Summertime

 Welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4...

Summer time is upon us. 

1. What special memories do you have about summer when you were younger?

Riding my bike endlessly. Hiking in the Watchung mountains with my Dad.   Swimming and surfing .  Painting the back porch each year. My Dad barbequing in the yard. 

2. What is the highest temperature you've experienced in summer?  What about so far this summer? How do you weather the heat or humidity?  

The highest was about 109°F.  So far this summer was 100°F a few weeks ago for a day or two. But, it's been mostly very nice out.   I weather the heat with fans and air conditioning and am very thankful for both.

3. What's been on your menu so far this summer?  In summer I like to make tuna salad and lemon spaghetti.

To make lemon spaghetti.. cook some spaghetti in a not too large pot.  The smaller the pot the higher the starch in the water and you want some of that water for the sauce.

To a small ladle full of the water you cooked the spaghetti in, add the juice of a big lemon. Add in some pepper, salt if you want to, chopped parsley and ten tons of fresh grated parmesan cheese.   Cook til the sauce is rich and pour on the spaghetti. Top with another 10 tons of paresane or romano cheese.  That's how I make it any way.

4.  What is on your reading list this summer... anything to recoomend to us?  What's on your TV this summer. Any music you're liking this summer?

I want to watch Landman on Paramount with Billy Bob Thornton... I like his acting.

I might re-read Early Autumn by Robert Parker (part of the Spenser for Hire series of books).

As far as music goes, I have not been listening to anything really.  

There'll Be Some Changes Made

Happy Saturday

  

Welcome to Saturday: 9. What we've committed to our readers is that we will post 9 questions every Saturday. Sometimes the post will have a theme, and at other times the questions will be totally unrelated. Those weeks we do "random questions," so-to-speak. We encourage you to visit other participants posts and leave a comment. Because we don't have any rules, it is your choice. We hate rules. We love to answer the questions, however, and here is today's questions!

Saturday 9: There'll Be Some Changes Made (1962)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune?    Hear it here.

1) In this song, Ann-Margret sings that she's going to change her way of living. If you could simply snap your fingers and change something in your life, what would it be?

Definitely my health. I'd heal myself and send myself back in time to redeem the years it was taken from me.

2) She tells us she's going to change her name. Have you ever changed your name, or asked people to refer to you differently? (Example: "Don't call me Betty anymore. I want to be Elizabeth.")

When I married I changed my last name as most women do.  I also changed my name for use on this blog.

3) Ann-Margret was born Ann-Margret Olsson in Sweden and whenshe was 5, her family moved to Winnetka, Illinois. She is fluent in both Swedish and English. When did you last converse in a language other than English?

I think you mean in a conversation and so that would be a no. 

 I am slowly learning some Ojibwe and so I say those words daily to practice.  You probably know some of the language if you know the poem about Hiawatha or the song The Edmund Fitzgerald.

Both the poem and song  speak of the great lake they call Gitchi gumee or Lake Superior and in many other words you might take for granted or don't know that are from Ojibwe.  Words like muskelunge (a big fish), tobaggan (a big sled), Toronto, Michigan, Muskogee, Winnepeg, moose, mocassin, Mississippi, mackinaw from makinaag.  So you already know a lot of the language.  

 

4) Olivia Newton-John was a big Ann-Margret fan. When she was cast in the movie Grease, Olivia asked that her character's name be changed from "Sandy Dumbrowski" to "Sandy Olsson" in tribute. Grease is one of the most profitable movies ever made. Have you seen it more than once?

I had trouble sitting through it even once.

 

5) Ann-Margret celebrated her 85th birthday earlier this year. Back in 2024, Ann-Margret told a reporter that she planned to celebrate her 83rd birthday with a spin on her motorcycle, a lavender Harley-Davidson. "I love speed," she explained. Do you always observe the speed limit? Or have you been known to zip along a little faster?

I always tried to keep to the speed limits.

6) This week's song was written in 1921 and over the last 100+ years it's been recorded more than 400 times. Before today, had you heard it?

Yes. I heard it in old movies and on the radio as a kid.

7) The lyrics were written by William Weldon Higgins, who was better known as vaudeville comic Billy Higgins. When did you most recently laugh out loud?

I laugh outloud daily.

8) The music was composed by William Overstreet. In addition to writing music, he was a respected director at Chicago's Grand Theater. When did you last see a live performance (concert, play, etc.)?

I saw  The Fantasticks off broadway a number of years back now.  For music I saw The Trans Siberian Orchestra when they came to Atlantic City.

9) Random question: Do you have more or less than $20 cash in your wallet right now?

I have around $25.00

Thanks so much for joining us again at Saturday: 9. As always, feel free to come back, see who has participated and comment on their posts. In fact sometimes, if you want to read & comment on everyone's responses, you might want to check back again tomorrow. But it is not a rule. We haven’t any rules here. Join us on next Saturday for another version of Saturday: 9, "Just A Silly Meme on a Saturday!" Enjoy your weekend!