Happiness Wednesday

Today I am happy that the postal delivery woman brought my package to the house instead of leaving it at the mailbox.

Sometimes they leave things at the mailbox, and I don't know they're down there (I live about 1/8 of a mile or so from the road and can't see the mailbox).

I'm also happy that it's a pretty day and my husband can work in the hayfield. We really need to get that hay up.

Additionally, I'm happy my blood pressure is starting to come down a little. Not a lot, but it's down enough to make me think my medication is finally kicking in.

Also, I've had some email correspondence with a friend that I've missed and not been in touch with much, and I'm very happy about that.

I hope the day is bringing you something to be happy about, too!

*I am participating in the August Happiness Challenge hosted by One Gal's Musings.*

Happiness Monday

Happiness for today -

I had a nice phone call with my brother. He's a good fellow and I'm lucky I have him. No one gets me like he does.

A visit from a long-long-long-distance cousin of my husband's yielded a book about some of his lineage going back to the 1600s! Wow. It lists the ship the pater familias came over on in 1744.

A friend's daughter married over the weekend, and the celebration went off well. Momma was tired when I spoke to her this morning to check on her, but very happy.

Life goes on.

*I am participating in the August Happiness Challenge hosted by One Gal's Musings.*

Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing

1.   I am currently obsessed with: trying to lower my blood pressure.

   

2.  Today I am happy because: the sun is shining, and the hay is drying.

3.  The age I am is: 59 and the age I feel is: 22 in my head, 159 in my body. 

 

4.  My favorite place is: in my house.

5.  Something I have been procrastinating is: doing the bookkeeping for the farm and household expenses.

6.  The last thing I purchased was: a new vacuum brush that I bought online Saturday morning.

7.  The thing I love most about my home is: it's location and size.

8.  My most prized possession: my wedding ring.

9.  If I could be one age for the rest of my life, I would want to be: 39.

10.  My outlook on life: I'm a pessimist.

11.  If you want to annoy me: then talk to me like I'm stupid.

12.  I am completely defenseless when it comes: to my husband's kisses.

13. The bravest thing I’ve ever done was: stand up to someone bigger than me.

14. Something that keeps me awake at night is: whether or not we're going to remain a democracy in the USA.

15. My favorite meal in the entire world is: an egg sandwich with Baked Lays Potato Chips.

__________

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: Jack and Diane

Saturday 9: Jack and Diane (1982)

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

It's a little ditty!

1) The video for this song features lots of snapshots. Do you have many physical photo albums? Or do you store your pictures digitally?

A. Most of my photos are digital these days, but I do have a few albums from pre-digital times.

 

2) This song tells the story of "two American kids growing up in the heartland." Young Jack dreams of being a football star. When you were in high school, did you fantasize about stardom? If yes, what were you going to be famous for?

A. I was going to be a famous writer and a rock star. I am neither.

3) Diane wears Bobbie Brooks slacks (at least briefly). Bobbie Brooks is a popular brand at Walmart. If you had a $50 gift card for Walmart, would you be more likely to use it toward groceries, clothes, household items, or electronics?

A. Household items.

4) They go to the Tasty Freeze. If you were to run out for fast food right now, where would you go?

A. Wendy's. I haven't seen a Tasty Freeze in years. We are supposedly getting a new Dairy Queen down the road a ways in the near future. If it is as bad as the one I ate it some years ago in Pennsylvania, I won't be frequenting it.

5) When John Mellencamp made this record, he was known professionally as "John Cougar," a stage name suggested by his manager. He has said that adopting a stage name is something he regrets. Looking over your life, if you could take a "do over," what one thing would you like to do differently?

A. I would have gone on to Hollins out of high school. I wanted to and had been accepted, but it was expensive (it's a private liberal arts college), I didn't qualify for any scholarships, and my parents didn't want to pay for it. My parents were not in favor of my chosen major of English, either. They agreed to pay for me to go to a college in Tennessee to major in music, but I chose not to do that. (I never understood why music was ok but English wasn't; I guess it was the cost of the school, when it comes down to it.) I went to work instead and started going to the local community college, and eventually transferred to Hollins as an older student. It was hard to be an older student, and I missed out on a lot by doing it that way. 

 

6) Even though he suffered a heart attack, John Mellencamp continues to smoke, admitting that nicotine is something he simply can't kick. Do you have a habit you wish you could break?

A. I still like to eat. Unfortunately, it's not a habit one can completely do away with, as food is a necessity. I don't bite my nails anymore, though. I did up until 2020. It took a pandemic to stop me, but I don't bite them now.

 

7) John's daughter Teddi was one of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. She went on to join the cast of Big Brother. Do you watch any reality shows?

A. We watch Survivor, but I don't know why. Habit, I guess, since we've watched it from the very beginning. My husband watches reality car shows and hunting shows, but I don't. Occasionally I've caught an episode of Naked & Afraid, but I don't make a habit of it. I watch Deadliest Catch, which I would call a reality show, but that's about it. Oh, we recently started watching The Voice during the pandemic. Forgot about that one.

8) In 1982, when this song was popular, William Windsor was born. He's better known by his job title. Without looking it up, do you know who he is?

A. I'm going to guess Prince William.

 

9) Random question: What do you do when you can't sleep?

A. I count my breaths and try to go back to sleep. If I can't go back to sleep, I get up and read a while and then try again.

_______________

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

Happiness Friday

Today I am happy that:

• I picked up my higher dose of my blood pressure medication at the grocery store/pharmacy.

• The clerk didn't freak out when I irreverently told her I shouldn't need a damn digital coupon to get the advertised sale price on grapes, and instead sold me the grapes for the sale price. I try not to curse in public and that one slipped out. (And really, why should I need to go to the website to download coupons? They're just bilking people. If they can afford to sell the grapes for $0.99 a pound, then sell them for that.)

• I didn't run over the older person who appeared out of nowhere behind my car as I began to back up to leave the store. (Literally, there were no cars to my right at all, and I'd looked, and my backup camera didn't go beep beep, so where did she come from?)

In response to a comment yesterday from Kwizgiver, my hand is doing better. It's still swelling, and I have some pain in it, but it's improving. I did not mention it to my doctor yesterday because we were focused on the blood pressure issue, but if it is still troubling me when I see her soon, I will be sure to have her look at it. Thank you for caring and remembering it is bothersome!

*I am participating in the August Happiness Challenge hosted by One Gal's Musings.*

Thursday Thirteen

1. I almost broke my Thursday Thirteen streak! That would have been awful, to break it at 769 weeks straight.

2. So I am happy I remembered it was Thursday!

3. This morning, I had a teledoc conference with my physician. She assured me I'm not dying simply because my blood pressure has gone wonky. She changed up my blood pressure meds and I'll see her in two weeks for a follow up. Whew!

4. My husband suggested I meditate. His mantra? Ummm soybean. 

5. I started feeling a little strange driving to the grocery store a while ago when I remembered it was Thursday and I hadn't done a Thursday 13, so I started going, Ummm soybean. It made me laugh.

6. Duke's mayo was on sale for $2.99. That's a pre-pandemic regular price!

7. I was the only person in the store with a mask on. My county is listed as High on the CDC site. I know the guv'ment ain't the best, but it's all I have to go by, that and the number of people I know who have Covid (which is a fair number), so I am masking up. I am happy that I am taking care of myself.

8. Oh rats, it's raining, and we have hay down on the ground, trying to dry. I will have a hard time being happy about that. Umm soybean!

9. One thing I immediately did to try to keep my calm was to stop looking at the crazy on social media. There is a *lot* of crazy there. I'm happy I have made that decision.

10. In looking over the groceries I purchased and the items in the cabinets already, I find that generally speaking, most things are low in sodium. I'm doing ok there. Yay me!

11. I broke down and bought myself some Tic-Tacs. I like Tic-Tacs but hadn't had any for a while because they've gone up to $1.49 for a little box. But they have no sodium and they satisfy my need to have something in my mouth. I'm worth $1.49, right? Dang right!

12. My brother called me today, and I was glad to hear from him. It would have been nice to have had a conversation, but he had another call and that was that. I can't remember the last time I had a conversation with him that wasn't interrupted by something. Maybe we should go to lunch in the park and leave our cellphones in the car.

13. My friend called me early this morning to see how I was feeling. I'm happy that folks care about me. I'm fortunate to have friends.

*Doing the August happiness thing with my Thursday 13!*

___________________

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 769th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

Happiness Challenge

I have high blood pressure. I've had it for 20 years or more. It has been controlled with medication (and a little by diet). 

Now, though, it's messed up. I'd noted the last few times I was in my doctor's office that it seemed to be running high. Not super high, more like 146/88 high instead of 124/78. And my beats per minute are always over 80. Thump thump thump. My husband's beats per minute are like beat - wait 10 minutes - beat. Well, it's not that bad, but his is about 45 beats per minute. Half of mine.

So today I am happy that I have a doctor I can email numbers to and say, hey, my new blood pressure monitor is scaring me a little with numbers of 168/105. My question wasn't "what do I do," it was, "can this wait until my scheduled appointment with you in two weeks?" To which she responded I could wait so long as I wasn't having any issues.

I am scratching my head a little as to what issues I could be having other than the ones I have, but since she said I could wait and I didn't see anything that indicated alarm on her part, I guess I am in a sort-of-ok-for-the-moment range. I think if she'd thought that something needed immediate attention she'd have called in a drug or told me to double on a medication or had me come in.

Just to be safe, I did tai chi a while ago as I know that has in the past brought my numbers down a little. And I will avoid salt if I can. It's hard to know what has salt in it. It shows up in the strangest places.

Anyway, I am happy I'm still able to write this, though I do feel a bit of concern. And since my doctor is aware of the problem, hopefully when I do see her, she'll have looked over my medications and determined what the next steps should be if she wants to add another blood pressure medication to my mix.

Happiness Challenge

This doesn't necessarily make me happy, but it needs to be done -

I worked on the bookkeeping for the farm and my husband's septic installation business today. I'd gotten behind, mostly because I dislike doing it, but I'm catching it up this week.

So good for me for being responsible!

Also, my friend brought me chocolate covered rice cakes for absolutely no reason at all! That does make me happy, because I am loved, and because, well, chocolate!

(My husband gave me a big smooch this afternoon, too!)

*I am participating in the August Happiness Challenge hosted by One Gal's Musings.*

Happiness Challenge

I am happy today that I talked on the phone with a friend and had a good laugh.

I am also happy because I received a letter.

Additionally, I had a take-out sandwich and didn't have to fix my own sandwich for a change.

Plus, I had a haircut today!

All good happy things. Yay!

Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing

1. What’s the best beach or lake day you can remember?

A. Back in the 1990s, we went to Myrtle Beach, and we spent a day at the go cart track racing "NASCAR" like cars. My husband had a blast, and I was happy because he was happy.

2. Describe your ideal picnic lunch.

A. A ham sandwich, potato chips, ginger ale, and watermelon.

3. What flowers are in your bouquet?

A. Roses

4. Silly ways to pass the time during a snowstorm.

A. Bake cookies, read, watch TV, measure the snow depth, sleep, talk to a friend. Although I'm not sure those are silly.

5. The most beautiful house you’ve ever visited.

A. Probably the Biltmore in Asheville, NC. It had some lovely rooms.

6. Best place you ever dined.

A. I don't know the name of it, but when I was a teenager, my parents took me to China Town in New York City, and I had the best sweet and sour shrimp on the planet there.

7. How many layers to your ice cream sandwich?

A. One, I guess.

8. Pretty things which are faux patent leather.

A. Shoes, pocketbooks, couches, and I honestly have no idea how to answer this question.

9. What is the best way to eat chocolate?

A. Slowly.

10. Describe your unicorn’s special magic.

A. She can fly, sense when people are evil, and she vanishes.

11. All the fruits in your fruit salad.

A. White grapes. That's pretty much it. I'm allergic to most citrus.

12. Describe the soil, grass, trees, flowers and rocks in your magical forest.

A. The soil is dark and smells of forest. The grass is a deep hunter green and when the wind blows, it moves like waves in the seas. The flowers are of all colors and shapes, growing along the meadow's edges and in patches everywhere the sun shines through. The rocks are moss-covered and grumble at you when you walk by.

13. The lyrics which move you the most are:

A. And when no hope was left in sight, on that starry, starry night, you took your life as lovers often do. But I could have told you, Vincent, this world was never meant for one as beautiful as you.

14. What are the best sauces in the world?

A. Sweet and sour sauce. Is mayonnaise a sauce?

15. Write a haiku about nature.

The air smells of hay

Raccoons march in formation

Evening falls, full moon.

__________

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: W.O.L.D.

Saturday 9: W.O.L.D. (1973)

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

1) This song tells the story of a man who has made a career in radio.  How many professions have you worked in?

A. I have worked in the machine parts industry, the legal profession, journalism, photography, and internet stuff, meaning I've done some web design and I write this blog and know enough about what I'm doing to be dangerous but not good.

2) He describes himself as "45 going on 15." This morning, do you feel older or younger than your years?

A. In my head I am still young almost always, like 23 years old (except wiser). My body is another story. It doesn't feel quite as old as it is, though.

3) He estimates that he's traveled thousands of miles, from town to city, as disc jockey at various stations. Have you ever relocated for a job?

A. No.

4) This song is written as though he's reached out to an ex. Is there someone from your past who is on your mind this morning?

A. Not exactly, but for some reason I found myself wondering this morning about a former player in my city building video game fellowship. She came across as quite depressed, saying things like, "I can't lose at this game, too, I lose at everything else," and then she dropped out. As best I can tell, she never came back to the game, and I've always wondered if she was ok. I guess I'll never know.

5) Tell us about a radio personality you grew up listening to.

A. I was a big fan of American Top 40 with Casey Kasem. I had cassettes all over the place from taping those shows. I have no idea what happened to them, but I would like to hear them now. He had a smooth voice and didn't make snide commentary. The hits from coast to coast!

6) This week's featured artist, Harry Chapin, was an Oscar nominee. Before he became a musician, he wrote and directed a documentary about boxing called Legendary Champions. When you sit down to watch a movie, would you prefer action, comedy, drama, fantasy, horror, mystery, romance, thriller or documentary?

A. It depends on my mood, but I like comedy, drama, fantasy, romance, or documentaries. I am not a fan of horror, thriller, or big blow 'em up films. I will watch the latter sometimes with my husband but neither of us like horror.

7) Today Harry Chapin is fondly remembered for his philanthropy. He filled his calendar with benefit concerts that supported local food banks all around the country. How would you like to be remembered?

A. I would like to be remembered for my work for the newspaper and my efforts to keep my fellow citizens informed. Obviously, they didn't take it in, nor did it make much impact since most don't seem to understand how government works despite my efforts to teach that in my articles. But I tried.

8) In 1973, when this song was popular, one of the top-selling toys was a Curious George book packaged with a plush Curious George. Can you recall a favorite book from your childhood?

A. Anne of Green Gables, by L.M. Montgomery, and Miss Osborne the Mop, by Wilson Gage.

9) Random question: Here's $100. What will you spend it on?

A. Do I have to spend it on myself? If I can give it away, I would do that, making a donation to a favorite charity or the American Heart Association. If I have to spend it on myself, I would buy clothes.

_______________

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

Happiness Challenge

 

Today I am happy because of things that happened yesterday.

I saw the chiropractor and she put my back straight.

A trip to Kroger yielded a pork roast for the weekend, and my husband's Diet Dr. Pepper was on sale.

A friend agreed to help me alter a pair of pants I bought that doesn't fit.

*I am participating in the August Happiness Challenge hosted by One Gal's Musings.*

Thursday Thirteen

Here are some things that people do that generally aren't mentioned in novels. Or if they are mentioned, they aren't dwelled upon, unless they're some kind of defining habit. Of course, I'm sure somebody can tell me a book that every single one of these things are mentioned in. But still, novels tend to overlook the mundane day-to-day things of life, right?

1. Go to the bathroom.

2. Clip their nails.

3. Pick or blow their nose.

4. Sleep.

5. Read a magazine/newspaper, etc.

6. Mess around with a mole/skin tag or some other weird thing growing on them

7. Brush their teeth.

8. Make note of whether the character is right or left-handed, or ambidextrous.

9. Make note of little white lies to friends in mundane conversations.

10. Gossip.

11. Go in one room and forget what they're in there for.

12. Boredom/staring out the window/ etc.

13. Scratching an itch.

___________________

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 768th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

Happiness Challenge

 

The happiness update:

I had a healthy lunch! Yay for salad!

I've had two long chats with people I care about (so far, it's only 2 p.m.!).

I was able to play the guitar a little bit last night. It wasn't great but at least the swelling in my left hand has gone down enough that I felt like I could give it a try.

*I am participating in the August Happiness Challenge hosted by One Gal's Musings.*

Happy (and Clean) House

I have someone who comes to clean my house once a month.

It is money well spent.

We started this in 2014, after it became painfully obvious that I couldn't keep up the housework, still try to work, and deal with constant chronic pain all at the same time. We went through a few people before the young woman who cleans for me now took the job. She's been cleaning for me for about seven years.

The house always feels nice after she's been here. I clean and do chores throughout the month, of course, but it's good to have it all done at one time.

When my husband was recuperating from his hip surgery, I asked her if she could swing by and simply run the vacuum for me weekly so we could keep the dust down. Hip surgeries can become infected easily, so I wanted to keep the house as clean as possible for the first weeks of his recovery. She was happy to oblige, running by on her way to another person's house to spend 20 minutes with my vacuum. It took a load off of me to know that she would help me out.

Today was house cleaning day, and my house smells fresh and the floors sparkle.

That makes me happy!

*I am participating in the August Happiness Challenge hosted by One Gal's Musings.*

Olivia Newton-John (1948 - 2022)

Word came this afternoon that singer Olivia Newton-John passed away at the age of 73.

I have been an Olivia Newton-John fan for a long time. I listened to her songs like Please, Mister, Please, saw her in Grease, and I was probably one of the 15 people who saw the movie Xanadu. I was only 17 when I saw that last movie but even I knew it was a flop. I might like it better if I revisited it, but I don't know that I've ever seen the movie listed on a cable movie channel.

I'll have to look for it now and see if somebody shows it.

It was the song Hopelessly Devoted to You from Grease that I loved the most. She sang it with so much angst and feeling that I don't know how anyone could not stop and listen to that song when it comes on the radio (which of course is seldom these days, though we may hear it more for a while).

Grease was also the first movie I saw without my parents. My brother and I went saw it together; I was 13, he was 10. I don't know how much my brother liked the movie, but I loved it, even if I didn't get the risqué lyrics in some of the songs at the time.

Olivia was, in spite of the cigarette and leather clothes at the end of Grease, the girl next door. If Olivia could do it, anyone could do it. She was spunky, she came across as fun, and I enjoyed watching her perform.

There aren't many people in this world that I truly admire, but Olivia Newton-John was one of them.

Her struggle with breast cancer was legendary; I remember feeling saddened when I learned she had it, and happy when I realized it hadn't killed her. She never regained the fame she'd had after the song Physical, but that didn't matter.

She'll always be Sandy Dee.

Little Happies

 

I'm not especially happy today, but there are little things that have gone right.

My dad called and we had a chat.

My husband took the trash to the dump. That is always a relief!

I wrote a long letter to a friend instead of sending her a birthday card.

*I am participating in the August Happiness Challenge this month!*

Thirteen Lives

Last night we watched Thirteen Lives, a movie by Ron Howard, on Prime Video. Fortunately the buffering was not bad.

The movie was incredibly good. It starred Viggo Mortenson (aka Aragorn in Lord of the Rings), Colin Ferrell and other people whose names I did not recognize.

It was the story of the rescue of 12 boys and their young coach, who were trapped in a flooded cave in Thailand.

Even though I knew how things turned out, having read much about the 2018 event, I cried at the end.

But watching it with my husband made me happy.

*I'm participating in the August Happiness Challenge this month!*

Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing

1.  What would you like people to know about your mother?

A. She was a beautiful woman. My grandfather used to call her "Liz" after Elizabeth Taylor.

2.  What would you like people to know about your father?

A. He's a handsome man.

My father (left) with my brother in 2007.

3.  What was your childhood bedroom like?

A. I had white furniture with a canopy bed. The canopy was purple. I also had a rocking chair.

4.  What was your favorite activity as a child?

A. Reading.

5.  What was high school like for you?

A. I was introverted and did not have a lot of friends, but I had enough. I wasn't one of the "popular" girls - not a cheerleader or anything like that. I played in band, though. I was a straight A student but also a little wild at times. I think sometimes my peers had no idea what to think about me.

6.  Write about your cousins.

A. My cousins Tamae and Rhonda lived in California (Rhonda still does). They were the city cousins, and apparently quite wild. Tamea died in 2010. She was three years older than I.

7.  What was your favorite food as a child?

A. I remember being fond of cucumbers and Three Musketeers bars. Not together, of course.

8.  What was your most memorable birthday?

A. I remember one year my mother made me a butterfly cake. We didn't make a big deal out of birthdays, though.

9.  What world events were significant to you as a child?

A. I vaguely remember the Vietnam War on TV; Uncle Butch was in the Army at that time. I remember the Patty Hearst kidnapping had an impact on me. Watergate was in the background, but I didn't understand its importance.

10. What did a typical day look like as a child?

A. If it was summer, then we went to my grandmother's where I played with my brother and my two young uncles. We rode our bicycles around and around the block, played in the Roanoke River (which we weren't supposed to do), and played on the swing set. We played board games on rainy days. My older uncle always cheated at Monopoly.

11. Write about your grandparents.

A. My maternal grandmother had a lap as big as Texas and a heart that encompassed the world. She was always there with a shoulder to cry on, and she would wrap you and fiercely sing "Daisy, Daisy" to you while she rocked you hard to calm you down. I remember watching her do that to my brother many times; as the youngest he had the most tears to shed, I think.

12. Did you move as a child?

A. Yes. My father bought a farm, and we lived on a trailer for a while, then he bought another farm, and we lived in the old house until he built the home he lives in now.

13. Who taught you to drive?

A. My father taught me to drive a stick shift when I was 13. We had driver's education in school so learned there for our actual permit.

14. Which job has been your favorite?

A. Freelance writing.

15. What was the best part of your 30s?

A. My mother died when I was in my late 30s, which obviously was not the best part, but I grew up a lot after she passed away. I also began freelancing for real in my 30s, doing that as my sole source of income. It was very freeing to be away from an office.

__________

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: Big Bad John

Saturday 9: Big Bad John

August will be devoted to story songs. Here's the first!
 

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

This is one of the first songs I remember hearing when I was a child.

1) This song tells the story of a stern, enigmatic miner. None of the other miners knew much about him. When people first meet you, do you think they see you more as mysterious or straightforward?

A. I presume straightforward.
 
2) During a serious accident, many of the miners panicked. But not John. Think of your family, friends and acquaintances. Who would be the most dependable in a crisis?

A. Not me, apparently. I would say my husband, a former firefighter, or my brother, would be the most dependable people in a crisis.

3) His heroism allowed 20 miners to escape, but cost John his life. According to the lyrics, there's a marble slab on site of mine that honors him. Is there a memorial to a local hero in your town?

A. Not to my knowledge. There are memorials to the many who have died in wars, but not to a single person. The state is getting ready to put up a highway sign for Norvel Lee (1924-1992), who was an Olympic Boxer in 1948. He also won a Jim Crow case, an important landmark victory for Black rights, because he didn't move from the white-only section of a train. The case went all the way to the Virginia Supreme Court. The sign isn't up yet, though. It will be in the northern section of my county.

4) This song was written and performed by Jimmy Dean. He began composing it on a flight from New York to Nashville. How do you amuse yourself while traveling?

A. I listen to audio books.

5) Jimmy Dean hosted a long-running variety show on CBS, which is best-remembered today for introducing Jim Henson's puppets -- especially Rowlf, a dog who sang and told jokes. While Rowlf didn't make it to Sesame Street, he was a recurring character on the Muppet Show. Are you a Muppet fan?

A. Not particularly. I like the Geico commercial with Animal in it, though.

6) Jimmy found success in business with The Jimmy Dean Sausage Company. He sold the company to Sara Lee in 1984 for $80 million. Today Jimmy Dean breakfast products are still popular in grocery stores all over the country. What's your favorite breakfast?

A. Eggs, bacon, grits, and a biscuit with butter and grape jelly. I haven't had that combination in years.

7) In 1961, when this song was popular, Vogue asked if fashion sense is inborn or if could a woman could learn to be chic. What do you think? Do you think style is either something you have, or you don't?

A. I think it can be learned if a person is of a mind to learn it. It's not something that I ever concerned myself with. I have always been more concerned with comfort and I've never cared much what others thought of me.

8) Also in 1961, Ernest Hemingway took his own life. Did you read Hemingway in English class? Can you recall any other novels you read for school?

A. I was in an advanced placement English class throughout my high school years. I read some Hemingway, As I Lay Dying, by William Faulkner, A Raisin the Sun, by Lorraine Hanesberry (which is actually a play, not a novel), plays by Shakespeare, The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, both by J.R.R. Tolkien, works by O Henry, Shirley Jackson, Homer, and Sophocles, Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky, The Scarlett Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Moby Dick, by Herman Melville, the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, etc. etc.
 
9) Random question: Think about the last "white lie" you told. Was it to make your own day easier or spare someone's feelings?

A. I suspect it was the usual "I'm fine" when I am not. I think more of my "white lies" are sins of omission than actually saying something. It's to make everyone feel easier. 

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