songbird's crazy world

 It’s a tradition —  Magic of Lights  at Jones Beach. It’s a drive-through light display.  And there’s a small “village” where the kids can meet Santa, and you can buy snacks and souvenirs. What made this year a bit different … high winds. Much more noticeable at the beach. But we had a great time. Got there just before dark. Time to start driving  There are various areas — like the tropics, classic toys, Barbie, international celebrations, the 12 days of Christmas … Light tunnels At the village  These dogs come every year.  You can pose with the dogs, the owners ask you to make a donation — they support  — I think it’s Mothers Against Drunk Diving,   And I bought a tee I just couldn’t resist that goofy face.

So on Thursday we ventured out to  To see We saw their show in 2012 and I was amazed. Last time It’s not just a concert, seeing TSO is an experience! But first you have to get there …   The venue is easy to get to … right off the Cross Island Parkway, on the border of the borough of Queens and Nassau County, next door to Belmont Park. A truly remarkable, modern arena.  With a huge parking problem … Which becomes an issue if you have to park in Emerald Parking, north of the racetrack, for an event at the arena, south of the track.  We took a shuttle bus from the parking lot, but walked back to the car after the show — it’s a 20 minute walk. And since it was so cold, rather than wait outside for the doors to open, we opted to grab a bite to eat in Belmont Hall. The show was sponsored by Q 104, which is NYC’s classic rock station.  A portion of the proceeds were donated to  God’s Love We Deliver . TSO doesn’t just play music, they perform rock operas, the...

 Last week we lost one of the greats: Rob Reiner.  On a day that was already difficult, Rob and his wife Michelle were murdered in their own home, allegedly by their own son.  It was a difficult week, with Reiner’s death following mass shootings in Australia and Rhode Island,  How can our hearts be light in the face of such tragedy? I remember a Reiner quote: "Jews are funny," he said. "And there's a reason we're funny. You have Cossacks. You have Hitler. You have a lot of things weighing down on you. You have to have a sense of humor or you can't survive".   So to honor a man who made us laugh…and made us cry … and touched our hearts …some humorous holiday music. Time to laugh! Let’s start with Adam Sandler … the original version still the best .,,, Barking dogs  But I’m a cat lady Mellencamp … Bob Rivers A classic from Elmo & Patsy And some good advice from Carrie Underwood  And this last video isn’t music.  It’s a sweet moment that … well, ...

 So, why leave a job I love? Back in August there was an announcement.  One of our clients had decided to move its entire account to another company. The contract expires at the end of January, and all of our files will move to the new company. There are about 60 of us who were dedicated specifically to that client. But we shouldn’t be concerned, the company would find jobs for all of us … I’ve heard that story before.  A company I worked for in the 1990’s was sold, and we were all told we’d be  employed by the new company. That didn’t happen. By the middle of September the higher-ups were hinting we should all look for other jobs. So I updated my resume and LinkedIn profile, and started looking … Job hunting in 2025 is so different than it was in 2020. In 2020 I traveled to a prospective employer’s office for an interview, with the expectation that I’d be working in that office five days a week.  Now I was looking for a remote job, something where I could work ...

Remember the winter of 2020?  How inch by inch, Covid-19 created chaos? Well, you may remember that amid that chaos I left a job in NYC  and accepted a position with a company on Long Island. I don’t think I ever told the full story … The norm in 2020 - every morning, five days a week, I’d take a train from Long Island to NYC, take the subway downtown, and walk to a huge office building, and take an elevator up to an office that was full of coworkers.  I used a desktop computer and had a landline phone on my desk. Lunchtime meant leaving  the office, either for a cafeteria in our building (we were lucky) or for any of the myriad restaurants, street food vendors  and delis of lower Manhattan. When I interviewed for the new job, in February 2020, I had to drive to an office and meet with my prospective employers in person.   And when I accepted the offer, my expectation was that I’d be driving to the office five days a week, a much shorter commute.  And ...

 That’s me …

  Happy Holidays!  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! Deja vu!  Didn’t we do this last year?  Of course we did …  Last year’s answers SATURDAY 9: HAPPY HOLIDAYS  From the archives 1. As you can see, when Sam Winters was a little girl, she loved giving her annual wish list to Santa. If you could ask Santa for anything at all, right now, what would it be? Santa can’t bring me what I want this year …  2. Are you currently on the Naughty or Nice list? How did you get there? I try to stay on the nice list … I don’t always succeed… 3. Are you trav...

 Both cats are lounging in the living room. Shadow:  I hear Mommy’s car on the driveway! She’s home! She’s home!  She’s home!   Duchess: Calm down, she wasn’t gone that long.  Shadow: I’m going to meet her at the door. Duchess: (rolling her eyes) Take a chill pill.  Seriously.  You’re three years old, not a kitten. Shadow:  (laughing) Just wait until Daddy gets home … you’ll pretend not to notice when he walks in, but then you’ll meow at him until he sits in the chair with you.  Duchess:  How dare you …Um, what’s that thing she’s got in her hands?  It looks like … it’s…it’s…it’s a carrier. Shadow: Oh, no … the only time we see a carrier is …when …when …it’s too horrible to think it … Duchess: It looks like you’re going to the v-e-t… Shadow:  Me?  It could just as easily be for you … Duchess:  My carrier is upstairs. You outgrew the one Mom got when you were a kitten, remember?  Ha ha, enjoy your visit … Seve...

  I’ve captured the moon! #skywatchfriday

  lat·ke /ˈlätkə/ noun plural noun :  latkes (in Jewish cooking) a  pancake , especially one made with  grated  potato. Latkes are traditional for Chanukah.  They are also a pain to make from scratch.  Grating potatoes …mixing the batter …frying them in oil … Most people can avoid the hassle by buying latkes from the deli (I always liked the ones from Ben’s Kosher Deli) or the frozen ones from the supermarket (Trader Joe’s taste like homemade). I can’t buy latkes, They have gluten. Most commercially prepared latkes use matzo meal or flour as a binder. Sigh. But both Streit’s and Manischewitz make gluten free mixes. So I tried the Manischewitz homestyle latke mix (different from their potato pancake mix).  The homestyle mix is much thicker than regular pancake mix — instead of pouring batter, you form patties.  The patties hold together so well that you can use an air fryer instead of traditional frying.  Not bad for a first attempt …

 The holiday began on Sunday.  We decorated the living room, I didn’t decorate outside this year, thanks to the snow. But our electric menorah glows in the window, a testament to our faith and our resilience in troubled times. Many tears have been shed … but the light of Chanukah illuminates the darkness …