Seasonal Cinema: Ultimate Holiday Movie Guide from Fall to Summer

Get ready. I've been planning a cinematic journey that will carry me through the changing seasons! The list shifts from the spooky delights of Halloween, to the heartwarming stories of Christmas, and all the way to the fireworks of July 4th. I have both my hand-picked favorites and some I've never seen. I like different ones than the "traditional" movies many list. By planning ahead, I can add a touch of magic to each holiday, creating a cozy movie experience to explore throughout the year. 

Feel free to grab my list, your popcorn and settle in; it's time to celebrate the holidays with a "reel" unforgettable time. 🎥 Below my example photos is a full list!

*Correction, Miracle on 34th street. Ha

 

Halloween 

·        Practical Magic

·        What Lies Beneath

·        Signs

·        The Pale Blue Eye

Thanksgiving/Fall

·        Evan Almighty

·        You’ve Got Mail

·        Cheaper by the Dozen

·       Gilmore Girls: S1 E7: Kiss and Tell

·        The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

·        The Bookshop

Christmas/Winter

·        A Christmas Carol

·        Elf

·        Mr. Bean Christmas

·        Little Women (1994 version is my favorite!)

·        Die Hard

·        Noelle

·        Mrs. Miracle

·        The Holiday

·        Annie (1999)

·        Miracle on 34^th Street

·        White Christmas

·        Last Holiday

New Year’s Eve

·        The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

·        The Age of Adaline

·        Where’d you go, Bernadette?

Valentine's Day

·        Stranger than Fiction

·        Kate & Leopold

·        Pride & Prejudice

US Independence Day

·        The American President

·        Thirteen Days

·       Top Gun: Maverick

Cozy Caboose Reflections: 25 Years of Faith

Over the years, I've scheduled many a vacation in unusual accommodations. The list includes: Airstream, grain bin, airplane hanger, tiny home, converted church, and container homes. Still on my list are earthhouse, hobbit hole, and potato [I'll let you research that one]. 

Recently, I marked off caboose on a personally beautiful and and special day. October 11, 2023, marked a significant milestone in my life...my 25-year spiritual anniversary as a Christian. I've been walking this faith journey for a quarter of a century, and I couldn't be more grateful.

I've looked forward to this anniversary for years due to it marking the moment when I've officially been a Christian longer than I was not. Inside this charming caboose, I found a sense of tranquility. The soft glow of the interior lights and the soothing sounds of nature outside created such serenity.

I came prepared go deep and started with communion and a fresh air walk with Jesus. My intention was to have a "Stars & Embers Fireside Devotional," which included prayer time under the stars and a symbolic fire pit ritual. This ritual involved writing down trespasses, worries, burdens, and then releasing each one by burning them. However, due to a cloudy night sky and a burn ban, I had to scrap that plan and instead scribble journaled those items and tore them up.

The next morning for my Coffee & Cozy Time, I recited my baptism scripture, Psalm 116, by memory - an annual tradition - then read John chapter 10, chapter 14, and Matthew 11:28-30. The majority of the new morning though was singing worship songs focused on the Spirit. [Spirit Lead Me (Oceans) by Hillsong, Breathe by Michael W. Smith, Holy Spirit by Francesca Battistelli]

This special day I was humbling and I'm so grateful for the love, grace, and unwavering presence of God in my life. I'm filled with hope and anticipation for the next chapter of my faith journey and the years ahead. Here are a few special photos below: 

Women's Quarter Series: Sally Ride

Since she and Bessie Colman both have geological features named in their honor on Pluto, I decided Sally Ride would be the next woman I studied. 

 

Sally Ride was the first American woman to fly in space. There are extensive details about her history with NASA and as a professor. What I found most interesting were some lesser-known facts I discovered in an article. These included: 

 

• She was an avid stamp collector; so even though she passed away in 2012, in 2018 the Sally Ride stamp was issued!
  
  
• She was also a tennis player and played against Billie Jean King. She thought about going pro but decided instead on a Physics career.
  
  
• She and her younger sister 'Bear' look like twins to me :)
  
  
• She was the first female CAPCOM (ground control voice) talking to astronauts on the space shuttle.
   
• One of my favorite stories involves NASA engineers reaching out to her when they were a bit clueless about what special supplies a woman astronaut might need.“I remember the engineers trying to decide how many tampons should fly on a one-week flight,” Sally said later. “They asked, ‘Is 100 the right number?’” She replied, “No, that would not be the right number.” Ya think? 😆
  
  Another story is that on the first day of mission STS-41G, Mission Control woke up the astronauts with a, "Good morning, Challenger." Instead of saying "Roger," Sally pretended to be an answering machine: "We're sorry, nobody can take your call right now. Please leave your name and number..." The other astronauts kept up the joke throughout the mission.
  
  
• She was a Trekkie, which makes sense given her love for space, and she also co-authored some science books for children.
  
  
• She received the US Medal of Freedom in 2013. Her long-time partner, Tam O'Shaughnessy, accepted on her behalf. Obama was quoted, "As the first American woman in space, Sally did not just break the stratospheric glass ceiling, she blasted through it,"Obama said. "And when she came back to Earth, she devoted her life to helping girls excel in fields like math, science and engineering."

Quote from Sally Ride: " I would like to be remembered as someone who was not afraid to
do what she wanted to do, and as someone who took risks along the way in order to achieve
her goals." source- https://quotesgram.com/img/sally-ride-famous-quotes/146306/