Healing

Today I shared this photo on Instagram and I thought that I would share it here also. It was a tiny reminder that through all that the world is going through during this pandemic, there is still the beauty of nature around us...a bit of the normal. I needed to remind myself of that and I hope that this can brighten someone else's day too.

These daffodils reminded me that Spring has arrived even though we're all quite preoccupied and rightfully so, with getting through the worldwide threat of the coronavirus. For me, seeing these beautiful flowers was a tiny bit of healing.

This is a terribly hard time for everyone and the news is just jarring everyday, but there have also been many bright lights that are shining and helping light the way. I have been heartened by the stories I hear of people banding together and helping each other. I have been so incredibly grateful for the heroes out there for us everyday...the doctors, nurses, healthcare workers, grocery store employees, delivery people and all of those who aren't able to stay home and who are saving us. I applaud them all...thank you doesn't even come close to saying it all, but they are heroes!

I'm also overwhelmed to see how people are using their gifts to uplift and help people escape all of the bad news for a while...people like all of the DJs who are playing music for thousands of us on Instagram and reminding us of the healing power of music and also reminding us what community is all about...we are one! There are dance classes, yoga classes, guided meditations, church services and so much more. I am loving how people are stepping up to share what they do best. They are healing...wow are they healing! I know that many of them have helped calm my anxiety and I have a more level head again. Something special is happening and I pray that we all never forget what we were able to do by banding together.

Until next time, stay safe!

Better

In my previous post, I wrote about my anxiety about the coronavirus. I know that I'm not alone. It's scary for sure. However, I've taken a step back from watching wall-to-wall news coverage as I mentioned a couple of days ago and I must admit that I'm already feeling a bit better. I check in once a day or so to see what's happening and then I turn the television off or to another channel. 

I've only just started on this journey to try and calm down some of my anxiety, but I'm already feeling calmer. It's a surreal time, but I'm sensing this slowing down in my life and I know that I needed it.

Here's to finding peace in the midst of the storm...

We will get through this. 

Stay safe.

Coronavirus Anxiety

These are such troubling times to say the least. 

The coronavirus has been concerning me for a while now, just like it is concerning for everyone. There are so many unknowns and it all just gets worse everyday. It is a nightmare that seems to have no end right now.

I know that I've been watching too much wall-to-wall coverage and now it's finally catching up to me. 

I want to stay informed and I will, but I realized today that I have to take some mental health breaks from all of the social media and news coverage. Balance is key. 

Please take care everyone...stay safe and be well.

International Women's Day 2020

Random Food Post: Stripey Donuts

I love food...I know, a lot of people do...I'm not rare :) 

I of course love the taste of food and I love cooking, even though I hate washing the dishes.

However, I also like looking at food. I love the design elements especially found in desserts.

Pretty food is a thing for me. I even admire it for a few moments before it goes into my mouth. 

Ha, ha.

My admiration for pretty food happened the other day when I came across these stripey donuts at the supermarket. They're very zebra-esque and I'm kinda intrigued to try and recreate this design myself even though I'm more of a savoury cook and not much of a baker.

I have to say though, that even though these were beautiful to look at, they were kinda dry. Oh well, at least I enjoyed the pretty food aspect and they brought a smile to my face :)

Until next time.... 

12th Blogiversary

Courtesy of Pixabay

Today is my 12th Blogiversary!  

I can't believe that I've been blogging for twelve years off and on. Time does fly. I admit that my blogging has been quite sporadic over the past couple of years, but I'm always operating in the hope that I can get back to blogging much more. When I show up here at my blog, I'm instantly happy and it brings back good memories when I scroll back over older posts. 

On this blogiversary day each year, I always look back at that very first post in 2008 and I'm instantly nostalgic. When I wrote that first post I was very actively trying to figure out how to "be" here in this new land. I have to admit that I was struggling a lot back then and I still do sometimes, but I firmly believe that this blog has changed the trajectory of my life in so many good ways. I love that I began this blogging journey on March 4th, which always makes me think of marching forth. 

Typing those first words on my very first post really opened up a new path in my life, that I am still exploring. I've been given great opportunities through blogging, but the most important thing that blogging has given me has been simply to give me an outlet, especially during a time when I needed it the most. 

My life is a bit more complicated than it was when I wrote that very first post back in 2008 and right now I'm working on making it a bit less complicated again. I know that I can never go back to that time and that looking back too much can be toxic, but I think that reflection once in a while is a very helpful way of checking in with myself. I think cutting down on some of the complication in my current life starts with getting back to square one with myself and doing the things that I love. I've been running on fumes for the last while and my tank is ready to give out if I don't help myself. I've come to realize lately that I don't really do much that I love anymore. I just do what needs to be done and not much else (I know I'm not alone in feeling this way). That has to change. Life is to be lived. 

Only I can make the changes that are needed to get me back on track in life. This blog offered me a great outlet in the beginning, so now it is time to let it do its quiet magic again, to help me look within. I am ready to do this. Here goes :)

Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.

~ President Barack Obama

Hello March

Wishing everyone a great new month!

💐🌸💐🌸💐🌸

The Second Half of February

Wishing everyone a great week ahead 🙂

Valentine's Day 2020

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! 

Good morning

Good morning! Welcome to this beautiful new day that we have been given. I hope that your day and week are wonderful 🙂

Film Spotlight: Cloak and Dagger

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this film for review. All opinions are my own

Photo Courtesy of Eureka Entertainment

On chilly winter weekend afternoons, I’m often to be found either curled up with a good book or watching a classic movie. There’s nothing like enjoying an atmospheric thriller in the pages of a book or onscreen. Recently, I had the opportunity to watch a classic that I hadn’t seen before, the film noir classic Cloak and Dagger.

Photo Courtesy of Eureka Entertainment

This 1946 WWII espionage thriller, directed by Fritz Lang, stars Gary Cooper and Lilli Palmer. It is Lang’s follow-up to the noir classic Scarlet Street. Cloak and Dagger is a spy tale with a commanding Gary Cooper performance and a wealth of masterful suspense sequences. This is an aptly-titled film, as Cloak and Dagger is a consummate wartime espionage suspense picture, and an intriguing mixture of genres for Lang: part spy thriller -- part romantic melodrama.

Above: Lilli Palmer

Photo Courtesy of Eureka Entertainment

Nuclear physicist Alvah Jesper (Cooper) is recruited by the U.S. Office of Strategic Services to become a reluctant undercover agent, traveling to Switzerland to meet with a fellow scientist regarding information on Germany’s plans to construct an atomic bomb. After his colleague is assassinated, Jesper must sneak into Italy via the underground resistance, to contact another scientist. While there, Jesper falls in love with resistance fighter Gina (Lilli Palmer, in her first Hollywood role), and the two must battle shootouts, double crosses, and narrow escapes to smuggle the scientist out of Italy.

Above: Lilli Palmer and Gary Cooper

Photo Courtesy of Eureka Entertainment

I loved the atmospheric quality of this film. It was very easy to get into the film and travel to another time and place. This was an intriguing film that I thoroughly enjoyed.

The Masters of Cinema are proud to present Cloak and Dagger on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK in a Dual Format (Blu-ray & DVD) edition available from 27th January 2020.

Take a look at the CLOAK AND DAGGER (Masters of Cinema) New & Exclusive HDTrailer 

Title - CLOAK AND DAGGER (Masters of Cinema) Dual Format (Blu-ray & DVD) edition

Starring - GARY COOPER | LILLI PALMER | ROBERT ALDA

Certificate - PG

Run Time - 106 minutes

Picture - B&W

Genre - Thriller / Film-Noir

Year - 1946

Country - USA

Language - ENGLISH

Subtitles - ENGLISH (Optional)

SPECIAL FEATURES

- Presented in 1080p from a high-definition digital transfer

- Optional English subtitles

- Uncompressed LPCM mono audio

- Brand new audio commentary by film critic and writer Alexandra Heller-Nicholas

- Spycraft – A brand new video essay by David Cairns

- Cloak and Dagger: Lux Radio Theater [57 mins]– Radio adaptation from 1946

- Cloak and Dagger: The Radio Series [approx 660 mins]

- A collector’s booklet featuring a new essay by Samm Deighan

Available to order from:

Eureka Store

Amazon

Film Spotlight: The Miracle Worker

 Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this film for review. All opinions are my own

Photo courtesy of Eureka Entertainment

I love a great film and I especially enjoy those which are inspired by the lives of real people. It’s always fascinating to have a deeper look into someone else’s journey and if a film like this is done well, it can be filled with many revelations. It is also a great way to look at the universality of the human experience.  

One of the films which takes viewers deep into the experience of another person is The Miracle Worker. This superb 1962 Academy Award-winning film stars Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke, and tells the story of the life of Helen Keller. Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke are remarkable in their roles – they bring such an amazing level of authenticity to their roles which makes the film into an even more compelling experience for viewers. There is such a realness to their portrayals.

Above: Patty Duke - left, Anne Bancroft - right

Photo courtesy of Eureka Entertainment

Locked in a frightening, lonely world of silence and darkness since infancy, seven year old Helen Keller (played by Patty Duke) has never seen the sky, heard her mother’s voice or expressed her innermost feelings. Then Anne Sullivan (played by Anne Bancroft), a 20-year old teacher from Boston arrives. Having just recently regained her own sight, the no-nonsense Anne reaches out to Helen through the power of touch—the only tool they have in common—and leads her bold pupil on a miraculous journey from fear and isolation to happiness and light.

Photo courtesy of Eureka Entertainment

The Miracle Worker is stunningly powerful, uplifting and inspirational. It is a story of courage, hope and perseverance. Both Patty Duke and Anne Bancroft give incredible performances. Young Patty Duke, starring as Helen Keller, gives such a raw and multi-layered performance that is truly astounding. I love this film!

Photo courtesy of Eureka Entertainment

Eureka Entertainment will release The Miracle Worker, available for the first time on Blu-ray in the UK as part of the Eureka Classics range from 27th January 2020.

1962 | 106 minutes | USA | Biopic / Drama | B&W | Certificate PG |
Director ARTHUR PENN | Language ENGLISH |
Subtitles ENGLISH SDH (Optional) |
Blu-ray Cat. No. EKA70369 | Blu-ray Barcode 5060000703696 | Blu-ray

BLU-RAY EDITION SPECIAL FEATURES

* Presented in 1080p from a high-definition digital transfer

* Optional English subtitles (SDH)

* Uncompressed LPCM mono audio

* Brand new audio essay by Amy Simmons

* Theatrical trailer

* A collector’s booklet, featuring new essays by film critic and writer Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, and film critic and author Richard Combs

Available to order from:

Eureka Store

Amazon

First Workday of 2020

Today was back to work day for me...like it was for many others :) A couple of days ago, I started to have the "Why-can't-the-holidays-start-all-over-again-because-I-don't-want-to-go-back-to-work" feelings. The anxiety of going back to the 9-5 world was tapping me on the shoulder. However, going back today was actually not that bad. It was a gentler return because everyone hasn't come back to work in our office yet, since most people in the office are returning on January 6th. Therefore, it was beautifully quiet and lowkey. I LOVED IT! :)  

I hope that everyone who went back to work today had a good day :)

Happy New Year - 2020

 courtesy of Pixabay

HELLO 2020!

HELLO NEW DECADE!

image courtesy of Pixabay

WISHING EVERYONE A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

image courtesy of Pixabay