Meet The Squigs!

Late last year I kept seeing ads and what-not about an app called Finch. I checked it out and decided to give it a try for 2024. First thing in the morning I open it up and get cracking on my list of must-do and really-oughta-dos. There are plenty of times that I will snooze something (like cleaning my room or decluttering my desk) or skip it entirely, but for the most part, I have been doing pretty good. Starting this month I added a handful of more to-dos such as meditate twice a day, juice, practice a bit of yoga (which I really don't like doing), plus trying to stick with intermittent fasting. With the hot months already here, I don't plan to do much outdoors, so hopefully I can focus on getting my mental and physical health just a wee bit improved. Hanging out with my über-bestie, Squiggles, and helping them explore places like The Alps, London, Maui, and now back to see the rest of Finchie Forest has been a silly distraction as well as a helpful way to get back on track. I hope...

Look how little Squiggles was!! Not much colour yet and no clothes at all, but totally ready for their first day out in Finchie Forest.

After a brief time checking out Finchie Forest, we booked a ticket with Sassafras for The Alps, where Squigs kept warm in their new Yeti outfit. Beyond adorable.

After The Alps, Squiggles was so ready to hit the beaches of Maui!

Squiggles looks the part of a true Londoner with a touch of cuteness in their snazzy jumper!

Squiggles felt bad only having explored ten percent of Finchie Forest and decided to finish what we started! 

Lunch with Aunt June

Since I wasn't able to take off work today I went to visit Aunt June on Sunday. I brought lunch and hoped to spend a bit of time there but the rain started and I was only able to stay for about ten minutes. I really would like to stop by more often. Maybe once it cools down I'll see about popping over every month or so. Brief as it was, I am glad that I got to sit there with her and imagine all the things that should have been.

Nine Perfect Strangers

I'm guessing I put this show in my Hulu watchlist because of seeing a clip on Instagram at some point. I added it to my To Watch list in my bullet journal for June and decided to give it a try this week. I wasn't expecting to get into it but wow...it was pretty damn phenomenal. At first Michael Shannon's character was irritating, with his constant upbeat-ness that seemed very fake and stiff. Then I realised that Shannon is a wonderful actor and that his wooden, phony-ness must be character driven. As usual, I was completely right. He was brilliant. As the story unfolded I was more and more impressed with each character. The standouts, aside from Melissa McCarthy (who was utterly luminous in every scene) and Michael Shannon, were Regina Hall (talk about intense!!!) and of course, Bobby Cannavale. And I'd never seen Luke Evans in anything but thought he was quietly superb. Definitely worth checking out. (Spoiler alert below!) 

(photo kidnapped from marieclairemarieclaire)

Zach Goes to Canada!

Last week Zach left with pals to spend time touring around Canada a bit. After all the silly postcards I've sent, I told him to snap a photo of a postie and text it to me. And he did!! And the postcard he chose is utterly beautiful.

BONUS: 

Zach texted me today to say they leave tomorrow morning and sent me this pic:

May 2024 Books

* Rebel Girl ¹ by Kathleen Hanna - This was a hard book to get through. I found it overwhelmingly depressing and I was so glad once she met Adam Horovitz. It felt like Ms. Hanna had one abusive relationship after another. From parents to sibling, friends, so-called and so thought-of friends, colleagues, peers, strangers, and partners. Just one asshole after another and relentless scary moments. I'm certain that so many people can read this book and feel a kinship, but geez Louise...all I felt was drained.

♥ Warren the 13th Book II: The Whispering Woods by Tania del Rio & beautifully illustrated by Will Staehle

¹ - audiobook
² - abridged version
* - liked
♥ - loved
Any unmarked titles were, in my opinion, so-so.

The Longest Day

June 6th marks the 80th anniversary of D-Day. A while back The Colonial Theatre showed a trailer for the 1962 movie The Longest Day, which gives a detailed account of what went on during the Allied invasion of Normandy. I'd never heard of, nor seen the film, but the preview alone had me welling up. I decided that I needed to see it and so today I took myself to Phoenixville. The Longest Day was sponsored by a retired Major in the US Army, Maj. Paul Hartmann, and instead of showing ads for local businesses while we wait, they showed photos that the Major took when he and his wife visited Normandy on a vacation in France. He spoke a little before the film and the waterworks kicked off as soon as he read the name of one of the soldiers that was from Lancaster, PA and died on D-Day. Major Hartmann read his name and mentioned that he was married just five days before he was killed. The Major's hands started to shake the paper he was holding and I always find it endearing when military men display compassion and vulnerability. I was crying off and on through the film, just thinking how fucking senseless and stupid war is and of how terrifying it had to be for those that pulled themselves together and fought to save lives and countries from true, true evil. When the French head honcho told his troops that they would be forced to fire on their homeland in order to drive out the enemy I was reaching for my tissues yet again. The cast was littered with famous men but Jeffrey Hunter was the standout for me. Toward the end when John Wayne came across the bodies of the paratroopers whose chutes got hung up in the town, in trees and off buildings, and were stranded and then shot to death, the look on his face was devastating. They looked like they'd been lynched and the anger in his voice as he demanded they be cut down immediately was extremely moving. It was a beautifully made film.

Clarendon Court

This was as much of the former estate of socialite Sunny von Bülow that we saw when Bella and I were in Newport. Who cares!? Just this glimpse was enough to show that it's a gorgeous home.