songbird's crazy world

 Busy weekend. Great concerts by Tommy James and Micky Dolenz.  I now have inspiration for two new “Music Monday” posts. Laugh out loud moment of the day.  I went outside to pick up our newspapers (I read the news online, but Drew is old school and likes real newsprint).  I was standing on my driveway when a lady and her dog walked by.  The dog started barking at me, as if I were invading its territory instead of the dog walking past mine.  Did I mention that Drew wants a dog?  A small dog, like a dachshund.  I think acoge would be interesting … Duchess and Shadow would unite against a common enemy. McMansions have become controversial in my town.  What happens is a developer buys a house, tears it down and replaces it with a much larger, modern house.  The neighborhood discussion is that: (1) no one wants to live next to a construction site; (2) the new houses are ugly, sterile, and don’t mesh with the neighborhood style; and (3) half o...

 Another free choice week. When we saw Herb Alpert a few weeks ago, he spoke about his wife Lani Hall, who was the lead singer for Brasil 66.  And of course he talked about Sergio Mendes. So today we’ll hear from Mendes, Hall and Brasil 66. And of course  Bonus hit, a duet by Alpert and Hall

 

  D rive My Car 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: Drive My Car (1965) Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it  here .   1) Who would you allow, without hesitation, to drive your car?   My significant other, my older daughter, two of my sisters.  Younger daughter and my other sister don’t really drive.   2) When you're riding in the backseat, do you use your seatbelt?  Always .   3) In this song, a young girl tells her boyfriend she wants to be a movie star. What were your aspirations when you ...

 I think I’ll avoid Eisenhower Park for awhile …there was a …situation …there Wednesday night. A shooting, gang-related, leaving one dead and two wounded. There was a “barbecue”, all of the attendees were from out of town. A lot of gang members. Scary.  With half the county’s police force in the park now, I’m sure it’s very safe.  But it just didn’t appeal … So I stayed in my own neighborhood for my walk.   The weather felt like summer, but the trees said “spring!” Summer weather … but it’s going to be cool again next week.  Jacket weather.   Just in time for our brief escape to sunny Florida. Bring on the palm trees, manatees and alligators. I really need some time away.  And when we come back … we can start preparing for actual summer.  I’m going to try to be more active this summer. I’m working on building my strength and endurance. I’m not just walking, I’m also doing chair yoga and the strength-building exercises I get from the on line physic...

 Mom is packing a suitcase … this can’t be good. Loving the bean bag chair. The usual scene in 5be living room  She waits for me at the door…even when I’m just in the backyard 

 Beautiful cloud formation #skywatchfriday

 So last night we headed into NYC to see It’s a musical based on E. L. Doctorow’s book.  Set in 1906, it tells the story of three different groups — a white middle class family from New Rochelle, a Black musician and his girlfriend from Harlem, and an Eastern European Jewish immigrant and his daughter living on the Lower East Side. Each represents a different aspect of American life at the turn of the century.  And these seemingly unrelated groups interact…  Interesting story, great music, wonderful performances. It’s playing at the  Vivian Beaumont Theater, a small venue at Lincoln Center. I’ve always thought the fountain outside of that theater was interesting. It’s red bucket season.   Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS  is a charitable organization.  Periodically they do fundraising at the various theaters, the performers stand in the lobby with red buckets after the show and solicit donations. After the show we went to  P. J. Clarke’s ...

 The ever-present planes, my favorite bird, trees starting to bud

Lunch time yesterday.  I was in the office, but it was 83°, so I decided to take a walk.   It’s an ordinary office park in an ordinary suburb.  Nice layout.  But it feels so … neglected. Plants growing through cracks in the pavement.  A dirty bench.   The dead stuff should have been cleaned out. But the flowers are beautiful. Beautiful, but sad.  

 Well, we’re almost a month into baseball season …and the Mets are already disappointing me. Sigh. I’ll be watching The Voice  tonight.  The two artists I really liked made the finals, and I hope one of them wins. I used to be a huge fan of a TV show, The Biggest Loser.   It was a game show where contestants had to lose weight, and the one who lost the most weight won money.  It was  very entertaining, lots of drama.  And I was watching the show at a time when I was also (unsuccessfully) trying to lose weight, so there was an element of envy involved.   I came across a video the other day that explains why the show was actually horrific and dangerous to the contestants, I’ve done well on Wegovy. GLP-1 medications are a game changer. The weather today?  SUMMER.  I’m not joking, it’s in the 70’s today. Nice weather to take a walk.  I’ve put my winter coats away.   Lots of birds in my yard, and the cats are going crazy watching th...

 Grrr…heath insurance…I’ve got issues with pre authorization again.  Guess they don’t understand “continuity of care”… looks like I may have to pay for Wegovy out of pocket for awhile ..ugh … I guess it’s really spring.  We took down the heavy winter curtains and put up the sheer summer curtains. The cats are loving it, they get better views of the yard — they’re real bird watchers. Landlord says she’s going to remove that useless swimming pool and put down grass.  I’m looking forward to a nicer yard. I took a walk the other day and saw this in the middle of the street. I’m trying to figure out how it got there. Everything is starting to bloom.  I love this time of year.  Even if it means buying more Claritin. Welcome home, Artemis II. Space exploration — the Apollo moon missions - was a big deal when I was a little girl. Nice to see how important it has become again.  When we visited the Kennedy Space Center in 2016 our tour guide practically gushed o...

  Apr 13th    tomorrow marks the anniversary of the Titanic tragedy 114 years ago. With that in mind, build your song picks using ships, icebergs, big band music, … for your playlist this week. Sailing?  That’s an easy one.

 

  r and Lace 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: Leather and Lace (1981) Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it  here . 1) As you answer these questions, are you wearing leather, lace, or both? Neither at the moment.  I wear leather shoes and leather belts frequently. I’ve got a couple of lacy items in my wardrobe but I don’t wear them often. Now, if you’re using leather and lace as symbols, like in the song … I think I’m a combination, conventionally feminine in many ways, but strong like leather when I have to be. ...

 More from the living room. What happens when you leave a winter coat on the coffee table? And yes, she has discovered my portable closet. My workout buddy (Please excuse the clutter.)

 Sun streaking through a hole in the clouds #skywatchfriday

 It’s a little disconcerting when you walk through the neighborhood, see daffodils, forsythia and crabapple trees in bloom, but you’ve got to wear a parka, hat and gloves because it’s so cold … But warmer weather is coming. I think I’ll be heading to one of the parks this weekend for a longer walk.  I saw a cardinal while I was walking, but he flew away before I could take a picture. Ditto with the grackles who were hanging out in my backyard. I’ve seen robins in the neighborhood, but not in my yard. I’m disappointed.  I made another interesting dinner last night — oven fried eggplant Parmesan (made with  Passover gluten free matzoh meal), roasted asparagus and a baked potato.  First time I ever made eggplant Parmesan.  I think I’ll try it with gluten free panko next time. Or maybe next time I have eggplant I’ll make ratatouille.  I haven’t made that in awhile. I signed up to participate in another fundraiser for the American Cancer Society.  I’ll...