songbird's crazy world

 

  Mystical Magical   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 are today's questions! Saturday 9: Mystical Magical (2025) Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it  here . 1) This week's song is about a new love affair, and Benson Boone bounces between frustration and optimism when he thinks about it. Does anything inspire your mixed emotions these days? I love my job, but it’s stressful. 2) The lyrics mention "moonbeam ice cream," which is something Benson just made up. Last summer, when this week's song became popular, ice cream shops were ...

So last week I called Duchess the “Queen of the Couch.  This week she proved it.    Duchess was upstairs, and when she came down … The First Battle of the Couch …. Yes, Shadow had the temerity to sit on the couch!  On Duchess’s couch!   Well, Duchess was certainly not going to allow that! First she looked at Drew, but he said “you’re on your own, cat.” So Duchess climbed up onto the couch,  onto the back of the couch,  paws were flying … The winner and still champion … Duchess sniffing Drew’s shirt. Shadow sniffing Drew’s costume for the show …  And then there was the Second Battle of the Couch The champ!

 Clouds The lamppost is exhaling  Coming around a corner? This one looks like a bird — that’s the beak to the left of the screen I thought this was an interesting pattern This one looks like a wave washing over the trees. #skywatchfriday

  I walk into the community room, find a spot and unroll my mat.  It’s 10 years old, I should replace it, but I really love it.  The tote bag goes on a chair at the side of the room.  Out cone the blocks (also ancient), the strap, the Mexican blanket, the yoga socks, the water bottle.  My wallet, phone and car keys remain in the bag,  Flip flops under the chair.  I take a few minutes to sit and breathe, set my intention, maybe do some stretching with the strap. And then class begins, and we all chant “Om” before beginning our warmup stretches.  Soon we are doing the asanas, the poses.  Cat and cow.  Downward dog.  Baby cobra.  Mountain pose.  Warrior poses. Tree pose.  Triangle pose. Vinyasa yoga means flow, smooth transitions from pose to pose while focusing on the breath.  I struggle with mat work, I have no upper body strength.  And standing poses that challenge my balance …yeah, not easy. By the time cla...

 So we were supposed to have a barbecue Sunday, had to postpone it to Monday because of the weather.  We’re expecting about 10 people.  I’m making a cucumber salad and a caprese salad, They say cats have nine lives.  I don’t know if that is true, but Shadow … I should have taken a picture…she crawled into a plastic bag, the kind we use to store pillows, blankets, etc.  I was afraid she would suffocate. And yes, the caterwauls you heard from my house were Shadow’s complaints.  I was cutting her nails,but you’d have thought I was killing her, the way she carried on … Drew got a couple of weird texts last week from a local hospital.  “The patient is in the ER”, followed by “The patient has been moved to a regular room.”  Nothing to identify who “the patient” is,   Then I saw a post on Facebook … Drew has been very low contact with his sister, but apparently she listed him as her emergency contact on her admission form at the hospital.  We w...

  May 25th  In the US, May is National Barbecue month.  It’s time to go hog wild! Share music that make you think of a great cook out. We we planned to fire up the grill yesterday even though the weather was miserable … have a group of friends over … eat  burgers and hot dogs  … since when is May monsoon season?  The cook out gods were not kind …we postponed the event until today. But the music? We can listen anytime … Let’s start with a classic. Ray Steven wants barbecue  Gordon MacRae prefers a clambake  But Jimmy Buffett … The cheeseburger wins.

 What do they say, the moment you throw something away because you don’t need it anymore, that’s when you’ll need it again?  When I took yoga 10 years ago I bought yoga socks, and  held onto them until about six months ago.  Just had to buy new yoga socks. Yeah, if you look at the lists in this blog from 2016, you’ll read all about my yoga adventures. I’m so happy to start a new yoga adventure. One of my  goals is to take a yoga class aboard ship when we cruise to a Bermuda in October.  My other fitness goal for the cruise is to be able to handle the steps in the Crystal Cave — 80 steps down and 80 steps back up. We went to the movies Friday, saw The Mandolorian and Grogu.  Just what you’d expect from a Star Wars  movie.  Lots of action, lots of special effects, lots of weird characters and gadgets.  We loved it. It’s not even Memorial Day yet, but we are already hearing firecrackers.  Sigh… Weather  has been cold and rainy. ...

 

  Soldier 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: Soldier (2016) Unfamiliar with this week's song? Hear it  here . Memorial Day is a federal holiday that honors men and women who served and died in the United States Armed Forces. We want to make sure that message is not lost this weekend. 1) Are you a veteran? Are there veterans in your family? Do you know anyone who is active military? We are grateful and want to hear about it. My father served in the Army in WW II.  He was proud of his service.  When he died, at age 88, thevArmyvsent representat...

Duchess, Queen of the Couch Shadow likes many perches

  #skywatchfriday

 So, about ten years ago, I signed up for a yoga class, part of the adult education program offered by my school district.  I took that class, loved it.  Took a class at the public library, loved it.  Took a class at the JCC, loved it. AND THEN … I stopped taking yoga.  Partially because of my bad knees, I suppose. And partially because of a change in my schedule when I went back to commuting into the city.  And partially because …well, I lost interest in physical fitness, I guess. But I’ve been working out lately, and realized doing yoga to a YouTube video just wasn’t cutting it.  So I signed up for a yoga class offered by the parks department, And it felt like coming home,

  Ever hear of a  ridable miniature railway?   It’ s a large scale, usually ground-level railway  that hauls passengers using locomotives  that are often models of full-sized railway locomotives (powered by diesel  or gas  engines, live steam  or electric motors). A friend of ours belongs to the  Long Island Live Steamers . Here’s a video that explains what they do. We went out to Yaphank Sunday afternoon, rode some of the trains and had a picnic lunch.  Lots of fun. We stopped at a local deli to pick up lunch.  Nearby was the Yaphank Garage.  It’s a historical site, not open to the public, but … And next store was another historical site. We may have to go back and do some more exploring.

 Last month we had the pleasure of attending a Tommy James concert. Here are some of his best, I found some fan video from the night we saw him.  It’s an acoustic version of one of his hits.  Before I play it … You know about his  connection to organized crime .  He wrote a book about it.  The book is going to become   a movie.  Jane’s told that story at the show, then told us this song will be used in the credits. I’m waiting for that movie, I’m sure it will be interesting.

 Well, the Long Island Railroad workers went on strike Saturday morning,  Thousands of riders  lost their transportation into the city. Fortunately I don’t rely on the railroad these days, The timing was awful — the Mets and Yankees are playing a Subway Series at Citi Field.  A lot of Mets fans use the railroad to get to the ballpark.The Mets arranged for shuttle buses for the Long Island fans … although, to be honest, it’s probably Yankees fans on those shuttles…the Mets can’t win for losing … This was the fourth time in history the LIRR experienced a strike — the other strikes were in 1980 (coinciding with a NYC Transit strike),  1987 and 1994.   The 1980 strike didn’t affect me, I was away at college.  The 1994 strike didn’t affect me, I was living in Queens and taking the subway to work,  But in January 1987 I was living on Long Island and commuting to Manhattan, a regular rider of the LIRR.  So, for the duration of the strike — 11 days —...

  Fun, Fun, Fun 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: Fun, Fun, Fun (1964) Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it  here . 1) This song is about a girl who borrows her father's Ford Thunderbird. When is the last time you drove someone else's car? February 2025.  I drove Drew’s car.  He had a medical procedure and couldn’t drive, and my car was in the shop. I hate driving his car. 2) The teen in question is well known for ability to drive "like an ace." If we were to ask your high school classmates what...