The destination does not matter as much as the journey

(Picture 1:http://www2.tbo.com/exposure/ar/659/372/2010/05/24/52222_lost.jpg)

The finale of Lost, for me, was amazingly beautiful and symmetrical. It ended where the show began. People were reunited with loved ones that we had not seen since the beginning. It made me cry in happiness and sorrow for two and half hours. For six years, I have watched this incredible, frustrating, confusing show. And now it’s over.

Done.

It is, in the literal sense, the end.

I feel like I have grown up with these characters. Six years ago, I was a senior in high school, just getting ready to graduate. And although I did not watch the show at first, and periodically stopped watching the show, it always pulled me back in. And now that it is over, I feel like I have lost a constant companion. Outside of the confusing story plots, mysteries that have never been solved, it was always about the people on the island. Their stories are why I watched the show.

And now that everything is over, I feel lost. I did not realize how much the end of a TV show, a TV SHOW, would affect me. Hours later I still feel sad about the show ending. It ended beautifully. There was, in truth, only one way to end a show like this. Maybe some feel cheated, but I feel that the end was the best.

For people who have never watched Lost: Rarely does a new concept for a show appear on TV, especially now. With all the remakes of shows and movies, Lost sets itself apart. Start from the beginning, and never skip an episode; you will miss something if you do. Lost was about a plane crash; the survivors had to learn to live on an island. But, in truth, it is about so much more. It is about people, and their relationships. It is about having faith and believing. Lost is a journey. The destination does not matter as much as the journey.

So, as Rose put it in the sixth season, episode one:

“It’s ok. You can let go.”

Thank you Lost. I never knew how much I actually cared for this show, until it finally ended. For the longest time, my favorite TV finale was when Grey’s Anatomy Denny died, but now, I have a feeling that it has been replaced. Thank you for the six years of quality mystery, heartbreak, and happiness.

“Remember. Move on. I will miss it more than I can ever say.”

~Damon Lindelof, co-creater of Lost, and his last words about Lost.

The Garden: May 22, 2010

The poor garden! With all this bad weather, my mother and I have not been able to transplant anything outside. The day the water turned on, it rained for three days after. Last night, it actually froze up at my house.

So, nothing has really happened in the garden, other than I put string up for the peas. This way, instead of the vines growing outwards and into pathways, they will grow upwards.

Until next time, with hopefully more exciting news!

A Movie To Watch On A Rainy Day

The Ghost and Mrs Muir

It's been a dream, Lucia. And in the morning and the years after. You'll only remember it as a dream and it'll die, as all dreams must die at waking.

Picture 1: http://themave.com/Tierney/films/ghost.htm

As my friends can attest, I love watching the old black and white movies. Give me a cold day, a blanket, spare time and you could catch me watching Casablanca. Although my fascination with Casablanca started when I was in high school, my love of old movies started at a young age. My mother would always watch Jimmy Stewarts It’s a Wonderful Life at Christmas and the musical Seven Brides for Seven Brothers whenever she felt like singing. But whenever a rainy day would come around, we would watch The Ghost and Mrs. Muir.

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, starring Rex Harrison (My Fair Lady) and Gene Tierney, was released in 1947 by 20^th Century Fox and won the Academy Award for Cinematography. Lucy Muir (Gene Tierney), a recently widowed mother, buys a house on the coast of England, at the beginning the 20^th Century. Unbeknownst to her, the house is haunted by the previous owner, Captain Daniel Gregg (Rex Harrison), who has distaste for his new companions. However, after a nighttime confrontation, he decides to let them stay. When Lucy needs help with her income, Gregg helps her pen his memoirs of living on the open sea. The two become close, until Lucy begins to fall for a mortal man. Deciding instead to leave, Gregg erases his memory from Lucy, in hopes she will live a fulfilling life. Years go by until Lucy is an old woman. As she dies, Gregg appears once again, and the ghost of Mrs. Muir and Captain Gregg leave the house, hand in hand, together for the last time.

Now, I love the traditional chick flicks. I like how they always end well, with the hero and heroine always ending up together. They make you laugh when you are having a really bad day; they make you feel like Mr. Right is somewhere out in the world, just waiting to find you.

However, I believe the best romantic movies are the ones where the hero and heroine do not end up together. All through the movie, the audience cheers for them to be together. You want to see Patrick Swyaze and Demi Moore have just one more conversation in Ghost; to have Gerry and Holly have one more letter in P.S. I love you; to have Rick and Ilsa fly off together in Casablanca. But that is what makes these movies so great. It is easy to love someone, but it is harder to let the person go, especially when it is the right thing to do. That gut wrenching feeling audiences have when the two do not end up together is what makes the movie so great. Patrick’s character, Sam, has to move on but is able to say I love you; Holly learns it is okay to move on; Rick lets Ilsa go in order to fight for a cause. The tearjerker movies are the ones we remember; the ones that make us feel for the characters.

Picture 2: http://leclisse.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/3.jpg

In the Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Capt. Gregg lets Lucy go, so she can get on with her life. Half way through the movie, she is falling for a mortal man, but is still attached to the Captain. So he leaves, erasing her memory of him in the process. Unlike Ghost, Casablanca, or P.S. I love you, when Lucy passes away, Captain Gregg comes for her. And, for the first time in the whole movie, they hold hands and walk out the house together. Even though this movie does end with the two characters together, it can make you cry just because they are so happy in the end.

My advice for the many who do not like the old black and white movies: give it time. Right from the beginning of this movie, even the traditional fanfare trumpets announcing 20^th Century Fox are replaced by the brilliant Bernard Herrmann score, this movie will bring you into the romance of two very different personalities. So, find a rainy day, a warm blanket, sit down and enjoy The Ghost and Mrs. Muir.

Here is the best trailer I could find: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tA6J1yoh7t0&feature=related

Baking in the Microwave

A 5 Minute Chocolate Cake in a Cup

Ingredients

4 T flour

4 T sugar

2 T cocoa

1 egg

3 T milk

3 T oil

3 T chocolate chips, optional

Small splash of vanilla extract

1 large coffee mug, microwave safe

Add the dry ingredients to the mug and mix well. Add egg and mix thoroughly.

Pour in milk and oil; mix well.

Add chocolate chips and vanilla. Mix again.

Put mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1,000 watts.

*The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don’t be alarmed!

Allow the mug to cool a little and tip the cake out onto a plate.

Eat and Enjoy!

Notes: If you are in ever a desperate mood for a quick and easy chocolate cake, this recipe does work in the microwave. Make sure to mix everything really well in the cup (I used a fork). The chocolate chips are essential for the taste; do not skip out on those.

The cake had a different texture, to put it nicely. But if you served it with whipped cream or ice cream, I believe it would make the cake better. The recipe may be flexible enough to substitute certain items, but beware that it is baked in a microwave. Maybe instead of an egg, applesauce or sour cream could be used.

But, if you have five minutes to spare and are interested, try out the recipe! It was fun to guess whether or not it would work, and to see, between my mother and I, who would eat it first (for the record, my mom took the first bite!).

Experiment, Eat, and Enjoy!

The Garden: May 13, 2010

Only one more day until the water is turned on outside! Everyone in Plain has been waiting for this day since March, when most people begin to plan their summer gardens. Hopefully, the morning freezes are over and then we can transplant the garden outside.

Over here, the water comes from the Chiwawa River. From the river, the water runs through a series of pipes and goes across Wenatchee River over the old bridge in Plain. From there it is divided into two. One section goes through the old logging ditch on my grandparents side of The Road. The other section goes into pipes underground that are on my families side of The Road.

Here are some photos of the plants outside on the deck:

A Natural Adhesive: Egg and Honey Pt. 2

Between Egg and Honey

Which, if not both, is better?

Picture 1: Rock 4, with mixture

When my first experiment ended and the write up began, all I could really think about was how to come away with better results. Using only the small amount of information from the Sherlock Holmes movie, I created several tests to see whether or not a mixture of egg and honey could for an adhesive to hold a sandstone grave stone together. After the experiment, and seeing the negative results, I decided to research into the hypothesis and then recreate the experiment, using several more tests.

Materials:

Six rocks broken into two, with very neat cracks

Two eggs

Honey

Metal whisk

Three plastic pastry brushes

A spoon

Butter knife

Five small bowls

Procedure:

Once again, I went outside and broke six rocks. While choosing whichever rock, I focused on rocks that looked like they would not shatter under pressure. I washed them off in plain water, and air-dried them for the experiment.

Taking the two eggs and three bowls, I separated one egg and kept the other whole. Using the information I gained from my research, I independently whisked each bowl, especially taking more time with the egg white. For spreading the egg out, I used the pastry brushes. In the last bowl, I put a spoonful of honey, using the butter knife to dish it onto the selected rocks. (Picture 2: The Rocks 1-6 labeled and with mixtures applied)

For the water portion of the experiment, I submerged each rock into a common serving bowl and let them individually sit in tap water for a couple of minutes. Then, using my fingers, I removed as much of the mixture from each rock and set them ouside to dry.

Results:

Rock 1: Rock 1 had a mixture of honey in the crack with egg white completely encasing the rock. When the mixture dried, the rock still fell apart into two; the honey never dried. However, the egg white left a very polished look. This trait was common in all rocks. After the rock had been submerged into the water, the mixture came off easily and left a little bit of residue in the water. The rock had not physical evidence of the mixture after drying in the sun.

Rock 2: Rock 2 had a mixture of a whole egg, whipped. After the mixture had dried, other than a very polished look, there was no evidence of tampering. Using just my strength, I was unable to break the rock into two. During the water submersion, the rock became slimy and the water gave off an egg smell (as well as Rock 3 and 4). In the water, you could see parts of the egg white. I was still unable to break it apart, including after it had dried in the sun.

Rock 3: Rock 3 only had a mixture of whipped yolk. It gave off a very yellowish tint and small bubbles appeared after the rock had dried. I was unable to break it into two after it had dried. Of all the rocks, this was the slimiest in the water and it also was unbreakable, even after drying it outside.

Rock 4: Rock 4 had honey in the crack with yolk on the whole surface. However with a very waxy feeling, the yolk left no hint of yellow. It was easily broken into two pieces, as the honey had not dried. When submerged in the water, the rock was as slimy as Rock 2, and pieces of the yolk were in the water. It cleaned easily, including the honey.

Rock 5: Rock 5 had only whipped egg white over the whole surface. It left barely any gloss over the rock. After extensive force, the rock broke into two. In the water, Rock 5 was the easiest to clean and there was no sign of the egg white.

Rock 6: Rock 6 had honey poured over one side of the rock and in between the crack. The honey did not dry at all but it did dissolve fairly quickly in water. It left a sweet honey smell in the water.

In Conclusion:

The results from this experiment were very different from the last. Any rock that was put back together with honey could not stand up to pressure and fell apart. However, some of the just egg mixtures were too strong and would not dissolve in water. Using just yolk showed obvious signs of tampering due to the yellowish tint and the tiny bubbles; also, the yolk does not dissolve. Although egg white does not show any signs of tampering, it alone is not strong. I would say the best mixture would be to use a whole egg that has been whipped, to keep something together. However, using the whole egg would mean that the slab of stone that Sherlock Holmes investigated would not break into pieces under rainwater. I suppose a combination of egg white only and whole egg mixtures could solve the problem.

So, in short hand, the conclusion is simple. Do not use honey to glue anything together as it does not dry. Using the yolk of an egg will cement things together and will not dissolve in water, as well as using a whole egg. Egg white leaves no glossy residue, but breaks apart after some for is applied to it; it also dissolves easily in water.

I hope everyone who reads this has enjoyed this journey through experimentation! This question of whether or not egg and honey could create an adhesive has been an interesting expedition that I have fully enjoyed in experiencing. Should anyone have any questions about the experiment or conclusion, please leave me a comment and I will answer it to the best of my ability. If you have any suggestions for future experiments of topics of interest, also leave me a comment!

The Tractor

For a more happier post, here a picture of my Grandpa Bill's old tractor, that my dad got when he died. Eventually I will have another post up that I have been working on for a while!

Enjoy your Friday!

And Chandra - Happy Birthday, tomorrow!!!!

The Garden: May 7, 2010

Today's weather has been very interesting: sunny, cloudy, rainy and then sunny again. As of two days ago, I have been getting up in the mornings with my mother and Chewie to walk/jog around our property for exercise so I have been quite sore as of late. Today started off this way, but instead of jogging I just walked with my mother. We talked about her having to take in my Grandmother for another checkup, about my dog's side-ways running, and about this weird May weather.

After she left, I had really nothing to do other than watch Supernatural (on at my house at 8am - which is when we come in from our walk) and drink coffee. I thought about updating my blog for the first time in May and what I should write about. Also, I finally was able to check out The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes from the public library, so I have been reading that. All in all, a slow day.

Then, around 2 pm I got a call from my mother that my grandmother was back in the hospital in Leavenworth. Coming back from Wenatchee, she was not feeling very well so, just as a precaution they stopped at the hospital. My mother called me to bring down some more clothes for her. And then I had the unpleasant experience of telling my uncle and grandfather that grandma was in the hospital.

I never want to do that again.

So, I am hoping that today ends sunny, as I have already gone through cloudy and rainy.

Here are some pictures of the garden:

Around the pea starts you will notice a toilet paper roll, whic

h has been cut in half and shoved into the ground. This is for if the cutworms get the plants. Cutworms are garden killers and should be completely and utterly destroyed if you find any in your garden! As they eat the roots of the plants, you can try to stop them by using the toilet paper roll method or use diotomaceous earth, sprinkled around the plant after the soil is dry. Other than that, you have to dig around each plant and pick the little suckers out of the soil.

UPDATE: After some bladder procedure, Grandma is back home. Apparently she was allergic to whatever medication they gave her. You would think, with a medical degree, a doctor would have figured that out sooner!