That was the plan at any rate. Then Gustav decided to get completely constipated on Christmas Eve. Off to the emergency vet in Windsor. It was busy, and we were there from around 8:30 pm until 1 am. Gustav stayed behind. He spent all Christmas day there, and then at 3 pm Boxing Day we brought him home. He is back to normal now, after $1350 in vet care. Enough said.
Aside from that, and one short excursion to A'burg, we have been home. Trying not to spend any money. We met Amanda for coffee, and some beer at A'burg's downtown brewery, then came back here for dinner. That has been the totality of our social life this holiday. Almost overwhelming. There has been lots of good eating (ginger cookies in the oven right now!), some good listening (Haydn, Brahms, Britten, Monteverdi, and currently some Chopin Nocturnes). We've roasted some coffee beans, and of course watched some movies.
Last week Deb chose La Nuit de Varennes, a unique look at the French revolution by Ettore Scola, a favourite director of ours. From 1982, we have seen this wonderful film before, but it has been many years. Much of it takes place on a long carriage ride from Paris to Varennes, where the king is finally captured, after fleeing the palace. The carriage riders are a fascinating group, and the actors are perfect. Costumes are outstanding, as is the dialogue. 4 stars all the way!
An outstanding film, during the day and night that Louis was captured.
My choice was Zatoichi On The Road, #5 in the movie series. It contains one of my favourite scenes from any Samurai film--the famous dragonfly fight scene. The whole scene lasts about 10 seconds, and the fight about 2 seconds, as Zatoichi, alerted by the flight of a dragonfly to three enemies stalking him, dispatches them from a sitting position as a young girl clings to him. A remarkable scene.
Zatoichi On The Road, #5 in the series.
It is my turn for the end of the month film festival, and we are currently watching the 1930s Marcel Pagnol Marseille trilogy, and the many extras that come with it on Criterion. I will post about them, as well as my December reading progress, in the next blog. Meanwhile, winter has yet to arrive. We had nearly an inch of rain today, and it is getting really foggy just now. No real cold air until next week. I can live with that.
Mapman Mike
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