Dinner and music

Two restaurant dinners in one week.  It's amazing.  We had a great time tonight.  KDRT (the radio station Ned's show is on) had a table at a local restaurant that was having music and we went to hear the music and to have dinner.

(That's Ned's co-host on the left)

Dinner was delicious.  I had a mushroom Gorgonzola burger that was so huge I will be having half of it for lunch tomorrow.  

* * * * *

Ned and I are just about finished with the 1980s puzzle.  We will be able to start the Advent Calendar puzzle that Jeri sent us awhile ago.  This puzzle felt (to me) more difficult than others we have done lately.

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 PHOTO OF THE DAY

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Books and Movies

I get offers for cheap Kindle books through BookBub every day.  There are maybe a dozen books, some by authors I follow (like Harlan Coben and Patricia Cornwell), some by authors I've never heard of.  The books are either free or $1.98 and I have downloaded many books over the years.

Today there was a book titled "The View from Half Dome," by Jill Caugherty (an author I have not heard of).  It was on my list because I am interested in Historical Fiction and is described as "A “gentle, poignant tale” with “a sturdy, compelling protagonist” (Kirkus Reviews): After tragedy strikes in the 1930s, devastated young Isabel flees to Yosemite — where she learns from Enid Michael, the park’s only woman ranger-naturalist. But her secrets and grief may threaten her beautiful refuge…"  It is one of the books offered for free, for one day only.

As a Yosemite fan, I was interested and I went to Amazon to check it out.  While the story sounded interesting, I didn't order it (even for free) because it starts by saying When  the trolley bell clanged, Isabel nudged her younger sister and stepped after her into the street.  An author who starts a book in San Francisco and doesn't know the difference between a trolley and a cable car can't be trusted with getting Yosemite facts correct!

* * * * *

On Black Friday, Peacock was having a sale, $1.98/month for a year.  I was going to join Peacock in January because there is a Monk movie that is being shown on Peacock in a few weeks and I need to see that.  After my year of $1.98/month, my membership will be raised to $~60/year, so I will definitely end before that happens.

But now that we have Peacock, I was glad to see an interview with Melissa McCarthy on Today about her new Peacock movie, Genie.  I enjoy the actress and always say that if I were to choose someone to play me in a movie, it would be McCarthy.  So I was happy to know I could see her new movie.  It's the story of a genie who has been trapped for 2000 years and the guy who accidentally releases her and how she learns about the 21st century and gives him unlimited wishes.  I found it to be kind of corny and contrived (and was disappointed), but I was watching it at my lunch time, when I usually take a nap and I fell asleep during the middle of it, waking up about 10 minutes before the end and I found the end very good.  Now I'm sorry that I missed the middle and wonder whether it continued to be corny and contrived or if it becomes good sooner than the last 10 minutes.

I did enjoy their conversation about her visits with Jesus, whom she knew.  That was kind of cute and funny.

I don't think I'll see the movie again so I can see the middle of it, but I'm glad I got to see the end so I know how it all turns out.

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Steve's new look

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projects

I completed two journals yesterday.

I still have one more to complete, which must be sent January 16, so I have a lot of time to finish it.  This journal is a "guided" journal, which means that there are 30 page descriptions that you have to fill in, like:

Writing prompt
Recipe page
Free theme
Art page 
Pocket Page                                                                                                                                                  

This makes it easier than just a blank notebook to fill.  I especially liked the prompt to make a page dedicated to your favorite animal.  I chose the elephant, of course!

With the other two books finished, and the deadline for this more than a month from now, I can perhaps stop being so obsessed with making pages, and can get to answering the stack of letters that have piled up.

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Christmas Trees

 

Laurel posted this picture of the tree guys loading Tom's family tree into his truck

They live in a 2 story house with an open living room, so their tree can be as tall as two stories of the house.  I remember seeing the picture last year.

Laurel pointed out, in the photo of the day, that it took two ladders to decorate it.

Brianna texted that she thinks it's their biggest tree yet and that it smells great too.

Oh, how I remember the smell of Christmas trees. The last few years that we bought real trees before we got our artificial tree, it was a disappointment because while  the tree looked beautiful, it just didn't fill the house with the aroma that I remember so strongly from my childhood.  I thought I was buying the kind of tree noted for its small, but it never happened.  Or it could be that with my aging smelling ability, I just didn't smell it.

But now we have an artificial tree (when it gets put up) which won't smell, but will be a nice way to display all the special ornaments we have.  We haven't had glass balls in years because we started having so many personal ornaments. The tree starts with all the monuments to our dead loved ones, like the dog Seymour's tennis ball and several dog collars. There is also a black leather jacket ornament for David, who loved to wear his black leather jacket.  The only ornament I could find has "bitch" written in pink across the back, but it is black leather.  For Paul I have a smiley face necklace that he gave me...dozens of smiley faces.  I was going to bury that with him, but decided not to and then later decided it made a nice decoration for the Christmas tree.

The first special ornaments that always get hung are the 7 dwarfs from Snow White that my friend Kathleen made for me many\ years ago.  We lost Dopey so there are only 6 dwarfs now.  There are musical ornaments and 49er ornaments, and various animal ornaments, a ballet ornament and I can't remember the others, until we start putting them on the tree.  But each year as we decorate, it's a whole evening of memories, which are always very special.

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dinner out

 

We actually went out to a  restaurant for dinner last night!

Relatives of Marta's were in town (I can't remember what relation the 3 women were) and Marta's step-mother invited us to join them at an Italian restaurant here in Davis.

What fun!

I got to order shrimp scampi, which  was delicious, though there was about 3x as much spaghetti on the plate that I normally have for dinner, so I had a lot to bring home with me (I did eat all the shrimp tho, of course!)

It was a long table and Marta was at one end with her relatives, while Walt, Ned and I were at the other, so I don't know how things went with the reunion of  the relatives, but we had a good time chatting with Marta's stepsister and with Ned.

Ned and I are working hard on the 1980s puzzle, which is at a point where it's more difficult than it has been.  We are close enough to finishing that we should have it done in time to start the Advent Calendar puzzle that Jeri sent us for the month of December.  Such fun to have someone who likes to work puzzles as much as I do.

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He's alive!

I was so happy to receive a note from my old boyfriend this morning.  I dated Bill for 4 years, through high school, until he decided to become a Jesuit brother (not a priest).  We kept in contact intermittently over the years and many years ago, when all my kids were still at home, he came to dinner here, which seemed strange...we were both so old.  He now lives in a monastery.

For the last 20 or so years, we have communicated once a year, sending Christmas greetings.  He always gets his card out right after Thanksgiving and it is usually the first Christmas card I get.  I send our annual Christmas letter and try to have it written and sent to him the day after Thanksgiving.  We are about half and half who gets their greeting to the other first.

But  this year I still don't have my Christmas letter finished and when I get it finished, Jeri will put it in pdf form so it's going to be mid-December before I send it out.  Given our ages, I decided I should send him an email to let him know that I'd be sending it out late.  He's had some physical problems in the last couple of years and when I didn't hear back from him for 2 days, I started looking up obituaries.  I remember when my friend Sister Anne died and it was six months before the convent let me know she was gone.  They sent me a letter after I sent her Ned and Marta's wedding invitation.

So I don't know if others at the monastery know that Bill and I have this friendship and if they would think to let me know when he dies and we have no other mutual friends who would let me know.  He's on my list of people to contact that I gave to Ned for after I die.  Isn't it terrible that you have to start thinking of things like this at this age?

I was going to try the web site for the monastery to see if there was any news of his death when an email came from him...so he's still alive and I was happy to hear from him.  

& & & & &

I got a TWO in Wordle this morning.  My average is 4 and I'm always amazed when I get 3, but 2??? What was weird about it was that I woke up with a word in my head -- isn't it terrible when you are so involved in a game that you dream about it?  Anyway, the word was "ghost" which is nothing like the first word I ever use, but I decided I should try it and by goodness, my second guess was the answer!  I'm going to have to dream about Wordle more often.

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Thanksgiving

It was a full day.  It started with watching the Macy*s parade in NY, then the dog show.  I fell asleep shortly after the dog show and almost didn't see the text that Jeri sent around letting us know that she had started a Zoom.  Jeri is in Boston, of course, and Walt's sister and her husband are also in Boston visiting her husband's daughter and her family.  Tom and his family are in Santa Barbara, and we are in Davis.

We were able to participate for most of it.  Jeri had arranged for 45 minutes, so when it suddenly all went blank, we knew that our time was over, but what fun to see everyone. Ned was helping Walt get the screen and going from his screen to mine to bring Bubba into the zoom.  It was great fun to see everyone.

When the Zoom was over, Walt and I watched a bit of TV (I saw the new Velveteen Rabbit movie) and Ned brought me a bowl of potato chips with clam dip.  

I came into my office to work on a letter I started on November 8 and keep not finishing (it's still not finished!)

At 5, we watched the 49er game and were happy that they won...we knew that Tom had something to be thankful for.

Ned decided it was time to take our family picture that I can use on my Christmas letter (if I ever get it written).  I was so happy with what he came up with.

We had agreed we didn't want to have turkey, since we have it so much during the rest of the year, so Ned did a sous vide roast beef that was delicious.  But he also arranged that we had all the rest of a turkey dinner - stuffing, potatoes, green beans, and even cranberry sauce.  I had made the stuffing the day before and divided it in two so we could have stuffing without onions for Walt and Marta, and stuffing with onions for Ned and me.  It was a delicious dinner.

And I was glad that my pie mojo seems to be back.  My pumpkin pie was delicious...and the crust was great.

So Thanksgiving is over and now to start preparing for Christmas.  But what a lovely day!

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 PHOTO OF THE DAY

I loave this picture.  It's perfect for
yesterday's entry!

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Shed a tear

I certainly never dreamed that Ned's show would bring me to tears, but today it did.

Clyde played 3 Thanksgiving-related songs and the two of them started talking about Thanksgiving, what they are doing this year, and memories of past Thanksgivings.  Clyde is my age and so his memories go back as far as mine do.

Then Ned shared that it would be just the four of us for dinner on Thanksgiving and that we will be having roast beef instead of turkey.  I'll be making pumpkin pie...and I'll also make stuffing, because those are the two dishes that I really would miss if we didn't have them.  We eat  turkey so often in this house that it's not a big deal to have turkey (though it is a big dealt to have a whole roast turkey and not just turkey breast or ground turkey).

Ned talked about the years when we went to Walt's mother's condo at Lake Tahoe (now, I guess, our condo, shared with his sister).  We did Thanksgiving up there for many years and it was perfect because there was no pressure on anybody to "host" the dinner.  Walt's mother cooked the turkey and the rest of us brought the side dishes.  I made pumpkin pie.  Tom made baked Alaska.  We didn't spend much time watching TV, but played lots of board games and card games and after dinner we would play charades.

I still smile thinking of Walt's mother trying to remember that you don't speak when playing charades.

There were a lot of us at those dinners.  The seven of us, Walt's mother, Jeri, Ned & Marta, Walt's brother and sister and their significant others (later spouses).  We also frequently had foreigners with us celebrating Thanksgiving at Tahoe too.

The only family member who wasn't there was my own mother, who never celebrated holidays with us after she remarried, but spent the holidays with her new family.  I'm still hurt about that.  After her husband died, she came back to our family.

When we stopped having Thanksgiving at Tahoe because Walt's mother couldn't handle the altitude any more, then I hosted here, or my mother hosted a smaller group at her place.  We didn't have the card games or charades, but we still had the good food and a good time.

As I listened to Ned I found myself getting teary, thinking of those who are no longer here.  The two grandmothers, of course, and Paul & David...is it really more than 20 years since they died??  How can that be?

I have many things to be thankful for and I am thankful that we are well and that we will be together with Ned and Marta.  But oh how I miss those big Thanksgiving dinners with all the family together.

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 PHOTO OF THE DAY

I couldn't find the good picture of Thanksgiving
at Tahoe, but this is one....family and foreign students.

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What a difference

I had such good experience with the SwapBot swap called "Happy Mailbox All Month" where my partner sent me that $40 Zojirushi cup that keeps my water cold for 12+ hours and also sent me something else crazy expensive t hat I can't remember now.  She was upset that she never heard anything from her partner.  And I didn't want to tell her that I didn't think the swap meant for someone to spend so much money, since I was enjoying her gifts.

I certainly didn't send things like that, but I did send five different things (including one thing from my partner's Amazon wish list) that I  thought she would like.

So I signed up for the Happy Mailbox All Month, November" and have pretty much received garbage from my new partner along with a note saying a letter was coming, which hasn't yet arrived.

I'm not going to complain.  I certainly got more than I should have last month, but it's interesting seeing the different way two people interpret the rules for the swap!

* * * * * 

The squirrels  that we had a long time ago, those  that were actually friendly to us, loved squash and we used to get squash a couple of times week to give them.  Ned had bought some small pumpkins for decoration at Halloween, and I took one and cut it in half yesterday and put it out for the squirrel, who was very uncertain about it and took a long time to be brave enough to get close enough to taste it.  But he obviously liked eating the seeds but it was on the ground, where Bubba could get him, if he tried to and I know the squirrel was nervous about that.  Ned put a nail n the shelf where we feed the squirrels walnuts and attached the pumpkin to it.  The squirrel spent a lot of time eating it this morning.  I will probably have to replace it with the other half in a day or two.

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The squirrel is learning about pumpkin

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Me? Sick?

First of all, I understand that some people are not able to leave comments on this blog.  This is something new and I don't understand why, but I'm working on changing settings so that it won't be a problem.  I am also having difficult leaving comments on other blogs...don't know if that is my problem or the blog's problem.  If you find you can leave a comment, please do so I know that I've found the solution.

*V*V*V*V

I can't remember the last time I was sick with anything.  Being a hermit probably helps.  Even when the other 3 in the house tested positive for COVID, I never did.

But yesterday I woke up with a very sore throat, an ear ache and a terrible headache.  It has been so long since I've had any of those symptoms that I couldn't quite figure out the problem.  I had a terrible feeling that having been to a big theater where nobody wore masks (including me) that I might have picked up COVID.  But Ned did a test and it came back negative.

I decided to just spend the day relaxing and pretty much didn't get out of the recliner all day, either watching TV (especially the 49ers' win) or napping.  I slept so much I was surprised when I was able to fall asleep for the night at 9:30 and only woke up once in the night and then pretty much slept until 6.  I didn't type anything all day, which is amazing.

I still have a sore throat and occasional headache, but I'm feeling better.  I discovered Advil and that may be the reason.  I will be resting most of the day today, but I have to write one letter before giving up on the computer again.

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School of Rock

Anyone who has seen “Cats,” “Jesus Christ Superstar” or “Phantom of the Opera” will be surprised to learn that “House of Rock,” now at the Woodland Opera House, is also one of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s shows.

Based on the 2003 film, written by Mike White, this is the story of Dewey Finn (Dallas Tringali), a failed wannabe rock star who earns extra cash to pay for his rent so he won’t be evicted by posing as a substitute teacher for a prestigious private school.  While he doesn’t know how to teach anything, when he learns that his students have music class one day a week and that they can play various instruments, he sets out to turn them in to a rock band in an attempt to win the upcoming Battle of the Bands contest.

This is a huge production for Woodland, directed by Andrea St. Clair,  with some 30 people in the cast, a dozen or more of whom are children.  While there is an actual band on stage, four of the students play their own musical instruments.  Elsa Strubs plays bass and Azarias Teruel plays the keyboard.  11 year old Noah Rode has been learning drums since age 5 and is a great drummer, who gets audience cheers after each of his solos.  Henry Lambert, who plays Zach, is actually a professional musician, but an excellent guitarist, though given his height and voice, they should have dropped the line “You’re only a 10 year old boy.”

It’s surprising to believe that Dallas Tringali is making his debut in his first ever theater production, though he has been a guitarist and songwriter for a number of heavy metal/rock bands.  It’s a huge role and he handles it as if he has been starring in theatrical productions for years. 

Andrea Thorpe plays Rosalie, the principal of the school, who pays little attention to Tringali (teaching under the name Ned Schneebly) and his teaching methods until she realizes that he’s not teaching the way she expects him to.  But taking her out for a drink and some schmoozing changes her mind.  Thorpe has a beautiful operatic voice, shown in her Act One “Queen of the Night” (based on the Mozart aria) and she brings down the house with Act Two’s “Where Did the Rock Go?”

Alexander Quinonez is the real Ned Schneebly, Dallas’ lifelong friend with whom he has been living without paying rent.  Alyssa Parsons is Ned’s girlfriend Patti, who hates Dallas, and who is pretty much disliked by everybody for how she hen pecks Ned.

Liza Ivanova plays Summer, who becomes the band manager, convinced that winning the Battle of the Bands will look good on her college application.  Ivanova, who has been acting and singing since age five, shows her experience in how professionally she handles the role.

Tinaya Mukome is Tomika, who is shy and feels she’s not as intelligent as the other students.  But she is a gifted singer and her “Amazing Grace” is a huge hit.

Patrick Cobb is Billy, a flamboyant boy with a love of style and fashion magazines, not at all interested in watching sports with his father (Bobby Jordan).  Cobb plays the role perfectly.

This is wonderful production of a loud rock show, but where else can you hear loud rock with Andrew Lloyd Webber and Amadeus Mozart?

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"What's your name?"

It was nice being a theater critic.  I reviewed about 8 different theaters and when I arrived, I was always greeted warmly.  In one or two places, someone from the company would make sure to come and chat with me.  When I went to pick up tickets, they just handed them to me without asking my name.  When I called to reserve, they were always chatty.

So I went to Oklahoma and while we have known the producers there for more than 40 years so always chat with them, the guy at the ticket counter didn't know who I was and had to ask for my name.  The ushers didn't know who I was and explained the seating to me.  It seemed strange.

This week I have been asked to review School of Rock at a different theater.  I had to call for seats and the person I talked to didn't have a clue who I was, asked me to spell my last name and asked again what my first name was and how to spell it ("Bev"??).  I have become a "nobody" in only 2 years.

I had to think about whether I wanted to review School of Rock.  I knew vaguely what it was like, having seen the movie many years ago and wasn't enthusiastic, but I realized that if I didn't review it, it probably wouldn't get any review at all.  I was asked to review a show last week that I couldn't do and I know that show didn't get any review because the Enterprise critic didn't think to check her email in time for me to review it on opening night.  I was so religious about making sure to check all the theater web sites so I never missed an opening night and I know that is not happening now.

But though it is no longer my job and I wasn't thrilled to be seeing School of Rock, I didn't want the show not to get a review, so I agreed to do it.  To prepare, I found the video on Paramount+ and watched it.  Now I'm all prepared for it and actually looking forward to seeing how they are going to do it and if they have found young musicians who can play the instruments.

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Sunday Stealing - LEP

 

Welcome to Sunday Stealing. This feature originated and published on WTIT: The Blog. Here we will steal all types of questions from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent questions. Cheers to all of us thieves

Stolen from League of Extraordinary Penpals

Looks like nobody liked last week's.  Maybe this week will be better.

1. People I'd like to thank and why
I always want to thank Ned for all the work he does around the house and to take care of me.  I would be lost without him.  I'm also thankful to Jeri who manages to stay in touch with all of us even though she lives on the other side of the country.  She sends everyone in the family a video just about every day and she calls Walt or me regularly.

2. Something I rebelled against as a kid
I was never rebellious as a kid.  I was also so frightened of my father's anger that if I even thought of being rebellious if he got angry about it, I gave it up.

3. What I need to accomplish before the end of the year
I need to get our Christmas letter written

4. Guilty pleasures right now
With the actors' strike over, I am enjoying the shows as the start up again.  

5. Local landmarks
Davis doesn't have what you'd call "landmarks" but I show people the memorial trees for David and for Paul.  Now a days, I would also show them the "Compassion bench" created by the guy who was murdered a year ago.

6. Cause or purpose I deeply believe in
I foster kids through Christian Children's Fund, I donate to St. Luke's hospital, and I have fostered dogs for the SPCA for many years (and adopted several)  I have always been supportive of gay marriage and am terrified to think the Supreme Court might reverse it yet again.  I strongly believe in democracy and the need to protect the constitution.

7. Things I never learned to do
Ski, play sports, play a musical instrument (except the piano which I studied as a kid and have not touched in decades)

8. Seasonal traditions I’m always excited for
I love making pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving.  I love it when Tom and the family drive up from Santa Barbara to spend a Christmas celebration with us.

9. Something I’d like to be mentored on
Nothing these days.  I loved being mentored with cake decorating so many years ago.

10. Exotic animals I wish I could keep as pets
I don't believe in keeping exotic animals as pets.  They need to be wild, though I wouldn't mind living in an elephant area in Africa for awhile!

11. Something normal to me, that might be odd to others
My weird sleeping habits.  My TV addiction.

12. The last book I quit reading and why
I can't remember.  It was probably some 20 years ago when I started reading the "Left Behind" series.  I was halfway through Book 1 when I threw it across the room and never looked at it again.

13. Right now, I appreciate...
All the stuff Ned does for us

14. When “the holiday season” starts for me
When I get my Christmas letter written.

15. Holiday foods and treats I love the most
Pumpkin pie, stuffing (with or without turkey).  When I was a kid we always had a 2 lb box of See's chocolates after dinner on Thanksgiving and Christmas, but I haven't had that in decades.

16. “Terrible” movies that I actually like
If it's a movie I like, I never think of it as "terrible."

17. Cooking all day for holiday dinner vs. ordering carry-out
I've never ordered carry out for holiday dinners.

18. If I were trapped in a holiday movie, I’d pick...
White Christmas

19. Which holiday tradition I wish lasted all year long
The good humor that people greet each other with...though these days that may be gone.  We'll see over the next few weeks.

20. Favorite books, music, tv, movies and music this month
I'm working my way through Barbra Streisand's ~1000 page autobiography.  I just started watching Julia, Fellow Travelers, White House Plumbers and the new Frasier

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 PHOTO OF THE DAY

Squirrel trying to decide if
he wants to try the pomegranate
(he did--and loved it)

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Saturday 9

Welcome to Saturday: 9. What we've committed to our readers is that we will post 9 questions every Saturday. Sometimes the post will have a theme, and at other times the questions will be totally unrelated. Those weeks we do "random questions," so-to-speak. We encourage you to visit other participants posts and leave a comment. Because we don't have any rules, it is your choice. We hate rules. We love to answer questions, however, and here are today's questions!

Saturday 9: Last Train to Clarksville (1966)

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

1) When did you most recently take a train?
Probably 2009 on our mother/daughter trip to France/Italy.  I remember taking the train from Paris to the south of France.

2) The lyrics promise "coffee-flavored kisses and a bit of conversation." Have you more recently had coffee, a kiss, or a chat?
Coffee!  Now that I have a Zojirushi cup, it keeps my coffee hot from when I first pour it around 7 or 8 a.m. until I finish it sometime after noon.

3) The record opens with a guitar riff inspired by The Beatles' "Day Tripper." Can you play guitar?
Nope.  That's for my kids.

4) The lead vocals are performed by Micky Dolenz. He is the only surviving member of the Monkees. Without looking it up, can you name his bandmates?
Nope!

5) The Monkees starred in an award-winning sitcom for two seasons. In Season 2, Micky surprised fans by appearing with a curly perm. Do you curl, straighten or color your hair?
No.  I have naturally wavy hair which is curly when cut short.  I don't color my hair--I figure I earned the salt and pepper.

6) Micky also did a stint at WCBS radio in New York. He spun the oldies every morning and helped his listeners get ready for work. Do you turn on the radio or TV when you first wake up?
Definitely.  I often wake up at 3 and turn on Morning Joe and fall back asleep while watching it and then a couple of hours later, I change the station to NBC so I can watch Today but usually fall back asleep before it comes on and wake up sometime after 7:30/

7) Micky's daughter, Ami, followed her father into show business, appearing in several movies and a recurring role in General Hospital. If you followed your father into his profession, what would you have done for a living? 
Good lord...working the mail on the train from San Francisco to Los Angeles.  He did that for 30+ years before they took the mail off the trains.

8) In 1966, when this song topped the charts, miniskirts took the fashion world by storm. What have you recently added to your wardrobe?
A t-shirt that I will wear at Christmas if it fits, but I haven't tried it on yet.

9) Random question -- You order chicken noodle soup and a packet of saltines arrives with the bowl. Do you: 1) break the crackers into pieces and stir them into your soup or 2) squeeze them in your hand and sprinkle the crumbles into your soup or 3) leave them untouched?
Break them into pieces.

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 PHOTO OF THE DAY

Lacie gets her new karate belt

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Sleeping routine

 I've been sleeping much more lately.  After so many months of insomnia, suddenly I seem to be able to sleep.  I still only get 6 hours on a good night, but I wake up feeling refreshed...and I take my hour long nap at noon.

It would be nice if it was 6 hours from start to finish, but that includes at least three times waking up and moving from couch to recliner or recliner to couch.  

I think the reason I'm feeling refreshed is that I don't worry if I don't go right back to sleep.  I generally go to the couch at 10 and fall asleep in minutes.  I wake up 2 -3 hours later, get up, go to the recliner and post my 1 second a day video and work the day's Wordle.  If I don't feel sleepy, I'll watch Colbert, which was recorded while I slept.  If I feel sleepy, I'll go back to the couch and sleep for another couple of hours, then wake up around 3 and turn on Morning Joe.  I watch the first 15-30 minutes and then turn it off and try to go back to sleep.  If I can't sleep in the recliner, I'll go back to the couch and hope.

I usually wake up around 5 and settle into the recliner with the news on, followed by Today.  I generally fall asleep and may wake up around 8.  

Part of the reason I feel I've been sleeping so soundly (I actually have DREAMS these days) is because I wear the "Yes, I'm cold" shirt, which is very warm and has a hood.  

Under that I wear a knitted headband, which keeps my ears warm, and from 3 on I'm also wearing headphones so I can keep the TV sound off and listen through the headphones.  

I had the weirdest dream last night.  My friend Shelly (of Ellen and Shelly) was looking for the phone number of actor Robert Wood, from the Lamplighters.  Woody and I had a huge falling out in 1986 and I have had nothing to do with him since then (and he died several years ago) so I'm not sure why he was such an important part of my dream, especially with Shelly, whom I have not seen since before Ellen died more than 3 years ago.

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More Creativity

 I've been spending a lot of time working on the 2 journals that I've almost finished.  For one of them, I checked my partner's profile and saw things that she liked, such as mermaids, dragonflies, Alice in Wonderland and fairies, among other things.  I was able to get stickers from several of those things. j For example, I made a page with dragonflies that had an envelope filled with dragonfly stickers.

And I found a deck of Alice in Wonderland cards and made a page of that, combined with a page of fairies.

I actually managed to get one letter written, and some other SwapBot swaps in the mail, so it was a productive day, creative-wise.

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This was my favorite page.
I found the background picture, printed it, and added sticker fairies

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More Barbra

I don't know why anybody could get the book of Barbra Streisand's autobiography.  I have the kindle version (which has more photos than the book) and I also have the audio book, which I was able to get for essentially free on Audible.  

I've been listening to the audio book and my word...how much you get from listening to her reading about her life.  But the best part of the audio book is that here and there when she talks about various songs, she plays the recording.  Now THAT's nothing you're going to get in a book.

After I listen to a chapter, I stop and go to Kindle and go through that chapter page by page to see the photos that are used, then back to the next chapter in audio.

Stephen Colbert is doing an interview with her tonight and I'm going to be curious to see what he gets from her,  As I write this, I'm in Chapter 10 (of >50) and it is fascinating.  The chapter on Funny Girl on Broadway is amazing.  Nobody will ever have had any idea about how terrible that show was because of her co-star, Sydney Chaplin (Charlie's son), who was upset with her for not continuing with a romantic relationship and spent the rest of the run (many months) literally torturing her on stage at every performance.

I am thoroughly enjoying this story. 

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Cards

 I signed up for a Christmas card swap on Swap Bot.  I knew I had several Christmas cards around here, left over from years that I didn't send them.  I started looking for t hem and found four cards, all of which are nice, but all of which are religious.  i didn't know how my partners would feel about getting religious cards, so I set about trying to find the other cards that I know are here...somewhere.

Oh my.  I know my office needs organization.  It always does.  But as I started looking through things, piles of stuff fell over, and I tried to look through a big box that has a lot I can throw away, but a lot I can use in projects I"m doing now.

Bottom line, I have pretty much taken the office apart and will spend the day (and perhaps more) trying to get organized.

The one thing that was good was that I recently got Barbra Streisand's autobiography as an audible book.  I don't usually listen to audio books in the house...I save that for in the car (and not at all lately since we haven't made long trips), but I started listening to it and I listened to three chapters and know that as I work today I will be spending the day listening to the book.  It's probably the best way to "read" a ~1000 page book.  And I'm hoping that the audio book (which she reads) will include maybe some bits of music.

So I guess there is some good in all this junk that is all over the floor, the table tops, and the bookcases as I try to find some sort of organization.

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Sunday Stealing - Food

 

Welcome to Sunday Stealing. This feature originated and published on WTIT: The Blog. Here we will steal all types of questions from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent questions. Cheers to all of us thieves.

(Don't remember where I stole this...)

1. If you were a vegetable, which one would you be, and would you ever let yourself be smothered in cheese?
I'd be an artichoke...and no, not smothered in cheese.

2. If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be, and how long do you think it would take before you got sick of it?
Dungeness crab with melted butter dip.  I suppose you'd get sick of any one food but it's hard to imagine never liking crab.

3. Would you rather have fingers made of licorice or spaghetti noodles for hair?
Not thrilled with spaghetti noodles for hair, but I don't like licorice, so I'll have to go with spaghetti.

4. What's the most unusual pizza topping combination you can think of that might actually taste surprisingly good?
clam pizza with white sauce.

5. If you were an ice cream flavor, what would be your name, and what would the ingredients be?

Sushi cream.  Ingredient would be wasabi.

6. If you could make a smoothie out of any three foods, which ones would you choose, and what would you name your concoction?
My favorite smoothies usually include banana, strawberry and orange juice

7. What's the funniest thing you've ever seen someone do with food?
giving our 9 kids (6 mos to 10 yrs) small pumpkin pies and letting them throw them at each other.

8. If your favorite food could talk, what do you think it would say about you?
She should chew more before swallowing.

9. If you were a chef, what outrageous names would you give to your dishes to make them more interesting?
Probably name them after some famous book...like "Outlander."  Sassenach sausage, Highlander lamb chops, Jacobite stew, etc. 

10. If you could have dinner with any historical figure, who would it be, and what food do you think they'd be surprised to see on the menu?

11. What's the weirdest or grossest thing you've ever eaten just to impress someone else?
I once went to a French restaurant with a friend and ordered escargot, which I'd never eaten and was surprised at how much I liked it.

12. If breakfast cereals were characters in a TV show, which cereal would be the comedic sidekick, and which one would be the evil villain?

Rice Krispies would be the comedic sidekick;  Shredded wheat would be the villlain.

13. If you could turn one vegetable into a superpower, which one would it be, and what could you do with it?

Spinach, of course...and it would give power  to Popeye.

14. What do you think aliens would say about our strange Earth foods if they came to visit?

Why do they kill eat living things and eat them?

15. If foods had personalities, which two foods would make the weirdest couple, and why?
Horseradish and strawberries.

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Saturday 9

Welcome to Saturday: 9. What we've committed to our readers is that we will post 9 questions

every Saturday. Sometimes the post will have a theme, and at other times the questions will be totally unrelated. Those weeks we do "random questions," so-to-speak. We encourage you to visit other participants posts and leave a comment. Because we don't have any rules, it is your choice. We hate rules. We love to answer questions, however, and here are today's questions!

Saturday 9: P. S. I Love You (1953)

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

1) In this song, a man fills his lover in on what's going on in his daily life, including that he was in bed by 9:00 PM. Do you have a regular bedtime?
I usually go to sleep sometimes between 10 and 11.

2) He reports that yesterday it rained, but all in all, he can't complain. Do you often find yourself discussing/complaining about the weather?
In the summer, when temps get into triple digits, we frequently discuss the weather, usually complaining.  In the fall, the first time it rains, we discuss the weather--but no complaining.

3) This song was recorded many times, by artists as diverse as Rudy Vallee (1934) and Bob Dylan (2017). It's endured because the theme -- reaching out and staying in touch across the miles -- is universal. Is there anyone in your life with whom you regularly correspond? If yes, do you prefer cards/letters, emails or texts?
I have many pen pals and I prefer letters, but I'll be happy with cards, emails or texts.

4) This 1953 version was a hit for The Hilltoppers. The band members met at Western Kentucky University and took their name from the nickname of their school's athletic teams. What was the name of your school's team?
Gosh.  I can't remember.  We were a small all girls school and we had a vollehyball team, but I don't remember what they were called.

5) The Hilltoppers always performed in W sweaters, for Western Kentucky. Do you own any sweaters, caps or jackets that celebrate your alma mater?
No.

6) By 1960, The Hilltoppers' records weren't selling anymore. But they continued to perform and in 1970 they became the house band at The Holiday Inn in Fort Walton Beach, FL. They were so popular with tourists that they played at that Holiday Inn for years. When did you last stay in a hotel, motel or airbnb?
I can't remember, but I think it was a hotel in Venice in 2015.

7) In 1953, the year this recording was popular, the Eisenhowers moved into The White House. First Lady Mamie Eisenhower was known for her down-to-earth style. For example, she often shared her recipe for Million Dollar Fudge, saying that since it's easy to make and foolproof, she recommended her fudge as the perfect hostess gift. When you're invited to someone's home, do you bring a hostess gift?
We usually bring a bottle of wine. 

8) Also in 1953, radio personality Arthur Godfrey made news for having one of the nation's very first hip replacements. Have you/would you ever be part of a clinical trial, either for a new drug or medical procedure?
I received the first polio vaccine and, of course, like so many of us, I have taken the COVID vaccines. 

 9) Random question -- Do you fold your socks or roll them?
I haven't worn socks in a long time, but when I did, I folded them

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Lacie's team was the region 122 champs!!

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