TUESDAY TUNES: AN OLDIE BUT GOODIE

Since my hair has returned to its former 'fro stage from the 70's this week Chaka Khan was an obvious choice.  TUESDAY TUNES  is her singing Tell Me Something Good . Enjoy:

TELL ME SOMETHING GOOD

FOTO FRIDAY: SOUP TIME

FOTO FRIDAY: SOUP TIME was brought on by a chill in the early morning air in Arkansans this week and what's better to warm a cold day than a bowl of hearty soup?

 I had a couple of recipes I have been anxious to try since I have a couple drawers full of fall veggies.

Enter Kale, Sausage ( chicken apple) and Potato Soup. 

Hearty for sure with hopes it'll taste as good as it looks simmering.

Do YOU have a favorite soup recipe to share? Send it my way...

Last week's FOTO FRIDAY was:FRIENDSGIVING

TBT: ACROSS FAITHS & TIKUN OLAM

 One of my blessings is making new friends. During this fall I was asked to participate in a community interfaith planning committee for Across Faiths between three congregations:  The Madina Center, Westover Hills Presbyterian, and Temple B'nai Israel.

It was  Sophia (on the right) who started this amazing kickstarter to Peace Week and wishes to step back and pass the responsibility onto others. 

We recently shared an evening at the Tikun Olam ( Mending of the World) recognition dinner.

I feel so fortunate to have been able to be a part of this year's collaboration with our small group who will continue to help make our world a little smaller. Over 130 community members gathered on September 18th to hear religious leaders and laypeople speak about their views on Peace.

Thanks, Sophia for such a beautiful idea to promote Peace...

TUESDAY TUNES: RESPECT

Saturday night the Queen of Soul, Aretha, and I spent an evening together as I learned her life's story in the musical R.E.S.P.E.C.T.  I was definitely dancing in my seat the entire evening until they invited us to stand up ...

Although critics disagree on the order of Aretha's Top 10 here they are:

RESPECT

THiNK

NATURAL WOMAN

CHAIN OF FOOLS

AIN’T NO WAY

I NEVER LOVED A MAN

DO RIGHT WOMAN, DO RIGHT MAN

I SAY A LITTLE PRAYER

AMAZING GRACE

SPANISH HARLEM

Today's TUESDAY TUNE has to be what became the anthem of the women's movement in the 60's her number one best seller written by Otis Retting.

Take a listen to Aretha singing it in 1967... What a pair of pipes!

RESPECT

MONDAY MUSINGS:MISSING MOM

I needed alliteration to warm up on this November day with hints of crisp winter temps on what would have been my Mother's 93rd birthday. We were different in many ways but also shared a lot- like neither of us cared for cold weather so this 31-degree day today would not have been welcomed. Brrrrrrr...

Even though I could have written down those coffee measurements to be used for that big percolator for entertaining a large group, it was a good excuse to call home and speak to her. She always had a 'cute story' to share. Her stories were infamous as they were usually embellished beyond recognition.

Mom also loved to entertain and cook. Much later in life, I came to appreciate her homecooked meals after learning not every Mom spent time in the kitchen or was good at beating the pans. She loved to bake with butter (real butter).  Even in her senior years, she tried new recipes for the bridge girls... She would always call me up to share a new find.

Probably like most kids I got to know my Mother better when I became a mother.  And I find myself wishing I had asked her more questions about her life. 

She lived through Hitler's occupation of her homeland and survived, coming to the States as an exchange student when she was 19. She met my father while she was working on her Ph.D. at Iowa.

Being German she was always PÜNKTLICH( on time), in fact always a bit early. I was flying in from Wisconsin to celebrate her 85th birthday that weekend but she died two days before I arrived.

I really do miss chatting with my Mom.

TBT: ARMISTICE DAY

 On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918 the Great War officially ended. Due to this historic event declaring peace, it was decided to mark as Armistice Day. Armistice means 'stand still' and therefore 2 minutes of silence are observed to this day in the United Kingdom on the 11th of November.

Today we all remember all our Veterans. There will be no mail and special programming and reduced fees charged our veterans for certain services.

My Dad joined the Navy when he was 17 and needed a parent's signature. He is one of those who rarely spoke about his military experiences especially during the bombing of Nagasaki.

Yesterday during a LifeQuest class titled " What's On Your Mind?" one of the elder members stated how embarrassing it is when folks come up to thank him for his service. He added, " it's our duty as citizens to serve, I don't want to be thanked."

It gives one pause, doesn't it? The thought we should all feel the desire to serve our country... We shouldn't take our soldiers for granted.

FOTO FRIDAY: FRIENDSGIVING

 FOTO FRIDAY:FRIENDSGIVING initiated by machatunim (my brother's in-laws) was a welcomed invite after not being able to attend due to COVID last year.

This event takes place in the stadium's press box with a lot of room to mingle.

Everyone brings their favorite 'ZA to share and that's a lot of pizza to devour.                                

         Take a look!

You know me I know not everybody has pizza in their diet so I threw together a farmer's market fresh leafy salad to share with micro greens and Japanese turnips besides the usual fixings. LOL.

Do you have special holiday gatherings which you look forward to attending?

Last week's FOTO FRIDAY was FLYING INTO NOVEMBER

MONDAY MUSINGS RE: VOTING

 

My last voting rights march re: Women's Rights...

https://chaseburg.blogspot.com/2021/10/our-choice.html

TUESDAY TUNES: FIX YOU

On this VOTING Day Tuesday and our country needs a lot of fixing here's AGT contestants 1a Chord singing Cold Play's FIX YOU.

Enjoy and Go VOTE if you haven't...

Take a listen.   :FIX YOU

FOTO FRIDAY: FLYING INTO NOVEMBER

 

FOTO FRIDAY: Time to say goodbye to the October Halloween decor and welcome November... 

There used to be 4 bins to put away, but now it is just two. 

The 8 porch Witch Hats will be the last decorations to be taken down...

Leaves are dropping like crazy. 

Thanksgiving will be here before we know it...

MONDAY MUSINGS MELDING INTO THIS TBT

 TBT: Last weekend was my 50th High School reunion and it was absolutely wonderful visiting with a lot of my classmates. I wish we had had more time...

Where did all those years go?

Heck, where did this last year go?

This blogger has found herself missing sleep and this week's much-anticipated doctor's appointment would provide an opportunity to talk about sleep/ lack of it... a common element in the grieving process.

Now don't get me wrong I have always been an early riser but when one is burning the candle at both ends, something's gotta give... and emotionally I was spent.  My calendar had been a bit more hectic than usual.

So these last 2 nights I headed to bed two nights in a row by 8:30. Both nights I caught up on shuteye. Dear readers, we have to take care of ourselves because if we don't, nobody else will.

I had a little help from the Dream Machine ... a tea blend I bought at the Farmer's Market. Whether it was pure exhaustion/the combo with the tea, I will never know. After 2 cups of a beverage before bedtime, that sleep was not exactly continuous, but I did go back to sleep.

I will be more careful to not allow myself to get so run down. I feel so much more rested this morning...  

 I'm back... Taking care of oneself can never be overrated.

THE CLUB

Have you ever felt like you wanted to belong to a club and you just didn't have the right prerequisites?  Well, take it from me there's one club in which you really don't want to be a member.

Yesterday after a memorial service of a man I befriended some 30 years ago through children, I was greeted by a friend who looked me in the eyes and uttered what I was thinking, "Another new member." 

This past weekend two old friends lost their spouses and joined this club. Sadly, the club of widowhood is growing with the average age now being 59.

As I have experienced and am experiencing, the three G's will become part of these members' lives. They are Grief, Growth and Grace.

Perhaps some of us have had an early preparation for what will be in store but most of us in that first year must tend to some crucial business things...

1. Taking care of immediate things ( funeral arrangements, notifying..)

2. Finding and organizing key elements 

3. Taking Inventory 

4. Pulling the pieces together

5. Building a team of trusted advisers.

6. Planning for our immediate future and

7. Planning things for our Loved ones

We don't get to choose when we join this club but hopefully we can help others as they join us in the Club of Widowhood.

TUESDAY TUNES: GET STUPID

 TUESDAY TUNES are a flashback after a weekend of flashbacks during a 50th High School reunion. We all probably can admit to gettin' a bit stupid back then... Enjoy and be sure to remember to let loose every once in a while and not take ourselves too seriously... Although in my household STUPID was considered a bad word, I say let's just be careful how stupid we get...

Come on everybody. let's: GET STUPID