on Detroit is like a mile away from here. I feel like I am rambling!

Our artist this month is actually one I didn’t know much about either! Friedensreich Hundertwasser, who was an Austrian artist and architect. He was influenced by Gaudi, who we studied a few years ago, and you can really tell by looking at his designs. I love how colorful and and interesting his shapes are! Wyatt is enjoying him as well – loves to draw houses and trees and builds houses all the time with his toys so I thought he would enjoy Hundertwasser, and he does. I am actually pretty fascinated with him as well.

So, it’s slow days around here! Lots of school, lots of art, lots of hanging out at home. In fact, Saturday is our first Cozy Crafternoon Zoom! It will be frigid here on Saturday so I am ready to just get cozy and work on my embroidery while chatting with the other ladies on the zoom.

And that is really it from around here for now! Whatever you do today, try to do something that makes you smile!

Here are some random photos from the old camera roll!

Monday Morning Coffee Catch Up: Birthday Books

On November 18, 2024 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized20 Comments

Hello everyone! It is absolutely freezing this morning here! Like seriously frosty. I am letting Wyatt sit in the bed and eat his breakfast while I drink my coffee there as well, all covered up, that kind of cold. And..I love it. I do.

It’s been a few fun weeks around here. I think I last left off with our Halloween and anniversary shenanigans. Since then we have had Scouts, my birthday, and just fun days with family sprinkled in here and there.

We had a fire with my brother and family, went to my dad’s, and my cousin and her daughter were there, as well as my stepsister and her boy (although he is 17 and like 6 foot 5). And we got fun happy snail mail from Deb at Readerbuzz! We were super excited to get her cheerful letter, telling Wyatt what life is like in her part of the world, and to look through the little zine she made as well!

Scouts this past week was really fun as well. We started with going through our Oregon nature box that the pack from Oregon put together for us (we had sent them one from our area as well). The kids and parents loved it. I think one of my favorite parts of Scouts is not only the excitement from the kids, but also seeing the parents involved and excited about the activities. When we did leaf rubbings last month, one of the dads made rubbing after rubbing all by himself at the table, he was just having such a good time. And I love that. It wasn’t an aspect that I had planned for or considered but it has been a cool little extra bonus. This week we all marveled at the neat things that were sent to us – a giant pinecone from a Ponderosa Pine with bits of the puzzle bark as well. The trees have bark that comes off in puzzle like pieces, and it is really cool! They also sent sunstone rocks, which are only found in their area in the condition they are in. Each kid got to take one home too, which was neat. They sent bits of flora from the area, including a rabbitbrush specimen, which they said is everywhere in their area and causes allergies in the fall.

After going through the box, we started on the big activity, which was making ceramics with my mother-in-law. She had made a smattering of little ornaments, penguins and cats and little houses and flames but not traditional “Christmas” type ornaments, as we have some scouts who observe different religious holidays and we wanted to make sure we respected that. Then she also brought in some air dry clay as well, to show the before and after of ceramics. She started with that, having them touch and feel it and push cookie cutters into it to experience that part, then explained that they then go into a big oven called a kiln where they are fired. When they come out, they are hard like the finished ornaments. The kids had so much fun – even though my MIL brought the thing most dreaded by parents everywhere. Glitter. Glitter! Thankfully only two kids left absolutely covered in it. And who were they? The ones related to me. Wyatt and Mermaid Girl. I mean, if you know me and my brother, that tracks.

Wyatt had so much fun, as did all of the kids. I also had my heart completely melt because my littlest niece, Hurricane, immediately wanted me to hold her and carry her around as soon as she spotted me. Then when the meeting really began, I handed her off to her mom and she apparently squirmed free to run after me in her little 18 month old teetering galloping stomp. She sat on my lap and painted two ornaments too. She took it very seriously.

Two days later, it was my birthday! Billy put together the very best, perfectly perfect Erin day. First we went shopping at this store that specializes in Japanese food and other Japanese items. We all had a lot of fun picking stuff out. Pocky in all different flavors, Sake for home sushi nights, and I picked out a bunch of little bowls and plates because I am obsessed with that sort of thing. Bowls with cats, and a bowl with little Shiba Inus, including a little fluffy butt. We also picked up a few things for stocking stuffers and for other kids in our lives for the holidays. Wyatt got little training chopsticks with an owl on them, and dang, if he didn’t learn how to use them in .5 seconds. We practiced with fruit snacks and he just took off with it right away.

Next stop – Barnes and Noble. I had birthday money from different family members, including Billy and Wyatt and my mom for books, and I had a good time picking them out. I was picking books up, considering, deciding if I wanted to buy books for now me, who is in a reading slump and needs something different, or for future me, who knows what she likes to read. I ended up going with a little of each, and then Billy and Wyatt picked out a book for me as well, that is described as being a cross between Princess Bride and Legends and Lattes which is right up my alley. Wyatt of course got a book as well. And then when I got home, I had book mail waiting from a giveaway I had won!

However, the fun wasn’t done for me. We went on a chilly, twilight hike through the woods, which is one of my very favorite things on earth. We saw deer and woodpeckers, spotted mushrooms, and had a little impromptu school lesson, since Wyatt has been learning about the fur trade, voyageurs, and the Anishinaabe, and the nature center sparked a discussion about all of that.

Finally, we finished up with my favorite tacos for dinner and headed home, where we all happily collapsed and were lazy after a very full day.

I hope you all had a nice weekend as well!

Friday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On November 8, 2024November 8, 2024 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Coffee Catch UP20 Comments

Hello everyone!! I am drinking my coffee today out of one my new favorite mugs, this one by Danica Studios. I am on a personal quest to replace my mugs with only ones that make me happy, which might sound absurd but..it’s the small things in life, right?

I just wanted to start this post today by saying my blog is my politics free zone.

I don’t think I have shared Halloween with you all, and I want to. So let’s throw this post right back to October!

The Saturday night before Halloween, Wyatt and I went to the Jack O’Lantern journey at the Detroit Zoo. Billy was supposed to go too, but he hurt his ankle working on Wyatt’s ramp that day, and wasn’t going to be able to manage all of the walking we were going to do. I was a bit nervous about taking Wyatt on my own, which is weird because I am not generally like that. I think because it was going to be dark so fast and I had to drive home through the city at night, but despite being a bit nervous, we went. And I am so glad that we did. We missed Billy of course, but Wyatt and I had a complete blast. We stayed so much later than I anticipated. We were just having such a good time together.

We came home in very high “spirits” and had lots to share with Billy. We bought these tickets as part of a package deal with their Christmas lights display, and now I am looking forward to holiday lights!

The next day was more Halloween shenanigans, with a visit to my dad and stepmom’s house. My stepmom had arranged a whole cookie and cupcake array for the kids to decorate (and eat). She had all of the candy decorations all pre-cut and in little bowls, frosting made, even edible eyes! It was really cool and the kids had a blast. Little Hurricane girl even sat on my lap and made cookies with me!

As you can see, the kids thoroughly enjoyed the day.

After all of our pre-Halloween activities, we were so excited when the big day finally came! Wyatt wanted to be a snail, which turned out pretty good if I do say so myself! I went as a mushroom and Billy wore a shirt with morels on it that said “I’m a fungi”. Lol. We cracked ourselves up.

Phew and now we have made it through Halloween!!

Finally, Billy and I celebrated our 24th anniversary on the 4th! We are old y’all. Wyatt’s grandma watched him for a few hours while we went out for sushi. We went to a place called The Goblin in Detroit (you know I loved that name) and ordered the Penguin tray to split. Now, the Penguin is supposed to come with a cute little rice penguin. But I wanted the panda that comes with the Panda tray lol, and the very nice owner made sure that I got a panda. I am weird. The employee/owner guy was super nice. We really enjoyed chatting with him. The restaurant is small, with maybe six tables total, but does a brisk carry out business. And the sushi was absolutely delicious. We will definitely be returning. And luckily it is not too far from where Billy works, so it would be very easy for Billy to pick up sushi on his way home. We had such a great time together and we need to go out the two of us more often.

Those are all of the big things that happened. We also had slow days, days where we just did school and therapy, sat outside in the sun, painted, played with our menagerie of creatures. And we even added two new babies, two little African clawed frogs that we named Hurkel and Durkel. They are so derpy, I love them.

And now for some random photos!

And that my friends is all for today! I hope that whatever you do today, you do something that makes you smile!

Comfy Cozy Cinema: Bringing Up Baby

On November 7, 2024November 7, 2024 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized17 Comments

Lisa from Boondock Ramblings and I are back to watching and sharing about comfy cozy (and sometimes, chilling) movies for the fall season. Feel free to join in with us!! Our link will be live for a whole week after we post about a movie.

We had a last minute movie shake up! We were supposed to watch Skylark – then learned that we couldn’t find it available anywhere! Lisa switched it out to Bringing up Baby, starring Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn, and it was adorable.

I just want to start by saying that Cary Grant was an attractive man, no denying it, but seriously he never looked better than he did as a dino nerd, the slightly awkward paleontologist David Huxley. Dang.

Now, the summary before I get really started. “Harried paleontologist David Huxley (Cary Grant) has to make a good impression on society matron Mrs. Random (May Robson), who is considering donating one million dollars to his museum. On the day before his wedding, Huxley meets Mrs. Random’s high-spirited young niece, Susan Vance (Katharine Hepburn), a madcap adventuress who immediately falls for the straitlaced scientist. The ever-growing chaos — including a missing dinosaur bone and a pet leopard — threatens to swallow him whole.” (From theromcomcatalog)

I loved this movie! Maybe because on some level this movie made me think of Billy and I; he often calls me Calamity as my nickname because well, I guess he thinks I can be a bit of a Calamity. And he wouldn’t be wrong. Billy is much more rational and practical than I am; I get us into all sorts of predicaments, all none of them as cool as what happened in this movie.

So. David is supposed to be married to a woman named Alice Swallow, who is his assistant at the museum. It is never really said why other than that it is for his career, and it sounds like it will be a business-like, staid marriage. No honeymoon, no children. Just work. Which, yuck. David doesn’t seem too thrilled with that but kind of shrugs it off. Neither are madly in love with the other, so that makes what happens the rest of the movie ok.

Enter Susan Vance, portrayed by Katharine Hepburn. She is wealthy, has an even wealthier aunt, and is a bit of a scatterbrain. She is also very impulsive and flighty. And, she has a leopard! Her brother who is in Brazil sent it her way, and while it seems rather tame she can’t keep it in her apartment either, and convinces David to help her drive it out to her country house.

We get a taste of the madcap crazy in the beginning when the two meet, but it doesn’t really escalate until they reach the countryside. It is one thing after another, crazy schemes and situations and misunderstandings and dogs and leopards and car thefts and running around the woods and country at night. It was a wild trip!

Grant and Hepburn were fantastic and just kept the frantic energy up the whole movie, complete with witty remarks and exasperation. When David meets Susan’s aunt, he is clothed in a negligee of Susan’s and has no idea that he is meeting the woman he is hoping will donate money to the museum and kind of releases some of his frustration at his situation on her. Susan tries to cover up for his behavior by telling his aunt that he is a man named David Bone who is a friend of her brother’s, and who has had a nervous breakdown. I thought this was so funny as it becomes a running joke where anything he does is a result of his nervous breakdown, at least as far as the aunt is concerned.

Anyway, there are so many moments in this movie that were funny or endearing or both. They are on the hunt for the leopard baby, who has escaped. Although, unbeknownst to them, another more ferocious leopard has escaped from the nearby circus. Two leopards are on the loose in Connecticut in the same few square miles – what could go wrong?

I always use a net when I am looking for escaped leopards too.

The audience knows of course that Grant and Hepburn are going to end up together, and we are just waiting for the moment that the characters themselves realize it.

We have to wait all the way until the end, when David is back in his museum, putting together his Brontosaurus, sans glasses by the way. Susan comes in with his bone, and she climbs up a ladder, which we all know will end in disaster because it is Susan after all.

This movie was madcap, funny, crazy. I never knew what misadventure would befall our hero and heroine from minute to minute and I loved it. And now I totally want my own leopard. However, that seems to be illegal in the United States. I do have a leopard gecko, and she is a sweet girl and easier to feed so there is that.

My Luna baby.

If you watched Skylark or anything else at all, feel free to comment and link up with us about it! The link is open for a week. You can read Lisa’s thoughts here!

Next up is The Grand Budapest Hotel, and after that is Chocolat and our watch party! We will all press play together at home and chat on our discord channel (and don’t worry, not on video!). The watch party will be November 17th, at 7pm EST. (the day after my birthday! yay!)

Friday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On October 25, 2024 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized17 Comments

Hello everyone! This morning is rainy but we had the most glorious sunrise, the most amazing shades of pink and orange. It was spectacular. So is my coffee, which is Seattle’s Best Henry’s Blend this morning. I think it is my current favorite.

I feel like today is a big exhale, like I have been holding my breath for weeks making it through all of the various plans and appointments we have had. Nothing that should have been stressful, just low key busy.

Where should I start? It’s been a minute since I wrote one of these. I will start with my own good news! I have had high blood pressure since I was 24; my dad and brother since they were 13. We just have some weird genetics. Anyway, ever since I spent a month in the hospital with pre-eclampsia when I was pregnant with Wyatt, I have been extremely anxious about having my bp taken, which when you already have a history of high blood pressure is not super helpful. It’s controlled at home, but usually in the office is ridiculous. I have to take a blood pressure log and everything with me to appointments. Well, this week my blood pressure in the office was 123/85! I think my anti-anxiety medication is working! My doctor was extremely happy as was I. My log from home reflected these have been my readings at home too, that or lower, but to have it in the office was another thing altogether. So that was my little success this week!

Ok, moving on to more fun things!

We had our scout meeting the other week and we had a blast. We are exchanging nature boxes with another pack in Oregon, who live in the desert area of Oregon, so it will be really cool to see what we receive. Our scouts spent the meeting making pages of leaves stuck with contact paper and labeled. They loved it, and they also loved the leaf rubbing station we had set up as well. It was some of the kids first time doing a leaf rubbing and they thought it was magical, which was cute. The parents enjoyed it too, actually, with one of the dads making quite a few himself. I was happy to see the plans all coming together and everyone having fun.

Wyatt and I also had a fun day out the other week! We went to see the Wild Kratt’s Live Action Show in Ann Arbor, and it was pretty neat. It was Wyatt’s first show like that and he loved the being able to yell and cheer and interact with the rest of the audience and Chris and Martin. My only complaint about the whole day was the theater’s interpretation of wheelchair seating. I bought wheelchair seats and it literally was a regular seat where the arm raised up, and then Wyatt’s wheelchair, his only way to move around, was moved into the hall. We were also the last seat in the last row of the theater but that wasn’t terrible on its own, I guess just the idea of that is how they prioritize disabilities. What if there had been an emergency situation? What if I had not been able to transfer him on my own? It just felt extremely low effort on the part of the theater for accommodations for the disabled community. However, all that aside, Wyatt did have a good time and I did as well. It was nice just to have that moment and first with him.

This week we also went to the orchard and pumpkin patch! I look forward to this trip all autumn! We picked our pumpkins out and drank some hard cider (well not Wyatt), bought some apples for baking a pie and some honey, and just in general had a great time. They didn’t have doughnuts the day we went but that is ok, I think this weekend we will take a little drive to the Halloween bakery, although I haven’t told Billy and Wyatt that yet, it will be a surprise. After our pumpkin hunting, we took a walk on Grosse Ile, foraging for things to put in the scout nature box.

This month has been so full. Full of fun and family moments, watching the football game with my dad and stepmom eating our bowls of fancy ramen, a nice long massage, reading with Wyatt, sitting out on the deck for the ramp in the sun with Billy and Wyatt and Devin and my nieces. Stitching in bed while watching tv at night, our comfy cozy cinema nights, just all those little things that make up most of our days. It is apt maybe that this month is so full feeling, in tune with the season of harvest. A long time ago, when people still lived mostly off the land, this time of year would be their richest in food, as they laid up their food for the winter. We are reading about this right now in Wyatt’s read for history, The Birchbark House. I do like that the mom thought about those times they would need a little something extra too though.

I too often need a little sweetness to remain strong in spirit.

And now, some extra photos from the camera!

Comfy Cozy Cinema: Blithe Spirit (1945)

On October 10, 2024October 10, 2024 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized12 Comments

Hello everyone!! Lisa from Boondock Ramblings and I are back to watching and sharing about comfy cozy (and sometimes, chilling) movies for the fall season. Feel free to join in with us!! Our link will be live for a whole week after we post about a movie.

This week’s feature: Blithe Spirit, starring Rex Harrison, Kay Hammond, Constance Cummings, and Margaret Rutherford. Blithe Spirit is based on the play written by Noel Coward.

As the name suggests, this movie does not take itself seriously. It is silly and frivolous and cavalier, with some interesting characters. Apparently, Coward had been wanting to write a comedy with ghosts for a while, but since it was wartime he wanted to make sure that the characters were unsympathetic, as that would be too sad.

The plot: “To get background for a new book, author Charles Condomine (Sir Rex Harrison) and his second wife Ruth (Constance Cummings) light-heartedly arrange for local mystic Madame Arcati (Dame Margaret Rutherford) to give a séance. The unfortunate result is that Charles’ first wife Elvira (Kay Hammond) returns from beyond the grave to make his life something of a misery. Ruth too gets increasingly irritated with her supernatural rival, but Madame Arcati is at her wit’s end as to how to sort things out.”

I think that he succeeded in creating a comedic play centering around ghosts without a sympathetic character in the bunch. Charles is the very definition of blithe, cheerfully indifferent to the goings on around him. He takes it all in stride, and yes, at times is very callous. When the ghost of Elvira comes back to haunt Charles and Ruth, he is nonplussed, even after Ruth goes through many different stages of annoyance and irritation and even worry. At first she thinks he is just being a jerk and making it all up, and even insulting her when he is talking to Elvira, which he believes she should understand even though she can’t see Elvira, then she moves on to concern that something is wrong with him, and then once Elvira proves her ghostliness to Ruth, she is at first shocked then annoyed that Elvira is hanging around, disrupting her marriage, which Charles could care less about.

Spoiler alert: Ruth also dies, and becomes a ghost. At first, Charles is just “blithely” going about his evening, getting his drink, sinking into his snug little chair by the fire. I am guessing he believes that things will be peaceful now that he is just home with his ghost wife – until his second ghost wife blows through the door.

Madame Arcati is the spiritual medium, and a bit crackers, and she tries to help Charles return the two women back “home”. After what feels like forever, to Charles and the viewer as well, Madame Arcati hits on the reason why she can’t get the spirits to leave.

Madam Arcati – let’s talk about this character for a second because for me she kind of stole the show with her crazy performance. I think she really went for it, embracing this sort or crazy, zany medium. I think she fully embraced the quirkiness of this role, and probably had a lot of fun with it. She was a kook, but she did have some cozy scenes, with shots showing her in her snug home, sitting in the window studying her books while the weather went wild around her outside.

This role has been played by three Dames, all heavy hitters – Rutherford, Angela Landsbury, and most recently, Judi Dench. Billy and I have actually seen the 2020 version starring Dan Stevens and Dame Judi, and while we thought that version was ok, the 1945 version was better.

Billy and I were impressed by the quality of the 1945 special effects. They were obviously not anything like ours, but we thought for the time they were really well done. What was especially neat was Elvira. According to a comment on IMDB, “Writer and director Sir David Lean and cinematographer Ronald Neame decided not to use double exposure to create Elvira’s ghostly appearances. Instead, Lean created an enormous set that allowed Kay Hammond to move freely in each shot. Hammond wore fluorescent green clothes, make-up, and a wig, with bright red lipstick and fingernail polish. Each time she moved, a special light would be directed on her, allowing her figure to glow even in dimly-lit scenes and giving her an otherworldly appearance.” I think it worked pretty well, as she did stand out t in the scenes she was in, and sometimes did appear very ethereal, and it would have looked fantastic in black and white.

Overall, this movie was a bit of a silly ghost movie, not sad, not spooky, just silly.

You can find this movie on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, and Hulu to watch streaming for a fee. You might also be able to find it at the library.

You can find Lisa’s post here, and Deb’s here!

If you have watched along with us, and want to share your link, please feel free. We would love it!

Our next movie is Rear Window, starring James Stewart. I picked both Blithe Spirit and Rear Window, and I had no idea when I picked Rear Window that this year is the 70th anniversary of the movie. So that is a neat little extra!