A Classical Birthday “Two-fer”

Brahms and Tchaikovsky.

What are the chances?

On this date in history, not one, but TWO classical composers were bornJohannes Brahms (1833) and Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky (1840).

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Derby Day – “Run For The Roses”

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It’s Derby Day!
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Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Tequila Cat
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Today is Cinco de Mayo – a day when a lot of people drink a lot of beer and/or tequila.

So what better YouTube clip to show than Jim Breuer’s classic “Party in Your Stomach”? If you haven’t seen it before, be prepared to laugh:
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Have a great day!
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Posted in Annual Posts, Holidays, Humor, I Love America, Just Because, Sunday Funnies | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Remembering Charlie

Shenandoah

The classic film “Shenandoah” inspired my father-in-law’s “Grandpa” name

Way back in 1979, I had the honor of meeting a man who came to mean a lot to me over the next 34 years.  I had just started seeing a fella who very quickly asked me to spend the rest of his life with him (I said “Yes” before he could change his mind); not long after that, he took me home to introduce me to his parents.

And that’s when I met Charles Henry Koch.

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Happy Birthday, Granny!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Another year sexier! (2010)

Today would have been my dear, sweet Grandmother’s 95th birthday.  I was never able to see her very often since we lived so far from her, but I thought about her often (even if I was remiss in calling her when I should).  I did try to send her flowers for special occasions, though – Granny’s first name was Daisy, so I always tried to make sure that any arrangement that was sent had lots of daisies in it.

Last year (2015), we were able to get all of the girls together to go and visit Granny for her birthday – we had lots of fun just hanging out with her! (I sent her some flowers too….)

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For Jonathan – “To Where You Are”

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On April 28, 2001, my best friend Becky got the phone call that no parent ever wants to get – her oldest son, Jonathan, had been killed in a car wreck.

The pain has eased somewhat, but it will always be there for her and for her family.  No parent should ever outlive their child – that is a pain that will never go away.

This is for Jonathan and all of those who loved him –
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Play Ball! (Opening Day 2016)

Baseball 25 - Coco Crisp

A** over Teakettle – typical around this place….

I don’t follow baseball all that closely (I’m a football kind of a gal), but I’ve always wanted to see a YouTube video with one of my favorite “baseball” songs – “What A Game!” from the musical Ragtime, mixed with pictures from baseball games/players/fans. I just love the humor in the lyrics (even though some of the words used are less than politically correct in this day and age), and it always seemed like a song that would be ripe for such a video treatment.

I missed Opening Day by a couple of weeks back in 2013, but I still wanted to pay tribute to America’s Pastime. I had a lot of fun putting this together – I hope you like it (click on the icon in the lower right corner if you want to view it full-screen):

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When I saw this, I knew I had to include it for my friend Liesel:

Baseball Art 6

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Happy Birthday to my BFF!

Who let the (old) broads out?

The first day of high school (Fall, 1974), the girl sitting in the desk in front of me in my first class (German II, with Herr Suhr) turned around and said, “Hi! I’m Becky.”
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It’s World Down Syndrome Day (3/21)!

Our little munchkin, Rebecca

I’m not usually big on “Awareness” Days, but I make an exception for this one, because it celebrates some very special people. The date that was picked (3/21) is no accident – on this date, we celebrate those wonderful people who have 3 copies of the 21st chromosome. Life in a family with a DS member is a whirlwind adventure!

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Saint Patrick’s Day meets Sesame Street meets “Danny Boy”

I tried to find this version of “Danny Boy” (Garrett Morris, SNL, 03/18/78), but it’s behind a paywall at Hulu…

One of the reasons that I love Saint Patrick’s Day is because it gives me an excuse to listen to one of my all-time favorite songs, “Danny Boy“.

If there were ever any doubt about my ancestry (I’ve got some “Kelly” and “Carroll” in my family tree), the way that this tune makes me feel like I’ve “come home” puts that to rest – there is no denying that music from the British Isles is the kind of music that stirs my soul.

In putting this post together, I listened to a LOT of different versions of the song, and I ran across one that surprised me. You see, I’ve only ever known Bob McGrath as a performer on “Sesame Street” – I didn’t have a CLUE that he had such an amazing voice!

When I heard this version, I knew that I had found “the one” (I apologize for the video quality – the audio is pristine):
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