Frivolous Flamingo Friday

Happy Friday - make it a frivolous flamingo Friday.  We have lights. We have a pool float.
Flamingos just bring joy.

It's the little things in the summer. Hope you have a super weekend as we peek into July. Dang, time is flying by fast.

Stay cool. Use sunscreen. Have fun.

Book Review - The Bean Trees

1988 – Barbara Kingsolver’s debut novel The Bean Trees was the start of a great career. This is a writer with mad skills. I’ve loved her writing through the years, but somehow had never read this book. 

Taylor’s goal in life growing up poor in Kentucky was to avoid pregnancy and move away. She succeeds – saves to buy a car and heads west after high school. In a weird circumstance, she becomes the guardian of a baby girl. The two make it to Tucson, meet Mattie, the owner of a car repair shop, and Taylor has a job, a friend, and a new life. Mattie also runs a safe-house for Central American refugees. Keep in mind, this story was written in 1988, but seems fresh and current for today’s world.

Plenty of rich characters inhabit this book, and the baby girl, nicknamed Turtle, is a healing force in all of their lives and a tie that binds them together. This is a novel about love and friendship, abandonment and belonging, and discovery. (cover blurb) You’ll root for Taylor and Turtle and keep turning the pages of The Bean Trees.

Showtime - Anastasia

Two Sundays ago, I cleaned up for the theater and treated myself to a matinee musical at Ball Hall. The touring production of Anastasia was topnotch.

In a journey to the past, we see a glorious life in czarist Russia- beauty and splendor. In just a few scenes, shots ring out and the family is dead. Clever scene changes bring us to a young girl sweeping streets for money. She meets two con men who decide she could pass for Anastasia, the young daughter of the Czar. Myth and rumor says she's alive and her grandmother in Paris is offering a reward for her safe return.

Strange circumstances, dreams, comments make this girl more than just a pawn for these men. Maybe?  Just maybe?  She could truly be Princess Anastasia.

The show through song and dance weaves this old tale into magic. Voices were strong. Acting was very good. The sets were gorgeous - one of the prettiest shows I've seen. It was a splendid afternoon where an audience was whisked by theater to Russia and Paris. Anastasia.... I believed in her.

Movie Review Madness - Late Night

Late Night - the movie. Screenplay written by the incomparable Mindy Kaling - score!

The awesome Emma Thompson stars.  I am biased. She can do no wrong.

My friend Linda and I gave this a huge thumbs up. We chuckled. We enjoyed. It was good.
And as Linda said as we left the movie, " Gee, nothing blew up and there were no car chases."
I guess that's an epic failure for a summer movie. But for us - super duper thumbs up and win!!!!!!!

Emma plays Katherine Newbury - a female Late Night host. She's funny, sharp, spot on, and ratings are dropping. She's about to be canceled.  How to fix this? Hire her first female... OMG...a diverse female of color...and see what happens.  This just rocks the writer's room - lots of angst among the all white male writers.  But gee..it kinda works, and then it kinda kicks ass.

I liked the theme and execution. Amy Ryan is the CEO of the channel and she's ultimately turned around. Emma's character does have to face current situations and reality - that's the key to the movie. She "needs" Mindy's character Molly - so fresh, so young, so current, and willing to speak her mind. It's not all sunshine and rainbows and that's okay.

I totally went with the plot and movie and found it quite good.  The movie Late Night is a talkie - it's all about the dialogues, monologues, and acting. What a concept.  All in all - I'm ready to watch this again and absorb more of the message.  Yes,  this is very current and worth watching. And Emma is awesome..........total support!!!

Book Review: Southern Lady Code by Helen Ellis

I laughed out loud multiple times as I read Southern Lady Code by Helen Ellis.  Sharp, sassy, and snarky – Ellis’s writing is hysterical.  Her mantra: If you don’t have something nice to say, say something not so nice in a nice way. This collection of twenty three short essays covers a gamut of subjects targeting her life as a southern gal from Alabama who married a New Yorker and lives in Manhattan. Her  accent, white bread, and mayonnaise go far as she lives life.

Chapter Title is Today was a Good Day   some examples of Helen Ellis’ writing- I didn’t yank oxygen tubes out of my nose. I didn’t chop off and bleach my hair in a gas station restroom. I didn’t fall to my knees and scream “Noooooooooo.”  I didn’t raise my hands toward the heavens and scream, “Whyyyy?” I didn’t choke on a cupcake for breakfast. I didn’t make a deal with the Dirt Devil and get my soul sucked out by a vacuum cleaner.      There were quite a few more examples that made for a good day.  Funny stuff.

p.126   In regards to recipe books -  “Vintage” is Southern Lady Code for dog-eared, with ballpoint notes in the margins. You want the word cheese log to stand out. Slather on Ritz crackers. Sour cream in everything.   Apparently her parties are legendary. Women in Manhattan who live on lettuce swoon over her homemade tubs of fattening dips and Ruffles potato chips. No celery sticks to be seen.

Per her grandmother, “Give your guests what they want.”   That’s Southern Lady Code for: There’s nothing less fun than caviar on toast point.

I highly recommend this book to brighten your day. Helen Ellis is the kind of woman who enjoys the mystery of a manila envelope; who has bouquets of pens instead of flowers and never runs out of stamps.  (p. 198).  Southern Lady Code – read it with a drawl and a smile.

Ride the Rails

Our Friday adventure took us to Palestine Texas (about a 2 hour drive).  There we enjoyed a vintage train ride from Palestine to Rusk through the Piney Woods of East Texas. Fifty mile round-trip chug - I love the sound of a train whistle, the clack of the tracks, the whoosh.  Rolling hills, forest thicket, and twenty-four bridges.

A narrator filled us in on the history of the trains and the area. A soundtrack also accompanied the ride - amazing how many songs involve trains - Love Train, Peace Train, Locomotion, Midnight Train to Georgia, etc.

Ray and I had seats in an air-conditioned car, but we also wandered over to the open air car. It was a pleasant day and the breeze, wooden benches, and chatter of families added to the aura.

Fun jaunt riding the rails of history.       

Choo! choo!

Food For Thought Friday

2019 Broadway  - Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical went to Andre De Shields for his role in  Hadestown.  It's his first Tony award.

The man is 73 years old.  He gave one of the best speeches I've heard, and believe me, Tony Award winners give good speeches. As stage actors, they have gravitas.

With perfect timing, he had three things to say:

1. Surround yourself with people whose eyes light up when they see you coming.

2. Slowly is the fastest way to get where you want to be

3. The top of one mountain is the bottom of the next, so keep climbing.

That's your food for thought on a Friday.

Have a good weekend!