songbird's crazy world

 So Becca has started dress shopping.  She fell in love with a dress.  Then she fell in love with another, completely different dress.   The wedding is set for July 2024, so she’s got plenty of time to keep looking before she has to make a decision.  It’s stressful, but also exciting.  One of the reasons she chose a summer wedding … she had a friend whose bat mitzvah was supposed to be in February, but the party had to be postponed a month because of a blizzard.  She didn’t want to worry about bad weather ruining her wedding, When Drew planned his birthday party (we’re celebrating his 65th on Sunday) he made sure to have a backup date in case of snow. Yes its birthday season again.  Drew’s birthday is February 7 and mine is February 18.  We do a lot of celebrating, because many restaurants will give discounts or coupons to help celebrate a birthday.   Places like Benihana, IHOP, Baskin Robbins … yeah, we enjoy. This is a special birthday...

Went to a great concert Friday night.  Remember America?   America is an American rock band formed in England in 1970 by Dewey Bunnell, Dan Peek, and Gerry Beckley. The trio met as sons of US Air Force personnel stationed in London, where they began performing live. We had great seats, but my photos and video aren’t great — too many people in front of me. Here are some of their biggest hits. A Horse With No Name   Ventura Highway You Can Do Magic   Tin Man Lonely People   Sister Golden Hair    And my fan videos      

  On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe 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: On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe (1946) Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it  here .   1) In this song, Judy Garland sings about the train whistle and wheels. What sounds make you happy? Well,  a “songbird” likes music … But my current favorite sound is the purr of my kitten.  Shadow found her forever home with me in October.  I love her catitude. 2) She tells us that, since she loves dreaming of train travel, she must hav...

 So we went downstairs to Jenn’s apartment, and Jenn clipped Shadow’s nails.  I have never heard Shadow caterwaul like that.  You would have thought Jenn was trying to murder the cat!  She’s becoming a bit of a drama queen. (Shadow, that is …) Afterwards she played with Jenn’s cats.  It was adorable.   Shadow has suddenly become wary of strangers.  I don’t get a lot of visitors;  when someone comes to my house, Shadow will retreat to the bedroom.  Eventually, though, her curiosity wins out.  She’ll come into the living room and stare at the visitor.  Consider yourself honored if she allows you to pet her. (I think she’s been hanging out with Drew’s cat Duchess…) Then there's this:  But on Tuesday, she really scared me.  My apartment is on the second floor.  I have to walk up a flight of stairs to get to my door.  Usually Shadow hears me walking up the steps and greets me at the door, but on Tuesday … I opened th...

  #skywatchfriday

  And today’s theme? Use a band or artist to spell your full name, either real or blog.   Before I begin, I invite you to read my  Tribute to David Crosby . So, on to the challenge,  My name is Robin, but I go by “Songbird” in the blogosphere, so we’ll use the pen name for this challenge. Let’s start with something by Elton John   Some Yes   The Guess Who   The Beach Boys   The Who   Cutting Crew    Queen    And we end with Blue Oyster Cult   

  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: Kiss (1986) Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it  here . 1) In this week's song, Prince insists there's no particular sign he's more compatible with. Do you take astrology seriously? I stopped reading horoscopes a long time ago. 2) He tells his prospective lover there's no need to be flirty. Are you a good flirt? Nope. 3) He refers to the nighttime soap opera  Dynasty . Were you a fan? Definitely.  I actually preferred it to Dallas , but I watched both. 4) ...

 David Crosby died on Thursday at age 81.  He was a member of the Byrds and later a founding member of Crosby Stills and Nash.  His life was often controversial but his music was wonderful.                  

  #skywatchfriday

 So I was on my way home from a doctor’s appointment yesterday, just driving my car, when I saw a dead animal in the road. It was a cat.  A tuxedo cat, all black and white fur.  Just like my Shadow.   Confirmation that my choice to make Shadow an indoor-only cat is a good decision. I signed up for pet insurance.  It doesn’t cover routine veterinary care, but does cover accidents and illnesses.  I need to take care of the furry child, right? I was at my doctor’s office to get a COVID swab, which is now a prerequisite to any medical procedure.  I’m having a small outpatient procedure tomorrow.   I’ve got an appointment with another doctor Friday, and yet another doctor on Monday.  Just routine medical care, nothing dramatic or alarming. Yeah, I’ve reached that stage in my life where half the people in my contacts list have the same first name — Doctor. I’m really getting full use of my health  insurance.  Thank goodness for insurance ...

 I’ve had a certain musician on my mind lately. Marvin Lee Aday, known to the world as Meat Loaf, died a year ago.   He first came to our attention in The Rocky Horror Picture Show . But he captured our attention two years later, with his debut album. The title cut    The controversial "Paradise By the Dashboard Light", with the infamous commentary by Phil Rizzuto.  There are people who believe Rizzuto didn't know what he was really describing, that he didn’t understand the sexual innuendo.  Riiight....   Meat’s background in acting gave his music a theatrical tone that really added depth to his videos. You can see it in "Read 'Em and Weep"   "It's All Coming Back To Me Now" "I Would do Anything For Love"    And we close it out with this song, the first song written for Bat Out of Hell . Heaven must be enjoying some wonderful music.

  That’s Duchess,  in her favorite chair, glaring at me. She’s glaring at me because … well, war has been declared. Because I did the unthinkable.  I sat in her chair. There are two recliner chairs, next to each other.  Usually Duchess sits in one of the chairs, Drew sits in the other chair next to Duchess, and I sit on the couch. She likes that chair because Drew is her person, and she wants  needs to sit with her person. And of course she needs her own chair.   But the other night … when I walked into the living room  I saw that Duchess was stretched out on the couch.  Seriously, you wouldn’t think that a 13 pound cat could take up so much space, but there was no place for me to sit. (Well, I could have moved Drew’s backpack, he left it on one end of the couch …) Duchess had taken my seat.  So I sat in Duchess’ chair.  Yes, I had the temerity to sit in her   chair!  It’s ok for her to sit on the couch, but apparently I am not...

  #skywatchfriday

 I’ve got a weird cat.

So Becca is stressed.  Of course she is, planning a wedding is stressful.  Paying for a wedding is stressful.  And talking to other brides on wedding websites is extremely stressful.   The have a date — July 26, 2024.  They have a venue and an officiant, and yesterday they hired a photographer. Next step, dress shopping. Deep breath, this is really happening.

And the theme? Time. Song lyrics or titles mentioning time, or calendars, or days of the week. Kudos to  Alana  for offering the first music prompt for the new year! Let’s start with a Neil Sedaka classic.    Stevie Wonder also takes us through a whole year The Waitresses offer a retrospective of the year during a chance Christmas meeting    The Beatles had a different take on time    Al Stewart noting the passage of time    Let’s not forget Cyndi Lauper    I saved this one for last, it always makes me cry,  The song was released in 1972.  The artist, Jim Croce, died in a plane crash just a few months later.

I am the view.  That face … Doing cat things is exhausting  Mom says I need to move my tail. She says there’s no money for Fancy Feast or Cat Chow if she can’t use her keyboard…

 Sunset at sea — and another cruise ship in the distance #skywatchfriday

 From November 30 And now She weighed four pounds in November.  Now she weighs 6.  

Back in 2013, Drew and I were at Citi Field  for  the Mets-Atlanta game  where Atlanta pitcher Tim Hudson sustained a season-ending injury.  A hush fell over the stadium as we all watched medical personnel attend to Hudson, but the mood lightened when Hudson gave the thumbs up as he was removed from the field, and the game resumed,  But for a few minutes we all experienced fear as we were concerned for Hudson.  Would he be ok?   That experience pales in comparison to what happened in Cincinnati tonight.  The Cincinnati Bengals were hosting the Buffalo Bills, in a game with playoff implications. I’m not a football fan, so Monday night football wasn’t in my radar. (To be honest, I was watching America’s Got Talent All Stars.   Mind candy.) And then … In the first quarter, Damar Hamlin, a player for the  Bills, collapsed on the field after what looked like a routine play.  It soon became clear that the situation was life threatening, t...

Today we honor the memory of Anita Pointer, founding member of the Pointer Sisters.  She died Saturday at age 74.   Jump (For My Love)    Slow Hand    I’m so Excited    Neutron Dance He’s So Shy    Fire