Saturday 9: Sentimental Journey

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

"Sentimental Journey" (1945)

Listen to it HERE.

1. Doris sings that she has her bag packed. Tell us about your luggage. Is your bag easy to spot on the luggage carousel?

Usually. All my luggage is very old and banged up. I've thought about updating with something newer and easier to handle, but mine is so distinctive and stuff-able, I really hate to change.

2. The release of this song coincided with VE Day, and so it meant a great deal to troops returning home from Europe. What song has sentimental value for you? Why?

There are several songs that have very personal meaning for me. But I think the one with the most "sentimental" value is an oldie from my mom's day (just like this one) -- Deep Purple (see a clip of Artie Shaw's orchestra performing it HERE). She always said that she and my father thought of it as their song, and after he was gone (he died at 36, when I was 10), she always got a little emotional whenever she heard it. 

3. As a young girl, Doris was passionate about dance. Concentrating in the studio and performing on stage helped distract her from heartache and embarrassment over her parents' divorce. When you want to escape from what's troubling you, what do you do?

Talk to the hubby. That usually does the trick.

4. Her dancing days came to an end when, at age 15, she was in a car accident and damaged her leg. During her recovery, she discovered how much she enjoyed singing with the radio, and was delighted to find others enjoyed hearing her. Tell us about a time you unexpectedly found happiness or success.

I think I've been pretty lucky in life, and have had quite a lot of happiness so far. (Taking a little break here to knock on wood.) But I guess the most recent time I found unexpected success was when we found the house we're living in now. We leased it almost sight-unseen when we moved from Virginia to Texas a few years ago, and didn't expect to love it so much. But it was such a great house, we decided to buy it after we'd lived in it for a few months. Didn't have to MOVE again. That was REAL happiness. 

5. She moved from singer to actress in the late 1940s and was a major movie star for 25 years. She was paired with the most popular leading men of her time — everyone from Clark Gable to Frank Sinatra to Rock Hudson. If you could share a kiss with any actor or actress, who would you choose?

What a question! Maybe Robert Redford. Or Denzel Washington. Or Sam Elliott. All still very kissable guys even though they're getting older. Or, if he was still with us, Steve McQueen, my all-time fave movie star. 

6. 1968 was a terrible year for Doris. First, she suddenly became a widow. Then she discovered that her late husband and his business partner had squandered her money and she had to file for bankruptcy. Oh, wait! There's more! She also found that, in his role as her manager, her late husband had, without her knowledge, committed her to a weekly TV series. Do you have a 1968? What year you can point to and say, "Wow, I'm glad that's over"?

Well, I was pretty happy to see the end of 2017 — that was one of the most depressing years I've lived through. So far, 2018 has been better than that one, but it's not over yet.

7. After retiring from show business, she became an advocate for animal welfare. She has said we should be more sensitive to the loneliness, sadness and guilt people feel when they lose a pet. Think of a time you were grieving. What words or gestures helped you through? Conversely, what's something no one should ever say to someone who is hurting?

I have no idea how to answer this one. But I do agree with Doris about the loss of a pet. That experience can be just as traumatic as losing a human loved one, and should never be made light of.

8. Doris' only child was her son, record producer Terry Melcher. Terry had a successful, years-long collaboration with The Beach Boys. Do you have a favorite Beach Boys song?

I love ALL the Beach Boys music, but I guess my favorites are Fun Fun Fun and I Get Around — they were some of my favorites in high school and I still love singing along when I hear them today. 

9. Random question: What's one thing you've never done, but have always wanted to try?

I know it's a no-no at my age, but if I were just a little younger I'd love to try ice skating. Even though I really hate the cold, I've always thought it looked like fun.

Happy Saturday, everyone!
Have a great weekend.

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Sunday Stealing: Sleepy Rambles

Time for a little Sunday Stealing (hosted by Bev Sykes)  -- questions lifted from all over the blogosphere. This week's list was stolen from Sleepy Rambles.


1. What is on your mind right now?

Mostly medical stuff, unfortunately. 

2. Do you know anyone who has attended Harvard University?

Yes.

3. How many books are in the room you’re in?

I haven't counted them. We've turned a bedroom into a "study" where we keep most of our books. I've tried to keep them out of the living/dining room area (where I am right now), but we ended up putting one bookcase in here, too. Mostly art books. 

4. Do you save at least 15 percent of your income?

No idea. The Hubby is our financial officer. We save, but I don't really know what percentage.

5. When was the last time you had a rainy day spent at home?

Please don't get me started on rainy days. Parts of our area are still underwater from all the flooding we've had lately. But, to answer the question — I try not to go out when it's raining, so I spend most rainy days at home.

6. When was the last time you stayed home from school/work?

N/A — I'm retired.

7. Do you write “yes” or “no” answers to surveys or do you explain more?

Depends on the survey and the mood I'm in.

8. Is there any type of medicine you can’t take? For what reason?

Hmmmm. Strange question.

9. Do you have a favorite pair of pajamas? What do they look like?

I wear nighties. I do have a favorite. It looks just like a nightie.

10. Would you rather have potato or chicken noodle soup if you had to?

That would probably depend on who's making the soup. I like them both.

11. Do you believe that when a person appears in your dreams, that person wants to see you?

No.

12. When’s the last time you saw your mom?

My mother died over 15 years ago. I was with her when she died.

13. What is one food you could eat for a month, straight, and not get sick of?

Pasta. But not for breakfast.

14. Have you ever spray painted something about your love somewhere?

No. The only thing I've ever spray painted was a bunch of pinecones for Christmas one year. I did love the pinecones, though.

15. Do you live in a town where basically everyone knows everyone else?

No. Our community is pretty small, but not that small.

😸

Saturday 9: Alfred Hitchcock Presents

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

Theme from
"Alfred Hitchcock Presents"

Listen to it HERE.

1. The Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, was born in England. Name another pop culture contribution England has made.

First thing that comes to mind has to be the Fab Four — the Beatles! But I suppose Chaucer and Shakespeare were also the "pop culture" kings of their days.

2. This week's song is recognized as the theme to Hitchcock's long-running TV show, but "Funeral March for a Marionnette" is a classic piece written for piano in the late 1870s by Charles Gounod. Do you often listen to classical music?

Not as often as I used to. These days I mostly listen to jazz, which I think of as sort of modern classical.

3. Janet Leigh's shower scene in  Hitchcock's Psycho is considered one of the scariest sequences ever filmed. What's the most frightening movie you've ever seen?

I love scary movies (though not the really gory ones), so I've seen a lot of them. It would be hard to name just one as scariest. I think my all-time favorite is the old Ray Milland film, "The Uninvited" (from 1944). But the ones that probably scared me the most, the first time I saw them, were "The Haunting" (the 1963 original, not any of the remakes) and "The Innocents" (the 1961 film based on Henry James's The Turn of the Screw, with Deborah Kerr as the haunted governess). And one more — "The Changeling" from 1980, with George C. Scott as a composer who moves into a wonderfully scary haunted house after his wife and daughter die in an accident.

4. Hitchcock admitted that he "never trusted birds," and he took that fear and turned it into the movie, The Birds. Is there a member of the animal kingdom that just gives you "the creeps?"

Not sure about animals, but there are quite a few insects that spook me. 

5. Halloween will soon be upon us. Will you carve a jack o'lantern this year?

Not likely. Actually, I don't think I've ever carved a jack o'lantern. 

6. What candy will trick or treaters get at your house?

We don't really get trick or treaters at our house. We live in an area where there just aren't many children. I usually buy a bag of snack-size Kit-Kats or M&Ms or something, just in case. But I always end up eating them myself.... Which is one of the reasons Halloween is my favorite holiday.

7.  When you went trick or treating, did you prefer fantasy costumes (like a storybook character) or scary ones (like a monster)?

Mostly fantasy. I think I did go as a ghost one year. And as a witch, at least once. But other years, I was a clown or a gypsy or a pirate or Peter Pan or Snow White or some other fantasy figure.

8.  Which candy was your favorite? Which one were you disappointed to find in your trick or treat bag?

OK, we're talking a looong time ago, back before all trick-or-treat candy had to be store-bought and hermetically sealed. And back in those bad old days, my favorite things on Halloween were the homemade popcorn balls some people would hand out. Also always loved candy corn and Tootsie Rolls. Can't really think of any candy I would have been disappointed with.

9. Which do you find scarier — cemeteries or haunted houses?

In movies? I'd say haunted houses. In real life — at my age, cemeteries are getting scarier and scarier. 

Happy Saturday, everyone!
Have a great weekend.

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SkyWatch Friday: Dumpling Clouds

I might have mentioned this before -- I am not a fan of rainy weather. And we have had SOOOOO much rain lately. Not nearly as much as some parts of the country, but a lot more than usual for this part of the world. Feel like I've been transported from central Texas to Seattle. (Not that I have anything against Seattle. I hear it's a lovely place.) But if I hear one more person say "Well, we need the rain," I'm gonna scream really loud and for a really long time.

This September was one of the wettest months on record around the Austin area, and even though the weather has been a little better the last few days, we do have more rain predicted for this weekend. Whoopee.

But the rain has produced some really interesting clouds, like these from a week or so ago. I think these are called cirrocumulus clouds, but I always think of them as "dumpling clouds" because when I was a kid, they always reminded me of my Aunt Gussie's chicken and dumplings. Yum.

For more sky shots, click on the button above.