Favourite Things Friday: Classic Movies

Drama is life with the dull bits cut out. –Alfred Hitchcock

I've mentioned before that I have a fondness for going to the movies. I've also talked about how much I like musicals. Most musicals fall into the Classic movies category and that's what I want to talk about today. Classic movies. One of my favorite musicals from my insomniac-PBS-watching days is Bells Are Ringing with Judy Holliday and Dean Martin. This adorable switchboard operator at an answering service does more than just take and give messages. She is a counselor, a friend, a helper, a muse, a confidant to her clients. As she gets involved in the lives of these people, her world is turned upside down in a series of hilarious hijinks.


Another favorite {in the non-musical category} is Yours, Mine and Ours, staring Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda. The 2005 re-make with Dennis Quaid and Rene Russo was fun, but the 1968 original is still my favorite. Jumping back to musicals, With Six You Get Eggroll and Pillow Talk are a couple of my favorite Doris Day movies. As a matter of fact we're crossing over a little bit into my love of Barbie, with the recently released Pillow Talk Giftset. Doris-Day-Barbie looks so beautiful in her white gown and Rock-Hudson-Ken is very debonair in his classic black suit.

Another great Doris Day movie is The Man Who Knew Too Much, co-starring Jimmy Stewart. This movie is kind of the trifecta of classic movies; Doris Day, Jimmy Stewart and Alfred Hitchcock. Over the years, I've watched most of the Jimmy Stewart movies, as well as most of Alfred Hitchcock's movies. In the category of “really great movies” {or any other category, for that matter}, I don't think that I could narrow it down to just one absolute favorite, but pretty high on the list of all-time greats is Rear Window, an Alfred Hitchcock production starring Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly.


It is a psychological thriller, which I absolutely love. Movies that make you guess at motivations and put pieces together like a puzzle are absolutely the best, in my opinion. In another cross-over {this post is just full of them}, the Grace Kelly Barbie from Rear Window is amazing. She has such beautiful features, but how could she not considering the inspiration?

In 1998, a Rear Window remake for television came out, starring Christopher Reeve {another favorite; he will always be Superman in my book} and Daryl Hannah, which was pretty good right up until they changed the ending. And while clickety-clicking around the web for this post, I discovered that the 2007 film, Disturbia, starring Shia LeBeouf, was based on Rear Window, so now I'm interested to see how it stacks up.

Todays post brought to you by:

Various and Sundry Monday: Vol 18

The willingness to accept responsibility for one's own life is the source from which self-respect springs. –Joan Didion

Meet Stanley
I'm not sure if this spider, with its head-of-French-knots and button-bottom is whimsical or creepy. I mean, look at those legs and the bead-y orange eyes. This is the last piece of the hat portion of Zelda's Fancy Hat. I still have three brim pieces to do, but after I finished Stanley the Spider, it was time to put this project away for a bit.

Kimono Garden
The Christmas crafting has officially begun. I've got this table runner just about ready to baste and quilt. I'm going to make several different runners for various parties, and based on how quickly this one went together and barring any flare-ups of my chronic case of procrastination, I hope to be done with all handmade gifts with time to spare. Wish me luck.

100 Years and Still the Heartbeat of America
On November 3, Chevrolet celebrated its 100^th birthday! Here's a look back at the last century.


Thank You for Your Votes

Last weekend, I entered the weekly themed quilt contest over at Quilting Bloggers. The theme was Remembering Veterans and I submitted the t-shirt quilt I made for Mr. Bug, using his old t-shirts, sweatshirts and work shirts from the Navy. My mom informs me that my dad voted from every single IP address he could, and called all my siblings and told them to vote from their computers and smart phones. I know many of you voted, and left me really nice comments of encouragement. I finished in 4^th place, with 113 votes which is so amazing considering that the vote was split between 27 quilts. Thank you SO much to everyone who voted for me. I really appreciate it! It really made my weekend!

I Can't Help Myself
Part 1 of Breaking Dawn premiers at midnight on the 18^th. I, somehow, lucked out and have tickets for a pre-screening at 5:15 pm on the 17^th. I'm just a little excited. Here are a couple clips with scenes from the movie to help with the pre-wedding jitters.

This & That Wednesday

Darkness has a hunger that's insatiable and lightness has a call that's hard to hear. –Indigo Girls, Closer to Fine

Only 357 Days Until Halloween
I'm supposed to be working on Christmas gifts. I was really on a roll with my Twilight quilt {which interrupted work on my Halloween quilt}, but I put it away so that I could get my Christmas gifts done more than 15 minutes before we're supposed to leave for our parties. While I was organizing things, you know how you do when you change projects, I started winding some of the skeins of floss I'd bought onto bobbins. I've got all the colors of DMC floss now, but not all of them are on neatly labeled bobbins stored in containers. While I was doing that, I started to think about the 28 bobbins of floss I have separated out for Zelda's Fancy Hat, and kind of wanted to put them all back in their boxes so they'd be with their friends. But I can't do that until I finish using them. So, I started stitching.

I had two of the sections finished, the orange “lavender” and the lazy daisies. I finished three more sections for the hat and am working on the last section now, which fits down in the bottom right corner, making what you see into a triangle with a rounded bottom, that you roll to make a cone with. I really love to do hand work. There is something very soothing about the rhythm of it. The problem is, our first Christmas party is in 38 days. And I have a lot of sewing to do between now and then. So, I'm afraid I'm going to have to put Zelda's Fancy Hat away for a while. And putting all those floss bobbins back in their boxes will have to wait too.

Gaga over Little Big Town
Recently {like yesterday}, I was introduced to a fantastic band called Little Big Town. They are mostly country, but also a little bit bluegrass, which is something I really love {see also, RSRB}. Their music is all about the harmonies, which they do beautifully. They have some really great original songs {see Kiss Goodbye and Bring It On Home}, but they've also done some really great covers. Their version of Born this Way by Lady Gaga is one part redneck, one part chutzpah and one part pure genius.


My Little Pony?
The latest movie in the Twilight franchise is only 9 days away. I've already got my ticket to see a pre-screening at 5:15 pm on the 17^th. Until then, I've staked out all the late-night {and daytime} talk shows so I can catch clips of the movie. It doesn't hurt that some of the actors turn up and say really hilarious {and sometimes really off-the-wall} things. This clip from Letterman last night {a huge thank-you to the media pirate who moves at the speed of light to get this up} has a clip of the honeymoon. I loved it!

Big Day

When you loved the one who was killing you, it left you no options. How could you run, how could you fight, when doing so would hurt that beloved one? If your life was all you had to give your beloved, how could you not give it? –Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, page 2

Favourite Things Friday: Going to the Movies

The length of a film should be directly related to the endurance of the human bladder. –Alfred Hitchcock

I love going to the movies. There's just something about seeing it on the big screen, don't you think? Watching a movie on TV is fun. But going to the movie theater where the smell of popcorn is always tempting even if you've just eaten a really fantastic dinner you didn't have to cook is one of my favorite things in life. I love sitting in a comfy chair and holding hands with Mr. Bug in the dark with no distractions. I love being transported somewhere else and becoming someone else and forgetting about everything else for a little while. I love chic-flicks and action films and sci-fi; romantic comedies, musicals, animated and family films, fantasy, adventure, drama, western, religious, thriller and I even like books-that-are-made-into-movies movies. About the only kind of movie I don't like is horror. I think my absolute favorite thing about going to the movies is when the trailers are so awesome that I forget what I came to see and it is a surprise as the opening credits unfold. Yes, I love going to the movies.

Today's post brought to you by:

Favourite Things Friday: Alan Rickman

I am the character you are not supposed to like. –Alan Rickman

Alan Rickman is my favorite movie baddie. Somehow, he plays the despicable character in such a way that you are secretly falling in love with him a little while you detest him at the same time. Let me count the ways.

Hans Grüber — Die Hard

Elliott Marston — Quigley Down Under

Sheriff of Nottingham — Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
Best cheesy villain line ever: I'll cut your heart out with a spoon!

Judge Turpin — Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Those are all marvelous portrayals of evil personified, something Alan does well. And so it was surprising to see him as the tender and kind Colonel Christopher Brandon in Sense and Sensibility, yet it was another wonderful performance.

But I think that my favorite Alan Rickman role is that of Severus Snape in the Harry Potter franchise. Severus Snape is, in and of himself, a character you love to hate and that is what Alan Rickman does best.


Thank you, Alan Rickman, for making the world a little bit better badder.

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Friday Follow-up and Gracie's Pinwheels

Weekends are a bit like rainbows; they look good from a distance but disappear when you get up close to them. –John Shirley

I had high expectations for yesterday and Friday really had a lot to live up to. On the whole, it was a rather good Friday, as Fridays go. I started my day doing math and eating muffins with LadyBug at her school. It was organized by the 3^rd grade teachers, so there were lots of moms there and the muffins were huge and chocolatey with chocolate chips . After that, I went to see my old friend, the chiropractor. I'd forgotten just how good he really is. I've been to several in my day, and he is far and away the best I've ever been to. It's not just a quick 20-minute adjustment. It is a 1-hour treatment. He works the muscles in the problem area, getting them to relax first and then he does the adjustment. If I had my way, I'd have a standing Friday morning appointment with the chiropractor.

Both of those things were a really great way to start the day. Unfortunately Work had different ideas about how I should spend my Friday and I was there a really lot longer than I wanted to be. I used to think that I was a fairly efficient, on-task kind of person. But I'm starting to wonder if that isn't true, because it seems like I'm really slow at my job. I'm always busy, always working. But things take longer than I expect. Well, that's a subject to explore another day.

After work, Mr. Bug and I went to see The Adjustment Bureau. Emily Blunt was amazing, though I think my favorite part was the movie popcorn. Or maybe holding hands with Mr. Bug.


We ended our evening with the most delicious chicken burritos from Cafe Rio. After that, the day was pretty much gone, and so I didn't get to do any sewing. I'm on that today .

I'm working on the machine quilting on Gracie's Pinwheels. I had about ⅓ of the quilting finished when I put it away last weekend. I was feeling a little discouraged about the machine quilting I'd chosen. I'd debated back and forth about which color of thread to use and just how to quilt it. I knew that pink thread would stand out too much on the black fabric, so I decided on black, hoping that it wouldn't stand out too much in the busy pattern in the pink fabric. And I finally decided on loopy flowers all over. I worked on it for a good chunk of time last Friday and by the time I was ready to call it quits for the evening, I was wondering if I'd made a mistake. I started to think that the quilting looked like black scribbles through the pink fabric. The messiness weighed on my mind all week, and I wondered if the quilt was going to come out all right; if it was going to be one of those miracle quilts that once they are all done and bound and washed you just love or if it really was that bad and I was going to hate it when it was done.

When I opened up the quilt today and took a second look, I realized that my mind had really distorted the messiness in the look of the quilting, and I decided that it was pretty OK. So, I continued on. I'd finished just over half of the quilting when I opened out the quilt again and realized that I should have listened to Rhonda {who is, after all a professional}, and done loopy flowers in the pink blocks {with pink thread} and stippling in the black blocks {around the pinwheels, in black thread}. I could have even done arcs inside the pinwheels in pink thread. It was a little bit agonizing to realize that I'd made the wrong choice.

I weighed my options. I calculated the tedium and time consumption of unpicking to get the perfect quilting vs. the self-loathing I would feel if I finished the quilt in this imperfect state. My distaste for unpicking won out and I continued on. I've got just over ¾ of the quilting finished now. But that nagging voice in my head keeps telling me that this quilt would look so much better the other way. Will someone please tell that voice to shut up !?! Quilting is supposed to be fun. At least that's why I quilt. So, I'm going to finish up the loopy flowers and stop beating myself up for not getting it right. Because, really, this isn't life and death we're talking about here, and those loopy flowers are pretty adorable. Aren't they ?

Favourite Things Friday: Hugh Jackman

I'm a big goofball, you know. Don't tell anyone that, but I'm a big goofball. In Australia we call it a dag. –Hugh Jackman

He's a family man.

He's a big-screen action hero. He even makes this look good.

He's a romantic leading man who can melt your heart.

Jenna, this one's for you.

He's a larger-than-life Hollywood heart-throb.

But did you know he can sing?


Thanks, Hugh, for making the world a little more beautiful.

Today's post brought to you by:

Favourite Things Friday: Gene Kelly

Any man who looks like a sissy while dancing is just a lousy dancer. –Gene Kelly

If you could spend a day with any one person in history, living or dead {boundaries of time, distance and money are not an object} who would you choose to meet? For me, it would have to be Gene Kelly, circa 1952, and I would want to spend the day doing dance lessons. Oh, and I might ask him to sing while we dance.

You know the theory that there are only six degrees of separation between you and any other person on the planet? It all depends on who you know . I have this amazing friend, Sparkle, and Sparkle's Grandma-in-law took dancing lessons from Gene Kelly. That's only two degrees between me and Gene Kelly . If Sparkle were to introduce me to her Gram-in-law, Gram could introduce me to Gene Kelly. And I could have those dancing lessons. If Gene hadn't died in 1996. Details. Whatever. This is my Land of Make-Believe.

My crush on Gene Kelly started when I was about 16. Around that time, I started having problems with insomnia and the only thing on TV at 2:00 am were old movies on PBS. I loved them all, but soon decided that my favorites were the musicals and among the musicals, the ones starring Gene Kelly were my most favorite. I started to watch the TV listings for his movies and make a point to be there for them. Singin' in the Rain is one of my all-time favorites. Debbie Reynolds is absolutely adorable, Donald O'Connor is fabulous as the comic relief and The Man himself is unstoppable. He had a fever of 103˚ when he shot this scene. You'd never know it.


Did you know that Gene Kelly taught Frank Sinatra to dance using baseball moves? Gene was incredibly talented and graceful. It is one thing to look graceful in tap shoes, but a wholly other thing to do it on roller skates. From It's Always Fair Weather, 1955.


These next two clips pair Gene Kelly with another of my favorite performers, Julie Andrews, and they are just delightful. From The Julie Andrews Hour.




And last, but not least, from 1980 {and probably the first Gene Kelly movie I ever saw}, Olivia Newton-John and Gene Kelly with Whenever You're Away From Me from Xanadu. At 68, he still gives a wonderful performance. Sorry about the sound and picture quality. It was the best I could find of the entire clip.


Quoting Irving Berlin, Gene Kelly's last words recorded on film were, The song has ended, but the melody lingers on. And while Gene Kelly is no longer with us his, music, his dance, his melody lingers and will remain forever in my heart.

Today's post brought to you by:

I Can't Fight With an Eclipse

If you visit my blog very often, you'll know that I'm a Twilight fan. Just a little. The newest movie comes out in just over 26 hours.

Most die-hard fans already have their tickets for the midnight showing somewhere in between June 29 and June 30. But I am not one of those fans. I have tickets for a pre-screening at 4:30 pm tomorrow afternoon. Squee! I'm just a little bit excited. And slightly stunned at the way these tickets presented themselves to me, since I keep my Twilight addiction pretty close to the vest (unless you read my blog).

This movie promises to be the best yet in the saga, with amazing special effects and plenty of action between the vampires and the werewolves, which I will totally love. But what I'm really looking forward to is this:


I am a hopeless romantic. And Bella and Edward's story is a world-class romance.

Mr. Bug is my movie date tomorrow afternoon. I'm a little nervous about that. Because as I just mentioned, I'm totally going for the sappy, romantic, girl stuff. It's not like I haven't watched the other movies with Mr. Bug. I've got Twilight and New Moon on DVD and he's watched both of them with me. But I went to see those movies for the first time with the girls and had a few months to contain my enthusiasm for a fictional character before I saw the movies with Mr. Bug.

It's not like he doesn't know I'm nuts over the books. I read the first one in about three days and then I had to go back and re-read my favorite parts. Then I read the next three books in the next three days. By about the time I reached the end of book 3 I could see Mr. Bug was running out of patience with my vacation from reality. I only slept about three or four hours a night and fed the kids cold cereal for breakfast and dinner so that I could read. About a week after my first time through the books, I read them again. This time Mr. Bug noticed that I wore this goofy grin every time I had my nose in one of the books. I'm positive that I'll be wearing that same goofy grin throughout the movie tomorrow. I'm not sure how to fit that in with Mr. Bug sitting next to me in the theater.

Mr. Bug read the books before I did. He said they were a decent read and thought I would like them, but he's not a romantic in the way that I am so he said that some of the mushy stuff was barely stomachable. I once asked him if he were Team Edward or Team Jacob. He said he was Team Bella, which made me happy because in my head I'm still 17.

New Eclipse Trailer

Only 67 more days . . .

Twilight: How It Should Have Ended

Nothing is more curious than the almost savage hostility that humor excites in those who lack it. -George Saintsbury

Sun, New Moon & Quilting

Today is the Vernal Equinox. From Wikipedia, An equinox occurs twice a year, when the tilt of the Earth's axis is inclined neither away from nor towards the sun, the sun being vertically above a point on the Equator. What that really means is that the long nights and short days are over -- it is officially spring! Hooray! And spring is beautiful in my neck of the woods. I hope to find a bit of time to putter around in the gardens today.

Today is just full of special things. Today, New Moon is available on DVD. Were you one of the enthusiastic, vampire-clad fans celebrating at the pre-launch parties? I don't have quite enough nerve to do that, although I do have a pair of golden contacts (thanks, Iris) that are fun to wear. Or did you just brave the crowds, head ducked, to get your copy at midnight last night? I'm not quite that brave either. I'm going today, hoping that the crowds have thinned and there's still a copy left for me. Different stores are offering different features. When Twilight came out, I HAD to have two different copies of the DVD because of the special features. This time I'm only getting one copy. The special features on the Wal-Mart DVD interest me most this time -- exclusive scenes from Eclipse. Need I say more?

Today is also National Quilting Day. The National Quilting Association has put together a quilt pattern (download here) for groups, guilds or individuals to work on in honor of our troops. They suggest you gather up your scraps, put this quilt together and donate it to a VA hospital, a military base if one is near you or the family of a neighbor or community church member serving in the military. This is a very worthy cause, indeed, but only one suggestion of how to spend National Quilting Day. I'm off to get my copy of New Moon DVD, perhaps drop in at my favorite LQS, Corn Wagon Quilt Co. and see what is happening there, and then settle in with some sewing and my newly acquired DVD and all its special features. Then if there's any time left in the day, I'm going to dig a little in the dirt.

Happy Spring! Happy New Moon Day! Happy Quilt Day!

Eclipse Trailer

Only 110 more days . . .

The Twilight Years

I enjoyed this little spoof and thought I'd share. It pokes fun at both Twilight and the LDS Culture, and if we can't laugh at ourselves, well ...

Twilight Years from Tom on Vimeo.