No way...

May 17 was my last post? You've gotta be kidding me.

First, a short update on Tree of Life. I haven't accomplished much - just a couple of borders.
I suppose I should be grateful that I've even done that much. Sometimes it's all I can do to get a couple of stitches in before falling asleep.

May was a crazy month, but it's been a month to remember. I'm happy to say that most of the memories will be very happy ones, as we have come closer and closer to John's graduation.

Both proms were nice. Not much to say there. I kind of stay out of these things when it comes to John. He goes a little crazy over dances and proms. Maybe it's nerves? So I've learned that the less involved I am, the better. I help with the tuxedo selection, and then I back away. But I do get in the occasional photo.

There was an awards ceremony last week. Long, long, long...but we were very proud of our boy, who received several awards and was recognized for receiving three scholarships. Dave and I were very surprised.

And on Thursday night we went to the Track and Field banquet, and John was named the 2007 Track MVP. Again, we were surprised! We knew that he had had a good season, but I guess we didn't realize how good. One of the gifts that the boosters gave the seniors was their photo from Senior Night. I've kind of stolen it from him, because I like it so much.


I mentioned the rec soccer play-offs before? The day went very well, and at the end of the finals a fellow ref approached me about applying to be a PIAA high school referee. I'm giving it some thought. Whether I do it or not, it was a nice compliment. I had a tough time of it during a particularly ugly game last fall, and even all these months later, I was still beating myself up over it. Silly - I know. So his words meant a lot to me.

Let's see. What else? Colleen found a nice lifeguarding job at our local country club. She's just too darn cute with her bathing suit and whistle.

My garden is a disaster. Looks woefully neglected. So I suppose it's my project for the day, and now I'm off to rescue some flowers from the jungle of weeds.

I miss you guys.

Probably more than you're missing me! My days and nights have been moving forward in double time, and I haven't had time to read or write or anything. Just a few more weeks...if I can last that long.

Here are a few quick hits:

1. Soccer boosters. Very interesting. Sometimes aggravating. We're supposed to be fundraisers who work to support the coach and the team, but SOME people are there just to advance their own agendas. They are aggravating the piss out of me.

2. Referee days are going well. The league playoffs are this weekend and I'm already getting nervous. Will I ever stop second-guessing myself? Really, I should be honored that they picked me out of several other refs to work the playoffs and the final. Knowing that doesn't stop the butterflies, though. Not to mention that I'm banking some nice extra money for stitching stash, but see #4 below.

3. Kids and husband. My kids are incredible. I should tell them that more often. My husband is a darling man. I should tell him that more often, too.

4. Stitching. If I don't get the chance to pick up a needle in the next few weeks I will positively self-destruct. There are so many great things that I want to buy with my hoarded away referee money, but I feel guilty buying them when I haven't stitched on anything in the past several weeks. Hmm. I guess I'll just have to get over it.

Our own local celeb dish

I know that I've mentioned before that I live near Nemacolin Woodlands, a resort that has all won kinds of stars and diamonds and accolades and awards. It's owned by Joseph Hardy III, the founder and CEO of 84 Lumber.

Last week, the 84 year old Mr. Hardy married for the third time. His new bride is a 22 year old local girl, who worked in the Nemacolin Spa.

And guess what? This pillar of good judgment is one of our County Commissioners.

We're so freakin' doomed.

Is it time for that vacation yet?

So much is going on right now, but so very little of it is stitching related, so I've not been posting very much.

I'd just love an afternoon of sitting on the deck on a comfy lounge chair stitching. It's not happening, though.

Here's the rundown:

Dave's mother
My parents
My back/hip
Work
Track meets
Soccer games played
Soccer games officiated
Prom X2
Freshman/Sophomore Dance
Marching band parades
National Honor Society dinner
The weeds that I used to call a garden

And about a mill-freakin'-illion other day to day things.

I'm not whining. I completely enjoy almost all of the things on that list. On the other hand, when vacation time comes, I'll be ready!

I can't believe it's almost time...

Click here

Five miles - -

- - In 53 minutes! A breakthrough!

Here's why I don't get golf

Maybe I should elaborate.

I understand the reasons why people like to play golf. It's usually a social thing, like card playing or darts, but it doesn't require a team. So you can play alone or you can play in a group - whatever suits your mood and your schedule.

It's lovely to be outdoors, it doesn't have to be terribly physically demanding, and people of all ages can play.

I think the operative word here though is "play".

The "sport" of golf escapes me. I've been to a handful of tournaments with Dave and I really don't see how it qualifies to be called a sport.

First of all, although tournament players must walk the course, someone else carries their bag. (Have you ever seen the calf muscles of a professional caddy??) So the caddy carries the bag, while the golfer strolls alongside, chatting or thinking of his/her next shot.

Then, while the golfer is teeing off or putting on the green, or wherever, a team of what I'd call Shushers is on hand to make all of the spectators stop talking and stop walking. Our mere footfalls may distract them. And holy cow, don't even think of bringing in a cell phone, let alone having one go off in your pocket! You'll be escorted right out.

Compare this to the college basketball player that has to shoot a critical foul shot among screaming fans and wacky noodles being waved in the background. Or to the baseball pitcher with two outs, bases loaded, and a tie score at the bottom of the ninth. They don't get Shushers.

Just once I'd like to take a wacky noodle to a golf tournament. Or a set of those giant clappers.

So you see, I just don't get any sport that employs Shushers.

It's a pinkeep!

I keep telling DH that it's a PINKEEP. He just doesn't get it.
So what? I don't get golf.

The Letter R

That title reminds me of Sesame Street. I really loved that show.

So maybe my Letter R did actually deserve a photo:

The butterflies were great fun, too.

I picked up John's Senior portrait package on Wednesday. The photos that I'm keeping are (mostly) framed now and sitting on the shelves in my bedroom, along with other pictures from other years.

I can hardly believe that kindergarten was twelve years ago. If I start to reminisce I get all teary-eyed, so don't let me get started. But (and forgive me if I've said this before), I don't think that it's fair that as soon as these kids get to be really fun and interesting, they're ready to leave home. Can't a parent catch a break?

Some stitching - Some soccer

Stitching first:
I worked a bit on Souvenir Sampler, just finishing another letter, (R), but I didn't take a picture. It didn't seem like enough progress to deserve a photo.

I've continued on my break with Tree of Life and stitched a small Blackbird Designs freebie for a Yahoo group SAL.
Fun? Youbetcha!

So now I'm ready to go back to Tree of Life. I have my chart all prepared for the next section, and my magnets are ready.

You may wonder what I mean when I say that the chart is prepared: This chart covers several large sheets of paper, without the benefit of grey shading to show where the sheets should connect. So whenever I'm crossing into territory on an adjacent sheet, I have to lay a few pages out flat and tape them together and PRAY that it's correct. There are places where the graph lines get a little wavy and faint, so while the top portions of the pages seem to line up correctly, I have to pay close attention to the chart as it moves down or across the page. It could be off (up or down, right or left) by a stitch. Fortunately, this is a sampler, and it's mostly bands, so a little common sense goes a long way. If it were a picture...I'd be fried.

Well gang, Spring Soccer season officially opened on Saturday. I had five games Saturday morning, so it was time to unfold the uniform, hunt down the cute black shoes, and test out the whistle. If you aren't acquainted with USSF soccer, I thought you might like to see the stylishness of our ref clothing. These little numbers are available in yellow, black, red, blue, and magenta. We all scoff at magenta, though. It makes us look stupid. We have enough trouble carrying off the short shorts and the black knee socks, and we don't need magenta to make things more difficult.

Referees, like the players, work as a team. There are usually three of us: A Center Referee and two Line Referees. Sometimes there is a fourth, and he's called - - - The Fourth Official. (He only keeps track of substitutions.) In high school ball there may be two or three. In many small-sided recreation leagues, there may be only one.

Anyway, the referee team must all wear the same color uniforms. So when we meet for games, we usually take all of the uniforms we have in our collection. Why? Because we do our best to wear colors that won't be confusing to either team. So we switch shirts according to the color of the teams we are officiating. Theoretically, the soccer team is supposed to switch shirts, but that never happens. And if you show up with only one shirt, Murphy's law will tell you that one team will absolutely be wearing that color. And then you look stupid.

I've come to think that one very important aspect of being a referee is doing everything you can not to look stupid. Seriously. It's half the battle. So I continue to learn.

In the meantime, Saturday I earned a cool $50 for running around a field with 9 and 10 year olds for four hours. Hmm. Whatever shall I buy???

This week (or maybe it was last week's?) SBQ:

How do you decide which stitching blogs are worth regular viewings? Are there certain things you look for in particular? Are there things you wish there were more of? Less of? Is your blog a good example of what you like to read?

On the one hand, I view almost everything. Well, let me qualify that: If it has a feed, I subscribe to it and if it's marked with new posts, I read it. If it doesn't have a feed but I like the author, I'll still swing into my Favorites list and visit it around once a week.

On the other hand, I don't read all of them. There are a dozen or so blogs that I read closely. You know - they are the ones that make you say a silent "Yippee, a new post!", and you feel like you know their blog world pretty well.

The rest I tend to skim. There's nothing wrong with them - it's just a blog chemistry thing.

I think that I like a well-rounded blog. Our commanality is stitching,so stitching photos and progress and stories are always attention getters. But I like to hear about your families and jobs and other interests, too. I like writers who express their opinions on a variety of things. And if you are wry or funny or sarcastic, I'm even more interested. We all whine from time to time, but over-whining is kind of a bring down. Same for ranting.

I must admit that grammar can be a deciding factor between a Read-blog and a Skimmed-blog. We all have our pet peeves. I think my biggest pet peeve is.....over use of.....the long strings of periods.....Mind you, I do it, too. If I look through all of my posts, I'm positive that most all of them have one or two dot....dot...dots. I just can't read a post that uses the dot....dot....dot as its sole form of punctuation. There is an online LNS that writes newsletters in this style, and while I like the site, I absolutely can't read the newsletters.

My blog probably isn't the best example of the type of blog that I like to read. I wish I had more stitching posts, particularly about different projects. But that would mean that I'd have to stitch more, and in my imperfect world it's just not possible.

I wish I could be more witty, too. And funnier. Too bad there isn't an online shop for that.

Easter 2007

I hope you all had a lovely Easter. What a weekend - What wacky weather! We went to church in four inches of snow and over some crazy slippery roads. Of course, the kids were hoping for a school delay on Monday, but no such luck.

In the morning I made us a brunch, but we went to a restaurant for Easter dinner. It was the first time we've ever gone to a restaurant for a holiday. On the one hand, it was very relaxing for me. No crazy cleaning the week before, no days of cooking and endless dishwashing. But on the other hand, my holiday food is way, way, way better than anything we could ever get in a restaurant. So, while I'm glad that we gave it a try, I don't know that I'll push to eat out in the future.

We tried for a family photo after church. Is it just us, or does everyone have a bunch of family photos that are....dysfunctional? Even when I was a kid, I remember my dad lining us up for family pictures, but an argument would always crop up and the final result was....umm....less than perfect. I'll have to see if my mother has one really funny Easter series that involves 5 disrespectful children, a run-away dog and thrown couch cushions. But anyway, that was the past. THIS is the present:
Photo Number One:

We look reasonably happy, don't we? But then there were complaints that the men in the photo hogged up all the space and the poor teenage girl was barely visible because their huge bodies were in the way. So it was time for photo number 2. Of course, the teenage boy didn't agree and could not POSSIBLY spare another 30 seconds of his time for another picture. But he was coerced, so Photo Number Two turned out just lovely.
He did that on purpose. I could kill him. And then Dave and I decided that we really didn't need those rotten teenagers anyway.

I stitched a bit on Souvenir Sampler on Sunday. I'm always amazed at how slowly I stitch. But I was watching a DVD - House of Cards - while I stitched. It's a political intrigue story, and Ian Richardson's evil character sends chills up and down my spine. I couldn't take my eyes off him. So...of course I made stitching mistakes and spent my lunchtime Monday picking them out.

Found another interesting Internet radio station: Nice Noise Kind of reminds me of my mother's kitchen radio on school mornings....and some newer stuff, too. Check it out.

Even after stitching the little JBW rabbit, I wasn't ready to return to Tree of Life. So I resurrected Souvenir Sampler. Poor thing has been sitting idle for about a year. I didn't have much time to work on it, so I don't have loads of progress to report.

The nice thing about this sampler (and I guess about most samplers) is that you can stitch a motif and feel like you've accomplished something. Here are the areas I've been playing with:





And in this next picture I really didn't stitch anything new, but I found a neat golf bag charm to put near the letter "D"...for Dave.


I'm on the hunt for a couple of charms - a large-ish horse charm for Colleen and a small-ish running shoe for John. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Amazing Race for Parents

So...I admit it. There is a reality show that I like. I never got into the whole Survivor thing, and I hate all of the others. But on Sunday evenings I faithfully sit down and watch The Amazing Race. There are people on that show who are like me. There are teams that I like. There are teams that I can't stand.

Unfortunately, this season has been, well, disappointing. The roadblocks and tasks are way, way too easy. Take Sunday's show....one of the roadblocks was to:
a) make 3" links of Polish kielbassa, then
b) eat 24" of kielbassa.

C'mon. I could do that in a heartbeat. With a bun. And sauerkraut. And onions. Maybe some mustard, too. And they drank water. Feh. Water is for wimps. Beer is the beverage of choice with kielbassa. Clearly the racers weren't from Western Pennsylvania.

So in the face of this lameness, Dave and I have come up with our own Amazing Race tasks that will challenge even the most competitive racer. We've compiled the required mix of driving tasks and roadblocks and detours for a really exciting day of racing.

1. By 6:40 AM you must get two teenagers out of bed and out the door to the school bus stop, with lunches in hand. (Unhealthy and/or unappetizing lunches will incur a penalty at the end of the race because you'll have to stop competing to listen your children complain...loudly). If you are late or if the bus is early, your children will miss it and you must drive them to school, but you must wait at least 30 minutes in the car because if you leave right away they will arrive at school faster than the bus and it's not cool to arrive at school too early.

2. Your team's next task is to work a 9 hour day. Except that one of you will work from 9AM until 3PM. Oops. That's not nine hours. So that team member must work twice as hard and if he/she had to make the missed-school-bus-trip, he/she must skip lunch.

3. For your afternoon Roadblock, one member of your team must get into your car and try to locate your children. (and if she had to skip lunch she'll be extra cranky) The best method here is just to start driving. Never assume that they will be where they told you they would be. If you thought they'd be in one place together...think again. Nor should you assume that they will be ready when they told you they would be ready. If you are early, they are going to be late. And if you are late, they will most assuredly be early. Be sure you keep your cell phone charged and ready. But don't call them because they will not pick up their phones. Instead, wait for their call, which will begin with "MOM! Where aaarrre you???"

4. Once of your children are loaded in the car, you will find that a few more children have plunked their hineys down in the car, too. The best racers will take off quickly before too many children who are not related to you squeeze their way in with a quick and oh-so-innocent smile. (Don't they realize that this is a RACE??) Drive everyone to their respective homes to complete the Roadblock.

5. By this time of the day, you and your racing partner team up again to complete a Detour. First you must place a series of phone calls where you ascertain who stopping at the store to pick up any of the following items in any combination: Milk, bread, pop, lunchmeat, dog food, and occasionally tampons. Oh...and don't forget to pick up dinner.

6. Now you and your partner must decide on the evening activity plan: Who is taking whom where and who will bring them home. Score a Fast Forward if you actually convince someone else to give your child or children a ride home. Lose minutes if you have to wait at the activity, and lose even more minutes if you get roped into some kind of volunteer work while you are there. (Hint: Slump down in your car so noone can see you. If you see someone approach, open your mouth and snore loudly.)

7. Once you have returned to your home destination, you will find the evening Detour. Before settling into an easy chair for an evening of entertainment, your team must completely program one Universal remote to work all of the electronic equipment in the family room. This includes televisions, DVD players, stereo receivers, VCR players, and various game systems. One team member will repeatedly consult the manual, while the other will just begin pushing buttons at random. And all the while children will be whining that "It's not working!"

8. After you have finished the Detour, make you way to your bedroom. If you are the first team to arrive, maybe Phil will give you a nice bottle of wine. Or valium. If you are last to arrive, you will be eliminated. Hmm. That may not always be a bad thing. But anyway...that's Day 1.

It's a lovely day out today. It's hard to believe that Easter is just over a week away. I completely missed Valentine's day and St. Patrick's Day.

I have to say that I outdid myself on the kids' Easter gifts this year. We don't do anything big...when they were little it was usually a coloring book and crayons, or a game. We went nutso one year and got them MP3 players. They held a whole 56MB, which back then was really something. And it's been kind of downhill since then. For the past few years I've resorted to buying clothes and they really don't like that. And I certainly should know better given my clothes shopping experiences with them. Me: "Hey, isn't this neat??" Them: (At best) Silence, followed by a short roll of the eyes. (At worst) "Oh Mom, that's hideous."

Anyway, I found a great frisbee for DS that has an LED in its center, so you can throw frisbee at night. He loves frisbee...and since this boy barely opens his eyes till afternoon, it should suit his needs. I think maybe he's a vampire. Except that vampires give me the impression that they have to be tidy. Wouldn't want to risk tripping over shoes and underwear as you run to your coffin to beat out daybreak. So he's probably not one of the undead yet.

I found a great running shirt for DD on sale at Dick's. She's gonna love it. Crazy, swirly colors and dots. It's just her style. I hope....Puhleeze let it be her style.

Here's my rabbit, and it was WAY too much fun. I know it's kind of wrinkly, but I wanted to get it scanned before I started sewing it into something...

Wow…I can’t believe I’ve been away from my blog for so long. Actually, this March I’ve been away from blogging, internet groups, and even most IRL social activities. I’ve been a regular hermit.

We were able to get my father into a good assisted living program shortly after my last post.

It’s so very odd. Writing that sentence seems simple. Cut and dried. Still even now, a couple of weeks later and 300 miles away, I’m still raw about it. Painful? I can’t begin to tell you. To make a long story short: This experience has made me doubt everything I have ever believed about myself. But I was blessed with good advice and kind words from a blogging friend. She had walked in my shoes and shared her experiences with me. Her “voice” in my ear was a great comfort. Thank you, Mia.

And as they say, life goes on.

If anything will distract you from your own troubles, it’s a household with teenagers. My kids continue to amaze and befuddle me.

I worry constantly about DS going to college. I’m not a bit worried about his classes or his cross-country running or his friends. I’m going bananas because he’s a slob. No…he’s a gross slob. A disgusting slob. And no roommate will put up with that unless he’s as big of a slob as John is. Oh lord, can you even imagine? So I worry.

DD has decided to become a vegetarian. Ordinarily I’d be fine with that, but she’s a distance runner (like her brother) and runners need protein and I just wish to god that she’d eat a freakin’ egg from time to time. Or a cookie.

And finally, here’s my progress on Tree of Life:



That's a crappy picture, but Dave changed some kind of setting on the camera and I'm too lazy to figure it out.

I have another finish, too. One of those JBW French Country designs...what fun! I think I'll just scan that one.

It's too damned cold.



I spent most of the weekend hiding in the house, partly because it's so windy and cold, and partly because we've been short a car since one car is being fixed after it was hit in a parking lot during one of the ice storms a couple of weeks ago. So DS and I are sharing a car. Somehow, I seem to be the one sitting at home.

Well...I did some serious stitching on Tree of Life, and I was hoping to have the first third of the sampler completely done, but Sunday evening my concentration snapped, and I put it down early - like at 8:00. Maybe I'll have it ready for a photo later in the week.

I'll be heading to Philly over the next weekend. My mother has an appointment with an "elder care attorney" (I don't exactly know what that is...) and she'd like me to be there. So I'll get there Sunday, have the appointment on Monday, and then see how things are. If things are stable, I'll head home on Tuesday. If not, I'll stay a little longer. Dave and the kids will just have to pick up the slack around here.

My dad continues to decline. I don't see how Mom can keep him at home much longer. She's struggling with this difficult decision, as we all are. But from a distance I can see that even if she won't admit it, my mom really needs to find better care for my dad.

We'd like to think that when it comes to taking care of our loved ones, we will be the most qualified and dedicated candidates, but sometimes that's just not the case. I think that makes us feel shameful in many ways, because we haven't lived up to the ideal that our loved ones will always live peacefully at home and die in their own beds. And no matter how much we tell ourselves that there's no shame in admitting that we just can't care for that person any longer, the shame is still there, muddling our decisions.

Ah well...so what's the answer? Is your love shown more in keeping that person at home, thinking that you're doing the best for them, yet risking that you're growing more resentful day by day? Not to mention tired and lonely? And then feeling guilty over your resentment?

Or is your love shown by admitting your shortcomings as a caregiver and making changes so that your loved one gets better care? And still feeling guilty...over your inability to be the caregiver you thought you could be.

I guess there's guilt no matter what, unless you're a saint...with unlimited money, I might add.

I wonder how we make peace with it.

Thanks guys, for your kind comments on my last post. I guess it's just that, like most of us, I always expect better from myself. How does it go...We're our own worst critics.

But enough about that already.

It looks like Tree of Life and I will have a nice evening together. John has invited a young lady over for dinner and a DVD, and Dave is working, so I'll be hanging around the house. He's 18, but I still won't let him have a girl over if there are no parents here. (Control freak? Who, me?)

The weather has cooperated this week and I've been able to get out for runs on three days. Good lord, it's amazing what a month or more off the roads did to my conditioning. In the bad weather I used my Ancient Basement Nordic Trac, or I'd go to the YMCA and use an elliptical trainer and a treadmill. But outside, with the wind and the hills...it's a whole different story.

And yet here's John, who doesn't run for three months, (in fact, his hiney sat on the couch for three months) and he's doing "light" 6 mile runs for a week and comes back and says Gee---he feels great again. Have I told you how much I hate my son? It's just not fair.

I don't really hate him. How could you hate this face?



Hey, has anyone seen Babel? We watched it a week ago, and I'm curious about others' thoughts. I'll feel better if one of you felt as clueless as I did.

We watched The Departed last weekend and I loved it. Partly because it's my type of movie, but also because of the actors, particularly Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio. Excellent.

Yikes. I had better get to work. Money to earn, bills to pay. It never ends, does it?

I had the oddest experience last night.

I had a meeting in our home - The officers of the a local high school sports booster group came over for an organizational meeting. I'm friendly with three of them, and the fourth one, I'm sorry to say, usually drives me batty. I don't know if she feels the same way about me, although I don't think so because she says whatever comes to her mind...loudly...never holds back a bit.

Anyways, they came into my house and one of the group immediately said, "Oh, you cross stitch! L. is a cross stitch fanatic!" Normally I'd be so happy to meet another stitcher that I'd bubble over, sharing favorites and freebies, but last night I felt a very immature "You're freakin' kidding me" coming on. But I swallowed it and said, "Oh, neat." And that was it.

Now! What the heck is wrong with me? Good Lord, I can be such a snob.

I could have used that common ground to build a more positive relationship with her and I acted terribly.

Will one of you come over here and smack some sense into me?

I've been enjoying some terrific DVD's lately. I started a Netflix subscription over a year ago, and while it has its glitches, (movies that get hung up in the mail, scratched or damaged movies, the futile attempts to contact a living person in customer service, etc.) you can't beat the variety of entertainment they provide. While I'd rather support a local video store, I know that there's no way they can stock the kind of quirky things I've been renting. It's kind of sad to see the end of the neighborhood video place. They've gone through many changes over the past 20 years, but I doubt that they can adapt to this.

But back to what I've been watching.

One way or another I came upon this series, The Duchess of Duke Street:
I'm completely taken with this program, which was produced in the mid-1970's. Here's a blurb from TV.com.

The Duchess of Duke Street is the story of the rise of Louisa Leyton (Gemma Jones) from kitchen maid to the most famous cook in England. Her hotel, the Bentinck on Duke Street, is the turn of the century setting for her affair with Charlie Tyrell (Christopher Cazenove), her run-ins with family members, the activities of her high society guests and the lives of her faithful staff. Over two series this BBC Production tells an interesting and eventful twenty year story which also provides a fascinating insight into life in the early 20th century.

The acting is phenomenal, and is enhanced by the wonderful writing. And the sets...oh my....the sets. The sets pay attention to every little detail in a Victorian household, and the costumes are incredible. Apart from the acting and stories, from time to time several cooking scenes are part of an episode. Cooking was quite an art in those kitchens and those scenes are fascinating.

I've been enjoying another program, called Foyle's War. They are detective stories, set in a seaside town in England during World War II. This is another series with great writing and story lines. From PBS: World War II has just begun and England looks all but doomed in the face of an inevitable German invasion. Still, someone has to fight crime on the home front. And I'm in love with Inspector Foyle, a quiet, unassuming and intellegent character.


And at the other end of the spectrum, Dave and I have started watching Season 2 of "24". No quiet, subtle story lines here. Lots of banging and shoot-em up, and sometimes really silly with how serious it takes itself, but entertaining none the less.