on a sketti sauce kick

I blame that first niece of mine.

She and I and her two girls went to Olive Garden on Sunday and spent two hours inside the restaurant, getting good and steeped in the aromas and indulging in all that flavorful Italian food.

Then we spent another hour and more just outside it, watching the girls at play, continuing to smell all that garlic and tomato sauce wafting past in people's to-go orders or the boxes of leftovers.

Plus, we had the thawing odors of spaghetti with meat sauce and four-cheese ziti in the $5 add-ons we'd brought out with us.

Yes, it's all Christina Ann's fault...

so, thank you, dear!

I had that add-on for dinner on Monday - it certainly hit the spot and was so good!

Come Tuesday, though, I was still wanting something Italian.
Alrighty then!

I had bought several Mini Panettones last week - I'd just treat myself to one of those Italian fruit cakes.

So I did, and it was perfect with some hot tea!

Today, I woke up craving something tomatoey and noodleey and yes, those are words.

Well, fine.

I still had some Tomato And Basil Sauce in the fridge - and I had canned chicken breast - and I always have some kind of pasta in the pantry... so I created Sketti Sauce Soup.

I kid you not!

That's it in the photo!

And it was so good, that I made some more for dinner after my third movie!

I did, I really did, and I ate every bite!

(smile!)

So, what was that about a "third movie"?

Hey, it's for real!

I finished off my A*List trio today!

I started on Friday with "The Youngest Evangelist", getting odd looks and questions after from the movie crew.

How come?

I was the only person, in the two days it had been playing, to buy a ticket for it and they wondered what it was about and if I liked it.

Actually, I had very much enjoyed it!

I had even found myself laughing out loud several times, remembering things from ym childhood as the narrator told these little stories from his youth.

In many ways, it was just like "The Wonder Years" and "Everybody Hates Chris", following the adventures in the life of a 12- to 13-year-old boy.

Really fun!

Tuesday, I watched "Ghostbusters: Afterlife", another one that was kid-centric, but this time it was a middle-school girl at the heart of it - a girl who was a science nerd like Grandpa Egon.

Recognize that name?

Well, this entire movie was like an homage to the late Harold Ramis, as certainly demonstrated with much heart near the end of the film.

Yes, I wept, but it was a good cry, and I look forward to doing it again.

(smile!)

Kudos to the casting crew, by the way.

McKenna Grace was absolutely perfect as the child who never knew she wasn't the only science brain in the family; plus, Finn Wolfhard is perfectly believable as her brother.

And tonight?

Well, we all know how I love a good theme to my choices... so, "Encanto" it was!

More kid stuff, with an animated format, plus it was a musical!

So, there you have it!

Oh, one more thing about that second movie: it was loaded with cornball jokes and puns!

One of the jokes was even the one that Tom Hanks did about the fish with no eye!

Hahahaha! Hahaha!

(smile!)