Maria and Mike's Bridal Shower !!

I guess I have recouped enough to be able to say ....

CONGRATULATIONS !!! Mike and Maria..

Let's just say..SOMEONE has been waiting her whole life for this day...Maria giving her future Mother in law her corsage.
And getting one of her own.

OK.. I guess I should get one too.. At least you get SOMETHING for childbirth

I think Perky Peggy is just as excited as Maria...The only thing that would have made it even better...

Was if ALL of the people love could have been there... Including my mother in law..

She would have been in her glory Seeing her only granddaughter getting married !

I was thinking about her ( and my sister in law over in England )all day.

It is only afterwards looking at the pictures that I noticed this odd round bubble thingy

on my head..

It kinda makes me wonder if she wasn't there after all?

Mamma and Maria

Aunt Lina .. Maria.. Jenna and LaurelMrs G Luca Dante Aunt Nancy and Maria The place was packed so full of Purple...

It looked like the inside of a Smuckers Jelly Factory !!
Our groom arrives.. Doesn't he look pleased as punch to be there?
More Purdy Purple Flowers.... Just some of her wedding party...

The Maid of honor Mandy...

Partners in crime since about the fourth grade.. Friends for just as long..

OH... The mischief these two have created throughout the years!

and yet I can't help but love them. Jennifer ( Jen)

Maria's Future Sister in law.. Mom to adorable Teddy ( Future Nephew in law) and all round nice person. Maria is one lucky girl.
Heather... ( Aka The Pesto Princess )

Friends since the Third grade.. and Co Grey's Anatomy watcher. If anyone has Maria's back it would be this one..

Karen..

Friends and Cousins since birth.. lookin out for Maria when Marty wouldn't let her have her turn at raking leaves.. I doubt I could get any of them to rake leaves now !!

What a all round good person.

Kristen..

Long time friend from the old hood.. These two grew up together literally...

If they weren't dressing up and putting on plays.... they were marching around the neighborhood.. defacing our For Sale sign in hopes that no one would want to buy a house from

Fart Fanderson thus thwarting our move.

(It didn't work)

But they have stayed friends through out. I love this kid.. more then my luggage.

Quite the Motley Crew.

In reality.. I don't think you will ever find more loving and caring girls..

Maria has been so fortunate to have these wonderful young women in her life..

I hope and pray they will continue to share all of life's exciting moments. It makes such a difference to be able to have good girl friends on this walk of life. (I should know !)Unfortunately we were missing her Future sister in law Melissa who will be getting married in August.. to her brother

( I wish I knew how to Photo shop better.. I could plop her in there somehow !! )

We missed you Melissa

: (

Look at these two .. Caught discussing who knows what?...

Maybe they were planning how they were going to get through this mountain of gifts?

Or..

Maybe they were hatching a plan for a second piece of Cake!

A wise man once said..

The longest journey begins with the first shower gift.. or something like that..

After opening the first gift..... it was smooth sailing..The kids were sitting front of Her and took turns catching the Paper..It all ran like a well oiled machine..

Everyone had their jobs... Some People got to be creative.

What in the heck did Mrs G say to make her crack up?...

I still gotta find out.

Cousin Virginia greeting Mamma... (she seems be a regular on this blog )

Cousins.. Mary Virginia and LuciaMaria with her Godmother Aunt Ya Ya.. and

Ya Ya's mother Vanda

The other poor mother of the dynamic duo.. DebbyAunt Nancy who made our beautiful shower favors ...Her Mom.. and of course "The Boys"Maria and some of Mike's Relatives..Some of our relatives...

(OK Chris so you aren't a relative or Italian but we won't hold that against you) And...

A table with some of our friends along with Maria's Co Workers.

Over all ... I think the shower was a great success..

But of course you always seem to have that one individual who just can't control themselves.. and has a tendency to get all Wild and Crazy on you..

That's My Mamma..

Sometimes I just can't take her anywhere...

Love you Maria..and Love you Mike for making my girl so happy.

The Help... A Book review.

Apparently it is speed reading week around here...

Didn't you get the memo?

I have finished yet another book in double time. This one is my Book Club's Pick for the Month of May..

The Help

Oh...

My...

Gosh..

What a good read...

Loved Loved Loved it.. and that really is the best way isn't it...

I love to be totally sucked into a story right from the start.

( it doesn't always happen that way)

The Story takes place in Jackson Mississippi in the early 60's

The story lines varies from the perspective of two African American maids.. Abileen and Minny and a young white college graduate Skeeter.

Abileen still recovering from the recent death of her son, works for a young mother more interested in cow towing to the town gossip monger, then showing love and tending to her own children.

Minny a feisty often insolent domestic who loses many a job due to her acerbic tongue seems unbreakable to her friends and employers...but her home life and the abuse she must endure proves her life to be quite different.

Skeeter the young collage graduate who feels that the unspoken hierarchy in the south has reach a boiling point..and .comes up with an idea on how to make changes for everyone in her small town.... convincing the maids and their friends to submit stories ( Good.. Bad .. and Ugly ) about what what life is Really like working for their white mistresses...

They agree as long as everyone is under a pseudonym.

I am old enough to remember the race riots here in Detroit.. and the commonplace thinking of what the relationships of Blacks and Whites was..

There was none.

Little references to the culture of the times brought me right back..

Shake and Bake ads

Women smoking and drinking during pregnancy not even being blinked at, and yes even the idea of never eating at the same table as a black person were all common place.

The author did a fabulous job of painting each individual character... and spoke in their voices.

Once I picked this book up.. I really could not put it down. ( Again that does not happen very often)

I found myself smiling at some of the colorful antics that take place in the book..and will probably never again eat a slice of Chocolate Pie with thinking of this book.

A definite must read..

I know that a movie is in the works and in MY minds eye ....have already placed Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah in the main character roles.

Two thumbs up on this one.. I'd give it more but I only have two.

Hope you have a great weekend ... Mine will be extremely busy with Maria's Wedding shower... Update and Photos to follow.

Oh and don't forget...

RIF

READING .. is FUNdamental.

How's THAT for a 60's flashback !!

Homer and Langely... A book review

Well the Book Homer and Langley made it off the Plan to read list..A friend of mine lent me the book.. saying I would finish it in no time.. I took the book and said I would give it a try.

Hold up... I think I need to back track here a bit and give you a little background on my feeling towards books.

1. Books are Special

2. Some books are more special the others

3. Books should be treated with respect

4. I don't lend out my "Special Books" very often

5. People who don't return books ( Special or not) Irritate the living %$#@* out of me !

I remember a line in the movie Out of Africa where Robert Redford's character is asked by some other guy..why he didn't like a certain fellow.. and Redford's Character "Finch-Hatton" says.

" I lent the man a book...(pause ) and he never returned it"

His friend says.

" Surly ...You wouldn't lose a friendship over a book now would you?"

the reply..

"No.. but he did now didn't he"

*paraphrasing as best I can

I think you get the picture..

My friend had taken the book out of our library and being I have a weirdness about books in general especially borrowed books.... I knew that I wouldn't have TOO much time to read it.

I started it at 7:00 p.m. last night and finished it at 12:20 a.m. !

Yes that's how good it was...

The book is a work of historical fiction. about the Collyer Brothers and as much as I liked the book..

I found their true story even more fascinating.

Two upper middle class brothers born in one of New York's then toner area's Homer (the eldest Brother) and Langley are children of Herman Livingston Collyer a Gynecologist and Susie Gage Frost a former Opera Singer.

Their parents were first cousins and the families could trace their linage back to the days of the Mayflower.

Both men were educated at Columbia University and by all accounts were very intelligent.

After both parents died.. The brothers set up residence in the family's Harlem Brownstone. Slowly the eccentric behaviors were becoming more and more evident.

In the evening hours a paranoid Langely would rummage the city .. collecting all manor of of paraphernalia...newspapers, magazines. Baby carriages, books, musical instruments, flash lights, records, clothes, clocks, typewriters, A horse's Jaw bone, an x ray machine even a Model T car... ill rigged in an effort to somehow generate power.( Since they refused to pay utilities eventually all power and water would be turned off)

Constantly stockpiling these seemingly inconsequential and peculiar items.. so much so that at the end of their lives New York officials would have to chart away 130 tons ( yes that's right 130 TONS of garbage from their home) both brothers would be found dead in and amongst there strange collections.

Langley in the home so filled with garbage would be found days after his brother.

His bodycovered in debris and partially eaten by rats was discovered only ten feet away from his brother Homer,who died of Malnutrition, dehydration and Cardiac arrest.

Langly had been tunneling through the debris to reach his paralyzed brother with food .. It would become their tomb

These parts of their story are true in the book. As well as Homer's Blindness and Langley's devotion to his brother's care .

If their true story wasn't interesting enough.. Doctorow inter weaves an interesting network of Characters in his book humanizing the two brothers.

Yet he is never fully able to explain how or why this illness takes over first the physical space the brothers share.. and eventually their minds.

In light of my recent obsession with the show Hoarders. I have come to realize NO ONE can explain this disease /or way of life.

I found the book intriguing.. and a decent read.

Now if you will excuse me..I have to go and clean my house. PRONTO !!

A Slow News Day....

Maria is fine.... and back to workMamma is fine ... and back from the PodiatristI am fine and back from getting my eyebrows threaded..
What can I say...

It's a slow News Day..

Over and Out.