Quick Netflix Update

Here is an update on the Netflix movie set in a neighboring town. I understand that the shooting ended on Monday. A cute addition was the vintage (vintage?) cars from the 1980's parked along the side of Main Street.  Businesses get to keep the spiffy paint jobs and can apply to keep the signs and awnings. We will be picking up my grandsons on Saturday for an overnight and I will have to see what remains. And the "name" of the pretend town is Blacksmith. 

The blue building became a TV store. 

And the movie marquee was finished! 

Update: We went through the village to pick up grandchildren.  I was shocked and sad to see that the wild and crazy rock star wall had been painted over at the request of the building owner. The marquee remains, but is blank. Most signs are still up and all the awnings remain with the business names removed. And most of the buildings have been painted with original colors. I will see it again soon and see if more has disappeared. I thought the bright refresh was very inviting and was sorry to see so much gone. 

I swear my next post will talk about Mimi Camp. 

Lights, Camera, Action

 One day last week (it is the time of year when my days are running into each other) I hosted a "Mimi Day Camp" with my youngest seven grandchildren. As we traveled to pick up the three who live furthest away. I should preface this with where they live. There is a tiny village about 45 minutes from us. It is a very rural area. And they live in rural area adjoining this rural village. To get to the village, and then on to their house, I need to go through the bigger town, population 5,000.  

As I was driving through town at 7:30 a.m. I spotted people painting this mural on the side of the building! I made a note to myself to check it out on the way home in the evening. 

After amusing seven youngsters aged 8 and under all day, I did remember about the mural. But when we entered the town we saw all kinds of activity, including the erection of this sign. 

What was up?  When we dropped off the boys, I questioned my daughter in law. It jogged her memory and she reported that her hairdresser in that town had mentioned Netflix was coming this month to film a movie! I could not believe I was so out of the loop that I did not know this. 

On our trip back through I stopped and took several photos as they "staged" the town. The colors were even more vibrant than my pictures show and I will have to watch the movie just to see if they look that way on film or all movie sets are extra bright. This is the front of the mural building. It has almost completely changed from Addie's Antiques to the pretend Wizard Records. 

And this is going to be a pretend movie theater. 

Here is a pretend comic book shop

There were several "supervisors" sitting in the street with cones around them while they supervised. I will say the workers were wearing masks. The supervisors were not wearing masks. I would also like to mention that the street is actually a pretty busy highway with lots of semi truck traffic. You may notice Wellington Auto Parts is having an identity crisis as pretend Blacksmith Hardware. 

This is not really a laundromat. 

And I am not sure what is to the left of the laundromat. I am pretty sure it is NOT Verizon Wireless! 

The sign on the right is a pretend College Bookstore. I could not make out the sign on the left, which is over a Greek cafe, but it starts with Blacksmith, too. 

Most businesses were marked with notices and permits. With the quantity of people in the crew, I can't imagine how crowded it will be while they are filming. 

Once I returned home I did a little research. It turns out the town is being turned into a 1980's college town where a professor "is forced to confront his mortality after an airborne toxic event".  The title will be "White Noise", based on the novel by Don Delillo. It will star Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig - two people I have never heard of who it seems are pretty well known.  

Meanwhile, we barely recovered from the seven children day when four children came the next day. Friday I made 30 pie crusts and today I baked 12 pies and a dozen cupcakes for our "Drive Thru Chicken BBQ" at our church, which is replacing our festival this year.  I froze the extra crusts which keep up to three months. Don't tell Mr. Merry, but i have a taste for some chicken pot pie. 

Rabbit Rabbit

 It's July first? What the heck happened to June? Gosh, it seems like the month flew by. 

Here at the house with the picket fence we are growing day lilies. My large orange ditch lilies are still bursting with blossoms everyday. My yellow lilies which flower a few times during the summer are blooming now, too. I have a small patch of red ones in the play yard and a dark pink variety by my driveway. 

As you can see, the rain we have been enjoying has beaten down the red lilies. We are forecasted to have about seven days of sun and high temperatures so maybe they will perk up. 

First Day of Summer

 

It's the first day of Summer! 

I can take no credit for these flowers. Mother Nature is in charge of my favorite ditch lilies ( a red letter day at my house when they first start flowering).  My mother and I used to strap my kids in car seats, put the shovels in the trunk and head to country railroad crossing to dig them up in clumps. I understand from a law enforcement officer that I gave birth to that there are hefty fines for this behavior these days! 

I have six of these wonderful hanging baskets. I have 3 similar to the one in front. My youngest daughter purchased one for me for Mother's Day and I purchased two more. My middle son and his wife purchased two equally gorgeous ones with pink geraniums that are inbetween the multicolored baskets. I have one that is mostly yellow transplanted in the basket of the pink bicycle I have strapped to my tree. We purchase all the baskets early in May from local Amish warehouses that sell wholesale to walk in customers. 

Mr. Merry has taken over the care and feeding of all the flowers and it is eye popping! I get so many compliments from neighbors, passersby and on Facebook about my lovely flowers. I have absolutely nothing to do with them once they leave the back of my vehicle. 

Meanwhile we are very busy in the grandchild care business. My middle son has a new job and was just sent out of state for two weeks for training. We have his two elementary boys every day now. My youngest sons three boys, aged 6, 5, and 2 are coming this week since teacher mom has a mandatory class and their other grandfather is back in the hospital. My oldest daughter's daughter (one of my two granddaughters) does not have camp this week. She is eleven and is at the age where you really aren't comfortable to leave her home for an eight hour day and this week they have workers coming in to work on her kitchen. We picked her up from two hours away today and she will be here until Friday.  So - busy busy. 

I am also waging war with city hall in my free time. It is a long story involving changing zoning and trying to destroy our property values. We have lived in this single story house for 42 years and remodeled every inch into our forever home and I am pretty much over the edge.  

So, anyway, enjoy your summer!