Friday Fave Five & Saturday 9

1. Thankful for a wonderful Easter. In Spite of the rain, all went well. Church was packed! So thankful for a special day to remember what Jesus did for us.

2. Thankful that my whole family was together! The kids enjoyed the indoor egg hunt since it was raining. There was lots of good food too! For the first time we had an Italian menu. Spaghetti with meat sauce, fettucine with Alfredo sauce, pesto sauce and gluten free noodles. We also had salad, zucchini with parmesan cheese and garlic bread. We had shrimp scampi and grilled chicken strips in a light sauce.

3. Thankful for mini vacation in San Diego CA which is about 90 minutes from us. The weather was sunny all week. 

4. Thankful for the comfortable room we had at the Marriott Pulse in Downtown San Diego. We ate Mexican Food at El Coyote In Old Town SD. We ate at the Cheesecake Factory at Seaport Village. We had pizza while on Coronado and some great ice cream too! The breakfast at the hotel was good too!

5. Thankful that my son and his family include us!

Saturday 9: Diamond Girl (1973)

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

1) This week's song is by Seals and Crofts, a pair of Texas boys who met when they both joined a local band called The Crew Cats. Have you ever visited The Lone Star State? If yes, where did you go?

Yes, I was there twice in 2022 and once in 2023. In 2022 my friends and I flew into Austin to visit our friend who lives in Georgetown, about 40 minutes from Austin. We also visited the Alamo and Riverwalk in San Antonio and the Magnolia Silos in Waco. I went back a few months later. Flew into Austin, stayed in Balthrop, went to a craft camp in. Then I flew out from Houston, changed planes in Denver and headed back home with Covid!

2) Lead singer Jim Seals compliments his girl by comparing her to a precious stone. What's the nicest compliment you have ever received? Who was it from? 

My dad telling me I was his beautiful little girl, and loving daughter. This was right before he passed away.

3) Diamonds are birthstone for people born in April. What's your birthstone? Do you wear it often?

My birthstone is a peridot, and no, I don't wear it.

4) In ancient times, Hindus believed diamonds brought good luck. Do you have a good luck charm? No.

5) On the other hand, some believe that one of the world's most famous gems, The Hope Diamond, is cursed. 14 of its owners have died from unnatural causes. Those who possessed the diamond committed suicide, were murdered, tortured to death in prison, and even torn apart by dogs! If you received a beautiful piece of jewelry that was rumored to be cursed, would you be concerned? Or do you think curses are silly? I think curses are silly. If I got a diamond that big, I would sell it!

6) Rare diamonds share an element with the common pencil. Both contain graphite. Sam is crazy about pencils, pens and felt-tip markers. Do you enjoy shopping for office supplies? 

Yes, I am Bible journaler, crafter, so I do like office supplies.

7) In 1973, the year this record was popular, Shelley Hack was a hard-working and well-paid model. She regularly appeared on the pages of catalogs, on magazine covers and then launched Revlon's popular Charlie cologne in print and on TV. What commercial have you seen recently? Did you watch it on TV, online or on your phone?

8) Also in 1973, Motown great Stevie Wonder was in a car accident that left him with a scar on his nose. Tell us about how you got one of your scars. 2 Cesarean's. A scar on my hand from when my dog bit me as a puppy. An arrow shape scar on my wrist from when my arm hit the corner of a table.

9) Random question: What's your perfect day -- weatherwise? 

We had perfect weather day while we were at Coronado in San Diego. It was about 72 with a slight breeze, Clear blue skies too! It rained and hailed while I wrote this on Friday. Warm weather coming next week.

Tuesday 4 & Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. What spring flowers/trees are your favorites? 

My roses have not bloomed yet since they were cut back late. My plumerias are barely coming alive. I did take these pictures while we were in Old Town San Diego. Yesterday. I do love lavender! I pulled off a couple of lavender flowers and they smell so good!

I think this is an African Daisy.

2. Do you ever bring home bouquets for your home? 

Once in a great while. We usually cut our roses and plumeria's and bring them in.

3. If you are married, what flowers were in your bouquet?  If you aren't which flowers, would you like in a bridal bouquet? My bridal bouquet consisted of white carnations, white daisies, baby's breath, and white stephanotis. I told my mom I loved the fragrance of white carnations, so she selected the rest. Our parents shared the wedding expenses. We celebrated with a grand wedding, complete with Mariachis and a live band; it was their gift to us. For our 25th anniversary, we celebrated with friends. My cousin made my bouquet.

4.Do you check the weather forecast for an upcoming month?  It is said that April showers bring May flowers. Will your April be rainy this year? Rain is predicted for Friday. We had heavy rain Easter weekend and the egg hunt was moved inside.

 

1. What's a talent you wish you had? Will come back to this question later.

2. In one word, what's your state of mind right now? Relaxed

3. What's the next major purchase you need to make? Will it happen this month? This year? 

Vacations. Hawaii and maybe a cruise? 

4. Tuesday (April 2nd) was National PB and J Day...did you celebrate? Is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich something you eat weekly or more? What's your favorite kind of jelly? I am on vacation so no peanut butter that I like to eat with apples. I did have a bit of grape jelly on my toast Tuesday morning.

5. Are you easily intimidated? Who or what intimidates you? For the most part, no.

6. Insert your own random thought here. I am on vacation in San Diego, so keeping this short.

Saturday 9 and San Diego

Saturday 9: Big Spender (1966)

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

 

1) In this song, Peggy Lee invites a gentleman to join her for fun, laughs, and a good time. What will you be doing for fun this weekend? 

Zoom with some crafty girls and Illustrated Faith Hope Camp. Church and Bible journaling.

 

2) Peggy was blessed with perfect pitch. It's estimated that just 1 in 10,000 has this gift. Tell us about something that comes naturally to you. Talking!  Bible journaling/study.

 

3) Peggy was an influential performer whose fans included singers as diverse as Carly Simon, Petula Clark, and Joni Mitchell. Bette Midler even did a Peggy Lee tribute album. What songstress do you listen to most often? There are so many talented singers, but I have seen these 4 in concert. 

Carole King, Amy Grant, Mandisa and Lauren Daigle. 

 

4) Paul McCartney was also a big Peggy Lee fan. In the 1970s he was invited to meet her in her London home. He arrived with a carefully chosen hostess gift: a bottle of champagne and an original song ("Let's Love") which she recorded, and he produced. Have you more recently given or received a gift?

Yes, I just gave my friend Linda a birthday gift. I also bought my grands a stuffed animal when we were in San Diego.

5) Cy Coleman wrote the music to "Big Spender." Unlike Peggy Lee, who never took a music lesson, Coleman was classically trained and studied composition, conducting, and orchestration at New York City’s High School for the Performing Arts and at the New York College of Music. If you could take classes in anything that interested you, what would you choose to learn more about? 

Bible classes. Hebrew/Jewish culture.

6) Coleman met lyricist Dorothy Fields by chance, at a party. Though Fields was more than 20 years his senior, they hit it off immediately and he invited her to work with him. Their collaboration resulted in two Broadway shows including Sweet Charity, which featured "Big Spender." Think about the person you spent the most time with last week. 

Were they older, younger or about the same age as you? Younger(grands) and same age as me. My hubby and my Bible journaling friends.

 

7) In 1966, when disc jockeys were playing this record, consumers were discovering garage door openers. These transistorized devices weren't cheap. Typically about $150 in 1966, that would be more than $1,000 in today's dollars. These days garage door openers are far more affordable and common. Can you think of something that was a luxury item when you were a kid that today you take for granted? We didn't have air conditioning in the house I grew up in. I am really glad we have it now! The other thing would be computers!!! It has opened up a new world for me since I started working on them back in 1988.

 

8) 1966 found Jacqueline Susann atop the best seller list with her steamy novel, Valley of the Dolls. Though it was savaged by critics, countless Americans enjoyed the book. Do you have a similar guilty pleasure? Is there a book, movie, TV show or song you enjoy, even though you know it has little artistic merit? I like to watch General Hospital during the day. Hubby and watch a lot of shows together.

9) Random question: When at a Mexican restaurant, what's your go-to order? 

Hard shell tacos and chips and salsa. We ate Mexican food twice when we were in San Diego and we stayed at the Marriott Courtyard in Old Town, June 2-4. The plate below has a fish taco, a chicken enchilada and a chili relleno, rice and beans too. The best thing was the homemade flour tortillas with butter.

Hubby and I sharing a passion fruit and pineapple drink.

Kids had churros. 

I like to take flag pictures. This was still in Old Town

which has a lot of Mexican collectible shops.

Click the link below is you want to learn more about

Tuesday 4

This is in front of the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego on Sunday. We came her for a couple of days on our honeymoon 47 years ago in August. I will post more pictures on Thursday.

Let's talk about The Wild West!

1. Do you have a favorite TV western you enjoyed? Tell us about it. I remember seeing Rifleman as a child. I also liked Bonanza. My husband and I went to the Ponderosa(Ponanza)Ranch Amusement park in Lake Tahoe when we were first married. We went horseback riding and ate some great hamburgers. We really enjoyed the beautiful scenery. Sadly it closed in 1984.

2. Lots of western movies... which was one you enjoyed?  Tombstone,  Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and  True Grit. I don't really watch many westerns. I will go if my husband wants too. I did enjoy the mini series Lonesome Dove. I also read the Wagon's West book series that would be considered a western. 

3. John Wayne was in many westerns and had many fans. What actor is your favorite? John Wayne comes to my mind. Probably because I have seen his house on a Balboa Bay(Newport Beach CA). He is also buried in Newport Beach(Corona Del Mar)

4. You are going to have to move to a western state that has cowboys! Which state will you choose and why?  Did you know they had/have cowboys in Hawaii. They are called Paniolo. Captain George Vancouver gave some Longhorns to the Hawaiian King in 1793. In 1893, Spanish-Mexican Vaqueros were brought to Hawaii so that the wild cattle could be controlled. While in Hawaii in 2000, we went the Kualoa Ranch and our guide told us all about Parker Ranch at the Big Island. In 2012 we went to Hawaii again. During that time I was also playing Farmville, and the theme was Hawaiian Paradise. I had a whole section on my farm that was about the Paniolo including Longhorn. Click on the picture below for more history.