google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Saturday October 23, 2010 R. M. (Bob) Peoples

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Oct 23, 2010

Saturday October 23, 2010 R. M. (Bob) Peoples

(Note: Tomorrow's puzzle involves circles, which are unsupported by LA Times website. I'll release the pdf & puz files on the blog around 9:00pm tonight.

(Updated @9:05pm. Here is the pdf version of tomorrow's puzzle.)

Theme: None

Total words: 70

Total blocks: 29

This puzzle has two grid-spanning marquee answers, all lively colloquial phrases:

17A. "You've made your point!" : OK, I GET IT ALREADY

60A. Reference to a long-forgotten acquaintance : OLD WHAT'S HIS NAME?

They are intersected by a couple of 9s and 11s:

3D. Swing both ways : SWITCH HIT. Did you think of baseball immediately?

11D. Hardly a Michelin three-star eatery : GREASY SPOON. Guess which city has the most Michelin starred restaurants?

23D. Catnap : CATCH A FEW Z's

35D. Decide to defend someone, say : TAKE A CASE. Didn't come to me easily.

The ladder structure in the middle of the grid gives the puzzle an amazing interconnectedness. Quite challenging to put together, as one bad answer could cause a collapse of the whole puzzle.

Across:

1. Sources of inside info? : CT SCANS. "Info" hints an abbreviated answer.

8. Small hounds : BEAGLES

15. Question at a wine tasting : HOW IS IT? Also 36D. Wine selection concern : AGE & 37D. Wine selection : RED. "Wine" clechos (clue echos).

16. Like some glass display cases : REAR LIT

19. Stroke : PET. Both noun/verb work.

20. Atomic number of nitrogen : SEVEN. I forgot all I learned in the chemistry class.

21. Place for controls : PANEL. Oh, control panel.

22. Starfleet registry prefix : NCC. Drew a blank. From "Star Trek".

24. E-mails : SENDS

26. Hurting : SORE

27. Turn left : HAW. GEE is "Turn right".

29. In a level-headed way : SANELY

31. 1987 Beatty bomb : ISHTAR. The name escaped me again. We had this clue before. JD mentioned the Babylonian Ishtar before. Goddess of love/war/fertility.

34. One who draws exceptionally well? : MEGASTAR. Because megastars have drawing power?

38. Insert casually : STICK IN

40. Surfer's destination : WEB PAGE. Internet surfer.

41. Precisely : ON THE DOT. Wanted ON TARGET.

43. Short-changed : ROOKED

44. Energy problem : ANEMIA. Lack of iron.

46. Preschool group? : ROE. It has not become fish, which travel in school.

47. Beehive, say : COIF

50. Health, in Le Havre : SANTE. ''A votre santé!''

52. "Coming Home" subject : NAM. Have never heard of the movie. Starring Jane Fonda. How ironic! I bet Dennis boycotted it.

54. Wrinkles : LINES

56. Tank swimmer : TETRA

58. One sold at Sotheby's in 1989 for more than $50,000 : CEL. Not surprised. Saw some expensive ones in "Antique Roadshow".

63. Taking by force : SEIZURE

64. Truman secretary of state : ACHESON (Dean). Nope. Complete stranger.

65. He played Captain Davies on "Roots" : ED ASNER. His name consists of all common letters, hence the frequent appearances in Xword.

66. Number one : THE BEST. I like how it ends the grid.

Down:

1. Do some food prep : CHOP

2. Keepsake : TOKEN

4. Smoke, briefly : CIG

5. Grieg's "__ Death" : ASE'S. No idea. Here is a clip. Edvard Grieg. ASE is sometimes clued as "Peer Gynt's mother". Ibsen play.

6. Evenings in the classifieds : NITES

7. Destination in a poetic riddle : ST. IVES. Riddle: "As I was going to St. Ives. / I met a man with seven wives...". Got me.

8. Cherry, so to speak : BRAND NEW. New meaning of "cherry" to me.

9. Fish often smoked : EEL. Not to my taste. I liked pickled fish.

10. Seniors' PAC : AARP

12. Plain in the Southwest : LLANO

13. It might get you down : EIDER. Awesome clue.

14. Pizazz : STYLE

18. When Sunday NFL action starts on the West Coast : TEN AM. Big game this weekend for the Vikings. Against Al's Packers.

25. "Against the Wind" singer : SEGER (Bob). See this clip.

28. Rise, and maybe shine : WAKEN. What exactly does "shine" refer to?

30. Cabinet department since 1913 : LABOR. Nice to know.

31. Equal opening : ISO. As in isobar.

32. Place to buy tkts. : STN

33. Teases : RIDES

39. Irrespective of : NO MATTER. WHATEVER has 8 letters too.

42. Some silverware parts : TINES

45. In addition : AT THAT

47. Nip and tuck : CLOSE

48. Smashed : OILED. Yet another slang for "drunk".

49. Birthplace of Merle Oberon : INDIA. I don't even know who Merle Oberon was. British actress.

51. __ Maria Remarque, author of "All Quiet on the Western Front" : ERICH. Nope. This author is not in my memory shelf either.

53. Notes : MEMOS

55. Steer clear of : SHUN

57. "Off the Court" autobiographer : ASHE (Arthur)

59. Fast time : LENT. I've never fasted. Don't have the will.

61. Art today? : ARE. "Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?". Great clue.

62. Lincoln's st. : NEB

Answer grid.

C.C.

46 comments:

Frenchie said...

Good morning C.C., Argyle and folk,

I'm shy about writing first! (BLUSH) Damn that anon. who questioned Dennis getting the coveted first entry! In this case, I guess, late is the new early. Thank you for the clear takes in your write up, C.C. and thanks R. M. (Bob) Peoples for your very interesting offering today. I hope we see more like this.

1. Sources of inside info? : CT SCANS. my favorite today...so clever!

27. Turn left : HAW. GEE is "Turn right" HAW/GEE HHMMM! I had a very slender inkling that these commands sounded familiar and yes, I dream of going to Alaska to try dogsledding and as I read up on it, I learned the mushers use these directionals with the dogs.

22. Starfleet registry prefix : NCC. I really had to tease this one out...I know nothing about "Star Trek". It means absolutely nothing to me.

34. One who draws exceptionally well? : MEGASTAR. I tried 'Frenchie' for this one but it didn't work!

47. Beehive, say : COIF IS SHE WEARING THE DO OR IS THE DO WEARING HER? I remember my mother wearing the most perfect beehive hairdos! If I come across one, I'll link it sometime.

@Lucina, I have been thrilled with the cool weather, do you know how long it is supposed to last? I actually wore daisey duke shorts with a 3/4 sleeve t-shirt. 70's isn't actually cold for me as I grew up in CT. I'm hearty. My dog was too cold for just a t-shirt so I had to put a fleece sweat shirt on her so now she's snug and warm.
Have a great weekend all and if anybody has an idea for simple costumes for Peter and me to wear to a party this evening, I'd be eternally grateful!

I'm out.

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Work has been crazy busy lately, with me getting up early and working late. Hence, no time for puzzling.

Quick update on my dad -- the doctors are amazed at how well he's doing! They said they originally gave him about a 5% chance of survival, but now they have determined he's stable enough to undergo bypass surgery and fully expect him to go home sometime after that. He will need to make some changes to his life due to the damage to his heart, but at least they think he will live. Thanks again for all the kind words and thoughts!

As for the puzzle, it was pretty rough. I slogged through it all, but didn't get the TADA at the end. Could not find my mistake! I actually suspected that it involved 5D, since ASOS just didn't look right, but all the perps were solid.... Of course, they weren't solid and I should have had OK I GET IT ALREADY instead of OK I GOT IT ALREADY. The thing is, ASES looks just as bad as ASOS...

Anonymous said...

I believe Merle Oberon was born in Tasmania

Lemonade714 said...

Good morning C.C. and Saturday sloggers; thanks C.C. for unleashing some sense in this puzzle. It is to me a classic Saturday, where misdirection is king: Sources of inside info? : CT SCANS, One who draws exceptionally well? MEGASTAR,
Surfer's destination : WEB PAGE, Preschool group? : ROE, Beehive, say : COIF,
It might get you down : EIDER, Fast time : LENT. And the best of them all, Art today? : ARE. All in all, though, I found it doable and finished in 20. I agree with Barry G, ASE’S was the hardest fill; who remembers Peer Gynt anymore. Frenchie, nice to see you, but maybe you need to try Pharma GABA 200 mg. It is chewable, tasty and no ambient(t) side effects. Where is EMBIEN anyway? Which oddly reminds me of the tribute puzzle BARRY SILK created for the Corner, which was when I first found this place. You newbies should look that puzzle over. Which reminds me, C.C., you should put your Dennis b-day as part of the permanent olio.


Yes, there is controversy about beautiful MERLE, as we have INDIA BORN Merle Oberon, and we have:
1911
Feb 19, 1911 - MERLE OBERON'S father was connected with the English army, and it was while he and his wife were in Tasmania, an island off Australia, that Merle was born. The date was Feb. 19, 1911, and she was christened Estelle Merle O'Brien Thompson.


Finally we have, THE TRUTH? ?



Okay, the sunshine awaits, ciao chow all

Splynter said...

Good Saturday to all,

PHEW !!! Yes, a slog, and I resorted to Wiki for three names - that is, I needed ED ASNER, INDIA for MERLE, and ACHESON for TRUMAN - but I was able to avoid red-letters...

Hey, I am learning something, right?

Good puzzle, real brain-burner. I had the top done, and I agree, the ladder down the middle made a bad answer quite a nuisance - so when I got to UPDO instead of COIF, I was done in. Got stuck on "****ING" for 63A, since the tense matched, and thus had to go looking at the proper names...oh well...

I was proud to get "SOME Z's", then it turned out to be "A FEW", but I was pretty sure we needed a drunk reference for SMASHED.

Here's a MEGASTAR nearly fooled by ST IVES

Enjoy the weekend !!!

Splynter

Bob said...

Got them all in 35 minutes.

For NCC, check out this picture of a Star Fleet ship (from Star Trek):

STAR FLEET VESSEL

"Death of Ase" (Peer Gynt's mother) is the second short piece in Edvard Grieg's Peer Gynt Suite #1 (based on a play by Henrik Ibsen).
Here it is:

DEATH OF ASE

Erich Maria Remarque's "All Quiet on the Western Front" is a genuine classic of 20th century literature--a view of the trenches of WWI from the German perspective. Remarque was German. He came to the USA and was married to actress Paulette Goddard from 1958 until his death in 1970.

Spitzboov said...

Good Morning C.C. and all.

Agree with the previous comments - many misleading clues. Needed a little red letter help in the NW. ASES was the last to fall. SEVEN, ACHESON and ERICH were gimmes, and I guessed at HAW and TETRA. Liked the clueing for LENT, ARE, EIDER, and MEGASTAR. Thought the clue for ROE was too subtle, and 40a, surfer's destination, threw me for a while; I was thinking beach area or wave/surf zone.
All in all, a good workout. Tough but ultimately fair.

Barry G: good news about your dad. Hope he keeps mending.

Enjoy the weekend.

Husker Gary said...

Good Morning C.C., et al, OMG, I live in Nebraska, got degrees from the University, paid for degrees for my daughters who both live in Lincoln, Neb and bleed Husker Red and still put ILL for Lincoln's st. I even thought it might be variation of Kentucky for where he was born!

I did 'er all with no help and had a nice ride. I really liked Preschool group, It might get you down and Swing both ways ("...not that there's anything wrong with that").

I also despise Hanoi Jane's treason during the war that took the lives of some of my friends. I forced myself to watch her in On Golden Pond and it was wonderful. There is ample documenation that the movie accurately reflected her real-life relation with her Nebraska-born Dad Henry. Ward Cleaver, he wasn't!!

I remember being in Honolulu between Christmas and New Year's and having an NFL game from New York come on at 7 am.

Not meaning to offend anyone but I loved seeing the Yankees go down last night. It just seems so wrong that some athletic code is violated when a team can win just because it can buy up every other teams best players. What's the point? Seeing A-Rod end the Yankee season with the bat on his shoulder was probably extra sweet for the Texas fans.

Al said...

You will see widespread explanations about the sun coming up, and also referencing army life and boot maintenance, but the shine part of the phrase comes from the King James translation of the (Hebrew) bible: "Arise, shine, for your light has come". The words are used in Handel's Messiah, which certainly did not detract from their popularity.

Tough puzzle today with all the names. I thought the crossing of SANTE with ERICH and that in turn with ACHESON was a bit unfair. Needed a red letter or two there.

HeartRx said...

Good Morning C.C. et al.

Great links, C.C. I love Grieg, but "ASES Death" eluded me because I usually see it with two "A"s. Sigh!

Glad to see you post first, Frenchie!

This puzzle kicked my butt today, and I finally had to rely on GG to get me 64A ACHESON and 57D ASHE. I had "Burger Joint" for 11D, so that caused no end of chaos throughout the entire east side. FInally decided it must be wrong, and started all over. Whew! What a slog. All in all, a great puzzle, and a good Saturday challenge.

Off to see some witches and goblins in Salem, MA with girlfriends. Should be a fun day, and the weather looks like it will cooperate for us. Have a great day, everyone!

Merle Oberon's follower said...

On Merle Oberon, I have heard the story and various variations before, - and to go past the truth, it is a always an enigma, for most of us 'ordinary' people, to wonder of how far some people will go to deny their 'roots'. I guess Merle felt she had to shake off her 'contamination', being as she had no choice in the matter - and for an actress, at that time, 'charisma' was probably everything...

But, even in modern times, Madeline Albright ( ex-Secy of State) claimed she did not know of her jewish roots until she was being confirmed in the senate( probably true -). Enrico Fermi, of nuclear fission, who had a jewish grandmother, and was thus contaminated, had to arrange for the deposit of his Nobel prize money in an english bank, and use that for his passage & that of his wife's to go to the US. Malcolm Gladwell, in the best selling book 'Outliers', mentions a humiliating incident with his aunt ( he is part Black - ). And many, many others.

Ironically, from a eugenics standpoint, since nature ALWAYS prefers diversity - mixed race children have been generally known to have higher IQ's and are better shaped to survive in life.

In Hebrew, I have been told, there is a common word for 'bastard' ( illegitimate - altho' to call any child, so born, as illegitimate, is ridiculous... )

... and 'genius' ... the ancient sages, in Israel knew of the applicability of the Law of Genetics.

carol said...

OUCH! Hi all - I wondered if I should even try a Saturday puzzle, but thought don't be a wuss so I attempted this...I didn't do as badly as I thought I would, but could not finish it. Lots of WAG's and some extremely clever clues (way over my head)!!

I read 62D as 'Lincoln's STREET instead of STATE, which ruined that for a while.

59D FAST TIME was a great clue/answer since I could not think of anything but GOING fast (speed).

PRE-SCHOOL GROUP was another terrific brain fryer!

I have to go to the store soon to re-stock my V-8 cans.

Barry G: so great to hear how much better your Dad is doing!! Continue to keep us updated, we are all here for you!

Anonymous said...

Morning C.C. et al.

Great day in Texas! Rangers won! Now to get through the series!

Great puzzle today, but I can't consider it a "solve" when I use red letters. Let's just say it was a learning experience. Grieg is my favorite composer, but I could not remember ASES. I knew Dean ACHESON, but wanted it spelled Atchison, like the railroad. I didn't know the Star Trek reference, so that was a wag. I would never have gotten REARLIT or TETRA without red letter help. That danged fish gets me every time. In fact, wags, swags, perps, and red letters saved my hide today! No Googles, though.

My favorite clue was "Plain in the Southwest." I live just at the southwestern edge of the LLANO Estacado, just before it drops off into the Chihuahuan Desert.

Barry, it is good to hear the good news about your dad.

(Still Back in Black because I've been to lazy to find or remember my password here.)

Daffy Dill said...

OK - DANG! Hit ENTER by accident! Anon @10:56 is DAFFY DILL.

kazie said...

Had a lot of trouble in the NW since I had I'VE GOT IT ALREADY for 17A. So never could get those first few downs. All the rest came out pretty well with quite a few WAGs.

I knew Errol Flynn was an aussie, but not that he was born in Tassie (as we aussies call it--in both words, the -ss- are pronounced like -z-). I had no idea about Merle Oberon being born there.

Barry,
That's excellent news about your dad.

Off to the rest of my day now. Have a good one, everyone!

Dilbert said...

Hi all.

A lot of DFness in the xwd for
someone - starting with
switch hit. Over all, it went pretty smoothly.

Wonder if sales of NoDoze go up
if West Coast teams make it to the post season. Interest probably drops anyway.

Take care.

Grumpy 1 said...

"I LOVE this puzzle" was my thought as I worked my way through the upper two thirds. It seemed I was on the constructor's wavelength on several of the clues and and those gave me perps for the unknowns. I was really proud of myself when OK I GET IT ALREADY just jumped out at me. Yeah, I know... pride goeth before the fall.

Then I hit the bottom third and started muttering "I hate this puzzle". Same wavelength? We weren't even in the same universe in that area, but I managed to tease out most of it. The crossings of SANTE, ERICH, ACHESON and ASHE did me in. I finally resorted to the G-spot and finished it up.

Barry G, glad to hear your dad is doing better.

Another hand up for those that enjoyed seeing the Yankees go down in flames.

Frenchie, my Grandad farmed with a brace of mules and GEE/HAW were the commands he used. I didn't know that the same commands were used by dog sledders. Ya' learn something new everyday... especially if you hang around this site.

Lemonade714 said...

Yes, the fun of the chase for knowledge, HAW/GEE and thank you Frenchie for interjecting DOG SLEDDING which in hilly Connecticut where I grew up, was when I was trying to ride the dog down the hill.

Lucina said...

Good day, C.C. and all cyber friends.

Great blogging, C.C. and I noticed it was posted last night as I checked in before bedtime, didn't peek, however.

Yowza! Not as bad as it first appeared and as usual on Saturday I look for a foothold, found it in LLANO and AARP then was on Bob People's wave length all the way across and through the bottom.

EDASNER, ACHESON, ERICH Maria Remarque all popped out or were teased out with no problem.

Wildly waving my hand, Lemonade, for Peer Gynt and all of Grieg's music, especially "Morning" which I play frequently.

The NW is a different story since I stubbornly held on to ALLRIGHTALREADY which fits but of course created havoc there, wanted YAW for HAW and RELIC for TOKEN, so with a few blanks I checked the blog as it's late now and it's time to go.

Cleverest clues:
art today, ARE
it might get you down, EIDER (not new, but still fun)
fast time, LENT

Frenchie:
I believe the 80s is now the expectation and our fall/winter weather will stay.

BarryG:
Great news about your Dad! I shall keep him in my prayers.

Bill G:
I hope you are checking in and will keep us posted on your progress when you can. You, too, are in my prayers.

Have a fabulous Saturday, all!

Lemonade714 said...

When I was in grammar school, I had a music teacher who absolutely adored Peer Gynt, and we heard it at least once a week, but never with the play, so the names do not need much, but the music is always with me. He also loved waltzing Mathilda, go figure.

I have a new acavtar, of my nephew Michael, and his brand new (3 hours old) son Benjamin.

Pure joy.

Anonymous said...

aarp is an obama pac not a senior citizens' pac

JD said...

Good morning C.C. and all,

So many clever clever clues today: fast time,art today?, and preschool group?. C.C., thanks for the very clear explanation on that last one.

Daffy Dil, I use WAGS,SWAGS, PERPS, & red letters to get me thru all Thurs to Sunday xwds.I only go to Mr. G if I need to, just to continue.Today it was Seger.It was very slow, but I got 'er done.

I listened to Grieg, and I found it to be depressing, like funeral music. I prefer "rise and shine" music, something with pizazz, like this.

Barry, great news about your dad!

Husker Gary, I agree with you about the Yankees, and was elated for the Texas fans too.I don't understand why baseball doesn't have a salary cap. The Yankees make over 3X's the median average (roughly) around 70 mill. How is that fair? Oh well, we see it in politics too..sigh.

Learned all about GEE/HAW today..good info all around.

Should WM now become MS?

Husker Gary said...

There is a rock and roll song with the words GEE and HAW. Any ideas what it is?

R 'n R Song With Gee and Haw

Bob said...

JD: "Death of Ase" by Grieg IS funeral music. For something livelier, try the last piece in the Suite...."In the Hall of the Mountain King":

IN THE HALL OF THE MOUNTAIN KING

Tinbeni said...

C.C. Great write-up (again!!!).

20A: Atomic number of nitrogen.
SEVEN. Mickey Mantle's number.
When I met him as a 8yo kid, in 1960, he was my hero.
And the reason I became a rabid (beyond rabid) New York Yankee fan.
Villa Incognito is a bit sad today.
Avatar will provide comfort at sunset.
Oy veh!!!

I enjoyed this puzzle very much.

Fave was OK, I GET IT ALREADY. (It got a much needed laugh this morning).

Now I'm rooting for the SF Giants tonignt.
(Sorry about that Dennis).

Lucina said...

I forgot to mention, preschool group, ROE as an awesome clue.

Lemonade:
Your new nephew is precious! Thanks for sharing.

JD:
Have you heard the joyful aspects of Grieg? In The Hall of the Mountain King, Anitra's dance and Morning are ones I find sizzling.

JD said...

Bob and Lucina, thanks for guiding me to the more exciting pieces of Grieg. As with many pieces of music, I hear them and do not remember the titles or names of the artists.I did like In the Hall of the Mountain King.

MR ED said...

Go as 'French' poodles Frenchie.

Anonymous said...

Aloha,
Just found this site a few months ago, really enjoy it. I started crossword a couple years ago and never attempted Saturday's, now I get up earlier than usual looking forward to the challenge.

Lemonade714 said...

Aloha, anonymous, we have had many from hawaii who have come and gone
go blue and join us. where are you Hawaiian contingent?

daffy dill said...

JD, I don't know how to post a link here, but my favorite Grieg composition is "Wedding Day at Troldhaugan." It is certainly lively!

JD said...

Daffy Dill,I agree, very beautiful. I've been listening to his works all afternoon and so far Morgenstimmung is my favorite. I have no idea where I've heard it before, but it is so familiar.

Bill G. said...

Thank you all for your wonderful wishes. What a great place this blog is. I feel so insecure these last few days not knowing how I'm going to face what lies ahead. Barbara, Tim and Bonnie came to visit today. I was a little apprensive but I sure enjoyed the hugs and words of kindness. Thank you all for your support and kind words. I love you all.

GarlicGal said...

YAY Bill!! Good luck, One day at a time and all those other sentiments people send in this kind of situation. Keep puzzling when you can.

Jeannie said...

Okay, it was dark and dingy in neck of the woods and sayed in today and made homemade chicken soup and these cookies from a childhood memory. Now I know another reason to appreciate my Mother. I HATETO BAKE. Although I went from the recipe, I second guessed it all the way through. Puzzle thoughts on the way....I just had to get this "triumph" logged.

Jeannie said...

I hate typos, so all you grammar police, let me correct myself.

"In my neck of the woods" it was dingie, and "I stayed" in.

Anonymous said...

Dingy was correct.

Lemonade714 said...

HANG IN THERE BILL G

carol said...

Bill G....so good to hear from you. I know your road is a tough one, but you can do it. You have lots of friends here even though we can't give you physical hugs, we CAN give you 'cyber' ones. Keep in touch with us - it will help. If you can do the puzzles, that will help too :)

Jeannie, I am no great shakes as a cook, but I do know that you don't want to 'second guess' with baking. Baking is a FORMULA not a recipe. :)

Lemonade: your little grand-nephew is darling!

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

JD et al,
Here is the pdf version of tomorrow's puzzle.

Bill,
Great to hear from you again. I've been thinking of you.

Lucina said...

Morganstimmung is known as "Morning" on the ablbums . It's majesty takes my breath away!

Jeannie said...

Thank you anon@8:07pm. I guess I shouldn't second guess myself! To the puzzle as it is rare if I attempt it or even comment on a Saturday. I found lots of Df fodder in this one. "Swing both ways", "insert causally" - stick in; CASUALLY? "Cherry so to speak" - brand new? "Teases" - rides?...Hmm

C.C., I have always thought of "rise and shine" meaning that you should get up in the day and meet the sunshine and meet your day and "shine" as an individual.

Lemonade (counselor) congrats on the new addition to your lineage.

Bill G, you are missed by me. I hope you are in the process of healing. I wish I could give you a great big HUG....or at least a bowl of chicken soup and a couple of Owl cookies and cold milk.

JD said...

Thanks C.C.!

Bill, so great to hear from you. We will be with you in spirit every step of the way.Hugs!

Jeannie, such cute cookies with fond memories attached.
Since it was a rainy day here, I decided to make Butternut Squash soup for tomorrow's dinner(while listening to Grieg).Disasterama! It tastes just like all those squash dishes I hated as a kid, although I don't remember ever having this squash.How silly! I thought I had grown up.Well,soup is definitely off of the menu.

Lemonade, sweet avatar!

Hi there Garlic Gal!

JD said...

woo hoo...!

Annette said...

C. C., losing your virginity has also been slangily referred to as 'losing your cherry' because you were no longer like BRAND NEW.

Frenchie said...

Good Night C.C., Argyle and folk,

Closing acknowledgements:

@DoctorRX, Thank you for noting my position of first post of the day! I appreciate your thoughtfulness.

@ Barry G, What a gift for your family and you to have your father back and for him to have a family dedicated to him...love takes people a long way.

@Lemonade 714, "Frenchie, nice to see you, but maybe you need to try Pharma GABA 200 mg. It is chewable, tasty and no ambient(t) side effects." I will set some time aside to give your recommendation some serious thought. I know several of our group members also suffer from insomnia. So, 'word up' fellow insomniacs!

@Grumpy 1, I'm happy I could share. I learn something new from this site every day!

@Lemonade714, thank you for linking the dogsledding info.! Now, the visualization of you trying to ride the dog down the hill!...now that's funny! What kind was it? A Great Dane?
Your nephew is extremely handsome and so is baby Benjamin! Great photo! Congrats. for the happiness a new member of the fam. brings you!

@Lucina, Oh how wonderful! I'm ready to enjoy cool air. I go outside with my coffee every morning now and it's really a treat!

@MR ED, How clever! My husband is English but he's a good sport and I'm picturing him in black poodle trimmings. We can call him "Fi Fi" and I feature taking a little artistic license; I'll be a pink poodle! Wonderful! We had a health issue come up in our household today and couldn't make it to the party this evening, but we have another one next Saturday.

@anon. Aloha, welcome! the puzzle and blog add something special to each day. Please stay with us and enjoy!

@Bill G., 'Love yourself, you are a child of the universe.'

I'm out.