The Storm Blows Over

I was up late last night chatting with Lauren. It was 10:30 before I got up this morning. It was cloudy, cool, very windy, and still a little humid...but the porch was almost dry. It didn't look like it had rained in hours.

Despite the improving weather, I opted to stay at home and wait out the storm. Called Mom first thing after writing in my journal and getting dressed. Other than they were still getting rain, they were perfectly fine. Dad was home. He, Mom, and Keefe live in Erma near the Cape May County Airport, twelve minutes from Wildwood and well away from any beach or major flooding areas. My sister Anny and her son Skylar, who do live in the Villas near the bay, went to upstate New York near Lake Ontario to visit friends of Anny's. They had some downed branches, but otherwise had not lost power or had any other problems.

I ended up spending the day at home, which I haven't done in ages. I finally had Peach Pancakes for breakfast while dubbing Octopussy. A sentimental favorite, Octopussy is the only Roger Moore James Bond movie I have. I believe it may also have been the first James Bond movie I ever saw. Bond's pursuit of the killer of a fellow agent takes him to Germany and to India, where he encounters a suave businessman (Louis Jordan) who is working with a crazy general to ignite World War III and a gorgeous smuggler (Maud Adams) who trains her female gymnasts in circus work...and crime.

Along with The Spy Who Loved Me, this is my favorite of the Roger Moore Bonds. While he is beginning to show his age by this point, he generally handles the stunts well and looks more alive than he did in View to a Kill two years later. Jordan is one of the best villains in the entire series, and Adams (in her second Bond outing) is quite good as the dangerous title lady.

Went right into Tomorrow Never Dies while I dusted the apartment. The second Pierce Bronsonan Bond film is also my favorite of the four he did. The theme here is media manipulation. Bond this time is after a media magnate (Jonathan Pryce, who always was very good at scenery-chewing) who is trying to turn world powers against each other in order to drive the ratings on his news programs. He's helped by the magnate's wife (Teri Hatcher of Lois and Clark) and a tough Chinese agent (Michelle Yeoh).

Yeoh is probably the best Bond girl since Honor Blackman in Goldfinger, and she adds a great deal to some classic set pieces. My favorite is the amazing motorcycle chase in China.

I promised Lauren I'd make her two DVDs of movies and programs I have that she wants to thank her for all the DVDs she's made for me over the years. She requested Three Little Words and A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum, and I decided to toss in two more comedies, an animated movie, and a bunch of animated shorts I thought she might like as well.

Made a cake while Three Little Words was on. One of the Cooking Light books I bought from a yard sale a few weeks ago had an intriguing recipe for Lemon-Rosemary Cake With Currants. I nixed the currants, since I don't have any, and made a light Lemon Buttercream Icing instead of the syrupy glaze originally called for. Other than that, I made the cake as described. It smelled marvelous in the oven and came out absolutely divine, sweet with a wonderful herbal fragrance.

Dad came over around 4:30 to bring my bike back. By this time, the sun was peeking through the clouds, the humidity was gone, and it was windy but nothing like earlier. In fact, it had become an absolutely drop-dead gorgeous day. I stood on the porch and enjoyed the last of the soft, cool wind after Dad left. It was so comfortable in the apartment, I was able to make Merlin's Magic Chicken (legs) for dinner without making the kitchen and living room hot at all. I also had Lemon-Garlic Chinese Green Beans and Marinated Potatoes and Tomatoes, with the cake for dessert.