Fun Fiesta Last Friday

Actually it was Easter weekend Saturday, Ray and I were in the Hill Country visiting his aunt. We did chores on Friday, then went to town on Saturday. After that we roamed the country roads and stopped at the Fiesta Winery. 

Darn, we missed the 5K run. Here's me pretending I finished the race.  We did have a cup of the white sangria - quite tasty as we listened to music and just enjoyed people watching outdoors. 

Lovely dahlias.

More pretty flowers in their patio area

And the vineyards. I'm sure it's going to be a rough season due to the February freeze. Things have looked a bit bleak in our travels. 

Feeling fine on a Friday - cheers to your weekend ahead. 
 

Hum Along with Me on a Wednesday

Easter weekend in San Saba Texas (at Ray's Aunt Pat) means plenty of sitting on the front patio and watching the hummingbirds. There's a steady hum in the air and they dart every which way. I did take a video but do not appear to be clever enough to upload it. 

So, hum a happy tune on a Wednesday. Sip your version of sugar water - soda, sweet tea, or a milkshake. And zip about doing your chores. 

Hey - we are halfway through the first week of April. Not too shabby. 
 

Monday Moments - Are you Sick of Arboretum Flower Pics? Well, Tough!

 Yep - it's filler Monday Moments.  Can't go wrong with flowers.  I'm reading books but haven't finished for a review.  It's spring, so I'm busy raking and bagging leaves - too much to mulch. 

Work is nuts (that's a weak excuse - it's been nuts for over 13 years. )

Um....hey - everyone loves flowers and the arboretum is always so darn pretty even though I take the same tulips pics year after year. 

Gotta love tradition. 

Happy Monday. Hope  you have a good new April Week....

Enjoy Easter Weekend

These two cuties are now 16 and 13.  I bet they still want to seek eggs and get a chocolate bunny

Tulips = Easter time .  Such a fave fleeting flower

I love Easter displays.  Spring eternal

 Fun to see pastel colors again. 

Hope everyone has a safe, fun, family filled weekend  with chocolate bunnies galore. 

Happy Easter!

Book Review - Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan

 Cover blurb that captures attention - In World War II Italy, Love Was Worth Spying For

Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan is a fictionalized version of a young man's true story from WWII Italy.  There are far more tales of Germany, Poland, and France. But Italy had some incredible dark hours and Pino Lella was a teenage in love who had no skin in the game until he DID.  He joined an underground railroad helping Jews escape over the Alps. 

Then, after enlisting as a German soldier, Pino ended up as the driver for General Hans Leyers - a right hand man to Hitler. As a spy for the Allies, inside the High Command, Pino holds a lot of responsibility. Yet, he's still a teen in love.  The author captures all of the emotions of a teen in flux with the backdrop of war and the pressures involved.  We see Pino grow into a man, endure the horrors of war, be involved in death, and fight to live. 

This is a page turning saga and amazing that it's based on a real man. The author did his research, met and talked with Pino Lella, and captured a time and place in history that will live forever.  Well done!

Monday Moment - Beverly Cleary

 Thank you, Beverly Cleary, for your beautiful gifts of books that brightened so many childhoods. Ramona, Beezus, Henry Huggins, Ribsy, Ralph S. Mouse—like old family friends.

This sums it up.  Kids will read Beverly Cleary's work forever (I hope.)  Classic kid tales. 

I have fond memories of her works.  And I remember sharing/reading this books with younger son, Kevin. Always fun and a good laugh. 

Rest in Peace, Beverly Cleary

She passed at age 104 - wow. 

Finally Friday - Fling your Hat in the Air

That time of year again - Spring Fling at the Dallas Arboretum

Field of Tulips to tiptoe through (well, around)

Gotta tell ya - after February Icemageddon, I feared for the arboretum.  And yes, even the professionals, could not ward off Mother Nature.  In many corners of the grounds, brown frozen leaves looked like death. You can tell, the workers are slowly removing the official dead shrubs. That's quite sad - especially one particular area that used to have some huge cactus - now gone. 

But - plenty of bulbs decided to bloom, and the dogwoods exploded.

Like all of us after 2020 and now into 2021, nature is poking its head out, peering around to see if it's safe, and then emerging in full bloom. 

Hope you can get out and enjoy a colorful (safe) weekend!