Fun British comedies on TV

Two months ago I subscribed to Acorn TV via Amazon Prime which offers some great British and Australian TV shows and movies. Since I live in the USA this is a real treat for me, as Acorn offers many shows I like, including mysteries new to me like "Rake" and "Murdoch Mysteries" and lots of goodies like "Midsomer Murders" and "Endeavor", dramas, and some fun comedies. Plus it is only five dollars a month. I dropped cable two years ago, which was costing seventy dollars a month and didn't have many shows I like.

My favorite show thus far on Acorn is "Ladies of Letters", which is fabulous fun. Two quite mismatched English ladies meet and then keep in touch via letters. Their letters are often wildly untrue which makes for much laughter from me. The first photo is of Maureen Lipman who plays Irene, and the second is of Anne Reid who plays Vera. Anne Reid does a wonderful performance in "Last Tango in Halifax", by the way.
Some people who enjoyed the books and radio series do not like this rendition of "Ladies of Letters" but this is my first introduction to it and I find the ladies to be hilarious while being not very pleasant in the way they treat each other. Their letters to each other show them to be out of touch with reality, which causes funny situations. There are 20 episodes and some of the episodes are rather dark.
Two other funny comedies I am watching are "French Fields" (English couple moves to France and this show is a continuation of "Fresh Fields") and "Boomers" (3 English couples who are long time friends).
I watched all 20 episodes of "Ladies of Letters" and miss those gals, wish they would make more. Another good comedic find is P.G. Wodehouse's "Blandings" which I am watching.
I enjoyed the movie "The Man Who Lost His Head" about a man who works for the "British Imperial Museum" and travels to New Zealand on assignment to get the Maori people to allow the museum to keep a famous Maori chieftain's carved head. Will romance occur? A nice glimpse of very rural life of a group of Maoris. I saw this on Acorn TV.
Today on Facebook I saw an ad for Britbox_US which offers shows from the BBC and ITV, and claims to be the biggest collection; it is $7.99 a month and apparently became available in the USA earlier this year. Have you tried it?
Do you have any favorite British or Australian TV shows or movies you suggest I look for?

What makes you smile? Some things that make me smile

I thought I would share with you some things that make me smile. Since the death of my husband last November these smile bringers are doubly precious.

Pretty much any flower, and some weeds too, make me smile. Years ago I went to a garden center and asked for Jupiter's Beard. The plant expert said that is a weed. I thought "ouch, poor plant, now that is hurtful". When I lived on a farm the neighbor lady called these "Meet Me By the Gate"; also called Valerian. I always think of them as "Meet Me By the Gate" and think of Ann, my neighbor. The photo above has a bouquet of Canterbury Bells and Sweet Peas from my garden.

Song birds in my garden, the hoot of an owl in a nearby tree, and the pelicans soaring along our bay.

Feeling a refreshing breeze. I do not like to be too hot, so I welcome the cooling touch of a breeze.

Picking a vegetable from our garden, admiring it and eating it. For a moment I feel like a pioneer woman. I would like to have chickens here in my city yard and enjoy the photos of you blog friends who have chickens, horses, donkeys, pigs and all the farm critters.

Our cat Fluffy asleep on a soft new blanket. She does sleep a LOT. Cats by their example teach us to be relaxed; they are not worriers.

My dog Bounce adopted from the shelter in the fall of 2016. He is a fun dog and loves to go on walks three times a day so that keeps me active and outdoors. Note the red amaryllis blooming in May.

Watching comedies on TV. I have a new subscription to Acorn TV which offers great British and Australian shows. New ones for me now that I have Acorn TV are Ladies of Letters (my favorite), French Fields and Boomers. Acorn has a whole slew of mysteries and dramas and documentaries too, often on British history which I enjoy. Andy Griffith and the town of Mayberry are great places to visit via our TV and I watch this series on Netflix.

Flowers with what I imagine to be the scent of heaven. For me this includes lilacs, old fashioned roses like the Peace rose, gardenias, common heliotrope, jasmine, sweet peas and lemon blossoms on my two small lemon trees. I planted a heliotrope a year ago and my husband said that is a favorite scent of his so I just break off a tiny sprig and put it in a little vase to enjoy in the house. I recently read on a blog or Facebook that heliotrope is toxic to dogs so keep the plant where dogs can't snack on it. A nickname for this plant is "sugar plant" so I can see why it might attract dogs; the flowers do smell like sugar.

My list could be a very long one. Maybe I should write another book, ha ha. 

What things bring you joy?