Fun Photos

 

Sunset on the Mississippi River in New Orleans

Beignets from Cafe Du Monde

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Random Happy Tuesday

 

Hello!  Hello!  It's been a while!  It's good to be back.  

Does anyone have experience with neuropathy in the foot or leg? I am in PT and wearing a brace, and it seems to be getting better, but I don't know if I will always have issues or if it will go away.  It was made worse by a medication I'm taking as well as high levels of B6 plasma.  I had no idea an excess of vitamins could be that "bad" for my health.  I'd love to hear from anyone with experience in dealing with peripheral neuropathy, and anyone else that just wants to say hi, of course!

Moving on...  (I have noticed that there is an ad that will appear here.  I have looked at it three times, and it shows a different ad each time, but they are all... "questionable" and I apologize.  I would love to know how to remove the ads within the post. Advice?  ETA I think I fixed it.  Please let me know if you are still seeing ads within my posts.)

The kitty in the basket reminds me so much of my Lacy.  I miss her!

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Fun Photos

These photos were taken in Rockport, Texas in 2018. I love interesting and beautiful trees!

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Fun Photo

 

La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona has a rich and fascinating history.  Read about it here.

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Random Tuesday Thoughts

 I hope everyone had a good Memorial Day and took some time to thanks those that try to keep our country safe.  I have a son-in-law who is in the Air Force Reserves.  He just returned from a mission to ... I can't say where.  He was part of the team that got the cargo and servicemen ready to go... somewhere else I can't say.  He may be the one deployed next time.  He reports for duty one weekend a month, every month, and at least one mission, could also be two, that each take 2-4 weeks.  He is a Sergeant. My dad was in the air force.  My mom's dad was also in the air force.

I want to thank any and all of you who are service men and women as well.  Pop in the comments and tell me what branch you were in.

Moving right along.

Get it?

Hilarious!

Last, but not least...

Have a great week and don't forget to visit Happy Tuesday and Stacy Uncorked.

Sunday Synopsis

The Lady in the Tower by Jean Plaidy
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Many of us who read historical fiction based on the British Royal Family likely already know what happened to the Lady in the Tower (Anne Boleyn), but this book attempts to take us through events from Anne's perspective. I don't think the characters are as well developed as those in Philippa Gregory's books. Plaidy's books tend to focus on a romanticized view of historical European royalty.

This book covers a great deal of information about Anne's experience at the French Court. It also shows how her sister's affair with King Henry VIII did the family no good, and in fact, made them appear lower. Anne is set to change that when Henry shows interest. She keeps him waiting until either a divorce or annulment comes through from the Pope. When it doesn't, Henry breaks from the church in his quest to sire a male heir.

I won't give away too many more details in case you want to read the book, but this one follows Anne all the way to the tower and to the green where she loses her life.

Something that annoyed me about this book was her continually using the words "cruel mouth" to refer to Henry. And she speculated that either he could not have children or could not have male children. There is no reason and no way for her to have known or thought either of those two things at that time. Medicine was not a science like it is now. And she frequently described herself as "laughing wildly" which I also doubt happened. I think the author could have made a better attempt to remain historically accurate while still injecting some fictional elements or even some humor into the storyline.

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Painting Fun!

 

This past weekend, my daughter and I went to paint ceramics at a place called Color Me Mine.

  The first thing you do is choose a piece that you want to paint such as a figurine, bowl, plate, or piggy bank.  Then you choose the colors you want, then you paint!  The colors don't show on the ceramic the way they will look once they are glazed.

When you are finished, they hold on to your piece and fire it in the kiln after which you go and pick up your item.  It was a little nerve-wracking trying to get it just right, but overall, it was great fun.  What are you doing for fun lately?

Don't forget to visit Happy Tuesday and Random Tuesday Thoughts, and have a great week!

Sunday Synopsis

The Slippery Slope by Lemony Snicket
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is the tenth book in A Series of Unfortunate Events. Consider dealing with this... snow gnats, an organized group of young people, a dastardly man with an evil plan, and a secret headquarters. This follows the Baudelaire children in their quest to rid themselves of the maniac who is following them around and trying to steal their fortune. In this installment, they get one step closer, and they learn some information about the two triplets who are also on the run.

Lemony Snicket has a way of including, not traditional definitions of words the reader may not no, but clever descriptions and the consequences of knowing those words. There is just enough "suspended belief" to make it interesting without alienating the reader. The author is clever and continues to add details to the mystery as it goes along. This is a good series, especially for young adult readers and middle schoolers.

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A little of our London trip

 Visited with the cousins in England. It was amazing!  Here are a few (unedited) highlights.

Kensington Palace Garden

The Shard

The Globe Theater with a modern-day performance of MacBeth

Tower Bridge

We had a great time and would love to go back!

See more fun photos here and here.

I'm bored

 No, this is not the lament of a school-age child after one week's worth of summer, though it could be!  It's me!  I'm bored!  What do you do when you're bored?  There is only so much TV that can be watched and Internet that can be surfed.

I've done all the laundry.  The house is (fairly) clean. Dinner tonight is easy to warm up.    I've made a thank you card, and I did some other crafting. I've run errands.  I've watched the shows I want to watch.  This is what happens when you wake up too early (Thanks to the neighbors for chopping down a giant tree that was providing wonderful shade in my bedroom).  Now what?

I wonder what Chat GPT will say.

It said I could watch a movie (nope), go for a walk (not feeling it), rearrange a room (not gonna happen), or scroll Google Earth.  Chat GPT clearly does not know me!  One of its seriously lame suggestions was to go on Youtube and learn a new skill such as, get this, origami, speedcubing, or lockpicking.  Yes, it said that!  I guess I will look up what speedcubing is and get back to you.  But for now...

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

Fun Photos!

One of my favorite outings in London was visiting the Tower of London because I read so much historical fiction about England's kings and queens and royal families, and the tower almost always plays a role in these stories.

Traitor's Gate

 

Window Seat in one of the chambers.

The ravens are the guardians of the tower.  But they will bite!  Both my husband and I got bitten.
Mine was on top of my foot (thanks for my shoe protecting me)
and his was on his shin (thankfully he had on jeans).

 They don't allow you to take photos of the Crown Jewels, or else you'd see some of those beauties here.

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Sunday Synopsis - The Queen's Fool

The Queen's Fool by Philippa Gregory


Philippa Gregory is the queen of English historical fiction. The compelling main character of The Queen's Fool is Hannah Verde, aka Hannah Green, who has fled the inquisition in Spain and arrived in England with her book-maker father. The book follows her life from her quiet life with her father to being begged for a fool. Robert Dudley, King Edward's protector and adviser, discovers Hannah and her "sight," the ability to see into the future.

She is sent to spy on Catholic Queen Mary who has a bitter rivalry with her Protestant half sister Elizabeth. Hannah finds herself amid a court of lies, deception, and religious persecution. In the process, she develops a loving bond with Mary who ends up in disgrace due to not one, but two hysterical pregnancies and numerous burnings and beheadings.

Hannah is also betrothed to Daniel, another who fled the religious persecution in Spain and must hide his true faith in England. Daniel plans his escape, along with his family and Hannah's father, but Hannah must stay at court until she is released from service. She will eventually join Daniel and her father in Calais, but even then, there is fear and betrayal. When Calais falls to the French, she will find herself back in England and still in service to Robert Dudley.

This is a fast-paced enjoyable read full of intrigue, rivalries, deception, and even war. It will bring about a new perspective on both Queen Mary and Princess Elizabeth, the offspring of Henry VIII. No one can write historical fiction that is both fascinating and realistic quite like Gregory. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

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