Westmont Garden Club - October visit to the Dallas Arboretum

The Westmont Garden Club celebrated fall by visiting the Dallas Arboretum’s Fall Festival.  The group went on Saturday, October 22, 2016.

                             



     

                                                        

The Arboretum was adorned with 3,000 chrysanthemums along with 147,000 other fall flowers, such as mums, zinnias, impatiens and marigolds and even multi-colored peppers just to name a few.  Pumpkins and squashes were used as flower bed borders and added just another touch of the fall season. 

The biggest draw for families was the Pumpkin Village.  It featured topiary houses made of pumpkins, gourds, squashes along with hay bales and corn stalks. Over 90,000 pumpkins, squashes and gourds were used in the displays. 

                                                           

   

Also, Cinderella’s Pumpkin Carriage was on display pulled by life sized horses made of straw.

One fun thing to do was to find the pumpkins listed in the Pumpkin Search Scavenger Hunt game.  The pumpkin search leaflet was given to visitors as they entered the grounds.   

Many families were taking pictures of little ones posed among the pumpkins.  Others were having picnics on the grounds overlooking White Rock Lake.

The weather for the day was warm with a light breeze just perfect for pumpkin peeping!!

Have you ever seen a pumpkin tree?  

The Travelling Toe took all the photos with her trusty iPhone camera.

Map of the arboretum grounds below:

"Jack Reacher: Never Go Back" (movie critique)

JACK REACHER: NEVER GO BACK
movie poster

With 2 other friends, The Travelling Toe went to see the new "Jack Reacher" movie at the local Movie Tavern.  This is the second "Jack Reacher" movie made starring Tom Cruise and are based on the best selling books written by Lee Child.

Lee Child
author

After working a case with Major Susan Turner, Jack travels to Washington DC to see her and take her out to dinner.  But Turner is suddenly accused of espionage and is put in military jail.  Jack knows that Susan is innocent and contacts her attorney and he tells Jack that she is also accused of having two of her team members in Afghanistan murdered.  But then the attorney is murdered and Jack's fingerprints on found at the crime scene so now he is in trouble too. He finds a way to get Turner out of jail and now they are both fugitives being chased by the military police and hitmen from Parasource, a former military contractor. Jack and Susan head out to find the truth behind the conspiracy, the murders and the frame.  Along the way they pick up a young girl, Samantha who is being tracked by the bad guys as they  think she is Jack's daughter.  Jack and Susan find clues which indicate that there is proof to be found in New Orleans with a former team member of Susan's.  Samantha steals a wallet with credit cards and ID's so the three of them to fly off to NOLA.  But the bad guys and the military police are not far behind.

So Dear Readers,what happens?  Is the conspiracy unveiled and those in charge taken down? Is Susan and Jack cleared of all charges?  Well, duh on part of that of course, because how can they make Jack Reacher movie #3 if he ends up in the slammer!!!

Needless to say there are this lots of fist fights, gun action, car chases plus running and hiding. The stunt crew sure earned their paychecks on this movie!


CAST:

Tom Cruise
Jack Reacher

Cobie Smulders
Major Susan Turner

Aldis Hodge
Captain Anthony Espin

Danika Yarosh
Samantha Dayton

The Travelling Toe gives this movie 2 middle toes up with Mardi Gas beads cause if you go to NO you gotta have some beads!

Disclaimer:  The Travelling Toe is not a professional critic and any opinions expressed are for entertainment purposes only.

"Keeping Up With The Joneses" (movie critique)

KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES
movie poster

About 2 weeks ago the Friday Movie Mavens and The Travelling Toe went to see the comedy movie, "Keeping Up With The Joneses".

The premise of the story is that Jeff and Karen live on a quite cul-de-sac who know their neighbors and often block parties are the norm.  Jeff is the HR Director at the local aerospace company and Karen is an interior decorator who works from home  But then their quite suburban lives are turned upside down when the vacant house is sold.  The new neighbors are Tim and Natalie Jones who it appear to be the perfect couple.  He is ruggedly handsome and she is model beautiful.  Tim is an accomplished travel writer, with glass blowing as his hobby.  Natalie is a social media consultant, cooking blogger and raises money for a Sri Lankan orphanage.  But all is not what it seems for the Joneses.  Karen is suspicious and starts following Natalie.  When the Joneses go out for the evening, Karen and Jeff break into their neighbor's house and are taken back by what they see - lots of high tech surveillance equipment.  Tim discovers what they have done and soon the Gaffney's are caught up in the middle of an international spy ring.  

So Dear Readers, what happens to the Gaffneys and the Joneses?  Do they have a scary encounter with spies and terrorists?  And just like the old song, "How Do You Keep Them Down On The Farm After They've Seen Paree?"......how do you keep the Gaffney's down in the cul-de-sac after they have had a taste of a new and exciting life style?

You will just have to see the movie and find out for yourself.

The Travelling Toe must admit that there was a small concern about the show as Zach Galifianakis stars in it and he has been pretty raw in his past movies.  But this time no.  In fact the "F" word was only used one time and it was not him!!  WOW!!


CAST:

Zach Galifianakis
Jeff Gaffney

Isla Fisher
Karen Gaffney

Jon Hamm
Tim Jones

Gal Gadot
Natalie Jones

The Travelling Toe gives this movie 2 middle toes up with a dart pen......cause one never knows when the meanies will come calling!

Disclaimer:  The Travelling Toe is not a professional critic and any opinions expressed are for entertainment purposes only.

"The Accountant" (movie critique)

THE ACCOUNTANT
movie poster

The Friday Movie Mavens and The Travelling Toe headed to the local multiplex to see the new movie release, "The Accountant".

The main character is Christian Wolff who we first see as a young boy diagnosed with something close to autism where he does not relate to people but is a whiz at math and puzzles.  His mother wants to place him in a special school but his Army father refuses.  We see the family fall apart due to the father's treatment of the 2 sons.  Flash backs of the father's treatment of Christian and his brother, Braxton, are shown throughout the movie and one begins to see how his character was formed.  

Being a mathematical wizard, Christian uses a small-town CPA office as a cover for how he really makes his living......and that is as an accountant extraordinaire for numerous dangerous criminals and thugs.  But Christian is called in as a forensic accountant for a state-of-the-art robotics company.  Large sums of money are missing and he is hired to find it.  Assisting him is company junior accountant, Dana Cummings.  She was the original whistle blower of the missing money.  As Christian digs deeper into the company's financials, his employment is terminated and he becomes frustrated  because he did not get to finish the job. Then one by one the top executives of the robotics company are killed and Christian knows that somehow "The Assassin", a notorious hitman is involved.

Also on Christian's trail is Treasury Agent Raymond King.  He recruits Marybeth Medina, a young analyst to help him find The Accountant.  King uses information he has obtained on Medina to ensure she completes the mission or face the end of her career.

With all the players on task, it becomes a race to see who finds who first and if the mastermind of the fraud is found.

This was a very interesting and action backed movie.  Different parts of the plot are not revealed until towards the end of the movie and Dear Reader you know The Travelling Toe's lips are sealed.


CAST

cast members are not identified by their character name in order to keep their identities secret 

Ben Affleck
Christian Wolff

Anna Kendrick

Jon Bernthal

J.K. Simmons

Cynthia Addai-Robinson

John Lithgow

Jean Smart

Jeffrey Tambor

The Travelling Toe gives this movie 1 big toe up with a pocket protector.

Disclaimer:  The Travelling Toe is not a professional ciric and any opinions expressed are for entertainment purposes only.

Westmont Garden Club Meeting - Saturday, September 24, 2016

                                              WESTMONT GARDEN CLUB MEETING

The September meeting of the Westmont Garden Club was held on Saturday September 24, 2016, at the home of a member.  The featured speaker was Nancy Curl , Tarrant County Master Gardener.   

Nancy  began the program talking about using succulents to make a living wreath.  One wreath that Nancy had made recently was ringed with small clay pots.  In this particular wreath she used realistic looking fake succulents instead of live plants. 

The other wreaths she had on display, had been ordered pre-made from Topiary Art Works.  The company uses deep frames and there are feet on the wreaths so it can sit on a table or can be hung as well. 

www.topiaryartworks.com

                              

Some pre-stuffed wreaths are available at reasonable prices.  Shape and size usually determines the price of the wreath. Before adding plants, soak the wreath in water 12-24 hours, then squeeze out the water.  When making her wreaths at home, Nancy uses long hair sphagnum which is soaked in water, squeezed dry, and then stuffed into the wreath frame.  She then uses fishing line to wrap around the wreath to hold the sphagnum in place.  She made the recommendation to always wear gloves when working with sphagnum because of its bacterial make-up.  And if allergies are an issue, then a mask should be worn to prevent inhaling any of the particulates.   

Nancy showed the group an easy way to plant the succulents into the wreath form by using a long pencil and poking a small hole where the plant or plant cutting is inserted.  She then uses florist pins to hold the plant in place.  

Nancy closed the meeting with these tidbits of information:

succulents are drought tolerant but are not always heat tolerant

nearly all cacti are succulents but not all succulents are cacti  

MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR
PECULIAR CHILDREN
movie poster

The Travelling Toe and a dear friend hit the local Movie Tavern to see the flick, "Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children".

The Travelling Toe must admit that the plot of the movie was a little far fetched and complicated to explain, so the following overview of the movie is as noted from the movie's internet site:

When his beloved grandfather leaves Jake clues to a mystery that spans different worlds and times, he finds a magical place known as Miss Peregrine's School for Peculiar Children. But the mystery and danger deepen as he gets to know the residents and learns about their special powers - and their terrifying enemies. Ultimately, Jake discovers that only his own special peculiarity can save his new friends. Based on the novel "Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children," written by Ransom Riggs.

Ransom Riggs
author

Another level of uniqueness is added to the movie due to the director, Tim Burton, who has directed a variety of unusual movies.

Tim Burton
director

The Travelling Toe gives this movie 1 middle toe up for the interesting special effects and creative other world creatures with a trip to a Welsh island to find the house yourself!

Disclaimer:  The Travelling Toe is not a professional critic and ny opinions expressed are for entertainment purposes only.

"Deepwater Horizon" (movie critique)

DEEPWATER HORIZON
movie poster

The Friday Movie Mavens and The Travelling Toe recently went to the local multiplex to see "Deepwater Horizon".  This movie is about the disaster that took place on an oil rig out in the Gulf of Mexico.

The movie is told from the perspective of Chief Electronics Technician, Mike Williams.       Also, Mr. Jimmy is in charge of the crew and drilling rig and has to balance the safety of the project and the crew against the pressure from the BP contingency for results.

On April 20, 2010, something goes horribly wrong with the drilling process.   Nuts, bolts and mud start flying everywhere and then there are explosions, followed by massive fire balls shooting up the rig.  The crew has to fight the heat and flames and explosions with large pieces of equipment falling everywhere.  Mike saves Mr. Jimmy and helps others to safety amid the chaos.  One saving factor was the safety ship that must be on duty around an oil rig being there to help retrieve crew members from life rafts and those who jumped in the open ocean .  

Eleven crew members never make it off the rig that day.

Of course we all knew the story behind the movie but we found that the storyline of the crew members very compelling.

At the end of the movie the 11 crew members lost were eulogized which was as it should be.  

One fault that The Travelling Toe found with the movie was that it only mentioned how long it took to cap the well.  It did not address the devastation it caused to the wildlife in the area and the impact it had on the local economies of the Gulf States.  Somehow that should have been mentioned as it is definitely part of the overall story.


CAST:

Mark Wahlberg
Mike Williams

Kurt Russell
Mr. JImmy

Kate Hudson
Felicia Williams

Gina Rodriquez
Andrea Fleytas

John Malkovich
Donald Vidrine

The Travelling Toe gives this movie 2 middle toes up due to the amazing special effects of the working oil rig with a life preserver just in case you ever have to jump into the cold dark waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

Disclaimer:  The Travelling Toe is not a professional critic and any opinions expressed are for entertainment purposes only.

"Sister's Catechism: The Holy Ghost" presented by Performing Arts Fort Worth

SISTER CATECHISM
THE HOLY GHOST

On a recent Sunday afternoon, The Travelling Toe and 2 dear friends attended the matinee performance of "Sister Catechism The Holy Ghost".  It was at the McDavid Studio in downtown Fort Worth. This is one of several Sister Catechism shows that are on tour, including one called "Late Nite Catechism" and another one titled, "Will My Bunny Go To Heaven".  

Having seen a couple of these touring shows we knew this would be a fun event, and it did not disappoint.  Sister was there in her full glory (habit) using tissues to cover bosoms and collect chewing gum.  After taking attendance of the audience members to see how many Catholics were there, she remarked now you know who you need to convert.  

The show had a Halloween theme and Sister discussed the making of costumes of martyred saints.  We even had a fashion show and dance off.  Awesome prizes were awarded such as a glow in the dark rosary.  

There is a lot of audience interaction and participation in these shows and that is what makes it so fun and entertaining.

The "Late Night Catechism" web site describes the show as follows:

It is that time of year again and Sister is preparing her classroom for another long year of Catechism. You are in store for another hysterical lesson with "Back To School Catechism: The Holy Ghost and Other Terrifying Tales." In this session we find out the Church's take on all the familiar Halloween tales of Ghosts and Goblins.  Full of Sister's signature class participation, you may get hands on experience in how to build a Catholic appropriate Halloween costume.

Hopefully, we will be lucky enough to have Sister come back with another show.  They are all so funny.  And you don't have to be Catholic to understand the program - just bring your sense of humor.

McDavid Studio

Performing Arts Fort Worth