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Old Broads Waxing Poetic Cast: Saturday

In gaji of the Old Broads Waxing Poetic book launch www.amazon.com/dp/1500642800
I am featuring the poets. Saturday - Delores Lowndes

She's a newfound friend from the north - oh Canada. Her poems look to the past, present, and future and whether it's a dusty road or a peek into the kitchen, she brings a warmth and a hearty soul to her word pictures. Her bio claims curmudgeonly, but I don't believe it.

Enjoy the twinkle in her voice and the calm in her poems and writing - http://ramblingsoftheterminallyaging.blogspot.com/ The blog is a joy and the poems in Old Broads Waxing Poetic speak for themselves.

Old Broads Waxing Poetic Cast: Sunday

In gaji of Old Broads Waxing Poetic book launch www.amazon.com/dp/1500642800
I am featuring the cast of poets. A grand finale on Sunday - Fran Fischer

http://fishducky.blogspot.com/

I've saved our liveliest most senior poet for last in my tour of Old Broads. Fran Fischer is a pip - and that's a word I don't dole out to just anyone. In getting to work on this compilation, I've had the joy of reading her poems and marveling at the humor and zest for life. I bet she keeps California on its toes - you can tell from her energy level. She's a fighter with a zing.

Please check out her blog, buy her books, and enjoy the poems she shared in Old Broads Waxing Poetic. We're gonna need a volume two, just to have Fran do Odes to 85, 90, 95, and 100. Cheers to you, kid!

Book Review: The Book Of Life By Deborah Harkness

The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness is the finale to a great trilogy. In A Discovery of Witches and Shadow of Night, we meet Diana Bishop, a woman finally learning about her witch powers. She’s a timewalker and a weaver – that’s a powerful combination. Falling in love with Michael Clairmont has proven problematic since he’s a powerful vampire from a strong family. However, together they demonstrate that love conquers a lot. Now the key mystery book and missing pages from Ashmole 782 again binds them to a daring finish to a battle of vampires, daemons, and witches.

Returning from Elizabethan England, Diana and Michael face new enemies – many who are related and have even inherited his blood rage. Diana’s pregnancy adds a new urgency to the family lineage, as witches and vampires line up to question the powers of the upcoming children. Palatial homes, university laboratories, and rich libraries from Auvergne to Venice provide the backdrop for a chase, a mystery, murders, and a joyous birth. Harkness deepens “her themes of power and passion, family and caring, past deeds and present consequences.” (cover blurb)

The All Souls Trilogy is rich in language and lore, with an intermingling of characters from the past. Harkness herself is a weaver – she casts a spell in her pacing and intrigue. “Matthew and I were an alchemical marriage of vampire and witch, death and life, sun and moon. That combination of opposites created something finer, and more precious than either of us could ever have been separately. We were the tenth knot. Unbreakable. Without beginning or end.” Read the series and rejoice in rooting for Diana and Matthew in the tamat Book of Life.

Book Review: China Dolls By Lisa See

It’s San Francisco 1938: “A world’s fair is preparing to open, a war is brewing overseas, and the city is alive with possibilities.” (cover blurb) Grace, Helen, and Ruby, all from varied backgrounds, meet as dancers in the Forbidden City nightclub. Through challenges and shifting fortunes, their friendship is tested. “When their dark secrets are exposed and the invisible thread of fate binds them tighter, they find the strength and resilience to reach for their dreams.” (cover blurb)

China Dolls by Lisa See shows a world of wealth, poverty, and prejudice. San Francisco’s hills are alive with love and luck, or after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor the atmosphere shifts to one of suspicion and fear of Asians. Our young heroines, Grace, Helen, and Ruby, must overcome paranoia and work together. They all learn about friendship and life.

Lisa See writes a lively tale with endearing characters. These girls have family scars, but gumption in a changing world. For Grace on her bus trip from Ohio, “each new state I passed through loosened another rope around my heart, my legs, my arms, yet my whole body ached, and I couldn’t shake my vertigo.”(p.3) Helen must break free from an overprotective family and risk bringing them dishonor. Ruby is a free spirit that hides deep secrets. These China Dolls are fragile, and yet up to the task.

Ciao Until October

Rome, Florence, Venice, Pisa, Verona, Lake Como
Pasta, gelato, Chianti

I am off to Italy with a writer friend. Poor Ray shall hold down the fort, and hope for a t-shirt.
I shall bore you with pictures when I return and shake off the jet lag. Stay well, my friends.

Ciao
Joanne

Bernini And More

Forget cramped airlines, crappy airline food, and jet lag. I traveled to Italy with a good writer friend, Ann Summerville, and we hit the streets of Rome on Saturday September 20th, running. You can't go wrong in the Piazza Navona. It is dramatic, gleaming, and a dream come true.

Bernini sculptures have to be seen in person. Pictures do not do them justice. The detail, the creativity, the story, the characters, the size - I was in awe.

So many statues, so little time. This was just day one, hour one and it got better and better. My eyes are full of beauty - Italy itself, the people, the food, the art, the history. I shall share the adventure until you scream "No more!"

Friday Fresco And Frivolity

Look everywhere in Italy and the art is fabulous. This was in the Pantheon.

Vivid colors

Stop along the Amalfi Coast and smile. No wonder the Italians are such a happy people. Lovely scenery and a gelato break ease the mind

The colorful fishing village of Burano in the Venice Lagoon area was picture postcard perfect.

Silent Sunday - Still Milking Italy

Italy is dramatic, even the night sky.

Wordless Wednesday

Family History (Lack Thereof)

Wednesday was my birthday - age 56 - old enough to groan, not old enough for good perks, yet.
But I dug around and found this photo - I'm the baldy on the left. My cousin Mark (four days younger) is on the right. We were eleven months old and propped with Great Grandmother Farrell.

That's all I know. Can't tell you her first name. She's eighty or so here - but back in the day everyone had that Grapes of Wrath look. They were ancient even at sixty. I have no doubt she always had an apron handy and could whip up a meal for three or thirty.

Stoic, plain speaking. I bet she was kind, but didn't put up with nonsense.

I should have listened better, but I don't remember many stories from my mother about her grandmother. My mom's gone now. But the photo lives on.

Movie Review: This Is Where I Leave You

“This is Where I Leave You” is a typical throw a family together under funeral circumstances and hilarity will ensue film. This is an okay film, probably better for rental or streaming in a few months. I only paid matinee price and was amused. Jason Bateman’s Judd walks into his apartment with a birthday cake for his wife, only to find her in an inappropriate situation with his boss. Ooops. Now he’s getting divorced, needs a job, and gets a call from his sister (Tina Fey) that his father died. He arrives to sit shiva with his whole family. Mom (Jane Fonda), older brother Paul (Cory Stoller), sister, and baby brother (Adam Driver). Add in assorted wives, kids, neighbors, and former hometown loves (Rose Byrne, Timothy Olyphant).

But the point of the film is family. No matter what - you can battle, have some grudges, and your siblings will still love you. I was very happy that throughout the film, no bad secrets came out about the father. That’s often the twist for films these days. All in all, he was a glue for the family and they all missed him in their own way. Very nice.

The siblings did fall into stereotypes but thanks to decent acting rose above the material. Tina Fey as the only girl was the heart and boss of the group. The older brother was looked up to and yet “disliked” for being the “good one who set the example”. Judd as the middle brother was popular, cool, and Bateman does bemused snarky well. Despite outward appearances, Judd is an insecure mess – sure that he’s always never quite made it. Peter, the youngest, is the beloved screw-up. He gets away with shenanigans, but really wants to be like his older siblings.

“This is Where I Leave You” does have a lot of good moments and lines. It solves things a bit too easily with pregnancies and the whole “circle of life” cliché. And yet, that is life, and as we leave the film, we have to hope the characters have grown and will succeed in new paths, plus stay in touch.

Fort Worth Stockyards Adventure

Huge temperature change on Saturday after rain Friday night. We awoke to 58 degrees - gray and dreary. What to do? I had an ulterior lunch motive, but first we decided to walk around the Fort Worth Stockyards. We walked into the stables and here's a warning - basically beware of horses. I stayed in the middle of the barn lanes and let Ray pet the equine. (See Old Buttercup chapter from my book My Zoo World, and you'll know why I steer clear)

We did enjoy the cattle mosey at 11:30 am. The very first time we ever saw this I expected a cattle stampede, but no - it's a leisurely stroll down Exchange Street. Plenty of tourists and it's fun to watch.

We've never been in the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame - nice museum. www.texascowboyhalloffame.org Here's Ray hanging 'round the campfire. The displays for men and women who've excelled at rodeo, cutting, ranching, and sport medicine are well done - famous names like Larry Mahan, John Justin, Jr., Walt Garrison, et al are represented. The Sterquell Wagon Collection is extensive - over sixty antique buggies, carriages, sleighs, carts, and wagons are shown. This is a premier salute to transportation from the 1800s.

And lunch - www.cheftimlove.com We chose The Love Shack - tasty burger combo, root beer on tap, and a live duo playing outdoors. It was a bit chilly, but we chowed down. A fun Saturday exploring our back yard - well, twenty minutes away.

Book Review: Outlander

“Outlander” is now a STARZ series, and I just finished the first book in the series. I’m late to the party but ready to scavenge for crumbs. Diana Gabaldon must only write. She can’t possibly sleep, eat, or breathe like a normal human. In paperback, “Outlander” is 850 pages of page-turning action, adventure, love, history, murder, and mayhem. Life in 1743 is brutal, especially if you’ve arrived there from 1945!

Claire Randall is a former combat nurse, reuniting with her husband on a second honeymoon. They stroll the moors of Scotland, enjoy a small inn, and he works on his history projects. They also hope to start a family. One day she strolls through an ancient stone shrine and finds herself in the midst of a raiding clan war in 1743. She’s a Sassenach – an “outlander”. From the back blurb “Claire is catapulted into the intrigues of lairds and spies that may threaten her life…and shatter her heart.” She meets and falls in love with James Fraser, a gallant Scots warrior, but she’s married to Frank in 1945. “Torn between fidelity and desire, she must survive.”

What a concept. With the knowledge Claire has of 1945 and history she’s gleaned from her husband, she must not reveal too much. Her nursing skills save lives (keep things clean first and foremost), and with a few vague warnings she can turn the tide of a battle. Gabaldon keeps things moving and her details are fascinating. The pages burn when Claire and Jamie are together. I’m hooked on the “Outlander” series and highly recommend you start reading now.

Wordless Wednesday: Gee, Ya Think It Will Be Pics Of Italy?

Movie Review Madness: Gone Girl

Gillian Flynn’s “Gone Girl” was and is a must read. This book defied expectations – forget cooking, cleaning, eating, or the kids. Anyone who picked up this book could not put it down, and then the discussion was a lot of OMG, and “Are you kidding me?!” Now “Gone Girl” is in theaters and does not disappoint its fans. David Fincher, the director, with Gillian Flynn’s own screenplay brings this cold calculating book of a marriage gone wrong, of successful people failing, and of a murder/kidnapping mystery to film in fine fashion.

I shall not reveal key plot points, thus this review dances a bit about the story. Just know that Ben Affleck’s Nick comes home midafternoon after a call from a neighbor saying his cat is out and his front door is open. He walks in calling out to his wife, Amy, and finds living room furniture upended and blood in the kitchen. He calls the cops and soon a search for a missing person, Amy, becomes arrest for murder.

So, did Nick do it? We see the story develop forward and backward. Head over heels love in the early parts of marriage. Huge success in New York. Nick and Amy are the cleverest, cutest, and most accomplished couple. She is still the focus of her parents, having been analyzed as a child with the Amazing Amy series of books. A bit resentful. A tad petulant. Rosamund Pike, as Amy, is icy blonde, fiercely brilliant, and now bored in Missouri. She and Nick had to leave NYC during economic fallout and return to his hometown to help his dying mother. Now his mother is dead, he runs The Bar with his twin sister, Margo (a really good Carrie Coon), and they both feel trapped and resentful.

What happens? I won’t tell you. Just know that Affleck is perfect as Nick – the cool guy who’s just a bit too good looking and can come off as smug. Is he tired of the perfect Amy? Money troubles always stir the pot. He counts on his twin. They are so close, and yet even she has to ask – did he do it? The two detectives offer contrast – the guy is sure Nick is guilty, the female detective has her doubts. The fact that Amy herself left written clues (it was an anniversary game) seems contrived.

In flashbacks and forwards, we see Amy’s side of things through diary entries. Rosamund Pike is Oscar worthy in this role. She’s so calculating and smooth. History of past boyfriends/alleged stalkers proves interesting. Maybe Nick never had a chance.

That’s all I can write. Read the book. See the movie. Find out what happens to that “Gone Girl.”