From Afar - Spring in PA

My brother sent pics from Dad's yard in PA. Once in a blue moon, when the temps and rainfall were just right, his rhododendron go crazy.  This is the year. Otherwise it's a jungle looking mess.

But Dad is a happy man in 2020.

Hope you have a happy safe weekend - still not going crazy in TX. Maybe we already were crazy, we're just not going out and spreading it to any one else. 

P.S. I did get a haircut. All very sanitized. Just so you know, little snips of hair do fly into the mask and make it itchy. Oh no - must scratch nose!

Wednesday Moment

no comments needed

Have a good rest of the week

Memorial Day - 2020

 Olden days - Patriotic baseball

 Unless it's raining, we'll have our flag flying out front on this trusty big tree

 Pretty flower pic - just cuz

 This wee one, Dakota, actually turns 3 today. I do not have a current picture. Maybe we'll see her before high school graduation - ha!   Happy Birthday, Dakota.

And this is from the USS Alabama (circa WWII), now a museum, in Mobile Alabama.

On Memorial Day, we remember those who fought and lost their lives for their country.

Monday should be a huge day of reflection - on the past and on our current situation.
Who are we as Americans?   What the heck are we doing as Americans?

Today should be a bit of a turning point for 2020 America - we truly should attempt to be better people, leaders for the world, and re-think who we are, who we want to be, and how we want to be seen. We should dig deep into our souls and think about how we want to be represented as America.

That all sounds so grand as I type it. Meanwhile, I'll float in the pool, eat a hot dog, and be a very lazy American. I need some gumption, some spirit, some mojo....

All the best for Memorial Day. Stay safe my friends.

Finally Friday - Now What?

 Were we as eloquent as angels, yet should we please...much more by listening, than by talking - Charles Caleb Colton

 Great literature cannot grow from a neglected or impoverished soil - P.D. James

 Nature never did betray the heart that loved her - William Wordsworth

A good laugh overcomes more difficulties and dissipates more dark clouds than any one thing - Laura Ingalls Wilder


Texas may be "open for business", but Ray and I are staying home. We can find our own monkey business. Caution is the word.  Plus, a predicted rainy weekend does dampen the crazy. I figure we'll be queuing up our Disney plus and Netflix. Whee!

Hope you enjoy these quotes and these pics from Clark Gardens circa 2007.  Aaah - remember walking around public gardens and parks?  Damn - the good old days were awesome.

Stay safe my friends.

Wednesday Moments

Mother's Day  - pandemic style - at my friend Linda's lovely patio. It's a mini-arboretum property and May flowers are blooming everywhere. They've worked hard and never stop in their quest for garden beauty.

I enjoyed take-out on their patio, social distance seating and chat. I SO needed this visit. Ray went to his mother's and did a driveway chat.

My mother  (gone 28 years) would have truly enjoyed the jaunt and time spent at Linda's. She loved flowers - no green thumb, but appreciated others' efforts.

And that's your Wednesday moments.

Book Review - The Good German

The Good German by Joseph Kanon is an excellent thriller that makes one think. WWII has ended and Jake Geismar, a former CBS correspondent has landed a plumb spot in Berlin and Potsdam to cover the conference that divides up the world. Personally, he seeks Lena, his German mistress.

Jake stumbles on a murder - an American soldier washes up at Potsdam, along with a lot of money. So, what's going on?  cover blurb - What Jake finds is a story of corruption and intrigue reaching deep into the heart of the occupation.  Berlin in July 1945 is like nowhere else - a tragedy, and a feverish party after the end of the world. 

The American military government is already fighting a new enemy in the east, busily identifying the "good German" who can help win the next war. 

This book is a murder mystery, a love story, and holds a lot of research that resonates from history.  The Russians and Americans were in a race to claim the German scientists (ex. Von Braun). A lot of money changed hands. It's riveting, scary, and interesting when you look at what happened since 1945. The Good German holds lots of nuances while being a page turner. This is a good escape read. Thumbs up.

Virtual Arts and Letters Live - Sue Monk Kidd

Arts in the new Era - a Virtual ticketed event to hear Sue Monk Kidd give an author talk.

Totally worth the price of admission. Thanks to the Dallas Museum of Art and their Arts and Letters Live program, I was able to enjoy an hour long outdoor fireside chat with Sue Monk Kidd. Her new book is called Book of Longing.  I have not read it yet - a copy is being sent to me as part of the ticket price. Nonetheless, it sounds intriguing and I enjoyed hearing the author's comments on her process, concerns, and efforts to bring this book alive.

"You put yourself out there, " she said.  She decided to write a book about Anna, her creation - the wife of Jesus.  As her husband said, "What could go wrong?"  She approached it with trepidation, but felt there was a story there. It's fiction, but she believes writing is " a fight of courage."

She did a year of research and then took over four years to write the book. She wants the novel to "inspire our longings, our largeness." It was a feminist quest, a concern for freedoms, and to give a voice to a strong woman.

Sue Monk Kidd said, "My writing is a prayer."  She's seventy years old now, began writing at age thirty - a tad late to the game.

She was classy, well spoken, sincere, had a super sense of humor.  This program was a delight to watch. It would have been more fun live, but this could be the new norm and I am happy to pay for a ticket.

Sue Monk Kidd - author and neat lady.