Far Far Away - Songs 1989 FV

The eighth mix in this Songs 1989 series of songs from albums in my collection released that year. Mostly deep cuts from some of some of those favorite albums.

I enjoyed putting these mixes together and I could probably add a few more to the series. I'm also considering doing a series of 4 hour set mixes for the year in music too.

The BoDeans in the pic.

Far Far Away - Songs 1989 FV

1. Far Far Away - BoDeans
2. Closer To Fine - Indigo Girls
3. Never Had It So Good - Mary Chapin Carpenter
4. Love Letter - Bonnie Raitt
5. Old Love - Eric Clapton
6. See A Little Light - Bob Mould
7. Searchlight - Giant Sand
8. Travellin' Light - Peter Case
9. I've Forgotten What It Was In You - Maria McKee
10. In A Perfect Place - The Sneetches
11. Fun & Games - The Connells
12. Where Teardrops Fall - Bob Dylan
13. Stand By Your Man - Lyle Lovett
14. Trail Of Broken Hearts - k.d. lang
15. Diamond In The Rough - Shawn Colvin
16. Mercy - The Innocence Mission
17. Another Day - Galaxie 500
18. The Life Is The Red Wagon - Jane Siberry
19. Crossroads - Tracy Chapman
20. Tracks In The Dust - Crosby, Stills & Nash
21. The Horses - Rickie Lee Jones
22. Still Water - Daniel Lanois
23. Love Warriors - Tuck & Patti
24. Into The Night - Julee Cruise

Robyn Hitchcock - Kitchen Listening

Robyn Hitchcock - Kitchen Listening. I started off with his first solo album from 1981 and then followed it up with the next three albums. I ended the set with his live album Gotta Let This Hen Out from 1985.

Very interesting and quirky music. I recently started reading his memoir 1967: How I Got There and Why I Never Left, 2024 which I am enjoying very much.

Some of the Robyn Hitchcock albums in my collection in this listening set.

• Black Snake Diamond Role, 1981
• Groovy Decay, 1982
• I Often Dream of Trains, 1984
• Fergamania!, 1985
• Gotta Let This Hen Out (Live), 1985

Basement Clean-up

It was time to do a little basement clean-up. We had recently had some water in the basement due to the rainwater backup from the sewer in the street. Apparently a lot of houses on our block had water in the basements because of the clogged sewer. The city came out and cleared the blockage after receiving numerous complaints. I heard this from the workers when I went out to talk with them when they were working on the lines.

We had some water in the basement but not a lot. It was enough to cause some problems with a few of the boxes we store down there for Becky's e-Bay shipping containers. The ones on the floor had some water damage so I went down there to clean it all up. I ended up throwing away about six boxes that had been wet and some had some mildew on them. I cut them up and put them in the recycling container. Then I rearranged the remaining boxes and cleared some space. The first pic here are the boxes I

threw out. I did a lot of sweeping too while wearing a mask. The next couple of pics are the sorting process and the clearing of space. 

I later went out to the backyard and grabbed a couple of old little plastic tables that we weren't using anymore along with a couple of crates and used them in the basement to hold some pieces of wood that made a shelf for some of the boxes. The idea was to get everything off of the floor in case water got into the basement again. The second pic is the new configuration. Then a couple of pics of the process. The next thing to be done is for Becky to go through the remaining boxes and get rid of any she may not need.

The last pic is the final configuration.

The next step in the basement clean-up is to get the old refrigerator, electric stove, old air conditioner and microwave oven out of there.

Dinner @ Dave & Donna's

We had a wonderful time at Dave and Donna's house this evening. A nice take-out dinner from Wegman's and Mr. Pizza. Several people brought desserts including Becky bringing cheesecakes from the Co-Op. Made for a regular family Gasper Special. 

It was a perfect Friday night weatherwise and we all enjoyed hanging out in their backyard. It was nice seeing Jim and little Sonny. There were sixteen people there not counting the small children. We had a great time socializing and spent about four hours there.

Tried To Be True - Songs 1989 FV

Another fun mix of songs from albums in my collection released in 1989. Hits, favorites and deep cuts running for the usual hour and a half.

The Indigo Girls in the pic.

Tried To Be True - Songs 1989 FV

1. Tried To Be True - Indigo Girls
2. Love and Understanding - Blue Rodeo
3. It It's Love - Squeeze
4. Lovesong - The Cure
5. Don't Ask Me Why - Eurythmics
6. Someplace Where Love Can't Find Me - Marshall Crenshaw
7. You Got It - Roy Orbison
8. I Won't Back Down - Tom Petty
9. The Loving - XTC
10. The Wheels Of Love - Edwyn Collins
11. American Eyes - The Lilac Time
12. Happy Birthday - Concrete Blonde
13. Eat For Two - 10,000 Maniacs
14. Baby Doll - Laurie Anderson
15. Tuesday's Child - All About Eve
16. Ponytail - Beat Happening
17. Happy - Public Image Ltd.
18. I Dig You - Fetchin' Bones
19. Boors Or Hearts - The Tragically Hip
20. Heartbreak A Stranger - Bob Mould
21. Roam - The B-52's
22. Dirty Blvd. - Lou Reed
23. Let Him Dangle - Elvis Costello
24. I Am The Resurrection - The Stone Roses

Duct/Vent Cleaning

Today we had our duct vents cleaned. The guys from Stanley Steemer were very good at what they were doing and we are happy with their job. It had been many years since we've had the ducts cleaned... probably 20 years. They took two hours to do the job. It was noisy but effective.

They arrived at 8:30 am and were gone by 10:30.

The cleaning cost us around $670 total which was very reasonable especially after I got quite a few quotes online that were all over the place. Our plumbing service gave me a quote of $2100 and several other services were in the $1000 range.

The Secret History - A Novel

The Secret History by Donna Tartt. Last night I finished reading this dramatic and dark mystery thriller novel from 1992. It was a very interesting and beautifully written book but I found that none of the main characters were sympathetic in any way. They were all snobby, greedy, selfish, obnoxious and one dimensional. It actually took me two months to read this novel which is unusual for me but the author's writing was amazing. I just didn't like those college students... or their so-called classics professor.

This is the third Donna Tartt novel that I've read. I previously read The Goldfinch in December 2013 which I loved and The Little Friend in May 2014 which was so so. 

Open Mind - Songs 1989 FV

Another mix of songs from albums in my collection released in 1989. Lots of deep cuts here along with some favorites. Includes some interesting cover songs too.

The band McCarthy in the pic.

Open Mind - Songs 1989 FV 

1. Keep An Open Mind Or Else - McCarthy
2. Nothing To Be Done - The Pastels
3. This Time There Is No Happy Ending - Television Personalities
4. Sex Sum (Amen) - The Vaselines
5. Love Crushing - Fetchin' Bones
6. My Babe - Dr. Feelgood
7. After The Goldrush - The Flaming Lips
8. Isn't It A Pity - Galaxie 500
9. Ever Fallen In Love - Fine Young Cannibals
10. Working Class Hero - David Bowie
11. On Broadway - Neil Young
12. Honky Tonk Women - The Pogues
13. Can't Find My Way Home - Swans
14. A Change Is Gonna Come - The Neville Brothers
15. 500 Miles - The Hooters
16. Gimme Some Truth - The Wonder Stuff
17. Political World - Bob Dylan
18. Me and You (Against The World) - Joe Jackson
19. Monkey Gone To Heaven - Pixies
20. Here Comes President Kill Again - XTC
21. Jack Ruby - Camper Van Beethoven
22. Made Of Stone - The Stone Roses
23. The Good Life - Fire Town
24. The Last Honest Man - Stan Ridgway

Nice Salmon Dinner

Becky made a wonderful salmon dinner tonight. We also had some delicious fresh corn on the cob. It really has been great this season. Some leftover rice from the other night rounded out the meal. So good.

It was a very strange day today. It was supposed to rain all day but then it rained hardly at all. It seemed to go up and around or below us but there were only a few short showers.

Well, it was a good day for this meal.

The Russia House - A Novel

The Russia House - John Le Carre, 1989. I also recently read this wonderful espionage novel that I picked up while browsing the Canisius College library. This was a good spy thriller and love story that takes place in Moscow during the early geopolitical changes of the glasnost and perestroika period that led to collapse of the Soviet Union. I enjoyed this book very much. I was also interested in the detailed descriptions of the daily life and culture of living in Moscow during those days of blatant corruption.

This is the 8th novel of John Le Carre that I've read.

I should watch the Sean Connery film of this book.

Sausage & Pasta Dinner

This evening Becky cooked up our leftover sausage, peppers and onions with some pasta for a very tasty meal. It was a very efficient use of leftovers and we also had some of that great French peasant bread to go along with it. That was a yummy meal.

Fools Gold - Songs 1989 FV

Another mix of hits, favorites and deep cuts using songs from albums in my collection released in 1989.

The Stone Roses in the pic.

Fools Gold - Songs 1989 FV

1. Fools Gold - The Stone Roses
2. Vanishing Point - New Order
3. Mixed Emotions - The Rolling Stones
4. Garden Of Earthly Delights - XTC
5. Cosmic Thing - The B-52's
6. Nature Thing - Close Lobsters
7. Contact - Big Audio Dynamite
8. Star - Erasure
9. Now You're In Heaven - Julian Lennon
10. Like A Prayer - Madonna
11. I'm Not Satisfied - Fine Young Canibals
12. Let The Day Begin - The Call
13. Come Anytime - Hoodoo Gurus
14. Action Speak Louder Than Words - The Fuzztones
15. You've Got To Choose - The Darling Buds
16. This Time There Is No Happy Ending - Television Personalities
17. Prisoner Of Love - David Bowie
18. Wave Of Mutilation - Pixies
19. Blues From A Gun - The Jesus & Mary Chain
20. Revival - Eurythmics
21. Freedom Train - Lenny Kravitz
22. Back To Life (However Do You Want Me) - Soul II Soul

Pork Sausage Dinner

Tonight Becky made us some pork Italian sausage. We've mostly had chicken sausage recently and it's been some time since we've had pork sausage. This was delicious. We had some nice boxed rice along with freshly sauteed peppers and onions.

Dinner @ Cafe 59 then Songbird

This evening Becky and I decided to go out for some dinner to Cafe 59. We had wanted to go there recently but got stuck in some traffic and then couldn't find a nearby parking space. That was a Friday evening and we ended up at JT's. This time we avoided the traffic construction mess on Main Street and looped around to Franklin where we found a parking space right outside the restaurant.

The restaurant was very quiet since it was early on a Thursday. We got our favorite table at the window in the dining room. I had their Harvest Wrap which is one of my favorite items on their menu along with a Community Works Let's Go Pils draft. Becky had a Chicken Finger Classic sandwich. She also had a Weilhenstephaner NA beer. It was a wonderful dinner with great service as usual.

We had said our goodbyes to Katie, Todd and the kids in the morning. They left about a quarter after ten after getting up a little before nine. Todd is really good at packing the car and the kids made a good effort getting ready quickly.

After we got back from the restaurant we decided to go for a walk but then also realized it was Thursday evening and the Farmers Market would be happening at the Martin House so we walked over there. It was a happening scene as usual but there was also a monthly concert on the Martin House grounds featuring a Fleetwood Mac cover band... Songbird. There was a sold out crowd for that concert. After we checked out the Farmers Market we walked around the Martin House and were able to get into the concert area from the back end of the grounds. We found a place to sit along a window ledge to check out the band. They were not very good overall. Well, the band was bad but the vocalist was no Stevie Nicks and she sang lots of clunkers... over and over. We did not stay very long and then headed back out the way we came in before walking down the street again to loop around back to our house and some time to relax. Back at the house you could hear that cover band in our backyard with clunkers and all. 

More Selfies

As always the kids wanted to take some selfie pictures with me on my phone. It's become a regular thing. We had a wonderful week together with them staying at our house the whole time and of course it ended with a selfie session. We did individual ones and then some group shots.

Buffalo Zine Fest

We went down to the Buffalo Zine Fest down at Book Arts. It was the 4th annual event although this was the first time we probably even knew about it. That's because Todd's brother's wife was a participant coming in from California to attend the festival.

The festival was one day and went from 11:00 am until 4:00 pm. There were over 50 local and regional zine-makers, comic artists, poets and activists.  And at least one from California! Each participant had a table to display their self-published zines, booklets, stickers and other stuff which they shared, traded and sold across three floors in the building. There was also printing demos in the basement. 

We went down with Katie, Todd and the kids in the late morning. They had a great time and we spent almost two hours there. They were fascinated with all of the activities and of course the little things like rings, stones and stickers.

We saw Rachel at her table and hung out there for a little while with her. Iris was sitting at the table too. Rachel stayed with Dick and Iris while she was in town for the zine fest.

After the zine fest everyone was hungry and it was time to go out for a late lunch.

At the Zoo

We spent a few hours at the Zoo today. Becky and I walked over there with Katie and the kids. They had a wonderful time as usual. It is so nice having the zoo just a couple of blocks away. The kids have their favorite exhibits and they seem to especially like the reptile house and the rain forest building.

Today they also had some fun on the merry-go-round.

Pizza Time

Katie, Todd and the kids arrived today after a long day on the road. They drove straight through. After they settled in for a bit we ordered pizza and Becky and Katie went over to Romeo & Juliet's to pick it up. The pizza was delicious as usual. It always is.

We got three of them so that there would be plenty of leftovers to munch on over the next few days.

Pictures Of You - Songs 1989 FV

More songs from albums in my collection released in 1989. Mostly deep cuts and some favorites running for the usual hour and a half and part of my Final Version series although these are actually my first songs by year mixes for 1989.

The Cure in the pic.

Pictures of You - Songs 1989 FV

1. Pictures Of You - The Cure
2. King For A Day - XTC
3. The King and Queen of America - Eurythmics
4. Romeos - Alphaville
5. Yesterday Girl - The Smithereens
6. You Should've Been There - Marshall Crenshaw
7. How Long - Blue Rodeo
8. I'm Not The Man I Used To Be - Fine Young Cannibals
9. Speak Like A Child - The Style Council
10. On One - BoDeans
11. Upside Down - The Connells
12. 50 Shade of Blue - Edwyn Collins
13. Another Day In Paradise - Phil Collins
14. Sacrifice - Elton John
15. Cheer Down - George Harrison
16. Pretending - Eric Clapton
17. Love Me Darlin' - Stevie Ray Vaughn
18. I Don't Wanna Lose You - Tina Turner
19. The Way You Do The Things You Do - UB40
20. Yellow Moon - The Neville Brothers
21. Voodoo - The Dirty Dozen Brass Band
22. Made Believe Mambo - David Byrne

Sean and Andrew's Visit

Of course Andrew and I had to do one of our selfies while they were here.

They were in town because the Buffalo Bills held their first public event in the new stadium yesterday. Only people with season tickets were invited to this special practice session. Earlier in the week Sean had called us to let us know that he was planning to attend and to bring Andrew with him. He wanted to stay with us that Saturday night and then leave for home Sunday morning. We said fine although that was the day of Joe's funeral wake but we were not making it down to Philadelphia at that time.

They came by to visit and we had a good time although it was brief.

Sean and Andrew arrived in the early afternoon and we walked Andrew over to the zoo. Then they went down to the new stadium. They came back later in the evening.

Sunday morning they had some breakfast and then they were on their way home. Andrew was tired from the previous day's activities.

She's A Mystery - Songs 1989 FV

Another set of wonderful songs from albums in my collection released in 1989. Hits, favorites and deep cuts running for about an hour and a half from some amazing artists . It gets a little mellow at points and sounds great.

Roy Orbison in the pic.

She's A Mystery - Songs 1989 FV 

1. She's A Mystery To Me - Roy Orbison
2. Wicked Game - Chris Isaak
3. Everybody Lies - Leo Kottke
4. She Wanted - Exene Cervenka
5. Lucky - The Golden Palominos
6. Romeo Had Juliette - Lou Reed
7. The Maker - Daniel Lanois
8. Falling - Julee Cruise
9. With This Love (Choir) - Peter Gabriel
10. Diamond Mine - Blue Rodeo
11. She Knows What She Wants - Foster & Lloyd
12. Ways Of Love - Neil Young
13. Some Hearts - Marshall Crenshaw
14. I Don't Want To Talk About Love - Nanci Griffith
15. Have I Told You Lately That I Love You - Van Morrison
16. Put It There - Paul McCartney
17. Free Fallin' - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
18. Have A Heart - Bonnie Raitt
19. Sowing The Seeds Of Love - Tears For Fears
20. Road To Your Soul - All About Eve
21. Time Without End - Bel Canto
22. I Wanna Be Adored - The Stone Roses

Dinner @ JT's

This evening Becky and I had another wonderful dinner at JT's Restaurant on Elmwood Avenue. The food was delicious as usual and the service was great. We got a nice table that overlooked the patio on one side and the crowded happy hour bar on the other side.

Becky wanted some pizza which was fine with me. She ordered their pepperoni pizza with green olives. I ordered the black spaghetti with shrimp and of course we split the dinners. Also had some of their wonderful bread too. I had my usual glass of Tuscan Red wine and then followed that up with a Peroni draft.

We wanted to go out for dinner and had decided on heading down to Cafe 59. We hit some really bad traffic on this Friday evening a little after 5 pm due to some construction work. Then we got onto too Allen Street and went down to Franklin Street where we usually park but there were no open parking spots. We drove all the way down Franklin to North Street but still no place to park. Then we decided to keep going north and head up to Coles. We don't go out to restaurants very much on weekends. Elmwood Avenue was crowded but not too bad. We drove by JT's and I saw that there were plenty of tables on the patio and just inside the restaurant so we thought that could be an option. 

The restaurant quickly filled up and by about 6 pm most of the tables were in use and there was no room at the bar. We enjoyed our meal and sat at our table for about two hours.

We enjoyed ourselves after having cleaned the house and prepared for the visit of Sean and Andrew tomorrow. They are coming into town to attend a Bills event at the new stadium and will stay with us Saturday night before heading home on Sunday.

This Is The One - Songs 1989 FV

This is another one of my mixes of songs from albums in my collection released in 1989. I had a lot of fun with this one and it starts with a song from one my favorite albums from the year. 

This one also has an interesting set of cover songs midway through the mix. Lots of favorites here and a few good deep cuts.

The Stone Roses in the pic.

This Is The One - Songs 1989 FV

1. This Is The One - The Stone Roses
2. Here Comes Your Man - Pixies
3. Fascination Street - The Cure
4. Head On - The Jesus & Mary Chain
5. Cuts You Up - Peter Murphy
6. Baby's Gonna Cry (My, My) - Eurythmics
7. I'll Be You - The Replacements
8. A Girl Like You - The Smithereens
9. Runnin' Down A Dream - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
10. Veronica - Elvis Costello
11. She Drives Me Crazy - Fine Young Cannibals
12. Here I Am (Come and Take Me) - UB40
13. Can't Help Falling In Love - The Triffids
14. Luka - Lemonheads
15. Just Like Heaven - Dinosaur Jr.
16. Gimme Shelter - Goo Goo Dolls
17. Higher Ground - Red Hot Chili Peppers
18. Let Her Dance - Marshall Crenshaw
19. Thing Called Love - Bonnie Raitt
20. Let It All Hang Out - John Mellencamp
21. When The Love Is Good - BoDeans
22. Turn To Me - Fire Town
23. Edie - The Cult
24. Rooms On Fire - Stevie Nicks
25. Lorelei - The Pogues

High Chair Give-A-Way

This morning I put our grandchildren's high chair up on Buy Nothing North Buffalo. That is the Facebook group for giving away unneeded items to people who need them. I've used this site several times and most recently to gift our old rocking chair to a young woman who could use it. Our grandchildren have all outgrown using the high chair.

So today I had several people respond to my post and selected a young family who wanted the high chair for their parents. Well, this has been a grandparent's high chair. On my post I stated... To Give: High Chair. Ten years of occasional use for out of town grandchildren. Folds us and stores nicely. Removable washable seat cover.

It was picked up this evening and now it's gone. Reclaimed some space in a closet. 

Painting the Porch Again

Today I started painting the front porch again and it's another project. The blue paint from last Fall has been peeling away. It was just a quick temporary job back then and now it's time to do it right. So I started by scrapping off the old peeling paint and covered everything with a coat of primer. That's for both sides of the porch that had the wood replaced by Dietrich. Tomorrow I will put down another coat of primer in those two areas. It's going to rain on Friday and Saturday so I will wait until next week to put down the new Slate Grey replacement porch and deck paint. We need to get rid of that light blue which has really shown the dirt on the porch too much.

Joe's Obituary

Joe Berret's obituary was published today from the funeral home that is conducting his service. It included this photo of him. It has been very well written and tells his story. It's a shame he had such a long illness. We spent a lot of time together over the years and we all will miss him dearly.

Joseph C. Berret, of East Greenville, passed away peacefully on July 30, 2026, at the age of 78. Born in Lansdale he was the son of the late Charles and Marie (Strocko) Berret.

He graduated from Souderton High School and proudly served his country in the United States Navy. He then went on to build a fulfilling career as a supervisor at Hatfield Quality Meats, where he worked for many years before retiring. Even in retirement, Joe remained active, lending his time and skills at Haines & Kibblehouse and County Line Nursery in Harleysville.

Joe was passionate about the outdoors; an avid fisherman and outdoorsman, he served as a member and past president of Upper Perkiomen chapter of Trout Unlimited. His love for the outdoors extended to hunting for and collecting arrowheads and other Native American artifacts.

In addition to his outdoor pursuits, Joe was a classic car enthusiast. He took great pride in caring for his cherished 1967 Chevy Nova. He was also a devoted fan of Rock 'N' Roll music, with a vast collection of records and memorabilia. He co-hosted a weekly radio show at WDVR for many years, giving him an opportunity to play records from his collection. His creativity extended into carpentry as well; his hands were always busy with a project, as he never could sit still.

Joe held the annual Philadelphia Folk Festival close to his heart, volunteering many years backstage in the performer's hospitality tent, fostering his lifelong appreciation for music and community.

Most importantly Joe loved his family. He is survived by his devoted wife of 56 years, Elizabeth (Emery) Berret; his daughter, Sara Berret and husband, Erik Bortz; his son, Christopher Berret and wife, Kimberly; grandchildren, AvaRue and Eliza Bortz and Courtney, Chase, Olivia and Nolan Berret; his brother, Daniel Berret and wife Mimi; and his sister, Ruth DeLoach. He is predeceased by a sister Mary Berret. He leaves behind cherished memories and an enduring legacy of love and kindness.

The Blind Assassin - A Novel

The Blind Assassin - Margaret Atwood, 2000. While perusing the library at Canisius College recently I came across this Margaret Atwood novel from 2000. 

This was a fascinating and rewarding book of historical fiction that focused on the lives and manners of people in the 1930s and 1940s with many layers of stories within stories.

It took me awhile to read this because I had the book checked out of the library for six months. I still have my staff borrowing privileges. So I was reading other books from the public library that I had for three weeks as opposed to the amount of time I had this and another book checked out from Canisius. So I actually took almost three months to read this book because I kept putting it down to finish up some other book. I loved reading this novel but I took my time. It wasn't something so compelling that I couldn't stop reading it.

Becky is reading it now.

This is the ninth Margaret Atwood book that I've read.