songbird's crazy world

  Rikki, Don't Lose that 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 memes, however, and here is today's meme! Saturday 9: Rikki, Don't Lose that Number (1974)      Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it  here .      1) In this song, a man asks a girl to spend more time with him and suggests they go out for a ride together. Do you ever take a leisurely drive, just for relaxation and pleasure? Or do you always have a destination in mind when you get behind the wheel? I always have a destination, I drive with a purpose.   Though back in my teen years and college days, I did...

 Thank you,  Liz , for reminding me about spaghetti squash. There’s a local restaurant,  The Pit Stop .  I haven’t been there in awhile, but Drew and I used to go there all the time. Even if you’re not from Long Island, there’s a chance you may have heard about this place … I used to order the spaghetti squash primavera, or the eggplant “meatballs” with Zoodles.  And that was long before I was gluten free.  (The eggplant is off my list now, it’s made with breadcrumbs.) Drew likes the burgers, the hot dogs and the soups.   I found the  recipe  for spaghetti squash primavera.  I may have to try it.  Or maybe I’ll just make a Pit Stop…

Visitors   My office assistant  Remember last week, when I told you we feed the cats in separate rooms and at different times?  Initially we did that because Shadow didn’t understand boundaries and Shadow was eating Duchess’s very expensive cat food, the kind Drew buys because Duchess is royalty  has a very delicate stomach.  Well, turnabout being fair play, Duchess has been eating Shadow’s Fancy Feast!   And last week … someone  got scolded for breaking the “no paws on the table” rule. Someone ran upstairs when she was scolded.  And then someone  growled at her little sister.  Shadow did not like being growled at… Cats learn from each other, and Duchess is apparently learning mischief making from Shadow. Enjoying the sun  Both cats love these treats    Shadow is a clever cat.  On Saturday she wanted treats.  She found an empty Temptations bag, carried it through the house and laid it at my feet.   Of c...

 Cheddar corn muffins. Freshly baked!  Yes, they’re from a mix, but nevertheless … I followed the directions on the package but added a tablespoon of honey, and then took their suggestion to add a cup of shredded cheddar.   I’m happy with the way they turned out.  Gluten free baking can be a real pain, but this mix is terrific. And Zoodles (zucchini noodles) with semi-homemade meat sauce and grated Parmesan cheese, I said “semi-homemade” because I used jarred marinara sauce and added ground beef, garlic and a few herbs.  (Most jarred sauces are naturally gluten free. I used Trader Joe’s.) Zoodles don’t absorb sauce the same way pasta does.  But it’s still a hearty dish, very satisfying on a cold winter night. I sometimes serve the sauce over gluten free pasta or polenta.  It depends on my mood.  Speaking of Trader Joe’s … try the gluten free madeleines … not the best I’ve ever had, but really good … each cookie is individually wrapped, so perfectl...

 A plane was about to land at Reagan National … collided with a military helicopter… plane fell into the Potomac … MSNBC is playing the  video of the crash over and over and over… I’m remembering Air Florida, January 1982, that crashed into the 14th Street Bridge and fell into the Potomac … I’ve flown in and out of DC, the airport is on the Virginia side of the river but right in the middle of the urban sprawl …

 So Drew came home from his first rehearsal for Pinafore  last week and told me that the  musical director played “I’m called Little Buttercup” during rehearsal.   And what popped into his head?

 It’s a CLE day.   “CLE” is “Continuing Legal Education” .  I’m required to take a certain amount of continuing education every year in order to maintain my license.  That used to mean I’d have to travel, usually to a bar association facility or someone’s law office, and sit in a conference room for a couple of hours.  Now I just sign onto Zoom at the appointed time.  I’ll be earning two hours of credit today while sitting at home in my pajamas …  The wind is howling again today.  But at least it’s warm, above freezing.  Last week’s snow is beginning to melt.   We’re supposed to get another storm this weekend, but it looks like we’re more likely to get rain.  I prefer rain … but whatever precipitation comes, that’s good — we’re still technically in a drought situation. And I’m inside, warm and dry.  Working from home means I don’t have to deal with bad weather. Latest TV binge?  We are Star Trek fans.  Remember t...

 And today’s theme? Artists, bands, or songs that make you think of cold weather Let’s start with something from Disney In a very different direction let’s hear from Foreigner How about Simon and Garfunkel? And the Bangles? And we end with Jimmy Buffett. I get the feeling he wasn’t a fan of cold weather…

 My driveway after the snow  The pattern from the gate is interesting.

 The insurance issue for my gel shots? The brand I’ve been receiving is no longer approved, I have to use the same medication from a different brand … 🙄  problem solved, mobility preserved.  We’re expecting warmer weather this week, so I may be able to take a walk.  I wonder if everyone in the neighborhood did their part to clear the sidewalks…I know my neighbors’ performance was lacking …but hopefully the snow will melt soon … I really love it when Jen comes over to do her laundry.  We order dinner and chat while the clothes are washing. She was here Friday night. I don’t get to see Becca nearly as often.  Sigh.  At least we can FaceTime.  Being a mom to adults is so very different than when they were children and teens. Maybe that why I lavish so much attention on my cats.

  A Summer Song 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: A Summer Song   (1964)      Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it  here .      1) Are you enjoying winter? Or do you daydream about summer?  I was not made for winter.  I am sort of hibernating this week. I work from home, so I don’t have a pressing reason to go out.   2) In this week's song, trees sway in the breeze. Is it windy where you are today? No.  But last week we had a high wind warning, the wind was howling. 3)  There's rain outsid...

 New discovery: Trader Joe’s gluten free pizza dough.  I never made pizza before.  I liked the results and I’ll be buying the dough again. I’ve got a recipe I’d like to try, use the dough to make garlic knots.  I haven’t had a garlic knot since my celiac diagnosis, almost two years ago. I’m still bingeing Mr. Ballen podcasts. All kinds of strange, dark and mysterious stories … including a lot of true crime.  You know, like in Only Murders in the Building , but he’s not solving the crimes, just reporting them. Sometimes I realize my Ring cameras tell me more than I want to know. One of my neighbors across the street  had what I think was a medical emergency last night.   My cameras picked up about two hours of first responder activity.  I watched the videos, which begin shortly after midnight.  I saw a police car park directly across the street from my house.  A second car joined him shortly thereafter.  I could see one of the office...

 Visitors    And more We seem to have become the local cat hangout … Meanwhile, at home … You have to remember that originally Duchess lived with Drew and Shadow lived with me, and that when Drew and I decided to move in together, the two cats had to learn to get along.  For the most part they do, but there are moments … I mean, these two chase each other, swat at each other, stare at each other… This week was “jealousy week”. Let’s start with Duchess. I buy cat food for Shadow and feed her on the schedule we established when it was just the two of us.  Duchess gets food that’s specially formulated for her delicate stomach  very expensive, and she eats at a different time than Shadow does, and in a different room (in part because Shadow would eat Duchess’s food if left to her own devices).  Duchess seldom  goes into my office, which is the room where I feed Shadow.  Yet the other day Duchess asked, no, demanded  to be fed while Shadow wa...

 Sunrise through my window #skywatchfriday

 Health insurance update.  Wegovy was delivered yesterday;  a perishable medication and was therefore shipped overnight. Problem solved.   So annoyed.   I wanted to fix myself a snack.  I needed a plate, but my hands were full. I thought “I need to put everything down before I get the plate out of the cabinet. I don’t want to drop the plate. It’ll break.”  You can see where this is going. I put everything down, picked up the plate …and it slipped out of my hand.  I hate cleaning up a broken plate. One of the tools in my “weight loss arsenal” is my air fryer.  About two years ago Becca practically waxed poetic about her air fryer and suggested I buy one,  I am so glad I listened to her advice.  Especially since I’ve gone gluten free —  gluten free bread tastes better toasted,   Yesterday at lunchtime I made a ham and cheese sandwich and grilled it in the air fryer.  So good. One of my new favorites  Vent time. ...

It’s so nice to be able to work from home in bad weather.  It’s been so cold and miserable, but I am warm and snug here in my house. I haven’t really gone out since Friday, except to collect the newspapers and to change the batteries in my Ring cameras.  And even though I usually prefer to shop for myself, I had groceries delivered yesterday. We were supposed to pick Jen up at the airport Monday night (flying home from Chicago, she’s got a friend who lives there) but her flight was delayed by about four hours (landed after midnight) and we paid for her Uber instead. Lucky Becca was just in Florida.  A friend’s wedding at a beach resort.  Fortunately she didn’t run into the same travel problems Jen experienced. Drew and I are thinking of going to Florida in a few months,  we have friends who live in Tampa, we’d like to visit our friends.   But for now we’re dealing with NY in winter.  Brrrr. Remember back in June, when Drew and I went to a  communi...

 Spoke to a human representative.  Wegovy needs a pre authorization.  Originally they stopped my order because they couldn’t reach my doctor.  They got the pre authorization last week but didn’t convey that information to the department that fills orders. That is, until I called. Lesson of the day:  stay on top of things and advocate for yourself,

 I will be spending time today unraveling a mystery. Why did I get an automated phone call on Saturday approving my Wegovy prescription and then get another automated call on Monday saying my request was denied? I need to speak to a real live person, not a bot. Wish me luck,

 Snow looks so pretty and pristine … until you have to shovel it.  We got just under 5 inches.  Our town plows the streets, of course, but the rest is up to us.  By midday Monday our driveway  and sidewalk were clear, the cars had been cleaned off, we even spread a bit of ice melt. We were a little out of practice — there was no measurable snow last winter — but we managed to get the job done.  It would have been easier, of course, if the snow blower was working; Drew has to get it serviced.  But our driveway is relatively short, so no worries. Not like the driveway at my parents’ house.  We always hired a guy with a snow plow for that job. Afterwards I had some soup for lunch.  I needed something to warm myself up.  Gluten free Italian wedding soup!  Every now and then I find a product I really like,  and Progresso makes excellent gluten free soups. Now we get set for the deep freeze.  We’re expecting bone-chilling cold f...

 

 

 A “your choice” week.   I’ve got a theme.  See if you can guess it.  I’ll tell you after I play the songs. If you didn’t guess it by the time Murray Head popped up, surely you figured it out when Sir Paul … yes, all of these songs are pop hits that were originally written for musical theater/Broadway.

  Careless Whisper 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: Careless Whisper (1985)       Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it  here .     1) In this week's song, George Michael sings that, when it comes to relationships, "there's no comfort in the truth." Have you ever learned something about a friend, lover or relative that you wish you didn't know? Drew and I have a friend … she lives alone, is estranged from her family … she asked Drew to be her health care proxy and gave him her Power of Attorney.  She suffered...

 The neighbor’s cat came to visit again. There’s an above-ground pool in our yard, covered and unused even in summer.   I don’t know why the cat thought it would be a good place to hang out … Our cats are cozy inside.