songbird's crazy world

  5-10-15-20 (25-30 Years of Love) 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: 5-10-15-20 (1970) Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it  here . 1) In this week's song, The Presidents sing about a long married, very happy couple. Who is the longest married couple you know? Who is the happiest? Are they the same couple? My parents were married for 56 years and they were the happiest couple I knew.  2) The lyrics ask repeatedly: "Aren't we happy?" Are you feeling happy today? Why or why not? I’ve got a lot ...

I’m so happy I bought the backup dress because the first dress I bought hasn’t shipped yet.  The company hasn’t responded to my emails asking when my item will ship.   The shower is in less than a week.  I emailed the company and requested that they cancel my order.  Maybe that will get their attention? I’m so glad I shopped early for the dress I will wear to the wedding.  I have to decide when to go to my tailor for alterations — the dress has to be shortened.  Becca’s dress has arrived and she is going  to her first fitting.  But there’s a problem with one of the bridesmaid dresses…sigh… I just donated 9 bags of clothes that don’t fit me anymore.  The charity sent a truck to my house to do a pickup.  So easy.   And I’m really feeling good about the weight loss.  My “healthy eating” plan has been a bit off this week, but I’ll get back on track next week.   Looks like I won’t be doing any walking at Eisenhower Park fo...

 Let me start by saying it’s hard to be a Mets fan this year, their playing has been absolutely abysmal.   But we are loyal, we bleed blue and orange.  So when gifted tickets to a game, of course we plan to go. We had tickets for Tuesday night’s game against the Dodgers.  Great seats, parking included.  And Citi Field is one of the best ballparks in the major leagues, the amenities… Monday afternoon’s game was rained out, rescheduled as part of a single admission doubleheader Tuesday afternoon. We both have jobs, we can’t possibly get to the ballpark before a 4:10 start time.  We figured we’d head to the ballpark as soon as Drew got home from work, but then he decided to take the day off.  I work from home, so I didn’t have to take the whole day, just a few hours. So I pulled out the t shirt I bought in Cooperstown (orange and blue, and lists every Met who made the Hall of Fame),the baseball cap I got in 2011  honoring the 25th anniversary of the ...

  Look at that wingspan!

When we moved into this house last year we combined two fully-furnished households.  So we had a lot of  stuff … lots of duplicates … so who really needs four coffee pots and three toaster ovens?    Or an overflowing garage? The solution?  A garage sale! Move the cars off the driveway, set up some tables, put the junk …er, merchandise … on display.  Post signs on the street, make posts on “Next Door” and “Ring”… We had good weather — warm and sunny — and thankfully we have a big, shady tree in the front yard… though we still got a bit sunburned … Our supervisor: </ Shadow was not happy … she meowed at us, telling us to come back into the house … Sale over, we made a few dollars, and got rid of a lot of junk …

  I'm not sure what they are but they're pretty.

 Richard Sherman passed away this weekend.  He was 95. The Sherman Brothers (Richard and his brother Robert, who died in 2012) were songwriters, most notably for Walt Disney movies.  So today let’s play their music! Let’s start with some of their non-Disney hits.  They wrote a Broadway show.       And now for the a Disney stuff!    Anyone who remembers the. 1964-1965 New York World’sFair will remember hearing the next two at the fair.  Everyone else will think of a Disneyland or Disney World.            And, of course             The very first movie I ever saw in a theater was Mary Poppins.  The Sherman Brothers music is the soundtrack of so many childhood memories. 

  God Bless America Saturday 9: God Bless America Unfamiliar with Deanna Durbin's rendition of week's tune? Hear it  here . Memorial Day is the federal holiday designated to honor American service people who died in battle.  This week's Saturday 9 is from the archives.  1) Memorial Day was introduced after the Civil War. Originally called Decoration Day, this is when memorials, as well as the graves of veterans, are to be decorated with flags and flowers on this day to show our appreciation. Is there a war memorial in your neighborhood? I love to go to Eisenhower Park.  It’s halfway between my house and my office.  The county war memorial is located in the park. You can see all my photos  here. 2) Andrew Johnson, our 17th President, was in office the first time Memorial/Decoration Day was celebrated. Have you ever met one of our Presidents?  If you know anything about me, you know I am very political.  I’ve met two US Senators and three membe...

 Scenes from the living room    Think I can get her to do the laundry?

 It’s called Levittown Parkway, and  it connects Newbridge Road in Levittown to Old Country Road in Hicksville, about a mile and a half. There’s a strip mall with a supermarket at Newbridge Road.  Up by Old Country Road, on the east side of the parkway you’ll find a strip mall sandwiched between the firehouse and the community center/pool and the elementary school nearby.  On the west side you’ll find an actual, unnamed park. The rest of the road lives up to its name — parkway — with trees and grass, and fences separating public property from peoples’ back yards. It’s a great place to take a walk. Let’s start by walking along the roadway.    Great cloud formations    You can see into the back yards …    I spotted a friend…    Weird tree And then there’s the park itself.  Just a walkway past back yards, but nice.    This path leads to a side street. You can see the strip mall across the street from the park . ...

 Another surprise in our garden.

  And the theme this week —  Songs that make you think of your mother My mother loved music.  She loved Broadway musicals and opera.  But she also loved folk music, even tried to learn how to play guitar so she could play folk music.  She loved to sing, but almost always forgot lyrics and made up her own.  So the songs I’m selecting today are from my mother’s eclectic “playlist”. This is one my mom used to sing    Another one my mom liked to sing    My mother wasn’t really into rock music, but I remember being in the car with her when I was very young and she sang along with this song.  I think it was because of the French … she loved foreign languages     I had to include Italian opera …    This next song … my grandmother loved this song and sang it all the time.  She had learned it at a summer “camp”, she’d taken my mother and my aunts to some sort of summer program on Long Island to escape the swelte...

 Newsflash:  if you wrap gluten free bread in a wet paper towel and microwave it for about 15 seconds it tastes 1,000 times better.  Toasting also improves the taste and texture. Though that “everything bagel seasoning” on the gluten free challah was different…I liked it, but it’s definitely…different. Being gluten free had kept me out of McDonald’s and Burger King … my waistline says “thank you”. It’s been a pretty drab spring — cool and rainy most days — but the forecast for summer says it’s going to be hotter than normal.  Thank goodness for air conditioning. I bought some t shirts and shorts to wear this summer … still need a bathing suit… I’m enjoying buying clothes now that I don’t have to buy from a “plus size” shop. Glad I bought my backup dress for the shower … I’m not seeing any progress on the customized dress.  The customized dress is purple, the backup dress is turquoise….purple is my favorite color but I’ve been told I look fantastic in turquoise… ...

  Tunnel of Love 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: Tunnel of Love (1958) Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it  here . 1) In this week's song, Doris Day tries to convince her lover to share a kiss in the Tunnel of Love. What's your favorite amusement park ride? I’m a real fan of Walt Disney World, but you probably already knew that. Can I please go ride Tower of Terror right now? 2) In the 1950s, when Doris recorded this song, Tunnel of Love rides were popular in the US. Couples would climb into small boa...

 You know Duchess … Would you like to see video from September 2013, the day Drew adopted Duchess? What a curious kitten! Look at her examining her new kingdom.