Here we are hubby and me after a trip to a new whiskey distillery in town.
After the fun we made music.
A fun song
Category: Amy Zents
Peace, love and joy to you.
I’ve started watching travel videos.
I’ve reflected on apartment dwelling.
I’ve been trying to be present for life in the now.
I have been weeding things out everyday to better organize my life, and feel happier.
So I’ve decided to take a little hiatus from my daily blogging.
Sorry. I just need a break.
Exercise at the gym and playing ping pong with my life partner, husband and best friend Jim makes me motivated to be a better woman.
At least it helps me get focused on creating a better home-life.
Hubby is fully retired now.
I still work, albeit part-time.
Although he is not currently employed, hubby works at home to make the place cooler (installing air-conditioning,) pitching in on chores with gardening, cooking and being my chauffer when we go out together. ❤
He is a helpful husband.
Even though we haven’t got any vacation plans until November, every day spent at home with hubby is like a vacation for me, especially when the weather is nice.
While growing up in the big city of Toronto was over-stimulating and fun, living in outstate Minnesota has its perks as well.
Fresh air, parklands, Farmer’s markets, a big fenced-in backyard, and ample free time to enjoy it all is great!
Hubby likes to keep current on the news.
I like to keep current on the birds at the bird-feeder, the local temperature, recent amounts of rainfall, and what to eat.
Thursday Book Review: Ben Franklin
I just read a book on Benjamin Franklin, the statesman & inventor whose face is on the American 100 dollar bill.
It was a short little book produced by kappabooks.com, yet it was considerably informative.
Some look at Mr. Franklin as a natural-born genius, and so do I!
Ben Franklin was a gentleman who practiced what he preached.
I recently watched a Ken Burns documentary on Ben Franklin. It was very good.
https://www.pbs.org/show/benjamin-franklin/
Born in 1706, Benjamin Franklin is still worth reading about, and if you travel to Philadelphia, you’ll find the Franklin Court and the Benjamin Franklin Museum.
These sites are part of Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
For more information on Benjamin Franklin please visit http://www.nps.gov/inde.
However, these days people throw pennies on Franklin’s grave!
Wednesday Diet Wisdom: Appetite Considerations
So are you full?
Do you notice it when you have had enough to eat, or do you let the appetite needle swing into the red before you stop eating?
Eating to fullness is not the way to drop excess weight.
True, each meal is a time of rejoicing, but it is also a time to reflect on what it is we desire from our food.
A good meal is fresh veggies and lots of air on your plate.
😀 If you wish to plan your meals in advance, and the amounts you think you need, it will help you to enjoy your weightloss journey with less stress.
Tempting foods abound.
Plan your meal work, and work your meal plan.
You can do it! And so can I!
Monroe Memories
So why is Marilyn Monroe’s beauty so iconic?
In retrospect, she seemed to be a product, as well as a person.
Colouring her hair light blonde, affecting baby talk now and then, along with her wiggle-walk, seemed to cement her reputation as a vixen, automatically discounting her innate intelligence, and setting herself up as a target for exploitation and envy.
Sadly, she was not able to find serenity in her life, although she seemed to seek it by drinking booze, smoking cigarettes, and swallowing barbiturates.
(Judy Garland also passed away from overdosing on barbiturates.)
Marilyn left a lot behind when she died at the young-ish age of 36 in 1962.
Mostly captured on film, her lovely face and figure, along with her sweet voice, is forever available and easily accessible for all to enjoy.
What are some of your favorite films with Marilyn Monroe?
I really liked her in “Bus Stop,” and “Niagara.”
I’m sorry that she had to endure all kinds of emotional and mental issues, along with addiction problems.
When you consider it, addictions and drug abuse seem to be a sad fate of many rich and famous stars.
Many of them die young, or else prematurely.
In the end, what people see when they look at Marilyn Monroe (Norma Jean Baker) depends on how you perceive her in the light of hindsight and our modern-day mindset.
Was Marilyn just a tragic beauty? Or was she just an enviable person out of touch with life’s realities?
Or was she like you and me, someone looking to live life, make friends and be happy.
Chances are, not being famous may be better than all the pressures of dealing with the public, and the share of criticisms, sufferings and insecurities that are often brought on by other people’s demands and expectations!
We will never know what really happened to Marilyn, since conspiracies abound surrounding her death, but in life she certainly made a splash!
On the Tube: Oxford, Morse, and Lewis
I have to say that the late John Thaw has always been a favourite actor of mine.
His Inspector Morse series was always interesting to me.
The spin off on PBS regarding Inspector Lewis is also a lot of fun!
Oxford situated in the City of Dreaming Spires holds a special place in my heart!
I do love England and what is more English than Oxford University?
So many wonderful writers came out of there, including C.S. Lewis and Tolkien!
It’s also a great research University as well.
You get a lot of Oxford in your eyeballs when you watch Inspector Morse and inspector Lewis.
If you love opera, Inspector Morse is right up your alley!
Apparently, the interest in Inspector Morse has not died, what with the new seasons and episodes of “Endeavour.”
I like watching Endeavour too!
Mark Twain got an honorary degree from Oxford University and he was always wearing his robes even to his daughter’s wedding!
Yes! There are many fine universities you can go to throughout the world, but everybody has heard of Oxford University!
Car Watch: Big Black Cadillac
There are a lot of country songs about a Cadillac.
Do you remember “Guitars, Cadillacs,” by Dwight Yokum?
Some are sad, and some are happy like this one from the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.
But let’s take a look at this long black Cadillac.
Any other fine Cadillac songs you love?
Share them in the comments below
Saturday Small Town Talk: Bavarian Blast in New Ulm, MN
I decided each Saturday I would review things I partook of in this city, or things that my city has to offer.
I live in the city of New Ulm, Minnesota.
This weekend we are having our big German celebration called Bavarian Blast!
Lots of German bands show up to perform their fine music!
People dance a lot to the oompah music.
Alpensterne
Dan Witucki, and his dual Alphorns
https://www.reverbnation.com/danwiituckiandmeinheimatlandmusikanten
Leon Olsen Show
https://m.facebook.com/pages/category/Musician-band/The-Leon-Olsen-Show-436876409808552/
Larry Olsen Band
https://www.larryolsenband.com/contact
Brian Brueggan & the Mississippi Dutchmen
https://m.facebook.com/590653344317744/
Marv Nissel Band
https://m.facebook.com/590653344317744/
Last night I went to see a band called Free Falling, a Tom Petty Tribute band.
We also saw some of the show, Shirts and Skins.
https://www.shirtsandskinsband.com/
All these bands have appeared at one time or another at our Bavarian Blast.
https://www.bavarianblast.com/
Anyway I’m headed back there tonight to see the Stein Holding contest.
Schunkelfest 2022
This morning we met around the Glockenspiel for the 8th Annual Schunkelfest!
It was the most well-attended one we had so far, with over 100 people in attendance.
This is the weekend of our Bavarian Blast.
https://www.bavarianblast.com/
Each Friday morning from 7 AM until 8 AM during the weekend of Bavarian Blast we shunkel.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schunkeln
It’s a fun time for the whole community!
Even the New Ulm Narren showed up to join in the fun!
Thursday Book Review: M.C. Beaton Mystery Series from Book to Screen
Do you prefer the character of Agatha Raisin,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agatha_Raisin
or Hamish Macbeth?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamish_Macbeth
I have read both series by the late M.C. Beaton aka Marion Chesney.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marion_Chesney
I feel the reason the Hamish Macbeth series is so readable and likable is because the author grew up in the very country Hamish is from!
I love mystery doused with comedy, and if you do too, Hamish Macbeth is for you!
Whether you are on Team Agatha or Team Hamish, keep in mind the books are always way better than the shows on TV!
I like Ashley Jenner and I like Robert Carlyle as actors, nevertheless, I think perky, blonde Ashley Jenner would be an ideal in the character’s mind, but bears little resemblance to the close-set, bearlike-eyed, thick-waisted, and brown-haired Agatha Raisin of the Agatha Raisin novels!
Also, 5’8″ Robert Carlyle is no 6 foot plus tall police constable Hamish Macbeth. 6′ 1″ David Tennant would probably suit the role of Hamish Macbeth a whole lot better.
I imagine it would mean hiring shorter actors amd lowering ceilings to see the gangly Hamish bumping his head on door entrances!
(No. Unrelated to all this, I am not pleased with Anna Chancellor playing Lord Veternari either in Terry Pratchett’s TV rendition of, “The Watch.”)
To summarize, the books are way better, and sorry if I was harsh in my critique.
Nevertheless, M.C. Beaton is a fine writer and her books are a lot of fun!
Question: Have you ever been disappointed with a character’s film portrayal in comparison to the book?
Zents Music Studio 