Tuesday 4: Hooray for Hollywood?

 Tuesday 4: Hooray for Hollywood

Back so soon? Well, weeks fly by it seems. Welcome to Tuesday 4 in memory of Toni Taddeo it's first host and founder.


How about the subject of Hollywood, it's 'stars', its products and it's affect on the world?

1. Which of the big movie stars of the past were your favorites? why?

Some of my favorite actors/actresses were Cary Grant, Gregory Peck, Olivia DeHaviland, Maureen O'Hara, oh, I'm sure there are more, but my mind's a blank. I loved Cary Grant in so many movies...The Bishop's Wife is my favorite.

I just noticed on my blog that they posted an "age restricted" notice on this video. That's crazy! There is nothing age restricted about this movie. Totally nuts.  Does it show that when you see my post here? That is so strange.

I loved Gregory Peck in a lot of movies, mainly because he reminds me so much of my maternal Grandpa when he was a young man...they both had the same kind of deep voice too.  

Gregory Peck as a young man

My Grandpa Tedlie as a young man

 

2. Of the 'Blockbusters', which do you think is the all time greatest? Which was one you would see again?

Gosh, I don't know, it's been so long since I saw any great movies, but Gone With the Wind stands out, and yes, the old Charlton Heston movies, "The Ten Commandments", "Ben Hur".  Oh, "The Sound of Music" was one of my favorites, so I need to add Julie Andrews as a favorite female star too.

3. Are you up on the latest Hollywood gossip? What interests you or alternatively why doesn't it interest you?

I have NO interest in latest Hollywood gossip. Couldn't care less about it. Haven't been to a recent movie in a theater since "The Titanic", which was good, by the way. Hollywood has always been a pit of destruction as far as the lives of so many young people who went there with stars in their eyes hoping to make it big and ended up "lost" in so many ways.

4. /Some movies, plays had a big impact on people. Orson Welles radio performance of War of the Worlds caused havoc including suicides and accidents. Is there a movie that you were greatly influenced or affected by?

Probably The Sound of Music...I still sing a lot of the songs in my head (or in the shower). When I was a child the first movie I can remember seeing was "The Lady and the Tramp", a Disney cartoon movie. I loved "Lady", the cocker spaniel, and at that time there was a rubber toy dog made to look like Lady that I wanted so very much...I remember asking my parents for it for my birthday or Christmas or something...and they did get it for me. I loved that little rubber dog and kept it until it cracked with age and its squeaker stopped squeaking.  Another movie I remember seeing as a child was "The Long, Long Trailer" with Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. I loved that movie, and I loved Lucille Ball also.  She was a redhead and so was I, so I could identify with her. LOL.

Thanks for dropping by and thank you so much for participating and making this a lot of fun for everyone.

Have a great day everyone!  Thanks, Annie, for making this event happen each week.  

Tuesday 4: Books, TV, Movies and more...

 This week the Tuesday 4 meme was all about Books, TV,  Movies.  I didn't participate in the meme yesterday because I just couldn't come up with any interesting answers. But I enjoyed reading everyone else's thoughts on the topic.  You can check them out at the link above.  But the first question was...well, what the heck. I might as well play along. Better late than never...

"Hello Friends.. welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4. Just 4 questions each week. So glad you are joining in and the more the merrier!"

Books.. TV.. Movies are the topic of the week.

1 A movie theme song will play every time you walk in the room.. what is it? (consider asking family or friends)  I finally came up with a song as I was looking out my window at the little Bluebird house in our yard...

Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay

My, oh, my, what a wonderful day

Plenty of sunshine headin' my way

Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay!

Mister Bluebird's on my shoulder

It's the truth, it's "actch'll"

Everything is "satisfactch'll"

Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay

Wonderful feeling, wonderful day!

Yes, sir

2. What movie, book or TV program could you live in?

Anne of Green Gables....

Most of you have heard that I was named after Anne of Green Gables...my middle name is Anne, spelled with an "e", because I was a redhead and my mother loved this story, and when she saw me for the first time she knew she had to give me that name...

3. Is there a book/movie/TV quote you often think about or that effects you in some way?

Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music

4. OK friend, its your turn to organize our Blogger Movie Night where we get together as a group for snacks and movies! What movies have you planned for us tonight and what snacks are we going to have?

Well, based on all of the above answers, I guess we will watch those three movies:  The Song of the South (zippity doo dah!), Anne of Green Gables, and The Sound of Music.  Snacks...We will have fruit cake and cherry preserves and raspberry cordial, in honor of the famous tea party that didn't turn out so well that Anne of Green Gables had with her best bosom friend Diana...well, maybe we won't have that exactly, but we will have popcorn for sure because I think we should always eat popcorn while watching movies. And maybe a delicious homemade pizza.  Drinks? Well, probably sodas and/or iced tea or coffee if you prefer. OR how about a Root Beer Float??? Haven't had one of those in ages!!

Okay, I did it. Sorry I was so late. I just needed some inspiration from the rest of you.

Speaking of bluebirds, Mr. and Mrs. Bluebird have been quite busy lately...apparently the babies have arrived and the parents are coming back and forth with juicy bugs for them all day long.  It's hard to get a good picture because they are in and out so quickly, but here's the latest today of Mrs. Bluebird:

Maybe she is singing "Zippity doo dah!"

On another note, I started my physical therapy yesterday for my neck.  I will be going 3x a week for three weeks, and then we will re-evaluate my progress. I am also scheduled for the epidural in my neck later this month. Praying that will help.   Yesterday at the PT appointment I was being asked to think about all the things I can no longer do because of this pain and discomfort in my neck.  I guess I hadn't really thought about it that way. But when faced with the question the reality hit me...there are things that I have not been doing or find difficult to do because of decreased strength in my arms, which is caused by the pressure on the nerves in my neck.  One thing I've noticed is that it is very painful/difficult for me to lift a full pitcher of iced tea and to put it back in the refrigerator:

Lifting a gallon of bleach or milk or anything that size is also very difficult:

Even lifting this teapot full of hot water to make a pot of tea is difficult because I can't use two hands on it when it is hot:

The therapist also asked me about reading..."Can you sit and read a book?"  I hadn't thought about it like that. I just knew that I have not been doing much reading at all in quite a while, and when I do try to hold up a book I have to hold it up in front of me at eye level so I don't bend my neck down to read, and that is why I am finding it difficult to sit and read anymore for any length of time.  

It is also why I sit at a desktop computer rather than try to use a laptop. Thankfully that is what I have and what I prefer anyway.  I've tried to use my hubby's laptop, and I find it very difficult.

But the thing I thought about the most that made me kind of sad was realizing that I no longer feel like inviting people over for gatherings at our house, which is something I've always loved to do. Our house has always been the gathering place for family holidays, etc., and now, with the exception of our immediate family here for a meal now and then, I just don't feel like going through all of the work it takes to clean/cook/ and clean up after for larger groups.  That actually makes me sad. But in reality, since last year's pandemic, no one really wants to travel and come anyway so I guess it doesn't matter. If we get together we have to find a place half way where we can meet at a restaurant or something. Or someone else has to do the cooking and cleaning...which is a nice idea, don't you think?

So, my goals in getting better is not to focus on what I can't do, but what I can do.  I don't want to be a person who just says I can't do this or that anymore. I want to be a person who CAN do.  Even though with something like degenerative disc disease my neck and spine will probably not really ever get better, but with proper exercise and PT the goal is to hopefully strengthen the muscles that support those areas and fight this thing and not let it define what I can and cannot do or who I am or will become. That is my hope and prayer.  

Remember this song?  Maybe this should be my theme song:

"I'm only human I'm just a woman

Help me to believe in what I could be and all that I am

Show me the stairway that I have to climb

Lord for my sake teach me to take one day at a time

One day at a time sweet Jesus that's all I'm asking from you

Give me the strength to do everyday what I have to do

Yesterday's gone sweet Jesus and tomorrow may never be mine

So for my sake teach me to take one day at a time

Do you remember when you walked among men

Well Jesus you know if you're looking below it's worse now than then

Pushing and shoving crowding my mind

So for my sake teach me to take one day at a time

One day at a time sweet Jesus that's all I'm asking from you

Give me the strength to do everyday what I have to do

Yesterday's gone sweet Jesus and tomorrow may never be mine

Yes just for my sake teach me to take one day at a time"

Thanks for sticking with me here friends.    Oh, one more thing.  Our dear blogging friend Martha Jane Orlando from "Meditations of My Heart" lost her dear mother this week after a prolonged illness. Please remember her in your thoughts and prayers.  

Also, another dear blogging friend, Mildred from Laurel Wood is having some health concerns and I know she would appreciate your prayers as well.   Thank you dear friends. You're the best!

Tuesday 4: The Best!

 

The BEST!


Here is an older Tuesday 4 from Toni Taddeo.  Why not play along with us?

I was having difficulty coming up with good answers, so I decided to ask my hubby these questions to see what he would say.  I found his responses interesting, and they helped me come up with some of my own. So here we go:

1. What was the best thing you have ever bought?

He said: The electric Tea Pot!

Yes! It's so much fun to watch the pot boil!!  Hubby insisted on buying this for me after my numerous occasions of letting the teapot boil dry on the stove.  We tried whistling tea kettles, tried setting a timer...but I hate to tell you how many teapots were ruined on top of the stove by my neglect.  I'd set the full teapot on the stove and turn on the burner, and then I'd get distracted by...well, life! Children, phone calls, laundry, the computer, a good book, a knock at the door...you name it, they were all good excuses...but since he bought me this electric teapot there have been no more incidences of teapots boiling dry because it shuts itself off when it is done boiling.  Now, I must confess I have let the water sit there and get cold again before remembering to pour a cup of tea...but, well, what can I say? 

That's life!

And the electric rice cooker is another miracle invention that hubby discovered when he was home doing the cooking after his early retirement and before I retired.  Bless his heart, he who had never really ever cooked more than hot dogs before decided he would cook supper every night while I was still working. It was the best thing that ever happened in our then 40+ years of marriage! I would come home after a long day at the office and a 45 minute drive to walk in the door and smell the wonderful aromas of supper being ready to eat!! To me, that was just the best thing ever! 

Sadly, once I retired he forgot how to cook.  But in the meantime, he bought this rice cooker because again, you can put the water and rice in the pot, plug it in and turn it on and in about 20 minutes you have perfectly cooked rice! No boiling over, no scorched bottoms...a great invention I must admit!

 2. What was the best book you have ever read?

So I asked my theologian husband this question, and I disqualified the Bible, because, obviously, that is the BEST book anyone could EVER read, so he had to come up with a 2nd choice. I was surprised by his answer of Billy Graham's classic "Angels, God's Secret Agents". 

It truly is a great book, highly recommended. Sadly, we no longer have it on our bookshelf. We purged a lot of books over the years as we made our many moves.   

I also thought of a favorite book or two, but these were from childhood:

I was just sharing these stories with Lily Grace...  (Lily asked me to apologize because she hasn't had any new adventures lately. We've been a bit remiss in going places where she can go and have an adventure, but I've promised her something special soon)

I am sure you all remember this classic "The Little Engine That Could"... I always thought this a great little book to encourage children as well as adults.  Sometimes all we need is for others to believe in us and encourage us to try!!

"I think I can, I think I can, I think I can..."

And it's always good to hear from our friends and loved ones some words of praise and cheer as we do accomplish our goals in life...something we should also remember to do for others who may be struggling with their load...they may just need a little cheering on their way!

3. What is the best food you've ever eaten?

Hubby had to really think about his answer and be very careful not to insult his wife sitting there beside him waiting for his answer.   He very diplomatically responded with something that we both could agree upon: my mother's coconut cream pie!  And he quickly added that I make it just as good as she did...but he explained that he'd never had a real coconut cream pie until he tasted my mother's, and he's never forgotten it!  This is a link to a post I wrote about her pies with a picture of my attempt at making it just like hers.

4. What was the best movie or TV series you've ever watched?

Hubby's answer was "The Ten Commandments", "El Cid", and "King of Kings".

For me it would have to be "The Sound of Music".  I will never forget watching that movie in the first ever cinema theater in our area. It was so awesome!! I learned every song and thought I could sing them all just like Julie Andrews.  (I was about 15 when it came out).  I used to sing the songs in the shower, and one time when I came out of the shower to go to my room, my parents were sitting in the living room  and had been listening to me sing.  They said, "we didn't know you could sing like that! Maybe we should get you some voice lessons!"   I wasn't sure if I should be insulted or complimented! But I never took the voice lessons at that time. I did have some later as an adult, and I gave it up because every time I'd practice the scales, the dog would start howling.  Besides, my voice kept dropping from soprano to low alto...can't do the Julie Andrews routine at all anymore! LOL. But I do love to sing and make a joyful noise to the Lord. That's what really matters most.


So now you have our answers!  

So what would your answers be? Get blogging and let us know.

Julie Andrews and I Have Something in Common

I am just amazed tonight. I have learned something I never knew before!!!

Did you know that Julie Andrews said "When the Lord closes a door, somewhere He opens a window" in the movie "The Sound of Music"?

I've been sitting here listening to clips from the movie and also watching the Oprah program of the 45th Reunion of the cast of the Sound of Music, and this was mentioned...and I had to go find it!

I hope this works:  (clip to where "Maria" says this in the movie)
https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/bba3fe46-866d-424c-87b9-26f5528c3acd

I got started on this search tonight as I posted something on Facebook:

My Favorite Things
Julie Andrews
Raindrops on roses
And whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things
Cream-colored ponies and crisp apple strudels
Doorbells and sleigh bells
And schnitzel with noodles
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings
These are a few of my favorite things
Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
Silver-white winters that melt into springs
These are a few of my favorite things
When the dog bites
When the bee stings
When I'm feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don't feel so bad

(I'm working backwards here...)

I had gone outside for a few minutes to walk around the yard, and I discovered these:

 Raindrops on roses....and I started singing the song "These are a few of my favorite things..."

And one thing led to another, and pretty soon I was trapped at my computer with the Von Trapp Family singing all of the songs and enjoying the memories each song invoked.  I remember going to see this movie in our cinema theater, back when theaters were just getting that cinematic surround screen and sound, and I was so taken by this movie that I've never ever forgotten it. I used to pretend I was Julie Andrews (Maria) when I was in the shower, singing "The Hills Are Alive With the Sound of Music"...and I remember one time when I came out of the bathroom from my songfest, my parents were sitting in the living room looking at me so strangely, and my mother actually said, "I didn't know you could sing like that! Maybe we should get you some singing lessons!"  Now, I'm not sure if that was a compliment or not! LOL.  But, unfortunately, I never got the singing (voice) lessons at that time when I was young and teachable, although I did take a few lessons later after I was married...but I never reached the Julie Andrews level by any stretch of the imagination...and now my voice has fallen into the bucket so to speak, "how low can you go?"...(Actually, Julie Andrews has the same problem, but sadly because of surgery on her vocal chords that pretty much destroyed the beautiful voice she once had...although she says she can still sing in the lower range).

Anyway, I digress...I just mentioned this on Facebook, that I didn't know this quote came from this movie, and one of my good friends said she thought that was where I got the title for my blog, "Closed Doors, Open Windows".    No, I never made that connection...but here are some links to the real story of the beginning of my blog and why I chose this title:
https://pamelasopenwindow.blogspot.com/2010/02/closed-doors-open-windows-beginning.html

https://pamelasopenwindow.blogspot.com/2011/05/another-closed-door-or-open-window.html

So I wanted to share this with you tonight because it was exciting to me that after all these years I learned something about this "connection" with Julie Andrews and The Sound of Music that I never knew before.  Now I want to go watch the whole movie over again...I know we still have a video tape of the movie...but does our VCR still work? Mmmm, not so sure.  I'll have to wait until one of the younger members of our household is here to set it up for me...or maybe we can just get it on Netflix or one of those other movie programs that we subscribe to that we never use...

What is your favorite song from the movie The Sound of Music?  I know that every now and then any one of those songs pops up in my brain and I just have to sing it...what about you? I'll bet I'm not alone in this!! 

Well, "So long, farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, I hate to go and leave this pretty sight..."