Miss Marple Is On the Case

Every now and then I’m in an Agatha Christie mood. I pull out a book or two and enjoy a few hours reading one of her stories.

To add to that experience, PBS’ Masterpiece Mystery is featuring Miss Marple as part of their 2010 summer TV programming. The first movie was last night—The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side.

© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved

It’s so relaxing to do a little knitting while watching an Agatha Christie movie as knitting appears here and there when Miss Marple is involved. In last night’s show, I noticed her WIP involved a ball of red yarn. Mine, however, is blue.

Here’s the schedule for the Miss Marple series featuring Julia McKenzie in the role of Agatha Christie’s spinster sleuth.

• May 23: “The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side”
• Jun. 6: “A Pocket Full of Rye”
• Jun 13: “Murder is Easy”
• Jun 20: “The Secret of Chimneys”
• Jun 27: “The Blue Geranium”

You can download a PDF version of Masterpiece Mystery’s summer schedule here.

Dinner and a Movie: Twilight

Inspired by Pat’s (Mille Fiori Favoriti) post in March, I thought I’d plan a Dinner and Movie project of my own over the weekend. Themes of any sort are fun to explore. My movie choice: Twilight.



In the book, Bella eats fish and fried chicken—even making and serving steak for Charlie. The movie version insinuates she’s a vegetarian which echoes Edward’s assertion he and his family are “vegetarian vampires” opting for food sources other than human blood.

After suggesting the movie to my husband and reading him a list of menu options, he quipped, “As long as it doesn’t involve anything Rh”.

A number of scenes (both in the books and the movie) reference food, so I tried a dish mentioned in Food & Wine’s article “Recipes for Twilight Fans” found here, Lasagna-Style Baked Pennette with Meat Sauce. The article states, “Leftover lasagna gets Bella through a particularly busy week when she learns the truth about Edward’s vampire identity and past.”

Bellas Lullaby - Carter Burwell

While preparing dinner, I listened to Muse’s Twilight Music Soundtrack. This is the beautiful piano solo Edward plays for Bella.


© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved

Dessert was simply a red apple based on the cafeteria scene where Edward does a trick with an apple and presents it to Bella. My patient husband kindly posed with an apple for me.

Flightless Bird, American Mouth (#11) - Iron & Wine

This is the music to which Bella and Edward dance at the end of the movie—very romantic. Something Edward said struck me as poignant. Bella asks him to make her a vampire so she can be with him forever, Edward responds, “Is it not enough, just to have a long and happy life with me?” To us, as humans, it’s never enough, is it?

Movie Time

The holidays are finally over. It’s been nonstop for us since two weeks before Thanksgiving. While we’ve had a grand time, I’m ready to grab a mug of hot chocolate, a big bowl of popcorn, and settle in for a good movie.

Some great classics are coming up on Masterpiece/PBS—starting this Sunday night. Here’s a copy of the schedule I’ve made.


Right-click on photo to enlarge and print

I’m not familiar with Charles Dickens’ Little Dorrit and missed Rudyard Kipling’s My Boy Jack when it aired last April which will make for interesting new movies for me.

The Complete Jane Austen

My enthusiasm for Jane Austen knows no bounds. So when I learned about the upcoming TV series from Teresa at Plumwater Cottage, I just couldn't resist posting about it.


from Molland’s (see Resources below)

This Sunday marks the beginning of PBS’ Masterpiece homage to Jane Austen—The Complete Jane Austen, a series that will carry us through the beginning of April. This will be such a lovely accompaniment to my bandage knitting efforts on Sunday nights.



I’ve made a printable schedule (click to enlarge and print) for you. I printed mine on magnetic paper and posted it on my refrigerator. Check your local listings for times.


Originally a cover for Pride and Prejudice, I’ve modified the photo to make the schedule

Which Jane Austen Character Are You?



My result:

You are Eliza Bennett from Pride and Prejudice! Yay, you! Perhaps the brightest and best character in all of English literature, you are intelligent, lively, lovely-- in short, you are the best of company. Your only foibles are that you stick with your first impressions... and your family is quite intolerable.

Quiz link here

• Austen Blog


• “Austentacious” Ravelry group. This is a knit-and-read-along I just discovered via Meg’s Garden blog


• Hyper-concordances of all Jane Austen's novels


• Jane Austen Centre with all sorts of information


• Jane Austen Font


• Jane Austen’s House Museum


• Jane Austen Society with links to Buenos Aires, Melbourne, North America, and UK society members


• Jane Austen Paper Doll


• Molland's free e-cards, online texts of Jane Austen's novels, and other books and articles about Jane Austen and her work


• My post from last September about spending a “Jane Austen” afternoon includes a tea recipe


• PBS Masterpiece: The Complete Jane Austen (they also offer a free bookmark you can print)


• The quilt Jane Austen made

Halloween Movie Night

Prepare your snacks, go to the bathroom for scary-parts accident prevention, get your comfy quilt so you can pull it over your head at the height of the mayhem, pop in a Halloween DVD, and turn off the lights. It’s Halloween Movie Night!

Movie Munchies

You need sustenance so here is a recipe for munching during your movie fest.


Right-click to save to your computer and print.

Ah, now you need a libation.



This is what my husband and I enjoy—a frothy root beer. We bought these old-time A&W glass mugs from one of their restaurants this summer on a road trip through Monument Valley. After washing them, I put them in the freezer still wet so they’re frosty cold and ready to go.

Scary Movie Survival Skills

Wait! You can’t start the movie yet until you prepare yourself mentally.

Variations of scary movie survival rules have been around the internet for a long time. But I read them each year to laugh and remind myself not to take all this Halloween craziness too seriously.



Haven’t seen one of these lists? Here’s a link to an old post by Scarlet Letters from the Literary Underworld.

The Movie List

Gory Halloween movies scare me so older movies are generally best for me. Even some of these have parts that have me fleeing into the kitchen to huddle behind the counter or clutching my husband for protection.



Okay, all your preparations are done--it’s time for the movie! Here are some ideas.

• Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
• Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
• Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)
• Bell, Book and Candle (1958)
• Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
• Forbidden Planet (1956)
• Frankenstein (1931)
• Hocus Pocus (1993)
• House of Wax (1953)
• I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957)
• It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966)
• Practical Magic (1998)
• Psycho (1960)
• The Birds (1963)
• The Blob (1958)
• The Crucible (1996)
• The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)
• The Fog (1980)
• The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947)
• The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)
• The Invisible Man (1933)
• The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1958)
• The Mummy (1932)
• The Pit and the Pendulum (1961)
• The Thing from Another World (1951)
• The Witches (1990)
• The Wolf Man (1941)

Have a boo-ful time!