songbird's crazy world

 And it’s a free choice week. Good thing, too.  I’ve been so busy with other concerns … So just two songs today.   

 Years ago, when Jen and Becca were babies, we lived in Queens, in a 5th floor apartment overlooking the Van Wyck Expressway.  From our balcony we could look south and see the control tower at JFK airport.  If we looked north and really, really tried, we could just make out the very top of the walls at Shea Stadium.  If we were watching a Mets game on tv and it began to rain at Shea, I’d get up and close our windows. I was thinking about those days the other night. Drew and I were watching the Mets game, but the umpires stopped the games and the ground crew rolled out the tarp in anticipation of the impending thunderstorm.  I checked the weather app  on my phone and realized that the storm was moving west to east, and would reach our Long Island home 20 minutes after wreaking havoc at Citi Field. So we became “storm chasers”. Our living room has a big picture window that looks out to our covered patio and the back yard. We turned off the tv, shut all the lights, opened up the windows a

  I've Got Your Number 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: I've Got Your Number (1965) Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it  here . Chosen in memory of Tony Bennett, who passed away on July 21.   1) In this song, Tony sings that he recognizes his lover's insecurities because she's a lot like him. Are you unsure in social situations? Or do you meet new people easily? I’m very insecure.   2) While singing was his livelihood, painting was Tony Bennett's passion. What hobby do you participate in with t

I’ll be honest, the move has not gone smoothly.  Not only are we still unpacking, but we’re still fixing problems that the previous residents created. Our landlord has been very responsive, but it’s annoying … So… two cats learning to cohabit. I probably mentioned this before …  We set up Duchess’s food bowl and litter box in a room downstairs, and Shadow’s things are upstairs.  Duchess tends to stay in “her” room.  She’s become very territorial.  But she does venture out to the living room. Shadow is young and easy going, and has already adapted to the new house.  She especially loves the kitchen window. She is also fond of the living room couch. Shadow likes being upstairs, too, but only if the door is open.  She does not like to be confined, even though “her” room upstairs has comfy furniture, two windows, her food bowl, and all her toys. Poor baby has such a hard life. As for how they get along …we are still working on boundaries and hierarchy.  Shadow really, really, really wants

 I’ve been somewhat absent from the blogosphere lately.  I’ve been reading everyone else’s blog posts when I can, but … It’s got to do with moving house. Getting everything packed for the move was horrible, but we finally got everything out of our respective residences, and now we’re in the middle of unpacking. Fun, fun. We’re renting this house.  There are a lot of minor things wrong with the house, and a few major problems.  I won’t bore you with the details.  The previous tenants were horrible people.  Our landlord is very responsive, but it’s frustrating.   We’re hoping to get most of it resolved by the middle of August.  We were planning on inviting the usual group of friends to a barbecue Labor Day weekend, but if we can’t get the situation with the house under control … I really don’t want to cancel the barbecue… Grrrr….

  You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To 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: You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To (1943) Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it  here .   1) In this song, Dinah Shore goes on about listening to the breeze. Is it windy, breezy, or still where you are today? Hot , muggy and dreary,   2) The August moon is bright in Dinah's musical fantasy. Let's look at your calendar. Is anything special coming up in August (birthdays, anniversaries, vacation getaways ...)?    Nothing out of the ord

 We went to the Ducks game last Saturday.    #skywatchfriday

 I made this video in September 2013, the day Drew adopted Duchess and brought her home.   

 Remember the  Springsteen score ?  Drew wasn’t able to get tickets for the Boss at Madison Square Garden, so when a concert at MetLife Stadium was announced I was determined  to get tickets.  After waiting in the queue forever, I bought the only tickets available— two tickets in the upper deck.  But an hour later I was miraculously able to grab two field level seats. The investment paid off.  We waited until this week to put the spare tickets up for sale.  And they sold right away!  So we made a small profit.  If you go to Ticketmaster right now, you’ll find tickets for the upper deck, and you’ll pay less per ticket than what we sold ours for.  But you’ll be sitting by yourself.  We had two tickets together, and that’s why we made a modest profit.

 And it’s a “your choice” week. So what’s been on my mind lately! Moon Shadow. And … Duchess. We are teaching two cats to  cohabit.  Drew’s cat Duchess is ten years old and has always been an “only cat”.  My cat Shadow will be a year old next month, and I occasionally left her with a friend who has two cats of her own, so she is used to being with other cats. Shadow wants to play with Duchess, but Duchess isn’t interested.    It’s been interesting. So how about songs about cats? One of my favorite shows.  I saw the original production four times during its long run.  (Do not ever mention that abomination they put on film a couple of years ago.) I even named a cat Mr. Mistoffelees. (“He is quiet, he is small, he is black, from his ears to the tip of his tail…”)  So let’s start this party with a song for Jellicle Cats.    Is about some Elton John?    Something by Al Stewart    We have to include this one from Tom Jones    And Cat Stevens gave me the idea for my cat’s name    Let’s end wi

 

  Touch Me in the Morning 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 memes, however, and here is today's meme! Saturday 9: Touch Me in the Morning (1973) Unfamiliar with this week's song? Hear it  here . 1) In this song, Diana Ross sings that nothing good lasts forever. Do you agree? Yes 2) She sings about a happy past with her lover, and the strength she'll need to face tomorrow alone. Do you find yourself more often remembering the past or anticipating the future?  I’ve reached an age where there’s a lot of “past” to reminisce about. 3) In the 1970s, Diana Ross had young daughters. To spend maximum

 She’s mad at me.  Tonight I tried to pet but she pulled away. I tried to sit down beside her, but she got up and walked away. And then she hissed at Shadow, as if to say “go away, kid, you’re bothering me.” Poor Shadow just wants to be her friend. I guess we just have to give it some time. 

 So … Duchess and Shadow have moved from their respective homes, and will now live here together. You may recall that the two cats have met on three previous occasions.  The first time was in  October , when Shadow was a tiny kitten.  I took Shadow to Drew’s house.  Shadow was oblivious to the existence of another cat, but Duchess was upset with the intruder. They next met in  December , when both cats went to the v-e-t … And most recently in  March , when Duchess resisted Shadow’s attempt to get to know her. So we were concerned about having these kitties live in the same house. We decided that Duchess’s food and litter box would be downstairs, and Shadow’s things would be upstairs, so that each cat would have an area of her own … as much as possible in a small house. We brought Duchess here on Saturday.  Initially she caterwauled to be let out of the pet carrier, but when she saw she was in a strange place she decided to stay in the carrier for awhile.  Eventually she came out, but h

 And the theme? It’s summer vacation time.  Robin from  SongbirdsCrazyWorld  suggested that we have songs about vacation – destination, activity, transportation, anything related to vacation. And we have to start with a real classic.    How about a road trip?    Or maybe a change in latitude? They didn’t use “staycation” when Connie Francis sang about her summer vacation plans    But I really want to do a road trip   

 If you look at a biography of  Billy Joel, it will tell you that Billy was raised in Hicksville, NY.  But if  you ask  Billy, he will tell you he grew up in Levittown.More properly he grew up in the Levittown section of Hicksville. Levittown is the quintessential postwar suburban development.  Real  estate developers Levitt & Sons purchased potato fields in what was then Island Trees, NY in order to build a planned suburban community for veterans returning from WW II.  The houses were built assembly-line style on 60 x 100 plots. There were two house plans.  The 750 sq. ft. cape featured a kitchen at the front of the house, two bedrooms and a bathroom at the back of the house, and the living room off to the side, with a loft above for expansion.  Slab foundation, so no basement, and no garage.   At 800 sq, ft., the ranch was slightly larger, with the living room at the back of the house and two bedrooms on the side. (Over the years people have built upwards and outwards, so when Le

 First, a geography lesson. If you were on Staten Island (an outer borough of NYC ) and you’d like to visit Long Island, you’d drive over the Verrazano Bridge to Brooklyn, then drive east on the Belt Parkway through Brooklyn (past Coney Island) and Queens (JFK Airport).  As you approach the  Nassau County line, you can turn north on the   Cross Island Parkway, or you can continue east on the Southern State Parkway.  If your objective was to see a Long Island Ducks game, you’d stay on the Southern State until you reached exit 43A in Central Islip and then follow the signs to Fairfield Properties Ballpark. The Staten Island Ferryhawks play baseball at Staten Island University Hospital Community Park, immediately adjacent to the Staten Island Ferry terminal that takes people to and from lower Manhattan. It is 59 miles from the Ferryhawks’ ballpark to the  Ducks’ ballpark.  Over the bridge, down the Belt to the Southern State … So a weekend matchup of the Ferryhawks and the Ducks is being