More Songs and Memory #MusicMovesMe

It's Monday and we all know what time it is - time for MUSIC!

 

Who are the members of Music Moves Me?  We are bloggers who blog about music each Monday.
So let's get started.  There's a linky below if you want to join up. If you have music to share with us, you are most welcome to join!  Just remember our simple rule:  you must include at least one You Tube or Vimeo video or your post may be subject to removal or labeling "NO MUSIC". You are welcome to write about music. too but we need that video!

Each month, we have a guest co-host and for August it's Stacy from Stacy Uncorked, 

 
Her theme for today is "You Pick" 

For myself I am continuing my theme "Songs that remind me of something in my life". It's been interesting thinking back on music I associate with certain events in my life.  One thing I learned is that I don't seem to associate music with events as much now as I did when I was younger.

I wonder why that is.

My first selection is from a time of great sadness for me.  When I was 12, my Mom died suddenly. That, along with becoming a teenager, messed up my sleep.  I would stay up long after my Dad (I was an only child and ended up being raised by my Dad) had fallen asleep.  Many nights, I would write poetry when I couldn't sleep (especially haiku) or listen to music on my transistor radio.

I've Got You, Babe by Sonny and Cher (1966) was one of the songs I remember the most about those late night insomnia sessions.

Younger Girl by the Lovin' Spoonful is another song from that era (1965).

1976's Year of the Cat - Al Stewart brings back memories of spouse and I driving to Iowa to visit my late Aunt in 1977.  It was almost an eight hour drive and we would visit over a three day weekend.  My 60-something self marvels at that.

Although the song came out in 1976, my memories of hearing it are more into early 1977.

 

Speaking of 1976, my spouse was in the Air Force and we were stationed at Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas. We arrived in June and it was such a hot summer.  This song is seared into my memory.

 

Blue Oyster Cult and "(Don't Fear the Reaper)" brings me right back to a large car with no air conditioning.  The car did have an 8 track player, though we melted our share of 8 track tapes in that too-hot car.

 

In November of 1975 my spouse and I were both unemployed and we decided to drive from our apartment in Tampa, Florida to our former homes in downstate New York to visit family.  As we crossed one of the bridges in New York City, this song came on - Miracles by Jefferson Starship.  This song has become one of the songs people used to get through our lockdown - how it passed the censors of 1975 I have no idea but, in fact, the song had to be cut almost in half to be able to be played as a single.  This is the full album version.

I really did try to come up with a more recent song for us to groove to and one finally came to me.  This song reminds me of the years of water aerobics and then water Zumba I took.  

 

Remember the good old days of "the before"?  This is the song I can't believe I've never had on my blog and I want this to be the song that plays when ol' Ms. Corona finally leaves us be.

My memory of when we could just be ourselves without fear - 2011's LMFAO and "Party Rock Album".  We'll be dancing in the streets for sure when Ms. Corona shuffles off.  (If only it was that simple.)

 

 Now to shuffle off until next Monday, same time, same place.  Enjoy your week, be sure to social distance and wear your mask when appropriate, and STAY SAFE.

Bee Happy Live Long and Dance

The bees are buzzing.  Fortunately, neither spouse or I are allergic to bee stings (as far as we know!) so it is fun to watch bees in action.

This one flew from zinnia to zinnia, doing its bee thing.

We rejoice in our fresh fruits and vegetables (and in fresh flowers for the table) even as we thank these tireless little workers.

Small Eggplants

My husband has been gardening for most of his life.  So have I, but I generally do the less strenuous work.  If you considered gardening for this special year, or if you actually tried it out:  did you know that gardening is good for you?

Consider this article on longevity and those who garden.

And then there's the cooking, and I will have a nice recipe for you later this month featuring either eggplant or tomato.  Maybe both!

Today also would have been singer Whitney Houston's 57th birthday.  She tragically passed away in 2012 at the age of 48.   For your Sunday dancing pleasure, I bring you her hit "I Wanna Dance with Somebody".  I'll have more music for you tomorrow when I participate in the Music Moves Me blogging group.

Happy Sunday to my readers.  I hope you are all staying safe.

You, Too Can Give A Daylily a Name

I'd love to have a day lily named after me.  It's nice to dream, especially in these times.

I've been writing almost every year about the Cutler Botanic Gardens in Binghamton, New York.  Maintained mainly by volunteers, it was recently recognized as an American Daylily Society Display Garden.

It has also been an AAS Display Garden for many years.

 I've been visiting their rose and their daylily gardens for years.  This time, I went towards the end of the season.

One thing that has always fascinated me is how daylilies get their name.  It's actually complicated, but a nursery in Vermont gives you the chance to name one of their daylilies for a price. 

Or, I could hybridize daylilies and hope for the best.  This is something actually an amateur can do, although it can get expensive. (Incidentally, I've met the man who wrote the articles on how to hybridize that I am linking to. Small world; turns out he worked at one time in Corporate America not that far from where I live.)

Come with me now and explore the day lilies (and their name, in one instance) at Cutler that are blooming towards the end of the daylily season.

Like history?  How about Mary Todd. (Actually I don't know if this was named after Mary Todd Lincoln.

Not all day lilies are named after people.

Huckleberry Candy

 Highland Lord 

Peggy Jeffcoat . 
I did find the story of who this one was named after. 

I am not quite ready, with my small daylily garden, to start hybridizing.

But I could pay my money and have someone do the work.  But one more thing.  Besides paying that naming fee, you also have to buy at least one plant of your namesake.

One day, will there be a daylily called Ramblin' with AM?

Isaias Clouds #SkywatchFriday

My part of upstate New York lucked out from the former Hurricane Isaias.  Unlike many parts of the Northeast, which were subjected to wind, tornadoes and heavy rains, our heavy rains were limited.  Fortunately, it's been drier than normal.

On August 3, as the storm approached (by then, no longer a hurricane), the clouds told us something was up.

This peaceful scene didn't tell the story of what was to come.

The next day, after the rain stopped.  Fortunately for us, the weather system moved quickly.

Finally, one of the puddle reflection photos I have so much fun taking.

Other parts of New York State are still without power, so we really lucked out.

Join Yogi and the other sky watching bloggers who gather each Friday for #SkywatchFriday.

An Anniversary and a Death

Today is the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombing of the city of Hiroshima, Japan, by the United States.

August 6, 1945 was a Monday morning.  At the time, Hiroshima had a population of about 300,000.    Here is one eyewitness account.  It is not easy reading.  Those who survived suffered unimaginable mental anguish for the rest of their lives (as did many of those who fought in World War II and all other wars.)

Survivors, most of whom are in their 80's and 90's, are still dying from effects of the bomb.

Years ago, I was able to see the Enola Gay, the airplane from which the bomb had dropped.  It's in a Smithsonian museum in Virginia (one well worth the visit).  Very, very sobering.  There is a memorial each year in Hiroshima, which has been rebuilt, but due to COVID-19, it had to be scaled way back.

It is also worthy to note that a number of the killed and survivors were Korean, forced by the Japanese to work in Hiroshima.

It's estimated that 2/3 of the population of Hiroshima died as a result of the bombing.

Soon, we will commemorate the 75th anniversary of V-J Day (the ending of World War II), with hopes that eventually our human race will find a way to permanent peace. 

More eyewitness accounts of the bombing.

And yesterday....

The world of journalism mourns another great:  Pete Hamill, dead at the age of 85.

Anyone who grew up in New York City during the 50's and 60's recognizes the name immediately.

He was the voice of New York, a journalist and novelist who spent part of his life at various New York City area papers - the New York Post, New York Newsday, and the New York Daily News.

One of my childhood memories is of my Dad, leaving for work five days a week.  Before climbing the steps of our elevated subway train station, he would stop at a "sweet shop" and get his New York Daily News.  He would read it on the subway ride from our apartment in the Bronx to his job in lower Manhattan, a commute which, many times, took more than an hour. 

On the way home, he would read the New York Post, which was an afternoon paper.

Then, he'd get home and give me the newspapers.  Back then, you got much of your news from the newspaper, and newspapers provided a lot of my early reading material.  Hamill became a reporter (he didn't want to be called a "journalist") for the Post in 1960 but eventually branched out into magazine article writing, and, later, became a novelist.

Pete worked for New York newspapers (including Newsday, a Long Island paper), New York magazines, and is said to have inspired Robert F. Kennedy to run for President.  Hamill was present when Kennedy was assassinated in 1968.  It is also said that Hamill's memoir inspired Frank McCourt to finish his best selling memoir, Angela's Ashes.

He witnessed the destruction of the World Trade Center on 9/11.

RIP, Pete Hamill.  You will be missed.

Tomato Butterfly #WordlessWednesday

One of the varieties of tomatoes spouse is growing in his community garden plot is called Big Rainbow.

It's a beefsteak variety, meaning it's large and meaty, with lots of liquid.

Yum.

This particular one got wrapped around a stem during its babyhood, and grew up into this.  To me, it looks like a butterfly.  We didn't plan what the stem looks like.  Unfortunately, getting this tomato extricated from the plant left a bruise on the left side so we'll have to use it right away.

I think this one is destined for a tomato and mayonnaise sandwich, one of my summer favs.

Joining Sandee of Comedy Plus for her #WordlessWednesday.

Blueberry Skies with One More Recipe

It's blueberry time again!  We went picking one last time (perhaps) for this year. 

The skies were blueberry blue.

The blueberries were blue, too. 

This time, the fields were a lot more crowded, despite us getting there not long after the U-Pick farm opened, so we had to wear our masks some of the time.  I quickly found out why - these were some of the best blueberries we've ever picked.

So, it's time for a recipe, quick and easy.  I've made this several times (no photos for you today).  It's adapted from a public Weight Watchers recipe.  I've seen a number of variations on the theme of this dessert online so there's little here that's a secret, and I will share with you how I make it.

My version was born from not having all the ingredients in the Weight Watchers recipe, and I like it so much that I haven't tried to make it the Weight Watchers way.

What I do is this:  I take an 8 inch square baking pan and line it with foil.  Put aside.

Make crumbs out of 6 squares graham crackers. 

Next, combine 1 cup of nonfat plain Greek yogurt, 1 1/2 tbsp maple syrup, 1 tsp lime juice, and about 1/2 tsp amount of lemon crystals (you can also use fresh lemon zest)..  Add 1 cup fresh blueberries and half of the graham cracker crumbs. Stir it all together.

Scoop into the prepared pan and level it out.  Top with remainder of graham cracker crumbs.

Freeze about an hour.  Cut into six even slices.  Serve frozen or let soften slightly.

A serving is one slice. 

Enjoy!

I've thought about some variations.  We have some Trader Joe's Key Lime cookies we might just substitute for the graham crackers next time.  Or, I could see this with Nilla Wafers, a childhood favorite of mine, instead of the crackers.

I wish you could come to my house and share....

What do you think?

Islands #MusicMovesMe

It's Monday, and it's time for Music Moves Me!

Who are the members of Music Moves Me ?  We are bloggers who blog about music each Monday. If you have music to share with us, you are most welcome to join!  Just remember our simple rule:  you must include at least one You Tube or Vimeo video or your post may be subject to removal or labeling "NO MUSIC". You are welcome to write about music. too but we need that video!

So let's get started.

Each month, we have a guest co-host and guess who the guest co-host is this month?

Let's welcome Stacy from Stacy Uncorked, our guest co-host for August!  Her theme for today is "Songs About Islands or an Island theme."

Oh, islands.  There are really all kinds of islands.  In fact, I was born on an island - New York State's Long Island, which is the 10th largest island in the United States.  Yes, it's not the kind of island we think of, but it's an island!  And for that reason, I am going to start this off with:

Long Island's Billy Joel and his song about Billy the Kid, who was probably born on the island of Manhattan in New York City.  Two islands for the price of one!

A good, almost deserted, distant one (not too hot and lots of shade) sure would hit the spot.

Why don't we start the "kind of island many of us are thinking of" set with 1956's Harry Belafonte and Jamaica Farewell.  I have to note that the use of "gay" in this song mean, back when this song was written, "happy".

When I think of islands and the tropics, I immediately think of Jimmy Buffet.  Sure enough he has recorded a song called "Island".

This song reminded me (for some reason) of the Beach Boys and their many, many, hits. Which one should I pick?  How about "Wouldn't It Be Nice?" because...it would be nice.

But the one I was really after was "Kokomo".

I wasn't familiar with this Pink Floyd song, San Tropez, but I sure enjoyed it.

I tried hard not using Elton John's "Island Girl" and Dolly Parton/Kenny Roger's "Islands in the Stream", but I am losing the battle.  Here's one of them.  Guess which one.

And that's a musical wrap.  Happy rest of the summer to you, dear readers.

Thank You For Flying SpaceX

Today, a United States space capsule touched down in the Gulf of Mexico, completing a journey that started some two months ago.

The last time a United States capsule touched down in water was 45 years ago (July 24, 1975, to be exact).  Many of my readers weren't even alive then.

For a time, we used space shuttles flown by Americans, but the program had two disasters - two too many, and at least one partially caused by cost cutting.

Then, for many years, our former enemy, Russia, had to take us back and forth.

Now, our space exploration can finally continue, in a joint partnership between NASA and private industry.  When the astronauts touched down into the Gulf, a ground person said "Thank you for flying SpaceX."

It reminded me of the old "Thank you for flying Lufthansa" joke about a plane that had to ditch in the ocean, and which I won't repeat here.

But you do have to admire pilots for their absolute cool.  If you have a few minutes, check out this video.

Back to SpaceX, what makes this even sweeter is that one of the two astronauts in the capsule, Doug Hurley, grew up in my local area.

What is a bit sobering is that the recovery crew all had to quarantine for two weeks and were tested for COVID-19 before being allowed to participate in the recovery.  It is good and right that we continue space exploration during this time, but these astronauts, as fate would have it, had to parachute into a corona virus hotspot.

I hope this program does not get sidetracked while we on Earth try to figure the pandemic out.

The Missing Festival

I took a walk in the park today with my husband.  Ordinary, right?

This is what I should have seen.  Crowds. 

Hot air balloons.

Food trucks.

Celebrations of spiedies, the food of our area of upstate New York.

This is what I saw instead.

This is on a path that would have been blocked off this weekend, normally.

Walkers, joggers, bicyclists were enjoying the park.   People sat at picnic tables (our state allows gatherings of up to 50 people with proper precautions.)

How many of us miss the annual Spiedie Fest and Balloon Rally?  Many of us, perhaps. But people all over the world have already lost and missed so much, it's a small thing.

It was a sunny, warm day.  It would have been so nice.

The organizers still hope to hold the festival in October.  Normally, attendance for the three days would be around 60,000 to 100,000.  This year, they will need to hold it to 5,000.(I'm not sure if that's a day or for the total).  It definitely won't be the same.

It's strange, perhaps, but I don't care.

I'm content just to be here.

Where The Path Lead #SkywatchFriday

Skywatch Friday, hosted every Friday by Yogi, brings together bloggers who watch the sky.  So, when I posted about a flood wall path last Friday, I was not expecting my readers to zero in on a path along a floodwall in my area of upstate New York.  I wondered where it went and my readers wanted to know.

Where did that path go?

So, is today the beginning of a new meme called Pathwatch Friday?  Not really.  But what I am going to show you demonstrates a truth that photography has taught me.  Enjoy.

I took these pictures on one side of the flood wall.

It's really pretty along the river, where the Queen Anne's Lace is blooming.

Love those puffy clouds and that blue river.  If you see little dots in the river, those are birds floating along.

And then, there's the other side of the flood wall.  Let's change our view just a little.

What I was showing you before is on the left.  Let's switch to the right.  Do you see something in the far right middle?

We are getting close to the end here.  You can barely see a highway. Actually, at this point, the path was disappearing under tall weeds, and I didn't want to get a tick on me.  So I stopped before the very end.  The truth is, one side of the path looks over the back of an outdoor shopping plaza and the path dead ends at a main thoroughfare.

There's a lesson here.  If you look beyond the obvious, you may find views well worth photographing.

Want more?  Click the link to Yogi's blog at the top of my post and happy skywatching!

Garden Updates July 30 2020

I don't blog a lot about our (spouse and my) gardens, and yet my Twitter handle is @RamblinGarden.  I need to do this some more.

Spouse and I have several gardens in zone 5b upstate New York: flower gardens around our house on our small urban/suburban property (and several veggies in pots), and two plots in a community garden.  One is in the ground and the other (mine) is in a raised bed and is perfect for someone like me who has back issues.

Many people have tried to garden for the first time this year.  As they have probably found by now, it ain't necessarily easy.  We've been fighting deer at the community garden (they especially seem to enjoy our filet beans).  Groundhogs and rabbits are challenges, too.  I wish I could give you good solutions.

I wanted to send some garden photos to a cousin in New York City and now I will share with you.  These are the photos that will keep me going when winter comes.  This is the season for storing up memories.

First, let's visit my raised bed garden in our local community garden.  Of course there are flowers, such as this white zinnia.  I thought I would show zinnias first.  Doesn't almost everyone like zinnias?

Candystick zinnia.

White eggplant (If you grow your own, why stick with the usual?)

Small bite peppers.

Yellow squash in spouse's ground level garden.  (The flowers are edible, too, although this year we haven't eaten any.)

Back to the raised bed.  Beans.  Liquid Fence spray did the trick for a while, but the deer have decided it won't stop them.

But you don't need to have a garden to garden.  If you have a yard, a sunny spot, and some pots, you can do it, too.  We have a big groundhog problem but, knock on wood, they haven't bothered these.

Swiss chard.

And tomatoes.

We are also growing cucumbers and summer squash in containers, but haven't had the greatest results.

If you want to read more about our container garden experiences, I can do a post on that.  If you want that, please let me know in the comments.

Do you garden?

Sunflowers and Bees #WordlessWednesday

This is supposed to be a Wordless Wednesday. So I should just post my pictures and then go away. But I always have to talk a little.

There's nothing like a sunflower with a bee on it, photographed against a blue sky.

Except for four sunflowers photographed against that sky.

Even then, can they compete against this sunflower and bee?

These are in our community garden plot in upstate New York.  We've been community gardening for some 30 years now.  Hard to believe.

These sunflowers make me happy.  I wish these sunflowers could change the world and take all its pain away.

It can't.  But you have to admit, they make the world a better place.  And, they make the bees (and later, with their seeds, the birds) happy.

Linking up with Sandee at Comedy Plus, for her #WordlessWednesday.

Blueberry Crisp

Guess what I did Friday?  Spouse and I went blueberry picking again.

Like last week, we picked Bluecrop blueberries at our favorite U Pick location.

Blueberry skies once again, and social distancing, greeted us.  We got there just when they opened, something we can do as retired people (even though I work part time), fortunately.  Blueberry picking is very popular here, and I'm happy to say everyone around us complied. 

When we got home, we tasted them and decided they were a bit tart.  They would be great for baking.

Spouse asked me to make a Blueberry Fool, but when we realized just how caloric fools are, I did a little research for a lighter recipe.  I decided to make a Blueberry Crisp.

I've made apple/blackberry crisps, and apple/pear crisps, and once I even made an apple/blueberry crisp.  This time, after doing some research, I found a crisp that used only fresh blueberries (nothing added) and a topping similar to one I've made before.  I decided to make some tweaks (of course) - I increased the amount of fruit, and because I didn't have enough light buttery spread, I used unrefined coconut oil (a solid) for part of the required light buttery spread.

Here's the recipe:

Into an 8 inch square metal pan add 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries, washed. 

Topping (mix together until well blended).

1 cup quick oats
1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 tbsp light buttery spread
2 tbsp unrefined coconut oil (it was a hot day, we didn't have the air conditioning on and it was easy to manipulate) - use unrefined to get the taste of coconut.

Take the topping and spoon on top of the blueberries.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes.  Let cool, or eat warm.

For some tastes, this may be too tart. For me, it was perfect. If it is a little too tart, don't hesitate to serve with whipped cream on top.

There was just one problem.  I am on Weight Watchers (WW), and e I have to watch the Smartpoints.  This is a lifetime process.

And as great as that crisp topping crust tastes due to the coconut oil, it has a lot of Smartpoints.  So, my portions have to be small.

Alas, I say, because I've fallen in love with that coconut oil topping.

Hopefully, you can enjoy it, coconut oil and all.

I may have one more blueberry recipe for you before the season ends.  Let me know if you are interested in the comments.

Songs and Memories #MusicMovesMe

It's Monday.  It's my last Monday as guest host, and it is time for another episode of Music Moves Me.

Who are the members of Music Moves Me ?  We are bloggers who blog about music each Monday. If you have music to share with us, you are most welcome to join! 

So let's get started.

As the guest host, I get to pick the theme as I have done all of July.  Thank you all and I hope you enjoyed my themes as much as I enjoyed your music picks for July.

My theme for today is "You Pick"  Anything goes but just remember our simple rule:  you must include at least one You Tube or Vimeo video or your post may be subject to removal or labeling "NO MUSIC". You are welcome to write about music. too but we need that video!

For myself I am picking "Songs that remind me of something in my life".  It's interesting (to me, anyway) the theme I developed as I kept remembering.  The ability to remember is so tied into music, as anyone who has had a loved one with dementia or has worked with that population knows.

I must start with still another tribute.  Peter Green, co-founder of Fleetwood Mac, died in his sleep on July 25 at the age of 73.  Green had struggled with mental health issues a lot of his life and ended up leaving Fleetwood Mac.  At that time, Fleetwood Mac was more of a blues group rather than the band many of us remember. 

Green was one of the top rock/blues guitarists.  A couple I sometimes babysat for while in college had an early Fleetwood Mac album.  They introduced me to a number of groups, including Fleetwood Mac.

Here is Fleetwood Mac with Green performing "Black Magic Woman" in 1970.  The Santana hit was a cover of this song, which was written by Peter Green.  This is my first musical memory I want to share.

This next song reminds me of a fun college field trip I took in 1971 with my then boyfriend (we were in the same college geology class), and a couple of classmates.  Boyfriend (now my spouse of 46 years) was driving and we were all playing the drumming parts to this song and just grooving with the day.

Next up is The Delfonics and their 1970 hit "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time).  It was actually released in 1969 but who is counting?  I associate this song with the bus trip I took with fellow high schoolers and some college students to study the 1970 total eclipse of the sun.

This next song, for some reason, I associate with standing (and standing, and standing) in line at the 1964 World's Fair in New York City.  This became a hit in 1964, as I mentioned, but was actually written for Darlene Love and recorded by her in 1963.  However, Phil Spector, who co wrote the song, did not like her recording.  Here are the Dixie Cups and "Chapel of Love".

This song will forever remind me of the late, great DJ Dan Ingram.  I was so fortunate to live in New York City.  Dan would play with songs.  This 1965 classic from Jay and the Americans, Cara Mia, has Jay Black singing a vocal section (sorry, I don't know the technical term) about 1:48 for several seconds. Dan would stretch it out to be almost as long as the rest of the song.

Two more, from 1985-86.  A lot happened in my life in 1986 and this is one of several songs that got me through some of that time.  Presenting Eddie Money and Ronnie Spector and "Take Me Home Tonight".

Finally, this song, which was on the last new vinyl release I ever purchased:  Amanda, by Boston, reminds me of my early years in the community that has become my home for over 30 years.  I wonder how many baby girls were named after this song? 

In writing this blog post, other musical memories started to flow. Maybe I'll do a part two of this blog if you enjoyed this post.  (I sure hope it won't include still another tribute.)

Why not let me know in the comments?

BONUS video:  a tribute to the late, great Regis Philbin, from the cast of RENT.  This is a special version of the play's song "Seasons of Love".  Regis Philbin, who, like me, grew up in the Bronx, brought me so many memories.  They range from Regis and Kathy Lee to Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, and more.  RIP, Regis.

And that, my musical friends, is a musical wrap.

See you next week!