Monday Moments - President's Day

Today we celebrate venerated Presidents.  Those that promoted democracy, looked for the best in the American people. Truly believed in hope, dreams, and with liberty and justice for all

Somehow LOVE has to win out.  Throw in some RESPECT too

and Cheers to mattress sales!
 

Finally Friday - Valentine's Weekend

Happy Valentine's Weekend.  I hope everyone enjoys a nice one with family or friends. Or just treat yourself, or a pet.  Cherish a moment - whether on a walk, in a library, brushing your teeth. 

Comment to a blog friend - a nifty way to be in touch around the world. Hey, everybody - Big Hug

Mmmm, chocolate!

Ray's my Valentine.  Cheers,  love!

 

Whatever Wednesday - A Guardian and a Thief

 It's near future Kolkata - flooding and famine. Ma, her two year old daughter, and her elderly father and prepare to leave for Ann Arbor, Michigan.  Her husband is there and she is ready to  start a new life. She has the all important visas in her purse. She is ready for a fresh future. 

They go to sleep, but awaken to find her purse is gone. Dreams evaporated. 

A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar covers one week and two intertwined stories. The guardian, Ma, frantically searches for the thief. The  thief, a desperate young man commits escalating crimes to care for his family. Food shortages and heat combine to enhance the battle. 

How far will the guardian and thief go to save their families? The author paints a kaleidoscopic portrait of two families, each operating from a place of ferocious love and undefeated hope. It's tough to stave off encroaching catastrophe.  (cover blurb)

This is a stunning book, beautifully written. There is a lot of tension. The author is empathetic to both sides of the tale and draws you in as the reader to an understanding of sorts. 

p. 69  Perhaps it was her mind mixing up a variety of fear, an intruder who  had molested the peace of her house, a crook who had taken what she  most prized. 

p. 177  The husband in Michigan thinking: The pride of having immigrated was also, in  truth, the wound. Didn't they understand that? Didn't they understand that he wanted every opportunity to examine the wound? 

Monday Moments - The Academy

 The Academy by Elin Hilderbrand and her daughter Shelby Cunningham is a fun romp through the halls of  a private New England high school/ college prep boarding school. Money. Secrets. Rumors. Liaisons. 

Tiffin Academy is a small glitzy school and it just leaped in rankings to number two. How can that be?

Gorgeous campus. Fabulous food. Parties. Lovely students...seriously, physically attractive - all of them.

As they bask in their newfound glory, a new  app Zip Zap posts scandalous items - nobody is safe. Who's cheating on whom? Is there more  to hide than  the liquor bottles?

This is just a fun, no brainer page turner with amusing characters, outrageous situations, entitled youth, and teacher  power struggles. You do not need your thinking cap for this read. Just enjoy.   

Finally Friday - Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson

 Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson tells a layered tale - it's a story of how inheritance of betrayals, secrets, memories, and even names can shape  relationships and history. It's an extraordinary journey through the life of a family changed forever by the choices of its matriarch. (cover blurb)

Eleanor Bennett has died. Now her grown children, Byron and Benny listen to a taped message she left for them, along with a signature black cake - a Caribbean tradition.  Eleanor's story is surprising. She escaped her island home under suspicion of murder. She's held onto a different identity and tells about herself as a young woman named Covey. 

The siblings have been estranged and now hear about another long lost sister. Will they unite and find her? Or will they stay lost in their own versions of their lives? 

I really enjoyed the journey of the black cake, this history it holds, and how it draws a family together. Wilkerson's debut novel is superb with rich characters and a lot of twists and turns to the family saga. Treat yourself to a slice of good writing. 

Whatever Wednesday - What Will February Bring?

Amanda Gorman, a poet laureate, has a way with words.

 Let's see what February brings.  At least it's a short month.  And yet, even with the joy of Valentine's chocolates (I'll take any excuse for candy), the month tends to drag. 

Stay safe, warm, and avoid ice, ICE, ice...baby

Monday Moments - Groundhog's Day

A PA friend posted this on Friday.  So today's the day - Groundhog Day...

It's not looking good for a lot of the states.
 

And here's another take on it

This was our end to  January.  Ray broke up 2-1/2 chunks of ice and I shoveled it.  The driveway took two hours to do.  Whew!  We were sore.  That's a whole other level of exercise.

We're in  the DFW area.  My sister in DE reported a foot of snow over the course of a few days. Same with my brother in PA.  That's a LOT of shoveling. Plus temps  in the  teens with no real break ahead. 

This week is going up to the 60s by noon  each day for us.  It better get sunnier.  Saturday, February 7th, I'm  going to do our  YMCA polar plunge.  Yowza.  I'll find out if I can walk on  water. 

Take care, where ever you are. Watch for ice glaze.  I recommend indoors, reading, and hot cocoa. 

(oh, and stock  up on Girl Scout cookies). 

Finally Friday - Marty Supreme

Marty Supreme is a sport comedy movie loosely based on  the life of Marty Reisman, a table tennis superstar.  Timothee Chalamet stars as Marty Mauser, a wily hustler in New York City. Chalamet has won the Golden Globe and a Critic's Choice Award for his performance, and his nominated for an Oscar. He is very, very good. 

The movie is directed by Josh  Safdie who also did Uncut Gems which starred an award winning Adam Sandler.  I found the  two films to  be very alike - the pacing, the  down and dirty living, the lying, the angst. 

Marty is always robbing Peter to pay Paul, so to  speak. He's trying  to get money to  fly to Europe  for the table tennis championships.  He  borrows here, cheats here, always fast talking. He does work for his uncle's shoe  store, but manages  to screw that up. He's got Rachel, a long time girl/ friend who happens  to  be married, and he gets her pregnant. 

At age twenty-three, the kid is wise beyond his years and deep down is sorta good. Chalamet is likeable with that sweet face, and believable as very smart and talented. But almost too much of a wiseacre. 

I'm glad I saw this movie and yet I found it exhausting and way too long (2-1/2 hours) .  I got the gist immediately and then it just  kept going, and going - literally ping ponging around the city.  Whew! 

 

Whatever Wednesday - Lucky Seed by Justinian Huang

 Lucky Seed by Justinian Huang is a ridiculous romp of a read. 

cover blurb - Succession meets Crazy Rich Asians in this chaotic, darkly funny saga about the lengths a wealthy family will go to ensure the birth of a male heir from the gay black sheep of their clan. 

Re-read that sentence. Now, just picture how ridiculous that statement is for life.  The billionaire Sun clan is nuts. Powerful struggling aunties, emasculated uncles,  scheming cousins,  scandalous secrets, and a fortune teller on  retainer. 

This book is hilarious, nutso, probably has a touch of  reality beyond normal peoples comprehension,  and is  a fun read. It's total escapism, written with a wink and a nod. The family characters are hilarious, sad, pathetic, and yet, empathetic. 

Altogether it's about finding and connecting the right love, making it work, and continuing family traditions (albeit with the right grace note). 

Pure mind candy and that's okay.  Enjoy!  

Monday Moments - All the Way to the River by Elizabeth Gilbert

 All the Way to the River by Elizabeth Gilbert is a stunning memoir about love, passion, abuse, craving, and redemption. 

cover blurb : In 2000, Elizabeth Gilbert (author of Eat, Pray, Love) met Rayya Elias. They became friends, then best friends, then lovers - a pair of addicts on a collision course to  catastrophe.  Self-destructive tendencies became the unstable partner.  What if your most devastating heartbreak opened  a pathway to your greatest awakening? 

I have to say this was amazing, frustrating, annoying, and yet compelling to read. I don't think I would have  liked these two in person when they were fighting - way  too intense. Rayya sounds like an intriguing person who could be way, way too much.  Elizabeth Gilbert can be almost too into herself (in my  opinion). And Yet......I found myself turning  pages, shaking my head, and fascinated at watching the trainwreck. Then sad for the finale.  

This would not be everyone's cup  of tea,  but I'm glad I read it (yeah, I sorta speed read through a lot). 

Finally Friday - Sisters: Loved and Treasured

 cover blurb - Beacons of support, understanding, and love, sisters  are there for us through it all - childhood, the formative teen years, and adulthood. Journalist, Deborah Roberts curates a collection  of conversations,  meditations, and anecdotes from  her own sisters, celebrity friends, and everyday people. Sisters shape lives and it matters. 

Here's Lori and me.  She's ten years younger, but we are close.  It's amazing. We have sent each other the same Valentine card. We have similar humor and we just share the bond of the Crowther family. We can just say a word or reference and we know what "crazy" we are talking about.  Our middle brother, David, is in the mix, but sisters bond...oh, it's a thing. 

I enjoyed these essays  from Viola  Davis, Octavia Spencer, Jenna and Barbara Bush, Shonda Rhimes, Deborah Roberts, and so many more. I could identify and appreciate every feeling, every nuance, every special sister moment.  

Sisters Loved and Treasured by Deborah Roberts and her interviews was an engaging read.  I do feel sorry for folks without a sister to share all the special  moments of life. 

Let's Be Friends

 Let's take a beat and think about our NATO allies. Let's think about the purpose, the history, and the power we have to do good.

Beautiful Denmark. Lovely Copenhagen. Long time friends. From what I understand, they let Greenland be Greenland. Let's let them. 

I'm being far too simplistic and idealistic, but why are we messing up a perfectly good situation?

Why sow chaos and discord?  Again - I have no real knowledge or  authority, but I question if there's really a plan?   Like - okay, we have Venezuela....now what?   

That's all.  We'll be back to regularly scheduled book reviews, etc.   I just had to blather what's been stewing in my brain.  

Mange tak   (thank you)

MLK Day Salute

Now is the time to revisit Martin Luther King, Jr - his words, his thoughts, his ideals. 

What would he think of America today? There was progress.  Note the word "was".  I fear the current regime's actions are moving us backwards.  I am a senior white woman, living a fortunate life. However, I do care about all people, and perhaps I'm too idealistic and "woke", but I think it helps everyone if we help those less fortunate, if we "make real the promises of democracy."

How do we work above all the noise out there?  How can we read past what the algorithms dictate? It is hard work to try to find many sources to sort out a story.  And somehow, we still have to have faith in our vote. That's one way to not be silent. 

Armed masked militias - seems cruel to me. Shooting protesters - no! Rounding up working people - no. To me, the amount of time and effort and money in being cruel should be spent on processing folks so  they can keep their jobs - be the roofers, the landscapers, the farm help - so much work that, say, American teens, don't want to do.  It's all complex and above my pay grade, but at this juncture it seems like the border crossings are contained. Now we're just being mean. 

I liked this New Yorker cartoon.  Struck a nerve. 

MLK Day should offer us some reflection. Where are we? What do we lack? How can we be better? How can we bolster democracy?   It will be 250 years in July.  Are the Founding Fathers rolling in their graves? 

P.S. It is very petty to remove MLK Day from our  National Park "free  pass" day.  Seriously?  

It is ridiculous to be removing information from the Smithsonian museums that reference black history. 

WTF
 

Finally Friday - It Was the Way She Said It

 It Was the Way She Said It by Terry McMillan is an excellent compilation of short fiction and non-fiction essays. 

Her book Waiting to Exhale put her on the national stage in the early 1990s. But the works in this volume are (cover blurb) provocative, boundary-pushing short stories, capturing the struggles and triumphs of  Black life in America with vitality and honesty. McMillan's inimitable voice bravely explores the dark corners of human relationships with compassion, humor, and nuance.

I've always enjoyed her books. Her short stories and essays are really strong. Her characters, her humor, and her candor are eye-opening. 

From her 2016 Life Lessons Essay: When I watch the news these days, the vitriolic tone of some of the  rhetoric feels like we're heading back to the sixties and seventies. I'm not going.

I just want us to respect each other for the content of our character and not  be disrespected because of the color of our skin. We are Americans. 

I highly recommend diving deeper into Terry McMillan's words. 

Whatever Wednesday - An Inside Job by Daniel Silva

 Daniel Silva's An Inside Job continues the brilliant legacy of Gabriel Allon. He's a brilliant art restorer. He's also a lethal warrior.  He has a commission to restore a lost masterpiece of Leonardo Da Vinci. 

But a dead girl is found in the Venetian Lagoon. 

She's a mysterious key to a lost painting, ruthless mobsters, Vatican theft. 

cover blurb - The action moves at breakneck speed from the galleries and auction houses of London to an enclave of unimaginable wealth on the French Riviera - and finally, to a shocking climax in St. Peter's Square where the life of a pope hangs in the balance.   Whew!!! 

Silva knows how to write and his hero, Gabriel Allon, is intriguing.  This is a page turner.

Very entertaining.  Very current. Very on point.   and I say again - Whoa!  and  Whew!

Monday Moments - Is This Thing On?

 So, I was kinda done with the world on Friday and needed to escape.  How about a marriage falling apart movie?  Yeah, that's the way to go. Popcorn and a soda - escape for two hours watching some misery.  Ha!

Is This Thing On? is directed by Bradley Cooper and he does a good job.  Will Arnett (Alex) is superb and Laura Dern (Tess) is always glorious  to watch. They've been married for over twenty years and are pretty much fighting all the time.  So they agree to split and divorce. The movie basically follows them struggling to make the divorce amicable for their two sons. 

Incredibly well acted and very realistic. Alex is in finance by day and then finds standup comedy by night. It's sheer happenstance that he goes into a comedy club. To not pay the entrance fee, he had to sign a sheet and do some comedy bit.  Turns out it's a bit therapeutic and he gets some laughs. He finds himself "alive" and challenged. It's a new world with some new friends.

What happens when Tess coincidentally sees him perform and she's the butt of his jokes?  Sorta a turn on? Are they kidding themselves? 

The  movie  feels very New York City real... like not really normal folks, but movie folks real.  I enjoyed it. The acting is really good and the difficulty of navigating  marriage is spot  on.  It's work.

Finally Friday - All the Broken Places by John Boyne

 All the Broken Places by John Boyne is a powerful book. It moves back and forth in time between Nazi Germany and 2022 London.  Gretel Fernsby is ninety-one years old. Opinionated,  but lives a quiet life until emotions are stirred up by her downstairs neighbors. 

Her memories are churned up as she thinks  about her  escape from Germany at age 12, knowing her father was killed  for being  a Reich commandant of an extermination camp. She managed to start a new life and create a new identity after time in Poland, Australia, and  now  London  - oh so many years later. 

But she hears and witnesses abuse by the husband living below her to his wife and young son. 

cover blurb - Back then (in Germany), she denied her own complicity; now, she must interrogate her guilt, grief, and remorse and risk revealing the secrets she has  spent a lifetime protecting. 

Whoa!  As each chapter builds and  connects, back and forth in time, the tension rises. Gretel is a complicated woman, wise and strong. What will she do as she confronts the bully husband? What secrets could spill out?  Lots of twists and turns and then a dramatic wow.  Well done!

Whatever Wednesday - Song Sung Blue

 Christmas afternoon I caught up with my pickleball gals and we enjoyed the film, Song Sung Blue. 

Based on a true story, Mike (Hugh Jackman) is a barely eking by singer. At a gig, he meets Claire (Kate Hudson) and they just  mesh. She's a single mom and also trying to get by in life. They connect with song and pull together as a Neil Diamond cover band..."an experience".

Slowly, they gain a following. They sound great and hey, you can't  go wrong with Sweet Caroline...so good, so good. 

Mike and  Claire marry. The kids get along. They get better gigs and even open for Pearl Jam. Eddie Vedder is a fan.  But this is a real life story and unfortunately, there's a huge set-back. (I'm not going to say what, but it's a shocker).  The movie takes quite the  dramatic turn. They are living some song sung blues. 

I'll stop there. Just have a tissue handy. Hugh Jackman is  great as Mike Sardina.  Kate Hudson just glows as Claire. They have chemistry and  their voices are awesome together.  Neil Diamond's songs are fabulous.  The story might sound like a soap opera, but it's movie type true. Thumbs up per me and my friends. 

Monday Moments - Margaret Atwood

Margaret Atwood

('nuff said)

Her Book of Lives, A Memoir of Sorts is almost six hundred pages.  It's a weightlifting challenge for the arms. It's a mind blowing challenge for the  brain. 

cover blurb - Atwood unfolds the story of her life, linking key moments to the books that have shaped our literary landscape, from the cruel school year that would become Cat's Eye to the unease of 1980s Berlin, where she began The Handmaid's Tale. 

As she explores her past, Atwood reveals more and more about her writing, the  connections between real life and art - and the workings of one of our greatest imaginations. 

I enjoyed this memoir immensely. Yes,  I  skimmed a bit on some of her parents' history, and sometimes there was almost too much detail on  some camping  trips. But, all in all, this  book is a hoot.  She has  a wicked sense of humor, knows how to convey it on  the page, and I could sense the  twinkle in her eye as she added to this life tale. 

Too many great little turns of phrase to copy here. I chuckled out loud at times. I  was also amazed at her steadfast energy and honor in the craft of writing.  I appreciated her Canadian background, fortitude, and I think it counts for a lot in her makeup.  She's  a tiny person but a force of nature. She had a great love (Graeme) and that shines through. She absolutely knows who she is and does not buckle.  And she's still writing.  She has opinions on the current state of the world. 

She is Margaret Atwood.    'nuff said.      Read her  works and be astonished. 
 

Finally Friday - Your Inner Writing Soul 2026

2026  Fresh Start:

 Here's a good book for writers, dear blog friends - Writing Creativity and Soul by Sue Monk Kidd

She wrote The Secret Life of Bees, The Book of Longings, and more. 

Now she imparts a part memoir, part philosophical investigation, part advice to aspiring writers, and touchstone for the spirit.   "If you encounter writing infused with soul, you know it".  "It feeds you somewhere inside...our internal revolutions, our reach for our true selves, our struggle to write unsayable things with brave voices".  cover blurb. 

If you love Sue Monk Kidd's writing, then you need to enjoy this book. She writes about her struggles to become the writer she knew she could be, while she was a mother raising kids. She writes about her doubts, her fears, and the time it took to truly acknowledge herself as a writer.  She imparts some writerly wisdom, but it's really just common sense.  You - if you truly wish to be a  writer- must do the work.  Think, sit, write, research, read and repeat.  And repeat.  And repeat.  It's hard work.

Sue Monk Kidd said she has to work from an outline.  She has to really know her characters - what do they want?  Where shall the story end?  

She bares her writerly soul in this book and as you read this, it is as if you are hanging at a kitchen table and just talking.  I really enjoyed this memoir and it has inspired me  to take up the pen again.  We'll see what happens in 2026. 

Happy Writing, my friends.