From Lauren and NancyM - Aug (falling down dance)

Envelope and card from Lauren. It's too bad it has a second cancel, but it's really nice that the second one ended up at the bottom. The collage on the card is so pretty.

NancyMcE's envelope is much prettier in person. It's hard to photograph transparent. The address is on a paper doily. I'm pretty sure I have some paper doilies in my stash -- and I know where my clear envelopes are -- so I see myself doing something along these lines -- assuming the doilies come out of hiding.

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One lonely up-side to the pandemic - getting more stacks of stuff organized so that I actually know what I have and where it is.

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Non-rant add-on.

People dancing and falling down - not literally, but making a dance out of the idea of falling down.

I almost got dizzy watching them.

Link to falling down dance

Here is my public service announcement, that has probably already appeared, but you can't repeat this enough times. I was 67 years old before someone told me how to walk on ice in a way that will minimize the falling down. I have fallen so many times. And by your late 60s, it starts becoming a activity that can usher you to places you may not want to go.

So here it is:

Put the ball of your foot down first.

And here is the crazy thing: when you Google *how to walk on ice* they have a ton of tips but this one does not lead the pack. So far, I have not even found it once, but, it might be there. 

They mostly recommend shuffling and waddling.

That's not as good as putting the ball of your foot down first.

When you put the ball of your foot down first, you can decide if it is going to stay put before you commit to taking a step.

When you put your foot forward and let your heel hit the pavement first, you are pretty much setting yourself up for flying into the air.

I'll keep looking for a video.

Maybe this is my calling in life -- to bring proper ice walking to the masses.

Grrrr

I really don't have time to scour the internet to see if this tip is already out there.

Any volunteers to do the search?

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If you have Netflix, there is a series of hour long videos about the making of some well-known movies. I think there is a regular series and also a series on just holiday movies.

The first one I watched was Elf - and it was so interesting how they did some of the scenes where Buddy appeared so large. They used forced perspective instead of digital magic. There were other things that were interesting about how the story evolved, the characters were cast, etc.

Then I watched HomeAlone - Oh.My.Gosh. This one is full of amazing details about how the concept evolved and the financing unfolded. They literally built the all the interior sets in an old high school building and when it came to the scene at the end with all the water flooding in, they built it in the pool. They had no idea that the movie was going to be a blockbuster. It is interesting to note that the way they ended up with John Williams for the music probably contributed a whole lot to the success. 

There are so many people involved in making movies - it's interesting when they talk about things that happen behind the scenes.