We had an unusually quiet Fourth of July weekend. Not ones for crowds, we don’t go to fireworks displays but this year, I didn’t even drive the entire weekend, which was quite nice, considering the idiot drivers we’ve (nearly) run into lately! Saturday, we watched Independence Day (silly, full of plot holes, but quirky fun!) while noshing hot dogs, bacon cheddar potato salad, and apple pie a la mode. Sunday, we vegged out. It’s good to relax with no agenda sometimes.
We’ve been trying to convince ourselves to adopt the Mediterranean diet, so we’re planning to start slow and get ourselves used to eating and shopping in a whole new way. Any recipes or suggestions appreciated!
The Muck
Ready for a batch of pictures? The Muckenthaler Cultural Center in Fullerton (CA) is hosting More Than Love: The Life and Art of Natalie Wood. Consisting of photos, artwork by Wood and others, and movie memorabilia, it continues through August 21.
A couple of art pieces from The Muck collection outside.
The gallery at The Muckenthaler is lovely, but the beautiful windows do make photography a challenge… Note the tiny picture on the right, of a young Natalie.
Information about the exhibit and a word from Natalie’s daughter, Natasha.
A beautiful music box, description and story below.
One of the outfits she wore in Gypsy. The bra isn’t in the best shape but the leotard looked gorgeous ~ and heavy!
Designed by Orry-Kelly
Close up. I wish there had been more costumes! I gotta get to the Oscar museum!
Left: Handwritten directions from David Niven to his home in Switzerland, the Christmas after Natalie’s death. Right: the family with Laurence Olivier.
Portrait of Robert Wagner by Margaret Keane, the “Sad Eyes” painter.
A couple of videos played in this display. Robert Redford, who had starred in several films with Natalie, talked about their friendship and how he barred her from late entry to a high school event without realizing who she was when they were kids. There were also two commercials she did for a skin cream 🙂
The Great Race is one of The Husband’s favorite films.
Gorgeous! Designed by Don Feld
So happy to find that The Little Prince was her favorite book! Somewhere along the way, the book was lost. I hope you can read the letter ~ this gentleman returned the book to Natasha when he found it after a recent move. It had been given to his wife years ago by an old boyfriend…
Artist Eviva depicted Natalie, Robert Wagner, and their daughters in a Russian folktale style.
A Tribute to Claire Cezanne by Terechkovitch, that Natalie displayed in her bedroom.
Writing
Yes, I have finally started line edits! I’m up to page six! LOL! Examining every line to make it as crisp and expressive as possible is a time-consuming necessity. Good Writing, by Neal Allen and Anne LaMott is sitting on my desk, next to my laptop, for easy reference.
I’ve also been trying to do a few of the Sisters in Crime write ins on Zoom, part of their Summer Scrawl program, but so far, I’ve only managed two. That’s ok – two is better than none and they nudge me to do more!
Reading
Vanished in the Crowd by Rhys Bowen and Clare Broyles
Why I read it: It’s the 22nd Molly Murphy mystery in the series. I’ve been a fan of Molly (and Rhys) since Murphy’s Law came out in 2001! Even if you haven’t read the others, if it sounds like something you’d want to read, it works as a stand-alone. You’ll understand who all the characters are in a general way, just not Molly’s personal history, which is okay but I do encourage you to read this series. Just the cultural and historical viewpoints alone, besides the strength of Molly herself, are solid reasons to delve into these stories.
Plot: The Hudson-Fulton Celebration, a week-long event of parades and speeches in NYC in 1909, is the backdrop for this book. Molly’s best friends, Sid and Gus, a lesbian couple who live across the road, are working on a float for one of the parades and hosting a sister Vassar alumnus in their home. When the woman doesn’t show up, they hire Molly, a former private detective, to find her. As the mystery unfolds, Molly finds herself in the company of suffragists plotting to spread their mission, while one woman who has made great strides in her knowledge of polio can’t continue unless her husband, who gets the credit for all of her work, is offered a place in a laboratory that will enable her to do more research as his “assistant”. So much of this book highlights the unfairness and inequality that women endured – it’s a valuable reminder of the rights women could be losing if we don’t continue to fight for what is ours.
What I liked: The Hudson-Fulton Celebration was a real event – there are plenty of photographs and illustrations online – and the way Bowen and Broyles weave Molly’s story through the pomp and regalia is masterful. Headstrong Irish immigrant Molly is wife to Daniel, once a captain in the NYC police force and now head of the NY FBI, and a mom of three, who is torn between loving and caring for her family and wanting to do more with her life and intellect. Also, seeing the state of womanhood through so many disparate individuals – young, old, well-off, poor, married, single, and widowed (there was much to say for widowhood-a woman didn’t need to ask permission to work and her money was her own) – and mention of the suffragette’s treatment in England at that time was eye-opening.
Streaming/Watching
If you’ve ever seen Mary Poppins, you’ll recall a very sanitized version of the suffragette movement in England. Mrs. Banks marched around the house in her straw hat and banner, singing with her servants. Maybe her class was spared the inhumane treatment that the lower classes were subjected to.
But in Suffragette, a 2015 film with Carey Mulligan, Helena Bonham Carter, and five minutes worth of Meryl Streep, no punches are pulled. The movie is not for the faint of heart. Carey Mulligan’s character, Maud, slowly comes to realize that her fate as a woman should be in her hands, not men’s. The sacrifice she and others make for a cause they can barely articulate lands them in jail, at the hands of brutal men and, even harder to take, women. It’s a dark story with an abundance of loss, sorrow, and violence, but it’s also an inspiration to women everywhere to keep fighting for our autonomy and dignity. Great script and acting.
Be kind to yourselves and each other. Till next week!
I'm Writing As Fast As I Can 