Friday 5ive- June 2, 2023

Welcome to the Friday 5ive, a weekly post featuring five things that caught my attention this week. It's June already, that is simply not possible.

1)  I finally finished a virtual bike challenge ride that I started in September- the Applachian Trail Conqueror Virtual Challenge, which is a 1968 mile journey. Luckily for me, I virtually rode the trail from my Peloton at home because if it was doing this outside on the actual trail, I would have been gone from home a very long time. 

2)  I attended a wonderful event at the Long Island Lit Fest on Wednesday featuring Adriana Trigiani in discussion with Helen Ellis about Adriana's wonderful moving epic family story The Good Left Undone at the Mahasset Cinemas. Adriana and Helen are two of my go-to authors, I always look forward to the publication of their books. The discussion was a lively and often hilarious one, covering a variety of topics including:

• The first time they met for dinner, which Helen called "one of the greatest nights in NYC" as they drank martinis and ate dinner at an outdoor restaurant or "dinner in the gutter" as Helen joked. (Anyone who has been to NYC will totally understand that.)
• Adriana's obsession with the Plexiderm commercials
• When Helen went home to Alabama from college in Colorado, she was wearing Birkenstocks, a flowing prairie skirt, and stick straight hair. Her mother greeted her with "Helen Michelle, we are in the South. We roll our hair and wear lipstick."
• Adriana's reasons why Italy is "the Florida of the United Kingdom"
• Who you will ask to do your funeral makeup when the time comes
• Finding a bird in your house is bad, seeing one looking inside at you from the outside is very bad
• If Adriana goes before her husband, she has instructed a friend to "go in and get my shoes. The new one will NOT be wearing my shoes. And you know I'll be replaced in three months." Women will swoop in on the widower.

The Good Left Undone was discussed, as was Helen's upcoming book Kiss Me in the Coral Lounge. I read an early copy and it is funny, sweet, and sassy. It's filled with essays about life with Helen and her husband during the pandemic, and the one titled "Email to the Cat Sitter" had me laughing out loud. It's maybe her best book yet, and a perfect anniversary gift for your favorite couple.

Adriana described the evening as "a little bit like back in time and you are in your aunt's kitchen and I'm your aunt." That is such an apt description, it was one of the best bookish evenings I've had in a very long time. Do yourself a favor and read The Good Left Undone (about how families are only as strong as their stories and women are the keepers of those family stories) and Kiss Me in the Coral Lounge. 

Hellen Ellis, me, Adriana Trigiani

3)  I attended the White Mass for healthcare workers and caregivers at St. Patrick's Cathedral this week. It was a lovely mass, and Cardinal Dolan gave a wonderful homily. I looked at the pew across the aisle and noticed that the nameplate honors Mary Higgins Clark, who was a lovely lady and a teriffic mystery writer. She was a big supporter of Catholic causes, including ArchCare, the organization that organized the White Mass.

4)  I went to Boston over the Memorial Day weekend to visit my son and he took me this very cool place for breakfast called Steel & Rye in Milton. As you walk inside, there is bakery case filled with scrumptious baked goods. In the back is the open kitchen, and to the right is a bar that runs nearly the length of the restaurant. They have plenty of seating inside and we ordered our breakfast and took a seat at the outdoor tables, alongside the families and people with their dogs. Once I saw the Cranberry Orange Loaf, I knew I would choose that and it was an excellent choice, although my son's Breakfast Sandwich with egg, bacon, tomato and lettuce looked very tempting. If I lived there, Steel & Rye would be a regular hang out for me. 

5) We watched the last two episodes of Succession this week, and all I can say is wow. The writers, actors, and directors knocked this one out of the park. The funeral episode was so fantastic, with an amazing performance from Kieran Culkin as youngest son Roman, and a eulogy given by Logan's brother (played so well by James Cromwell) that will go down as one of the best monologues ever. I wasn't sure the final episode could top that, but it sure did. The Roy siblings jockeying for the power seat of CEO was something Shakespearean, and that scene just outside of the boardroom was incredibly tense. And the scene in the car at the end, oh that was that crazy. All I can say is well done all, and anyone who thinks they will be in contention for Emmys against Succession, well,  I wish you luck. 

Have a safe, healthy, happy week and use sunscreen. Until next time.

Friday 5ive- May 12, 2023

Welcome to the Friday 5ive, a weekly post featuring five things that caught my attention this week. The last few days have felt like summer in NYC with temperatures in the 70s and high 80s today. At least the rain has stopped.

1)  While in Sarasota last weekend we stopped in to see the Corvette Show in St. Armand's Circle. There were Corvettes as far as the eye could see, from some very cool older models from the 1960s through the latest iteration the C8 model. 

2)  The Pulitzer Prizes were awarded this week and I was thrilled to hear that Barbara Kingsolver's novel Demon Copperhead won the Fiction prize, along with Hernan Diaz for his novel Trust. It was the first time that two novels were awarded the Pulitzer in the same year. I declared Demon Copperhead the best novel I read in 2022 back in October. It's a reimagining of Charles Dickens' David Copperfield set in Appalachia at the beginning of the opioid epidemic. I think everyone should read Demon Copperhead, it gives the reader an eye-opening look at poverty, the foster care system, and how we got where we are today. The characters are unforgettable and the writing is superb. Congratulations to Barbara Kingsolver, I have read every one of her books and this one is my favorite.

3)  I saw the powerful Tom Stoppard play Leopoldstadt on Broadway this week. Set in Vienna, it traces the life of a joyous extended Jewish family beginning in 1899 and ending in 1955. The family owns a textile factory, and as the plays opens we see them all celebrating Christmas and Hanukkah, even decorating a tree. The proud head of the family Hermann is played wonderfully by Joshua Malina (The West Wing, Scandal). We see them grow and prosper as the years go by, but we also see the undercurrent of anti-Semitism that grows stronger as we get closer to WWI. Austria fought with Germany in WWI and after they lost the war, economic times became tougher with more restrictions, and Jewish people were easy targets for people's anger. We move forward toward WWII, and the Nazi Party has made inroads into Austria, and we see the family living in poverty and fear of being forced from their home and into concentration camps. Leopoldstadt is an important play, and as the tension grew for the family, you could hear a pin drop in the theater as everyone was holding their breath when the Nazi officials came to the family home. It reminded me of seeing The Normal Heart about the AIDS crisis, the audience is just stunned into silence. The play is nominated for many Tony Awards, including Best Play and Best Featured Actor for Brandon Uranowitz, whose performance in the last scene is astonishing. (Joshua Malina is unfortunately ineligible for Tony consideration as he did not originate the role, but he is worthy of one.) If you are in NYC, go see this brilliant show before it closes in July. 

4) The HBO Max series Succession is wrapping up its last season, and wow, it is going out with a bang. The question of who will run the Wayco company is anyone's guess, with the three Roy siblings, played by Jeremy Strong, Sarah Snook and Kieran Culkin, all jockeying for the role. There was one scene this week that everyone is talking about- daughter Shiv (Sarah Snook) and her estranged husband Tom (portrayed by the fabulous Matthew MacFadyen) having the fight of all fights out on their apartment balcony while inside a pre-election night party is in full swing. That is a masterclass in acting. How will this all end??? I can't wait to see. 

5)  I read a few books this week. Kirsten Pursell's intriguing novel, Long Enough to Love You, is about Jenn, a woman facing an empty nest after her children are away in college and ready to start their lives. She gave up her career to raise them, and now that she is not needed as a sports team mom or PTA President she has to decide whether to stay with her reliable but emotionally unavailable husband or go out on her own. When she finds a diary from her younger days, she contemplates looking for a former love. This one will resonate with some women, and my full review will post on May 31st. 

I also read a book now in paperback- Amanda Eyre Ward's suspense novel The Lifeguards. Set in a wealthy Austin suburb, three teen boys who have been friends since childhood and now lifeguard together come running home after finding the body of a dead young woman. They swear they didn't kill her or even know her but as the book progresses we discover that not everyone is telling the truth, including the moms of the boys. Whitney is the leader of the pack, a wealthy mom of twins, who will do anything to protect her son. Annette is a Mexican woman (also married to a wealthy man) who is happiest working at a local daycare center and is attracted to her coworker. Liza is a single mom living on the economic edge who is hiding secrets about her identity from everyone, including her son whom she fiercely loves. Everyone here has secrets. I'm not sure if it was the right book to read on Mother's Day week, but it did keep me guessing. 

I'm wishing all the Moms out there a very Happy Mother's Day. I hope you get to stay in your pajamas all day and read a good book or two.

Friday 5ive- October 30, 2020

Welcome to the Friday 5ive, a weekly blog post about five things that caught my attention this week.

It's a big week- Halloween is tomorrow and the election is five days away. And we have a full moon, the first one on Halloween seen all across the United States since 1944. Is that a good omen?

1)  My sister-in-law has a lovely Halloween display on her new patio. It's so pretty and festive!

2) Early voting started in New York City on October 24th and where we live on the Upper East Side, the Board of Elections has one early voting precinct for 118, 000 voters, making it the most overloaded in the city. Judging by the near constant line that frequently wrapped around the block two and nearly three times, it appears that all 118,000 voters are voting early. Rain didn't stop them either; we brought our umbrellas, rain gear, listened to podcasts, and waited between 3-6 hours in line to do their civic duty. The poll workers were great- they kept everyone orderly and organized and once inside things moved quickly.

3)  I watched two interesting streaming events this week. Last Friday night, Seth Meyers hosted a Seinfeld  reunion "A Fundraiser About Something"  with Larry David, Jason Alexander, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. It was a benefit for the Texas Democratic Party, and they raised over $600,000. They reminisced about their favorite episodes, ("Soup Nazi", "The Contest" among them), and a few lucky donors won a phone call from Julia, Jason doing his infamous answering machine message on their voicemail, and they even shamed Larry David into doing a phone call for one person (just one- that's all!). 

Each year Bette Midler hosts a gala called Hulaween to benefit the New York Restoration Project, founded 25 years ago by Midler. They clean up parks, plant trees, build community gardens for city residents to grow fresh produce, and run education programs for public school children. NYRP has made such a big difference in the life of New York City residents. This year's gala was virtual, and it was a reunion of the movie "Hocus Pocus" featuring Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy, and Sarah Jessica Parker. It was a new story, filmed at 70 different locations, and filled with great guest stars like Meryl Streep, Martin Short, Glenn Close (as Cruella de Vil),  John Stamos as Satan, Jennifer Hudson singing "I'm Not Telling You" and a surprise cameo by Mariah Carey singing "All I Want For Christmas". It was so well done and entertaining, a great way to forget about the crazy world outside. 

4) We binge-watched HBO's Succession over two weeks. It's about a family, whose patriarch (brilliantly played by Brian Cox) is the head of a multimedia conglomerate (think Rupert Murdoch), and the search within his family for a successor to his empire. Jeremy Strong won an Emmy this year for his portrayal of the troubled eldest son, and Kiernan Culkin, Alan Ruck and Sarah Snook are the other siblings with their own problems. It's Shakespearean in its storytelling, filled with betrayals, plotting, and double-crosses. I highly recommend the 2020 Emmy winner for Best Drama. You can watch the first episode here.

Succession

5)  I've been in a bit of a reading slump (maybe because of Succession), so I've just started two books.  The first one is The Little Book of Life Skills by Erin Zammett Ruddy. The book teaches the reader how to send email, pump gas, create secure passwords, even the proper way to blow dry your hair, with advice from experts in the field. It's interesting, and would make a great holiday gift for people just starting out on their own. (Is that even a thing now?) 

I needed a feel-good book, so I turned to Jenny Colgan's Christmas at the Island Hotel, which continues her series of books set on the small island of Mure off the coast of Scotland.  (Christmas On the Island and Endless Beach are the first two). I love catching up with Flora and her family and somehow it seems just right to read a Christmas book now. It feels like a warm cup of cocoa on a cold night. 

I hope you all stay safe and socially distant, wash your hands, wear a mask, and this is your last chance to vote and make your voice heard, to choose the future you want for your children and grandchildren.