Tuesday, January 29, 2019

DINNER AND A MOVIE, WITH LOVE...












There are moments in life, 
unfortunately,
where the line between
 hate and love becomes blurred. 
 Not everyone subscribes to that idea, 
but there are some that do,
 all too often. 
 It would certainly be 
a perfect world as,
 the old saying goes, 
if we could all 
just get along.






I am going to try 
to live up to that old saying today.

  February is coming around quickly 
and that means a sure sign 
that love is in the air.

  I present to you, 
a Valentine's Day table and,
 even though it appears to be
 a table for two,
 it is much more than that, 
and you all have a seat
 at this table.







If I do say so myself,
I am obsessed with the garland 
that is fast becoming a staple 
at the Cottage.  
I have moved it back 
into the dining room and included
 more flowers and ribbons 
that proclaim a 
statement of love.





The pink flowered place settings
 are included in my "best dishes" category.
  They are by Wood & Sons of England. 
 They were acquired, specifically, 
when the dining room's decor
 leaned to the more traditional. 
 Now they only come out
 when romance is the issue. 
 Also included are 
candle sticks and sherbet dishes 
in hob nail milk glass
 patterns...




...and pink glasses,
 of which the smaller size 
was a beautiful gift from 
Jake and Jacenda
 at Christmas.





Festive paper pinwheels 
hang from the chandy 
above the table.




The food 
is the least of the equation.
  First and foremost 
is the presentation and
 all the rest 
comes later.










Now 
that all of that has been 
figured out and put in place,
 I want to tell you about a movie 
that we watched the other night. 
 It is called "Maudie" 
and we got it through Netflix, 
but not the streaming part. 
 I checked 
and it doesn't seem to be available there.

  The following is a short run down:

Maud Lewis 
was born in South Ohio, Nova Scotia, 
in 1903. 
 She died in 1970. 
 She spent the last three decades 
of her life 
painting in a corner of a one room house 
where she lived with her 
fishmonger husband, Everett.

 The couple was destitute 
and she painted on anything 
that she could get her hands on,
 shingles and pieces of wood,
 using house and boat paint.

 She sold her paintings
 out of her home 
and also when she went door to door 
with her husband 
while he was selling the fish he caught.

  Over time 
she covered every surface of her home
 with bright and charming flowers and birds.
  Her paintings were
 happy and cheerful and
 certainly belied the fact that 
she must have been in constant pain
 from rheumatoid arthritis and 
curvature of the spine
 that she suffered from all of her life.

 I had never heard of her and, in fact,
 until I read in the credits
 at the end of the movie,
 that her paintings are on display 
in the Nova Scotia museum, 
I didn't know that the film was based
 on the true story of her life. 

 This was a sad, 
and at the same time, 
uplifting story 
about two people that were 
social outcasts, 
who found each other under 
unlikely circumstances and 
who made each other's lives 
bearable and productive, 
although not always in the best of ways.
  To me,
 in spite of all the dysfunction,
 it was a love story.  
Not an ideal one,
 but one carried out in ways that 
only these two individuals could and,
 in the end,
 I found myself so happy 
that they had found each other.

  (After doing some research on Google,
 I read that some critics
 were unhappy with the way
 the story was depicted, 
but I thought that
 all of the parts in question were addressed,
 maybe just not to the extent
 that the critics felt satisfactory).

  The acting is wonderful and 
the cast very believable in their parts. 
 I was not familiar with 
Sally Hawkins, who played Maud,
 but she was remarkable, and
 I have always enjoyed performances 
by Ethan Hawke, 
who portrayed Maud's husband, Everett. 

 This was a rather simple, 
but well done film 
of a story that deserved to be told 
and a life that deserved 
to be appreciated. 

 I hope you get a chance to see it,
 if you haven't already. 
 I would love to hear 
your thoughts on it.




Now, 
on to menu planning and more.

 See you next week and
 I appreciate
 your stopping by.


"It is not only necessary to love,
it is necessary to say so."

French Saying






...Judy...





Sharing today with:


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13 comments:

  1. A wonderful dining setting for LOVE. A perfect setting for February. I am thinking about love myself and will start sharing my reds. Janice

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  2. After reading your blog I googled her . She was an incredible artist.

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  3. Judy,
    What a lovely table setting for two! Love that garland and the pink glasses along with the red transferware dishes!! So pretty!! I will have to look for this movie as I do love period films....Are you watching the 3rd Season of Victoria on PBS? I love that show!!
    Thanks so muchf or stopping by!!
    Hugs,
    Deb

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  4. Your table setting and garland go perfectly together. So very pretty.
    Valentine's Day doesn't mean the same to me since I lost my soul mate, husband, best friend, sweet heart. I'm happy for those who still have their "sweet hearts" and I hope that "LOVE" is mentioned frequently.
    Love the story you told of the movie you saw. Maybe I can find it ?
    We had another snow fall yesterday.........very cold here. I did see some jonquils coming up in a sunny spot along my driveway. That's very encouraging.
    Have a marvelous day.
    Charlotte in Va.

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  5. I started to tell my artist husband about the movie and he said, "she's an artist in Nova Scotia". He knew much more about her. We will have to watch it.

    Sally Hawkins was in The Shape of Water which we loved and I believe she was up for an Oscar for her role.

    We will have to watch it.

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  6. I just googled her, so interesting. It's on the movie list!! Thanks! And that table is just gorgeous. The hob nail milk glass is so beautiful. I have one piece, but have always wanted more. xo

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  7. I have seen this film and love it. I think Sally Hawkins is one of the finest actresses currently working. I loved her in The Shape of Water (another outcast character) and other things in which I've seen her. Seeing her work is one reason why I would love to visit Nova Scotia. She was indeed remarkable.

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  8. Everything about this post is lovely, including the movie recommendation. I will put it on my list. Thank you.

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  9. Beautiful photos of your darling tablescape. Interesting story. I'd love to see her art. Thanks for sharing.

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  10. Your Valentine's table is beautiful and romantic. I will have to find that movie it sounds like a good one.
    Have a good day Judy.
    Hugs,
    Kris

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  11. Oh I'm in love with your wonderful table all fluffed up for LOVE! That garland is just stunning. Every time you redo it, I love it more! Those white doily plates under your rose colored ones are just beautiful. How fun to have those for any holiday. Where did you find them? Are they old? Of course, the pink ones on top are beautiful too.. and the pink glasses. I love milkglass. My grandmother gave me a set of tall drinking glasses of the milkglass, when I was in my 20's, plus a big huge water pitcher and sugar and creamer. I don't think I still have them. I kept them for YEARS, but finally (I think) sold them at one of my sales. I'm sad that I did. I may have kept the glasses so will have to dig through boxes in my garage. Sigh. The rosettes hanging from the chandy are a wonderful idea. Now if I just had a chandy! I will most definitely watch that Maudie movie. I just wrote it down and going to watch it tonight for sure. I've seen it listed but never have watched it. Well Judy.. I think you are all set for romance! Hugs.. Marilyn

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  12. Thank you for a movie idea. My husband and I just finished watching "Big Eyes" . The woman who painted the pictures the story is about is Margaret D. H. Keane and how her husband took credit early on for her paintings.
    Your china is so pretty and I especially love the hobnail dessert dishes along with the pink glassware. A sweet gift from Jake and Jacenda.
    You have everything pretty as always and I agree so much that presentation is first and foremost.
    betsy

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Your comments are so special to me...Judy