Going back to school tomorrow!

I had a nice vacation, two weeks at home in quietude. I watched movies, read, cooked, napped, snuggled with the kitties.

Murray is channeling Luke. He is turning very snuggly. In the morning, he likes to jump in the kitchen table and sit in my arms as I boot up the laptop and read morning devotionals. He purrs a lot when he settles in, his head snugged in the crook of my elbow. It's nice.

I watched a Norwegian movie called The Wave. It's a good disaster film because it's based on real science, scarily possible events, and written with the right amount of suspense. In Norway, there are very tall mountains. The mountains are made of rock. There are earthquakes. There are fjords below the unstable mountains. When a landslide of rock occurs the weight and movement of the slid-down mountainside causes tsunamis. his had happened twice before in modern times, killing many. The nation has now devices which monitor the mountains and scientists stationed thereto interpret the data. There is also a red button and for one particular fjord-side town in a heavily touristed area. When the button is pressed and the alarm sounds, the populace has ten minutes to get above 80meters and safety. Otherwise...

The Wave, good movie, nice characters in it, realistic.

I also watched Sing Street,

Sing Street is a charming movie from Ireland that "takes us back to 1980s Dublin seen through the eyes of a 14-year-old boy named Conor (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo) who is looking for a break from a home strained by his parents' relationship and money troubles, while trying to adjust to his new inner-city public school where the kids are rough and the teachers are rougher. He finds a glimmer of hope in the mysterious, über-cool and beautiful Raphina (Lucy Boynton), and with the aim of winning her heart he invites her to star in his band’s music videos. There’s only one problem: he’s not part of a band…yet. She agrees, and now Conor must deliver what he’s promised - calling himself "Cosmo" and immersing himself in the vibrant rock music trends of the decade, he forms a band with a few lads, and the group pours their heart into writing lyrics and shooting videos. Inspired by writer/director John Carney's (ONCE, BEGIN AGAIN) life and love for music, SING STREET shows us a world where music has the power to take us away from the turmoil of everyday life and transform us into something greater.

Getting ready for school tomorrow, I made Baba Ganouj. It's eggplant spread/dip. Heat a pot with oil. Most people also put in a crushed garlic clove. You can also add mushrooms, celery, onion. I would advise adding one of the above, not all of them. Cook until they are softened a bit.

Cut up eggplant in small cubes and put in pot that has been heated with oil. Cover the pot so the steam can soften the eggplant without having to pour lots of oil into the pot to ensure the cubes don't stick. Eggplant will absorb oil like a sponge. It doesn't take long for the eggplant to soften.

Cool the eggplant stuff. Add to a blender, Cuisinart, or chopper of some kind. Add Tahini, lemon juice, and a bit of oil to taste. Also salt. Blend till smooth. You can dip crackers, bread or make crostini (garnish with parsley), or add to pasta as a sauce. Whatever you want!

I also made a pot of lentil soup, with celery, potatoes, and carrots. We have some winter weather coming in and the shelves will be razed of milk and bread, soon enough. I will need to get to the store too. A pot of soup is always good to have around. Any amount of snow or sleet is a problem here in the south. So I will prepare as best I can. I haven't driven this new-to-me mini-van in any kind of serious weather yet so we'll see. Oh well, all that is a few days away. Meanwhile, the soup will fill my tummy for lunch at school tomorrow.

Have a good week!