You know those songs that get stuck in your head?

This is one of those videos that gets stuck in your head.

Check it out:

Really? Really??

Last year we saw the traveling production of Rock of Ages, the Broadway show based on 1980s heavy metal/hair band music.  And it was fun.  It was campy fun.

Did you know they are making it into a movie?

Neither did I.

Did you know that it will star Tom Cruise?

Neither did I.

Check out the trailer:

It also stars that cute as a bug little Julianne Hough, Alec Baldwin, and Paul (Pig Vomit) Giamatti and a cast of hundreds.

But Tom Cruise?

I'm sorry, but ewwww. It just seems creepy.

Dark Shadows!

Have you seen the trailer to the new Dark Shadows movie?

Oh Lawzy, it looks like fun!

I will be first in line (cyberly) to get tickets!  Yes, I am that excited about this.

p.s. Fabulous soundtrack, don't you think?

Almost Valentine's Day . . .

and really?  Do I care?

Not so much.  I don't have a pretty crepe-paper covered shoebox all decorated up with heart doilies and glitter for all my friends to put their Valentines into.  I guess if my kids were little I would have more fun with Valentine's Day.  When the kids were little I used to decorate the house.  Actually, because Rachel Pie's birthday is 3 weeks prior, I used to put up pink and white streamers and balloons and stuff for her birthday and then afterwards I would add in the red and the Valentine's decorations.  It was fun for me to have lots of seasonal decorations up.  

But now?  Not so much.  Not that I am bitter or sad or anything, it's just another day and I hope that I do a good job letting people know I love them all the other days of the year and don't need to save it up for just one day.

Did any of you watch the Grammys last night?  Holy Smoke, there's nothing like the Grammys to make you feel like an old fart!  Who were all those people?  I hate it when I realize how uncool I am and how much I don't know about the new kids on the block!

Here are my thoughts on the Grammy Evening:

1. LL Cool J - looked smoking hot in his tux.  He was a fabulous host.

2. Starting out the evening with Bruce Springsteen, awesome move!  He was great.

3. There was a commercial for Mastercard, one of those "Priceless" ones, showing an older couple in Buenos Aires shopping and taking tango lessons and then actually getting out on the dance floor at the end with the professionals.  It was a perfect ad!  Loved it.  Do you think I can find it on youtube to share it with you?  Nope.  When I do find it, I will post it.

4. Adele!!!   She was wonderful.  Loved her.

5. Katy Perry looked better with pink hair than the blue.

6. Did you see the ad with Willie Nelson singing the Coldplay song?  It was so good.  Here, watch this:

I don't know what any of this has to do with Chipotle, but it's a great little film/commercial nevertheless.

7. Nicki Minaj - W T F ???  I don't really know what to say about her attire or performance.  And she sooo out-Gagaed poor Lady Gaga sitting there with a bird cage on her face.  But if that's the best Nicki Minaj can do, well, I have no hopes of seeing her at any future award shows.

8.  And believe it or don't, another ad!!!

9. And the BEST thing on the Grammys . . .

THE CIVIL WARS!!!

O. m. g.  I fell in love listening to them.  Beautiful voices, perfect harmony, it was soul-stirring.

Here's a link to the official video of the song they performed:

Have a happy Valentine's day or a happy Tuesday, whichever works best for you tomorrow!!

I want to do this

You may or may not know of my love of AC/DC.

Here is the list of the Top AC/DC inspired Christmas light extravaganzas.

Enjoy!!

This one is my favorite, not just because it's my favorite AC/DC song, but because it's THREE HOUSES all synched together to the music.  How awesome is that??

Any one think The Colonel and Miss Betty want to team up with us for an AC/DC themed Christmas?

Merry Christmas!

Exciting News from Broadway

You know how every one who has ever recorded more than 3 songs now has a musical production being made with a storyline of their music?

Jersey Boys.

Rain.

Billy Joel. (what was the name of that one?)

Mamma Mia

etc., etc., ad nauseum.

I just read in the news that there's another one coming down the pike.  Yay!  It's gonna be a good one.

Any guesses as to whom?

Well, his name starts with John and ends with Denver!!


JOHN DENVER!

Here is what the article had to say: "A Moment in Time" follows the story of a mortally wounded marine in Afghanistan who recalls a happier time with his family in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. The project was developed by five-time Tony Award winner Stewart F. Lane, who was recently honored with the 2011 John Denver Spirit Award."




John Denver.

Has there ever been a more universally-loved performer than John Denver?  Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, in the 1970s had someone sing "Annie's Song" at their weddings.  That is one of my all time favorite songs.  I could listen to it on repeat for hours and hours.  (And I have. And I still do!)  The emotion always overwhelms me and I end in joyous tears.


The only redeeming thing about that shitty Pauly Shore movie "Son-in-law" was John Denver's "Thank God I'm a Country Boy".


And as far as I am concerned there is nothing that says "Hey, it's Christmas time!" like John Denver and the Muppets singing the Twelve Days of Christmas.

John Denver took us to the tops of the Rocky Mountains.  He took us all under the sea with Jacques Cousteau.  And it was his dream to go into space.  If he could imagine it, he could sing about it and take us there.

I will leave you with an absolutely gorgeous live version of "Annie's Song" to make your heart swell and send you on your day with joy.

Is he still a Rhinestone Cowboy?

In other news, it was announced today that Glenn Campbell has Alzheimer's disease.

Here's what his wife had to say:

Campbell and his wife Kim have now gone public with the diagnosis ahead of a number of planned retirement shows later this year, revealing they don't want fans to worry if he forgets his lines.


Kim tells People magazine, "Glen is still an awesome guitar player and singer. But if he flubs a lyric or gets confused on stage, I wouldn't want people to think, 'What's the matter with him? Is he drunk?'"


Okay, I totally get the full disclosure so that he gets the most support and understanding while on tour, what I don't get is why they are trotting out a 75 year old guy with Alzheimer's for people to look at.  


This just seems sad and wrong and voyeuristic on so many levels.  


And I am sorry, but my brain is coming up with all kinds of jokes that are in really poor taste about this situation.  I won't tell you, because really?  That's just mean to go there.


He was really talented and so popular back in the day.  Here is a little trip down Glen Campbell memory lane.

See there?  That's a pretty handsome young man from Arkansas!  And look at the next one.  He knew Elvis!

And he was in True Grit with John Wayne.

He was singing about the Wichita Lineman.

And unlike Kenny Rogers who went out and got himself a new face, Glen Campbell aged just like a man of his life experience and years of hard partying should.  Nothing wrong with that.

And then this happened.  But I think this HAD to happen in order for him to get himself straight and sober and in touch with his personal Higher Power.

But he will always look like this to me.  And he will be singing Gentle on my Mind.

East Side, West Side, whatever

Last night we had our tickets to West Side Story.  It was one of our Broadway Across America lineup. When we knew we were moving to this city in the summer of 2003 and we knew that 2 couples who were our best friends in Mexico City were also moving here we all decided to get the season tickets to the Broadway touring shows that come to The Majestic Theater this is one of my all-time favorite venues. It is just gorgeous inside.  Scope out the link to the theater and see what I mean.  It is set up like you are in a courtyard of a gorgeous old Italian/Spanish villa and the ceiling is all curved/domed and made to look like the night sky.  And get this!  As the evening goes on you see more and more stars twinkling and little wisps of clouds moving across.  It is just one of the most spectacular places and still a very cozy and welcoming atmosphere.

Back to West Side Story, I do remember my parents had the soundtrack to the movie and played it so I knew all the songs before I ever saw the movie on t.v.  And in 9th grade we studied Romeo and Juliet along with West Side Story, together in the same book.  I still have it.  So I thought I knew a bit about the show.  And for some reason I remembered that the Sharks were the Puerto Rican gang and that the Jets were Italian.  Maybe because Richard Beymer, who played Tony opposite Natalie Wood looks Italian?

Early on in the play last night, it was apparent that they were trying to show the gangs as Latino vs Mixed Heritage But Definitely White Guys.  This was puzzling to me as I said I thought the Jets were supposed to be Italian.  How they were supposed to tell Italians from Puerto Ricans at a distance, I did not know.  But Anyhoo, then Maria asks Tony what "Tony" stands for and he says Anton, that his family is Polish.  Really?

So I did what anyone would do and got on Wikipedia and looked up West Side Story.  And Lordy, is there some back story behind getting this thing on Broadway.  Started and shelved, producer fighting with song writers, shelved again, it just went on and on and on.

But!  And here's the interesting bit.  It was originally conceived as EAST Side Story and the gangs were Italian Roman Catholic and Jewish Holocaust survivors.  It was to take place a little earlier (due to all the shelving and fighting) and Maria's family was the Jewish one and of course Tony is the Catholic Italian boy.

Maybe someone should have told them that they changed Tony's ethnicity before casting ol' Richard Beymer up there?

After many fights and shelving and carrying on this play finally got made and was nominated for a bunch of  Tonys and won most of them.  Then the movie was nominated for 11 Academy Awards and received 10.  A very successful venture both on stage and on film.

My son, the ever-so-clever-and-handsome Sparky and his girlfriend went with us last night and afterwards he commented that he had never seen the show or the movie but that he surprised himself by knowing almost all the songs.  He just didn't realize they were all from West Side Story.  That's how prevalent in our culture this music has become.  Looking it up, I could not believe how many people have remade these songs.

It has been forever since I had seen the movie and I had never seen a live performance and I was so glad I did.  And after thinking about it for a while, I have to say my favorite character is Anita.  Now she is a girl who can hold her own and kick some ass!  Hurray to Chita Rivera for playing the original Anita on Broadway and to Rita Moreno for following up with her own version in the movie.  The Anita in our traveling group last night was wonderful.  She really shone.

And with that I am now looking forward to Rock of Ages!  It will be too much fun.  If you look back at the Broadway Across America site you can see that we have a fabulous line-up for next season.  Every single one a winner.  Usually there are one or two that I don't care about.  But this next one?  Going to be killer!  And here I was debating on whether to renew our seats for next year or just go with Spurs tickets instead.

So, my question to you, dear reader is this, do you also like musical theater?  If so, what are your favorites?  If not, why the hell not?  Let me hear from you!  It brightens my day.

What to post

I have been trying all morning to decide what to talk about here.  And I was perusing previous posts and you know what?

It seems like all I ever do is promise to follow up one post with some pictures and stories that tell you the rest of the story.  And then . . . . . nothing.  wth?

I had no idea I was that big of a dingbat.  So I either need to come up with a system that tells me it is time to take some pictures and do a follow-up post, or I need to just shut the hell up and quit promising things I am clearly not capable of delivering.

Did any of you notice that I do this?  If not, never mind.

But!  I do have something awesome to show you.

This is actually courtesy of Mr. Big Ed.  Follow the link here to the Washington Post and see this slide show.  I tried and tried to capture each photo and post them individually here and could not make it happen.  I also have no idea how to imbed this slide show here.  So please, click over to the Washington Post and scope this out.

If you have been here for any length of time you already know about my love of Peeps.  And did you know that you can go to the Peeps website and have loads of fun??  When you are in the Peeps site, click on the general store and there are gift tags, coloring pages, wallpaper, all sorts of fun things you can print up.  Not to mention recipes using Peeps!  Love the Peeps!!

Since St. Patrick's Day I have been listening to my Irish Drinking Music and I finally had my fill of The Clancy Brothers and switched today to my 70's Soul Music.  This is my go-to play list.  What could be any better than a couple hours worth of Marvin Gaye, Al Green, Teddy Pendergrass, Barry White, The Four Tops, The Temptations, Isley Bros.?

I got sucked into a 30 minute long infomercial the other night by Smokey Robinson.  It was all Time-Life DVDs of Soul Train.  And do you know it took the the whole 30 minutes to figure out that the Soul Train DVDs in question were in fact . . . . DVDs???

The whole flipping time I was thinking that it was going to be cds to listen to, not watch.  What a goober!  Anyhoo, if you haven't seen old Soul Train episodes in a long, long time you are probably like me and didn't remember how epic the outfits and the hair was!  O.M.G. Indeed!

I am probably going to have to go to the Time-Life site and order the damn set.  Oh!  And the DVDs are supposed to include the old Afro-Sheen and Ultra-Sheen cosmetics commercials.  Woot!

I really didn't like being a boring white person without an afro in the 1970's.  I could have rocked a nice big afro and carried a pick in my back pocket.  But no, sadly I am just a generic Irish-German white person.

It is only a month till Easter.  Time to start making my plans.  It's not like I have that much to do with grown kidlets and no grandbabies yet.  Pretty much it's just a few decorations, and planning the Easter menu.  And that has become entirely too easy since we have settled on our very traditional Easter paella. I mean paella is a big one dish meal with some salad and bread.  I still boil and color eggs so that we can have deviled eggs, egg salad and such afterwards.

Enough rambling from me.  Let me hear from you!  And I hope it's a great day for you.  Thanks for stopping by.

yet another post about Christmas songs

I know, I know, you have heard all you want about Christmas music in addition to actually HEARING the flipping songs all day long.  But in the interest of full disclosure, I wanted to share a couple more thoughts about this topic.

I make a huge production of finding just the right song to be ringtones for all the people on my cel phone. Then I make another production of getting a separate default ringtone and finally!  one more prodcution for the Caller Tune that you get to listen to while you are waiting for me to answer my damn phone.  Not long after Halloween my Caller Tune gets switched to a Christmas song, because why not!

So I went through the list of songs available and I now have the cheesiest songs available for my ring tone and also for the Caller Tune.  (Why on earth am I capitalizing Caller Tune? Is there a trademark thing?)

Which songs did I choose?  Well, you could call me to find out one of them.  Or you could be in the room with me when someone else calls to hear the other.  But the fastest way would be for me to just get on with it and TELL YOU!

Caller Tune that you get to listen to when you call me is:


All I Want for Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey - now the ONLY reason I have this one is because of the movie Love, Actually.  I adore that movie and really love when that little girl is singing this song.  I like this even more than I dislike Mariah Carey, so that's something.

And drum roll . . . . . . . . .

The cheesey song I get to hear when you call me is . . . . . .


Last Christmas by Wham!

Hilarious, is what that is!  What on earth could be funnier than George Michael singing Christmas carols?

It's a gorgeous day out there, get out and enjoy it.  Finish up your holiday preparations, whether it be card writing, present shopping, gift wrapping and shipping or planning your menu.  And sing some Christmas carols while you are doing your thing.

Christmas

Last year about this time I posted a rant about the Christmas songs I just can't abide.  You can see that here if you are interested.  I just re-read it and I still firmly believe that those Top 3 songs are an abomination. Horrible crap that never should have been recorded.

So this year, I would like to focus on the really good and fabulous Christmas songs and carols.  Just as a quick little review, Christmas songs are new-ish, they are about Santa, snowmen, bells and buying crap.  Christmas carols are about baby Jesus, stars, Virgin Mary, faith and are usually found in a hymnal.  I am not saying all Christmas songs are bad and all Christmas carols are good.  There is good and bad in all these things.  There are also plenty of songs that are not recorded to celebrate anything other than the record label's ability to separate us from our folding money.

To me, the good songs are the ones that make you feel something.  Joy, love, anticipation or just plain happiness that you can remember all the verses!

And again, in no particular order, here are some of my favorite Carols/Songs.

O Come All Ye Faithful - this has always been one of my favorites.  It really makes you want to stand tall, sing out loud and feel how your soul soars.  Awesome, in every sense of the word.

Away in a Manger - One of the first carols everyone learns.

The First Noel - when you get to the "Born is the King of Is-rael!" part, you can't help but tear up, can you?

The Twelve Days of Christmas - I love this song!  My favorite version is with John Denver and the Muppets.  Such a happy song.

Silent Night - This is the traditional song to end all Christmas Eve church services with all the lights out and everyone with lit candles.  It doesn't get any more reverent than this.

Holly Jolly Christmas - It does not feel like Christmas till Burl Ives sings this one.

I'll Be Home for Christmas - When I lived in Chile our American Women's group would have a huge Christmas luncheon with silent auctions, quilt raffles and all sorts of festive things.  After we ate we would all sing Christmas carols and then finish by standing  in a huge circle holding hands and singing this song.  Never a dry eye by the end.  It was so emotional for many of the long-time residents who never got back home for Christmas.  Then of course, we would walk out into the Chilean summer sunshine and get knocked back into reality.

But for a few hours, we were all cozy wearing our Christmas finery and dreaming of cold snowy holidays.

I listen to Christmas music darn near all year long.  Actually, my home phone ringer is "We Wish you a Merry Christmas" so yeah, I do hear Christmas music all year long!

There are so many good ones to pick from that I could be here listing them all day.  And that makes it all the more ridiculous that they have to play those horrendous Top 3 Songs That Never Need to be Played Again.  Hummmppphh.

What are your favorites?  Do you have any that you despise?  Are they different than mine?

Lemme hear from you!

Resemblence?

Anyone see this photo in the news last week?

I am not here to make any commentary about Giants vs Rangers, although you might be able to guess which team I would be supporting.  

But when I saw this photo, the first thing that popped into my head was this:

Remember that?  If you saw Dazed and Confused, there is no way you can forget Wiley Wiggins doing that.  Because he did it about 5 gazillion times!  I wanted to reach through the screen and smack his hand right off his forehead.  Stop it!  For the love of cheese and crackers, stop it!

You would hate me and never look at this blog again if I were to post a picture of each and every time little Wiley Wiggins did this.  So I won't.

But what I will do is this, I will tell you that Dazed and Confused was a movie about 1976.  Most specifically it is about a Texas high school class graduating in 1976.  You know who else graduated from a Texas high school in 1976?  

Me!  That's who!

We wore those clothes.  We wore that hair.  We smoked that pot.  We drank that beer.  We partied like they did, but our parties were around various lakes and creeks.  We went to Foghat concerts.  

What we did NOT do was that horrific hazing of paddling.  Maybe the boys did crap like that, but I was never party to anything like that.  And as a matter of fact, I don't think any boys I knew and liked would have done anything that stupid.

But other than that?  That was us.  

Except for the Wiley Wiggins smooshing his forehead every chance he got.  Nobody did that.  Until now.  And he wears a SF Giants uniform!  : )

Enjoy your day, and put on some Slow Ride for heaven's sake!

More Randomness

Firstly, and most importantly, I want to say a big Thank You!  to all of you who are reading my drivel and still come back for more.  It does my heart good to see a comment or two.  So thank you.  You are appreciated.  And I mean that sincerely.

Secondly, Did you know that in 3 months and 9 days it will be Christmas?  Have you considered that?  Have you started your gift making, shopping, planning, listing, wrapping, decorating?  Any of it?  Heaven knows I haven't.  Good Lord, the year is 3/4 gone and I haven't even started!  Aaaarrrrgghh!  What am I going to do this year?  I feel like I am running out of ideas for good, clever and useful things to make.

Third, Halloween candy!  I am so excited about going shopping today for my first batch of Halloween candy.  Typically, I end up buying it 3 times between Sept. and Halloween.  So, today is the day!  Candy corn!  Reece's!  Teeny little Hershey's bars! Those cute little pumpkin things that taste just like Candy Corn!  Woot!!  Which is your favorite?

Fourth, Michael Franti has a new album coming out next week.  You need to run over to his site and check it out.  If you call me, you get to hear him on my Caller Tunes, plus he is also my default ringtone this year.

Fifth, Speaking of default ringtones; do you assign ringtones to certain individuals or groups of people?  I do.  And of course, I think some of my choices are hilarious!  Some are not necessarily hilarious but they are appropriate.

Sixth, tonight is the finale to the snoozefest that was Big Brother this summer.  And it is about flipping time.  Good Lord, has this season been boring.  Also, just before that is the season opener of Survivor with Jimmy Johnson and no hairspray.  I hope he hangs in for a really long time just so we can see him without hair products!  Love it!

Seventh, I wanted to update you on my sickly pet situation.  Fergus Jackson MacPhee, the kitty who was at death's door this summer?  36 hours before the cruise?  He is doing really well.  His transfusion plus this tonic made of vitamins and liver and heaven only knows what else has made a world of difference.  Not to mention all the prayers, well wishes and good vibes.  Yea Fergus!!  And Maxwell Banks II, the schnauzer with bladder stones?  He is on the mend and had all his staples removed from his incisions. He is on a special diet for now.

I am truly grateful for all your thoughts towards my little furry 4-legged babes.  Thanks, internet friends!!

Music

My free association post the other day got me to thinking about my favorite music.  And that leads to thinking about how certain songs or bands evoke memories that are as real today as they were the first time you heard that song.  Interesting, isn't it?

So without further ado, here are some of my favorites, my go-to music, the songs that make my heart sing, or make me nostalgic, you get the idea.

1. Anything by Jerry Jeff Walker.  If you grew up in Texas in the '70s then you know all about the JJW, Waylon Jennings, Gary P. Nunn, Willie Nelson style of music that was popular.  Note: this is where that great song by the douche bag David Allan Coe comes in.  I used to have a running debate with a friend over who was better, Jerry Jeff or Jimmy Buffett.  They are both great, they just have their own style. Jimmy Buffett took Florida and the Caribbean and Jerry Jeff took Texas.

2. Now I have to follow up Jerry Jeff with Jimmy Buffett, because one leads to the other in my memories.

3. AC/DC - seriously the BEST!  When I have an all day long cooking affair going in the kitchen, you can bet your ass that AC/DC will be being blasted.  Keeps your energy up and keeps you moving.

4. Eros Ramazzotti - If you haven't heard his voice before you are in for a treat.  Go here and check it out.  When one of my favorite movies came out "Only You" with Robert Downey Jr. and Marissa Tomei, I noticed that Eros Ramazzotti music kept playing in the background when they were in Italy.

5. Mary Chapin Carpenter - One of my favorite songs Passionate Kisses seems like an anthem we should all wish for ourselves and our daughters.

6. Praan - this is the name of the song that is the soundtrack to Where the Hell is Matt  This is one of my favorite sites to visit.  Watch this video if you need to be uplifted.  It is impossible to frown and be sad while watching and listening.

7. Andrea Bocelli - If you are cooking or eating Italian food you may want to throw some Andrea Bocelli on to enhance that experience.  This song will surely make your heart sing.

8. Patsy Cline - I can't even imagine life without Patsy Cline.  And it's one of those heartbreaking things to think of how much we were all robbed by her dying so young.  Here is a little video of Patsy.

9. 70's Soul Music!!  Most especially Al Green.  I swear I don't know why I was born such a white girl. If I wasn't, I would have been rocking a big afro in the '70s, that is for sure.  I know that Memphis is home to Elvis and Graceland, but for me?  No other reason to go except to see Rev. Al Green. Enjoy a little music to take you back, won't you?

10. and finally to round out the Top 10, Marvin Gaye.  We all know his hits, but if you haven't seen him sing this you need to click over right now.  Marvin, r.i.p. We love you and miss you.

Random Musings and such

Yea!!!!  This is one of the chairs to my beautiful breakfast room dining set.  I just had the chairs refinished, refurbished and re-upholstered.  I immediately got "buyers remorse" after I bought that fabric and wasn't sure how I would like it.  But I believe they turned out nicely.

Let me just tell you how I came to be the proud owner of such beautiful furnishings.  Way back in 1981, around August or Sept., I was toodling along in my car which was the cutest thing you have ever seen in your life.  Let me just show you a quick photo of Molly.  I think you will agree, the cutest thing ever.

This is a cousin of my car Molly.  Molly Metropolitan. Molly was a 1959 Nash Metropolitan.  Hilariously cute car!  I would drive down the road and people would point and smile and laugh.  Every day.  It was that cute.  Molly was described as a soap dish, a tennis shoe, one of those weird amphibeous cars that turn into a boat, all sorts of things.  And I can promise you this, I have never before nor since gotten such great gas mileage.  Loved that car.

Back to the quick little story of the antique furniture.  So there I was just toodling down the back streets going to the grocery store, when out of the corner of my eye I spied the prettiest little sideboard just sitting in some people's carport.  I went to the store and on my way home I thought I would go back by there and see if perhaps it was for sale.  As I was walking up to their door I saw that there was also a china cabinet, a table and six chairs.  All matching.  Anyhoo, I rang the bell and asked about the furniture and the lady told me this really long story of how much she loved that dining room set but that her husband's aunt out in Tennessee called them and said that she wanted to leave him, her only living relative, all the family antique furniture, and could he pay for the freight to ship it to Texas?  So the new-to-them family antiques had arrived and now the set that that she had had previously (my set) was relegated to the carport till they could get it sold, even if this set was way prettier than the new-to-them set they had just gotten from the aunt.  So I wrote down my name and number for her and asked her to talk to her husband and come up with a price.  I really wanted it and I really wanted it moved indoors before it sat out in the weather and ruined.  Then I went home and called my boss who loved her some antiques.  She was one of those people with a real eye for quality and knew how to safely strip, refinish and show off these prizes.  I told her all about this set and asked her to guesstimate the value so I would have a better idea when they called me with a price.

The owners of said furniture called me about an hour later with a price of about 20% of what my boss told me I should pay.  20%.  NOT 20% off.  More like 80% off.  Only paying 20%.  So I said SOLD! And then he said, "Can I deliver this to you so it doesn't sit out in the carport overnight?"

SCORE!!!

When I got this set the chair seats had kind of an ugly white/ecru color with a strange pattern fabric.  A couple years later I re-upholstered them and took off the ugly white to discover that it was actually re-purposed drapes with that rubber backing on them to keep out the heat and light.  Under that was a gross watermelon red color and under that was the original beautiful wine, claret colored velvet.

Over the years, this dining room set has been with us through 4 countries and 9 moves.  The seats have had a variety of fabric coverings.  This is the first time I have gone with a plaid.    It takes me a while to adjust to change, so I am still not too sure about this one.

And here is a neon sign I had to take a pic of to share with you.  I was at a very famous local hamburger joint the other day and looked up at this sign and wondered to myself, WTF???  Have a look.

Seriously?  Nacho's??  Nacho's what?  Nacho's bad grammar?  Nacho's bad signage?  Aaarrrrgggghh!! Why, oh why, is there an apostrophe there?  Idiots.  They are everywhere.

And here is one of Mr. Big Ed's birthday gifts I thought you might like to see.  I found this at one of my favorite new stores. P'lovers is a wonderful ecological store that sells some of the coolest stuff.  Lots of recycled and organic stuff. (and another place with a weird apostrophe)

Look here at what I got Mr. Big Ed.

In the first picture you can tell that this is a record album.  In the second you can tell more clearly that it has been re-shaped and re-purposed as a bowl.  And in the third you can see that it was a Bob Dylan greatest hits album.  Now, if you know anything at all about Mr. Big Ed, you know that he loves some Bob Dylan.  And now, he has his very own Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Volume II bowl with which to store his crap.

Personally, I don't care for Mr. Dylan's singing.  But I know, it is un-American to say that out loud.  When we lived in Minneapolis, home town of Bob Dylan, he was touring with his unplugged acoustic version of all his songs and Mr. Big Ed was beside himself with giddyness to go to this show.  He and the kids went and enjoyed themselves immensely.  I on the other hand, stayed home and did not subject my ears to 2 hours of Bob Dylan Live.  Which is practically what I get when I have to ride in Mr. Big Ed's car.  He has a six disc changer in his car and at all times, 5 of the 6 discs are Dylan.  Seriously?  Aaarrrggghhh!  again.

And here are 2 more photos of my furry babies.  Just for fun.

This is my camera-shy Princess Nikita Babushka.  I don't know why she was avoiding the camera today, but every time she saw it she turned her head.  She is a beautiful girl with gorgeous baby blue eyes.  I love my Husky!

Stretched out on top of this buffet is Stanley Manley.  He is one handsome cat.  Stanley is the twin brother to Lester Buster.  It's not clear in this particular photo but Stanley has one green eye and one blue eye.  And cute black specks on his little pink nose.  If looks were what we based awesome pets on, Stanley would be a winner.  He has it going on in the looks department.  What he has problems with is 2 things.  He's a shedder.  And he's a pisser.  He sheds and pisses all over things.  It is aggravating in the extreme.  Other than that . . . .

Turn it up and enjoy

Words to Live by


I know this is the band everyone loves to hate, and I can't figure out why.  I love them and listen to them in my car all the time.  And this song is AWESOME.