Theme: ALFRED HITCHCOCK (7D: Born 8/13/1899, he directed the answers to the starred clues)
21A: *Very difficult task: MURDER!
29A: *Aristophanes comedy: THE BIRDS
38A: *You may be picked up if you are under it: SUSPICION
49A: *Music to an interrogator's ears: I CONFESS
57A: *Loony: PSYCHO
12D: *Sunnybrook Farm girl: REBECCA
13D: See 51-Down: SCENE
41D: *Dizziness: VERTIGO 1958
51D: With 13-Down, something 7-Down is famous for in his films: CAMEO
Wow, 10 theme entries. Don "Hard G" Gagliardo did it again. Great tribute puzzle.
ALFRED HITCHCOCK had a CAMEO role in all the five Across movies. Excellent intersection. I also like vertical placement of VERTIGO. REBECCA is kind of scary, so is "Rear Window". I wish I had never seen PSYCHO.
Of all the HITCHCOCK movies, I like "To Catch a Thief" the most. How about you?
I don't know who Aristophanes was, but THE BIRDS came very easily, so did the other theme answers. I just adore this puzzle. Almost aced it.
Don G, if you are reading this blog, can you email me crosswordc@gmail.com?
Across:
1A: Toto's two?: ARF ARF. Toto is Dorothy's dog from "The Wizard of Oz". I was fixated on the two letter T/O in Toto's name.
7A: PC key next to the space bar: ALT
10A: Needle bearers: FIRS. Pine needle.
14A: Soap opera, e.g.: SERIAL
15A: Grassland: LEA
16A: Certain util.: ELEC
17A: Infant who succeeded Russia's Empress Anna in 1740: IVAN VI. Ivan the Terrible. I had IVAN?I sitting there forever.
18A: Interoffice memo, maybe: FAX
19A: North Sea feeder: ELBE. It simply means "river".
20A: Fifth bk. of the Torah: DEUT. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and DEUTERONOMY.
24A: Gazzara or Stiller: BEN. Only know BEN Stiller.
25A: Unit of work: ERG. From Greek ergon, meaning "work". It's ten-millionth of a joule.
26A: Freelancer's end: SAE (Self-Addressed Envelope). SASE (Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope) is more common.
27A: Seldom seen: SCARCE
33A: Sans opposite: AVEC. Voulez-vous coucher AVEC moi (ce soir)?
34A: Clinton's department: STATE. Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State. Boy, she was testy.
35A: Towel word: HIS
37D: Educator LeShan: EDA. Always wanted ADA/IDA.
41D: Chocolate-making vessel: VAT. Tend to associate VAT with wine.
43A: Chocolate lover, often: TOT. I like the consecutive "Chocolate" clues.
44A: Fetch: GO GET
47A: Perry's creator: ERLE. Perry Mason. ERLE Stanley Gardner. Inspiration for Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
51A: Pressing issue?: CREASE. Great clue.
53A: Bunny __: HOP. Dance?
54A: "Fantasia" frame: CEL. Some of those cartoon CELS are highly collectible.
56A: Words with distance: AT A. Oh, AT A distance.
59A: Ale designation: PALE
60A: "La Bohème" heroine: MIMI. Obtained the answer from Down fills.
62A: Seesaw need: TWO
63A: Intervene: STEP IN
65A: "Omigosh!": EGAD. God probably does not really mind people invoke his name directly.
66A: Vocation: Abbr.: OCC (Occupation)
67A: Hire: TAKE ON
68A: "It slipped": OOPS. I do hit the PREVIEW button before I press PUBLISH YOUR COMMENT. Still have OOPS. .
69A: Indus R. country: PAK. Again, got the answer from Down fills. Not familiar with Indus River, the longest river in Pakistan. It rises in Tibet.
70A: Like some icy weather: SLEETY
Down:
1D: Lateral remark: ASIDE
2D: Goes back (to): REVERTS. Wrote down RETURNS first.
3D: Full of , with "with": FRAUGHT
5D: Toyota __ 4, SUV model: RAV. Ridiculous ad. RAV4 stands for "Recreational Active Vehicle with 4-wheel drive". Did not know that.
6D: Like the worst excuse: FLIMSIEST
8D: X-ray vision thwarter: LEAD
9D: Political hot button: TAXES
11D: Lacking social graces: ILL-BRED
22D: Old Mideast org.: UAR (United Arab Republic). A union of Egypt & Syria, from 1958 to 1961.
23D: Color TV pioneer: RCA
28D: Vindicate: AVENGE
30D: "Chico and the Man" setting, briefly: EAST LA. The answer revealed itself. Have never heard of the sitcom "Chico and the Man".
31D: Heat unit, briefly: BTU
32D: [error left as is]: SIC. Here are the brackets marks again, indicating a non-verbal expression.
36D: Turnpike features: SIGN POSTS
39D: Pasty Hawaiian staple: POI
40D: Gut-punch reaction: OOF
42D: Local cartographer's creation: AREA MAP
45D: Reason for a search party: ESCAPEE
46D: "Four Quartets" poet: T. S. ELIOT. Nice to see his full name in the grid.
48D: Uncommon sense?: ESP
50D: "Wow!": OOH
52D: Legally prohibit: ESTOP. Learned from doing Xword.
55D: Controversial Bruce: LENNY. Why was he controversial?
58D: Fem. advocacy group: YWCA (Young Women's Christian Association). Established in 1855.
59D: Chinese toy: PEKE. We call them lion dogs due to their resemblance to the guardian lions. The lions always come in pairs, male on the left, female on the right.
61D: Fingers: IDS
64D: 1960-'61 chess champ Mikhail: TAL. "The Magician from Riga". He was born in Riga, Latvia.
Answer grid.
Alright, as promised yesterday, here is a closer look at our blog "it" girl Melissa Bee. She is just beautiful, including her incredible brain. I also adore this avatar photo, ethereal looking.
C.C.
21A: *Very difficult task: MURDER!
29A: *Aristophanes comedy: THE BIRDS
38A: *You may be picked up if you are under it: SUSPICION
49A: *Music to an interrogator's ears: I CONFESS
57A: *Loony: PSYCHO
12D: *Sunnybrook Farm girl: REBECCA
13D: See 51-Down: SCENE
41D: *Dizziness: VERTIGO 1958
51D: With 13-Down, something 7-Down is famous for in his films: CAMEO
Wow, 10 theme entries. Don "Hard G" Gagliardo did it again. Great tribute puzzle.
ALFRED HITCHCOCK had a CAMEO role in all the five Across movies. Excellent intersection. I also like vertical placement of VERTIGO. REBECCA is kind of scary, so is "Rear Window". I wish I had never seen PSYCHO.
Of all the HITCHCOCK movies, I like "To Catch a Thief" the most. How about you?
I don't know who Aristophanes was, but THE BIRDS came very easily, so did the other theme answers. I just adore this puzzle. Almost aced it.
Don G, if you are reading this blog, can you email me crosswordc@gmail.com?
Across:
1A: Toto's two?: ARF ARF. Toto is Dorothy's dog from "The Wizard of Oz". I was fixated on the two letter T/O in Toto's name.
7A: PC key next to the space bar: ALT
10A: Needle bearers: FIRS. Pine needle.
14A: Soap opera, e.g.: SERIAL
15A: Grassland: LEA
16A: Certain util.: ELEC
17A: Infant who succeeded Russia's Empress Anna in 1740: IVAN VI. Ivan the Terrible. I had IVAN?I sitting there forever.
18A: Interoffice memo, maybe: FAX
19A: North Sea feeder: ELBE. It simply means "river".
20A: Fifth bk. of the Torah: DEUT. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and DEUTERONOMY.
24A: Gazzara or Stiller: BEN. Only know BEN Stiller.
25A: Unit of work: ERG. From Greek ergon, meaning "work". It's ten-millionth of a joule.
26A: Freelancer's end: SAE (Self-Addressed Envelope). SASE (Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope) is more common.
27A: Seldom seen: SCARCE
33A: Sans opposite: AVEC. Voulez-vous coucher AVEC moi (ce soir)?
34A: Clinton's department: STATE. Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State. Boy, she was testy.
35A: Towel word: HIS
37D: Educator LeShan: EDA. Always wanted ADA/IDA.
41D: Chocolate-making vessel: VAT. Tend to associate VAT with wine.
43A: Chocolate lover, often: TOT. I like the consecutive "Chocolate" clues.
44A: Fetch: GO GET
47A: Perry's creator: ERLE. Perry Mason. ERLE Stanley Gardner. Inspiration for Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
51A: Pressing issue?: CREASE. Great clue.
53A: Bunny __: HOP. Dance?
54A: "Fantasia" frame: CEL. Some of those cartoon CELS are highly collectible.
56A: Words with distance: AT A. Oh, AT A distance.
59A: Ale designation: PALE
60A: "La Bohème" heroine: MIMI. Obtained the answer from Down fills.
62A: Seesaw need: TWO
63A: Intervene: STEP IN
65A: "Omigosh!": EGAD. God probably does not really mind people invoke his name directly.
66A: Vocation: Abbr.: OCC (Occupation)
67A: Hire: TAKE ON
68A: "It slipped": OOPS. I do hit the PREVIEW button before I press PUBLISH YOUR COMMENT. Still have OOPS. .
69A: Indus R. country: PAK. Again, got the answer from Down fills. Not familiar with Indus River, the longest river in Pakistan. It rises in Tibet.
70A: Like some icy weather: SLEETY
Down:
1D: Lateral remark: ASIDE
2D: Goes back (to): REVERTS. Wrote down RETURNS first.
3D: Full of , with "with": FRAUGHT
5D: Toyota __ 4, SUV model: RAV. Ridiculous ad. RAV4 stands for "Recreational Active Vehicle with 4-wheel drive". Did not know that.
6D: Like the worst excuse: FLIMSIEST
8D: X-ray vision thwarter: LEAD
9D: Political hot button: TAXES
11D: Lacking social graces: ILL-BRED
22D: Old Mideast org.: UAR (United Arab Republic). A union of Egypt & Syria, from 1958 to 1961.
23D: Color TV pioneer: RCA
28D: Vindicate: AVENGE
30D: "Chico and the Man" setting, briefly: EAST LA. The answer revealed itself. Have never heard of the sitcom "Chico and the Man".
31D: Heat unit, briefly: BTU
32D: [error left as is]: SIC. Here are the brackets marks again, indicating a non-verbal expression.
36D: Turnpike features: SIGN POSTS
39D: Pasty Hawaiian staple: POI
40D: Gut-punch reaction: OOF
42D: Local cartographer's creation: AREA MAP
45D: Reason for a search party: ESCAPEE
46D: "Four Quartets" poet: T. S. ELIOT. Nice to see his full name in the grid.
48D: Uncommon sense?: ESP
50D: "Wow!": OOH
52D: Legally prohibit: ESTOP. Learned from doing Xword.
55D: Controversial Bruce: LENNY. Why was he controversial?
58D: Fem. advocacy group: YWCA (Young Women's Christian Association). Established in 1855.
59D: Chinese toy: PEKE. We call them lion dogs due to their resemblance to the guardian lions. The lions always come in pairs, male on the left, female on the right.
61D: Fingers: IDS
64D: 1960-'61 chess champ Mikhail: TAL. "The Magician from Riga". He was born in Riga, Latvia.
Answer grid.
Alright, as promised yesterday, here is a closer look at our blog "it" girl Melissa Bee. She is just beautiful, including her incredible brain. I also adore this avatar photo, ethereal looking.
C.C.
83 comments:
Good morning, C.C. and gang - wow, clever puzzle today! How very ingenious to have Hitchcock make a 'cameo appearance' in those 5 movies.
I solved this one typically, NW to NE, and once I filled in 'Rebecca', that made 'Alfred Hitchcock' obvious, and that helped immensely in filling in the rest of the puzzle. Had a bunch of unknowns, but perp help took care of those. A really fun puzzle to do.
Today is Left Hander's Day. We have quite a few, don't we?
Today's Words of Wisdom: "Seize the day, and put the least possible trust in tomorrow." -- Horace
More 'Qute Quotes':
- I'm still an atheist, thank God. -- Luis Bunuel
- I used to have a dog. And he was a good dog. These days, he'd be a 'Canine American'. -- A. Whitney Brown
Aristophanes was a very successful and controversial playwright during the life of Plato and Socrates, and you really have to have arcane knowledge to remember he wrote a play called The Birds .
If you start playing in You tube, there are some amazingly tastelss car commercials.
A challenging puzzle; enjoy the day.
Good Morning, All. Today was a much better puzzle day for me than yesterday. I almost breezed through this one. I had a few missteps, though. I had Returns instead of REVERTS, which made some confusion for that NW corner.
My favorite clue, however was ToTo's Two (1A). Once I got VERTIGO, everything else fell into place.
Argyle: My puzzle didn't have circles in the square. What were they for? I didn't see how they would enhance today's puzzle.
Lemonade: Cool! You were at Woodstock. I was living in Ithaca, NY at the time, but sadly was too young to attend. I had friends whose older sibling attended.
Other Birthdays Today:
1818 ~ Lucy Stone, American suffragette. She didn't change her name when she married, stating "My name is the symbol of my identity."
1860 ~ Annie Oakley, America's sweetheart and sharp-shooter.
QOD: The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources. ~ Albert Einstein
Fun puzzle -- did just under 30 minutes which wasn't bad for a Thursday. Got down to one empty square -- intersection of 26A and 22D -- before using crossword dictionary. UAR and SAE were both total unknowns.
Most clever (cleverest?) clue: Fingers for IDS.
Favorite Hitchcock flick: THE BIRDS. An annual thriller growing up -- pre-cable TV, VCRs, etc. Seems like those movies lost some of their thrill when they became abundantly available. Know what I mean?
Morning, all!
Nice, smooth puzzle. Working from top to bottom, I had the big "AHA!" moment when I realized that 57A was PSYCHO. I immediately was able to fill in ALFRED HITCHCOCK for 7D and it made getting most of the other theme answers very easy. I have seen (or at least heard of) most of the theme movies with the exception of I CONFESS.
Not too many false starts today, but one was memorable. I initially put in AVENGE for 28D but then removed it when I realized that 44A was GOFER. And then I put it back in when I realized that 46D was T.S. ELIOT, which meant that 44A couldn't possibly be GOFER. I stared at that for awhile before I finally got GO GET.
Unlike Hahtool, I really hated the clue "ToTo's Two." Like C. C., I was convinced it was referring either to the letter "t" or the letter "o" and that section of the puzzle was the last to fall for me as a result (anybody else want IVANHO for 17A?). Instead, my favorite clue was "Chinese toy" (59D). I'm sure I've seen it before, but I still like it.
Oh -- and I think the only complete unknown for me today was TAL. I'm sure he's famous, but I just didn't have a clue. Well, I had a clue, obviously ("1960-'61 chess champ Mikhail"), but it wasn't a particularly useful clue...
Anyway, when all was said and done, it was a fun puzzle. I finished in just under 9 minutes, which is fine for a Thursday, methinks.
BarryG: Nine minutes,huh? Impressive!
Never paid much attention to my time until discovering this blog over the summer. See it more as a personal competition than a race against others. Striving for under 20 myself and, who knows, maybe I'll make the under 10 mark one day!
loved Loved LOVED this puzzle, not one thing to complain about. very fond of multiple theme answers, and what a great theme. couldn't immediately get 1A toto's two (was also stuck on the two o's and t's), so went to the downs, got ASIDE immediately, soon got 7D ALFRED HITCHCOCK and the rest almost filled itself in. brilliantly flanked placement of CAMEO and SCENE. not sure i knew of the movie MURDER, and normally wouldn't love that fill in a puzzle, but this was an exception. clever cross of ESCAPEE and I CONFESS. c.c., like you i liked the vertical placement of VERTIGO, and also ASIDE.
as argyle mentioned last night, the across lite version had some circled squares in 7D. they are all CAMEO's, as one letter of HITCHCOCK appears in each one of the crossing film titles. genius.
favorite HITCHCOCK movie is rear window. grace kelly is just stunning. here is the famous kiss. i saw it at the stanford theater in palo alto, and when HITCHCOCK made his CAMEO, the audience just erupted. also liked the LENNY bruce reference, dustin hoffman's portrayal of him in LENNY was brilliant.
i'm not sure if 'it girl' is a promotion or demotion from 'blog thing,' but in either case, thanks c.c.
Hahtool, when the Flash version came out (and my local paper, too) I see the circled boxes indicated the same entries that were designated with a star, or the movies, in other words.
The Bird, Hoopoe (Who knows where these threads may lead one.)
BarryG: Nine minutes,huh? Impressive!
Never paid much attention to my time until discovering this blog over the summer. See it more as a personal competition than a race against others. Striving for under 20 myself and, who knows, maybe I'll make the under 10 mark one day!
I never paid attention to my time either when we still had the old Star Tribune puzzle, since I did it in my local paper. When I do the NYT online, they have a stand-alone application that lets me turn off the clock, which I do. The applet for the LA Times puzzle has a built-in clock, however, and I haven't figured out a way to turn it off. And, since it's there, I tend to pay attention to it now.
I don't see it as a competition against others, however -- more just a way of comparing the difficulty of one puzzle to another.
barryg, to turn off the timer, just click on the clock symbol. it doesn't make it stop running, it just makes it disappear.
CC: Lenny Bruce was very "blue" for his day...(any day, in my book.
About not using the Lord`s name frivolously: one of those ("outdated, not relevant to our modern day, archaic, suppressive to human expression, God didn`t really mean what He said") Commandments says: Don`t take My Name in vain. I guess it`s open to interpretation (especially in the media) what that actually means. Many people consider His Name to be so Holy, they won`t even write it fully, as in "G_d."
Kazie: Your candor about your anatomy last evening was amusing. I guess this really is our family, when we feel that comfortable.
tarrajo: Each of my children had his/her own "distinction." The oldest is a boy, the middle child is the only girl, and the baby is the other boy. We have looked back and marveled as to how we survived in a household with five (count `em) Chiefs and no Indians!
Had to have help with this puzzle...but that`s the way Thursdays are for me...if it doesn`t "come to me" quickly, I "look." I`m doing three a day now...
I read ya`ll`s posts sometimes and regret not feeling able to share the interesting things happening in my neck of the woods...but then that would pinpoint my location and where`s the fun once you`ve found "Waldo?"
Good Morning! Great puzzle for a thursday. Did much better than yesterday. Had AL and when THE arose from the perps for THE BIRDS, I could fill in the others pretty fast. The only problem was the NE. Didnt know REBECCA , RCA, ELBE or EDA. Had AVE for AVEC for a long time until I suddenly thought of a girl's name and REBECCA came to mind.
Didnt watch any Alfred Hitchcock's movies growing up. But devoured all the 'Three Investigators' book series which used to start with 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents'.
Thank you CC for the pictures of the blog 'it girl'.
Melissa bee, you are gorgeous.
Dennis, good WOW. (I do miss Mr Fun Facts, though). Realized I shouldnt put off some studying till the weekend..need to finish it today.
Have a good Thursday!
Thank you, Melissa Bee, I wasn't sure what the clue meant but now I 'get it'. You're genius!
For those of you that didn't see the Across Lite clue, it was this:
51D: With 13-Down, something 7-Down is famous for, which is symbolically depicted in circled squares where the director's name briefly passes through five of his movies
The Flash version was this: (It doesn't have the circles)
51) With 13-Down, something 7-Down is famous for in his films
My paper has the same clue as Across Lite.
I really enjoyed this puzzle and got the theme with VERTIGO, which made lots of fills fall into place. My big problem was with the NE corner. Nothing came to mind for 'needle bearers' so I went to ATM___, for which I put 'pin'. But I knew REBECCA and SCENE so I had P?RS. It really took some time to convince myself that pin was wrong. I got TSEL?OT from the fills and it was a 'duh' moment when I realized who it was and put in the 'I'.
I have always liked MelissaBee's avatar picture. I agree that it looks very etheral.
BTW, last night I watched "Celluloid Closet" about portrayal of LGBTs in movies and they mentioned how many movies were "DF", which meant "don't f***" because it was something you weren't supposed to do if you weren't married.
Good Morning All, I can't explain it, but my first fill was 7D. I went right to it, with all the circled letters, looked at the clue " born 1899..directed..." and the first name that came to mind was ALFRED HITCHCOCK. After that it was smooth sailing.
All the movies filled in without a HITCH. Uncircled REBECCA and VERTIGO were lovely bonuses. I really liked that constructor Don Galiardo fitted Hitchcock's one SCENE CAMEO into the puzzle theme. Even words like FRAUGHT (with danger?) FLIMSIEST (alibi?), AVENGE (the crime) and ESCAPEE (wrongly accused?) were all very Hitchcockian.
I know some of you won't like all the names and titles, but I loved it all.
One of my favorite Hitchcock movies is Lifeboat. Here is his Cameo.
Lovely photo, Melissa Bee.
Thursday trip to town, so I'd better get dressed. Have a good day everyone.
Good Morning everyone from sunny Illinois. Loved this puzzle since I saw every Alfred Hitchcock movie and tv show I get away with growing up. His show was on later at night and I remember begging to stay up and watch the tv.
Anyway- finally a puzzle that didn't give me trouble or I didn't have google.All the best to lefties today- some of my dearest friends and family are all lefties.
Enoy the day- Joan
Morning all,
I just loved this puzzle--very creative, fun clues, and doable. The only film I didn’t know was “I Confess” and “The Birds” was frightening even for a then teenager. Since I live in the country, we get lots of crows and I still find myself ducking when masses fly by.
@Melissa, beautiful, beautiful. Went to see “Julie and Julia” last night with six other women. Liked the movie, not loving it however. Did love Meryl Streep as Julia--she is mesmerizing and so believable. Amy Adams is adorable and also loved her in “Sunshine Cleaning”, a recent independent movie. But on the whole, I was ready for the film to be over. Just started losing interest.
I haven’t blogged for a few days, so a belated congratulations to Moon on your new job; @Elissa, wonderful picture of your family and a wonderful story of your father. And Lois, I will be in Williamsburg sometime in September to visit my brother and wife--we need an East Coast get-together. Have a great day all.
Hi all!
I've been lurking and not posting for a while. By the time I check in most of the clues have been chewed over, so I don't reiterate what's already been posted.
Today's puzzle was a lot of fun. No G'ing on a Thursday made it even sweeter. I'm inspired to rent and re-watch all of the old Hitchcock films. He was truly a prolific creative genius.
Thanks for all the entertaining posts everyone. Time for me to sink back into anonymity. Adios
Well, I had a little trouble with this one as the only Hitchcock movies I have seen are The Birds and Psycho. I had to hit the g-spot for Perry’s creator – Erle and guessed at T.S. Eliot. Perp help included Elbe, deut, sae, avec, cel and Pak. I remember Hitchcock’s cameo in The Birds, but for the life of me can’t remember his cameo in Psycho. Anyone? My favorite clue today was “pressing issue” – crease. I have never tried poi and now that it was described as pasty, I am not sure I want to try it.
Melissabee, you are one beautiful woman!
tarrajo, Hitchcock's cameo in Psycho is really early in the film, maybe 5 minutes in - when Janet Leigh comes into her office after her lunchtime affair, he's standing outside the window with a hat on.
A fine puzzle. Shadow of a Doubt, Psycho (the original, that is), The Birds, North By Northwest are among my favorite Hitchcock films.
Tarrajo, try googling on "Hitchcock cameo" if interested in finding where he appears in a specific film. Many sites out there covering that topic.
-anon-hp
WOW! What a great puzzle. 51D caught my attention right off,"HUH?" I glanced through the clues and when I saw 7D and the name fit I just laughed. Only problem I had was with the NW corner. When I got the Toto clue the rest fell into place.
When I was 10 my brother and I were allowed to go to a movie alone for the first time. The movie was North By Northwest. I was hooked.
Also watched his TV show. Can still remember parts of those. But, as a kid my favorite TV show was The Twilight Zone. Still love to watch the really old ones.
In the spring and early summer the blackbirds around here are nesting. If you get to close they will dive bomb you. It's a real joy trying to mow the lawns!Guess what that reminds me of!
There was a book out many years ago called The Birth Order (I think). Believe it was written by man named Leman, Lehman? Quite an ineresting read. My older 2 kids are 2 years apart, followed by the youngest 9 years later. (A vasectomy gone awry, another story). That makes my daughter a youngest and a middle child. Because there is more than 5 years difference between the two of them my youngest is an only and a youngest. Makes sense when you read it.
OK, enough of this.Hope everyone has a wonderful day!!
Hi all,
Could not believe this was a Thursday puzzle! I have never solved one so easily, guess it was just lucky that the clues and my brain had lots in common.
I loved UNCOMMON SENSE and PRESSING ISSUE as clues. There were a few I could not get, 17A (IVANVI) 21A (MURDER) also had to struggle with 2D since I put 'returns' in instead of reverts. It straightened itself out and all went well.
Have any of you ever seen "The Rope" by Hitch?? It was one of (if not the) earliest films he did. I think it was done in the late 30's. I should have Googled it before bringing it up here, but I just thought of it. It was a great film, short but intense and a precursor to what was ahead for an audience when watching his films.
It looks like my wish for nice weather while Dick and his wife are in Portland came true...yea! Sunny, clear blue sky and no rain forecast.
I have my camera in my purse. More later.
Good morning everyone!
I thought this one was easy for a Thursday puzzle. Loved the tribute to HITCHCOCK. His TV scow was a "don't miss" back in the days.
@dennis Thanks for the LOL this morning. My Feline-American buddy Leo says "Meow" as well!
IMBO
Have a great Thursday!
Morning all...LOVED this puzzle...channeling CA almost exactly. 7D was one of the first fills and everything just slipped into place...big fan of Hitchcock movies and favorite is Masquerade with Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant...and an amazing cast...plus it is filmed in Paris...what's not to like? Only hangup was in the NW corner, started with RETURNS and erased fairly quickly. All in all a marvelously fun puzzle!
Will be gone all day Babysitting so the kids have a date day...lunch and a movie...had to cancel going to see Julie and Julia for another few days...very much appreciate that no one has given anything away, not like it is a mystery, but appreciated.
C.C. Thank you for the MelissaB photo...gorgeous and Melissa??? Someday you will catch up with us...
Fall get together in the planning...stay tuned.
Cheers
Loved this puzzle. Much easier than yesterday for me, since Hitchcock and his films are so well known.
What intrigues me is Dennis bringing up Left Hander's Day. I am left handed and wonder if there are more of us amongst crossword solvers. Might be fun to conduct an informal poll of the blog users some day.
Great puzzle! I got Alfred Hitchcock right away, which made everything fall into place. Well, almost. The key next to the space bar on my computer is a little flower, and I couldn’t remember the keyboard at work. Got it from the perps. And I had a little trouble with OCC and PAK, because I didn’t get ESTOP.
Favorite clues were for PEKE and FIR
Loved today’s pictures, C.C. Thanks
Good Morning, all.
I loved this puzzle, and the theme. We saw "Notorious" and "To Catch a Thief" this past week. I think that "North by Northwest" is my favorite Hitchcock film, followed by "To Catch a Thief."
Hitchcock cameos
I thought this Thursday crossword was easier than yesterday's puzzle. The last two answers to fall for me were ESTOP and YWCA. The theme certainly main it easy to fill in the answers.
Melissa, I was going to suggest to those who hate to be timed that they scroll the screen up so that the clock disappears under the heading, but your information is much more practical. Lovely pictures...just lovely.
Have a good Thursday!
Good morning CC and all,
Great puzzle!Working off of the a in alt, alfred hitchcock was my second fill which made this so much easier. "The Birds" would be my favorite, and I still look for the school and old church whenever we drive thru Bodega Bay.BTW, the church was made famous by photos taken by Ansel Adams.
Left another opening to release any evil lurking..LOL... the A (SAE/UAR).
Fav clue:pressing issue, and you may be picked if...
I thought ooh and sleety were weak, but then I could not make up clues for these ingenius puzzles.
The Indus River Valley civilization is one of the oldest , but unfortunately the written language has not been completely deciphered as of yet, unlike hieroglyphs and cuneiform.We will learn so much more when or if that happens.
CC, in Hilary's defense, she looked exhausted big time!Also heard that something was lost in the translation of the question.
Morning all,
For those who would like to see the old Hitchcock TV shows, try: www.fancast.com. Scroll down to 'See full episodes' and click. The As should come up.
Have a nice day.
Kitty B.,
Thank you for a wonderful Hitchcock link.
I am finally catching up a bit with your late night comments, though somewhat distracted by the PGA being on television now (from Chaska Minnesota, which cannot be that far from all of our lovely mini-hahas). It brings to mind two things; one the IOC has voted to recommend that Golf be included as an Olympic sport, beginning in 2016, which is interesting. There are players from 21 different countries competing today in the PGA, and even more countries taking up the sport. A commentator on the Golf Channel suggested that if Golf becomes an Olympic event, which would inspire the Chinese and Russians to spend money to train athletes to compete, we will see the next Tiger Woods from there, not the US. Certainly if Rhythmic Gymnastics is a sport…
Which also brings me to a late Tuesday night comment of PBJ, about table tennis, which is apparently a favorite of some of our sprightly sprites. TABLE TENNIS has been an Olympic event my entire life, though thoroughly dominated by Asians, and therefore not a staple of the TV broadcasts.
Good afternoon CC and all.
Yaba Daba Doo! I finished a Thurs X Word.
There must have been a mistake. I think they put a Mon X word in by mistake. Today will go down in history for me.
Had 1 blemish as I had Seriel instead of serial. Oh well cant be perfect.
Loved Needle bearers- Firs, Seesaw need - two. Did not like OOF 40D.
Melissa Bee, Wow and Wow again and I dont mean words of wisdom.
Jimmy
CA, thanks so much for the Boeuf Bourguignon recipe. I found another one of Julia's also; seems like she had many variations.LOL.. why have I not heard of lardons?
Did anyone else meander out to see the meteor shower lst night? We had perfectly clear skies so I sat on the curb in front of my house in my PJ's at 2 a.m. watching bright shooting stars. Was that it?Actually had more fun talking to my neighbor who had just come home. I had already slept for 4 hrs. Youth!
Congrats Irish Jim!!
thanks for all the compliments, everyone, very kind, i'll pass them on to my lighting crew. linda, your pic is lovely .. trust me, my prime is way behind me (but life is still good).
i'm not the biggest hillary fan, but i didn't blame her for being annoyed. 'what does your husband think' is a bit insulting. if i were that student, i would have said 'oh i meant obama,' too.
good to see you back lola.
jd, i had some friends who were married in that church a few years back, beautiful setting. didn't think to look for the school.
elissa, who is in your new one? (funny alternate df meaning)
carol, can't wait to hear about your rendevous with dick.
irish jim, way to go! and thanks.
This left-handed Hitchcock fan enjoyed today's puzzle. Rope is one of my favorites. Has anyone ever seen any of his silent films?
Enjoying the photos coming in.
Thank you to whoever it was that recommended Iain Pears' "The Dream of Scipio," a challenging and thought-provoking read.
J&J is on my movie-going list. We went to "The Hurt Locker" this weekend. Very good film. My heart was in my throat throughout.
Just turned on Food Channel. Sara Lee is making a crossword puzzle-themed meal and table settings. She's even wearing an apron with a crossword puzzle on it. Does anyone wear aprons anymore?
Good afternoon, everyone.
Got most of today's, which was a surprise, but as many have mentioned getting Hitchcock made it doable.
Beautiful of Melissa.
I got alt only because DH is a PC user; next to the space bar on the Mac is an apple and the symbol that I can't reproduce.
I am confused about "The Birds" because I have always been miffed that Hitchcock is given credit but Daphne du Maurier wrote the book from which is was taken. Where does Aristophanes come in? Can some classical scholar enlighten me?
Great fun. Cheers
Hello All--Being Thursday I expected the worst and got the BEST! I loved this puzzle. I got Alfred Hitchcock right away as we share a birthday and I knew the minute I read the clue to his name who it was.
Things pretty much fell into place after this fill.
I had to Google only three things, Educator LeShan, Indus R. Country, &Chess Champ. My favorite clues were Pressing issue, needle bearers.
My favorite Hitchcock movie was "Rear Window" with "North by Northwest" a close second. My movie anthology says that "I Confess" was not among Hitchcock's best movies, but was still entertaining. I remember seeing it some time ago on TV and couldn't remember the plot until I went to my Anthology.
Melissa B., Thanks for the letter cameo insights. I would never have figured that out. A beautiful picture, by the way.
Have a great day everyone.
PS: Melissa, I totally agree with your comment about Hilary Clinton. I do not in the least blame her for being miffed about asking her husband's views – or even Obama's. (The NY Times says the tapes agree that the student said,"Mr. Clinton.") She is the Secretary of State. Get over it all of you who can't accept her appointment.
End of rant.
I totally agree with you, Sallie, about Hitchcock taking away/not giving credit to duMaurier for Rebecca. It lower my opinion of him when I learned of that.
Hey, Chickie, Happy, happy birthday. (And are you really 110 years old today?)
Happy Birthday, Chickie! I presume, however, that you were born a few years after Hitchcock!
With everyone else, I loved this puzzle. I haven't even seen many of the films, but it was just beautifully done.
As soon as I got VERTIGO (which was one of my early fills) I immediately figured out HITCHCOCK. I struggled a little, but went for a run, came back and filled in, ran errands, came back, filled in until it was complete. I was determined not to g-spot or use red letter help and I did not. Each fill brought a nice smile. My son was looking at the half finished puzzle as he ate breakfast, and filled in LEAD for me. I would love to get him hooked. Maybe some day.
I read that Janet Leigh would never again take a shower after filming PSYCHO. Don't know whether that is true or not.
I too feel for Hilary Clinton, and I am not one of her fans. I would get tired of people asking what her husband thinks.
Lenny Bruce was controversial for his obscenities and drug use. He was arrested for his work and banned from many clubs as they were afraid of the repercussions of having him perform. He died as a result of drug use.
Lovely photos MelissaBee. I too thought your avatar was ethereal. But I like the new ones also.
Lemonade, I went to the tournament on Tuesday, and hope to return on Saturday. Such fun to see in person. Tiger was not as large a presence as I imagined.
Milissa Bee,
Beauty and brains, you have it all.
Lovely photo.
Best,
Geri
Sallie--No, but getting close! I should have said, "We share a Birthday Day" Oh, well, no matter how I put it it comes out wrong!
Happy, Happy Birthday smiling face Chickie! I hope you get to go out and do something fun today!
KQ, you went out for a run in this smothering heat? The only running I will be doing after Brady and I get home will be a beeline straight into the lake!
Chickie: Happy birthday.
MelissaBee: That's my sister. She is 18 months younger than I. I always thought of my mother as a rational human being, until I realized she had a 3 year old and a 9 month old and got pregnant on purpose. I once asked her what she was thinking. She said I was such an easy baby she thought she had figured out this parenting thing. It turned out she was mislead, that my sister is more like my brother (who was the baby from hell). Luckily we had good parents and we all turned out pretty well.
You've got to love a puzzle that begins with a dog call. When I hear ARF all I hear is HEY!
Great puzzle on many levels. Ten theme entries! Most Sunday 21x's have only eight or nine. Even with all the space the theme consumes, Don still manages to work in lots of good fill- ILL BRED, T S ELIOT, FRAUGHT, FLIMSIEST, SIGNPOSTS, STEP IN, TAKE ON, and GO GET.
Ooh, but the best is yet to come! The puzzler crosses ALFRED HITCHCOCK with five Hitchcock movies- MURDER, THE BIRDS, SUSPICION, I CONFESS, and PSYCHO. Too cool... I think Gagliardo just upped the ante and raised the bar on Naddor.
12:08 today. About the easiest Thursday puzzle we've seen, methinks.
My first Hitchcock movie was The Birds to which I took a date (in high school, I think). Scared the beejezus out of me, though my date seemed to take it with equanimity. Wonder whatever happened to that girl?
@clear ayes: Thanks for the Boeuf Bourguignon recipe. Brings back some wonderful memories as that was the first dish I cooked from Julia's Mastering the Art... It was a big hit at our monthly "wine and food" group dinners back in the day. (Doesn't hurt that it goes so divinely with a good red wine.)
I still absolutely adore that dish and wish that I could find it in a restaurant around here (I no longer cook or I'd make it myself--also, my wife is now vegetarian). Yummm!
As for a Julie & Julia sequel, the "Julia" part of that movie is really just the My Life In France book. There's a whole other part of her life that could be put on the big screen and if they ever do that I'll be first in line for tickets.
Tarrajo, yes at 6:30am. Not so sweltering at that hour. However, yesterday I attempted to run at 3pm and was not so successful. Had to walk the last 1/4 mile or so and was absolutely drenched. Don't know how else to lose this 15 lbs so trying hard not to miss doing something every day.
Embien, I was wondering if, after seeing J&J you might be tempted to take up a sauté pan again. But I can see you are determined. Maybe you could rave about the movie to some friends, give them the Boeuf Bourguignon recipe and then invite yourself to dinner (with a nice salad and veggie mix for your wife). If you felt the need to return the favor, you could take them out to dinner.
I agree with Hilary Clinton's "You want to know what my husband thinks?" comments. I'd be plenty riled if I were doing my job and somebody wanted to know what Mr. Clear Ayes' opinion was.
RE: Psycho, I think just about everyone remembers when/where they saw that movie AND how long it took them to be comfortable taking a shower again. Me? Summer, 1960, a $2 per car drive-in with three other girls and four boys. I think the boys screamed about as loud as the girls did! I take showers every day, but I always make sure the door is locked! LOL....kinda
Happy Birthday, Chickie!
Linda,
What a beautiful lady!!!
But at 20 years ago, I would still be too old. What a shame!!!!
I was rather surprised that so many people had seen so many Hitchcock movies. I guess everyone loves a well done thriller and he was a master at those.
Nice photo, Linda, you've maintained very well!
I did have to smile at the thought of my own 1980's "big hair" days. This one of Me, Daughter and Mom was taken August 22, 1988. I look like I have a permed balloon on my head. Although it was the height of fashion at the time, I doubt that daughter's wedding outfit will be passed on to the next generation. My mom was the only person who managed to keep some semblance of sanity with her hairdo. Not that the men were any better. There were a lot of big hair guy "mullets" on display at the reception. Nowadays, their kids get a huge giggle out of watching Mom & Dad's wedding video.
ClearAyes: That's a beautiful picture of you, your daughter and mom. Your daughter has an anniversary coming up!
I'm late today, but I did it all by myself, with only lucky guessing and perp help. I got slowed at the same spots as c.c. All in all, I enjoyed it immensely, though I did have to think a bit for some of the titles--I was never a fan of scary movies. Fantastic puzzle construction.
Argyle,
On the LAT puzzle version, there's a tab called "options". The dropdown window includes a "pause puzzle" option, which stops the clock so you can come back later and start at the same time spot.
Today I was with my d-i-l while she unpacked after her return from Germany, and since I couldn't help with that, I snuck a few looks at the puzzle. I've only been back home an hour or so.
Yes, I'm a leftie and proud of it!
I enjoyed this month's Smithsonian article on the iconic photo from Woodstock, but don't know anyone who was anywhere nearby.
Linda,
Remember my other previous admission about my other life? I've never been prudish about bodily functions. Liked your 20-yr. old photo too!
Happy Birthday Chickie!
Melissa B,
Beautiful photos!
Happy bday Chickie!!
Looks like today's puzzle was a big hit. Lots of smiles with this one.
Char
We have had such a nice day!!! Met Dick and his sweet wife, they are the warmest, friendliest people. Just enjoyed talking to them so much! We had lunch, had our pictures taken, went inside the Spruce Goose and had more pictures taken right in the cockpit (calm down Lois), Joe was in the pilot seat, I was co-pilot but wanted to put this picture of Dick and me first. He is tall! Such a very nice guy.
Happy Birthday Chickie!
Linda, Darlin'?
I had just about decided to give up
the search, and then you go and taunt me with that where's Waldo? And post that picture of twenty year-old hotness. What is a lonely farmer to do?
ClearAyes,
you've seen pictures of this old farm. If I remortgage it to finance this Quixotean quest, are you joining me?
MelissaBee:
book report due soon.
BTW,
Vertigo and North by Northwest
my favorites, with Rear Window close third. Kim Novak, Tippi Hedren, Audrey Hepburn. Best thing out of Belgium since Chimay Ale.
Whoops,
Eva Marie Saint
Still
true of Hepburn and Chimay, though. The Blue is the best.
Happy BDay Chickie:
KQ, what do you mean about Tiger not being such a big presence? I envy you, as it looks like it will be a great tournament, especially with Paddy Harrington and Vijay also playing well.
Dennis, have you paid attention to our left-handedness (I am one of the gauche, sinister ones).
We have the best looking and most entertaining bloggers on the web; thanks C.C., for the blow ups which help those of us who are visually challenged.
The day should not go by without a mention of the tragedy that was the death of FREDDY PRINZE who was all of 22, when he shot himself.
Fun puzzle today! I've never seen a Hitchcock film (too scary for me), but I'm aware of them.
@Chickie--Happy Birthday! Hope you celebrate in style!
@C.C.--Thanks for your explanations and photos!
@Elissa--Lovely family photo. I love your father's quip about the pen!
@Linda--Wow! Beautiful photo.
@CA--Fun to see your daughter's wedding photo. Also, thanks for the BB recipe. I printed it out to try soon. I stopped cooking with wine when the boys came along, and have only recently started using it as an ingredient in cooking. Our favorite is French onion soup. Yummy!
I enjoyed Julia and Julie this week, and today had a great time helping a friend babysit her infant (TRIPLET!) grandchildren. Sweet, sweet babies, but YIKES! Three at once. Fortunately nobody was crying when mommy came home (the babies or us), so we look forward to doing it again soon.
Oops! Julie and Julia.
Chicke: Happy happy birthday.
Windhover...The Photo is TWENTY years old...Time marches on...(I`m barely luke-warm, now :)
Jimbo: Thanks!
MJ: Are you one of the youngins who better enjoy youth while they can?
Been on the road most of the day...Night all.
Windhover, consider me your Sancho Panza.
Kelev, Thank you for the nice compliment. My opinion has to be that Daughter and Mom were gorgeous. I still think my head looked like it was about to explode.
Carol and Dick, What a wonderful day you must have had. Until you mentioned it, I had no idea that Spruce Goose was located in McMinnville. I have a cousin who lives right down the road in Lafayette. Glad to hear it was so much fun. Leave that porch light on!
I am right handed. "Adroit, adj. skillful, clever, dexterous, socially at ease. Comes from the French word for right droit. Maladroit is a synonym for gauche" Who knew that French was such a prejudicial language? Any comment, Kazie?
MJ, the BB recipe is on deck for a late September dinner party when it is a little cooler. They'll never know that I made it the day before.
CA,
It's all a lie! Those nasty prehistoric linguists thought all lefties should be burnt at the stake as witches, so they made the language reflect that opinion. Not only the French, but the Romans with dexter (hence dextrous, dexterity) and sinister, (which is the same in English), and who knows what before that! Even my father wouldn't let me cook because I "looked awkward" and he was sure I'd scald myself with something. Let it be know that most lefties are more dextrous than righties because we have figured out how to survive in a right-handed world. Just let's see how many righties could do it in a left-handed world!
Not to malign the brilliance of present company, of course. And BTW, your three-generational photo of your daughter's wedding is great!
Which is the more damning, the French GAUCHE, or the Latin SINISTER?
At one time in my misspent life, I owned a travel agency, and the people from Disney were trying to promote the 40th anniversary of Disneyland to Florida agents, so they flew a bunch of us to tour Disneyland (I was there when Disneyworld opened, just up the turnpike in Gainesville in law school)which was shockingly small; we spent the night on the Queen Mary, nice old ship, and toured the Spruce Goose up close and personal, which was shockingly big. It is amazing it flew even 10 feet. What prompted the move of the SG from California?
With all this talk about left-handedness, I have to make the observation that, regardless of the results of last year's presidential election, our President would have been a lefty. Both President Obama and Sen. McCain are left-handed.
CA...BB is way better the 2nd day...just ask Julia! LOL Terrific photo, can't wait to meet you!
Spent the day chasing Lucy around...I know I need to get back into better shape if I am going to keep up with her. Gave up my "date" with a friend to see Julie/Julia to granddaughter sit so the kids could have a play day, sans adorable daughter. Turns out they went to see J/J...rats! At least my friend will go back again as she saw it today anyway. Nice to have such lovely friends...Hubs was going to suck it up and sit through a foodie movie just for me, now he is off the hook.
Cheers all...again...a most fabulous puzzle today.
And thank you to all who have been rating my painting.
Thank you everyone for the heartfelt Birthday wishes. At my age I start counting backwards instead of forward. My husband's birthday is 4 days before mine, so our children took us out to dinner for our Birthdays in between the two events.
We had a great time.
@Linda--I'm not sure I understand your comment. I'm not a young'un, but my friends and I (along with some hubbies and others) are enjoying LIFE rather than youth. We think young, play well, and laugh a lot!
@CA --So many dishes are better the next day. I never cook enchiladas the day I set them up.
Hey y'all. IMHO we are four for four this week, every day we've been treated to inspired cluing and good fill. Makes me darn tootin' happy to be a puzzleperson.
According to Dr Wiki Pedia, "The Birds" was relesaed in cinemas in 1963 and first televised in 1968, which means I was 5 or 6 at the time. Since we lived in Florida (Gulf Side) and had a small beach behind our house, that's where I'd play most of freetime., collecting seaglass and building chateaux.
Since I was a stylin' little dude and believed in good occular health, I always was sporting shiny sunglasses while outside and more than once, big brave gulls and their noisy entourage would get attracted to my eyeware, zero in on my face, and S W O O P down and try to steal the glasses from me.
Kind of scary, but tolerable... No need for any pills or shots of morphine to calm me down. Just a little Amstel Light did the trick.
That stayed the case UNTIL the whole family saw THE BIRDS
Big change in the peejster...After the movie, I stayed off that beach and any other beach for at least a year. Seeing Miss Tippi get her eyes pecked out was all I could think about. When forced to attend "family vacations " I pitched royal ear-shattering fits that would almost attract the Coast Guard and Social Services.
That phase lasted until that phobia got replaced by another one: those dang evil flying monkeys from the Wizard of Oz. Remember how terrifying those creatures looked and sounded? Ick... Lucky for me--and the Coast Guard--that the species isn't found in central Florida.
To this day, I'm not a beachy sort of person....Never saw the movie again, either. Just. Wont. Do. It.
"ICON FESS" that any puzzle with OOPS, OOH and OOF gets a good rating here. Sort of makes up for SLEETY PAK and PEKE.
@JD at 1:17 pm. Who are those OTHER PJs you hang out with!? I'm jealous.. :-}
WOW! We sure have a good lookin' group..even the lefties.Linda, that picture looks like you were a movie star!Carol, you and Dick make a cute couple; so glad it didn't rain.CA, weren't we all so proud thinkin' our fancy spray-netted "doos" were just swell? I had to use orange juice cans for rollers to smooth it out.Everyone had those pretty pony tails and mine was a huge unruly thing.
Yesterday, while walking, we passed a lady about my age. Bob and I did a double take, then
looked at each other and asked at the same time, "Was that a beehive?" Then giggled.
Chickie, I hope I'm not too late to wish you a very happy birthday.You are an amazing lady!
Saw this quote in the paper today:
"We don't stop playing because we grow old; We grow old because we stop playing." George Bernard Shaw.
PJB-Chicago: Your story about the gulls coming down to snatch away your glasses reminded me of when we were kids. We had a cottage on the Maine coast, and would often eat outside on the rocks. The sea gulls were attracted to the food. I remember standing and holding pieces of bread or potato chips above my head and letting the birds swoop down to grab the food out of my hand. It was scary and exciting all at the same time.
I never saw the movie The Birds.
Lemonade, here's some Spruce Goose information
Gosh PJB, it was very dark.. thought it was you
I think I have mentioned once before that my twin is left handed and I am right handed. Our Mother claims it was because we held hands in the womb.
Brady Joe and I took a vote and have decided after the last zucchini pick today...another too many to mention that we are going to let the "big ones" go for broke.
Sorry to bore you (Linda) but I am finding myself in the same position with cherry tomatoes, and my second basil crop. I know there must be something I can do.
I promise you this my blog friends, we will have no more of these discussions next summer as I have learned my lesson! In my defense, I didn't know I had won the lottery so to speak on this 10'x50' garden plot until May 16th so we had to come up with a plan right away.
Carol, so glad Joe was feeling better today and that you had a nice visit with Dick and his wife.
Tarrajo, at least cherry tomatoes can be popped right from the vine into your mouths, and basil can be dried or frozen. It is just the dreaded "Z" that will take over the world if we aren't careful. (They are the cockroaches of the vegetable kingdom.) You have learned a valuable lesson and you are SO lucky that Brady Joe will eat his veggies, even if you do disguise them!
Have a good evening.
#5 and out.
Tarrajo: lots of people I know here had the reverse problem with gardening...they put in lots of work & stuff either didn't grow or didn't mature. One couple attracted bees and critters...Some people (like me) can grow inedible plants & maybe a few nice flowers, but you actually have been growing crops! Plus, think of all the stuff that you and LGJ learned, not just about the garden, but you taught him great lessons on nature & working hard, sharing, etc. So if you decide to give it a go next year, you'll have even better results.
Plus, he will always remember this summer and your time gardening together.
Guaranteed!
Gotta run!
Wow, Just woke up with Brady complaining of having leg cramps, from what I have read it must be "growing pains" and got him settled and just happened to skim the posts. I am sorry if my gardening crap bogs down this blog. That was never my intention.
Sorry, C.C.
Melissabee, I will probably suffer my own bout of insomnia tonight. I am trying to remember the remedies now. Some are unattainable.
Unobtainable...I hate it when I have to second guess myself. There are so many very, very, smart people on this blog, and sometimes I just feel like a dolt. It must be part of the blonde side of my brain. Now I am staring at that spelling...Time to go to bed and try the counting thing. Sometimes it's hard being me. Sorry people, like C.C. said, sometimes you feel "blue and don't even know why". C.C. I actually wrote that down the other day.
In good weather our student body ate outdoors at picnic tables under a huge 100 year old oak tree. Somehow the Gulls from the coast knew when it was lunch time, because they congregated every noon and were like vultures waiting for lunch tidbits to drop--or if they didn't drop, they helped themselves without asking!
Some of the children refused to eat outdoors because of the aggressive birds. I didn't blame them one bit.
The best part came one day when our principal was on lunch duty, and a bird flew over and pooped on his tie. It was the talk of the playground for days!
LOL Unattainable or unobtainable? I think they could both work. Either inner peace or good pharmaceuticals.
Another LOL: maybe the Dept. of Agriculture will pay you to NOT grow zucchini next year!
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