I think I posted about my attempt to watch this on Netflix. Or maybe I just thought about posting. Either way, it's new to me again because now apparently we're being saved from Valley of the Dolls - The Series because it turns out the developer doesn't have the rights.

My first thought was, thank goodness. I couldn't even make it through the movie. It's 123 minutes but I think i only made it two-thirds of the way through and most of that time I was fairly confused. I think the only good thing that could come from a contemporary adaptation would be better pacing and plotting, but don't hold your breath.

I realize that people without kids or those who have a regular babysitter for date night have likely seen this movie already but I just checked it out from our library last week and we watched it last night after the girls went to sleep. All I knew before it started is that it was based on a true story and it had Keira Knightley in it.

I first saw Keira Knightley in Bend it Like Beckham and then Love Actually and if that doesn't show that she has some range then she showed that she can hold her own screen time with Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp.

After the intro I then learned that whoever the woman we were going to learn about was she was an ancestor of Diana, Princess of Wales because the opening shot is of Althrop. Wikipedia confirms this. Turns out she was also an ancestor of Sarah, Duchess of York.

I found the movie fascinating. Maybe it's the women's studies major in me but this was one remarkable woman. Well, girl really. She was married on her 17th birthday and quickly found herself overwhelmed by her duties - both public and private. Ironically, she excels in the public realm and begins to make a name for herself helping political candidates, including a man whom she was fond of. Privately she's learning quickly that unless she produces a son she's not worth anything to her husband.

In order to help her conceive a son, after several miscarriages and the birth of 3 daughters, she and her husband go to Bath to take the treatments and there she meets Lady Elizabeth Foster and they become friends. The duke also likes Lady Foster and after Georgiana has invited Bess into their home when they move back to London the duke begins a relationship with Bess that continues until Georgiana's death, at which point the duke marries Bess. This, obviously, is not without problems in the relationship. Bess wants her children back from her husband and the duke is the most influential peer in England. G wants her husband to herself but most importantly she's mad that he stole her friend from her. When she proposes a deal that he can have Bess if she can have Charles Grey the duke forces himself on her. In the story she conceives her son from this time together and the duke rewards her handsomely.

At this point Georgiana has been married to the duke for 16 years. She's 33 years old. Bess is now part of her marriage as well, which obviously she didn't sign up for and G has no recourse. She cannot leave her husband because she has nowhere to go. She has no money of her own. We know from Bess's story that her husband had refused to let her see her children until the duke stepped in and brought them into his home. It probably helped that they were boys.

But women were chattle and their husbands could do as they wished. There is some great dialogue in the movie about freedom and whether it is absolute. G has some great comments! Georgiana continues on as she can and here is where Bess helps her out as only a woman can. She sends for Charles Grey and the two of them go to Bath together. This works wonderfully until the duke and G's mom confront her about it and remind her that if they know then it will soon become public knowledge and they will make sure she won't be able to see her kids again. She makes a valiant show of determination but in the end she returns home.

The kicker to this scene is that she's pregnant with Grey's child. The duke banishes her to the country until the child is born and makes arrangements for the child to return to Grey's family. This is interesting since there are so many kids in his house already - his child from a maid which G has been raising as her own since soon after her marriage, Bess's kids, and G's four children - but he will not allow her to keep Grey's child in their home because he knows that she loves Grey.

Some of the poignant moments are when we see her hand over the girl to Grey's family and Georgiana has named the girl Eliza, presumably after Bess. Somewhat a fitting tribute both to a friend and as a reminder of adultery perhaps. Later, G meets Charles Grey at a party and he mentions that he's engaged and that he has a new niece, Eliza, that he would very much like G to meet sometime. History shows, too, that Eliza named her daughter Georgiana. Wow, these girls have some spunk in them.

I'm sure there is more in the book than there is in the movie. There always is, but the movie is great. Visually stunning of course and with great added features. Take a look because this is a movie with so many layers that one time through won't catch them all. There's dialogue, there's attitude, and there's some great subtly and passion. Mostly though this is about a woman that made her mark on the world and for good or bad we should be aware of what she accomplished.

The Duchess

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This morning we enjoyed seeing The Clone Wars at Regal Cinema this morning as part of the Free Family Movie Festival. Comfort's favorite character is Master Soda. Yep, you read that right. LOL.

Join me back here tomorrow when we'll continue the Christmas in July series. See you then.

The kids have been home from school for a few weeks and it's getting hot outside. We've already bought a 32 oz. refill bottle of bubbles and more sidewalk chalk so it's time to begin to expand our repetoire. Summer Reading at our library begins this week so that will begin to take some of our time but here are some more ideas to keep us busy as the summer goes on.

Regal Cinemas begins their Free Family Film Festival this week - or next week - depending on your location and going for the next nine weeks. Each Tuesday and Wednesday at 10AM kids and parents can enjoy free admission for G and PG movies. Check the listings for your state/ area.

Barnes and Noble Summer Reading Program will award kids [grade 1-6] a free book after they read any eight books and write in their journal about these books. Go to the site and download the journal and activities. Bring the completed journal to any B&N before September 7 to receive your free book.

Pottery Barn Kids stores have story time each week. Check with your local store to find out when they occur.

And if you want some great ideas for how to pair out of the house Adventures with some indoor ones log onto Kids off the Couch. Usually, there is an idea for a video paired with a learning activity. You can register for their emails and look back over the archives. There are some wonderful ideas for kids of all ages.

To check last week's staycation post Click Here.

So, here we go - some great ideas for reading, shows and additional Adventures for the summer months. I hope that everyone has a great time with their kids this summer. If you have other Cool Ideas, I'd love to hear them!

Get your free tickets for screenings of (500) Days of Summer.

Boy meets girl. Boy falls in love. Girl doesn't. Surprising in its outcome, Marc Webb's debut feature film is a charming postmodern reflection on crushing, unrequited love and relationships, dispensed in a nonlinear structure. Starting at day 488, the narration jumps back and forth to different days in the 500-day love affair. From day one Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is completely smitten by new co-worker Summer (Zooey Deschanel). He believes in the possibility of soul mates destined to meet, while she believes that true love is only a fairy tale never to be experienced, and so her interest in Tom is purely lighthearted fun. Gordon-Levitt' s and Deschanel's nuanced portrayals of roller coaster love and the mercurial, ungraspable object of one's affection almost move this story out of romantic comedy and into tragedy. The comedic tone, vigorous shots, and effervescent music keep it light in the most satisfying way.

I didn't even have to check my calendar to see that this week was National Library Week. My best friend is a librarian and I knew from her wreck of a schedule that this was a crazy and important week for her. If you are going to be at your library this week - and I hope you will be - be sure to thank your librarians. They do us all a wonderful service and put up with screaming kids, people asking for the key to the bathroom, and [if you work at an academic library] inane questions like "where are the books". 

I'd also like to create a bridge from the previous topic of the Nora Roberts' movies to the topic of the local library. If, perhaps, you caught the movies on Lifetime but have not had the opportunity to read the books this would be a really great time to, literally, check them out. I guarantee that you will find Nora's books in your library although there might be a wait list. These four are relatively new so they should be in good shape and there are probably multiple copies in circulation. Take advantage of your tax dollars at work. 

Also, authors are proud to have their work in our libraries. They are happy when librarians order their books. It's good for their royalty statements and builds their readership. They know that if you like their book you are likely to pick up another one and another one and another one and that some day you are likely to pay money for it. And even if you don't. They don't mind. They enjoy knowing that someone really, truly appreciated their book.

So. Libraries and Librarians. Go visit this week and make sure you take a smile. Pay your fines if you have any, like I do. Pick up a book that you might not have tried otherwise. Expand your horizons. Knowledge is Power and Libraries are definitely a Cool Idea!

Did you catch them all? If you missed Tribute this weekend like I did [I was busy with Easter stuff and forgot] it's on again tonight at 9p. This is the last of the four new Nora Roberts Original Movies that Lifetime is doing this time around.  And if you missed any of the others and are really bummed about it you can buy them on iTunes apparently. 

This week's Lifetime/ Nora Roberts movie is High Noon. It premieres April 4 at 9pm and will be shown throughout the weekend if you miss it. In fact, if you missed the previous movies you can download them from iTunes. You can also get an exclusive excerpt from Nora Roberts next novel "Vision in White". There's lots of great stuff available on the site so that you can get excited about the upcoming movies which are a perfect antidote for the spring showers we've been experiencing. Snuggle up with a good book and get ready for a great movie. It's a Cool Idea!

This weekend Lifetime Television replayed the previous Nora Roberts' movies in order to get us ready for the new titles that will be making their way to the small screen including Northern Lights which premiered with LeAnn Rimes and Eddie Cibrian. Now, I should admit that I know who she is  - barely - but I haven't a clue who he is. Sorry. There are some holes in my cultural literacy but I've read many Nora Roberts books over the past eight years and several can be found on my keeper shelf.

My interest is in how well romance fiction can translate from the written page, where I get to create part of the drama, to the small screen, where the actors and the director have their turn to portray the story the way they see it. I missed the movies the first time so Northern Lights will be my first NR on Lifetime and I have to admit that they probably did as well as they could in a less than two hour format. The novel is much more complex and I highly recommend it. It's definitely on my keeper shelf.

If you aren't a follower of Nora Roberts, give a book a try. Her early books were written as category romances when her children were little and if that doesn't just go to show what a mom with talent and perseverance can do - well, I don't know what does. 

So, grab a good book. Be sure to carve out some time to watch the next Nora on Lifetime and don't forget to enter the great sweepstakes that that Lifetime is offering because that is a very Cool Idea!