February 12th was Paul Bunyan Day. Who knew? Ginny Marie and I thought it might be fun if we all wrote a Tall Tale of our own.
Pecos Bill, Johnny Appleseed, Casey Jones. Who's your favorite Tall Tale hero?
Jude and my favorite was always John Henry. We had a book about him that we read over and over. And we'd crank this song about him up and dance around the house together. LISTEN, I promise it will get you on your feet dancing and put you in the best mood!...
...and we always cried when the great John Henry died with his hammer in his hand.
So write your Tall Tale. Or tell us your favorite Tall Tale.
Post it and link it in the Linky below any day this week. Stop back on Friday for Ginny Marie and my spins on Tall Tale.
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I know you all hate me now. You will now have that song stuck in your head for the rest of the week. But I couldn't resist, and maybe that will remind to you to write your Spin Cycle post for the week...
Escape
Do you need to escape? I'm guessing that some of you folks on the East Coast are feeling this one. Maybe a week in Bora Bora might be what you have in mind.
Or maybe you've made a narrow escape in your life?
Or maybe you like to escape to a private place inside your mind.
Escape hatch? Escape plan? Escape From New York?
Write your spin on Escape. Post it. Link it in the Linky below anytime this week. Come back on Friday for Ginny Marie and my spins on Escape.
"If you like Pina Coladas..."
DAMN. Now I've got the stupid song stuck in MY brain. I need to escape the Escape song!
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...Etta James (this, btw, was Jimmy and my first dance at our wedding. Awww.)
...Grandma's Quilt
My sweet paternal Grandma, Martha Elizabeth Peters German (known as Mattie) made this quilt back in the 1930s. It was pieced, as a quilt really should be, from fabric cut from her children's old clothes, and her dresses which had worn out. I remember having it since I was just little. It was always our camping quilt and picnic quilt, and as a result, is worn and stained and frayed. I never use it, because it's so worn out, but on a recent particularly cold night, I pulled it out and tucked it around Jude as he was going to sleep. I told him that I liked to think that Grandma was wrapping her arms around him and keeping him warm at night. That sentimental little boy has taken to sleeping with it every night, it's his new favorite thing. Maybe he needed a little hug from his great-Grandma who he never knew.
...Words to be Proud of From My Wise Little Boy
The other day, Jude said to me, "You know, Mom, most guys say that when they pick a girl to marry they want a girl who's foxy and hot and everything. But I think I'd rather marry a girl who is kind." I swear to God. That's what he said.
...My Favorite Picture of my Grandparents
On the back is the date - February 14, 1932.
...The Love Story of Pups and Lambie
Pups and Lambie are Jude's very most favorite special lovey animals since he was little. When he was about six he announced to me that Pups and Lambie had gotten married. Apparently, it happened while we were on a Cub Scout camping trip, which puzzles me a bit, but I never asked for the details. Nonetheless, they are a happy and much loved couple. Recently, Pups and Lambie have been a bit...sigh...forgotten. In fact, I hadn't even seen them in a while. I guess that's to be expected now that the boy's ten years old. The other day, in a fit of cleaning, I decided to tackle the Ninth Level of Hell, also known as the area under Jude's bed. There I found, amid numerous books, toys and dust bunnies...Pups and Lambie, and they were, fittingly, right next to each other. I rescued them and arranged them on top of the bed where they belong. Jude was happy to see them. Their love story continues.
...My Nomination For Best Rock and Roll Love Song
Inspired by the most enduring rock and roll marriage of all time. Kills me every time.
...Dog Love
The other morning Jude woke up complaining that he hadn't slept very well. When I asked him why he said that our little dog, Fancy, had slept on top of him the entire night. When I asked him why he hadn't just shoved her off, he said "But she looked so happy!"
...Friends
I am blessed to have a writer's group which I meet with once a month. We are five women who met because our boys attend the same school, and we all had an interest in writing and reading. We started out as a somewhat unlikely quintet, with diverse upbringings and sensibilities. However, over the last two years, we have gone through a tremendous amount together, Cecilia having lost her son, and Julie, her husband. We have shared our writing and our pain, and we have come to depend on each others support. Last Saturday, when we met, Cecilia, who is understandably sensitive and intuitive about these things, was worried about how Julie was going to get through Valentine's Day, having so recently lost her husband, George. So she decided to buy her (and the rest of us) a little Valentine's something. She went to the store and stood there, unsure what to buy. Should she get her a card? Flowers? Champagne? Finally, she just looked to heaven and asked, "George, what should I get her? What do you want me to get for her?" And suddenly she knew she should buy her (and the rest of us) chocolates. When she gave them to us that night, Julie burst into tears. Because George had always given her chocolates. Isn't it great to have friends?
...My Very Favorite Picture of My Parents
The look on Daddy's face, the look on Mama's face, the look on my face. Perfect.
...This Year's Valentine's Feast
Those of you who are old-timers here at Second Blooming know that many years ago Jimmy and I decided to forgo the crowded, over-priced, bad-service Valentine's meals in restaurants in favor of a decadent meal at home, prepared by me. We love it. In the past, I have often made so much food that we seriously over-did it, and a couple of times never even ate the dessert. So this year we're simplifying, but it's probably the richest and most decadent meal yet. This year's menu...
Cioppino - This is the same thing I made for New Year's Eve, and it was so stinking good that we were licking our plates. Seriously, one of the best things I've ever made in my life. Recipe is HERE.
Molten Chocolate Cakes - For my chocolate-fiend husband and son. Everybody gets their own little ramekin filled with chocolately love. Recipe is HERE.
...The Return of the Beef Broth
Several years ago, I wrote THIS post about a silly ritual that Jimmy and I shared which involved silently hiding a can of beef broth for the other one to find. If you don't remember it, go read it now. No really, seriously, go read it, or this won't make sense. And it's a really good story. So READ IT now. I'll wait.........Are you back? Okay, so not long after writing that story, I decided that for the sake of public health, I needed to throw the old soup can away. It had been expired for years, and I was honestly afraid that the thing would explode and kill us all. Sad, but true. But...marriage has been stressful lately. I guess we all go through this. And I decided that we needed a reminder of why we fell in love in the first place. So I bought a new can of beef broth. The can made it's return under Jimmy's pillow one night. The next day I found it in my boot. Right now, it's here...
Jimmy's sock drawer.
Ain't love grand?
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Add your Valentine's Day Spin in the Linky below. Be sure and check out everybody else's post, and come back on Monday to find out what Ginny Marie and I have in store for you next week.
Happy Valentine's Day, y'all!
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This Friday is Valentine's Day, and Ginny Marie and I thought we'd get all hearts and flowers and mushy stuff around here.
Do you love Valentine's Day? Do you hate it? Tell us all of your lovey-doveyest lovey-doveyness. Or give us your best anti-Valentine's rant filled with bitterness and misery! Or maybe you have a story from your best (or worst) Valentine's Day ever? Do you have some great Valentine's ideas? Crafts? Recipes?
Write your spin. Post it. Link it in the Linky below. Come back on Friday for Ginny and my spins on Valentine's Day.
And don't forget to include our little Spin Cycle button!
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DISCLAIMER: I love me some Christmas songs. I love ALL Christmas songs. I even love that hokey Country song about Mama dying and being in heaven for Christmas. I even love that Mariah Carey song where she has all those trilly runs and hits that crazy high note at the end. I start listening to them the day after Thanksgiving and continue through the Feast of the Epiphany. And I sing along. LOUDLY. It's slightly mad. So it is close to impossible for me to truly come up with a Top 10 List, because my favorites change. But here are my Top 10 Favorite Christmas Songs at this very moment.
In no particular order...
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - Judy Garland
Judy, Judy, Judy. No one had more emotion in her voice. So pure, so rich. She just kills me every time I listen to it.
Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) - Darlene Love
Before he became known as an eccentric murderer, Phil Spector was the genius behind The Wall of Sound. His production on this is amazing, and Darlene Love's voice and performance are incredibly passionate. Don't you dare listen to the wimpy Mariah Carey remake!
Joy to the World - the John Rutter arrangement in the style of Handel
My favorite carol to sing. Singing this piece with my choir is one of my Christmas joys. SO joyous and glorious!
Santa Claus is Coming to Town - Tony Bennett
Nobody swings the cool Christmas jazz like Tony.
Silent Night - Petula Clark
Okay, I'm slightly freaking out that I actually found this on the YouTube. When I was a little girl, Mama had one of those Christmas compilation albums, probably by Ronco or something, and this version of Silent Night was on it. Everything else on the album was Andy Williams or the Ray Conniff Singers or such, but this cut was just so GROOVY! I used to put it on and listen to it over and over, picking up that needle and dropping it back at the beginning of Petula.
Merry Christmas Baby - Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
The sexiest Christmas song I know. You can't beat the Boss.
Merry Christmas From the Family - Robert Earl Keene
A truly Texan Christmas song, and one of the funniest songs I know. So many subversively honest and brilliant lyrics that can't even choose a favorite. A Texan will get all of the inside jokes, but hopefully, anyone who has a weird family can appreciate it. I know these people. Absolutely. PLEASE listen.
Christmas in Hollis - RUN-DMC
When this first came out, I used to crank it up and dance around my apartment singing. I can't imagine what my Dallas neighbors thought about a crazy white girl running around rapping "It's Christmas time in Hollis, Queens, Mom's cooking chicken and collard greens..." but I don't really care.
Santa Baby - Eartha Kitt
Do NOT listen to the travesty that is the Madonna remake! Eartha was HAWT!
Hark the Herald Angels Sing
My Daddy had one Christmas joke. It went like this...
Once there was a church in a small town. The preacher was trying to raise the money to buy new hymnals for the congregation, but was coming up short. Finally, the local drug store agreed to donate the money for the new hymnals. They ordered them and they came in just in time for Christmas. On Christmas morning, the congregation all opened their shiny new hymnals and began to sing...
Hark the herald angels sing,
Carter's Pills are just the thing.
Peace on earth and mercy mild,
Two for adults, one for child.
So every Christmas morning when we went to church and sang this song, Daddy and I would get into an impossible giggling fit, we just couldn't stop. My poor mother (who NEVER got the joke) was terribly embarrassed and left "tsking" and rolling her eyes at our inappropriate behavior. But I loved it. This one's for you Daddy...
This post was inspired by...
Prompt #5 - Your top 5 favorite Christmas songs. (Yes the prompt was for 5 songs and I had 10, so sue me!)
Or is it? How do you feel about the holiday season? Is it the hap-happiest season of all? Or are you in a holi-daze?
Are you saddened by Christmas commercialism?...
Or does the whole thing make your heart grow three sizes every day?...
Write your spin on It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year. Post it. Link it in the linky below any time this week. It will be linked both here and with Ginny Marie at Lemon Drop Pie. Come back on Friday for my spin, and to check out all the other spin posts.
From now on, every Monday, Ginny Marie and I will each be featuring a Spinner. This week, I'm featuring Angela Death from Crow Arrow, Inc. If you haven't read her Dear Santa spin, you must go there immediately and leave a comment. She's a girl after my own heart!
"Dear Santa...Can you give Benedict Cumberbatch my phone number and let him know that I would be very interested in going on a date with him? I know I’m not anything like his famous girlfriends, but I think I can offer him something that they can’t: reality." - Crow Arrow, Inc.
And be sure to visit Ginny Marie, and see who she featured, it will be somebody different. Maybe you?
What's the weather like in your neck of the woods? Leaves brown? Sky gray? Ice? Snow?
Are you dreaming of some place where it's safe and warm? Let's hear about it!
Or maybe you like it when it's brown and gray. Is this what you've been dreaming about all year?
Write your spin on California Dreamin'. Post it. Link it hear any time this week.
Come back on Friday for my spin on California Dreamin'.
This spin topic was brought to you by my spin partner, Ginny Marie at Lemon Drop Pie. Ginny is spinning from Chicago, where it's dipping down below freezing tonight. So where am I, here from my home in Los Angeles, going with California Dreamin'? I have no idea. But there's nothing I love more than a challenge. Wish me luck!
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They say "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" (I've always wondered who the hell "they" are, but I digress). So Ginny Marie asks "What is your Definition of Beauty?"
What does beauty mean to you?
Beauty?
Beauty?
Beauty?
Beauty?
Beauty?
Beauty?
Write your spin on the Definition of Beauty. Post it. Link it below anytime this week. You'll be linked both here and on Lemon Drop Pie.
Come back on Friday to see my Definition of Beauty and to read all the other spinners spins!
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I'm afraid this is going to be a short Random Tuesday Thoughts this week. I'm in the middle of a project, which has taken over our home and my life. I'll give you a hint...
Six yards of fabric, a yard and a half of 1/2 inch foam, a yard of 1-inch elastic, 10 rubber bathtub mats and two cans of black Silly String. Is it the Unconventional Materials Challenge on Project Runway? Nah...it's just Halloween costume construction week here at Second Blooming. I promise to share next week. Wish me luck. In the meantime...
This is hysterical - 22 Outstanding Neighbour Complaint Notes. I desperately wish I had been this witty and bold back when I used to live in an apartment complex. These should definitely be filed away for future use. Some faves...
Ha!
Oh yes.
Very nicely done.
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The other day, I was flipping channels and happened upon an ad for the Baby Alive Real Surprises Doll. The ad promised that Baby Alive was just like a real baby - you can feed her and diaper her and that she leaves you "surprises" and that Baby Alive food packet and diaper refills were sold separately. Of course. But I thought "No, no, that baby doll does not really poo herself, does she?" Well...I did my research and found this on YouTube. Eeewww.
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I'm fairly amused that I found this as amusing as I did...
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That's all I've got for today. I will leave you with a little something from the late, great Lou Reed. RIP Lou.
Ah...Francis Albert. The man knew how to sing a phrase.
It's Autumn week here at The Spin Cycle. What's happening in your world this autumn? Falling leaves pictures? Your best fall harvest recipes? Hay rides? Let us know about it.
