Musings about Christmas Days and Memories Past

This is the time of year that the memories come.

 

I wrote about my Christmas memories a couple of years ago ("A Baby Boomer's Christmas Eve Memories"), but I thought I would do it again, just because I can. 

 

So this is a bit of a recap and a bit of an update and also a musing on what makes for wonderful holiday memories.  If you read that first one, I hope you will enjoy some nostalgia again and if you didn't, welcome to my world!

 

 

For great holiday memories...

 

 

First, ya gotta have some snow!

 

 

I grew up in the Midwest and there was nothing more magical than snow falling on Christmas Eve and waking up to a white Christmas.  And don't think snow in the Midwest is a given.  I can remember snow storms in November and snow storms in February (sometimes March, too) but Christmas remained dry.

 

It doesn't snow much in the lowlands of Western Washington so I was happy when it did.  The picture above was a view out our front window and the picture below the view out from our bedroom - our first Christmas in Washington. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you celebrate Christmas, ya gotta have a tree!

 

 

 

 

 

 

My mother was very particular about how the tree should look, especially with those silver icicles that were so popular back when I was young.  I think she meant well by letting my brother and me help decorate the tree, but when we started to throw the icicles onto the tree to see who could get them the highest, she couldn't handle it.  We were banned from tree trimming. 

 

When I became a mother, I had a similar experience. I  loved my children and wanted them to participate in decorating the tree, but they just didn't do it the way I wanted it done.  So it became my provenance.  Remember that thing about be careful of what you wish for? 

 

It has now become a gigantic chore.  This Christmas, Hubby and I did all of the decorating in one day.  He does the lights and I do the trees and other decorations inside the house.  It almost killed us! By the time I had twisted the 100th red velvet bow on the tree, I was ready for a glass of wine -- or three!  I would have given anything for those kids to be here to help me with the tree, no matter what the outcome! 

 

 

 

Ya gotta have stockings -- and for the dogs too!

  

 

 

Rosy, Chuck, Mildred, Freddy and Tarquin.  And let's just say I didn't name my children Mildred, Freddy and Tarquin.

 

 

 

Ya Gotta Have Holiday Cards

 

Though it has practically become a thing of the past, I still send out Christmas cards. 

 

Sending out Christmas cards is a way to keep in touch with friends who live far and wide.  I still do it, though we don't send family photos, and I do NOT believe in the long bragging letter about what little Mabel did in the school play and how great little Robby's report card was. 

 

What I DO believe in is sending out cards with a personal message to your friends telling them what they mean to you or sharing a happy memory.

 

 

Here is the Christmas card photo for my first Christmas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can't believe my mother wore the same hat for her Christmas card photo two years in a row! 

 

And what is my sister doing in this photo below?  She looks like she is practicing to be a femme fatale.  

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

Our collie, Echo, finally got to be in the picture and I guess my brother was into Marlon Brando in "The Wild One!" 

 

 

 

Do you notice a trend with these family Christmas card photos? 

In every one of them, one of us has his or her face covered or is looking down or giving a strange expression.  I have a feeling my Dad set up his camera to take these, and I guess film must have cost a lot then, because it doesn't look like he did many retakes!  There is not one perfect picture in the bunch.  I guess that's also a metaphor for families, don't you think?

 

Also, I always thought my mother had beautiful handwriting, which you can see here.  Did you know the schools do not teach cursive writing anymore?  That is another trend. Why are we OK with that?  Pretty soon our kids will be signing their names with an "X."

 

 

 

Speaking of trends...

 

 

Dolls

 

 

My first doll.

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can see that dolls played a big part in my life. 

 

I was 12 when I got my first Barbie (they had just come out.  That's how old I am), and I really wanted that doll canopy bed!  If I had that Barbie now, I would be rich! Long story and I digress. I don't think 12-year-old girls play with dolls anymore.  They are playing with boys!  It was a more innocent time when we didn't have cell phones and the Internet. 

 

 

 

 

If you celebrate Christmas, going to see Santa with your little one is a must!

 

 

But not THIS Santa!

 

 

It's an absolute must, if you celebrate Christmas, to take your child to see Santa.  However, NOT a Santa like this one!  You can see from my expression I am scared to death.  I can see my toes curling up in my snow boots from here. Where did they get that guy? That's more like what nightmares are made of, not happy memories!

 

 

 

Now THAT'S what a proper Santa should look like.

  

Then the next grandchild came along and off we went to see Santa again.  This guy gets a lot of work!

 

 

 

This year the youngest grandson didn't share my love of this "proper Santa," so only the oldest shared his Christmas list with Santa.

But the two of them enjoyed their Paw Patrol characters from Glammy and Papi!

  

 

And ya gotta take photos!

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Dad loved to take pictures.

He always had the best cameras and took a LOT of pictures. Every moment of our lives was an opportunity to take a picture:  First day of school, first dance, Easter, new outfit, you name it, there is a photo. 

But do you see a trend in how my Dad liked to pose us? 

Other than our looking in a mirror, which was also a favorite, he also liked to pose us in such "natural" poses as my putting an ornament on the tree. 

Well, we already know my mother did not allow me to help trim the tree so right there, that is not natural, but since I am posing exactly the same at the age of 12 and at the age of 16, putting that damn ornament on the tree, my Dad obviously had a thing about this particular pose. You can see in the first one, though, that I was a dramatic 12-year-old and was into it, because I tried to add some flair by holding my skirt up.  By 16, I had had about enough of this stuff, which you can kind of tell from my expression.  Not sure what was going on with my hair, here, though.

Here are a couple of the mirror ones.

 

 

 

Objects that evoke memories.

 

 

Here I am at on my second Christmas. 

 

 

That tree is very anemic and not the type of tree I remember.  Times must have been tough for my parents.

 

 



 

 

But looking at this picture, I see those chairs.

 

I have those chairs. 

 

Those chairs and I have a history.  Here I am at about one year old and there are those chairs.  Years later as a teen I would sit watching TV with my Dad, sitting in one of those chairs with one of my legs dangling over the arm of the chair eating a couple of pieces of toast.  My Mom would come in and say, "Rosellen, get your leg off of the chair and don't eat in the living room!" 

 

I think those chairs were the first pieces of furniture my parents bought together which would make them almost 90 years old.  They have been recovered many times and need to be recovered again, but I just love those chairs and hope that one of my kids will take care of them too when I am gone. 

 

Here is what the chairs look like today.

 

 

 

In need of recovering once again and a bit lumpy, but well loved. 

 

Upholsterers say that they make their money from nostalgia and sentimentality.  Otherwise, why would we pay as much to have an old chair reupholstered as we would to buy a new chair?  But there are no chairs from Macy's that would give me as much pleasure as these chairs do.  When I sit in those chairs, I feel my whole young life surrounding me with love, lumps and all, even though I am no longer young and have my own lumps to deal with.

 

 

 

 

Long Distance Holidays 

After college, I moved west to California, thousands of miles from my family and relatives.  I had my first professional library job in northern California, in a very rural area that didn't even have a McDonalds.  The biggest thrill living there was going to the Sears catalog store. 

I have had regrets over the years about moving so far from my family so that my kids never really got to know their Grammy and Granddaddy, but my Dad always said he admired my bravery in moving out West and wished he could have done it.  You see, my Dad always wanted to be a cowboy.  So when I saw this shirt in the Western store (no McDonalds but western stores abounded), I sent it to him for Christmas.  My Dad was also very good at showing his appreciation so he sent me this picture proudly wearing the shirt.

 

 

Then I had my own children. 

 

I came up with what I thought was an ingenious way to protect the Christmas tree from my first-born toddler!

First Christmas with Hubby. 

 

 

 

Presents from Grandparents

My mother sent our son a little Santa toy that played Christmas carols and moved around the floor.  The problem was it only played about four songs and played them over and over...and over and over. You can see the delight our son has in this toy so he played with it constantly.  However, by the 200th "Jingle Bells," Hubby and I thought we would be driven 'round the bend so little Santa mysteriously disappeared.

 

 

Our daughter's first Christmas. 

And then many Christmases passed and the kids grew up, got married and moved away.  They now had other families to spend Christmas with.

And we spent some Christmases alone.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Holidays alone

And because my brother, sister and I had moved so far away, my parents also spent many Christmases on their own. 

 

The irony of that parallel and how my parents must have felt about that when I moved away was not lost on me
(See the chairs they are sitting in)?

The first time Hubby and I found ourselves alone for Christmas, we decided, "Hell, let's go to Paris!  We will have the place to ourselves."

Not quite. We learned that other people like to travel over the holidays, other people and their entire families so Paris was crowded.  But it was still a welcome relief from spending our first Christmas alone without our kids.

 

 

Another time we found ourselves alone, we wandered off to Orcas Island in the San Juan Islands and stayed at the Rosario Resort.

In total contrast to Paris at Christmas, we DID have Orcas Island to ourselves and a beautiful view from our room.  However, having a place to yourself, especially on an island in the middle of nowhere, has its drawbacks.  At Christmas, Orcas Island closes up tighter than a drum.   Nothing was open so we spent most of our time in the hotel bar. Not necessarily a bad thing.

Hubby even managed to get a spot in the evening's entertainment!

 

But we have also had wonderful times with our children and their families too, made all the more precious remembering those times we were alone.

 

The holidays are all about family, love and lots of memories.

 

 

Though we don't always have control over who we will spend Christmas with and we miss our grown children and our grandchildren very much, especially over the holidays, we always know we have these guys! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Share Your Holiday memories!

 

 

 

From us to you 

 

 

Happy Holidays everyone!

 

 

 

 

Thanks for Reading!

 

 And if you are looking for

 

something to do on Christmas Day,

 

See you Friday for my review

 

of the new Rocky film

 

"Creed" 

 

and

The Week in Reviews

 

(What to See or Read and What to Avoid)

  

 and the latest on
  

My 1001 Movies I Must See Before

 I Die Project."

 

 

 

 

 



 



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"Spotlight" and The Week in Reviews

[I review the new movie "Spotlight" and the DVDs "The Pyramid" and "A Good Year."  The Book of the Week is "My New York: Celebrities Talk About The City."  I also bring you up-to-date on "My 1001 Movies I Must See Before I Die Project" with the romantic Swedish vampire film "Let the Right One In."]

 

Spotlight

Dramatization of how The Boston Globe uncovered the widespread molestation of children by priests within the Catholic Church and the cover-up that had gone on for years.

"Spotlight" stands for the team of investigative reporters at the Boston Globe newspaper who take on a story and spend, sometimes a year or more, investigating and then reporting on it.  In 2001, when a new editor arrived, there was an inkling of sexual abuse in the Boston diocese and that the head of the diocese, Cardinal Bernard Law, knew about it.  Turns out this story had been swirling around for years and the story had been quashed. Nobody wanted to touch it.

When the film begins, it's 1976 and a priest is talking to a mother who is crying while her children sit nearby innocently coloring.  Another priest is also there. The mother wants to press charges against Father Geoghan, a notorious priest pedophile. There is whispering but you can hear the priest telling her they will send the priest away and this will never happen again. Then the priests get in a big black car and drive away.  It looked like the mafia driving away from a crime scene.  And in fact, as this film will show, it kind of was. 

You see, Boston is a Catholic town.  Everyone in Boston it seems is Catholic.  And the Catholic Church runs the show.  Fertile ground for priests to do whatever the hell they wanted and no one wanted to believe that such a thing could happen.

Fast forward to 2001 to a retirement party for the Editor-in-Chief of the Boston Globe.  Everyone is anticipating the arrival of the new Editor-in-Chief and wondering about him.  He's coming from Miami - a Jewish guy.  An outsider.

When the story of child abuse within the Boston Catholic Church diocese and a possible cover-up by Cardinal Law (Len Cariou) surfaced, Marty Baron (Liev Schreiber), the new Editor-In-Chief, told the Spotlight team (Walter "Robby" Robertson, Mike Rezendes, Sasha Pfeiffer and Matt Carroll) to stop what they were currently working on and to take this story on. Interestingly, all four had some ties to the Catholic Church and all four had very mixed feelings about ruffling the feathers of the diocese and their fellow Catholics. No one realized just how big this story was and how widespread the corruption within the Catholic Church.  Pedophile priests were not kicked out of the church or robbed of their duties, but merely moved around. The team eventually uncovered over 1000 victims and 70 pedophile priests and won the team a Pulitzer Prize.

Don't be fooled by the fact that we know how this movie ends.  It is a riveting mystery from beginning to ends.

This is a newspaper film of the highest order (think "All the President's Men" which won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1976). The ensemble acting here is first-rate throughout.  Michael Keaton (Walter "Robby" Robertson) employs his best Boston accent and gives us as good a performance as he did in "Birdman," and Mark Ruffalo as Mike Rezendes creates a twitchy character who enters a room like a sneaky Tyrannesaurus Rex looking for his next meal.  He's never been this good. One wonders if Rezendes actually had those mannerisms. Rachel McAdams as Sasha Pfeiffer is always beautiful but here plays down her beauty, wearing baggy khakis and little makeup to highlight her acting skills.  And Brian d'Arcy James as Matt Carroll is almost unrecognizable with his mop of curly black hair.  You would never know he was Shrek.  There are some Oscar nominations in the offing for some or all of these folks.

Other standouts were Billy Crudup as a sleazy lawyer in cahoots with the Church, Stanley Tucci as Mitchell Garabedian, a lawyer representing some of the now adult abused children and Liev Schreiber as Marty Baron, the new editor, whose deadpan portrayal belies all of the stuff he stirs up.

But the real stars of this show are the screenplay by Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy and the editing by Tom McCardle. The screenplay is slick, intelligent and fast and the editing keeps what could be a lot of boring talking heads into a fast-paced film that makes you almost breathless. The film hums along like a printing press in action thanks to McCarthy, who also directed.

I predict "Spotlight" wins Best Picture in 2016.

Rosy the Reviewer says...when this film was over I cried, not because the film was sad, but because it was such a wonderful film experience.


 

 

Some Movies You Might Have Missed

(And Some You Will Be Glad You Did)!

***Now Out on DVD***

The Pyramid (2014)

 

 

 

Five archaeologists walk into a pyramid...

 

You know the rest.  Some really bad stuff is going to happen.

 

Archaeologist Holden (Denis O'Hare) and his daughter Nora (Ashley Hinshaw) along with a documentary crew discover an underground pyramid, not realizing it is inhabited by an ancient - and angry - monster.  And then they get stuck down there.  And it's booby-trapped.  And there are feral cats...

 

This is your typical "B-Movie" horror film starring relative unknowns. It has a wobbly camera production value and bad acting and is part of that "found footage" genre.  Think a "Blair Witch Project" but in a pyramid and with bad acting.  It's your typical "I got to get the hell out of here" scenario.  Imagine being locked underground and being stalked by a million year old creature.

 

There is one scene where a woman falls down a shaft onto some spikes and some ancient Egyptian cat creatures come and start eating her while she is stuck on those spikes.  It's like that.  Ew. 

 

Why would a sophisticated movie goer and reviewer such as I resort to spending a couple of hours with a film like this?  Sometimes you just have to succumb to a mindless bit of horror now and then, and what better stress reliever during the holidays than a good old horror film.  And this one is definitely cringeworthy, gory and "hands-over-the-eyes scary."  Delish. 

 

Rosy the Reviewer says...The lesson here?  You don't want to go messing around in an old pyramid.

 

 

A Good Year (2006)

 



 



A hard-driving investment banker inherits his uncle's chateau and vineyard in Provence. 

 

Max Skinner (Russell Crowe) spent his summers with his uncle Henry (Albert Finney who hasn't aged well, by the way.  Remember him in "Tom Jones?"  Swoon) in the south of France after his parents were killed in an accident, so it's a walk down memory lane for Max when his uncle dies 25 years later and leaves him his chateau and vineyard. 

 

Max is a cutthroat investment banker in London and not a very nice guy, but he feels a bit of guilt that he didn't keep in touch with Uncle Henry. There are some nice flashbacks showing the relationship the young Max (Freddie Highmore) had with this uncle. However, Max has every intention of fixing the place up and selling it as fast as he can, so he can get back to his life in London.  But that's what he thinks before he meets Fanny, a local woman (Marion Cotillard) and another young American, a wine aficionado from the Napa Valley, who has some ties to Uncle Henry (Abbie Cornish). 

 

Max and Fanny "meet cute," when Max almost runs her over while she is riding her bike.  When she passes the chateau, she recognizes his car and goes to give him a piece of her mind.  Instead she finds that he has fallen into an empty pool and can't get out.  She seeks her revenge by filling the pool with him in it.  Of course, they fall in love.  That's what's called "meeting cute" in film lingo.  You are very welcome.

 

Peter Mayle made his fortune writing about his life in Provence and making the rest of us yearn for such a life.  His "A Year in Provence" was an international bestseller and was made into a wonderful British mini-series starring John Thaw.  This film is based on Mayle's 2004 novel, but is very similar to "A Year in Provence," so I couldn't stop thinking of John Thaw and wishing he was in this one too.  Despite his Morse-like gruffness, which he can't seem to shake, at least he has some comic timing.

 

Unlike Russell. I am not a huge Russell Crowe fan. I have never forgiven Russell for "Noah" and his abominable singing as Joubert in "Les Miserables." I also can count on my one hand the number of movies where Russell Crow was the romantic lead.  Wait.  Actually I can't think of any except the one where he starred with Meg Ryan and, in real life she fell in love with him and ran off, leaving husband Dennis Quaid behind.  I don't think her career ever recovered from that.  I mean, name that movie. See you can't.  OK, I will tell you.  "Proof of Life." Let's just say that Russell Crowe is not known for his romantic moves or comic timing.

 

But here he has some help from Marion Cottilard (before she hit it big) in a sort-of romantic comedy directed by Ridley Scott.  Russell probably wanted to do something lighter after "A Beautiful Mind," "Gladiator" and "Master and Commander."  But I can't account for what Ridley Scott was doing directing this film.  This isn't a bad film but it's hardly "Blade Runner" or "Alien."  But Scott shows the French countryside in its best light.  In fact, he uses light to show the changes in Max. He uses a darker lighting effect when Max is in London showing Max's darker (and unhappy?) side and then the lighting changes to a bright, vibrant cinematography when he is back in Provence. 

 

The story is actually fun and light and Russell grew on me, though he is not very good at comedy and though he was supposed to be an Englishman, his Aussie accent drifted in and out from time to time.  It's also fun to see an actress in something before she hit it big.  Cotillard did this one right before her smash hit and Academy Award for Best Actress in "La Vie en Rose." Abbie Cornish does an able job as the young American, Christie.

 

Gorgeously photographed in French wine country, the chateau and the beautiful French countryside are the stars of this film and enough to recommend it as it transports you to a good year in France.

 

Rosy the Reviewer says...when you have a guy who is overly ambitious and married to his work, who inherits a chateau in the South of France, the ending is inevitable but it's a gorgeous ride to get there.

 

 



 

 

"My 1001 Movies I Must See Before I Die Project"

269 to go!

Have YOU seen this classic film?




Let the Right One In (2008)

 

Oskar, a bullied boy, finds a friend in Eli (Lina Leandersson), a young neighbor girl who has a secret.

Oskar (Kare Kedebrant) is a middle-schooler who is being bullied by a group of boys and ignored by his divorced parents. The score is very melodramatic and ominous as the film begins, and we see Oskar is in his room playing with a knife and acting out revenge on his tormenters.  Oskar is a pale, sensitive and lonely kid. Meanwhile we also see a middle-aged man, Hakan (Per Ragnar), who is a Bryan Cranston lookalike from "Breaking Bad," going out into the snow, killing a young person and extracting his blood.

You see, Eli is a vampire and Hakan is her (or his? She tells Oskar she is not a girl) father or familiar. Again, we are not sure but he is devoted and does her bidding. When he botches a murder and disfigures himself, it's almost like a Bela Lugosi film where the townspeople storm the castle with torches.  It's also an unusual twist to have a child vampire, though Anne Rice employed that device in her "Interview with a Vampire."  There is some humor and also some gore as Hakan and Eli try to fulfill Eli's need for blood.  But take away the vampire element, and this is a tender story of young love between two outsiders who let each other in.

Why it's a Must See: "Set in the early 1980's, there is no social media, no frantic chatter to relieve the sense of isolation.  Into this constellation comes the dark, brooding Eli; she is a guest, but it is not clear how welcome she is.  The title refers to the fact that, according to folklore, vampires must be invited in by their victims...[this film] thus asks the question whether hospitatlity means one has to accept the bad with the good.  A pointed commentary on immigration, perhaps; an enchanting fairy tale, for sure."
"1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die"

It has the feel of a Tarantino film and what better place for a vampire film than Sweden in winter where the sun rarely shines. Directed by Tomas Alfredson, this film is atmospheric and dreamlike and not your usual vampire film, though you can guess once Oskar and Eli becomes friends what is going to happen to those bullies of his. 

This film also has a similar feel to the Tilda Swinton film "Only Lovers Left Alive" - life as a modern vampire is not easy.  And it's even harder when you are a kid.

Rosy the Reviewer says...This is a remarkable vampire film like you have never seen.  And you bullies out there?  Watch out.  Those people you are bullying might have a vampire friend!
(In Swedish with English subtitles)

 

***Book of the Week***

My New York: Celebrities Talk About The City by Alessandra Mattanza (2015)

Celebrity New Yorkers talk about what they love about The City.

This is a love letter to the city of New York from 20 celebrities who call New York City home or who are inextricably entwined with its delights.

 

Woody Allen, Candace Bushnell and Robert De Niro are obvious but we also have James Franco, Al Pacino and Moby weighing in along with others.

 

Mattanza is a writer and photographer, a transplant from Italy, who fell in love with the city in her twenties: "Everybody will find himself or herself here, in one way or another..."   She has gathered together beautiful photographs of the city and interviews with celebrity New Yorkers who share what The City means to them.

 

Mario Batali:  "New York is rich in different flavors, spices, and colors, and is classic, modern, and experimental all at once."

 

Yoko Ono: "I just like the hustle and the bustle of the city.  It gives electricity for your mind."

 

Taylor Swift: "What makes New York City New York City is that it is unlike anywhere else in the world.  It's almost as if the City has its own heartbeat."

 

Those are just some tastes.  The interviews are longer and the photographs copious.

Rosy the Reviewer says...A beautiful coffee table book that would make a great gift for someone who loves New York City.

That's it for this week!

Thanks for Reading!

See you Tuesday for

"Christmas Days and Memories Past"

 

 

 

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