Seashell Christmas Ornaments

I know it's Halloween, but since I live in an apartment where no one trick-or-treats, I spent my evening making Christmas ornaments out of shells! 

Most of my shelling adventures happen on the beautiful island of Sanibel, but I will occasionally purchase bags of smaller shells to use as filler on my creations. 

Here are two that I just made.  Except for the suggestion of a flower in the one on the left, they aren't supposed to be anything specific.  The ribbon and small pearls were purchased at Michaels. 

 

 

Here are a couple of shell angels.  They are comprised of a buttercup lucine for the skirt, two calico clams for the wings, a coquina for the slippers, and one smaller clam for the head.  The little necklace beads contain elements of Swarovski crystals.  I like that the little band of gold coloring on the head of the left angel kind of suggests a halo.  I probably should have used a shell like that for the other one as well. 

 

Well, that's it for now!  There will be more ornaments to come.  Happy Halloween!!





 



Three Novels By Robert Nathan

I recently saw a wonderful film called Portrait of Jennie (1948), starring Jennifer Jones and Joseph Cotten and produced by David O. Selznick, and I noticed in the credits that it was based on a book by the same title written by Robert Nathan.  I was not previously familiar with the works of Robert Nathan, but I loved the movie so much that I was intrigued. 

Fortunately, Portrait of Jennie (the novel) is still in print, and a new copy can be purchased on Amazon at a reasonable price.  After obtaining my copy, I began to read it.  It's a short novella and can be read in one or two sittings.  The story is of a struggling painter in New York City, Eben Adams, who meets a young girl in the park on a cold winter day.  He finds her fascinating and mysterious (she talks about the past, present, and future in a rather ethereal way and seems to belong to the past) and hopes to meet her again to paint her.  The continue to meet over the course of a year, but each time Jennie is significantly more grown up and they eventually fall in love.  Eben finally finishes his portrait of Jennie, and it is the best work he has ever done, but Jennie continues to experience things that could have only happened in the past.  There is much left unexplained in the story, and the ending in the movie is different from the book, though both are tragic.  On the whole, it is a beautifully written and haunting love story, and it made me want to seek out more books by Robert Nathan. 

Unfortunately, I realized that most of his books are out of print.  My search led me to Alibris.com, an online bookseller that seems to specialize in rare and out of print books.  I was very pleased to discover that they had several Robert Nathan books in stock!!

The next book I read was called The Enchanted Voyage.  It tells the story of Mr. Pecket, a lonely and unhappily married man who lives in the Bronx.  He isn't very successful in his business, so much that he is losing money, and his wife is constantly disappointed in him.  Mr. Pecket escapes reality by sitting in an old boat that he owns that supposedly would sink if it were put in water and daydreams about being a sailor.  In an attempt to make money, Mrs. Pecket sells the boat to a neighbor who plans to make a lunch counter out of it, and then she puts wheels on it so it can be transported.  While sitting in his boat with wheels on a stormy night and brooding about how his wife could do such a thing to him, the boat accidentally begins to sail away down the street, and Mr. Pecket's imagination runs away with it.  He picks up a lonely waitress who is also trying to escape her own reality, and eventually a young, struggling and traveling dentist joins them too.  The dentist and the waitress of course fall in love, but the three of them embark on a journey south, never leaving dry land but pretending to be sailing on the sea.  The themes of the book are clearly escaping reality, and doing rather than just dreaming.  The style and prose are lovely, but the story is a little too drawn out to be entertaining the entire time. 

I was also able to get a collection of five Robert Nathan novels entitled The Barly Fields.  Contained in the book are The Fiddler in the Barly, The Woodcutter's House, The Bishop's Wife, The Orchid, and There is Another Heaven.  The only one I have read so far is The Bishop's Wife.  This was of course made into a movie in 1947 starring Cary Grant, Loretta Young, David Niven, Monty Woolley, and Gladys Cooper and since it is one of my all time favorite movies, I was excited to discover that Robert Nathan wrote the book! 

Because I know the film so well, I am more inclined to make comparisons here than with Portrait of Jennie, which I have only seen once.  The book and movie were also quite similar in that case.  Here, The Bishop's Wife novel was fairly similar to the movie, but the names were changed a bit.  The angel is called Michael in the book and Dudley in the movie, and Loretta Young's character is Juliet in the book and Julia in the movie.  In general, the book has less comedy than the movie and is more religious in nature.  The movie perhaps shows more weakness in the angel in his love for Julia, while the movie emphasizes the difference between a holy love and an earthly love between humans.  Juliet is also more conflicted in her feelings for the angel in the book than Julia is in the movie. 

Given the time period in which the book was written, I was surprised at the admission of Juliet's husband's shortcomings in their marriage.  Juliet is the somewhat neglected wife of a bishop plagued by financial troubles. In answer to a prayer, an angel is sent to remedy the situation but in the meantime falls in love with Juliet.  The movie provides more resolution at the end of the story between Juliet and her husband than the book, but the book contains very beautiful spiritual passages that the movie lacks.  All in all, both the book and the movie are very entertaining, enlightening, lovely, and worth reading and watching, especially at Christmas time. 

Also, a more recent movie was made based on the same story entitled The Preacher's Wife (1996), starring Whitney Houston and Denzel Washington.  I'm sure it is probably the most well known of the two films and book, and though many changes were made to the story and setting, it is a lovely film in many ways on its own. 

I'd like to close with a selection from a passage written by Robert Nathan entitled A Note to the Younger Generation. 

"The truth is that what we call real changes every time the world breathes.  My critics complain that I do not write about the real world.  To discuss the loves and disappointments of little girls and old men, of mice and roosters, seems preposterous to the young realists of today.  Yet what is more real than the hopes and griefs of children?  Is a labor union more actual than a doll?  Each signifies something in the human heart; neither one seems any more, or any less, significant. 

That is not as absurd as it sounds.  If little girls did not care to play with dolls any more, the world would be very different.  It does not take genius to make such a remark, there is nothing new about it, but it is comforing, because it is true. 

One of the most agreeable discussions of realism occurred recently, at luncheon.  My step-daughter, aged four, who was eating her spinach, looked up suddenly, and remarked in a dreamy voice, 'I know a little boy who turned into a flower.'  That, of course, was fantasy.  Her brother, aged six, is the realist of the family.  He exclaimed with energy, 'That's silly.  You have to say what he ate that made him turn into a flower.' 

I like the young writers of today.  I like the hard, clear quality of their prose.  But I do not believe that what they talk about is any more real than Little Red Riding Hood.  It is good and pleasant to be manly and strong, to have broad shoulders and a shaggy chest;  but it is inside the chest that the heart beats and the blood moves.

I know that falsehood and meanness, brutality and arrogance have increased in the world during these last ten years.  Still, there is no reason to make a cult of them.  They cannot continue to increase forever, since long before that they will have had to swallow one another like the snakes in the fable.  Merely to be muscular and violent proves nothing; unless the bones of the dinosaur can be said to prove anything. 

Perhaps it is not necessary to prove anything.  Perhaps it is enough to say:  We lived; and these were our hopes and our worries, our joys and our fears.  This is the way we spoke, if not altogether with our tongues, at least with our hearts."

Robert Nathan
New York, December, 1937

Two Greer Garson Films

In continuing my quest for Greer Garson films, I obtained and viewed two more that I'd not yet seen, also starring Walter Pidgeon.

The first one is called Blossoms in the Dust (1941).  It was something of a tear jerker based on the life of Edna Gladney, a woman who fought against the stigma of illegitimacy in orphan adoption cases and other situations at the turn of the last century in Texas.  She eventually succeeded in getting a bill passed in Congress that removed such information from court records and allowed adopted children the same inheritance rights as biological children. 

 

Edna's husband is portrayed by Walter Pidgeon (their first film together), and througout the film she loses her husband, adopted sister, and her own son, leaving her to devote her life to children's aid advocacy.  This was the film that marked Greer Garson's rise to stardom, and it set the tone for many of her subsequent movies with Walter Pidgeon where they played respectable married couples often fighting against some kind of odds or for a cause.  Incidentally, Greer Garson did not like Blossoms in the Dust and stated in a quote in the New York Times that "the screen is neither a platform or a pulpit."  I found her performance to be touching and heartfelt, and I also enjoyed the lush technicolor photography. 

 

 

 

This week I also watched Julia Misbehaves (1948).  Garson and Pidgeon's fifth film together, it is the first and only comedy of their eight total pairings.  It strongly deviates from the typical pattern of their previous films, and Greer Garson plays a woman who, estranged from her husband and daughter, is returning for her daughter's wedding after twenty years.  Antics and hilarity ensue when it is discovered that her husband (they never actually divorced) and mother-in-law didn't actually invite her to the wedding.  The daughter is played by Elizabeth Taylor, and Peter Lawford and Nigel Bruce are also a part of the supporting cast.  The film was a flop with critics and audiences, in part because people had come to expect a certain moral character from Greer Garson, and a chorus girl who leaves her husband and daughter for twenty years just didn't fit the bill.  I found the movie to be quite entertaining and funny and was happy to add it to my collection. 

 

 

One more interesting tidbit:  All of the Greer Garson/Walter Pidgeon films were made at MGM, and Louis B. Mayer, so impressed with Greer Garson's manners and propriety, nicknamed her "Duchess." 

Lucy

Hello again! I'm still sort of getting the blog off the ground, but I thought I would use this post to introduce my bird, Lucy!

She's a blue Indian ringneck and 14 years old.  I have to specify that she is blue, because Indian ringnecks can be a whole variety of colors:  green (most common), blue, white, yellow, and grey. 

I’ve always preferred birds to cats and dogs, and Lucy does talk.  One of her favorite phrases is “What doin’?”  I am convinced that she knows what this means because she always asks it at really appropriate times, like when I am cleaning for instance. 

She loves to be wet and enjoys going in the shower and being misted with a water bottle.  She also likes it when I just hold a hose on her to completely soak her!  And sometimes she still wants to be even more wet! 

We've always had a special relationship.  Many believe that birds aren't really affectionate pets, but that is just not true!  Lucy cuddles with me every day;  she likes to hide in my hair, give little birdie kisses, and even cuddles with me in a blanket. 

Here are a couple pictures of her, wet and dry:

 

 

 

I realized that If I had to choose, I would rather have birds than airplanes.  - Charles Lindbergh (1902 - 1974), Interview shortly before his death, 1974

Hope, by Emily Dickinson

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune--without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

A Visit With Mrs. Miniver

A few weeks ago, my apartment complex was having the roofs replaced due to damage that occurred in a hail storm back in June.  The noise was outrageously loud, and I simply had to get out of the apartment. 

The night before, I had watched Madame Curie, an enjoyable biopic (however lacking in fact) starring Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon.  I've always been a fan of Greer Garson, especially in films such as Mrs. Miniver and Random Harvest.  As a result of a bit of googling, I learned that Greer Garson is actually buried in Dallas!  I am moving in January, but I thought that visiting her grave would definitely be something I'd like to do before leaving Texas. 

After looking up the address for the Sparkman - Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery, I set out on my quest to visit Ms. Garson's final resting place.  I made a quick stop at the grocery store to pick up some flowers. 

One thing I learned on this adventure is that one must always know a plot or site number for whomever you are looking to visit before just wandering into a cemetery.  I did not know this information however, and I ended up walking around for quite awhile.  I also came across the grave of Tom Landry, and anyone who knows me at all knows how I feel about Texas and Texas sports teams.  Out of respect for the dead, I didn't think Mr. Landry would enjoy a Miami Dolphins fan visiting his grave anyway, so I moved on.  :)  Apparently Mickey Mantle is also buried in this cemetery, but I never happened upon that site. 

Finally I reached the burial site of Greer Garson and her husband.  Apparently in 1949, she married E.E "Buddy" Fogelson, a Texas oil millionaire.  They have their own section of the cemetery known as Fogelson Triangle. 

I spent a few moments reflecting on Greer Garson, and the joy that her movies have brought me personally.  She often portrayed strong, but graceful women with high ideals and an unpompous and gracious sense of propriety. 

Later in the day, I began wanting to see other Greer Garson films that I had not yet seen, which led me to The Valley of Decision and Mrs. Parkington.

The Valley of Decision is a wonderful story that takes place in Pittsburgh in the late 19th century about a young, Irish house maid who falls in love with the son (played by Gregory Peck) of her employer who owns a local steel mill.  The film is based on a book by Marcia Davenport, which I plan to read very soon! I loved the movie.  What could be a better combination for a story like that than Greer Garson and Gregory Peck?!   Also a part of the cast was Donald Crisp, Gladys Cooper, Dan Duryea, Lionel Barrymore, and a very young Jessica Tandy.  Whew! 

Mrs. Parkington is another movie based on a novel, but this time by Louis Bromfield.  And I of course also plan to read that book very soon, as I loved this film as well!  It basically tells the tale of a family saga through flashbacks of an elderly Mrs. Parkington's memories.  Greed and personal failures/successes are major themes.  Greer Garson is joined once again by Walter Pidgeon (they made 8 films together) as well as Gladys Cooper, Dan Duryea, Peter Lawford, Tom Drake, Edward Arnold, and Agnes Moorehead, who won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress for her performance.  Greer Garson plays both the young and elderly roles of Mrs. Parkington, and as usual does an enormously classy job! 

I am in the process of seeking out a few more Greer Garson films that have thus far eluded me:  Blossoms in the Dust, and Julia Misbehaves.  More on those later!

Incidentally, Greer Garson is credited in the Guiness Book of World Records for delivering the longest Oscar acceptance speech for Best Actress in Mrs. Miniver.  Clocking at 5 min. and 30 seconds, the speech prompted the Academy to institute a time limit. 

Thanks for reading, and I'll close with this lovely image of Greer Garson, herself.  :)