American Smooth/ "America"/Red Tailed Hawk

 

American Smooth!  It is a ballroom style dance that consists of four elegant dances: the Waltz, Foxtrot, Tango and Viennese Waltz.  It allows for open movements, underarm turns and side by side choreography. It seems to celebrate the joy of dancing! Last week I shared a video from "Strictly Come Dancing" of Chris McCausland and his partner. They danced this past week to the song "Jump" and they showed the joy of dancing with the American Smooth! ("Jump" was written by Van Halen, but the version on this show was sung by Paul Anka and the arrangement is so very different, it will astonish you.)  What did the couple score for this dance? A perfect 10! 

Hope you enjoy the video as much as I did! I would give it a 10!

The beginning of the Christmas ads are beginning to be shown on TV! Many of them are not very good but there is one that just came out that I really like! It is an ad from Kroger, and I will see if I can get it on here...

There, isn't that just so wonderful?  It is called "Share Your Food, Share Your Heart" and the song is "Lonely People" by America!

It made me so happy to hear that song on that advert!  There is an English connection, you know.  The background of the band "America" is interesting to me, they were American lads living in London (their fathers in the US military) and became a band.  They called themselves "America" because they didn't want folks to think they were British trying to pretend to be American! Their songs from 1974- 1979 were produced by George Martin!  (I hope you know that name from the BEATLES!)  America (band) - Wikipedia

There, you may click on that above and read more about them, if you like. They also did the song "Tin Man" which I have also told you about in a post before! And "Sister Golden Hair"!

Also, in my last post I showed you a photo of a red shouldered hawk that was in our back yard.  I made a mistake and called it a red TAILED hawk but went back later and corrected it. Well, what do you think?  We saw that there would be a Bird of Prey demonstration at Arabia Mountain this weekend and we happily signed up! Guess what bird was there?  Yep, a red-tailed hawk! Why, you could have knocked me down with a feather! LOL!  Did Richard get photos? You know he did!  It was so great.  The two bird handlers were just wonderful, and especially so with the children. They took such delight in explaining and sharing everything about the hawks. Who enjoyed this more, the men with the birds or those in attendance? Hard to say for sure! 

The above are all photos of the red-tailed hawk but they also had a Harris Hawk....

This bird did not look familiar to us and that is because it is indigenous to Southwest Texas, Arizona and Mexico! 

Do you like the way I tied things together in a somewhat American theme? I am AMERICAN SMOOTH! 

Just so you won't forget, this is the red shouldered hawk that we had in our backyard! 

We All Shine On! (Must SEE Video!)

 

                                                Great Video- Please watch!

The video that I have here for you is from "Strictly Come Dancing".  (It is on the BBC.) The woman dancer is the professional dancer, and her partner is Chris McCausland, a blind comedian and actor. There, you read that correctly, he is a man who cannot see. (He was not born blind; he lost his sight gradually to retinitis pigmentosa.) The dance in the video was performed to "Instant Karma/ We All Shine On" by John Lennon. (I had the single: the B side was Yoko Ono singing "Who Has Seen the Wind". Anybody else have that record?) Not sure who is doing the singing on this song, but it is a great choice for this dance. Now, I'm not going to say anything more about the video until I finish this post....

So, how are you all doing these days?  After a very sunny October, we had a very cloudy beginning to November which has been a shame because you really want the sun to shine on the colorful leaves! It's been very warm but overcast, so very strange weather...we had zero rain the entire month of October, so we are hoping for rain which we are promised tomorrow! 

Richard managed to get a few nice photos when the sun popped out!

See? I told you we have colorful leaves!  Americans call it "Fall" and it really makes sense to me. That is a LOT of falling leaves!

We have a red-tailed  red- shouldered hawk that comes down in our back yard. (Sorry folks, I think I've got it right now!) Richard just got this photo today. Isn't that a beautiful bird? 

I hope you could all see the video that I gave you at the beginning of this post!  They cut the lights out during the dance and the audience was in complete darkness!  When the lights came back, the male dancer was .... oh dear, I don't know technical dancing terms, he was twirling his partner around in the air! Amazing! How can anyone dance without having eyesight? I think the answer must be...very carefully and thoughtfully. And lots of counting steps, I imagine.

For me, this comedian on this dancing show....it is hopeful and uplifting and cheerful.  Can't we all use those things just now?

And since my husband and I had only one child, you know I had to share this video, which is also the same comedian, Chris McCausland. For our one and only (also a Chris!) hope you think this is funny too!

Keep Your Eye On The Ball! (Ain't No Pleasing You)

 

Last night, the Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series against the New York Yankees in a come -from -behind victory that was something to see! The Yankees were ahead 5-0 in the 5th inning...but then, it all fell apart.  One of the things that seemed to portend bad things to come...Aaron Judge DROPPED a pop-up ball that should have been a very easy catch. When they did a replay on it, the announcer just said, "he didn't have his eye on the ball".  Oh my, that reminded me of the sports radio announcer that we had here in Atlanta when I was a kid! I just looked him up. His name was Jack Hurst, and he was on WQXI (Quixie Radio) and his sign off was a most memorable: "Keep your eye on the ball".  It seems to me that we can all use that advice in our daily lives, to try our best to keep focused on what is important and not to be distracted.  

Now back to the baseball game, Freddie Freeman was named the World Series MVP (Most Valuable Player) and rightly so.  He broke a record: he is the first player to have hit a homerun in the first four games of a World Series. In that first game, he hit a grand slam! (Bases loaded, which means four runs scored!) He played with the Atlanta Braves for years until he was traded to the Dodgers. There are some who are not too nice about Freddie's success with the Dodgers, but I am not one of them! I think Freddie Freeman is great, and I only wish him the best success.  Looks like my wishes have come true for him!

I mentioned to you that Aaron Judge dropped that ball.... I read today that he was pretty upset about it, I think the quote was that he would never forgive himself. Gee, I hope that he will! Anyone can make a mistake! That is another lesson that we need to remember!  Yankees fans are pretty rough, so I can only imagine what he might have to put up with from them. I like to watch good baseball, and they were both good teams, but someone has to lose. 

"Ain't No Pleasing You", that is a song that seems to go along with this post!  I am so happy to tell you that the video by Chas & Dave was recently restored and is now in HD! 

I have told you before how much I enjoy our National Anthem sung before our ballgames. I loved this young woman named Pearle Peterson who is only 19 years old!  She sang this on Oct. 26th in Los Angeles. No trills or odd interpretations, just straight up great singing. Enjoy!

Oh, and one more thing...do you know why the Dodgers are called that name?  They were originally the Brooklyn Dodgers and when they were first there, it was the early days of the trolley cars, and the ballplayers would have to "dodge" the cars on their way to the ballpark!  

All the artwork that I showed you of the Peanuts characters, we missed this one.  Richard stood just beside a busy street to take this photo for you!  You know I had to share Linus and Sally! Aren't they just adorable?

Charles Schultz did a great cartoon once; I wish I could find it for you.  It showed Linus being very happy about his team winning a ballgame and going on and on about how much the crowd was cheering and Charlie Brown's reply was : "How did the other team feel?".  I always think of that after the World Series celebrations.  There is a lot of wisdom from cartoons! (I might have the characters wrong who said this, but you get the idea!)

Take care and remember, "keep your eye on the ball!"

October Update (One Way or Another)

 

The kids in Rockdale County finally went back to school yesterday after having been out of school for three weeks due to the BioLab disaster. (They are meant to have had virtual learning at home, and I do hope that they were able to do some kind of learning!) It has been a time of stress.  For over a week after the huge toxic cloud, we were told to "shelter in place" and not to open any doors or windows. Then, we were told it was okay to go out but if you saw a giant cloud come over you, to go back inside!   And then, for a time we were told that it was okay to go out but to shelter in place between 7PM and 7AM.  (Because as some funny person said online, toxic air has a curfew!)  I have asthma and I usually don't have any problems with it but for the past few weeks, I have used my inhaler quite a bit. I hate to think of those who are suffering from much more serious lung problems than mine. There is a push now for Biolab to be shut down permanently and you all must know that I agree with that.  During these past few weeks there have been meetings with government officials.  One was shown as a live stream from downtown Atlanta with our state representatives listening to powerful speeches from those who were closest to the BioLab facility.  One of those who spoke gave such an impassioned speech about the dangers of BioLab!  I am sorry to tell you that just after his talk, he walked outside where he collapsed in the hallway.  He later died at Grady Hospital in Atlanta.  His name was Kenny Johnson, and he was the Rockdale County Soil and Water Supervisor. A hero, if you ask me.

We are told that the EPA checked the air on a regular basis and also that the water was checked three times daily and that we should not be concerned.  (What about the vegetables that people have in their gardens, are they okay to eat, or should we be worried of the toxic chemicals that might have settled upon them? For that matter, what about the soil for future gardens?)  We are in hopes that the Good Earth (with its precious air over it) will try very hard to recover.  

Millions have voted early in the USA.  There is a young woman who paints seasonal pictures on the windows in Old Town Conyers and I love the Peanuts characters telling people to vote!  

I am sure that you heard the news that Liam Payne died in South America. Such sad news- it seems it is all we get these days. Even though he was a solo artist, I remember him as being one of those very young men from "One Direction".  I had a video on my blog of them doing a video for charity and I really liked it, so I am sharing it again with you here...

My friends, I do hope that you are all doing well.  We are hanging in there! Take care and look out for each other.  My best to you always.  x

Bio Lab Fire (Why Me Lord)

 

If you look at the side of my blog you will see that Richard and I live in Conyers, Georgia. (Rockdale County).  Have you heard that mentioned in the news where you live?  Yesterday, we had a huge fire here at Bio Lab, a plant that makes pool and spa chemicals.  Reports are that you could see the smoke from thirty miles away.  The entire area around the fire plume was evacuated therefore, 17,000 people were meant to leave their homes. The rest of the county was asked to "shelter in place" leaving windows and doors closed. (The population of the county is 93,000). Until the early hours of today, the very busy interstate highway which cuts the county in half was CLOSED. (This made for huge traffic problems for the area.) Waking up this morning, the update from the county was the same information from yesterday, to remain inside, keeping windows and doors tightly closed "until further notice". Chlorine has been detected in the air by the EPA. 

Well.

Coming on the heels of the hurricane that swept through the region, this is quite a time of stress for so many.  Speaking of that, I just casually mentioned to you in my last post that a storm was supposed to march up through Georgia, not knowing at the time how deadly that hurricane/tropical storm would become. Have you also seen the news on that?  The photos from Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee are heart-breaking.  I could look up the latest death toll but it keeps going up, there are so many missing in the floods in North Carolina. The damage is terrible. (Regarding that storm, it veered to the right of us which meant we didn't get nearly as much wind as expected.  We still had trees that blocked some of the roads, but they were quickly removed. Our power went out for four hours. Quite a bit of rain but no flooding. We were lucky.)

Seems to me that we are all so caught up in the turmoil of life that we forget that we are just PEOPLE.  Human beings who are just trying to make it through life and maybe just have a bit of joy along the way and hopefully, help someone else on the way! So much hatred in politics and everyone thinks they know more than anyone else.  I think we should think more of being fellow creatures of this dear planet, Earth.

There, I will get off my soap box now, but I just wanted to let you all know that Richard and I are okay if any of you saw Conyers, Georgia on your TV screen or newspaper feed.

This statue of Madonna and Child was recently cleaned at the Monastery.  So beautiful and serene against that blue sky with the cumulus clouds.  (Photos taken by Richard on Saturday, one day after the hurricane and the day before the fire.)

 

Peace.

"Why Me Lord"    Kris Kristofferson (May he rest in peace).

Laughing and Singing/September Days

 

Wake me up when September ends!  (Of course, that was a hit song for Green Day back in 2004. Wow, that's twenty years ago now.) Where has this month gone? So busy! I have THREE birthdays in this month, plus the family reunion that I always like to attend. I always went with my Dad. Those folks miss the big pots of peas which he cooked from his own garden along with his famous cornbread and peach cobblers.

Recently, someone looked at a post that I wrote back in 2016. I told you in that post that unbelievably I had actually got up and sung in front of my co-workers. I wondered if I might find it on YouTube and yes, I found myself from 2016! Want to have a listen? Be kind! Oh dear, I am a bit embarrassed to share this with you, but I think you will see that I really laughed a lot as I was singing. My laughter came mainly because of the astonished looks on the faces in front of me! I guess they didn't think the old gal had it in her! HA!  

 

A bit of background story here... I took some papers into my manager's office, and he looked very sad.  I asked him what was wrong, and he said he couldn't get anyone to do any skits or songs for that week's upcoming meeting (with big wigs in attendance).  He was feeling the pressure from this, I could tell. His face lit up and he said, "YOU couldn't do something, could you, Kay?".  Now, this guy had always been so nice to me. His nickname for me was "Sunshine". I asked him before why he always called me that and he said it was because I was always smiling. I told him that I find it very hard to get up in front of a crowd. It might be true that you can hear my knees knocking.  That evening, I got to thinking that perhaps I could just take a song and change a few words and sing it. So, I did! Hey, for someone who calls you "Sunshine", wouldn't you?

Speaking of sunshine, it is very HOT just now!  When we got in the car today, it said 98 degrees! Once we were out of the parking lot, it cooled down to 95, so we're MUCH better now!   Now, we have to worry about this big storm that is promised to be on the way. It will march straight up from the Florida panhandle bringing rains and wind. Wish us luck! 

It's Hearts a busting time!

I've shown you these seeds before. Don't you love them? These are in a pot right outside my window, isn't that wonderful?

Dianthus with eastern swallowtail butterfly, also outside my window!

  This is the bridge over the South River on the Rockdale River Trail.  Here's the South River....

Every time I see this river, it always reminds me of the song, "I Washed My Hands in Muddy Water".  Hey, everything reminds me of a song!

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Did you see that they found an unknown piece of music from Mozart? Yes! They believe that it is something he wrote as a teenager. That reminds me....

Why didn't Mozart like chickens? Because they kept saying, "Bach, Bach, BACH!". 

 Keep laughing and singing, folks! (Hey, stand- up comedy for me next!)

La Seine Musicale /Cardboard Houses

 

La Seine Musicale (On MY TV!) Imagine how lovely this would be at night!

It seems like ages since the Olympics in Paris, doesn't it?  I still have fond memories of watching the events and then, pausing with the remote and researching the buildings in the background. During the Marathon, I had a full 26 miles and 385 yards in which to see the surrounding area around Paris! Why is the Marathon that unusual length? It is due to the 1908 Olympics that were held in London. 26 miles was agreed upon- the distance from Windsor Castle to White City Stadium but the 385 yards was for the last lap in the stadium so as for the athletes to finish in front of the Royal Box! Hey, the runners might not wish for that extra bit now but all the more for me to see Paris is fine by me.

The building that I have shown you above - I was truly intrigued by it. The description that I found of it is this: "A unique egg-shaped structure with a sail-like solar panel". It is a music venue! Located in the western suburbs of Paris, it opened in 2017. (The first artist to perform there was Bob Dylan!) The architect is Japanese named Shigeru Ban. In 2014, he was given the Pritzker Architecture Prize, not only for his modern buildings but also for his humanitarian efforts.  He is well known for his work with recycled cardboard tubes which can quickly be made into homes for disaster victims. The nominating committee called him "an inspiration."

 Look, let me see if I have a video to show you....

I wish I could find the video that I found of Shigeru Ban helping to build the houses in Maui- I think it was after the horrible fire.  The buildings had ...I think holes in the roofs that the builders could go in and out of as they were building, and then afterwards, they were used for light.  There, that might be a strange description, but it was very clever, and they were not only functional but very attractive.

I first heard this version of "Over the Rainbow" by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole in the film "50 First Dates".  I have shared it with you before, but it is always nice to hear it again! 

I truly love beautiful buildings.  Paris inspired me to decorate my little creation at Panola Mountain State Park! (No children were around, so I had these wooden blocks all to myself.)