Book Club - The Help

Our book club this month was the best ever. All five members showed up and four of us read the book. I enjoyed The Help and I admire Kathryn Stockett for plowing on even after getting over 50 rejections from agents/editors. It was well written and evoked empathy and humor. I found a list of questions on Book Browse and our discussions were based on those. Our favorite character was Minny with Skeeter coming in second. We had a long discussion on whether a person's character is shaped by the times in which they live. We felt it wasn't so much the times but the people around us. Skeeter was the one who was "color blind," but she moved away from the town for a while to attend college and had a different perspective. None of us liked the idea of the "pie." My favorite laugh-out-loud page is 115 - Skeeter's worse date ever.

Fairmount Tour of Homes

The Fairmount Tour of Homes has become an annual Mother's Day event for my daughter and me and we were joined this year by Joanne from WordSplash and our friend Linda. Fairmount was developed as a middle-class residential area between 1890 and 1938. Many of the homes are Craftsman style. The Fairmount Neighborhood Association has worked tirelessly toward historic recognition and achieved their goal and were placed on the National Registry in 1990. Each year there are six or more houses that can be toured. Many have interesting stories such as the Rodriguez Home which was originally built by a prominent Fort Worth surgeon who is credited with saving the city from a meningitis epidemic in 1910. While looking at one of the houses, I came across a yellow house that I had taken a picture of last year and used to describe a home in Storms & Secrets. The story is fictional, but is based in the Fairmount area.

Four Day Weekend - Fort Worth

On Saturday we went to see Four Day Weekend an improv comedy group who play regularly in a theater off Sundance Square in Fort Worth (next to the Reata Restaurant). They have performed over 3,500 shows and more than 400,000 people have enjoyed their hilarious improv skits. Their knack for taking a simple word or sentence and turning it into a skit is amazing. I especially enjoyed their rendition of "Cops." I won't say any more about their routine but I do recommend stopping by and seeing them if you are in Fort Worth, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Storms & Secrets - Ann Summerville

Storms & Secrets e-book is available on Smashwords and for my blogging friends enter the coupon code GY39F for a discount (good until June 4).

In search of her husband, Heather reluctantly travels from London to his Texas home town where she is vocal about her dislike of snakes, spiders, and cowboys. She vows to spend no more than two weeks away from her city apartment but finds a slew of secrets swirling like a Texas tornado. While her husband keeps his emotional distance, and she tries to maintain her British reserve, Heather is nevertheless intrigued by the friendliness of Fort Worth locals. Despite developing friendships, Heather struggles to find out what illness her mother-in-law is suffering from, how a neighbor fits into her husband’s past and why a vagrant sits across the street each day staring at the house. One by one, Heather uncovers the mysteries surrounding her husband’s family. Can her marriage be saved, and will her new Texas friends entice Heather to share their love for the Lone Star State?

Shopping Trip - Poland - Five

Visibility was limited when we left Salzburg and after stopping to put chains on the wheels we continued on, but slowly. But that lasted for only a few miles because snow plows blocked the road and we were diverted to a side road where police cars with flashing lights blocked the bridge. The roads were all closed. By this time I had fallen asleep and awoke as we reached the Italian border. Relieved to see the signs for the Aviano Air Force base I unscrunched my body and looked forward to sleeping in a real bed. It was 7:30 a.m. on Monday morning and the last full nights sleep I had was on Thursday. Air Force guards boarded the bus carrying guns and ordered us to stay in our seats. The Italian drivers had obtained passes to drive on the base but they had expired the prior day and it wasn't until a Colonel arrived and informed the guards that we had been on a shopping trip that we were allowed to pass through the gates. He pointed out his wife who was fast asleep and we pulled into the parking area and unloaded the bus. By the time we arrived back at the house I could barely keep my eyes open and collapsed on the couch. Not even the slurp from the tongue of an excited English boxer could keep me awake. The next day we would be taking the train to Venice, now that's my idea of a day trip!