Penelope Cruz is so beautiful and wonderful that I'll probably try to rent the movie when it comes out on video. Sounds very interesting. You're right - she's a visual pleasure to watch. What can one say about Edward Norton? Wow...what a talent. There's a very powerful black and white portrait of him that oozes with his intensity. The photographer was overwhelmed by the force and energy of his personality, asked Norton to close his eyes. His intensity is evident even with his eyes closed. I've heard good and bad about The Good Shepherd. Some said it was a total snooze, beginning to end, but perhaps they were looking for an gun blazing action flick. Apocalypto was a disappointment. Lots of running through the jungle. There were stunning costumes in the human sacrifice sequence, but the rest bordered on silly. There's one scene which is supposed to depict the gory result of some violence, and the audience laughed out loud. We all immediately thought of a Monty Python sketch...."Oh, it's only a flesh wound." Mayans are very proud of their heritage, as well they should be. The Mayans were brilliant astronomers. There will be no outcry of the depiction because most Mayans are illiterate and considered the lower caste in Latin America. They would probably be proud that they are depicted in ANY fashion, because it will serve to acknowledge their existence and send people to learn more about the culture.

Those lilies are pretty much done, but i have some decent pictures that i'll place where the lilies were. My red, yellow and red-and-yellow lilies will still be blooming on Sunday - thank goodness! Of the daylilies, only Silent Sentry is blooming so far, but some of the others may open by then. Centrefold is just starting to open now, as are some of the Orienpets (i thought the fasciated ones were Orienpets, but they weren't), and there are a couple more that are going to open this week. Lots of yarrow is blooming, and some veronica spicata, as well as hollyhocks, delphiniums (may be touch-and-go), filipendula and a few campanula. There are lots of cosmos and poppies too, nicotiana, impatiens and morning glories. And i got started on the weed whacking this morning - it's too hot again, so i'm here inside until it cools down. Have to laugh - i've been keeping track of the WeatherNetwork's predictions for Sunday ever since it came on to the two-week trend. Here are the predictions for each day: Sunday July 9th - cloudy, 28° Monday July 10th - partly cloudy, 29° Tuesday July 11th - rain, 33° Wednesday July 12th - cloudy, 23° Thursday July 13th - no data Friday July 14th - mix of sun and cloud, 21° Saturday July 15th - mostly sunny, 25° Sunday July 16th - cloudy, 26° Monday July 17th - sun and cloud, 29° Tuesday July 18th - a few showers, 29° Anal? No - it gives me a good laugh! LOL I love weather predictions!

1) I had finally got a hair cut (^_^) 2) Machine knitted hats for charity (^_^) 3) Set up another 3-tiers book shelf and had organized all the knitting books that have been laying everywhere around the house (^_^) "To do" list for the next few days and weeks: 1) Routine back up the laptop 2) Clean the dining room to make room for knitting machines. 3) Clean out stored stuffs from the 3 bedrooms. I really need to do a garage sale. Sigh... I say this every year and haven't gotten to it.

If it were me, I would tell the step-daughter that you want to be supportive of her and ask how she would like you to be involved in helping with her wedding planning. Let her know that you are there for her, but you don't want to overstep. She may not be sure how to balance her mother's involvement and yours until she spends some time thinking about it. It is reasonable that she will want her mother to be involved and possibly more involved than you are if they are close. Whether there is tension between you and her mother will depend on how you treat each other when you meet. If you are cordial to her, things should be fine. It is possible that the two of you will become friends. You are fortunate to have a lovely step-daughter with whom you have such a good relationship.