Lovely lyrics

Here's another installment of my blog feature Lovely lyrics.  I hope you enjoy this as much as I do!

Stairway to the Stars
performed by Ella Fitzgerald

Let's build a stairway to the stars
And climb that stairway to the stars
With Love beside us
To fill the night with a song
We'll hear the sound of violins
Out yonder where the blue begins
The moon will guide us
As we go drifting along.

Can't we sail away on a lazy daisy petal
Over the rim of the hills?
Can't we sail away on a little dream
Settle high on the crest of a thrill?

Let's build a stairway to the stars
A lovely lovely stairway to the stars
It would be heaven
To climb to heaven with you

Let's build a stairway to the stars
And climb that stairway to the stars
Yes we're climbing
Climbing to that stairway to the stars
Stars, stars, stars
The sound of violins
Way out yonder where the blue begins
The moon will guide us
As we go drift drift drifting along

Can't we sail away on a lazy daisy petal
Over the rim of the hills?
Can't we sail away on a little dream
Settle high on the crest of a thrill?

Keep building the stairway to the stars
A lovely stairway to the stars
It would be heaven
Heaven to climb with you. 

 

 

September

I love September. Its my favorite month of the year.

This may sound surprising, since I love to wear shorts, go to the beach, and drive with the top down, which people usually equate with summer. But living here in the mid-Atlantic region of the US, I can do all of those things in Sept too.

In Sept the oppressive heat and humidity have subsided. The days are still warm and the nights are cool. The humidity is usually very low and when paired with temps in the upper 70s and low 80s, it make the weather near perfect.

September: my favorite month of the year!

Not so much for Spouse though. September often brings the uncomfortable cramps of transition in life that can leave him feeling blue. To combat this I try to keep our weekends scheduled with lots of fun stuff.

I leave you with the incomparable Ella Fitzgerald singing "September Song".

Crush du Jour: Roger Federer

Weekend highlights

Our weekend started (as all weekends should) on Fri night with dinner out. We dined with 'the usual suspects' at Po Boys and everyone really liked their meals. We watched the Mecum Auto Auction until bedtime.

Sat morning was our long-anticipated neighborhood yard sale. My friend Thad (who gets up early anyway) came over at 7:30 and helped me transport my stuff to the site and set up. Thanks Thad!! (Spouse went to his personal trainer appointment.) Although it was supposed to start at 8:00 we had buyers at 7:30 as we were unloading and setting up. I sold a youth size wooden desk for $50., a small formica top table with 2 wood chairs for $40., a queen comforter set for $20., and a ton of $1. $2. and $3. items like clocks, lamps, and baskets. My grand total was $143. which is not too bad considering it was just stuff taking up room in our house.

Spouse and I had lunch and then went to Old Navy because the location near us (an outlet store) was having a big sale. I got a pair of plaid 'patchwork' shorts, a bathing suit, 2 t-shirts, 2 polo shirts, and a pair of flip flops. Spouse got 2 t-shirts and 3 pairs of flip flops. (The flip flops were $1. a pair.) We drove over to the beach but decided it was a little cool to hang out there, so we headed home. Spouse took a nap and I enjoyed a cocktail on the screened porch and flipped through 2 magazines while listening to Ella Fitzgerald. Positively dreamy. Later I took my 1st bath in the jacuzzi tub. Its crazy that we've had it for 7 months and this was the 1st time, but it was nice and I felt luxurious. Then I took a quick shower, got dressed, and we met up with Steven & Thad and one of The Bobs for dinner at a seafood buffet. It was a gorgeous night so we went for a walk on boardwalk. We watched several episodes of "Sex and the City" since TBS was running a SatC marathon.

Sun morning we met Bryan & Jason and Dan for breakfast at Crystal restaurant, a local favorite for breakfast. Why does breakfast always taste better when someone else makes it? Then we went to Bryan & Jason's and watched "Avatar". I had no interest in seeing the film until everyone on earth said they liked it, even the people who (like me) had no interest in it. I must agree that I liked it as well. I thought the integration of real people and computer-generated stuff was pretty well done. After the movie Spouse & I went for a 2-mile walk on the boardwalk, where we discussed lots of stuff. It seems the times we talk and plan the most are riding in the car and walking on the boardwalk.

Once home again, Spouse took a nap and I watched a little TV. I was in the mood for buffalo chicken pizza so we had that for dinner at Miltonian Pizzeria & Wing House. Mmmmm... I unloaded the dishwasher while Spouse walked Jordan, and then we watched "Casino Royale" since it happened to be on TV and we had missed it in the theatre. It was pretty good.

Crush du Jour: Vince Roman

Friday fragments

Welcome to Friday fragments, my weekly recap of topics too big to forget, yet too small to be their own post.

Yesterday the National Weather Service replaced our Winter Storm Watch with a Blizzard Warning. Here in southern DE and also in southern NJ (across the bay) we are expecting blizzard conditions. Should be exciting! We stocked up on provisions (read: booze - just kidding) so we should be fine for a few days. The grocery stores are practically ransacked and there's not a snow shovel to be found anywhere. The local channels and even the cable Weather channel are working everyone up into a frenzy. Personally I'm on the verge of freaking out! (Insert heavy sarcasm here.)
Our friends Kerry & Hugh cancelled their visit this weekend due to the blizzard and because the Polar Bear Plunge has been postponed. Its just as well though, since Spouse & I both have colds.
Spouse stayed home from Team Trivia last night because of his cold. I'm not as sick as he, so I went. I have a feeling we will end up cancelling Fri Night Dinner with 'the usual suspects' tonight, although the snow hasn't started falling yet. But knowing what is to come will likely cause everyone to stay home.

One of the Newlyweds was on a business trip in LA and decided to do a little sightseeing. He sent me this photo, which warmed my heart!In case you're new around here, I absolutely adore Ella Fitzgerald. I saw her in concert several times and have many of her albums and CDs. Although I'm still waiting for a certain box set ordered from Amazon. Grrrrrrrr...

I have been enjoying Pandora internet radio lately. I normally don't listen to music while I work, but find I can still concentrate when doing repetitive tasks and listening. I find it weird though that you can't just pick a song you want to hear. If you type in a song name, it says it will select songs that are similar to it.

Lately there's been talk of a repeal of DADT, but first they need to 'carefully calculate how to integrate gays and lesbians without traumatizing the troops'. Personally, I find this insulting. Did they have to worry about traumatizing the troops when the first African Americans were admitted into the military? Or when women were first admitted? Yet somehow there's some chance that a soldier will freak out from sharing barracks with gay and lesbian soldiers. That's called homophobia. And hello?!?!? Gays and lesbians are already in the military! Straight soldiers are already sharing barracks with them. The repeal of DADT will simply prevent any more service members from being dismissed and losing their careers due to being gay.

The Super Bowl this Sun. (That's tennis, right?) A friend sent me this funny Bud Light commercial that is expected to be seen during the big match. I thought it was funny.

Crush du Jour: Mark Charles Ferrara

Friday fragments

Welcome to Friday fragments, my weekly recap of topics too big to forget, yet too small to be their own post.

This evening we are having the Fri Night Dinner Group (aka: 'the usual suspects') over to our house for dinner to celebrate 3 of the guys' birthdays. We're making ziti with meat sauce and cheese and apple cake. Some of the guys are bringing salad, garlic bread, and drinks. Should be a nice evening, but I have lots to do this afternoon to get ready.

Anne Marie in Philly recently asked for a Pouncer update. (BTW, send me your email address Anne Marie.) Unfortunately there has not been much if any change. Pouncer still has those fits of rapid succession sneezing a few times a day, but he's still eating and behaving like normal. The last time I took him to the vet (a month ago) they basically said they didn't know what was wrong with him or what was causing his soft pallet to be swollen, so they gave me a referral to a specialist. However, the specialist is a 4-hour round trip drive so I'd have to take a day off work to take him there, plus Pouncer HATES riding in the car. I'm afraid he will drive me absolutely insane with his meowing and growling if I try to drive him there and back. So I haven't made an appointment with the specialist yet. I've been hoping that he would either get better on his own, or start getting worse which would force the trip to the specialist. But his symptoms/condition are basically the same as they were a month ago so I'm sort of 'waiting it out'. Thanks for asking.

In his State of the Union speech Wed night President Obama repeated his campaign promise to work with/encourage Congress to repeal DADT. Hours later I received an email from a well-meaning group requesting me to sign a petition urging the President to "act now" on repealing DADT. It seems to me that the President is ready to "act now" but knows it is Congress who needs to support and pass the legislation. So instead of signing that petition directed to the President, I signed this petition which sends an email to your representatives in Congress (not the President) urging them to work with the President to repeal the discriminatory DADT legislation that has resulted in the loss of thousands of talented and willing GLBT service members. I urge you to do the same.

I'm not too pleased with Amazon.com right now. On Dec 8 I ordered the newly released "Twelve Nights in Hollywood" box set by Ella Fitzgerald, featuring many never-before released tracks, and anxiously awaited its delivery. I received an initial email confirming my order, then another giving me an estimated delivery date of Dec 17, then another several days later indicating there would be a delay and that the new delivery date was Dec 24. Just before Christmas I received another email indicating that an 'unexpected demand' had caused another delay, and that the new ship date was Jan 3. Then on Jan 3 I received an email indicating my payment could not be processed so my order had been cancelled! Apparently when I updated my debit card number it did not save properly so Amazon tried to process the payment against my old card number. Rather than sending me an email about it and giving me a day or two to update the card number (again), they just cancelled my order. I think that's a sh*tty policy. So, after triple checking that my debit card number had been updated and saved, I re-ordered the box set and on Jan 3. The expected delivery date is now Feb 3. If it arrives then, it will have taken 2 full months to get the product I ordered. Next time I decide to purchase online I will look for other suppliers who compete with Amazon.

In sharp contrast, I can not adequately express how thrilled I am with my new jeans. I am particular about the way I want my jeans to fit but I was able to find, not 1, but 3 pairs last weekend that fit great! And to sweeten the deal even more, they were all on sale! YAY!!!

Despite the fact that its bright and sunny out today, its very cold and windy. Only 17 degrees with a wind chill factor of 8 degrees this morning when I took Jordan out. A snow storm is expected in the surrounding area tomorrow but I don't know how much is predicted for us, here on the coast. The stupid weather.com website simply tells me that its going to snow, but not how much to expect! Oh yeah, they also give me lots of other useless info like when high tide and sunset will be. I can look out the window and tell when its sunset!

Have a terrific (and possibly snowy) weekend!!

Crush du Jour: Nick Zano

Weekend hightlights

When Spouse returned from his personal trainer appointment Sat morning he suggested we do a little shopping. I readily agreed because I needed some new jeans.

Since he was in the mood to go into multiple stores, I took advantage by suggesting we return a few things 'while we're out'. (He hates exchanging/returning things so I usually do it alone.) We stopped at 2 stores where we returned a humidifier because it was too noisy to run while sleeping and a pair of jeans Spouse bought 2 weeks ago that had a flaw in the fabric. Then we stumbled upon a terrific clearance sale where Spouse got a pair of jeans and 3 long-sleeve pull-overs and I got 3 pairs of jeans and 1 long-sleeve pull-over for $83. Can you believe it? I was particularly thrilled because I usually have a difficult time finding jeans that fit me correctly, but I found 3 pairs. After hitting that 'motherload' we stopped at the grocery store to continue the day's shopping theme.

For dinner I made sausage and cheese omelettes and heated up the left-over brussel sprouts. Then we watch Thursday's "Project Runway" on the DVR. I thought this week's garments were very creative and attractive, despite the designtestants having to work with potato sacks. They were much better than last week's garments, for which the designtestants could use anything fabric wanted. Afterward we watched a Netflix DVD "The Journey of Jared Price". Since it was written by Dustin Lance Black ("Milk", "Big Love", etc.) I had higher expectations. But then I realized the film was made 10 years before "Milk" when young Black was still practicing his craft.

Sun morning Spouse & I headed to VA. We visited with his family for a few hours at his mom's house, then picked up my aunt Mary and went to dinner at our favorite Chinese restaurant (in our old neighborhood) for an early dinner. After dinner we went to the Kennedy Center Concert Hall to see "Ella!", a tribute to my absolute all-time favorite vocalist (and musical genius, in my opinion) Ella Fitzgerald. Dee Dee Bridgewater and Janis Siegel (of the Manhattan Transfer) were outstanding, and Al Jarreau was pretty good too. The Dizzy Gillespie All Star Band was also wonderful, but unfortunately, too loud most of the time. The singers were often drowned out by the band's crescendos which prevented us from being able to hear the lyrics. I also think the Concert Hall could use a new sound system because even when the band wasn't playing we had difficulty understanding the dialog between the singers. But overall the concert was great! Aunt Mary picked great box seats and we had a wonderful evening.

We dropped Mary off at 9:45 and then drove back home, arriving at 12:15. The pet sitter had fed and walked Jordan for us so we were in bed shortly after returning home.

Crush du Jour: Matt Bomer

Interview

The Interview

Hello Mark,
Here are your interview questions:
1. Since you are so happily “married” to Spouse, what is one dating nightmare from your single lady days? What advice can you give to the single folks? I look at you as a relationship role model.
Nightmare: Years before meeting Spouse, I began dating a nice guy who invited me to spend the weekend with him at the beach. After spending the entire day on the beach, we showered and headed to happy hour before dinner. I made the mistake of drinking vodka on an empty stomach and got completely smashed. We staggered to dinner where I could barely focus on the menu. Then, with no warning at all, I puked all over the white table cloth. So romantic!

My advice to single folk is to be yourself. Nobody wants to get interested in a fake version of you that is impossible for you to maintain. Be kind, be polite, and be yourself.

Thank you for the generous 'role model' compliment!

2. Do you have a favorite artist? Why? What piece drew you to them? What is your favorite work of that person?
I will preface this by saying I really don't know anything about art. I've never been inspired by the great artists studied in school. But I do like Kandinsky. This poster "Squares with Concentric Rings" hangs in our TV room, and I was drawn to the bright colors and use of geometric shapes.

3. I love your taste in cars. If money were no object, what car would you buy for Spouse, or yourself?
Thank you. If money were no object I would buy Spouse an old, restored Mercedes convertible, in white. He loves white cars, and really loves the 'old school' Mercedes.

And for me, I've already got my 'dream car'. But I'd give Big Ella the $20K paint job she deserves.

4. I like this question: If you could go to lunch with any three people, who would you go with? Why?
I'm assuming this includes ANY three people, currently alive or dead. First I'd pick Ella Fitzgerald because she's my absolute all-time favorite singer. I consider her to be a musical genius, which is a term I don't use for many others. She was also quite modest despite her enormous fame and popularity. She was always grateful to her audiences for coming to hear her sing.

Next I'd pick Bette Midler because she's very funny and creative. Her concerts are really 'performances'. I always crack up when watching any of her movies. I also like that she is environmentally conscious.

And finally, I'd pick Bette Davis because she lived during the glamorous 1940s, she always seemed to have an elegance about her, and she learned how to fight and win the hard way.

5. What is, in your opinion, the best invention ever? How would you make it better?

I guess I'd have to say the internet. Because of it we have access to everything. We can read a book, watch a movie, research a topic, look at pictures of a foreign country, send email, and interact with a community of friends located anywhere in the world. I can't think of how to make it better, but I imagine Bill Gates can/will.

Have fun with it.

Gallus

There you have it! Want to be interviewed? Just follow these instructions:

1. Leave me a comment saying "Interview me."

2. I will respond by emailing you five questions I've selected just for you.

3. You will post the interview questions and answers on your blog.

4. You must link back to the original post and also to your interviewer's post.

5. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.

6. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Crush du Jour: Ricardo Martinez

Heaven

Most people's idea of heaven has to do with one's soul transcending from earth to a spirit realm full of light and eternal happiness where they will be reunited with their deceased loved one. Typically one thinks of heaven being inhabited by God, Jesus, angels, and the souls of good people.

Other people's idea of heaven has to do with lots and lots of chocolate.

I'm not quite sure what I believe about heaven. I was raised in the Jehovah's Witness religion and taught that most deceased people do not go to heaven, but await a resurrection to life on earth again, after Armageddon. But like most JW teachings, I no longer subscribe to this.

But if the concept is true that people are reunited with loved ones in heaven, how does this work?

Let's say that Martha was married to Charles for 15 years, until he died of a heart attack. Then a few years later Martha marries Tom. 10 years later Martha dies of cancer. A few years later Tom marries Judith, and both die of old age.

Martha loved Charles, and she loved Tom. Which 'loved one' is she reunited with in heaven?

Tom loved Martha, and he loved Judith. Which 'loved one' is he reunited with in heaven?

As you can see, it can get tricky.

But this question was answered for me in the movie 'The Five People You Meet in Heaven', based on Mitch Albom's book by the same title. In it the lead character Eddie dies and goes to heaven, but it is NOT what he was expecting. No angels, no eternal happiness, at least not at first.

Eddie learns that upon arriving in heaven each person meets 5 people whose lives he affected while on earth. I expected scenes that would show the positive affects on other lives, such as Eddie mowing the lawn for a grateful widowed neighbor, or perhaps a former employee Eddie mentored. But instead, the 1st of 5 people Eddie meets in heaven is a man who died as a result of Eddie's childhood behavior!

But the 4th person Eddie meets in heaven is his beloved wife, Marguerite. She is the one who answers MY question of which 'loved one' we are reunited with in heaven. She explains that heaven is not a single place or state. Rather, after meeting one's 5 people, each of us receives our very own unique heaven.

Eddie's wife loved attending weddings, so her heaven was a never-ending wedding, with laughing and dancing and happiness and joy. Once Eddie died, he was present with her in her heaven.

Eddie grew up around and worked for many years in an amusement park, so his heaven was an amusement park. Its always warm and sunny, there are hundreds of happy families, and his wife Marguerite is present with him in his heaven.

So, each person gets their own unique heaven AND they are present in other people's heavens too. Get the picture? This would allow Martha, Charles, Tom, and Judith to all have different heavens with their 'loved one' present with them.

Of course, this is just a movie. But since no one can successfully prove what heaven is or is not, I choose to believe in the heaven portrayed in this movie. To me it makes the most sense, and it answers my question.

I believe my heaven will be a warm, sunny, breezy day on the beach, with Spouse and many other friends sitting in beach chairs beside me. On the radio Ella Fitzgerald will be singing, and my Cadillac (Big Ella) will be parked just over the dunes. That sounds like heaven to me!

So, what does your heaven look like?

Crush du Jour: Jason Chambers