No Place Like Movies at Home: Rudolph's Shiny New Year

 The conclude the mini Claymation Marathon we have Rudolph's Shiny New Year.

Rudolph is sent on a special mission from Santa to look for the baby New Year. Father Time contacted Santa saying that he had run away. See the baby has some big ears and keeps getting laughed at. He must be present at midnight of the 31st to take on the new year, and if he is not the new year will not come. So, he leaves to go the island of past years to hid. However, the big named eon is trying to find baby new year as well because once the new year happens eon will pass away because he will be older than one eon. Rudolph must find the baby new year or else the new year will not arrive.

I have to say that this one was never really one of my all time favorites but it's still really good. It's a super cute movie that continues the story of Rudolph without him saving Christmas over again. If you get a chance to watch it you won't be disappointed. 

No Place Like Movies at Home: The Year Without A Santa Claus

 We are now getting to my all time favorite Christmas Claymation movie The Year Without A Santa Claus. 

 This wonderful movie is about Santa Claus not feeling well near Christmas eve. When the doctor comes in and tells him he should stay home, cause he got sick last year, and there is not more Christmas spirit. Mrs. Claus doesn't think this is a good idea and sends out Jingle and Jangle elf to find some Christmas spirit to perk Santa back up. However, in the process of finding Christmas Spirit, they run into a crazy cast of characters, and they try to show Santa how much people love him and how much Christmas spirit is still left in the world.

I love this movie the best because I love Snowmiser and Heatmiser. I thik they are the funniest characters in the whole thing. I also love the fact the Mickey Rooney is the voice of Santa again. If you have never seen a Claymation Christmas movie this is the one that you need to start with. 

No Place Like Movies at Home: Santa Claus is Coming to Town

One of the things that is, unfortunately, falling out of popularity over the last few years is the TV channels that play Christmas movies are not showing these rounds of movies anymore. I am not entirely sure if they are working them out of the system because they are "out of date" or "not PC". However, the Claymation Christmas movies that used to be on every other hour are not on anymore. It's unfortunate because they are some of the best animation, and Christmas, movies to ever grace the screen. We are going to kick it off with Santa Claus is Coming to Town.

The movie is about the origins of Santa and how he started making toys and giving them to children. It's go great music and a great cast. The narrations is done by the wonderful Fred Astaire. I will also say they did an animation of his dancing at the start of the movie and it was great. They always wonderful added bonus that Mickey Rooney is the voice of Santa. All of these movies are easy and fun to watch and I love re-watching them every year. 

Most of these movies don't have much description they are really straight forward. They are one of the best parts of the holiday season and I am sad that they are working their way out of mainstream tv. 

  

No Place Like Movies at Home: Meet Me in St. Louis

Christmas is my favorite time of the year. I love it because everyone is, normally, happy and having  good time. I love it cause I love buying presents for the people that I love! I love finding them in like July and tormenting people for months about it until the wonderful morning of Christmas comes around. There are many other reasons that I love Christmas but one of them is Christmas traditions. My mom and I make these sugar cookies, that usually only get made out of this time of year, that are from my Great-Great Grandma. Another tradition is my mom makes Chicken Kyiv on Christmas Eve. However, I love watching all of the best Christmas movies from this time of year. So, I did a mini marathon. So, I will write them all and post one a day for the next four days to get caught back up!

We will start off with a true classic Meet Me in St. Louis.

This is the story of a normal family living in St. Louis in 1903. The family is very excited because The World's Fair is going to be hosted by the city the next year. The movie follows a normal family through normal life during the time. They fall in love, they get angry, they argue, but ultimately love each other no matter what. 

I mean I have said over and over again the simplicity of the story is what makes it a good story. Many people now a day think that everything has to be over dramatic, and everything as to have action and adventure. When real stories touch the heart more than the over done. This movie is also a musical and just makes it all the better me. However, it's not a Christmas movie it's usually played at Christmas because of the phenomenal Christmas segment in the movie. It's also the premiere of the song "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas". It's memorable because it's the climax of the whole movie and it's such a wonderful movie. 

I know that I have also talked about this movie before cause I made Alaina watch way back when.  However, it's so good you can always talk about it. I also loved that I got to watch with my mom, well half of it, on Christmas wit her.  It's one of my all time favorite movies and I can't wait to watch it again!  

Jack of All Trades: The Movies

 What a wonderful year. I am one of the really rare, and very far in between people who really think that 2020 is a wonderful year. I am really proud that I was able to do all of the good work that I could. I am sad cause I had to change it so many times, and that there were some things that I couldn't do. However, I am proud of what I got to do.

One of the things that I did do this year, that I have done with every other project that I have done on here, is watch a movie that went along with my theme of the year. The movies are the reason that I started this to begin with and it was a little weird not talking them. I know that I mention like 2-3 at the start of the year but I didn't mention them anymore. So, this post is dedicated to all of the movies that I watched that some what related to what I was doing that month.

 

The first movie that I watched at the start of the year was Pay It Forward. I was looking forward to this movie. It was all about how this boy started the Pay it Forward movement and how it reached everywhere. However, it ended up being very sad because of the stupid stuff. Like I am mad that I watched it and then it ended in the way it did. However, I wanted to watch it because basically this is what I wanted out of the year. Paying it forward and doing good in the world. So, it was a nice, if not very sad, start to my year.

The month of January Nikki and I went to help out with the Knoxville Dream Food Truck. The truck provides the homeless and lower income families with fresh food. I chose The Hundred Foot Journey because it showed how food could shape and change your life. It really was a great movie that I would really like to watch again. 

I chose The Secret Garden to go with my helping of clearing out the weeds with iJams Nature Center. I chose this because the point of clearing weeds to help the other plans grow and thrive. The whole movie is about a young girl who goes to live with unknown family, and she finds a garden that hasn't been cared for in many years. She cleans in out and makes a new life for herself, and the garden. What she ends up doing is helping her new family find peace in the hardship they have had over the year and find that new, and beautiful, things in grow in the wake of heartache. Helping iJam's with this project gave the plants in the park a chance to shine and giving those who have gone to the park a more beautiful view of the lake behind the weeds that they would have missed out on before.

In March the whole world was sent into a dark place. Everything was canceled, and everything had changed in what felt like overnight. The one thing that everyone did at that point in time was turn to art. They turned to music and movies, and so many people have tried very hard to bring their art to others in a different way. In March I supported art watching some different bands play on facebook. Stacey Mitchhart is a music man out of Nashville whom I love. He started doing multiple facebook live shows at his house since then. I spent the month watching his shows and donating to what I could to him and his band. The Soloist is a wonderful movie about a man who is a cello prodigy who is homeless due to schizophrenia. He was set to become one of the best performers in the world, he even went to Julliard, and could not finish due to his illness. However, years later a man's life is changed by his presence and offeres to help him. He is able to give him musical instruments, and a small apartment so he can not be on the streets. This is all based off of a true story where he still plays his music on the streets of LA today. It's a great movie to give home during a time when art are in trouble and that we see we are still getting home from them.

    

When the world cracked the door open again more people needed help than before. The Salvation Army was looking for people to help pre-package meals to feed everyone who was in need. I will say, it's hard to serve others when you are struggling yourself. I am very blessed to still have my job but mentally March was very hard on me and the idea of going to help in April was something I did not want to do. However, I knew that was the very reason that I needed to do it. Same Kind of Different as Me is a beautifully told movie about a husband and wife who's marriage is struggling. When it got to the point of unbearable, Debbie says they can try again if he goes with her to help feed the homeless. He is very vocal about how he does not want to do that. While they are serving Debbie has a dream about a man who is going to lead them on an adventure. Not long after a very aggressive homeless man comes in and Debbie says that's the man she had dreamed about. Over the next two years they offer friendship to this man and he grows with them in their family. Reflecting on this film now it makes me realize that doing the very thing I didn't want to do made my year better. Everything is still not the same, Things are starting to be a little brighter again. However, going out of my way to helping people, when I didn't want to do it myself, was the thing I needed this year to make my year so much better. Just like it did for this family in the movie.

In May I did work with a very well know group called Second Harvest Food Bank. The time I spent was them was three hours of putting thank you letters into envelopes to be sent off to people who have donated. I watched I, Daniel Blake. The reason I picked this movie was because I had read there was a great scene in the movie that was in a food bank. This movie was good in the showing of how inefficient getting the help we need to get can work. What I think watching this showed me that there is a long way to go with getting people better help, and more of it, but that it really shows how many people are out there that are willing to help in anyway they can.

 In June I went to help sort out donations at a place called Ladies of Charity. They run a food pantry to give out to people in need as well as give out clothes, places to live, and donation to anyone who needs them as well. They also run a thrift shop at the front of the pantry to raise more funds. One of the jobs I had when I got there was to sort shoes. The movie In Her Shoes is about two sisters who have been disagreeing about how to live their lives for a long time. When things come to a head one leaves. The time apart really causes them to come to a reflection of themselves, and the other to find a common ground again. It liked this movie because it's another reminder that we don't know everyone's story, even if we are closely related. We need to give each other grace and help when we can.

July was met the sad realization that we would not be going to shoot off fireworks for the 4th of July. However, I was helping with Anvil shooting instead at Museum of Appalachia. I chose Indiana Jones because it's a movie that help to preserve and safe history in an unconventional way. I would dare to say that shooting anvils and a museum and draw a crowd is one unconventional way. 

August was met with the opportunity to go back to the Tennessee Theatre again. I love that place and so I made a donation and was able to get a tour. I am telling you that gong there is something I love and I can not wait to do again. The Majestic is a movie about mistaken identity, and find a new purpose. This year it's felt very much like that. We have all had to really look at lives and see what's really important and what is just taking up too much of our time. When Jim Carey's character in the film gets amnesia and ends up in a small town his life changed. He looks just like a young man from the town that lost his life in the war. He ends up helping the town fix up the theatre that has been there for a number of years and learns how to run it. When he gets his memories back he has to choose what his real purpose in life is and what is really making him happy. 

Woman in Gold is a movie about a famous work of art that was stolen from a Jewish family during World War II. After many years of struggling to research on the part of her sister, now departed, the last relative to know of the painting must now try retain the painting from Austria. She has a lawyer, who has very little experience, look into it and try to win the painting by restitution. When the claim is denied they think all hope is lost. Until they find a different law that can get the painting to the correct home. Watching this made me see that sometime we have to fight to what is correct rather than what is easy. It's not been easy for me to not have the art in my life that I have come to know. So, doing what I can has helped to find that peace that maybe soon we will be able to enjoy art again.

Getting to help out at a big event was something I didn't think I was going to be able to do this year. However, this year is full of surprises for me. Helping out with Street Rods was a way to help out Visit Knoxville, which is our go to guide for all things Knoxville. They do this gathering every year and show off classic cars. Since I am not well versed in the world of cars, I asked Carl for advice on his favorite car movie. Gone in 60 Seconds is what he told me. I watched it and it's not my thing to watch but you did get to see some impressive cars in the movie. Other than that there is not much cross over in it. I didn't steal any cars and the whole movie was about that. 

November was met with letter writing. I sent letters to soldiers all over with Friends of the Troops. I picked 84 Charing Cross Road because it was a movie about great pen pals that lasted almost 20 years. It started from an ad in a magazine that led to a great friendship. Now, I haven't gotten any letters back, and honestly I would be shocked if I did. I do like hope that maybe one day I will get a reply but if not that's perfectly alright.

 We finally made it to December. A month that is always about reflection, and about hope. Something we need every year. I said this in the post I made about this month's opportunity but working with Wreaths Across America is my favorite that I have gotten to do this year. Honoring all those who have served is something that makes our country great and never letting them be forgotten is something I will be doing for the rest of my life. I picked White Christmas because it's a movie about soldiers honoring soldiers. I am not soldier but I can not think of a better movie to have picked to remind all of us to honor those who are here and those who have gone.

Thank you for coming with me on this weird journey of this weird year with me. I do have some cool stuff coming up in the new year but I will get to that later. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday and a Happy New Year.

The List:# 154- Have a Surprise Birthday Party

 It's been a while. I really thought that I wasn't going to get anything else crossed off of 'the List' this year but it looks like it's happened. The only reason that it has happened is because I have the best Friends and Family in the whole world.

So, I have told by Best Friend Alaina in the past that I wanted to have a surprise party. However, the thing about surprise parties is that you can't you throw them for yourself. I mean you can but how embarrassing is that. I also know that I am hard to surprise because people usually give me too many hints or hints are too easy to guess. So, Alaina was brilliant and came up with the long game. Almost immediately after my birthday last year Alaina was already talking about the plans that she had this year. Which is odd cause she doesn't usually have anything that far in advance planned. Then a few months later, COVID hit and still she was adamant that her plans were going to go through. I was also very confused because she couldn't change the day of this thing happening. So, I was very very lost. The only hints that I got out of here were: a bird was involved, food was involved, and was a fan of delicious flavor? If you don't know, that last hint is a Psych reference.... which totally threw me off more. 

So, after I have spent my day at the Tennessee Theatre with my mom and with my family for lunch I went home and chilled out for Alaina to come and pick me up. She walks in totally decked out in 1920s garb. I mean I was shocked cause I did not expect her to be dressed like that at all. Then she tells me that there are presents that I have to open before I leave and I did. From her I got the gorgeous dress with a Peacock on it, thus the bird hint, and from her mom I got a peacock feathered headband. 

   After this we got into the car and she blindfolded me. That way I could not figure out where we were going. We are in the car talking having a good time, trusting my life in her hands cause being blindfolded in the passenger seat is always weird, and she is driving all around. I followed for a good potion of the way and then I lost were I was. We finally park and get out of the car. When I get out a hear people talking so I am thinking we are some sort of restaurant or something. Then Alaina knocks on a door and someone asks for a password which Alaina responds "Mickey sent me". When we get in she tells me that I can take off my blindfold and my whole small group was there yelling surprise! Not gonna lie I didn't see it coming!

 There was food, and my mom made a wonderful cake, my dad was there! We had Shirley Temples, which are my favorite! We had pineapple Jell-O desserts and there were silent movies playing in the back while 20s music was also playing. It was a lot of fun! 

All I have to say is that I love Alaina for doing this and I love all of my friend for helping her to pull it off. Alaina told me on the way to the party that she wanted to do it this year and not next was because 2020 is the first year of the 2020s and 2020 would be the start of the last year of my 20s.

Is the world what I thought it was going to be like right now? No, has my life still been good an blessed? Yes! All the time! I have a good God, good family, good friends, and I love that I got to spend my whole birthday weekend with some of the people I love most in the world! I know 29 is going to be better than 28. Since it started with a surprise I am ready for all of the surprises that are in store! 

Jack of All Trades: December

 We finally made it folks! It's finally happened! 12 organizations that I have helped with this year. 12 Organizations that were very hard to keep up with this year because of how crazy everything has been. However, I am so glad that even with how hard it was to keep up and find things to help out with I am glad that this was the year I was able to help to give back in a lot of way. 

The grand finale of the Jack of All Trades year is actually something I was so honored to do last year that I am so thankful that I got to do this year too.

The December I worked with Wreaths Across America. 

Wreaths Across America is an organization that raises money to Honor those who have served out country. If you have ever been to a National Cemetery around Christmas time and have seen all of the Wreaths that are laid there this is the organization that puts it together. I actually found out about this group of fine people on Facebook last year and volunteered. When I told my mom she said she wanted to be apart of it too. So, we went and we loved it. This year I was worried that it wasn't going to happen because of COVID. I was worried because they didn't allow the placing of the flags on the 4th of July either and it made me sad. However, they did do it.

This year we had to sign up for groups at a certain time and we also had to do wear a mask. They had trucks that they used to load boxes to the different sections of the Cemetery and they also what time slot was doing what section. I was really scared that I wasn't going to have as great as an experience this time as I did last year because I thought everyone was going to be so afraid of COVID that people were not going to do the amazing and wonderful work. I have never been more happy to be proven wrong. Yes, it was different. I didn't like that not everyone could come in at once and help. I did like that volunteers used truck to spread out the boxes of wreaths cause that made things easier than having many people lug boxes over 25 acres to get all of the wreaths where they needed to go. 

What I loved was the most this time around was saying the names out loud of those buried there. I didn't fully understand why it was encouraged last year but this year I got it. One of the people with the organization was a veteran himself and his brother is buried in the cemetery. He said that there are two deaths: the first is when you die and the second is when no one remembers your name. So, laying the wreaths out and saying the name of the person gave a meaning to me this year that it didn't last. It was touching. When I started doing it did get emotional because there are so many unknown soldiers buried in our cemetery. So, placing a wreath on a flat and not having a name did get emotional. It got me thinking about the loved ones back home who would maybe find out where that person was buried but have no idea were they were there. That hits different when you do that. 

 

The other reason that it felt better connected to it this year is because last year when I was laying wreaths I placed one on an interesting headstone.

It's hard to see the name here, but this is the resting place of Frank Anthony Romano. Last year I placed a wreath on his headstone and realized that him and I share the same birthday of December 5th. He died on my best friend Alaina's birthday, February 7th. Over the last year I have done some research on him, not sharing it on here, but I found out that this many had a great life and and interesting one. As far as I can tell, he doesn't have anyone living in Knoxville to visit him or to decorate his stone one important days that we honor those who served. So, I have "adopted" his resting place. So, I was honored to place another wreath on his stone this year. 

I know that I have said this about a few of the other volunteering stuff over the year but I think this one is my all time favorite. It's the one that meant the most to me. I am happy to make this a yearly tradition for Christmas time for as long as I live.

No Place Like Movies at Home: Von Ryan's Express

Yes, another! Another Frank Sinatra movie. I hate to say it but I have had opportunities over the last few weeks to watch another movie and I haven't because I am over watching so many sad, long, dull Frank Sinatra films. Thankfully there is a small light starting to shine at the end of that tunnel. 1. Von Ryan's Express was not that bad. 2. There are only 4 more Frank Sinatra films for a while. I have a few others but I will finally be out of the that collection soon. 3. of the four movies I have seen 2 of them in the past. I liked them in the past. So, hopefully this means that It's not going to be as dreadful as I am thinking it is going to be. 

However, let's talk about Von Ryan's Express.

Colonel Ryan is a pilot that was shot down over Italy and taken to a POW Camp. When he arrives to the camp he finds that he is the senior most commander there and takes over the command of the soldiers in the camp. When he finds out that they are wanting to escape the camp, and have been planning to do so, Ryan shuts them down. He tells them that Italy is close to surrendering and doesn't want to make an escape plan. When they do surrender, the guards of the camp flee and Ryan finds that all of the men are now in danger because the Germans are closer to the camp. They leave and make it as far as the countryside when they are captured by the Germans. The questions then becomes, can they escape the Germans and make it freedom?

I am so glad to say that I really did like this movie. I think it was funny, and had a good story. It wasn't boring, it was a little slow but that's about it. I would watch it again. I would also recommend it. I am still glad that Frank Sinatra films are almost done.

Jack of All Trades: November

Another month and yet another down to the wire volunteering. 

The month of November I decided that I was going to volunteer with Friends of the Troops. It's a great program were veterans, and current enlisted, soldiers are giving cards for various different reasons. It's a lot a birthday but some are get well soon cards, and thank you cards, or just cards to be encouraging during whatever is going on in their lives. You can also sign up to adopt a soldier. That part of the program is great because you get to send them a box every month and you all can have more one on one contact with each other. I have not participated in that part of the program as of yet. I hope to one day. What I did do was send two birthday cards and a letter to some soldiers. 

I was very excited about doing this but it almost feels like I cheated a little bit. I didn't have to leave my house in order do this but it was really worth it. It's weird that reminder that doing something to volunteer doesn't mean having to spend a whole lot of money, or driving hours out of the way. It just takes a little a little heart and a little time. 

If you are interested in volunteering with Friends of the Troops please check out the link below. I should also note that you will have to do a background check:

https://www.friendsofthetroops.org/

Jack of All Trades: October

 It's the busiest time of the year! I am so far behind on everything in life right now! Thankfully, I have like three seconds to string together a few things. So, let's get right to it!

In October the organization that I decided to work with was Visit Knoxville. It's Knoxville own tourist guide to all things that are awesome and lovely about Knoxville! Every year they do a car show where all of these fabulously old cars get to show off their stuff. It's called Street Rod! They still held it even with COVID. Which made me happy. Was I happy that they made everyone wear a mask while we were all standing outside? No. Was it cold? Yes, it was an unseasonably cold day in Knoxville. However, it was a lot of fun. 

I did one of the things that I really only have gotten to do this year is take temps and count people. Thankfully, everyone was really excited and didn't mind the the two extra seconds that they had to stand in the entryway to get in. The hardest part was trying to get the stupid thermometer to work because it was so cold outside. I had a lot of fun. I was really happy that I got to work with Visit Knoxville because they are an awesome group that are dedicated to showing off Knoxville and all of her wonders! 

If you would like to volunteer, or would actually like to visit the great city of Knoxville, check out the link below:

https://www.visitknoxville.com/