Time for a Little Break....

Joysweb will be on vacation for the next few weeks. See ya in September.

Saturday 9: Sgt. Pepper

The Saturday 9  is hosted by Sam Winters. Nine questions posted every Saturday — sometimes random, sometimes with a theme. This week, the theme is...

"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"
by The Beatles

...because I recommended it! Thanks so much!

1. The Beatles recorded this after they had taken a three-month hiatus from working together as a band. Do you find you're sharp after taking time off? Or does it take you a while to get back into the swing of things in your day-to-day life?

Well, I'm retired, so I suppose you could say all my time now is "time off." But I find that when we go on vacation or any other trip away from home, I do indeed need a day or two to sort of get back to normal. 

2. During those three months off, John Lennon made a movie called How I Won the War. What's the last movie you watched? Did you view it at a theater, on TV, or from a device like a computer or tablet?

The last movie I watched was The Dunwich Horror, an old Sandra Dee/Dean Stockwell screamer based (loosely, anyway) on several horror tales by H.P. Lovecraft. It was on TCM a few weeks back and I DVR'd it, then the hubby and I watched it the other night. I had seen it before many years ago and wanted to see if it was as bad as I remembered it being.... It was.

3. Paul McCartney and George Harrison both used their time off to make new and different music. Paul composed instrumentals for a movie soundtrack while George studied sitar with Ravi Shankar. Ringo Starr spent those three months with his wife and their two little boys. If you had three months to spend doing anything you wanted, and money was no object, would you try something new (like Paul and George) or just kick back and relax (like Ringo)?

Again, I'm retired. So I could take three months and do pretty much anything I wanted with them. And I'm not really a big spender, so I suppose you could say money really isn't too much of an object. As long as it doesn't require a Trump-level fortune, I can probably do whatever strikes my fancy. My fancy usually just wants to stay home.

4. Paul recalls what fun it was to dress up in Edwardian-era costumes for the album cover. When did you last attend a costume party? What did you wear?

Wow, it's been a really long time. Like decades. Back in the 1980s and '90s, we had a group of friends and colleagues who would get together from time to time to have dinner, and read plays aloud. And sometimes we'd dress up in costumes to go along with the plays. We were expected to improvise the outfits — no rentals. The last time I remember doing that, I think the play was Private Lives by Noel Coward, and we all dressed up in late 1920s/ early 1930s outfits (the play was first performed in 1930). Here's a shot of moi dressed for the occasion, complete with cigarette holder and cocktail:

5. Paul says he came up with the name "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" when Beatle friend Mal Evans told him about this great San Francisco band, Big Brother and the Holding Company. Paul hadn't heard their music yet, but he loved the sound of their six-word band name. Soon everyone would hear of Big Brother. Do you know who Big Brother's famous lead singer was?

If you're from Texas (I am) and lived in Austin during the 1960s (I did), you're most likely pretty familiar with Janis Joplin. 

6. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band appeared on the Billboard charts for 175 weeks. Is this album in your collection?

It is. I have the original vinyl version and I think I have a CD of it too. Also on the iPod. Possibly in our Sonos music library too.

7. The Beatles are among the top-selling artists of all time in Zimbabwe and Ethiopia. Would you like to visit Africa?

Hmmm. I suppose it would depend on where in Africa I might be visiting. I'm not really a jungle enthusiast. Bugs. Snakes. Humidity. Big hungry animals with gigantic teeth. Quicksand. Malaria.... Bugs.

8. 50 years ago, when Sgt. Pepper was first released, the average price for gas was 33¢/gallon. When did you last fill up your gas tank? Do you remember how much it cost?

I don't pump gas. We just have the one car at the moment, and I don't really drive it a lot so I let the Hubs do the honors when it needs a fill-up. But I don't think we've filled the tank in the last week or so. Haven't used the car much this month because we've been doing a lot of redecorating work around the house and mostly staying home. I have no idea how much the last fill-up cost. 

9. Random question: Are most of your married friends happily married?

Um. As far as I know? In general, I don't delve too deeply into my friends' marital relationships. I hope they're happy. 

Happy Saturday, everyone!
And have a great weekend.

For more Saturday 9 Q&A, just click on this button:

Willy Nilly Friday

This is my first Willy Nilly Friday post. Hope I'm doing it right. Five random things. I love random!

1. The weather has been truly gorgeous this week. Sunny and mostly clear (although VERY hot).

2. Looks like the garden is just about finished for this season. The heat really got to the tomatoes and dill this year, and the squash never even got started. About the only thing still going strong is the basil— it's parched, but keeps right on growing. I need to make some pesto.

3. What we've been spending all our time on lately. Finally getting bookshelves in the study! Nearly floor-to-ceiling, and white, white, white!

4. And some storage units in the craft/guest room. Also new carpet in both rooms. It's taken us five years (since we first moved into this house) to get it done, but now that we've made a start it seems to be going along pretty smoothly.

5. The Rotunda, University of Virginia, Charlottesville.

Designed by Thomas Jefferson, begun in 1822 and completed in 1826, shortly after his death. Charlottesville has been in my thoughts a lot this week. Naturally, I guess. The university campus is so lovely, and I hate to think of any violence taking place there. This shot was taken quite a while back, during a visit in the summer of 2003. I like to believe it still looks the same.

Also linking up with SkyWatch Friday.

For more sky shots, click on the button above.

Unconscious Mutterings: Week 758

Mutterings for the week of August 14th. Unconscious Mutterings is hosted by LunaNiña. And here we go....

1. Broken :: ...promise; ...bone; ...heart; ...spirit
2. Compromised :: came to an agreement; worked together (something our legislators used to do)
3. Delayed :: postponed, put off
4. Ligament :: tissue
5. Dramatic :: performance
6. Fanatic :: zealot
7. Exotic :: dancer
8. Weeks :: days
9. Walk it off :: Peyton Manning (from an old TV commercial he was in)
10. Bruised :: injured, hurt; fruit, ego

Saturday 9: Start Me Up

The Saturday 9  is hosted by Sam Winters. Nine questions posted every Saturday — sometimes random, sometimes with a theme. This week, the theme is...

"Start Me Up" by The Rolling Stones

Listen to it HERE.

1. That's a goat wearing a high heel. What's on your feet as you answer these questions?

A pair of light gray terry cloth Isotoner slip-ons, size Medium.

2. More fashion: In the video for this song, Mick is wearing white pants with an elastic waistband. Are you wearing a belt as you answer these questions?

No, I am not. Oddly enough, I am wearing white pants with an elastic waistband. Obviously channeling Mick. He is skinnier.

3. In this song, Mick pleads, "Don't make a grown man cry." When is the last time you shed a tear?

Seems I answer this question a lot, or versions of it. Same answer: can't really remember the last time I cried. I don't do a lot of weeping.

4. Keith Richard has said this is a song he could play "forever and ever." What in your life doesn't get old, no matter how often you do it?

Just sitting around, chatting about this and that with the hubby. Sounds boring, I know, but it's my favorite thing.

5. While The Rolling Stones enjoy performing songs, like this one, from Tattoo You, Mick Jagger has dismissed the songs from their 1967 album Their Satanic Majesties Request as "rubbish." Do you have a favorite Rolling Stones song?

I love the Stones, and really it would be impossible to choose just one favorite among all their tunes. If I had to pick one? Maybe "Sympathy for the Devil"? Or "Gimme Shelter"? Or "Satisfaction"? Or "Let It Bleed"? Or "Wild Horses"? Or "You Can't Always Get What You Want"? Or ??? 

Strange that Mick would call the Satanic Majesties album rubbish — "She's a Rainbow" was always one of my favorites too, and it's from that album.

6. This recording of "Start Me Up" features a cowbell. Do you remember which Saturday Night Live host made, "More cowbell!" a catchphrase?

No. I stopped watching SNL after the early '80s. So if this was more recent, I probably wouldn't have seen it.

7. Bassist Bill Wyman once said he thought he should have been a archivist because he loved to make lists. Do you have a to-do list?

I have many lists, to-do and otherwise. Love making all kinds of lists. I've also always thought I should have been an archivist. Bill and I should get together sometime and compare lists.

8. Mick finds it hard to stand still when he sings, not only on stage but also in the studio. The engineer for this song reports that Mick would have to run across the room to get back to the microphone for his vocal. Are you more fidgety, or still?

Yes. Both. Sometimes active. Sometimes dormant. Hmmm. Does that make me sound a little too much like a volcano? Well, I do erupt sometimes.

9. Random question: Do you believe men are inherently more sensible than women?

Say WHAT????

Happy Saturday, everyone!
And have a great weekend.

For more Saturday 9 Q&A, just click on this button:

Unconscious Mutterings: Week 757

Mutterings for the week of August 7th. Unconscious Mutterings is hosted by LunaNiña. And here we go....

1. Headache :: migraine (Haven't had one in a while, fortunately.)
2. Leftover :: doggy bag 
3. Corrupt :: politicians (Sorry if I'm stepping on any toes here.)
4. Vent :: let off steam 
5. Equipment :: tools 
6. Jack :: Nicholson
7. Business :: commerce, employment, transaction (All the boring stuff.)
8. Joint :: getting stoned (Child of the '60s, y'know.) 
9. Internship :: learning period, apprenticeship 
10. Pain :: headache

Random Musings: Monday 8/07/2017

Thoughts for today:

● There should be a law against rain on Mondays. Storms overnight with some really vicious thunder and lightning; then, rain most of the morning. The sun peeked out later in the afternoon, but the early rain had already triggered my seasonal affective disorder blues. Mostly spent the day sitting around, hoping for better weather. And eventually, it showed up!

● Downloaded one of the Brother Cadfael books by Ellis Peters (pseudonym of Edith Mary Pargeter, 1913-1955) to my Kindle today. It's set in 1139 and that got me thinking — if I'd been born in any earlier time, I would never have lived to be this old. In fact, I probably wouldn't have survived infancy — the whooping cough I had as a baby would have killed me. So thankful for modern science!

Unconscious Mutterings: Week 756

Mutterings for the week of July 31st. Unconscious Mutterings is hosted by LunaNiña. And here we go....

1. Baby:: ...doll
2. Hoops :: basketball (Go, Spurs!)
3. Vulnerable :: at risk
4. Literally :: really, exactly, word-for-word; sort of the opposite of virtually (though they seem to be used interchangeably these days)
5. Relationship :: connection
6. Best :: ...friend, ...In Show, ...Western Hotel
7. Aggressive :: pushy, violent, unstoppable 
8. Comfort :: Texas (a very pretty little area, northwest of San Antonio)
9. Tunnel :: disappointing mini-series on PBS
10. Cancer :: too scary to mutter about