Small Talk: Out of Genoa

[Cupid Stunt]

A spot of good news in an Ebola crisis: Vaccine supplies are expected to last

 

Furloughed federal workers line up for food

Raise your glass to the hard-working people -- Federal Employee Education & Assistance Fund

[pearlite]

A little homey humour: PearliteLite is house- and cat-sitting for professors who are friends.

The current situation involves a cat named Biggie, for reasons that elude us. Biggie's shy. In fact, she often nests in a large closet, where PLL will sit with her. I texted her [PLL, not the cat] on my way down this afternoon. Reply: "Sorry, I was in the closet with Biggie Smalls." We somehow think there should also be a cat called R Kelly, though.

[Capricasix]

Biggie Biggie Biggie can’t you see...

[Capricasix]

Edited because somehow I posted the above twice 🤣

Edited January 25, 2019 by Capricasix

[peacheslatour]

4 minutes ago, Capricasix said:

Edited because somehow I posted the above twice 🤣

That has been happening to everybody. What gives, mods?

[Petunia13]

R Kelly had his whole Trapped in a Closet series.

I don’t know why the duplicate posts but where I live the cold and wind has made internet signals dicey or skip. So I may hit submit on this site or work ones and punch it until I see my comment and unbeknownst to me when I open later it had posted twice.

It has been so cold and work has still been so busy (which is normally a slow time for retail) and I’ve been sick but George has been an absolute blessing. His hugs are magic. 

[valleycliffe]

LOL  out our back gate to the trail we have "snowdrops" growing right now...hubby said he noticed a woman and her daughter at the back gate so he went over to them..the lady was taking pics of the flowers and said she was going to send them to her sister in edmonton and gloat.

[Cupid Stunt]

Is your strep throat no better, Petunia? Sending some skritches, hugs and rest from the Left Coast to you and George.

 

Sweethearts candies won’t be on shelves this Valentine’s

 

On ‎1‎/‎24‎/‎2019 at 8:53 PM, bannana said:

A local, high end, ice cream company here started with this premise, and it was local, no huge shipping across the country costs.  You buy your wonderful ice cream in a glass jar, and you return the used jar(s) to the local store where you purchased it.  Then the ice cream co. picks up those jars and reuses them.  No money for the customer for returning the jar, but in my neighbourhood, people would do it for the reasons outlined, wanting to help make less of an impact on the environment.  They are already paying more for the ice cream so they don't care about a refund for the returned jar.

I don't know the actual story of why that changed, but that same company switched to plastic.  When I asked in my local store, they told me it was not viable for the company to do the glass reuse jars.  It was costing them more and cutting into profits.  That company is still in business, very popular.

All good ideas, but it always comes down to money.

We had a milk man too!  My mother invited him to my wedding and that got people talking.

Money is the great motivator. Amazon has pressed product vendors to change their packaging to cut shipping and storage costs -- Some packaging leans toward less packaging or more recyclable contents. This article continues the discussion on reusable packaging.

We have Broguiere's milk and cream delivered. The Milk man also drops off locally made Mexican-style cottage and cojita cheeses -- So delicious. I make my own yogurt, mascarpone, and crème fraiche.

[Capricasix]

Yeah, it’s warmer in Edmonton than it is here! 

[pearlite]

47 minutes ago, valleycliffe said:

LOL  out our back gate to the trail we have "snowdrops" growing right now...hubby said he noticed a woman and her daughter at the back gate so he went over to them..the lady was taking pics of the flowers and said she was going to send them to her sister in edmonton and gloat.

You are so lucky! You definitely have the best climate!

I saw some images of British gardens taken yesterday, and yup, snowdrops are out. I love spring, and especially the early bulbs like snowdrops and cilla. As Capricasix showed, it's vilely cold here--the sun's out, but it stinks. January, for the last couple of weeks, has just alternated between snow and extreme cold. I loathe winter.

Prairie/midwest climates [Edmonton] get cold weather and snow, but they get those rapid changes to warmth. I remember being in Des Moines centuries ago, and Banff [nr Calgary] in February, and cold one day, then suddenly 50F the next. That doesn't happen here.

[peacheslatour]

I've seen Rhododendrons and camellias blooming already around here.

[Cupid Stunt]

It's 55°F on my patio. <ducks>

1 hour ago, valleycliffe said:

LOL  out our back gate to the trail we have "snowdrops" growing right now...hubby said he noticed a woman and her daughter at the back gate so he went over to them..the lady was taking pics of the flowers and said she was going to send them to her sister in edmonton and gloat.

We don't have early spring bulbs naturally. they end up nursery forced and sold in pots. I over-winter hyacinths and amaryllis, pot forcing them for Easter.

California/Nevada/So. Utah is supposed to have a huge desert flower bloom this spring because of the regular rains this winter.

 

 

Michel Legrand, three-time Oscar winner and composer of such classic film songs as “The Windmills of Your Mind,” “I Will Wait for You,” “You Must Believe in Spring” and “What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?,” along with the groundbreaking musical score for “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg,” has died. He was 86. Legrand died at his home early Saturday in Paris, his publicist told Agence France-Presse. His wife, French actress Macha Meril, was at his side.

His most recent film score was “The Other Side of the Wind,” composed for Orson Welles’ last film, which was finally completed and released in 2018. Decades ago, after their 1974 collaboration on “F for Fake,” the legendary director had asked for another Legrand jazz score. “I take it as a gift from Orson, through the clouds,” he said early last year.

The Paris-born Legrand was active in all musical fields, composing classical works, stage musicals, arranging and recording albums, playing jazz piano and conducting orchestras in concert, as well as scoring for movies and television. He once said, “I’ve never settled on one musical discipline. I love playing, conducting, singing and writing, and in all styles.” His approximately 150 scores include Jacques Demy’s 1964 classic “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg,” a landmark film in which all of the dialogue is sung and which is believed to mark the only instance in Oscar history in which a composer was nominated in all three music categories for the same film (best song, best original score, best musical adaptation). The songs “I Will Wait for You” and “Watch What Happens,” both of which became standards, emerged from the “Cherbourg” score.

Legrand earned 13 Oscar nominations in all. He won for the song “The Windmills of Your Mind” (1968), the score “Summer of ’42” (1971) and the song score for “Yentl” (1983). In addition to the three “Cherbourg” nominations, others included score nominations for “The Thomas Crown Affair” and “The Young Girls of Rochefort” (both 1968) and song nominations for “What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?” (1969), “Pieces of Dreams” (1970), “How Do You Keep the Music Playing?” (1982) and two songs from “Yentl” that have also gone on to standard status: “Papa, Can You Hear Me?” and “The Way He Makes Me Feel.” His best-known scores are from the 1960s and ’70s, including “Ice Station Zebra,” “The Go-Between,” “Le Mans,” “Lady Sings the Blues,” “The Three Musketeers,” Orson Welles’ “F for Fake” and “The Other Side of Midnight.” His 1980s scores included Louis Malle’s “Atlantic City,” the James Bond film “Never Say Never Again” and his sole film as writer-director as well as composer, 1989’s semi-autobiographical “Five Days in June.” In the 1990s he collaborated with trumpeter Miles Davis on the score for “Dingo” and with director Robert Altman on “Ready to Wear.”

“Cherbourg” was one of 10 films Legrand made with Demy. They began with “Lola” (1961) and “Bay of Angels” (1962) and went on to do the musicals “The Young Girls of Rochefort” and “Peau d’Ane” (1970) and other films including “Lady Oscar” (1979).

Legrand worked occasionally in television, earning Emmy nominations for his music for the telefilms “Brian’s Song” (1971) and “A Woman Called Golda” (1982). He scored a dozen more TV movies and miniseries in the ’70s and ’80s including “The Adventures of Don Quixote,” “Cage Without a Key,” “The Jesse Owens Story,” “Crossings” and the Richard Chamberlain version of “Casanova.”

His most famous work, “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg,” was adapted into a stage musical in 1979 and received stagings in both New York and Paris. His other musicals included “Le Passe-Muraille” (1997) for the Paris stage which became the Tony-nominated “Amour” on Broadway (2002); and the West End production of “Marguerite” (2008). He also wrote a ballet, “Liliom” for the Hamburg Ballet in 2011, and an opera, “Dreyfus,” that debuted in Nice in 2014.

Legrand won five Grammy Awards, including Song of the Year in 1972 (“The Summer Knows” from “Summer of ’42”) with longtime collaborators, lyricists Marilyn and Alan Bergman. Legrand penned dozens of songs with the Bergmans, notably the songs for “Yentl” plus “Windmills,” “What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?” and “How Do You Keep the Music Playing?” He won other Grammys for “Brian’s Song,” two for his 1975 jazz album “Images” and one for arranging a 1972 album with Sarah Vaughan. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1990 and received the Henry Mancini Lifetime Achievement Award from ASCAP in 1998. In 2016 he was named a commander in the Legion d’honneur, France’s highest honor.

Nearly every great singer of the last 60 years recorded Legrand songs, among them Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Peggy Lee, Ray Charles, Jack Jones, Lena Horne, Michael Jackson, Johnny Mathis, Ella Fitzgerald, Liza Minnelli, Sting, Neil Diamond and opera stars Jessye Norman and Kiri Te Kanawa. Legrand himself was a prolific recording artist, releasing more than 100 albums in addition to his many movie soundtracks. His 1950s albums “I Love Paris,” “Holiday in Rome” and “Castles in Spain” were all top-10 hits in the U.S.

He was also widely acknowledged as a brilliant jazz pianist. His 1959 album “Legrand Jazz” featured such greats as Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Ben Webster and Phil Woods, and he recorded later jazz albums with Stan Getz, Stephane Grappelli, Bud Shank, Oscar Peterson, Arturo Sandoval and other artists. In recent years Legrand, while continuing to play in concert, he was writing new music for the concert hall, including concertos for piano, cello, harp and violin. He conducted major orchestras including the Pittsburgh Symphony, National Symphony of Washington, D.C., Boston Pops, Minnesota Orchestra and others.

Legrand was born Feb. 24, 1932, the son of popular French bandleader Raymond Legrand. A child prodigy, he entered the Paris Conservatory at the age of 11, emerging at 20 with top honors in composition. He also studied with the legendary Nadia Boulanger and later served as arranger and conductor for top French stars Maurice Chevalier and Edith Piaf.

He is survived by his third wife, Meril, whom he married in 2014; and four children. His sister Christiane, who was part of the Swingle Singers and sang in “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg,” died in 2011.

French President Emmanuel Macron announced condolences to Legrand’s wife and children, hailing him as an “indefatigable genius.” ″His unique tunes that run through our heads and are hummed in the streets have become like the soundtracks of our lives."

Edited January 26, 2019 by Cupid Stunt

[pearlite]

1 hour ago, peacheslatour said:

I've seen Rhododendrons and camellias blooming already around here.

 

1 hour ago, Cupid Stunt said:

It's 55°F on my patio. <ducks>

We don't have early spring bulbs naturally. they end up nursery forced and sold in pots. I over-winter hyacinths and amaryllis, pot forcing them for Easter

Michel Legrand,

 

Okay, you two... Enough. Or I'll Fedex you some snow, with a nice package of ice salt included, at no cost.

I still love Michel Legrand's music. Another person, usually thought of as strictly pop, also studied with Nadia Boulanger--Burt Bacharach. Really nice chord structures and changes in his songs.

Edited January 26, 2019 by pearlite

[bannana]

6 hours ago, pearlite said:

You are so lucky! You definitely have the best climate!

I saw some images of British gardens taken yesterday, and yup, snowdrops are out. I love spring, and especially the early bulbs like snowdrops and cilla. As Capricasix showed, it's vilely cold here--the sun's out, but it stinks. January, for the last couple of weeks, has just alternated between snow and extreme cold. I loathe winter.

Prairie/midwest climates [Edmonton] get cold weather and snow, but they get those rapid changes to warmth. I remember being in Des Moines centuries ago, and Banff [nr Calgary] in February, and cold one day, then suddenly 50F the next. That doesn't happen here.

So true, this week we have had temps above 0 Celsius, then one day we had a severe drop and it went to -16 overnight and the next day we were above 0 again.

This is the mildest winter here that I can recall.

[OhioSongbird]

All y'all people with flowers and nice weather can kiss my old, cold, car-froze-in-the-icy-driveway ass.  

It ain't pretty here....I have a story to tell later.

Still love yas....;-)

[valleycliffe]

lol  they don't call the south coast / vancouver island lotus land for nothing..

[pearlite]

38 minutes ago, OhioSongbird said:

All y'all people with flowers and nice weather can kiss my old, cold, car-froze-in-the-icy-driveway ass.  

It ain't pretty here....I have a story to tell later.

Still love yas....;-)

We can curse the curses of our people, OHIO.

Massive snow-dump yesterday and all night. Did I mention i hate snow? And shoveling. And cleaning 8" of it off my car? And finding out the hardware store across the road is out of melter? And carrying a 20lb bag of the crap home from the variety store several blocks south?

And the lids on the recycling and garbage bins are frozen shut.

But the sun is out, for those who fancy winter scenes. Not I.

Edited January 27, 2019 by pearlite

[peacheslatour]

I'm sorry you guys are having such a rotten time of it. Um, it's terrible here too what with the rain and wind. I live in fear of the power going out and we only have electric heat.

[pearlite]

21 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

I'm sorry you guys are having such a rotten time of it. Um, it's terrible here too what with the rain and wind. I live in fear of the power going out and we only have electric heat.

Even if your furnace runs on natural gas, as most of ours do, their motors are electrical. Lived through two winter power-outs, and they were ugly.

[valleycliffe]

we have a wood stove down in our family room...we use that most of the winter and hardly ever turn on our electric heat..

[Capricasix]

1 hour ago, pearlite said:

We can curse the curses of our people, OHIO.

Massive snow-dump yesterday and all night. Did I mention i hate snow? And shoveling. And cleaning 8" of it off my car? And finding out the hardware store across the road is out of melter? And carrying a 20lb bag of the crap home from the variety store several blocks south?

And the lids on the recycling and garbage bins are frozen shut.

But the sun is out, for those who fancy winter scenes. Not I.

Yeah, we got more snow in a few hours overnight than we did in that MASSIVE SNOWSTORM (ha!) last weekend. At least it’s light and fluffy!

[peacheslatour]

1 hour ago, pearlite said:

Even if your furnace runs on natural gas, as most of ours do, their motors are electrical. Lived through two winter power-outs, and they were ugly.

My parents have natural gas and they were able to run their gas fireplaces and they could at least cook with their gas appliances. It wasn't great but it wasn't as bad as it could be.

[OhioSongbird]

Our friends have a nice covered deck and when their power goes out he uses his top-o-the-line grill (man is a serious grillmaster)....

[luv2lurk]

3 hours ago, pearlite said:

We can curse the curses of our people, OHIO.

Massive snow-dump yesterday and all night. Did I mention i hate snow? And shoveling. And cleaning 8" of it off my car? And finding out the hardware store across the road is out of melter? And carrying a 20lb bag of the crap home from the variety store several blocks south?

And the lids on the recycling and garbage bins are frozen shut.

But the sun is out, for those who fancy winter scenes. Not I.

I think we might have been on Roncy at about the same time.  However, I was stocking up on a much more important storm supply - wine!

[peacheslatour]

1 hour ago, luv2lurk said:

I think we might have been on Roncy at about the same time.  However, I was stocking up on a much more important storm supply - wine!

Lol. You sound like me only with me it's wine and cat food.

[crowsworks]

6 hours ago, OhioSongbird said:

All y'all people with flowers and nice weather can kiss my old, cold, car-froze-in-the-icy-driveway ass.  

It ain't pretty here....I have a story to tell later.

Still love yas....;-)

My fave is the day right between the 0 days that was 50 then deep freeze again. The Pittsburgh weather guy said "THIS is why we have no roads."  Snap crackle potholes. 

if you have a kitty use the big plastic litter jug. Make a funnel out of a pop or juice bottle and fill jug with ice melt. Then you can leave it outside by the door.

I found what I thought was a kitten I thought...turns out the vet told me she's as big as she's going to get. Purse cat? She has outsize ears with tufts of hair at the point. So she's Bobbie (very mini-bobcat-not really)

I'll post a pic once she calms down, maybe catch one next to persian - 22 lb MAX

she showed up the day after my gorgeous Sam had to be put down with a bloodclot on his spine paralyzed him. Another Persian I rescued from Fla.  He was old and had a good life... but killed me there was no hope.

It's like they know there's an opening.

[peacheslatour]

That's amazing. I'm so sorry for the loss of your Sam. But you got a sweet kitty! Good on you for taking her in so she can have loves and noms and scritches.

[pearlite]

4 hours ago, luv2lurk said:

I think we might have been on Roncy at about the same time.  However, I was stocking up on a much more important storm supply - wine!

What! Somebody else from Roncy! Hi!

Hit the LCBO yesterday, in fear of this...

Nice to meet you!

[crowsworks]

My driveway is a river of inch thick ice - you could bobsled down onto the highway. A spring opened - due to record rains - in the cornfield up above my yard so I have acres of dead corn - nice for the critters I guess - and a surprise water feature in my yard and drive way. 

Meanwhile I can't even get my mail without risk.

[OhioSongbird]

Sad to hear about Sam.  Cats will find you....they just know.  We lost Squeak last year and a stray attached himself to hubby on his walks  He is now in my lap and sleeps with us in bed.

I think he's a keeper...

[peacheslatour]

22 minutes ago, OhioSongbird said:

Sad to hear about Sam.  Cats will find you....they just know.  We lost Squeak last year and a stray attached himself to hubby on his walks  He is now in my lap and sleeps with us in bed.

I think he's a keeper...

What did you name him?

[OhioSongbird]

Casper.  He was like a ghost...first you'd see him then he'd disappear.

[PatsyandEddie]

16 hours ago, crowsworks said:

My fave is the day right between the 0 days that was 50 then deep freeze again. The Pittsburgh weather guy said "THIS is why we have no roads."  Snap crackle potholes. 

if you have a kitty use the big plastic litter jug. Make a funnel out of a pop or juice bottle and fill jug with ice melt. Then you can leave it outside by the door.

I found what I thought was a kitten I thought...turns out the vet told me she's as big as she's going to get. Purse cat? She has outsize ears with tufts of hair at the point. So she's Bobbie (very mini-bobcat-not really)

I'll post a pic once she calms down, maybe catch one next to persian - 22 lb MAX

she showed up the day after my gorgeous Sam had to be put down with a bloodclot on his spine paralyzed him. Another Persian I rescued from Fla.  He was old and had a good life... but killed me there was no hope.

It's like they know there's an opening.

 

My sympathies on your Sam. Those saddle thrombi seem to be rather common. I lost one that way. ☹️

Your tiny sweetie sounds delightful. She knew where to find you. 

You sound like a rescuer after my own heart. I’ve never turned anyone down. 

[peacheslatour]

9 minutes ago, OhioSongbird said:

Casper.  He was like a ghost...first you'd see him then he'd disappear.

Clever! Is he a white cat?

[OhioSongbird]

He's a grey tabby with tuxedo markings in white and white tipped feet.  He's young...under 5 we figure.

[peacheslatour]

That's one of the things I love about cats. Their infinite variety. Each one is like a unique jewel.

[Cupid Stunt]

Be careful Snow/Ice/Cold bound Preverts. 

Love the kitty stories.

(((crowsworks))) I'm sorry about Sam.

 

It's mid-awards season … Bring on the Razzies!

 

 

Saturday was the 3rd house hunting excursion with Mr.Stunt and Thing1. We put in an offer on an end unit townhouse a mile from campus, and it was accepted this morning.

Next -- Inspection, painting, regrouting, plantation shutters, new demand water heater in kitchen, resurface kitchen cabinets, wire bedroom for office.

[peacheslatour]

Congrats CS! How exciting!

[pearlite]

11 hours ago, crowsworks said:

My driveway is a river of inch thick ice - you could bobsled down onto the highway. A spring opened - due to record rains - in the cornfield up above my yard so I have acres of dead corn - nice for the critters I guess - and a surprise water feature in my yard and drive way. 

Meanwhile I can't even get my mail without risk.

Snow-covered ice is one of the horrors of winter.

Today is turning out just as bad as yesterday--snow started around 11AM and supposed to continue through the night. Whole bag of melter dispersed, and now lost under inches of piled-up snow. Car cleaned off? Pointless.

One good thing? I don't lecture on Mondays.

Oh, make that two good things: PearliteLite is going to the liquor store.

[boes]

19 minutes ago, pearlite said:

Oh, make that two good things: PearliteLite is going to the liquor store.

Now THAT is the action of a stellar child!

[OhioSongbird]

We are at 42 right now but rain moves in this afternoon, then the deep freeze sets in for a few days...I mean 0- even during the day.  Least hubby got our replacement car today so he can get to work.  Had to rent one for a week.  Primary car still stuck in drive way (he measured almost 3" of ice) for the foreseeable future. At least no more snow...thank you, Jesus.

[Cupid Stunt]

Thanks, Peaches. Thing1 was as excited as the Realtor the second she walked in the door. The courtyard has a tree, and opens up to a greenspace, bordered by mature hibiscus hedges. 

 

 

 

Proposed law would make animal cruelty a felony across the U.S.

[peacheslatour]

Are you going to put two beds in the second bedroom for when Thing1 and Thing2 are there? I love the idea of a courtyard. My parents' house has one. Sadly since my mom's passing and my dad's illness it has become a sad shadow of the days when there was a fountain and multitudes of flowers.

[Sake614]

That garage is huge! Congrats on the new house CS!

[OhioSongbird]

I'm jealous!  Congrats.....

[Cupid Stunt]

2 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

Are you going to put two beds in the second bedroom for when Thing1 and Thing2 are there? I love the idea of a courtyard. My parents' house has one. Sadly since my mom's passing and my dad's illness it has become a sad shadow of the days when there was a fountain and multitudes of flowers.

I was talking to Thing1 and now she wants to put her study in the dining room (it's open to the courtyard), leave the 2nd bedroom for guests. The living room is huge, so there's plenty of room for her table and chairs … Or maybe put her study in the living room facing the courtyard windows … or … 

Sister-in-law Stunt called her decorator … It will only hurt in the wallet.

Thing2 lives in a house near the UCLA campus with two friends. He's still ruminating about what to do when he graduates in 2020, leaning toward the Peace Corps.

1 hour ago, Sake614 said:

That garage is huge! Congrats on the new house CS!

41 minutes ago, OhioSongbird said:

I'm jealous!  Congrats.....

 

Thank you Sake and Ohio.

It's a big place for a single person, but anything smaller was cave-dwelling, noisy, had to be completely renovated, had a yard that needed tending/neglecting, or had windows overlooking parking lots or blank walls, no garage -- Pretty slim pickings.  

Edited January 29, 2019 by Cupid Stunt

[Sake614]

13 hours ago, Cupid Stunt said:

It's a big place for a single person

 

No such thing lol! 

[Cupid Stunt]

2 hours ago, Sake614 said:

 

No such thing lol! 

<snerk>

 

"Supply lines are getting longer and harder to maintain."

 

 

 

 Mr.Stunt and Thing2 are organizing a Super Bowl party. 

[valleycliffe]

got a "recall" notice from my denturist so had my appt. yesterday.

told him my lower denture was making my mouth hurt and it was hard to eat..he said there was also a sore there...then he fixed my denture..

made all the difference...then he told me i had to have dentures relined...$700..le sigh.

guess i will put it on the credit card cause it has to be done..seems i have some bone loss..:(

[peacheslatour]

Oh no valley! I hate to think of that kind of pain, both physical and financial. I'm sorry.