Monday Moments - Another Year

My sister was in New York City on November 30th.   When she  checked into a hotel and looked out the window - Surprise!  

The  perfect room  for  December 31st - watch that  ball in comfort. She was only a month early and could actually afford the room in November. Ha!

Can you imagine.....

As you reflect on 2024 (Bah Humbug in my opinion), and  look to  2025 (I shrug my shoulders and look confused), let's let old Will Rogers guide our  path:

So live that you wouldn't be ashamed to  sell the family parrot to the  town  gossip

I wish you good health  and  good cheer and Happy New Year!

Here's  five generations of  Faries from Christmas Day

 

Finally Friday - Enjoy

Hope you're still singing around the Christmas tree, or out for a walk in the snow. 

Settle in with a new book, or just close your eyes and meditate

Be well my friends

Cheers
 

Merry Christmas One and All

Flashback to 2009 - a golden oldie  Santa.   Alas, this guy after many seasons was retired - broken and faded
 

2009 was a snowy Christmas year

Flashback to Abby showing off  new boots.  Now she's twenty with a one year old child.

World Christmas greetings to all

Flashback to silly college girls flirting with Santa in downtown Philly  (me, Helen, Santa, and Joan)

My fave ornament - the tin soldier made from a toilet paper roll.  A Kevin creation many, many years ago (He's 43 now!)

Hope today is a splendid day of good cheer to you and your family/friends.  Love to my blog friends. 

Monday Moments - All is Merry and Bright

 Greetings all on a Monday.  Hope all is merry and bright in your world.  Slow down.  Take a moment for yourself.   Hang with a good friend.  Marvel at the snow, the lights on a tree, sip a cup of cocoa. 

Calm

Peace

Goodwill towards All

(can't go  wrong with a Charlie Brown Christmas)

Finally Friday - Love May Fail by Matthew Quick

 Love May Fail by Matthew Quick is about the heartache and daring choices it takes to become the person you know deep down you are meant to be.  (back blurb)

Portia Kane escapes her cheating husband and fancy Florida life. She goes back home and tries to start a new life. She is sure that her old high school  English teacher, whom she adored, is a key to regaining faith in herself.  He retired after a violent incident in his classroom, and now she finds he is perhaps more desperate than she. They both need a reset. 

She encounters a few people - Chuck, handsome  brother of an old school  friend, a sassy nun, and a little  boy - who all help a bit to restore her faith in  the human race.  (back blurb)

I didn't love this  book, so  I guess it  failed  a bit. It was a tad too slick, a bit too enamored with its own cleverness.  The characters were a bit too broadly written, in  my opinion.  It had almost  too many coincidences to  keep  the plot rolling.   I was amused and the tale  was frothy.  I could  predict the ending and that can be okay.   

Whatever Wednesday - The Blue Hour by Paula Hawkins

 Oh my,  Paula  Hawkins has written quite the tension filled, WTF, suspenseful book - The  Blue Hour. 

cover blurb: Eris is an island with only one house, one inhabitant, one way out. Unreachable from the Scottish mainland for twelve hours each day. 

Vanessa - a famous artist lived here. Her unfaithful husband disappeared twenty years  ago. 

Grace, Vanessa's best friend (?) inherited the home and is content in  her isolation. She fiercely protects the legacy of Vanessa. 

But  - there's a shocking discovery.  One of Vanessa's art pieces contains a human bone. 

An art  gallery visitor arrives to  investigate.  The secrets of Eris threaten  to emerge....

I will not divulge more.  This is a page  turner with way too many twists and turns.  Holy cow!

Monday Moments - It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover

 It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover is an emotional read. I found it easy to skim and I could predict the ending. I did not see the movie that was popular in theaters this summer. 

Lily grew up in an abusive household. She was happy to leave Maine, graduate from college, and move  to Boston to start her own business. It's almost too  good  to be true to find a spark with a neurosurgeon, Ryle Kincaid. His sister becomes a new best friend. Life is great.    BUT...(play ominous music)

Her  first love, Atlas Corrigan, is in Boston - a chef in a hot new restaurant. Lily and Atlas  have history. Guess who's supremely jealous?  Guess who lashes out easily? 

back blurb:  Sometimes the one who loves you is the one that hurts you the most. 

Hoover hands tough situations well and this is a worthwhile story under a lovely gloss. 

Finally Friday - my Nana Snowman

 Awww.  My Nana Crowther (photo on left) crocheted that snowman a zillion years ago. It's been kept at my father's and put out each year.  Alas, he did pass in  May,  the house was sold, and I nabbed the snowman.  

So now he has a place on  my shelf and can  enjoy Christmas in Texas. I'll work hard to keep him from melting. 

Do you have any special home made Christmas crafts?   Keep the lore in tact. 

Whatever Wednesday - Christmas Cheer

Ray went hunting  over Thanksgiving.   Whew!  No deer were harmed in this adventure. 

Meanwhile, I put out some Christmas cheer.  Fun to see the splash of red  once again. 

 When Ray got home,  he  donned his elf hat and worked on his light extravaganza. 

Are  you on  the Grinch naughty or nice list?

Tis the Season.  Enjoy. 

Monday Moments - Defy Gravity

 By this time, you might be saying, "I'm sick of the hype." 

BUT....Wicked, the movie,  is absolutely  tremendous  in my opinion.  And you must  see  it on the  big screen.  And  yes, it's over two  hours,  but the time flies by with all of the magical scenes filling your eyeballs.  

There's  plenty of homage (Easter eggs) to  the original 1939 movie Wizard of Oz starring Judy Garland.

And there's also treats from the Broadway stage musical starring  Idina Menzel and Kristen  Chenoweth. 

But now, this movie is Part 1 and based  on  the book by Gregory Maguire. The movie truly gives a deep dive into the characters, the motivations, the real story and question of  "wicked".  Who  is truly behaving badly?  Do you see  parallels to today's world?  Oh yes.    

The voices soar, the harmonies are gorgeous, the dancing, choreography, sets are lush eye candy. 

The cast is perfect - Cynthia Erivo (Elphaba), Ariana Grande (Glinda), Jonathan Bailey  (Prince Fiyero) is extra charming, Michelle Yeoh  (Madame Mori), Jeff Goldblum (the Wizard), for  me a bonus Bowen Yang who lets his freak flag fly  (I say that as a compliment), and so many more. 

My friend and I sat stunned as the credits came up.  Defy Gravity rang in our ears.  So much to enthuse about.  We agreed we could easily see it again to  absorb more. I wore green. She wore pink. 

WICKED   WOW

Finally Friday - Round the Corner Christmas Whoa

After Thanksgiving weekend, Ray and I headed out for  our usual  morning walk.  We rounded a corner and.....Whoa!   

Wow!   Bumble, the  Abominable Snowman greeted us.  Quite the surprise. 

Hard to believe the original Rudolph movie  is celebrating sixty years. Old Burl Ives memory lives on with his song playing  everywhere. 

Go out for a walk this December  season. New decorative surprises await.  
 

Whatever Wednesday - A Truly Messed Up Family

 The Friday Afternoon Club by Griffin Dunne is A Family Memoir.    And indeed, what a F**cked Up family it is, but sadly immensely entertaining.   I  don't usually use a curse word, but that is truly the best descriptor.

So,  Griffin Dunne is an actor, producer. He was in  After Hours, directed by Martin  Scorsese. A best friend was Carrie Fisher. His father, Dominick Dunne wrote The Two Mrs. Grenvilles and wrote for Vanity Fair - following  famous criminal trials.  This happened after Griffin's sister, Dominique Dunne ( a rising  actress) was murdered by strangulation and the boyfriend basically got off.  Famous  trial!!

Oh yeah, Griffin's uncle was John Dunne, famous  writer, and his wife was Joan Didion!!!!

See all of these exclamation marks. Honest to Gosh, every page of this book is full of fame, fortune, misfortune, shock, sadness,  drugs, New York  City stories, and Hollywood dirt. 

cover blurb - This memoir is, down  to its bones, a family story that embraces the poignant absurdities and best and worst efforts of its loveable, infuriating, funny,  and moving characters - its author most of all. 

I really liked  this book.  As  a fan of  movies, writers, wit,  cleverness, and also shocking behavior  and dirt, I thank  Griffin  Dunne for  baring his  soul and the family's in a very well written witty memoir. Wow!!!

Monday Moments - Movie Magic

The glory of Disney is shown in detailed costumes.  I enjoyed the exhibit at the Arlington Museum of Art.   So  many princesses.  Here's the  coronation gown for Princess  Diaries 2. It  was worn  by Anne  Hathaway. 

Jadis the White Witch - So Tilda Swinton!   From the Chronicles of Narnia

 This ring is very large.  It was used in a closeup for Leonardo  DiCaprio in Romeo & Juliet. He wore a regular ring, but they need this prop to show the etching inside it.   So cool.

Gotta love some  Monday Movie Magic