songbird's crazy world

  He lives across the street but thinks my yard is his …

I saw the partial lunar eclipse Tuesday night, but couldn’t get a decent photo, so no Skywatch post today. But I always have cat pics.  Until it’s “chase me” time 

As I mentioned earlier, the fall foliage usually peaks at the end of October.  Fall doesn’t officially arrive until Sunday.   But a few trees in my neighborhood … A few of my neighbors have decorated for fall and/or Halloween.  And some of my neighbors have adorned their homes with something even scarier— political signs and flags. More proof we’re under a flight path. When you walk through the neighborhood you see all the different ways that Levitt houses have been altered, but occasionally you’ll also see one or two that are close to their original appearance. And a few McMansions which have replaced the original Levitt houses. And depending on where you are, you’ll find  houses that were built before the suburban boom, and houses that were built after Levitt led the way.  I’ve lived in four different Levitt houses, and each neighborhood was unique — not bad for houses that were built on an assembly line. My apartment in Wantagh was in the  top floor of a Levitt house.  Most of the h

 

Recently I’ve been doing most of my walking in my own neighborhood.  I live in Levittown, the quintessential suburb, the prototype for suburban development in postwar America.   When Bill Levitt designed and built these house in 1947 and 1948, there were two models.    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. Later models sometimes included a carport or garage. The houses in my current neighborhood, built in 1950, included garages. Over the years people built out or up, or out and up.  Some people added garages, others converted existing garages to additional living space.  People expanded driveways and added fences and porches and landscaping …what started out as ide

The Nassau Coliseum is about 4 miles from my house, about 2 miles from my office. And a place to avoid tomorrow unless you’re a MAGA fan of the orange one …

 You know my undergraduate degree in in History … It was 1972, I was in 7th grade, my first year of junior high. There were three teachers who taught 7th grade Social Studies (American History).    Mr. M was an older man, probably in his late 30’s or early 40’s, slightly balding,  Mr. K was in his 20’s, with longish hair and a mustache (my guess is that he went into teaching to avoid being drafted — we were very much involved in the Vietnam War). And then there was Mr. H, the teacher none of us wanted.  In his 30’s, tall and lanky, with a crew cut and horn rimmed glasses, he was intimidating.  Rumor had it he had a glass eye.  He was strict, sarcastic …not warm and fuzzy like Mr. M or young and cool like Mr. K.  I was happy that I landed in Mr. K’s class. But then .,, Mr. K told us that the teachers were going to try an experiment.  Mr. K was going to teach Mr. M’s classes for two weeks and then he’d teach Mr. H’s classes for two weeks.  Mr. M would teach Mr. H’s classes and then Mr. K

 Another “your choice” week. How about songs about … September?               

 Alas, poor flip flop … Several years ago I discovered Crocs flip flops.  Unlike most flip flops they actually support your feet. Bought them in every color imaginable. With the demise of the pink ones I’m left with two pair, blue and olive green. Good thing summer is over.   

 I don’t usually participate, but we were at the ballpark, waiting for the gates to open …

  Minute by Minute 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: Minute by Minute (1979) Unfamiliar with this week's song? Hear it  here . 1) It's easier to keep track of the minutes if your timepiece has a second hand. A s you answer these questions, a re you wearing a watch or can you see a clock that has a second hand?  Analogue?  Really?  I live in a digital world, clocks do not have hands … 2) In this song, Michael McDonald admits he knows his girl has lied to him. Do you suspect any one of your friends/family has fibbed to you recently? I have my

 Duchess is a lady of leisure      Shadow has lots of places to sit Love this shot … her eyes are glowing …

 Spooky night … #skywatchfriday

  Haunted House of Hamburgers  is a local themed restaurant. We tried the place  last year  and had a wonderful evening. We went back last weekend.   There’s theming outside the restaurant, including a mini corn maze. And inside… Spooky, Park your broom and have a drink or a bite to eat,  A great start to spooky season …