Small Talk: The Prayer Closet

[Ohiopirate02]

Has anyone else been watching these brothers discover classic music--

 

I could watch these boys all day.  

[Barb23]

16 hours ago, sixlets said:

Sadly, Sally Samsung bit the dust too early, so we missed out on the ice ball feature.  We do have cubed and crushed, which is my jam.  As for the knock feature, the best use we've found is knowing what canned beverages are available.  Mr. Six drinks Bubly & A-Ha sparkling water, and they fit perfectly in the door on the top shelf.  It's an unneeded feature, but a good conversation starter.  Not that we're conversing with anyone at the moment, or pre Covid for that matter, but you get the picture.

Along with being a professional engineer, Mr. Six is also a certified plumbing designer.  He was supposed to attend a trade-show convention in September, and since it was scheduled for New Orleans, I was going to go with him.  It was officially canceled this week.  The MD State Fair was also canceled this week.  At this rate, we are planning on Thanksgiving just being the two of us, which is going to feel very weird.  I'm glad I got back into my adult coloring books again.  I took an 18-month break, but I found the joy in it once more.  It's been keeping me busy, and gives me a bit of a distraction from all the pain.  I'm pretty sure I can find numerous 100-year-old people that are in better health than I am right now.  40 is just awesome 🥴.

Hi neighbor!  Hitting 50 was my downfall  & I went straight down quickly.

 I could have written your post.  I've been in a funk, health wise for months & I understand about your pain since I suffer badly from it as well as most of you know. I don't think I've slept well since Christmas even with meds.  The doctors are trying to figure things out but I'm tired of feeling this way. I'm glad the adult coloring books are helping you as a distraction.  I posted a while back my new obsession are planners & all the stickers & what nots that go with them. (Which is an industry in itself.) At first I got a planner to record my meds but I find I really enjoy decorating all the pages too.  There are also plenty of You Tube videos about planners which helps pass the time & take my mind off my troubles too.  

 

[realityfan26]

42 minutes ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

Has anyone else been watching these brothers discover classic music--

 

I could watch these boys all day.  

Yes!!! I loved their reaction to “In the Air Tonight”  by Phil Collins. Although sad they haven’t heard some of these songs before!

[doodlebug]

1 hour ago, realityfan26 said:

Yes!!! I loved their reaction to “In the Air Tonight”  by Phil Collins. Although sad they haven’t heard some of these songs before!

True, but it shows that good music transcends time and style.  I like their willingness to listen to stuff that is totally foreign to them and to appreciate all sorts of music.  They do a bunch of Carpenter songs.  They start out listening and are blown away by Karen Carpenter's voice, as anyone would be, and, each time they listen to a new song, they're almost giddy with anticipation to hear her sing another one.

[galaxychaser]

@Christina87 I watched Glee for a few seasons then it got boring so I quit. I did watch the episode dedicated to Finn/Cory. Don’t care to see how it ends either. 
 

I too hated Rachel and Lea Michelle. I can tell Lea acts like Rachel in real life. 

[doodlebug]

45 minutes ago, galaxychaser said:

@Christina87 I watched Glee for a few seasons then it got boring so I quit. I did watch the episode dedicated to Finn/Cory. Don’t care to see how it ends either. 
 

I too hated Rachel and Lea Michelle. I can tell Lea acts like Rachel in real life. 

I really enjoyed the first season of Glee, the music and the tongue in cheek humor. It was something new and different for its time.  Unfortunately, it went downhill rapidly from there and I only watched it intermittently after the second season.  I felt like the cast, writers and producers got a little too full of themselves, that they lost the charm that had made the show so appealing in the first season.

[marypat57]

Good news everyone!  Power is back! 

As I returned from my friend’s house last night, after borrowing more than a cup of electricity, I saw that the lights were ON....

Hope everyone is OK and safe.  I am still going to order that battery powered fan and an extra solar charger, though. You can never be too well prepared for the next time.  As an added    feature, they can be used at the park or the beach..

[galaxychaser]

I decided to go to Barnes and Noble vs buying on Amazon. Support the struggling company. The line is down the block. Probably waited 30 minutes to get in. As soon as I entered I was told I have 15 minutes to shop and leave. I went to the bathroom and left. No way I’m going to pick books that fast. Amazon is getting my $.

[emma675]

6 hours ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

Has anyone else been watching these brothers discover classic music--

 

I could watch these boys all day.  

I love the one where they listen to Phil Collins! They are adorable and so appreciative of different genres and time periods of music.

marypat57, I highly recommend a battery powered fan and one of those solar chargers with multiple USB ports. 

Edited August 8, 2020 by emma675d

[dargosmydaddy]

6 hours ago, galaxychaser said:

I decided to go to Barnes and Noble vs buying on Amazon. Support the struggling company. The line is down the block. Probably waited 30 minutes to get in. As soon as I entered I was told I have 15 minutes to shop and leave. I went to the bathroom and left. No way I’m going to pick books that fast. Amazon is getting my $.

Why not shop on the Barnes and Noble website, if you want to support them? Free shipping on orders of $35 and up. Back in the pre-Covid days, they frequently had discounts, too, but that seems to be a thing of a past. So I don't know how their prices compare to Amazon's. But since your instinct was to support B&N, maybe that doesn't matter?

I also really like Alibris, which has a collective of sellers of both new and used books (basically you can find almost any book, in a variety of conditions and for a variety of prices). And then there's bookshop.org, which supports independent bookstores, who could use more help than the chain stores right now.

I refuse to shop on Amazon for anything, but especially not books.

[Zella]

ABE Books often has good deals on hard-to-find books too. 

[doodlebug]

6 hours ago, emma675 said:

I love the one where they listen to Phil Collins! They are adorable and so appreciative of different genres and time periods of music.

marypat57, I highly recommend a battery powered fan and one of those solar chargers with multiple USB ports. 

 I also enjoyed their reaction to Whitney Houston doing I Will Always Love You.  They are also watching the video and 2 of the 3 had never seen her and had no idea how gorgeous she was.  Their reaction to seeing her was priceless.  As was their reaction to her voice and the song.

[Zella]

Bringing this over from the Sweet Fellowship thread. 

@lianau On the subject of stealing signatures, I totally stole the way I write my 7s from a Spanish teacher I had in 4th grade. She put a slash through 7s, which I'd never seen done before. But I liked it so much that I started writing my 7s like that and still do over 20 years later. And though the rest of my penmanship is atrocious, I'm really proud of my 7s! Nobody else can still tell them apart from my 1s and my 4s, but in the back of my mind, I'm like, "Come on, you plebes, my 7s are sophisticated as hell!" 

Edited August 9, 2020 by Zella

[Westiepeach]

So, since today is my birthday, I will expect nothing less than a party held at the mall’s food court. Somebody needs to bring the Little Caesar’s Pizza and the Walmart brand 2-liter soft drinks. And someone of course needs to make cupcakes! We have a lot of August birthdays here, so we can have a great big party and celebrate all of us! Masks are NOT allowed, because, well, Jesus. See you all at noon! 🎂🎉🎈🎁🤪

 

Edited August 9, 2020 by Westiepeach

[GeeGolly]

Happy Birthday @Westiepeach! Hope you don't mind left over soda.

[ginger90]

Happy birthday, @Westiepeach !!

[Ijustwantsomechips]

Happy birthday @Westiepeach! You’re in luck.  There was a little ice cream left over from the Nurthan/Duggar celebrations. Enjoy! 

[Jynnan tonnix]

8 hours ago, Zella said:

Bringing this over from the Sweet Fellowship thread. 

@lianau On the subject of stealing signatures, I totally stole the way I write my 7s from a Spanish teacher I had in 4th grade. She put a slash through 7s, which I'd never seen done before. But I liked it so much that I started writing my 7s like that and still do over 20 years later. And though the rest of my penmanship is atrocious, I'm really proud of my 7s! Nobody else can still tell them apart from my 1s and my 4s, but in the back of my mind, I'm like, "Come on, you plebes, my 7s are sophisticated as hell!" 

Haha! I stole my 7s the same way, and still write them that way over 40 years later. Actually, my numbers are pretty legible, but I have horrible handwriting as well. I always find it weird that while I have very good hand control, and can do things like drawing with great precision, it all falls apart when I write. My cursive is actually sort of half-printing, and leans left instead of right, so it's not much like what we were taught in school. I can do standard cursive as well, but it doesn't look any better. I had many teachers lament my handwriting skills when I was growing up.

[Hangin Out]

On 8/8/2020 at 7:00 AM, GeeGolly said:

All this talk about musicals made me realize how different some are from others. I'm definitely in the, I like them, category, but I enjoy the cheesy playful ones, like Footloose, Flashdance, Dirty Dancing and the oldie but goodies, Sound Of Music and Wizard of Oz, although I think I've watched all that have been shown on TV. I've been to only one Broadway play - Cats. I have not seen Hamilton yet, but I will. I'm usually a year or two behind any movie or TV trend (which has always driven my co-workers nuts).

Healing thoughts to your brother @SunnyBeBe.

The Flashdance soundtrack is the best I think.  I have it on my I pad and blast it with the headphones.  Grease also.  They are all good tho.  I don’t like or understand the music of today.

[GeeGolly]

Had one of those pandemic crashes a couple of days ago. Spending too much time in my head thinking about the cold weather driving us all indoors and the upcoming holidays. We're still being very cautious and have only done a couple of indoor masked visits. You can't wear masks for a Thanksgiving dinner. I'd be okay with calling the whole thing off, but I'm not sure how my kids would feel, especially the single one.

Anyway, today the weather is supposed to be nice. Going to spend sometime outside enjoying the present.

[Scarlett45]

Happy Birthday @Westiepeach!!!

23 minutes ago, GeeGolly said:

Had one of those pandemic crashes a couple of days ago. Spending too much time in my head thinking about the cold weather driving us all indoors and the upcoming holidays. We're still being very cautious and have only done a couple of indoor masked visits. You can't wear masks for a Thanksgiving dinner. I'd be okay with calling the whole thing off, but I'm not sure how my kids would feel, especially the single one.

Anyway, today the weather is supposed to be nice. Going to spend sometime outside enjoying the present.

No thanksgiving😣. That idea makes me sad too!

Enjoy the beautiful weather today. 

[BetyBee]

I'm in a pandemic crash right now - low grade depression like a former first lady. I am starting to think that this virus will go on for a really long time. I haven't seen 5 of my grands since February and probably won't for a very long time. I saw pics of my 1 year old twin granddaughters at the beach and they have grown so much and probably no longer have any idea who I am. How old will they be the next time I see them? I know that I am fortunate to have my health, a roof over my head and food to eat (so far), but I am starting to feel hopeless. It takes me a long time to fall asleep and I sometimes don't stay asleep. I keep going for walks and doing yoga. I'm fortunate too, to have my husband with me and occasional sightings of my local granddaughter. But the coming winter scares me. The news is horrible every day and I don't want to be lonely and trapped in the house. 

I've gladly shied away from talking on the phone since cell phones became commonplace. I'm a texter, an e-mailer. But I've been thinking that I should call more. I talk to my elderly Mom regularly. Maybe it's time to call my kids and my sisters more often. I'm tired though, of every conversation ending up being about Covid and politics. I can't imagine what it must be like to be a kid in today's world. How in the world did we reach a point where leaving our homes and being around children, is dangerous to our health? It's crazy! /rant

[emma675]

Happy birthday, Westiepeach! I'll bring leftover balloons and streamers to your mall food court celebration!

I've thought about the holidays recently, too. My mom is still considered immuno compromised because it's only been a little over a year since she finished chemo. My cousin with kids hasn't been socially distancing at all, another cousin is a nurse, and my brother owns a business that is considered essential so he's been working as normal the whole time. There's no way I'd feel comfortable in a large family gathering with all of them and I would refuse to let my mom go. 

Edited August 9, 2020 by emma675d

[Suzn]

Happy Birthday @Westiepeach!   Sounds like a perfect party with pizza and cupcakes! 🍕🧁🥳

[Scarlett45]

36 minutes ago, BetyBee said:

I'm in a pandemic crash right now - low grade depression like a former first lady. I am starting to think that this virus will go on for a really long time. I haven't seen 5 of my grands since February and probably won't for a very long time. I saw pics of my 1 year old twin granddaughters at the beach and they have grown so much and probably no longer have any idea who I am. How old will they be the next time I see them? I know that I am fortunate to have my health, a roof over my head and food to eat (so far), but I am starting to feel hopeless. It takes me a long time to fall asleep and I sometimes don't stay asleep. I keep going for walks and doing yoga. I'm fortunate too, to have my husband with me and occasional sightings of my local granddaughter. But the coming winter scares me. The news is horrible every day and I don't want to be lonely and trapped in the house. 

I've gladly shied away from talking on the phone since cell phones became commonplace. I'm a texter, an e-mailer. But I've been thinking that I should call more. I talk to my elderly Mom regularly. Maybe it's time to call my kids and my sisters more often. I'm tired though, of every conversation ending up being about Covid and politics. I can't imagine what it must be like to be a kid in today's world. How in the world did we reach a point where leaving our homes and being around children, is dangerous to our health? It's crazy! /rant

I’m sorry you can’t see your grandkids. Yes I think phone calls or video calls would be great for your mood. Do you have any friends it’s safe to see in person?(by safe I mean people you are comfortable seeing) if you do I think taking advantage of in person visits outside while the weather is still gorgeous would do wonders for your mood. 

[lookeyloo]

We are mostly hunkered down because of the sick son.  There is one friend I see for a "tail gate" lunch,  we go to a nice parking lot surrounded by trees, and we are the only cars in it because the building is closed.  We sit outside two parking spaces apart.  She is mostly hunkered down too, so we feel safe-ish.  We are hoping to fly to WA State for Thanksgiving where the grands are.  They couldn't take their annual trip here this summer. Delta does a good job with  the flights and we are talking about it.  We are wary of them although they are being good, and they are wary of us, because of where we live.  so nothing definite but we are hoping.

Did we talk about the ChocoTaco here?  Because i got some today.

[SunnyBeBe]

Happy Birthday WESTIEPEACH!!!  What an awesome party! 🎂

We had an earthquake this morning. I was asleep.   
 

https://www.wral.com/earthquake/magnitude-5-1-earthquake-hits-nc-tremors-felt-across-state/19227133/

 

[Christina87]

Happy birthday @Westiepeach!!!

@doodlebug @Zella this has been such a fun discussion about musicals! I also love Andrew Lloyd Webber...I was sooooo obsessed when the phantom of the opera movie came out! Then in college, I had the good luck to be able to see it in London, and it was amazing! Just such good songwriting, costumes, and the acting was great too!

I agree sooooo much about how glee got too full of itself. Have you guys seen how people have been calling lea Michele out for bullying?! Apparently she was really mean to the minor characters on the show, and a lot of them have opened up, and the other bigger characters have even apologized for seeing it happening and not stopping it! Her understudy from ragtime spoke up and said she cried herself to sleep every night over lea’s antics, and that the entire cast and crew was terrified of her at twelve! I’m so glad we are finally getting to a climate where we can call people out, without being hushed up or dismissed. I think cancel culture goes too far sometimes, but at other times, it’s warranted to expose bad behavior. People shouldn’t be able to get away with being mean like that! Of course lea is shielding herself from criticism by playing the first pregnancy card, but being pregnant doesn’t take away the things she has done! Also, it sounds like Ryan Murphy let her run the show, and have complete control over everything on set. I bet that was a horrible experience for everybody!

BTW did anyone feel the earthquake this morning? I am such a light sleeper, but I somehow managed to sleep through it!

[marypat57]

Good morning everyone!  Thank goodness that my power is back on, but due to some strange reason, it is still out in the other building across the courtyard.

Today I will clean out my fridge and go grocery shopping.  I will also order the rechargeable fan and one of those super cooler chests that keeps stuff cold for a week or more.  Since more storms are predicted for this year, I want to be prepared.

Happy birthday to Westipeach !

[doodlebug]

Happy birthday, @Westiepeach!  Let's take a virtual birthday trip to Grandpa's Cheesebarn and get some cheesy goodness and chocolates!  I know you're from my neck of the woods so you've probably been there.  We can go for reals someday when the vaccine is here and working.

Edited August 9, 2020 by doodlebug

[galaxychaser]

@Westiepeach happy birthday!

[Nysha]

18 hours ago, emma675 said:

Has anyone else been watching these brothers discover classic music--

1. I am soooo old.
2. The reaction and comments from these young men is so sweet and on point.
3. I wanted to go to bed at 10 PM, thought I would just watch the linked video and was still watching at 1 AM.
4. The first car I owned had an 8 track tape player and the very first tape I bought was Boston. It was stolen & replaced out of my car twice. Then I bought a different car with a cassette player and bought Boston for that. I played those songs loud and proud.

[Barb23]

Happy Birthday to all the August birthdays out there. 

I've been stuck inside with some of you since this whole Covid thing started except for a few essential visits out since I am high risk.

But there is a family wedding this mid-September that has been in the works for two years that I am definitely not missing. My only nephew & his fiance had to reconfigure their original wedding plans because of Covid.  Luckily they were able to keep the original date (which has a special meaning to them) but have decided to do a smaller late afternoon ceremony & reception in their backyard with just some family & close friends.  They are doing a larger party reception at the original venue on the same date next September with all the guests. 

Luckily they have a nice backyard & can spread everyone out and will be following safety guidelines.  They have even designated a Special Guest Seating Section for a few of us that need a little extra attention and space.  So me & my wheelchair, a great aunt with mobility issues & one of the bride's grandmothers will be sitting together in an easy accessible area on their deck.  I thought this was very nice for them to accommodate us & am actually excited to be sitting with two ladies to discuss all things wedding rather than sitting with my husband and son who won't care about the wedding colors or how the bride's hair is fixed.  I am a little antsy that my son (who has been my Covid protector) will jump up in the middle of the ceremony and yell across the yard to make sure I still have my mask on. But I'll take my chances.

We didn't think there would be any wedding rescheduling or concerns for their September wedding when all this Covid stuff started back in the Winter.  Who knew?

 Luckily being outside will help & they are renting a tent in case of rain.  The bride, her mom and sisters are very crafty and creative and  I'm really looking forward to seeing the decorations.  (The decorations will surely be a another topic for discussion for us ladies in the Special Guest seating section.) I know any decorations will be better and classier than what Jill Rod used for Nurie.  I just might lose it if the wedding colors turn out to be pale green & purple but if they are, I'm sure everyone will match & I'll be chuckling to myself.

 

[Nysha]

@Westiepeach, Happy Birthday!! And Happy Birthday to the many posters born in August. 

@Barb23, it sounds like your nephew and his fiance have done a great job preparing for a safe and joyful wedding. It will be good for everyone to have a celebration after so much tension. 

[BetyBee]

17 minutes ago, Nysha said:

1. I am soooo old.
2. The reaction and comments from these young men is so sweet and on point.
3. I wanted to go to bed at 10 PM, thought I would just watch the linked video and was still watching at 1 AM.
4. The first car I owned had an 8 track tape player and the very first tape I bought was Boston. It was stolen & replaced out of my car twice. Then I bought a different car with a cassette player and bought Boston for that. I played those songs loud and proud.

I did the same thing. I spent hours yesterday watching these brothers hearing songs of my youth for the first time. I laughed out loud numerous times at their comments. They were positive about every song, even ones I'm not that fond of! Their comments about Rocky Mountain High cracked me up! I subscribed and liked a lot of their videos, knowing that it's an easy way to hear the songs I love anyway. The comments on youtube are great too, many positive and encouraging ones. 

[Mindthinkr]

@Westiepeach Happy Birthday 🎉 I got a good laugh out of the Food Court responses. 

I didn’t feel the earthquake this morning, but they scare me. I can deal with hurricanes because there’s warnings and I can take steps to prepare or evacuate. Tornadoes and earthquakes not so much. 

[SunnyBeBe]

I tried to find another great musical/concert movie this weekend. Still looking. I was tempted by the Rock n’ Roll Hall of fame from last week and watched it again. Omg, just love it.  Can’t find anything that compares on Amazon right now. I’ll keep trying. 
 

One of my all time favorites is an older music filled movie. AWESOME performances, including Philip Seymore Hoffman and Frances McDermont. It’s based on true life story which makes it more fun. 

 

Edited August 9, 2020 by SunnyBeBe

[Mindthinkr]

@SunnyBeBe I am also a huge fan of the movie Almost Famous. I watched it again last week. 

[doodlebug]

28 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I tried to find another great musical/concert movie this weekend. Still looking. I was tempted by the Rock n’ Roll Hall of fame from last week and watched it again. Omg, just love it.  Can’t find anything that compares on Amazon right now. I’ll keep trying. 
 

One of my all time favorites is an older music filled movie. AWESOME performances, including Philip Seymore Hoffman and Frances McDermont. It’s based on true life story which makes it more fun. 

t

Love that movie!  Truly a feast for music lovers.  The scene where they are all in the bus singing Elton John's Tiny Dancer is just sums up the pure joy of loving great music.

Speaking of great music, when George Harrison was inducted posthumously into the Rock Hall as a solo performer; Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, Steve Winwood and others got together and did a stellar version of While My Guitar Gently Weeps.  Look for George's son, Dhani next to Tom, no mistaking who he is.  And then, at the end, Prince completely shreds the guitar solo, reminding us all what a talent he was and how much he is missed.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=rock+hall+prince+while+my+guitar&docid=608010323652444199&mid=D600C617246F91A547A4D600C617246F91A547A4&view=detail&FORM=VIRE

Edited August 9, 2020 by doodlebug

[DangerousMinds]

12 hours ago, Zella said:

Bringing this over from the Sweet Fellowship thread. 

@lianau On the subject of stealing signatures, I totally stole the way I write my 7s from a Spanish teacher I had in 4th grade. She put a slash through 7s, which I'd never seen done before. But I liked it so much that I started writing my 7s like that and still do over 20 years later. And though the rest of my penmanship is atrocious, I'm really proud of my 7s! Nobody else can still tell them apart from my 1s and my 4s, but in the back of my mind, I'm like, "Come on, you plebes, my 7s are sophisticated as hell!" 

Ha! I’ve been putting slashes in my sevens since I was 11, too. When I first started studying French.

[BradandJanet]

8 minutes ago, DangerousMinds said:

Ha! I’ve been putting slashes in my sevens since I was 11, too. When I first started studying French.

I started in high school, when I dreamed of living in Europe. Slashing sevens seemed like a good start. It took some time to learn, but I still do it. 

[Zella]

I'm ridiculously happy with how many of my fellow seven slashers are on here. I've never met anyone else in person who does that. 

[Westiepeach]

5 hours ago, Ijustwantsomechips said:

Happy birthday @Westiepeach! You’re in luck.  There was a little ice cream left over from the Nurthan/Duggar celebrations. Enjoy! 

But... where are the candles???

[Jynnan tonnix]

On 8/8/2020 at 10:45 AM, doodlebug said:

I love musicals, especially the old school ones.  I saw A Chorus Line on Broadway years ago and loved it.  Also enjoyed most of Andrew Lloyd Weber's ouvre especially Jesus Christ Superstar.  Saw the touring production of Cats 35 years ago and was bored to tears.  I also saw Rent on Broadway when it was the big sensation with the original cast and didn't like it much at all.  The couple sitting next to me left at intermission and I couldn't blame them.  Just did not like it.

My local community theater does great versions of the classics like West Side Story, The King and I, etc and I've enjoyed them all.  Cleveland also has the largest theater district in the US outside of NYC and I've subscribed to their Broadway series off and on for years and enjoyed almost everything although, IMO, many of the newer musicals cannot hold a candle to the classics.

I am, however, obsessed with Hamilton and have seen it live about half a dozen times.  I am a history groupie and, after seeing LMM interviewed on CBS Sunday Morning (I think) before the show opened; I got Chernow's book and read it, fascinating stuff.  I have the CD and am constantly streaming the soundtrack on Amazon.  Love it so much. 

I mostly love the older musicals as well...My Fair Lady and Camelot are favorites, and I also love the seemingly effortless catchiness of the Sherman Brothers' Disney work (Mary Poppins, Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, etc). Much of Andrew Lloyd Weber really appeals to me as well. I'm just a sucker for a pretty tune. I like some Rodgers and Hammerstein as well, particularly Oklahoma, Cinderella, The Sound of Music and parts of The King and I. Other of their works just don't quite resonate as much.

As for Opera, as someone asked about a couple of pages back, I do love most of what I've heard of Mozart, though for whatever reason I haven't really heard all that much. My favorite opera is probably La Boheme - I just like Puccini in general, and the way these sort of disjointed bits of airs and themes weave their way throughout his music. The first opera I saw all the way through was Rigoletto, which has also remained a big favorite. My poor kids had to grow up with me singing (or trying my best to, anyway) "Caro Nome" at the top of my lungs, not to mention "La Donna e Mobile" and bits of the quartet among other things LOL

Sometimes, as with Rossini and Wagner, the overtures are my favorite parts (and I have no shame in giving Bugs Bunny credit for my introduction to those).

I will also never pass up an opportunity to watch or go and see Die Fledermaus, because my life runs in  sparkles and 3/4 time and I can't get enough of it.

[andromeda331]

Happy Birthday @Westiepeach!

[PikaScrewChu]

8 hours ago, Westiepeach said:

So, since today is my birthday, I will expect nothing less than a party held at the mall’s food court. Somebody needs to bring the Little Caesar’s Pizza and the Walmart brand 2-liter soft drinks. And someone of course needs to make cupcakes! We have a lot of August birthdays here, so we can have a great big party and celebrate all of us! Masks are NOT allowed, because, well, Jesus. See you all at noon! 🎂🎉🎈🎁🤪

 

Happy birthday!

Don't sully the name of Little Caesar's like that! (Most) Pizza is good pizza!

I have to start going for physio again. I had a bunch of injuries and I was about 90-95% healed back in March. Yeah. They've all come back full force. It's no choice at this point. My complex is all stairs. I could rig up a pulley system I suppose to get me up the stairs but there's been a bucket of KFC rotting in the stairwell for quite some time so I don't trust these people. 

[Westiepeach]

15 minutes ago, PikaScrewChu said:

Happy birthday!

Don't sully the name of Little Caesar's like that! (Most) Pizza is good pizza!

I have to start going for physio again. I had a bunch of injuries and I was about 90-95% healed back in March. Yeah. They've all come back full force. It's no choice at this point. My complex is all stairs. I could rig up a pulley system I suppose to get me up the stairs but there's been a bucket of KFC rotting in the stairwell for quite some time so I don't trust these people. 

I only bring Little Caesars Pizza up because JillRod carried boxes of it in to a mall food court for one of the Rodlet’s birthday! And thank you for the birthday wishes!

[crazycatlady58]

3 hours ago, not you again said:

I'm probably late to the party as usual, but Bohemian Rhapsody is basically a love letter to Freddy Mercury. 💗  I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Also, for any readers, I looooved Elton John's autobiography, Me.

Have you watched Pentatonix ( I think that's the spelling) cover of Bohemian Rhapsody?

[Jenniferbug]

Happy birthday @Westiepeach!

[Oldernowiser]

I don’t really know how to start this...and it’s hard to even type the words, which is probably why I’ve put it off.

My mom died last week. She did NOT have Covid, for which I am forever grateful. She had had a few more falls lately, including the last time I talked to her two days prior. I called and she was able to answer the phone but not get up from the floor to hit the alert wall call button. I called the AL front desk and they got her up and she seemed okay.

Two days later she seemed more confused than usual, so they took her to the ER for a CT scan. My saint of a sister, who lives four hours away, had gotten that call at something horrible like 4 a.m. and when she got to the hospital they wouldn’t let her in the ER due to the forty Covid positive patients waiting in the ER to be admitted. My sister could see the people through the ER windows and she said it was a scene from hell and my sister was a nurse.

The internal medicine doctor called my sister that afternoon to say they were planning to admit Mom overnight, just for observation, if they could find a bed, but that she was doing well, laughing and making friends with everyone there. The CT scan was negative and everything else checked out.

At 3 a.m. my sister was called at her hotel and told that Mom had died. Her heart rate, despite the pacemaker, just kept dropping and she quietly moved on. The hard part, like so many these days, is that she didn’t have family there. I couldn’t even get on a plane to go help, before or after, because it’s a five hour trip and just not worth the risk. I hadn’t seen her since Christmas.

No service. My sister took her ashes and my father’s and spread them to the winds, together, near where they lived for 45 years. 

She was 92. The thing about my mom, though, is that she was always so ALIVE. She was a natural, genuine extrovert and could make six new best friends in a gas station parking lot if you left her alone for three minutes. She was smart, kind, a terrific audience, and and even in her dementia years, still occasionally very funny. She sang all of the time, seemingly out of nowhere and was endlessly positive and cheerful.

(Needless to say, I take after my dad.)

Anyway, I’m still just sort of in shock. This is a woman who successfully battled severe heart disease for 25 years...her heart had been restarted twice. It sounds kind of ridiculous to say her death was “sudden”....but it was. Now it’s nothing but paperwork and more paperwork and every once in a while, I suddenly think, “Oh SHIT I forgot to call Mom today!!!” before I remember.

It could have been so much worse...cancer, being bedridden, her dying alone in the night at the AL place... so there’s that. Our relationship was complicated by the fact that she thought my father could do no wrong and he and I did not get along. At all. So, feelings.

So this is hard. 

My best to all of you who are also going through stuff. 2020 is just one rough, rough year.