Five on Friday!

I'm taking part today in a bloghop that I learned about through the charming Cici of Cici's Corner...Five on Friday.

 Basically, it's just any five things you want to talk about on Friday.

 Here I go:

 1)  Farewell...for now...to a precious friend

 On Monday, a sweet friend came to the end of her struggle with cancer. I attended her memorial service yesterday. Lori was only 35 years old. She was a teacher who loved her students deeply, married to a wonderful young man named Jason, and always so full of life and joy.

We'll dearly miss her.  We're heartbroken, but  we know we'll see her in heaven someday.

 After the service there was a balloon launch. Hundreds of pink ribbons--fittingly symbolic of the fight against breast cancer--floated skyward. It was a beautiful farewell.

2) I've been reading some really terrific fiction lately...from the library.

I do enjoy reading Kindle books on my Nexus 7, but sometimes it's nice to just hold a book in your hands...and not worry about whether your battery is charged enough!

I recently finished this really enjoyable one:

This is from Goodreads:

Twenty-five-year-old Julie Jacobs is heartbroken over the death of her beloved Aunt Rose. But the shock goes even deeper when she learns that the woman who has been like a mother to her has left her entire estate to Julie’s twin sister. The only thing Julie receives is a key—one carried by her mother on the day she herself died—to a safety-deposit box in Siena, Italy.
This key sends Julie on a journey that will change her life forever...

The book was well-written, intriguing, romantic, and full of exciting twists and turns...in other words, right up my alley!

Are you on Goodreads? I've found I enjoy being a part of the site, because before, I never kept track of what books I read or how many I was reading.

3) My husband's doppelganger...

Even when we were dating back in the 70's, I thought my husband looked like actor Jeff Bridges.  But since Jeff has gone bald in the Iron Man movies, the resemblance is uncanny.

We staged a re-enactment of a photo from Iron Man to illustrate it:

What do you think?  Separated at birth, or what?

4) Can I talk about the weather?

We have had an extraordinarily mild, lush, green, often quite cool summer here in Northern Illinois.  I, for one, am not complaining!

Last summer was horrendously hot and dry.  I've been thoroughly enjoying the mildness.

Here's a picture of the Rock River (I often stop and take pictures of it on my way home) just before a downpour the other day:

I must admit I love rivers, lakes, oceans, creeks, ponds...pretty much all bodies of water!

5) If you've been following my fingernail fiasco:

I blogged not long ago about the saga of my poor fingernails.  I've struggled with keeping them healthy and a decent length...then went and ruined it all by getting what I thought were gel nails, but actually were acrylic nails.

My nails have been taking forever to recover, but I'm happy to report that they're finally showing some improvement:

Well, that's my Five on Friday! Feel free to join in the fun.  And please don't leave without dropping me a comment.

Have a fun, safe and happy weekend!