Turning 97

Today my paternal grandmother turns 97 years old. She lives in California and I have not seen her since about 1987.

This is the last photo I have of her. She was 93 then.



My father a few months ago showed me photos of her now. She is gaunt and skeletal and I mentally cringed at the pictures. Her mind has left her, though she still eats, apparently, and the nursing home staff helps her get up and move about a bit. I am unsure if she can walk as she broke a hip several years ago; we thought for sure then that she would not live but she is certainly a fighter.

My grandmother, born in 1920, is 44 years older than I am. She was  21 (I think) when she had my father - the third of her four children. She and my father are the only ones left in his immediate family.

She was born the year women received the right to vote, so she has always been able to cast a ballot. I know she voted in the 2008 election - against Barrack Obama - but I don't know if she voted beyond that. I was surprised at her vote and comments about it because my grandfather was a staunch union man and quite liberal and I had thought she was, too. But you never know, I guess.

Grandma saw things happen that probably seemed like science fiction in her youth. Television, men in space, satellites, cellphones - the things we take for granted now (and many of which have become commonplace even in my half-century of life). Yet her love was reading, not TV or things like that. She enjoyed books and read hundreds of them every year for the longest time. I remember calling her before she couldn't hear me anymore and she'd almost always say, "Oh, I'm just reading a book," when I'd ask her what she was doing.

She was born in West Virginia. I suspect she had a hard life as a young woman, though I know little about it. She moved to this area with my grandfather after World War II. She and my grandfather, along with his two older sons and their daughter, moved to California in 1963, not long after I was born.

I knew her as a voice on the phone, someone who sent gifts at Christmas, and the woman my father called "Ma." I remember a visit with her when I was 7 or 8, another at 12 when we drove to California for a visit, and another when I was 17, when they drove across the country to stay with us for a few weeks. I saw my grandparents once more after I married. That was the extent of my contact with my grandmother, aside from phone conversations. I tried to call her frequently as I aged but our conversations were stilted and short. We did not know one another well enough to be friends. I have regrets about that, but there is nothing I can do about it now.

So happy birthday, Grandma. I know you have no idea it is your birthday, but today is your special day.

Sunday Stealing: TV Show Questions

From Sunday Stealing

The TV Show Questions

I don't watch a lot of current TV, so many of my answers will be, um, historical.

1. Name a TV show series in which you have seen every episode at least twice: Xena: Warrior Princess

2. Name a show you can't miss: Games of Thrones

3. Name an actor that would make you more inclined to watch a show: I am not familiar with the young actors today. I will have to go old school and say Lindsay Wagner, Kate Jackson, or Sarah Michelle Gellar.

4. Name an actor who would make you less likely to watch a show: Again, old school - Mel Gibson or Clint Eastwood.

5. Name a show you can, and do, quote from: Xena: Warrior Princess (not that anyone gets the references anymore, but that's ok.)

6. Name a show you like that no one else enjoys: Star Trek: Voyager seems to fit that bill. Most Trekkies dismissed it but I liked it. Babylon 5 might also work for this answer.

7. Name a TV show which you've been known to sing the theme song: Gilligan's Island

8. Name a show you would recommend everyone to watch: Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, with Neil DeGrasse Tyson. Because, you know, science.

9. Name a TV series you own: Buffy the Vampire Slayer

10. Name an actor who launched his/her entertainment career in another medium, but has surprised you with his/her acting chops in television: I have no idea.

11. What is your favorite episode of your favorite series? "The Greater Good" (Season 1, ep. 21), in Xena: Warrior Princess. Xena is shot with a poisoned arrow and her pal Gabrielle pretends to be her. Xena encourages her friend to defend the village because society is more than just one person and greater than a single individual.

12. Name a show you keep meaning to watch, but you just haven't gotten around to yet: Grimm.

13. Ever quit watching a show because it was so bad? Yes.

14. Name a show that's made you cry multiple times: Buffy the Vampire Slayer

15. What do you eat when you watch TV? Generally nothing; I usually watch TV after 7 p.m. and I refuse to eat after 6:30 p.m. I drink water, though.

16. How often do you watch TV? Not as often as a lot of people. I watch Jeopardy! and very often nothing else, except maybe the local news.

17. What's the last TV show you watched? Bill Maher on HBO.

18. What's your favorite/preferred genre of TV? Fantasy.

19. What was the first TV show you were obsessed with? Charlie's Angels, way back in the day.

20. What TV show do you wish you never watched? Survivor

21. What's the weirdest show you enjoyed? I can't think of anything.

22. What TV show scared you the most? Dark Shadows, when I was young.

23. What is the funniest TV show you have ever watched? Carol Burnett

Saturday 9: Alone Again, Naturally

Saturday 9: Alone Again, Naturally (1971)

Not familiar with this week's song? Hear it here.

1. Friday was St. Patrick's Day, March 17th! Did you celebrate with green beer or a green milkshake?

A. No.

2. Did you remember to wear green?

A. I remembered but didn't worry about it. I never left the house.

3.  What color do you look best in?

A. Blue. It makes my hazel eyes look blue.

4. This week's featured artist, Gilbert O'Sullivan, was born in Waterford, Ireland. Waterford is famous for Waterford Crystal. Do you have glassware that you save for special occasions?

A. I seldom have special occasions, but I do have china that belonged to my husband's aunt that I never use. If it was dishwasher safe I might use it for day-to-day: you shouldn't wait 'cause you never know, but it is not dishwasher safe, and I hate to wash dishes.

5. This week's featured song includes the line, "To think that only yesterday I was cheerful, bright and gay." How were you feeling yesterday?

A. Lonely. Alone again, naturally.

6. It begins with reference to a wedding that didn't quite come off because the bride left the groom at the altar. When were you most recently at church? Was it for a holiday service, a regularly scheduled service, a special event (a wedding or baptism)?

A. I went to my father's baptism about a month ago.

7. In 1971, when this song was popular, Malibu Barbie was a big seller for Mattel. This doll had a perpetual tan. For a human to achieve this, a tanning bed or self tanner is usually required. Have you used either method to give yourself a tan?

A. I once tried a tanning bed for less than a 1 minute; I couldn't stand the closed-in feeling and removed myself from that thing as fast as I could. That was about 30 years ago when they looked like spaceship tubes. (I don't know what they look like now.) I have never used a self-tanner.

8. In March, 1971, James Taylor appeared on the cover of TIME magazine. What's your favorite James Taylor song?

A. Fire and Rain.

9. Random Question: What word or phrase do you hear yourself saying too often?

A. "I'm sorry." I apologize for everything. The sunshine, the rain, the mountains, the flatlands, the government, the state of people everywhere, standing up, sitting down, clearing my throat, sneezing, and breathing, ad nauseam. I've been trying to break myself of this in 2017; it was my only "resolution" - to stop apologizing when it wasn't/isn't my fault.

_____________

I encourage you to visit other participants in Saturday 9 posts and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.

Thursday Thirteen

Last Friday I went to hear a famous guitar player. He was telling jokes, and I immediately thought, "There's my Thursday 13 topic!"

So here are 13 jokes for musicians.

1. Q: How do you get a guitar player to play softer?
   A: Give him a sheet of music.

2. Q: What does a guitarist say when he gets to his gig?
   A: Would you like fries with that?

3. Q: What is the difference between a guitarist and a Savings Bond?
   A: Eventually a Savings Bond will mature and earn money!

4. Q: What is the difference between a guitar and a tuna fish?
   A: You can tune a guitar but you can't tuna fish.

5. Q: What do you get when you drop a piano down a mine shaft?
   A: A flat minor.

6. Q: What do you get if you run over an army officer with a steam roller?
   A: A flat major.

7. A note left for a pianist from his wife: Gone Chopin, (have Liszt), Bach in a Minuet.

8. Q: What is the difference between a banjo and an anchor?
   A: You tie a rope to an anchor before you throw it overboard.

9. Q: Why do so many fishermen own banjos?
   A: They make great anchors!

10. Q: What is the difference between a banjo and a South American Macaw?
     A: One is loud, obnoxious and noisy; the other is a bird.

11. Q: What do you say to the banjo player in the three piece suit?
     A: Will the defendant please rise.

12. Q. What's the difference between a bagpipe and an onion?
     A. No one cries when you chop up an bagpipe.

13. Q. What's the difference between a bagpipe and a trampoline?
     A. You take off your shoes when you jump on a trampoline.
________

Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while and this is my 491st time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.

A Little Winter Weather

Yesterday we had a bit of ice/snow/sleet mix, which covered the ground and left ice on the trees. The winds picked up yesterday afternoon and sang to me all night long, sounding a bit like a mountain lion with its tail caught in a trap as the gusts rounded the corners of the house.

This morning when I rose around 7:30 a.m. it was 12 degrees outside with a wind chill of about -5 or thereabouts, depending on how one measures such things.

Coming after a February that was delightfully too warm, this has been an adjustment. I hope the fruit trees/grape vines and other food sources survive.

I shot these photos early yesterday morning with that little Nikon Coolpix 3200S, which I paid $60 for during a Black Friday deal a few years ago. It has been the best $60 I think I ever spent. To be such a throw-away camera I have taken some very decent photos with it.

Snow/ice/sleet on the ground.

A little ice on the trees.



Will the blooms on my forsythia return, I wonder?

Tommy Emannuel at The Harvester

Friday night my husband and I went to see Tommy Emmanuel perform at The Harvester Performance Center in Rocky Mount. He is a guitar player.

The Harvester

The Harvester Performed Center is about an hour and 15 minute drive for us if the traffic is light. This was the first time we had been to a show there. The Harvester seats 460 people - Tommy Emmanuel had a sold-out show. Some performances offer "gold seats," which basically means you get to sit anywhere you want in the first 10 rows. We had those and it was worth the extra money.

The chairs are very comfortable; however, the sides are not slanted toward the stage and the best seats therefore are in the middle of the venue. There are only a few poles to block views and the aisles were comfortably wide.

You can buy beer and wine inside ("adult beverages"), along with bottled water and a few things to eat. There was some kind of food truck parked outside for the early arrivals.

Parking, however, is not readily available and I saw no handicapped parking spots whatsoever. We found something close because we arrived at 6:20 and the doors opened at 7:00 p.m.; even then, there was already a line at the door. Most of the parking is on-street or perhaps a bank parking lot; there is a note on the venue's website that notes a few places will have your car towed if you park there.

The sound was great; the acoustics were good even though we were sitting to one side of the stage.

The Harvester stage prior to the show.

Tommy Emmanuel

I have been watching youtube videos of this guy for a while now. He is a fingerstyle guitarist who bills himself as a one-man band. He beats on his guitar for the drums, place the base notes on the upper two strings with his thumb, and managed to do the rhythm and melody lines all at the same time.

I have never seen anyone play guitar like he does. Here is a video of his version of Classical Gas, which seems to be his signature song. The crowd broke into applause and cheers as soon as he started it.




Emmanuel has been a soloist for a long time, but in the 1970s and 80s, he was a "sessions" guitarist (played on records of multiple bands/singers) and he toured at one time with Tina Turner.

Because I am still on the media/release lists, I had earlier received a press release request from Mr. Emmanuel's publicist. She sent me these stats:

•         He is arguably the greatest living acoustic guitarist. Known for his unique fingerstyle playing, he frequently threads three different parts simultaneously into his material, operating as a one-man band who handles the  melody, the supporting chords and the bass all at once.

•         Has been nominated for two GRAMMY Awards, and two ARIA Awards from the Australian Recording Industry Association

•         One of only 5 guitarists in the world who was named a Certified Guitar Player by guitar legend Chet Atkins

•         Has averaged over 300 shows per year all over the world, including sold out shows in North America, Australia, Europe, South America, and Asia, including recent tours in Russia and China 

•         Voted “Favorite Acoustic Guitarist” in both Guitar Player Magazine and Acoustic Guitar Magazine reader polls

•         YouTube channel has over 31,000,000 views and 192,000+ subscribers      

We were not supposed to take photos but I had my Nikon Coolpix 3200S with me. (I have never been very good at following the rules, I'm afraid.) I hid the lighting from the back viewer on the camera with a piece of paper so I am lucky I managed to get any pictures at all, since I was basically guessing at the shot since I couldn't see what I was aiming at, but I did take a few that turned out OK.

Getting ready to head into Classical Gas (I think).

Doing a little singing. He also told jokes.

The only quibble I had with the show was near the end, when he took out a drum brush and was showing how he used the microphone and guitar as percussion instruments. During this time, the lighting switched off and on to each beat, and I knew as soon as he began to speed up that this was not something I could watch. Lighting like that sets off migraines (and epileptic seizures in some people) so I shut my eyes and eventually had to take off my glasses and cover them completely with my hands because I could still see the lights going off and on through my closed eyelids. It is frustrating to run into things like this because people either are not aware of sensitivities like that or don't care. I was glad I realized what was happening before I ended up with a major headache.

He played for about two hours, doing a wide range of songs, including the first time I'd ever heard The Entertainer by Scott Joplin played on guitar instead of piano. Many of the tunes were his own arrangements.


Joe Robinson

Joe Robinson is a young man that Tommy Emmanuel is mentoring. He opened the show. 

Here's a video of him playing and singing:



He was an excellent guitar player, too, though I had a hard time understanding the words to his songs. I don't know if that was because of where I was sitting or because I have slow southern ears.

He liked to do tricks, like play two guitars at a time:

Joe Robinson playing acoustic and electric guitars
simultaneously.
 

He could lose the hat, I think.

All in all, an enjoyable evening. Will I ever play like that? I doubt it. I'm 53 years old and have let too much time slip through my fingers, literally. But maybe I can get a little better . . . if I practice.

Sunday Stealing: 8/10 Questions

Sunday Stealing: The Eight/Ten Questions

TEN TO START

1. Are you single? No.
2. Are you happy? I'm not miserable.
3. Are you bored? Frequently.
4. Are you naked? Underneath my clothes I am.
5. Are you a blonde? Nope.
6. Are you moody? Yes.
7. Are you a lover/hater? Isn't everybody?
8. Are you hot/cold? I'm comfortable.
9. Are you Irish? Partly, yes.
10. Are you Asian? No.

TEN FACTS

1. Name: Anita aka CountryDew
2. Nickname:
3. Birth mark: I had a huge mole on my chest when I was born. It was removed when I was five years old.
4. Hair color: Brown with "soft white" in it.
5. Natural hair color: See above.
6. Eye color: hazel.
7. Height: 5' 2" give or take the gravitational squashing of back discs.
8. Facebook Mood: I never put anything there.
9. Favorite color: Blue.
10. One Place to Visit: Virginia. It's for lovers.

TEN THINGS ABOUT YOUR LOVE LIFE

1. Do you believe in love at first sight? It can happen.
2. Do you believe in soul mates? Maybe.
4. Have you ever been hurt emotionally? I'm 53 years old. Of course I have.
5. Have you ever broken someone’s heart? Probably.
6. Have you ever been cheated on? No.
7. Have you ever liked someone and not told them? Elementary school days.
8. Are you afraid of commitment? No. 
9. Who was the last person you hugged? My husband.
10. Who was the last person you kissed? My husband.

TEN THIS OR THAT

1. Love or lust? Love
2. There is no number 2!
3. Cats or dogs? Dogs.
4. A few best friends or many regular friends? A few best friends.
5. Television or internet? Internet.
6. Chinese Or Indian? ??? What are we asking here?
7. Wild night out or romantic night in? Night in. 
8. Money or Happiness? Happiness.
9. Night or day? Day.
10. Skype or phone? Phone.

TEN HAVE YOU EVER

1. Been caught sneaking out? Maybe when I was young.
2. Been skinny dipping? No.
3. Stolen?
4. Bungee jumped? No.
5. Lied to someone you liked? Of course. You don't say, "you look fat in that" to a friend.
6. Finished an entire jaw breaker? I have no idea.
7. Cheated on a lover (yes kissing counts...)? No.
8. Wanted an ex bf/gf back? No.
9. Cried because you lost a pet? Yes.
10. Wanted to disappear? Yes.

TEN PREFERENCES IN A PARTNER

1. Smile or eyes? Eyes.
2. Light or dark hair? Doesn't matter.
3. Hugs or kisses? Hugs.
4. Shorter or taller? Taller.
5. Intelligence or attraction? Intelligence.
6. Romantic or spontaneous? Both.
7. Funny or serious? Both.
8. Older or Younger? Close in age.
9. Outgoing or quiet? Quiet.
10. Sweet or Bad Ass? Both.

TEN HAVE YOU’S

1. Ever performed in front of a large crowd? Yes.
2. Ever done drugs?
3. Ever been pregnant?
5. Ever been on a cheer leading team? No.
6. Ever Been on a dance team? No.
7. Ever been on a sports team? No.
8. Ever been in a drama play/production? Elementary school.
9. Ever owned a BMW, Mercedes Benz, Escalade, Hummer or Bentley? No.
10. Ever been in a rap video? No.

TEN LASTS

1. Last phone call you made: to my friend.
2. Last person you hung out with: my husband.
3. Last person you flirted with: my husband.
4. Last time you worked: It's been a while.
5. Last person you tackled: ???
6. Last person you IM’d: Dreama.
8. Last person(s) you went to the movies with: my husband. 
9. Last thing you missed: I slept through the last 10 minutes of the new Survivor.
10. Last time you did the nasty: Ain't nobody's business but my own.

__________
I encourage you to visit other participants in Sunday Stealing posts and leave a comment. Cheers to all us thieves who love memes, however we come by them.

Saturday 9: A Loretta Lynn Song

Saturday 9: Loretta Lynn sings (1968)

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

Not a song I knew, but I suspect I have heard it before, long ago.

1) This song is about a wife warning another woman off her man. Who received the last warning, of any type, that you issued?

A. My brother.

2) Loretta sings that when her husband picks up trash, he puts it in a garbage can. She's being metaphorical, but we will be literal: If you spot litter on the sidewalk, do you pick it up or just walk on?

A. I don't have sidewalks where I live. We do pick up trash along the side of the road if we see it. At the moment I have a dead deer by the driveway which I suppose my husband will move with the tractor and bury, since the state will take days to get here and it will stink badly if we wait for them.

3) She taught herself to play guitar. If you could learn something new in 2017, what would it be?

A. Something new. Hmm. I would like to learn a new language, or perhaps relearn the Spanish I used to know in high school. I also want to learn to crochet to see if I like it any better than knitting.

4) She broke her shoulder in a fall and surgery was required to repair it. When were you last in a hospital? Were you a patient or a visitor?

A. I was last in the hospital in 2013 and I was the patient.

5) In the 1970s, Loretta Lynn was the first country singer to appear on the cover of Newsweek. Who is your favorite country singer?

A. I am not particularly fond of the genre, but when I was a kid my parents listened to Glenn Campbell and I liked some of his stuff.

6) Rowan and Martin's Laugh In premiered in 1968, when this song was popular. What's the last TV show you watched? Did you watch it live, did you stream it, or catch it on DVR/Tivo?

A. I watched it live and it was the local news.

7) In 1968, Jacqueline Kennedy shocked the world by marrying Greek billionaire Aristotle Onassis.What's the last thing you heard that surprised you?

A. That my father, who was raised Catholic, was becoming a Baptist.

8) 1968's top-rated car was the Chevy Corvette. Could your car benefit from a trip to the car wash this morning?

A. Yes, it could.

9) Random question: You're staying in a hotel and find you can faintly hear the couple in the next room. Would you ignore their voices, or try to hear them better?

A. I'd turn up the TV so I couldn't hear them.

_____________

I encourage you to visit other participants in Saturday 9 posts and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.  (This is my 170th Saturday 9. That's over three years of playing.)

How to Eat a Cadbury Creme Egg

Just as people argue over the right way to eat an Oreo (twist it and eat the middle? dip it in milk?), or how to hang toilet paper (I'm lucky if the toilet paper even makes it to the roller!), I have an opinion on how to eat a Cadbury Crème Egg.

It is hard to diet this time of year. First, February brings about Valentine's Day, with its boxes of chocolates, and then Easter comes with its vast array of chocolate eggs and bunnies to eat ears from, and other delights.

The best delight of all is the Cadbury Crème Egg, and I can't stay away from the darned things.

Box and Egg

About the Egg

The Cadbury Egg is a creamy chocolate shell that encompasses a fondant that is supposed to look like the inside of a chicken egg. Why people want to eat the raw inside of a chicken egg remains a mystery to me, but the stuff is delicious.

The Cadbury Egg has changed over the years. Yes, yes it has. It is smaller, for one thing. Prior to 2006, the Egg weighed 39 grams and had 170 calories. Now they weigh 34 grams and have 150 calories (does that mean I can eat another?) Cadbury/Hershey's denied this for a time, but finally came clean, the buggers.

A Little History

For another thing, in 2015 Cadbury changed the shell from dairy milk chocolate to plain ol' "standard cocoa mix chocolate." This was especially loathsome in the U.K., as I suspect we here in the U.S. had been eating substandard chocolate shells for a few years anyway.

You see, Cadbury was purchased by Kraft in 2010 (and apparently it is now owned by some company called Mondelez, which I have never heard of, although Hershey markets them in the U.S.). Ah, American industry. Why keep a chocolate egg the same size and taste when you can make a few minor little changes and save, oh, .001 cent per egg? Who cares about quality, anyway? Certainly not the U.S. consumer.

These little lovelies were first created in 1923 by the Cadbury brothers and were mass produced in 1963 as Fry's Crème Egg. In 1971, they were renamed Cadbury Crème Egg.

Today they come in singles at the grocery store, where you can "buy two and get one free" or you can purchase a box of 4 or 5 (depending on what store you are in) for about $3.99 or if you're lucky you can get a box of two for $4.00 during a sale.

What It Looks Like

The egg, at least here in the U.S. is, wrapped in a colorful foil. The words "Cadbury Crème Egg" are in blue with a yellow background. Said background is squiggly on the sides, looking, I suppose, like my scrambled eggs in the fry pan. The remainder of the foil is green, blue, and red, with white on there where the scanning thing is so the store clerk can ring up the purchase. There are also words which I presume to be ingredients or warnings but I couldn't read them if I had to.

A recently purchased Cadbury Crème Egg

How to Purchase

When picking the eggs out of the bin for single purchase, one must be sure the aluminum foil completely covers the egg. I never purchase one if I can see the chocolate sticking out of the foil. (Actually, I seldom purchase the single ones in the bins because little kids can reach it and you know how grubby they can be, with their snotty little noses and unwashed hands. I much prefer to buy a box of them simply for the sake of sanitation.)

Generally speaking, it is easier to simply buy them by the box.



Purchase by the box for sanitation purposes.

How to Eat It

Once the egg is safely purchased, then comes the eating of it. This is not always simple. The foil must be carefully peeled away. You wait breathlessly to see if the egg has leaked, because sometimes that fondant comes oozing out and then the foil gets stuck and you know then that this particular egg, while edible, is not going to be a delight. The fondant, having had air reach it, will have hardened a bit.

Also, it is easy to leave the tiniest bit of aluminum foil on the chocolate, and accidentally swallow it. At that point, it will become stuck somewhere near your larynx, and you will spend the rest of the day clearing your throat, drinking water, and coughing, until the foil finally slides on down (or the scratch it created is no longer bothersome, whatever the case).

But let's say now you have the perfect little egg in your hand, foil unwrapped. The egg has a line around it where it is put together; a seam that indicates that via some technological manufacturing magic, this thing was once two halves. There is also a stamp on it, a kind of star on each side, and lines for decoration.

There are many ways to eat this egg. I have even heard of some people who put them in the freezer because they want the fondant hard and cold, but I prefer mine mushy and warm. These small eggs are, I imagine, little enough that someone with a big mouth could pop the entire thing inside and chow down, but I can't do that.

So I take the tiniest bite from the smallest end, opening up the egg to the fondant. And there it is, the fake innards of a chicken egg, white with a bit of yellow.

I suck out the fondant. Yes, I eat the crème first. This is why I always eat a Cadbury Crème Egg alone.

Once that fondant has been savored, I eat the chocolate in a few bites. It's really a quick process, taking less time to do than it has to write it out.

So there you have it. I will be so glad when Easter is past and these things are off the grocery shelves.