





9) Random question: Who is the wisest person you know?
Hi everyone, hi, here I am, here I am (she said, breathlessly running in)! I know, I'm a day late and a dollar short.
Skip if you don't want to read a medical complaint. {I did something to my entire upper half the other day. Thursday. I'm sitting on the edge of my bed, and I turn, and reach at the same time, in apparently just the wrong way, and throw my entire pectoral girdle out of alignment. You know, I have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, which affects the collagen and other structural elements of the body. So whereas you or most other people might general have organized, intact scaffolding that makes nice, organized building blocks for the body to build on and move around, my my scaffolding ... is like trying to nail Jell-o to the wall. Anyway, from my right fingers and thumb, up my wrist all the way to my shoulder, throughout my clavicle and rib cage, encompassing both shoulders, down the left arm, and to all five left fingertips, there has been a complete or at least partial dislocation of just about everything in there. The pain has been intense. It still is. I'm amazed I can type this today, because I could barely use my right hand yesterday. I think I'm making progress, but I also know that for the past three days, I should've gone to the Emergency Room and haven't. Eh, well.}
We've had an eventful week besides, mostly with the kids and not a lot I can talk about here, so that's a shame. Ha! If you want to join in with yesterday's (why not? The more the merrier! Better late than never!) Saturday 9, link up here. As for me, I'm jumping in:
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Saturday 9 -- Mahler: Symphony No. 8 (1968)
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.
1) Mahler's No. 8 is sometimes referred to as "Symphony of a Thousand" because it was scored for a large orchestra and choral force. Do you often listen to classical music?
I sometimes do. Not enough to really know what I'm talking about. My favorite is Beethoven's 9th. To me, it's an absolute gift to the world, the masterpiece among masterpieces. I cry sometimes when I listen to it, knowing he wrote it and re-rewrote it and re-wrote it until it was perfect, which it was, even though he couldn't hear it. And then he died. I'm so moved by it.
2) This piece has solos for each of the main vocal ranges: soprano, alto, tenor, bass. Do you know which range your voice is in?
I'm a first soprano.
3) Historians tell us Mahler kept fit by swimming and riding his bike along the Alpine trails. What's your favorite form of exercise?
I can't do a lot these days, but when I can, I prefer to do to yoga. If it's summer, I like to try to get to the beach as much as I can.
4) Mahler could be difficult to work with because when it came to his music, he was a stickler over even the most minor details and wouldn't give an inch. Would you rather work as part of a team or on your own?
Not gonna lie, I would much rather work on my own, unless I had an amazing partner who was always on the same wavelength as me. Like Hubs.
5) This week's featured artist, Leonard Bernstein, said his father didn't want him to pursue music. Instead the elder Bernstein wanted his son to either join the family business (a beauty supply company) or become a rabbi. Did your family try to influence your choice of career?
My father did, even though he's complained bitterly about his father doing that to him for his entire life. He's still doing that, at age 80! I wanted to go into genetics when I was in college, and I was talking on the phone to my dad about it one day, and he gave me a stern warning about it basically being against our his religion cult, and I took it seriously enough not to further pursue genetics. I'm still a bit disappointed that I didn't go into genetics, but it's okay because I did get what I wanted: a loving family.
6) Bernstein's best-known work is West Side Story. Without looking it up, can you name a song from this beloved Broadway classic?
I cannot.
7) Born in Lawrence, MA, Bernstein "went home" when he performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood in Lenox, MA. Tanglewood has played host to a variety of musical artists. In 2022, Ringo Starr, Bonnie Raitt, and James Taylor all performed there (with James Taylor scheduled to return this summer, as well). What's the first concert you ever attended?
I can't remember if it was Whitney Houston or Bon Jovi that came first. Both were around the same time period. I do remember that Whitney was supposed to be at the Great New York State Fair, but she got rained out and wasn't going to take the chance with her voice (it was an outside venue), so her concert was rescheduled, and we went to that one as a family of six. For Jon Bongiovi and crew, it was just the four of us girls, probably when I was much too young to be learning what a "contact high" was - and getting one.
8) In 1968, when Bernstein released this album, a sitcom called Mayberry R.F.D. premiered. It was a spin off of the highly successful Andy Griffith Show, which ran from 1960 to 1968 and is still broadcast and streamed today. Were you an Andy Griffith Show fan?
Ehh, I guess. I don't seek it out, but if it's on at 3 AM and I'm alone in a hospital bed and can't sleep, it's a good way to pass the time. I'm not an anti-fan, I just dont' seek it out.
9) Random question: When people ask for your advice, what do they usually ask you about?
Usually it's either knitting or crochet, or parenting, especially of LGBTQ kiddos. Other stuff sometimes, but mostly that. Oh, and if they're one of my kids, then doing their taxes.
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Probably no one will read this, but if you did, thanks for stopping by and have a delightful week!
Fin.
Hey, everyone! I hope you're all having a good weekend. Right now, it is an exceedingly rainy Friday here on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Not necessarily great for our "anniversary B" date night tonight, but maybe good for the outside plants. I suppose we're seeing the oncoming hints of spring, which I will not ever complain about.
♥ Today is also my mommy's birthday. Happy birthday, Mama. If she hadn't died suddenly at 33 years old in 1984, then she would maybe be 72 today. I miss her every day of my life. ♥
Well, I'm going to get into it with Elton about Saturday Night. Wanna play? Link up here, too. Let's roll.
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Saturday 9: Saturday Night's Alright (1973)
Ladies and gents and everyone who identifies as both, neither, or something entirely else: welcome back! I love this song, as sung by Chaka Kahn in Waiting to Exhale. I like Old Blue Eyes' version of it, too, but I haven't heard it as much. I'll give it a listen in a moment, as should you.
Do you have Valentine's Day plans this year? Galentine's Day? Something else? All is fair. Rob and I are going out for dinner on the 17th for our "anniversary B," instead of on V-day, but it's still up in the air where we're going. I think we have reservations at three different places!
Time to get into the nitty-gritty here. Link up here if you're playing along this weekend. Let's go:
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Saturday 9: My Funny Valentine (1953)
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.
1) In this song, Frank sings that his lover is his favorite work of art. Tell us about a piece of artwork you can see from where you're sitting now. (Yes, that crayon drawing by your 5-year-old nephew counts.)
I'd have to say it's this faux-mantel 8-foot beam I asked Hubs to put up in my office this year for our stockings. We do Christmas in here, and we had nowhere to put our stocking last year, so I wanted to change that. He did a great job hanging it, and it's a lovely piece of wood. Plus now I can hang different, fun pom-pom garlands and put other stuff on top when it's not Christmas. That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/FiaUetCtS-4
Oh! Art! I have tons of my kid's art right here in this computer. There's a little animation of it at that link on YouTube, which for some reason I can't embed here. Have a look if you'd like.
2) He asks her to not change her hair. When will you next find yourself in the stylist's chair?
I do not know. My hair currently does not grow. Like hardly at all. The fact I could get it in this little tiny ponytail blows my everlovin' mind.
3) Sinatra is often photographed in hats because he began losing his hair while in his 30s. He wore a "rug" for TV, concert and film appearances but really didn't like it, considering the toupee merely part of his work attire. What do you wear when you wish to appear professional?
What do you mean, like "hospital chic," here? That's about the extent of my professional development these days. Hey wait, these hospital gowns are on to something... off to search.
4) Sinatra is best known for his singing and won an Oscar for his acting. But not many people know he liked to paint until his widow sold his paintings at auction. Do you have a secret talent?
I don't know if I have any secret talents worth selling at auction! I'm good with fiber and paper arts, and I try my hand at photography, but I do these for my own enjoyment -- and if someone else appreciates them, too, hey, great, fantastic. Bully for me, but I wasn't going for that.
5) As a kid, he was a paperboy in his hometown of Hoboken, NJ. Tell us about one of your early jobs.
When I was 15, I got a job at the small grocery store across from my dad's office building. I loved working there, I found, because the customers really brought out the hidden extroverted side of me. One of my customers, whose name I no longer remember, was a legitimate lumberjack, and he wore the requisite get-up every time I saw him, as above. (Lots of red plain flannel shirts. Lots of Carhartt overalls and hats. Gigantic-ass beard.) He had a big smile, shiny blue eye, a heart of gold, and a soft spot for me. If I was working when he came in, he'd always come through my line. I loved him. Granted, I was 15-16-17 and he was probably triple my age when I started here, so this wasn't that kind of "I loved him." I just really enjoyed him as a customer. He was so sad when he found out I was graduating high school and moving away. He went right over and bought a bunch of lottery tickets and stuffed them into my hands, gave me a hug, and left with little good-bye. Makes me wonder if he was a little teary. I probably was.
I wonder if I had the heart to tell him I wasn't old enough for those tickets.
This is the last Saturday 9 before ♥ Valentine's Day ♥ and so this morning we shall focus on the upcoming holiday.
6) The holiday is also known as The Feast of St. Valentine. Do you have a special meal planned for Tuesday?
No, not really. We generally do little for each other for V-day and celebrate our "Anniversary B" three days later on the 17th, as I said in my intro.
7) The phrase "wear your heart on your sleeve" began in medieval times. On Valentine's Day, men would celebrate the holiday by displaying their lady love's name on their sleeves. If you were going to adopt this custom, whose name would you wear?
You mean this fool? That would be hubs, mugging into my phone's camera, which was open when he came 'round. Goon.
8) Women buy and send more Valentines than men do. Who received the last greeting card you sent?
I really can't remember. I'm on the Paper Hugs Team at Mama Dragons, a wonderful organization serving the mamas of LGBTQIA youth, and I send so many cards I'd be hard-pressed to try and remember the last one I sent. Someone who was having a birthday, that's what I can say.
9) Sweethearts, those candy hearts with sayings like "BE MINE" stamped on them, began as throat lozenges. Are you fan of these little candies?
I'll eat them... if there's nothing else to eat. They're way better than candy corn, that's for damn sure. Come at me, bro!
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Well that was fun. Somehow on YouTube I've moved on from Frankie, gone through a bunch of old Michael Jackson songs, and now I've got Freddie Mercury and the boys crooning "Bohemian Rhapsody" at me. Not a bad way to end a post and go gently into that good night. (Well, it's 5 AM, about time I tried to catch at least 23 winks.) Take care, y'all, and enjoy your weekends!
Fin.
Happy Saturday, friends, neighbors, and kids of all ages! I'm getting a lah-haaaate start today. I've battled daily migraines for more than my entire adult life, save for a couple of years around when I had my youngest kiddo, and this last week has brought some of the worst in a long while. Seriously bad. But anyway, whatever; I'm here now, the woman of the hour, and you can all sit down and stop clapping now. Seriously, it's embarrassing.
I jest, I kid, I joke, I josh.
I hope you've all had ridiculously wonderful weeks well worth the wait! And now let's jump into the reason we're all here. Link up here if you're joining us this weekend. Away we go:
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Saturday 9: Beautiful (2005)