Category: This & That

Monday was a beautiful day. I had prepared the kitchen so I could make a large quantity of spaghetti sauce, and went to the farm stand to pick up my tomatoes, only to find the farmer didn’t have my 10 pounds of tomatoes ready for me. I was pleased, actually. I picked up some freshly baked baguettes, and the rest of the vegetables I would need, and came home. Best of all, because I wasn’t cooking, I could enjoy this warm, sun filled, day!

Our apples are starting to size and we will be picking the Gala Apples in two or three days. I tasted one today, and to me it was perfect! But then, I like my apples nice and tart!

Tomorrow Jack and I go to get our eyes examined. It dawned on us, that it may have been a while, when we were sitting in our chairs watching the tennis on the TV and I said, “Jack, what is that players name?” I was squinting and could not read it at all! “I don’t know” said a squinting Jack! So we laughed, called each other old and made appointments with our eye doctor!

I’m looking forward to new glasses. Last time I got glasses, I purchased pink metal frames. What was I thinking? I have really not been happy with them. So, I think it’s back to plain gold frames for me. Since I wear them all the time, I want to make sure they are something I really like. Jack always gets the same frame. Gold aviator frames. If he ever got anything else I would not recognize him!

I’ll close with my happiness that The Duke & Duchess of Cambridge are expecting their third child! I think it is simply marvelous that they are adding another baby to their little family. Congratulations to Will & Kate!

The weekend seemed to fly by, with the grrrrr of motorcycle engines all around us. Since this was the last weekend of The Laconia – Weirs Beach Motorcycle Week, it seemed that every motorcycle owner this side of the Mississippi was driving around our area. Thus, one could not escape the sounds of motorcycles traveling en-mass!

Poor Lili really dislikes motorcycles and so even when Hubby took her out to play, she would end up at the door to come in and escape the noise and the heat. Yes, besides all the noise we finally had some hot humid weather. In fact, as I write this on Monday morning, the dew point is at 69 degrees and our temperature is 82 degrees (F). The forecast is for violent thunderstorms this afternoon and evening, helping to clear out this sticky air.

I had a terrible scare the other day. I was driving back from picking Arnie up after his dental at the Vet, when I felt something wet on the back of my neck. I reached back and touched and felt some wetness and then looked at my bloody fingers. Now nothing will cause you to be scared like the dickens then touching your incision and coming away with blood!

I was stuck though, as I was in the car and I couldn’t see anything. So, I raced home and ran up the stairs and yelled for Hubby to come and look. Well, it appears that one big fat mosquito was gorging himself on my blood when I squished him! He must have been pretty full because it was a real mess back there. I also swelled up to the size of a nickle, afterward. That little bugger!

Anneliese has recovered from her surgery, both she and Arnie have beautiful white teeth, nicely trimmed nails and once again life for them is good.

A nice start to the week!

The other Day, Hubby and I were watching tennis on the TV, when there was a beer commercial on. The beer commercial was using the theme from “Cheers” in their ad, which got Hubby to ask, “Who wrote that? Who performed that?”

Since I am the one who Googles everything for answers, I began my search. After all, “CHEERS” was one of my favorite TV shows back in the day, and the theme song is one I have always loved.

The song “Where Everybody Knows Your Name”, was written by Gary Portnoy and Judy Hart Angelo. Of course, like many things in life, their first few attempts were good, but not exactly what NBC and Paramount had in mind. The first lyrics they came up with struck me as just fine, but then, I am a New England girl and I love the Red Sox! Here they are:

“Singing the blues when the Red Sox lose
It’s a crisis in your life
On the run ’cause all your girlfriends
Want to be your wife
And the laundry ticket’s in the wash

Sometimes you want to go
where everybody knows your name
And they’re always glad you came
You wanna be where you can see
Our troubles are all the same
You wanna go where everybody knows your name

All those nights when you’ve got no lights
The check is in the mail
And your little angel
Hung the cat up by its tail
And your third fiance didn’t show

Sometimes you want to go
where everybody knows your name
And they’re always glad you came
You wanna be where you can see
Our troubles are all the same
You wanna go where everybody knows your name”

Now NBC liked the refrain, but not the sad lament about the Red Sox. So the two young song writers sat down a few more times before they came up with the classic song, that we all know and love.

“Making your way in the world today takes everything you’ve got.
Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot.
Wouldn’t you like to get away?

Sometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your name,
and they’re always glad you came.
You wanna be where you can see,
our troubles are all the same
You wanna be where everybody knows
Your name.

You wanna go where people know,
people are all the same,
You wanna go where everybody knows
your name.

You wanna go where people know,
people are all the same,
You wanna go where everybody knows
your name.”

Now here is something I did not know. The powers that be had heard Gary Portnoy on the Demo tape and wanted him to sing the song. He was contacted and agreed. He also agreed to sing all the back up for the song. But first things first. Off he went to California to record his solo for the song at the studio.

The recording session took place on a huge sound stage on the Paramount lot where “Cheers” was being filmed. At first Gary performed with a small group of musicians, and then they all packed up and left and Gary was set up to record his solo.

From Gary’s Home-page I would like to share what is written there.

“As he stood there with the lights dimmed in front of a microphone- a solitary shadow in this cavernous room- he was blissfully unaware that the vocal he was about to record would transcend that studio, and Hollywood, and NBC, and the United States and would literally travel around the world- first weekly then on a daily basis,every day…for the next thirty years and counting. (Gary has said that had he known all of that, he might not have been able to open his mouth!)”

Now you know the rest of the story!

The weekend was a busy one for me. I did a little laundry, a little cooking, and quite a bit of resting.

I also went out with Arnie on Sunday, when it wasn’t raining, to take a walk by the Big Lake. Lake Winnipesaukee.

 

My darling boy, Arnie, walking along the path beside the Lake.

The waterfall across the street is from my lake, Lake Waukewan and it is flowing into Lake Winnipesaukee.

Now before I go further let me tell you a little bit about Lake Winnipesaukee. It is located in  Central New Hampshire, USA. The area of water surface is 72 square miles. And it has, 262 islands. The total distance around lake is 182 miles. The height above sea level is 504 feet. It is the largest lake in New Hampshire.

A cruising vessel named The Mount Washington, with a capacity of 1250 passengers, is a popular venue for school proms, college gatherings, and large corporate celebrations, not to mention all the tourists visiting New Hampshire. The Mount is a true fixture in the Lakes Region. I love going on it, just to relax, and enjoy the views.

The Mount Washington!

Okay, back to my weekend. After our walk, I drove to the grocery store and I put the windows down slightly, to give Arnie a breeze. When I came back I went to put up the windows and the passenger side rear window made a weird noise, and went down and there it stayed! Holy Moly! It happened on the drivers side front a few years back. It is just such a pain because it takes the car out of action for 2-3 days, while it gets fixed!

I hope that you all have had a good weekend, and managed to enjoy the brief sunshine, or if in your part of the world you had nice weather, then I am incredibly jealous!

I woke up early today, and it was 60 degrees in my bedroom. As I lay there, I thought about what I should do. I needed to shower, but I also needed to get up and get dressed fast due to the cold. Hmmm!

I opted to jump up, turn on the shower and jump in as soon as the water was hot. That did feel good, and I admit that it woke me up pretty fast.

I dressed quickly upon exiting the shower, and then my day began. Dog walking, coffee making, cleaning up the glasses from last night, and my mini breakfast, so I could take my antibiotic.

I know, exciting stuff, but that is how my life is rolling these days!

Since last I wrote, my kitchen sink sprayer blew and after cleaning up about 3 inches of water under the sink, I called the plumber. He came yesterday and said the entire sprayer and faucet would need to be replaced. We talked money, we talked style and in the end I selected a faucet made by Moen, that has a pull out sprayer built in.

He did not have this in stock, so after we fed the dogs last night, Hubby and I headed out to pick up the faucet at Home Depot. Then we stopped for Chinese on our way home.

They had all my favorites, pea pods, baby bok choy, crab legs and I even splurged and had one crab rangoon. At 3 AM I woke and determined that after being sick for so long, my stomach is not ready for MSG or Chinese Stir Fried food. Ugh!

The plumber returns today to install the new faucet! I am psyched! Right now I have to use a tiny bar sink when I need water for anything. The bright side…at least the dishwasher was not affected!

Yesterday I decided to do something a little different. I got out my sewing machine, and then used a mismatched sheet, and sewed up some seams, and made a slip over cover for my chair. It makes a temporary cover for my love-seat and will be easy for Hubby to clean if it gets messy, after my surgery.

But then I had a great idea. For later of course. I am going to go to a fabric store and buy some cute material and actually make a simple slip cover for the chair. After 5 years, my chair has seen better days, but it still works, you know, despite the duct tape! (Ugh!)

So after the surgery, when I am well, I am going to make a slip cover for my chair, and I will be happy. I am also planning to get a pattern for the apron that I want and sew that.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I am no great seamstress. However, it felt good to get the machine out and work it and have it work for me. I would love to take classes. After all, with a granddaughter, it would be fun to make her cute dresses and matching trousers for my grandson!

Tonight is the Westminster Dog Show. I am saddened to see that it is only available on FS1. Now we get that, but so many people do not. They even have a daytime session at 2 PM. You know me, love my dogs!

• Hey! The New England Patriots are going to the Super Bowl!!! Now I have to tell you, I am not one of those people who watches every moment of every game, but I do catch most of them, and I do enjoy a good win! The Super Bowl should be fun, and I am going to plan something for dinner that night that will be festive.
• I spent part of the weekend cuddled with my heating pad. I have three weeks left until my surgery. I am anxious to get that behind me and to start feeling better. For now, I am in a holding pattern.
• I had a software problem with my laptop being unable to speak to a machine that we store pictures on. I only had an error code to work with, and it gave me a general idea of what was wrong. It took me about an hour, and then I had resolved the problem. Yay me! I love it when I can figure things like this out.
• We went and saw “Manchester By The Sea”, as everyone has been raving about it. I think the acting was good, but the story, and the direction was terrible, It was obvious that the writer /directer had no idea how people react in certain tragic situations. He was also quoted as saying that “New Englanders” are like this. Um, I’m a New England gal, who lost everything, but somehow managed to put her life together again and go on.
• We went out to a Chinese Buffet that we both like and had lunch yesterday. It’s a family business, and we’ve been going there for years. It was a lot of fun.
• Then we went grocery shopping. We heard that an ice/snow storm is due starting Monday night and into Tuesday. Nothing is worse than ice. I’m calling for an oil delivery at 7 AM.
• Greta is better. Last Friday she was up every hour on the hour all night long. I suspected that she had another UTI so I started her back on the antibiotics, and after three doses she was back to normal. But she needs to be on them for another 5 days. I just hate to see my old girl (Greta is 13 years old) getting sick.
• Later today I plan to make stuffed peppers and cranberry bread. Half of each will be frozen for use after surgery.

I hope you have a great week everyone!

I was quite busy yesterday, canning the Bread and Butter Pickles, and then blanching and freezing another 2 pounds of beans. But, last night I was a bit smarter. I started to prepare our dinner before we actually canned the pickles. That way, when we were finally done, we could just sit down and eat! The previous night, I was too tired to even cook our dinner and that led to a quickie spaghetti meal. I was good and only had 1/2 a cup of pasta, but I was so hungry all night.

I’m in the kitchen, once again, doing the first stage of the prep work for Moon Glow Pickles. They need to be prepped today, and then sit overnight before we cook and can them tomorrow.

As we’re preparing for a little down time next week, I am still getting things ready for our live in Doggy Nanny. We are so lucky to have found her, so when we do slip away from the dogs, we know that they are taken care of, as well as our home.

Today is the day I look forward to each month. I go in, get my hair cut, and dipped into the fountain of youth, and for an hour and a half, I am pampered.

Hubby and I are really enjoying “Homeland”. We didn’t start to watch this great show until a week ago. We’ve been watching one episode a day, and last night finished Season #1. What a great show, with superb acting! My daughter told me that I would like it, and she was right.

The weekend came and went incredibly fast. In fact, I am finding that the year 2016 to be going along far too fast. But most pleasantly so.

On Friday my cousin Janet, and her husband Dave, called at the last minute and asked if we were up for Lobster Fest 2016? Well, I will tell you one thing…I am always up for New England boiled Lobsters.

They arrived in the afternoon, and Janet and I did some shopping up town. As it was Friday, and I live in a town well known for a tourist destination in the summer, the traffic was terrible. In fact, while we were in one shop, the fire whistle blew and police and rescue squads arrived. I saw a young policeman directing traffic around the accident.

My friend in the shop said that the police had answered another call a half hour before, in the same place. It was sheer madness, I tell you!

When we left the shop we headed down the road toward the traffic lights. As we pulled up next to the police car, I looked and saw the officer was very sad. I knew he had already responded to two traffic accidents and I could see the stress. I rolled my window down and said to him, “Officer. Thank you so much for your service to our community. Thank you for taking care of us.” He looked at me and he smiled. I hope to God I made him feel appreciated.  After the assassinations of the police officers in Dallas, I felt a kind word would be appreciated.

The Lobsters and Steamers were remarkably good, as was the fresh corn on the cob. I also made my grapenut pudding to serve as a little dessert.

It was so nice and relaxed and we all had a great time. Unfortunately, all too soon they had to hit the road to drive home.

Hubby and I finally purchased an Amazon Fire Stick, so we can stream various things on our smart TV. We used to be able to stream everything, but recently we got a notice from Amazon that they no longer supported our “Old TV”. We bought it in 2011.

So on Saturday we started at the very beginning of the show “Homeland”, with Clare Danes. She is remarkable, as are the other cast members. After two episodes, Hubby and I are hooked!

I hope you all had a great weekend. Enjoy it. Before you know, summer will be over!