Hallmark Christmas in July

This month Mama Rosie and I went completely bonkers and watched oodles and oodles of Hallmark holiday films. Most of them were really good and a welcome relief from the chaos and noise at home (from my new upstairs neighbour) plus other bad news and stress. As Wayne said, “Ya gotta find that thing, whether it’s Hallmark movies, Rick Steves on PBS, or Falcon Crest.” Christmas shows in July that always served a happy ending (with a cliched and often predictable plot) were just what was needed this month. 

A Royal Christmas

Christmas with the Darlings

Pride and Prejudice and Mistletoe

Open By Christmas

The Sweetest Christmas

Crown for Christmas

The Twelve Gifts of Christmas

A Christmas Together With You

Royal Runaway Christmas

Wish for Christmas

Grown Up Christmas List

Sister Swap: A Homemade Holiday

Jingle Around the Clock

A Very Merry Bridesmaid

An Unexpected Christmas

Christmas Detour

The Christmas House

Never Kiss a Man in a Christmas Sweater

My Christmas Love

Christmas at The Plaza

Sharing Christmas

Five More Minutes

Christmas in Vienna

The Christmas Train

Christmas in Toyland

Cross Country Christmas

Kate's Purses Are Back!

I already have two gorgeous Kate Gabrielle bags but I kinda really wanna get the black Halloween bag from this season's launch....

We Heart Starsky

Last night I watched some of season one of Starsky and Hutch for the first time in years and years. Then Bishop and I texted back and forth about Paul Michael Glaser, one of the most handsome men ever to walk the earth.

Seen In West Kensington

Indian Style Rice Pudding

When Jax and I went to the Mercer Museum I snapped pictures of people's recipes that were posted in the one room. 

Rice Pudding Reciepe (Indian Style)

Take small bowl raw rice & wash thoroughly. In a pressure cooker add rice, saffron strands, milk (full or 2%) give it a good stir. Wait till you hear 2 whistles and adjust the consistency - add sugar - your rice kheer or Pudding is ready. Garnish with nuts of your choice, serve warm or cold. 

R.B.

Our Almost Completely True Story

Stumbled upon this upcoming film and I really hope it gets a full theatre release because it looks super dooper adorable. The star? Mariette Hartley. If you are a red blooded American of a certain age, you think this lady is the cat's jammies because, well, she is!

Check out the trailer on the film's website - I think it looks like a really sweet and fabulous flick!

POST SCRIPT: It's January 2nd, 2024 and I finally was able to buy this off iTunes and watch it this afternoon. It was a wonderful movie and a great first film to start off the year. Husband and wife duo Jerry Sroka and Mariette Hartley are nothing short of charming and sweet together and I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of this lovely story.

Peter Cushing Want

I’ve had this fantastic bow from DollfaceDesignss in my Etsy cart for a long time and would love to have it but I can’t really see me wearing a bow tie. Maybe one day though!

Shake-Boy

Zoom Date with RJ and Ray

Last week Robert Wagner's Instagram page mentioned a Zoom meeting to take place on July 23rd at 7PM British Summer Time. It would be hosted by Philip Hawkins and the guests would be RJ and director Ray Austin. I looked up Mr. Austin to see which episodes he directed and discovered that he was at the helm of one of my favourite Hart to Hart episodes ever - Night Horrors. In addition to that, Austin also directed other season one classics, Passport to Murder, Jonathan Hart, Jr., Which Way, Freeway? plus the final episode, five years later, Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch. 

The meeting started promptly at 2pm EST and was to only last an hour but actually went on until ten after 4. Philip had planned to have Jonathan Hart, Jr. play in the background with the fellas giving a commentary. It was instantly derailed. RJ and Ray answered the first few questions and then it went into non-stop reminiscing about all the projects they've worked on together and moments they've shared. I so admired the interviewer for letting it ride and allowing the audience to be that proverbial fly on the wall and listen in on some great stories from a couple of ninety-ish year old men who were sharp as a razor. They both got a bit teary-eyed discussing Samantha Smith, a young actress they worked with on the series Lime Street who was killed in a plane crash while on break from filming the show. They also went back and forth doing their Cary Grant impressions and were complete cut-ups. It was a lovely way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

"Steal Like An Artist" Journal Entry

Pick a color. Go to the your bookstorecase and write down the titles of the first 10 book covers you see with that color. Obviously I chose green, my fave colour, and I actually have read all ten of these books! On the opposite page I taped in pictures of famous people that I admire - Molly Shannon, Alan Alda, Mister Rogers, and Martin Clunes. All wonderful individuals that made the world a better place

Natalia in Alaska

I know three separate groups of people who have been to Alaska this month but it's Natalia's Instagram pix that have me longing to see more!

Dublin Screenshot

(kidnapped from dublinmochroi_ Instagram page earlier this year)

Suited Up

Tonight after work I went over to see Jax and the crew and to work on the book he and I are writing together. I opened the front door to see Jackson in a homemade helmet and wrist guards. He was building a suit of armour out of cardboard boxes. "I'm keeping this forever," he declared. 

Anne in England

Anne and her father spent a month travelling around southern England and here are some gorgeous snapshots that she shared with me. 

T-Bizzle

While going through a stack of case-less homemade cds I discovered this mix that the baby brother made, sometime in the early aughts.

Thug Mansion - 2Pac

Snowblind - Black Sabbath

Running Free - Iron Maiden

Come Down Hard on Me - Jimi Hendrix

What You're Doing - Rush

Letter to My Girlfriend - SRV

Bike - Pink Floyd

Over the Hills and Far Away - Led Zeppelin

Come Dancing - Jeff Beck

Waiting in School - Ricky Nelson

Let's Get It On - Jack Black

Come Away With Me- Norah Jones

A Knife in the Dark - Howard Shore

Wrathchild - Iron Maiden

The Pusher - Steppenwolf

Captive Honour - Megadeth

Heaven and Hell - Black Sabbath

Thug Mansion - 2Pac

Billie Jean King

(photo taken by Molly Choma and kidnapped from billiejeanking Instagram)

Billie Jean King is a name that I've always known. My father's parents were tennis-lovers who played doubles at their country club for years, so the game and the players were discussed often. Billie Jean seemed like someone that everyone I knew admired, but aside from that I knew nothing about her, until around 2015 when I saw the documentary To Russia With Love. It was about gay Olympians and the Winter Olympics being held in Russia in 2014 and especially about the anti-gay policies of the country. The main focus was on a figure skater who went on about how much he loves Russian culture to the point where he learned to speak the language fluently. At one point he met with a young gay Russian teen who poured his heart out and said that because he was outted as gay, he is a pariah who is mistreated by everyone at his school including the teachers. He is beaten by classmates and threatened with rape. Their meeting at the figure skater's hotel ends with him inexplicably gifting the boy one of his fancy scarves. Then a day or so later that same young man, Vladislav Slavskiy, approaches Billie Jean King outside the stadium and tells her what he is going through, just as he did to the skater. I don't know if it's because the word rape holds so much fear and anxiety for women or if it was Billie Jean's maternal instinct to nurture, but she listened intently and then asked if she could hold him, to hug and comfort him. Then she asked what she could do to help and when Vlad said he didn't know and seemed genuinely distressed, Billie Jean turned to the person from the State Department and another with the American Embassy to ask what can be done. She got them to take down his information so that she could get in touch with him and possibly help. A few days later Billie Jean contacted government staffers in Sochi to help Vlad get a visa to the US. She then went on to contact the athletic director at Cal State Los Angeles who made it possible for the university to sponsor a student visa for Vlad so that he would be able to stay in the States and seek asylum. While the scarf was nice (although utterly useless) what was better was Billie Jean King's relentless assistance in getting Vlad out of Russia and to safety in the United States; to rescue him from further abuse and injury. As if inspiring people around the globe with her skill on the court, all of her efforts as a feminist and fighter for equality, and her activism for the LGBT+ community wasn't enough of a legacy, she saved a young man's life, simply because she could. 

I instantly adored her after this documentary and looked for more docs on her life. I bought her memoir, All In, on Audible so I could listen to her tell me everything she experienced and how it shaped her into the brilliant woman she is today. I thoroughly enjoyed hearing about her childhood, her wonderful parents and her relationship with her baby brother. The times her voice broke with emotion or she giggled while telling certain stories made her narration perfection and it showed that she's really a human rather than the superhero she appears to be. 

There's so much to admire about this woman. She seems incredibly genuine and kind, she's smart without being intimidating, she's confident but doesn't come across as a show-off, she's strong and caring and listening to her audiobook made me adore her even more than ever. (Oh, and I love that she proudly wears glasses, too!) Billie Jean King is a class act and continues to teach me through her own actions and how she moves through life. She is making me a better person. 

Mail from Helen

Lookee what I got from across the pond!

International Non-Binary People's Day

Thanks to Billie Jean King's Instagram account, I know the right thing to say now!

The Ragman

'Rags, rags, rags', he'd shout. The Ragman was a fella on a horse and cart, he'd have goldfish in little jars. He'd give you one if you brought down a good clover coat or some other article. Sometimes me Da noticed things missing and he's lost the head. The Ragman always came of a Friday or Saturday morning - right, when he'd know your parents would be working or out getting messages. He's come of a Tuesday as well because he'd know the women would be up washing their clothes in the wash house by the Iveagh market. He stopped coming around 1967.

Maria's Book Recommendations

In my Cameo video from February, Maria Bamford recommended two books that I plan on checking out next month! (I immediately added them to my Audible library but now I feel is the time to dive in!)

Classic Datsun

Sunday Sweetie

Bailey went to her first bday party and looked every inch the rad, hep chick she is!

(Ashlee said that Bailey picked out her entire outfit, accessories and all!)

Gettin' Artsy with Jax!

Today Jackson and I spent several hours working on more fun ceramics at Syd's work. I screwed up my bowl big time, but it was still fun to paint and gab with Jackson. Oh and he made the dragon an ice dragon rather than the typical fire-breathing. Cool, huh?!