Welcome 2025!

 

Wishing you happiness and good health in the new year!

Happy Christmas

 

Merry Christmas Eve! I have a question for you.  Do you send out Christmas cards?  Or is it an outdated practice?  I have noticed I receive fewer and fewer cards each year, but still, I send them. I enjoy hand making cards where no two are exactly the same.  Here is one I made this year.  I wish the shading of the moon showed up in the photo.

So, do you send cards?

I stuck to bags and decorative boxes this  year!

This is so me!

Except I don't need gas.  I currently drive an EV.  But utilities and groceries would be helpful!

Have a very merry Christmas, and don't forget, some of us are trying to be jolly despite our grieving the loss of a loved one.  Keep us in your prayers.  And don't forget to visit Happy Tuesday and Random Tuesday Thoughts.

Sunday Synopsis - East of Eden

 

East of Eden by John Steinbeck
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book follows the Trask family and one member of that family in particular, Adam Trask. There is a lot of lead-up to the part of the book where Adam moves from Connecticut to the Salinas Valley in California where he can start anew after facing multiple problems in his life. He and his new wife Cathy, move to California. She gives birth to twins. The boys then become dominant characters as they are quite different from each other. Many have compared them to Cain and Abel from the Bible, but it is VERY loosely connected. In California, Adam meets and befriends the Hamilton family who also have intricate relationships that demonstrate the major themes of the book.

The main theme is good versus evil. Through characters and events Steinbeck explores how man's humanity is flawed, the power of free will over fate, and redemption. The author tackles some big existential issues. The characters are not put in a mold, save one, that is purely good or purely bad. There is only one character who fits solidly in the bad guy mold.

I don't want to spoil the book for anyone because it truly is worth a read. The ending is a little ambiguous, and the author did this purposely to show that redemption isn't always about others forgiving you, rather that you can find redemption for yourself.

I'm surprised I graduated college with a major in English and never had to read this book. It would make for a great literary analysis. I'm glad to try and catch up with reading classics that were not assigned to me. Just because. If you read it, I hope you like it.


View all my reviews

Random Tuesday

 It's been six days since we buried our mother.  I still find it hard to accept.  I'm sure that's "normal."

I typically have a lot of joy this time of year.  Christmas is such a magical season, and I love it.  We did put up a small tree, about as tall as I am.  I have purchased some gifts.  And Christmas will be fun with the young granddaughters, but this Christmas will be vastly different in my heart.

I suppose I should take comfort knowing that mom is made whole again.  No more pain.  No more tangled wires in her brain.  Her ability to speak coherently, her strength, and her memories restored (I do take comfort that she always knew who we were - we being my husband and I, my sister and her husband, and our children).  I hope she is reunited with my father who died suddenly about 20 years ago.  What I wouldn't give to see him again! I hope they are together now.

Thank you for stopping by.

Grief

 In case you stopped by for an update, a funny cartoon, or a photo, please know that I will be back next week.  I am currently planning my mom's funeral and working through our grief as a family.  Thank you for coming by!

Fun Photos

 From our recent trip to Marfa which is in Far West Texas. (Yes, there's West and Far West!)

El Presario where the cast from the Liz Taylor/Rock Hudson/James Dean movie Giant (1956) lived during filming.

Our "boutique" hotel - really a set of 10 small houses, all different.

Iconic sign and water tower

For more fun photos, visit Image-in-ing, Wordless Wednesday on Comedy Plus, and Wordless Wednesday on Blogspot.

Is it time to put the tree up?

 

Yes, Thanksgiving is in two days, but I am anxious to put my new miniature tree up this year!  Two years ago, my daughter and I went to Decorator's Warehouse in Arlington, Texas.  Huuuuge place.  Dozens of themed trees. One was a mostly pink candy-themed tree called Sweet Shoppe. I would love to have one like that, but I also love my traditional tree, so, this year I bought a 3 foot flocked tree.  I plan to decorate it (not candy themed, necessarily) with pink, light blue, and white, similar to the one I fell in love with pictured below.  I can't wait to put it up!

This will be my inspiration

So, I'm not in a hurry for Thanksgiving to be over except for that one reason.  Actually, I love Thanksgiving. It's my favorite meal of the year!  Turkey, dressing (that's what we call it), cranberry jelly, rolls, gravy.  Yum!  I make dressing with cornbread.  How do you make yours, and do you say dressing or stuffing?

Funnies for today:

Don't forget to visit Happy Tuesday and Random Tuesday Thoughts.  Have a great week and a happy Thanksgiving!

Fun Photos

 We visited the Davis Mountains and Fort Davis last week.  From the National Park Service website:  "A key post in the defense system of western Texas, Fort Davis played a major role in the history of the Southwest. From 1854 until 1891, troops stationed at the post protected emigrants, freighters, mail coaches, and travelers on the San Antonio-El Paso Road hoping to reach the gold fields of California. Today, Fort Davis is considered one of the best remaining examples of a frontier military post in the American Southwest. It is a vivid reminder of the significant role played by the military in the settlement and development of the western frontier."

Find more fun photos at Image-in-ing, Wordless Wednesday at Comedy Plus, and Wordless Wednesday.

Random Tuesday Funnies

 If you know me very well, you know I like a lot of different sports.  My first love was the Rockets. Second the Astros.  Now, I'm also liking the Texans.

But my point today is they are changing the name of our baseball field from MinuteMaid Park to Daikin Park, (pronounced Die kin with a long I and silent a) and I'm none too happy about it.  Daikin Industries is a global HVAC conglomerate based in Japan and operating in over 100 places worldwide.  But I'm going to miss calling the field the Juice Box!  And MinuteMaid (owned by Coca-Cola) has their headquarters right outside Houston.  I just learned that Daikin operates a huge facility just outside Houston as well.  I guess I'll get used to it!  As long as my team stays basically intact.

Moving on...

Have a great week!  Don't forget to visit Happy Tuesday and Random Tuesday Thoughts.

Sunday Synopsis

Thanksgiving by Janet Evanovich
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I'm normally a huge fan of Janet Evanovich. I thought I would get in the mood by reading this book, what with Thanksgiving just around the corner. And I gave it the good ole college try.

The main character is Megan who works as an actress in historical reenactments. One day, a rabbit is chewing on her skirt. She finds the owner and returns the rabbit. The owner is the new doctor in town, and Megan quickly falls in love with him, and I do mean quickly. But she see-saws back in forth. She doesn't like him. She loves him. She doesn't like him, and so forth. I got so tired of it I had to abandon this book.

I expected it would be a love story, and I expected it to be humorous, knowing Evanovich, but after reading about a third of the book, nothing was funny, and although I expect to suspend reality when I read, this was too far-fetched. So, I abandoned it.

If you've read it, and you liked it, let me know what I missed.

View all my reviews

Fun Photos

 More from Bayou Bend.

Don't forget to visit Wordless Wednesday at Comedy Plus and  Wordless Wednesday.

Random Happy Election Tuesday

 Is anyone else soooo looking forward to this election being over?  It will be nice not to have all the political ads on TV.  I don't watch live TV that much, but I do watch the local and national news.  If we could also get rid of medication ads, I'd be even happier!

So moving right along...

This is so true!

Hahaha!

Have a great week! Don't forget to visit my friends at Happy Tuesday and Random Tuesday Thoughts.

Sunday Synopsis - No Regrets

No Regrets and Other True Cases by Ann Rule
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ann Rule is the queen of true crime. She's an expert at crafting a narrative that shows multiple points of view, including that of the victim, detectives, prosecutors, and families. Her stories read like fiction although they are true, and capture the reader's attention with harrowing details and facts.

The main story in this collection is The Sea Captain. It is about ship pilot Rolf Neslund who disappeared at age 80. Was it a suicide? He had been responsible for a freighter crashing into the West Seattle Bridge costing millions of dollars. Did he simply go back to live with relatives in Norway? Or did he simply disappear? His financially controlling wife Ruth is also at the center of the mystery that occurred on Lopez Island.

There are six other shorter tales, equally as riveting as the main story. But remember, these aren't just stories. They are actual crimes, and no one else could do them as much literary justice as Rule.

View all my reviews

Random Tuesday Nonsense

 

My husband and I have been watching a lot of westerns lately since he is reading the Lonesome Dove series.  Lonesome Dove was good, but the best one we've seen recently is 1883.  It's the pre-prequel to Yellowstone, which we have not watched.  It's only 10 episodes, but it is soooo good. It's got Sam Elliott, Tim McGraw, and Faith Hill in it.  Give it a look!

Halloween is almost here.  I feel like October has flown by!  Will you be giving out candy this year?  We have decided not to.  Besides, we are having dinner that night with my husband's brothers and their wives.  We haven't seen them in a couple of months, so it will be nice.

My neighborhood has some really scary decorations this year like 20 feet tall walking dead and skeletons.  I prefer the cute Halloween decor over the scary.  Which do you prefer?

Moving right along...

 

But I would never do that!

Have a great week!  And visit my friends at Happy Tuesday and Random Tuesday Thoughts.