The Great Gatsby

As an English major I read and studied the novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald a long time ago, in college.  I really didn't get it.  Saying that makes me realize once again that education is often wasted on the young.  How do we relate when we have had no real life experiences ourselves, and our background knowledge of history and social change in limited by our at most twenty years of life?

I know this is considered one of the great American novels, but like so many other great works of fiction, the characters seemed so consumed by their fatal flaws as to be unlikable, and the outcomes were always depressing.

I saw the 1974 version of the movie, with Robert Redford and Mia Farrow and was left with much the same feeling as the novel:  desperate people doing desperate things to the point of destruction. 

Forgive me, but I like good story telling.  And contrary to the opinion of many movie critics, I think this movie version is just that - good story telling.   In text it was true to the novel, but this is big screen movie making in 2013 technological style.  It is beautiful!  The music is from mixed eras.  The costuming is wonderful.  The big screen sets are computer generated and are gorgeous, if fantastical.   And the story line is so clear that I finally understand fully what the book is about.  

Sure, it may be simplified, lacking in deeper emotion, a travesty to literature snobs, but these characters are understood, and sometimes even likable!

What can I say?  I went to the theater, paid my money, and was well entertained for two hours.  That's all I ask.

What's Up?

When one has been a frequent publisher of blog posts, and then starts leaving big gaps between posts, it can cause concern.  So it is that at least one of my "people", as I refer to you, my loyal readers, felt the need to reach out with a personal email, checking up to see if I was OK.

I am perfectly OK, if perhaps a little unsettled.  But also, I've been busy.

Monday and Tuesday we went to Whidbey Island.

On Wednesday Irene was "sick" and spent the day with us.  Turns out that upset tummy didn't last very long, and we had fun setting up her garden shop.  

On Thursday Tom traveled with my brother-in-law to Rockaway Beach to meet with contractors on that ongoing remodel project.  He returned in time for dinner Friday evening.  During that time I went shopping: Petsmart, JoAnn's, Costco, Safeway; made curtains for Irene's flower-shop-in-the-shed, exercised, and started on a sewing project I have been putting off.

                                                       Garden shop curtains.

                     Sewing project.  Someday it might be a quilted jacket.

Saturday Morning we had a garden tour of a local botanical garden with our garden club.

Saturday evening we went to a Sounders soccer match at the stadium that was amazing, a 4-2 win over the MLS leading team.

Sunday morning we recovered, I went for a four mile walk, then greeted Corey and the kids, who had been camping near Sequim, fed them lunch, and took Corey to the airport to go back to Colorado.  Shortly after that Jill arrived from her overnight Mountaineers class, which she was the leader of.  The Gibsons departed, leaving us time to get to some Open Gardens near Bothel and Monroe, and then dinner out.

That last place was a groomed, edited, thirty year project of a walk in the woods!  Wow!

Where was I?  Monday?  Oh, we cleaned house and then worked in the yard, dragging ourselves in for dinner and to plop down in front of the TV.  

Today we bought a shed for Jill, which we will now have to find time to erect, and I worked on my sewing and went for a walk, where I got rained on.  But it was just a short shower, and I got dried off when the sun came back out again.  

So all is well here.  

We've been following the political "scandals", watching and waiting for the Republicans to burn themselves out again. And of course we've followed the devastation in Moore, OK, relieved to hear this morning that the death toll had actually been lowered.  We're heard it before, but I'll say it again, "Thank a teacher today".  

More Whidbey Photos

It's not hard to take 250 photos while having fun on Whidbey Island on a sunny spring day.  

On Tuesday afternoon, after we left Langley, we stopped at the Bayview Farm and Garden Center, because it was time for the golden shower of blooms.  You'll see.

This nursery is a must stop on most of our trips to Whidbey Island.  The displays are beautiful, the plants are choice, and the people are friendly.

And in May there is the Laburnum Tunnel!

 Wow!

We got out of there with only three plants, two for the cabin garden and one for home.

And then I still had time to lounge with some coffee and chocolate at the cabin, on the deck overlooking the garden.

And then I went for a walk on the beach and on the lagoon dike trail.

 The wild roses on the dike are just starting to bloom.

 Scotch bloom is an invasive non-native shrub that gives many people allergy attacks, but it sure is pretty. And the rare red/yellow ones are even more striking.

 There are always bunnies on the trail.

 This madrona has lived on the dike for a long time, weathering storms and salt water, and many carvers who have left their marks.

Happy trails to you, until we meet again.

Whidbey Island Play Time

We were finished with our cabin chores (see previous post) by about 11:00 Tuesday morning.  The weather was good, sunny and mild, as we headed to Langley to tour the town.

First stop, just outside of town, was the Chocolate Flower Farm.

 Owner/operator, gardener, candle maker, mail order clerk and one woman human dynamo, Marie Lincoln specializes in chocolate and chartreuse colored flowers and plants, as well as chocolate candles, chocolate raspberry jam, and other goodies.  Find her at chocolateflowerfarm.com.

On to Langley.  Strolling through this lovely village by the Sound is like going on another garden tour.  I go just for the plantings and the charm of the place.

 The courtyard of The Inn at Langley.

 The historic Dog House is in transition, but hopefully it will soon rise again.  Next door is Marie's Lincoln's shop, The Garden Shed, where she sells her wares retail.  It's always a fun stop.

 We almost always make a coffee stop here at the Useless Bay Coffee Company, but this time were were headed for lunch nearby at the Braeburn.

 I had the grilled Brie, bacon and apple sandwich.  Delicious!

It's now 2:00, with lots of afternoon left.  We filled it well, as you'll see in the next post.