MelaniePenelope

Saturday 9: Diamonds

Hey, y'all! I'm hopeful I'll get this post all done and on time this week. So many times, last week included, I'll start the post well in advance, get two or three answers written, and then need a nap. By the time I have the energy to come back, Saturday's all but over. Last week, and many times, it's a pain or migraine issue, but more and more lately it's straight-up fatigue.

Anyway, I can't wait to see what questions Rihanna and Crazy Sam have for us. Link up here if you're playing along with us this week.

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Saturday 9: Diamonds (2012)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) In this song, Rihanna sings that when she looks at her lover, she sees the light in his eyes. The internet is filled with makeup tips for making your eyes look brighter. Drugstores sell eye drops that promise to get the red out. Are you bright-eyed this morning?

 

 

I suppose, but I do have these eye drops right here on standby. They work great!

2) She likens him to a shooting star. Astronomers tell us that shooting stars aren't that rare at all. They occur when dust, asteroids or comets enter the earth's atmosphere, and are often visible on clear, pollution-free nights. Have you ever seen a shooting star?

 

 

I think I have; I'm sure I have.

 
3) In ancient Rome, shooting stars were considered good luck, especially for those going into battle, while some tribes in East Africa believed shooting stars were a harbinger of doom. Are you superstitious?

 

 

Maybe, but only mildly. I'll cross my fingers or knock on wood, but I know that what's going to happen is already going to happen.

 

4) The singer of "Diamonds" hosted a lavish Diamond Ball to raise funds for education programs in Malawi, Senegal, and the country of her birth, Barbados. Rhianna named her charity initiative the Clara Lionel Foundation after her grandparents. If you were to name your foundation after your grandparents, what would it be called? What would you ideally like to do in their honor?

 

 

Both of my (maternal; I did not know my paternal) grandparents used tobacco. Grandpa smoked a pipe, but when his dentist told him there were warning signs of cancer, he quit that day and got rid of his entire extensive collection of pipes. Some very valuable.  (And when he had a mega heart attack a few years down the road and was told to lose weight, eat healthier, and get more exercise, that is exactly what he did. He even bought a Sony Walkman so he could listen to Sousa, and he would take that to different parks and do his Sousa march around the various pathways! So cute.) So he was super... "obedient" to doctors' orders when he got bad news.

 

My grandmother, on the other hand, smoked for many years and just could not get out from under that beast. She was told to quit smoking for many years, but she could not. I don't think she tried, but I was very young then, so that probably isn't a fair assessment. But when she was put on oxygen at some point, due to the emphysema, she was still unable to let it go. I remember seeing her pull out the tube and hold it far away with one hand and smoking with the other hand, or hiding a burning cigarette in a closed drawer, and other things. We all held an intervention, but it made no difference.

 

So in their honor, I would do something like, The Art and Ruth Center for Tobacco Use Prevention, Education, and Cessation.

 

5) Rhianna recently had her first baby, a boy. According to the Social Security Administration, the top names for baby boys in 2021 were Liam and Noah. Is there a Liam or Noah in your life?

 

 

No, not currently, but this did give me a chance to look at Liam Hemsworth again, and that ain't bad.

 

6) When she was still in her teens, Rhianna entered a beauty pageant on a dare, and won! Can you recall a time you acted on a dare?

 

 

Oh. Heh. I've been known to accept a dare or two in my time. I remember once, either right before Chloë was born (she's 20 years old now, will be 21 in September), or right after (so I still had the belly!), I was doing laundry late at night. Maybe 10 PM. But our washer and dryer were in a separate building from our house, maybe 100 or 150 yards and outside the fence, through the gate, down the driveway, and in another door. As soon as I'd put the load of clothes in and gotten back to the house, I realized I still had the clothes I was wearing to put in. Aack!

 

So Hubs dared me to dash out there right away, throw my clothes in, and just streak back. I thought about it for a quick second, looked out there... it's dark, no lights, and I could run pretty fast at the time. So I did it. BUT. When I got up the porch steps to our back door, Rob was there, laughing. And he had turned on the porch light. And he had locked the door on me!

 

7) While on tour, she likes to sneak out into the audience, just to get the vibe from out there. To disguise herself, Rhianna slips on a black oversized hoodie. Are hoodies a staple of your wardrobe?

 

 

Well, I have my green one right here next to me, but I'm not photo ready quite yet, and I can't find me wearing it anywhere in my photo gallery.  So here are Hubs and Chloë each wearing one.

  

8) In 2012, the year this song topped the charts, London hosted the Olympic Games. If you won a trip to London, what would you like to see?

 

 

Are we having a raffle here? But me in for 10 tickets. But seriously, I think I would have to be a total tourist if I were to go to London. Double-decker bus, Tower of London, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey... Yes. Everything. But I'm really interested in venturing out and seeing some proper English gardens, too. Very much so. ♥

 
9) Random question: Did either or both your parents go to college?

 

 

As far as I know, they each did a semester or two of community college there ^ at Harriman Community College, in Monroe, New York (my origin).

 

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L00k, I did the whole thing! Add me another ticked to the raffle!

 

Fin.

 

Saturday 9: Time For Livin'

Hi everyone!

Oh, my gosh, I almost forgot to post and it's about to be noon any second! What a slacker!

I'm not going to ask about Independence Day, because what freedom?

I'd better just get into it, huh? Link up here with the rest of us and give Crazy Sam a run for her money. ☺

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Saturday 9: Time for Livin' (1968)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) This song is about taking "time for life." Do you have a busy, highly-scheduled Saturday planned? Or will you have an opportunity to just relax and enjoy?

 

 

Does checking the mail and shopping Overstock.com's furniture sale count as "highly scheduled?" Probably not. It's dreary as balls outside, and I'm sick. Although I've changed my mind about a thousand times about what dresser I wanted for our room, I ended up buying secondhand on Facebook Marketplace this morning. Hubs will pick that up with our 17yo Sophia this afternoon. So, that leaves me more dollars to put toward our sofa and chairs in the living room. It's almost torture for one so capricious and perfecting - if I weren't the one putting myself up to it.

 

Oh, and, I want to work with my Cricut Maker some more.

 

♫

 

2) Lead singer Larry Ramos begins by telling us he likes to kick off his shoes and go barefoot. How about you? Do you like to feel "the good earth under your feet?"

 

As much as is humanly possible. This is Hubs, Sophia and me on the Ocean City (MD) beach exactly a month ago, tomorrow. I'm the one with painted toes.

 

♫

 

3) He sings that once he took off his watch, he found he had all the time in the world. Tell us about your watch.

 

There it is. All is told.

 

♫

 

4) With lyrics that include words like "grooving" and "hang-ups," this song is very much a product of its time. Share some of the slang you used during your adolescent years.

 

 

I wish they hadn't put the negative terms in yellow, so you could see them better. Can you embiggerate without them getting blurry? I'd forgotten about hoser! hahaha And "that's so clutch."  Definitely slick, although usually we said, "Smooth move, slick Rick." Ahhhh. Funny. I still say, "I've gotta jet," and a few others of those, though!

 

♫

 

5) He sings that his attitude has been rearranged. What is something you have changed your mind about?

 

 

Okay, this is ancient history, but I grew up in a cut-and-dried dog family. NO cats. When I graduated college and moved out of the dorms, I got myself the best dog ever, little Johnny, who was the best little partner and lived a long live traveling around with me and eventually, Rob, and then, Chloë and even Jack. Somewhere before grad school, a cat came into the picture, and oh, my gosh, I fell madly in love with her. I became a cat AND dog person. Since then, we've had dogs and cats and bunnies and fish and gerbils and butterflies (released) oh and frogs and probably something I'm forgetting. And I love them all. (But I did not love when our German Shepherd Dog puppy chewed a big hole in the middle of the carpet!)

 

♫

 
6) This week's group, The Association, was founded in Hawaii. Hawaii produces more pineapple than other state in the union. When did you most recently have pineapple?

 

 

A week and a half or so ago I had pineapple pizza. NO HAM! Just the pineapple, and I might have ordered feta. I think black olives, too. Mmm.

 

7) In 1968, when this song was popular, Jacqueline Kennedy married Aristotle Onassis. Think about the last wedding you attended. Were you closer to the bride or to the groom, or were you equally close to both?

 

 

Closer to the bride, but we didn't go. Long story short, we were supposed to go, last summer, but we couldn't and now we no longer have any relationship with them.

 

8) In 1968, when this song was popular, Laugh In was America's #1 TV show and it made a star of Goldie Hawn. Do you have a favorite Goldie Hawn movie?

 

 

I loved her in Overboard with her partner in life, of course, Kurt Russell! I know the movie was problematic and parts of it didn't age well, but it's still lots of fun.

 
9) Random question: Who is the most recent person you made smile, and what did you do?

Oh, I made a mildly crude joke to my husband about the smell of the deposit that Sophia's cat made in her litterbox, to Hubs. He thrives on crude, though, so I got a laugh.

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Well, now it's time to check the mail. Thanks, Sam and friends!

Fin.

Saturday 9: Back In The U.S.A.

Hey, y'all! Can you even believe that half the year is gone now? I cannot. I think this whole last year of my last baby's childhood, I'm going to be trying to snatch the days back like money flying in the wind. 

Typically, Independence Day is my favorite holiday. But, like I read recently online (I know, I know), I think every American woman and girl should take a knee whenever the national anthem is played right now. So sad. I still like those fireworks though, can't lie.

I'm supposed to be working on my grocery list right now, but until Hubs comes back to check my printer's paper jam for me, I'm doing this, haha. Join us over here at Saturday 9 to get in on the action.

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SATURDAY 9: BACK IN THE USA (1978)

Unfamiliar with this week's song? Hear it here.

From the archives, with some tweaks

1) This song lists seven cities -- New York, Los Angeles, Detroit, Chicago, Chattanooga, Baton Rouge and St. Louis -- that Linda just loves. How many have you visited?

 

 

I have been to New York, LA, Chattanooga, Baton Rouge, and St. Louis. Two more to go, I guess. I still have time. Definitely want to visit Chi-town!

2) The lyrics refer to hamburgers sizzling on the grill. What toppings do you believe make a perfect burger?

 

 

Weeellll. It would be a veggie burger with plant-based cheese (probably Daiya brand), and that's about it. The Elevation Burger veggie burgers (and regular burgers, I'm told) are AMAZING. If you've got one near you, check 'em out.

3) The original recording of this song by Chuck Berry has always been one of Linda Ronstadt's favorites, one she used to enjoy singing along with in the car. What's the most recent song you sang?

 

 

That's so funny. I think it was just yesterday that I was singing "The Twist" to one or both of the girls (who remembers, these days?!) because they had never heard of it or Chuck Berry. And they still had no idea. I told them to go to a wedding. It's still probably outdated if it's someone their ages, right?

4) Linda performed The National Anthem at Game 3 of the 1977 World Series. The New York Yankees won both that game and the series. How is your baseball team doing this season?

 

 

Oh, I haven't paid attention to baseball in mannnnnny years. Hubs' mother's team was the Cubs. And so Hubs gets excited when the Cubs do well. Like when they won the Series a few years ago. And so I get excited when the Cubs do well, too.

 

5) On the sleeve for this record, Linda was photographed on roller skates. Emergency rooms report a spike in wrist injuries, with people falling off skates and skateboards and jamming their wrists catching softballs. Have you recently been to the Emergency Room or Urgent Care? 

 

 

{Note: This is not my arm. My arm, in fact, actually bruised much worse, but it always does.} It isn't really about the bruise I have, from a recent, but what lies beneath. Hubs has been wanting to take me to the ER for days. We think I may have a superficial vein thrombosis or something similar. That, the extreme pain when certain things touch certain areas of my arm, and the clotting disorder I have have him very worried. But you all know I'm stubborn, right? So I haven't gone.

 

6) It's July, so summer is in full swing. Bug bites are a big summer annoyance. Are you itching and scratching this morning?

 

 

No, not at all. {Knock wood.} We've been using these Mosquite Wipes from Aunt Fannie's for the first time, and so far, so good. Even when we've been to the beach, no buggies. They come in individual packs (which I like for venturing out) and big canisters (which I like for just using here). Plus the brand has a TON of other remedies. I buy them Grove Collaborative, which I ADORE. If you haven't tried Grove yet, you can use my link here if you decide to place a small order for the wipes or anything else, and you can get a FREE full-size gift set. I love them. ♥

 

{ CUE LONG, OVERNIGHT INTERMISSION INTO SUNDAY, WHILE I TAKE 3 NAPS, ETC... }

 

Since this is our last Saturday 9 before Independence Day, let's ask some questions related to the holiday. 

 

   

 

6) The Pennsylvania Evening Post was the first newspaper to print the Declaration of Independence. What's the most recent printed media you have read (newspaper, magazine, newsletter, etc.)?

 

 

I've had, in my hot little hands, a copy of the May-June 2022 issue of Veranda magazine. And I subscribe to the belief system hinted at on the cover: house as storyteller. Definitely maximalism. I no longer shy away.

7) In high school, Sam was crazy about American history and got good grades. Science was her worst subject. In high school, where did you shine? In what subject were your grades not so hot?

 

 

I really didn't have a not-so-hot subject, but I excelled mostly in science and math. If anything, our subjects were reversed but only because I had to work at Social Studies.

8) The first 4th of July parade each year is held at 12:01 AM in Gatlinberg, TN. Will you attend a parade or fireworks to celebrate the 4th?

 

 

That's definitely the plan, yes. We'll go to a fireworks show here in our town, which is kind of the biggest little city here on the Delmarva Peninsula. Next year, maybe, we'll brave Ocean City for the fireworks, where I'm sure it's quite amazing. (I'm sure the critters don't think so.)

9) Americans love to celebrate our independence. In fact, there are more than 30 towns all across the US called Independence. There are two in MN alone (one outside Duluth, the other west of Minneapolis). Please google it and let us know: does your state have an Independence?

 

 

I don't think so; all I could find was a yacht. Hey, can I go?

 

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Welp, I'm a day late and a dollar short, so if you stop by, thank you very much, ♥, and if you don't, who could blame ye?

 

Now don't go out there and blow your hand off with some rockets or whatever. Leave the pyrotechnics to the professionals.

 

Fin.