Hello, friends, and Happy Monday! The redbud trees are blooming like crazy here! So pretty.
Last week I was away from home a lot with the kids out of school on spring break. Friday, I took all of them to see the Titanic Exhibition in Dallas and it was fascinating! All the kiddos loved it, even the youngest one. They give you a boarding pass with a real passenger’s name on it when you enter the exhibit. Then at the end, there is a big wall with all the names on it and you get to see if you were a survivor or if you perished. All of us survived except for my youngest grandson. This is a photo of all of us.
It really was fascinating. If you ever get a chance to see it, I highly recommend it.
Then on Saturday, my oldest daughter picked me up and we drove to Jacksonville, Texas to my nephew’s house for a gathering. He is the eldest son of my sister who passed away in 2023. There was a dual purpose for the gathering. My nephew had all of his mother’s photos and wanted us to go through them and take what we wanted to keep. The other purpose was a going-away party for his brother who is moving to Oregon.
For me, it was bittersweet. Going through all the photos was a walk down memory lane and certainly brought emotions to the surface. Many of the pictures were ones I’d never seen of our mom and dad in their early years together. There aren’t many of them around as they were a young married couple in the Great Depression and pictures were certainly a luxury they couldn’t afford. But also, it gave me an opportunity to spend time with my only brother. At this point, out of us five siblings, only three are left and our brother is the oldest at 84. So any time spent with him is precious to me. He is truly one of the nicest humans I know on the planet. Here is a photos of us. The wind was definitely blowing. But it was so good to see everyone. Family is everything to me.
Someone said I stay busy and I’d say that’s an understatement, but I can’t imagine being any other way.
I had an appointment with the surgeon on Wednesday and I really liked her. She is a no-nonsense kInd of lady, but was gracious and answered all my questions. I’ve done all the preliminaries. Now I wait.
On the writing front, I’m still making progress, slowly but surely on the new WIP. My young character, Jack, has trouble moving past the horrible abuse he suffered at the hands of his father, Ezra Blaine, in the second book of this series. “A Noble Bargain.”
She leaned back in her chair. “Thank you. I knew I was choosing well when I chose you, Jack. And Elliott agrees with me.”
Jack raised his eyebrows. “Elliott? You do know he’s not here, right?”
“Of course I do. But he talks to me in dreams.”
“Well, then. I’m glad Mr. Fletcher approves.” He laughed. “Approval is something I still struggle with. My father’s poisonous words still run through my brain sometimes.”
“I wish I could erase all the horrible things your father did to you. It’s not fair.”
“Maybe not.” Jack put on his cap. “But it was the way it was, until it wasn’t anymore. I’m doing good. Although, I do find that I still look over my shoulder from time to time, thinking he’s coming for me.” He headed for the door, then turned. “You sure I can’t do anything for you before I go?”
“No. Go on. See you tonight, Jack.”
On the reading front, I finished “The Medicine Woman of Galveston” and you’ll be seeing my review soon. When I finished that book, I sat back and took a deep breath. It was one of the most gripping tales I’ve ever read. How the author came up with all of it, I’ll never know. The imagination is an amazing thing!
I absolutely fell in love with this quote when I saw it. Also, without the rain, we wouldn’t have colorful wildflowers.
Here’s the tarot card that popped out for me to share this week.
The keywords associated with this card are: Fast Action and Passion
The Knight of Wands indicates the time has arrived to take action on your ideas or projects. Basically, it’s giving you the green light. Have confidence in yourself or in others who have come to support you. If you’ve been feeling blocked or stagnant, this energy comes to reignite the spark of passion and move you along the path toward your goals! Wow!! This card could not be more perfect for me. I hope some of you can relate to it, too.
That’s it from me for now. I wish everyone a productive week ahead! Onward and upward!
What a beautiful post, Jan, and I love the photo of your family. I’ve never been to that exhibit, but I can imagine how fascinating it would be. I wish you all the best with your surgery, and glad you’re making progress on your writing and spent time with your brother. The card seems to fit for me too. xo
A lovely post Jan and we visited the Titanic museum in Belfast a couple of years ago and it was an amazing experience…love the photo of you all. Glad you have a good connection with your surgeon and sounds like you are in good hands… I will be thinking of you…
You are so fortunate to have such a loving family close enough to enjoy, Jan. Many of us struggle with distance. I love reading your updates on everyone. I pray your surgery goes well. Having confidence in you doctor really helps. Great excerpt. I can’t wait to officially meet Jack. Have a wonderful week. Your tarot card was once again encouraging.
I’ve been to the Titanic exhibit. It is a nice one. I am glad you were able to take the grand kids. The photos are great. About the old photos you went through at the nephew’s house. It is a special feeling when you see old photos of your parents and grand parents that you have never seen before. My cousin sent me a stash of photos like that last year. She thought it was better that I had them.
You are so right, Thomas. It is a special feeling to see the old photos and I am glad I now have some of them. That is wonderful your cousin sent the photos to you. We become the keepers. Thanks for stopping by!
Our daughter and I saw the Titanic exhibit about a year ago in Pittsburgh. It was amazing. I’m gad you had a chance to take the grand children there. Time with family id precious. I’m so glad you enjoyed your visit.
I love the traveling museums, Dan. I wanted to see the King Tut exhibit when it was here, but I missed it. The grandchildren really did enjoy it. You’re right. Time with family is special. Thanks for stopping by!
A Titanic exhibition, that must have been very interesting. I love the photo of you and your grandkids – all look so happy! But I also love the photo of you and your brother. He does look like a very kind, supportive, and compassionate person. Glad you have each other. And what a great card you shared today. It totally fits my experience at my employed job these days. Have a fantastic week, Jan!
The Titanic Exhibition was really something to experience. And I loved that the kids were interested. My brother is all that for sure. So glad you enjoyed today’s post! Here’s to a productive week ahead!
Yes, let’s rock the week 😎
A super rundown, Jan. I have wondered about the Titanic exhibit. Thank you for the review. Family gatherings are the best, and it looks like you enjoyed yours. The book sounds excellent. I hope you have a terrific week.
So glad you enjoyed today’s meandering, John. If you ever get a chance to see it, the Titanic exhibition is worth it. Have a great week ahead!
Hi Jan
Great picture of you at the Titanic exhibition.
Have a happy week
The Fab Four of Cley
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
So glad you enjoyed the post! Thanks for visiting.
Wonderful, Jan, that you got to spend such quality time with your family. Thank you for sharing your great times with us.
My pleasure, Tim. Thanks for dropping by to share in the meanderings!
My pleasure, Jan. 😊
Lovely post. So much here. That’s a good scene with Jack. I liked him. There’s a lot of room for growth in him. “The Medicine Woman of Galveston”–I passed on that for some reason and now am curious abut your review.
Thanks for visiting, Jacqui. I will be posting my reviews later this week, so you can see my thoughts on the book. But I literally closed it, sat there and thought to myself, “I do not know how to write a story.” It is that amazing.
A super cute photo of you and the grandkids, Jan. Too bad one of you didn’t survive! Yikes. And what a great way to deal with old photo albums. I love that. I can’t imagine how nostalgic it was and how many memories those photos must have evoked. Great update on the book progress and I enjoyed the positive tarot card. Have a great week!
I love it when the trees start blooming. Should be happening here in a couple of weeks. That d does sound like an interesting exhibit to visit, Jan with the grands. Wonderful, you got some family time in. Great pics, too. I understand staying busy, and I wouldn’t know what to do if I wasn’t.
Lol! Yep. It’s a common disease among authors to stay busy, I think. 🙂 But what the heck else would I do? I’ve never been one to sit around and do nothing. If the exhibit comes you way, I highly recommend it. So glad you enjoyed the post. Thank you for stopping by!
Sister, I really love the pic of you and Irvin. I feel his time is growing shorter and shorter and I hate the thought of losing him. Great photo of the grands. Josh is way taller than you now. Wow! And Sydney is older than Connor but he’s taller. I’m glad this card came up today since I have to get going on my story. Thanks to you, I finally have a path forward. 🙂 Love the Dolly quote and love you so much.
I treasure any time I can have with Irvin, because as you say, he isn’t getting any younger. Oh, Josh is VERY tall! I was glad to see the card come up, too. It’s time to move! Thank you for stopping by and glad you meandered around with me! Love you, sister!
Your comments about your brother were touching. Yes, family is everything. The Titantic exhibition sounds interesting. I like the touch of assigning you a passenger. The Dolly quote is terrific.
Thank you, Pete. I truly enjoyed taking the kiddos to the Titanic exhibition and they did too. Plus they learned some things. So glad you stopped by and glad you enjoyed the post!
I love your newsletters, and I think the meandering ones are fun — a little bit of everything. Love to hear you’re progressing in all things, and thanks for the Titanic tip!
Oh, and in a weird side note — you and Linda were in my dream last night. We were all in Germany and you & Linda owned a roller coaster ride outside a German bakery! HA! (Good ride — we screamed and laughed a lot.) That’s my meandering brain for you.
Your comment made me chuckle. I dream about other people, but never thought about anyone dreaming about me. 🙂 And for me and Linda to own a roller coaster ride is just hilarious and would be the last thing on earth we’d ever think about owning. But we’d both be up for visiting the German bakery. Aren’t dreams fun? I just love them! Thank you for sharing.
Kristine, this is hilarious! I can’t imagine that we’d all three be in your dream. AND in Germany of all places. This gave me a big laugh. Thank you. Hope you’re doing well. I hardly ever get to chat with you anymore.
Linda, I miss you and think about you all the time. I’m gonna email you right now!
So glad you enjoyed today’s meanderings, Kristine. I’m thrilled that you stopped by!
Enjoyed the photo of you and your grandchildren, Jan. What fun! I’ve always loved this quote by Dolly Parton. Have a lovely week. Spring has definitely arrived. 🙂
Thank you so much, Mary. Yes, spring is here! And I’m so glad you enjoyed today’s post.
I love the photo of you and the grandkids. How precious and what a great thing to do with them. I noticed that you all have the same smile! I also love spending time with my two remaining brothers. Even though it doesn’t happen often as we are so spread apart in distance. A great meander.
So glad you came over to meander with me this morning, Darlene. I had never thought about us all having the same smile, but we are related. 🙂 Yes, time with family is so precious and I grab it any chance I get. Have a great week ahead!
We also went to the Titanic exhibit when it passed through, but I can’t remember if I survived, lol. It was fascinating, and I’m glad your grandchildren enjoyed it, Jan. The Knight of Wands card really speaks to me this week. It’s time to get started.
That’s hilarious, Teri, that you can’t remember if you survived the sinking of the Titanic. 🙂 It was truly fascinating. That card did not speak to me, it yelled. Have a great week ahead! Thanks for stopping by.
Hi Jan, I sounds like a busy but good few weeks. I am pleased you got to spend quality time with your grand children and brother. I took my sons to that same Titanic exhibition some years ago and it was great. I remember being assigned a passenger. Mine had died as she was a third class passenger.
I was also a third class passenger but somehow I survived. It was so interesting. And it was educational as well. Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment, Robbie. 💕
I also found it interesting and educational but also deeply moving and poignant.
Yes!