Stand Up Comedy/Stand Down Problems

 "I love being married. It's so great to find that one special person you want to annoy the rest of your life."   Rita Rudner

"I cook with wine. Sometimes I even add it to the food". W.C. Fields

"You should always get eight hours of beauty sleep.  Nine if you're ugly.  Betty White  

Do y'all like comedians as much as I do?  It is so nice to have a nice laugh, to feel your whole body just shake with merriment!  It seems we keep losing so many of the people who make us laugh. Just after we lost Betty White, Bob Saget suddenly passed away and then, Louie Anderson!  I watched some videos on YouTube for all three of these comedians and they were very funny but I was really searching for a particular video of Louie Anderson. No idea what year or where he was but it was after one of his stand- up routines, he sat down at the edge of the stage and told the audience that he loved them. He said, "We're people, just people".  Now, I'm not telling it in the right way but it was moving, truly it was.  After he died, I read many accounts of Louie Anderson's sweet nature. That leads me into the reason for the title of this post.  There are exceptions to every rule, but most comedians have lived through a rough childhood. (Go ahead, research the background of comedians, you'll see what I mean.) They have used laughter and kindness to overcome their troubles.  On my January calendar I have a quote that says, " If the world seems cold to you, kindle fires to warm it". 

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Just a few photos from January!  Hope you are all keeping well wherever you are in the world!  

Stained glass from the Monastery, here in Rockdale County, Georgia.  (The monks made all the stained glass.  They built the church also, from concrete!)

Sunrise from front of our house!

Male Cardinal on our back fence. Through a screen window. (Just as he began to take off.) 

We see cardinals every day!

Mr. Cardinal through a glass door NOT a screen!

Gluten free pancakes? With lemon & sugar or strawberry preserves? (No maple syrup here!) Richard just has butter on his!

Hey! Don't you want to add to the ONE BILLION views for Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want To Have Fun"?  Sure you do!  She is not only a great singer but a fantastic SONGWRITER and great humanitarian.   This song is from 1983 and still sounds just as good today.

Wintry Weather?

 The wintry weather is making me wary...

For several days now we have been warned that we might get snow or freezing rain.  This might not seem a very big deal to people who live in colder areas of the country or the world but in Georgia, it is a worry.

Power lines with ice will cause you to lose your power (therefore, NO heat!) and ice laden trees can crash down upon the roads making them impassable. Not to mention how dangerous the ice can be upon the roads themselves! Folks here only know one speed...FAST! So, you have to be very careful if there is any bad weather. It is a very fine line...it is possible that all the snow/ice could be just north of us and could miss us.  I am looking out the window now, it is very grey and getting colder by the minute.  I will have to let you know what happens....  As I said, wintry weather is making me wary.  (Am I the only one that thinks of Elmer Fudd when someone uses a lot of "w's"?  "You wascal-ly wabbit!)

After my last post where I told you I felt sad with the death of Sidney Poitier, I didn't mention that I also felt sadness with the passing of Betty White and then, I heard that Ronnie Spector and Bob Saget had also died. Oh, my. Everyone has such great things to say about all of them, just as they did about Sidney Poitier.  It is something that I just can't help but notice.  Doesn't matter to me how much money you have or how many people know you, just how nice you are. That's it.

Richard and I did manage to go on a hike today! We met with some friends and walked in a local park. So nice to see friends! I'm showing you a photo of myself from 2017 though, I was wearing the same jacket and scarf today! HA! I wear the same things forever!

The song for this post has to be "Be My Baby" and since I am Georgia Girl With An English Heart, you know the video is from Jools Holland Hootenanny, I think it was 2017. (Jools Holland, I hope you know who he is!)

Take care and watch out for ice/snow!  You know I will!

To Sir With Love

 

Belated Happy New Year to you all! Goodness me, I am always late with things these days....

Today, I heard that Sidney Poitier had passed away at the age of 94. Since I am Georgia Girl With An English Heart, you know that the 1967 film "To Sir With Love" is a movie that is special for me since it is set in an inner city school in England. (I really have been crazy about British stuff even as a kid!)  As I am typing this to you, I am listening to the news on BBC and they are speaking of his life and his films. I realize that I have seen all of his movies and enjoyed every one.    

We have had such rainy, grey days lately I wanted to share some days from November with you.  The leaves were lovely and the skies were much bluer!

Christmas 2021- Buffalo Plaid and Gnomes!

 

Hope you all have a lovely Christmas, my friends!

Anybody else notice that for Christmas this year it seems that buffalo plaid and gnomes are simply everywhere! I told you in my last post that we bought a new Christmas tree this year but then, I needed a tree skirt to go around it.  After looking at the prices of tree skirts, the buffalo plaid blanket that my son gave me last year for Christmas suddenly became my new tree skirt!  Buffalo plaid, it is not only used in decor but is on pajamas, shirts, jackets...why, it's everywhere! Yet, why it is called buffalo plaid and where did it come from? You know there must be a story behind it!

If you remember, I have written a post about "plaid" and "tartan." In America, we say "plaid" but in the UK, it is called "tartan".  Of course, you should know that the tartan is from Scotland.  Therefore, when those from Scotland came to America, they brought their tartan cloths with them, made into blankets.  The Gaelic word for blanket is "pladjer" and the Native Americans, turned that into "plaid".

Okay then, the man we should thank for the Buffalo Plaid is a Scottish man named Jock McClusky, who was a descendant of "Rob Roy" MacGregor.  (Click on that link to learn more about him.)   Jock McClusky settled in Montana in the late 1800's and he was unusual at that time due to his fair dealings with the Native Americans.  He was most respected by many different tribes.  Jock McClusky would barter with them for buffalo pelts, offering things in exchange but the most coveted by the Native Americans were the blankets, especially with the red and black pattern.  (The Native Americans most appreciated the deep red, considering it to give the owner special powers.  And Jock McClusky, didn't tell them any different!)  There, doesn't that just give you a warm, fuzzy feeling for Christmas! The story of how the native people were treated here in America is very often a very sad thing but I think the story of the buffalo plaid is a good one and so now, when you see this familiar red and black pattern, you will smile and think, oh, that's nice to see, especially at this time of year.

"Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee" by Dee Brown.... that is a book that I read years ago and I highly recommend it.  OH, and one more..."Indian Givers: How Native Americans Transformed The World" by Jack Weatherford.  If you read one or both of these books, you will thank me!

Gnomes? Why are they so popular this year? I have no idea! Trends always amuse me!  I have read that gnomes are supposed to bring you luck and let's face it, after 2020 and 2021, we can use all the good luck we can get, right?  

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Last year, I heard this hymn "The Shepherd's Carol" for the first time.  It was from Nine Lessons and Carols from King's College, Cambridge.  I loved it so much.  I have it here for you.

The Shepherd's Carol by Bob Chillcott

 

We stood on the hills, Lady,

Our day's work done, watching the frosted meadows

that winter had won.

The evening was calm, Lady,

The air so still.

Silence more lovely than music

folded the hill.

There was a star, Lady

shone in the night.

Larger than Venus it was

And bright, so bright

Oh, a voice from the sky, Lady

It seemed to us then

Telling of God being born 

in the world of men.

And so we have come, Lady,

our day's work done.

Our Love, our hopes, ourselves

We give to your son.

                    Merry Christmas to you all.  Peace and Joy! 

White or Bright?

 

Our Christmas tree! Do you like it with white lights or with colored lights? I only have to push a button and it will go from one to the other! (I can push another button and they will flash from white to colored but I don't like flashing lights on a Christmas tree, so that's not going to happen!) My ornaments on this tree are mostly snowflakes and stars and some little crocheted circles that I made myself along with some things that my son made as a child. (Can you spot "Joseph's Coat of Many Colors" along with "Jacob's ladder"?)  Now, the crocheted circles are ones that I made this year. I was going to try to make little round ornaments, but I really didn't have much time, so I thought I would just crochet just enough and leave the back "open" so to speak. (After all, you only see the front!) Here's the thing though, when I turned my little white crocheted circles around, they looked very much like TOILET BOWLS! HA!) It made me laugh!  

Here is the circle ornament on the tree...

And here is me an old lady turning it around for you...

Now, I am sure you must be saying, "Why don't you just keep going and close it up and then it wouldn't be like a toilet bowl?" Well, I suppose I could but then, it wouldn't be funny, would it? I think I like looking at it, all sweet and round from the front and then, I turn it around and it looks like a gleaming white toilet!  I am easily amused!

Okay then, tell me if you like the white lights or the colored lights?

 Richard prefers the colored and I like the white. When I am home first, I turn on the colored lights for him.  When he is home first, the turns the white lights on for me! Honestly, I like them both but the white is just very calming to me with all the white crocheted pieces on the tree....

Stay tuned, my next post will JUST as fascinating, I promise! LOL!!!

These three little trees are real ones on our front steps. They look really good when it is very dark.  Hey! Kinda like me! HA HA!

And just to let you know that I am still noticing things in nature...on my way home from work today, I looked up in the sky and saw a black vulture flying over and his (her?) wings were perfectly in front of the moon. A black vulture has wings with white tips and that bright white was the same white as the moon... See, I enjoy color but a very bright white is beautiful too.

December "Purple Snowflakes"

 

December! It's time for me to show you the song that they have this year for the December films on TCM.  The song that they have used is "Purple Snowflakes".  You will never guess who wrote it! You don't have to guess, you know I will tell you!  It is by Marvin Gaye! There, isn't that a funny thing for me to learn after I have been going on and on about Motown? It was not only sung by Marvin Gaye but he wrote the song as well!

Here is the video from TCM. (TCM- Turner Classic Movies.)

Of course, the lyric that comes to my mind is from the wonderful song "Have A Holly Jolly Christmas" sung by Burl Ives..."I don't know if there'll be snow but have a cup of cheer".  We sometimes have snow here in Georgia but honestly, I would just as soon see it in photos or hear about it in a song!

Anyway, "Purple Snowflakes" is such a lovely song, don't you think so too?  Marvin Gaye is one of those that we lost at a young age, just 44 years old.  Still, I am grateful for all the songs that he left with us.

Hope you are all doing well during this month of December!

Our backyard in Feb. 2014!

November (How Sweet It Is)

 

 What a lovely late Autumn we have been having in Georgia! The leaves are rapidly falling now but they have been spectacular all through November...

What a pleasure to walk along under the trees and to look up and now and then and see the leaves with the sun shining upon them, truly gorgeous.  Now, I have not been able to go on as many walks as I would have liked but I have truly admired the trees along my drive to work and also those planted in the parking lot at my job.  The reds and golds of late Autumn are simply breathtaking.

It is always the fourth Thursday in November when we celebrate Thanksgiving here in America.  It was a lovely day. Richard and I watched the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Special on TV and I loved how it was pointed out by the wonderful Charles Schultz that America is the only country that has a national holiday that is set aside simply for giving thanks.  

November is also the month of our son's birthday! Happy Birthday to C.!  He shares a birthday with Berry Gordy, the founder of Motown.  Remember me telling y'all about the great documentary about Motown, "Hitsville: The Making of Motown"?  My son watched it and he has been on a quest to read all the books he can find about Motown and of course listen to the great music. Songwriter that he is, he recognizes the true gift of songwriters! He brought a book for me to read, one that he really enjoyed.  "How Sweet It Is" by Lamont Dozier.  You might recognize the name from the songwriting team from Motown, "Holland -Dozier - Holland".  (Lamont Dozier writing with the Holland brothers, Eddie and Brian.)  Now, I have not had time to finish the book yet but it is a fantastic book! He even gives his counsel on the art of songwriting. (A nice touch, each time that he offers his advice, the words on the pages are in a bolder print.)

What song for this post? Of course, it has to be Motown! Not just one song but a medley from The Four Tops from The Ed Sullivan Show.  Be sure to listen to the very end! 

  Does anyone remember how Don Cornelius always ended "Soul Train"?

"Wishing you love, peace and...SOUL!"

Wishing the same to you all!