Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing

1. What’s something no one wants to hear but everyone should?

A. No human being is an island unto his or her self. We are all connected; each death diminishes us all. And we're all going to die.

2. What’s the most annoying animal you’ve ever encountered?

A. A skunk. It wasn't the skunk's fault. The dog went after the skunk in the dead of the night, and cornered the skunk on the front porch. The skunk sprayed everywhere. It was awful. I couldn't get the dog away so the skunk would leave, I couldn't shoot the skunk because it was backed into the corner on the porch. My husband was at the fire station. I called him and he said he would come home. As he was coming home, I turned the water hose on the dog and finally she moved away from the skunk. For years, the front porch smelled like skunk every time it rained. And yes, we cleaned it with everything we could think of, multiple times.

3. How much does language affect our thinking?

A. Some people are visual and think in pictures, while others think more in words. But I think the effect of language upon our psyches, from commercials to casual conversation, cannot be overstated.

4. Do you prefer to watch movies in the theater or in the comfort of your home?

A. In the comfort of my own home at the moment.

5. What topic could you spend hours talking about?

A. Writing, music, books, religion, politics.

6. If you could run away from it all and start fresh somewhere new, would you?

A. I would give it serious consideration.

7. What’s the most polarizing question you could ask a group of friends?

A. What are your thoughts on a woman's right to choose what to do with her own body?

8. Do movies have the same power as books to change the world?

A. An Inconvenient Truth did a good job of changing some things, so probably.

9. What would you rate 10/10 ?

A. Van Gogh's Starry Night painting.

10. What are you really good at, but kind of embarrassed that you are good at it?

A. Coloring. Who'd have thought I'd be good at coloring?

11. Who do you go out of your way to be nice to?

A. Everyone. I always attempt kindness. I may not be successful, but I try.

12. What problems will technology solve in the next 5 years? What problems will it create?

A. I would like to see technology resolve issues with pancreatic cancer, perhaps better surgery techniques and MRIs, genetic testing or some other way to diagnosis it sooner. Generally this cancer is not caught until it is in its late stages. As for problems, I think that unless social media is regulated or otherwise controlled, that will continue to create individual bubbleheads who are incapable of understanding that people are multi-faceted and that there are many sides and solutions to various and sundry problems.

13. What from the present will withstand the test of time?

A. Amish wooden furniture.

14. What movie would be greatly improved if it was made into a musical?

A. I have no idea.

15. What is something common from your childhood that will seem strange to future generations?

A. A rotary dial phone. It already seems strange to current generations.

________________
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: For All We Know

Saturday 9: For All We Know (1971)

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

1) This song is about newlyweds looking ahead to a happy life together. What are you looking forward to today?

A. I am not a newlywed and my husband and I are old. Mostly we look forward to actually waking up in the mornings.

2) They look forward to getting to know one another better. Tell us about someone who knows you well. Is it the person who has known you the longest?

A. My brother knows me better than most people. We have all that childhood stuff together, and he reads my blog. He's attentive. He doesn't always listen, but he seems to hear what is most important.

3) The song lyrics are credited to "Robb Wilson" and "Arthur James," but those aren't their real names. Robb Royer and Jimmy Griffin were founding members of the 70s soft-rock group Bread. Are you familiar with that band? If so, do you have a favorite Bread song? (Find their greatest hits here.)

A. I've always been a big Bread fan. Here's me playing my favorite Bread song. Probably not one of my performances, but it was a get-through-the-summer thing:

4) Richard Carpenter discovered this song on his afternoon off when he and sister Karen were on tour. He took a few hours to unwind at  the movies, heard this song in the film Lovers and Other Strangers, and decided it would make a perfect Carpenters record. How do you like to unwind?

A. Read a book.

5) Karen Carpenter drank unsweetened iced tea, every day, all year long. Do you prefer your tea hot or cold? 

A. I drink a cup of hot tea every morning. Otherwise, I drink only water, with an occasional exception of a ginger ale or root beer.

6) Elvis was a fan of Karen's and, according to the recollection of singer Petula Clark, hit on her when she and Clark visited him backstage in Vegas. Pet recalled Karen was very innocent and said, "I felt responsible for her so I got her out of there." Tell us about a time when you looked out for a friend.

A. I haven't seen anyone in months. If nagging my husband to do things to help out my mother-in-law counts, then that. He doesn't pay attention when she mentions she's having trouble with certain things, so I see a solution when I learn of an issue, and then nag him until he fixes it. Case in point: handrails on the steps leading up to the house. Just two steps, but the handrails made a big difference to her. We gave her a couple of Alexa dots to put throughout the house so that if she fell, she at least could shout "Alexa, call . . . " somebody. I recently found out Alexa won't call emergency, which seems stupid, so I've been trying to talk my husband into talking her into getting one of those "Help, I've fallen and can't get up" things. We only live 3 minutes away and we check on her twice a day, but a lot can happen in just a few minutes.

7) President Richard Nixon was a Carpenters fan, too, and invited the duo to perform at the White House at an official dinner for West German Chancellor Willy Brandt. If you could hear anyone perform live in an intimate setting, like a dinner party, who would you choose?

A. I was supposed to see Melissa Etheridge perform live last March, but the show was cancelled and then rescheduled and cancelled again, and now appears to be in a state of permanent postponement, so I'll go with Melissa Etheridge. I've watched many of her online performances during this crazy year, and she has a wonderful outlook on life, signing off with "Speak True, Choose Only Love, It's a Choice," a sentiment I agree with. Plus I lust after her guitar collection.

8) Today Richard collects classic automobiles. He has a 1964 Ford Thunderbird, like the one Beach Boys sang about in the song "Fun, Fun, Fun." Can you think of another song that mentions a car?

A. Fast Car, by Tracy Chapman. Nowhere to Go, by Melissa Etheridge.

9) Random question: Do you tend to feel more content at the beginning of the day, or at the end?

A. I feel most content around 3 p.m., when my chores are done, my husband isn't home yet, and my time is own.

______________
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. 

Timber!

During high winds the other night, a dead red oak tree fell over in the back yard.

I heard it crack and crash about 6:15 a.m.

We have lost a lot of trees in the last 18 months. The ash borer took out all of the ash trees and several oaks died. I think the ash borer also hit the oak trees, but maybe it was something else. Maybe they were simply older trees and it was their time.

I tend to think of trees as living forever . . . if we'd only leave them alone. But of course they do not, though they may live for thousands of years. Several trees are known to live over 4,000 years, and a grove of trees in Utah is thought to have been alive for 14,000 years. (This is called a clonal colony and is not an individual tree, but a large living organism.)

The oldest known oak tree in the US is thought to be 850 years old or more.

Mine, I think, succumbed to a disease or bugs.

Losing trees makes me sad.

Thursday Thirteen

I know Election Day and the current situation with the vote counting is no laughing matter . . . but I'm doing Election jokes anyway.

Q: On election day, what did Delaware?
A: Her New Jersey.

Q: What kind of limb did the candidate for president go on?
A: An executive branch

Q: What did the corrupt senator order on election day?
A: Stuffed ballots.

Q: What grows longer every election year?
A: The branches of government.

Q: Where did the politician take his wife for something sweet?
A: On a candydate

Q: What is the capital of Washington?
A: W.

Q: Where can children vote?
A: In swing states

Q: What is the capital of Alaska?
A: Don’t Juneau this one?

Q: Where do poll workers get trained?
A: Electoral College

Q: What do you call an argument between a politician and one of his donors?
A: A conflict of interest.

Q: What US state gives out tiny drinks to voters?
A: Mini-soda.

Q: Why did the county legislator fall asleep?
A: He was one of the Bored Members.

Q: How hot was it in Arizona this summer?
A: It was so hot that people were sweating like a politician on election day.

_____________

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 681st time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

Dona Nobis Pacem

 

The Lady Cardinal

This female cardinal took up residence on my bird feeder for about half a day recently. She sat regally in the same spot for a very long time. The smaller birds stayed away while she plopped on the side of the feeder. She wasn't eating much, but she may not have needed to. She was a fairly plump bird.

On the other hand, every picture I took of her has a seed hanging out of her mouth. Maybe she was having a big buffet.

 

Pandemic Journal - Day 228

Today is election day in the United States.

It's not a boxing match. It's a vote.

So go vote, if you haven't already done it early in person or by mail.

DON'T EXPECT TO KNOW THE RESULTS TONIGHT. IT'S AN ELECTION, NOT A HORSE RACE.

*********************************************************

Sunday, I went to CVS to get a sling for my husband's arm. He has re-injured the hand he caught in the hay baler in 2014. He had an x-ray but it is swollen and I fear ligament damage. He can't get in to the see the hand specialist until November 23.

With luck, it will be all better by then and he won't need the appointment. But we don't generally have that kind of luck.

Anyway, I hadn't realize the store did not open until 10 a.m. on Sundays. I arrived just a few moments before 10. Several people meandered around the door. None had on masks. None attempted to keep their distance from one another, at least, certainly not by six feet. They were far apart that I could see they weren't The Brady Bunch and didn't know one another, though.

I watched them all go inside. I waited in the car until they all came out again, and then I went inside. It cost me 10 minutes of time and gave me a great deal more confidence in my entry in the store.

This would be why as of today, Botetourt County has 487 cases of Covid. I don't know how many of those are active cases. We've had a rise of 186 cases in 14 days. So we're averaging about 13 new cases a day.

The courthouse is currently closed for "deep cleaning" because someone had the virus. 

I suppose some people will wake up in the morning thinking, "Oh, the Democrat hoax is over, we can all get back to our lives," but the joke will be on them. I am sure the five people I know who have died from this virus won't be returning to their lives, nor with their family's lives ever be the same.

But I get it. This is 'MeriKa, and nobody tells us what to do . . . except wear shirt and shoes in restaurants, wear seat belts, don't drink and drive, don't run red lights or stop signs, you must use turn signals and have your car inspected, carry insurance or pay a fee on your vehicle if you don't, you have to have a driver's license to drive on the roads, you pay your taxes, you don't steal, don't kill, don't rape, burn, pillage and plunder. 

Wear a mask? No way!

So the case numbers rise. It's in the schools. People go the stores with no regard for anyone else. I won't say we're the most selfish bunch of people ever to walk the planet - not sure who would be first, actually, if not us - but we're a mighty close second.

This has hit home as people close to me have had Covid. But their story is not mine to tell, except to say I am glad they have recovered, and I am sorry that one person I know passed away. I hope there is no future damage to the ones who survived, no return of the virus in some bizarre fashion, like the chickenpox turns into shingles years from the time of the initial infection. Or the way cold sores come back when a body is stressed. I hope for no ongoing issues.

Nowadays, we don't know what is appropriate action. Everything has to be thought out. Is going to the chiropractor safe? Can I have the furnace checked? Is it safe to go to the grocery store? Do I have my mask, my Covid shoes, my hand sanitizer?

Living through a pandemic was not on my checklist of things I wanted to do. It had never occurred to me, actually, that we would have one. 

There was a time, about 25 years ago, when I felt secure in this country. I felt like the FDA was on top of bad medications, that the federal government would stop the sell of toys that injured children, enforce recalls of vehicles that exploded without warning, the U.S. Postal Service would always bring me my mail, and that my Social Security would be there to supplement what I saved when I retired.

I don't think that way anymore. Perhaps I lived in a fantasy world, but up until the last four years, I really did think the government, en masse, was on my side. Even when George W. Bush was president, I never thought the government - or my neighbors - would actually wish me ill. 

I thought the people who ran the EPA really cared about the environment and water and air quality. I thought the people who did the day-to-day things, the little government workers, were doing the things necessary to ensure quality of life for most people. Ok, so some of that was naïve - obviously people of color, immigrants, and others (including women, of which I am one), were not being cared for as much as some. And of course there were outliers who seemed to want us all to die at a certain age because they didn't want to pay Medicare or Social Security. But they were not the norm.

Or so I thought.

And now we basically have no government, and have had a mostly non-functioning fascist oligarchical banana republic for four years. We can't trust that our generic drugs hold up to standards, can't be sure that the car batteries won't explode, can't count on Social Security being there when I do reach the age when I can draw it, and can't count on my bills coming in the mail on time.

We also have people who are calling for a Civil War. Over what? Because I want the military to buy fewer F-57s or whatever they are and spend more to ensure that you are taken care of if a drunk driver smashes into you and leaves you brain damaged? That's worth shooting me over? Really?

Or maybe it's because I want women to have control over their own bodies. You're going to kill me because you want to save a life? You do see there is no logic in that, right? You're not exchanging a dead person for a live one. It doesn't work that way.

You're going to kill me simply because I want more for you? Better services, better healthcare, better roads, better schools, better job security?

Because basically that's what I want. I think the government is the best way to deliver it - when the government is functioning properly and run by adults who have the best interest of others on their mind, and aren't trying merely to line their own pockets, or those of their friends.

I remember when the government used to be functional. When we actually had one. Sometime before Moscow Mitch took over the Senate.

Never mind, though. Regardless of who wins the election, this country is done. The great experiment in democracy is over. Who knew that the way to eliminate the U.S. Constitution was take the office of president and then totally ignore the document?

But here we are.

In a few years I predict we will not be 50 states. We will be clusters of Commonwealths or Republics or whatever they want to call themselves.

And the losers, as we always are, will be we the people, while the corporations and those who lust for power will laugh all the way to their islands in the Mediterranean, glorying in the wealth that should have been yours and mine.

I Caught A Falling Star!

Halloween night, I went outside to take pictures of the moon. Then I moved the front yard to attempt star trails again.

I had the camera on taking the photos but also had a flashlight in my hand so I could see what I was doing, so there was a lot of ambient light. I knew I would have to start over but that doesn't matter so much with digital.

As I was piddling with things, I saw a falling star. It was green and it fell from the sky magnificently.

I did not realize until Sunday morning that I'd caught the star fall on my camera. I was quite happy about that.

It's the greenish line down toward the horizon. The others are small star trails. The light on the trees is where I kept shining the flashlight while I was making sure things were where I wanted them to be, and ambient light from the house.

Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing

1. What has been your favorite part of the year so far?

A. Um. This is 2020. I'm not sure it has a favorite part. It has had good moments - my husband's recovery from his ankle surgery and then his decision to retire from the fire department, to name two. And honestly, for someone as introverted as I am, being home all the time is not so bad. Although an outing to the book store once in a while would be helpful.

2. Have you started Christmas shopping?

A. Yes. I began ordering things online at the end of September. That is the only way anyone will receive anything, and even then, I suspect we will be having drive-by holidays.

3. Do you like your handwriting?

A. No. My handwriting is bad. I write very small and it's difficult to read. When I am writing quickly, it all goes the way of a mirror image on a lake, and good luck deciphering that.

4. Name a song you could hear over and over and over again.

A. Uptown Funk.

5. What is a favorite quote?

A. "You are what you do. You can recreate yourself every second of your life." - Xena, Warrior Princess, in the episode Forgiven (1997).

6. What is the last dream you remember?

A. I was angry with my husband about something, but I don't recall the details.

7. What is the most expensive object you want to buy right now?

A. My car is six years old. But it only has 45,000 miles on it. I have considered replacing it but I suppose I will continue to drive this one. I don't like car payments.

8. Describe your eldest family member.

A. That would be my mother-in-law. She's a quiet person, modest, Christian, and she has an intriguing sense of humor. She is also very strong-willed. She raised a good son.

9. What has your weather been like?

A. It has been chilly at night but warmer during the day. We had rain from Hurricane Zeta.

10. Do you enjoy your job?

A. I still do freelancing and I enjoy the work when I can find it.

11. What is your favorite everyday item?

A. My watch.

12. Are you currently obsessed with any TV show?

A. No. We haven't found anything new to watch in a while.

13. Name a book you’d like to read before the year ends.

A. Mastering Creative Anxiety, by Eric Maisel. I have it in my pile, it just hasn't found its way to the top.

14. Describe Kindness.

A. Kindness is my friend texting me to ask if my husband is ok, or my brother calling me in the mornings on his way to work just to "check on" me or sending me a book on birds because that's my latest interest, or my husband fixing dinner because I've been working on a story. It's stepping out of the way when someone needs to be where you are. It's wearing a mask during a pandemic or wiping down a shopping cart.

15. Describe your favorite candy in great detail.

A. It's creamy, dark, smooth, and it melts in your mouth. It has a wonderful milky chocolate taste to it that is like tingling goodness. It fills you with flavor and then gives you a nice sugar high that might make you bounce off the walls.

________________
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.

Saturday9: This Haunted House

Saturday 9: This Haunted House (1964)

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

1) Loretta Lynn wrote this song to help her cope with the sudden death of her friend, Patsy Cline. When they first met, Patsy was already a star and she helped Loretta become established. Did you more recently advise or receive advice?

A. I think I advised.

2) She sings that Patsy's is the face she sees when she turns out the light. Do you remember who or what you were thinking about when you fell asleep last night?

A. No, I don't recall.

3) Loretta maintains her TN ranch is haunted. She says "the moaning woman" is a harmless apparition, dressed in white. Do you believe in ghosts?

A. Yes. Just not like, with a sheet or something. I think ghosts are visions through thin doorways to parallel worlds. Or souls with a lot of their minds. Who knows?

4) Loretta Lynn's ranch is now open to the public. In addition to horseback riding, fishing and camping, Loretta's ranch features shops that sell locally-sourced jams, jellies and sauces, as well as Loretta Lynn CDs and "Coal Miner's Daughter" glassware and t-shirts. Have you ever brought home an edible souvenir? Or do you prefer to remember your trips with something more lasting, like a coffee mug or t-shirt?

A. We used to bring home taffy when we went to Myrtle Beach.

5) According to Reader's Digest, The Exorcist is the scariest movie of all time. Have you seen it, and if so, did it scare you?

A. I saw it when I was too young to be watching such things and yes, it scared me, although I don't remember much about it. I actually thought Rosemary's Baby was scarier.

6) Which do you find spookier: haunted houses or cemeteries?

A. I think they're about equal on the spooky scale.

7) What's the most recent Halloween costume you wore?

A. A witch!

8) When you were a kid, did you trade your Halloween candy with siblings or friends? 

A. Yes.

9) Random question: You meet your very friendly new neighbor. She invites you over for a "get acquainted" cup of coffee tomorrow afternoon and you accept. Then you learn that she was once on trial for an axe murder . . . but acquitted. Would you still go over to her house?

A. I'm a former journalist. Of course I would go over! And then maybe there'd be an axe dangling in mid-air . . . 

______________
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. 

The Aliens Landed!*

Last night, I heard a lot of racket outside. Whirring noises, mostly. I saw blinking lights, too, and thought it was an ambulance or fire truck going down the road, which is a long way from my house. Sound carrying on the wind, maybe. I went back to sleep.

But when I got up this morning, I realized something was amiss in my yard.

Crop circles?

We had crop circles in the yard!

Spaceships had landed!

I put a water bottle in the middle of the changed grass so you could see that something had happened here!

The grass was a different color. The ground looked like it had been unsettled a little!

The areas are nearly round and about 15 feet across. There are five of them.

What it the world?!?

What NOT OF THIS WORLD!!!!

The INVASION HAS BEGUN!

RUN FOR THE HILLS!

*Ok, you caught me. I know what made the circles. No invasion. Halloween prank. All in good fun.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Thursday Thirteen #680

 Halloween jokes -

What do birds chirp on Halloween? "Trick or tweet!"

Why do skeletons stay home on Halloween? Because they have no-body to go with.

Where do ghosts purchase Halloween candy? At the ghost-ery store!

What do owls say on October 31? "Happy Owl-ween!"

What do ghosts give out for trick-or-treat? Booberries!

Who did Frankenstein go to the Halloween party with? His ghoul friend.

What candy is never on time for the Halloween party? Choco-LATE!

What do witches put on their faces when they go out on Halloween? Mas-scare-a.

How does Bigfoot ask for candy? He doesn't. People see him and drop the bag.

What kind of pants do ghosts wear on Halloween? Boo jeans.

Why is spending Halloween with twin witches challenging? You never know which witch is which!

Why did the policeman give the ghost a ticket? It didn’t have a haunting license.

What is a ghost's favorite dessert? I-Scream!

_____________

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 680th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

A Bridge in the Woods

 This was at Fenwick Mines.

Fenwick Mines

Recently, we took a trip to Fenwick Mines, a National Forest designation in a nearby county. It's a hike that is allegedly handicapped accessible (I think it would be a bit bumpy for a wheelchair myself) and it offers a pond and creek with a water fall. 

Unfortunately, the bridge to the pond was out of commission because a tree had fallen across it and damaged it. The hike to the waterfall was too steep for me to climb even with a cane. The walking was fine, though, and the trail, even with tree roots, was decent.

 

The waterfall was barely visible from the road and we stopped and I took this photo of it. I imagine up close it was quite lovely. The colors on the trees had not changed as much as we'd hoped when we were up there.

Fenwick Mines is also part of the Virginia Birding and Wildlife Trail.

We visited on a Thursday. It is an uncrowded spot to go in these times of Covid. The restroom facilities are not open at present.

A Bird Book

The greatest brother ever, Loren, surprised me with a 7-pound book on birds last week. I've taken up birdwatching and apparently he decided to get me a better birding book before I did. I have a small field guide here but it doesn't have many birds in it.

This book is loaded with birds.

Many thanks to my beloved brother!

Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing

1. What is your favorite spooky song?

A. Michael Jackson's Thriller.

2. What do you want etched on your tombstone?

A. Nevertheless, She Persisted.

3. Who is your favorite horror movie villain?

A. I don't watch horror movies anymore, and haven't since about 1979. I think The Shining was the last one I saw. 

4. Have you ever seen a ghost?

A. I have seen many ghosts. One ghost sat on the end of my bed at night when I was a child.

5. Do you prefer gore, thrillers, or supernatural movies?

A. None of the above, although supernatural movies are tolerable.

6. What is your favorite scary book?

A. I haven't read a scary book in a long time. I'll go with Carrie, by Stephen King, since that is the last one I remember reading.

7. Have you ever had a tarot card reading?  Was it accurate?

A. I have had tarot card readings and yes, they have been accurate.

8. Are you superstitious?

A. I have been told I am neurotic as opposed to superstitious. I don't throw salt over my shoulder or avoid the number 13, or things like that. I do have certain things I do before other things. That's more OCD than superstitious.

9. Have you ever used a voodoo doll?

A. I have not. I have used a damn-it doll, but not a voodoo doll.

10. Have you ever participated in a séance?

A. Not a real one. When we were children, we used to have them with a Ouija board.

11. Have you ever heard voices when no one was around except you?

A. Yes.

12. What is your favorite Halloween candy?

A. Milky Way Midnight bars.

13. What was your most memorable Halloween costume?

A. I don't recall too many of them, but going as a hobo sticks in my head. I think I had several of those horrid costumes with the face plastic masks and the plastic string around them that instantly broke. Remember those?

14. Do you like going through haunted houses (not real ones)?

A. I do, but I haven't been since I was a teenager.

15. If someone dared you to spend the night in a haunted house (a real one) would you do it?

A. Yes, of course I would. Having spent lots of time with ghosts of all sorts, I am not afraid of the unknown.

________________
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: Lights

Saturday 9: Lights (2011)

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

1) This song was inspired by a young Ellie Goulding's fear of the dark. What scared you when you were a kid?

A. Yelling, people throwing things, and ghosts.
 
2) She thinks back to the room where her brother and sister slept and she felt safe. Did you share a room when you were growing up?

A. No. Well, if you don't count the ghost, I didn't.

3) Ellie Goulding grew up in public housing and worked her way through the University of Kent in Canterbury. Back in those days, her favorite job was theater usher because it offered her the perk of seeing plays for free. What's the most recent "freebie" you scored? (This includes a buy one/get one deal, extra points on your credit card, etc.)

A. We get points on the grocery card and my husband bought gasoline for 82 cents a gallon the other day. He filled up his truck and all of the cans we had here for gas for the lawnmower and other implements.
 
4) Even though today she is an international music star, Ellie still lives modestly. She describes herself as "still in university mode," and limits herself to $10/day for lunch. Where do you economize?

A. We don't eat out much, and I use the same trash bag in my office trash can for months at time by taking in into the kitchen and dumping its contents into the big trash can there. I use the plastic bags from the grocery store for trash bags in the smaller cans. Frankly, I consider $10 a day for lunch to be extravagant.

5) Ellie has proclaimed herself "a cat lady" and often posts pictures of her cats to her Instagram account. What's the most recent photo you took?

I took a picture of Mars.

6) Ellie appeared on Sesame Street. She, Elmo and Abby thanked clouds for raindrops, lakes, and the water we drink. Would you be thankful for a little rain this weekend?

A. Yes. We need rain.

7) In 2011, the year "Lights" was a hit, Prince William married Kate Middleton. Ellie not only attended the wedding, she sang Elton John's "Your Song" for the couple's first dance. Tell us a song that reminds you of a romance in your life.

A. Dan Folgerberg's Longer is the song I share with my husband.
 

8) Also in 2011, AT&T abandoned their attempt to buy T-Mobile. Which company is your cell phone carrier? Are you happy with them?

A. AT&T and yes, I am happy with them.

9) Random question: What recent experience made you feel old?

A. Getting out of bed.

______________
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.  (#360)

Star Trails and Mars

Night photography is not my strong suit. It took me a long time to figure out how to photograph the moon. Now I'm moving on to star trails.

These take a long time and require clear nights and low pollen counts.

I also took photos of Mars, which looked much cooler through the camera lens than my photos turned out. I could see through the lens that the twinkle was a planet!

The big white spot is the moon.

 

And here's Mars. The red one is as it was setting and the sun was coming up. The other was around 8 p.m.

Thursday Thirteen

Memes from Facebook.

_____________

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 679th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.