Movie: "If You Could Only Cook" (1935)

I first watched this super fun black & white film several years ago with Grandma Hale-- we both loved it, and I made a note of the title, so I could share it with Mom sometime.

Sadly, that never happened, because every time I looked for it, it seemed to be unavailable!!!  Until this week.

I found Jean Arthur's "If You Could Only Cook" on YouTube this week!   Please enjoy it while you can!  =)

(The funny thing is, for me- it was like watching a whole new movie- I did not remember A SINGLE THING about it, lol!)

Watch below or HERE

My Movie List (break out): Old Fashioned

Why do I like the movie "Old Fashioned" so much??? 
Hmmm...the following was hard for me to try to explain to Rik Swartzwelder in person, but maybe I can do a better job explaining to you, dear reader, in print: 

 

Now I'd say that I (in some ways) understand/identify Old Fashioned's characters/plots, more than most any other movie/book/show. 
 

And that I think of myself more as a “Clay” than an “Amber”. Not that I had a rough past, or was a crazy God-less youth, but that:

~ I love just about anything old/vintage/retro. 
~ I love all the vintage stuff in this movie- even the little grocery & diner and seeing the things that we own, like Aunt Zella's tea pot.
~ I love Aunt Zella.
~ I love Psalm 118:24

~ He (Clay) is older and so am I. (I'm enjoying movies with older main characters- don't have a lot of patience for the 'young and dumb' right now!)

~ I'm more quiet and reserved, and don't know what to do with the “Ambers” in my life. (I watch the movie and say: “I can't believe her!”)

~ Waiting for “Mr. Right”. While Clay was waiting 9 years for “Mrs. Right”, I've been waiting for 14-16 years already (or more- depending on how you count)....I understand waiting.

~ Being “old fashioned” in my ideals: including not going with someone I couldn't see myself with.  Not being alone, not kissing, etc...someone I was not married/engaged to.
~ I decided that the over all flavor of the movie is Presbyterian. I don't know if that is true, but that's what I decided. =) 

~ Probably more if I thought about it longer!

Amber amazes me- I would like to be a little like her- especially if I needed to be.   I like her no-fear, can-do attitude.

I love (and think that it is interesting and fun) to have a movie that is so similar in so many ways to me and my quiet life...it is exciting and encouraging to me that in even just one movie the Hero and Heroine have a good, respectful, loving friendship/relationship...do things right, learn and grow (as individuals & couple) AND live happily ever after. 

Mom and I got to meet Rik at the Attic Film Festival in April 2017

 A bit about the book:

I started reading the OF book in 2016 I think, but stopped after a few chapters, because I have a hard time reading things when I can't quite see how they apply to me...but after meeting and getting to talk to Rik Swartzwelder

in April 2017, I decided that I should give it another go.

(FYI: Ric is a really neat guy, and gave me some great words of encouragement, and I'm so glad we met.)

I'm glad that I did- it's not just about Dating- it's about relationships in all of life.

I have never liked the idea of Dating, and have never in all my life been on a Date...I guess at my age, that could change, but at this time I don't see a reason to! =)

I am making myself read this book AND answer the questions (thinking in a whole of life way) - as best I can, because I really want to read and learn what I can- tucking away bits to remember later on...should I be blessed with a man of my own.

My plan:

1) read it and answer the questions.(still not done)

2) to re-read it and make notes- knowing me it could be another year before that happened!

THE BEST chapter so far is the one on Respect.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My original Movie List can be found HERE

My Movie List----

Some of my current favorite movies are : Road to your Heart, Take me Home, Old Fashioned, How to Fall in Love, Miss Potter, The Holiday, and Big Stone Gap.  Why?  Because they all have so much emotion and connection, and after watching you're like "Wow"....and I'm enjoying movies with "older" main characters- don't have a lot of patience for the 'young and dumb' right now- in fact, the first 7 films listed have older main characters!  Please remember that these are not listed in order of importance, just as I thought of them.  We own all of these- except #8.  I consider them all "clean" except for #6 & #7.




1) "Take me Home"...older main characters: meet, have some drama, get their lives straight, have just enough "comic relief", fall in love and the rest is history.  One of the things that I really like about this one is that the main characters are MARRIED IN REAL LIFE!




2) "Signed, Sealed and Delivered" ...Oliver, Shane, Rita and Norman.
What's not to like???
 I was sitting with Grandma Hale, and suffering a grieving heart when the "Signed, Sealed and Delivered" Hallmark series first started...they really got me through a hard time- something to look forward to, something to watch after Grandma went to bed, and I'd just sit and watch undisturbed, crying my eyes out.  I like that they have two or more stories being woven together to make these shows.  In different ways, I could (and can) identify with the the main characters (mostly Rita), and usually I could (and can) identify with some plight or feelings of the other interwoven stories and characters.  
 

3) "Old Fashioned" ...I love (and think that it is interesting and fun) to have a movie that is so similar in so many ways to me and my quiet life...it is exciting and encouraging to me that in even just one movie the Hero and Heroine have a good, respectful, loving friendship/relationship...do things right, learn and grow (as individuals & couple) AND live happily ever after. Great soundtrack, too!
(my full thoughts can be found HERE)

 4) "How to Fall in Love" ...Happy sigh, another "Pygmalion"
story!  The "un-cool" guy (who really is cool) gets a "make over"- not just looks, but learns to be social and be better at connecting with people.  (For the record, I don't think he needed a complete make-over...I think that he was pretty fine the way he was.)  Harold White was and is a nice guy.  But I completely get it- if someone would make a movie that was the other way around- I would star as the awkward old girl who NEEDS help!  

 
5) "Miss Potter" ...I greatly admire this young lady! Her gumption, spunk, imagination, and talent.  Her Courage.  
A well done movie, and a lovely soundtrack!
I also like that she is not opposed to marriage and, that she is often a "mess"...like me.  😐

6) "Big Stone Gap" ...Bright side?  I love most of the clothes- especially Ave Maria's sundress & mud boot outfits!  I also like that she has some very good friends.  Not so bright side?  Ave Maria Mulligan and I have something in common- we feel invisible.  Old and unwanted.  A strange kind of Content with our lives, yet at the same time Discontent.  How can that be??? 




7) "The Holiday"...I just LOVE Arthur/Iris/Miles.  One reason I really like to watch it is a nice reminder that love (and friendship) is out there, it will come when God says it's time. (FYI, I watch it with a filter) Another reason I like it is all the gumption and spunk that Iris has- but, that is a bit harder to explain.  (you can find my favorite quote HERE)

8) "Road to your Heart"  ...draw back: it is subtitled.  But even though I don't care a lot for reading my movies, this one is so good I/we watched it 2-3 times, and I'd watch it some more if we could.

Cocky modern boy thinks that he knows everything, meets old fashioned girl-next-door, and finds that he has a lot to learn.

This movie is not available on a DVD in our region, but Amazon has it - how shall we say it? In a cloud?

Elinor said it about right

Have you seen Emma Thompson's Sense and Sensibility?
 I agree with several things that Elinor Dashwood said, including the quote below.

Elinor found out some time ago that Edward (the guy she really liked) is engaged to another girl, but it just became public news-little sister Marianne is like "Why aren't you more upset???".
The answer: "...Believe me, Marianne, had I not been bound to silence I could have provided proof enough of a broken heart, even for you."

I especially understand this quote, because I somehow grew up with the idea that one does not talk about their feelings about boys, and if they do, then they talk to their folks, NOT to friends.
(I see how it is a good rule of thumb for a teenager, but now that I'm in my 30's, I find I'm tired of the silence - the alone in this world, no one has ever felt like this except me - kind of silence...but then I am not sure I have a friend I can truly trust with my feelings and also there is the fact that I didn't really have anything real to talk about anyway!)

I have friends whose husbands keep trying to get me interested in their friends...I'm just not ready for that....I'm not at that place right now, my heart is not well enough- whole enough yet...for more than one reason.   When my friends try to help their husbands set me up, I always want to say "...Believe me, _(fill in name of friend)__, had I not been bound to silence I could have provided proof enough of a broken heart, even for you."....Please lay off!

~If you don't know the story- 

Edward chooses Elinor at the end of the movie, 

and they all live happily ever after~

(Don't be surprised to see a few more blog posts of similar genre/nature. Trying to share some of my  feelings, while I try to move on in life.)

I'm sure that Jane Austin and Elinor would agree with the following thought:

 

 "part 1"

"this is part 2"

"part 3" 

"part 4"

Iris said it about right

Have you watched "The Holiday" with Kate Winslet?   This line is not perfectly true for me, but I think that it is pretty accurate.

"I've found almost everything ever written about love to be true. Shakespeare said "Journeys end in lovers meeting." What an extraordinary thought. Personally, I have not experienced anything remotely close to that, but I am more than willing to believe Shakespeare had. I suppose I think about love more than anyone really should. I am constantly amazed by its sheer power to alter and define our lives. It was Shakespeare who also said "love is blind". Now that is something I know to be true. For some quite inexplicably, love fades; for others love is simply lost. But then of course love can also be found, even if just for the night. And then, there's another kind of love: the cruelest kind. The one that almost kills its victims. Its called unrequited love. Of that I am an expert. Most love stories are about people who fall in love with each other. But what about the rest of us? What about our stories, those of us who fall in love alone? We are the victims of the one sided affair. We are the cursed of the loved ones. We are the unloved ones, the walking wounded. The handicapped without the advantage of a great parking space! Yes, you are looking at one such individual. And I have willingly loved that man for over three miserable years! The absolute worst years of my life! The worst Christmas', the worst Birthday's, New Years Eve's brought in by tears and valium. These years that I have been in love have been the darkest days of my life. All because I've been cursed by being in love with a man who does not and will not love me back. Oh god, just the sight of him! Heart pounding! Throat thickening! Absolutely can't swallow! All the usual symptoms."

(Don't be surprised to see a few more blog posts of similar genre/nature. Trying to share some of my  feelings, while I try to move on in life.)

 "this is part 1"

"part 2"
"part 3"
"part 4"

Movie: Forty Little Mothers (1940)

I was celebrating my half-birthday tonight, and chose to watch this 1940's film "Forty Little Mothers"...I'd never seen it before, but I'm glad I came across it! 


What a fun movie~ better watch it quick, before they pull it off of youtube!



 Interesting trivia:
This film's first telecast in Philadelphia took place September 18th, 1957.



 (embedded below or watch it HERE)

Something different~

I just tried a new kind of Facebook post--I asked:

 "Who are the classic leading ladies? Who do you think??? 

Answer in the comments- I will too! =)"

After getting lots of response (I was very surprised- none from "the guys"..), I thought "You know, I should make this a blog post!"   So have fun, and enjoy!

~Donna Reed  (1921-1986) "The Donna Reed Show" and "It's a Wonderful Life"...

~Rosalind Russell (1907-1976) "My Sister Eileen", "His Girl Friday"...

~Doris Day (1922-  )  "The Man Who Knew Too Much" and "On Moonlight Bay"...

~Olivia de Havilland  (1916-  ) "The Adventures of Robin Hood" and "Gone with the Wind"...
  

~Sophia Loren (1934-  ) "Houseboat"...

  ~Claudette Colbert  (1903-1996)  "Since You Went Away" and "The Egg and I"...

 ~Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993) Which to choose??  "My Fair Lady", "Roman Holiday" and "Charade"....
  

~Betty Grable  (1916-1973) (I may only know Betty from "Stalag 17" and she was not actually in the movie!)....

~Debbie Reynolds  (1932-  )  "Singin' in the Rain", "Tammy and the Bachelor"
  and "The Singing Nun"...

  ~Greta Garbo (1905-1990)  (I'm not sure that I've ever seen Greta Garbo...)...

~Lauren Bacall (1924-2014)  (I'm sure that I've seen Lauren Bacall n something, I just can't think what)...

~ Maureen O'Hara (1920-2015)  "Miracle on 34th Street" and "The Parent Trap"...

  ~Joanne Woodward (1930-  ) "No Down Payment" and "Breathing Lessons"

  ~June Lockhart (1925-  )   "Sergeant York" and "Meet Me in St. Louis"

~Myrna Loy  (1905-1993)  The "Thin Man" series...and more. I'll have to make a post just for Myrna

~Ingrid Bergman  (1915-1982)  "Casablanca" and "The Inn of the Sixth Happiness"...

 ~Katharine Hepburn (1907-2003)  "Little Women", "The African Queen" and "Adam's Rib"...

 ~ Judy Garland (1922-1969)  "The Wizard of OZ", the "Andy Hardy" series, and many more!

~Deborah Kerr (1921-2007) "The King & I" and "An Affair to Remember"....

~Susan Sarandon (1946-  ) "Step Mom" and "Little Women"....

~Grace Kelly (1929-1982) "High Noon"...

 ~Julie Andrews (1935-  )  "The Princess Diaries" 1 & 2, "The Sound of Music", "Mary Poppins"...

  ~Greer Garson (1904-1996) "Mrs. Miniver", "Random Harvest", "Blossoms in the Dust", "Pride and Prejudice".... and many more....

 ~Megan Follows (pronounced Mee-gan) (1968-  ) "Anne of Green Gables" series...

 ~Barbara Streisand (1942-  )  "Funny Girl", "Hello Dolly" and "Yentl"...

~Lucy Ball (1911-1989) "I Love Lucy", "Yours, Mine & Ours", "Forever, Darling"...

~Haley Mills (1946-  )  "The Parent Trap", "The Trouble with Angels", "Pollyanna"...

~Ginger Rogers (1911-1995) "Bachelor Mother", "I'll Be Seeing You", "The Major and the Minor"...

 ~Loretta Young  (1913-2000)  "The Farmer's Daughter",  "The Bishop's Wife"...

Monday Movie: Bad Day at Black Rock - Trailer

I like a good Spencer Tracy movie. (I also like Walter Brennan.)  I like a a good Truth & Justice film....Yes, this was good one.  If you ever find a copy, I would suggest taking the time to watch it.

Embedded below is the movie trailer (or watch it here)!

Friday Movie: "The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come" (1961)

Embedded below or watch HERE.

This was not your everyday 'War Between the States' movie- I think that I should like to read the book someday.  (here)  I thought that John Fox Jr. did a good job showing how families and states were divided.

Some of the faces you may know are:
George Kennedy (We know him from LOTS of movies & TV shows...he was often the bad guy.)
Jimmie Rodgers ("The Real McCoys" & songs such as "In the Jailhouse Now", "Waltzing Matilda" and "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine"
Chill Wills was from Seagoville, Texas =)



 A few of the quotes I liked were:

Chad:  $5!  (bidding on a horse worth over a hundred dollars)
Richard:  "He (Chad) doesn't know the value of a good horse"
Major:  "Maybe he know the value of $5."

and

Chad:  "Why couldn't we be on the same side, Major? I only tried to do what I thought was right...".....
Major:  "Chad- listen and always remember this- every man on both sides was in the right who/(if he) did his duty."

and

Caleb:  "Where your treasure is, there your heart be also."
Chad:   "What does the bible mean by 'treasure'?"
Caleb:  "Oh, I don't know, Chad - some folks might say a loving woman."

and

Chad to Mellisa:  "Caleb said -- a man's treasure is a loving woman...I've found my treasure, and I know my belonging place now."

Monday Movie: Make Room for Daddy- 'Party Dress' (1953)

I don't think that I'm a fan of the TV show "Make Room For Daddy" because I don't care for all the "Dumb Old Dad" stuff, but I must say that I liked the "Party Dress" episode. =)

Children grow up so fast.  Enjoy the ones in your life before it's too late!

The show is embedded below, or you can watch it HERE.

Whatever Wednesday: My visit to the movie theater

 

While at the movie theater (in Greenville) this afternoon: I was disturbed by a critter running over my foot. Turns out, Mom had SEEN a dark shape run across the aisle, then the critter ran across Charity's feet, and then mine. (get this: NOT ONE of us screamed and I did not squeal loud (I think).) At first we thought it was a LARGE spider, but when we told the employes after they said something like: "The rains flooded out their homes"....that made us think 4 legs, like a mouse. Ugg! =P

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Comic book movies I've seen:

(that I know of)

Batman (the first one)

Red 1 & 2  

The Incredibles (the first one)

Green Lantern

Hell Boy (the first one)
Avengers: Age of Ultron

And these sure seemed like comic book movies to me:
 

Men In Black (the first one)

The Bourne Identity (the first one)

Caring for Mom & Dad

"It's those treasured times that 

outweigh those challenging moments..."

I watched the PBS video "Caring for Mom & Dad" tonight....it was good, and they did a good job.  I'm glad that I was able to be a caregiver for awhile...I learned lots of new things, and see some things differently now.

Are there older people in your family?  Maybe you should take the time to watch this. 
(Don't get scared, or borrow trouble...take time to prepare yourself now: your health- physical and mental is a good place to start. And take time for people now, while you can...)

Follow the link below to watch the "Caring for Mom & Dad" video on PBS:  http://video.pbs.org/video/2365480764/

(They did not have any Grandparents with caregiver Grandchildren in the show, I thought that was odd.)

Rachel, Bella & Grandma Hale