Sunday Stealing
1. What do you think is the greatest television show of all time?
A. MASH. I honestly think that show covers so much of life and human relations that there is nothing that tops it as a commentary upon humanity.
2. Would you rather win a Nobel Prize or an Academy Award?
A. I would rather win a Pulitzer. But of the two, a Nobel Prize although I can't imagine what I'd get one for.
3. What one food would you banish from this earth if you could?
A. None of them. There are many I do not even know of, and I suspect all of the natural foods have medicinal properties. That said, I imagine Cheetos and that yellow-orange crap on them is something we could all do without.
4. What’s the scariest story you’ve ever heard?
A. November 9, 2016 - A con man was elected president of the United States.
5. Who is the most famous person you have ever met?
A. I have met many of Virginia's governors during my work as a government reporter, including Tim Kaine and Mark Warner who are now our state senators.
6. What’s something you’ve done that most people wouldn’t know or guess about you?
A. I don't know. Most things I've written about over the last 14 years of this blog. I've been up in a hot air balloon, I've flown over the county in a small plane. But perhaps people do not know that I have suffered from depression for most of my life. I don't talk about it or wallow in it, I deal with it as best I can. My doctor currently has it diagnosed as dysthymia, which means chronic low-grade depression that doesn't go away. Maybe sometime I will write more about it.
7. You’re strapped in a rocket ship about to go to the moon. Are you thrilled? Or terrified?
A. I would be thrilled. I loved watching the SpaceX ship go up yesterday afternoon! Two men left the earth! Good choice, given the state of things.
8. What is the correct way for toilet paper to sit on the roll?
A. I don't care which way it goes on the roller. I don't even care if it is on a roller, so long as it is available.
9. Talk about a mistake you made, or something you regret.
A. I regret not keeping up with my music more. I let it go because I didn't have an outlet for it, really. I mean, when you're playing your guitar and your husband comes in and ignores you and turns on the television, it doesn't exactly engender a desire to continue to play.
10. What would be the best gift I could give you?
A. Your time.
11. What makes you feel better when you’re sad or stressed?
A. Music or reading.
12. What is the most romantic movie you’ve ever seen?
A. Dirty Dancing or the Titanic. I can't decide between those two.
13. What is the worst date you’ve ever been on?
A. I haven't been on a date in 37 years.
14. What is the glue that keeps couples together?
A. Trust.
15. What was your first crush?
A. My first crush would have been a "who" not a "what," but in any event, I think it was a boy named Jamie in second grade.
16. When did your parents talk to you about the birds and the bees?
A. I don't know that they ever did, actually. My grandmother did that.
17. What is your greatest achievement?
A. I guess it would be an accumulation of all the words I've written over the years about my community for the local papers.
18. Were you close to your parents growing up?
A. No. My father was busy making money and my mother was miserable and unhappy. Neither had any time to raise children. I should not have been born. I used to consider myself a poster child for why abortion should be legal. It wasn't when I was born.
19. What was the most life-changing event you’ve ever experienced?
A. Probably my gallbladder surgery since the doctor messed that up and created an abdominal issue that I've been fighting for the last seven years.
20. Have you ever had a falling out with a friend? What happened?
A. I have had misunderstandings with friends. Usually I apologize and that's the end of it. I am always the one who apologizes even if I wasn't the one in the wrong. I can't recall a single time someone has hurt me and come to me and said, "I'm sorry."
________________
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.
Sunday, May 31, 2020
Saturday, May 30, 2020
Saturday 9: Uncle Albert
Saturday 9: Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey (1971)
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.
1) The lyrics tell us Paul believes it's going to rain. How's the weather where you are today?
A. Hot and humid.
2) Paul sings that he is sorry because he hasn't "done a bloody thing all day." What do you hope to accomplish this weekend?
A. My husband will be cutting hay, so I will be taking care of him and the house.
3) He also references butter pie, which is made primarily with potatoes (with onions and, of course, butter). That dish is not popular on this side of the Atlantic. Last time you had potatoes, how were they prepared (baked, mashed, hash browned, french fried ...)?
A. I had French fries at lunch the other day.
4) Linda McCartney is credited as co-writer and performer on this recording. Paul and Linda were partners in real life, too; married 29 years, they raised four children together. They often said they tried never to spend more than a few hours apart. Do you enjoy a lot of togetherness, or do you value your personal time? Has your experience with Covid19 and quarantine changed how you feel about this?
A. I value my personal time. My husband recently retired so we are figuring it out. Fortunately we have a big farm where he can go get lost if I need him to, and I have my office and it has a door. I don't think our experience with Covid 45 has really been a problem, except I can't run off to the grocery store whenever I feel like it.
5) Paul and Linda came from very different backgrounds. His family was lower middle class, lived in Liverpool's public housing and received government aid. She grew up in affluent Scarsdale, the daughter of a wealthy theatrical attorney. Do you think it's more important for a couple to share a common background, or to share common interests?
A. I think it helps to have common interests and a common background. We have both, although we're a little short on the common interests. He works with his hands and I read.
6) Paul is known for his work ethic. At age 78, he's still making music and performing live. What's your favorite Paul McCartney song?
A. Band on the Run.
7) In 1971, when this song was a hit, Bobby Fischer was the world's most famous and highest-rated chess player. Do you play chess?
A. I play but not very well. I haven't played in a long time.
8) England's Princess Anne turned 21 in 1971. The occasion was commemorated by a formal portrait, taken by celebrated fashion photographer Norman Parkinson. Who took the most recent photo of you?
A. I think I took a selfie of my husband and me in our masks for a cousin who asked for one.
9) Random question: Do you find it more satisfying to work with your hands, or your head?
A. With my head. I like a little hand jive every now and then, though. I couldn't play my guitar without my hands.
______________
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.
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.
1) The lyrics tell us Paul believes it's going to rain. How's the weather where you are today?
A. Hot and humid.
2) Paul sings that he is sorry because he hasn't "done a bloody thing all day." What do you hope to accomplish this weekend?
A. My husband will be cutting hay, so I will be taking care of him and the house.
3) He also references butter pie, which is made primarily with potatoes (with onions and, of course, butter). That dish is not popular on this side of the Atlantic. Last time you had potatoes, how were they prepared (baked, mashed, hash browned, french fried ...)?
A. I had French fries at lunch the other day.
4) Linda McCartney is credited as co-writer and performer on this recording. Paul and Linda were partners in real life, too; married 29 years, they raised four children together. They often said they tried never to spend more than a few hours apart. Do you enjoy a lot of togetherness, or do you value your personal time? Has your experience with Covid19 and quarantine changed how you feel about this?
A. I value my personal time. My husband recently retired so we are figuring it out. Fortunately we have a big farm where he can go get lost if I need him to, and I have my office and it has a door. I don't think our experience with Covid 45 has really been a problem, except I can't run off to the grocery store whenever I feel like it.
5) Paul and Linda came from very different backgrounds. His family was lower middle class, lived in Liverpool's public housing and received government aid. She grew up in affluent Scarsdale, the daughter of a wealthy theatrical attorney. Do you think it's more important for a couple to share a common background, or to share common interests?
A. I think it helps to have common interests and a common background. We have both, although we're a little short on the common interests. He works with his hands and I read.
6) Paul is known for his work ethic. At age 78, he's still making music and performing live. What's your favorite Paul McCartney song?
A. Band on the Run.
7) In 1971, when this song was a hit, Bobby Fischer was the world's most famous and highest-rated chess player. Do you play chess?
A. I play but not very well. I haven't played in a long time.
8) England's Princess Anne turned 21 in 1971. The occasion was commemorated by a formal portrait, taken by celebrated fashion photographer Norman Parkinson. Who took the most recent photo of you?
A. I think I took a selfie of my husband and me in our masks for a cousin who asked for one.
9) Random question: Do you find it more satisfying to work with your hands, or your head?
A. With my head. I like a little hand jive every now and then, though. I couldn't play my guitar without my hands.
______________
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, May 28, 2020
Thursday Thirteen
1. I went out this morning. I saw many people without face masks.
2. I also saw many people with face masks. Virginia tomorrow will make wearing a mask mandatory.
3. It is hard to tell who someone is when they have a face mask on. I mistook a person for someone else because from the profile she looked like a friend.
4. Trying to stay six feet away from people in a store is next to impossible, and the store workers make it the most difficult because they are always stocking. How are you supposed to go down the aisle when they aren't moving?
5. When we checked out, I thought the bill was a bit high but prices on things have increased and I also thought maybe my husband had sneaked something into the cart (he's been known to do that). But when I came home and looked at the receipt, I realized I'd been double charged for three different items, amounting to about $30. One of us will have to go back to the store tomorrow and talk to someone in customer service.
6. Also while we were out, we saw a weird looking plane. It looked like a huge drone. We weren't sure what type of plane it was.
7. My internet connection and landline telephone has been going in and out during the rain. I feel sure there is water getting in the line somewhere, but that will be a difficult thing for the telephone company to fix. I expect I will be calling them a lot during rain showers until this is resolved.
8. The store had empty shelves. Not just in toilet paper, but in cleaning goods, in crafts, and in many other items. Apparently we don't need new clothes during a pandemic - there were plenty of clothes in that area, except for the socks I wanted, of course.
9. This tells me that something's not right. All is not well in the world when the store shelves are empty.
10. In fact, the world feels sick when I leave my home. A feeling of weariness overcomes me and I am ready to curl into a ball or hide under the bed.
11. During the course of our visit to another store, I inadvertently stepped in front of a man, coming too close. He immediately moved away and my husband chided me for not paying attention. Rightfully so. I needed the reminder.
12. At this other store, the men were wearing masks and the women weren't. It was the other away around at the first store. Weird.
13. I have physically felt better this spring than I have in a long time. I think wearing a mask will become part of my routine when I am out. But I also think maybe the best place for me is here, at my home, where I've mostly stayed since the middle of March.
______________
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 657th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.
2. I also saw many people with face masks. Virginia tomorrow will make wearing a mask mandatory.
3. It is hard to tell who someone is when they have a face mask on. I mistook a person for someone else because from the profile she looked like a friend.
4. Trying to stay six feet away from people in a store is next to impossible, and the store workers make it the most difficult because they are always stocking. How are you supposed to go down the aisle when they aren't moving?
5. When we checked out, I thought the bill was a bit high but prices on things have increased and I also thought maybe my husband had sneaked something into the cart (he's been known to do that). But when I came home and looked at the receipt, I realized I'd been double charged for three different items, amounting to about $30. One of us will have to go back to the store tomorrow and talk to someone in customer service.
6. Also while we were out, we saw a weird looking plane. It looked like a huge drone. We weren't sure what type of plane it was.
7. My internet connection and landline telephone has been going in and out during the rain. I feel sure there is water getting in the line somewhere, but that will be a difficult thing for the telephone company to fix. I expect I will be calling them a lot during rain showers until this is resolved.
8. The store had empty shelves. Not just in toilet paper, but in cleaning goods, in crafts, and in many other items. Apparently we don't need new clothes during a pandemic - there were plenty of clothes in that area, except for the socks I wanted, of course.
9. This tells me that something's not right. All is not well in the world when the store shelves are empty.
10. In fact, the world feels sick when I leave my home. A feeling of weariness overcomes me and I am ready to curl into a ball or hide under the bed.
11. During the course of our visit to another store, I inadvertently stepped in front of a man, coming too close. He immediately moved away and my husband chided me for not paying attention. Rightfully so. I needed the reminder.
12. At this other store, the men were wearing masks and the women weren't. It was the other away around at the first store. Weird.
13. I have physically felt better this spring than I have in a long time. I think wearing a mask will become part of my routine when I am out. But I also think maybe the best place for me is here, at my home, where I've mostly stayed since the middle of March.
______________
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 657th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.
Tuesday, May 26, 2020
Peaceful Scene
I can't often get all the critters in one shot like this. Deer and turkey in the front field.
Monday, May 25, 2020
Pandemic Journal - Day 66
Today I cut my husband's hair.
He is bald on top and I have never cut his hair before. I think it is easier to cut someone else's hair than your own.
Stories of people who have gone to the hair stylist's whilst having Covid-45 has made me wary of going back anytime soon. It has also made my husband wary. He was going to let it grow out but he has curly hair. It was sticking out under his hat and he looked like Bozo the Clown.
So I gave him a haircut. He said it feels better.
In other news, Virginia has begun Phase 1 of its "reopening." I have no idea how successful this has been. I expect if it wasn't successful, there will be surge of sickness in June. A lot of people are acting like they've been in jail for six weeks instead of at home. I am afraid America is home of the idiot.
Interesting word, idiot. It comes from the Greek idiōtēs, and meant a private person, individual, who was common or a person lacking a professional skill. In Latin, idiota meant uneducated, ignorant, common, and later came to mean crude, illiterate, ignorant. Around the 13th century, the addition of stupid was added to the meaning of the word. By the 14th century, English had adopted the word and it meant mentally deficient.
Some historians have interpreted the word "idiot" as reflecting the Ancient Greeks' attitudes to civic participation and private life, combining the ancient meaning of 'private citizen' with the modern meaning 'fool' to conclude that the Greeks used the word to say that it is selfish and foolish not to participate in public life. Those who are disdainful of the many in favor of the few are idiots.
That means the people who say let Grandma die so I can go buy beer are idiots.
So that makes the "me me me" attitude of the the majority of Americans, well, idiotic. We have an American Taliban comprised of American idiots. This is not an original idea. This is, I'm afraid, how most of the world sees us today.
That has been my summation of what I've watched as the country has opened, especially this weekend as I've seen pictures of big crowds and few masks. We are one big beast of selfishness, because we're so consumed with our "free-dumbs" that we can't see how slavish and selfish we really are. I include myself in this. I wonder if there is a single American capable of original thought anymore, we're all so brainwashed by the peculiarities of what we read and see.
At this point, I can only heave big sighs.
I am staying home, still. I am not going out even though I'd like to. I have not made an appointment to have my hair styled. Lord knows it needs it.
Once again, I have developed a sore throat, for the third time since the pandemic, but I am fairly certain it is a food allergy (chicken alfredo pizza, although I am not sure what exactly is in it that I am reacting to, but this is also the third time I've had that pizza, followed a few days later by a sore throat).
It would be inconsiderate and foolish of me to go anywhere while I have a sore throat, and it would be incredibly foolish and idiotic of me to do that without a mask. If I must go out, a mask, at least, will protect someone else if I do have more than an allergy.
The young women who clean my house are supposed to come Thursday, but since I have a sore throat, I will be calling them tomorrow to move the date back again. I don't want to risk making anyone ill.
He is bald on top and I have never cut his hair before. I think it is easier to cut someone else's hair than your own.
Stories of people who have gone to the hair stylist's whilst having Covid-45 has made me wary of going back anytime soon. It has also made my husband wary. He was going to let it grow out but he has curly hair. It was sticking out under his hat and he looked like Bozo the Clown.
So I gave him a haircut. He said it feels better.
In other news, Virginia has begun Phase 1 of its "reopening." I have no idea how successful this has been. I expect if it wasn't successful, there will be surge of sickness in June. A lot of people are acting like they've been in jail for six weeks instead of at home. I am afraid America is home of the idiot.
Interesting word, idiot. It comes from the Greek idiōtēs, and meant a private person, individual, who was common or a person lacking a professional skill. In Latin, idiota meant uneducated, ignorant, common, and later came to mean crude, illiterate, ignorant. Around the 13th century, the addition of stupid was added to the meaning of the word. By the 14th century, English had adopted the word and it meant mentally deficient.
Some historians have interpreted the word "idiot" as reflecting the Ancient Greeks' attitudes to civic participation and private life, combining the ancient meaning of 'private citizen' with the modern meaning 'fool' to conclude that the Greeks used the word to say that it is selfish and foolish not to participate in public life. Those who are disdainful of the many in favor of the few are idiots.
That means the people who say let Grandma die so I can go buy beer are idiots.
So that makes the "me me me" attitude of the the majority of Americans, well, idiotic. We have an American Taliban comprised of American idiots. This is not an original idea. This is, I'm afraid, how most of the world sees us today.
That has been my summation of what I've watched as the country has opened, especially this weekend as I've seen pictures of big crowds and few masks. We are one big beast of selfishness, because we're so consumed with our "free-dumbs" that we can't see how slavish and selfish we really are. I include myself in this. I wonder if there is a single American capable of original thought anymore, we're all so brainwashed by the peculiarities of what we read and see.
At this point, I can only heave big sighs.
I am staying home, still. I am not going out even though I'd like to. I have not made an appointment to have my hair styled. Lord knows it needs it.
Once again, I have developed a sore throat, for the third time since the pandemic, but I am fairly certain it is a food allergy (chicken alfredo pizza, although I am not sure what exactly is in it that I am reacting to, but this is also the third time I've had that pizza, followed a few days later by a sore throat).
It would be inconsiderate and foolish of me to go anywhere while I have a sore throat, and it would be incredibly foolish and idiotic of me to do that without a mask. If I must go out, a mask, at least, will protect someone else if I do have more than an allergy.
The young women who clean my house are supposed to come Thursday, but since I have a sore throat, I will be calling them tomorrow to move the date back again. I don't want to risk making anyone ill.
Sunday, May 24, 2020
Sunday Stealing
Sunday Stealing
1. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again?
A. Since that was my husband, I certainly hope so.
2. What’s the closest thing to you that’s red?
A. A Webster's Dictionary (yes, I have real dictionaries on my desk)
3. Did you meet someone new today?
A. I'm still doing the physical separation thing, so not in person. I did meet a distant cousin while trying to straighten out some misinformation on a Find A Grave site, though.
4. What are you craving right now?
A. Peace of mind.
5. What comes to mind when I say, “cabbage”?
A. Green.
6. What does your last text say?
A. "Now that I have your number, here is my cell phone. Call or text any time."
7. Do you bite into your ice cream, or just lick it?
A. I don't eat ice cream.
8. Do you like your hair?
A. At the moment, I am still sporting a Covid Cut. It is not bad but I am ready for a real haircut. I don't see that happening any time soon, though.
9. Do you like yourself?
A. Nope.
10. Do you like cottage cheese?
A. Nope.
11. What are you listening to right now?
A. The Sound of Silence. Real silence, not the song. The kind of silence where the only thing you hear is the click of the keyboard as you type.
12. Is there anything sparkly in the room where you are?
A. The keys on my guitars are shiny. That's about as sparkly as it gets in here. I'm not a sparkly kind of girl.
13. How many countries have you visited?
A. Four. The United States, England (layover on a plane, doesn't really count), Spain, and France.
14. Are you sarcastic?
A. Who me? Never.
15. Have you ever crawled through a window?
A. When I was about 9 years old, I became trapped in the bathroom at my grandparents' house. The door jammed shut. The only way to get me out was for my grandfather to climb up on a ladder and pull me through the window. I was hysterical by the time he got me out of there.
________________
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.
1. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again?
A. Since that was my husband, I certainly hope so.
2. What’s the closest thing to you that’s red?
A. A Webster's Dictionary (yes, I have real dictionaries on my desk)
3. Did you meet someone new today?
A. I'm still doing the physical separation thing, so not in person. I did meet a distant cousin while trying to straighten out some misinformation on a Find A Grave site, though.
4. What are you craving right now?
A. Peace of mind.
5. What comes to mind when I say, “cabbage”?
A. Green.
6. What does your last text say?
A. "Now that I have your number, here is my cell phone. Call or text any time."
7. Do you bite into your ice cream, or just lick it?
A. I don't eat ice cream.
8. Do you like your hair?
A. At the moment, I am still sporting a Covid Cut. It is not bad but I am ready for a real haircut. I don't see that happening any time soon, though.
9. Do you like yourself?
A. Nope.
10. Do you like cottage cheese?
A. Nope.
11. What are you listening to right now?
A. The Sound of Silence. Real silence, not the song. The kind of silence where the only thing you hear is the click of the keyboard as you type.
12. Is there anything sparkly in the room where you are?
A. The keys on my guitars are shiny. That's about as sparkly as it gets in here. I'm not a sparkly kind of girl.
13. How many countries have you visited?
A. Four. The United States, England (layover on a plane, doesn't really count), Spain, and France.
14. Are you sarcastic?
A. Who me? Never.
15. Have you ever crawled through a window?
A. When I was about 9 years old, I became trapped in the bathroom at my grandparents' house. The door jammed shut. The only way to get me out was for my grandfather to climb up on a ladder and pull me through the window. I was hysterical by the time he got me out of there.
________________
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, May 23, 2020
Saturday 9: Battle Hymn
Saturday 9: Battle Hymn of the Republic (1963)
Unfamiliar with Judy Garland's rendition of this week's tune? Hear it here.
Memorial Day is the federal holiday designated to honor American service people who died in battle.
1) On May 30, 1868, President Grant presided over the Memorial Day observance at Arlington National Cemetery. Have you ever visited Arlington Cemetery?
A. No.
2) On Memorial Day, it is customary to fly the flag at half-staff until noon and then raise it to the top of the staff until sunset. Will you be flying the flag at your home this weekend?
A. No. I don't have a flag pole.
3) Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day, because flowers and ribbons were left on graves of soldiers. Do you find solace in visiting cemeteries?
A. I like to visit cemeteries to look at the different tombstones and such. I find quiet there. I'm not sure that is the same thing as solace, though.
4) The lyrics to this week's song were written by Julia Ward Howe in 1861. Her inspiration was a White House visit with Abraham Lincoln. In 2020, under normal circumstances, public tours of the White House are available but you must request your ticket in advance from your Member of Congress (House or Senate). When you travel, do you plan your trip weeks before you go? Or do you decide how your days will unfold once you reach your destination?
A. We plan in advance where we're going and then work out the details once we get to our destination.
5) Judy Garland performed this week's song before a live audience as a tribute to President Kennedy, who had been assassinated just weeks before. She knew Kennedy personally and considered this a farewell to a friend. While the performance was difficult for her -- at one point she flubs the lyrics -- she believed it was important, and could perhaps help the country heal. Tell us about a song that reminds you of someone you loved who is no longer with us.
A. Goodbye Norma Jean, by Elton John, reminds me of Marilyn Monroe, and then he rewrote it for the death of Princess Diana.
6) John F. Kennedy served in WWII and was awarded a Navy and Marine Corps medal and a Purple Heart. His brother Joe also served and was awarded the Navy Cross, but he received his citation posthumously, having died during a flying mission over East Suffolk, England. Here at Saturday 9, we consider everyone who serves a hero and want to hear about the veterans and active military members in your life.
A. My father served in Korea but it was after the actual war. My uncle served in Vietnam and my other uncle joined up afterwards but as far as I know he was not in a war. My grandfather served in WWII. I have traced my lineage back to Revolutionary War soldiers.
7) Memorial Day is considered the beginning of the summer season. Will you be enjoying warm weather this weekend?
A. We just had 10 inches of rain in two days. I really hope it is not raining.
8) Berries are especially popular in summer. Which is your favorite: strawberries, blueberries, blackberries or raspberries?
A. Blueberries. Actually, my favorite is a wineberry, which is a type of wild raspberry that grows around here. I don't know if they grow anywhere else. They have a different flavor than a raspberry. They can be hard to find.
9) If you could attend a Memorial Day picnic with any fictional character, which would you choose?
A. Jo March from Little Women.
______________
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.
Unfamiliar with Judy Garland's rendition of this week's tune? Hear it here.
Memorial Day is the federal holiday designated to honor American service people who died in battle.
1) On May 30, 1868, President Grant presided over the Memorial Day observance at Arlington National Cemetery. Have you ever visited Arlington Cemetery?
A. No.
2) On Memorial Day, it is customary to fly the flag at half-staff until noon and then raise it to the top of the staff until sunset. Will you be flying the flag at your home this weekend?
A. No. I don't have a flag pole.
3) Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day, because flowers and ribbons were left on graves of soldiers. Do you find solace in visiting cemeteries?
A. I like to visit cemeteries to look at the different tombstones and such. I find quiet there. I'm not sure that is the same thing as solace, though.
4) The lyrics to this week's song were written by Julia Ward Howe in 1861. Her inspiration was a White House visit with Abraham Lincoln. In 2020, under normal circumstances, public tours of the White House are available but you must request your ticket in advance from your Member of Congress (House or Senate). When you travel, do you plan your trip weeks before you go? Or do you decide how your days will unfold once you reach your destination?
A. We plan in advance where we're going and then work out the details once we get to our destination.
5) Judy Garland performed this week's song before a live audience as a tribute to President Kennedy, who had been assassinated just weeks before. She knew Kennedy personally and considered this a farewell to a friend. While the performance was difficult for her -- at one point she flubs the lyrics -- she believed it was important, and could perhaps help the country heal. Tell us about a song that reminds you of someone you loved who is no longer with us.
A. Goodbye Norma Jean, by Elton John, reminds me of Marilyn Monroe, and then he rewrote it for the death of Princess Diana.
6) John F. Kennedy served in WWII and was awarded a Navy and Marine Corps medal and a Purple Heart. His brother Joe also served and was awarded the Navy Cross, but he received his citation posthumously, having died during a flying mission over East Suffolk, England. Here at Saturday 9, we consider everyone who serves a hero and want to hear about the veterans and active military members in your life.
A. My father served in Korea but it was after the actual war. My uncle served in Vietnam and my other uncle joined up afterwards but as far as I know he was not in a war. My grandfather served in WWII. I have traced my lineage back to Revolutionary War soldiers.
7) Memorial Day is considered the beginning of the summer season. Will you be enjoying warm weather this weekend?
A. We just had 10 inches of rain in two days. I really hope it is not raining.
8) Berries are especially popular in summer. Which is your favorite: strawberries, blueberries, blackberries or raspberries?
A. Blueberries. Actually, my favorite is a wineberry, which is a type of wild raspberry that grows around here. I don't know if they grow anywhere else. They have a different flavor than a raspberry. They can be hard to find.
9) If you could attend a Memorial Day picnic with any fictional character, which would you choose?
A. Jo March from Little Women.
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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, May 21, 2020
Thursday Thirteen
Today, a list of female singers who have influenced me in some way. They're not in any order of preference.
1. Pat Benatar - I first heard her songs when I was in high school. She was among the first women to "rock out" and gave me hope for doing so myself (although I went in another direction). Patricia Mae Giraldo, known professionally as Pat Benatar, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and four-time Grammy Award winner. She has two multi-platinum albums, five platinum albums, three gold albums, and 15 Billboard Top 40 singles, including the Top 10 hits "Hit Me with Your Best Shot", "Love Is a Battlefield", "We Belong", and "Invincible". She was nominated for a 2020 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
2. Joan Jett - I had just finished high school when I first heard Joan Jett singing "I love rock and roll" and doing it with joy and a growl. Joan Marie Jett is an American rock singer, songwriter, composer, musician, record producer and occasional actress. Jett is best known for her work as the frontwoman of her band Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, and for earlier founding and performing with the Runaways, which recorded and released the hit song "Cherry Bomb". The Blackhearts' version of the song "I Love Rock 'n Roll" was number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks in 1982. Jett's other notable hit songs include "Bad Reputation", "Crimson and Clover", "Do You Wanna Touch Me", "Light of Day", "I Hate Myself for Loving You" and "Dirty Deeds".
3. Dolly Parton - The queen of country music has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I watched her on the Porter Wagoner show. My parents listened mostly to country music when I was younger, so I know most of her early hits. (Once I could change the dial, unless a song of hers, such as "9 to 5" went to the Adult Top 40 charts as well as country, I rarely heard her.) I have a lot of admiration for Dolly Parton now, aside from the plastic surgery and botox stuff which I do not like. Still, she's got a good heart and has been quite the influence on younger musicians. Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, actress, author, businesswoman, and humanitarian, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album debut in 1967 with Hello, I'm Dolly. With steady success during the remainder of the 1960s, her sales and chart peak came during the 1970s and continued into the 1980s. Parton's albums in the 1990s did not sell as well, but she achieved commercial success again in the new millennium and has released albums on various independent labels since 2000, including her own label, Dolly Records.
4. Chrissy Hynde - I am not sure when I first heard The Pretenders, Hynde's band, but I noticed her more in the 1990s than when I was younger. She can rock a guitar. Christine Ellen "Chrissie" Hynde is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She is a founding member and the guitarist, lead vocalist, and primary songwriter of the rock band the Pretenders, as well as its only constant member.
5. Sheryl Crow - I first became aware of Crow with her hit, "All I Wanna Do" and then followed her career for a while in the 1990s. I have several of her albums but as she turned more toward country, I stopped listening to her new work. I listen to her first four albums all the time, though. Sheryl Suzanne Crow is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actress. Her music incorporates elements of pop, rock, country, jazz, and blues. She has released ten studio albums, four compilations, two live albums, and has contributed to a number of film soundtracks. Her most popular songs include "All I Wanna Do", "Strong Enough", "If It Makes You Happy", "Everyday Is a Winding Road", "Tomorrow Never Dies", "My Favorite Mistake", "Picture" and "Soak Up the Sun". She has sold more than 50 million albums worldwide. Crow has garnered nine Grammy Awards from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
6. Melissa Etheridge - I became aware of Etheridge about the same time as I did Sheryl Crow. Etheridge is more rock, although some of her ballads and slow songs are incredibly beautiful. She's also quite a musician and guitar player. Melissa Lou Etheridge is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and activist. Her self-titled debut album Melissa Etheridge was released in 1988 and became an underground success. The album peaked at No. 22 on the Billboard 200, and its lead single, "Bring Me Some Water", garnered Etheridge her first Grammy Award nomination for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female. In 1993, Etheridge won her first Grammy award for her single "Ain't It Heavy" from her third album, Never Enough. Later that year, she released what would become her mainstream breakthrough album, Yes I Am. Its tracks "I'm the Only One" and "Come to My Window" both reached the top 30 in the United States, and the latter earned Etheridge her second Grammy award. Yes I Am peaked at No. 15 on the Billboard 200, and spent 138 weeks on the chart, earning a RIAA certification of 6× Platinum, her largest to date.
7. Celine Dion - Everyone likes to make fun of Dion, and I have never understood why. I seem to lack the "make fun of" gene. I like her music, especially her work in the 1990s. She has a beautiful voice. I thought the theme from the Titanic movie that she did was lovely. Céline Marie Claudette Dion CC OQ is a Canadian singer. She is renowned for her powerful, technically skilled vocals, and remains the best-selling Canadian artist and one of the best-selling artists of all time with record sales of 200 million copies worldwide. Born into a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, she emerged as a teen star in her homeland with a series of French-language albums during the 1980s. She first gained international recognition by winning both the 1982 Yamaha World Popular Song Festival and the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest, where she represented Switzerland. After learning to speak English, she signed on to Epic Records in the United States. In 1990, Dion released her debut English-language album, Unison, establishing herself as a viable pop artist in North America and other English-speaking areas of the world.
8. Stevie Nicks - What can I say about the wonderful, witchy Stevie Nicks? She rocked it as the lead singer in Fleetwood Mac and she is still rocking it. I was aware of Fleetwood Mac when I was in middle school, I think. I remember hearing a song with Christie McVie singing instead of Stevie and not believing it was Fleetwood Mac. The last CD I bought was a Stevie Nicks solo album. Stephanie Lynn Nicks is an American singer and songwriter. Nicks is best known for her work as a songwriter and vocalist with Fleetwood Mac, and her chart-topping solo career. She is known for her distinctive voice, mystical stage persona and poetic, symbolic lyrics. Her work both as a member of Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist has produced over forty top 50 hits and sold over 140 million records, making her one of the best-selling music acts of all time with Fleetwood Mac.
9. Linda Ronstadt - I saw Ronstadt in person when she toured in the late 1980s. It was a great concert. She certainly had a set of pipes on her and I was sad when I learned she has Parkinson's and can't sing anymore. Linda Maria Ronstadt is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, and Latin. She has earned 10 Grammy Awards, three American Music Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, and an ALMA Award, and many of her albums have been certified gold, platinum or multiplatinum in the United States and internationally. She has also earned nominations for a Tony Award and a Golden Globe award. She was awarded the Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award by The Latin Recording Academy in 2011 and also awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award by The Recording Academy in 2016. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April 2014. On July 28, 2014, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts and Humanities. In 2019, she received a star jointly with Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for their work as the group Trio. Linda Ronstadt was among the five Honorees who received the 2019 Kennedy Center Honors for lifetime artistic achievements, at the annual event on December 8, 2019, in Washington, D.C., at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
10. Anne Murray - I know, you're wondering why she's stuck in here, aren't you? Because she has a beautiful voice and I love her sound quality. Morna Anne Murray CC ONS is a Canadian singer in pop, country, and adult contemporary music whose albums have sold over 55 million copies worldwide during her 40-year career. Murray was the first Canadian female solo singer to reach No. 1 on the U.S. charts, and also the first to earn a Gold record for one of her signature songs, "Snowbird". She is often cited as one of the female Canadian artists who paved the way for other international Canadian success stories such as k.d. lang, Céline Dion, and Shania Twain. She is also the first woman and the first Canadian to win "Album of the Year" at the 1984 Country Music Association Awards for her Gold-plus 1983 album A Little Good News.
11. Aretha Franklin - I don't know that any list of female singers and musicians could leave out the Queen of Soul. I was in my 20s before I realized how important and influential she was. Aretha Louise Franklin was an American singer, songwriter, actress, pianist, and civil rights activist. Franklin began her career as a child singing gospel at New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan, where her father C. L. Franklin was a minister. At the age of 18, she embarked on a secular-music career as a recording artist for Columbia Records. While Franklin's career did not immediately flourish, she found acclaim and commercial success after signing with Atlantic Records in 1966. Hit songs such as "I Never Loved a Man", "Respect", A Natural Woman", "Chain of Fools", "Think", and "I Say a Little Prayer" propelled her past her musical peers. By the end of the 1960s, Aretha Franklin had come to be known as the "Queen of Soul".
12. Ann & Nancy Wilson (Heart) - It took me a while to appreciate Heart, but after some study I have come to the conclusion that Nancy Wilson is one of the best female guitar players in the world and Ann is probably one of the best singers. Of course they are aging so that may not be true as the younger women move onto the stage, but they can rock out. Heart is an American rock band formed in 1970 in Seattle, Washington by Steve Fossen, Roger Fisher, David Belzer, and Jeff Johnson. It evolved from an existing band, White Heart. Since 1973 the vocalists for Heart have been sisters Ann Wilson and Nancy Wilson.
13. Cyndi Lauper - Lauper is another singer who has grown on me as I have aged, mostly for her activism and common sense. Her songs in the 1980s did not stick with me then, but as I have learned more about her, I find I admire her for constantly moving forward. Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album She's So Unusual was the first debut album by a female artist to achieve four top-five hits on the Billboard Hot 100—"Girls Just Want to Have Fun", "Time After Time", "She Bop", and "All Through the Night"—and earned Lauper the Best New Artist award at the 27th Grammy Awards in 1985. Her success continued with the soundtrack for the motion picture The Goonies and her second record True Colors. This album included the number one single "True Colors" and "Change of Heart", which peaked at number three.
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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 657th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.
1. Pat Benatar - I first heard her songs when I was in high school. She was among the first women to "rock out" and gave me hope for doing so myself (although I went in another direction). Patricia Mae Giraldo, known professionally as Pat Benatar, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and four-time Grammy Award winner. She has two multi-platinum albums, five platinum albums, three gold albums, and 15 Billboard Top 40 singles, including the Top 10 hits "Hit Me with Your Best Shot", "Love Is a Battlefield", "We Belong", and "Invincible". She was nominated for a 2020 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
2. Joan Jett - I had just finished high school when I first heard Joan Jett singing "I love rock and roll" and doing it with joy and a growl. Joan Marie Jett is an American rock singer, songwriter, composer, musician, record producer and occasional actress. Jett is best known for her work as the frontwoman of her band Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, and for earlier founding and performing with the Runaways, which recorded and released the hit song "Cherry Bomb". The Blackhearts' version of the song "I Love Rock 'n Roll" was number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks in 1982. Jett's other notable hit songs include "Bad Reputation", "Crimson and Clover", "Do You Wanna Touch Me", "Light of Day", "I Hate Myself for Loving You" and "Dirty Deeds".
3. Dolly Parton - The queen of country music has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I watched her on the Porter Wagoner show. My parents listened mostly to country music when I was younger, so I know most of her early hits. (Once I could change the dial, unless a song of hers, such as "9 to 5" went to the Adult Top 40 charts as well as country, I rarely heard her.) I have a lot of admiration for Dolly Parton now, aside from the plastic surgery and botox stuff which I do not like. Still, she's got a good heart and has been quite the influence on younger musicians. Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, actress, author, businesswoman, and humanitarian, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album debut in 1967 with Hello, I'm Dolly. With steady success during the remainder of the 1960s, her sales and chart peak came during the 1970s and continued into the 1980s. Parton's albums in the 1990s did not sell as well, but she achieved commercial success again in the new millennium and has released albums on various independent labels since 2000, including her own label, Dolly Records.
4. Chrissy Hynde - I am not sure when I first heard The Pretenders, Hynde's band, but I noticed her more in the 1990s than when I was younger. She can rock a guitar. Christine Ellen "Chrissie" Hynde is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She is a founding member and the guitarist, lead vocalist, and primary songwriter of the rock band the Pretenders, as well as its only constant member.
5. Sheryl Crow - I first became aware of Crow with her hit, "All I Wanna Do" and then followed her career for a while in the 1990s. I have several of her albums but as she turned more toward country, I stopped listening to her new work. I listen to her first four albums all the time, though. Sheryl Suzanne Crow is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actress. Her music incorporates elements of pop, rock, country, jazz, and blues. She has released ten studio albums, four compilations, two live albums, and has contributed to a number of film soundtracks. Her most popular songs include "All I Wanna Do", "Strong Enough", "If It Makes You Happy", "Everyday Is a Winding Road", "Tomorrow Never Dies", "My Favorite Mistake", "Picture" and "Soak Up the Sun". She has sold more than 50 million albums worldwide. Crow has garnered nine Grammy Awards from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
6. Melissa Etheridge - I became aware of Etheridge about the same time as I did Sheryl Crow. Etheridge is more rock, although some of her ballads and slow songs are incredibly beautiful. She's also quite a musician and guitar player. Melissa Lou Etheridge is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and activist. Her self-titled debut album Melissa Etheridge was released in 1988 and became an underground success. The album peaked at No. 22 on the Billboard 200, and its lead single, "Bring Me Some Water", garnered Etheridge her first Grammy Award nomination for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female. In 1993, Etheridge won her first Grammy award for her single "Ain't It Heavy" from her third album, Never Enough. Later that year, she released what would become her mainstream breakthrough album, Yes I Am. Its tracks "I'm the Only One" and "Come to My Window" both reached the top 30 in the United States, and the latter earned Etheridge her second Grammy award. Yes I Am peaked at No. 15 on the Billboard 200, and spent 138 weeks on the chart, earning a RIAA certification of 6× Platinum, her largest to date.
7. Celine Dion - Everyone likes to make fun of Dion, and I have never understood why. I seem to lack the "make fun of" gene. I like her music, especially her work in the 1990s. She has a beautiful voice. I thought the theme from the Titanic movie that she did was lovely. Céline Marie Claudette Dion CC OQ is a Canadian singer. She is renowned for her powerful, technically skilled vocals, and remains the best-selling Canadian artist and one of the best-selling artists of all time with record sales of 200 million copies worldwide. Born into a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, she emerged as a teen star in her homeland with a series of French-language albums during the 1980s. She first gained international recognition by winning both the 1982 Yamaha World Popular Song Festival and the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest, where she represented Switzerland. After learning to speak English, she signed on to Epic Records in the United States. In 1990, Dion released her debut English-language album, Unison, establishing herself as a viable pop artist in North America and other English-speaking areas of the world.
8. Stevie Nicks - What can I say about the wonderful, witchy Stevie Nicks? She rocked it as the lead singer in Fleetwood Mac and she is still rocking it. I was aware of Fleetwood Mac when I was in middle school, I think. I remember hearing a song with Christie McVie singing instead of Stevie and not believing it was Fleetwood Mac. The last CD I bought was a Stevie Nicks solo album. Stephanie Lynn Nicks is an American singer and songwriter. Nicks is best known for her work as a songwriter and vocalist with Fleetwood Mac, and her chart-topping solo career. She is known for her distinctive voice, mystical stage persona and poetic, symbolic lyrics. Her work both as a member of Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist has produced over forty top 50 hits and sold over 140 million records, making her one of the best-selling music acts of all time with Fleetwood Mac.
9. Linda Ronstadt - I saw Ronstadt in person when she toured in the late 1980s. It was a great concert. She certainly had a set of pipes on her and I was sad when I learned she has Parkinson's and can't sing anymore. Linda Maria Ronstadt is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, and Latin. She has earned 10 Grammy Awards, three American Music Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, and an ALMA Award, and many of her albums have been certified gold, platinum or multiplatinum in the United States and internationally. She has also earned nominations for a Tony Award and a Golden Globe award. She was awarded the Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award by The Latin Recording Academy in 2011 and also awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award by The Recording Academy in 2016. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April 2014. On July 28, 2014, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts and Humanities. In 2019, she received a star jointly with Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for their work as the group Trio. Linda Ronstadt was among the five Honorees who received the 2019 Kennedy Center Honors for lifetime artistic achievements, at the annual event on December 8, 2019, in Washington, D.C., at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
10. Anne Murray - I know, you're wondering why she's stuck in here, aren't you? Because she has a beautiful voice and I love her sound quality. Morna Anne Murray CC ONS is a Canadian singer in pop, country, and adult contemporary music whose albums have sold over 55 million copies worldwide during her 40-year career. Murray was the first Canadian female solo singer to reach No. 1 on the U.S. charts, and also the first to earn a Gold record for one of her signature songs, "Snowbird". She is often cited as one of the female Canadian artists who paved the way for other international Canadian success stories such as k.d. lang, Céline Dion, and Shania Twain. She is also the first woman and the first Canadian to win "Album of the Year" at the 1984 Country Music Association Awards for her Gold-plus 1983 album A Little Good News.
11. Aretha Franklin - I don't know that any list of female singers and musicians could leave out the Queen of Soul. I was in my 20s before I realized how important and influential she was. Aretha Louise Franklin was an American singer, songwriter, actress, pianist, and civil rights activist. Franklin began her career as a child singing gospel at New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan, where her father C. L. Franklin was a minister. At the age of 18, she embarked on a secular-music career as a recording artist for Columbia Records. While Franklin's career did not immediately flourish, she found acclaim and commercial success after signing with Atlantic Records in 1966. Hit songs such as "I Never Loved a Man", "Respect", A Natural Woman", "Chain of Fools", "Think", and "I Say a Little Prayer" propelled her past her musical peers. By the end of the 1960s, Aretha Franklin had come to be known as the "Queen of Soul".
12. Ann & Nancy Wilson (Heart) - It took me a while to appreciate Heart, but after some study I have come to the conclusion that Nancy Wilson is one of the best female guitar players in the world and Ann is probably one of the best singers. Of course they are aging so that may not be true as the younger women move onto the stage, but they can rock out. Heart is an American rock band formed in 1970 in Seattle, Washington by Steve Fossen, Roger Fisher, David Belzer, and Jeff Johnson. It evolved from an existing band, White Heart. Since 1973 the vocalists for Heart have been sisters Ann Wilson and Nancy Wilson.
13. Cyndi Lauper - Lauper is another singer who has grown on me as I have aged, mostly for her activism and common sense. Her songs in the 1980s did not stick with me then, but as I have learned more about her, I find I admire her for constantly moving forward. Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album She's So Unusual was the first debut album by a female artist to achieve four top-five hits on the Billboard Hot 100—"Girls Just Want to Have Fun", "Time After Time", "She Bop", and "All Through the Night"—and earned Lauper the Best New Artist award at the 27th Grammy Awards in 1985. Her success continued with the soundtrack for the motion picture The Goonies and her second record True Colors. This album included the number one single "True Colors" and "Change of Heart", which peaked at number three.
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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 657th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.
Tuesday, May 19, 2020
Song Quiz Again
I really am bad at these daily things. But it's my blog and my life and if I want to do them in clumps, so be it.
A song I like from the 1970s would be . . . pretty much any of them since those were my high school years. I'll go with this one, though, because I think it is fun: Mockingbird by James Taylor and Carly Simon. I think it was a hit around 1974-1975.
A song I had played at my wedding was Longer Than by Dan Folgerberg.
A song I like that's a cover by another singer would be Piece of My Heart by Melissa Etheridge, originally sung by Janis Joplin.
A song that's a classic favorite would be Stairway to Heaven by Led Zepplin. (I can play a passable version of this on the guitar.)
A song that I'd sing in a karaoke duet would be You Don't Bring Me Flowers, by Neil Diamond and Barbara Streisand.
A song from the year I was born would be It's My Party, by Leslie Gore (the number one song on my birthday).
A song I like from the 1970s would be . . . pretty much any of them since those were my high school years. I'll go with this one, though, because I think it is fun: Mockingbird by James Taylor and Carly Simon. I think it was a hit around 1974-1975.
A song I had played at my wedding was Longer Than by Dan Folgerberg.
A song I like that's a cover by another singer would be Piece of My Heart by Melissa Etheridge, originally sung by Janis Joplin.
A song that's a classic favorite would be Stairway to Heaven by Led Zepplin. (I can play a passable version of this on the guitar.)
A song that I'd sing in a karaoke duet would be You Don't Bring Me Flowers, by Neil Diamond and Barbara Streisand.
A song from the year I was born would be It's My Party, by Leslie Gore (the number one song on my birthday).
Congratulations to My Niece
I know it wasn't the graduation they expected, being pronounced graduates via youtube, but it's over and done - time for these kids to put this weird spring behind them and look forward to whatever is coming next. For my niece that will be college, hopefully on campus and in person and not online, but even if it is online I'm sure she will do fine. She wants to be a nurse. I wish her well and hope she creates a wonderful and fulfilling life for herself.
Monday, May 18, 2020
Pandemic Journal - Day 66
Here at home, things have stayed the same, sort of.
On Thursday, my husband took his mother to a doctor's appointment, and then they went to Kroger. She spent nearly two hours in there!
My husband looked like a wild man when he got home.
On Friday, I had a bad episode with my TMJ. My entire face hurt and I couldn't get my jaw to unlock until the evening. This is an ongoing issue that has no resolution. I wear a mouth guard and try to eat soft foods and do all the right things, but sometimes it flares anyway. I'd had a nightmare Thursday night and I suspect that caused the flare up. I must have been doing a lot of teeth grinding. I dreamed about body parts flying all over the place and I was trying to save people but not having a lot of luck.
Sometimes I wonder what is in my head.
Some businesses have reopened. I have not made an appointment for a haircut, nor do I plan to any time soon. I do not have a regular hair dresser so I would not be anyone's priority, and the folks who are going back to work need to get their hair taken care of before I do.
I hope I don't take the scissors to it again. It is about at that point. If I bushwhack it off yet another time, who knows what I'll end up with.
Aside from cutting my own hair, my other Covid mistake was not wearing earrings. Now I am having to wear them constantly to get the holes back. What, am I fifteen? I would have thought 40-year-old holes would not have closed up after a month of no earrings.
The weather was clear for several days but the forecast constantly called for rain, so my husband held off cutting hay. Now it is raining and it is supposed to settle in for about three days.
Tonight my niece graduates from high school in an "online" graduation ceremony. I will be watching. Eventually, these kids are supposed to have a "real" graduation but I'm not sure they need one. They've had parades. They've had house parties. They had an hour of a show dedicated just to them on Saturday night that every major network and most big cable networks aired. They may have missed out on prom but they are being well-pampered.
What else? I have a teledoc appointment coming up in a few weeks with my physician for a check-up. I don't know exactly how she is supposed to do a check-up when she can't do my vitals. I think this is more of a check-in. I have to see her every three months to get one of my prescriptions, so I guess so long as she lays eyes on me, that is all that counts.
My life hasn't changed that much with the stay-at-home orders. I mostly stayed home, anyway. I hadn't realized how introverted I am. But apparently I am greatly introverted and you know what? That's ok.
On Thursday, my husband took his mother to a doctor's appointment, and then they went to Kroger. She spent nearly two hours in there!
My husband looked like a wild man when he got home.
On Friday, I had a bad episode with my TMJ. My entire face hurt and I couldn't get my jaw to unlock until the evening. This is an ongoing issue that has no resolution. I wear a mouth guard and try to eat soft foods and do all the right things, but sometimes it flares anyway. I'd had a nightmare Thursday night and I suspect that caused the flare up. I must have been doing a lot of teeth grinding. I dreamed about body parts flying all over the place and I was trying to save people but not having a lot of luck.
Sometimes I wonder what is in my head.
Some businesses have reopened. I have not made an appointment for a haircut, nor do I plan to any time soon. I do not have a regular hair dresser so I would not be anyone's priority, and the folks who are going back to work need to get their hair taken care of before I do.
I hope I don't take the scissors to it again. It is about at that point. If I bushwhack it off yet another time, who knows what I'll end up with.
Aside from cutting my own hair, my other Covid mistake was not wearing earrings. Now I am having to wear them constantly to get the holes back. What, am I fifteen? I would have thought 40-year-old holes would not have closed up after a month of no earrings.
The weather was clear for several days but the forecast constantly called for rain, so my husband held off cutting hay. Now it is raining and it is supposed to settle in for about three days.
Tonight my niece graduates from high school in an "online" graduation ceremony. I will be watching. Eventually, these kids are supposed to have a "real" graduation but I'm not sure they need one. They've had parades. They've had house parties. They had an hour of a show dedicated just to them on Saturday night that every major network and most big cable networks aired. They may have missed out on prom but they are being well-pampered.
What else? I have a teledoc appointment coming up in a few weeks with my physician for a check-up. I don't know exactly how she is supposed to do a check-up when she can't do my vitals. I think this is more of a check-in. I have to see her every three months to get one of my prescriptions, so I guess so long as she lays eyes on me, that is all that counts.
My life hasn't changed that much with the stay-at-home orders. I mostly stayed home, anyway. I hadn't realized how introverted I am. But apparently I am greatly introverted and you know what? That's ok.
Sunday, May 17, 2020
Sunday Stealing
Sunday Stealing
(Some of these questions are the kind used as security questions, so those I will answer rather vaguely. There were also duplicate questions and I deleted those.)
1. Where did your name come from?
A. My mother gave it to me. I have no idea where she got it from, as she never said, and it is not a family name. My first name is apparently a form of Anna, which is a form of Hannah. The name appears briefly in the New Testament belonging to a prophetess who recognized Jesus as the Messiah. It was a popular name in the Byzantine Empire from an early date, and in the Middle Ages it became common among Western Christians due to veneration of Saint Anna (usually known as Saint Anne in English), the name traditionally assigned to the mother of the Virgin Mary. My middle name is French and comes for Joan of Arc. (The nerdy information comes from behindthename.com)
2. Where were you born?
A. In a hospital.
3. What as your house like, growing up?
A. We lived in a small suburb until I was 6. It had a nice back yard and tree in the front yard, and there was red carpet in the living room. There was also a ghost in the house. We moved to a farm when I was 6, and lived in a trailer. It was very small and cramped. Then we lived in an old farm house that my father added a room onto. I slept in the attic; it was very hot there in the summer as there was no air conditioning except window units. My father built his house where he now lives in 1976. By that time I was 13 years old. It was a big ranch. My bedroom had yellow and purple in it. A huge fireplace separates the family room from the formal living room and dining area.
4. What was your childhood bedroom like?
A. It was an attic for a while, and then after the age of 13 I had my own room. I hung love beads over the door and had a poster that said, "I am Me and I am Okay" on it, along with a Charlie's Angels poster. I had a white bedroom suite, and the bed was a double bed. I had a bean bag, my electric guitar, and an amplifier in there. I had two windows, and lots of books. I had a little hope chest in my closet. It contained some glasses and few other little odds and ends, nothing of consequence.
5. Did you travel as a child? Where?
A. When I was quite young we went to Florida to visit my great-grandfather. I remember little about the trip. When I was 12, my parents drove across the United States and back. When I was 14 or 15, my parents took me to New York with them. When I was 16 I flew to Spain and France on a school trip.
6. Write about your grandparents.
A. My maternal grandmother was a kindly yet stern woman who told us constantly to stay away from the river, because it was polluted (of course we went there anyway). She kept me when I was ill, since she lived only a block away from my mother's office. She had a set of encyclopedias that I read. My maternal grandfather died when I was 11. He was very stern and he fixed TVs on the weekends at his workbench in the basement. We were never supposed to touch Granddaddy's workbench (of course we did). He worked for Kroger. My paternal grandparents lived in California and I did not know them very well. My paternal grandfather was a Democrat and so was my grandmother until she decided she could not vote for President Obama because he was black, and then she became a Republican. She talked very loud and I never thought she liked me very much. She lived to be 93 and died about two years ago. My grandfather and I exchanged letters after I became an adult until he died in 1992. He played guitar and liked to write poetry.
7. Who taught you how to drive?
A. I took driver's education in high school. Coach Co, as he was called, was known to feel up the girls so it was a given that we never went out on a driving lesson with him alone.
8. When did you first leave home?
A. I left home when I was 20, when I married.
9. What did your parents do for work?
A. My father was a policeman and then he became a salesman. He started his own company around 1977 and it has been successful. My mother worked as a secretary (but not for my father).
10. Who inspired you as you matured?
A. Book heroes, mostly, or someone like Kate Jackson, who played Sabrina on Charlie's Angels.
11. What was the best part of your 20s?
A. I married and I started going to college.
12. What as the best part of your 30s?
A. I finished college and began a writing career.
13. Where is the most fascinating place you’ve visited?
A. Paris.
14. What is your favorite family story?
A. Apparently I had a great-great grandfather who was a preacher who owned a whore house.
15. What was your most memorable birthday?
A. My husband gave me a surprise party when I turned 50.
16. What was your favorite food as a child?
A. I liked cucumbers and mayonnaise, lettuce, and cheese sandwiches.
________________
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.
(Some of these questions are the kind used as security questions, so those I will answer rather vaguely. There were also duplicate questions and I deleted those.)
1. Where did your name come from?
A. My mother gave it to me. I have no idea where she got it from, as she never said, and it is not a family name. My first name is apparently a form of Anna, which is a form of Hannah. The name appears briefly in the New Testament belonging to a prophetess who recognized Jesus as the Messiah. It was a popular name in the Byzantine Empire from an early date, and in the Middle Ages it became common among Western Christians due to veneration of Saint Anna (usually known as Saint Anne in English), the name traditionally assigned to the mother of the Virgin Mary. My middle name is French and comes for Joan of Arc. (The nerdy information comes from behindthename.com)
2. Where were you born?
A. In a hospital.
3. What as your house like, growing up?
A. We lived in a small suburb until I was 6. It had a nice back yard and tree in the front yard, and there was red carpet in the living room. There was also a ghost in the house. We moved to a farm when I was 6, and lived in a trailer. It was very small and cramped. Then we lived in an old farm house that my father added a room onto. I slept in the attic; it was very hot there in the summer as there was no air conditioning except window units. My father built his house where he now lives in 1976. By that time I was 13 years old. It was a big ranch. My bedroom had yellow and purple in it. A huge fireplace separates the family room from the formal living room and dining area.
4. What was your childhood bedroom like?
A. It was an attic for a while, and then after the age of 13 I had my own room. I hung love beads over the door and had a poster that said, "I am Me and I am Okay" on it, along with a Charlie's Angels poster. I had a white bedroom suite, and the bed was a double bed. I had a bean bag, my electric guitar, and an amplifier in there. I had two windows, and lots of books. I had a little hope chest in my closet. It contained some glasses and few other little odds and ends, nothing of consequence.
5. Did you travel as a child? Where?
A. When I was quite young we went to Florida to visit my great-grandfather. I remember little about the trip. When I was 12, my parents drove across the United States and back. When I was 14 or 15, my parents took me to New York with them. When I was 16 I flew to Spain and France on a school trip.
6. Write about your grandparents.
A. My maternal grandmother was a kindly yet stern woman who told us constantly to stay away from the river, because it was polluted (of course we went there anyway). She kept me when I was ill, since she lived only a block away from my mother's office. She had a set of encyclopedias that I read. My maternal grandfather died when I was 11. He was very stern and he fixed TVs on the weekends at his workbench in the basement. We were never supposed to touch Granddaddy's workbench (of course we did). He worked for Kroger. My paternal grandparents lived in California and I did not know them very well. My paternal grandfather was a Democrat and so was my grandmother until she decided she could not vote for President Obama because he was black, and then she became a Republican. She talked very loud and I never thought she liked me very much. She lived to be 93 and died about two years ago. My grandfather and I exchanged letters after I became an adult until he died in 1992. He played guitar and liked to write poetry.
7. Who taught you how to drive?
A. I took driver's education in high school. Coach Co, as he was called, was known to feel up the girls so it was a given that we never went out on a driving lesson with him alone.
8. When did you first leave home?
A. I left home when I was 20, when I married.
9. What did your parents do for work?
A. My father was a policeman and then he became a salesman. He started his own company around 1977 and it has been successful. My mother worked as a secretary (but not for my father).
10. Who inspired you as you matured?
A. Book heroes, mostly, or someone like Kate Jackson, who played Sabrina on Charlie's Angels.
11. What was the best part of your 20s?
A. I married and I started going to college.
12. What as the best part of your 30s?
A. I finished college and began a writing career.
13. Where is the most fascinating place you’ve visited?
A. Paris.
14. What is your favorite family story?
A. Apparently I had a great-great grandfather who was a preacher who owned a whore house.
15. What was your most memorable birthday?
A. My husband gave me a surprise party when I turned 50.
16. What was your favorite food as a child?
A. I liked cucumbers and mayonnaise, lettuce, and cheese sandwiches.
________________
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, May 16, 2020
Saturday 9: Always Remember
Saturday 9: Always Remember Us This Way (2018)
Unfamiliar with this week's song? Hear it here.
1) In this song, Lady Gaga sings about the Arizona sky and California gold. Have you visited many of our western states?
A. I've been through them, but I was 12 years old. We drove from Virginia to California. Some things are better experienced as an adult.
2) She sings that she's overwhelmed and can't find the words to express herself. Do you find it easier to share your feelings verbally or in writing?
A. In writing, unless I'm really on a roll, and then I will curse and use words that I never even knew I knew.
3) Her real name is Stefani Germanotta. She took her stage name from the Queen song, Radio Gaga. Do you have a favorite Queen song?
A. Bohemian Rhapsody, although I'm partial to Crazy Little Thing Called Love because I can play that one on the guitar.
4) Her dad is Joe Germanotta, president of GuestWifi, a company that enables hotels and restaurants to offer high-speed wifi to their customers. Do you consider yourself tech savvy?
A. Not so much anymore. I used to be the one everyone asked questions of when it came to computers, etc., but now some days I long for a young person to help me.
5) Early in her career, Lady Gaga performed songs for a children's audio book called The Portal in the Park. Tell us about the last book you finished -- did you listen to an audiobook, or read a download to an electronic device or a bound book with pages?
A. The last paperback I finished was Skin Game, by Stuart Woods, the last audiobook was The Tale of Despereaux, by Kate DiCamillo, and the book on my Kindle is Lord of the Rings, and I'm now listening to Almost Everything by Anne Lamont and reading a Janet Evanovich's paperbook whose title escapes me but it is Stephanie Plum book number 25. So I am always listening and reading to books on multiple levels.
6) She prefers dogs to cats and tea to coffee. Do you agree with her?
A. Yes.
7) Back in 2015, she appeared at the Academy Awards, performing a medley to celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Sound of Music. The movie's star, Julie Andrews, graciously came onstage to thank Gaga for her show-stopping performance. Whom did you most recently thank?
A. Melissa Etheridge. I thanked her for her concerts she was giving daily. Sadly, her 21-year-old son passed away Wednesday because of an opioid overdose. Obviously the concerts have ceased. I feel badly for her. She was giving so much so freely. There is no protection from the heartaches of life.
8) In 2018, when this song was first released, retailer Toys R Us closed all its stores and went out of business. What's the last toy you purchased?
A. I think it was probably a Wonder Woman doll. She's still in her packaging and sits with a few other dolls.
9) Random question: How has social media made your life better?
A. It keeps me in touch with some people, and it gave me the aforementioned concerts, and a few other concerts from other musicians, too. I've also listened to authors read their books, and read news I might not otherwise have seen.
______________
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.
Unfamiliar with this week's song? Hear it here.
1) In this song, Lady Gaga sings about the Arizona sky and California gold. Have you visited many of our western states?
A. I've been through them, but I was 12 years old. We drove from Virginia to California. Some things are better experienced as an adult.
2) She sings that she's overwhelmed and can't find the words to express herself. Do you find it easier to share your feelings verbally or in writing?
A. In writing, unless I'm really on a roll, and then I will curse and use words that I never even knew I knew.
3) Her real name is Stefani Germanotta. She took her stage name from the Queen song, Radio Gaga. Do you have a favorite Queen song?
A. Bohemian Rhapsody, although I'm partial to Crazy Little Thing Called Love because I can play that one on the guitar.
4) Her dad is Joe Germanotta, president of GuestWifi, a company that enables hotels and restaurants to offer high-speed wifi to their customers. Do you consider yourself tech savvy?
A. Not so much anymore. I used to be the one everyone asked questions of when it came to computers, etc., but now some days I long for a young person to help me.
5) Early in her career, Lady Gaga performed songs for a children's audio book called The Portal in the Park. Tell us about the last book you finished -- did you listen to an audiobook, or read a download to an electronic device or a bound book with pages?
A. The last paperback I finished was Skin Game, by Stuart Woods, the last audiobook was The Tale of Despereaux, by Kate DiCamillo, and the book on my Kindle is Lord of the Rings, and I'm now listening to Almost Everything by Anne Lamont and reading a Janet Evanovich's paperbook whose title escapes me but it is Stephanie Plum book number 25. So I am always listening and reading to books on multiple levels.
6) She prefers dogs to cats and tea to coffee. Do you agree with her?
A. Yes.
7) Back in 2015, she appeared at the Academy Awards, performing a medley to celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Sound of Music. The movie's star, Julie Andrews, graciously came onstage to thank Gaga for her show-stopping performance. Whom did you most recently thank?
A. Melissa Etheridge. I thanked her for her concerts she was giving daily. Sadly, her 21-year-old son passed away Wednesday because of an opioid overdose. Obviously the concerts have ceased. I feel badly for her. She was giving so much so freely. There is no protection from the heartaches of life.
8) In 2018, when this song was first released, retailer Toys R Us closed all its stores and went out of business. What's the last toy you purchased?
A. I think it was probably a Wonder Woman doll. She's still in her packaging and sits with a few other dolls.
9) Random question: How has social media made your life better?
A. It keeps me in touch with some people, and it gave me the aforementioned concerts, and a few other concerts from other musicians, too. I've also listened to authors read their books, and read news I might not otherwise have seen.
______________
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.
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