Norman Blake - Morning Kitchen Listening

Put on several Norman Blake albums this morning. I haven't listened to any of his music in many years and it sounded great. The albums I started off with were from the mid 1970's. Fields of November from 1974 followed by Old and New from 1975. Then I played was a later album Flower from the Fields of Alabama released in 2001.

I saw Norman Blake perform along with John Hartford at the Philly Folk Festival in the late 1970's. I think it was 1977. I was surprised to see that he is still around and released an album in 2021. He is 86 years old.

Although his first solo album came out in 1972 he was a studio musician and band member for many years. He toured and recorded with Johnny Cash for ten years and played on Dylan's Nashville Skyline album and recorded with Joan Baez. He also played on the Will The Circle Be Unbroken album in 1972 which was a big influence for me with country and bluegrass music.

So I really enjoyed listening to his music this morning. I set aside his live album to listen to later and also his 2015 album in my collection. I'll check out more of his later albums on Spotify sometime soon.

Norman Blake in my collection:

• Home in Sulphur Springs, 1972
• Fields of November, 1974
• Old and New, 1975
• Whiskey Before Breakfast, 1976
• Live at McCabe's, 1976
• Flower from the Fields of Alabama, 2001
• Wood, Wire and Words, 2015

This Time Last Year

This time last year I was recovering from a dislocated shoulder that I got when I tripped over Clara and landed on the ground. Banged up my knee too. It's really only been a few months now that I don't feel any discomfort in my shoulder. It took a long time to completely heal. It also took some serious physical therapy too.

I wrote about the initial ordeal last year... Dislocated Shoulder and X-Rays, Doctor & Rehab.

Missing Andrew and Autumn at Christmas

No matter how much fun we had with Henry, Clara and Violet we really missed not being able to spend any holiday time with Sean, Ashely and our two other grandchildren Andrew and Autumn. 

There was a chance we would see them this week. Sean and Ashley wanted to come by while Katie, Todd and the kids were in town so the cousins could get together. That didn't work out when Autumn got sick with some serious RSV infection and fever. 

It would have been nice to spend at least some of the holidays with all of our grandchildren at the same time.

We did get to spend some time with Andrew and Autumn for her first birthday just before Thanksgiving.

Heading Home

Katie and the kids left this morning after a week in Buffalo. Fortunately Todd was feeling much better and ready to take on that long all day drive home. It was funny to hear the kids say they didn't want to go home yet. We had a very nice time this morning and there were lots of cuddles and hugs. We did have a wonderful time last night at Kostas and a nice afternoon before that. We had hoped it would have been a better weather day and we could have done something outside but that wasn't to be and the kids were happy to just hang out with us. They had a very busy time before this with their cousins from California who were in Buffalo for a few days.

Both Henry and Clara seemed fascinated with the gardening TV show Monty Don and especially when he was somewhere overseas like in Japan. They watched it off and on over the past week when they were at our house.

Yesterday we watched the Bills beat the Jets 40-14 on TV. It was a lot of fun especially the ongoing embarrassment of Aaron Rodgers throughout the game. The Jets were losing 40-0 until the Bills put in all of their second stringers late in the game which allowed the Jets, but not Rogers, score a couple of garbage touchdowns. 

I heard from Katie when they got home around 6 pm this evening.

Lots of Leftovers

This evening Becky and I had a very nice dinner of our leftovers from our dinner at Kostas last night. There was plenty of Greek chicken for tonight and still enough leftover for some lunch tomorrow. We ate up all of the Greek potatoes and also some of Becky's home fried potatoes from our Saturday burger dinner. Of course she made some fresh salad too. Also had some leftover pita bread.

Earlier today at lunch I had some of my leftover Greek salad.

Family Dinner @ Kostas

We were considering what to do for dinner this evening and talked about going out to a restaurant or ordering some take out food. We had been through all of the leftovers that were still any good and Becky didn't really have anything to put together for the kids who really are hard to cook for. They each really only want one thing that they want at that particular time whatever that may be. A lot of restaurants were closed this Sunday night on a holiday weekend a few days before the New Year.

We ended up deciding to go to the old family standby... Kostas. Katie and Todd and the kids were already there for lunch earlier this week but the kids were really excited about going there again. They love it.

So we met them over there. When we got there it wasn't too crowded and we were able to get a corner table for seven. Actually it was the same table that we sat at the last time we all had dinner together.

When the server asked for drinks both Henry and Clara asked for a chocolate milk shake. Katie had a chicken souvlaki salad, Clara had chocolate chip pancakes, Henry had a hot dog and fries, Violet wanted fries and ketchup, Todd had moussaka with Greek potatoes, Becky had her usual moussaka and salad and for me I had that tremendous chicken souvlaki dinner with Greek potatoes and salad. Pita breads too. 

Well, I had a lot of leftovers which we will eat for lunch and dinner tomorrow. 

Jimmy Carter RIP

Former President Jimmy Carter passed away today at the age of 100. Just by coincidence I'm currently reading a biography of Ronald Reagan and today I was reading the chapter on the 1980 presidential election campaign where Carter was defeated by Reagan. It was a real eye-opener. 

Carter was also a Navy veteran and the only president of the US that was a graduate of the US Naval Academy.

The Rainy Day Return

Katie, Todd and the kids came back to our house today. Todd's brother and his family left to go back to California this morning and we had thought that Katie and Todd would be driving back to Philly today but it's a very rainy day. The heavy rain would have followed them all the day back to Philly so they decided to stay another day with us and drive home the following day when the weather was predicted to be better. They also couldn't stay another day at their downtown hotel because it was filled up for the coming New Years weekend and their reservations ended today.

So we got them another day and we're very happy although still somewhat tired. It's too bad there is so much heavy rain because it would have been nice to go for a walk in the neighborhood, go over to the zoo or even go to the art museum but the kids were tired from a long week and wanted to just hang out and play with their Christmas present toys.

We're also planning to go out to dinner this evening at Kostas. In the meantime the kids wanted to cuddle on the couch with their grandmother.

The Birdcage

Last night Becky and I stayed up a little later than usual to watch the movie The Birdcage. It was hilariously funny and I think this was only the second time I saw the film since seeing it when it was originally released in 1996. It had a great cast including Robin Williams, Gene Hackman, Nathan Lane and was put together by Mike Nichols and Elaine May. It was groundbreaking at the time for a popular American film to feature LGBTQ characters at the center of the story. It was also a funny put down of extreme conservative family values that looked particularly valid today.

We saw the original French film version, La Cage aux Folles, sometime around 1979 and loved it. I think we saw it again sometime in the early 80's but I would really like to see it one more time.

I looked online to see where we could view the French film and it is available on Tubi and Pluto TV for free but not Amazon Prime, Netflex, Apple TV, Max, etc. without paying extra. We watched The Birdcage on Max.

More of Those Burgers Again

We had been having a lot of different holiday meal leftovers this week and then Becky decided to cook up a couple of those wonderful Dash's hamburgers which we keep on hand. Of course she had recently got some nice potatoes to make with the burgers along with a nice salad. Yep, the usual.

We had some Christmas cookies for desert and then a little later we watched a movie.

Some Time To Relax... and Clean Up

I did get to take a look at Henry's Lego Marvel figures he built on Christmas day and left on our dining room table. Becky did good picking them out for his Christmas presents.

Today we had some time to relax a little bit and to clean up after having three of our grandchildren staying with us in our home for the holidays. Well, at least the first few days of the holidays. On the day after Christmas they went downtown to the hotel where Todd's parents have their apartment. They would be there probably for the rest of the week they are in town with the possibility of them coming back here on Sunday before driving back to Philly on Monday.

So in the meantime we were able hangout the day after Christmas and relax. The party for Violet's birthday was scheduled for the evening of Friday the 27th so we had that day to relax too. And we did some cleaning up around the house. Then on Saturday the kids were doing things with their cousins from California who were in town for several days. And then we had another day of rest.

We did hear from Katie that they will be coming back to our house on Sunday sometime in the early afternoon and stay with us for the rest of the day and the night before driving home on Monday. We'll see how that goes. In the meantime we can enjoy the quiet house for a bit.

Ottmar Liebert - Kitchen Listening

Today we listened to a few hours of the music of this amazing guitarist... Ottmar Liebert. This is someone I collected a few of his albums twenty years or so ago but didn't listen to him much recently. I had used a few of his songs on some new age/classical mixes I made about ten years ago and I was reworking a couple of them into my Final Version sets. I liked what I heard and then put an album on the stereo, then another one.

I had to go and look up this guy because although I really liked his Spanish flamenco influenced guitar style but knew he wasn't from Spain. Actually it turns out he was from Cologne, Germany and born to a Chinese-German father and Hungarian mother. He played in rock bands in Germany but moved to the US where he eventually settled in Santa Fe in 1986 where he has been ever since.

He states that his musical influences come from Carlos Santana, Paco de Lucia, John McLaughlin, Robert Fripp, Jeff Beck and Miles Davis. No wonder I liked him so much.

Ottmar Liebert in my collection:

• Nouveau Flamenco, 1990
• Rumba Collection 1992-1997, 1998
• Barcelona Nights: The Best of Ottmar Lievert Vol. 1, 2001
• Surrender 2 Love: The Best of Ottmar Lievert Vol. 2, 2001

Violet's Birthday & Dinner

We had a wonderful time last night at Iris and Dick's downtown apartment celebrating Violet's 3rd birthday and enjoying the holiday with the Schifeling family. They had a full house. Todd's brother Jeremy and his wife Rachel with their two kids were there. They were visiting from California and staying in the hotel. Dan and Barbara were there and Dietrich also showed up. And of course Katie and Todd and the three kids were there too.

Violet loved being the birthday girl and enjoyed opening her presents. She also loved being sung to for her birthday. All smiles. Violet's birthday is actually on Monday.

There was lots of wine, some beers including NAs and soda waters. Becky brought a couple of large trays of cookies leftover from our Christmas Eve dinner. They were a big hit... especially with the kids. The dinner was a takeout meal from Fat Bob's and it was really boring. We had BBQ from them last year at Dick and Iris's and it was great but somehow last night it was very bland. All of it. Each side dish had no taste and there wasn't even any BBQ sauce to put on the brisket which was tough and overcooked. There was also no pulled pork which is usually their best dish. Oh well, maybe we should suggest BBQ from Southern Junction next time.

We did have a very good time talking and socializing with the folks at the party. It was especially nice talking with Jeremy and Rachel and with Dan and Barbara again.

I should have taken more photos of the gathering but here is a selfie with Clara and Violet.

Clara was so happy that Violet was turning 3.

On The Perch

I've been spending a lot of time over the past couple of years sitting in a comfy chair in the upstairs front room overlooking our street and reading. It has also been a getaway this past week when we have been getting ready for the holidays and when the grandchildren were here but out of the house for a little while visiting other folks.

I always refer to this spot as "the perch" and I will mention to Becky as she is watching something on TV that I am going up on the perch. I enjoy sitting there both day and night but usually during the winter months or during bad weather. Otherwise I like to sit on the front porch or in the backyard sunroom. I previously mentioned my time on the perch when I was wrote about mom-momming which is related to what I've been doing there.

The perch is a nice getaway spot. I have a bunch of "stuff" located within handy reach from that chair. I have a stack of old note books which I sometimes look at and I keep a pair of reading glasses on the table next to the chair.

Now Autumn is Sick Too

Sean and Ashely were thinking of possibly coming to Buffalo this week after Christmas to spend some time with us and to see Katie and the kids. It really wasn't a great idea because of illnesses going around Kate's family... Todd, Henry and Clara all being sick at some time this past week. The plan was for them to stay at our house while Katie and Todd were at the downtown hotel. Then Sean and Ashley would take their kids down to visit or they thought Katie and Todd would bring their kids back to our house for them to all play together. They probably didn't realize that Todd's brother and their kids were in town from California to spend time with their cousins too. And then there was the birthday party planned for downtown at Dick and Iris's which was already a full house. Having Andrew and Autumn there along with Sean and Ashley could be a problem with just not enough room.

Well, not of that mattered when Autumn got sick with a bad case of RSV with a fever of 103. She wasn't going anywhere. Poor thing. 

Being Sick for Christmas

First Henry was sick the week before Christmas. He had an ear infection, walking pneumonia and Covid. All at once. Katie had to take him to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia by uber and on the way back he threw up in the car. Well, he got his meds and got better.

Meanwhile Todd got sick but tested negative for Covid. His illness caused the family to stay home a little longer than planned before he felt good enough to hit the road. He needed to take his time and although they left a day later they also stopped along the way and got a motel room so Todd could rest. Then they continued on the road and arrived at our house on Monday December 23rd.

Then Clara got sick on the last day of traveling. Kate took her to an urgent care center in Buffalo where she was treated for an ear infection. Fortunately she did not have Covid. The first picture is of her lying about on the floor over a heat vent. She did not have much energy that first day here. Clara wasn't always great about taking her medications but the picture here is of her downing some meds. 

Todd was not feeling well for the first several days in Buffalo but he was gradually getting better.

Day After Christmas Selfies

Katie, Todd and the kids went downtown today to spend some time with Todd's brother and their kids who were in town from California and staying at the Hilton Hotel where Todd's parents have their 16th floor apartment. Katie and Todd would be staying there for a few days too before coming back to our house on Sunday.

We hung out with the kids before they headed downtown in the afternoon and one of the things we did was take a bunch of selfies together. The kids love doing selfies with me and we make sure to do it each time we get together.

An Icy Walk on Christmas

Becky and I went for a walk this Christmas Day evening like we try to do most days but this was a little different because of the ice on sidewalks. The kids had gone downtown for Christmas dinner with Todd's family and we had some quiet time in the house before they were to return later this evening.

So we went for our walk. It's unbelievable how many people don't shovel their sidewalks or at least throw down some ice melt salt as the snow begins to melt. Most of the sidewalks around our home were cleared off but there were quite a few that had a layer of ice that made walking treacherous. Most of the time we walked off of the sidewalk and into the snow because it was easier and safer in the snow than on the ice sidewalk. It was a good thing we didn't wait until it got really dark. We had wanted to see some of the Christmas lights on our neighbor's homes.

It was also a little weird that on this day last year we went for a walk with the kids and I tripped over them which caused me to fall and dislocate my shoulder which I wrote about here.

Overall it hasn't been a bad winter so far and the snow in our neighborhood has not accumulated very much. A couple of inches here and there followed by some quick melting. Well, except for the past few days where it got very cold after a couple of inches of snow. However next week the temperatures are supposed to get into the 50's. 

Panettone for Breakfast

For breakfast on Christmas morning we had some delicious Panettone cake. We saw a pile of them on the table in the bakery area at Romeo & Juliet's last week when we were there for dinner. Becky stopped by this week and luckily there were still some left so she picked one up. We had planned to have it for dinner last night but it didn't happen with all the Christmas cookies in such demand so we had it for breakfast today and it was fantastic. I think this will be a new Christmas tradition.

So what is Panettone... it's a Northern Italian type of yeasted sweet bread and fruit cake that was originally from Milan and traditionally baked for Christmas and New Years. It is now popular around the world. It has raisins, citrus and almonds with a buttery textured bread.

I really like this bread a lot but it's been many years since I had some. It was real nice to have it again.

Of course this is not to be confused with the fruit cakes from back in the day. There were jokes about fruit cakes that would be given as gifts year after year... the same cake. Getting passed around. 

Christmas Morning 2024

Christmas morning this year was a lot of fun for the kids. There were certainly plenty of gifts for them under the tree.

The kids played with their toys all morning before getting ready to spend the late afternoon and evening with Todd's family.

Flying Dog's Family Drama - Holiday Survival Pack

Dave came by for the Christmas Eve dinner with a bunch of beers. He had a six packs of Athletic NAs plus a really silly collection of beers from Flying Dog Brewery in Utica NY which they call the Family Drama Holiday Survival Pack.

Here they are:

• Passive Aggressive Pils
• Awkward Silence Black Lager
• Why Are They Here? Imperial Red Ale
• Tension Tamer Hazy IPA

So I'm going to have some fun trying these out and according to the printed message on the box...  "the beer you are about to drink may, in fact, change your life. No longer will securing that same old parking space at the office give you a false sense of accomplishment. Coloring outside of the lines will start to feel like the only option. Always wear clean underwear? Hell, you may not even wear underwear anymore."

Christmas Eve Dinner 2024

Becky and I hosted dinner for Christmas Eve again this year. It has been a tradition for a long time now. Katie, Todd and the three kids were here and we were fortunate that they recovered enough from their illnesses although Clara was still coughing a lot. This year we had Dave and Donna and Mary. Dick and Iris came again. Val came and brought Nina with her. It was sad for Val as this was her first Christmas without Bobby. He was with us last year but did not look very well and really didn't have long to live.

Val and Nina had a good time and it was very nice to see Nina here. There was lots of sitting around the front room talking.

Becky made her wonderful braciole dinner and we all enjoyed it very much.

The kids sat in the front room at the kid's table with Todd who still wasn't feeling very well. 

We had lots of great Christmas cookies for desert made by Becky, Donna and Katie. Looks like there's gonna be a lot of leftover cookies even after we bring a bunch over to Dick and Iris's for Violet's birthday later this week.

Christmas Visit This Year

Katie and Todd and the kids arrived today for their annual Christmas Visit. It was a day later than planned because of sickness. Henry was sick earlier in the week and was diagnosed with an ear infection, walking pneumonia and Covid. He got the meds and cleared it all up. Meanwhile Todd got sick but was negative with Covid. So they waited an extra day for Todd to feel better and then they left on Sunday afternoon. They drove to Syracuse and then spent the night in a motel.

Then Clara got sick too. When they got to Buffalo Katie took Clara to a nearby urgent care facility because of her cough and fever, 104. She got her meds. They tried to give her a Covid test but she resisted and got a bloody nose instead. Katie picked up a test kit and later Clara tested negative for Covid.

Of course when they arrived today they immediately sat on the floor and played together with the castle as usual.

Becky's Braciole 2024

Becky made her usual recipe of braciole again this year. She pre-ordered the meat from Dash's Market and picked it up today. She made the braciole a day early and then had it all ready in the refrigerator to come out tomorrow to cook for dinner.

She's putting together four bracioles this year. That means we will have some leftovers.

She also made enough for Katie to bring some back home with her.

I also helped this time... I held my finger down on the string when she tied the knots on the bracioles. 

Ministry of Truth

Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past by Steve Benen, 2024. 

A fascinating book about post-truth America full of rampant mis-information and the rewriting of recent history. Obviously no morality or integrity in the efforts of MAGA to gain power.

Read this throughout the month of December. The kids were at our house for the holidays but I was able to finish this up just before they arrived.

The Evening Mist FV Mixes

Probably about four years ago during the pandemic I put together a couple of 8 hour mega mixes using classical, soundtracks, new age and some jazz together in a smooth flowing easy sounding collection of music. I called them Evening mixes. 

Just recently I started reworking those mixes into a new Final Version series of hour and a half mixes titled Evening Mist FV. The mega mixes are fine under some circumstances but I like having the smaller mixes. An hour and a half has seemed to be the ideal compromise.

So during the recent holidays when I had some time to relax with my music collection I started reworking the Evening Verses and Evening Vessels into the hour and a half Evening Mist FV series. I started off using songs from the two earlier mega mixes but I've also been collecting many more pieces of music from across my collection including new age, ambient, soft rock, classical and soundtracks.

I will be posting these new FV mixes here after the holidays. I'm sure I will have about ten of them over the next couple of weeks. I find it very relaxing and focuses my attention.