My Favorite Romantic Movies

(A re-post from two years ago)


I collect old postcards. These are a few of my vintage Valentine postcards, some dating back to 1908.

Since Valentine's Day is about love I wanted to make a list of my favorite romantic movies. No light-hearted romances here - that would be another list.


Gone With the Wind
 Passionate love - (Rhett and Scarlett are too much alike. He loves her, but he can only take so much).

Love Story
Who can forget "Love means never having to say you're sorry."

Dr. Zhivago
Two people, married to others, fall in love during the Russian revolution. This movie is three hours long and perfect for a long winter's night.

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
Fantasy love - Woman falls in love with the ghost of a sea captain. Those black and white movies from the 1940's were really good!

Out of Africa
Uncommitted love - Danish writer loves big game hunter in Africa. I actually bought the soundtrack and play it all the time.

The Notebook
Lifelong love with a touch of sadness. Have plenty of tissue at the end.

The Message in a Bottle
Woman falls in love with widower, still grieving the loss of his late wife.

Pride and Prejudice 
Prideful love - Two witty souls finally find true love. Who doesn't love Mr. Darcy?

Sense and Sensibility
Another Jane Austen favorite. Love wins in the end. My absolute favorite.

Wuthering Heights
Dangerous love - Woman falls for brooding Heathcliffe.

Jane Eyre
Hopeful love - homely girl finds love in the end. I never tire of this story.

Ghost
Everlasting love - "The love inside, you take it with you."

May you still be truly, madly, insanely in love on this Valentine's Day.

Ordinary Days

I love three-day weekends, even if I don't "do" anything. I live a simple life, an ordinary life. I'm one of the lucky ones, because if you've ever received bad news, your life turns upside down and there is no such thing as an "ordinary day".  So I am thankful for all the ordinary days.

Puttering

On Saturday I putter around the house. It rains most of the day, a repeat of January's weather. The weather is cool, but mild. I go about my housework, washing the sheets, taking out the trash. I empty the dishwasher. I make a second pot of coffee. Finally, I grab my umbrella and drive to the nearest Barnes and Noble, 25 miles away. For over an hour I browse to my heart's content, spending my gift card from Christmas, with enough left over to buy a White Chocolate Mocha.

A Quiet Evening

On Saturday evening my daughter, her husband and the two older children go to a hockey game. I baby-sit Mae-Mae (her nickname). Bath time...bottle...baby is soon asleep in my lap. When they return from the game, the older girls go home with me. One goes right to sleep. The younger one thinks that she is a grown-up ( she is going on five) and stays up until midnight. I give them my bed and the cat and I share the couch.

Mae-Mae

Sharing Popsicles

Sunday morning and the younger one is up early and already dressed. She hits the floor running. I am rubbing the sleep from my eyes. "Can I play with Play-do?" "After breakfast," I reply. Today the weather is gorgeous, bright and sunny. We go outside after lunch and the children (including my grandson, who came over) help me pick up broken branches in the yard. I rake up dead leaves while they play hop-scotch, kick the soccer ball, and climb trees in the backyard. They make friends with the two little boys who live across the street. The kids want popsicles, so my granddaughter asks me how many to get of the freezer, while she counts on her fingers. "Five?" "Yes, five", I tell her. While she goes inside for the popsicles the little boy across the street comes out with a handful to share with everyone. At five o'clock the kids go home. I am exhausted, but it's a good tired.

An Ordinary Day

It is Monday and I treat myself to a movie from my collection, "The Painted Veil." It is based on a book by W. Somerset Maugham and is about a doctor and his unfaithful wife. The story takes place in China, where the doctor is fighting a Cholera outbreak. It is a fascinating story. Later, I run errands, mail some cards, pay bills, balance my checkbook, put a pot roast in the oven, bake cupcakes, call my sister and a close friend; ordinary things on an ordinary day. I am blessed.

Blackberry Cobbler in a cute casserole dish

Remembering Mama

I've been thinking about my mother lately and how much I miss her, still. I wish she were here to talk to. It doesn't matter how old you get, sometimes you just need a mother. I was blessed to have her for 44 years, but I wish she could have stayed a little longer. Long enough to be a great-grandmother, for example. She would be tickled by the babies that have been born since she passed away. I wish she could have stayed long enough to enjoy her retirement years. But it wasn't to be. God gave her the rest she needed and took her home at age 62.

I was listening to a "paid advertisement" on television while reading a book. They were playing the old country songs from the 60's, 70's and 80's. My mother was a fan of country music and I grew up listening to Loretta Lynn, Conway Twitty, Charlie Rich, and all of the popular artists at that time. Hearing those songs brings back so many memories.

Music always made my mother happy. She loved "The Sound of Music" and never tired of watching it. She would sing "Edelweis" when she though no one was listening, just as she would hum the little German songs from her childhood. Mama was shy, just as I am. When "GI Blues" is playing, I can remember Mama singing along with Elvis, " Muss ich denn, muss ich denn, Zum Stadtele hinaus Stadtele hinaus, Und du, mein schatz, bleibst hier?" Can't you see I love you, please don't break my heart in two... (Wooden Heart lyrics)

Like my mother, I sing along with the songs, if no one is listening.

Blessings,
Anita

A River Runs Through It

One of my favorite movies is "A River Runs Through It." It is a quiet, slow-paced coming of age story about two brothers growing up in early 20th century Montana. The father, a Presbyterian minister, and his two sons are avid fly fishermen. The movie "hooked" me (pardon the pun) in the first scene, where an elderly man is fishing and the narrator (Robert Redford) speaks, "I am haunted by waters." His words are pure poetry. Naturally, I bought the book written by Norman Maclean, who wrote the stories based on his life. I have never been to Montana, nor have I been fly-fishing, but the story of Norman and his brother, Paul, is as ancient as the story of the prodigal son. The brothers are as different as night and day; Norman is the responsible, bookish elder son, and Paul is the unpredictable younger brother who walks on the wild side of life. But the two things the brothers have in common is the love for fly fishing and their genuine affection for one another.

In one of the last scenes, Norman's father is giving a sermon about how hard it is to understood the ones we love. "It is those we live with and love and should know who elude us." He was surely thinking of his son, Paul, who was murdered.

From the book,

"Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world's great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs. I am haunted by waters."

Pure poetry.

(photo-Arbron-flickr)