Love's something something

Oh, the things we do for the people we love!

Late last week, my wife asked me to do something: Can you record a movie for me? A few movies? Fourteen hours' worth?

It seems that the Hallmark Channel was carrying eight movies based on the Love Comes Softly series of books by Janette Oke. It's a series of books set in the 19th century, following the life of a family living in the prairies or the West. They are described as Christian drama TV movies.

All the movie titles are three words long, and the first word is "Love" or "Love's." Love's Something Something, for instance.

There are eight movies in the series, and Hallmark broadcast seven of them, back to back to back to back to back to back to back. At two hours apiece (including commercials), that's 14 hours of recording. Enough to deaden the rear end of even the most ardent Hallmark movie fan. Then we found out that the times in the TV listings were incorrect, so we had to adjust the schedule.

But we got it done. The movies were recorded and eventually burned onto DVDs. She watched one Tuesday night (I was gone, covering volleyball) and said she enjoyed it a lot.

For what it's worth, Wikipedia says that the Hallmark Channel movie versions "do not completely follow the books, and therefore take place in an alternate universe from the novels." Alternate universe? Is that like alternative reality?

At any rate, my wife is happy to be able to see the movies on her own schedule, so she will probably do something nice for me. Maybe a nice dessert or a favorite dinner, when we have the time. Last night, we had wild rice casserole for supper. Haven't had that for a long time. Yum!

****
We do things in the name of love or the quest for love. I do. You probably do, too. Here are a few other things taking place in the name of love.

My friend S and her husband are hosting a woman from the Northeast U.S. this week. They have been looking for a "third" (for a triad relationship) for a while, and in recent months they have gotten to know this woman. She is visiting them this week (their first encounter), and I hope things go super well for everyone. Barring a long downstate trip for football, I hope to visit them later this month for a much more conventional visit.

My friend B flew out for a long weekend last night, heading out to meet a friend. She met him online (as she met me), and this is their second weekend visit. She is happy and excited, and I am happy for her. No idea when she and I will meet again. It won't be soon, alas.

A week ago, I covered a volleyball tourney out of town and then visited my friend N--just a few miles away. I brought along a new DVD player. She had recently bought herself a new TV (her old one died), but never has had a DVD player. I thought she should have one--they aren't expensive and (aha!) it would give me a much greater range of movies I can bring that we can watch together when I visit.

So I bought one and brought it over, and N was very surprised and grateful. We snuggled up on the couch to watch two films that night before heading to bed.

****
I thought my football season would end last Saturday, but it didn't. I have spent five consecutive Thanksgiving Days downstate because of the football finals. I didn't think it would be six in a row, but then I didn't think our team would win last Saturday. They did--they blocked a punt with one minute to play and scored the winning touchdown on the next play. So now ... who knows?

My life isn't quite back to normal, but it's a lot closer. The stress of preparing for the sale of my mom's house is done with. That long, rough week ended. My mom seems to be doing a little better, too. I visited her on Tuesday.

My wife and I had a couple quiet nights last week, watching this and that on TV--usually old TV shows on DVD. That's the plan for tonight. Not too exciting, but those were good evenings. It's nice to sit next to one another. We're both feeling fine.

The H1N1 flu has been widespread in the local schools now. The entire district closed for the last three school days in October. They tried to open last Monday, Nov. 2, but still had over 25% absenteeism. (If more than 25% of students are out, the school doesn't get funding and has to make up the day later.) So they closed at noon and stayed closed all week. Many other school districts in the western U.P. have done the same.

I called my older son last week. As it turns out, he will be driving up north to visit us this weekend. The reason is complex, but it has to do with his job and finding out whether he can be "on call" from the western U.P. over Christmas week in case the computers down near Detroit have a problem. Can he and his laptop do that work from way up here in the boonies? That's what he's coming up here to find out.

We talked Monday night. Wednesday, per his request, we purchased three pizza pasties for Friday night, and we'll head somewhere else for a pizza another night.