My daughter could write a Top 5 post in her sleep. She has very strong opinions on many things and has much more exposure to cultural and media variety than I do. But I wanted to do something fun and a Top 5 list felt right. So I asked my husband what in the world I had an opinion on, and he came up with old movie actors, which I tweaked.

I watched movies ALL THE TIME with my mom growing up. She told me all the gossip on the actors of old. I love old movies. So, here are my Top 5 favorite old movies. (don’t expect brilliant critiques, I just like these movies )

#5 – To Kill A Mockingbird

This movie is so good, and when I was a kid, so creepy! Gregory Peck was perfect as Atticus Finch; a man of character and inner strength and tremendous self-control. The atmosphere was always so tense for such a sleepy southern town. I loved the growth of the children’s hearts and minds as time went on and as they saw and experienced life in their town, as they saw their father for the great man he was.

#4 – Philadelphia Story

I just love this movie. I love Jimmy Stewart, Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn and Ruth Hussey. The wise-cracking dialogue is absolutely great (and, unfortunately, often lost on the younger generation without several viewings).  If I could change anything I’d drop an idiotic conversation between Tracy and her dad just before Tracy’s real marriage at the end; 6 very stupid lines that almost ruined an otherwise perfect comedy.

#3 – Arsenic and Old Lace

One of the funniest and darkest screwball comedies with a cast of fantastic actors, this is a movie I can watch over and over. (of course, my family will say that doesn’t mean anything since I watch movies that I like over and over all the time) It is extremely fast paced (as all the screwball comedies were) and, again, younger generations seem to have a hard time following it.

#2 – Rear Window

I really do NOT like suspense movies, but this one HAD to go in my list. Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly are marvelous (and this is the ONLY movie in which Grace Kelly ever appeared in jeans!!) and a mention has to go to Thelma Ritter, one of  my very favorite supporting actresses. Hitchcock did a masterful job with this one!

#1 – Casablanca

The best movie of all time, in my mind. The acting, the dynamic and wonderful cast, the atmosphere, the humor, the dialogue, the patriotism. I cannot praise this movie enough. Some of the most quoted lines (even if they are often quoted wrong) next to Shakespeare – this is not a true stat, just something I made up! If you have never seen this movie … DO IT!

Honorable Mentions: Holiday Inn, My Man Godfrey

I LOVE Holiday Inn! Fun songs, great banter between Bing and Fred, wonderful dancing. I watch it every year. It didn’t make it into my Top 5 but it HAD to be mentioned.

My Man Godfrey is another screwball comedy I love. Carol Lombard was terrific as the ditzy blond against William Powell’s stoic butler. Again, the dialogue is very fast but very funny.

This holiday week-end, if you want to watch a family movie, why don’t you try one of the old great ones. There are so many more than I could mention here. I had SUCH a hard time chopping my list down to only 5.

What’s your favorite old movie (filmed before 1955)?

Linking to:
Show and Tell

Well, I’m borrowing this idea from my friend Terri at Hearts in Service. I’m still on vacation and realized I still needed a blog for today and I LOVED her idea! As I began working on it, I soon realized THIS WAS HARD! I ended up asking my family (and in-laws) for their input and some of these are THEIR view of me!!

Some of these things you may know, some you may not, some you may be more than you wanted to know! But here are 26 things about me.

A – aurally astute – I have a great talent for recognizing voices. One time I was watching a Star Trek movie with the Borg in it with Kevin and heard the voice of the head woman Borg and said, “That’s the same woman who played the girlfriend in ‘Chariots of Fire.’” He was quite unbelieving until we looked it up and I WAS RIGHT!!

B – bald – Lost my hair 33 years ago and God has taught me SO MUCH through this event. I have a friend who used to joke that my tombstone would say, “Here Lies Bald Kate”. I’ve gotta admit, it’s pithy!

C – curious – I love to learn about anything and everything except for math or philosophy (my poor husband) — I tend to be the Go To person on questions people have about practical needs in their lives.

D – down to earth – I am practical, realistic and non-judgmental. I’m pretty much a ‘what you see is what you get’ kind of gal. I’m not fancy but rather plain and enjoy the more simple things in life.

E – easygoing – I am generally very flexible in life. Let me rephrase that…I’m definitely very flexible in my life. I live my life by the “no problem” motto.

F – forthright – I am not one to beat around the bush. I come right to the point and speak what I need to. Sometimes it makes me wonder why women would ever come to mentor with me…but I am loving in the midst of my forthrightness. And I think that, even though I say hard things at times, the fact that I dearly love the women I’m speaking to goes a long way to make “knowledge acceptable”.

G – gracious – I tend to see the best in people and treat them assuming the best about them – my in-laws say I make people want to be with me (I’m trusting them on that one).

H – homebody – I would rather be home than anywhere else – but I love having people come to my home, so it’s not that I want to be alone (would be hard to do with a family of 10!)

I – inactive – I am NOT a person who likes to move…not only do I like to stay home, I also love to lie down! I don’t enjoy exercise or movement of any kind. Spending time in bed is my favorite past time!

J – joyful – This is the focus that God has brought into my life these past 20 years. I’ve grown more and more in learning to choose joy in every aspect of my life. I still have lots to learn but it’s a wonderful journey!!

K – knowledgeable – in many areas of life, because of my deep curiosity, I have picked up lots of bits of knowledge from all different aspects of life and love to help others.

L – laughter – I find great fun and joy in things and I LAUGH A LOT!! I have an embarrassingly loud laugh but it doesn’t seem to offend people. I just simply love to laugh!

M – maternal – Well, having 8 children, it would be hard not to be! I find myself having to balance this more and more as my children grow and not to be a helicopter mom (hovering over them).

N – napper – I would rather be taking a nap than almost anything else!

O – open minded – I love learning new things and that means I am open to investigating new views or new ways of looking at things. This includes teachings. BUT I use scripture as the basis of analysis of all the different ideas.

P – practical – Those who know me well, know that I am centered on the practical side of life. Kevin is the abstract thinker, I am the one who knows how to make things work in life. My gifts are all geared toward the practical and pragmatic.

Q – quoter – I am continually quoting from movies and my children have been trained in this ‘skill’

R – reliable – I try to be sure and faithfully do whatever I commit to doing.

S – short – Well, being under 5 foot tall makes me pygymy-sized (according to the dictionary), so I think short is a good adjective to describe me!

T – thoughtful – By this I mean that I care about others and think about what will help them feel loved and cared for.

U – understanding – One of the ways God has changed me over the years is to really hear the heart of a person and not just their words. This is very helpful in mentoring women and in raising my children.

V – veracious – I try to be very truthful in all I do and say.

W – wise/witty – Wisdom is my spiritual gift and God gives me wisdom as I speak to others in counseling or discipling situations. And I am witty. I have a very dry sense of humor and generally understated but I am always coming up with funny comments in almost any situation.

X - (I’m leaving this off and doing 2 w’s instead ;D)

Y - your guess is as good as mine…couldn’t think of one! ;D

Z – zaftig – Well, the reality is that 8 babies and pregnancies have taken their toll on this body and I have tenaciously held onto more weight than I would care to admit. So, “pleasingly plump” is a good fit for me!

I’d love to hear YOUR adjectives of description!