Friday Funny

Grenville might find it a little hard to make this call.

Why? because something's missing . . .

This obviously non-working phone stand is downtown on Main Street here in Nashua near a new CVS store. It seems odd that is hasn't been removed. When is the last time you saw one of these and where?

Enjoy your weekend, Everyone.

The Long and . . .

Winding road(s) were an actual reality on a recent road trip. These were really curved and hilly roadways that continued for many miles. Yes, it did make me think of the Beatles song title and more about that tune below.

We were completing a recent road trip which took us through several states. However, these roadways were only in one of those states and traveled in a single afternoon. 


The Long and Winding Road, is from the Beatles 1970 album Let It Be. When issued as a single in May 1970, a month after the Beatles' break-up, it became the group's 20th and last number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the U.S. 

Paul McCartney wrote the ballad at his farm in Scotland, and has said that it was inspired by growing tension within the group. It was the final single released by the quartet. The Beatles recorded the tune in 1969 as a simple ballad. By 1970, the group was breaking up and Phil Spector was brought in to produce the album. Spector was known for a "wall of sound" in which he added instruments and vocals and layered them to produce a full sound. He removed most of the Beatles instruments and added a string section and choir.

McCartney, who despised the result, tried to get the original version restored on the album. George Harrison and John Lennon both supported Spector which caused further turmoil in the group. McCartney blocked release of the song in the UK as a single, but couldn't prevent its release in the U.S. where it topped the charts for over 2 weeks. (You can watch McCartney performing the song as the piano solo he envisioned it on various YouTube videos, which could not be added herein due to copyrights.)

As for our long and winding roads, as we didn't give any heads-up indication of our road trip destination, can anyone figure out in which state we were driving? 

There's no 💲prize, just bragging rights of "being right" 😀. The "answer" will be revealed next Monday.

That Face

This post also could have been titled "Them There Eyes" after the song popularized by the late songstress Billie Holiday.

There baby blues belong to our newest granddaughter who posed with us, her (very) happy grandparents last weekend.

It's been 4 months since we last saw her. She's grown up quickly in that time and is quite the little charmer. 

This short road trip was not just a visit with our youngest granddaughter, but to celebrate her mom's birthday. 

She and her dad posed during a pause in the afternoon's celebration.

A photo of granddaughter and mother.

 

The next time we'll see this little miss and her family will be mid-summer when the family will gather to celebrate family birthdays.

Something Added

There's been a couple of recent layout changes in the right column in the form of "gadgets." Due to a request by a fellow blogger, Subscribe by Email has been added at the top of the right column, as well as a Translate gadget below.

Now a request: if fellow bloggers also use these gadgets, I would appreciate your comments on whether they have proven helpful to yourself and others.  

We don't subscribe to or follow blogs via email notification; however, I check weekly for new posts. Thanks, in advance, for any comments.

Perhaps, you've heard the terms, widget, gadget and plug-in and been uncertain about the differences between them. 

A widget is a piece of reusable code that can be inserted into almost any website. It is not proprietary and will work on any page that lets the user add HTML coding. You can put widgets on your blog, personal start page or personal website.

A gadget acts like a widget but it's proprietary. That means that it will only work on a certain website or a specific set of websites. Google gadgets are controlled by affiliated Google websites. This means for Google bloggers, a gadget only works on Google pages (even though it can act like a widget). 

A plug-in is free downloaded software that can be installed as an add-on to a web browser allowing it to provide added content it was not originally designed to display. Examples of free plug-ins include: Macromedia Flash Player, which allows the web browser to display animations using the Flash format. Other popular ones are Quicktime Player and Acrobat Reader.

Friday Funnies

We had fun at Easter and hope you did as well. 

You're We're never too old for 🐰 ears. How about you?

Enjoy your weekend, Everyone.

More Podcasts

As readers of this blog may already know I enjoy listening to podcasts. I've previously recommended some in posts last March and this past January. Recently, I've been sampling several new podcasts including the ones listed below.

That's been a good thing as many podcast hosts have been encouraging listeners to introduce other folks to podcasts. 

So this is my little pitch as well.

Not familiar with a podcast? It's like a radio program distributed over the Internet and you can listen to it on a mobile device or computer. Unlike radio programs, podcasts can be downloaded and listened to later. They cover a range of topics and there's often several per topic. You can choose programs that match your interests. It's like having a portable customized radio station on your mobile device.

Podcasts are technically free, and many (but not all) podcast hosts often urge listeners to subscribe with a financial contribution. 

If you decide to give podcast listening a try, there's online sites and YouTube videos that can get you started. If you're already a listener, here's some podcasts, I've listened to in recent weeks.

You Must Remember This  is a podcast that is usually ranked as one of the Top 100 podcasts, and Top 5 film podcasts, on iTunes. The podcast is a heavily-researched work of creative nonfiction dedicated to the "secret and/or forgotten histories of Hollywood’s first century."  Karina Longworth, a writer, researcher and journalist is the creator, host, producer, and editor of this podcast. She writes, narrates, records from her Los Angeles home. The current series titled Dead Blondes has been highly entertaining and informative.

Modern Love: The Podcast is produced by WBUR, Boston and contains essays from the pages of The New York Times. It's based on the weekly New York Times'  popular series of reader-submitted essays. The podcast explores the joys and tribulations of intimate relationships in their many forms. 

Each week, a celebrity reads a favorite essay from the archives. The readings are followed by conversations with host Meghna Chakrabarti, Modern Love editor Daniel Jones and the essay writers themselves. 

I recently enjoyed: The End of Small Talk and Elvis and My Husband Have Left the Building.

The Truth podcast includes short stories that are, at times, dark, funny, and always intriguing. Each unique story normally airs from 10 to 20 minutes.

Most stories take listeners to unexpected places and include sound as well as words. The podcast is hosted by Jonathan Mitchell and many of the actors perform and teach at Magnet Theater in NYC.

The Truth refers to itself as "movies for your ears." A recent favorite of mine was titled: The Dark End of the Mall.

I previously asked if other fellow bloggers listened to podcasts. Most commented that they had not listened to any. Has anyone listened to any since then?

Egg-Cellent Day

The Easter time celebration wouldn't be complete for us if it didn't include two traditional activities on the day before — an egg hunt and egg coloring. So, we took a road trip to RI for some pre-Easter day fun with grandkids and friend.

First came the backyard hunt. Each child has to find several eggs with their initials on which contained a prize. Other eggs had with no restrictions — finders, keepers. Each child bagged their bounty.

Opening the eggs commenced after the hunt was over. Prizes included games, puzzles and books as well as coins. Soon it was time for the main event of egg coloring. 

Grandson and granddaughter had their own techniques.

So did grandpa. 

The kids all had a good time too and produced some very colorful results.

Egg salad anyone? 

Hope that your pre-Easter 🐰🐣 traditions were fun too.

Happy Easter

It's Easter tomorrow. Bunnies and chicks have been hanging around our apt entry for the past couple of weeks.

Easter, which celebrates Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead, is Christianity’s most important holiday. It's called a moveable feast since, unlike most holidays, it doesn’t fall on a set date every year. Easter is observed annually between March 22 and April 25. In addition to the religious importance of this day, there's also fun as children (and many adults) look forward to sweet treats. 

Our resident penguin, Percy, was decked out in an Easter bonnet thanks to this homemade creation by a neighbor. The door frog doesn't wear a hat (as everyone knows, right?).

Some fun Easter Bunny "facts" from an online source: 

• The EB is a hare, not a rabbit; hares are larger, faster and have longer ears and larger feet and live above ground
• "His" name is a secret and the EB is thought to be a male
• NORAD doesn't track the EB as it does for Santa
• Doesn't have helper "elf" bunnies
• Delivers over 1 billion baskets worldwide annually
• First stop is Christmas Island; last stop is American Samoa
• Mailing address is not published and the EB phone number is unlisted
• Has an email address at easterbunnyemail.com 
• Egg-cercises and does hare-robics to keep in shape
• Lives in a top-secret location and not on Easter Island
• Doesn't have a "naughty" or "nice" list, but knows if children are naughty
• Believed to be 400-500 years old larger than an average bunny of 3-12 lbs
• Doesn't use a sled to travel around the world; no one knows HOW he does deliveries 
• Enters homes using a magic key and only for "believers"
• YES, of course, there is an Easter Bunny.

We will be spending the holiday weekend with family and friends. And no Easter holiday would be complete without an egg hunt and egg coloring events with the grandkids. As in past years, we too will join in the coloring fun and will share it in a future post.

We wish everyone an egg-citing and hoppy 🐰Easter celebration 🐣

Grenville & Beatrice

Up a Tree?

Can you see what's "hiding" in this tree ?

Yikes it's suddenly very warm in Nashua, NH this week as the temperature soared to near 90 degrees yesterday afternoon! It's been  crazy month that started with an April Fools "joke" of a half foot of snow, followed by several days of heavy downpours. But, this sudden heat wave may be short-lived. Rain showers are expected in the next couple of days, followed by a cold front that will lower temperatures to the mid-50s and near 60 degrees. Whew, that's more seasonable and will be more comfortable.

How's the weather in your part of the world?

Friday Funnies

Snow White it's not. 

There's nothing pretty (or fun) about white snow that's been plowed high into piles.
Despite rain this week, there's still stockpiles like this in parking lots around here.

Enjoy your weekend, Everyone.

Why Not Ice Cream?

After Mother Nature deposited 6 inches of snow in Nashua, NH on April Fools Day, what better thing to do the day after, then enjoy ice cream.

And lots of other folks had the same idea too. Our treats came from a popular local place, Hayward's Ice Cream that reportedly produces more than 300 gallons of ice cream daily. This family-owned creamery is one of the oldest homemade ice cream operations in NH. Hayward’s serves over 50 different flavors prepared on-site.

There's always a lineup on warm summer evenings and weekends.  But, we didn't expect to see similar crowds the day after a storm.

The sun was out, snow was melting and in near 50 degree weather, ice cream was a great way to celebrate what's hopefully the last of snow here until much (much) later this year.

We were on our way home after visiting a friend in a rehab center and since Hayward's was (sort of) on the way back. Our favorites include mocha chip, peanut butter anything, maple walnut, and mint chocolate chip. According to Hayward's, among the most popular ice cream flavors are Oreo, cookie dough and chocolate peanut butter cup. And, if none of these are your favorites, they have nearly 4 dozen flavors to choose from, also frozen yogurt, soft serve, sherbet, sorbet and sugar free

We didn't scream for ice cream, but instead waited our turn in line. A previous post several years ago mentioned a 1920 popular comic song "Ice Cream" or "I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream." 

This novelty song (words and music by Howard Johnson, Billy Moll, and Robert King) had some popular success before the tune became a traditional jazz standard. The lyrics refrain "I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream" has remained a part of popular culture even without the rest of the song. 

Novelty tunes often were set in "exotic" locations. The verses of "Ice Cream" mention a fictional college in "the land of ice and snow, up among the Eskimo", the college cheer being the chorus of the song "I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream". 

Recordings of the song include this 1925 Victor recording by Waring's Pennsylvanians, a band and choral group formed at Pennsylvania State University by brothers Fred and Tom Waring to play at colleges, fraternity parties, proms and later theaters. The group, popular in the 1920s and 1930s, continued until bandleader Fred Waring's death in 1984. 

Here's "I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream."  (You may not want to listen to the entire song.)


  

This was our first ice cream stand visit this year, admittedly it won't be out last.

Do you scream for ice cream too?

The Day After

According to information from Grenville, Mother Nature's prank on April Fools Day deposited a 6 inch snowfall here in Nashua, NH.

Fortunately, most roadways were only wet and slushy even during the all day weather event. This coming week warmer temperatures are expected to start the melting process, once again.

The buildings shown across the Nashua River are in the process of being converted to a new loft apartment development. We've been watching the construction process from our living room windows. Yes, we're looking forward to seeing them on completion.

S(No)w Fooling

The calendar reads this date, but Mother Nature apparently doesn't use one and instead is playing tricks in the form of more winter weather.

According to the National Weather Service (NWS) latest update, a winter storm warning remains in effect here in New Hampshire for the next 7 hours until 4 p.m. this afternoon.

"Snow will be heavy at times, especially this morning. The snow will likely mix with rain in many areas this afternoon. The heavy, wet snow will stick to trees limbs and may lead to power outages as the weight of snow takes down branches."

The wintry weather started yesterday morning around 10 a.m. here in Nashua, NH. Roadways in and around the area were wet but without any significant accumulation.

The view above is from our apt window earlier this morning. It seemed that the snow has stopped (briefly) and by the sound against the windows it was sleeting.  

However, within the past 30 minutes, the snowflakes have resumed. The NWS site cautions that the Storm Warning will remain in effect until late afternoon: "Hazard types: Heavy snow, mixing with sleet and then rain, Snow accumulation of 10 to 14 inches, Northeast 10 to 15 mph winds with gusts up to 25 mph, temperatures in the lower 30s, and visibilities one quarter mile or less at times."

No Fooling indeed . . spring is delayed here this year, maybe by mid-April ?