Fun! – The Dackel Princess

Old & Wise

Yesterday was one of those weird days. The dogs were restless, Jack was restless and so was I. So, what does this make our house? Yeah, rather unsettled.

I tried to get preoccupied with a project. I’ll plan a great meal. And when I went to the fridge I realized I needed to use up a few things, so last night’s dinner was all leftovers.

Okay, I’ll listen to some music. So I put some on, and then I wondered about the actual band behind the music.

We’re going back to 1995 and the band was “The Alan Parson’s Project”. Now back then I wasn’t such a big fan, but my former husband was. So I knew a lot of their songs, but absolutely nothing about the people involved.

Well, via Wikki I learned a lot and one thing I learned was that a Bass player I have enjoyed for years, David Paton, was one of the founding members of this group.

Now I started following David when he was again, the founding member and lead singer of the group “Pilot”. For us here in the USA their biggest hit was “Magic”. And although I love that song, my favorite, jump out of my seat and dance song is “You’re My Number 1”.

I digress.

There was a lot to learn about “The Alan Parson’s Project” and I went back and was able to get the MP3 versions of some older albums, with great songs.

Sadly the man who wrote most of the music and lyrics, Eric Woolfson, died in 2009. But these beautiful pieces linger on.

Here is my favorite. Sung in a live performance by David Paton.

Enjoy!

Homophones? Who Knew!

I have certain words that drive me insane! Mostly because although they sound the same, they do not necessarily mean the same things.

Take Yay, Yea, and Yeah.

You pronounce yay in the same way you pronounce yea, which makes these two words homophones—indistinguishable when spoken and easily confused when written. They have different meanings, though. While yea is the word we sometimes use for yes, yay is the word we use to express joy, approval, or excitement.

The origins of yay are difficult to pin down—some sources say it came from yeah, others say it came from yea.

Yeah: in modern times is a less formal way to say yes. But good old YAY! Still is solely used to express happiness and joy!

There is also the problem of Their, There, and They’re.

Their: is the possessive case of the pronoun they, as in “They left their cell phones at home.”

There: is an adverb that means “in or at that place,” as in “She is there now.” In this sense, there is essentially the opposite of here. There is also used as a pronoun introducing a sentence or clause, as in “There is still hope.”

They’re: is a contraction of the words they and are, as in “They’re mastering the differences between these homophones!”

I do so love playing with the English language. I know I make so many mistakes, and when I look up to find answers, I hope I will retain what I learned.

And an English Professor once told me I was an “over-explanation-pointer” when I write! Imagine that!!!

Tennis

Has anyone else been watching the French Open Tennis Tournament?

I have, as I love to watch these magnificent players and their on-court mastery of the game.

What I have not appreciated is NBC-Sports! Now here is the deal. I do subscribe to NBC-Sports on my Satellite package, but for some reason, my Amazon Prime did not give me the option of watching without subscribing through them.

So, in the middle of a tense match between Nishikori and Paire, yesterday, they suddenly cut off the feed after a trial period.

I will need to go back in and try to figure it out, but yesterday I was just steaming mad! Fortunately, night fell on Paris and the game was called and I got up this morning and I am watching it on The Tennis Channel Premier, which I do subscribe to through Amazon.

You see I love tennis. I tried in my youth to learn how to play, but I was depressingly bad, so I gave up. Now, I don’t think it would be good because of all the Titanium in my body holding it together.

But oh, I can watch, and enjoy, and cheer for my favorite players! I look forward to the major tournaments every year!

A New Smart Phone

After three years, I went in today to buy a new Cell Phone. I’d been thinking about getting an Iphone, but as I talked to the sales person, and tried the different phones I ended up getting, the Samsung Galaxy S8. It has a 14 megapixel camera on both sides, and is fairly easy to use, because my last cell phone was a Galaxy S5.

I came home, charged the cell phone up and then worked setting it up for use. I figure by the weekend, I will be all set, although right now, I am still a little scrambled as I set things up.

I immediately ordered a cute Otter Box for it, and it will be here on Thursday. And then I will be settled with the new phone.

It is certainly thinner and lighter. I will feel so much better when the Otter Box arrives and I know she is protected.

When was the last time you got a new cell phone? And what are you using an Android or an Iphone? Pro’s? Cons?.

El Jimador

I have lived in this area for 16 years, and we have yet to find a local Mexican Restaurant that was any good. That was, until last night.

When we arrived at El Jimador, the parking lot was full and as we were shown to our seat, I glanced at what people were eating. It all looked good!

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Four of us went and each of us ordered a wonderful meal. My husband started off his meal with Sopa De Pollo, a wonderful chicken soup! We all tasted it and declared it marvelous!

Between us we ordered a Taco Salad, Steak Fajitas, Chile Relleno, a Tamale, Enchilada and a Beef Burrito. The portions were more than generous, and we brought home what was leftover for our lunch tomorrow.

The décor was nice, the staff was friendly and efficient, and we can hardly wait to go back. It is so nice when you find these places right in your back yard!

The Big Bang Theory

I love The Big Bang Theory. If you haven’t watched it, you are really missing out. Here are two of my favorite scenes from the show.

I will set it up by saying that Sheldon rescued Penny when she slipped in the shower. Sheldon is brilliant in the world of science, but knows nothing of being a human, like you and me.

Okay, enjoy!

Monday Happenings!

Monday found us roaming around central New Hampshire going to the Kokopelli Store and then having lunch a one of our favorite places. We’re been enjoying “Canoe” for years. Their sweet and sour calamari and mussels in white wine and garlic are amazing.

Kokopelli has been revered since at least the time of the Hohokam, Yuman, and Ancestral Pueblo peoples. The first known images of him appear on Hohokam pottery dated to sometime between 750 and 850 AD.

Kokopelli may have originally been a representation of ancient Aztec traders, known as pochtecas, who may have traveled to this region from northern Mesoamerica.

Their store has many beautiful items and it was like going into an Indian Museum!

Here I am with my darling friend, and sister in soul, Candy. She was my dearest friend in Florida, and our friendship has continued throughout our lives.

We saw this woman in the lake with her little Chihuahua doggy. They floated around and the pup just loved it!

Mount Chocorua.

This is Mount Chocorua. At an elevation of 3,490 feet (1,064 m) it is the easternmost peak of the Sandwich Range. Mount Chocorua’s bare summit can be seen from almost every direction and can be identified from many points throughout central New Hampshire and western Maine.

Candy has made a friend for life! Greta! Greta also adores DeVere, and is currently all cuddled up to him, as I write!

A Little Saturday Morning Humor

You Know You’re From New Hampshire When…

You say “wicked” instead of “really.”

Half of your clothes are from L.L. Bean

You’d rather vacation in New Zealand than Florida

Motorcycle Weekend is the highlight of your summer

When you take your yearly trip into Boston, you “pak ya cah in Havad Yad”

“Vacation” means going to Burlington for the weekend.

You go out of state and don’t understand what “tax” means on your receipt

You think of the major food groups as venison, beer, fish, and berries.

You refer to the Patriots as “we”.

You can identify a Massachusetts accent.

You can visit Berlin, New London, Bethlehem, Lisbon, Lebanon and Dublin all in one afternoon.

Down South to you means Boston.

You consider Manchester “exotic”.

You don’t have a coughing fit from one sip of Ballantine Ale.

You can actually pronounce Kancamagus.

You know what a bubbler is.

Your neighbor throws a party to celebrate his new machine shed.

You go out for fish fry every Friday.

You can recognize someone from Massachusetts from their driving.

You actually get these jokes and pass them on to other friends from New Hampshire.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. Using what’s in your frig right now what sort of meal would you be able to make for guests who are knocking at the front door this very minute?

Zucchini, summer squash, sweet onion, green pepper and basil stir fry, with chicken.

2. What is something about yourself that you hope will change but that probably never will?

My being worried all the time. I worry about everything, all of the time. Oh, how I would love to worry, just a little bit less!

3. What’s something about yourself that you hope will never change?

The fact that I love. Many people never feel love in their hearts, but I have and do. I would never want that to change.

4. Do you usually send serious or funny greeting cards? Why?

It depends. There have been occasions when I felt people needed a laugh, so I have sent funny cards. Then I fins a serious card that says just what I feel and I will buy that and send that off. So the answer is…both!

5. Bird watching, shell gathering, or star gazing- your choice for whiling away the hours?

Probably bird watching. When the Owls were on the Internet with their babies, I was literally glued to the screen. At the beach, I loved watching those silly sea gulls!

6. Do you double or triple check things? If so, what?

I double check everything. Locked doors, the gas on the stove, etc. Why do I do this> Because I am a worrier, remember?

7. What’s your favorite place for people watching?

Airports. I know that sounds funny, but since I do not like crowds, I tend not to get into them very often. You cannot avoid them in airports and since I am always “worried” in airports about my flight, I find I cannot concentrate on reading. So, I people watch. It’s amazing what you can see.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I’m off with Mandy today. We’re going to hit the end of summer sales! We both love to shop and we’re going to the larger Mall, which means good exercise! I may also bring a cooler, and stop at Trader Joes!

It’s A Date!

Saturday found us going out to the movies for a date! With all the Oscar buzz about the movie “The King’s Speech” around, Hubby and I decided to go to see that, as they were playing it locally! We arrived a good 10 minutes before the film was set to start, which is usually filled with previews for upcoming movies, but the line was so long, I started to worry about actually getting in before the movie started.

We got our seats with just moments to spare, and the movie started right up. I knew the movie would be good, but I never expected it to be GREAT!

From the first moment until the closing credits, I was glued to the screen. The three major characters, King George VI, Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother) and Lionel Logue, played respectfully by, Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter and Geoffrey Rush, were so believable, and brought me immediately into their story.

In fact, when we left the theater, we had more questions about that time in history, and immediately started doing research when we got home.

So if you’re looking to catch up on a movie and want a recommendation, “The King’s Speech” gets my vote as, perhaps, the best movie of the year. I will also go one further and say that Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, and Helena Bonham Carter all deserve Oscars!