Name That Tune

I was out with my granddaughter today, and as we pulled into the restaurant parking lot she stopped and listened to the music that was playing. "I know that song," she said.

It was not the radio, but a CD, playing one of a Canadian group's best known hits...American Woman.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cl4GWOkvDeM


"Who is that?" my granddaughter asked. "I know that song."

"Guess Who," I said.

"I'm trying," she said. "It'll come to me."

"Guess Who," I repeated.

"What?"

"Guess Who is the name of the band," I said as I handed her the CD case.

We started to laugh, and laughed so hard I was afraid it was going to be a pee my pants kind of hysterics. It was one of those iconic "Who's on first?" comic moments.

She informed me I better settle down, as we were about to go in for lunch. Some decorum was called for after all.

It was a great moment, worth sharing, much to my granddaughter's chagrin

Kittens

My son has a new pair of kittens, brothers, and though they have the same coloring, one is more short haired and the other has a flare of hair about his head like a halo. The kids named them Luke and Jake.

I was on a country tour with two of my granddaughters and a friend of theirs when we visited my son, to the delight of the girls...kittens.

They are so cute when this tiny.

But these little balls of fluff have claws, which my granddaughter quickly found out.

Hey, careful

Ouch!

Hurricane Season

I know I talk about this every year, but the hurricane season fascinates me. I have the site on my list of favorites, and check it frequently.

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/

I like to track the path of a storm across the Atlantic Ocean, see how it might fizzle out to nothing, or build into a storm of adequate strength as to be given a name.

The other day there was a tropical storm Bret, that I thought was in the Gulf of Mexico. Then it seems to be off the coast of South America, and another storm named Cindy is in the Gulf. Things can change quickly, and become deadly as we've seen over the years.

Today, Bret is gone and Cindy has made land fall. Changes come so fast.

There are several sets of names, for topical storms or hurricanes. The lists are repeated over and over again, a name only being removed from the list if it was a storm with catastrophic results..like Katrina.

A storm might build up in severity to be named, out in the Atlantic, only to fade away and be of no consequence. Which is why you might hear the names, and feel you missed one. Like I didn't hear of a storm starting with 'A'. The season is 10 days old and already we're three names in.

The announcer on the weather channel showed a doppler rendition of the heat of the ocean's surface. Apparently the large areas of red and yellow do not bode well for a quiet hurricane season, and seem to predict there will be more than the usual number of hurricanes this summer.

As much as I'll watch, and track the storms across the sea, I'm hoping this is a safe summer for everyone

May all the storms fade away, far from your shores.

It Just Figures

This is the fourth year I've lived in this place, and each summer I have suffered with the heat. I get full afternoon sun on my big window, and morning sun at my door, so there is little relief there. You'd think as the building is on a cement slab it might be cooler, like a basement, but that only holds true in winter.

I've made do with fans, fans on a stand, big square fans and little fans to blow in my face from the side table. Nothing made much of a difference unless I sat perfectly still. I can tell you, I really came to hate sweating.

Last year my son got me a better fan, and for my birthday my daughter got me a ceiling fan (yet to be installed) because I dislike air conditioning. It doesn't matter whether it's a house or in  the car, I like my windows open to the air.

I knew I would have to give in, as most of my neighbors have, and get a window unit. The way I looked at it, I didn't have to run the damn thing unless it really got unbearable.

Luck was on my side, a friend of a friend bought one of those free standing air conditioners, and gave me her old window unit, free of charge. I finally had it installed in the window yesterday, and as it was a hot day, played with the remote, trying out all the options.

The one thing I don't have is a proper window covering that allows for the unit in the window. I have a 'thing' about windows being uncovered at night. I can't stand seeing the reflections in the glass, unable to see what's going on...on the other side. I notice that many of my neighbors have a split blind on their big window. One smaller section covers the section that opens, the other the larger glass window. I may just make do with a short curtain over the top of the window where the air conditioner sits, hung by a spring tension rod.

Today was not a hot day, humid maybe, but not uncomfortably hot. I didn't need the air conditioner, and it would be par for the course that I now have that ugly thing in my window and won't need it.

Still, it's early in the season and who knows what the summer months will bring. But it it's hot and humid, I'll be ready, with my air conditioner and my dehumidifier. I still like the windows open and the breeze blowing.

Fashion Comments

My son and I were at the local Tim Horton's the other day, and as is normal, watched the people as they wandered in and out.

I noticed a very attractive woman, tall and slim, but still very curvy enter. She wore a black pair of leggings and a short sleeved black T shirt. An attractive look, I suppose.

Another woman came in wearing similar black leggings but with an entirely different body type. She was sort of square in the body, a solid square with size but little shape. She had no butt what so ever and her leggings rode in the crack, not a complimentary look.

My son noticed both women, and you can guess who got the second look.

Before you think I'm being mean, I know I'm overweight, and for that reason I will never wear leggings, and try to wear longer shirts, to hide some of my figure faults.

I just don't get why people wear leggings, with short tops, because some leggings show every little ripple, ridge and roll, especially when moving. Who would ever have thought one's ass jiggled so much with every step. One might as well be naked, or is that the idea?

Leggings have taken over from the skin tight jeans that everyone wore a few years ago. Don't get me started n short shorts.

I know, I know, I'm showing my age.  But I just don't see the need to see so much uncontrolled shimmy and shake, but then I'm an older woman, not a guy.

To the Rescue

My daughter was doing her run yesterday and that route takes her down streets and into the woods near her home. As she ran in the woods, she crossed paths with a man walking with his two dogs, and later came upon him, collapsed on the path.

It was a hot day, and he was wearing a vest, too many layers for the heat. She was fortunate that the dogs let her approach, but maybe they knew it was okay as she was there to help.

I think, from what she said, that he must have passed out from the heat, and he came to fairly quickly, and she assisted him to his car and made sure he was all right before she left him. Her run was much longer as she'd gone away from her usual route, but what can you do?

She joked about it after, but these things leave you shaken. There was an episode like this a few years ago when she found a man collapsed outside a restaurant. I think he was diabetic and it was low blood sugar that time.

Last year I blogged about an upsetting episode with my granddaughter. She was working in a hall, serving dinner, and one of the patrons had a heart attack and died. It was a long drawn out evening because of the legalities of an unattended, unexpected death.

That same girl was to be in a showcase at the local theater, but backed out, just couldn't do the dance thing in public she was to do for school. As it didn't affect her mark, her Mom allowed her to bail. Good thing, because someone in the audience collapsed and the medics were called, but to no avail.

This sensitive young girl didn't need to witness this twice, so was it fate, karma, what? that she wasn't there.

Bad things happen, that's a fact of life. I just hope if it's a family member in need, someone will be there for them, as my daughter was for that man on her Sunday run.