songbird's crazy world

 

 Last night’s Mets game was rained out.  They’re playing a split admission doubleheader today, game one at 1:10 PM.  Since we can’t go, we’ll be able to exchange the tickets for another game. At least we found out before we left the house. And since I didn’t get to enjoy the gluten free chicken fingers at Citi Field, I had to figure out what to make for dinner. I thought about going to my yoga class.  I’d planned to miss class for the game, but with the game canceled …but the weather was predicted to be absolutely miserable, so I stayed home. Turns out the storm didn’t hit our area until later in the evening. Besides, we needed to catch up on House of the Dragon.    Fingers crossed for good weather Friday, we have concert tickets for Jones Beach.

 I took a walk at lunchtime yesterday.  Did three laps around the building but I had to cut the walk short because of the rain. We have had so much bad weather this summer!  I’m sick of rain. We have tickets for tonight’s Mets game …which may get cancelled due to weather.  I just hope that they decide to cancel before we drive to Queens, not after we’re at the ballpark. More likely we’ll have a rain delay in the middle of the game… Maybe we’ll have better luck for the Ducks game Sunday. Yeah, I’m skipping my yoga class to watch the disaster known as the NY Mets.  The last session of the summer is August 4.  Next week. I plan to keep doing yoga via YouTube videos, but I will miss going to a live class. I’ve been seeing a lot of news articles about GLP-1 medications.  Apparently they’re not just for diabetes and weight loss.  They help with sleep apnea and fatty liver disease.  And apparently there was a study about osteoarthritis of the knees,...

 We saw The Odessey  Sunday morning.  It was the only time last  weekend where we could get tickets for the movie.  Really, it’s the blockbuster of the summer,  the accolades are well deserved.  See it in IMAX if you can, the cinematography is incredible.   Next week we’re seeing the new Spiderman movie.  A double dose of Tom Holland,  I love knowing that our first responders are there if we need them … but I hate seeing them on my street. On Saturday there were no less than 3 police cars, a paramedic vehicle and two ambulances - one from the police department and the other from a volunteer ambulance service at the scene of 5he accident- a man lost control of his bicycle, fell into the street and hit his head.  They were loading him into the ambulance when I walked by.  A couple of people were looking under the parked cars for the guy’s wallet.   Yes, even with our busy weekend, I was able to get in a couple of walks. ...

The Gold Coast mansions of Long Island.  Think “Gilded Age”.  Think The Great Gatsby.   Opulent mansions, relics of a long-gone lifestyle. Many of  the estates still exist, as museums, event venues, etc. The Nassau County Museum of Art   is located in Roslyn Harbor.  It occupies 145 acres that were once part of a farm owned by William Cullen Bryant. The main house, known as the Frick House, serves as an art gallery, but there are. also formal gardens and a sculpture garden, as well as nature trails. Right now the museum is featuring an exhibit of the works of Louis Comfort Tiffany, who was a renowned painter before turning his attention to more commercial forms of art.  At one time Tiffany lived in Laurel Hollow, about 10 miles from the museum.(Tiffany’s mansion was destroyed by fire in 1957.) The exhibit features many of Tiffany’s paintings — he recorded his travels throughout the Middle East and North Africa — but also features the lamps and other pr...

Billy joel on my mind today

 So the weather was perfect  a walk at the beach. The East Bathhouse has reopened after two years of renovations, so of course we chose to walk in that direction. We saw lots of seagulls, as always. And I finally got a picture of the tunnel that connects the parking lot to the beach, These tunnels run under Ocean Parkway.  The acoustics … yeah, real echo chamber. Interesting thing happened near Field 6.  We saw a large group gathered on the sand, and they were all holding books.  Drew said “it looks like a prayer group.” A moment later, several members of the group stood up, and the leader began a prayer.,. Yitgadal v’yitkadash sh’mei rabbah … as soon as I heard the opening phrase of the Mourner’s Kaddish, I had to stop walking and join the prayer. Shabbat shalom. (Of course I lit candles when we got home.) As we were leaving we had to drive past the theater, so we got caught in the traffic heading to the Tim McGraw concert.  But otherwise it was a great ...

 Another one bites the dust.  A Chinese restaurant we’ve gone to many times suddenly and unexpectedly closed.  Sigh.  I’ve barely gotten started on my summer plans but I’m already seeing autumn and Halloween merchandise in the stores.  I like autumn, I love Halloween, but come on … We’re invited to a wedding on Halloween. Yes, really, it’s at a winery on the North Fork, a winery Drew and I really like. The couple’s website says 98 days until the wedding.  Dress code is casual, wear a costume if you like.  Should be fun. My cousin had a  Halloween-themed wedding  back in October 2013.  I loved their cake. They honeymooned in Salem, MA.  Of course.  Just found out that next month  music star Candelita a/k/a former NY Met Jose Iglesias is joining the cast of a Broadway show, Buena Vista Social Club .  Remember him? I’m wondering if we should try to get tickets.

  This Is A Very Special Day 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: This Is A Very Special Day (1953) Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it  here . 1) In this song, Peggy sings that she feels good enough to climb a hill. Will you be doing anything athletic today? Not particularly. We’re going to an art museum and then to lunch. 2) However she was also tempted to climb back in bed. Is a nap in your plans for today?  Nope. 3) She tells us that she looked in the mirror and told herself it was time to "lose the blues....

 Look who’s on the yoga mat! She’d be a natural for cat/cow …

 So the stupidity of the health insurance industry never ceases to amaze me. My doctor prescribed medication, told me to take it twice a day.  My old health insurance happily paid for the prescription. It worked well.   My new health insurance will only pay for one pill a day. One dose a day isn’t doing it hit me.  So my doctor has now prescribed a second medication, which the insurer pays for, to take along with the first.  Crazy, right? We’re finally getting nice weather for an entire weekend.  I am so looking forward to that! Tonight’s plan includes a walk at Jones Beach and take out from a Chinese place that has gluten free choices.  I’m so glad I can walk at the beach, I haven’t really been able to go for a walk all week. I did manage a short walk last night.  Twilight.  And the bunnies were out in force! And on my own front lawn … Yes, front yard bunny lives!

 Moon Over Levittown #skywatchfriday

So last week two of my coworkers were gushing over a musical artist I’d never heard of.  Said he was a modern Bob Dylan/CSN type, that he was absolutely wonderful.  Guy named Noah Kahan.  I said he sounds interesting… Saturday night, while Drew and I were getting drenched at the Ducks game, people were gathering at Citi Field for a concert.  Eventually the concert was cancelled because of the weather.  The artist?  Noah Kahan. I would never have recognized the name of the artist who was supposed to appear if I hadn’t been talking about him earlier that week.  Guess that means I’m going to have to explore his music.    So of course after the monsoon on Saturday we get perfect summer weather Monday.  Sigh. Though we’re expecting bad weather today and tomorrow. We can’t catch a break, can we? I haven’t seen front yard bunny in person recently, but he did show up on my Ring camera Sunday.  Yay! There have been no further sitings of back...

 My local municipality — the Town of Hempstead — owns several community pools.  Use is restricted to residents, who must pay a small fee to use the pool. But those of us who live in Levittown … when Bill Levitt built these houses, he also created community parks and swimming pools.  Levittown, and the parts of Wantagh and Hicksville where Levitt built, Is a special tax district.  If you live in the district, you can use the Levitt pools, and you don’t  pay a fee. You simply go to Levittown Hall, fill out the paperwork and show proof of residency, and they will hand you a season pass to the pools. The pools open Father’s Day weekend and close right after Labor Day. Of course I get a pool pass every summer. It takes about 15 minutes for me to walk to the nearest pool. Between the weather and other commitments,I haven’t had  a chance to go to the pool.  Until yesterday, that is. And it felt so good…

And the theme?   In ancient times, “Dog Days of Summer” was connected with bad luck, mad dog attacks, unexpected thunderstorms, heat, and drought.  These days gained the “Dog Days” name because they are connected with a star in the Canis Major (Greater Dog) star system known as Sirius. Nowadays, “Dog Days of Summer” is associated for summer’s long hot days. Based on these interesting tidbits use your imagination to find music that’ll make us howl on the dance floor! Long, hot days! And then I came across this humorous piece, love the reference to dogs … Getting back to more serious stuff And from Broadway Yeah, it a bit hot out there

 So the weather yesterday …a series of thunderstorms in the early afternoon (including flooding, especially in NYC), a lull I the late afternoon, and more storms at night.  The Yankees postpoed their game, Noah Kahan cancelled his concert at Citi Field … …but in Central Islip, the Ducks were determined to play. The FIRST PLACE Ducks, I might add … While waiting for the gates to open we saw Seriously, cars had to honk at them to get them to move. And while we were waiting, we discovered that the national anthem would be sung by …a friend of ours! Well, actually by a group, the Long Island Choral Society.  But she is a member. Oh, and the conductor?  He also conducted the orchestra for Yeoman last month. Oh, and my daughter Jen was at the game.  Not with us, she was with her best friend and the friend’s family.  Just a coincidence that they came the same night we were there. And she told us that the guy acting as master of ceremonies for the Ducks was also th...

 I am not a particularly observant Jew.  I no longer belong to a synagogue. My practice is limited to holidays and lighting candles on Friday night.  But yes, I do engage in those rituals, I need to feel the connection. The spiritual connection, and the connection to heritage and community. Along with resuming my yoga practice, I’ve started to meditate again.   Mindfulness/meditation is inexorably linked to the practice of yoga. And both practices are linked to the culture and religious beliefs of India and other Asian cultures. But Judaism has its own traditions.  Not just spirituality via prayer and ritual, Judaism has its own tradition of mysticism - Kabbalah.   I’ve done reading, on and off, about Kabbalah - it’s a lot more than Madonna wearing a red string bracelet.  I think I’m going to dive more deeply into it.  Just downloaded a book to my Kindle,  And I have now (re)discovered a Jewish YouTube channel that’s amazing.  Every day ...

  Kung Fu Fighting 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: Kung Fu Fighting (1974) Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it  here . 1) Have you ever taken a martial arts class?  Does tai chi count?  During the pandemic a local yoga/tai chi studio was offering Zoom classes.  I tried a few classes, but the Zoom connection was so poor I stopped participating. Recently I discovered some tai chi instructors on YouTube, so I’ve been experimenting again. 2) In this song, Carl Edwards sings about funky Chinatown. Many cities – in...

 We’re expecting rain tomorrow.  That should thin out the smoke from the Canadian wildfires. Good news, right? Well …  The rain is coming in the form of severe thunderstorms and possible tornadoes. We can’t catch a break, can we?

 Duchess is a lady.  She claimed a chair in the living room, and that’s where she sits. Shadow, on the other hand …

 The smoky haze from the Canadian wildfires was even worse last night.  I seriously thought about using one of my old Covid masks today. I may bring one to work with me, just in case.  The air quality alert expires at noon. Unbreathable air, cyclosporiasis in the produce, and an outbreak of Legionnaires Disease in NYC …oh my! I think I may have mentioned that my company has a wellness program.  You can download an app with all the tasks.  You earn points by doing activity that focus on your physical and emotional wellbeing.  You can earn points by bringing your lunch to work, or connecting your fitness tracker to the app, or keeping a food journal.  Visits to your doctor or dentist earn large amounts of points.   When you earn a sufficient amount of points you’ll receive a gift card.  Earn more points and you’ll get a discount on next year’s health insurance premiums. Earn 6,000 points and you’ll be recognized on the company internet. A lot o...

 Still healing from the dental procedure, but I’m feeling much better.  I skipped yoga last night, but I’m going to try to make it to the pool this weekend, I usually walk during lunchtime. I do laps around the office building.  Four laps is just over a mile. Guess what I saw while walking yesterday? Yeah, I’m a bit obsessed. I walked again today.  It was hot and sunny, typical summer weather. But when I left my office at 5…overcast, with the smell of smoke in the air.  Smoke from Canadian wildfires.  Very strange, I don’t remember it ever being an issue until the last few years. We are expecting thunderstorms later, maybe that will clean the air …