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Sunday Stealing, crafty

origami

A background of colored pencils, paints. Workplace designer, artist, concept art

The current Sunday Stealing is about being crafty. If it meant being clever and mysterious, then MAYBE I could pull it off. But I think they’re talking about origami and macrame.

1. What (if anything) are you doing to celebrate St Patrick’s Day?

I always play music by the Chieftains, Clannad, and the Corrs. Unfortunately, I’ve made no progress in identifying my mother’s father’s mother’s parents, so I brood over that. I know that Margaret Collins was born in 1866 and died in August 1931 in upstate New York. But her parents’ names are not listed on the death certificate. I suspect they are from County Cork, Ireland, but Collins is too common a surname.

2. What is your least favorite color (to wear, to craft with, or to decorate with)?

Yellow. Specifically, when people make signs with yellow on white or vice versa, the lettering is very difficult to read.

3. At a yellow light – do you speed up or slow down??

Stop because I’d be on a bicycle, and I’m likely to get myself killed otherwise.

4. How many pairs of scissors are in your craft room?

I can never find scissors. They’re never where I want them.

Gift ideas!

5. What are the first three items you have ‘saved for later’ on Amazon?

If you mean the oldest: Vince Guaraldi at the Piano by Derrick Bang (Paperback) from 2012, The Art of the Simon and Kirby Studio by Mark Evanier, Jim Simon (Hardcover) from 2014, and Cahoots by The Band (Audio CD) from 2016. If you mean the ones on the top, i.e., the most recent: Exodus 40 by Bob Marley & The Wailers (Audio CD) from 2024, Moulin Rouge! The Musical Original Broadway Cast Recording (Audio CD) from 2022, and Six: The Musical Studio Cast Recording (Audio CD) also from 2022, which I hope to get for my birthday since we’re going to see the touring show at Proctors in Schenectady in May.

6. Did you plant any springs bulbs in your garden and if so, have any of them come up yet?

The last time I helped plant anything was tulips over 15 years ago. Not my thing.

7. What book, if any, are you reading right now?

60 Songs That Explain the ’90s by Rob Harvilla. Actually, I organized my office, and I can’t presently locate it.

8. Do you prefer ball point pens, gel pens, or thin tip markers to write with?

Ballpoint. Preferably blue or black.

It is to laugh

9. What is your favorite crafting item – the craft item thing you use the most or can’t live without? (Exclude basic items like scissors and glue).

I don’t craft. I suck at crafts. In the 1990s, I was in a book group with about a dozen women at my church. One month, the book was about origami, and the person reporting on the book decided we should all partake in that activity. Did I mention that I suck at crafts. Very few things irritate me more than when people say, about something I am apparently constitutionally incapable of doing, “Oh, it’s EASY!”

10. What are the first three items on your grocery list, and what is your favorite grocery store?

Bananas, blueberries, low-fat cottage cheese. The Price Chopper/Market 32 is in walking distance so I go there. My wife tends to drive to the Hannaford on Central Avenue. Incidentally, in the past three months I’ve seen armed security guards at both venues, which does NOT make me feel more safe.

11. What unfinished craft projects are you working on (or not) at the moment?

[Doubles over laughing.]

IG

12. What was the last item you pinned on Pinterest? Or hearted on Instagram?

I have accounts for both of them but don’t use them. Recently, my daughter tried selling me on IG because it’s “fun.” It may be, but it’s not me.

13. What is the biggest tourist attraction where you live?

Here’s a list. I’ve been to the first 12, 15, 17, and 19. I practically live on Route 20. I do not consider Crossgates Mall a tourist attraction.

14. What color is your favorite sweater?

Green, like me.

15. How does your family react when you get a big pile of mail??

It must be time for me to pick new Medicare providers or keep the old ones, which happens between October 15 and December 7. This is why God invented the shredding bag.

Sunday Stealing: 10 years of Swaps

smoking

My Sunday Stealing this week is from SwapBot, celebrating ten years of swaps.

1. Have you ever smoked cigarettes?

Possibly a pack in my entire life. The plurality of them was from January to April 1977, when I crashed at my parents’ house in Charlotte, NC. When I went to the sale of the tchotchkes my parents participated in, I was perceived as elitist. I experienced a lot of hostility, and smoking was a desperate attempt to fit in. It didn’t help.

2. What do you think of hot dogs?

I like hot dogs, especially beef, with mustard (onions optional).

3. What do you prefer to drink in the morning?

Tea if I think of it, ginger ale if I don’t.

4. What’s your favorite piece of jewelry that you own?

Other than my wedding ring, I can’t think of any.

5. Name three drinks you regularly drink.

Water, diet cherry Pepsi, ginger ale.

6. Like to travel?

I like to BE in other places. Getting there is the more challenging part. Going to France last year was worthwhile but exhausting.

Procrastination

7. What should you be doing right now?

Cleaning the house for the hearts party I’m having next week. Paying some medical bills. Getting reimbursed for some previously paid bills. Watching some movies I had not seen to be evaluated before the Oscars on 10 March.

8. Your phone rings. Who do you want it to be?

My daughter.

9. Do you like to ride horses?

The last time I rode a horse was 9 June 1976. I had a hangover. Not recommended.

10. In a social setting, are you more of a talker or a listener?

In my preferred mode, I listen. However, I was in two situations in ZOOM meetings in the past two weeks when I was compelled to speak more than I would have preferred because waiting for others to speak was not working.

11. What’s in your pocket right now?

Key, wallet, used cough drop wrappers.

12. Last thing that made you laugh?

Some banter I had with my wife at breakfast.

13. How many TVs do you have in your house?

One. Or three. I have a screen that isn’t plugged in unless I’m watching a movie on a streaming service. Then I have another that I need to figure out.

14. Who’s your loudest friend?

It’s probably an alto.

15. Favorite sports team? (If you don’t have one, state that …)

It tends to be New York teams: Yankees, Mets, Giants, Jets, and Buffalo Bills.

Sunday Stealing – Music

In the Garden of Eden

Sunday Stealing – Music? But I’m ALWAYS about music!

Name a song that…

1. You enjoy, in another language.

Petula Clark recorded Downtown in Italian as Ciao Ciao. She also did Sign of the Times in French as Si tu prenais le temps. She also sang in German.

2. Recently introduced you to a new singer

I hear many artists on CBS Saturday Morning, specifically the Saturday Sessions—quite a few I like. Brittany Spencer sings If You Say So.

3. You listen to in order to energize

Too many choices! Because Michael McDonald’s birthday was this week, Takin’ It To The Streets by the Doobie Brothers.

4. Is your favorite song from a musical.

Maybe Tradition from Fiddler On The Roof. I’m pretty sure Alexander Hamilton from Hamilton is the most parodied recently.

5. Reminds you of an old love

Harvest Moon by Neil Young still makes me very sad.

6. Make you think of one of your children

Motown Philly by Boyz 2 Men or some other ’90s soul that came out before she was born.

Did not use a metronome

7. Makes you smile when you hear it.

Do What You Want To by Billy Preston. I love that it ends far faster than it starts. This is also true of When You Dance, I Can Really Love by Neil Young.

8. You love but is quite unknown

Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic by Isaac Hayes from Hot Buttered Soul

9. That annoys you.

Honey by Bobby Goldsboro. Cloying dreck.

10. That your parents used to listen to.

I thought of this song because of an article about fads. 45 Men A Telephone Booth by The Four Tophatters was a single my father owned. I bought a compilation CD largely because of this song.

11. From your early years of childhood

Bird Dog by the Everly Brothers, which my father also owned.

12. That has a color in the title.

Green Tambourine by The Lemon Pipers, naturally.

13. That needs to be played loud.

I’m So Glad by Cream, the live version from Goodbye, Cream.

14. That is perfect for a road trip.

ONE song? It’s a road trip. It needs LOTS of songs! In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida by Iron Butterfly to start.

15. That reminds you of yourself.

I’ll go with the usual: Bein’ Green by Kermit the Frog

WTIT: Sunday Stealing

Sabor a Campo

Sunday Stealing is per WTIT again.

1. What is a big dream you have for the future?

To go to several Major League Baseball stadiums in the same season. I know some people have gone to ALL the stadiums in one season, but I’ve given up on that. Maybe one year, I will do the Northeast (Toronto, Boston, New York (2), Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington. Then, another year, tackle the Midwest et al, preferably by train.

2. What are your favorite hobbies?

Genealogy. Do I HAVE other hobbies?

3. If you could change the world, what would you do?

Have news, especially quasi-news, Twitteresque “information” poured through a truth filter.

4. What places have you traveled to? What was your favorite?

Thirty-two states in the US, Mexico, Canada, France and Barbados. The latter was my favorite, partly because I didn’t have to pay for it; I won it on JEOPARDY!

5. What is the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?

I don’t eat weird things. Well, not by my definition. My daughter thinks eating cottage cheese and maple syrup together is weird. Nah.

6. What are your favorite places to eat?

The truth is that several eateries have come and gone. It’s challenging to narrow down places. The last place my wife and I ate was Sabor a Campo, 485 Delaware Avenue, Albany, NY, in a half-filled strip mall at Whitehall Road. The name, “which translates to ‘Taste of Country,’ is an eat-in buffet, carry-out style restaurant, specializing in value-driven multicultural foods, and set in a relaxed, homey, and familial environment.” A couple at church recommended it, and the food was excellent.

A friend calls me “Mister Music” – seriously.

7. What kind of music do you like? Talk about a favorite artist or songs.

I can’t do that. Too many choices. Pop music from the mid-1950s to the mid-1990s. A bunch of classical music. Jazz. Search the blog; I write about music almost weekly.

Meanwhile, listen to the William Tell Overture by Rossini. Here are people who have birthdays in February, so I’ve listened to them all recently: Funkier Than A Mosquito’s Tweeter – Nina Simone. I Don’t Remember – Peter Gabriel. Shut Up and Kiss Me – Mary Chapin Carpenter. The Mercy Seat – Johnny Cash. Lay Down (Candles In the Rain) – Melanie (with the Edwin Hawkins Singers).

8. What was the last book you read?

Prequel by Rachel Maddow

9. If you could meet a character from a book, who would it be?

Bartholomew Cubbins, who spoke truth to power in Bartholemew and the Oobleck

10. Do you prefer books or movies? Why?

Movies because I can commit to them more easily. I started reading many books, both paper and audiobooks, but I didn’t finish them. I also like to GO to the movies because watching at home tends to be too hard to focus on.

Fear, and lack of the same

11. What is something you used to be scared of but aren’t anymore?

Embarrassing myself publicly. I may still do it, but it doesn’t fuel anxiety as it used to.

12. What is something you were never afraid of but are now?

The end of democracy is not just in the United States but in several other countries. Global warming.

13. What item is your most cherished possession? Why?

I have a metal box with all my important papers, including genealogy notes. If there were a fire, it’d be the single thing I would grab.

14. What awards or contests have you won?

I won a racquetball tournament in 1989, I think.

15. Do you like working jigsaw puzzles?

Not really. I have no patience for them. And I don’t “see” the connecting parts well.

Sunday Stealing: Compassion Intl

The Tough Coughs as He Ploughs the Dough

This Sunday Stealing segment is from Compassion Intl.

1. What three words best describe you?

Overanalytical, observational, musicality.

2. What makes you unique?

We’re all unique, I reckon. I tend to see how others, even strangers, have to deal with a situation, and I look to see if there’s a non-intrusive but uncomplicated way to make it easier/better.

3. Who is someone important in your life?

Someone? There are lots of someones. I’ll pick C, whom I’ve only known for about 55 years and who has a good heart. They commented on this blog recently.

4. What is something that always makes you laugh?

I almost always forget what makes me laugh. Then I read, watch, or listen to it again and fall on the ground, chortling. Often, it’s a silly mistake I made. I track my food consumption on Noom, and at the end of the day this week, I accidentally wrote that I had consumed one CUP rather than one TEASPOON of brown sugar!

5. Who is someone who can always cheer you up?

The Big O, who I hope to see in a month. She’s bringing lasagna.

6. When was a time you were really proud of yourself?

Pride is not really my strength. Almost anything I’ve done, I often think I could have done more and/or better. But I’ll pick the 4th of July event at the Underground Railroad Education Center in 2023.

7. What is something that is difficult for you?

Do you know those people who can take a bunch of containers and lids and match them up easily? My wife is like that. I assuredly am NOT.

Traveling man

8. What three places would you love to travel to?

Only three? Ireland, Nigeria, and Italy. The first two are places where I have genealogical roots.

9. What is a fun memory you have with your best friend?

I think it was my 35th high school reunion. The event was okay, but seeing them was grand.

10. If you could have dessert for breakfast, what would you eat?

What makes you think I don’t? Warm apple pie with vanilla ice cream.

11. If you published a book or wrote a movie, what would it be about?

My father. He was a complicated man.

12. Which is easier, math or English?

My wife was a teacher of English as a New Language. As a native speaker, I’m pretty good at English, but it can be difficult for others. There are rules for adjective order, which I could not tell you about, even though I wrote about it a decade ago. I just know it by experience. Dr. Seuss’s book The Tough Coughs as He Ploughs the Dough is a fine example of how complicated English is.

Arithmetic always made sense to me. In high school, I was good in algebra, geometry, and trigonometry, and I occasionally still use them in my life. Now, calculus, I didn’t “get it,” but I’ve survived that lapse.

13. What three things make you the happiest?

Music (listening, singing), revelatory conversations, when democracy works.

Ridin’ thumb

14. What is an event in your life that has shaped who you are today?

An event. Hmm. Okay. After I graduated from college in New Paltz, NY, I worked as a ticket seller for the student government. But I wasn’t making enough to survive. So reluctantly, I asked my parents, who had moved from my hometown of Binghamton, NY, to Charlotte, NC, and I moved in with them and my baby sister c. January 1977.

I hated being there for a lot of reasons. My parents were selling costume jewelry, so I spent much time helping them. At their primary venue, most people who bothered to speak to me seemed to resent every time I’d use a word with more than two syllables.

So, one day in April, I hitchhiked from Charlotte to Binghamton. It took me nearly an entire day. After that, I bounced around to NYC, New Paltz, and Schenectady, but at least I knew the turf. And 1978 was MUCH better than 1977.

15. Which is more important, being kind or being honest?

EASY! Kindness. Some people weaponize honesty. They can say, “I was only being honest, ” but they seem to relish being an @$$4013. BTW, CBS News has an ongoing series called Kindness 101. Here’s one video about the Secret Santa Club.

“A Phoenix elementary school teacher who uses Steve Hartman’s inspirational stories as lessons in kindness and character made a huge impression on his students with the tale of Secret Santa, a wealthy, anonymous businessman who annually gives out hundreds of $100 bills to strangers. That motivated the kids to raise $8,000 – and then give it all away.”