It's Birthday Time !

Today, I'm sharing a birthday with (among others) some well known and some infamous folks:

Amal Alamuddin Clooney, Fran Tarkenton, Nathan Lane, Samuel Butler, Melanie, Blythe Danner, Shelley Berman, Joey Bishop, Norman Rockwell, Felix Mendelssohn, Horace Greeley, Gertrude Stein, James Michener, Henning Mankell, Pretty Boy Floyd. 

All of us have been born under the sign of Aquarius (January 19 - February 18) the water bearer. It was nice that in 1969, the 5th Dimension sang The Age of Aquarius. (The song Aquarius/Let the Sun Shine In is a medley of two songs written for the 1967 musical Hair.)

Checking online for personality traits of Aquarians, I read that we have active minds and can spend hours thinking about new and interesting ways to approach life. So, maybe that explains my daydreaming times?

I also read that Aquarians are nature lovers, friendly, outgoing and have a sense of fairness which causes them to treat others with integrity. All good things.

On the negative side, Aquarians need to guard against self-indulgence of any kind. Soglad that the Oreo cookies are long gone, but we still have some holiday M&Ms around.

That cake shown in this post was bought to share with our dominoes playing friends this week. (There was no letter; it was added for purposes of this post.) A few more pieces were shared with friends here at the apartments. But, two pieces were saved to enjoy after dinner on Saturday evening. After all, what's a birthday without cake, but NO candles as I don't want to set off any alarms !

It's Time Again (Over & Over)

Happy Anniversary to the film in which the main character wakes up over and over again to relive the same day. (It's much like this post usually done Feb. 2.)

Sony pictures is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the 1993 film, Groundhog Day with a series of selected big screen showings in the U.S. and Canada. (FYI the film was released on Feb 12, 1993.)

Unfortunately, after checking the movie listings at theaters in our area, none have been scheduled here. Lucky for us, the DVD version is in our collection. We'll watch it tonight, but only once.

Groundhog Day (PG) runs just over 100 min. It has been named one of the best comedy movies and has never had a sequel, no over-and-overs. It remains one-of-a-kind, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. (We saw the 2 follow-up films to Ghostbusters, which were not as good or as funny as the original.) The film was directed and co-produced by Harold Ramis (Ghostbusters). 

Synopsis: Bill Murray is a TV weatherman (Phil Collins) who becomes caught in a personal time warp. Along with an unceasingly cheerful producer (Andie MacDowell) and a wise-cracking cameraman (Chris Elliott), he's sent to Punxsutawney, PA, to do a live broadcast of the annual Groundhog Day festivities.  On the way back home, they encounter a blizzard, which Phil failed to predict, and have to turn back. That's when Phil  awakes the next morning to find it's Groundhog Day all over again...

We watch this movie every Feb. 2 and, while there are other comedy films we'd rate higher, this one is a classic for us.

FYI - Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow today, forecasting 6 more weeks of winter.

Enjoy your Weekend, Everyone

Stay warm.

Royal Watchers Are We

Yes, we have become among those folks by watching online and on television.

Much to our delight (and many others), the second season of Victoria started 2 weeks ago on our local PBS channel. We started watching Victoria on PBS Masterpiece in 2017 when we were introduced the the high-spirited young Victoria and learned how she became queen at the age of 18. 

Much of the information about Victoria was derived from her journals as she was a prolific journal writer from age 13 in 1832 to her death in 1901. She compiled over 100 volumes. The program's producer and screenwriter Daisy Goodwin, an English writer, has said that she obtained her ideas for the series from those journals. Goodwin said she learned that Victoria's life was just as spirited and sexy as the series portrays it to be.

We've also been watching the lavishly filmed filmed Netflix-original production, The Crown. It's in its second season with additional ones reportedly planned. The drama chronicles the life of Queen Elizabeth II from the 1940s to current times. 

Like Victoria, Elizabeth ascended the throne after the death of her father. Although she was slightly older, 25, when King George VI died. A newly crowned Queen Elizabeth II faces challenges in the political realm and her personal life. There's plenty of personal intrigues, romances and political rivalries through the years. The queen's sister, Princess Margaret, is often portrayed in a less than favorable way. But then, she also had her share of royal disappointments, particularly in romance.

The series was created and is principally written by Peter Morgan, a British film writer, playwright and producer. Morgan also wrote the 2006 film, The Queen in which actress Helen Mirren portrayed an older Queen Elizabeth II dealing with the aftermath of the death of Princess Diana.

One similarity between the two dramas is seeing their husbands handle their roles. Both queens are quick to show they rule in their homes as well as their nations. Prince Albert (Victoria) and Prince Phillip (The Crown) must put aside their notions of male supremacy in deference to their wives, who were given unique powers, sooner than expected. 

The first two seasons of The Crown also have dealt with the continuing frustrations of Prince Philip as he realizes what Elizabeth’s dying father, George VI, meant when he warned him with these ominous words: “The Queen will be your job.”

Sadly, our royal viewing of The Crown is over until future episodes are done. Luckily,  there are several more episodes of Victoria left so we can continue with our royal fix. 

Has anyone else also been captivated by these regal dramas?

Post-Holiday Visit

As many folks know (ourselves included) it can be hard to visit with everyone at the holiday season. Of course, since retailers seem to start the Christmas season earlier and earlier perhaps we should plan for pre-Christmas get togethers.

We visited with the youngest granddaughter in mid-December to celebrate her birthday and an early Christmas visit, but didn't see the older grandchildren until recently for a post-holiday visit.

The grandkids had a 3-day weekend and the weather was also cooperative, so they traveled with their mother to  CT where we all gathered at the home of their Grenville's aunt and uncle. 

While the holiday decorations already had been put away, we brought presents to open. The adults enjoyed watching the grands open their gifts and joined in too.

It was nice to get together with family and have the holidays last just a little bit longer.

Morning After Views

A great thing about weather is that it's always changeable. After a day of icy branches, slippery walkways and roadways this past Tuesday, the day after was quite a change.

"Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather."   (John Ruskin, English writer)

That said, this was the view from our apartment window about 7:30 a.m. yesterday.

Scarcely an hour after the first photo was taken, this was the window view.

And by noontime, the blue skies were back and the ice scenes were all gone.

Yes, in reply to some previous comments, we do feel very fortunate to view scenes like this on a daily basis. It's one of the best things about  overlooking the river and living in this NH mill apartment. 

As for how we spent our bad weather day, it's best put in the words of Theodor Seuss Geisel, who as Dr. Seuss in The Cat in the Hat wisely said . . .

“The sun did not shine. It was too wet to play. So we sat in the house, all that cold, cold, wet day.”

It's M-e-l-t-i-n-g

Maybe it was the luck of the horseshoes shown in my recent Friday Funnies post, but the weather has changed dramatically in Nashua, NH, the past several days.

This was the Nashua River view from our apt window at the beginning of last week. While the river never freezes solid, there was a lot of accumulated ice.

We had a good view of these ice jams floating downstream.  Warmer temperatures over the weekend showed a much different view yesterday morning.

By day's end, the view had changed even more dramatically, not only was the waterway more open, but the current was visible again at least from our view. 

Temperatures will continue to be well above freezing here this week quite a dramatic change from the start of January. It's a wet start to the week as the next couple of days will bring a lot of rain but no snow. (It's a great time for us to catch up on some Netflix viewing as we're currently watching several programs on Netflix and Acorn.)

By mid-week, the rain is over and the extended forecast looks pretty good.

It's a great time for us to catch up on some Netflix viewing as we're currently watching several programs on Netflix and Acorn. Also, Grenville has taken up a new ham radio hobby while I continue to sort through photo CDs and copy to external hard drives.

Today's Update: Forecasters are not always right. After an all-day rain on Monday, temperatures dropped causing very slick black ice on walkways and roadways (attested to by Grenville who attended a meeting). Conditions haven't improved much today.

These are window views at noon time and 2 hours later (bottom)  — we're staying indoors.

How are the current weather conditions in your part of the country or world — if there's nasty outdoor weather, how are you spending your time ? 

Friday Funnies

There's definitely a lot of luck here (as seen in a display at Shelburne Farms in Vermont).

Enjoy your weekend, Everyone.

We're looking forward to a snow-free one here in NH (so maybe these will help).

Couscous and Shrimp

Over the weekend, we tried a recipe using couscous which is a pasta made from semolina flour mixed with water. The process of making it used to be labor-intensive, but now most is machine-produced. It's steamed and then dried and all that's needed is to "plump" it up with boiling water. It's nutritional value is similar to white pasta.

Couscous and Shrimp 

This is an easy dish that can be made within 30 minutes from start to finish. Many of the ingredients may already be in your pantry. Luckily, we usually have several varieties of nuts, including pistachios. 
(Recipe serves 4, so we had leftovers.)

• 1 lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 small onion chopped
• 1 bell pepper chopped
• ¼ C raisins
• 1 C dry couscous
• 2 C chicken broth
• ½ C frozen peas
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• ¼ C shopped pistachios
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Parsley for garnish 

1. Season shrimp with cumin, smoked paprika, salt and pepper.
2. Heat olive oil in large skillet. When oil is hot, add shrimp and cook for a minute on each side until pink, then remove from skillet.
3. Add chopped onion and pepper and sauté until onion is translucent. Add garlic and raisins and cook for a minute.
4. Add couscous and chicken broth to skillet and bring to a boil. Turn down heat and cook couscous for 10-12 minutes until broth is absorbed.
5. Add frozen peas and cook for additional 2 minutes, until peas are defrosted.
6. Remove skillet from heat and add shrimp. Garnish with pistachios and parsley.

While this dish was flavorful, we're planning to return to our favorites of wild and brown rice for future meal plans. That said, Grenville gave couscous two forks down.

If you've tried couscous, did you enjoy it and would you try it again ? 

What a Difference

A couple of days of rain and a day of temperatures near 60 degrees can sure make a difference in making snow and ice go away.

This was the view from our apartment window early Sunday morning.

Quite a difference from the view a week earlier on January 5.

Cold weather is returning this week, but there's no snowfall in the forecast, just some snow showers by mid-week.

Hope the weather is improving in your part of the world as well.

Friday Funnies

Cold weather is definitely not enjoyed by many folks including these feathered friends.

These "snow" bird images were taken from a kitchen window vantage during wintry weather in VA a few years ago.

How many cardinals can you spot here?

They seemed appropriate in view of the recent snowfalls here in NH. Unfortunately, the apt window views while wonderful don't provide these same photo opportunities.

I'm returning to a project started in late 2017 which involves moving all of my photo images from CDs to external backup drives.

It's admittedly a (very) tedious and time-consuming project to look at the images and decide on which to keep or delete. In the process, it's been fun seeing many again.

Now like this (very wise) robin, I'm outta here.

(We're thinking of those affected by mudslides in CA and weather issues elsewhere.)

Enjoy your weekend, Everyone