Smile Women - This day is yours! 💝

I was wondering what words of wisdom I would impart this Women's Day! Inspiration strikes anytime ..
I haven't been doing too well lately - the flu bug paid me a visit and the past week has been nothing short of hell! But the work must go on and with all my grumbling, hubby decided to help out with the cooking. Now that is not always a good idea, but beggars can't be choosers. So hubby dearest decided to go native and make fish curry .... It was an interesting cooking experience and this is what my immaculate kitchen looked like after the ordeal ... 👇

Turmeric is not pretty on the floors 😕

I'm sure you can hear me groan as I write this! And this is only part of the mess, mind you. Art lovers forgive me, but the walls had something that resembled contemporary art on it (an art style I could never understand). But I only thought of taking pictures much later so I have none to prove my point. So that's that!

My messed and stressed up blender, now clean and doing some yoga 😉

I was ready to scream blue murder .. but if the end result was really good, must I complain?😇

Deliciousness in my curry pot 👌

And now on my plate ... 😃. Do forgive my weak presentation

So, happy cleaning 😒 and Happy Women's Day 💆 🍹 (in advance)

A Good Year (2006)

When your memories are of a 12 year old you and are of spending vacations by the pool playing chess, stealing a smoke and sipping vintage with your uncle on a balmy day in Provence, France ... what would you have to say? I would say that is darn marvellous. So when the years fly by and Max has lost touch with his uncle, the news of Uncle Henry's (Albert Finney) death and the knowledge that he is now the sole heir to the estate and vineyard, could come as quite a shock.
Max (Russell Crowe) has built a successful life in London and Provence is a distant memory. So when he makes a trip back to take assessments and sign papers with the intent to sell, Max finds himself jogging down memory lane reminiscing about a time gone by. The whisper of a voice he once loved, the faint ruffle of the curtain by the window, the radio blaring in some corner of the house, the inviting hammock nestled in the green depths of a luscious garden ... There is a hesitancy as the memories visit and a voice calling to reason.
As Max zips by on the narrow and unknown roads in a little rental and accidentally runs Fanny (Marion Cotillard) off the road, here begins a new chapter in his life.
Will Max sell his inheritance, the old vineyard and along with it the memories? A movie about the good things in life and about making personal choices that could change the course of your life and of the generations to come.

What's with me and vineyards of late. That's two movies in a row.
Guess I love my red after all! Cheers! 

Black Heart Blue ~ Louisa Reid

Black Heart Blue is a tale about Hephzibah and Rebecca. The twin daughters of the vicar of the village church couldn't have been more different; while Hephzi had the looks and big plans for her life, Rebecca, the smarter but quieter one of the two, has Treacher Collins syndrome and doesn't hold out much hope for herself.

Hidden behind the smiles and happy facade but lurking inside the vicarage, a place called home, are deep, dark secrets that can never leave the confines of the four walls. The girls are there for each other but the surrounding darkness threatens to imprison and smother them if they are not quick to escape it's evil clutches.
This book is about fears, about facing and conquering them. Though haunting and sad in numerous ways the story sends out ripples of hope and happiness lapping on the shores of a bright future just waiting to be embraced. It's important to remember there is a beautiful life beyond the shackles that bind you and that you have been chosen to live a glorious life.
This is one book that will stay with me for a long time to come.

My prayer for you ... my dear readers!

A Walk In The Clouds (1995)

Paul Sutton (Keanu Reeves), a chocolate salesman, has returned home a changed man. He fought in World War II and survived the perils of war.

These experiences has now changed his perspective towards life and has given him different priorities. But unfortunately the time spent away from his wife has changed things drastically on the home front.
Paul soon heads out in search of work and while on a train journey to Sacramento his life changes forever. It's on this train that he meets Victoria Aragon (Aitana Sanchez-Gijon), a university student who is returning home from school. But this is one visit she is not looking forward to! Victoria is a Catholic from a wealthy but Orthodox family and being unwed she isn't sure how she is going to break the news of her pregnancy. Ever the gentleman, Paul offers to pose as her husband and thus taking on numerous other challenges. While Victoria comes from a large family that is able to trace their roots back many generations an orphaned Paul doesn't stand much chance of winning Alberto's, Victoria's father's, approval. The family wealth comes from their vineyard that's generations old and being harvest time, Paul offers to help. He soon finds all that he has spent a lifetime searching for ...
Take a walk in the clouds, join in the grape stomping, 🍷 and discover love 💖.
This isn't the greatest of films but it's a visual treat. 

Baby Baby Baby (2015)

And just in time for Valentine's day I watched "Baby, Baby, Baby". I'd never heard of this movie but the story definitely intrigued me.
LA, the city of angels and where people come to fulfill their dreams is the stage for this drama. Meet beautiful, tall and "thin" Sunny, a struggling artist by day and a bartender by night and Sydney, a struggling actor who has made it to a few commercials but in not too flattering a role. A chance meeting in a park, a brief conversation and a quick introduction later this story is rolling. Watch the tale unfold as Sydney and Sunny struggle through life and their relationship, riding all it's highs and lows. 
I love that the movie is simple and real and it will strike a cord with almost anyone.

I've been asked before if there is anything as being lucky in love? I don't think so! Finding love is probably destiny but keeping it is pure hard-work and this coming from someone who has been in a relationship for the past 20 years. I am no expert, oh no Sir! 👆But there is one thing I do know - Nothing is easy. Love hurts and heals, it tries and rewards, it breaks and builds.

Remember this - there are no manuals or a super-glue for relationships .. a commitment and your readiness to work your "ass-off" is what will keep your relationship going. There is no place for three in a marriage so you gotta boot that ego out the door, keep an openess for self-improvement and practicing patience would go a long way;  Oh! A little give and take wouldn't hurt anyone and could make you smile a whole lot wider.😊
I found the following link so refreshing - 
When you know you've found the one.

"You are my best friend as well as my lover, and I do not know which side of you I enjoy the most. I treasure each side, just as I have treasured our life together." - Nicholas Sparks

... There is more to come ... Stay tuned ..

Ghost (1990)

And so the story goes .. that's the way many stories end. But not this one and this is the way I like to tell it -

Hot shot New York banker, Sam Wheat (Patrick Swayze) and the beautiful Molly (Demi Moore), a sculptor and avant garde are a couple very much in love. Theirs is a romance we all dream of having but this love story is wrought with tragedy. Sam is killed in what is believed to be a mugging and the only way to prove otherwise isn't as simple as all that. Playing detective is Sam's ghost but not alone. He seeks the help of a much sought after psychic, Oda Mae Brown (Whoopi Goldberg). Here unravels a tale of love, treachery, motivated by greed and then culminates with sweet revenge.
Always a favorite with me and if I need a good boo-hoo, it's on, period!

And with goose-bumps and all The Righteous Brothers (1965) - Unchained Melody

My Church Mouse and Frank Sinatra - Cheek To Cheek (lyrics)

My favorite mouse is here!

I hope we all find someone to dance "Cheek To Cheek" with! I love this song! 💃