The Trouble With Lucy

     So... I was kinda nervous to post this video...  Like many others I Love Lucy. The show changed the face of tv and although their were many great shows on the air at the time the technology and production plus it’s star made this show something extra special. I don’t think the things I mentioned in the video are really even the fault of the show. It’s the way we choose to talk about the show that gives me most of my concern.

      All tv, movies, even youtube videos are a biproduct of the era they are made in. Sometimes representing progressive values, sometimes traditional but should always be looked at with that in mind. Lucy isn’t exempt from that. I think some of our more modern values are easier to pick out in Lucy than some of the other tv shows of the time, the surface stuff looks pretty good. She was driven and she had a real desire to get out into the world and would often buck no refusal to be able to do so. But that being said there are also some deeply troubling things about viewing the show through those rose coloured glasses that blend and blur out the parts that maybe aren’t so good. I think that when we start talking about a show as representing something (especially something it never intended to be representing) that we have a duty to talk about the parts that aline with that as well as the things that really don’t; maybe even especially the bits that don’t. That may be the best way to find the present context as much as the historical one and to not get what the meaning and value of such an ideal really is. 

     As much as I love I Love Lucy I can’t bring myself to talk about it as a feminist show or even as an incredibly positive portrayal of women. The show is funny and Lucy is unapologetically flawed- except when she’s apologizing to Ricky for her flaws; It is nice to see that this role existed, that she was different from other woman on tv at the time, that it wasn’t actually all Harriet Nelson’s and perfect "Mothers" but it’s important for that not to be enough. And as I mentioned in the video some of the things that I would count at the core of a woman being respected and treated as an equal were missing from Lucy but surprising present in shows like Leave it Too Beaver. I would never want Lucy to have to have been June or visa versa (and God knows I’m closer to a Lucy than a June) but that doesn’t mean we should exalt one show and put down the other for the ways in which they chose to show women as they moved into a very different time. Personally I think June Cleaver deserves a bit more credit. But we also need to look at I Love Lucy with a more critical eye. It was an amazing show, that did help move women forward; but I think we need to talk about some of the problems with it as well.

I’d love to hear your thoughts here or in the comment section of my video.

I hope you’re having a great day!

Annie x

Perry Mason Mysteries Boxset Packaging Review

Perry Mason Mysteries is a series of 30 tv movies that aired on CBS between 1985 and 1995. A continuation of the original series (1957-66), Raymond Burr and Barabara Hale returned in leading roles of Perry Mason and Della Street, with the first of the tv movies setting things up for Perry to leave his job as a judge and get back into practising as a criminal defence lawyer.  William Hopper had passed on and the detective role was filled by William Katt (Barbara Hale's real life son), playing the son of Perry's trusted detective Paul Drake.  Raymond Burr starred in 26 of the 30 tv movies, passing in 1993.  In the final 4 mysteries Paul Sorvino and Hal Holbrook take on the iconic role of Perry Mason.

 

 

Packaged in a plastic case with a cardboard slip this set contains 15 discs each with 2 ninety five minute movies on it.  Released by Paramount and CBS the discs themselves are a plain mat grey and silver.  Episode titles are listed on the interior cover as well as the discs.  Films are all in their original 4:3 aspect ratio and English subtitles are available on the episodes. This set is very similarly packaged to the other sets released by CBS/Paramount so far this year.  (Matlock, Cheers, The Untouchables)

 

More pictures of this set below and if you are looking for more specific information please feel free to ask.  I also have a video up on my youtube channel that you can see by clicking here or scrolling to the end of this post to watch. I hope this was helpful and that you have a great day!

 

 

Back of the case

Specs on the back of the case.

If you like this kind of tv show please check out my youtube channel where I talk about lots of things including classic tv and movies :)
Annie x

More Great Recipes!

Hi!
This is a post that corresponds with a video I made over on my youtube channel. (click here or scroll to the bottom of this post to see the video)

I hope you enjoy, and if you try any of them, please let me know what you think here, on youtube or over on twitter!
Have a great day!
Annie x

Cream of Celery Soup
http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/type-of-dish/soups/cream-of-celery-soup
This easy-to-make soup is great as a meal, starter, or side.  Especially lovely in the cooler months, this soup freezes well and reheats nicely.
If you don't have celery on hand (or aren't fond of it) have no fear in omitting it. This is also a nice traditional cream of potato soup without it!

Kelsey's Spinach Dip:
http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/145/Kelseys_4_Cheese_Spinich_Dip50365.shtml
My all time favourite dip! Great for party's, game day, movie night, or even as a meal.  Serve with pita wedges, tortialls chips, celery, carrots, cucumber, crackers, french bread... the list is endless really as I can't think of much this doesn't go great with.  If you can't eat the spinach, omit and you still have a great cheese dip that is just on the richer side of things.  If you have trouble with the onion or red pepper (not allergies but if you have problems with solids or fibre etc) I recommend sticking a bigger piece or two in the centre while cooking and removing before eating so you still get the benefit of the flavour.  I've found this to make a big difference to the flavour of the recipe.

Mozzarella Sticks (and my adaptions)
Information coming soon!

Some Amazing Recipes

Today on my YouTube channel I was talking about some of my favourite  recipes. Click here to watch the video (or scroll to the bottom of this post) 
Sorry about the lack of pictures, I've been restricted to what I can eat since filming but I will try to get some up when I'm back to eating these things again!
Be sure to let me know if you try any of these!
Annie, x

Avocado soup
Below I have included the link to the recipe I use.  I never add the sour cream and bacon as I don't think it needs it although I do serve with extra salt and pepper.

It's a simple and easy recipe and also pretty quick soup to make.You can't freeze this one once it's all done but you can make the  potato and onion base up and freeze it- then later you just need to thaw and blend with the avocado before reheating. This is a bit quicker than starting from scratch.
http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/avocado-soup


Cauliflower Cheese
2 quart baking dish or about 8x8
saucepan
Oil or butter (for baking dish)
frozen or fresh cauliflower florets- equal to 1 medium head
1 cup heavy cream
2 ounces cream cheese, cut into small pieces
2 cups shredded cheese
1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/4 salt

*** Preheat your oven to 375*F
1. Cook cauliflower: If using fresh cauliflower you will need to cut it into pieces and cook it until crisp tender. You could boil or steam it on a stovetop or cook it in the microwave.  How long it will take to cook depends on your cooking method and how big your pieces are.
I prefer using frozen, and I tend to cook it until it softer than crisp tender as that is what's best for my digestion how soft or firm you cook it here really depends on personal preference.
Drain thoroughly and pat dry between paper towels or a cotton towel.

2. oil the inside of your cooking dish, using an oil sprayer or a thin coat of oil or butter on the bowl to stop the casserole from sticking to the dish.
Place the dried off cauliflower in the dish and set aside.

3. In a saucepan heat the heavy cream to a boil
4. whisk the small pieces of cream cheese and mustard into the boiling cream, until the mixture is smooth

5.Stir in one cup of shredded cheese, salt, pepper, and garlic into the pan and whisk until the cheese has melted-should only be a couple of minutes

6. Remove from the stove and pour over the cauliflower pieces- stir to combine

7. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top.

8. Bake for 15 minutes

Scalloped Potatoes

I don't have exact measurements for the milk or potatoes you really just want to eyeball this one!

1. Lightly oil a 2.5 quart casserole dish
Peel and thinly slice enough potatoes to fill up to 1/3 full.

2. Add milk to almost cover, then wisk a heaping tablespoon of cornstarch with a 1/3 cup of milk and add to bowl.

3. Next add a few dashes of black pepper and about 4 pats of butter.

4. Peel and thinly slice enough potatoes to fill up to about ½ inch from top of dish.

5. Fill casserole with milk to just cover potatoes and then top with another 4 pats of butter

6. Put in oven at 375 degrees and bake for about 90 minutes.

7. Top should be nicely browned by this time.

8. Serve and enjoy!

McMillan and Wife Complete Series Packaging Review & Demonstration

McMillan and Wife is an American tv movie mystery series that ran for forty episodes between 1971 and 1977 Starring Rock Hudson, Susan Saint James, Nancy Walker, and John Schuck. It was part of the NBC Movie Mystery wheel series which also included Columbo and McCloud.  The episodes are movie length and often split into 2 parts when the show is aired in syndication.

Rock Hudson stars as the likeable Stuart 'Mac' McMillan, police commissionaire  of San Francisco.  (Somewhat) newly married to Sally, whom has a great role up until the final series where she was written out (the show just went by McMillan that year).  Much like Columbo (or many other tv mysteries from the time) it is set up as a procedural and Mac tends to solve the case by the end of the episode.  Although their are tense moments (some episodes more than others) overall the show is pretty lighthearted especially by today's standards.  Which isn't in any way said to take away from the show which is well written and thoroughly enjoyable.  Susan Saint James' character of Sally is better fleshed out than many of the wives/girlfriends on tv. Her 'personality' and behaviour was consistent episode to episode and didn't seem to change based solely on what the writers needed that week. The show was the better for her being in it and it's a shame they decided to do the last season without her. Their were some great episodes in that final season, and even if they had done it without her it seemed unnecessary and odd to have written her and the baby out the way that they did as it failed to drive the story forward in any significant way and felt more like a hindrance to the stories at hand.

  John Schuck plays Mac's right hand man and is the perfect costar and character for Rock to play off both in drama and the comedic moments. The contrast in the energy they bring to the screen makes for always enjoyable scenes that have a lovely frisson to them.

Nancy Walker plays the McMillan's housekeeper.  You will recognize her as a wonderful character actress and she had starred with Rock Hudson in numerous movies before this  project.  They also appeared on several variety shows together over the years.  They were real life friends and that chemistry carried over nicely to the screen.  The absurdity of the height difference (she was less than 5 foot and he was well over 6) as well as the contrast between the characters they tended to play and it always elevated the comedy, and the drama. As the wayward maid, Mildred is just an absolute delight.  Her relationship and conversations with Mrs.McMillan are a delight and she really is the something that elevates the show to something special.

The packaging for the series is nothing too special but is by no means inferior.  Housed in a decently thick cardboard box that holds the three cases inside (each holding 2 seasons of the show).  One small thing I noticed as soon as I opened the box was that of these three cases the 2 thicker ones were black and the slimmer one is clear plastic- it's a small thing, but if that type of thing will bother you be aware that it might be the case.

The reverse side of the cover has the episode information on it.  On the clear case this is easy to read by simply moving a disc, for the black cases you can flip the cover if  you want to be able to see the episode info.

The discs are easy to access and take out and as an added bonus they are multi-coloured and easy to read which means it's never to much of a phaff to find the one you want to play.  Closed captioning is available on them as well.

To see this packaging in action check out my video for it here.

If you have this set let me know what you think of it!  And if you are a Nancy Walker fan please tell me so I know you are an awesome person with excellent taste! :)

I hope you're having a great week,
All the best,
Annie

Giant Yarn Haul * *August 2016

This post will be updated when better weather prevails and I can take some more pictures!

From August 8th until the 20th the Spinrite factory in Listowel, Ontario is having their annual August tent sale!  This year their is a different mix and selection from previous years and I picked up some great deals and interesting yarn.  You can see what I bought here in this youtube video where I show you what I purchased:

As promised in the video here are the worsted and soft worsted weight pictures.  You can see a bit of a difference which although not huge, makes a difference to the overall finished product. 

soft worsted (top, brighter colour), & regular worsted weight (on the bottom) yarn for side by side comparison

tent sale worsted

worsted and soft worsted (brighter colour that crosses over top) yarn from the spinrite tent sale

Listowel and the spinrite outlet, is not too hard to get to if you live in the southern or south western region. Less than an hour from Kitchener-Waterloo, about an hour  from Guelph or Kincardine, 2 hours from Sarnia or Barrie, an hour and 20 minutes from London, or an hour and three quarters from the St.Thomas, Hamilton or Mississauga regions(depending on which side you live on).  It's a pleasant bucolic drive once you get on your way! 

 

 

Leave a little extra time if you are going to be passing through Mitchel as they have some construction happening on the main road through.

 

Listowel also has a great health food store in Pandora's Pantry and an awesome shoe store if you have hard to fit feet or are in the market for a nice pair of shoes. (links to both if you click on either)

I will get some more pictures up soon, it's been a grey, stormy day so not the best for pictures.  But more will be posted soon. 

Let me know if you get to the tent sale yourself!  I'd love to hear if you found any gems for yourself and what you thought of it! 

Have a great weekend!
Annie x

Blessing and Curse

This weekend I posted the Positivity tag over on my youtube channel. I didn’t think much of it when I set the video live Friday night but it had some unintended consequences. You see I had filmed it a while back when I was first filming again after my hiatus. I try to keep a few videos aside at all times that can go anyplace in my ‘schedule’ in case I get behind in filming, or need more of a break because of my health. But after filming that batch, I managed to get lots more filmed so had other videos to fill those slots if the need arose. I try to keep them circulculating (so they are still basically current).

But something I hadn’t thought about while filming, editing, or when I set live was that right now I was in a situation where I was feeling decidedly unpositive about an area of my life I had mentioned a few times in the video: my health. I have been fighting off a gargantuan flare, it’s dragged on weeks. Everytime it looks like I’m turning a corner it seems to have been merely an illusion or maybe a bad prank, whatever way you want to look at it this past bit has been hard. Real hard. Where the chemotherapy, while not fun, didn’t seem un-doable, despite the rollercoater it made my week ofside effects, better health, and then receding health as the end of the ‘chemo week’ approached. But I could feel things improving and it made it easier to tolerate. I was keeping my eyes on the horizon and it made it seem all the more bearable to endure that in the moment.

However as the weeks have been dragging on, where my symptoms seem to barely abate before the next wave of this disease trying to ‘get’ me, my weekly injection has been something I have been dreading more and more. In the throws of all this it’s easy to forget that not that long ago things were looking a lot brighter. That seems to be the thing about bad things (at least in my life), it makes it easy to forget that things were once good. And the longer things tend to drag on the easier it is to feel that.

When the comments started showing up with people saying they were happy I was feeling better I wanted to kick myself. It was probably not what I needed today. The last 48 hours or so have been ridiculous here and it has left me feeling pretty down about the whole situation, very alone, and feeling like I don’t know how I am going to manage this indefinitly. Of course right now I only need to manage it for today, or this week, and then as the week progresses next week, etc. The reminder that I had been feeling so much better felt like a neon sign telling me I was never going to get out of this hole (or what sometimes feels like a hole). But as I started trying to decide how to deal with today, I realized how nice it felt that the comments that were there were people saying they were happy I was doing better, and trying to reinforce the (even small) positives I had mentioned. It’s nice to feel that. So much of this week I felt like just screaming into the abyss, or rather posting on twitter just how crap I felt, how crap this whole situation is. But I knew that would still never give me what I was needing, as there isn’t a number or an amount of sympathy or platitudes that are going to fill the space that my ill health has left in my life. It’s lovely to have people to commiserate with at times but I knew it wasn’t going to help me the way it seems to some and it didn’t seem worth the potential worry to others. But sometimes it’s difficult to not want people to tell you it’s ok that it’s hard and tell you they’re thinking of you. For although it is just words sometimes it makes those tough days a bit easier when you feel like you are a bit less alone in it all.

In my head I know there is a way forward through this. In my head I know I am better off to have the chemo in my life than be without it. It’s just hard when it doesn’t feel that way anymore... at least not at this moment. The weeks the chemo isn’t working well enough are the hardest weeks to do the chemo and yet decidedly the last week I can let up or get distracted when it comes to managing my illness. For anyone who has read this far. Thanks. I hope you are having a great weekend and next week is even better (for all of us)

x

30 years of Ferris Bueller's Day Off

I loved Ferris Bueller’s day off when I was growing up. I didn’t relate to any of the characters at a more personal level but I do think that the sibling relationships, as written from the point of how it feels when you are a teen, was well done and what anchored a movie that otherwise may not have had as much of an impact. For as much as we want to be Ferris I think it is from the sister that we get that as much as anywhere else. We would like to be that golden boy of course, but on a realistic day, we just don’t want to be the one playing by the rules and seeing someone else succeed and thrive while coasting/cheating their way to the top. Everybody knows someone or is related to someone, where that seems to be what happens for them and I think that is the in for making the audience want to be Ferris, his life just seems easier and less complicated than yours. In must be nice to be the piece of bread that keeps landing butter side up no matter how many times it seems to hurl itself at the floor. I think we all crave that as much as the fun that he has that most others would end up getting caught out at.

Ferris is a cacophony of youth. The glorification of the amazing days you have as high school comes to an end, I think the biggest thing the movie missed was that these days come charged with electricity no matter what or who you are and even if you don’t hijak a parade, steal a parents car, scheme your way into a great restaurant (or do amazing travel, have a boyfriend/girlfriend etc.) those days and moments will still happen, still be amazing, shape you whether you intended that to happen or not, and still be just as important when you look back at that time in your life. In many cases the little moments may have shaped you more and be more important to you when you look back on things. I wish the movie captured that better because outside of the museum sequence and the part at the end where they are at that look-out I think it completely misses it, and there it seems to only briefly go to that weird nothingness so full of something that the days are packed with. It captures the nothingness you are so despertly trying to turn into something meaningful or important without the awareness to show it has meaning without the big gestures or events.

It’s a movie about being young for the young and as much as I do love it for that and also for adding to what I expected high school or life to be like, I really doubt it would be one I would sit down and get much out of if I was watching for the first time now. Because you don’t have to talk to many adults to realize best moments are rarely the ones you could have anticipated being so ahead, and even less likely the more you try to force them.

So happy 30^th Anniversary Ferris, (Cameron, and Sloan). I hope life has treated you well.

The Nanny Complete Series

     The Nanny is an American sitcom that ran from 1993 to 1999 for a total of 6 season and 146 episodes. Produced by Fran Drescher and her husband Peter Marc Jacobson as a starring vehicle for Fran the show was a fish out of water story. Fran plays Fran Fine an about to be 30 year old who after breaking up with her fiancé is jobless, living with her parents (the amazing Renee Taylor plays her Mother), and selling cosmetics door to door. After a chance knock on a door in a swish part of New York City and the butler who answered the door mistaking her for the new nanny, she sees a better opportunity and tries to squeeze her way in with a chance, despite Niles (the butler, played by Daniel Davis) quickly realizing she is not the nanny they were expecting she ends up with the position as they are in a somewhat desperate position. British actor, Charles Shaughnessy plays Mr. Sheffield, a distant father who since the death of his wife has not found a way to connect with his kids and further threw himself into his work as a broadway producer. In a loose take of the sound of music Fran plays the Maria role and rides into save the day and the children (Nicholle Tom, Benjamin Salisbury, Madeline Zima) from this beige existence of grief and propriety.

     Over the first series we see the kids open up and really start to bloom and come to life as Fran manages to walk the line between honouring their mother and helping them move on with their life. As a result of the unconventional ways she goes about this we sometimes see conflict arise with Mr.Sheffield who seems to have never encountered someone with such chutzpah before (slightly unbelievable as he does work in theatre but we go with it). The push and pull relationship between them develops early on and a will they/won’t they element becomes a key element of the show. The chemistry between the two is undeniable but the plot and circumstances surrounding the two makes it something you know isn’t going to happen quickly as there are some excellent roadblocks set up around the two of them.

     Mr. Sheffield’s role as a Broadway producer provides excellent chance for gueststars over the course of the series, sweeps week/month was always extra special, and some of whom weren’t often doing tv spots at the time.

 

     The show is easily watched by children (I was young when I first watched) but upon rewatching as a adult there are a lot of jokes and innuendo packed into the episodes that went way over my head at the time (& I couldn’t quite believe when I watched more recently). Definitely layered comedy and something that you can enjoy as a adult while the kids are watching tv. (And I would say enjoy, even if you don’t have kids or just want to watch it on your own). The writing is strong and ahead of it’s time in how it dealt with lgbtq+ portrayals and issues (remember the aids epidemic was ranging when this show started airing), race, religion, and gender issues. They were not being jammed into the episodes willie-nillie but it was a show that lead with love on that front, and took the opportunities presented to reinforce positive stereotypes rather than negative.

     I made a video after the passing of Ann Morgan Guilbert last month talking more aboutsome of the ways the show impacted me, if you are interested you can see what I had to say here.

     Now onto the packaging... This is a Shout Factory release from 2015 and comes a the complete series and a disc of bonus features. Also included is a nice booklet on glossy, much heavier than usual paper, with extra pictures and the episodes and a brief description of each included.

booklet

     As I mentioned in my video, the outer box is the heaviest duty case I have ever seen. This is not going to bend or warp from being picked up or being left on your shelf.

     The seasons are packaged in three standard size DVD cases, each case holding 2 seasons. The discs are on front and back cover as well as interior flip trays. They are not stacked, so are easy to find and take out, an ideal situation for preventing damage to discs. The discs have pictures on them and are multi-coloured and easy to see and read. The season and disc number is written in the same spot across all season in bold writing with a high contrast background. The discs of each season have a different colour prominently featured, making it easier still to identify what season is what and where they belong as the disc colours match they case exterior. Making this a vision impaired friendly set on that front. Closed captioning is also provided for all episodes.

 

discs inside case holding season 1 and 2

     As for bonus features this set has an exclusive to the complete set extra disc with new interviews that tell the behind the scenes story of The Nanny and a Making of The Nanny feature. beyond that, select episodes have commentary provided by Fran and others involved with the show.

bonus disc

     Overall, this is one of my favourite sets. Shout Factory rarely disappoints but this has to one of my favourites from them so far. If you are wanting to revisit The Nanny or have been thinking about thinking about purchasing this set, I would say there is nothing in the packaging to worry about and the series is still a fun, enjoyable watch all these years later.

     What is a show you would like to see a complete set of/ Shout release? I’ve got a few still on my list Coach, Living Single, and Caroline in the City being high on the list. I would love to hear some that you would like to see out soon, so let me know in the comments below.

     Be sure to check out my Youtube channel if you haven’t before. I post new videos every Wednesday and often an extra one at the weekend as well. I’d love it if you’d subscribe and it’s definitely where I am most active.

     I hope you are having a great week!

Come and find me other places on the internet!
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/anniethyme
Twitter: @ThymeAnnie https://twitter.com/ThymeAnnie
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