Soup to Nuts blog 4/19/09
Another "little bit of everything" blog today. I often think of things that are interesting (to me, anyway) to blog about, but don't get around to it -- as you can tell by my dismal once a month postings. Trying to do better.
"Old" Spam
Yesterday as I walked back from my mailbox with a fistful of mail, I was intrigued by two pieces. Along with our electric bill and something else viable that I've already forgotten, was something addressed to me that mentioned my upcoming "retirement." Now this was on the outside envelope for everyone to see--hadn't even opened it yet, but since my all-important 62nd birthday occurs later this year, I thought it might be from the Social Security Administration. Nope, just SPAM. Some company was suggesting that I might want to start collecting Social Security this year, and they had the perfect thing for me to spend my retirement funds on! Extra insurance--either medical or the kind that would help pay for my life in a retirement-assisted-living-nursing home. Well no, IF I decide to "retire" (which I'm not considering at the moment), I can think of a lot more interesting ways to spend my retirement money than that. The second piece of age-related SPAM was from a company selling motorized scooters, and was address to dh. I guess because we've reached that magical age of 60, some companies think we're ready for the grave already, and want to hurry us along on one of
their motorized scooter-thingies. I can tell you that if dh ever does need one, he will be ready to run races with Bro. G in our ward, who has Parkinsons and must have been a race driver in his well-years. Turns out there was a third piece of age-related SPAM in the mix, also addressed to dh, which was even more thrilling. This one was offering their cremation services to us. Come on now! I have plans to live another 20 years or so. QUIT REMINDING US THAT WE'RE GETTING OLD!!!!
Losers
Yesterday every one of my favorite sports teams lost their games. The Blazers lost their first playoff game, the Mariners and the Rockies (baseball) both lost their games. The one good thing I can say about yesterday's sports scores is that the Yankees got shelled, 20-4, by Cleveland. I'm not a fan of the Yankees, mostly because of their owner, George Steinbrenner. He's very controlling and there are certain rules that must be abided by if you want to play on HIS team. One has to do with length of hair and facial hair. One of my favorite players was Johnny Damon, who used to play for the Boston Red Sox. A couple of years ago he sold his soul, so to speak, in order to play for the Yankees. Damon was a rebel in at least his appearance. His hair was long, he wore a beard, and he was a GREAT ballplayer. While he's probably still a great ballplayer, his hair is shorter, no facial hair, and I've always been disappointed that he sold out his individuality for the buck. I guess playing for the Yankees is a dream for many aspiring baseball players, so who knows if he sold out for money or for realizing a dream. Guess I can't really judge the guy, but it was still sad to me. Looks like the Yankees have an up-&-coming young upstart in Nick Swisher, though. He's very vocal and looks to be a lot of fun. Reminds me of someone I
used to know.
Thieves
Last week, actually nearly two weeks ago now, we were the victims of car theft. Dh's beloved Toyota pickup was stolen, right out of the church parking lot where he was working. And in about 45 minutes time, from when he got there to when he went out to the truck to get something he needed. GONE! Nowehere to be found! Naturally the police were called, the theft reported, the insurance company called, but still no sign of the truck. The police officer who took his report assured him that they usually recover stolen vehicles within a month. The police officer who took his report must not be up on Toyota thefts. She also did not say what shape the stolen vehicles are in when they are recovered. We don't expect to see it ever again. I am now carless, since dh needs his car for work. I get to do all my errands and Curves workouts after 3 p.m.
In the western days, horse thieves were hung.
Parking Lot Saga
In a blog last month I mentioned my sister-in-law losing her keys on our last get-together, which always includes a trip to Walmart or Tar-jay, or both. Last night was no different as we trudged off to Wendy's for dinner (this particular one we go to always runs out of baked potatoes--I think we need a new fast-food place) which would be followed by a trip to Walmart. At approximately 7:30 we returned to brother & sister-in-law's mighty Dodge Caravan, dumped all our purchases in the back end, settled in and were about to head to Tar-jay. Uh oh! Car no startee! Up comes the hood, dh says he sees the problem as there is corrosion on the battery terminals. My brother, not being much of a mechanic, had no tools with him, so they trudged back to the store where they bought a battery tester, wrench, and wire brushes to clean the terminals. The battery tester showed a weak cell, so db (dear brother) decided that they would buy a battery. That taken care of and installed, but no joy! We're still stuck. Eventually we decided that this car was not going to start, called one of our dd's (dear daughter) and the tow truck. $76 later (for a tow less than 2 miles), and thanks to the kindess of our dd & her dh, we were back at my brother's. Now my sister-in-law & I are both afoot. At least it happened when she had company, otherwise she might have been stranded alone with a non-running car, and me not being able to pick her up.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Musically Yours
Today while listening to my mp3 player as I went around the house doing chores, baking cookies etc., I decided I should write a blog about music: my favorite artists and songs, what makes them my favorites, and so on. I have added a lot of my favorite songs to my mp3 player, and it's pretty difficult to ignore them when they are piped directly into your ears. I was noticing lyrics to some of my favorite artists, and thinking how GREAT they are. For me, lyrics are a pretty important part of music, I especially like it when say and mean something to me. Of course, the music and beat themselves, which help deliver the messages of the lyrics, are pretty important. You can have the most beautiful and profound words in the world, but if you don't have the right music to go with them, the lyrics will probably go unnoticed. So here goes on my favorite artists and/or their music.
Neil Diamond:
I've been a big fan of his since the 1970's. A friend gave Don/Creig "Taproot Manuscript" for his birthday, and after listening to it a few times I became hooked on Neil Diamond's music. Shortly thereafter I added "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" to our collection, and have added each new album of his since that time. I've also had the opportunity to go to two of his concerts, one in 1996 and the other a few years later. What a performer! If you're reading this on my MySpace"
page, I've included "Pretty Amazing Grace" from his latest CD on my profile playlist. If you're not familiar with this song, give it a listen.
John Denver:
My "2nd favorite" musical artist, I also had the opportunity to see his show in Lake Tahoe in 1976. I can't remember exactly when he became one of my favorites, but it would have had to be before 1976 since we wanted to see him then. His death was a great tragedy. I have most of his albums/CD's and even a DVD. One of my favorites is also on my MySpace profile playlist--"Wild Montana Skies." It tells a story, as do most of his songs, and this is one reason why he is on my favorites list. Others that I like include "Pegasus" and "The Wings That Fly Us Home." While he did not write these last two songs, they are still on my favorites list because of the lyrics and music, and his great voice.
After these two, the following are in no particular order in my list of favorites.
Nilsson:
We've been a fan of his for a long time, too. And he is also gone from our midst, he died of a heart attack a few years ago. On my profile playlist is "The Lottery Song." Give it a listen. One of our daughters thought that their dad had written this one--he used to play it a lot when they were growing up. Some of his other songs which you may recognize include "Everybody's Talking" (from Midnight Cowboy), "Without You," and the "Coconut Song."
James Taylor:
His music has been around our household for many years now, and he's been a favorite of Don's for a long, long time. I recently heard some of his "newer" music, such as "Frozen Man," and have come to appreciate his music more than I did before. More of his music appears on the public playlist.
Billy Joel:
Same with Billy Joel, he's been around for a long time, but when I seriously listened to the music AND the lyrics, I realized that he has a place on my favorites list as well. Have a listen to "And So It Goes." Others are on my Public list.
David Wilcox:
Before Christmas, a local radio station (KINK) celebrated 40 years of being on the air by playing music from each of their 40 years on a day by day basis. One morning while getting ready for the day, I heard David Wilcox's song "Rusty Old American Dream." As a child of the '50s & '60's, I fully appreciated this song and added it and David Wilcox to my favorites list, too. Give a listen to this song and you'll hear what I mean. I have a couple more of his songs on my public playlist.
Joe Jencks:
Joe Jencks is a "below the radar" performer who has such a beautiful tenor voice and a way with words and music. You probably won't find his music on a top radio station, but it should be. He is married to my #2 daughter's grade school/jr. high friend, or we wouldn't have become acquainted with his music. Listen to "The Turtle" on my profile playlist. He's very pro-union, and many of his songs reflect this philosphy, but still he is very talented in both song & lyrics even if you don't agree with him politically.
Gordon Lightfoot:
I couldn't find a song I listened to today to add to my profile list, "Don Quixote." Listening to this song today made me think of my daughters who love fantasy/medieval writings. But he has also been around a long time, very talented in words and music, so I've included "Canadian Railroad Trilogy" on my profile playlist for your listening pleasure.
Glen Hansard/The Frames:
I was introduced to this performer's music about this time last year by a friend. "Falling Slowly," written with Marketa Orglova, won an Academy Award for Best Music a year or two ago. I have added "Fitzcaraldo" to my profile playlist, and you'll find others on my public list. For some reason I could not add "Falling Slowly" to my playlists, thought it was already there but it wasn't. "Ohio Boatman" made me think of the early to mid 1800's, back when riverboats and canal boats plied the Ohio River and in northern Ohio, the canals between New York and Ohio. One of my gg grandmother's brother's was a boatman, who died in Illinois at a young age in 1854. The title intrigued me so I gave it a listen, and added it to my public playlist because I liked it so well.
Don Allen:
I've been closely connected to this singer/songwriter for more than 40 years now. You won't find any of his music anywhere but in his head or from him personally if you can get him to sing and play guitar for you, but that's not to say that he shouldn't have any top hits. Family and close friends have listened to his music for many years. I have one of his songs, sung by Heidi, on my computer, but I can't figure out how to add it to either my blogspot or myspace sites. If I ever do, or if anyone knows the answer as to how I can do it, I'll gladly add it and you'll hear some more good music.
Hope this makes you think about your favorite music, feel free to share yours with me or on your blog spaces. Since you are reading this here, I've included the link to my MySpace site, which has my music playlists.
http://www.myspace.com/hookedongenealogy
Neil Diamond:
I've been a big fan of his since the 1970's. A friend gave Don/Creig "Taproot Manuscript" for his birthday, and after listening to it a few times I became hooked on Neil Diamond's music. Shortly thereafter I added "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" to our collection, and have added each new album of his since that time. I've also had the opportunity to go to two of his concerts, one in 1996 and the other a few years later. What a performer! If you're reading this on my MySpace"
page, I've included "Pretty Amazing Grace" from his latest CD on my profile playlist. If you're not familiar with this song, give it a listen.
John Denver:
My "2nd favorite" musical artist, I also had the opportunity to see his show in Lake Tahoe in 1976. I can't remember exactly when he became one of my favorites, but it would have had to be before 1976 since we wanted to see him then. His death was a great tragedy. I have most of his albums/CD's and even a DVD. One of my favorites is also on my MySpace profile playlist--"Wild Montana Skies." It tells a story, as do most of his songs, and this is one reason why he is on my favorites list. Others that I like include "Pegasus" and "The Wings That Fly Us Home." While he did not write these last two songs, they are still on my favorites list because of the lyrics and music, and his great voice.
After these two, the following are in no particular order in my list of favorites.
Nilsson:
We've been a fan of his for a long time, too. And he is also gone from our midst, he died of a heart attack a few years ago. On my profile playlist is "The Lottery Song." Give it a listen. One of our daughters thought that their dad had written this one--he used to play it a lot when they were growing up. Some of his other songs which you may recognize include "Everybody's Talking" (from Midnight Cowboy), "Without You," and the "Coconut Song."
James Taylor:
His music has been around our household for many years now, and he's been a favorite of Don's for a long, long time. I recently heard some of his "newer" music, such as "Frozen Man," and have come to appreciate his music more than I did before. More of his music appears on the public playlist.
Billy Joel:
Same with Billy Joel, he's been around for a long time, but when I seriously listened to the music AND the lyrics, I realized that he has a place on my favorites list as well. Have a listen to "And So It Goes." Others are on my Public list.
David Wilcox:
Before Christmas, a local radio station (KINK) celebrated 40 years of being on the air by playing music from each of their 40 years on a day by day basis. One morning while getting ready for the day, I heard David Wilcox's song "Rusty Old American Dream." As a child of the '50s & '60's, I fully appreciated this song and added it and David Wilcox to my favorites list, too. Give a listen to this song and you'll hear what I mean. I have a couple more of his songs on my public playlist.
Joe Jencks:
Joe Jencks is a "below the radar" performer who has such a beautiful tenor voice and a way with words and music. You probably won't find his music on a top radio station, but it should be. He is married to my #2 daughter's grade school/jr. high friend, or we wouldn't have become acquainted with his music. Listen to "The Turtle" on my profile playlist. He's very pro-union, and many of his songs reflect this philosphy, but still he is very talented in both song & lyrics even if you don't agree with him politically.
Gordon Lightfoot:
I couldn't find a song I listened to today to add to my profile list, "Don Quixote." Listening to this song today made me think of my daughters who love fantasy/medieval writings. But he has also been around a long time, very talented in words and music, so I've included "Canadian Railroad Trilogy" on my profile playlist for your listening pleasure.
Glen Hansard/The Frames:
I was introduced to this performer's music about this time last year by a friend. "Falling Slowly," written with Marketa Orglova, won an Academy Award for Best Music a year or two ago. I have added "Fitzcaraldo" to my profile playlist, and you'll find others on my public list. For some reason I could not add "Falling Slowly" to my playlists, thought it was already there but it wasn't. "Ohio Boatman" made me think of the early to mid 1800's, back when riverboats and canal boats plied the Ohio River and in northern Ohio, the canals between New York and Ohio. One of my gg grandmother's brother's was a boatman, who died in Illinois at a young age in 1854. The title intrigued me so I gave it a listen, and added it to my public playlist because I liked it so well.
Don Allen:
I've been closely connected to this singer/songwriter for more than 40 years now. You won't find any of his music anywhere but in his head or from him personally if you can get him to sing and play guitar for you, but that's not to say that he shouldn't have any top hits. Family and close friends have listened to his music for many years. I have one of his songs, sung by Heidi, on my computer, but I can't figure out how to add it to either my blogspot or myspace sites. If I ever do, or if anyone knows the answer as to how I can do it, I'll gladly add it and you'll hear some more good music.
Hope this makes you think about your favorite music, feel free to share yours with me or on your blog spaces. Since you are reading this here, I've included the link to my MySpace site, which has my music playlists.
http://www.myspace.com/hookedongenealogy
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Reminiscing--Learning to Drive
Earlier this evening I noted a folder in my email program, titled "A Year In Our Thoughts." It's a holdover from a Yahoo writing group I was a member of nearly 6 years ago. We were asked to write something at least monthly, I think. I started reviewing some of the posts I and others had written, and the thought occurred to me that I could post my writings here. So I'm going to start with the one I wrote about one of my twin daughters and her experiences learning how to drive. Keep in mind that this is almost 6 years old now. K has been driving for almost 4 1/2 years (I think, maybe it's 5 1/2). I mention that H has shown no interest in driving, but in truth she has been a licensed driver for two years now. And our son is also now a licensed driver, although he doesn't particularly care for driving. Pretty much drives just to work and back, although he has driven to Powell's in Portland (after having his license for only a month or so), as well as out to Tigard. Brave soul!
Here goes....................................
I am the mother of 18 (almost 19) year old twin daughters, Heidi and Katie. They are the last of our six children, and have been a joy (mostly) to raise, They've been somewhat different than most, including our other 4 children, in many ways.
One of the ways they are "different" is in getting their drivers licenses. Now I'm sure that most of us could hardly wait to get our learners permit when we reached 15 or so, including me. I remember going to the Motor Vehicles Dept. the day after my 15th birthday to take the written test and procure this important piece of paper. Three of our older children were also champing at the bit to do this. Our only son waxed hot and cold on this issue, sometimes he wanted it, sometimes he could care less. At almost 21, he still does not drive.
The twins' excuse was that "it's scary to drive." The cries of "We're gonna die" from the back seat of our car on many occasions often prompted laughs from their dad and I, who have driven more years than we care to think about, and knew that we were nowhere near "dying."
However, on May 1st of this year, Katie, the youngest twin, decided to get her learners permit. I suspect it was mainly to have identification so that she could open up a savings and checking account, but nevertheless, she made an important "growing up" move. It took a couple of weeks, but she finally decided to go on her first drive.
Not willing to trust her to the streets, Dad took her up to our church parking lot, which is very large, and allowed her to practice some basic maneuvers there, without endangering anyone else. The next session was simlar, with the exception that Dad let her drive home from Target (a sum total of about 3 blocks, but it does require crossing a busy street with a traffic light).
She's gone out with her dad several times now, usually early on a Saturday morning, to practice. She's even gotten to drive on the freeway once. The car has always come back in one piece, so I suspect that she is doing alright. This past Monday night, she took us all on a small drive. And we all returned in one piece. I wasn't tempted to cry, "We're gonna die" on this drive, but I may yet get my chance for payback.
Did we all start out like this in the beginning of our driving careers? Very slow, jerky starts, in spite of the car having an automatic transmission? Unsure of when it was safe to "go?" Driving about 5 miles below the speed limit? I'm sure we did, but having been a licensed driver for almost 39 years, those days are a dim memory. I hope she is keeping track of this phenomenum in her journal, so that in future years when her children are learning to drive, she can have something to look back on, to remind her of her youth, and to show her children that "some things never change."
As for her twin sister, Heidi still has not gotten her permit. She hasn't expressed any interest in it, in spite of being driven around by her sister. Oh well, perhaps she'll learn one day, maybe out of necessity, or maybe because she wants to be more independent. We shall see.
Here goes....................................
I am the mother of 18 (almost 19) year old twin daughters, Heidi and Katie. They are the last of our six children, and have been a joy (mostly) to raise, They've been somewhat different than most, including our other 4 children, in many ways.
One of the ways they are "different" is in getting their drivers licenses. Now I'm sure that most of us could hardly wait to get our learners permit when we reached 15 or so, including me. I remember going to the Motor Vehicles Dept. the day after my 15th birthday to take the written test and procure this important piece of paper. Three of our older children were also champing at the bit to do this. Our only son waxed hot and cold on this issue, sometimes he wanted it, sometimes he could care less. At almost 21, he still does not drive.
The twins' excuse was that "it's scary to drive." The cries of "We're gonna die" from the back seat of our car on many occasions often prompted laughs from their dad and I, who have driven more years than we care to think about, and knew that we were nowhere near "dying."
However, on May 1st of this year, Katie, the youngest twin, decided to get her learners permit. I suspect it was mainly to have identification so that she could open up a savings and checking account, but nevertheless, she made an important "growing up" move. It took a couple of weeks, but she finally decided to go on her first drive.
Not willing to trust her to the streets, Dad took her up to our church parking lot, which is very large, and allowed her to practice some basic maneuvers there, without endangering anyone else. The next session was simlar, with the exception that Dad let her drive home from Target (a sum total of about 3 blocks, but it does require crossing a busy street with a traffic light).
She's gone out with her dad several times now, usually early on a Saturday morning, to practice. She's even gotten to drive on the freeway once. The car has always come back in one piece, so I suspect that she is doing alright. This past Monday night, she took us all on a small drive. And we all returned in one piece. I wasn't tempted to cry, "We're gonna die" on this drive, but I may yet get my chance for payback.
Did we all start out like this in the beginning of our driving careers? Very slow, jerky starts, in spite of the car having an automatic transmission? Unsure of when it was safe to "go?" Driving about 5 miles below the speed limit? I'm sure we did, but having been a licensed driver for almost 39 years, those days are a dim memory. I hope she is keeping track of this phenomenum in her journal, so that in future years when her children are learning to drive, she can have something to look back on, to remind her of her youth, and to show her children that "some things never change."
As for her twin sister, Heidi still has not gotten her permit. She hasn't expressed any interest in it, in spite of being driven around by her sister. Oh well, perhaps she'll learn one day, maybe out of necessity, or maybe because she wants to be more independent. We shall see.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)