Saturday 9

The Saturday 9 ("Just A Silly Meme on a Saturday!") is hosted by Sam Winters. Nine questions posted every Saturday — sometimes random, sometimes with a theme. This week, the theme is the Carpenter's I Won't Last a Day Without You.

Before I start my answers, I should say that while I like some Carpenters tunes, I was never a wild fan of their music. I do love Karen's voice, though — it's so unapologetically alto, and she gets way down there where you really don't think she's going to make it, and then she does! I'm an alto too, but my voice simply gives out on those really low notes. But I wasn't familiar with this song, so I had to go listen to it on YouTube. Nice song, not great.

1. This song makes reference to rainbows. Have you seen one lately?
   No, but we do occasionally get some really nice views of rainbows from our house. Now that I think about it, probably the last rainbows I saw were in Hawaii last year. And those were lovely.
   
   
   
   
    
2. When Sam heard this song, it occurred to her that she wouldn't last a day without a game of online Yahtzee. What little commonplace pleasure reliably brightens your day?
   Since I retired and moved back to Texas, my days are pretty bright in general. But one small indulgence that perks me up everyday is an afternoon coffee break. Afraid I'm a coffee junkie, and would find it VERY hard to get through a day without at least a cup or two.
    
3. Richard Carpenter was emphatic that his group's name was "Carpenters," NO "the." Whenever he hears the group referred to as "The Carpenters," it gets on his nerves. What little commonplace annoyance reliably sets you off?
   Oh, gosh — you don't want to get me started on pet peeves. We could be here for WEEKS.
    
4. Karen Carpenter said she drank iced tea all day long. What beverage do you think you'll have with your next meal?
   Well, my next meal is going to be lunch and I generally have cranberry juice with lunch unless we eat out. If we have lunch out somewhere, I'll probably be drinking iced tea (plain, no sweetener) or water. I've pretty much weaned myself off soft drinks.
    
5. "I Won't Last a Day without You" was written by Oscar-winning composer Paul Williams. He also tried his hand at acting, most notably appearing with Burt Reynolds in Smokey and the Bandit. Back in the 1970s, the three movies in the Smokey series were very popular. Have you seen any of them?
   I've seen the first Smokey movie, because I like Sally Field and Burt Reynolds. I do not, however, like them enough to tempt me to watch the other two movies. IMHO, the first "Smokey/Bandit" movie was one of the worst films ever made.
    
6. This song was recorded in 1973 by Diana Ross. Now in her 70s, Miss Ross is still going strong with a busy calendar of appearances in 2017. What's your favorite Diana Ross song?
   It would definitely be something from her DR and the Supremes days — "Where Did Our Love Go," "Baby Love," "Stop! In the Name of Love," or "Come See About Me." All those are great recordings. Haven't really kept up with Diana since she went solo.
    
7. In 1972, the year this song was popular, the United States and the United Kingdom joined forces and launched the Copernicus satellite. Today it's remembered for the discovery of long-period pulsars. Crazy Sam got bored writing this question. Do you enjoy reading about science?
   I do. And I enjoy watching science programs on TV, too. Don't really have any training in the sciences beyond college biology, and I regret that.
    
8. Before Michael Phelps, Mark Spitz was American's premier Olympic swimmer. In 1972 he won seven Gold Medals. After making millions in endorsements and TV appearances, he settled into a career as a realtor in Los Angeles. Are you contemplating a change in residence any time soon? If you move, will you be consulting a realtor?
   Oooh, scary question. I'm definitely NOT considering a change in residence. When M and I were first married, we moved all the time. In our first ten years together, we moved nine times. We've done a little better than that lately, but I'm actually hoping I won't be moving again until they cart me off to the assisted living place.
    
9. RANDOM QUESTION: Which of these is completely, 100% UNTRUE of you — boring, lazy or stupid?
   Can't really say any of them is 100% UNtrue. I really don't think I'm stupid, but I'm capable of doing some extremely stupid things, from time to time. And while I can be quite industrious when something needs to get done, I'm not exactly what you'd call a go-getter, either. (Actually, if there was an Olympics competition for putting things off, I could probably procrastinate for the USA.) And I can be terrifically boring (as you know, if you're still with me here) — sometimes I even bore myself. So, I guess I'm all those things....and more.

The Friday 5 for April 28

Ready for this week's Friday 5? The theme this time is Bizarro Chliché. And here we go....

1. The Magic Word is “please,” but what’s the magic gesture?
   
   ❡
   I have no idea — maybe a waving hand? Actually, I kinda hope there is no magic gesture. I might use it without knowing it.
    
2. “Big D” is Dallas, but where is Big G?
   
   ❡
   Hmmm. Well, I guess Big D is called BIG D because it has so many people in it. Can't really think of a "G" city with a huge population. Maybe Guadalajara? In Texas, it would probably be Galveston. Or Garland. Or Grand Prairie. Or Grapevine. Never been to any of those cities except Big D.
    
3. Elvis Presley is the King of Rock and Roll, but who’s the king of your personal music collection?
   
   ❡
   It's been a long time since I actually had a personal music collection. Back when music was on vinyl, we had a huge record collection. But these days, I mostly listen to jazz on Pandora or Sirius Audio, and don't really "collect" it. However, we do have an enormous number of Miles Davis CDs given to us by a friend. So I guess you could say Miles is the King of My Collection.
    
4. The motherland is wherever you consider your family’s origins, but what’s the cousinland?
   
   ❡
   Where your cousins have ended up? Well, most of my cousins are in the San Antonio, Bastrop, and Fort Worth areas, so those must be my cousinlands.
    
5. CBS calls itself the Tiffany Network, but what would you call the Walmart Network?
   
   ❡
   I almost said FOX News. But hey, I like Walmart, so I wouldn't want to insult it by equating it with anything cheesy. I never heard the "Tiffany Network" nickname before.  But I like CBS, too.

␃

🙋

Unconscious Mutterings: Week 742

Mutterings for the week of April 23rd. Unconscious Mutterings is hosted by LunaNiña. And here we go....

1. Improve :: get better (Which makes me think of the Beatles and "getting better all the time." Which makes me think of the Sgt. Pepper album. Which makes me think of 1967. Which makes me think of the Summer of Love and lots of other stuff that I really don't need to be remembering right now. Hmmm.)
   
   ...
   
   Me in 1967. Hiding from the camera.
   ...
2. Brothers :: Blues
   

   

   Dan Ackroyd and John Belushi as Elwood and Jake Blues

   ...
3. Crystal :: clear 
4. Zoo :: chaos 
5. Second :: base
6. Sell :: advertising
7. Death :: ... knell (obviously been reading too much 17th century poetry)
8. Current :: ... events
9. Pain :: current events
10. Value :: Tru- (obviously been spending too much time at the hardware store)

Saturday 9

Another new meme for me! The Saturday 9 ("Just A Silly Meme on a Saturday!") is hosted by Sam Winters. Nine questions posted every Saturday — sometimes random, sometimes with a theme. This week, the theme is Petula Clark's Don't Sleep in the Subway.

1. Subways can be bright and noisy. Do you need it dark and quiet before you can fall asleep?
   Don't really need it dark; in fact, I don't really like sleeping in a completely dark room — makes me feel like the walls are closing in on me. But I do like it to be relatively quiet.
    
2. In this song, Petula encourages her lover to talk it out instead of walking out. Do you usually remain reasonable during a disagreement?
   Depends on who I'm disagreeing with, and what we're disagreeing about. When I'm arguing with the Hubby, I can go completely off the deep end if I get really riled. Oh, and don't get me started on Donald Trump!
    
3. Petula was a child star in England during WWII. Her BBC broadcasts were very popular with the British troops, who nicknamed her The Singing Sweetheart. Soldiers pasted her photo onto their tanks for luck as they went into battle. Do you have any little rituals or good luck charms that calm/comfort you when you're afraid?
   Hmmmm. No good luck charm or rituals that I can think of, even though I'm really pretty superstitious.
    
4. Now 84, she recently told London's Daily Mail that she's surprised and thrilled to have found love again with a new man. Do you believe you'll ever be too old for romance?
   I certainly hope not. My mother-in-law married for the third time when she was 77 (she and the groom were both widowed), and I thought that was pretty wonderful.
    
5. Her family is far flung. She lives in London, her middle daughter is in Paris, her son is in Los Angeles and her oldest daughter lives in New York with Petula's two grandchildren. Who is your nearest friend or relative? Which one is farthest away?
   Well, my nearest friend is my Hubby. (Hi, Sweetie.) But I have family and friends all over Texas and the rest of the US. I guess my nearest ones (in terms of location) are a brother-in-law in Austin, a niece in San Antonio, and old friends in the Austin area and Bastrop.
    
6. In 1967, when this song was popular, Rolling Stone published its first issue. John Lennon was on the cover. Publisher Jann Wenner reports that, either individually or as a group, the members of The Beatles have appeared on the most Rolling Stone covers. What's the first Beatle song that comes to mind?
   Not one that they wrote, but the first one that comes to mind is "Twist and Shout." It has a lot of personal nostalgia attached, for the Hubby and me. By the way, I think I still have my copy of that first Rolling Stone issue. Somewhere.
    
7. In 1967, Star Trek was in its second season on NBC. Who is your favorite Star Trek character?
   Definitely Mr. Spock.
    
8. RANDOM QUESTION: When you slip into jeans or slacks, which foot do you put in first?
   Depends on which knee is giving me trouble that day.
    
9. As you considered #8, did you mime pulling on your pants?
   No. Too lazy to get up.

Well, that was fun. But now I've really gotta stop all this meme-ing, and get my morning workout done!

The Friday 5 for April 21

Trying out a new meme this week: The Friday 5. Well, new to me anyway. Actually, it's been around for quite a while, it seems. This week's theme is "Ssssssh!" And here we go:

1. What’s something sneaky you’ve recently done?
   Guess I'm not much of a sneak. Can't think of anything sneaky I've done recently. Probably the sneakiest I get is hiding gifts at Christmas.
    
2. Who or what do you feel the need to tiptoe around?
   Again, I'm not one for tiptoe-ing around things or people. Although, when the Spurs lose a game, it's a good idea NOT to try to talk to the Hubby for a while.
    
3. What’s the dirty secret about the field in which you work?
   Retired. No work, no field, no dirty secrets. Before I retired I worked for a non-profit think tank in Washington DC. I guess the closest they got to "dirty secrets" was the fact that they'd do just about anything to keep their clients happy. But then, that's pretty standard in DC — not really a secret.
    
4. What was the subject of your last whispered conversation?
   Probably real estate. ??? Or maybe the play we saw recently. I don't have occasion to do much whispering.
    
5. What’s recently snuck up on you?
   April. And now May is getting ready to do the same thing!

Unconscious Mutterings: Week 741

Mutterings for the week of April 16th. Unconscious Mutterings is hosted by LunaNiña. I'm pretty late with this, so here we go....

1. Field :: Sally (always loved her!)

2. Ding :: dong
3. Teenager :: wouldn't want to be one these days
4. Podcast :: I must be the only person on the planet who's never experienced a podcast. Not even sure what they are.
5. Vibrator :: "Grace & Frankie" (the Netflix series with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin - the storyline this season revolves around the girls' new vibrator for "older women")
6. Radio :: music, DJ, Beach Boys
7. Brat :: probably me as a kid
8. Dwell :: one of my favorite magazines
9. Piano :: bar
10. Perish :: ...the thought