Movie Quiz Results: July 2026

The Movie Quiz was on Tuesday instead of Monday this month. (The theater had a long-planned screening of There Will Be Blood scheduled for Monday). This was unfortunate, as Matt had already left for Indiana, and that left Greg and Renee and myself to be the Three Battleships Outside Ebbing Missouri. And we didn’t do very well at all.

In our defense, aside from being down a player (who would have correctly remembered that that was a Dolph Lundgren cameo in the Masters of the Universe movie, as I was no help there, despite having seen the movie and having a conversation about the cameo) this had some very hard categories, my least favorite of which was: here are ten directors who all picked out favorite movies in the Criterion Closet. Match these 10 different pictures of six or so movie posters representing the director’s picks to the directors’ names.

Aside from being very hard to do, I didn’t recognize two of the directors names.

Favorite names this month:

Schrodinger’s Mitch McConnell (more current events than movie, but still); My Own Private Otto Preminger; You Odyssey this Pussy; Inglorious Guessers (who tied with us); Sad, Like a 7/11 Hot Dog.

SKS: The Stay Home Club and Idaho Made

Sara sent me this cute postcard from the Stay Home Club.

Sara references my mother’s surprise hospital stay and again expresses surprise that it it is July. (As she wrote that, there were only 11 days left in July!)

I also got two of these Idaho Made cards, though only took a picture of one.

Sara reports that she has been resting up from the Boise trip, but has plans to get things done before we see each other later in the month.

That’s right, we managed to plan a trip! Stand by for posts.

Adult Summer Reading Reward

Though I qualify for the adult summer reading award every year, I rarely, if ever officially finish and turn in my card. Sometimes I don’t even get over the hurdle of getting the card to begin with.

But this year I did, and here is my prize:

It’s a fairly substantial tote bag, and I’m looking forward to using it.

OPSFest’s Twelfth Night in Laurelhurst Park

We headed out for a production of Twelfth Night at Laurelhurst Park. OPSFest has been limited to fewer productions in Portland Parks due to fee changes, which is too bad, because now we really have to pay attention and make a plan in order to see a show.

It was a lovely night, and we enjoyed sitting in our new chairs. We bought them for the trip to South Beach, but did not end up using them because of the cold and rainy weather.

This person took copious notes throughout the production. I was seeing if I could spy via my zoom lens, but no dice.

It was a solid and enthusiastic presentation; and we had a good night at the outdoor theater.

On the way home, we had to reroute to avoid the World Naked Bike Ride.

Requiem: the Chain Wallet Era

It’s been 12 years since I got my second chain wallet. And then put the chain from the old wallet on the new wallet.

The new(est) wallet has pockets that have become looser than I would like, and I think that might be the reason my credit card went missing some time in January. I decided to switch to a more horizontal wallet.

I found this one on Etsy. It’s made by someone in Hawai’i.

The leather feels very smooth and buttery. I will miss the chain, as it is still a handy way to attach keys to the wallet, but I’m looking forward to my new wallet era. If this one last the same amount as chain wallet no. 2, I will be nearly 64 when it’s time for a new wallet.

If it lasts as long as the first chain wallet, I will be 83 at time of replacement.

Mystery Masquerade Party

The day has arrived! We had a wonderful time at Renee’s birthday party. Everyone brought their A game.

Including Renee. She needle felted little party favors for each person. Here’s my mouse, hanging out at my fancy plate, napkin, and envelope.

Here is my final version of my mouse costume. I made the collar that very day.

And here is Matt’s stallion costume.

Birthday girl Renee, reading from our guidebook. She was the Countess.

And her husband Greg, the inspector, who guided us through the mystery.

Two other fun costumes: the Cat, a widow.

And the Weasel, who took home the prize for best character.

I realized at the start of the mystery that all my party energy had gone into planning my costume, leaving nothing for mystery solving. It turned out I was sitting next to the murderer, who escaped mine, and everyone else’s attention.

And here is our group shot.

This was a very fun evening. We all had some eyerolls at the gendered notions of the plot, but we were able to overlook those.