Women in Red

Today, on PPP, the prompt was Women in Red.

Here's what I wrote:

Don't all women have times in their lives, maybe their whole lives, where they could be considered women in red?

I love red! It says, YES! Or, Ohhh Yeah. Or Mmm Hmm.

It somehow speaks to knowing who I am, and feeling comfortable in my own skin.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if all women, and men, felt (red!) good about who they are? Good enough to try whatever creative outlet, or dream they have for themselves?

Go on! Be red!

Oh, how I wish I felt like that all the time. Maybe nobody feels like that all the time. I've noticed over the years that my image of myself is reflected in the colors of clothing that I tend toward.

A shy high schooler, navy blue was my color of choice. Quiet. Nondescript. In the shadows. I had a period of red in my early 20's, having somewhat come in to my own. It felt great! Until I realized that I wasn't being "me" after all. Yeah, yeah, so grown up. Not!

Then I went into a rust, maroon, earthy phase. Earth mama, right? Baked my own bread; made my own flour even. Yeah, I had visions of moving out into the wilderness with my love and my daughter (also my love) and growing our own food, being totally self-sufficient. Hahahahaha!

In my 30's, I had a couple more kids, a failing marriage, and I was tired. I don't really remember a color palatte during that time. I just remember wearing things that seemed to be too big for me. Might have had something to do with the low self-esteem during that period. The smallness of me. Disappearing me. My ex fed that belief and, yep, I bought it. For a while, anyway. Believe it or not, I still have some of those clothes and am amazed that I thought they fit!!!

During my 40's I had a promotion at work, a realistic image of myself, confidence, and a paycheck that allowed me to dress in a fashion that I could never have imagined before. Not that I was a fashionista, by any stretch of the imagination, but I bought clothing that fit, and some items had big flowers (back in the day, right?), and were trendy. I had met Hubby by then and he bought me colorful, fitted dresses and made me feel like I not only looked good in them, but deserved them.

Today, I still see alot of bland in my closet. Not because I want to hide, but because I know that I can build on the basics. I have plenty of hot pink capris, flowery blouses, lacy tanks, and bright additions to any outfit. I love feminine. Pink, flowers, lace, and yes red!

Yeah, I have good days and not so good days. I try to remember that I am the best me there is. I still push myself to try to move towards my dreams. I hope that I can grasp the courage it takes to "put it out there!"

Has it only been 3 days since we drove up to Tucson for Hubby's hip replacement? Feels like two weeks.

Surgery went really well for the hip, although he did have an atrial fibrillation during surgery that was worrisome enough to bring in a cardiologist and land Hubby in a cardiac unit for monitoring for 24 hours.
It's basically, for him, a racing heartbeat. Come to find out, he's had several of these episodes a year over the last 5 years. The wife is always the last to know. He didn't want to worry me. Sheesh!

So here's what WebMD says about it:
Atrial Fibrillation and Heart Disease

To make a long story short, his heartbeat straightened itself out and after the 24 hours was moved into the orthopaedic ward to get on to his physical therapy. He should come home tomorrow. How wonderful that will feel to be snuggled up in bed at home together again!

I have numerous humerous and surprising stories to share. But as this is my first night at home, I'm thinkin' a nice glass of wine and an early night is in order.

I can't wait to catch up on all of the blogs I love to follow!

Tom Waits

Sitting outside this evening on the back deck, 73* I might add, we were listening to our favorite radio station, KPIG, streaming from Freedom, CA. The song came on, Heart of Saturday Night. I mentioned that I remembered hearing, and loving, this song done by Shawn Colvin, and commenting that I didn't believe it was available on CD by her. Hubby said, "This is Tom Waits. He must have written it because he rarely does songs by other writers." Of course, you know that sent me in to the computer!


Back in the day, when Hubby was a record promoter for Electra Records, he had to pick up an artist at the SF airport in his 1979 Toyota Celica and drive him from radio station to radio station in San Francisco & Berkeley, CA to promote his album, Heartattack and Vine. Back then, Tom Waits was an up & coming. Hubby had no idea of the talent that sat next to him in the car that day. He can't remember conversations because it was just picking some guy up at the airport and shuffeling him around. What he does remember is the pile of cigarette ashes on the passenger-side floorboard carpet of his new car!

Tom Waits. The gravelly voiced songwriter and singer. He does not have a voice of angels, or of a mainstream sense of what a singing voice should sound like. It's more like raspy, or gritty. His lyrics are amazing and his voice just seems to add to the content of his songs.

Back then, Hubby "had to" go to the Tom Waits concert that night at a venue in Berkeley. Waits was leaning up against a Texaco gas pump on stage, singing numbers off the album. Hubby only stayed 20 minutes, having no idea that he was listening to genious. (He has a lot of stories like that from back in those days. I'm trying to talk him into starting his own blog, full of snippets from encounters with people who became big time stars. That's another story.)

So, being the obsessed people we are, we came in and watched a movie called "Down by Law", that starred Tom Waits, and Roberto Benigni.

Director Jim Jarmusch gets the Criterion treatment! When fate lands three hapless men -- an unemployed disc jockey (Tom Waits), a small-time pimp (John Lurie) and a strong-willed Italian tourist (Roberto Benigni) -- in a New Orleans prison, their adventure toward escape and freedom begins. Jarmusch delivers a twisted comedy filled with fine performances and sharp black-and-white frames from cinematographer Robby Müller.

Needless to say, we really liked it, and were laughing by the end of the movie when they were playing cards.

We may have seen bits and pieces of this fun email...still cracks me up.

To all Pet Owners To be posted VERY LOW on the refrigerator door - nose height.

Dear Dogs and Cats:

The dishes with the paw print are yours and contain your food.

The other dishes are mine and contain my food.

Please note, placing a paw print in the middle of my plate and food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.

The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack.

Beating me to the bottom is not the object .

Tripping me doesn't help because I fall faster than you can run.

I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed.

I am very sorry about this.

Do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your comfort. Dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep.

It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other stretched out to the fullest extent possible.

I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out the other end to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm.

For the last time, there is not a secret exit from the bathroom.

If by some miracle I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, meow, and try to turn the knob or get your paw under the edge and try to pull the door open.

I must exit through the same door I entered.

Also, I have been using the bathroom for years -- canine or feline attendance is not required.

The proper order is kiss me, then go smell the other dog or cat's butt.

I cannot stress this enough!

To pacify you, my dear pets, I have posted the following message on our front door:

To All Non-Pet Owners Who Visit & Like to Complain About Our Pets:

1 . They live here. You don't.

2. If you don't want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture. (That's why they call it 'fur'niture.) ((My dogs have their own couch in the dining room that looks out the front of the house; they don't get to be up on other furniture. Oh, well, except the bed, damn it!))

3. I like my pets a lot better than I like most people. Hehehe

4. To you, it's an animal. To me, he/she is an adopted son/daughter who is short, hairy, walks on all fours and doesn't speak clearly. (Oh, mine speak VERY clearly!)

Remember: In many ways, dogs and cats are better than kids because they:

1. Eat less

2. Don't ask for money all the time

3. Are easier to train (Psht, don't you believe it!)

4. Normally come when called (well, OK, the cat thinks about it)

5. Never ask to drive the car (I beg to differ; Shasta ALWAYS grabs the driver's seat)

6. Don't hang out with drug-using friends

7. Don't smoke or drink

8. Don't have to buy the latest fashions (No but there's alot of people out there that buy those latest fashions for them. You know who you are!)

9. Don't want to wear your clothes (He just wants to go through the pockets...every morning)

10. Don't need a 'gazillion' dollars for college. (I don't know. We had an English Shepherd that went to private training. Then for a follow up. Then to summer school. Then bit my son and had to go to remedial summer school. God love him; he turned out to be a wonderful dog!)

And finally,

11. If they get pregnant, you can sell their children

Fresh Mozarella Cheese

We love cheese. All kinds of cheese. Cheddar, Colby, Swiss, Provalone, Jack, parmesan, and 99% of all other cheeses. The only one I cannot tolarate is Goat Cheese. I won't go into it again. I think I explained in an earlier post that it smells like dirty socks to me and I refuse to eat something that smells like dirty anything. Nuff said. I think there is a brown Norwegian cheese, too, that I remember having a weird smell from my youth. Our latest find is marinated mozzarella. It's twisted and kind of fun to pull apart. We also like string cheese, and I admit it can take me 20 minutes to eat one stick because I like to pull it apart, string by string, just like a little kid! Laughing Cow swiss is a soft cheese that is fabulous with slices of pear. We buy big netted bags of Baby Bel semi-soft cheeses that are surrounded by red or yellow wax, depending on the flavor. Many days I'll grab one of those on my way out the door when I've run out of time to eat.

Our very favorite by far is...

Wonderful fresh mozzarella cheese!

Fresh mozzarella is moist and soft, quick-melting, and delicate tasting (a little bland).
Mozzarella was originally made from water-buffalo milk in Italy. Most fresh mozzarella now comes from cow's milk, both in Italy and here in North America.
It's delicious tossed into hot pasta, the heat of which is just enough to melt the cheese. You'll usually see unsalted mozzarella in a container of water. Refrigerate it in its water and don't expect it to last longer than a few days.

History of Mozzarella Cheese
From the Roma Bella Mozzarella Company.
2,000 years ago Rome was the master of the world and Julius Caesar was the master of Rome. One of Rome's many conquests was the country of Egypt and its beautiful Queen Cleopatra. Caesar returned to Rome and sent his counsel, Anthony, to administer the conquest.
Legend has it that Anthony and Cleopatra fell in love and spent many idyllic hours cruising the Nile on the barges pulled by water buffalo, eating sumptuous meals and feasting on cheese made from the milk of the water buffalo. The Egyptians, seeing the passion between the two, came to regard the protein and vitamin rich cheese as a prime motivator in this mad affair. Anthony became such a lover of the cheese he sent water buffalo back to Rome as a gift to Caesar, with instructions on how to make the milk into mozzarella. Overnight the cheese became a staple of the Roman diet and all of Southern Italy. The breeding of the water buffalo became a passion in its own right in the area between Rome and Naples. Over the centuries, the wholesomeness of the produce sustained the Italian people and could not be duplicated anywhere else.

Our favorite way of gorging on fresh Mozzarella is right out of the deli case in a small Italian delicatessan in San Francisco, or sliced at home and layered with sliced tomato, and a basil leaf. I could weep with the sheer ecstasy of that combination!

My mother called to tell me to run outside and look at the clouds! She knows I love them so.

I couldn't see for about a half an hour after taking the camera out there, but it was beautiful. Just somthin' about those mountains that creates masterpieces!

There's a blog for submitting your cool sky photos. If you haven't heard of Sky Watch, you really should check it out. Fabulous photos!!!

some emails

Haven't had too much time this week to come up with things to talk about here, so I thought I'd throw in some fun stuff that I've gotten through email.

I really like this one! It's a brain test, but fun! I'd love to hear how many times it took to get it right...

These are the things we're supposed to do to remove the cholesterol around our brain & try to slow up Alzheimer's. A great test, do it until you get 100%! It takes an average of 5 tries to get to 100%. It's harder than it seems, as it should be! A brain waker-upper for today! http://www.humorsphere.com/fun/8787/colortest.swf


Here are some bits of weird little trivia:

Stewardesses' is the longest word typed with only the left hand.

And 'lollipop' is the longest word typed with your right hand. (Bet you tried this out mentally, didn't you?)

No word in the English language rhymes with month , orange, silver, or purple. '

Dreamt' is the only English word that ends in the letters 'mt'. (Are you doubting this?)

Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears never stop growing.

The sentence: 'The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog' uses every letter of the alphabet. (Now, you KNOW you're going to try this out for accuracy, right?)

The words 'racecar,' 'kayak' and 'level' are the same whether they are read left to right or right to left (palindromes). (Yep, I knew yo u were going to 'do' this one.)

There are only four words in the English language which end in 'dous': tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous. (You're not possibly doubting this, are you ?)

There are two words in the English language that have all five vowels in order: 'abstemious' and 'facetious.' (Yes, admit it, you are going to say, a e i o u)

TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the letters only on one row of the keyboard. (All you typists are going to test this out)

A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.

A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds . (Some days that's about what my memory span is.)

A 'jiffy' is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second.

A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes.
A snail can sleep for three years. (I know some people that could do this too.!)

Almonds are a member of the peach family.

An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain. (I know some people like that also . Actually I know A LOT of people like this!)

Babies are born without kneecaps. They don't appear until the child reaches 2 to 6 years of age.

February 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to have a full moon.

In the last 4,000 years, no new animals have been domesticated.

If the population of China walked past you, 8 abreast, the line would never end because of the rate of reproduction.

Leonardo Da Vinci invented the scissors.

Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite!

Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.

The average person's left hand does 56% of the typing.

The cruise liner, QE 2,moves only six inches for each gallon of diesel that it burns.

The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket. (Good thing he did that.)

The winter of 1932 was so cold that Niagara Falls froze completely solid .

There are more chickens than people in the world.

Winston Churchillwas born in a ladies' room during a dance.

Women blink nearly twice as much as men.

Now you know more than you did before!!

Our Monday

Does this look familiar to any of you?

Nobody wants to see this, right? That being said...thank God there is this procedure. We talk about it all the time; what did people do before there was a surgery to replace a hip that has lost its cartiledge?

Hubby was a jogger for 30 years. His bones are in fantastic shape, but the cartiledge was worn down to non-existence. He started feeling some pain in late November and by January, knew he had to have something done. It's now bone on bone. I've watched the pain increase every day, and his mood go downhill. I know this is very depressing for him. Let's face it, he's a type A personality. He has a difficult time sitting still and is definitely a go-getter. The pain meds took care of the need to be doing something constantly, but not so much the pain. And because we operate our own business, he really has to be on top of things.

It's a very strange time right now. I try to remember that he's on medication and is not quite himself. He gets short tempered, but tries to do it in a nice way. Surgery is one week from tomorrow, and it couldn't come soon enough. I've talked with people who've said the pain of surgery is not as bad as the pain you're in before. I hope that's true for his sake. We had a good laugh this afternoon when I mentioned The Real McCoys! You have to be of a certain age to remember that show. Old Grampa hobbled around and his shoulders and arms would jerk every time he took a step. Yep, we think he needed a hip replacement!

We spent the better part of the day today up in Tucson so he could give blood in case he needs it during surgery, and then an appointment with his orthopaedic surgeon. Hubby's been dieting for the last month or so, not wanting to carry around any more weight than is necessary after surgery.

I'd love to hear any experiences you know of regarding hip replacement. It's done so often now it shouldn't be too big a deal, right?

I believe I've mentioned before that we love to eat. Like a hundred times, right? Sometimes a simple, old fashioned, comfort food; dishes like spaghetti, meat & potatoes, casseroles. However, Hubby has a very hard time with that. He loves to experiment with food and wants each dish he makes to explode with flavor. He'll search online until he finds a recipe that intrigues him. He's almost always a fantastic judge of recipes. This was no exception.

Chile Pork Stir-Fry with Green Beans

4 1/2 Tbl frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
3 Tbl hoisin sauce
1 1/2 Tbl reduced-sodium soy sauce
3/4 tsp Asian chili paste
2 tsp dark sesame oil
1 1/2 lb green beans, halved crosswise
1 (1 lb) pork tenderloin, thinly sliced - 1/8 inch thick
4 green onions, thinly sliced
1 (8 oz) can sliced water chestnuts, drained

1. Whisk orange juice concentrate, hoisin sauce, soy sauce and chili paste in small bowl.
2. Heat oil in wok or large nonstick skillet over high heat until hot. Cook green beans 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 3 Tbl water; cook 4-6 minutes or until beans are crisp-tender.
3. Add pork, green onions and water chestnuts; cook and stir 2 minutes. Add hoisin mixture; cook 1 minute or until pork is pale pink in center and sauce is slightly thickened.

What I really liked about this recipe was the hint of orange juice in it. We served it over brown rice, but I imagine that basmati rice would be excellent as well!

Coming Home

The prompt on One Minute Writer today is to write about coming home.

What does that mean? Home. The very literal, walking in your house at the end of the day, means being able to take a deep breath. A safe haven, for me. Lock out the pressures of the outside.
So many times out in the public view it means being "on" for extended periods of time. With clients you have to be up, knowledgeable, accomodating...on. With some family members I may have to be calm, patient, go out of my way to not make a fuss. For the general public I have a need to be polite, respectful, empathetic, helpful (I know, but it's who I am). So when I get home my shoulders relax, I smile at how happy my dogs are to see me, and I let go into Hubby's arms.

Is home where you live or where you're from? I live here, but home may always be on the coast, in that small ocean community of yesteryear. It's true that it's not the same place it used to be (you can never go home). When I was a young bride we lived a block away from the beach. I went to school in the mornings and took my dog to the beach every afternoon. The houses and duplexes in the neighborhood were inhabited mostly by elderly couples and low income renters. Today, it is a cauldren of drugs and prostitution. I'm not saying the whole town is like that but what I would consider a very desirable area is no longer that. So, no, that's not home.

My very favorite house along the coast was located in a Leave it to Beaver area, where kids ran around the neighborhood together, accepting of the varied ages of their playmates. Kind of like in my youth when we'd all go out and roller skate together. Life changed for us when we lived there. No longer a haven of loving, supportive relationships, it became a suspicious den of blame and unhappiness. No, that's not home either.

Home may be as big as a continent. When I think of the brave soldiers that are putting their lives at risk for our freedom, I'm so grateful. I know they would much rather be "home", in the U.S.

I think home is like the place Shawn Colvin sings about in her song, This Must be the Place.

Home.
That's where I want to be
But I guess I'm already there.

I come home
you lifted up your wings
I guess this must be the place.

Yeah. That's it.

Louie Louie

Anybody out there remember the song Louie Louie by The Kingsmen from back in the day? Hubby & I were talking about the song yesterday. A friend looked it up online and found out there are over 1000 versions listed on The Almost-Complete Louie Louie Discography!

The list of people or bands that have let this song rip is quite varied and sometimes really funny. Imagine Tiny Tim singing it! Ha! He did backstage in Santa Cruz! Or how about Barry White! Think about that one! Neil Young (telephone version). I have no idea either. Dave Matthews? Yep. Otis Redding. Yep. Get this! David McCallum??? Man from UNCLE? That one cracked me up too. Okay, maybe it's not the same person, but maybe it is!

Did any of us really know the words back then? I sure didn't, but it sounded wild and I liked that.


The band attracted nationwide attention when "Louie Louie" was banned by the governor of Indiana, Matthew E. Welsh, and attracted the attention of the FBI because of alleged indecent lyrics in the Kingsmen's version of the song. The lyrics were, in fact, innocuous, but Ely's baffling enunciation permitted teenage fans and concerned parents alike to imagine the most scandalous obscenities. All of this attention only made the song more popular.

So here at last, the lyrics for Louie Louie. Not so wild and crazy after all. Now that's funny.

CHORUS:
Louie Louie, oh no
Me gotta go
Aye-yi-yi-yi,
I saidLouie Louie, oh baby
Me gotta go

Fine little girl waits for me
Catch a ship across the sea
Sail that ship about, all alone
Never know if I make it home

CHORUS

Three nights and days I sail the sea
Think of girl, constantly
On that ship, I dream she's there
I smell the rose in her hair.

CHORUS

Okay, let's give it to 'em, right now!

GUITAR SOLO

See Jamaica, the moon above
It won't be long, me see me love
Take her in my arms again
Tell her I'll never leave again

CHORUS

Let's take it on outa here now
Let's go!!

A Wonderful World

And it is...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rooyt3ptNco

Here are some pictures of the storm moving in.

We'd had a bit of snow on the mountains from a day or two ago. Nothing at ground level though. What I like about these next pictures...

is that they look like extreme close-ups of people's faces. Or am I just crazy? Do you see it?
It's snowing lightly right now. Too bad we have to drive to Tucson this morning. I'd like to stay inside, all warm and toasty!

Wanna Play?

My friend, Janice, and I have talked about a kind of round robin of writing a number of times. Just never seemed to happen. But the more I think about it, the more fun it sounds! And a blog seems like an easy way to have everyone contribute or just follow along if they don't want to add their own piece of the story.

Anybody else game?

In my head I'm thinking that each person would have their own day to add their own "chapter". Could be a bit challenging as well since the story may have gone in a different direction by the time it gets around to your turn. Maybe we could start with a two week story and see what happens. If we want the story to continue or start a new one, we can decide at that point.

Since we're from so many different places in the U.S. and around the world, and so different in our experiences, this should be really fun to see where it goes!

If you're interested, leave me a comment and I'll post everyone that wants to play. If you have suggestions on ways to assign days, please let me know.

I Think I Like Him...

I received an email from my daughter's new boyfriend yesterday.

How sweet is that?

I've never met or talked to him, and only know the bits and pieces that she shares with me. From her, he sounds like a very thoughtful, responsible, fun, easy-going person. I think I will like him.

It made me think of that feeling of new love, the excitement, the butterflies in your stomach, anything you do is so much fun because it's shared with that other person.

My father-in-law told hubby & me, before he passed away, that if we think marraige is 50/50 it will never work. It needs to be 90/10. Each of you need to be willing to give 90% and only expect 10% back. But it has to be that way for both of you! Remember? That's how it is with new love. You just want to anyway.

When I'm feeling particularly selfish and grumpy, I tend to think of what he said, and try to adjust my attitude. Fifteen years later...it's working!

It's almost Valentine's Day and I'm thinkin' this will be a very nice one for my girl!

So Many Birds...So Little Feet

Grateful

Ever listen to music that you know, in some way, has saved your very life? Listened to over and over again; something about the words and the melody that holds you together when you've fallen apart?

Driving in the car the other day I was listening to Counting Crows/August and Everything After and I was reminded of the days that I held on to this music with a grip that meant I had a chance, I might make it through a hurricane of sadness. Life was the hardest it had ever been; marriage crumbling, kid in trouble with the law, living in a fire-trap behind a furniture store while we waited to move to our new house. Ultimatums, anger, and distrust colored every day a weird hue.

I would crank Adam Duritz full blast, screaming out tears and frustration. I found a deeper meaning to these songs that stitched a gaping wound in my heart. Each and every song was my therapy and I grabbed it every chance I got.

When I hear it today, I am so thankful for it. What talent behind these words.

Round Here: we talk just like lions, but we sacrifice like lambs.

Murder of One: there's a bird that nests inside you, sleeping underneath your skin. when you open up your wings to speak, I wish you'd let me in.

Perfect Blue Buildings: gonna get me a little oblivion, baby, try to keep myself away from me.

Every song speaks to me, even today, speaks of where I've been, what I've traveled through.

On a lighter note, and speaking of music, we rented the documentary called "Tommy Dowd, and the Language of Music" last night. If you have loved music over the years, you'll have fun watching this. Otis Redding doing Try a Little Tenderness = goosebumps.

Tom Dowd, producer/recording engineer, recorded first in mono, then tape, learned of the 8 track from Les Paul and was using that tecnique for years before other producers had even heard of it, to digital, and could pull sound out of a mixer that most could not. He "made" the musicians famous, perfected their music, made them better.

Editorial Reviews
Product DescriptionTOM DOWD & THE LANGUAGE OF MUSIC profiles the extraordinary life and legendary work of music producer / recording engineer Tom Dowd. Historical footage, vintage photographs and interviews with a who's who list of musical giants from the worlds of jazz, soul and classic rock shine a spotlight on the brilliance of Tom Dowd, whose creative spirit and passion for innovative technology helped shape the course of modern music. Tom Dowd's credits include recording sessions with Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Eric Clapton, Otis Redding, John Coltrane, The Allman Brothers Band, Tito Puente, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Cream, Rod Stewart, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Booker T. & the MG's and countless other musical luminaries.
Includes Music & Interviews with Ray Charles, Eric Clapton, Aretha Franklin, The Allman Brothers Band, Les Paul, Otis Redding, Thelonious Monk, Booker T. & the MG's & many more!

He was so respected and so loved by all of these musicians. It's a fascinating piece and full of great music! Check out the customer reviews!

What?

Okay, this cracks me up!

Word of the Day: victuals

victuals \VIT-uhlz\, noun: food or provisions, esp. for humans
Before the hurricane hit, we went to the store for victuals.

Vit-uhlz??? As in vittles? As in hicksville? Deliverance?

c 1303, vitaylle (singular), from Anglo-French and Old French vitaille, from Late Latin victualia "provisions," noun use of plural of victualis "of nourishment," from victus "livelihood, food, sustenance," from base of vivere "to live." Spelling altered by 1523 to conform with Latin, but pronunciation remains "vittles."

More about vittles:

Berlin Airlift: Operation Vittles » HistoryNet
Fifty-six years ago, The press delighted in describing how pilots formerly assigned to desks were now flying around the clock to keep the city alive in what was quickly dubbed Operation Vittles. DC-4s from various civilian air carriers participated in the auxiliary transatlantic lift in support of Operation Vittles.

Operation Little Vittles@Everything2.com
An American airman, Gail Halvorsen, is credited with starting what the Americans called the "Candy Bombers" by taking his chocolate and chewing gum rations and attaching them to parachutes made of handkerchiefs in what he called "Operation Little Vittles."

I'm goin' to the kitchen, see if I can find me some victualia.

Did I just say that?

Arizona Cardinals

So close...and yet so far.

Yet they made it to the Superbowl

and almost won!

They're still champs in my book!