Friday Unwind #5: The Wonder, Poppy Seeds, Carlsbad Aquafarm, Killers of the Flower Moon

Thoughts on Waiting, and a Generational Slang Quiz

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🎬GROOVIE MOVIE: THE WONDER

I love traveling back in time through the movies. In The Wonder, we’re whisked away to an 1862 Irish village and a small cottage where an eleven year old girl has been fasting for several months, yet miraculously remains alive.

An English nurse and an Irish nun are brought to the home to watch over the young girl, Anna O’Donnell, for two weeks to determine if her fast is ‘real’ or a ‘hoax’.

Secrets and suspicions creep into the vigil, as Anna slowly seems to slip away and only a (divine) intervention can save her. 🙏

My favorite line comes from the nun (who plays only a tiny role in the film) when she says that she saw an apparition of an angel riding away on a horse with a girl. Watch the movie to unravel the mystery.

Rated 86% by Rotten Tomatoes and 86% by Viewers.

🌱GARDEN GOSSIP: POPPY SEEDS: A SNAP, CRACKLE, POP ADVENTURE

Poppy seeds, a dried poppy pod, a box of dried poppy pods and poppies in bloom.

California poppies grow wild all over the state, from sea level up to 6,500 feet. Native people boiled poppies to eat and applied them to treat illnesses. I love them because they are beautiful. And for a few other reasons…they grow in my state of Arizona. They reseed themselves. They ‘pop’ open every morning as the sun shines on them and close gently each evening at dusk. They give my garden a golden glow that lasts almost all summer. 🌞

Poppies produce slender green pods. Left to their own devices these pods dry out, then suddenly burst open, spewing small, dark brown seeds all over the ground. They disappear into the dirt, hiding until the next Spring when tiny green shoots poke their heads out of the ground.

Sometimes I let the pods dry out and pop on their own. Sometimes I break off the pods so I can save the seeds and sprinkle them somewhere else in my garden. If the pods are really dry and crackly, they often snap open in my hand. It makes me jump.

The picked pods go into a brown paper bag to dry out. The bag sits on the counter in my laundry room. If I walk in at the right time, I often hear pops coming from the bag. Pop. Pop. Pop! More seeds! Magic.

In November, I sprinkle the seeds in my garden, trying not to let the birds see… because I know what they are thinking… ‘breakfast’! 🦅

Do you have a garden? What things do you grow?

🦪 AW SHUCKS, THE CARLSBAD AQUAFARM

Carlsbad AquaFarm, Carlsbad, California

How do you feel about oysters?🦪 My husband loves them. Raw, grilled, Rockefeller, and even in stuffing. Me? Meh. At least that’s what I thought until we toured the Carlsbad Aquafarm in Carlsbad, California. There is definitely a difference between a restaurant oyster and an oyster that you pry open fresh from the water and pop into your mouth.

Did you know that one oyster filters about 50 gallons of water a day? Yep. Way better than a Brita Filter.

During the tour, which is about an hour, we learned how they harvest the oysters, how they clean them, and….drum roll… we got to shuck and eat them.

The pictures above are from our visit. Check out the video below to meet the owner and experience your own tour.

💬THE CHAT SPAT: THOUGHTS ON WAITING

Have you ever had to wait, patiently or otherwise, for something? According to a Timex survey, Americans spend 37 billion (yes, with a B) hours each year waiting in line somewhere. On average, each human spends 6 months of their life waiting in line for something. Even more fun, the average person spends 43 hours on hold with automated customer service in their lifetime. People who take the bus spend 27 days of their life waiting for the bus.

On my return from the beach to Arizona, I waited at my condo for the right time to walk to the train…waited for the train, then the bus (which I just missed so I had to wait longer for the next one)…for my plane (which was delayed), for the airport shuttle in Phoenix (in 115 degrees) to take me two hours to Prescott. Wait. Wait. Wait.

What do we do with all that time waiting? What could we do with all that time waiting?

The floor (and comments) is open for your thoughts.

📚 BOOK NOOK: KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON, THE OSAGE MURDERS AND THE BIRTH OF THE FBI, BY DAVID GRANN

Killers of the Flower Moon is about to be a movie. October, 2023. You’ll recognize the stars… Robert DeNiro, Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone.

Grann’s non-fiction book, a New York Times bestseller, takes you back to 1920’s Oklahoma and the Osage Indians. In an odd twist of fate, the tribe had become multi-millionaires when oil was discovered on their land. The same land that had been given to them after the government decided it was worthless.

Suddenly, members of the tribe start mysteriously dying. Ownership and management of those lands comes into question and deeds begin changing hands.

While the book focuses on the investigation by the newly formed FBI, the movie takes a different approach. The seemingly loving marriage between chauffeur Ernest Burkhart and his Osage wife, Molly Burkhart hides cruel and strange happenings that hold the key to the deaths.

While I loved the mystery of Grann’s book, I’m also looking forward to seeing a deeper look into the relationship between Molly and Ernest.

Here’s an official trailer for the upcoming movie. I hope you’ll put the book on your ‘read’ list and the movie on your ‘watch’ list.

🥳FUN AND DONE: GENERATIONAL SLANG WORDS: A QUIZ WITH UPSIDE DOWN ANSWERS

Even though I’m rebelling against Generational Labels, I’m not above having a little fun with some of the slang words and phrases that are associated with each generation.

Can you identify which words go with which generation? And, can you give the correct definition for each word/phrase?

Post your answers in the comments. Score 1 point for each correct match and 1 point for each correct definition.

The answers are upside down at the end of today’s post. (No peeking until you are all done!)

Here are the Generations and years associated with each:
The Greatest Generation 1901-1925
The Silent Generation 1926 -1945
Boomers 1946 -1964
Generation X 1965 -1979
Millennials 1980-1994
Gen Z 1995-2012
Gen Alpha 2013 - 2025ish

Here are the slang words/phrases. Now don’t get ‘hacked off’ if you don’t get them all. I don’t want to be ‘sitting on the hot seat’. After all, this is pretty ‘gnarly’, right? Thanks for playing, bro. And remember….it’s just a game. Hah!

1. Tea

2. Gams

3. Groovy

4. Catch you on the flip side

5. Skivvies

6. Word

7. Salty

8. 23 skidoo

9. Girl Friday

10. Chill Pill

11. Adulting

12. Lit

13. Don’t flip your wig

14. Facts

💡 Your Ideas Are the Best

I’m still trying to learn what topics you’d like to read about. I’d love to hear any and all suggestions. I’m considering occasionally including something a little more serious for us to talk about together. What do you think? I am an open book with a blank page…

Special thanks to those of you who are subscribing to After 21 Club. After 2 years writing Kindness Magnet (and still going), I’m excited to start this community of generations. I hope it’s a place where we can come together to share ideas and recommendations for leading happy lives. You can help After 21 Club grow by sharing this post with your friends. I hope you will. Thank you.

Whatever your generation, if you’d like a little sweet retreat where Friday meets you on the way to little pleasures…..I hope you will Subscribe to After 21 Club. You’ll get a little treat in your Inbox each Friday.

Wherever you are, I hope life is sunny. 🌞❤Heather