Tuesday 4 & Surgery update

Surgery Update.

I have had quiet few days since my surgery this past Friday for skin cancer on my face. I expected it to be worse. I think the shots in the face were painful, but they worked! They got it all with one go and after it heals, it will look like a crease line which is normal for my age. I have to change my bandages and take antibiotics for week. I did have to take Motrin/Tylenol for the first two days. I also had to sleep uptight on my right side so I don't put pressure on my cheek. I am supposed to take it easy for a couple of weeks. I have lots of crafting and Bible studies to do. My new shows are starting back up. I will miss my church groups for a few weeks, but that is okay. I need to rest. The weather is beautiful, sunny and in the 70's. I can't go outside and walk because the sun can irritate my skin because of the antibiotics. 

If you missed my previous post, I had lots of family pictures.

How about the subject of Hollywood, it's 'stars', its products and it's effect on the world?

1.  Which of the big movie stars of the past were your favorites? Clark Gable, Jimmy Steward. Lucille Ball, Catherine Hepburn and more.  

2. What movie is the funniest you've seen? anything Jerry Lewis.

How about the most romantic? Gone with the Wind.

3.  Do you watch the Oscars or the Emmy Awards shows? Yes I do. I have actually held an Oscar and they are heavy. An old neighbor friend won for a documentary. I think it was called Broken Rainbow. 

4.  Some movies, plays had a big impact on people.  Orson Welles radio performance of War of the Worlds was broadcast on Halloween 1938 and people, causing panic and widespread hysteria especially in the Grover's Mill area of New Jersey where the "invasion" took place.

Is there a movie that you were greatly influenced or affected by hopefully in a good way?

I know Jaws kept a lot of people out of the ocean for awhile. I think traditional movies like It's a Wonderful Life and A Christmas Carol still tug at the hearts of people. Fiddler on the Roof is one of my favorites. Sunrise, Sunset was played at my wedding. I think the Star Wars franchise has had a positive effect. My son buys and sell original Star Wars figures and makes good money doing it. Gone with the Wind is one of my favorites. It peaked my interest in historical novels while in Jr. high school. 

Friday Faves 5 & Saturday 9

1. Thankful that my family could get together on Sunday and celebrate the September birthdays. We had lunch and then headed to my son's home for dessert and play games. It is harder to get all the grands together at the same time. So, it was a great time to get a picture.

2. Thankful to get all my errands done and my Bible journaling kits finished. Hubby and I finished one Robert Redford movie and started another one. After Friday, I will be home recovering and hubby and I have more movies to watch and the new season series will begin. We both like to watch Dances with the Stars and Survivor. So thankful I have a husband that likes some of the things I do.

3. Thankful for my Crafty Me craft group. I like learning new things. Here is a project I did while following the prompts our instructor gave us. Make a bookcase. Add books, add a clock, plants, globe, cup, globe and frame. This was all freehand. Since I had to do a frame, I decided to add a picture of me!

4. Thankful that my Bible journal met up was a success. Lots of food and fellowship!

5. Thankful that the AC is working great and so is the new water heater.  Today I change my sheets and enjoy my hot shower. Nice to be able to appreciate the things we take for granted. Today I will pack a bag for my procedure tomorrow. They said I would be there for up to 6 hours. So thankful I have a pillow I can sit on, my small Bible craft bag, and my cellphone and back up battery so I can listen to

music.

The Entertainer (The Theme from The Sting) 1973

Unfamiliar with this week's song. Hear it here.

Chosen in memory of Robert Redford: Aug. 18, 1936 - Sept. 16, 2025

1) The Sting marked the second teaming of Robert Redford and Paul Newman. The two enjoyed almost 40 years of friendship. One passion they shared was sports cars. Newman raced Porsches professionally and Redford was deft behind the wheel of a classic Karmann Ghia convertible. Think about one of your longest friendships. What did you two first bond over? First day of junior high-7th grade.

2) During their first movie together – Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid – Redford was late so often that Newman joked they should change the title to, "Waiting for Lefty." Do you have a friend who is perpetually tardy? Or are you that friend? Yes, my cousin is my best friend, and she is always late.

 

3) Back in 1936, when Redford was born, baseball's Hall of Fame opened in Cooperstown. Coincidentally, two members of his high school class of 1954 are represented in the Hall: Redford, with memorabilia from his baseball film, The Natural, and his teammate on the Van Nuys Wolves, Don Drysdale. "Big D" was inducted for his stellar Dodger pitching career. Have you recently spoken to, or corresponded with, one of your high school classmates? I had lunch with my friend Anita and her husband in August. We met in 10th grade. I also have been chatting with my friend Lissette. We met in 7th grade. We had no classes in high school except GAA, competitive sprots for girls. She was in my wedding. I met Mary Beth in high school and she was my maid of honor. We keep in touch through Facebook.

4) Redford admitted he had a few run ins with law enforcement during his teen years. He specifically recalled being picked up for breaking into the neighbors' back yard and swimming in their pool. Were you a mischievous kid? I had a few moments of tomboy independence. I had permission to ride my bike to the school park and had done it many times. This time I packed a large lunch but rode to a bigger park much further away. I loved riding my bike. Things were much safer back then. Less cars and no fear.

5) Redford went on to CU Boulder. He confessed to being a distracted student and only lasted a year and a half. While not good in class, he was popular with his coworkers at his after school job, mopping floors and cleaning bathrooms at a restaurant called The Sink. The restaurant is still thriving, and Redford returned whenever he was in Boulder. He wore a Sink t-shirt during a national press conference in 2018 and when asked what The Sink was, he was happy to plug his former employer. Do you often wear graphic tees, decorated with a favorite band, restaurant logo, team mascot, vacation destination, etc.? I have a lot of Christian t-shirts.

6) When he was a struggling New York actor, he and his wife lost their first child to crib death. Redford told AARP magazine that he blamed himself, and said it's a wound that never healed. Tell us about a time you felt guilty but shouldn't have. Not spending enough time with my mom to learn things about her and me. Life happens.

7) Legendary costume designer Edith Head said she liked putting Redford in hats because they balanced his strong, square jaw. Do you take your figure flaws into consideration when you choose your clothes?

I usually don't have issues when I wear dresses. I am small on the rear, so I have to make sure the pants I wear don't look like they are falling down.

8) Forever fit, Redford credited his physique on exercise and genes, not diet. He said, "Healthy food is good for the conscience, but Oreos taste a helluva lot better." What's the last cookie, candy or treat you indulged in? My friend brought pumpkin cake to our Bible journaling group.

 

9) Random question: Do you prefer to bathe or shower first thing in the morning, after work, or before bed? Depends. I sleep better when I shower at night. I shower in the morning if I am going out. When our AC went out I took 2-3 showers a day. I will have to use the handheld shower head after my surgery. I prefer the over the head rain shower. 

 

Thanks to Susanne and Sam for hosting the memes!

Links are on the left.

Tuesday 4 & Wednesday Hodgepodge

Monday,  September 22 is the Autumnal Equinox, the first day of the Autumn season.  Autumn is the name of the season and fall is the term for the time of Autumn when leaves begin to fall from the trees.   Let's discuss it.....

September 22 was my dad's birthday. He passed in 2013. I really miss him!

I remember him raking leaves and me playing in the pile.

1. Are there pumpkins or chrysanthemums on your porch or are you planning on putting some out?  There are fake sunflowers, girl and boy metal scarecrows, metal sunflower and garden flags. I decorated on Saturday. I am working on my sunflower wreath.

2. Are stores around you showing Autumn clothing and decor now?  Here in New Jersey, leaves on some trees are changing slowly and temperatures are way down . What is it like in your neck of the woods? I live in the city. There aren't very many fall covered trees and things won't change until the end of  October. Our weather will be in the 80's and 90's through then.

3. Do you have plans for Thanksgiving yet? It will be at our house this year. The kitchen will stay fall until then. Christmas will go up two weeks before Thanksgiving.        

4 . If we can arrange an autumn trip or get away for you, where will you choose to go and why I would like to visit some of the cities in Northern NY, and head to Niagra Falls. I would like to see Maine too. I had a taste of Maine in Fall of 2008 when I went on a New England cruise with my parents.

Sept. 22, 2008

1. Fall officially rolls into the Northern Hemisphere on Monday (9/22)...what's your favorite thing about fall? Bringing fall into my home. We live a city in So CA and we don't get much all here. 

2. What's one thing on your real or proverbial autumn bucket list? I would like to take a drive to Oak Glen to see fall trees and feel crisp air. It takes an hour to get there. The mountains would be better, but it takes two hours.

3. Apples, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, butternut squash and cranberries are some of the top fall foods. Which one is your favorite and how do you like it prepared? Sweet potatoes. I like to bake it and then add some butter, and cinnamon. I make candied sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving. Any on the list you don't eat? Which one have you had most recently? I like sweet potatoes more in the fall. I eat apples everyday. I only eat cranberries at Thanksgiving. I want to try the butternut squash.

4. 'Fall is proof that change is beautiful' is a popular sentiment. Would you agree or no? Elaborate. I agree. I wrote a page called the Season of my Life.

5. Is there a spot near you where people go to see the leaves change color? Will you try to leaf peep somewhere this fall? Lonely Planet lists the following ten places as the best for leaf peeping...of those listed which would you most like to visit? Stowe, Vermont~Shenandoah National Park, Virginia~Columbia River Gorge, Oregon~Zion National Park, Utah~Tennessee/North Carolina border~West Virgina~Northwestern Wyoming~Wisconsin Northwoods~Northern Nevada~Ozark Highlands Scenic Byway, Arkansas

I have been to Zion in Utah. So anywhere with a lot of trees with fall colors would be nice. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. My  MOHS skin surgery on my face in on Friday. I am going to try to get my Friday Faves Five/ Saturday 9 done by Thursday night. I will have to rest over the weekend and may not be on the computer for a few days. Prayers are appreciated. Thank you!

Saturday 9 Come See About Me.

Saturday 9: Come See About Me (1964)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) In this song, Diana Ross sings that she's given up her friends for her boyfriend. Have you ever had a lover your friends disapproved of? No Has a friend ever dated someone you didn't care for? Yes

 

2) Without her man at her side she feels uncertain. Let's be more positive: what's something you're sure of? I am saved by grace and Jesus loves me.

3) When this song was popular, the Supremes were known for their elegant hair and wardrobe. When was the last time you got dressed up? I wore a nice dress to a funeral yesterday and sometimes when I go to church.  I wore a really nice dress on our cruise this past January.

4) The Supremes went on to have a dozen #1 hits. This must have been hard for Betty McGlown, the fourth Supreme, who left the group before they recorded their first song. Can you think of an opportunity you missed? Yes, not going into the medical field because I was afraid of the math.

5) After she left the Supremes, lead singer Diana Ross went on to have a successful solo career. But it hasn't always been easy. She stumbled in her high heels and broke her ankle as she left the stage after a November 2012 concert. Have you taken a tumble recently? Not recently. I did back in 2022.

6) Ever the trooper, she honored her commitment to perform at a White House-sponsored Christmas concert just weeks later, even though her leg was still in a cast. Tell us about a time when you "played hurt." None that I can think of as an adult. Probably did when I was a child.

7) In 1964, when this song was popular, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos was born. What was in your most recent Amazon shipment? Socks for my granddaughter. Sunflower charms for me.

8) Also in 1964, women still routinely wore white gloves to complete a outfit. Short gloves that ended at the wrist were popular for everyday wear. What fashion trend do you wish would come back? Hats 

9) Random question: If you were in the witness protection program, what new name and occupation would you choose for yourself? Louisa May and I would own a craft store where people could come and work on their projects.

Friday Faves Five on Saturday

This past week flew by as usual, and we had some weird weather. 

1. I am thankful that our Air Conditioning was finally installed this past Sunday.

2. Our water heater gave out on Monday. Thankful that we got it replaced by Tuesday.

3. Thankful I went to my Book study class. We talked about Mary, Martha and Lazarus. The women in my group prayed over my upcoming surgery.

4. Thankful to finally be able to color my hair on Thursday. It made me feel better.

5. Thankful to be able to attend the celebration of life for a friend. He dad and my dad were best friends. I was able to see my brother, sister and brother in lay. My cousin was there. It was nice to see the friends of my parents who are still alive. Funny to see so many my age when my mind still sees them as kids.

My Website is at Susan's Garden of Friendship The link is to the left. Lots of inspirational pages and more.

Tuesday 4 & Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. Why did you begin blogging?  I was looking for graphics and found "country graphics" That led to a whole community of people that were making webpages with a country flair. Most of the women had their sites through Yahoo-Geocities. We were assigned names and numbers. Geocities has easy page setups with a single page and graphics that are similar to a plain Blogger page. Then things upgraded to more complicated set ups and we were getting Websites. I think my first Geocities site was from 1998.

I had new site by 2000 and actually added 2 other sites. So now we had "Webhomes." We got our own domain names and I got garden4mylord.com and called it Susan's Garden of Friendship. We all had a guestbook set up were we visited each other and we could even leave gifts. We exchanged banners , signatures-siggies and cards. We shared our new pages and we made many pages. I still have my website. That were written with html-computer language and I learned from others. Some pages have 3-4 backgrounds We could really be creative with your pages by adding music and animation. I started blogging in 2002 and I have all my pages at my webhome. Then something changed. Facebook came on the scene and lots of people that made pages now could make farms from Farmtown and Farmville. Then more people moved to the free Blogger pages. I visited people on Blogger, but they did not understand inline frames. This is when you click on a link from th column and the page opens in the middle. I got a Blogger page in 2007 but didn't use it much. Then I officially moved my blog over here in 2021. 

2. What benefits does blogging offer you? It has allowed me to make new friends.  It lets me use my graphics and stories from my webhome. I met women from all over the World through his country webhomes and many great artist were born. I still can be creative. 

3. Have you made friends from blogging? Yes, I have made many friends and have met a few.

4. Where do you get ideas for things you blog about? Do other bloggers influence you? Blogs were about your life. When 911 happened, the graphic artist made graphic to share on your blog to show our compassion for what happened. Some of these artist were from other countries showing they cared.

One of my favorite things from my old Susan's GOF was the Homework page. One of my friends was a teacher. Each month she gave an assignment. We would all do our assignment on a creative page and then we would turn in our assignment. Then we would all visit each other's pages. This was 2003-2006

Now we use memes that work in a similar way. But back then, everyone visited everyone's pages. I don't see that as often in some of the memes now.

1.  Are you more life of the party or more party pooper? If your answer is somewhere in the middle which side of the middle do you lean towards more? Middle, I love to be around people, but I do need my down time.

Birthday party, beach party, cocktail party, dinner party, charity fundraiser, surprise party, costume party, garden party, Christmas party, reunion...what's your favorite kind of party? I would say birthday party first and Christmas second. Birthday to celebrate one's life that is a gift from God. Two, a time for family and friends to come together and celebrate our Lord's birth.

2. Cheese, wine, and balsamic vinegar all improve with age. What would you personally add to the list?

 The appreciation of life and specifically with my relationship with Jesus.

3. How do you feel about your birthday? How do you want to be celebrated? Or don't you? I appreciate each year I get. My family gave me a 70th birthday and it was fun to be with my family. This is me at 2 and My tablecloth says Happy Birthday from Disneyland.

4. What remarkable feat, interesting piece of trivia, or historical event occurred on your birthday and month? Not necessarily your same birth year, just the same date/month. My granddaughter was born on my birthday. The Singer sewing machine was patented-1851, Josephy Lister used antiseptic-1861, Thomas Edison records himself on the early phonograph-1877. First model-T tested by Henry Ford in 1808, Clarence Birdseye gets a patent for quick freezing food-1930. Minimum wage is raised by President Eisenhower from.75 to $1.00-1955 Found here.

5. Share two good things about your life right now. I am caught up with my reading through the Bible, Day 260 with the Bible Recap Girl. Our new air conditioning is working great!

6. Insert your own random thought here. Looking forward to celebrating September birthdays with my family this Sunday. I am a little concerned about my upcoming surgery next Friday. I would appreciate your prayers!

Friday Fave Five & Saturday 9

Joining Susanne for the Friday Fave Five and Sam for Saturday 9

Last Sunday was Grandparents Day. I am thankful everyday for my 4 grands! I love all the fun times we have had together. I miss the days when they were young and they would all be here playing together. Now they are 11, 15, 16 and 17. They are into their own world and though I miss the younger them, I am thankful they are all healthy and doing well!

Thankful for the lunch and shopping I had with Audrina. It is what she wanted for her birthday. He cousin had the same choice but just wanted the money to shop on Amazon. Audrina likes to take pictures and Jazzy doesn't. I have to respect their choices. My biopsy scar is hidden by my glasses frame. 

Thankful that after a hot week, this week has cooled down to the low 80's. But it will go back up this weekend and hopefully we are getting our AC, because we had to wait for a part.

Thankful for my friend Linda, who took me to Bible study Tuesday night and to Sr. Fellowship on Wednesday morning. There is always lots of food and fun. Young people can't understand that though our body ages, our mind is still young. It was a sports theme.

Thankful that my friend Kelli works in dermatology. She called to tell me she was making my appointment with her favorite doctor for my MOHS surgery. She asked me lots of questions and then said I would get instructions on my online medical record. I printed it out and it was 7 pages! I am praying they don't have to take a lot out. My current biopsy site is healed though I still have a red spot that needs time, but it won't matter since they will be cutting over it. My appointment is Sept. 26.

Praying for our country and all the evil that is around. But even so, I will trust in God!

Saturday 9: A Little in Love (1980)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

 

1) Do you believe you can be a little in love? Or is romance an all-or-nothing proposition for you? I think it starts slowly. I have been married 51 years. By todays standards, it was fast for us. From the time we dated to the time we got married, it was only 18 months. But that was normal back then. We were married 61/2 years before we had our first baby and that was love at first sight!

 

2) Cliff Richard sings that he knows it's been a long time since you had fun. Is that true? When have you recently had a really good time? What were you doing? Senior Fellowship was fun.

 

3) Cliff was born in India when it was still part of the UK. When he was 8, his family relocated to Tilbury, an English port town. Have you ever lived near the sea? Not close. I did live about 15 miles, and now I am 30 miles.

 

4) In 1958, Cliff became a star in England. He was so influential that young John Lennon said he dreamed someday the Beatles would be as big as Cliff Richard. Yet for some reason, he was never as popular here in the US. Before today, had you ever heard of Cliff Richard? No

 

5) 1980 was Cliff's most successful year stateside. Both "A Little in Love" and his duet with Olivia Newton-John, "Suddenly," made the Top 10. Do you have a favorite Olivia Newton-John song? Let's Get Physical.

 

6) Cliff was once "a little in love" himself. He had a high-profile romance with British pro tennis player Sue Barker. They contemplated marriage, but in his memoir, Cliff admitted he wasn't ready to commit the rest of his life to her. Cliff never married but Sue went on to wed landscape gardener Lance Tankard. Have you ever employed a gardener? Or do you handle all the yard work yourself? My husband has a gardener. But he just mows the lawn. My grandpa was a real gardener. He would have been known as a landscape artist. He raised a family of 5 and bought a nice house with his earnings. Most of his clients loved on the rich side of town. He actually had to turn down some request. He did more than just mow lawns. He made people's yards pretty and in the summer, I could go with him. I learned the names of many plants and flowers. I liked going to the dump with him. When he was 80, he walked a few blocks to my house with a wheelbarrow and dug up some of my roses and took them to his house to plant in his yard. He wanted my grandma to have flowers. He didn't have to be told when a sprinkler was out or if the grass needed food. Now days they charge you for everything!

 

7) In 1980, when we were enjoying "A Little in Love" on the radio, Macaulay Culkin was born. He became famous for the Home Alone franchise. Have you seen any Home Alone movies? Yes, two of them. We watch them every year.

 

8) 1980 also gave us the Post-It Note. Today they are available in a variety of sizes and colors, but the original 4"x4" canary yellow Post-Its are still the best seller. Would we find Post-Its in your home or office right now? Yes, I have them at my desk and in the kitchen pen/scissor/letter opener and more door. 

 

9) Random question – You're having a crummy day. Nothing is going right. You run into a casual friend in the grocery store aisle. As you chat, do you think your mood would be obvious? Or could you successfully put on a happy face? I think seeing a friend would make my mood better.

Tuesday 4 & Wednesday Hodgepodge

Thanks to Annie and Joyce for the memes below.

1. If you could live in the world of any movie, which one would you choose and why? At one time I would have said Gone with the Wind. But I have watched all of the Chosen series and I would say that now. I would have liked to sit at the table with the women that surrounded Jesus including Mary, the mother of Jesus.

2. If you could have coffee or tea with a woman from history or from fiction come to life, who would that be and why? I would like to spend time with my mom and grandmas. They were the most important women in my life.

3. If you could create an autumn-themed festival, what unique events or foods would it feature? It would be a place that would be about Harvest Blessings. I do not like Halloween thing that are scary. I do like to see kids in fun, friendly costumes. There would be lots of hay bales, sunflowers and corn husk. There would be fun games like bobbing for apples and bean bag toss. Things from the days of my youth that don't include so many electronics. I always like the ping pong ball game where you would win a gold fish. There would be a bake sale and cake walk. There would be lots of food like corn on the cob, pretzels, dill pickles and homemade lemonade. 

4, If autumn had a personality, how would you describe it, and what kind of friend would it be? I started decorating for fall yesterday. I have lots of scarecrows. They are happy scarecrows. They make me thing of people that are happy and grateful for the harvest. I also think that I like scarecrows because I like the scarecrow from the original Wizard of Oz. He put Dorothy first, cared for her and helped her. That is what a friend does, and it should be reciprocated. The scarecrow wanted a brain and he already had a heart. I can relate, Let go and let God and the hear will connect to the brain and then you are not full of stuff, you are filled with His love!

1. What gives you energy? What takes it away? Mental: Music and Bible journaling lifts my spirit. Being with my family and friends gives me energy. Going to church and Bible study give me energy.  News depresses me. Exercising gives me physical energy and sitting to locks makes me tired.

2. How often do you shop for clothes? What accessory do you always wear? I don't have a set schedule to buy clothes. I get what I need when I need it. I probably buy more in the summer, especially after getting money and gift cards for my birthday in August. By then the clothes are on sale. I always wear earrings and bracelets. I always wear my wedding rings. I may change my necklace. 

3. What's something free that you feel grateful for? My relationship with Jesus. The love of my family and friends. Grateful to reach 70 and still be active. I am going to senior fellowship at church today and it is good to be able to enjoy friends. We are all retired and are grandparents.

4. Breakfast, lunch, dinner...which meal of the day do you enjoy most? What's your go-to comfort food? 

It really depends on that is on the menu. My breakfast is usually protein based. I had scrambled eggs with a bit if shredded chicken. I am not sure about comfort food, but I do like chips and salsa.

I think of my mom when I make her taco recipe. I think of my grandma when I smell fresh tortillas. I don't have it daily, because I have to watch my carbs. I do enjoy some apple slices and peanut butter that I usually have every evening with some milk. 

5. This week the world remembers the tragic events of 9/11. Do you mark the day in any way? How do historical events shape your perspective on your personal challenges? My husband and I usually watch a documentary of that event and talk about our thoughts from that day. We both worked for the post office and the security level went up. I look back and think how the nation united. Now I am sad to see how divided it is. I try my best to remember the teachings of Jesus and to be kind to everyone.

6. Insert your own random thought here. After 2 weeks of hot weather, we finally have a cool down and will be in the 80's during the day and low 60's at night. But this is just a break in the weather. We can have hot weather through mid-October. Our new AC should be in this Sunday. There was a delay because a part that was needed was delayed. 

Friday Faves 5 & Saturday 9

Thankful that in spite of the AC going out, we have had a place to stay with our kids.

Thankful for the fun day with my friends on Saturday. We took a train ride from our city to San Juan Capistrano which is about 40 miles away. We only had to pay$5.00 roundtrip because we are seniors. San Juan Capistrano has a mission, and we were last there in 2018 when we took the grands to see the mission. But we did not go to the mission. We did take a trolly ride around a part of the city. Some out of state people were there and one man had a little to much to drink and was happing and joking the whole time and a few things were not to nice, but we offered grace, and his friends got him off the trolley as soon as they could. I painted the tunnel on the picture below and found a train for the tunnel. I did these pages for my Crafty August book.

Thankful that we could go to the early church service this Sunday. Then we picked up Minnie and headed to my daughter's home. They went to Disneyland for the day. Thankful to have a cool place to hang out. We spent Monday with our son during the day and my granddaughter and I went shopping. Then we went to my daughter's home and spent the night. Wednesday-Saturday here at my son's. Dogs are happy they are with us as my son and his family are at the beach. 

Thankful that we are credit union members and were able to get the $ to get our new AC Unit. It is supposed to get installed on Sunday.

Thankful that my face biopsy is almost healed and looks a lot better. 

Saturday 9: It's So Nice to Be Nice  (to Your Neighbor) – 1947

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

 

1) In this song, Monica Lewis encourages us to greet our neighbors with a smile and a hello. Tell us about one of your neighbors. One of my best friends lives down the street. She lets me take my grands swimming at her house. she is a great listener and very generous. She is a craft person like me and can really paint nice things. We met at church over 25 years ago.

 

2) She reminds us that it's "nice to be nice." Who has recently shown you kindness? Our kids who have let us stay at their home since we lost our AC where the temps are in the 90's daily!

 

3) Monica Lewis was born in Chicago, where her mother performed with the Chicago Opera Company. Have you ever been to the opera? Phantom of the Opera on Broadway 2008 and at the Venetian in Las Vegas in 2007

My parents waiting for the show to start. It was about 30 minutes longer that the Vegas show.

 

4) Her family moved to New York City, where she attended college by day and worked at radio station WMCA in the evenings to help support her family. Which do you listen to more: the radio or podcasts?

The Radio.

5) In the 1940s she appeared all around New York – in nightclubs, on Broadway, and on radio shows. It was then that she got her best-known and longest-running role: the voice of Chiquita Banana. For decades she was heard singing the jingle, "I'm Chiquita Banana and I'm here to say ..." Do you have any bananas in your kitchen now? Yes, there are some here at my son's house.

 

6) Around 1950 she moved to Hollywood. She had recently divorced and wanted a fresh start. There she dated an actor who was also newly divorced: Ronald Reagan. Obviously she never had to ask, "Whatever became of him?" Who is the last former romance, classmate or coworker that you looked up on the internet? I don't remember, but it was someone from my class that I did not know well. Someone posted a link that keeps classmates updated.

 

7) In 1947, when this song was popular, actor Ted Danson was born. He's best known as Sam Malone, the bartender at Cheers, "where everybody knows your name." Is there a bar or restaurant where you are recognized on sight? No.

 

8) The 1947 Studebaker Champion was one of the first cars to have an adjustable driver's seat designed to accommodate motorists of various heights. When you're driving someone else's car, do you usually adjust the seat? All the time. I have short legs.

 

9) Random question: When someone takes advantage of you, are you angrier at them for doing it, or at yourself for letting it happen? Just depends on the situation though it does not happen very often.

I am writing this Friday night and I have to go to bed early because the grand dogs are tired.