Whatever Wednesday - Fall Galore

October is pumpkin time at the Dallas Arboretum.  This is from 2009.  I'm doing some flashbacks, since I'm prepping for a short hiatus. 

Enjoy pumpkin-palooza

fall firecracker reds

Pumpkin house tradition

 

Monday Moments - Birthday cousins - flashback

 Mark and I were born four days apart.  Our mothers were in the same hospital room.  My birthday was Thursday the 8th, Mark's is today.  Here we are with our great grandmother. 

Ancient history. 

We stay in touch now via Facebook. He and his wife have been in Oregon, but I think they are now in AZ with grandkids.  

Flashback Fun

Finally Friday - Party since Thursday

 

Thursday (yesterday) was my birthday.  I won't say how many candles. It's a lot. 

It was a very nice day.  A walk. Water aerobics (the whole water class sang Happy Birthday).  

Lunch at 54th  Street - I love the Havana Club sandwich and fries.  Plus, I got my "free" birthday dessert - caramel cheesecake. Yum.  Thanks Ray!

Now, I declare it birthday weekend.  My excitement on Friday is my semi-annual med check doctor visit. May I refuse to weigh in?  There should be a birthday excuse allowed. 

Nothing else special is occurring, but I'm basking in the glow of all my candles (in my head). 

Feel free to treat yourselves to something special and you may thank me and say, "Hey, it's okay. It's Joanne's birthday weekend. "  Enjoy. 

Whatever Wednesday - Jaclyn Smith memoir

 cover blurb - From Charlie's Angels star, miniseries queen, and businesswoman Jaclyn Smith comes a heartfelt memoir chronicling the making of a global phenomenon and her story beyond the screen. 

1976 - Charlie's Angels ushered in a tv revolution. It featured three single female detectives. The stories revolved around fighting crime, not around supporting men.

Jaclyn Smith became a household name as Kelly Garrett in a tiny white bikini. But prior to that she danced on Broadway and was a commercial actress. A Breck Girl.  Max Factor cosmetics. She was a Texas girl  with  a dream, a lot of  ambition, and a willingness to say yes and work hard to learn her craft. 

This memoir is very pleasant to read. Smith seems fairly down to earth and very aware of her skill set. She presents humble but hard driven. Fortunately she came from  a very loving family - two caring parents and an older brother. That's unusual in the brutal Hollywood business.  There's a  lot I didn't know about her or had forgotten. She forged a huge brand partnership with K-Mart back before that was a real thing. She took the design work seriously and truly wanted women to  look good at a decent price.

Acting, entrepreneurship, a breast cancer fight, some marriages, and two  loved children - Jaclyn Smith writes it all down.  Plus she emphasizes her long term friendships with her original Angels - Kate Jackson and  the late Farrah Fawcett.  I Once Knew a Guy Named Charlie is a very fun glimpse into a global star. 

Monday Moments - Into the Blue by Emma Brodie

 Into the Blue by Emma Brodie is an entertaining read with relatable characters and quite  the drama. 

In 2000, AJ Graves wants to work for SNL, but is stuck in a video store. Noah Drew ends up working with her. Why is this rich kid from the Drew acting dynasty slumming it in small town MA.  There's a crazy bond - first friends, then acting with his aunt Eudora as a coach.  She's from a cult favorite sci-fi show.

Fast forward to 2017 and AJ is hired to be in a reboot series of that sci-fi show. Who  walks in? Noah - now a Hollywood heartthrob.   cover blurb - As their on-screen characters grow closer every day, the lines between reality and acting begin  to blur.  They must confront the truth of what happened long ago - and face the devastating secret that will  send their lives careening apart. 

Brodie writes a compelling story filled with chemistry, yearning, and quite a journey.  AJ really has to dig deep to forge her success, while orbiting the Noah Drew magnetism. 

Finally Friday - John of John by Douglas Stuart

 John of John by Douglas Stuart was a slow start read that accelerated into a "must recommend to all". 

John-Calum Macleod (he goes by Cal) takes the  ferry home after an art school education.  Home is the Isle of Harris in the Outer Hebrides. Nothing has changed at his childhood home. His father, John, is a sheep farmer, tweed weaver, and lay preacher. He's also dismayed by Cal's long hair, strange clothes, and unwillingness to be SAVED (cover blurb)

Thank goodness for grandmother Ella, a cursing Glaswegian whose steady warmth helped Cal weather the sudden departure of his mother. (cover) 

Cal has a secret. 

John Sr. has a secret

cover  blurb - John of John is a singular novel about duty, passion, and the transformative power of truth. I admit I ended up surprised and pulled into the stories of both father and son. Quite the surprises. 

The book is powerful and well written. 

Here's an example of a delicious sentence:

And he could see, at the rocky cold bottom of her smile, pooling like syrup at the bottom of a sundae, she was storing, savoring, the delicious taste of revenge. 

Mic drop...........oh yeah.  So damn good.  This book is a treat and will surprise you, I promise. 

Whatever Wednesday - Cool Machine by Colson Whitehead

 Here's the third in his Harlem trilogy, and Cool Machine by Colson  Whitehead does not disappoint. 

cover blurb - This story roves all over NYC from Windows on the World to Sugar Hill, to show that in  New York and the lives of Whitehead's vivid characters, it's what's below the surface that reveals the truth. 

1981 - Ray Carney - business owner/ master fence has just been named Sterling Furniture's Northeast Regional Dealer of the Month.  His wife, Elizabeth, needs a loan for her new travel agency. The banks refuse her, so Ray gambles on one last heist.  It's always one more.... uh oh

1983 - Pepper, Carney's buddy and partner in crime, is feeling his age. But he takes on a bodyguard gig as a favor to Elizabeth. The art/club scene prove problematic, but Pepper knows the language of violence. 

1986  Carney has a chance to rescue his dead cousin Freddie's son.  But he's sworn he was going to stay straight.  Oops. One more deal with Pepper. Everything has to go down smooth.  Will it?

I love Colson Whitehead's writing. He's just so cool. He's funny. He creates the perfect Harlem/ NYC vibe. 

example A per me:   Ray's meeting a guy

You did not lam it in a second rate pizza joint. More unforgivable, their slices exhibited low structural integrity when folded and thirty seconds after hitting the paper plate bled out orange grease. It was shameful to pass through their doors. 

Treat yourself to some time with Ray Carney, Pepper, and quite a cast of characters. And find a decent slice of pizza while reading.  Enjoy!