Friday Frivolity

Friday Frivolity from the Faries household.

So, I get up first, shower, breakfast, check email, then leave and drive to work (essential business). Prior to leaving, I might have set up a few roadblocks for Ray.

This is his first week working at home. He's up after me, showers, breakfasts, then staggers to the home office to begin his day. He's not the best morning person. So, he hit "traffic" and obstruction" this morning.

The notes say - Slow Traffic Ahead, Stalled Car, Police Standing Around, Debris, and Construction Zone.

He might have been a tad late clocking in.....hee hee !

Might as well have some fun in our troubled quarantined times.

So, have a super weekend folks - sleep in, take walks,  eat well, nap, read, rinse and repeat.  See ya Monday - I should have a book review written by then.

Wednesday Wisdom - Have a Snooze

I never understood as a kid (i.e age five to twenty - when I moved to Texas) how my mother could want to take a nap. Seriously? On a Sunday afternoon, you want to be on the couch with your eyes closed and sleep? Stuff was going on. You could be doing things. Busy, Busy.

I have become my mother. Like her, I can sleep in on the weekend (i.e. 8-8:30 am), I can go to bed at 10 pm and fall asleep, I can fall asleep as Ray's talking to me (not that he's boring me...). I'm going to say I have a clear conscience.

A new habit in this wacky day and age - I come home from work. If the weather is decent, I take a walk with Ray. Then I sit on the couch with a book, gradually slumping down, until I close the book, take off my reading glasses, and close my eyes. I'm "resting my eyes" from a day of computers and thinking. Yep - it's a nap. And then I have no trouble going to bed.

On the weekends, now that museums are closed, there are no activities to attend, no movies to go see, no restaurants open to go hang with friends - an afternoon snooze is delightful. I've done some in-home exercising, I've cleaned a bit, I've read,etc. A little hour of dreaming....bliss.

I highly recommend a nap.

Hey Mom - I understand now. You are probably chuckling from above.

Book Review - Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid proved to be a very good read. I liked the characters and wanted to know what would happen. It's very current considering life and headlines these days,

Alix Chamberlain is a confident businesswoman and married mother of a toddler. She depends on her babysitter, Emira, and when a family crisis occurred one night, she calls Emira to come get Briar out of the house. Emira takes Briar to the local grocery store and is confronted by a woman who questions why Emira (black) has Briar (white).  Cover blurb - A small crowd gathers, a bystander films everything, and Emira is furious and humiliated. Peter Chamberlain shows up, vouches for his babysitter, and Alix resolves to make things right. 

Here's where the book really gets interesting. It delves into Emira's life (she's mid-twenties, college grad) and her goals and how she doesn't plan to sue, doesn't plan to change jobs. She loves Briar, loves caring for this little girl, and wants her life back to "normal". Alix is now very self aware and tries to befriend Emira - be "cool."
And there's social media. What happens and why and how does the video get uploaded and goes viral?

The author does an excellent job of exploring the stickiness  of  transactional relationships, what it means to make someone "family", and the complicated reality of being a grownup. (cover blurb). 

Such a Fun Age made me think a bit. (Always a good thing).

Filler Friday

I've got nothing today gang.

Isolate like Pooh, just have plenty of honey pots ready.

Or soar in your mind with a good book - over the ocean or a mountain - whatever is your zen.

Ray and I have still been working and that's fine. Traffic is light. Can't say I'm working hard. Small company - we can spread out in the building. 

At home, Ray's pulled off some delicious dinners, so we are eating well.
We've had monsoon rains every day in Texas. That's getting old. But today, we managed to get in our walk before the skies opened and thunder boomers rattled the land.

On the plus side, seeing a lot more folks out walking - truly noteworthy.

So TGIF - hope you are well, stay safe, catch up on sleep, books, movies, and your own brain.
2020 - a time of reflection. Where do we go from here?

Wednesday Wisdom - Solitude

Each hour seems to bring new madness. 

Let's backtrack and enjoy my pics from Italy in 2014. What a lovely country full of hugs, wine, piazzas, pizza, and more.  I vow to visit again with Ray. Good to have goals.

Meanwhile, let's contemplate Solitude

Solitude is naught and society is naught. Alternate them and the good of each is seen - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Great decisions in the realm of thought and momentous discoveries and solutions of problems are only possible to an individual working in solitude - Sigmund Freud

Solitude is un-American - Erica Jong

If you don't like being in your own company, what makes you think others will? - anonymous

Food for thought folks to ponder at your leisure.                Alone 

It's okay..........

Monday Moments - I'm Not Touching You

 I worked Friday. This weekend Ray and I did a good job of couch sitting in between painting our doorway trim. That was phase two of our renovation project. Seemed as good a time as any and our place looks fresh. We have plenty of toilet paper and food for two people. So far so good, and I'm going back  to work on Tuesday, after a planned vacation day on Monday. 

 An Australian friend (Chris Culliver) I met on an Italy trip, posted this picture from her current travels. Maybe Bali (I'm not sure). Either way, I asked to use this photo - it just brought me joy.

 I'm actually supposed to be in PA visiting dad, but it seemed wise to not bring fresh Texas germs to the super senior. We are both disappointed, but I'll reschedule maybe for June assuming a lot of the crazy calms down.

 I am missing spring in Philly which is pretty

 This is from 2016

And Dad in 2016, now a bit smaller in 2020 if that's possible. His sister, my Aunt Janice, turned 94 on Friday. Her nursing home is closed to outsiders, so I would not have been able to visit her either.

So, let's chat about siblings and being in a car. Remember the I'm not touching you game. You would poke your finger as close as possible to a face and be really annoying, but you wouldn't touch. I feel like we're playing a worldwide game of this right now. As blog friends, we are winning - virtual communication.

I'm not touching you...only your mind. Stay healthy everyone and have a laugh too - that's the best medicine. 

Journey to Space with the FWSO

Another fun family symphony outing last Saturday. My friend, Candice, joined me and we had a grand time. The Fort Worth Symphony does such a nice hour program. The theme was Journey to Space and it opened with the 2001 Space Odyssey music, otherwise known as Introduction to Also sprach Zarathustra, Op 30 by Strauss. That music always gives me chills.

Onward and upward with The Mission Theme, The Flinstones Meet The Jetsons, Music from Apollo 13, and a musical interlude with narration by a real live astronaut. Gregory H. Johnson graduated from the US Air Force in 1984. He was selected by NASA in 1998 and his first pilot mission was Endeavor in 2007. This was cool and after the show he greeted kids for pictures or questions.

More space music - ET, Star Wars, Star Trek, Stardust by Hoagy Carmichael, and the finale was the March from Superman.   All in all, we soared with the orchestra, landed on our feet, and enjoyed a BBQ lunch afterwards in Fort Worth's Sundance Square.

(And I didn't need dramamine!)