Finally Friday - All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker

 I have been on a tear with my library picks.  Winners each time.  All the Colors  of the Dark by Chris Whitaker is unbelievable.  So good!  Twists and turns galore and just when you say," Are you kidding me?", he hits you with another crazy plot point.  

 1975 Monta Clare, MO, girls are disappearing. 

Patch, a local kid missing an  eye becomes a hero  when he saves the richest, prettiest girl  in  town. But he's taken and is tortured, left to die, and then saved by his best friend - a tough girl named Saint.   She never gave up. 

cover blurb - Patch and those who love him soon discover that the line between triumph and tragedy has never been finer. Their search for answers will lead them to truths that could mean  losing one another. 

A missing  person mystery, a serial killer mystery thriller, a love  story, a unique twist on each.  This book  covers what lurks in the shadows of obsession and  the blinding light of hope. 

It all starts in 1975.  It ends in  2001.   Holy Cow  is  all I can say.   The writing, the characters,  the story arc - un-freaking- believable.     

Get this book. Read it.  You are welcome. 

Whatever Wednesday - More Helicopter and Wow Banff

Afraid of heights - nah!  I loved the front seat  of the helicopter

More glories of Banff  from above

In May - still snow on the mountains.   Hooray!

Clear skies.  We were beyond lucky

 Yep - glorious. 

Thanks Canada for being so  damn perfect

Monday Moments - The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon is a gripping historical mystery inspired by  the life and diary of Martha Ballard, a renowned eighteenth century midwife who defied the legal system and wrote herself  into American history. (cover blurb)

I was pulled into this story immediately and the deep freeze of Maine,  1789 kept me enthralled.  After one man is saved after falling into  the ice, another is discovered entombed.  Martha, the midwife, is  called to examine  the body - her declaration: Murdered by hanging. The man - Joseph Burgess - had also  been  accused of rape. 

Over the  course of one winter, a trial  is  pending, more scandal, more accusations and Martha's word and her journal prove to be at the center.  This is  a time when women were to be seen and not heard. The fact that she could write,  that she  knew every secret in town, and that she truly was a woman of convictions makes this story very powerful.  Martha  Ballard proves  an exception and her husband,  Ephraim, is also a man ahead of his time.

I loved the tone  of  this  book,  the pace, the obvious research done, rich characters, and that  family love that  shined  through.  The Frozen River glistens and each word and chapter  flow. Big thumbs up  from me! 
 

Finally Friday - Happy Birthday Ray!

 Today, August 1st is Ray's birthday.   Old enough.  Here he's on  a glacier in Canada.  The  man is always  up for adventure

He's a sports fan of all sorts.  The  Rangers, this year,  are  breaking his heart.  Don't even discuss the Cowboys - ha!

He bowls

He plays  pickleball (he's got  a wicked  serve!).  Here he's  with me and a friend,  Kathy.  We were all set for the 4th  of July  pickleball festivities. 

And Ray  likes the  beach and  a  big drink at a beach bar. 

Hope it's another year  of fun, surprises, and good cheer.     Love ya, Ray.  Happy Birthday!

Whatever Wednesday - Emerald Lake

Are you tired of Canadian Rockies photos yet?   Oh  well.  I recommend  you  book a  trip  and see the magic for yourself.    Here's  Emerald Lake

So pristine. Colors  so pure

Lush greenery and COLD glacier water

We had a lovely day to enjoy time there. 

Aah!
 

Monday Moments - Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten

 Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten is a very fun, energetic read.  This  woman is a gem and has truly taken advantage of forks in the road.  I enjoyed her television series Be My Guest, and  I was hooked.  She makes cooking look easy and fun. Her enthusiasm for life is contagious. 

She had a rough upbringing ( very cold  parents).  She met Jeffrey Garten at a very young age, but she  recognized a kindred spirit. She married young and the two of them forged quite  a life.  Their  timing proved impeccable and  they had the guts to say "yes" to so  many choices.   Buy a specialty food store in  the Hamptons - the Barefoot  Contessa. Gutsy choice,  but it proved to be a trail blazing adventure.  

She shares her life choices - no holds barred.   Her humor, descriptions, and enthusiasm are inspiring. 

Huge  thumbs up. I want to hang out in her kitchen.  Sheer joy for life, cooking, and people ooze  from this book.  I loved it and embrace her spirit.  

Finally Friday - Soar With Me Over the Canadian Rockies

So, we said "hell yeah" to the helicopter ride out of Banff over the Canadian Rockies.   Hey - sit  back and enjoy the ride.  

Wow.   After looking up this trip, we got to look down and it  was spectacular. 

I had the front seat next to the pilot. wow.   Dramatic.   120 kilometers an  hour.  
 

Clouds and mountains.   We had the most  perfect  weather and  views. 

 Beyond words and feelings.  Just so damn cool!  

Whatever Wednesday - Art Adventure

Sunday June 22, I awoke and decided  on a Fort  Worth  art adventure.  Ray was off  to his family reunion (it's tradition - I don't go).  Anyway, I drove to  the Kimbell Art Museum  first.  The current exhibition - Modern Art and Politics in Germany 1910-1945 was  a WOW and very timely for our current fraught American situation.  And it was the last day - so  a must see, and the Kimbell had quite  a queue. I was glad to see so many people open to this exhibit. 

above - Christian Schad's Sonja depicted the so-called "new woman" of 1928.  In the aftermath of 1918's  wartime, women won  the right  to vote.  Lots of change afoot. 

Numerous works of this time period  were declared as "degenerate"  art - denounced and confiscated.   The artists were the earliest to express displeasure with what they saw brewing in Germany.  Emile Nolde, Kurt Gunther, Curt Querner, Otto Dix, Paul Klee, Max Beckman, and George Grosz pushed the envelope and many had to flee. 

Let's think about  today - art bans, book  bans, television and movies and more....hmmm

 Horst Strempel's Night Over Germany (oil  on burlap) is a stunning, shattering work.  Jewish families hiding in fear.  

There  was hushed admiration in the Kimbell.  I'm sure many people left thinking...
 

After a light lunch in the Kimbell cafe, I walked down the  block  to the Amon Carter.  Forty photos for forty years since Richard  Avedon's American  West exhibit.  I remember that one - I  was fairly new to  Texas.  The black  and white photos of  just regular folks are stunning.  Crisp, clear, and the people staring back at you - their eyes say so  much. 

Here's a compilation  of  photos  from  the opening  day.  Avedon  was THE photographer  for  famous people and Vogue.   Then he explored the West - oil workers, ranchers - a tough life in  the summer heat.  One of  the  coordinators for  the  project was a photographer in her own right  (Laura  Wilson - mother to actors Owen, Luke).  Her keen eye helped Avedon  on the shoots.  

I truly enjoyed my art afternoon.  Then home for a dip in the pool.  And Ray  arrived home after a fine  time  with family and full from BBQ. 

That's how  we  roll. 

Monday Moments - This is a Love Story by Jessica Soffer

 Central Park, NYC has been witness for a half  century of love for  Abe and Jane. Alas, Jane is dying and Abe is recounting their life together.  

Cover blurb: Told in various parts of view, even in conversation with Central Park, these  voices weave in and out  to paint a portrait as complicated and essential as love  itself. 

An homage to  NYC, to romance,  and even to loss, This is a Love  Story by Jessica Soffer tenderly captures deep  truths about life and marriage in radiant  prose. 

I really enjoyed  the chapters featuring  just life in Central Park.  Very short  paragraphs covered the movements of folks  in and out of various sections, the picnics, the kisses, the children floating boats, the vendors, the seasons.  Truly lyrical especially if you've ever visited and enjoyed a day there. 

p. 1   The Park is a beating heart, an adagio, a dreamy parenthesis

Finally Friday - Don't Fall In

Listen.

Look

Stay on the path

Look Up


 

Don't Fall in Johnson Canyon

Whatever Wednesday - Athabasca Glacier

 Got to ride in the Arctic Terrain vehicle up  to the Athabasca Glacier.  Very impressive piece of equipment.  Our driver  was a lad from Blackpool,  England.  

Another gorgeous day and while  cool, it  was not bitter cold

Avoid the slush parts.   (oops, Ray did step in a melty spot and  got his shoe, sock, and pants leg wet. Silly boy

The ice chunks were SO clear

I'll pose happily with the Maple Leaf.   Oh Canada!  You filled my heart with  joy

Monday Moments - Lake Maligne

Oh Canada - we were lucky that the ice had just melted from Lake Maligne and we could enjoy a little boat  cruise. 

Old dock
 

glacial colors

Such a view

And a sacred spot for the indigenous folks in the area.  Look, but don't  think about putting a foot on that Spirit Island. 

Very mystical aura. 

Finally Friday - By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult

Jodi Picoult is a reliable writer.  Here in By Any Other  Name she introduces us to  two women, centuries apart.  One is the real author of Shakespeare's plays. The other hides behind her name to get published. 

Melina  Green has written a play about an Elizabethan ancestor, Emilia Bassano. The theater world  is tough for  women. But  her best friend submits the  play to a festival under a male pseudonym. 

Meanwhile, Picoult also  explores Emilia's  life in  1581. She becomes a mistress to a wealthy man and  sees the workings of  the art/ theater world.   Her plan - pay an actor  named  William  Shakespeare to front  her work. 

cover blurb. 

Picoult weaves the two  tales and interlaces the issues of ambition, creativity, and prejudices for women.   Should a writer  do whatever it takes  to see her story live on...no matter the cost? 

I enjoyed this book a lot and the rich characters along with current day and historical backdrop. 
 

Whatever Wednesday - Stay Upright on Skates

Oh Canada - Ice Hockey time.  Here's a new recruit - Ray

Rah for the Canmore Eagles. We enjoyed the  ice hockey experience.   Some  films, stories, history of ice hockey, and more. 

Ray and I are suited up.  You can't see my ankles waver.  It's been  a long,  long time since I  was a little girl in  PA and went ice skating. 

and here  we  are with a fellow traveler, Gwen.  She ended  up being quite good on the ice hitting pucks.  Ray and I clung to our ice "walkers" and shuffled  our feet.  I let go for two seconds to attempt a puck hit.  Happy to report I  did not fall down.  

Just  getting on  all of the gear was tiring.  

Alas, while in Canada, our Dallas Stars  got beat in  playoffs  by  the Edmonton Oilers. 

Then in  the  Stanley  Cup - the Oilers were  beaten by the  Florida  Panthers for  the second time.