An Infinite Love Story ~ by Chanel Cleeton

It's 1968 and astronaut Joe Mitchell has finally reached his dream of space exploration. He is commanding the first Mission to actually fly around the moon. Most of America is excited and waiting in anticipation for the next step in Kennedy's challenge to put a man on the moon before the decade is done.  But not all of America is enthusiastic and thinks just maybe the money would be better spent elsewhere, his wife, Vivian, being one of them.  But she's always been supportive of his dreams and buried those thoughts deep inside once she married Joe.  She, like the other astronaut wives, has sacrificed a lot in order to present the world with the picture perfect image NASA expected of them.   When NASA loses communication with Joe's spaceship, Vivian's worst fears have confronted her head on and now the eyes of the nation and the world are upon this very private woman.  As days turn into weeks Vivian recalls her and Joe's love story and in her grief she starts to notice what she feels is Joe trying to possibly communicate with her that he is still alive.  When the investigation tries to write it off as operator error, Vivian becomes determined to clear her husband's reputation.  With every "message" she seems to be getting from Joe, Viv wonders if Joe's love of space, the unknown and time travel fiction books actually hold more truth than anyone knows or understands.  

I've always been fascinated with the moon missions and the people who made that whole era happen, so when I saw this book come out, I immediately got a hold of it.  I loved it.  It's about the challenge, the astronaut mindset, the wives who gave up so much and held down the fort while their husbands were gone for long periods but mostly it is a love story between a man and a woman, opposite in their dreams and goals, but who found an unbreakable love and connection in their chaotic world, navigating the huge demands of his military and astronaut career. In the three space programs that got man on the moon, of the married astonauts almost 52% of the marrages ended in divorce when at the time the national average was .0029%.  While the story, main chacters and mission were fictional the author did a great job of conveying the spirit of what it was like to be in the throes of the space race of the 50's and '60's.  A lot of books she used for research are books I have actually read.   At the same time, she created a beautiful love story.  Throw in just a touch of the speculative and I was totally invested through the whole book.

I rated this a 10/10

Friday's Fave Five #896

Hi everyone and welcome to Friday's Fave Five. Due to a computer issue I was not able to do up a post last night.  Here's the linky for your posts and I will join in as soon as soon as I can.  

Well, finally able to get on here and do my FFF. A day late but late is better than never.  Thanks for doing up your posts and linking in spite of me being missing in action. I apologize for not being able to get on and comment on your posts last week.  Hopefully all is sorted with the computer now and its onwards and upwards.

My favorite blessings this week were simple but no less bkessings in my life.

~ a hot mug of coffee ~ poured and waiting for me each and every morning.  Hubby knows what time my alarm goes off and not only has a fresh pot of coffee brewed for me but he already has my first cup poured and waiting just the way I like it when I stumble bleary eyed into the kitchen.  I never take this for granted and though it may seem like a small thing, it is huge for this "not an early morning" girl.

~ fresh haircut ~ my standing appointment went a week later than usual so I was more than ready for a cut this week.  I went a bit shorter due to some difficulties Im experiencing with one of my hands right now and my stylist did a great job with listening to what I was finding hard to do and giving me a cut that she knows I can work with and suggested a syling tool that simplified my routine.  Very grateful for her and her years of styling my hair.

~ thermal curling brush ~  this styling tool has made things so much easier for me right now.  I didn't even know this was a thing.  It's not a blow drier brush but a hot iron brush.  Loving the ease this has brought to my morning routine.  (This particular one is the salon grade one my stylist recommended,  There are less expensive ones around but I just went with her recommendation).

 

~ butterflies ~ This little beauty showed up in the yard this week.  I've never seen one like it in my yard so it was very exciting for both the kids and I to watch him for a bit before he flew off.

~ lunar eclipse ~  the other night we had a clear view of the sturgeon moon partial eclipse where it eclipsed 93-96%.  It was cool to watch a red moon being covered by the earth's shadow.  Unfortunately I couldn't get a decent picture to save my life but there are some great ones out there if you missed it and want to look them up.  Space is so fascinating and coincidentally I just finished a great fiction book about the 60's challenge to land on the moon.  Book review to come.

 

Friday's Fave Five #895

Welcome to Fridays's Fave Five.  We're looking for blessings in our lives in a purposeful way.  By taking some moments to take note of those things that bring joy or lift us up we are cultivating a grateful attitude and training our hearts to look for the hand of God in our everyday routines.  Feel free to join us if you are new.  The more the merrier.  Guidelines are linked in the sidebar. 

~ visit from our daughter ~ our oldest daughter popped by for a couple days visit on her way home from spending a few days camping with her siblings in the mountains.  We were very happy to see her as we had to cancel our roadtrip to go and see her at the beginning of August because my knee wasn't up for the 7 hour car ride one way.  We spent a couple of relaxing evenings with her just catching up as we havent seen her since Christmas. So thankful tat she went out of her way to come see us.

~ the Chosen in the Wild ~  a fun limited series on Pr'me that Hubby and I enjoyed watching together.  Bear Grylls takes some of the actors from The Chosen and takes them out in the wild.  And while they're challenged with physical outdoorsy stuff in ways that only spending time with Bear will lead to, Bear casually interviews them.  It was interesting getting to know their real life stories a bit and hearing how being a part of the cast of Chosen, and specifically playing their characters, has changed them.  Have to admit I teared up a few times and we had some good laughs in parts too.

~ Bday celebration ~ Friday night we celebrated our brother in law's birthday by taking him and Hubby's sis out for dinner to a restaurant of his choosing.  It's our tradition with each of our birthdays,  It guarentees we see each other at least 4 times a year.  As our families have grown and expanded we find this a nice way of staying in touch through the busyness of life.

~hydrangeas ~  this is the third summer with the hydrangea bushes I planted in the front flower bed and they are coming along nicely,  They are pink Incrediballs,  While not quite at that maturity yet they will get huge ball sized blooms,  Now Im glad they are surviving our winters and seem to be thriving.

~ a helping hand ~After a full 9 1/2 hour days work I made a grocery run because I hadn't got around to it on the weekend.  Because I not only shop for our groceries but also the dayhome's it's a big job and usually takes up to a couple of hours .  Between my knee and my hand/arm issues, the task is made more difficult  and by the time I was pushing the cart to the car, I was exhausted.  As I opened the trunk of my car a lovely young lady came out of nowhere and asked if she could load the bags for me,  I could have cried I was so grateful.  An angel sent from heaven to help me out.  

What were your fave blessings this week?

Witness Protection by Robert Whitlow ~ Book Review

Kelli Quinn is moving to small town Brunswick with her two young children hoping for a fresh start. As a newly single mom, her high powered job as a litigator for a large Atlanta law firm is no longer doable in her new family situation.  She's hoping the slower life moving in with her aunt Carly and more regular hours working at her best friend's small law firm will help the family heal from the painful split from her former husand and children's father.  A faith filled woman, Carly is hoping it will rub off on her neie and family but 

Kelli has always been a bit reluctant in matters of faith.

Jon Tremaine and his wife Sarah also had a fresh start in Brunswick. After testifying for the feds against a drug cartel that he was once involved with, he and Sarah have built a happy life under the Federal Witness Protection Program and are expecting their first child.  When one of his Mexican background employees from the tree farm he manages is wrongfully accused of drug smuggling, Jon hires the new lawyer in town to defend him.  Kelli, however, is not very on board at first but then decides to take on the case at the encouragement of her boss/friend.  But as Jon begins inserting himself more and more into the case, Kelli is wondering how exactly Jon happens to know so much about cartels and how feds work in drug smuggling cases.

I like a good legal thriller once in a while.  I have read several books by this author before and have enjoyed the faith aspect he includes.  Unfortunately, this one will not be a favorite.  The story premise is interesting but something didn't rise to the occasion in the execution of it for me. It just did not capture me like I thought it would.  Some of the conversations felt choppy and ended suddenly giving me a "fade to black" kind of feel.  Some of the characters never felt fully fleshed out to me,  The build up to what should have been the tense and suspenseful parts of the story just didn't accomplish the goal .  I did like the moral dilemma Jon & Sarah faced in wrestling with the balance of helping his employee while not revealing his own secrets and how far to take it so that he, himself, remained safe.  That part made the story for me.  While this particular novel didn't make it to the level of a great read for me I will read more from this author.

I gave this 6.5/10

Friday's Fave Five #894

Welcome back to Friday's Fave Five.  We are keeping ourselves on track to developing grateful hearts by taking Fridays as our time to list five of our favorite blessings from the last week.  Doing so places our minds and hearts on noticing God's blessings. In good times and in hard times.  Its where we choose to put our focus and remember to thank our good God who brings them into our life.  Thank you for joining in with me.

~ finally a day in my happy place ~  We finally were able to get away for a day to one of my favorite places, Waterton Lakes.  Even though even the easy hikes were not in the cards for me this year, it was a glorious day spent in the mountains,  We went to our fave place for lunch, Strolled along the shore of the lake for a bit, then just took out lawn chairs and picnic blanket to the lake shorer.  I read my book and watched the boats go by, Hubby had a snooze and Tux tried not to go nuts with all the other dogs going by.  Though we had a yellow alert for smoke from Northwest U.S. and British Columbia, and the moutain range was mostly obscured, down in the village it wasn't too bad.  I was so happy to be able to make at least one trip this year!  

 

~Mama's new ride ~  Since I fell off my mountain bike twice on Father's Day which threw me into the whole flare up of my knee and tore my miniscus, I'll not lie, I was scared to get back on the bike.  And with my arm issue, with the mountain bike style of leaning over the handlebars with weight tranferring into my forearms, wrist and hand was getting tougher,  But I didn't want to give up one of my favorie activities!  So we made a spur of the moment trip to the bike shop just to check out my options.  And there sitting on the very end of a row of cruiser bikes was this beauty just waiting for me,  It has a low step thru do I don't have to swing my leg over a bar or bend my knee to a painful point to get it over a bar,  The step down from a sitting position is at a safer height,  the handlebars sit higher so weight is not on my hands and it was the only cruiser bike with a tiltable handlebar so its totally customizable.  In one of my favorite colors and, be still my heart, it has a book clip on the back so if I come across a Little Free Library I have somewhere to put a book!  And you know what was crazy?  It was the only one like it there.  There was lots of all the other kinds but only one like this with everything I wanted.  ,  It was like God  put it together just for me,  And then said "Oh and here's $250 off the price".   Whaaaat?  I would have been nuts to walk away without it.  So now I have a new ride and I'm so thankful.  

~ new fruit ~  Ran into the grocery store to get a few things and saw this new variety of plum I'd never heard of beforem  so thought I'd give it a try.  Tiger's Blood is now my favorite plum.  So sweet and lots of flavor,  Yes it really is that dark crimson inside.  Word of advise...don't drip any of the juice on your clothing,  Just saying.  I need to go back for more before the season is done!  

~ round 2 of Taber corn ~  this time Peaches & Ceam was at the stands.  Though I like the Honeycomb variety from last week better, this is mighty tasty also. 

~ non-medicinal help ~ I have found this product, my massage therapist recommended to me, very helpful with aches and pains,  Right now, I spray it on right before bed or when the knees are aching anytime.  Its also great on aching muscles.    Usually the professional grade is only avaiable thru therapists of various kinds but I found it on Amaz*n for a fair price.  Thankful there are products out there to help keep me from reaching for medications too regularly.

What were your fave blessings this week?

And bonus blessing is that being a person of faith I believe Jesus is there to help me carry those heavy things and gives me strength and hope to get through the valleys of life.  And He'll do the same for you!  We just have to learn to hand Him those weights and then the trick is not to grab it back.

Friday's Fave Five #893

Welcome Friday!  Our time to pause and reflect and be grateful for the blessings and good things from our last week.  Please join us in sharing your 5 favorites!  I've had an exhausting week, it being the first week back after time off, so FFF is a good discipline otherwise the good stuff might get buried in the tiredness.  Thanks for joining in with sharing 5 of your favorite blessings of thepast week.

~ Taber corn ~    

It's that time!!   The first couple of weeks of August brings the early varieties of Taber corn to the street stands.  Peaches and Cream first and then Honeycomb.  We bought a dozen honeycomb and they are disappearing fast.  So delicious hot with butter and salt, Taber corn is so good we aslo eat it cold straight out of the fridge with nothing on it.  Cooked of course.  I love August simply for the fact it brings Taber corn fresh from the fields.  

~ new glasses ~   

This year was time for an eye check up and seeing my old frames were about 6 years old   I went for new frames.  The local optician I have dealt with for years retired and closed his store so I was leary of getting new lenses in old frames as no one will guarantee them anymore if you did not purchase with them and some places even charge an extra fee.  I wanted something different than my last pair but nothing too crazy.  Found these frames at C*stco and thought they fit what I was looking for nicely.  I hate glasses shopping, it takes me forever to choose but  C*stco was only the second place I looked and I found several frames I liked within a relatively short period of time and had these picked quickly.  They were similar to another pair I found at my eye doc's store but almost less than half the price!  I also found a pair for prescription sunglasses very quickly.  So glad it didnt take me forever and a day like it usually does.  

~ short work week ~

very thankful it was a short work week this week.  Getting back into the routine of gettin up early is always tough for me.  That one less day really helps.

~ adirondack chair ~  

my very thoughtful hubby gifted me with a new foldable, adirondack chair after the cheaper one I had broke on me.  So thankful for his thoughtfulness as I use it alot during the times I'm outside with the kids.  This one is much sturdier and it folds we can store it better for the winter.

~ good day with the knee ~

after a not so good day with both knees on Wednesday, I am very thankful for a really good day yesterday.  I don't know why some days are better than others but it's a blessing that the better ones are getting more prevelant than the painful ones.  I'm rarely taking a pain med at this time so that is something to be very grateful for.  

What were your favorite 5 blessings of the week?

A Winter in New York by Jose Silver ~ Book Review

Iris, a chef,  left her life in London due to a toxic relationship and is starting over in New York City, a place nostalgic to her because of all the movies she used to watch with her Mom that had New York as a back drop.  But it's not turning out quite like she had thought.  When out with her best friend, Bobby, at a street fair in Little Italy, she is struck by a door of a little family run gelato shop.  She has seen that door before in one of her Mom's photos.  Intrigued, she returns the next day.  She meets Gio, who she finds out is the nephew of the owner and he shares with her that the shop is about to close.  They have only ever served one flavor of gelato, vanilla, but it has made them famous.  And only his uncle knows the recipe and he's had a stroke and can't remember it.  They are down to their last batch.  When he gives Iris a sample she instantly realizes that it is the exact same gelato that her Mom would make for them when they watched their movies together and Iris, herself, has the recipe!  But what is her Mother's ties to this family and how can she hand over the the recipe that holds such meaning between her Mother and herself?  Iris offers her chef's knowledge to help re-create the recipe hoping that with some guidance Gio's family stumbles upon it themselves or somehow his uncle remembers.  But spending so much time with Gio and his family is working it's way into her heart and now all her secrets and lies are threatening to ruin everything.

This was an easy, escapist kind of read.  The setting was nice, I loved the friendship between Iris and Bobby, the mystery of the gelato recipe and the story in general I enjoyed though it was at times a bit unbelievable.  But if I suspended the unbelief it was a read I liked.  There was lots of lies that I don't know had to go that far but it kind of drove the story onward.  For a rom-com it's not too spicy, I just skipped through the couple of parts where it showed up.  

I rated it an 8.5/10