When the Heat is On

 

Blue Ledges on the Hudson 
(photo by Joan B )

Tuesday. 24 June. I had had 8 people signed up for the first Adirondack hike of the Summer.  Now that black fly season is over, I was excited to get up to the central region of my beloved mountains, and get a good 6 mile hike in. The temps have soared since Sunday.  Tuesday got up to 97 in my town with a very high humidity and in the town where the hike was scheduled to take place, it was supposed to be (as of Sunday) a high of 88 predicted with 54% humidity. Not bad.  But. Then.....

Tuesday morning came and now the high was predicted to be 90. I had three people drop out.  That left 5 of us (4 women and one man).  We are all in our 60s except one who is in her mid-50s and one who is 70.  We are all in fairly good shape with BMI's of less than 25.  We are all experienced hikers. Only my self had hiked this trail before. I don't typically hike when temps are above 85 and humidity levels are above 60%.  When it's humid in the northeast, it is STICKY.  There is rarely a breeze.  If there is, it's typically a hot one. The stifling kind, not the refreshing kind.   We decided to go for it. Everyone  was looking forward to it. I prayed a LOT. 

We did great!  Man, was the heat on!  As soon as we got to the river, our destination, after 3.7 miles of schelping through mud, going an extra mile total due to having to navigate around blowdown, we kicked off our boots and socks and plunged into the water. 

Ping, Dave D (in water), Meg
SoulSteps hikers
photo used with permission

After an hour lingering in the water, swimming, eating our lunch and drinking yet more water, it was time to head back to the cars.   For some reason it was only 2.8 miles back so I think we just went over the blowdown rather than around it. Anyways, we had to climb up from the river onto the main part of trail and by now it was about 2:30 pm and HOT!  We had to go slow. We were dripping in sweat and the deer flies were super obnoxious. 

At one point, Meg and I felt like we just couldn't do this. I felt faint at one point which is indicative that I needed some more protein, water, and shade. I had to sit for a minute.  I had to stretch my neck which was screaming at me causing my head to pound. I told Meg and Joan (Dave D and Ping were further ahead and just steadily hiking) that I honestly needed to pray. Meg and I prayed.

And then it dawned on me: here's a spiritual lesson! 

"When the heat is on" is often our most difficult trials or challenges. 

I thought back to when my cervical spine issues began. I know everyone on this hike has had trials of one kind or another whether physical, financial, relational, or emotional/mental. 

And I thought "What do Christ followers do when we face the heat of the battle"

We pray!  We gird ourselves with Scripture. 

These 2 Scriptures are ones I read a lot! They are highlighted in probably every Bible I own, including the digital Bible app one! There are so many other ones I turn to as well but these were the ones going through my head. 

We prayed and trusted "We can do this".  By God's strength, we would make it back to the car. 

And guess what?

The wind picked up a bit,  and I was praising Him for that refreshing breeze! We made it back to the cars and Ping and Dave D had the cars' air conditioning going AND we made it back to more iced water we had saved. 

God is good.  When the heat is on in your life, turn to Scripture.  Trust Him to get you to where you need to go.  It might take baby steps. At one point on the trail, I was going so slow, I felt like a toddler.  I was so slow that my heart rate was able to come down and my anxiety about making it back  went away. 

When the heat is on, remember that God sees you, He loves you, and He is there to guide you.  And when the rushing wind of the Holy Spirit blows through your life, you will be refreshed. 

What Scripture  do you turn to when the heat is on in your life? 

Saturday Nine

I absolutely love Reba (although I don't have any of her music...that's what Spotify is for) and even though she show was dorky/sappy, we loved it here at our house.  Our oldest  daughter has every single season on DVD. I watched the entire show on Netflix. so when I saw the Saturday Nine questions for today, I just had to pause my morning chores and play along. Head here to join in! 

Saturday 9: Consider Me Gone (2009)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here. 

 

1) In this song, poor Reba McEntire confronts a lover who makes her feel like she's not good enough. Let's go in a more positive direction: Who in your life makes you feel happy and secure?

Well, first of all my Redeemer/Creator but after God, my husband.  He is my rock. Life hasn't always been easy and happiness is fleeting so I'm changing that word to "joy".  He brings me inner joy, even when we are arguing or something silly like that. And of course, one simply cannot understand the peace and joy that comes when trials arrive..and they do ... unless you have that  firm foundation in Christ. Jesus really is the center for my inner joy.  Yes...even when life sucks. 

 

2) Reba hopes her lover will look back on her as someone who used to make him laugh. Who did you most recently laugh with?

last night with Dave. We were watching The Intern on Netflix with DeNiro and Anne Hathaway.  Full of laughs! 

 

3) She was director James Cameron's first choice to play Molly Brown in the 1997  blockbuster Titanic, but she had to turn down the role because she was committed to a concert tour. Think of the last invitation you received. Did you say yes or no?

I had to say No to an invite for an extended family BBQ as I have other plans for that very same day. 

4) Reba comes from a rodeo family: both her father and grandfather were champion steer ropers and her mother was a barrel racer. Have you ever been to a rodeo?

No. 

5) She loves game nights with family and friends because she says she's "a competitive person." When you play friendly board or card games, do you always play to win?

We are a competitive family, so yes.  But more importantly, we mainly love the food, fun and fellowship around the table!

 

6) Reba wears tall boots all the time, even in summer, and has more than 100 pairs. Do you often wear boots?

yes: I have boots for spring that come just above my ankles; I have summer boots that are super low (right at ankles) to wear with certain jeans, skirts, dresses and shorts; in the Autumn months (usually October through Feb) I wear riding boots. I have some in a dark brown, and black. I love my riding boots with skinny jeans tucked in or with one of my knee length dresses. and of course I have rubber boots for hiking in wet conditions, winter snow boots for walking in snow and 2 pairs of hiking boots. 

 

7) In 2009, when this song was popular, Mark Zuckerberg tried unsuccessfully to buy Twitter. Elon Musk acquired it in 2022 and renamed it X. Do you often post to Twitter/X?

absolutely not. I don't have an account and never will. ew. 

 

8) Back in 2009, DuPont announced that silver and black were the most popular vehicle colors, accounting for half the cars the world over. What color is your ride?  

My cars: senior year of college: Red Dodge Dart that caught on fire 2 years later;  Light Blue Pontiac LeMans that was totaled by an ambulance running a red light during grad school; a Dark Blue Ford Taurus (a crap car that didn't last long); then a Black Chrysler LeBaron that I loved and drove until my oldest was 6. Then a white Nissan Sentra that I drove for about 10 years; then a Silver brand new Nissan Sentra I drove for another 10 years and gave to our youngest for college who drove it for 5 more years; and now a Royal Blue Honda Civic  Coupe with silver glints in it. My next car is going to be either a hybrid or a Kia Soul....color unsure but I'm leaning towards a shade of green or silver. 

 

9) Random question: Have you ever had a job that required you to wear a hairnet?

yes...when I was a waitress in the Rochester NY area for Ponderosa and when I worked at Burger King out in western NY. 

HAPPY SATURDAY!!

 

First Full Week of Summer Faves

 

WOWZA!  What a first week of Summer it has been here in New York State.  We came back from Maine at the end of last week to hot, humid, blistering temps.  Felt like July, yet Summer had just begun! My prayers  go out to the people in central NYS who had a horrific storm and the lives of twin little girls were lost, among others.  Now they face a clean up.  Here in the Capital Region, we are back to the more cooler temps which I love (I love anywhere between 65-85 with ZERO humidity!  I can even take a little humidity if the temps are lower than 85).  But enough about the weather...let's find FIVE of our FAVE blessings from this first full week of Summer and share them with others by linking up at Susanne's. 

It is good to give thanks to God who is the Source of our blessings, big and small. 

• Central Air Conditioning:  I'm super thankful that after living here for 4 summers (house was built in 1994) we decided on central air the summer I was pregnant with daughter #2. (1998). I knew it was my last pregnancy and at age 38, it was tough, because that summer was HOT. So thankful that with the press of a button on the thermostat, we program how cool/high we want it at different times.  Evenings are  set for 70 and daytimes for 74 but there was one evening, I brought it down to 68 because our bedroom was sweltering.  So thankful for this luxury. (since Thursday morning, we have had all windows open as those high temps broke as well as the high humidity!) 

Avocado Peanut Handroll

Vegetarian Udon dish 

We loved these napkins!

• BELATED FATHER'S DAY CELEBRATION:  Last Sunday, our first weekend home after our New England trip, the girls treated Dave (I paid for mine) to the amazing Sushi-Sashimi restaurant Wasabi.  I didn't realize our area had two (one in Albany, one in Saratoga).  I thought it was just in Saratoga so I was surprised when Claire, our youngest, said that Albany had one only about 10 minutes south of us.  We met there after church on Sunday and wow!  Amazing food.  All authentic  and so very good from the service to the re-fills.  If you aren't familiar with Wasabi and how they do things, click here.  Basically, you pay one price (lower during the week) and can order as many items as many times as you want! It was phenomenal!!  I had a Sweet Potato hand roll, and then the above foods that are pictured. Dave had several seafood dishes and Claire had 3 different vegan ones. Courtney had 3 different items as well but I can't remember what hers were. SO good. I'm thankful we were all together for a meal and some fellowship afterwards and I was so busy getting caught up with our girls that I neglected to take pics of them with their father. 😞

• SAFE TRAVELS:  I was super thankful that Claire, our youngest, who took last Friday off to go visit her grandmother (Dave's 90 yr old mom) had safe travels to and from the south shore Boston area. She did the drive in one day which is a lot of  driving...about 6 hours! Traffic was heavier going east mid morning due to people heading for the Cape of course.....she said she was so thankful  coming west on Friday evening the traffic was lighter.  She was home just a little after 10 pm so made great time and spent about 3 hours with her grandmother which included Claire helping her grammy take a walk outdoors and down the street which B can't do alone anymore, even with the walker. I'm so thankful our girls take time to go visit their grandmother and that God keeps them safe on the interstates. 

July decor

Petunias and gerberas are thriving again

baby bunny comes pretty  close to me
when I'm on the swing in the evenings

early morning coffee

basil is growing well!

• CHORES DONE:  Due to the high heat on Monday, I ran one errand and spent the rest of the time inside doing household chores,putting out some summer decor (didn't bother taking pics of most) tending to my flowers, and laundry. I had walked in the very early morning and then enjoyed a cup of coffee on the deck before it got even more humid. I love changing up the decor for the different seasons and getting my house ready for a new month. I also did some weeding in the front garden and noticed my two rose bushes are springing back to life, and that my day lilies are just beginning to open. I have several tea roses in bloom now too. I'm thankful for checking things off the to do list and seeing the results of things I planted in early May. 

me (in front) and Meg hiking down the trail
to Blue Ledges pictured below
photos courtesy of Joan B

Blue Ledges on the Hudson
Hudson Gorge Wilderness area
central Adirondacks

The Hudson River looking east at Blue Ledges

River was deep enough here to swim in, which we did!
I had swim shorts on here which I wore under my hiking shorts
the cold mountain water felt so refreshing on our very hot, sticky skin

• HOT, HUMID HIKE!!  Tuesday was 97 here in town. A neighbor told me no, it actually got up to 100 degrees F mid-day here.  Where I was hiking, it was 90 although 88 was the predicted high. The humidity was just a tad bit lower in the central ADK mountains than down here in the Capital Region (82%). It was HOT. It was HUMID. We had to spray on sunscreen, bug spray and wet bandanas in the brook at the beginning of the trail to keep our upper bodies warm. I had told everyone to bring something to wrap around their neck and to wear wick away clothing. Everyone complied. It was my 5th time visiting this lovely trail and the other 4 people in the group (Joan, Meg, Ping, and Dave D) were loving this first-for-them wilderness hike. We are all experienced hikers which is why I didn't cancel the hike. I did have 3 other people who had signed up but they dropped out due to the heat. Some people with certain health conditions shouldn't be hiking in these conditions. We were fine. And once we got to the river, off came our hiking boots and socks and in we plunged! I'm so thankful everyone kept safe and that we enjoyed an hour in and out of the water and that we had plenty of water. But at age 65, I am starting to get "too old" for this kind of hike in these conditions. We were 7 miles in from the main road and over 12 miles from the nearest village and over 20 miles from cell phone service.  We hiked 6.6 miles and took 2.5 hours longer than it has taken me in the past.  Add to that, all the deer flies,  mosquitoes, blowdown from the winter which means climbing over logs and sometimes whole trees that are downed, plus schlepping through ankle deep mud (due to the very rainy Spring including last Saturday!) and let's just say we were completely exhausted but exhilarated upon getting back to the cars by 5 pm. I slept well that night and put in 22, 268 steps that day! (for those of you with hiking experience: I would not have done this hike if it was a mountain climb....this was mostly flat minus two sections that were steep but not vertical). 

  

  SoulSteps Hikers at Blue Ledges on the Hudson
  l-r: Ping, Meg, Joan, and in the river: Dave D, Faith
  Photo with permission and compliments of Ping

Well, I've had a pretty good ....although very humid and hot....start to Summer. 

But there's always blessings to give thanks for!! 

What are you thankful for this weekend??

WEDNESDAY HODGEPODGE

I think it's been over a month since I participated with the Wednesday Hodgepodge  questions. These were fun questions so I'm taking a much needed housework break to write up my answers. To join in, head over to this blog. 

1. What does adventure mean to you? 

Adventure for me has always meant something out of the ordinary and usually somewhat spontaneous as is "let's just go on a road trip and find something fun to do". We've had a LOT of those especially when the girls were young and now that we're empty nesters, we are doing it again. But some of our adventures have needed planning (Paris, Rome, Montreal, Acadia National Park, Pittsburgh, Gettysburg National Park, Hershey, Amish country of PA, Maine,  Michigan, Albuquerque, San Francisco, most hiking trips, most Cape Cod trips, and most week long mountain/camping trips). 

2.  What are your thoughts on tipping? What businesses or service providers do you regularly tip? Do you resent being asked if you'd like to add a tip? What about when a suggested amount is presented?

I regularly tip my hair stylist. I regularly tip my  *$ barista (especially when my daughter was the barista) unless I'm ordering via the app, and we regularly tip waitresses/waiters if they do a good job, and/or the food is exceptional.  I don't resent being asked and I prefer that the tip is automatically included at restaurants. They (most) do not make a decent living wage in these horrible economic times. I never tip fast food as I don't think they accept tips. (at least when I was a kid working at Burger King we didn't get tips). We are NYers so of course our standard tip is 18% but we tend to tip at 20% if the restaurant is top notch.  For instance Olive Garden (we never go anymore though) gets 18% but MidPoint Pizza which is authentic Italian and top notch everything gets 20%. 

3. I scream you scream we all scream for ice cream...do we? Is ice cream a favorite treat at your house? What's your favorite flavor? Regular, soft serve, gelato, sherbet, or some sort of non-dairy version of ice cream...what's your pleasure? 

I can still eat cows milk ice cream if I have a lactaid tablet first.  Soft serve doesn't bother me but that's because there is a lower fat content. I love ice cream and my fave is oat milk coffee flavored ice cream or the plain chocolate. I also love the mint chip one.  My preferred brand is Oatly. I don't eat coconut milk ice cream as I find it too sweet and just kinda gritty.  At leas the brands I've tried. I'm ok with almond milk ice cream especially Ben and Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie. I basically only eat soft serve in the summer when I'm done with a hike and am near my fave soft serve stand in the southern ADK.  For home, I buy Oatley maybe once a month in the warmer months. 

My favorite soft serve flavors are chocolate raspberry and Mounds (Chocolate Coconut).  Both are available here.  I also tried chocolate orange last summer at this place which is in the eastern ADK and wowza!! SO good.  And yes, they even sell lactaid tablets for .05$!!! 

I always buy size kiddy or small.  They're big!!

4. What's your 'back in my day, we____________________ ' story or saying? 

Oh I have a lot but when I was a 12 yr old I remember my grandparents saying "back in my day we had to walk to school both ways up hill and back". (well so did I grandpa!!) But seriously, I was a teenager from 1973-1979 and I remember just never being home....meaning my parents never knew where I was. Me as a parent: "text me when you get there.  Text me when you leave", "Wear your bike helmet". "put on the sunscreen". I never did. My daughters? absolutely. I also tell them 

"Back in my day I always skipped math class and gym".  

their reponse:  "OMGOSH Mom no way could we do that now. There's hall monitors everywhere" 

5. Somehow this is our last Hodgepodge in the month of June. Next week's Hodgepodge lands in July. Wow. Sum up your June using three adjectives. 

HOT, HUMID, BUSY

6. Insert your own random thought here. Mine is a picture thought: 

Me about to plunge into the Hudson
after hiking 3.7 miles to this spot
the trail is called Blue Ledges in the central ADK
temp: 90 degrees
humidity level: 82%
my age: 65 
oldest age of hiking buddy: 70
youngest age of hiking buddy: 50s
Total in group: 5 
number of times I've hiked this trail: 5
Emotions of the group:  AWESOME but TIRED, HOT, EXCITED
ACCOMPLISHED, FIT

HAPPY WEDNESDAY AND HAPPY SUMMER!!

Seafarer Condos

 

image is courtesy of tr*padvisor site

Well, I am now hooked on Airbnb and finding superhosts!  Dave and I had never used Air BnB until we planned our trip to Albuquerque for mid-May.  We were so impressed with our superhosts and the casita, that we decided to not book a hotel in Ogunquit but instead turned to Airbnb again. After 2 places we looked at, one didn't have an opening for the dates we wanted, and the other one had a  host who was  just downright rude, we found Denise T at Seafarer Condos!  And wow, let me tell you, this condo was amazing!!  The price was perfect for our budget and in fact, we actually pay more for rougher er ...  "rustic" cottages in the Adirondacks that aren't nearly as plush as this one in Maine.   We absolutely loved it and if we ever go back to Ogunquit/Wells/York area ,we would see if this condo was available. 

Here is the link to the Seaglass Studio Condo that we stayed in for 3 wonderful nights. 

Here are some photos I took after we first checked in. By the way, the check in process is SMOOTH.  It's a keyless entry, all remote. LOVED it.  We had some difficulty with the Albuquerque condo (which had a lockbox with a key) so we weren't sure what to expect. The whole process with Denise was super smooth and so very easy.  Plus, on the website, it showed that check in was after 4 pm but we received a notifcation via the app AND my email saying we could check in anytime!!  So we arrived earlier in Ogunquit because of that message.  I'm not kidding when I say this was the easiest vacation to plan that we have ever done and we have gone on a lot of vacations including Europe twice!  We were just so impressed. 

So.....here's some pics of the studio condo.  I just loved the space.  So very peaceful, neat, organized and clean!! There wasn't a speck of dust or crumbs anywhere. 

See that pillow in the front??
that was my best friend the entire time. 
in fact, I messaged Denise, she got back to me 
with the brand, etc.  This person is the real  deal when it comes to being a superhost! I'm seriously thinking of ordering the pillow from Nectar. 
I had the best night's sleep and you know, if you're a regular reader here that I've had horrible cervical spine issues since March 2022.  I didn't have any neck pain or headaches the entire time I was in Ogunquit. 

here's a peek from the doorway into the living area 
and you can see into the kitchen area.  
If you know me, you know I'm insanely "ocd" regarding
cleanliness and organized decor. This totally made me happy. 
Look at how tidy and organized and everything matches!!
This was perfect for me. (Dave liked it too cause the bed was so comfy)

We just loved the color scheme...so beachy
the chairs were comfortable and we shared the little ottoman
I mean, you guys...look how sweet this space is!!

 

Things we loved: 

•  hooks on the back of the door for raincoats, hoodies and there was a lower hook for my purse!  Huge plus. 
• How clean the floors were!!
• How everything matched!! 
• The art work on the walls!
• The fact that we didn't need AC although it was available. 
• The fact that we didn't need to watch TV although they have Roku and all the streaming services we have but Ogunquit and surrounding area has so much to offer that we didn't need television! I loved that it was a wall unit. 
• that everything matched what we saw on the Airbnb app
• that the kitchen was CLEAN and FULLY STOCKED.  And by fully stocked I mean, you guys....it had a complete set of teaspoons and measuring cups  unlike other cottages we have stayed in; it had all kinds of pots and pans and even a slow  cooker!! The utensils all matched and were like brand new!!  Now, we were on vacation so I wasn't gonna cook, other than breakfast, but it sure was nice to have all the options just in case we didn't go out. There was even a cloth bag for grocery shopping (although we used our own). There was an ice cube tray in the freezer (not all places provide one). There was a toaster oven, a keurig (we did have to go out and buy K cups as we are coffee snobs and I had bought a bag of coffee, not thinking to check with Denise as to what kind of coffee maker it was).  BUT...she even provided 2 welcoming k cups although I don't think we used them. (we might have used one...I can't remember now). There were a couple varieties of tea bags and a full microwave as opposed to those rinky dinky ones in hotels. There were beautiful mugs and LLBean blueberry dishes!!!!  I was in heaven!!  And there were  wine glasses!!  
• Her instructions for check in and check out and how to deal with the towels and make up were simple and explicit. We appreciated this. 

The only thing we were "sad" about was that we couldn't recycle our cans, paper, cardboard, bottles,etc.  But that isn't the superhosts' fault. She explained that it was the association. Come on Maine!  Reduce, reuse, RECYCLE. I should have brought the recycling home but we didn't. sigh. Next time. OH...and there were 2 chairs and a table right outside the door for sitting in after dinner/early morning with coffee or tea. And we were in walking distance of the village which we both really loved.  Marginal Way was only like a .9 mile walk away!!  And we could even walk to Perkins Cove without being tired. It was a great spot to be for a few days. 

Here's something I was most impressed with as well: 

Fully stocked bathroom!! 
This too is unusual other than the blow dryer.
She had little containers of Q tips, hair ties, and make up remover packs
(I did use 3 of those as I had forgotten mine)
She also had a subtle incense thingy on the top shelf as you can see which was nice
since I'm allergic to most heavier scents. I was so thankful it was subtle.
And not only was there a hair dryer but there were TWO different curling irons!
AND....little washcloths and towels provided for make up removal so I didn't get her
gorgeous thick, white towels stained.  
The towels!!  They were heavenly. No strong bleach smell like in hotels.
But soft and plush. 

SPICES!!!!!!!! 
Do you know how unusual that is??
In the Adirondack cottages we rent, we always have to bring our own.
I did use the cinnamon one on my steel cut oats one morning. 

 

Little touches of sweet beachy decor were around the condo
I really liked this jar of shells...simple and perfect for the nature lover in me

There was also a lobby where a washing machine and dryer were located with instructions on how to get in if needed. We didn't need them. There is an indoor pool and an outdoor pool. Again, we didn't use them. The one day (our last full day) I wanted to use the outdoor pool,  but it rained so....we played Agricula instead and then the day cleared up in time to go out for amazing seafood and another walk on the beach...this time Ogunquit Beach itself........

If you ever find you want to head to one of my favorite New England States (Maine!), and you aren't planning on going far north to Acadia National Park, head to Ogunquit and book the Seaglass Studio Condo at the Seafarer Condo Resort via Airbnb with Denise as your super host. You won't be sorry!!  

ps  a few bloggers have  asked me why I have an "E" at the end of my first name. My middle name is Ellen. When I was a freshman in college my dear friend Marlane wrote it with the E just for fun  and so for this blog, that is how I sign posts. 😉

2025 Book Review #32: Rhapsody

 

I bought this book in a little town that's known as the Hobart book village" in the Cakstills.  My sister Joy and my two daughters Courtney and Claire and I went through last autumn on our annual autumn girls  day away. It was great fun and we all bought a book or two or three. This is  a period piece set in the 1920s-1940s and based on the life of Gershwin and his long term affair with Kay Swift, a pianist and composer who was married to James Warburg, whom she divorced in 1934.

STORY SUMMARY

It is New York City, 1924. Katherine (Kay) Swift is a restless but very devoted society wife.  She's married to the very wealthy banker named James Warburg (who later worked with FDR!).  She's also a serious pianist and composer who longs for some recognition.  She decides to attend a concert where a new piece of music is being introduced by the composer.  It is "Rhapsody in Blue" (click link to hear)  and the composer is George Gershwin who is brilliant, but elusive.  He is actually a musical genius. 

Kay is absolutely mesmerized.  She cannot resist the pull of Gershwin's talent, swagger, and charm. They begin a 10 year love affair, which is complicated by her conflicted loyalty to her husband and the twists and turns of her own career in music.  Their affair ends when Gershwin dies of a brain tumor at the age of 38.  No one, including himself, knew he had a brain tumor. 

What music did Kay and George work on together?

What music and lyrics did Kay and James work on together?

Read the book to learn some interesting piece of the music scene in 1920s-1930s New York City and points beyond. 

MY THOUGHTS

This is one of the best written historical fiction works I've read in a very long time. Probably since The Book Thief. which I read over 10 years ago! 

The book is set during the coming of the Jazz Age in NYC. It is about the timeless bond between two strong-willed, remarkable artists.  The woman (Kay Swift) was mostly unknown to me although I did know that she was the first woman to write a complete musical score that became a hit. (I took Musical Theatre and Drama Literature in high school and Musical Theatre in college 💪)

Gershwin, of course, left behind not just a body of work unmatched in popular musical history (Porgy and Bess) but a woman who loved him with all of her heart, knowing that he didn't belong just to her, but to the entire world. 

I did some research while reading this book and discovered that although many people in today's generation believe that George Gershwin was gay, he was not. Rather, he had multiple lovers at any given time. The ladies loved him and he used them on a super casual basis but did indeed love Kay. It is true that Kay helped George transcribe music.  It is also tr

ue that Kay's biggest hit was the musical "Fine and Dandy" and her biggest hit song was "Can't We be Friends?" 

The author notes in the back of the book that he did take liberties with some of the timing of things. For instance, Gershwin moved out of his parents home into his own apartment on Riverside Drive in 1929, not 1932. Also, he dated Paulette Goddard during his second trip to L. A. not his first. And the lyrics for the song "Little White Lie" have been lost, so the author made them up. (there are other facts in the back of the book, as well). 

I absolutely loved that the author included all the big musicians' and their names, works (in some cases) and a bit about their lives in this story.  People like Ravel, Stravinsky, and others). 

The book does goe into the economy and Hitler/Germany for a little bit in the middle of the story but it's an easy read and mainly I felt like it was just setting the tone for the way America was reacting to various economic and political issues and how the characters (real people!) weren't negatively affected due to their influence, wealth, reputations, etc. 

Something that stood out to me was the theme (not sure that's the correct word though) of minority cultures/races dominated by the majority, in this era, the white upper class. It is a well researched book!! 

In my opinion, this book is appropriate for ages 17 and older (Due to some mature content).

On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, I rate this a 10.