Finding joy in the everyday

Superman, Batman, Spiderman, Ant-man, Thor, Captan America, Green Arrow, Iron Man, Hulk, Green Lantern, Flash Wolverine, Steel, the Fantastic Four . . . . plus the hundreds of other superhero created by Marvel and DC over the last 80 years. And with every superhero is a villain or two.  Superheroes are not new — Superman (or Clarke Kent) was created in 1932 and Batman (or otherwise known as Bruce Wayne) was created in 1939. Many millions of children around the world have grown up with these superheroes and spent lots of pocket money buying the comic books. Modern children (and adults alike) flock in very large numbers to see the latest Marvel or DC movie — we have the X-Men franchise (8 thus far), we have the Batman and Superman franchises and it just keeps on growing. There is money to be made in these franchise (for example, the three Batman movies made $US1.45 billion and the three Superman movies made $US1.11 billion). Disney bought Marvel comics in 2008 for $US4 billio...

I for one won’t be rushing out to watch the movie “ Noah ” starring Russell Crowe or later on “ Exodus ” starring Christian Bale or “ Mary ” and I will certainly be giving “ Son of God ” a miss. I do not like or have any interesting in watching adaptations of the bible. The Word of God is the Truth and should never be altered for entertainment or sheer pleasure. Altering God's words is to say that we think as humans we could have done a better job. That God's words are not good enough for us.   However there are Christians who will be eager to see this movie because it is based (how ever loosely) on the Bible and they see this as a positive move and a way of getting God's  message  to the masses.  Every word of God is pure. (Proverbs 30:5) From what I have read, the movie Noah strays considerably from the truth in many aspects  and this is a worry. Instead of being "based on the truth", these movies, Noah included, become only a "slight resem...

Lots of parcels have been arriving in the post of late (Christmas presents), but there were 2 that I have been looking forward to receiving.  One of these arrived on Friday - Victorian Farm .  You might remember but I wrote a review about the DVD series of the same name - it was brilliant and I highly recommended it.  Finally I got around to buying the book and I am so pleased as it is full of information, recipes, crafts, hints, gardening, farming etc...  Here are some of the chapters: Background history of the Victorian Age Agriculture - advancements in agriculture during this period all the way through to how to grow crops, keeping pigs, sheep shearing, making fertiliser, veg gardens etc Victorian arts and crafts Victorian cookery and domestic life Victorian clothing Health and hygiene Celebrating the seasons If I was homeschooling, this would be a wonderful resource to have. I am particularly enjoying the gardening and domestic life parts of t...

Elizabeth Gaskell was born 1810 and died in 1865. She was an author during the Victoria era and weaved through her books the plight of the very poor and the consequences of the Industrial Revelation on these people plus an insight into the class system of Britain at the time. Several of her books have been made into mini series and they are all excellent. My favourite would have to be North and South , a gritty portrayal of northern England during the height of the British cotton industry.   Cranford is lovely, I thought  it was much more gentle that "North and South" but so beautifully made with some of England's best actors including Judy Dench.  And on the weekend I watched Wives and Daughters as recommended by my brother. Another wonderful BBC production by Andrew Davies. Interestedly, Gaskell never finished "Wives and Daughters", she died before she wrote the ending.  However she had told a friend how it would end and who Molly would marry.  ...

Note: Art Wednesday has now been moved to Fridays - generally a quiet day of my blog. Do come and visit and leave a comment :) It is hard sometimes to know if other people will like the DVDs that I like - things that I might enjoy maybe be disliked by others, or perhaps offensive. As a result I am always in two minds about recommending films to others. I try and find ones that are uplifting, interesting and I hope encouraging, they aren't always Christian though.  So I do hope you like this one as much as I did. I have just finished watching " Call the Midwif e", based on the book of the same name by Jennifer Worth.  Nurse Jennifer Worth (nee Lee) was a midwife in the East End of London in the 1950s.  This was a time of poverty, unemployment, high birthrates plus the early introduction of birth control. Nurse Lee worked at Nonnatus House, a convent in one of the poorest areas of London and saw it all - far more than she had bargained for.  The TV ser...

I thought I would do a  couple of updates on things around the home starting with my homemade vanilla. You may remember back in January I started making vanilla using a bottle of vodka and 10 vanilla pods. Within a few weeks the vodka had darkened but still tasted strongly of vodka so I added the remaining 5 pods that I had left over.  Probably overkill but won't do any harm. Having two grown sons who quite like alcohol (!) they were my tasters and every couple of weeks they would have a small taste.  They both agreed that the longer I left the vanilla extract the better and they were quite right. It now tastes so much better (and the smell is amazing), but like all alcohol, the longer it is left the better it will be. In fact some recipes say to leave the extract for 6 months to obtain the best taste and that sounds about right.  My 19 year old made custard tart on the weekend (to welcome me home) using the homemade vanilla and I can report back and say that the t...

I have watched many versions of Jane Eyre and the latest one ( 2011 ) is definitely not not my favourite.  That still remains the 2006 BBC mini series ( link ) with Toby Stephens and Ruth Wilson. I ordered my copy and eagerly awaited its arrival.  So when it came on Friday I sat down and watched it and sadly it didn't live up to my expectations.  Firstly, I am not a fan of Mia Wasikowski (even if she went to school with my son!), I didn't like her in Alice in Wonderland and I didn't her like in this.  I really can't put my finger on why, but I just didn't connect. I also felt the chemistry between her character and that of Mr Rochester was lacking, or certainly not as strong as the chemistry that appears in the 2006 mini series.  This needs to be strong to hold the story together.  Perhaps due to the speed it raced through the book, the characters didn't have time to develop anything, especailly their romantic connect. When a book is turned into a film...

 Rango On the weekend I watched two animations - Rango (USA) and Gnomeo and Juliet (UK) - both rated PG (parental guidance) which give the impression to parents that these animations are suitable for children. Afterwards I thought about the content of these movies, in particular Rango and I wondered what has happened to innocent childrens animation. Rango (a western themed story) is quite funny, I recognised the parts stolen from other (very adult) movies (such as the R rated Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas) and I quite enjoy it as an adult.  However, as far as I am concerned this is NOT a childrens movie.  The language is questionable, some characters were quite ugly (in a scary sort of way) and it is more violence than in many other animated children's movies -- including scenes with gun showdowns and gallows outfitted with nooses to frighten a killer hawk and a sadistic snake that threatens characters.  A few characters are killed (or nearly killed), shot at, o...

At Home with the Georgians ( link ) This is the era of Jane Austen and her wonderful characters of Lizzie and Mr Darcy.  How did they REALLY live.  To find out, watch this BBC TV series. The narrator, Professor Amanda Vickery, is so interesting to listen to as she wanders through homes, grand and not so grand, sharing the everyday lives of the Georgians through their homes, their paintings and most importantly, their letters and diaries.   Episode 1: In search for a capable and intelligent wife and once found, setting up a home but what happens to those men and women who never marry (women in particular pay a heavy price) Episode 2: A woman's touch - making the house a home and why this was so important (You Tube link ).  How to decorate your home that shows your neighbours that you have "good taste".  The importance of the "catalogue" in shopping for furniture - as in the very innovative Chippendale furniture catalogue. All about wallpaper and why Ge...

This is one adorable film  . . . and even before I tell you anything about the film, I am giving it FIVE STARS .  Its beautiful. Movie : Babies Genre : Documentary Rating : G (In Britain and Aust) So why did I enjoy it so much.  Babies followings four babies from birth to age one: Ponijao from Namibia, Bayar from Mongolia, Mari from Tokyo, and Hattie from San Fransisco – Babies is a look at what growing up is like in different parts of the world - in fact it isn't a lot different, babies do the same things, no matter where they live.  And their mothers . . . they love their babies to bits no matter where they live, they just do things slightly different. There is no narration, the joy is watching these 4 children tell their story.   It isn't boring, 76 minutes glued to the TV watching these children and what they might do next.   I did feel sorry for the cats in a few scenes!! It is currently in the cinema in Australia - but available on D...

Coast : This is a brilliant series from the BBC (Open University, UK) — each 1 hour episode explores a small part of the UK coastline and examine the geography, the history, the marine life and the archaeology — it is just amazing and I have learnt so many things I didn’t know. It picks up interesting facts about the coastline, from villages that have been washed away in storms, ship wrecks and lighthouses, tidal changes and the long term effects on the coast etc..  The camera work is excellent and the music is beautiful.  As you can guess, I love this series.  Suitable for teenagers.  There are 5 seasons of Coast, other seasons look at French coasts, Norway and the many islands around Great Britain. I would give these series 5 stars.  ( Amazon link ) Beneath Hill 60 is an Australian-made movie telling the gripping story of Oliver Woodward, a miner from Queensland who, with other miners ( 1st Australian tunnelers) , tunneled under German lines i...

I have been watching some very interesting DVDs lately — my opinion entirely, you may in fact hate them — if that is the case, you can ignore this completely and have a wonderful weekend instead!! Casualty 1900s (2009) Set at London Hospital in the early 1900's— the ten part series portraying true medical cases, characters and events that took place at London Hospital based on records, nurse's ward diaries and police reports. London Hospital  was located in the East End, a poverty-stricken part of London, with no government funding the hospital was totally reliant on the wealthy (such as the Rothschild family) to fund it — at times the hospital board thought it would all have to close.  The hospital staff had to deal  with infectious diseases like syphilis, pneumonia and tuberculosis to shocking injuries of the times such as self-abortion injuries, victims of anarchist bombings and an East End gang member wounded in a shooting.  It tells the truth, rather than sho...

  What am I reading: Passionate Housewives Desperate for God Fresh Vision for the Hopeful Homemaker by Jennie McDonald and Stacy Chancey When I started to read this book I couldn’t put it down, it was so engaging and interesting, it has been an excellent read thus far (I read a little over half) and I am looking forward to finishing it.  The book focuses on such topics as: the truth of feminism, the role of the Christian wife and mother (homemaker) as described in the scriptures, raising godly children (even when feeling weary and tired!), debunking the myths of the Stepford wives (women who stay at home are robots without a brain) and learning to embrace this precious role.  I found that it was truthful  and it doesn’t gloss over the struggles and difficulties facing Christian mothers as they bring their children surrounded by worldly temptations.  Someone in Amazon described it as a “realistic picture of a mother's calling” and I think this is very true. V...

MOVIES Last night I watched a beautiful film - it has been out for a while but I never got around to watching it, I wish I had. It was MISS POTTER and I loved it - it has a G (general) rating, so it contained no bad language, violence,  etc... it was just beautiful.  Even though I don't know all the details of Beatrix Potters life, what was portrayed I think was probably a reasonably accurate account.  The only thing missing that I thought was critical to her life is the letters she wrote to her governess's children which then became her published stories - this part was completed skipped over.  Not sure why.  What I didn't know was once she moved to the Lake District permanently and bought Hilltop she went and bought 4000 hectares of farming land so it wouldn't be developed and much later she donated the land back to the British people.  She was really quite an environmentalist way before her time.  It had sad moments that needed a tissue, funny m...