RIP Elisabeth Sladen 1 February 1948 – 19 April 2011

My heart dropped yesterday when I learned of the passing of actress Elisabeth Sladen, aka "Sarah Jane Smith" of Doctor Who fame. She was 63.

Sarah Jane was an extraordinarily popular character in the Doctor Who universe, and yes, of course, she is my favorite of the Doctor's many companions. To the preteen boy who had such a serious crush on her, she was much more too.

I found her beautiful and sexy, intelligent and adventurous. Perhaps more importantly - for the first time in my life I appreciated an intelligent woman determined to forge her own place in the world. Compare Sarah Jane to the shallow, deferential characters who, university degrees or military rank be damned, would melt into a sniveling mess of Victorian womanhood at the first sight of trouble. She would have none of that, and that wee bit of '70's feminism that snuck into her characterization did me a world of good.

And in those childhood daydreams of a life spent traveling the globe, getting in bar fights in Singapore and stopping the Russians from invading the West, I must admit it didn't hurt to imagine a woman like Sarah Jane at my side . . .







When she rejoined the cast of Doctor Who in mid '00's I was overjoyed - and found her no less attractive as she approached sixty.




RIP Elisabeth. You will be missed.

 One thing I will miss when the kids are grown and off on their own: opening the freezer and finding random, ridiculous concoctions. Today's contribution: a fig newton stuck on the end of a skewer.

D'oh

True story: ~ Two years ago I walked past a retail display and was sincerely outraged that they offered a gag gift called "The rapist In a Box". Then I got my head out of my butt and realized it read "Therapist in a Box".

The King's Speech

We finally got around to watching 'The King's Speech'. It was very good, but by no means the "Best Picture" of the year, an honor I still think belonged to "The Social Network". BTW, kudos to Helen Bonham Carter, who stole the show in every scene in which she appeared.

Smiley bakes Turtle Bread

 Love the turtle, sorry I forgot to tell you, he wanted me to have it and I said Mom should, maybe [Smiley] can show her how to bake bread...(this is a joke of course) Grandma J

and I said Mom should, maybe [Smiley] can show her how to bake bread...(this is a joke of course)

Dance Rehearsal

Dance rehearsal today. In the rush to get them out the door, it's "Breakfast for Dinner" (maple sausage and pancakes). In the words of the Lump: "Deeee- licious!"

The Journal-Sentinel wins a Pulitzer

 Wait a minute - the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel won a Pulitzer in 2008, 2010 AND now 2011???? Say what - am I missing something here? Then again, they began publishing me in '08. Coincidence? Perhaps not.

Designing LuLu's 1st Communion Candle

 

Some pics of LuLu

Smiley the Builder and the Bug Collector