Family Gallery

 A huge accumulation of pics over the last two weeks, so many Mosaic Moments, in fact, that some will have to wait for my next post. One of the "funnest" - Cassidy flying over her family's home in Sanford, which could be described as "across the street (& some woods)" from Sanford International Airport. For a link to her mother's video of Cassidy's fly-by, click here.

Below, Cadet Major Cassidy Reale (now promoted to Lt. Colonel) with her mother, Susie, at the Awards Ceremony for the Air Force Junior ROTC at Seminole High School, Sanford, FL.

 

Cassidy's Award from the DAR

Reale girls - Easter 2013

Reale Family - Easter, 2024

 

Hailey is an April Fool's baby - we celebrated her 21st birthday the day before, along with all the Easter festivities. Mom even made a Treasure Hunt with 24 clues, as I used to do for the girls' birthdays back in the day. Except instead of one prize at the end, the girls got a prize at each station! (A huge undertaking for Mom.) In addition, each year, Micheal Reale's cousin Lionel, draws a maze for the birthday girl to solve. This one—for a 21-yr-old majoring in Astro engineering . . . As I recall, Hailey went through it in under three minutes - or was it only two? - with her sisters counting down.

Hailey went thru it like a knife thru butter. Wow!

 Speaking of Lionel . . .

Lionel is the creative genius behind the family's Capital Room Bar in downtown Sanford, which this week hosted a unique event:  a wedding. Yes, a wedding with all the trimmings, including an array of small children in their wedding best - and on their best behavior. And after the wedding, a feast of tapas prepared by Reale family members, with Hailey serving drinks and Riley passing trays of goodies. A unique family moment for us all to treasure. (Why a wedding in a bar? The happy couple said they met in a bar; they wanted to be married in a bar. And yes, they're fans of the Capital Room.) Below, my photo of the procession, hampered by Florida sun shining through the broad windows and no flash. FYI, I kept my seat on the last barstool, while everyone else waited to greet the happy couple in the dance floor area at the back. (That's Lionel in the cap, hovering in the background.)

I did not intend for this week's blog to be "family only," but this seems a good place to stop, leaving cats, deer, sharks, sharks' teeth, etc., for the next Gallery.

HAPPY SPRINGTIME TO ALL!

The news in general is so depressing, 

we are in dire need of a burst of spring cheer.

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This week's featured book is chosen for the "weather" connection, something that is an important part of the plot in this spin-off of the SciFi Fantasy series, Blue Moon Rising.

In this spin-off of the Blue Moon Rising series, the Crucible Kingdom, an obscure planet far, far away, is suffering from an ancient curse—periodic bouts of violent storms, earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, and wildfire. To break the curse, a widowed duchess and a starship captain from the disintegrating Regulon Empire (which her ancestors fled centuries earlier) are forced to work together. Although the duchess grudgingly accepts that the captain in highly capable in emergencies, she scorns the idea that a hard-headed Reg who does not believe in the power of sorcery can be helpful in breaking a curse. And then the captain comes up with an idea no one thought of, setting off a quest that turns out to be more dangerous than the curse itself.

 

Grace note:  The description of the volcanic eruption is based on the explosion of Mount St. Helen's in 1980.

 

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For a link to Blair's website, click here. 

 

Thanks for stopping by,

Grace (Blair Bancroft)