Small Things

Life is not, for most of us, a pageant of splendor, but is made up of many small things, rather like an old fashioned piecework quilt. No two people have the same, but we all have our own, whether it be listening to Beethoven's fifth with a beloved friend, or seeing a neighbor at the back door with a basket of white dahlias. Or after a long, hard day, having the family say, "That was a good supper."

- Gladys Taber

In no particular order, here are six small things that have motivated or inspired me this week.

1. A Rain Meditation

It's a stormy day here in Virgnia, the perfect day for a rain meditation.

2. Small Things 

3. Stitches and Techniques for Hand Sewing

I have some projects coming up, and since I don't own a sewing machine, I've been brushing up on hand sewing.

4. Strawberry Lemonade Smoothie

I was looking for something to do with a bag of frozen strawberries, and I think might be the ticket!

5. A Blueprint For Believing You Are Enough

6. Now Is A Perfect Time To Be Happy

Classic Movies You Can Watch For Free!

 Most of you who follow me regularly know that I ❤︎ classic movies and sitcoms, so today I thought I would share some of my favorites that are **mostly** free on the internet, and by mostly I mean that in some cases you have to have Prime, Netflix or Hoopla, which is available through most libraries and uses your library card. Though they are getting harder to find, there are some You Tube that are free, and I've listed those below.

❊ Classic Movies on Prime Video

- Rear Window - one of my ALL TIME FAVORITES!

James Stewart and Grace Kelly

- To Catch a Thief - Another great movie!

Cary Grant and Grace Kelly

- Funny Face

Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire

- Fried Green Tomatoes - Maybe not classic ('91), but a GREAT movie!

- Donovan's Reef - One of the few John Wayne movies I actually like, also, it's not a western!

❊ Classic Movies On Netflix

- My Fair Lady

Audrey Hepburn 

I'm afraid that's about it for Netflix, at least that make my list. There are a few others if you search on "Classic Movies", but the others I've never seen.  Also "Classic" by my definition is 1970 and under, if it's 1980 or after, to me that's modern classic, but that's just my view. I graduated in 1980, and while that was 41 years ago, the movies beginning in the late 1970's began to lose a bit of what I consider that "classic" feel. 

❊ Classic Movies on Hoopla

Check with your local library to see if they offer Hoopla, then create an account using your library card!

The African Queen - Love, love, love this movie!

Katherine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart

Charade

Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn

A Little Princess

Shirley Temple

Royal Wedding

Fred Astaire and Jane Powell

Father's Little Dividend

Spencer Tracy and Elizabeth Montgomery

Life With Father

William Powell and Irene Dunne

Beach Blanket Bingo - These are cheesy, but I still like to watch a few every summer!

Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello

Bikini Beach

Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello

Our Town - A true classic, but a little dark and sad.

William Holden

The Last Time I Saw Paris

Elizabeth Taylor

Fanny 

Leslie Caron

❊ Classic Movies on You Tube

Tammy and the Millionaire

Debbie Watson - originally a short-lived TV series from the 60's, it is a take on the other "Tammy" movies starring Debbie Reynolds in the original and Sandra Dee in the remaining movies.  Several episodes from the series were combined to make this movie.

Goodbye, Charlie

Tony Randall and Debbie Reynolds

Who's Been Sleeping In My Bed?

Carol Burnett, Elizabeth Montgomery, Dean Martin

Fluffy

Tony Randall, Shirley Jones

Bernadine

Pat Boone

The Second Time Around

Debbie Reynolds

Take Her, She's Mine

James Stewart and Sandra Dee

And I think this give you plenty work with, so I'll stop here, though I am sure there are many more! I hope you've enjoyed this list and maybe found one or two that you think might be worth watching. Why not pop up a bag of popcorn this weekend and kick back and relax for an hour or two! And be sure to let me know if you do watch any of them, and what you think!

Small Things

"Life is not, for most of us, a pageant of splendor, but is made up of many small things, rather like an old fashioned piecework quilt. No two people have the same, but we all have our own, whether it be listening to Beethoven's fifth with a beloved friend, or seeing a neighbor at the back door with a basket of white dahlias. Or after a long, hard day, having the family say, "That was a good supper."

- Gladys Taber

 In no particular order, here are six small things that have motivated or inspired me this week.

1. Quiet Walking Tour In A Beautiful English Village

2. These **FREE** tools from Misty Sansom, including the The Purpose Profile.

3. Tree.fm - Listen to the sounds of random forests around the world!

4. Clear Your Clutter: Inside and Out Podcast with Julie Corracio - I found this podcast through another app that I am absolutely loving, LikeWise which finds similar movies, podcasts, songs, and more based upon what you already like! 

5. Weavesilk. Be careful, it's addictive. :)

6. Sacred Space - Your Daily Online Prayer

My Favorite Classic Sitcoms- The Andy Griffith Show

As some of you may know, old movies and classic sitcoms are my first choice any time I want to watch a little TV. Even though some of the content is dated and in today's age even considered offensive at times,  there is something about rewatching the shows from my childhood that I find powerfully therapeutic. The familiar faces are like old friends, and the storylines are easy to just jump into at anytime and I'm assured that I'll leave feeling better for the experience. 

Lately I've become obsessed with The Andy Griffith Show. I've been watching one or two episodes a day, either in the late afternoon before I make dinner or in the evening. I'm currently on the fifth episode of the third season, and since there are eight seasons, I'm not even half way at this point!

The Andy Griffith Show first aired on October 3, 1960, one year, one month and eight days before I would make own debut into the world, and it ran for eight seasons, ending on April 1, 1968 when I was six years old, so it's more than likely that my memories are from re-runs than from the actual show itself. Though I do recall spending many nights in front of the tv with my family, at that age I doubt if I could actually recall what we watched. 

Something I discovered just last night is that it got it's start as a spin-off from  The Danny Thomas Show, another favorite I discovered in my twenties when Nick At Nite was in it's prime and included some other greats such as, The Patty Duke Show, The Donna Reed Show and Dobie Gillis, just to name a few.Back in the day I would turn it on around 7:00 p.m. and let it play into the early hours of the morning. It was the best! And while you can find all of those sitcoms sill in syndication today, they're scattered across several networks and harder to streamline. It was nice when it was all in one place. MeTV is about the closest thing I think you can find these days, if you have an antenna that will pick up local channels or cable. TV Land has some classic shows, but I find most of their line up unappealing, and it also requires cable. Anyway, I'm venturing off a bit here, but if you want to watch the episode that started it all, you'll find it here. Which reminds me, if you're not looking to watch every episode in order, You Tube is a great place to find classic tv shows, as well as The Internet Archives, but now back to Andy Griffith!

Like so many people, I'm sure, one of the things I like best about this series is the relationship between Andy and Opie. Was there ever a cuter red headed boy than Ronny Howard?, and of course he went on to make quite a name for himself! I love him, even today! Even though it was scripted, there was just something about Andy's manner and spirit in guiding and raising his son that has always moved me. And he carried that over into his job as Sheriff as well, extolling his small-town wisdom to friends and family alike. Andy Taylor was a healing balm in the quickly changing world of the 1960's, with the birth control pill sparking a sexual revolution, the battle over civil rights was escalating, and the war in Vietnam was tearing the country's political system into pieces. In some ways, it seems that in 2021, history is repeating itself, and in the midst of our current turmoil, a trip to Mayberry is still refreshing for the soul.

And of course, the show just wouldn't be the same without Barney, who is probably my favorite character.

I fell in love with the humor of Don Knotts all those years ago and he has remained one of my all time favorites any time I need a good laugh. I think I own every movie he ever made, my favorite's being The Ghost and Mr. Chicken *(featuring many of the cast members from the show), and The Reluctant Astronaut . We watch The Ghost and Mr. Chicken and The Private Eyes every year around Halloween, they are both timeless classics! But my favorite role Don every portrayed was as Deputy Barney Fife and it made him in star, so big in fact, that he left the series in 1965 to pursue his movie career, but still made guest appearances until it ended three years later.

While doing some research for this post I discovered that I am obviously not alone in my love for all things Mayberry, and if you love it, too, then you might enjoy perusing a few of these links.

- 7 Things I Learned From Andy Griffith (I LOVE this one!)

- The Moral Lessons of Mayberry - article about a church that has turned watching The Andy Griffith Show into a bible study. There's also The Mayberry Bible Study Podcast, if you want to join in!

- 10 Things We Learned About Fathering From Andy Griffith

- Act Like Somebody: Special Moments of Parenting From the Andy Griffith Show

- I'm Proud To Call You My Friend: A Collection of Special Moments of Friendship From The Andy Griffith Show

- The Andy Griffith Book: The Complete Guide to One of Television's Best Loved Shows

- The Way Back to Mayberry: Lessons From A Simpler Time

- Aunt Bea's Mayberry Cookbook or try out some recipes from this online cookbook.

- Andy and Don: The Making of a Friendship And A Classic American TV Show

- The Boys: A Memoir of Hollywood and Family by Ron Howard and Clint Howard

A few years ago while were on a vacation my husband and I unexpectedly happened upon Mount Airy, North Carolina, the small town where Andy Griffith lived until he graduated from high school. Here you will find a replica of the sheriff's office and court house, Wally's Service Station, and the very home where Andy grew up is a bed and breakfast! There are many other sights, including The Andy Griffith Museum which boasts a bronze statue of Andy and Opie going fishing, and The Andy Griffith Playhouse. You can even tour the city in a replica squad car just like the ones Andy and Barney drove in the series. We had such a good time when we were there and it's on my list to visit again. We were actually on our way to another destination so we didn't get to see everything, but we made sure to hit the highlights, including the sheriff's office. You can learn more about Mount Airy (Mayberry), here. Or you can borrow this book from the Internet Archives;

Memories of Mayberry: A Nostalgic Look At Andy Griffith's Hometown, Mount Airy, North Carolina

If you're as big a fan as I am, you might also enjoy The Mayberry Trivia Challenge. I only got 11 out of 25 corret, so maybe I need to keep watching? If you take it, leave a message in the comments and tell me how you scored!

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