Halloween and Snow

Tonight was another cool Halloween on our street and the last day of October so it snowed. Freezing rain too. But that didn't stop the kids from trick or treating throughout the neighborhood. So many cute little kids and the teenagers were very polite. It was cold outside and on the porch and the everyone knew that it was hard on the homeowners to give out treats this year.

We had four houses in a row on our side of the block giving out treats plus two directly across the street. We were a destination for a lot of kids. Our next door neighbor Mark had his usual special Halloween candy dispenser that he put up at the last minute. It was a little different this year in the photo. One of our neighbors around the corner went all out this year with the Halloween decorations and some of them were very creepy.

It was raining early in the evening and we thought we wouldn't have a lot of people coming by but it eased off somewhat and was intermittent. Then it changed to freezing rain and then snow. Big flakes. It went back and forth between rain and snow all evening.

We pretty much ran out of candy around 7:30. There was a little left but we were freezing and tired from going up and down the steps which we did to give out candy because the steps were wet with snow and wet leaves. We didn't want the littles to come up the steps.

The kids were really cute. Becky even got a hug from one of them. We especially loved seeing our little neighbors from down the street.

By 9 o'clock it was snowing hard with big flakes and soon the ground was covered. It was the last day of October.

Mischief Night

It's Mischief Night tonight. When we were kids in Philadelphia that was a thing. The night before Halloween was Mischief Night and it was expected for kids to get into trouble vandalizing the neighborhood. I also remember it being referred to as Devil's Night in some other parts of the country. Mischief Night was a night of mayhem and pranks. Lots of toilet paper thrown around.

Earlier in the week there was Chalk Night and Soap Night. One night kids would chalk up the neighborhood sidewalks and walls. The other night was for putting soap on windows and cars.  As a teenager I don't remember actually going out and doing that stuff. Maybe one time I put a little chalk on the wall of a corner store. That's it.

A few weeks ago I was getting my haircut and the person cutting my hair had some Halloween decorations at her station which I commented on. We talked about Halloween traditions and I brought up Mischief Night which she had never heard of. Then I told her about Chalk Night and Soap Night in Philly when I was a kid. She was fascinated with my stories.

Aid to Israel and/or Aid to Ukraine

The difference here between Democrats in Congress and Republicans in Congress. The Dems have a bill that provides aid to both Israel and Ukraine. The US has been aiding Ukraine since the war against the Russian invasion that began last year and has had a significant impact on that nation's fight to protect their land and democracy from Putin's attempt to expand the Russian empire. The US has been sending aid to Israel for decades to help Israel defend itself against the threat of annihilation from the Arab world. Another democracy versus despots and totalitarian regimes.

The Republicans in Congress have finally stopped their internal civil war enough to attempt to put forward some legislation. Unfortunately they want to stop the aid to Ukraine but continue it for Israel. The new extreme right wing speaker actually wants to take the funding for the IRS away and send it to Israel with nothing for Ukraine. They want to take money from the war in Ukraine and give it to their corporate tax-cheat mega donors. Or should I say MAGA donors.

They want to continue giving aid to Israel not because they support the Jewish state but because it is in their holy land. It's a Evangelical Christian thing. It's obvious what they are doing. They don't support aiding an enemy of democracy when it goes against their support of right wing authoritarian regimes like Putin's Russia which is what they want America to be like under a trumpian dictator for life. I have no respect for republicans whatsoever these days. They are right wing authoritarians who want the world their way or no way. They will destroy democracy in America to get their way.

The Final Nut

Finally. The final nuts have come down and they are about 95% bagged. It's a record year and I have a very sore back from dealing with all those nuts. I have 74 full bags and about three piles of nuts on the side of the shed that will probably take another three bags or so. That is a record amount. The previous record was 60 bags in one year. During the past few years there have hardly been any nuts on the ground in our backyard. The trees drop nuts in cycles. Most of the time there are moderate amounts and by that I mean about 20 to 30 bags. That would be average. The bags need to be strong too. Those thin clear bags don't work well. We do have eight trees dropping nuts in our yard. Six are our trees and two more on our neighbors property consistently drop nuts in our yard. We have three trees dropping a significant amount of nuts into our other neighbors yard too.

The process of dealing with these nuts is time consuming and physically challenging. We put them in plastic bags along with the leaves that have come down and fill the bag until it is just heavy enough to lift. Most of the time there is still plenty of room in the bag when there are a lot of nuts in it. I try to spread the leaves around to different bags to take up some of that room.

We also use the smaller white kitchen bags to fill with nuts when there are not a lot of leaves around. That way you can fill a bag with nuts and not waste so much bag space.

Earlier in the season when just a few nuts have come down I will walk around the yard, pick up a nut and then toss it over the fence into the debris pile behind the neighbors garage. They dump lots of garden clippings, branches, nuts and piles of stuff. The squirrels love it and I add a few nuts now and then. If I come across any stray nuts now that the bagging is done I may toss them into that pile too. 

When we first moved into this house we had no idea how bad the nut situation would be. The people who lived here before us didn't always clean up the nuts and apparently there were lots of old shells throughout the yard. Katie was 12 and Sean was 8 when we moved in and they were used to running around barefoot in the yard of our previous house. They immediately ran around in our new yard and cut their feet on old nut shells. We had to insist on them wearing shoes or sneakers all the time in the backyard and they painfully learned that lesson. Because they also spent a lot of time playing in the yard I became obsessed with cleaning up the nuts every fall.

Not everybody does it and it looks like our next door neighbor with several nut trees is not doing her backyard anymore. She cleans up around the house, garage and driveway with the help of a grandson but this year has not touched the backyard. It's a mess.

She has also arranged to take down the really big black walnut tree in her driveway. It has been dropping a lot of nuts on our house this year. The tree contractor was waiting for the leaves and nuts to drop before taking it down. That should be soon now and will be worth another post at that time.

Sweet is the Melody - Back Porch FV

Another country folk mix for hanging out on the back porch I recently put together for my Final Version series. A few of these songs have been used on earlier mixes but a lot are first timers here. An hour and a half as usual.

Sweet is the Melody - Back Porch FV

1. Sweet is the Melody – Iris Dement, 1994
2. Wayside / Back in Time – Gillian Welch, 2003
3. Traveling Alone – Jason Isbell, 2013
4. Crossing Muddy Waters – John Hiatt, 2000
5. King of California – Dave Alvin, 2008
6. Killing The Blues – Robert Pland & Allison Krause, 2007
7. Mercy Now – Mary Gauthier, 2005
8. Trampled Rose – Carolina Chocolate Drops, 2010
9. Highway Halo – Old Crow Medicine Show, 2008
10. Someday – Steve Earle, 1986
11. Brave Companion of the Road – Nanci Griffith, 1989
12. If I Had A Boat – Lyle Lovett, 1988
13. Goddamn Lonely Love – Drive-By Truckers, 2004
14. Don’t Wait For Me – Ryan Bingham, 2007
15. There’s No Answer – Will Courtney, 2013
16. She Wanted – Exene Cervenka, 1989
17. I Still Care For You – Ray LaMontagne, 2008
18. Travelling Alone – Tift Merritt, 2012
19. Carmelia – Beth Orton, 2002
20. Ain’t No Grave – Crooked Still, 2006
21. Drunken Poet’s Dream – Hayes Carll, 2008
22. Sunny Came Home – Shawn Colvin, 1996

Believe in Ghost - 39%

I saw a statistic on the news that stated 39% of Americans believe in ghosts. That's more than those that believe in Trump. I looked up those stats and found that some surveys have 57% of Americans believing in ghosts. Another 39% believe in aliens and UFOs while still another 40% believe in demons. Well, only 13% of Americans believe in vampires.

Apparently these kinds of surveys are done every year just before Halloween. It probably doesn't mean very much. It is also noted that these beliefs have been prevalent in America for centuries. Less people these days are religious in America but the belief in the supernatural continues at the same percentages.

I believe in ghosts but not in any sort of religious way. Rather I see the phenomenon as a glimpse into a parallel world or multiverse. That is another story and another post.

When I was a teenager I also saw a UFO along with a group of other people. We followed it down the street for a couple of blocks as it hovered over us moving slowly before it suddenly took off in a silent flash of light. This was 1966 or 67.

Casa Azul... tacos

Casa Azul has been one of our favorite restaurants for Mexican food for many years now but we hadn't been to their downtown location since well before the pandemic started. The food was always good there but that building was a little weird and looked like blue storage containers. We called it the blue box. Recently they moved to Allen and Elmwood after Cantina Loco closed. We were sad to hear about their closing and they were also another one of our favorite Mexican food restaurants and had also been for many years.

Tonight was also Buffalo Restaurant Week which lots of special offers for many restaurants throughout the city. We left the Albright Knox around 5 and headed down to Allen Street. Our first choice had been The Terrace across the street from the museum but it was all booked up. We thought we would have several options on Allen Street. We drove by Casa Azul and saw that there were plenty of empty tables. We parked the car around the corner and quickly got a table. A couple of other people had got tables while we were parking the car and immediately after we were seated there were three more groups of people getting tables. The place was filling up fast.

We went with the Restaurant Week specials and got the taco dinners for two which included chips & nacho sauce, three tacos each and a churros for dessert. The food was wonderful. I had a couple of Dos Equis drafts. 

The churros for dessert was amazing and we ate all four of them. They were like Mexican fried donuts. So good. 

On the way back home we drove up Elmwood Avenue all the way up past the Albright Knox. The new building looked unbelievable in the dark with people walking around. We could see them and the art work through the glass walls. It was another dimension to the museum.

Albright Knox Art Museum

Today Becky and I went over to the Albright-Knox for the first time since it has opened following their extensive renovations and expansion. We also renewed our membership. The new building was amazing and very impressive. Buffalo now has a world class art museum.

We spent nearly two hours walking around and exploring the collections and the new building. It was spectacular. With a museum membership we have free admission any time we want to visit the gallery and we should do it a lot more often because there is so much more to see. We could have stayed there until closing at 8 pm. There was just so much to see. My hip was acting up and getting painful so we couldn't just keep going plus we wanted to go out to dinner too.

We had parked behind the museum in the back and planned to walk over to The Terrace restaurant after our time at the Albright. I checked on my phone while sitting in the gallery to see about a table and saw that there was nothing available until 8:30 pm. Oh well. I thought that might have been an issue. The restaurant turned out to be booked all weekend too. It is Restaurant Week.

I was ready with some options and after leaving the Albright our backup plan was to drive down to Allen Street and try one of the restaurants there. 

We are looking to many more visits to the Albright over the coming months and years.

Another Mass Shooting

We live in a sick society. America is broken in so many ways but the gun violence is a red flare that the whole world sees and loathes. Today I saw on TV an interview with a child who survived the most recent mass shooting last night at a bowling alley in a small Maine town who spoke to the cameras asking "why do people do this?" Another shooting took place in the town at a bar by the same gunman. 16 people were shot to death and another 20+ injured. The murderer is still at large.

It was seeing and hearing that little girl that made me want to write about this issue at this time. There have been close to 500 shootings so far in 2023 with nearly 600 people being murdered. It's time to call out the NRA as a terrorist organization who take money from industry toxic evil leaders who buy people in congress and allow murderous racists psychopaths with military firearms to slaughter the people of America. It's time for serious gun control and a good start would be to outright ban all military style automatic weapons for civilian use. Then repeal the 2nd amendment or at least modify it to emphasize the militia aspect. If the gun nuts want a machine gun then go join the army.

Latest news identifies the shooter as an army reservist and certified gun instructor with mental health problems. Big manhunt.

Update 10/27: Massive manhunt continues

Tribes of Europa

I was browsing around in Netflix a few days ago and came across this 2021 German Sci-Fi television series about future dystopian tribal warring societies in a post apocalyptic Europe. I can't resist science fiction shows. It was actually very well done and grabbed my attention over the course of six episodes. I ended up watching the series in less than a week.

The series ends with multiple cliff hangers and there doesn't seem to be any plans for a second season. I really don't know why. The show was good but maybe the Europeans had their fill of dystopia during the recent pandemic years. The show has received good reviews and ratings on several movie/tv series sites.

There are plans for a season 2 but so far it has not been renewed for Netflix.

Don't Think Twice - Covers FV

I don't need to think twice about making another covers mix. There are always enough songs to make another one. This one has a lot of great versions and is a nice addition to my Final Version series of cover mixes.

Don't Think Twice - Covers FV

1. Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright – Shelby Lynne (Bob Dylan)
2. Waiting On A Friend – Over The Rhine (The Rolling Stones)
3. Rainy Night In Georgia – Hem (Brook Benton)
4. Gentle On My Mind – Billy Bragg & Joe Henry (Glen Campbell)
5. This Must Be The Place (Naïve Melody) – Kishi Bashi (Talking Heads)
6. Dreams – The Kills (Fleetwood Mac)
7. Blue Velvet – Peggy Sue (Bobby Vinton)
8. Chandelier – Kina Grannis (Sia)
9. The End – The Raveonettes (The Doors)
10. Million Miles Away – Steve Wynn (The Plimsouls)
11. Candyman – Jim James (Grateful Dead)
12. Soul Kitchen – Patti Smith (The Doors)
13. When Doves Fly – The Be Good Tanyas (Prince)
14. You Turn Me On I’m A Radio – The Favourites (Joni Mitchell)
15. Enjoy The Silence – Tori Amos (Depeche Mode)
16. I’m On Fire – Bat For Lashes (Bruce Springsteen)
17. Here, There and Everywhere – Emmylou Harris (The Beatles)
18. You Know More Than I Know – Iron and Wine & Ben Bridwell (John Cale)
19. See Emily Play – Martha Wainwright (Pink Floyd)
20. Baby, Now That I’ve Found You – Alison Krauss (The Foundations)
21. The Ballad of El Goodo – Counting Crows (Big Star)
22. Any Major Dude Will Tell You – Wilco (Steely Dan)
23. Heart of Gold – Johnny Cash (Neil Young)

Red October 2023

I just recently saw that Philadelphia Phillies fans were referring to the major league baseball postseason playoffs as Red October. I hadn't heard that before but after last year's run to the World Series I could see it happening again with this postseason run. It's too bad it ended last night but it was exciting while it lasted.

We've been watching the many games of this postseason against the Marlins and then that nice series beating the league leading Braves. The early games against Arizona were exciting and the Phillies were putting on a home run derby demonstration but it just didn't last and the Diamondbacks eventually got their number. The last two games of that 7 game series were sad to watch the Phillies lose their mojo. They just didn't have it anymore and their Red October postseason came to an end. At least last year they got into the World Series before eventually losing to the Houston Astros. This year the Astros lost this week to the Texas Rangers so they ended their series run early too and there was not to be a repeat of last year.

It was certainly a lot of fun watching the games held in Philly where the fans were just awesome. The other cities in the postseason didn't come close to the Phillies fans for intensity and excitement.

I looked up the images of the Red October and was surprised by the variety of pictures as banners, signs, clothing, etc. They were everywhere.

The Phillies were World Series champions in 1915, 1950, 1980 and 2008. They also played in the postseason in 2022, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2007, 1993, 1983, 1981, 1978, 1977, and 1976. 

Blowin' In The Wind - Back Porch FV

Another folk music mix that has been reconfigured recently as part of my Back Porch Final Version series.

Lots of classic folk music here from a time of protest and social issues. A few big hits too. 

Making a mix like this is a lot of fun and takes me back to another time. Much of sounds just as important today. Tears of rage indeed, pity the poor immigrant and tear down the walls.

Blowin' In The Wind - Back Porch FV

1. Blowin' In The Wind - Peter, Paul & Mary, 1963
2. A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall - Bob Dylan, 1963
3. Eve Of Destruction - Barry McGuire, 1965
4. Both Sides Now - Judy Collins, 1967
5. Simple Song Of Freedom - Tim Hardin, 1969
6. I Pity The Poor Immigrant - Joan Baez, 1968
7. Power And The Glory - Phil Ochs, 1964
8. Tear The Facists Down - Woody Guthrie, 1944
9. If I Had A Hammer - Pete Seeger, 1956
10. Tear Down The Walls - Vince Martin & Fred Neil, 1964
11. 500 Miles - Hedy West, 1963
12. Four Strong Winds - Ian & Sylvia, 1963
13. The Dolphins - Fred Neil, 1966
14. Chimes Of Freedom - The Byrds, 1965
15. Universal Soldier - Donovan, 1965
16. Handsome Johnny - Richie Havens, 1966
17. The Times They Are A-changin' - Odetta, 1965
18. Where Have All The Flowers Gone - Johnny Rivers, 1965
19. Turn Turn Turn (To Everything There Is A Season) - The Seekers, 1966
20. Once I Was - Tim Buckley, 1967
21. Your Flag Decal Won't Get You - John Prine, 1971
22. There Is A War - Leonard Cohen, 1974
23. The Peace Song - Jesse Colin Young, 1972
24. Wild World - Cat Stevens, 1970
25. America - Simon & Garfunkel, 1968
26. Tears Of Rage - The Band, 1967

Monday Morning More Nanci

I enjoyed listening to some Nanci Griffith albums yesterday morning so much that I needed to do it again but a little different today. I've been playing her own tribute albums where she covers songs and songwriters that have been influences in her own songwriting.

The first album Other Voices, Other Rooms was released in 1993. There were many highlights including her duet with John Prine doing Speed of the Sound of Loneliness. Another great one was her take on Tecumseh Valley with Arlo Guthrie. Other vocal guests on this album include Emmylou Harris, Carolyn Hester, Guy Clark, Iris Dement, Odetta, Indigo Girls and many more. This album won a Grammy Award.

Then I played Other Voices, Too (A Trip Back to Bountiful) from 1998 with the same theme of covering songs by influential songwriters. Many more highlights here including Wall of Death, Who Knows Where The Time Goes, and so many more. Guests vocalist and performers on the album include Lucinda Williams, Richard Thompson, Steve Earle, Lyle Lovett, Emmylou Harris, Odetta, Tom Rush, John Prine, Rodney Crowell, Guy Clark, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, and Gillian Welch.

I really love both these albums and they sound so good playing one right after the other. I've written about her before in this blog and I probably will again some time. We have also been watching some YouTube concert footage of her performances over the years which we have enjoyed very much. 

After these albums are done playing I'm going to put on Spotify and give that recent tribute album another listen where many of these same artists are covering Nanci Griffith songs. More Than A Whisper: Celebrating The Music of Nanci Griffith.

Sunday Morning Kitchen Listening - Nanci Griffith

It's been just a little over two years passed away at the age of 68. I very much enjoy listening to her music and I am doing so right. I've been thinking about her recently because there has been a lot of promotion of a new release titled Working In Corner. It is a collection of her first four albums that were on independent labels before she signed with MCA. I have all of those albums but this new set may have some extra music. 

There has also been a lot of promotion and social media comments concerning the new tribute album of the songs of Nanci Griffith by various artists that came out last month. More Than A Whisper: Celebrating The Music Of Nanci Griffith is a wonderful album and I've been listening to it on Spotify. 

Today right now I'm listening to her live album. I saw her perform once at the Philly Folk Festival and she was amazing. Maybe I'll put that tribute album on again later today.

Tyranny of the Minority

Tyranny of the Minority: Why American Democracy Reached the Breaking Point by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, 2023

I just finished this book. This is the second book by these two authors I've read. The previous one was How Democracies Die: What History Reveals About Our Future from 2018 which I read in February 2019. 

This book is really a call for political reform before it's too late. Before America is no longer a democracy. Before America becomes an authoritarian dictatorship. It is a very revealing book. I found it to be heartbreaking and scary. It also made me angry. I was amazed at how flawed our constitutional system really is.

A few things need to be changed now.

No gerrymandering. Ever. By anyone. When a political district is drawn up no politician should have anything to do with the process. Districts should be made from existing municipal or geographic boundaries only.

The Electoral College should be eliminated. It exist only has a leftover from slavery days. All elections should be by popular vote.

The Senate should represent people and not states. The concept of two senate votes per state regardless of population is another slavery leftover. The idea that Wyoming and California have the same amount of senate votes despite the population differences is ridiculous. That is not democracy.

A Saturday Morning Routine... new classical releases

I've been this for about six years now every Saturday morning when we're home. It's a comforting routine. Playing the weekly new classical music playlist on Spotify. I wrote about their Friday classical new release playlist a couple of years ago here. Nothing has changed since then. I still very much enjoy playing that playlist sometime over the weekend but usually on Saturday morning.

We were out last night for dinner and an art opening and this morning the playlist sounds particularly nice and relaxing. But then it always does.

Raft of Sanity Art Opening

After our dinner at Roost we drove down Niagara Street a few blocks to the Raft of Sanity art gallery located in the old Better Wire building where I worked 1979-1981. It's always weird to walk through those spaces again. The show was for a former colleague of Becky from the UB Art Dept Richard Reitzenstein. Becky had a nice time talking with so many people she used to work with. I knew a lot of people there too and we spent a good hour and a half socializing which by that time had us exhausted. We're just not used to talking with people so much for such an extended period of time. I had a couple of glasses of red wine tonight which helped me keep the conversations going. I had quite of few long discussions with several people tonight. It also came up a few times about me working in this building so many years ago and being able to identify where my office and desk was located by looking at the view out the window. Now my old office is surrounded by artwork.

Every time I go into the Raft of Sanity and get a little weird vibes of insanity because of the two years I spent in that building and the strange times there. A lot happened during that time but that's another story. I wrote about Better Wire a couple of times.  The Better Wire Building 40 Years Later. 

Dinner at Roost

We went out to dinner tonight. It was great. We had decided early last week to go to the art opening at Raft of Sanity art gallery on Niagara Street where there was a show of work from one of Becky's former colleagues at the UB Art Dept. We thought it would be a good idea to go out for dinner first and she came up with the idea of going to Roost. This is a restaurant that is always very busy on weekends and especially Friday nights. There have been times when we considered dinner at Roost but could not get reservations. This time I made the reservations a week in advance and got a table for two on a Friday night at 6 pm. The art show was scheduled to open at 7 and I thought we would get there around 7:30 as it was just down the street.

We were lucky to get a good parking spot right outside the restaurant on Niagara Street but had forgotten about their parking lot across the street. The place was really busy at 6 pm and the long bar in front was particularly hopping but of course this was prime time happy hour on a Friday evening. We got a nice table overlooking the bar area and with a view of the sun setting over the Niagara River.

The service was a little slow getting our beers from the bar but was much better when it was time to have our food. We wanted a light dinner and started off with a shared mushroom carpaccio with celery and hazelnuts appetizer. That mushroom appetizer was amazing and we ate every morsel. Then we had a delicious margherita pizza which we ate most of and only took home a couple of pieces. We finished up and then headed down the street a few blocks to the art gallery.

Take Me To The River - Covers

A covers mix starting off with a song that first became a hit as a cover by a different band. Then more soul music before heading into some classic rock songs and more interesting interpretations. Some reggae too.

All part of my Final Version series of covers mixes. An hour and a half as usual.

Take Me To The River - Covers FV

1. Take Me To The River – Annie Lennox (Al Green)
2. Love and Happiness – Marc Broussard (Al Green)
3. Mercy Mercy Me / I Want You – Robert Palmer (Marvin Gaye)
4. Rolling In The Deep – Aretha Franklin (Adele)
5. Jimmy Mack – Bettye Lavette (Martha & The Vandellas)
6. The Tide is High – Blondie (The Paragons)
7. Walking in the Sand – Hollie Cook (The Shangra-Las)
8. Let’s Spend The Night Together – David Bowie (The Rolling Stones)
9. China Girl – Pete Yorn (David Bowie)
10. Raspberry Beret – Hindo Love Gods (Prince)
11. One – Three Dog Night (Harry Nielsson)
12. (I Know) I’m Losing You – Rod Stewart (The Temptations)
13. Highway 61 Revisited – Johnny Winter (Bob Dylan)
14. I Fought The Law – The Clash (The Bobby Fuller Four)
15. Heartbreaker (At The End of Loneliness) – Dread Zeppelin (Led Zeppelin) (Elvis Presley)
16. Money – Easy Star All-Stars (Pink Floyd)
17. I Got You Babe – UB40 & Chrissie Hynde (Sonny & Cher)
18. Johnny B. Goode – Peter Tosh (Chuck Berry)
19. I Thank You – Robert Randolph (Sam & Dave)
20. Satisfaction – Otis Redding (The Rolling Stones)
21. I Can’t Turn You Lose – The Chambers Brothers (Otis Redding)
22. She Came In Through The Bathroom Window – Joe Cocker (The Beatles)

Still More Nuts

This has become a banner years for black walnuts in our backyard. They still keep coming down. Every time I think they're done falling I hear more hitting the roof of the house or smacking down on the ground next to me while I'm out back cleaning up. 

I wrote about the nuts this year about ten days ago here. At that time I thought we had a lot of nuts on the ground and it was going to be a big year for the nuts. I had no idea. I've been going out to rake leaves and nuts almost every day since then and it keeps getting worse but I'm finally seeing the end in sight. I think. 

I've also had a very sore back this past week because of all the racking, picking up and bagging of the nuts. I fill a bag until it is heavy enough to be just able to carry the bag (or drag it) to the street for trash day pickup.

Today was trash day and I actually used the wheel barrel to carry two bags at a time out to the street. Since this was not a heavy pick up week and there were not a lot of people putting out leaves in the neighborhood yet I was hesitant to put too many bags of nuts/leaves on the street. I put eight bags out and there were two more in the trash tote container along with our regular trash. So that was a total today of 10 bags. They took everything. I still have a big pile of filled trash bags in the backyard ready to go.

This is the third trash day since I started bagging nuts. The first week I had 3 bags in the tote and another 4 by the street. The city emptied my tote but the bags stayed on the street along with some other people's bags. They sat there all week and I realized that they would be coming by at some point with the loader and dump truck. I added a few more bags and on the next trash day early in the morning they picked them all up.

Today I racked and packed up some more bags of nuts and leaves. Six more. That gives me a total of 46 so far and there are still a lot of piles in the way back and another huge pile near the back steps. I'm figuring I'll be passing my pervious record of 60 bags.

Our neighbor Pat just starting picking up the nuts in her backyard today. She just put about six or so bags of nuts on the street long after the trash was picked up today. I guess she is counting on the heavy pickup of leaves coming by soon. I should put a bunch more bags out there too if I see that a lot of neighbors are putting out more bags as the week goes on. I could easily put another dozen bags out there right now.

Scott RIP

It was a terribly sad past few months and especially with the recent passing of my brother-in-law Scott. It was only about a year ago that Scott and Rita sold there home in Pennsylvania and moved to Sarasota, Florida to spend their retirement years together. Then both Scott and Rita had serious health problems. We were all worried about Rita but then it turned out that Scott's issues were being caused by terminal cancer. One of the hard parts of this situation was there living in Florida where they could not get all of the family support that everyone wanted to give them. Fortunately Scott's niece Wendy was able to go down to Florida and spent a month with her Uncle Scott taking care of many of his medical needs.

Rita ended up in the hospital for back surgeries and then an extended time in a rehab facility while Scott was undergoing cancer treatment in a area cancer center. Through May and June they were both struggling with health issues. However, by mid July Scott was in a hospice receiving comfort measures and two days later he passed away.

Eventually Rita was able to move up to an assisted care facility in Harleysville PA arranged by Scott's niece and the rest of the family were finally able to spend some time with her. The memorial service for Scott was arranged by people he worked with in Lancaster PA and scheduled for September 28th at a community park across the street from the offices where he had worked. 

Scott had been in the family a long time. He and Rita were married in 1980 a few months before Becky and I got married. I first me Scott in 1978 when he was working as a bartender at the Harleysville Hotel which was the same place our brother Tom had worked at one time. I went there to check out the guy who was seeing my little sister. Becky and I moved to Buffalo the following year.

Over the years we would see Rita and Scott whenever we came down to Philly to visit which was at least twice a year. They always made sure they were around and stopped by to see us. During those years we stayed with Betsy in Red Hill and then later on Mill Hill Rd. Rita and Scott also lived in Red Hill for a number of years before moving out to Barto. We did need to be careful about not talking politics or certain social issues because he did have a very conservative streak especially about guns, race and a few other things but that happens in every family. We always had plenty of other things to talk about.

In recent years Scott got a job in Lancaster and they moved out there. We didn't see them quite so much anymore because they lived an hour and a half away instead of a few minutes. He was always a great guy, fun to be with and always seemed like he really enjoyed being with our family that he was a special part of for over forty years.

Daisy Jones & The Six - TV Show

 

Earlier this year in May I read the 2019 novel Daisy Jones & The Six which I enjoyed very much. I started it after reading two biographies of Sandy Denny and the novel covered a lot of the same territory of a young woman starting out in the music industry in the late 1960’s and throughout the 1970’s except the Daisy Jones fictional story took place in Los Angeles rather than Sandy Denny’s London. I knew there was a television series based on Daisy Jones novel and Becky and I started watching it recently. We've watched seven episodes. It’s very entertaining and the producers certainly got the look and feel of 1970’s LA on the Sunset Strip down. Laurel Canyon too. The lead role was played by Riley Keough who we found out last night is the granddaughter of Elvis Presley and her mother was Lisa Marie Presley which also means her stepfather was Michael Jackson. Her father was a musician too so she has the background. She was very good in the role and we’re looking forward to watching the rest of the series.

We're taking our time watching this series and not binging. There are 10 episodes in the series and we're enjoying it but it's not the kind of show you want to keep watching to see what happens. We'll finish up over the next couple of weeks.

Some Kinda Love - The Feelies

Some Kinda Love: Performing the Music of The Velvet Underground by The Feelies, 2023.

This live album of The Feelies playing a concert from 2018 where they played an entire set of the Velvet Underground was released this past Friday. Today I put it on for dinner listening and both Becky and I loved it. I couldn't believe how wonderful it sounded. They nailed it big time. I was also very impressed by the way their bass player Brenda Sauter does an amazing vocal interpretation of Nico's take on All Tomorrow's Parties. All of the songs they perform here with joy and love. 

When I was listening to this album today it immediately brought back the memories of seeing The Velvet Underground play The Trauma in Philadelphia in early 1968. Now that was an amazing show and I real eye opener although I was very disappointed that Nico was not on stage with the Velvets at that time. She apparently left the band at the end of the 1967 tour when the band stopped working with Andy Warhol. I only went to the Trauma a few times back in the day. It was located a block or so down Arch Street from The Electric Factory which was my main venue to see bands in the late 1960's along with the 2nd Fret at 19th and Samson and The Main Point in Bryn Mawr. I would see The Velvet Underground again in later 1968 at the Electric Factory along with Nazz. 

I loved The Feelies first album Crazy Rhythms from 1980 and I also have their second album from 1986 The Good Earth. I would see The Feelies in 1980 at Stage One in Buffalo.

One of the nice things about Spotify is the ability to listen to new music when it comes out. Things are so different now from the way I used to discover new music like The Velvet Underground in 1967 and The Feelies in 1980. 

Bills Nail Biter

It was a prime time Sunday night game. There's a few prime time games on the schedule this year. Sunday nights, Monday nights and Thursday nights. These games scheduled at night are hard for some of the season ticket holders like Ashley and her dad. They came into town this weekend and stayed at our house. Sean and Andrew came too. They arrived on Sunday afternoon, had lunch and then Ashley and Fuzz went to the game while Sean and Andrew hung out with us for the afternoon. Later we watched the game while Andrew went to bed. The plan was for Sean and Fuzz to leave the game a little early so they could get back to our house and get a good night's sleep before leaving early Monday morning.

The game was against the New York Giants and was supposed to be an easy game for the overwhelming favorites Buffalo Bills. The game didn't turn out that way and was a nail biter right down to the very last seconds.

The Bills started off missing field goal attempts in the first half. Couldn't get a good drive going. The one time they did get close Josh Allen threw another interception. The Bills had lots of penalties too. The Giants were able to make two field goals in the first half but ended the half with a terrible clock management play that cost them more points.

Nobody scored in the third quarter. The game really stunk. I probably wouldn't have lasted even that long if Sean hadn't been here. Then finally the Bills scored a touchdown at the beginning of the fourth quarter to make the score 7-6 but then the Giants scored another field goal to take back the lead 9-7. 

Ashley and her dad left the stadium at 11 pm around got back to the house in time to watch the end of the game with us. The Bills were able to score another touchdown to retake the lead 14-9. Towards the end of the game the Giants pushed real hard to get their first touchdown. They had three field goals and really should have had that fourth one at halftime which would have given them 12 points. Then they got into the red zone and with two seconds left they had an incomplete pass in the end zone with a penalty that was called against the Bills for pass interference. That put the ball on the one yard line. They tried another pass into the end zone that was dropped and the Bills won the game.

With all the gambling sites associated with the NFL there must have been a lot of people losing money on the spread. The Bills did win as predicted and expected but it was way too close for the hardcore gamblers. All the gambling and betting on sports now has really dampened my enthusiasm for watching games anymore. I was already not paying as much attention to sports since I retired from work but now with all the gambling ads and promotions I just rather watch or do something else.

Sean & Andrew

So yesterday we spent a wonderful Sunday hanging out with our son and grandson. They arrived along with Ashley and her dad at around 1 pm. Fuzz was already itching to get to the stadium although the game wasn't starting until 8:20 pm with the parking lot opening for tailgating at 4:20 pm. 

Becky had done some food shopping before their arrival and we had lots of good sandwich makings for them which they enjoyed for lunch. Me and Becky and Sean then took Andrew for a walk around the neighborhood in his stroller which he loved. Unfortunately the weather wasn't cooperating and it started to drizzle. The forecast called for rain off and on all day and into the evening for the game.

By about 2:30 Ashely and Fuzz were out the door and on their way to the stadium. They had to stop at Wegmans and get some food for their many hours of tailgating. Andrew wasn't taking a nap and was very exciting about being with Grammie and Papa. I had gone upstairs and brought down the castle and the stuff associated with it along with a container of cars and trucks. Andrew wasn't interested in the castle this time and immediately went for the trucks and construction vehicles. He never did play with the castle at all.

Becky made a nice dinner of hamburgers and sweet potato fries. Then it was more trucks and lots of reading books with Grammie for Andrew. He was also very excited to see the pictures of his cousin Henry on the table. He watched some of his shows on the television and then it was bedtime around 8 and Sean took him upstairs. Sean wasn't up there with him very long and then it was time to watch the Bills game which turned out to be an ordeal. 

The plan for the day was Sean and Andrew spending time with us at the house and for Ashley and Fuzz to go to the game. They were expecting the game to be a blowout and thought that they would be able to leave at a reasonable time to get back to our house around 11 pm. The plan was to get up around 5:30 am on Monday and be out the door and on the road by 6 am. They wanted to be home by 10 am because Sean had an online meeting for work at that time.

The game was very stressful and the Giants were ahead when they finally forced themselves to leave the stadium. They got back to our house around 1 as planned but the game was far from decided and actually wasn't until the final seconds of the game around midnight. Thankfully for them the Bills did win otherwise it would have been an extra long drive home.

We got up with them a little before 6 and said our goodbyes. Andrew was a little out of sorts waking up in a strange bed and not at home. They were gone by 6 am and Becky and I went back to bed.