starting a new week

"Pardon me, sunshine, but you seem to have lost track of what day it is."

 

 Oh, no, I am completely aware that today is a Friday.

"Well, to most folks, that's the end of a week, not the beginning."

 

 And you think I'm like most folks and am constrained by a calendar?

"Ah.

Yes.

How silly of me.

Let me start this again.

Hey, you, what's shakin' for this new week?"

 

Oh, that's much better!

So, I haven't mentioned it here, but the pounds seem to have crept back onto me.

True, it isn't like I've been particularly watching what I eat.

Still, in the far corner of my brain, there was a tiny hope that the boxes of cereal I've been munching late at night, in addition to the repeated nibbling of piece after piece of dark chocolate, were offset by my occasional mowing of the grass.

 

"Wow.

I mean, 'Gee, I thought sure it worked that way in a pandemic!'."

 

Funny.

Ha ha ha.

"Yeah, you started it.

This ain't your first rodeo, missy.

You know how food works - you even taught it."

 

 

Very true.

So, today begins a new chapter in my life, though the title could be one that's been used many times before.

"Losing pieces of me again" sounds apt, doesn't it?

At least I'm not losing my mind.

(smile)

Well, not yet.

I've invested in a bathroom scale of my very own, for the first time in decades, if ever.

"I cannot recall ever having one before.

Seriously.

And most of the reason is that everyone I know who has one jumps on it at least once a day, like some weird magic eight-ball to tell them if they can eat or not."

 

I know, right?

That's why I can't remember every owning one.

It's not like there aren't other places that have them, of course.

Even the Publix grocery store has one where the shopping carts are.

"So, why the desire to own one now?"

 

Well, I refuse to go back to Weight Watchers and allow them to use my results for their research studies.

They've become far too sly, requiring folks to use their app to track food, exercise, mind set, weight....

and then having the gall to make folks pay to be part of their research study.

Yes, very sly.

I still have all of my materials from my last membership.

Thankfully, that was pre-smart-phone-app, so all was in print.

I'll just read back over the material to refresh my memory, then go from there.

I haven't decided if I'm going to track food or not, but I expect I will.

My primary goal is to stop gaining weight.

My secondary goal, once that has been accomplished, will be to lose this weight I have regained since my last meeting.

That was in March, by the way.

 

"When they closed the meeting places and went to virtual only?"

 

You got it.

The live meetings were the only thing keeping me from canceling.

As soon as they demanded that everyone go to virtual mode, I was out of there.

They kept trying to lure me back, but I refused.

"Good for you.

No, seriously.

I'm glad you still have the books on hand."

 

Oh, me, too.

At least I hadn't sold them, like I have in the past.

Hahahaha! Hahaha!

I've just taken my first weight and, wonder of wonders, have several entries to use in the last weigh-in book from before they went app-happy.

How fortunate for me!

 

"Indeed that is!

How wonderful how things work out, isn't it?"

 

Truly.

I had wondered why I had stayed, but it was meant to be.

Right place, right time. 

Now i have all I need to succeed on my own.

"Amen!

What was the line from that Panda movie?

Oh, I remember:

there are no coincidences."

 

Close enough.

(smile!)

my sneakers go boom Boom BOOM

I so love this little movie!

And look: it even has baseball in it!!!

Sonic had just watched a youth group playing ball, so of course he had to have a go at it...

and then he REALLY had a go at it, literally burning up the bases, as well as his shoes, all while that cute song was playing!

Oh, yes, I do so love this little movie!

What a perfect way to wrap up Week 5 of A*List!

I had started with the second in the "Jumanji" series, then that more serious one with the bfrb.

This one today was just for the kid in me and I loved every minute of it!

And guess what?

Right place, right time!

How did the universe let me know?

With a scrambled straight odometer reading as I arrived, that's how!

214305

Beautiful!

I wonder what Jim Carrey would have quipped about that?

Hahahaha! Hahaha!

pandemic: first day of fall

 This was the sight that greeted me - 

clean dishes, washed before bed.

You'll notice a plate and a fork -

the strike must be coming to a halt!

We'll see about that.

Still no glasses, but eight coffee mugs and both large pots this time around.

Mostly, I've used all five of my donburi bowls for warm, soupy, food over these cooler days and nights.

Who knows?

Maybe I'll even use the oven this week - maybe for pizza! 

But that won't be on this Tina Tuesday, as I will be at El Potro with the bear.

Today's coffee mug is the one from Alaska, totally appropriate for the below-70 temperature in my house this chilly morn.

An instant egg salad sandwich (mayo on a wrap, sprinkled with lemon pepper, topped with two halved boiled eggs) made a quick no-cook, no-fuss breakfast.

 

 

It had to be quick - I'd forgotten to do my 'homework' last night.

This graph, with the 7-day sums of new cases of infected people since August 24th, shows a mixed bag of reactions two weeks after  the Labor Day weekend.

Florida, Texas, Alabama, and Oklahoma had folks, whether local or visiting, getting that last bit of vacation, apparently.

Maybe those upturns will be flattened back out by Friday.

 

After all that, something light and breezy was most def needed... and the universe granted my wish via Comet TV!

"Earth Girls Are Easy" had just begun, with my girl Geena Davis, at 32, as a klutzy manicurist with a no-good boyfriend.

Enter a trio of alien males!

Distracted by her sunbathing in the back yard, they'd crashed their spaceship - boys are boys, all over the galaxy!

She takes them to Curl Up & Dye for haircuts and conversion to human-like beings...

and ends up with three hunks to date for her and Candy Pink!

Red Wiploc (32-yo Jim Carrey), yellow Zeebo (28-yo Damon Wayans) and blue Mac (36-yo Jeff Goldblum) were big hits in the Valley nightclub, especially with those long tongues - yeah, baby!

I swear I heard Valerie gasp when Candy revealed the improved Mac - him with the truly smoldering bedroom eyes...

then again, it's entirely possible that it was me that I heard.

This movie came out in 1988, when I was thirty, hot on the heels of "Silverado", so Goldblum already had my attention.

He and Geena were wed in 1987, during the filming, and the love they shared certainly was reflected into the movie.

Very nice!

Plus, there were three songs, so this was a semi-musical!

Fabulous!

(smile!)
 

Energized, I 'got busy' around the house.

No, not busy like Elisa, more like June Cleaver.

(smile!)  

First, I balanced the checkbook and paid bills, transferring my dream 'savings' from the movies and shopping into my real savings account.

(So far, that amounts to $117 saved from the cinema and more than $407 at CVS! I am SOOO good at using coupons on things I was going to buy anyway!)

I took out the two little bags of trash out to the bin.

I met the postman with mail in hand and sorted it out, recycling the political ads and requests from charities into the recycling bag.

Then it was time for bit of lunch: soup it was!

Yes, the weather is still chilly for me, as the 80-degree temperatures are on hiatus this week.

Now, to change into long pants - but still wear my sandals! - before joining the bfrb for hugs, Mexican comfort food, and "Infidel".

Hey, those are his picks for food and film.

I'll no doubt want something lighter to polish off my night.

Maybe I'll finally watch "Beyond Borders: Green Butterflies"...

it has Kevin Bury in it, making this a doubleheader for Tina Tuesday.

(smile)

do you remember the 21st night of september?

Oh, you betcha I remember!

That was the night that Lake Street Dive regaled me with song!

And it was live, absolutely live!

Well as live as concerts can be during a pandemic, n'est-ce pas?

This was a one-time only, be there or be square, online event!

I took photos, naturally.

Otherwise, how would I know it was all real and not some dream?

Am I right or am I right?

Exactly.

That's Rachael in the middle of the group shot, leading the others in belting out "I'm Just Another Soldier" in honor of Mavis Staples' 80th birthday last year.

That song is from 1972 and I'd be willing to bet none of these folks were even born yet!

That's okay, though, I greatly enjoyed this collection of songs from my youth.

I sang right along with LSD on each one!

Like the very first one, the show-opener, "See You In September", heard on the radio during my middle-school and earlier years.

Recorded in 1966 by The Happenings, it smooth and wistful with a dollop of romance - very nice!

Calabrese accompanied on guitar while they all sang...

as did I, knowing this song by heart!

Akie had the lead voice on the next golden oldie, which happened to be the most recent of the foursome.

That would be the one referenced in the post title!

Earth, Wind, & Fire's 1978 hit, "September"!

I cannot tell you how many times I have danced to this lively little number!

I bet one of those times was in New Orleans, during Mardi Gras of that year, when the band played on one of the street corners!

Bridget had joined him in a garden for that one, strumming some stringed beast while he tickled the (keyboard) ivories.

Such a lovely setting!

(Rachael screened a video in between those two oldies, of her new song, "Nobody's Stopping You Now", with her friends in British Columbia accompanying her out in their garden.)

McDuck had his opportunities to shine, too.

His trumpet got a workout a couple of times, but none more so than for a jazzy little tune that I recall Sarah Vaughn singing.

That would be "September Song", written in 1938 for a play, but the tune grew legs and wandered far and wide!

So glad to hear this romantic piece from my grandparents time!

I wonder if they ever danced to it?

(smile)
What else did we have in this live show?

Well, there were a few causes shared with us.

Bridget, for one, gives lessons online, all in the name of raising money for a site that helps combat skin-color bias.

She has also been busy editing videos, including one for another new song, "Making Do", which basically challenges everyone to consider what resources will remain for the next generations. That was pretty cool, actually, composed as a collection of fans holding placards with song lyric fragments. What a huge project that must have been!

 

Still, the most weighty topic addressed was the need for people to vote.

Tomorrow is National Voter Registration Day and all of the band members made sure to let their voice be heard.

Australian-lass Rachael has become a US citizen, so this November will be her first voting experience.

McDuck read an essay he'd composed on the impact of the importance of his first time in the voter's booth.

 

Very nice, y'all!

Good show, too!

I've purchased the package for all three of these live events - plus a t-shirt!!! - so I'll look forward to seeing you again on October 24th.

Woohoo!

I wonder if Mrs. Price will be there for a Q&A again?

I guess I'll see!

(smile!)

at the beach, so to speak

Every time my ex was between radio jobs, he'd tell everyone he was "at the beach".

Not that he ever was, in truth.

He was not a big fan of great sandy expanses with actual dust in the wind.

I'm sure he would have heartily disliked Kansas.

Hahahaha hahaha!

That's a joke with a pun or two, y'all!

In honor of his being a deejay for oh so many years, ya know.

(smile!)

I truly was at the beach today - literally!

These days, I'm always at the beach, at least figuratively, since I am retired.

(smile!)

This time, my physical presence was needed there.

Why?

It's the last day of summer!

Not that you'd know it from the temperature.

Although the bank's gauge, in its brick edifice, had declared that measurement as 75°F, that was only up on Butler Avenue.

Down on the sand, with the brisk breeze off the water, it felt about ten degrees cooler.

This little crab didn't seem to mind, though.

I didn't mind, either.

Well, not too much.

I'd dressed in shorts and a memento t-shirt from a Gray's Reef Ocean Film Festival, that flirty and feminine orange one I like.

This photo I like, too, as it shows the ends of my long hair whipping in the wind.

See that fringe in the crook of my arm?

That would be my hair!

(smile!)

 

And these would be my shoes, left foot forward!

Yes, indeed, these pretty little 'sandals for dancing' 

that I'd bought before my birthday60 in Las Vegas with Elvis, Elvis, Elvis!

What a fabulous time that had been -

i thank You, God!

And aren't these sea oats so lovely?

Here's a funny thought that occurred to me as I was walking up the ramp toward the Atlantic Ocean.

As I was admiring the blue sky and the murmur of the waves, I couldn't help noticing that the sea oats on the dunes looked very much - I mean, very much - like the hairs along my chin.

More personal meaning from a scene at the beach!

First the hair atop my head, now the hair on my face!
Very nice!

Ho, what's this I espy with my little eye?

Horseshoe crab tracks?

The trail of a lost loggerhead sea turtle?

Hahaha! Gotcha!!!

That's just something I do when I'm on seaside, walking backwards while digging my toes into the sand and then swirling outward.

So much fun!

This is one of my favorite activities at the shore, too - sitting and rocking in one of these wooden swings, with my brain on idle.

The kiss of the sun for comfort,

the sound of the sea for peace,

one is nearer God's heart

at the ocean

than any place else on Earth.
Just a little poem to mark the occasion, in memory of Mama.

(smile!)

 

Speaking of my mother, there she is!

Flying above me, gliding over the blue depths, through the blue skies, on angelic wings!

I must admit, I was lost in the song of the waves until she swooped into my line of sight.

What a pleasant surprise!

How glad I was to see her here at Tybee, one of her favorite summertime haunts!

Then Father Time came trudging along.

Tick tock, tick tock, the meter is nearing the end of its purchased allotment!

Eight quarters had bought me an hour of parking -

now, I needed to mosey along!

I had succeeded in my quest to visit the beach on this last day of summer...

time to go somewhere warmer!

(smile!)

penultimate day of summer

Let's address the day's events in reverse, shall we?

This was just shy of midnight, a rather funny episode of "The Simpsons" full of delicious puns and tasty references to lethal weapons.

A 'trouser browser' was running loose during a street festival to honor the those of Italian heritage.

The aid was enlisted of the widest-bottomed person - Homer, d'oh! - to lure out the pickpocket - lol! 

Earlier, I had my first Fathom event at the cinema!

What a hoot to see "The Breakfast Club" bunch thirty-five years later - hard to believe it's been more than half my life ago!

Ringwald and Hall are both 52 years old now; Estevez and Sheedy are both 58; and in Jeffvember, Nelson will be 61, almost a week after the physicist turns 47.

(smile!)

I had decided to get a bit more dressed up than usual, show off another of my shirts from the 2012 Italy trip.
This one definitely makes me look like a wench, highlighting the headlights, if ya know what I mean!

I very much like the way this top looks and how it makes me feel, but the material is so slippery that it won't quite stay put.

Guess that just means it maybe isn't meant to be worn for very long...

wink wink, nudge nudge!

In truth, I didn't wear it long, either.

I had it on for the post-church ZOOM 'coffee hour', just to let folks know I was taking care of myself.

I loved being able to have my hair down, too, for this cooler weather.

There were less than thirty at the session, same as at the one last Sunday.

Nice to chat about how we got our names, how we pass the time, and travel plans.

I even spoke at length about "The Catcher Was A Spy" helping me find my groove!

One more nice thing about being at this chat: I found out why Billy had his hands up over his mouth when this painting was revealed!

The social center has been renamed Holliday Hall, in honor of Miss Virginia, and this new commission is to represent her there.

Well, the first words out of her mouth were, "Oh, it's so ugly!"

Hey, thanks to the 18-year-old in me, I totally understand.

That old woman is not the image she has of herself.

I get it.

This may well be the new image I carry in my head for Rev. Hester!

Clad in the 'armor' of a clown...

holding a shepherd's staff...

belting out the words to a song that Elvis made famous in his '68 comeback show, a song Elvis insisted on singing instead of a Christmas-themed song for the December television special, a song which was a tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr. - "If I Can Dream".

No need for Billy to dream anymore about one thing:

all people can now be married by him at the new incarnation of Asbury Memorial Church.

Amen!

thanks, pati's mexican table!

 

I tend to watch a lot of public broadcast shows these days.

The reason, of course, is the lack of insurance commercials and lawyer ads and new medicines promotions - ack.

Most of the PBS offerings, surprisingly, are cooking shows.

Sure, there are several travel shows, too, and a few that deal with science.

But most of the shows are about food, including the history and culture of the foods shared from various parts of the world to those of us watching.

"Pati's Mexican Table" is one of my absolute favorites.

The reason isn't so much for the recipes but for the insights to cooking better.

Plus, I like listening to the delightful lisp and friendly manner of the hostess.

Her half-hour is filled with mirth and joy and lots of smiles -

plus, one of the heartiest appetites I may have ever seen!

Her love for food is genuine, and her appreciation of the work that others do to create regional combinations that they share with her is genuine, too.

Me, I'm the queen of the one-pot casserole.

That means everything goes in to the same vessel for cooking and serving.

Ordinarily, I would have cooked the cubed crookneck squash a bit, thrown in the black beans, added the pouch of prepared rice, than tossed all with the can of RoTel diced tomatoes...

ordinarily.

However, call it 'inspiration' from the divided plate it was to go upon.

Somehow, the sight of those three sections made me want to make my dinner more special than a one-pot meal.

And so I did.

First, I cooked the squash in some EVOO, liberally adding Mrs. Dash Southwest Chipotle for a bit of a kick.

While that was happening, I drained the RoTel and the beans, then placed the beans in one compartment of the dish.

Hey, that looked nice!

What about that other little side dish slot?

Diced Fuji apple, rinsed with Lime Perrier hours earlier and chilled, was perfect...

and still bright and crisp, too!

That was a good idea to use that acidic beverage to keep it from oxidizing!

Now to add the Limon Cilantro Rice to the squash and let it sit for just a moment -

ah, what a delightful smell!!!

After I plated it, I spooned on the RoTel, to add color and taste...

wow!

My taste buds were in awe of the way those flavors all mingled and danced!

Lucky me - I have leftovers for another meal!

That makes twice today that I've made enough for the meal at hand and for a meal at some future time to be named later.

(smile!)

For lunch, I had my variation of the Applebee's Wonton Tacos, but this time used canned tuna and canned chicken, mixing the meats with the chopped salad greens and the Asian dressing in the salad kit from Target...

ah, what a delightful smell!!!

I had it as two burritos and was absolutely sated!

The rest, as I said, awaits in the refrigerator for another day.

How very nice to know I have two freshly-made meals at hand!

Even more wonderful, though, is how good they taste and how little mess they made while being prepared - definite bonus!

Best of all, both meals are comfort foods for me.

Muy fabuloso!

(smile!)