Ginny Diezel Studios

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!

If you are a regular reader of my blog, then you know that from time to time I have posted pictures of some of the wildlife in my yard.  We live on a marsh, and it is simply gorgeous every day – the trees, the wildflowers, the wildlife — something is always flying over, or walking through, or crawling by.  Certainly, at this time of the year, we have many little fledglings learning to be adult birds, AND we have baby ducks!  This little family has survived natural predators and everyone is thriving.  They literally grow by inches each day!  I don’t always see them during the day, but as I work in the kitchen at my bay window, I keep an eye out for them, and today, they and Mama arrived – a bit later than usual, but they are here!  I rushed to get my camera to snap a picture for all to see!  They have nested down the bank, but not so close to the water’s edge that the eggs or very young ducklings could have been taken by snapping turtles.

My personal feeling is that Nature balances and provides, and it is only when Man intervenes that things are thrown off balance.  I believe that we must live in concert WITH Nature, rather than flying in her face.  We have large hawks which come to catch the occasional slow moving dove in the yard.  We have harriers which nest close by and provide for their young.  That is the way that it is.

Because I believe that I live in the environment of the wild things, and because the homes are built on the edge of this setting, I try to provide for the vanishing food supply for my neighbors.  I feed vast numbers of birds – cardinals, nuthatches, titmice, blue jays, robins, thrushes, red-wing blackbirds, goldfinches, purple finches, hummingbirds, and even grackles!  Oh, the crows swing by during the day as well.  And every spring, I have ducklings.  And, every summer, I have baby raccoons.  I have  a steady population of raccoons and possums who come to feed at night.  I have never been bitten, scratched, hissed at, or anything else.  I think they instinctively can recognize my intentions, and the raccoons love to sit on the windowsill at night, or in the late afternoon, and watch me sculpt and paint.  They put their paws against my hand through the glass, and they wait for their evening meal – dog food, sunflower seeds, and they love watermelon rinds!  Then, of course, I have many squirrels during the day, and their babies come as well as they learn about their little world.  The squirrels will knock on the window if all of their seeds are gone, and they frequently sit and watch me as well.

Enjoy this small peek into my vibrant backyard.   Oh, we even have gray foxes occasionally, and muskrats from the river.  We are alive, and well, and content here on the marsh in Virginia Beach……

Well, ok – so it’s the end of February, we just finished up Valentine’s Day, and St. Patrick’s Day isn’t even here yet.  However, The LEAP Foundation’s fundraiser IS here!  This Saturday, at the House of Blues in Los Angeles, you can enjoy food, music, and auctions to benefit Camp Max Straus locally, and micro lending to  female entrepreneurs in developing nations around the globe.  Please look at my previous posts – I am on a campaign to spread the word about my son’s beautiful fiancee, Joan, and her efforts, as part of the Foundation, to help others.  I am donating original, one-of-a-kind pieces to be auctioned off so that the Foundation may continue its philanthropic work.  Take a look at the Christmas and winter pieces!  And remember!  All of us can make a difference in our own communities.  It just takes a few people of like minds who are willing to work and give of themselves.  Imagine if each and every one of us did this!  What a wonderful world this would be!