Wordless Wednesday

 Seen in the neighborhood

Wednesday HodgePodge

 1. Just your weekly mid-week reminder that it's fall y'all and it's my favorite. I love nearly all the flavors of fall but let's weigh in with an either or today...pumpkin or cranberry? hot apple cider or pumpkin spice latte? cinammon or maple? apple or pear? ginger or sage? carrot or butternut squash? Yes you have to choose. What's a favorite dish made with one of the flavors listed here? 

Fall flavors...hmmm...I just saw a recipe for a pull-apart bread made with brie and cranberry sauce...similar to the baked stuffed brie I made once...

2. Do you miss traveling? In this season of almost no travel do you think you've grown anxious or fearful about traveling again? Or has all this staying home not going anywhere made you restless to get out and see the world? What book have you read or what movie have you watched that has inspired you to travel? 

John Steinbeck's Travels With Charley.  It was a paperback I found in my parents' basement, with Steinbeck and his poodle staring out at the reader from the book's cover. The book romanticizes travel around the country...

I read it as a teen, and again when I was in my 20's.  This is a travelogue of Steinbeck's 1960 road trip from his home on Long island up to New England, across the country to the Pacific Northwest, down to his birthplace in Salinas, California, then through Texas and the Deep south before returning home. Steinbeck claimed to have made the trip with only his dog Charley, in a pickup truck outfitted with a cabin so that he could camp out.  

I later found out that most of it was fiction, that the novelist had been accompanied by his wife for most of the trip, and had stayed in hotels and motels many of the nights when he claimed to have been camping out. 

If  I had the time, and the money, I'd love to do a cross country trip.  I've never been one for camping, so perhaps my trip would look more like the one Steinbeck actually did instead of the one he wrote about, but still, I think it would be fun.

3. A time you felt like you were 'flying by the seat of your pants'? Explain. 

My daughter Jen will celebrate her 30th birthday soon.  I remember the day she was born as if it were yesterday.  Giving birth, being in the hospital with my firstborn...major adrenalin rush...

But then we went home.  Before she was born, I had had no experience with taking care of a newborn. We got home, put her in the crib...and then I started to cry because I had no idea what to do next...

4. Do you struggle with road rage or are you more of a 'Sunday driver'? Do you like to be 'in the driver's seat (literally and/or figuratively speaking) ?

Literally ... I like to be in the driver's seat, I am a terrible passenger. But while I see  a lot of weird stuff on the road, I don't have road rage.  

Figuratively... my life is more like a bicycle built for two; if you have a partner you both have to steer the bike.

5. Something you've recently 'put the brakes on'? 

When it comes to Halloween, Drew and I are like a couple of teenagers.  We love Haunted Houses.  Dark corridors, strobe lights, fog machines, loud noises, actors is ghoulish costumes...

Most years we go to a small, local amusement park that sets up six different houses.   When we went last year, the park was very, very crowded...

Well, this year they advertised that they would follow all local guidelines, including "timed tickets", limiting the number of people in each house and in the park itself, etc.  That sounded exciting.  We were planning to go last weekend, but Drew wasn't feeling well, so we decided to wait a week.

Good thing...

Drew was watching the evening news on Monday.  He called me into the room.  It seems our amusement park was NOT in compliance with local guidelines, it was so crowded that the fire marshal had to issue warnings that if it happens again they will be permanently closed.

I think we'll take a pass on visiting this attraction this year.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

 

Yeah, my daughter is almost 30...time sure flies...

 

Music Monday

 And it's another "your choice" week.

So today let's go back to 1984. We were watching Dallas,  Night Court, Highway To Heaven and Miami Vice on TV. Jeopardy! began its syndicated run starring Alex Trebek. The Karate Kid, Footloose, Splash and Gremlins entertained us at the movies.  Apple aired the first "Macintosh Personal Computer" commercial.  The Soviet Union boycotted the Los Angeles Olympics, the Edmonton Oilers beat my New York Islanders in the Stanley Cup finals. The Chicago White Sox defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 7–6 in the longest game in Major League Baseball history: 25 innings totalling eight hours, six minutes. Ray Croc, Ethel Merman, Marvin Gaye, Andy Kaufman, and Richard Burton died.

And this is the music we loved.

Sunday Stealing

 1. What kinds of things do you like to write?

When I was younger I wrote poetry and short stories.  I don’t do that anymore.  Part of my job includes writing, and I enjoy that, but I much prefer my blog, where I get to pick the topic.

2. What is your favorite genre of movie?

Hmm, hard decision, since I like so many genres.  The most recent movie I watched was Coco, an animated film from Disney.  The one before that was Paul Newman and Sally Field in Absence of Malice.

3. Your favorite song?

Again, I like so many types of music and so many different songs. It’s hard to choose just one.

I’ll choose a favorite moment.

Back when live music was still a thing, I went to a concert.  It was the very first concert ever done at CitinField, and Sir Paul McCartney was the performer.

And Billy Joel joined him for one song. 

4. During what situation do your eyes shine the brightest?

Another hard question.  Today I will say “while watching live entertainment”, because I really miss concerts and theater.

5. Summer or Winter?

I love summer. I survive winter.

6. What do you do when you are angry?

I’m a screamer, but I’ve worked very hard to get that under control.

7, Sleep with lights on or off ?

Off.

8. Are you ok with eating alone in a restaurant?

Yes.  I used to travel a lot for business, so eating alone was part of the routine.

9. Texting or calling?

Texting.

10. What’s your favorite thing about yourself?

Hmmm...my resilience and ability to keep calm in a crisis.

11. How do you act when you’re scared?

I get very quiet.

12. When you look at the sky do you first look at the moon, or the stars?

The moon.  The Jewish calendar is a lunar calendar, we’ve measured time by the phases of the moon since forever.  So I think it’s genetic that I look to the moon first.

13. Do you approach strangers when you are lost?

Yes, but reluctantly.  I usually try to use a map/GPS app to help myself.

14. Tea or Coffee?

Coffee of course.  Though I will drink tea occasionally.

15. With sugar? Milk? Lemon? Anything else?

Coffee with milk or half and half.  Tea with sugar or honey.

Saturday 9

 

Vision of Love

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 the questions, however, and here is today's questions!


Saturday 9: Vision of Love (1990)

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

1) The lyrics refer to "sweet destiny." Do you believe in destiny?

No, I think we make our own destiny.

2) This week's artist, Mariah Carey, has something to fall back on. She studied cosmetology and worked as a hair sweeper in a salon. When you get your hair cut, do you socialize with the stylist?

Of course!  I have known her for 26 years,  Our daughters were in nursery school together.

 

3) She isn't likely to turn to cosmetology any time soon. Mariah is currently on the best seller list with her autobiography, The Meaning of Mariah Carey. Was the last book you finished fiction or non-fiction?

Fiction:

4) So far, more than 800 people have reviewed Mariah's book on Amazon. Do you review products/services online?

 Of course.  I used to do restaurant reviews here on the blog, and I'd link them to a restaurant review site.  Now I usually stick with Google or Yelp.

5) When she was a high school student, she was nicknamed "Mirage" because she skipped class so often. Did you ever play hooky?

I liked being in school.  And I think my parents would have killed me if I skipped school.

6) Mariah doesn't apologize for spoiling her dogs, who have been known to travel by limo. Do you know anyone who treats their pets like people?

Yes.

7) In 1990, the year this song was popular, Martina Navratilova won the Wimbledon Women's Singles Tournament. How's your tennis game?

Nonexistent.

8) Also in 1990, Pope John Paul II toured Mexico. Have you ever visited our neighbor south of the border?

I've been to Mexico twice.  Both occasions were shore excursions in Cozumel during a cruise.  The first time, we did a beach day.  The second time, we went to Chichen Itza.  That meant we took the ferry from Cozumel to Playa del Carmen, then took a bus to the ruins. We were the first people off the ship and the last to return,  we didn't have a lot of time at Chichen Itza and no time at all to explore  Playa del Carmen, but for us, it was definitely worth it. 

9) Random question(s): There are Gofundme campaigns for many purposes. Have you ever solicited funds online? Would you?

I haven't done a GoFundMe or anything like that.  I have  solicited finds on line for recognized charities.  

I participate in the annual breast  cancer walk for the American Cancer Society.  This year's walk is virtual.  Here's a link to my page. Making Strides

This year I am also participating in a virtual walk for the ADL.   

"Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."--Martin Luther King, Jr.

Meme time

 Just a few things I pulled off of Facebook...

Wednesday HodgePodge

 1. Let's start things off right...Wednesday is National Dessert Day. What are we having? How often do you  make/serve dessert? Store bought or from scratch? 

We don't do dessert often, but when we do, it's usually something from the bakery.

2. Slow as molasses, icing on the cake, that's the way the cookie crumbles, have your cake and eat it too, half-baked idea, that takes the cake...which phrase might be applied to something in your life in recent days? Explain. 

Lately time seems to be moving slow as molasses. I am looking forward to Halloween and then to Election Day.

3. Something that's 'easy as pie' for you to do?

Don't start with me...

4. Are you someone who likes to 'sugarcoat' news you think might not be well received, or are you more of a tell it like it is and let the chips fall where they may? Do you like to receive your news the same way you give it? 

I am not into sugarcoating.  

5. Something you did recently that made you feel like a 'smart cookie'?

I made a prediction about something that was going to happen at work, and it did. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

The yummy dessert I had on my birthday, back in February...