five screenings in 48 hours!

I wasn't consciously aiming for that this past weekend, really I wasn't, but that's what I got!

The primary goal was to see a movie I'd missed last weekend while waiting for someone who had expressed an interest to join me.

Yeah, I know how that tends to play out, and so it did then.

The upshot of it was I missed the movie and only partially filled my A*List, leaving one slot open.

I promised myself that Week 8 was going to have a full complement of three movies...

and I decided to have a bit of fun with it and make sure the three cards showing in my hand were colorful!

And so they are!

With green ogres and brilliant cocoa and yellow flowers of Texas, color was liberally splashed onto that page and into my life!

Very nice!

Plus, I was able to have doubleheaders on both Saturday and Sunday of this Columbus Day holiday weekend - woohoo!

Even better, I had company at one movie of both of those days -

how rare these days of pandemic!

First, people I knew at the play on Friday...

then people I know at movies this weekend...

giving me company three days running.

Pretty magical!

Perhaps that was because I was in the presence of magic each of those days?

Yes, I think I'll go with that!

Let me substantiate that claim.

"Shrek" was the first magic-themed movie, having a princess cursed to be one shape by day and another by night, much as Ladyhawke had been.

True love's kiss solved Princess Fiona's dilemma...

and surprised her, too!

Very nice for my date night finale!

Saturday found me with two movies, the first of which was brand-new -

how 'bout that, folks!

"The War With Grandpa" was utterly delightful, too, proving unequivocally that Robert DeNiro most definitely still knows how to have fun!
Nor was he the only septuagenarian cavorting on the screen - 

so were Christopher Walken (77, same age as DeNiro) and Cheech Marin (74), with Jane Seymour joining their ranks next year!

Delightful... but not magic-themed.

That distinction was reserved for the second part of my Saturday doubleheader, this time joined by two friends.

Oh, how truly magical it was, too!

"Hocus Pocus", featuring Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy, and Sarah Jessica Parker as the zaniest witches Salem ever saw, had magical moments sprinkled throughout!

Here's the zaniest thing, though: the panda had never seen it and Carolyn hadn't ever seen it until last weekend!!!

Seriously!!!

The movie has been out since 1993 and is perfect for Halloween!

That, alone, should have inspired horror-fan Kevin to see it, especially as an 11-year-old boy.

I'm so glad I was there to share this first-time experience with him!

Then, I got to share a treasure from my youth with him and Carolyn:

Carey Hilliard's food.

In particular, the barbeque plate, with its heapin' helpin' of sauced meat and that Brunswick Stew as only they make it.

For a family of six, this was one of the very few restaurants I knew as a kid, as their prices were low and servings were ample.

I grew up with the one on Skidaway, but I'm glad we were at the one on Abercorn - good mojo here for me!

 

Mojo, with its connotation of magic, is the perfect lead-in for the next movie: "Coco".

The timing for this 2017 repeat is perfect, too, as  Día de Muertos is this month, beginning with Halloween and the festively decorated sugar skulls all around, not just at Jalapenos.

At first I thought this 'thank you to the audience' might have been newly added, but then I recalled its presence from three years ago.

How poignant to see it again, and how relevant to this time when the cinemas have only been open since the end of August.

For the movie last night, when the brother and sister had been reunited, I'd teared up, but held control.

This time, I allowed the tears for course down my cheeks.

It felt good to think of Daddy as I wiped them on his shirt.

 

Yes, that's right, folks.

For this Sunday doubleheader, I'd carefully chosen to wear the shirt I'd asked for, and received, after his death eleven years ago;

the lightweight. short-sleeved, blue plaid, with the snaps running up the front instead of buttons.

Definitely a summer shirt option for me since I came into its possession.

The perfect accompaniment for this pair of movies, I'd thought, with the first to honor family gone from Earth and the second featuring country music from his youth.

Plus, I wore my unicorn face covering, for that extra touch of magic.

(smile) 

Carolyn even joined me for the second half of this doubleheader, just as she had last night!

The 2019 movie, "Yellow Rose", was new to both of us, so that was pretty cool, and introduced us to tunes we never knew.

That gave us plenty to talk about over a leisurely dinner at Olive Garden afterward.

Very nice end to a Sunday evening, of a weekend that felt a bit more normal for both of us!

i thank You, God.