Ginny Diezel Studios

Oh yes, oh YES!  This is my son, Matthew, and his wonderful fiancee, Joan Kelley Bierman!  They have been together since meeting while they were working on the film  Scooby Doo II, and as Joan’s mother and I love to say - a dog brought them together!  They will be married July 10th of this year, at the Ahmanson Ranch in California - a lovely natural area which is currently owned by the state.  This will be a wedding for the ages - good family, good friends, beautiful setting - I couldn’t be happier for them.  We are head over heels for Joan and her family, and feel so very blessed that she and Matthew have found one another!    Stay tuned - there will plenty of terrific pictures of the BIG DAY!

It’s Saturday morning, here in Virginia Beach, and we are feeling strong effects from the raging coastal storm which is dumping snow even thirty minutes west of us.  So close to the ocean, we are warm enough that we won’t have snow until this evening - rats!  The tides are running about three feet above normal, and when I looked out my back door this morning, I saw one of the many beautiful water birds waiting patiently for some minnows.   We have egrets nesting behind our house, and they inhabit our wetlands throughout the year.  Great flocks of Canada geese can be heard, particularly in the evening, and we have wonderful raptors - a bald eagle, several harriers, red-tailed hawks, and the occasional falcon.  I’ve blogged about my little masked friends before - plenty of raccoons in the evening, and then during the daytime -songbirds, squirrels, and a gray fox or two. If you look closely, you can see a squirrel sitting on the tree stump this morning.  I put food out there each day, along with filling feeders and laying a spread of goodies on a wooden plank on the other side of the fence.  The night feeders come to the plank, AND to my kitchen window!  Just too much fun!  If you are a Nature lover, my backyard is Heaven!

This morning’s visitor is fully grown, so I would estimate his size at close to three feet tall, with a magnificent wingspread!  I wish I were a camera-savvy person, so that I could capture one in flight as it takes off from the marsh.  I guess we’ll have to leave that for the National Geographic channel!

Hope where you are you are safe, warm, and content!  Winter has arrived here!

I wouldn’t be true to myself, and to my son, if I didn’t post something about show biz and upcoming awards for film.  If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know about my son, Matthew, and his fiancee, Joan, and their careers in Hollywood in the film industry.  Well, critics and award nomination associations are beginning the annual rites for the season, and this morning, the Golden Globes announced their offerings.  Follow the link and catch up on all the buzz!  Enjoy!  And, there’s George Clooney!!!!!!!!!!!!    Yay!

OK - not my choice of words.  I would use pumpkin goop, but whatever you choose to call it,  here’s a handy and informative article I found online today.

Follow this link to find out what to do with all of that stuff inside the pumpkin - you know, the pulp, the seeds, etc.  And, you’ll find out how really nutritious it is for you.  Here’s a hint from little old me - every morning, I cook oatmeal.  Now, this is not the handy dandy packaged stuff.   Get the oats in the big containers, please!  Cook according to your directions, and I always use milk!  Then, when you remove it from the heating surface, stir in some brown sugar, cinnamon, and about three tablespoons of canned pumpkin which you can get all through the year in your grocery store.   (Store the remainder of the pumpkin in a container in the  refrigerator.)  Voila!  It’s as if you were having a slice of pumpkin pie every day!  Yummy! And there is a giganto amount of Vitamin A in pumpkin.  I have not had a cold or anything like it in many, many years - great antioxidant!  I guarantee it is a healthy, tasty way to begin your day, and it is the sort of meal which sticks with you for hours.  I don’t get hungry mid-morning.  There are times when I even go way past the normal lunchtime, because I am busily creating, and my stomach isn’t telling me to eat!   That’s a major accomplishment for me!  Hope you find some useful tips from the article, and that you try out my breakfast suggestion!  Enjoy!

Attention everyone!  The Time Traveler’s Wife opens everywhere tomorrow!  Yahoo!  Based upon the wonderful best-seller, the film stars Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams, AND it will be a biggy in my house because my son, Matthew, is one of the editors!!!!!!!!    Rounds of applause, please!  It was filmed in Toronto, so that meant that Matthew spent a few months last year in Canada.  Tough duty, huh?!  Then, after the shoot, they all  returned to Los Angeles, where they worked for months to get it juuusssstttt right.  When you edit, you are pulling all of the strands together —  following the outline so that you know which scenes to use (there is always a lot more shot than actually used),  putting in additional dialogue which might have to be re-recorded, putting in the musical score, putting in special effects, etc. etc. etc.  That’s what my son does, and he loves it.  Currently, if you are a reader of my blog, you know that he has been working on Jonah Hex.  I blogged about that a short while back and put up the poster for that movie, due out next year.

OK - so here’s the deal!  The first weekend is the big one for numbers on any film, so I want all of you to go to see it!  Then, write me and share your thoughts!  And, here’s a link to the official website for the film: The Time Traveler’s Wife .

*****At the end of the film, when the credits roll, look for my son.  It will be something like this:  Additional Editor…………………..Matt Diezel   !  That’s my boy!  See you all at the movies!  Enjoy!

Yes, for those of you who know me, you know that the computer is my least accomplished area of expertise.  I can draw you a picture of a computer, I can sculpt you a computer, but WORK on a computer?  Well, everything I have learned has been through hit-or-miss on my own, and the useful tips from my son Matthew, and my wonderful friend, Matthew Friedman.  What I have found is that in my life, the most wonderful people who surround me these days happen to be named Matthew!

Saturday evening, as I was surfing the web in a leisurely fashion, I began to experience weirdo things happening to my computer.  I had strange messages, strange noises, and then logging off became a challenge.  The next morning, logging ON became a challenge, and through the day, I continued to experience problems.  Matthew Friedman to my rescue!   By Monday morning, nothing would work, so I turned everything off, and awaited Matthew’s arrival yesterday.  Right at 9 am, he rang the doorbell and took a seat in my office to begin the saga of getting rid of the horrible virus which had attacked my system.  Now, mind you, I HAVE security, and pay good money, but sometimes things apparently go awry, and my number must have been up.  YIKES!

Last night, Matthew left here a little after 7 pm, with only one break to have dinner.  You see, Matthew isn’t just a friend of mine, he is like a member of my family.  He and my son are friends, and we have mutual friends, and we have this wonderfully special bond.  He refers to me as his mother who didn’t put him through school!  I love that!  So, since his mother lives in Georgia, I cook for him and his brother and their roommate, and I cater for his film parties - they have a giganto projection screen in their home so that we can watch the Academy Awards and dvds up close and large!  And, of course, since Matthew is a screenwriter, having been to Sundance, and having already turned out one neato film, we go to movies a lot - R&D you know!  In short, this wonderful friend and family member saved the life of my little HP yesterday, by dumping and beginning all over again, loading everything I needed to load once more, cleaning up some files, updating programs, etc.   I could not have asked for more, but he just keeps on giving.

Now, if  you need a new blog update, or some work done on your website, or design work for your site and blog, or any number of other things, Matthew is a computer GENIUS.  You can check him out on his website at:   www.frame25productions.com - this is really cool, and you can also contact him at :  webdesign@frame25productions.com .  You’ll be glad you did!

THANK YOU MATTHEW!

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know that my son, Matthew, is a film editor in Hollywood.  Last night, he sent me a promo poster image that I can post here - sort of like a Coming Attractions thingy!  Yeah!  Currently, he is working on Jonah Hex - an adaptation of the comic of the same name.  This is a bit of sci-fi, set in the post Civil War West.  Here’s a link to a site which gives you a rundown on the character and how it has evolved with the DC Comics.  Pretty cool stuff!  My insider tells me that it will be released next summer!

Go Matthew!

Woo Hoo!  Time to celebrate Christmas in July!  And, you know what that means!  Plenty of goodies to tantalize you during the heat of the summer to get you ready for the chill of the holidays!  Join all of the artists at pfattmarketplace for some hot pieces for cool times!

And, here’s a little peak at one of the Santas I will be offering this month!

Is he adorable, or what?!  This Santa is ready to deliver lots of wonderful treats for all to enjoy.  There are 25 individually sculpted candy canes, gingerbread men, and cookies - whew!!!!!!

The update on the site will be around midnight Pacific time on July 9th, as the old clock moves into Friday, July 10th.  So, if you are in the East, stay up late or set your alarm!  You do not want to miss this!

Enjoy!  And, see you there!

Yes, today is my son’s 38th birthday!  How can this be?  I am SOOOO young, that it just doesn’t seem possible!

Matthew was born on July 3, 1971 in Falls Church, Virginia outside of Washington, DC.  At the time, Harry was a lieutenant in the Fairfax County Fire Service, and we were living in Vienna.  My, how times have changed!  Here is a picture of him, in his patriotic garb, on his first birthday!

Just look at him now!…. well, almost now.  This was taken  nearly two years ago at a wedding reception for a close family friend.  Matthew is a BIT taller than I am!  Is he not a darlin’?!

We are immensely proud of him, and have been from the moment of his birth.   If you follow my blog, you know that he is a film editor in Hollywood, and is now engaged to Joan Kelley Bierman - the love of his life , and the absolute delight of ours!  We are fortunate to have them in our lives.

Hope everyone is having a terrific holiday.  Be safe, relax, think about our freedom and the many blessings we have, and be most grateful for family!

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know that my son, Matthew, is a film editor in Hollywood.  His latest film to be released August 14th is The Time Traveler’s Wife, based upon the best-seller, and starring Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams.  Follow this link, and you can catch up on movie information, see a trailer and  the beautiful poster, and learn all about this movie which will be in your theaters in less than two months!  Yeow!  This particular film took Matthew to Toronto for several months of shooting, and then back to his homebase in L.A. to complete the editing.  I am certainly anxious to see it, and I hope you will be as well!  Take a look at the site, and let me know what you think!  Enjoy!