Friends | Peaches Prattlings

{June 1, 2021} June 1st…What a day!

Today is a significant and special day for me, for several reasons. We’ve talked about some of it before, so please allow me to share again. A lot happened on this day, and today, something else happened.

15 years ago today I lost one of the most important people in my life, my mom. That sounds so selfish, she was one of the most important people to my family, my sister, my dad, family, friends, so many people in our lives. She was quite a woman, I’ve told you about her, a force to be reckoned with, a force of nature! She was wonderful, smart, funny, goofy, stubborn, silly, infuriating, uplifting, encouraging, I’m running through my rolodex of adjectives to describe her!

I remember how much she wanted me to be a teacher, that’s what both my parents were, not just teachers, but miracle workers, there’s not enough space in one of these posts to tell you how amazing they were in their field. I remember her saying, if you went into teaching, I could help get you a job in any school in NYC. No thanks! And what did I end up doing? Teaching…adults. And I’m damn good at it! Who ever wants their mom to be right?!

When I decided I wanted to become a vegetarian, other moms might have said, “oh brother, I hope this is a phase” or “you’ll eat what the rest of us eat”. Nope, she was all in! She made two meals every night she cooked. One for me and one for everyone else or one for the two of us and one for the rest of the family. Who does that?! She would also search for new recipes for me, all vegetarian! Meatloaf, chopped liver, I know, crazy, but when you’re Jewish, that stuff is in your veins! So many things she wanted to try and I remember the first Thanksgiving, no, not the first Thanksgiving! I’m not that old! The first one as a vegetarian, everything but the stuffing was vegetarian, she was amazing.

She taught me so much, and that is what leads me to the next reason today is a special day. My mom was amazing, and I mean amazing with kids! She taught GES and I how to be moms, not just moms, but loving moms, caring, giving, huggable moms. We learned how to throw an amazing birthday party at home, make a boo-boo all better, soothe the hurts, scraped knees and feelings, how to listen, and love. Oh, did she teach us how to love. She gave great hugs, anyone can tell you that and to this day…there is not a kid, or adult, who I hug who doesn’t use both arms when they hug me. I won’t let go until there are two arms wrapped around each other, you can feel the love emanating and let me tell you, when I am hugging, especially a child, I can feel her within me, it’s like she’s hugging them with me. And that…brings me soooo much joy!

I remember one day when TYH told me I taught her what it was to be a step-mom, I don’t know if she really knows what that meant to me. I never once thought of TYH or her brother WCH as anything but my kids, I was step-mom in title only. I have so much love for them both and my grandson, CDL, and that’s something my mom taught me.

Eight years ago today, I met my first grandson, Baby A, OMG! I can’t call him that any more! I need to come up with something else, but he’ll always be my Baby A! I was living in Colorado at the time, but came in to see KAB and meet Baby A, he was FOUR hours old when I met him and what a doll baby. Did you hear what I said…EIGHT YEARS AGO TODAY! My grandson is eight! Where did the time go?! He just finished second grade! What?! I remember holding him, he was tiny and beautiful and perfect and had my heart in his hand the minute I held him and looked in his little face.

He’s a smart, precocious, silly, funny, rambunctious, energetic, talented, loving little person. I get pictures from him that he drew, sometimes exactly what he wants to be for Halloween, the last one is actually framed and hanging on my wall of love! He is a lot of fun to talk to and I loved it when he got a Facebook Messenger account, he used to Facetime me all the time! Sometimes we had a conversation, other times, it was me just looking at a wall while he ran around doing something! I love getting video messages from him and his sister, melts my heart! I cannot wait to see them again, maybe a weekend trip to Atlanta is in my near future!

Well, today…there is another reason for joy, my heart has grown with a new love. Grandbaby number 9! AEB! Maybe my newest granddaughter can be Baby A! Of course, when she turns 8, I can’t call her that anymore! Can you believe it?! 9 Grandbabies, 9 loves for me! Yes, I can! I am one of the luckiest people in the world. I got the news just about 2pm that Baby A got a baby sister for his birthday! I’m tearing up thinking about it. What a wonderful gift, well, for me anyway! I’m so very happy for the whole family! I know what a great big brother he’s going to be! And Princess E gets to be a big sister, I know how excited she is!

The family is expanding! CS has a new baby, KAB has a new baby, Pow Pow has a new nephew and niece. So much mazel to the entire family!

Now you can see why today is such a special day, remembering my mom, wishing my grandson a happy birthday, and welcoming my newest granddaughter to the world, my heart is very full. And I’m glad I got to share it with you!

{May 29, 2021} It’s Saturday, what shall we do?!

The weather is supposed to hold out for the rest of the day, what’s the plan?! Well, it’s Saturday, we have to introduce SDL and Miss A to The Shack of course!

Before that, after yoga, it’s Saturday, what else would we be doing!? we picked up bagels at the Bagel Factory, they only take cash and I didn’t have any, guess what…the woman behind the counter, I think she’s an owner, told me to just come back later to pay them. That’s the second place we’ve encountered that since moving to Missouri, that’s what I call hospitality! Back at the house, shower and off to The Shack.

We got very lucky, it was about 9am and we got a table pretty quickly! Wah to the hoo! The first booth we go, I’m not exactly sure how they expected us all to fit! Needless to say, I asked for a table instead of a booth. I kind of wish our server had gone with us, the server we got was less than…it happens. The food was good, as always, PSM and I both tried something new, SDL enjoyed hers and Miss A! Let’s just say first, SDL’s eyes were as big as saucers when she saw the size of the pancake, the entire plate! Second…she wasn’t sure if Miss A was going to eat it all. Well.. guess what…the eggs and the entire pancake…also mixed in with some yogurt for more liquid…g o n e! The girl can eat! What a champ!

We headed home to drop off our leftovers, get whatever we needed for the day, and potty breaks, of course! PSM had something else going on today, so it was just the three of us, girls day out! First stop…The Bagel Factory, paid my $10 and away we went.

First place was the Arch! How could we not! It’s the main iconic representation of St Louis, you can see it so much advertising and logos, it’s a landmark! Now, due to some restrictions we weren’t able to go up to the top, which is fine, we took pictures in front of the arch, from the side, you know the drill. Then we walked inside, went through security and down to the museum level, which is very interesting. We learned a lot while we were there, from concept, to funding to construction and completion. After learning, it was time for the gift shop, St Louis Arch souvenirs! SDL got a few things including postcards to send to family and friends back home, and of course, Miss A. I love that she does that, I do the same thing, I send post cards to PSM whenever we’re on a trip to tell him what a great time I was having!

After souvenirs, it was time for a bit of lunch, and luckily, they had a veggie burger! Not the best, but they had one, wahoo! There was lunch, pudding, bananas, and peanut butter, and dancing, what more could you want!

After lunch we headed out to walk the grounds a bit, we had just missed what looked to be a reenactment, bummer! But some of the costumes were fabulous! Eventually we headed to the car and off to Union Station, which was about a 4 minute drive, love that! Union station is a retired train station that now serves as a meeting spot with restaurants, shops, a pretty good candy shop, the St Louis Wheel, the Aquarium, which we will get to one of these days! Miniature golf, a ropes course, dancing fountain, actually fire and lights!, and so much more!

We walked around and they actually had a mini carnival with game and prizes, and a petting zoo! What?! I got to feed the goats, they tickled! PSM, please, please, please, can we get two pygmy goats?! OMG! They are SOOO cute! Imagine the savings on lawn maintenance! HA HA. They had goats, of course, an alpaca, a camel, Flemish giant rabbits, donkeys, and some other things I can’t remember! It was so much fun! I think I had more fun than SLD!

After petting and feeding, we headed over to the St Louis Union Station Hotel just in time for the 3D Light show in the Grand Hall, which runs on the hour from 5 to 10pm every day. There’s music and lights and just like the name, it’s all in 3D. There are birds flying, aquarium scenes, just wow! So worth it!

When the show was over, it was time to head out and find some dinner! Since it was Memorial Day Weekend a lot of the restaurants had a long wait if you didn’t have a reservation, and Italian was the request. We actually found one not far from the hotel, no wait!

The atmosphere was nice, the staff great, the food was ok, but the company, excellent! We talked, laughed, ate, danced, wash, rinse, repeat, what more could you ask for!? It wasn’t quite warm enough to put the top down on the way home, but the drive and conversation, as always were good, sounds good to me!

At home, it was time for a bath, spinning, laughing, and just being silly. And making plans for tomorrow, what adventure awaits us?!

{May 28, 2021} It’s Friday! What should we do?!

Well, since it’s Friday, even though it’s a holiday weekend, PSM and I were up and working, while I waited for SDL and Miss A to join us upstairs.

The rain was coming, so how much could we do outside? Not much, but we were going to have a great day, no matter what?! One of the things SDL asked before they came…a little pampering? Oh yeah! So…when I called, it turned out they didn’t have any availability for three people until about 1230p, perfect!

Breakfast, then groceries. I had to hang my head in shame! The usually stuff that we’ve had when they visit we were out of! I had just finished the giant jar of peanut butter the day before, no, not the whole jar all at once, but I finished it in a smoothie! And we haven’t had bread, loaves, bagels, nothin! in the house for a while, so I felt terrible about that! Luckily, SDL is always prepared and had two slices of bread and one of those small containers of peanut butter, whew!

We had some time until our appointment, so we went to the grocery store, just enough time to get what we needed, and even went to the Bagel Factory! Their bagels are pretty decent, it’s not NYC or Boston, which is all about the water, but they’re good and made fresh every day. They actually close at 130p, when we got there, there was almost nothing on the shelves and when we were about to drive away, they locked the doors, it was 1215pm! Well, alrighty then! Maybe tomorrow!

We took the groceries home, I unloaded and got everything put away, grabbed some sandals and away we went to our favorite nail salon, honestly PSM was jealous! You know I got him addicted when we lived in Hawai’i!

We got there just in time and they set up two pedi chairs for us, I helped Miss A get onto SDL’s lap and we both settled in to our massage chairs for some pampering! They did Miss A’s feet first, and she got the full treatment! SDL said it was the first time for her to get full treatment! Nothing’s too good for my niece! Miss A got the foot bath, scrubbing, trimming, clipping, massaging, and warm towel, what more could you want! Oh yeah, and pretty pink bubble gum toes!

When she was done, she hung out next to mom while SDL and I got pampered! They started with the pedis, pedicures for anyone not in the know! Oh wow, it felt great! It had been a few weeks since PSM and I went, actually, just over a month! My toes still looked good, a pedicure can usually last me over a month, unless your scraping the ground with your toes, you should be good! They did SDL’s manicure in the chair, she doesn’t get color, so they soaked her fingers where she sat, I love that! For me, I went over to a table and they got to work on my fingers. Claws and paws as the phrase goes! Just what the doctor ordered!

Back to the house, it was snack time for Miss A, walks for the pups, and a while later, it was time to head out for dinner. We looked at a few places and the winner was Three Kings Public House! I’ve told you about it! I go for the Brussel Sprouts! Y U M! We had food, drinks, laughter, silliness, dancing, a few trips around the pub, what more could you want?! Food, family, friends, and fun. Yup, that’s about it!

Back home, bath time, hanging out, talking to you and then…lights out. What adventures await us tomorrow?!

{May 27, 2021} Our first overnight visitors!!!

We have our first overnight visitors and I am over the moon! It’s…wait for it…wait for it…SDL and Miss A!!! Ok, now you know and you knew how I felt as soon as I said it!

We had a visitor last year, our first! DLP was in St Louis for a family event and came to see us, we went out to breakfast, then she came back and saw our house, but sadly, had to go after a few hours. Today, SDL and Miss A arrived for a long holiday weekend visit!

They left Atlanta Wednesday afternoon, after school and an appointment and they were off! It is about an 8.5 hour drive if…you make no stops! Well, for me, when I drove to Atlanta was about 9.5 hours, I factored in at least four 15 minute breaks for gas, food, and bio breaks. For them, it takes a little longer, so they cut the trip in half, keeping me posted along the way.

I worked most of the day, they got here about 4pm, just in time to take the dogs for a walk, in the rain…where did that come from? Seriously?! When I checked the weather a few days ago, it was going to be warm and sunny with very little chance of rain and now…more chances of rain for the weekend. Ah well. They were here! Hugs, hugs, hugs, and more hugs! A tour of the house, where are they staying, all that good stuff, then it was time for a walk. Well, Miss A, SDL, Ruby, Bee, and I started on a walk, water came from the sky, they went home and the pups and I continued on our walk.

We got home and PSM was just about finished with work so…instead of sitting too long, SDL said if she sat too long she was done! It was a long two days! We headed out to the food Miss A, SDL, and I always do when I visit them, Mexican! We went to El Maguey, where PSM and I went to celebrate Cinco de mayo. It was great! We talked, ate, laughed, caught up, reminisced, laughed, talked, ate, you know, wash, rinse, repeat. It was like no time had passed, just as it always is when we get together!

After dinner, we headed home, it was time for a bath, cuddle, running around like crazy people, then off to bed. I’m just a happy Auntie G! I love family visits! We have so many options for the weekend, let’s see what we can get in to, I’ll keep you posted!

{May 25, 2021} Two years? Where did the time go?

Two years ago today, well, May 25, 2019, not Wednesday, I married my best friend. I know, crazy, right?! I didn’t get to tell you about it then, so let me tell you about it now!

It was an amazing weekend! Yes, I said weekend. We did a destination wedding of sorts! I was trying to figure out what to do, we were still living in Hawai’i and we knew…if we wanted people to come, don’t have it in Hawai’i! I had a few ideas…I wanted to get married on the beach, no go. I looked at a steamboat, I even looked into a steam train, after watching Murder on the Orient Express! I looked at a lot of things, including what we ended up doing, which I think was the best idea yet, inspired by a suggestion from CWB!

We had it at a camp in the Berkshires, the mountains in Massachusetts. It was where my sister and I did weekends with our youth group, she went to camp there, then became a counselor, rising in the ranks, and now my nieces go there for sleep away camp, you can imagine the family connection!

It was Memorial Day Weekend 2019 and it was a grand affair! Seriously, it was laid back, campy [see what I did there!], and so much fun! We had the camp from Friday through Monday! My sister and I drove up Thursday night to get some things set up and everyone started arriving on Friday afternoon. I had so much help, both physically and emotionally and idea-ly! [with ideas!] I wanted the weekend to be exactly what it was, laid back, campy, and fun! I loved the process and getting all the little touches in there!

We had welcome bags, supplied by my enormous collection of reusable shopping bags, my endless supply of hotel toiletries, what I didn’t give to the shelters! I made personalized door signs where people were sleeping, personalized luggage tags with camp signs. We had mason jars with our names and wedding date for adults and kids. Farmhouse tables, jelly and jam jars with sand and candles, I hammered out our initials and hearts in tin cans to light the tables, we had Edison bulbs to light the dining hall. Signs on the bathrooms with pictures of us as kids.

Friday, my sister was wonderful…after we finished whatever we had to do in the morning, she took me for a fabulous mani-pedi, ahhhh, then people started arriving, so amazing how many people were able to make it! That night there was a cookout with a canoe full of beer, exactly what I wanted and got! Yes, the girl who doesn’t drink wanted a canoe full of beer! We had bon fires and s’mores. It was a chance to say hello, spend time together getting silly, having fun!

Saturday morning, there was a one-mile fun run with donuts at the half mile marker! A golf cart was ours for the weekend, how many of the kids do you think had a blast riding in that?! Saturday afternoon was chill out and do your own thing and people did, so much to do in the Berkshires! For me…I had to write my vows, finish painting our Converse for the evening, and get my sash ready, nothing much!

We had a cocktail hour, PSM and I were flitting around greeting people and eating some amazing food! The tables all had wild flowers in bottles that I got at the KoHana Rum Distillery, they look like square perfume bottles and it was perfect! People even took them home, wah to the hoo! Oh, along with the jam and jelly jars, and the mason jars, exactly as I hoped they would!

The food at the cocktail hour was amazing, I know I said that! We had a lot of fun picking the menu together! I was at the cocktail hour exactly one hour, I had to change dresses! Oh! We had a bluegrass band! The Brooklyn Bluegrass Collective! We decided that if we were going to have a live band, instead of a DJ, it would be bluegrass and it was! We only had a few song requests, the rest was up to them! I fell in love with them the first time I heard them! After the cocktail hour, there was a musical stroll to the dock! Can you believe it! Bluegrass stroll! That gave me time to get changed!

I raced around and got my rockabilly wedding dress on, that I got on Amazon! with the blue crinoline underneath, had to be blue, PSM wore a formal blue Hawai’ian shirt! He had also asked for a Ti Leaf Lei which I got in at Watanabe Floral in Honolulu and brought it to Massachusetts! That was probably the best surprise I had for him that whole weekend!

I went to the top of the stairs and waited while I watched PSM dance down the steps and aisle to the chuppah to Safety Dance BLUEGRASS STYLE! I was so excited an overjoyed watching that!!! Then I came down the stairs, met my dad and we danced to 500 Miles BLUEGRASS STYLE! He danced me to PSM waiting at the chuppah!

The ceremony was fun, silly, lovely, loving, we had friends and family, come on, they’re all family! Some of it was in Hebrew, but I made sure to have sheets that had the English translation so everyone was able to participate! MGS was our flower girl and ring bearer! I actually had a few of our favorite kids helping…we threw bio-degradable flower petals, programs with all the details and songs. Our rabbi was great, he had so much fun, and our crowd, well, you know me, so you can imagine how they were! After the ceremony, we had a Havdalah ceremony, which signals the end of the Sabbath and ushers in a new week. EJS and LaLa helped with that, so glad!

We decided to have everyone be a part of our ketubah signing, this is the Jewish marriage contract. My dad read it out to the group, CBW and JM, our sister-in-law were our witnesses. Another touching part of the ceremony was the Sheva Brachot, or seven blessings. Instead of having the rabbi read them, we asked friends and family to take part, some read the prayer as it was and some wrote their own interpretation. I cannot tell you how much laughter and love there was on that dock that evening, I’m smiling and tearing up just talking about it!

Before everyone took a musical stroll to the reception, we took a giant wedding photo, it was fabulous! Then there were some family photos and we were off!

The reception, more bluegrass music, dancing, food, and fun! It was such a warm atmosphere, I cannot even tell you! There was brisket, other meats, veggies, salad, vegan, gluten free! You know I checked all the boxes! Oh, did I forget…breakfast every morning! For dessert, we didn’t a wedding cake, so…I asked people to bring a dessert, we had a pot-luck dessert! It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen! A huge table with all these different desserts, I don’t think there was a repeat in the bunch! Some were home made, some were store bought, who cares! It was amazing and guess what we had on Sunday evening…leftover dessert!

The party went on for a good long while, Uncle A did the blessing over the challah and the wine, the speeches were made, my dad, PSM’s best men, his brother SM and best friend, KN. My only disappointment of the entire weekend…. my sister didn’t get to make her matron of honor speech and she is a gives great speech! We danced, ate, chatted, laughed, had an amazing time! Eventually the party broke up, but…

The next day was Sunday and only a few people left! We had breakfast, some people went for a hike, some people hung out, some people went into town. We had arts and crafts for the kids, later ACS ran a Pitch tournament, pizza, more beer in the canoe and another bonfire with s’mores, what more could you want?!

Sunday came, breakfast, and then it was time to say our goodbyes. As people left, we stripped the beds, made the camp the same as we found it and we were on our way.

To say it was an amazing weekend would be an understatement! People talked about it for a long time! We even talked about getting together the next year during Memorial Day Weekend, just to spend time together, that’s how much fun it was! Covid said no, but…who knows what next year holds.

I’m smiling thinking about what an amazing weekend it was, fabulous ceremony, friends, family, love, love, love, and as I started this post…May 25, 2019, I married my best friend. What more could you ask for?!

{April 25, 2021} Another pre-ride, a thing of beauty!

Today started early, about 620am, which is unfortunate for a Sunday, but a necessary evil.

We had a motorcycle ride planned and we had to meet the guys at 930am, we had quite a ride ahead of us. I didn’t intend to get up quite so early but someone invaded my dream and I wanted them out. No, not the wasband, someone else, but I knew I was dreaming and decided if they were not leaving, I was. Go me!

I got up, started piddling around, I knew we had to get up soon to walk the dogs, give them breakfast, and chill with them for a few before we had to put them back in the crate for the day. I will tell you, I am going to see if I can get JS, who stayed with them last weekend, to come and let them out, take them for a walk, maybe hang with them for a bit, when we have these long rides. We were gone about 10 hours today, which is a normal work day, if we went into the office. Not fair to the pups, but they were fine! Here’s hoping! I will need to do the same for the week of the annual motorcycle ride in New Hampshire, but more about then when it happens.

It was supposed to be much warmer than that other ride we took a few weeks ago. Our ride captain said he put in a special request for very little wind, thank you! We got dressed, put on our riding gear and headed out about 9am. We met three of the guys, our ride captain’s wife was going to join us later down the road.

I don’t know if you remember me telling you what a pre-ride is. It is a ride to test the route for an official group ride. This tests the route, for all levels of rider, the distance, and how it will be with a larger group. I think we’re supposed to have about 30-35 bikes next week, that means about 40, maybe 50 people on the ride, since there are some people who are paired up on their bikes. It’s much easier, as you might imagine, with less people, but it will definitely be fun. There are lots of logistics, like stop lights and stop signs. You want to try to ride as if you’re ‘one vehicle’, someone blocks traffic, if possible, you stay on the highway together, on the streets, signals, newer riders in the back, and you always ride in a group for the slowest rider, that way people stay together, as much as they can.

The ride we did today was great, it was about a 3 hour ride, and it’s three hours because we are taking back roads, very little highway. We also stop about every hour, which can be 100 miles, and we stop at gas stations, that allows bikes with smaller tanks, like mine to fill up. I fill up no matter what, since you never know if you will run out before the next stop. It’s also a great opportunity to stretch your legs, have a bio break, and catch up with folks for a few minutes, before the next stretch.

We are heading to, pun intended, now that I write this! Head Motor Company in Columbia, MO, the home of the University of Missouri or Mizzou, as it is affectionally referred to. We are heading there to meet the Kansas City Chapter of the IMRG, Indian Motorcycle Riders Group. While there, Head Motor Company is hosting a BBQ, there might be music, not sure, we will see some new rides, maybe get some new swag, who knows. It’s going to be a good time!

After we got to Head Motor Company, which happened to be closed on Sunday, most Indian Dealerships are, we headed out in search of food. We went to Flat Branch Pub & Brewing, and since I was able to find it on my GPS, after our ride captain got us back to the highway, I took over and led us there. Unfortunately, there was a 40 minute wait, we walked over to the Broadway Diner, which happened to be close, but…right across the street, the Shiloh Bar & Grill with plenty of seating, no wait, food, and alcohol! That last one I don’t care about, but everyone who did was happy.

We grabbed a table, ordered drinks and food, talked about the ride from St Louis, what did people think of it, opinions about next week’s ride, bikes, of course, future trips, raffles, kids, and everyone’s dogs, go figure. There were only 6 of us, so it was nice to sit and chat, and be heard, definitely more intimate than what’s going to happen next weekend!

After food and drink, we headed back to the bikes, rode a short way, stopped for gas, always stop for gas at the start of the ride and the start of the ride home, even though you’ve stopped along the way. Drove an hour, got gas, chatted, shook the legs, drove on. We did this until everyone started going their own way and then it was just PSM and I and we were out like a shot!

Back home the pups were very happy to see us, I would be too, after 10 hours! Walked, fed, loved on, zzzzzzz, that was funny! It’s tough sleeping all day, getting excited for 20 minutes, walk, eat, get loved on…zzzzz

What…a…day! What…a…weekend! Wow! Tomorrow is Monday, it’s a new day and a new week, what adventures does it have in store for us? I know it starts with 6am hot yoga, gotta go!

{March 30, 2021} The Court Jester

The Court Jester is one of my all time favorite movies. I know, I know, I’ve said that before, but if you have spent any time with me and my family, especially when I was younger, it was Danny Kaye all the way.

I truly have been a Danny Kaye fan most of my life and one day I’ll tell you all about the other movies of his I love, like The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, yes, before Ben Stiller‘s version, White Christmas with Bing Crosby, A Song is Born, the list goes on. But…today, I’m going to tell you about a movie that myself, my dad, my sister, and my mom all loved. When we were kids, we spent our summers in Mastic Beach, NY, which is on the South Shore of Long Island. We had a VCR, for those of you under 45…ha ha, that’s a video cassette recorder, you would put the cassette tape in, watch it and then have to rewind it before you took it back! and we would bicycle or drive to the library and get movies out.

Two movies that my sister and I absolutely adored were Walt Disney’s Cinderella [1950] and The Court Jester [1955] with Danny Kaye, Glynis Johns, Basil Rathbone, Angela Lansbury. Some of you will know who all of these people are, but I’ll give you other references if that helps. I told you about Danny Kaye, but…you might not remember that he played Dr Burns, the dentist on The Cosby Show. Glynis Johns was also the mother, Mrs Banks in Mary Poppins and the grandmother in While You Were Sleeping, she used to come into the deli I worked in, in the Hamptons! Basil Rathbone was most famous as Sir Guy of Gisborne in The Adventures of Robin Hood with Errol Flynn and personally, I think he was one of the best Sherlock Holmes. Lastly, there was Angela Lansbury, Miss Price in Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Mrs Potts in Beauty and the Beast, and probably most known as Jessica Fletcher on Murder, She Wrote. Ok, now you’re caught up on some of the bigger names in the movie.

The tagline in IMBD: A hapless carnival performer masquerades as the court jester as part of a plot against an evil ruler who has overthrown the rightful King. That pretty much says it all. It’s an action/adventure story, with a little swash buckler thrown in, romance, intrigue, all wrapped up in a musical. What more could you want?!

Danny Kaye plays Hubert Hawkins, he’s part of The Black Fox’s band of merry men, gives you a Robin Hood type of vibe. His role is to entertain the merry men, but he wants more, he wants to be out there, on the front lines, fighting, but The Black Fox feels he is best suited where he is. King Roderick I is on the throne, but not by birthright and he is constantly looking over his shoulder because there is a rumor that the royal baby was missed, the rightful heir to the throne and he can’t have that!

His righthand man is the evil Sir Ravenhurst, who does the kings bidding. Basil Rathbone can play a mean one, he can. Little known fact, he is best known for his fencing skills as the greatest swordsman in Hollywood history, what do you think about them apples! He really was great, it was a treat to watch his skills with a blade! What he did made Danny Kaye look good in their scenes.

Something happens at The Black Fox’s camp and Hawkins has to go with the Maid Jean, Glynis Johns, who happens to be The Black Fox’s Captain, to deliver the royal baby to the castle and take the throne back for the royal baby. Along the way, they meet Giacamo, King of Jesters and Jester to the King, and Hawkins takes his place when he gets to the palace, perfect cover!

Throughout the movie there is laughter, silliness, sword fighting, poison, intrigue, romance, spells, threats, singing, dancing, and to top it all off, a baby with a royal birthmark. What more could you want?!

The songs are clever and fun, with Danny Kaye, you know there has to be hillarity, some of the best scenes are where he is being a total goofball. The best scenes also have the most tongue tying lines! “The pellet with the poison’s in the flagon with the dragon; the vessel with the pestle has the brew that is true.”

Here’s a quote from IMDB about that line: Danny Kaye’s daughter, Dena Kaye, said for the rest of his life, when people recognized Danny in a restaurant, they would walk up and spout the entire “brew that is true” speech.

I mentioned romance, right? Hawkins is awkward around women, and when he appears at the castle, Princess Gwendolyn’s handmaid, Griselda, who is also a witch, puts a spell on Hawkins to romance the princess to save her own neck! She makes him braver than he ever was!

The reason I’m telling you all about this movie and these memories is I has it on as background while I was working today. There are certain movies and tv shows that I have seen so many times, I don’t have to actually pay attention to them, I can have them on in the background and still get work done. I might sing along, maybe to The Maladjusted Jester, or Life Could Not Better Be, or any of the songs he sings. When GES and I watched this movie, the same thing with Cinderella, we would watch it, rewind it, then watch it again, rewind, watch, repeat. We don’t have to say much more than one of the lines and we’re off and running, quoting lines and laughing with each other.

Today, while I was watching it, I actually recorded the Pellet with the Poison scene and sent it to my dad and sister, sent good vibes into the universe and got them right back.

My hope is that any one of the clips I posted has maybe piqued your interest just a bit, maybe you’re curious to explore the world of Danny Kaye, even try to find The Court Jester and check out all the merriment. Even if you just watch the clips, maybe look for additional clips and laugh, I’m good with that!

Get it. Got it. Good. Yes friends, if you’ve ever heard me say that…now you know where I got it!

{March 28, 2021} Start with a Ride…End with a Seder

Sounds like the perfect Sunday to me, right?! It’s the second night of Passover, but the seder isn’t until the evening, so we planned a motorcycle ride with some of the guys from our group and another group.

It was supposed to get warm, up to about 57 today, sounds good. I layered up, had my Cuddl Duds on under my jeans, high-top sneaker knee socks, a long sleeve Indian Motorcycle shirt, my Looney Bin zip up sweatshirt, it’s not a thick sweatshirt, but it fits under my Indian Motorcycle Jacket. I wore leather gloves and covered my face with the neck gaiter I got at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. You’d think I was warm enough! Think again! O M G!

The wind, which was not supposed to come in, came in, and oh my word, it was frrreeezzzing! My legs, arms, and chest were fine. My feet and hands…let’s just say when I got off the bike at our first stop, I had trouble walking my feet were so cold and I stayed in the bathroom a few extra minutes, under the warm air dryer! PSM had even given me glove liners, didn’t help after the first 20 minutes!

We had met two of the guys at the usual starting point, then we rode into Illinois, it was about a 25 minute ride, met the rest of the folks that were riding, everyone one geared up, leather chaps, heavy winter coats, face coverings, the works. Mother Nature was trying to beat the tar out of us! She was succeeding. We left from the parking lot and rode to Grafton, only about a 30 minute ride from where we were.

At that point, after I came back from the hand dryer, which I considered taking with me! PSM and I decided we couldn’t keep going with them, they had about another 60 or 70 mile ride. On any other day, I would have been with them, I just couldn’t do it. I was also feeling the weight or in this case, the lack there of, of my bike. It’s a heavy bike, it weighs just under 600 pounds, but what this wind was doing, I was fighting some times to keep her straight, I was never in danger of falling, it just took a little more to keep her upright.

So…we bid everyone a fond farewell and headed back into town in search of breakfast. I will tell you, PSM was texting with one of the guys, they all felt like they had gotten the you-know-what beaten out of them! I think we made the right decision. Before I do another ride like that, much warmer gear!

We rode into Grafton, IL and looked for a place to eat. Google Maps listed a place that said “Great Weekend Breakfast”, perfect! We parked and went in. Guess what they didn’t have. Really? We looked for a few options and settled on the Alton Village Inn Pancake House, sorry, I could only find their menu online, the other links wouldn’t help you if you were interested! It was warm! They had hot tea and decaf coffee, we were happy! The service was pretty good and we were feasting on a veggie omelet and hash browns in no time. Ahhhh.

Eventually, begrudgingly, ha ha, we got back on the bikes and headed home. After getting the pups out of the crate, I headed in one direction…the hottest, steamiest, hottest, did I mention hottest? shower I could take! I took a few extra minutes in there, it was hot and steamy! And I finally started to get feelings back into my extremities again. Warm clothing on, we did stuff around the house and relaxed and eventually, it was time for second night seder with PSM’s family.

I was also able to sneak in a Zoom hello with my family, that was dad, LaLa, my sister, GES, my b-i-l ACS, and my nieces, EJS, and MGS. They were also zooming with extended family friend, I haven’t seen them all in a while, it was great! This was while we were on a break from PSM’s family. Tonight went a lot quicker than last night, less people so less technical difficulties, still a lot of fun, stories, laughter, and love, and food, always food. We went through the exodus out of Egypt, drank our four cups of wine, but…BTK, who wrote up the virtual haggadah added two extra blessings over the wine for PSM and I, hmmm…broke matzah, brought it together again, let in Elijah, and were blessed, what more could you want?!

We started with a ride and ended with a seder, life is good!

{March 27, 2021} Chag Sameach [Happy Holiday]

Tonight is the first night of Passover or Pesach in Hebrew. The story of Passover is the Jews exodus out of Egypt in the time of Pharoh. There are great stories associated with Passover, the exodus, Moses, Pharoh [they weren’t all bad!] and I’m sure we’ve talked about them in the past, check this one out A zissen pesach [I actually titled this post A zissen pesach, imagine my surprise when I found my past post A zissen pesach! Here’s another A Happy Passover. The links I added can give you lots of insight! into the holiday, but that’s not what I want to talk about tonight.

Passover is actually one of my favorite holidays, in case you didn’t know! I’ve loved it since I was a kid, mostly because it’s the time my family gets together and spends time with each other, shares stories, food, friendship, camaraderie, and love. What more could you want?! We started at my grandmother’s house in Brooklyn, NY, then moved it to Staten Island, NY, where I grew up, then my sister’s house in Boston, MA. When I met PSM, we did the divide and conquer, First Night Seder with my family, second night seder with his family, win-win!

Even though our families and some of the traditions are different, the basics are the same. Similar seder meal, same prayers, maybe not said or sung the same way, but the same, and rules, rules for what we eat and how we eat it, some of the foods are the same because they are part of the story and seder, the haggadahs, the prayer books, might not be the same, but you could almost interchange them. But the one thing that is the same, the laughter that happens, no matter what.

Some great things came up today. First…my dad texted and asked where we should stop for pizza before the seder. This made my sister and I laugh. The tradition was…when we had seder at my grandmother’s house, my mom would spend the night before in Brooklyn with my grandmother prepping and cooking for the seder. The afternoon of Passover, my dad, sister, and I would drive into Brooklyn to my grandmother’s house, but first, we would stop for a slice of pizza. Even when we moved Passover to Staten Island, then Boston, we still had pizza as the ‘last meal’. I say last meal because it’s the last time we would have leavened bread, bread that rises, is made with wheat. Starting with the seder, we eat unleavened bread or matzoh.

I texted with a few Jewish friends today and one of my friends, one of my oldest friends from high school, CGS told me that she had been thinking about seders at my grandmother’s house, which made me smile, especially when she told me they were her first seders. As soon as she and I became friends, she was instantly a part of my family, and I became part of hers. She remembers how much fun and silly it was at my grandmothers and the best…she said she was thinking about my dad and the reclining chair!

The tradition stems from wealthy people in olden times reclining in their chairs when they ate meals. Not exactly the most comfortable thing today, but…it’s a tradition. Now…some people would use a pillow to recline, the thing that CGS reminded me of was the chair at the head of the table at my grandmother’s, it was actually broken and when it came time to talk about reclining, my dad would take the back off the chair and literally recline! That really was one of my favorites, and what a memory to share with friends! Thanks for that.

There were other traditions that we shared, and I could go on, but this post would go on for days. Tonight begins the Feast of Passover and I wish you a Zissen Pesach.

{March 24, 2021} Impromptu backyard bbq…nice!

I told you we really like our neighbors, well, most of them anyway. Tonight was no exception. We got a text from next door about 5:40p inviting us next door for some food and drink and to enjoy the weather! How could we say no?!

We got the text “Hey everyone (orthogonal neighbors of ours), we’re grilling a bunch of food and enjoying being out on the patio for the nex thour to 90 minutes. Feel free to come over and enjoy some food and drinks if you’re feeling up for it 🙂

First…I have no idea what orthogonal meant! I did ask when we were over there! I didn’t have time to look it up, we had just finished work, we were feeding the dogs, grabbed two chairs and headed over. It basically meant the neighbors on either side of them and to the back. Hey, that’s a $10 word! It took me a minute just to pronounce it!

It was a feast! There were veggie kebobs, yahoo! Grilled chicken, shrimp, hot dogs, corn, potatos, and pineapple. I was a happy camper! The corn was fabulous, the pineapple terrific, grilling it took some of the citrus bite out of it, the potatos were perfect, and the kebabs, y u m!

We sat, ate, drank, chatted, sat, ate, drank, chatted, kind of a wash, rinse, repeat, but it was the best kind. Our hosts, have two girls, the youngest is adorable, has four teeth and she is using them! She hasn’t been on solid foods long, but she was loving everything she tried, chicken, potato, corn, peppers, you couldn’t stop her! Her big sister is a trip, bright, curious about everything, and so sweet, and…has her daddy wrapped around her little finger, it’s so precious to watch. M&KR are our neighbors, K’s dad JS was there as well, always great to see him. The neighbors on the other side of M&KR were there with their new baby A, so stinkin’ cute and loves when dad carries him around like a football, didn’t like it when he changed positions.

It really was nice to be outside, the weather was perfect tonight, most of today, actually, but really enjoying the time outside tonight. We talked lawns, grilling, home repair, Spring, families, movies, tv, blogging. MR had started a blog and stopped, she’s thinking about going back to it, I hope she does, I look forward to reading it if she does.

And true to the text, about an hour after we got there, it was time to head home, they had wee tots to get into bed. All in all, a joy, just what we have wanted when we move somewhere, looking forward to many more nights like these. It seems the fog is lifting.

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