I’m sorry I still have no pictures to show for yesterday’s post, I could post the few that downloaded, but I would rather you see the story in chronological order.

However, I do want to tell you how we solved our TV dilemma. We learned that we had been gifted a dvd player and proceeded to find DVDs to watch. On the bus, we only had a Steven King box set, so we watched three of those, one a night.

We have no TV connection yet, so this was a form of entertainment for our nightly viewing. I don’t really miss TV, due to annoying ads, etc. But no fear, Starlink will be here soon-maybe even today-and then we will be back to our regularly scheduled non-sense.

Until then, we have been enjoying some oldies but goodies that were new to us. We picked movies we’d never seen, yet may or may not have heard about.

One of the first three we checked out of the Dolores library -after procurement of a library card-was called Off the Map. It was a beautiful, sad, funny, quirky tale about a girl who watched her father slowly sink into a debilitating depression. Over that summer she learns how to bring him out and grows up in the process.

With an all-star cast, Joan Allen, Sam Elliot, Amy Brennemen, and JK Simmons, plus Valentina De Angelis as the young Bo, I would give it an B+.

Art, love, family, friends, loss, and pain are all themes in this beautiful film directed by Cambell Scott. I don’t remember the setting, Arizona maybe, but it was said in the film to be such a place of beauty it changed people who visited they never wanted to leave.

Sam Eliot’s character cries a lot. Those who don’t understand deep depression might think him less of a man, but those that do completely understand.

Land of Plenty was the second film we watched. A post/911 tale, Michelle Williams and Paul Diehl join Elsbeth’s Wendell Pierce in this sad, yet sometimes lighthearted flick about a girl trying to get to know her damaged uncle after returning from abroad most of her life. He struggles with PTSD following the war and then 911. She does missionary work, and this is where Wendell Pierce comes in as the protective priest who oversees the soup kitchen where she works.

The last of the three was one of the most beautiful movies I’ve ever seen, for scenery and story alike. It is called The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.

Have you seen this one? Its a must-see if not. Starring the incomparable Judi Dench, among another all-star cast, this movie delights all of your senses. Color, music, beauty, and fabulous story telling in this coming-of-age hotel proprietor and his rich but aging residents whose humor and whit about their desire to be in this gorgeous place to live out their days is spellbinding.

If you are bored with today’s nonsensical television programming, annoying ads, or simply want to watch an old film you’ve never seen, give any one or all three of these a shot! You can find all details and review of these films on IMDb.

Since then, we’ve watched a litany of films including the saga 1883, one of the prequels to Yellowstone. We can’t wait to watch 1923 the next prequel and finally Yellowstone. Until then we started a four-disc dvd last night about the old west called Into the West. So far, so good!