If Beale Street Could Talk

Papa and I went to see the film, If Beale Street Could Talk, this afternoon.  It should be required viewing for every American.  The film was beautifully done, from acting to cinematography.  The film is set in Harlem in the 1970’s.  It is about a young couple, Tish and Fonny, friends since childhood, devoted to each other and dreaming of a future together.  Their plans are derailed when Fonny is arrested for a crime he did not commit and spends several years in prison.

The film was directed by Barry Jenkins and produced by Adele Romanski, a school friend of Claire and Whitney’s from Sarasota.  Her husband did the cinematography.  They won an Oscar for Best Picture in 2017 with Moonlight.  It’s fun to see success for old friends!

Birthday Breakfast

My friend, Jennie, invited me to an 89th birthday breakfast for her mother Jovita’s friend, Belen.  The conversation ranged from Napoleon sending Maximiliano and Carlota to Mexico from Austria, to supporting an orphanage, to Belen's family heritage of Italian, French, and Spanish grandparents, and much more!  I enjoyed every moment and was honored to help Jennie serve breakfast and be part of the celebration.

Gingerbread House Demise

Claire put together gingerbread houses, made frosting and got lots of candy for Emerson, Colby, Lauren, and Taylor to decorate on December 31.  The kids and Claire had a great time!  On New Year's Day, each of the kids took their gingerbread house outside and Papa put each one on a large rock under our bird feeder.  Taylor's gingerbread house was nearest the walkway, so she helped herself to several pieces of candy over the next few days. 

We had close to an inch of rain on Saturday night, and the gingerbread houses collapsed and melted.  This morning, while eating breakfast, a pack of javalina came along to lick up what was left of the gingerbread houses.  One javalina left with a piece of candy stuck to his nose!

 

Rain!

We had rain overnight, about 9/10”, and sprinkles off and on through the day, with sun too.  Then this rainbow appeared about 4:00 this afternoon.  Beautiful!

Anniversary Hike

Papa and I celebrated our 38th anniversary on January 3 with a hike in Catalina State Park.  Lauren and Taylor led the way “up the mountain.”  It was a beautiful afternoon!

Colossal Cave Experience

We drove to Colossal Cave around 10:00 this morning, along with Audrey, Lauren and Taylor.  When we left home, the temperature was near 40 and there were clouds, but the sky was clearing to our south and west.  As we drove east, just a few miles, the sky was darker and the clouds lower.  We turned south and it started snowing.  By the time we arrived at Colossal Cave, there was close to 3-4” of snow on the trees and covering everything.  It was an incredibly beautiful sight!

                               We toured Colossal Cave, and at 71 degrees, it felt terrific!

Our drive home was surreal.  We drove north from Colossal Cave toward the Santa Catalina Mountains.  There was a visible line on the mountain, with snow on one side of the line and no snow on the other side of the line and the sun was shining.  We arrived home, with absolutely no snow.  Driving to and from Colossal Cave today was an unusual experience!

Ringing in the New Year!

Audrey and her girls are visiting from Chicago and Claire’s family joined us for a couple of days to ring in the New Year.  The kids built a fire with Papa late yesterday afternoon.  They decorated gingerbread houses last night.  There’s lots of chatter and laughter at our house.  All good!