Wordless Wednesday - Grand Finale

Happy Wednesday - yea...she's done with the lantern pics

No need to comment, just enjoy. 

 Now we are aiming for Memorial Weekend - downhill slide to the unofficial start to summer.  Swimsuit ready, hot dogs and burgers to be bought for grilling, drinks on ice, and an eye on the weather - will we need to break out the sunscreen or umbrellas? 

Book Review - The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah – In love we find out who we want to be, in war we find out who we are  (cover blurb).  1939 France – Vianne sees her husband off to war, sure that this scuffle with the Nazis will end quickly. However, the invasion occurs, and soon she has a German captain requisitioning a room in her home.  Without food or money or hope, as danger escalates all around them, she is forced to make one impossible choice after another to keep her family alive.

Meanwhile Vianne’s impetuous sister, Isabelle, meets Gaetan and joins the Resistance. Never looking back, she risks her live many times to save others. The circle of war brings the sisters and their estranged father together in a unique circumstance. None trusts the other, but as family fighting for France in their own ways, they unite in a surprising way. Kristin Hannah captures the epic panorama of World War II and illuminates history in this fictional work. Sisters, ideals, passions, danger, survival, love, and freedom – this book covers the gamut in a novel that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit and the durability of women.  (cover blurb)

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah is an excellent read. Have a tissue handy near the end – sniffle alert, I promise (and that’s okay).

Movie Review Madness: Avengers - Endgame

Based on the box office totals that have racked up to billions, Ray and I might be the last people on the planet to finally see  Avengers:Endgame.  But rainy Saturday morning kept us from yard work. Thank goodness - movie magic time.

Three hours - I thought it went by quickly. Everybody and their uncle from the Marvel universe showed up. Story lines were explored and tied up fairly neatly. Some live,  some die - that's life.
The word quantum is used and you know it's tricky when there's a time travel continuum theory bandied about.

Ironman and Captain America do stand toe to toe and argue. Well, Ironman does have to look up a bit. Chris Evans does have America's butt...hey,  the movie says so.

There are tears, there are battles,  there's humor. It's all there. Marvel knows how to package its product - the film is rich in characters,  dialogue, action,  and drama. I'm giving a review but no spoilers, just in case someone has been under a rock and missed this in the theater.  And do see it on the big,big screen - it is glorious.

P.S. I still love Thor, no matter what.  Chris Hemsworth rocks!

Wordless Wednesday - Still with the Lanterns

 Week by week I'm giving you your own guided tour of the Lanterns in the Park at the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens.   Enjoy

Monday Moments

 Hieroglyphics - what is the tree telling us....

Last weekend I sat on my dad's front porch. This humongous oak stands tall,  looming over the house. It would have been great as a kid to use it for hide and seek.  Look at that trunk.  Wow!
Dad says when a limb cuts loose it "really makes a clunk and shakes the house."  Ya think?
Yowza.

Enjoy this Monday moment.  Hug a tree if you can reach around it.

Oh,  the mighty oak!

Flight Friday

Howdy folks
I'm back from a trip to see my father who will be 88 in July.  Big sigh. As Bette Davis famously said, " Growing old ain't for sissies."   He still lives in the house where I grew up (huge thanks to my brother (lawn service and so much more) and sister (housekeeping and grocery shopper and so much more). It's a typical Northeast home in PA with steep steps,etc.  OMG.

The poor man is just slowly disintegrating - very stooped and has leg pain. He's a trouper. We had plenty of laughs. He's got the oars in the water, but he's rowing slower and sometimes in circles.
It is what it is.

So, that's the senior report.

Now - in regards to air travel.   First I will say I appreciate the miracle that is air flight. It is amazing and the logistics to coordinate so many people going to so many places is fantastic.

I totally understand how weather can mess up that fantastic system.  And the whole USA decided to be under storm watch on Wednesday.  What a cluster.

But....
Here's my rant.
People - when you get on the plane - stow your crap and sit the f@$k down.  Pardon the language.
Stop being a Sherpa with your whole life and way more than the one bag and one personal item. Ridiculous.  Pay the freakin' $30 for baggage.

And American Airlines - if you have a plane at the gate for over an hour...do not decide you have too much fuel and must siphon it off AFTER we have all boarded the plane and are supposed to push away from the gate.  Seriously.  Did someone NOT do the math and know this way ahead of time???

Yes, there were weather problems that messed up some timing, but this just added to the turmoil.  I was lucky - Ray watched the screen all day and picked me up once I finally landed. But lots of folks missed connections in Dallas due to a controllable problem.

Travel is not for the feint of heart. Patience is warranted.  Many things are out of one's hands.
But....

Thanks for reading this.  I have to wait a bit and gird my loins before I schedule another trip back to see Dad.  I'm aiming for summer.  Let some time simmer.

Have a great weekend and Happy Mother's Day to all.

Wordless Wednesday - More Light the Way

as dusk arrived, the lanterns began to glow

It's Wednesday. Hope your time's been good. I'm flying back from Philly today - hope it's not stormy.