Shall We Dance? (Before May is Over)

 

Before the month of May is over, I have to just tell you a few things that I have learned recently....

The St Bernard Waltz!  I saw this from one of my blogging friends from Yorkshire. She and her husband danced this at one of the dances that they go to, and I would gladly link you to her post, but I can't seem to find it! (Welcome to my world these days, folks.) Anyway, I found a video to show you the steps!

Are you familiar with those flat woolen caps that men wear? To my eyes, they are very flattering. I got Richard one to wear this winter! I just learned the background behind them. In 1571, there was an Act of Parliament which supposedly was to stimulate domestic wool consumption. For every male over 6 years of age, they had to wear the flat woolen cap on Sundays and all holidays. If not, they had to pay a fine.  The Act was repealed in 1597 but by then, the cap had become attached to the working-class man.

Are you worried about robots taking over everything? I was so pleased to learn this: robots CANNOT crochet! I jotted this down in my little notebook...." Unlike knitting, crochet cannot be fully automated. No machine can replicate the way a hook moves through loops. EVERY crochet piece was made by human hands, stitch by stitch.".

Do you know that I crochet? I do! I love to make things! I write so many patterns down and then, can't understand my writing and end up with something a bit wonky but hey, sometimes it works out. I make hats, scarves, blankets, phone cases, coasters, baby things, and I even like to crochet edgings on small towels! 

"You, You, You" was a song that was used on a TV show that I watch from England. It was used as a couple's favorite song during a wedding.  I could recognize that it was from Gerry & The Pacemakers but was not familiar with it. After some research, I found that it was on the B side of "Ferry Cross the Mersey"!  (Will future generations understand the term "B side"? We will have to educate them!) Anyway, Gerry Marsden was not only the singer but also the songwriter behind both of those songs! Isn't that wonderful to know? You know I think so! 

Here, you know I had to give you both songs! Sadly, Gerry Marsden died in 2021, and you all know I love songwriters in general, but I truly love them when they are such nice guys. Look him up, see if you don't agree. His "Ferry Cross the Mersey" was a number one hit in 1989 when it was released as a charity single for the Hillsborough Disaster Fund. 

June is almost upon us now and many couples get married in June (as Richard and I did!)   Did you know that in Germany the married couples tend to wear their wedding rings on their right hands, rather than the left hands? I think I read that this is also in the custom in Turkey and Russia. Is that right? Hey, don't quote me, I can't keep up with all that I research.

There is a lake in Africa and is called the "calendar lake". It is Lake Malawi and is about 350 miles long and about 52 miles wide. Now, this was an answer on Jeopardy, but when I looked it up, I found that it is also called something else, something that David Livingstone said when he saw all the lighted fishing boats on the water.... he said it was a "lake of stars".  There, isn't that nice to know. Numbers are interesting but give me a nice turn of phrase every time!

Now, shall we dance? Go back and see if you can do that dance!

Doppelganger and Damselfly

 

"I LOVE your hair!"

My friends, I can't tell you how it warms my heart to hear those words directed towards me! Especially as I have stopped dying my hair after doing so for many years, and I have snowy white roots with brown hair at the ends. Several women have said this to me lately and two of them have told me that I remind them of the character from X-Men.  I am thinking they must be referring to "Rogue". Now, if there is a very old lady in these films with white hair, just keep it to yourself, okay? I am saying I look like "Rogue"!

It has been really nice not to color my hair! I never went to the salon, it was always Loreal Excellence, Medium Brown for me, and I have the brown stained towel to prove it! Do you color your hair? If not, when did you stop? And also, has anyone told you that you remind them of someone? Have you ever been told you have a double? It actually happens to me quite often, I must have that kind of face!

I suppose I should take a more recent photo of myself with my new silver roots but if you look carefully at this photo, you can see the white just at the top of my head. Obviously, I had waited a bit to touch up those roots. LOL!

Hey! Anybody remember me telling you the difference between a dragonfly and a damselfly? (Some might say they look the same, but a damselfly folds the wings together, while the dragonfly holds them out, horizontally.)  This is a damselfly, posing on one of our blueberry bushes! It is an ebony jewelwing.  You must love that name!

Hope you are all doing well, my friends! 

Take care!  

1976 Songs!

 

Hello, my friends!

I have a really great article by our son that I want you to read! You can find it just here!

It is titled "15 Songs from 1976 that Still Feel Fresh 50 Years Later"!

He gives you links to each song and writes about them in detail. (Well, as much as he could in this piece anyway! I am sure he could have said much more!  

I truly love that he appreciates music so very much! AND he gets paid for views on many of his pieces and THIS is one of them, so please, read it and tell all your friends to do so!  If you don't have time to listen to each song, be sure to scroll down to the end where he sums up his feelings about the longevity and value of good music. 

Of course, you are welcome to listen to each and every song if you so choose!

The Best News, BABY

 

We are grandparents!  Isn't that the most exciting news? You know that Richard and I are thrilled! The parents have requested no photos or details, but I can tell you that we have a granddaughter! Isn't that wonderful? She is gorgeous, I promise! And Christopher and Sarah are parents extraordinaire, you know they are!

We were there to see her just after she was born and I tried to think ahead of time...what will be the first song that I will sing to her? What is the first song that she will hear from me?

Can you believe it, I was so overcome with emotion that I couldn't sing a single word.  I simply hummed the beautiful tune of "Come Back to Sorrento" when I first held her in my arms. 

What a sweet little love!  

Bing Videos

There! I hope you are able to click on that link above! You will be rewarded with Connie Francis singing "Come Back to Sorrento" in Italian! Yes, this marvelous woman could speak Italian and Spanish fluently! Our little granddaughter will know so many singers and songwriters from me, you know she will! 

Before we left to head back to our home, I was able to collect myself enough to quietly sing the first few lines of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" to her, as she clutched my finger! (I found a great cover, but I sang it MUCH softer than this.)

"Sweet little things", "In My Garden-Candle of Life" and that one little Lily blooming for me, do you remember these from my recent posts?  Our granddaughter is called Lily!  See, I have given you some hints!  

Just read back over this and almost every sentence ends with an exclamation mark.  Those are all well and truly meant with all my heart.

Here are photos of Lily's English grandfather and her American grandmother. Just to mix things up, it is a photo of me in England and one of Richard in the North Georgia mountains. (And although Lily will know how great a photographer Richard is, you all know I took that last one!)

Hope you are all doing well in your part of the world!

Remember the baby turtle we saw on the trail? BABY!