Spending $$$ Online

That's what so many folks have been doing from Tuesday, July 8 at 12:01 am to midnight, Friday, July 11 (EDT).

Why? It's because of Amazon Prime Days. The annual big sale has expanded this year from two to four days (48 to 96 hours) for Prime members to shop millions of bargains. Admittedly, we had wish lists prepared for online shopping.

However, that changed after learning of last weekend's devastating flash floods in the Texas Hill country along the Guadalupe River with the loss of so many lives and so much property.

Instead of shopping for deals, I decided to do something else — read and learn about the organizations collecting monetary donations. While many, if not all, have online click to donate. My preference is old style sending checks in the mail. I needed to find mailing addresses.

With so many worthwhile organizations, the decision becomes a personal choice of which one(s). Difficult to only select one, choices were narrowed down to a few, some are described below.

Disclaimer: Please note that these organizations are some that caught my attention. This post is not an endorsement of one vs. another. There are so many worthwhile organizations to support. Your choice(s) may, of course, differ based on many things.

This is one that I kept reading about for Kerr County and Kerrville, TX, relief efforts. In Kerrville, the local police department and some local groups are now prioritizing monetary donations as food or water donations were not needed. 

The Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country, an area nonprofit group, launched the Kerr County Flood Relief Fund to help support local response, relief and recovery efforts.The foundation will direct funds to organizations providing rescue, relief, and recovery efforts as well as flood assistance. The Fund will support the communities of Hunt, Ingram, Kerrville, Center Point, and Comfort. 

All donations will go to organizations helping with the emergency. Monetary donations  can be sent to: Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country, 241 Earl Garrett Street, Kerrville, TX 78028. Checks should be made payable to Kerr County Flood Relief Fund.

Texas Search and Rescue (TEXSAR) is an Austin-based nonprofit group that serves all citizens of the State of Texas deploying at the request of law enforcement, fire departments, and emergency management agencies. It specializes in emergency response using ground search and rescue, flood and swift water rescue teams, K9 search dogs, drones to aid in the search for the missing. The group was aiming to raise $100,000 to sustain its efforts. 

 

Services are free to requesting agencies and are staffed trained professional volunteers. TEXSAR consists of multiple divisions across Texas and deploys to all 254 counties in the state. Since 2004, it has evolved into one of the largest non-paid search and rescue organizations in the Texas.

All funding comes from sponsors, corporations, and the community. There is never a charge for its services. Donations can be mailed to TEXSAR, 13501 Ranch Road 12 Ste. 103 Wimberley, TX 78676.

Friday’s flooding devastated the fire house of the Center Point Volunteer Fire Department’s. The flood waters destroyed the interior of the station and ruined much of what was inside the building, including essential gear and equipment. Patrick is a former NJ firefighter, so this organization was definitely added to our list. 

This station, which is the base of operations for search and rescue in Center Point lost all of its emergency equipment. Area residents have volunteered to clean up what they can and support the firefighters. Monetary donations are welcomed: Center Point VFD, PO Box 494, Center Point, TX 78010-0494

The United Cajun Navy is a 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization dedicated to providing disaster relief and emergency response services to communities in need.

Founded in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the organization has since grown to become a critical part of disaster response efforts across the U.S. Its mission is to swiftly and effectively mobilize volunteers and resources to areas affected by natural disasters, ensuring that those in need receive timely assistance.

Unlike traditional relief organizations, the United Cajun Navy is not a government agency or large nonprofit. It's a decentralized network of volunteer-based groups of private boat owners who assist in search and rescue efforts during natural disasters, particularly in the Southern U.S. These groups, often come from Cajun communities in Louisiana and use their boats and skills to rescue those stranded by natural disasters. Donations can be mailed to: United Cajun Navy, 2053 W Magna Carta Place, Baton Rouge LA 70815.

Currently, Samaritan's Purse is responding to deadly flash flooding in central Texas. This non-denominational evangelical Christian organization provides spiritual and physical aid to people worldwide. Since 1970, Samaritan’s Purse has helped meet needs of those who are victims of war, poverty, natural disasters, disease, and famine. Samaritan's Purse mobilizes staff and equipment and enlists thousands of volunteers to provide emergency aid to victims of tornadoes, hurricanes, wildfires, floods, and other natural disasters. Donations can be mailed to: Samaritan’s Purse, PO Box 3000, Boone, NC 28607.

The Salvation Army is mobilizing in response to severe floods in Texas. Its services include providing emergency aid, food, drinks, emotional and spiritual care, and critical supplies to survivors and rescue workers. 

For those who support Salvation Army disaster services, 100% of that donation is applied to the disaster relief operation selected. The Salvation Army never applies an administrative fee to any disaster gift. If disaster donations exceed identified needs, excess funds will be restricted to support future disaster services. For information and service locations, visit www.disaster.salvationarmyusa.org.

World Central Kitchen (WCK) is a not-for-profit, non-governmental organization that provides food relief. It was founded in 2010 by Spanish-American chef and restaurateur José Andrés following the earthquake in Haiti and has since responded to Hurricane Harvey, the 2018 lower Puna eruption, 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes and the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires.

World Central Kitchen’s Relief Team is in central Texas to support communities impacted by catastrophic flooding in Hill Country on Friday, July 4. When disaster strikes, WCK’s Relief Team mobilizes to the frontlines to start cooking and provide meals to people in need. By partnering with organizations on the ground and activating a network of food trucks or emergency kitchens, WCK provides freshly made, nutritious meals to communities impacted by disasters quickly and effectively. Monetary donations can be mailed to: World Central Kitchen, PO Box 96538, Washington, DC, 20090-6538

Direct Relief provides disaster relief across all 50 U.S. states and throughout the world and is on the ground in Texas. The organization is in communication with responding search and rescue groups, camps and healthcare partners in affected areas, including National Emergency Management and Response, which deployed personnel to Kerrville.

To meet needs related to extreme weather in Texas, Direct Relief has committed an initial $50,000 in direct funding and made its $90 million stockpile of medications and supplies available to responding organizations.

Direct Relief is nongovernmental, nonsectarian, and not-for-profit. It relies entirely on private contributions to advance its mission and perform a wide range of functions. Donations can be sent to: Direct Relief, 6100 Wallace Becknell Rd, Santa Barbara, CA 93117.

Of course, not only individuals, but countless companies and celebrities countrywide have contributed funds to Central Texas relief efforts. It was heartwarming to read about many.

No doubt many fellow bloggers have favorite organization(s) they support. In times of far too many recent disasters, we've contributed to some new to us, including some of these.

Trading Off & Nonna's

That's what we have been doing in the kitchen the past few weeks — only for dinner. Breakfast and lunch are excluded aside from Grenville's weekend breakfast prep.

This routine started soon after Grenville said complained that I was hogging the kitchen. He explained that he wanted his own kitchen time to try some new recipes from his America's Test Kitchen subscription.

This is our apartment kitchen, both sides

Before this changeover, we usually took turns cooking dinner depending on which one of us volunteered or insisted (guilty as charged). He was right in that I was spending the most time there.. The exception was on weekends when pancakes (sometimes crepes) or omelets were for breakfast, Grenville's favorites.. 

A small kitchen is nothing new to us. In our former NJ homes we had small galley-style kitchens (sorry, no photos,). Back then, there were outdoor grills there, so most warm weather, even in colder temps we cooked outdoors. Now, living on the 5th floor of a former mill, outdoor grilling is in the past. There's no open spots on the grounds because of the parking lot. Such is one of the drawbacks of apt life, but there are also pluses, like so many local restaurants in walking distance.

Later, after we purchasing and relocating to VA, we knew that a larger kitchen definitely was in the future. So, as part of the renovations, we replaced a very small kitchen there. It was really smaller than in our NJ homes and even our current NH kitchen.

This was the kitchen in our former VA home

The above photo shows the remodeled VA kitchen looking from the entry near the refrigerator.

Another view of the VA kitchen

This photo shows the opposite end of the remodeled VA kitchen looking to the stove. There was a lot of counter space to work. we often shared kitchen duties with one doing the prep and the other the cooking, a joint effort. We miss this space.

Now, living on the 5th floor of a former mill, there's no outdoor cooking. not even on the grounds since there's an outdoor parking area.

Dining out is nice when we travel and also as we have so many restaurants in downtown Nashua, NH (about 30 within walking distance). We both enjoy cooking at home, but tend to get in each other's way — two chefs and limited counter space. Yes, it can be done, but our styles of food prep and cooking are different.

Grenville does crepes in VA

Beatrice prefers to have ingredients prepped, chopped, measured (spices, liquids) and put in bowls or containers for quick access when cooking starts. She also spreads kitchen utensils, cookware and cutting boards on counter space. (Some of you may know this by the French term, mise en place or everything in its place.)

Grenville is less ordered and doesn't like to clutter the counter space. The best way to describe his style is as you go; meaning he gets ingredients and pans out as needed.

At first, we considered alternating kitchen days; but, Grenville said that he would rather have an entire week, so we agreed on Monday - Sunday, seven days and started trading off about 6 weeks ago. Also, when one of us cooks, the other does cleanup (usually). If we've been away or dined out with friends during the week, we don't add or subtract a day(s) to one another's week, overall it sort of evens out.

Our cookbook collection which was downsized, slightly

One thing is definite, there's no shortage of cookbooks in our apartment as shown in the above bookcase collection. Yes, they are used depending on what's planned for dinner during the week. Our preferences tend toward fish and chicken, then pork with beef in last place. Vegetables and salads are also favorites here. I don't know if it's the same for any of you, sometimes we have to look through a few to find a recipe. And, when all else fails, we search online — doesn't everyone?

Giveaway cookbooks went to friends and the library

This photo above was taken, after we downsized the collection (a bit) and found new homes for them. The biggest book on the bottom was given to a friend, the others were donated to the Friends of the Nashua Public Library for a future sale. Cookbooks are always big sellers; there's never a shortage of donated ones.

Special cookbooks have their own shelf space

The left side of this bottom shelf is reserved for specialty and/or holiday cookbooks. The right side has vintage cookbooks that belonged to our mothers. Two that are taped and wrapped are from Patrick's mom, the red one above those was my mom's basic cookbook. The classic Betty Crocker Cookbook was bought 40 years+ ago after a move to my first apartment.

As this is a food post and we both cooking in and dining out, here's where we dined at a NH restaurant in February while on our road trip to the White Mountains. We had spent the afternoon traveling on the Snow Coach on Mt Washington as part of my birthday celebration. We learned about this area restaurant from a couple who had dined there the night before and were going back that night.

It was a happy coincidence as we had recently seen the Netflix film, Nonnas, based on the true story behind the founding of Enoteca Maria, a restaurant in Staten Island, NY, where actual grandmothers (nonnas) cook from traditional cook family recipes. The film is focused on owner Joe Scaravella, who risks financial ruin to honor his late mother and grandmother by opening an Italian restaurant, hiring local grandmothers as chefs. The restaurant is well known for hiring nonnas from around the world. 

The stars of the Netflix Film, Nonnas (Internet source)

The film features Vince Vaughn as Scaravella and Lorraine Bracco, Talia Shire, Brenda Vaccaro and Susan Sarandon as the nonnas. We found it to be a heartwarming, very enjoyable film which focused on food and family complete with strong performances from the lead actresses who played the nonnas. 

Nonna's Kitchen in Gorham, NH

While we haven't been to Enoteca Maria, we found something just as good and so much closer in the small town of Gorham, NH. This small restaurant, Nonna's Kitchen, is located in what was once a barber shop on historic Exchange Street. The interior has the original tin walls and ceiling and is very cozy, It was the perfect setting to enjoy a delicious Italian meal on a Saturday evening. While the restaurant looks empty in the photo below, we dined early, within a half hour, tables were filling up. 

Interior of Nonna's Kitchen

After dinner, we talked with the mother of the current owner, who is now the Nonna. She had opened the restaurant in April 2017 with her husband and it was named in honor of her mother (also Nonna). Although her husband and mother have since passed, the family has carried on the tradition. The restaurant is now run by herself and her son along with his wife.

Tomato-basil soup, homemade pasta and tiaramisu

The family-owned restaurant continues their passion and love for cooking. Recipes have been passed down from generations with some added new creations. All the pasta is made fresh daily and cooked to order. Everything was delicious, including the homemade dessert of tiramisu. If you're ever in NH, do yourself a favor and eat here. You won't be disappointed.

How about You ?

Are kitchen chores and cooking shared or is it a solo effort? And, do you cook from a book, online recipe, freestyle method or all (or some) of these?

BIG THANKS to fellow bloggers who read the previous post about how this blog started and commented too. Also, thanks for sharing your own blog journey, and in such great detail which were shared with Grenville/Patrick. We appreciate that sharing our lives and adventures is interesting and plan to continue.

Revisiting Earth Day

Earth Day was celebrated once again in April and the 2024 campaign, Planet vs. Plastics, advocates reducing plastic dependence which most everyone agrees is a very good thing.

My post for this date focused on ways to personally reduce the use of consumable plastics. At the time, I listed some alternatives, a few of which we were already doing plus several others that were being considered. 

I asked fellow bloggers for their suggestions and the comments were informative especially on the topic of dryer balls. The majority had never used them, some had never heard of them, others said they did nothing for static, a couple of folks said they'd been using them for years.

At the time, we were still using dryer sheets and planning to switch to dryer balls which was done shortly after that post. That decision included avoiding any that were manufactured in China, which took some doing, as so many things come from that country. It's a personal decision to avoid China-made products when possible, knowing it's not always possible 

This brand, Smart Sheep, was purchased online (Amazon). According to the website, the company is the result of a partnership between two women, Kalpena in Nepal and Christine in the U.S. Kalpana manages the felting process of the dryer balls in Nepal. Christine imports, inspects, and packages them in the U.S. These dryer balls use New Zealand wool.

According to online information this product is manufactured through ethical fair-trade practices and provides good job opportunities for women in Kathamandu, Nepal. I sincerely hope that is the case. Just in case, you're considering a switch to dryer balls, Smart Sheep offers these fun options, which cost from $5 to $10 more than white wool ones. Guess which ones I'm buying the next time.

Staying on laundry, a couple of months ago we were using bottled liquid detergent; while considering a switch to detergent laundry sheets as there were a lot of pluses including the fact of no liquid measuring, so no chance of spillage. Also, less space needed to store plastic containers as detergent sheets usually come in cardboard packaging, less storage space is a plus for apartment dwellers like us. Plus, several bloggers recommended them.

For those not familiar with detergent sheets, these come in pre-measured, dissolvable sheets. Some cons were that they might not dissolve in all water temps or not remove stains and odors. I've used them in cold and warm water temps with no issues. Of course, our laundry doesn't get heavily soiled since we're not working outdoors and there's no children in our home. Others may have different results.

Once again, there was a decision on which product to buy. Again, I wanted a U.S. made product and, on a friend's recommendation, tried a brand made in Canada (close enough). In the future, I may search out other brands, but so far these have been working well for us.

Just so you know, detergent sheets definitely are more costly than liquid detergents. While for us, the extra expense is worth the expense, this may not be true for everyone.

Last, but not least, is that we've stopped using plastic grocery shopping bags, unlike in 12 other states, NH has not banned these in grocery stores. (If you plan to travel, know that single use plastic bags are banned in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington.)

Yes, we were a bit late in returning to using tote bags which oddly enough we were using all the time, pre-pandemic. When we couldn't use them we lazily fell into the practice of using grocery store plastic bags. An upside is that these were then used for trash disposal and that, in turn, meant we didn't buy plastic trash bags. Once the supply runs out, we'll look for alternatives.

Staying on the subject of grocery shopping, we stopped using single-use plastic bags for vegetables and fruit. Instead, this set of mesh bags, also bought online, is brought to the supermarket along with the tote bags, better late than never. 

These are easily washed, air tried, and ready for reuse unlike plastic bags which were always discarded. 

According to the product information, the contents will easily scan at the register; however, that doesn't seem to be true. In the time we've been using them, the cashier has always had to open the bag to scan the item(s).

Finally, this last item has nothing to do with laundry or grocery shopping — it's a change in a bathroom item, switching to a fabric shower curtain liner instead of a plastic one. The plastic one was able to be laundered regularly, but it was still plastic. 

This polyester fabric (non-plastic) one can also be laundered and it dries quickly, also it's more attractive, so I bought it in two different colors, blue and cream

These are some measures we've been taking to lessen our use of plastics and other items harmful to the environment. There are, of course, many others. 

Once again, I invite your comments and/or suggestions on things that work for you. 

Medically Speaking

My blog posts usually are confined to posts about road adventures, family, occasional recipes, and a lot of funny sights, avoiding hot topics like politics, religion, current events.

Since we returned home from our recent travels abroad, there's been a fair amount of catching up to do — unpacking, household chores and some purging and drop-offs to local thrift stores.

That said, some of the most important things we've been doing involve healthcare.

Most fellow bloggers reading this post will already much about topics mentioned here, so there won't be a lot of medical info. Much more extensive information is available online. 

Also, the purpose of this post is not to persuade anyone to participate in any of the procedures or vaccinations mentioned herein. 

Those decisions are strictly your own, as they should be. Everyone should do what he/she feels most comfortable with for their own well being.

These medical procedures are what we've done in the past couple of weeks.

Screening mammogram: As any female can attest, this procedure can be uncomfortable 😟, but at least brief. After telling myself I was done with it since reaching age 74 this year, I reversed that decision. Many sources recommend screening mammograms every other year from ages 40 to 74. New guidelines do not include recommendations for women after age 74, as there is limited data on whether mammograms save lives in that age group. 

My re-thinking that previous decision was the result of losing two female friends, Linda and April, within the past four months. Both had been previously diagnosed with breast cancer, which returned and was especially aggressive for both. 

Prostate Exam: This is the male equivalent of an uncomfortable procedure (no details here). Grenville went for an exam this week. The American Cancer Society recommends men start cancer screenings at age 50. Screening is generally not recommended in men over 75 as potential benefits are outweighed by the risks in this population.

2023 is the first fall and winter virus season where vaccines are available for 3 viruses deemed responsible for most hospitalizations – COVID-19, RSV, flu.

RSV Vaccine: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a common respiratory virus that can cause mild, cold-like symptoms. While most people recover in a week or two, RSV can be serious especially for infants and older adults, more likely to develop severe symptoms that need hospitalization. 

There's no maximum age for getting an RSV vaccination. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends adults 60 and older can receive a single dose of the vaccine. This will provide protection against RSV disease in adults 60 years and older for at least two winter seasons, when RSV normally circulates.

Updated Covid: Here we go again. The CDC recommends everyone 6 months and older get an updated COVID-19 vaccine to protect against potentially serious outbreaks this fall and winter. Updated vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna are available now in many retail pharmacies. In most cases there is no charge.

Returning from our recent trip abroad, several group members posted on a messaging app that they'd been infected with COVID symptoms, some more severe than others. Since we're traveling out of the country (again) in a few weeks having as much protection as possible is never a bad thing.

Flu Shot:  All persons aged 6 months of age and older, with rare exception, are recommended to get the annual influenza (flu) vaccination every season appropriate for their age and health status. September and October are the recommended best times for most to get vaccinated. More information can be found online at the CDC and other websites.

This week, I completed the RSV and COVID vaccinations and will get the flu shot within a couple of weeks. We have Medicare and supplemental medical insurance. There was no cost for any of these procedures or/vaccinations.

As stated earlier, every medical decision is a personal one to make yourself or with input from your medical professional. Personally, we hope that everyone stays healthy and takes advantage of all preventative measures available. (Our screening results were thankfully negative. The vaccines may produce soreness at the injection site, usually upper arm.)

We've Been Moonlighting

No, we haven't been working at a side job or any job for that matter. 

The moonlighting in the post title refers to Moonlighting, the 1980s television show which starred Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd. It had a two-hour debut on ABC on Sunday, March 3,1985 and was later shifted to Tuesday nights at 10 pm.

Seasons 1 & 2 DVD

Full disclosure, we never watched the weekly show years ago, and so were never avid followers. That said, this past week, we've been viewing a library borrowed DVD set of seasons 1 and 2, and nearly 40 years later finding it funny and absurd.

For those of you who may not be familiar with the show (there may be some), Shepherd and Willis, played private investigators who began working together after top model Maddie Hayes was stripped of her financial assets by her unscrupulous accountant who cleared out his office and skipped town. 

No tears for Maddie who still had an upscale home, pricey car, lots of clothes, and several business, which she learns were money-losing ventures maintained as tax write-offs. Her lawyer advises her to dump them as she's (that's right) out of money. The City of Angels Detective Agency is one of those businesses to be shed, until David Addison, a wisecracking investigator who has been running it persuades her to run it. Since she's already the boss, she agrees and renames it the Blue Moon Detective Agency after a shampoo brand she famously advertised during her career. 

The show opened to critical acclaim, became a hit and developed a cult-like following. Shepherd and Willis were called the Tracy/Hepburn equivalent of the 1980s. Even though the concept of them as case-solving detectives was an odd pairing which, in turn, became a big part of the show's appeal. Their love-hate relationship and snarky comebacks kept viewers watching this trend-setting show that merged drama, comedy, mystery, and romance. 

Moonlighting was never meant to be taken as a serious detective show. It's so far off that mark. There was never any reference to David Addison's investigative training or experience; Maddie Hayes work experience was in modeling. Despite being embezzled, she dresses well, maintains an upscale lifestyle, and drives a late model BMW. It's not a depressing lifestyle in the least.

Promotional photos of Moonlighting stars, Willis & Shepherd (Internet sources)

The show has been compared to screwball classic films by Howard Hawks and Preston Sturgis. Photos of the show leads focused on the physical attraction between Willis and Shepherd. By comparison, photos from the earlier screwball comedies were much more modest.

Scene from The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice episode

As well as being credited with helping Willis become a star, the show gave Shepherd’s career a needed boost. The 30-year old Willis was one of 3,000 actors who tested for the role of David Addison. The role of Maddie Hayes was written specifically for the 35-year old Shepherd, who didn't even screen test for the role. She was often shot with diffusion lenses to look as leading ladies did in 1940s films.

Allyce Beasley, Cybill Shepherd, Bruce Willis

Yes, cases were solved within the hour-long show, but how that happened was where the fun always came in. There's a lot of fast talking banter and very loud dialogue between the two leads, sometimes it's was hard to keep up. The cast also included Allyce Beasley as a quirky receptionist (Agnes DiPesto) who answered the office phone in rhymes. It was fun, but also very annoying.

After a couple of years, production was affected because the main stars took time off for feature films. Willis became a major star after the first Die Hard film. Original episodes became sporadic and viewers never knew until tuning in whether or not they were going to see a new episode or a rerun. 

Moonlighting drew its highest viewer rating on March 31,1987, when, in a bid to resurrect interest, David and Maddie finally consummated their long-standing love-hate relationship. The episode pulled 44 percent of the TV audience, outpolling the Academy Awards show. But, afterwards, ratings plunged, as critics and audiences left for other prime-time programs.

After five seasons and 67 episodes, the show ended on May 14,1989. The actors reportedly were not working well, viewers lost interest, and those all-important ratings dropped.

Curious, as always, to learn more, I read that back then Moonlighting was one of the most expensive series on TV, costing on average about  $1.6 million per episode. ABC covered the cost since the network owned the show and it was more profitable than if the series was owned by a separate production company. Because of scenes in which both actors simultaneously talked so long, scripts were two to three times longer than that of a similar hour-long drama.

Episodes were shot in 12 to 14 days, nearly double the usual 7 days for an hour-long series. At times, dialogue was written hours before shooting, scenes were filmed days before airing. There were many delays; the series never hit the usual 26 episodes per season.

It had a unique feature as when Willis and Shepherd would look directly into the camera and talk to the audience, a performance convention called breaking the fourth wall, and it was fun to watch. In this convention, an imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. The audience can see through the wall, but the convention assumes the actors continue as if they cannot.

To date, Moonlighting has not moved to any streaming platform. The show has only been released on DVDs for home media use. Update: a blogger friend emailed to let me know that episodes can be viewed on YouTube, if anyone is interested.

Why? It's been caught up in music rights issues. If music is involved in the production of a TV show or movie, lots of folks want more dollars from streaming rights.

That wasn't an issue when Moonlighting first hit TV screens according to series creator and producer Glenn Gordon Caron: When we made Moonlighting, television shows didn't typically use pop music. It was really just us and Miami Vice. So when deals were made for the music, no one anticipated streaming. In order to exhibit the show [on streaming], the owner of the shows, now the Walt Disney Company, has to go back and make deals for all that music – and they've resisted doing that for six or seven years now. 

Since that's not expected to be a quick process, it means that Moonlighting most likely won't  be available for streaming anytime soon. That means you'll have to borrow or buy the DVDs.

Moonlighting Seasons 3, 4 and 5 (final season) DVDs

But, if you're a fan, good news is that Moonlighting is available on DVDs; bad news is that the DVDs are costly—Amazon has Seasons 1 and 2 for $69 and prices for the remaining series go upwards to $120 for Season 5; the pilot episode goes for $89. 

Moonlighting Show Pilot DVD

Is the show worth watching? Yes, because as illogical and absurd some most of the episodes are, we've been laughing and they're funny vs. violent. However, once we've watched Season 1 and 2 DVDs we won't go out of our way to watch the remaining seasons. 

The Moonlighting theme song was co-written by Lee Holdridge and jazz singer Al Jarreau, who sang it at the show's start. In 1987, it reached #1 in the U.S. For anyone who needs a Moonlighting fix, this video has the show theme and episode scenes. Enjoy.

Your turn—any memories of a favorite show, and, if so, would you watch it again?

Holiday Movie Watching

Holiday 🎄movies — have you been watching them more this year? It's OK to 'fess up

The past few years, we never managed to watch all the holiday movies in our collection, which currently numbers just over 50, a bit more with a couple of compilation DVDs. 

But, this year, beginning in early November, we started going through the collection in alphabetical order and we each selected a film a night. We started with, Beyond Christmas, and recently ended with We're No Angels. Some of the films in our collection may be unfamiliar to many of you and a few will be described in this post; several are unusual, but worth a look.

Years ago, we would take turns and randomly choose a movie for the night's viewing. This meant we never watched every film, some would be skipped to pick favorites. of course, not traveling during either of the major holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas also helped increase this year's viewing

Our collection includes films with similar, but not identical titles or storylines: The Man Who Saved Christmas (the story of toymaker A.C. GIlbert) and The Man Who Invented Christmas (the story of how Charles Dickens penned A Christmas Carol). Several movies in our collection have the word, holiday, in the title: Holiday Inn (1942), Holiday Affair (1949) and The Holiday (2006).

We have many versions of A Christmas Carol: a 1938 film with Reginald Owen, 1984 version with George C. Scott, 1992 Muppets Christmas Carol, and the 2009 animated version with Jim Carrey. One day we'll add the 1951 version with Alastair Sim, which many consider the best one of the bunch. We also have Scrooged, a 1988 fantasy-comedy version starring Bill Murray and including all three of his brothers — John, Joel, and Brian Doyle-Murray. We've skipped most of these this year, opting to watch the Scott and Murray versions.

Dickens is said to have named the story, A Christmas Carol, as he expected it to be repeated and shared and to bring families together like the singing of carols that spread happiness each season in London.

We also watched movies newly-added to our collection and bought on eBay this year: Home Alone 2, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Trading Places, While You Were Sleeping, and 3 Godfathers. That last 1948 film is considered the only Christmas western, directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne. For the plot line, think of the story of the Three Wise Men only with cowboys. The film was based on a 1930 story of the same title. It wasn't one of our favorites and might not be to your liking, unless you're a big John Wayne fan.

One with a similar theme is the1940 movie, Beyond Tomorrow, one of our holiday favorites. It's also known as Beyond Christmas and So Goodbye. The movie is considered a fantasy film and includes early special effects. It was produced by noted cinematographer Lee Garmes. There are no famous stars in the film, but it featured a quartet of veteran character actors, all seven received a "Featuring" billing after the movie title. The plot takes place during the Christmas season, but the film is little-remembered. As the story begins, three rich, but lonely engineers invite a pair of strangers, a young couple, to share Christmas Eve in their mansion. The trio bonds with them, but there's an untimely plane crash and then. Sorry, but you will have to see the film to learn what happened. Hint: you can find it online.

An offbeat 1950 comedy film, Rupert the Great, also titled The Great Rupert stars Jimmy Durante as a down-and-out former vaudeville performer whose family falls on hard times at Christmas time. A furry friend becomes their guardian angel in the form of a squirrel named Rupert as money starts raining down from a hole in the ceiling. Admittedly, it's a totally absurd plot line. This low-budget film was reviewed in The New York Times which described it as wholly ingratiating adding that it had a happy cast of characters. While not a great film by any means, it's a fun one with a good message as Durante's character is shown helping his neighbors after his new-found wealth. Sorry no further plot details here, but you can also find this one online.

The cast includes actor Tom Drake, who plays a love interest in the film and six years earlier as John Truitt was the love interest of Judy Garland in the 1944 film, Meet Me in St Louis. That film  featured the now classic holiday tune, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.

Mixed Nuts is an American Christmas dark comedy, directed by Nora Ephron, which features a stellar comedic cast including Steve Martin, Madeline Kahn, Robert Klein, Adam Sandler, Rob Reiner, and Garry Shandling. The events focus around a crisis hotline in coastal CA on Christmas Eve. It was released in theaters on December 21, 1994 and while critically and commercially unsuccessful then, it's now a cult classic.

While also enjoy vintage B&W films including It's a Wonderful Life, White Christmas, Holiday Inn, The Bishop's Wife, It Happened in Connecticut. We have several contemporary favorites: Love Actually, a 2003 release, which features an ensemble cast of mostly British actors, many of whom had worked with director Richard Curtis on film and TV projects. Filmed in London, the screenplay delves into various aspects of love, shown in 10 separate stories involving people who are shown to be connected as the story progresses. It begins 5 weeks before Christmas and plays out until the holiday with an epilogue one month later. Released in the U.S. in November 2003, it got mixed reviews. One week later it opened in the UK to positive reviews. It was a box office hit, more popular with audiences than critics then, it's now a modern Christmas movie staple.

Three years later in 2006, The Holiday, premiered in NYC in November, a month before its December theatrical release in the US and UK. This romantic comedy featured Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz as two women from opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean who arrange a Christmas home exchange  to escape heartbreak in their respective countries. Written, produced and directed by Nancy Meyers the film was a financial success  and grossed over $200 million against a $85 million budget. It garnered mixed reviews with critics praising cast performances and the film's aesthetic appeal but with a predictable plot. Nevertheless, it remains a modern classic now.

We did a snowy day movie marathon of all three Tim Allen holiday films: 1994 The Santa Clause, 2002 Santa Clause 2 (The Mrs Clause) and 2006 Santa Clause 3 (the escape clause). 

We also watched The Polar Express, The Grinch That Stole Christmas, and A Charlie Brown Christmas. And, the 1989 film, Christmas Vacation is always on our holiday viewing list. Maybe some of these are on yours too?

 

Two Netflix original films, Christmas Chronicles and Christmas Chronicles2 with Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn will be added to our DVD collection within a few years. Right now, these films are too recent to be reasonably priced. All of the above-mentioned holiday films added to our collection this year were purchased online for $5 to $6 with free shipping. Buying several older films wasn't costly and definitely provided a lot of evening entertainment for us this year and in the future.

Now, I'll admit we haven't watched Hallmark holiday movies as we're not cable subscribers. Many of these can be seen on YouTube and so are next on our holiday watching list. After all, there's still time left before Christmas and we're not going anywhere then or afterwards.

Plus, there's no shame in being a Hallmark Christmas movie addict as lots of folks are now. My brother told me he's been watching them too.

Your turn, what holiday films, if any, have you been watching the past couple of months and what are some of your favorites?