Fun Photo

 

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

For more fun photos, please visit Comedy Plus and Wordless Wednesday.

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1. Wordless Wednesday	2. Veronica Lee	3. My Mind's Eye
4. MCow	5. Image-in-ing	6. Keith's Ramblings
7. Senior Salon	8. messymimi's meanderings	9. A ShutterBug Explores
10. Animal Shelter Volunteer	11. Forgetfulone	12. Doglady's Den
13. Suzana	14. Faith LeeAnne	15. SuzetteB
16. Jackie's Photo Blog	17. Sognafaret	18. One Spoiled Cat
19. Gattina	20. My GBGV Life	21. Ramblin' with AM
22. Zoolatry	23. Kitties Blue	24. The LLB Life
25. Midweek News	26. 15andmeowing	27. Ana Linden
28. Dandy Duke	29. Wordless Wednesday	30. Deb Nance
31. Shiju Sugunan	32. Carmen	33. Rusty Ring
34. Paspii	35. Maschas	36. Enduring Horizon
37. Rupam	38. Moonwashed Musings	39. May
40. Jokes	41. Giraffes!	42. DonnaleeQ
43. Brian's Home ~ Forever	44. The Cat Blogosphere	45. Heidi Dare
46. Peaceful	47. CatSynth	48. Part 2 in Myrtle Beach
49. Vancouver	50. ES #78 #WW	51. Jim, Sydney, Australia
52. Curious as a Cathy	53. Peppylady (Dora)	54. Carnaval 2025
55. Roentare Photo Blog	56. His Daily Photo	57. Melbourne Street Photogra
58. Ruby Rose and the Angels

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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.

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1. Happy Tuesday	2. My Mind's Eye	3. A ShutterBug Explores
4. messymimi's meanderings	5. Forgetfulone	6. Sognafaret
7. Bhaimon Da	8. étrange fanfare	9. One Spoiled Cat
10. Zoolatry	11. Jim, Sydney, Australia	12. My GBGV Life
13. 15andmeowing	14. Toon Tuesday	15. Hey, EveryBuddy!
16. Tasty Tuesday	17. Brian's Home ~ Forever	18. Periwinkle & Stinky
19. The Cat Blogosphere	20. The LLB Life	21. Fools Rush In
22. Jenerally Informed	23. Mad Snapper	24. Heidi
25. Curious as a Cathy	26. Limerick	27. Cloudia Honolulu
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31. Melbourne Candid	32. Coco's New Do

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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!

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1. Happy Tuesday	2. My Mind's Eye	3. A ShutterBug Explores
4. messymimi's meanderings	5. Forgetfulone	6. Quiet Serenity
7. Infidel753	8. One Spoiled Cat	9. Roentare Photo Blog
10. His Daily Photo	11. Melbourne Candid	12. My GBGV Life
13. Zoolatry	14. 15andmeowing	15. Sognafaret
16. Jim, Sydney, Australia	17. Periwinkle & Stinky	18. Fools Rush In
19. Brian's Home ~ Forever	20. The Cat Blogosphere	21. Jenerally Informed
22. The LLB Life	23. Number's Game	24. Marvelous Marv
25. HeidiDare	26. Hey, Everybuddy #27	27. Tongue out Tuesday
28. Tama-Chan	29. Summer	30. Trouble Tuesday
31. Mark's Mews	32. Angel Tara	33. Lone Star Cats
34. Monday Question	35. Bingo	36. Curious as a Cathy
37. Cloudia Honolulu	38. klara, Brussels	39. Some Murals

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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.

View all my reviews

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.

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1. Wordless Wednesday	2. Milepebbles	3. OF MICE AND raMEN
4. My Mind's Eye	5. messymimi's meanderings	6. Keith's Ramblings
7. Senior Salon	8. Image-in-ing	9. MCow
10. A ShutterBug Explores	11. Ana Linden	12. Animal Shelter Vol. Life
13. Forgetfulone	14. SuzetteB	15. Jackie's Photo Blog
16. Nature's Beauty	17. Ramblin' with AM	18. Sognafaret
19. Suzana	20. Spoiled Teddy	21. Jutta K. Germany
22. MM&TW	23. Meezer's Mews	24. Deb Nance at Readerbuzz
25. My GBGV Life	26. Moonwashed Musings	27. Roentare Photo Blog
28. His Daily Photo	29. Melbourne Candid	30. Florida Furkids
31. 15andmeowing	32. The Enigmatic Frog	33. Xena, Lucy and Chia
34. Driller's Place	35. Brian's Home ~ Forever	36. The Cat Blogosphere
37. Temperament Test	38. Garden is Growing!	39. Heidi Dare
40. DonnaleeQ	41. Laughs	42. Gattina/Ingrid
43. The LLB Life	44. Midweek News	45. Kitties Blue
46. Shiju Sugunan	47. Rusty Ring	48. Mihaela Toila
49. Maschas	50. Enduring Horizon	51. CatSynth
52. Fools Rush In	53. klara/Brussels	54. Golch Central
55. Curious as a Cathy	56. ES #76 #WW	57. Hermanus South Africa
58. Summer Fun	59. Magical Mystical Mimi	60. Ruby Rose & Angels
61. Stippie & Peachy	62. On the Bay	63. Wordless Wednesday
64. Jim, Sydney, Australia	65. Roentare Photo Blog	66. His Daily Photo
67. Melbourne Candid	68. Lone Star Cats	69. Kinley Westie
70. Favorite Shot	71. Mr. Ohh!'s Sideways View	72. Feline Fiction
73. Paspii	74. Carpe Diem

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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!

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1. Happy Tuesday	2. My Mind's Eye	3. messymimi's meanderings
4. A ShutterBug Explores	5. Forgetfulone	6. Sognafaret
7. Tranquility	8. Roentare Photo Blog	9. His Daily Photo
10. Melbourne Candid	11. Teddy - One Spoiled Cat	12. My GBGV Life
13. 15andmeowing	14. Toon Tuesday	15. Mr. Ohh!'s Sideways View
16. Brian's Home ~ Forever	17. The Cat Blogosphere	18. Jim, Sydney, Australia
19. Hey, EveryBuddy!	20. Jenerally Informed	21. Barbara
22. Periwinkle & Stinky	23. The LLB Life	24. Fools Rush In
25. HeidiDare	26. Mosaic Monday	27. image-in-ing
28. A Mewsic Glow	29. Happy News!	30. Curious as a Cathy
31. klara, Brussels	32. Cloudia Honolulu	33. Blooming
34. Ruby Rose & Angels

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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.

You can visit Wordless Wednesday here and here.

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1. Wordless Wednesday	2. Marina	3. OF MICE AND raMEN
4. My Mind's Eye	5. messymimi's meanderings	6. MCow
7. Image-in-ing	8. Keith's Ramblings	9. Senior Salon
10. Laughs	11. Jackie's Photo Blog	12. Gattina
13. A ShutterBug Explores	14. Ana Linden	15. ASVL
16. Forgetfulone	17. Suzana	18. SuzetteB
19. InkTorrents	20. Sognafaret	21. Pam & Teddy
22. Stippie & Peachy	23. My GBGV Life	24. 15andmeowing
25. Frank's Monster	26. Wordless Wednesday	27. Fools Rush In
28. Deb Nance	29. Brian's Home ~ Forever	30. The Cat Blogosphere
31. Midweek News	32. Driller's Place	33. The LLB Life
34. Dandy Duke	35. Kings Creek Falls Trail	36. Jim, Sydney, Australia
37. Leap of Dave	38. Kitties Blue	39. Shiju Sugunan
40. Rusty Ring	41. Rupam	42. Mascha
43. NatureFootstep	44. Enduring Horizon	45. CatSynth
46. Dim Lamp	47. Angulate Tortoise	48. ES #75 #WW
49. Curious as a Cathy	50. Cloudia Honolulu	51. Colossal Creatures
52. Ramblin' with AM	53. Moonwashed Musings	54. hairballs & hissyfits
55. Ruby Rose & Angels	56. Roentare Photo Blog	57. His Daily Photo
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61. Kinley Westie	62. Feline Fiction

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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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Was Anne Boleyn a Sweetheart?

 

I've been getting in the mood for my visit to the UK by reading historical fiction.  I'm currently reading a book set in England during Henry VIII's reign and courtship of Anne Boleyn.  The author continually has Henry refer to Anne as "sweetheart."  First, I don't know that Henry VIII would call anyone sweetheart, and second, I didn't think the term had been coined at that time.  But, as it turns out, I was wrong. It was first used in the year 1290 in England.  Hmmm. I still think the author overused the term, and coming out of Henry's mouth just doesn't seem right.

Have a great week!  And don't forget to visit Happy Tuesday!

Sunday Synopsis - Tai Pan

Tai-Pan by James Clavell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is book number 2 in the Asian Saga. After reading and loving Shogun, I was so looking forward to this one. This is not a sequel, however. There are 5 books in the series, but all except one are actually stand-alone books.

When I first started this one, I wanted to stop. I didn't like it, but my husband encouraged me to keep going, so I did, and I ended up liking it a lot.

This book is set in the 1840's at the founding of Hong Kong. The Tai Pan, Supreme Leader of all China's tai pans, is a Scott named Dirk Struan. The book is mainly about his struggles to keep his fleet as the leading established fleet in Hong Kong and to prevent his rival from sabotaging or taking over his role. These business dealings are accompanied by themes of love, family, politics, and strife between England and China. It's another long book, although not as long as Shogun, but it is well worth the time spent reading it.0

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Let's Confuse the Young 'uns

 This list would definitely confuse some young folks.

Rotary phones

Using the phone to call "Time" and "Information."

45's (records)

8 Tracks

Pong

VHS

Getting film developed

Image Credit

Card Catalog

Encyclopedia

Sears Catalog

Bunny Ears (Antennae)

Yellow Pages

Pay phones

And bonus - paying for long distance calls

What else can you recall that would confuse the young 'uns?

Find more Thursday 13 here.

Not-so-wordless Wednesday

 

In 2018 we went to Memphis to watch the Rockets play against the Grizzlies.  We happened to be staying in the same hotel as our team.  I was able to get several pictures with players. Here is one of them.  (NaNa) Memphis would be a great city to visit even if you were going for a simple vacation.  

I hope you will visit Wordless Wednesday here and here and get them to add me to the list while I'm out of town.