Wednesday Pop UP

 I wasn't going to have a Wednesday post this week, but I follow the Gwynedd Preserve. It's right down the street from my father's home.  I truly hope the fall colors and this pic live are still there when I go to visit before Thanksgiving.  Dad snoozes in  the afternoons. Thus,  I can sneak  out for a stroll in some preserved nature grasslands.  How lovely!  PA is a gorgeous state if the colors are popping. 

Anyway - Happy Wednesday. Hope your week is going well. Cheers all! 

Plus I need to walk, burn  some calories, and earn the right to eat an  extra helping stuffing. 

Thanksgiving feast in PA with Dad and  my sister. 

Let's have a week of Thanksgiving

I am actually in PA visiting Dad and family.  This is a past Texas turkey. Ray knows how to get that Norman Rockwell look. I hope he and his crew have a good  feast

Gobble Gobble

The annual fireplace decor

 Thanksgiving  time means Lori birthday time. Here she is from 2021 with Dad. We'll celebrate her on Friday. 

I hope everyone has a safe, healthy, and enjoyable Thanksgiving week. 

Finally Friday - frivolous

Downhill slide for 2022. Howled through Halloween. Now trudging toward Thanksgiving. And cruising  to Christmas. 

Let's take a moment and breathe.   Random pics from friends, years, and stuff that caught my eye. 

Any beach, any time is calming.  This is a recent pic from a friend in  NC - Outer Banks

A past PA pic. I'm running through leaves as your read this

Shadows

Thankful for so many folks that have been in my life and always in my memories...my heart

 Finally Friday - look for a lovely sunset. This is a desert view pic from a cousin. 

Feel calmer?   Float into your weekend and take time for yourself.  Enjoy

Whatever Wednesday - We Were Dreamers by Simu Liu

 We Were Dreamers by Simu Liu is a cheeky, energetic, humorous memoir  by a young man who has hit his stride. This book is just the beginning. It's his immigrant superhero origin story. 

cover blurb - The actor Simu Liu shares his own inspiring and unexpected origin story from China  to a place called Hollywood. An immigrant who battles everything from parental expectations to cultural stereotypes, Simu struggles  to forge a path for himself, rising  from the ashes of a failed accounting career (!) to become the world's first Asian superhero. 

This is a really good, well written memoir. Simu Liu has quite a story and it gave me more respect for the dreamers. His folks struggle to leave a family life in China and seek more as educated degreed engineers. Then they were ready (maybe) for their four year old son, Simu, to leave the comfort of grandparent care, and come join them in Canada. Was Simu ready? Did he always feel uprooted, restless? Lots of conflict ensued through the years. 

Liu is very fair in his life story. He recognizes his flaws and lays it out on the pages. His journey is quite a mix of his Chinese background and Western life. How did he get to become Shang-Chi, a Marvel hero?   Read this book and  find out. Now I look forward to seeing what else Simu Liu will do.

Keep dreaming

Monday Moments - Sandra Cisneros

 Sandra Cisneros is a well rounded author (books - House on Mango Street, poetry - My Wicked Wicked Ways, and memoir I reviewed - A House of My Own). She's back to poetry after twenty-eight years. Older, wiser, living in Mexico, reflecting on her ancestors, and humorously contemplating being a woman artist. 

cover blurb Woman Without Shame is a moving  collection of songs, elegies, and declarations that chronicle her pilgrimage toward rebirth and the recognition of her prerogative as a woman artist. She explores the essential nature of love, memory, and desire. 

I love Sandra Cisneros' humor and her obvious 'won't take crap in life' attitude. She's fearless and truly plumbs the depths of human emotion. 

p. 12   a stanza from Remedy for Social Exposure

                    Consume a cool glass of night

                    Read poetry that inspires poetry

                    Write until temperament 

                    returns to calm

That gives just an inkling of this wonderful collection  Woman Without Shame by Sandra Cisneros. 

Finally Friday - French Braid by Anne Tyler

 Opening an Anne Tyler book means you are welcoming an old friend into your reading room. Tuck in with an afghan on your lap and a cup of something tasty within reach. You are going to meet a memorable family, journey with them through decades, and enjoy the ups and downs of reality. French Braid proved to be a delight and I hated to see it end. 

From the 1950s to our present, follow the Garrett family in Baltimore. Mercy aspires to paint. Husband Robin doesn't want change. Daughters - Alice, always common sense, Lily, boy crazy and drifting. David, the youngest, just wants to escape.  Book blurb - As these lives advance across decades, the Garretts' influences on one another ripple ineffably but unmistakably through each generation. 

p 232  "Oh, a French braid," Greta said.   "Undone, hair would still be in ripples, little leftover squiggles, for hours and hours afterward."

"Well," David said, "that's how families work, too. You think you're free of them, but you're never really free; the ripples are crimped in forever."

And that's Anne Tyler's effortless writing and descriptions. She pulls you in and engages you. French Braid is solid writing, storytelling, and observations on life. Thanks, Anne Tyler. 

Shout out to Becky Thorne - see, I did read this book from the library. Cheers!

Whatever Wednesday - Louis Vuitton Tour

Alvarado Texas - forty five minutes south of the DFW area. A two hundred acre property - Rochambeau Ranch. Cows.

Would you believe Louis Vuitton has a production facility there? Who knew?  Well, I read a special announcement of a rare tour. I signed up immediately, and was accepted for a time slot - Sunday October 16 at 3 pm. Ooh La La

Linda and I rolled up, showed  our IDs, and were granted access to this very modern, light, airy facility. Greeted with champagne and hors d'oeuvres. Quite fancy. There were twenty of us on the tour for an hour. 

Here's a photo of the current headquarters for Louis Vuitton. The house on the left belonged to the creator. 

Here's a trunk from the 1800s - the original LV designed product. It was beautiful 

 No pics allowed in the actual plant. But we were introduced to the various artisans who hand sew, paint, and trim the LV leather purses. It was a young vibrant group of employees who greeted us proudly, eager to show their master craftwork. I was  very impressed. 

Tres bien!