It is Snowing; Sort Of......Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Snowbird (1971)

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

1) In this song, Elvis wants the snowbird to fly away and take the snow back with her. Have you seen a measurable snowfall yet this season? As of Friday we have not. A tiny amount accumulated on the trash can this morning and it is cold.

I wish I still put up my Christmas Village.  I could make it so much more realistic with trash cans.😉

2) Drivers in snowy climes are encouraged to keep salt, sand or kitty litter in the trunk because those items can help a car regain traction in the snow. Do you have an emergency kit in your car right now? If so, what's in it? We have a first aid kit, and a quilt in the back of the truck, but that is about it.

3) Back in 2007, North Dakota set the world record for the most snow angels made at one time (8,910). Do you enjoy playing in the snow? 

  4) Chionophobia is the fear of snow. Astraphobia is the fear of thunder and lightening. Lilapsophobia is the fear of tornadoes and hurricanes. Do you have to cope with any of these fears? Tornadoes and lightening, living in the midwest.  Earthquakes were a really big fear when we lived in California. My mom hated lightening and when we were ever riding in the midwest, (Okla) she would ride with a pillow over her head.  Tornadoes and thunder and lightening not a big thing in CA.

 5) Elvis' daughter Lisa Marie split her childhood between Memphis and Los Angeles, so she seldom saw snow. When she was a little girl, she was whisked  off to Denver in her father's private plane so the two of them could spend an afternoon playing in the snow. If you could take off and spend the afternoon anywhere in the world, where would you go? I would go to Santa Barbara to visit these fellows.

6) At home and onstage, Elvis refused to wear jeans and only wore denim if a film role demanded it. This is because when he was young, classmates teased him for "dressing poor" in jeans and coveralls. What did you wear to class when you were in grammar school? In CA in the 50's and early 60 we still wore dresses or skirts to school.  I never wore pants until maybe high school, and I don't think we wore them, much then. Cold weather was not a big issue and I can't remember wearing tights. I did not wear jeans until I was in my 40s. 

7) Elvis and President Jimmy Carter are distant relatives (the President is the sixth cousin of the King's great grandfather). Your turn: Tell us about one of your more interesting relatives.  My Grandpa came to Oklahoma from IL in a covered wagon when he was a small boy. When he was 18 he was a school teacher in Homestead OK for a short time, because he was a high school graduate.  He had a farm with a yellow tile barn and was a rural postman.  He came to CA after WW2 to retire. He was a farmer all his life and always put out a garden, when he moved to Vista he raised rabbits.  He was rather a stern man but busy until he passed away in 1967.

8) In 1971, when Elvis released his recording of "Snowbird," You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown was a hit on Broadway. Who is your favorite Peanuts character? 
Lucy is bossy and somewhat self assured, I liked her because she was so confident. I think I liked her because she was everything, I wasn't.  I was a better big sister than she was....just ask my brother.

9) Random question: You receive a gift certificate from a gourmet food company that can be redeemed for one of these three things: 1 lb. of caviar, 5 lbs. of steak or a 10 lb., live lobster. Which would you choose? Live Lobster

 

 

All About the Cars-Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Freeway of Love (1985)

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

1) In this song, Aretha's ideal car is a pink Caddy. What's your dream vehicle? A 1965 Cherry Red Mustang. 

2) Have you ever owned a convertible? We have 3 right now, all vintage British Sports Cars. An MGB, MGTF, and a middle of restoration Triumph R3. 

This will be the final Product

3) Aretha longs to "drop the pedal and go." Are you a careful, conservative driver? Or do you enjoy going fast? I go with the traffic and I think I am a defensive driver.

4) Aretha's grandmother Rachel helped raise her. Tell us about one of your grandparents. Harry was born in the 19th century and was a farmer in Oklahoma, and also a rural postman. He and grandma moved to California when he retired at the end of WW2. I remember him as being a little gruff as he wouldn't let us win at card games just because we were kids. He was my favorite of all my grandparents. He always wore a hat.  

5) Aretha played a waitress in the 1980 movie, The Blues Brothers. Have you ever worked in food service? My first job was passing dinner trays at a nursing home and picking them up and taking them to the kitchen.  I was a senior in high school.  

6) Aretha was a chain smoker for decades and had a terrible time giving up cigarettes. What habit do you wish you could break? I wish I could curb my sweet tooth.  It is the cause of my weight and the condition of my teeth.

7) A sculpture of Aretha is at Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum in New York City. What's the last museum you visited? The Natural History museum in Santa Barbara with Лука, they have a sand box where you can dig for dinosaur bones.  It is a charming little museum.

8) Since Aretha has many honorary degrees, it would be appropriate to refer to her as Dr. Franklin. Who is the last person you addressed by his or her title (Officer, Father, Pastor, Dr., etc.)? My family physician last week. 

9) The daughter of a minister, Aretha enjoys singing "church music" and her 1972 CD Amazing Grace is one of the best sellers in gospel music history. Do you have any gospel music on your phone, iPod or MP3 player? I have Aretha on our devices, but not gospel. I enjoy a little gospel but, I prefer hymns sung, as I remember them being sung, if at all. I love this version of Amazing Grace with Il Devo.

Throwback Thursday-Soldier, Dad, Grandpa

A couple of weeks ago I posted a pic of my mom and dad and Mr BC's mom, I have been fooling around with the scanner again with some pictures of Mr BC's  dad in the Army, the three of them together, and Grandpa and DD2.  The 40's to the 70's.

Christmas Surprises-Memory Monday

This week's prompt is: My Christmas Memories

I am doing a lot of online shopping this year in preparation for our trip to CA for Christmas with the kids and grand kids. I have a few surprises and Christmas is all about surprises.  Mom and dad were careful to hide the gifts well so that. 'Santa' would surprise us well.  When I was about 10, I was so hoping for a big bike.  I didn't think I could wait until Christmas morning so I snooped everywhere.  What I did not know, is that my wise parents hid it at my grandparents house until Christmas morning, so I came up empty. in my search for my hearts delight a five speed bike.

My Cousin, who lived with the grandparents. was in on the secret so I hounded him to tell me what he knew.  Eventually, he spilled and I was so happy. Until Christmas morning when there it was......a bike.....a beautiful bike! But I was disappointed because the surprise was...no surprise! That was when I learned that it wasn't so exciting to KNOW what you were getting for Christmas....and I never really snooped again. Surprise was an essential ingredient for Christmas gift giving.  

When I had girls of my own, I tried to instill the element of surprise. Especially when one of the girls was so unsubtle about searching, that she left the dining room chair, still in place, in the bedroom closet. There she had riffled through the top shelf, not so unsuccessfully, looking for loot. So I knew I had to be more creative in my hiding places.

So we were always the mom and dad, who had to make a trip to parents or friends homes, to pick up the Santa gift. Or else, Mr BC was staying up until two am..... to put the Glamour Gals Cruise ship together.....Oh, so many tiny parts and stickers for the walls. This was a good surprise that Christmas. 

I also remember the Christmas that, DD1 got her first big bike.  We did not put it next to the Christmas tree, but in the front hall.  Her face dropped so far to the floor, that I did believe she was surprised that she didn't get the expected bike. Her sister's little bike was there, but not hers. Oh, the disappointment, until she turned around to see she was not forgotten. I believe I should have said Gotcha! But I didn't. Christmas is meant for Great Surprises.

Memory Monday

I really like the idea of recording some of my memories so I'm joining Judy @ retired not tired for Memory Monday and her prompts for jogging some of my memories. 
                          Our prompt is:  My First Memory

Like Romi @ In the Way Everlasting, so many of my memories are influenced by pictures, home movies and stories it is hard to know if those first memories aren't somehow influenced by those things.

I remember going to Sunday dinner at my grandparents house, always fried chicken. We were there every Sunday after church.  

I think my first true memory is of going to my cousin's first day of kindergarten and wanting to go with her so badly.  I had to wait for the next year.  During that year my elementary school was built at the end of our street and I remember watching the walls go up.  I was in the first kindergarten class.  That summer we got dressed up and went to the school office to register me.  That school remained a huge part of my life as we were on the playground during school hours and after.  When we moved back to California in 1982, we stayed for a while with my folks and DD1 went to 4th grade at that school.  It is still there, although it has been converted into a Jr High School.  I went there K-8.

I also remember going to Sunday School and Ruthie Pridgen was my teacher.  She was one half of an older couple, who were friends for years of my Mom and Dad, she always loved to tell the story of when we were asked to sing a song in class, and I sang a beer commercial jingle. We got our first television just before I started school.

Earth Moving-Saturday 9

If you're not familiar with today's song, you can hear it here. 

1) This song is from the album Tapestry, one of the all-time best-sellers (more than 25,000,000 copies sold worldwide). Is it in your collection? Yes, it is on our ITunes.  I love Carole King. 
 
2) It's about that glorious passion you feel when you first fall for someone. How many times have you been in love? Just one time. With Mr Bankerchick.....all the rest have been crushes from long ago.

3) San Francisco radio stations briefly removed "I Feel the Earth Move" from their playlists after the 1989 earthquake. Have you ever been in an earthquake and literally felt "the earth move under your feet?" I am a former CA resident and I remember a lot of the more recent earth quakes.  They have never inflicted any personal damage for me, other that one time some dishes etc. fell out of the cupboards and our TV was knocked of the shelf and was hanging by its cord.
  
4) Carole King is the first and only woman to win the Gershwin Prize for songwriting from the Library of Congress. Here's your chance to brag a little -- tell us about an accolade you have received.  Well, over the years I have been employee of the month, Whoop, Whoop!  

5) Carole wrote "You've Got a Friend," which was a mega hit for her good pal, James Taylor. King and Taylor have known one another for more than 40 years, but have never been romantically involved. Do you have any platonic friends of the opposite sex?  Sure, I have had some men friends.  I don't have any close men friends any more, other than Mr BC.  He is my best Friend, who I have known and loved for many years, but he can't be considered platonic.

6) Like more than 80% of the population, Carole is right handed. Are you right handed, left handed (10%) or that most rare of all, ambidextrous (less than 10%)? I am part of the 80%.  Life can cause problems for the Lefties.  One of the grandsons seems to be a lefty.

7) One of Carole King's earliest hits was Little Eva's "The Loco-Motion." Little Eva was the teenager King hired to care for her young children. Tell us about a sitter who cared for you when you were little.  My Grandparents were generally my baby sitter, and my lovely Aunt Nettie.  Some times, one of my mom's sister.  Always family.

8) Beautiful is the title of the Broadway play about Carole King's life. If we were producing your lifestory, what would you want us to call it?  Maybe....Send in the Clowns.

9) Carole wrote "Pleasant Valley Sunday," the Monkees' song about conspicuous consumption. When Crazy Sam looks at her crowded shelf of hair products (paraben-free conditioner, keratin-restoring conditioner, hair masque, hot oil conditioner …), she realizes she's guilty of it herself. Have you bought anything recently that you later decided was a waste of money?  I bought a Roomba several years ago, which was a real waste of money.  Recently, I have bought some diet products that have been a waste of money as well.  I bought a Thunder Shirt for my puppie, Miss Gwennie that did not work well for her.  I am sure there are more things that I just can't remember.  

How I Should Have Spent My Vacation

I would love to say that our vacation to Santa Barbara was an unqualified success.....but that would be painting too rosy of a picture.  The Boys, including my son-in law were in the middle of a virus.....that just kept giving.  SIL brought it home from Florida, the previous week.  Two days later DD1 came down with it and was hit harder than the grandsons.  Then Caшa, who had seemed to be improving, got an ear infection, so off we went to Urgent Care.  Everyone would have a good day then the next.....be really congested, or coughing.....Grandma and Grandpa Bankerchick came down with it the second week  and all bets for fun, were off.  Gratefully the Au Pair never got it...so we all got ....some... rest.  But it put a damper on the plans for the visit

Getting Back to Normal, One Step at a Time.

http://weheartit.com/

I am taking baby steps as I get back to blogging.  The A-Z challenge took a lot out of me.  I am just now starting to get back to reading all the folks that I now follow.  I have been looking at the writing prompts from WOE and Trifecta for a couple of weeks now and just cringe at the idea of trying to write anything.

This morning's Today Show, has all sorts of bad news from Washington.  Obama is having a difficult second term, with many scandals that will be his fault, as they came to light under his watch. 

That Bubbily Feeling-Sunday Stealing

101. What does happiness/joy feel like physically?

Like champagne bubbles mixed with laughing gas, surrounded by butterflies.

Krafty Katie-Mama Kat's

This week I chose Mama Kat's prompt #4 Share your top 8 favorite Christmas crafts you’ve seen on the Internet that you might actually try if you had the time and the tools. Well the first three crafts are ones that I have already purchased the tools and ingredients, if you will, for creating the little masterpieces.  I am not particularly a crafter at heart, but many times I get inspired by Christmas and feel the need to Deck the Halls.  I only had the first three below, on my Pinterest, but I looked around the Internet and found some additional crafts that might interest me in the future.  I also provided links to the instructions, just click on the pictures.

I'm So Excited-Saturday 9

 

Photo credit: /WENN

                                                                 

1. What was the last event or situation that got you really excited?
I found out this week a movie of Les Miserables (the musical) is coming in December. That will get me to a theater. I have been playing the music all week. 

2. How old were you when you started working and what was your first job?
My first job was in a nursing home passing out trays and helping some patients eat.  I was 17.   I wanted to be a nurse, until I had that job!

3. Tell us about your grandparents.
Dad's parents were from Oklahoma. Grandpa was a farmer and he also had a rural postal route. Grandpa was somewhat stern and when he would play games with us he played to win. Grandma was his second wife and was 17 when he married her, he was 35 with a daughter about 10. Grandma was only able to love one person at a time,whether it was sons, grandchildren or even great grandkids, so she had her favorites. You knew if you weren't a favorite.  She didn't always treat Grandpa good or my aunt. They moved from OK in the last years of WW2, to retire in CA. That was where Mom and Dad met in 1946.
Mom's parents came from OK during about 1920.  I don't remember much about Grandpa as Grandma divorced him not long after my mom was born.  I do know he drank heavily and had a horse on some property in the San Gabriel Valley.  We knew when he had been by the house because there was always a pile of horse manure in the driveway. Grandma was a beautician with her own shop.  She was not a very good mother and Mom was raised by her older sisters. She was about 8-10 years younger than her sibilings and did not want my mother. Grandma was a tight with her money making mom do without, she did not get anything new unless her sisters or brother got it for her. Mom and Dad had a good marriage dispite their parents. She taught me how to be a good mom and a fantastic Grandma!

4. Do you procrastinate or are you usually on top of situations?

I will get right to it... tomorrow.....next week....next year.  I have good intentions. I have had things backfire on me because I have procrastinated.
 

5. What would others say about you?
That I have an even disposition, that I have a liberal mind, that I am empathetic and a fantastic Grandma.

6. Do you believe in life on other planets?
Not in our solar system, but, I think life will be found out there somewhere, sometime, I would love it to be found in my lifetime. 

7. When was the last time that you were called too thin?

Never too thin in fact, always well-rounded.  I was 'just right' for a good number of years.

8. Do you work out? Have you ever joined a gym and quit almost immediately?

See question 7, Not working out is why I am a square and not a well-rounded circle.  I have joined a few gyms over the years, gone a few times, then continued to pay for it month after month.  I would forget to cancel the payment. Procrastination? I think so.

9. Do you feel that you utilize all your intelligence in every situation?
Well there are a few things that I do automatically without thinking, however, I think therefore I am. I use my intellect/intelligence when I need to.  I am able to hold a decent conversation on a number of topics.

 

 

How Christmas has Changed for Us

2009

One thing that changed this Christmas, Лука has become aware of Santa Claus! His first Christmas he was only 10 months old, and enjoyed the lights, and ripping opening packages, but wasn't aware of the reason for the season.

2010

Last year was a blast, he enjoyed everything about Christmas, as you can see from the pictures.

This year the big difference is that he is no longer a baby, he knows that he is going to get presents and that he has to be good. We are going to Skype on Christmas Eve and watch him open our presents, then he is going to fly on Christmas Day to Serbia and see his Baba and Deda for their Christmas on January 7. This is his third trip to Belgrade, he is a well traveled young gentleman. They will fly back to California and await the birth of his new brother in February.


I am going to stay with his mother while they are gone. So this year, the real celebration will be around his and his brother birthdays in February. Grandpa will be there for that occasion. Big Celebrations in 2012!