songbird's crazy world

 And today we’ve been asked for Halloween-inspired songs. Anyone who’s been reading this blog knows I have a list a mile long of Halloween favorites. I’ve hosted my annual Halloween party since …well, for awhile now. So let’s start with a classic    Yeah, the Monster Mash … Moving on,  let’s go with something by the Eagles.    Let’s do the Time Warp!      This song is spooky …      I’m sure we all remember Ghost Busters     Gotta love this one from Blondie    And now for some Bette Midler      And the sequel …    Yeah, the Witches are back.

     I have no idea why I think they just might like Halloween …

     Miss Duchess Cat is your typical house cat.  Nine years old, weighs about 12 pounds, rules over Kingdom of the Living Room while gazing out the window at the neighboring Kingdom of Back Yard.  She was three months old when Drew took her from the animal shelter and gave her a forever home. She has not had a face-to-face encounter with another feline since her animal shelter days.  Well, except for when she was at the v-e-t, but that doesn’t really count because everyone was in their own pet carrier. Young Miss Moon Shadow was born August 9 and found her forever home just two weeks ago.  I haven’t gotten her on the scale yet, but I doubt she weighs more than 2 pounds.  She is a happy, curious, active kitten.  I just know she’ll grow up to be a marvelous cat. Shadow and I had a small adventure today.  We decided to visit Drew and introduce the felines to each other. Duchess was sitting on her favorite chair  throne when we arrived...

 

 More “cute kitten” pics. . 

Look at her, so sweet.  Fast asleep. A little angel.  You wouldn’t think she was such a … well, a … Well, I never get to eat a meal alone anymore.   Someone small and furry likes tuna salad, ham, scrambled eggs, macaroni and cheese … she has to check out whatever is on my plate. Yeah, even broccoli. And if her dinner (the good stuff,  canned cat food instead of dry) is a few minutes late, she yells at me.  Seriously, it’s like being lectured by a squeaky toy. Angelwhisper  tells how Granny managed to blockade her stove, so that her kittens cannot burn their paws when Granny cooks.   When I was cooking, I had to throw my little miscreant into the bathroom and close the door. And don’t think I didn’t hear about it.  Talk about caterwauling… But when someone falls asleep in my lap..when she’s purring with contentment… ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

 “Your choice” once again And let’s salute my favorite, my fellow Long Islander, the Piano Man himself … Billy Joel It’s Still Rock and Roll    Movie’ Out    You May Be Right      We Didn’t Start the Fire    New York State of Mind    My Life    And (of course) Piano Man   

 So I was at Drew’s house the other night, and Duchess gave me the cold shoulder. Do you think she knows about Shadow?

 By now it’s familiar, almost routine. My left arm aches.  I have no appetite.  I took a 2 1/2 hour nap and I’m still tired. Yeah, I got a COVID booster yesterday.

 Forgive the messy desk.

    

    In honor of Christopher Columbus, build a playlist of Italian artists/bands.   So many to choose from … Let’s start with Bon Jovi    Lou Christie    Frankie Avalon   Connie Francis    Madonna    Gwen Stefani And let’s switch gears for a moment as we remember the remarkable career of Angela Lansbury.  I had the pleasure of seeing her in The Best Man.      So many roles, so many moments.  But her best?         

 

 Meet Moon Shadow.  Born August 9, found her forever home today 10/14/2022.

 Taken Sunday night — full moon rising. #skywatchfriday

  So … the saga of the Billy Joel tickets,  I’m sure you all remember, but let me refresh your recollection. Billy Joel is one of my absolute favorite performers. He has a residency at Madison Square Garden, he does one concert there every month.   He did a concert in February 2020, just two days after my birthday.  I really wanted to go, but didn’t buy tickets because of other things that were happening in my life.   So I was very happy when he announced the date of his May 2020 concert.  I bought tickets and started counting the days.   And then, COVID hit us, and all live entertainment was canceled or postponed.   The March 2020 show was pushed to November 2021. The April 2020 show was moved to December 2021.  The May 2020 show was rescheduled for January 14, 2022.  New shows were scheduled for February -July 2022. Joel performed in November and December.  But there was a COVID surge in January, and the January 14, 2022 show was ...

We went out for German food last week. Bratwurst sliders on pretzel buns. Weiner schnitzel with mashed potatoes, lingonberries and red cabbage. Ziguener schnitzel with mashed potatoes and sauerkraut. And, of course, we had to order spaetzle . Are you hungry yet? I didn’t take photos of dessert — Black Forest cake and apple strudel. Now I’m sure you’re hungry …

If you search this blog, you’ll find numerous posts about the New York Renaissance Faire.  It’s an annual tradition.  This year we almost missed it, but managed to get there on Sunday, which was the very last day of the Faire.   Greeted at the gates as the Faire opened. I wore a costume this year, but no one really saw it — the day was chilly (it’s October, after all) and I wore a ruana over the costume to stay warm.  A ruana is a poncho-like cape, and it actually looked like part of the costume.  Sorry, I didn’t pose for photos. Sigh,  some of our favorite performers were not at the Faire.  One of  our favorites retired during the pandemic, one act we really love doesn’t come to our Faire anymore, and two acts we wanted to see this year finished their run earlier in the season. But there was still plenty of entertainment. There were a lot of jugglers this year.  This is Douglas Stafford.    Cirque du Sewer — she trains cats and rat...

 Another “your choice “ week And it’s time for some John Denver.  Such a distinctive voice, such a distinctive style.  He died far too young.                  

 So the baseball season is over, and the Mets tied the Braves for first place in the Division.  But the Mets have to play the Padres in round one of the playoffs, and the Braves get the bye, because when the Braves played the Mets during the regular season, the Braves won more series than the Mets.    Grrr… I’m hoping to go to the Renaissance Faire this weekend.  It’s the last weekend of the Faire, so if we don’t get there this weekend we’ll have to wait until next summer to say “huzzah!”  The weather is supposed to be good — sunny and cool. The plans for our cruise are really starting to come together.  We are sailing in early December.  Eleven days in the Caribbean, and we’ve booked excursions for most of the ports.  I’m really starting to get excited for it. I may be getting a kitten.  You know I love Duchess, she’s my baby…but she is Drew’s cat, she lives in Drew’s house.  I want someone small and furry in my apartment.  A ...

 So Aaron Judge hit home run #62 last night.  So exciting for Yankees fans. And for baseball fans. Meanwhile the Mets have torn my heart out of my chest, thrown it to the floor and stomped all over it.   How do you lead the division all season long and then just before the season ends get swept by Atlanta and fall to second place?  Atlanta won the division yesterday.  At least the Mets will be the wild card, so still in the playoffs.  Where there is life there is hope. And McNeil won the batting title, so … Drew was so excited.  He was watching a show on tv and recognized the location where it was filmed.  We’d been there on vacation in August 2021.  It’s normal for us to recognize locations in NYC and environs — there’s a lot of filming going on around here — but the scene in the tv show was filmed in a small town in Maryland.  Sharp eyes… And yes, it was a fun vacation . I’ve finally mastered pork chops, made one the other day that act...

October is the month of “Bounty”.  Other similar words plentiful, blessings, harvest… don’t limit yourself look for ways to expand the prompt other than song titles, use lyrics, album names, or artist/band names. So my first thought was something by Neil Young.    And that led me to this lovely tune.    At that point I was hopelessly old school, so…    Which led me to    And let’s finish up with 

It’s like someone flipped a switch.  September 21 had summery weather, the next day the autumn weather arrived. I’m enjoying the change.  I like the cool, crisp days.   Halloween decorations are popping up all over the neighborhood. I think I’ll go buy some apple cider donuts.