17. Hobbes, to Calvin: IMAGINARY FRIEND
35. Ideal getaway: DREAM VACATION
53. Armchair quarterback's hobby: FANTASY FOOTBALL
Argyle here.
Not bad, not bad at all for a Monday. I'm thinking FANTASY FOOTBALL was the seed for this theme. Maybe Fred will drop by and have a few words (so watch what you say).
Across:
1. Disappear gradually: FADE. And 1 Down. Passes out: FAINTS.
9. Vatican-related: PAPAL.
14. Like deserts: ARID.
15. Heavenly bear: URSA. Ursa Major, aka, the Big Dipper.
16. "__ you clever!": AREN'T.
20. Motel restriction: NO PETS.
21. T-bone, for one: STEAK.
22. Lock of hair: TRESS.
23. Med. plan choices: HMOS. Health Maintenance OrganizationS
25. Opposite of "Huh?": AHA.
28. Damascus is its cap.: SYR. Capital, Syria, Mid-East.
29. Fashion's Gucci and actor Ray: ALDOS.
31. Nudge rudely: ELBOW.
33. Makes a long story short?: EDITS.
34. City leaders: MAYORS.
38. Taken care of: SEEN TO.
39. "Rich Man, Poor Man" novelist Shaw: IRWIN. A novel written by Irwin Shaw in 1969, became a miniseries in 1976.
40. Give body to, as hair: TEASE. And 44. Like fine coifs: STYLED.
41. Obvious disdain: SCORN.
42. Meditator's syllables: OMS. Hands up; who read this as mediator? Yeah, me too.
46. Coarse file: RASP.
47. Rub it in: GLOAT.
49. Key in the sea: ISLET.
52. Defective, as wiring: FAULTY.
59. Peace Prize winner Wiesel: ELIE. Nobel Peace Prize Winner in 1986.
62. Between-your-toes grains: SAND.
Down:
2. Weapons storehouse: ARMORY.
3. Baby seat cover?: DIAPER.
4. Pieces jigsaw puzzlers usually start with: EDGES.
7. Kazakhstan, until 1991: Abbr.: SSR. Soviet Socialist Republic. Here Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan since 1997, is in North-Central Kazakhstan. The city of Almaty (South-Eastern Kazakhstan), formerly Alma-Ata, was the capital.
8. Assertions: SAY SOS. Parents everywhere: "...because I SAY SO!"
9. Peel, as a rind: PARE.
11. Game played with a baby: PEEK-A-BOO.
12. "Raggedy" girl: ANN. With her brother, Andy.
13. Inc., in England: LTD. Limited. A firm, usually associated with British registration, that is organized in such a way as to give its owners limited liability.
18. Appointment-confirming words: IT'S A DATE.
19. Dix and Knox: Abbr.: FTS. Fort Dix, NJ and Fort Knox, KY.
23. Set with a sharper picture, briefly: HDTV. High-Definition Television.
24. Inlaid designs: MOSAICS.
26. Traffic jam honker: HORN.
27. "Isn't that cute!" exclamations: AWS.
31. Persistently worrying: EATING AT.
32. "__ Eyes": 1975 Eagles hit: LYIN'. I never realized it was such a long song, 6:23.
33. Poetic dusks: EENS.
34. Bryn __ College: MAWR. Seal and location.
36. Draw inferences from: READ INTO.
37. Farm output: CROP.
38. The bus stops here: Abbr.: STA. Station
41. Mythical man-goats: SATYRS. Don't confuse it with the monster Centaur (head, trunk, and arms of a man, and the body and legs of a horse).
42. "Va va voom!": OO-LA-LA.
43. Marlee __, Best Actress winner in "Children of a Lesser God": MATLIN. More of her. "Va va voom!" and "OO-LA-LA".
46. Notes after dos: RES. do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, and ti.
48. Garage jobs: LUBES.
50. British machine gun: STEN. STEN is an acronym, cited as derived from the names of the weapon's chief designers, Major Reginald Shepherd and Harold Turpin, and EN for Enfield. FYI: The Royal Small Arms Factory (RSAF) was a UK government-owned rifle factory in London Borough of Enfield. The factory produced British military rifles, muskets and swords from 1816. It closed in 1988. STEN
51. Baker's fat: LARD. And 55. Blubber: FAT. BAD!
52. Stodgy old-timer: FOGY.
53. __ Four: Beatles: FAB. FABulous.
54. Every bit: ALL.
56. "__ scale of 1 to 10 ...": ON A.
Answer grid.
Argyle
66 comments:
Good morning, Argyle, C.C. and gang - back among the living. Turned into a great b-day weekend, although some parts are a bit fuzzy. Thanks again for all the good wishes, and the nice words about the blog.
As for today's puzzle, it's always enjoyable doing one of Fred's. Yes, a typically easy Monday one, but I liked the clues, 'baby seat cover' in particular. And any puzzle's gotta be good that has Calvin & Hobbes in it.
Today is National Good Neighbor Day and Ask a Stupid Question Day. Go for it.
Today's Words of Wisdom: "Finding out who you are is the first step. Accepting who you are can be the hard part. Enhancing who you are is the fun part." -- B'Anne Younker
Couple cute cat quotes:
- "If you hold a cat by the tail, you learn things you cannot learn any other way." -- Mark Twain
- "I'm used to dogs. When you leave them in the morning, they stick their nose in the door crack and stand there like a portrait until you turn the key eight hours later. A cat would never put up with that kind of rejection. When you returned, she'd stalk you until you dozed off and suck the air out of your body." -- Erma Bomback
A bit tricky for a Monday, I thought: I had FEAT for DEED, TER(minal) for STA(tion), FRILLY for STYLED and COOT for FOGY until finally the perps resolved everything. My last fill was the unknown MAWR which I also got from the perps. I didn't have time to google it and was still unsure until I came here.
Martin
Good Morning All, Didn't make it Sat (Tho the X word got done) so, Happy B-day Dennis. May you have many more!!
This was the quickest I've ever done.
Don't know why, but it just flowed from the pen to the paper.
OOLALA made me look again 'cause I tried to put VA VA VOOM with a fast car of some sort. A lot filled in without seeing the clues, so I had to go back and crosscheck to be sure.
GOOD puzzle, I thought.
CY'all Later
Good Morning CC and All,
Nice puzzle for a Monday. I actually got the theme which was a big help. I liked how Eating At crossed Scorn and there seemed to be a hair sub-theme with Tress, Tease and Blond.
Belated Happy Birthday Dennis!! Sounds like you burned it at both ends. Congrats!
Speaking of cats.....one of ours has gone missing. My oldest saw a coyote in the woods over the weekend. Winter is coming and the bastards are getting braver.
Have a good day!
Nice Monday puzzle. I thought it was a titch more difficult than usual. Don't know why I couldn't remember LYIN right off the bat! It was a hairy puzzle, yes. Maniac, you forgot STYLED in your list. Some good fills for a Monday, including GLOAT, OO LA LA, PEEK-A-BOO and so on. Baby seat cover? was also my favorite. Good job starting our week off Fred.
Off to do a long am walk in the now fall like weather. Quite a drop in temps yesterday.
My daughter starts her first day of her second job since graduation. She only lasted 3 months on the first one, but I supposed we cannot complain as long as she continues to stay gainfully employed. That alone is quite a feat these days.
I am just thankfully Homecoming week is over. Too busy and lots of sleep deprivation all around. Yesterday was a challenge with two extremely tired teenage boys beating each other up regularly. Nice to have the quiet house back.
Good morning, all!
Dennis, I too, missed your day. Happy belated birthday.
KQ..blessed relief! Enjoy the quiet this morning.
I thought this was tad trickier than most Mondays, but no major hitches for me. My only error was the O of OMS. I still can't connect OO LA LA with Va va voom--I would never use either. but I spell "om" as "hmm", or "um". I used HMS here.
OK, Dennis, I'll bite--stupid question: What were you drinking to cause the fuzzy parts of your weekend?
Good Morning!
Liked the theme and some fresh cluing.
Made a few errors: had OMITS instead of EDITS, SCOWL instead of SCORN. But the perps took care of it. Had trouble figuring out the SE: OMS, GLOAT, STYLED. Forgot Marlee MATLIN but all fell in after I got EATING AT.
Loved Sunday Night Football with the Indy Colts..it was such a great game, even with the Manning interception.
Busy day ahead.
Have a great Monday, everyone!
3. Baby seat cover?: DIAPER.
I struggled with that until I realized that they were referring to the baby's six.
I'm still having log in problems on this page I have to go and sign from my blog page so I can post here.
Thanks, guys.
kazie, over the course of the afternoon/evening/night, we went through cabernets, vodka, and champagne. And some SoCo on the way home in the limo. I'm not a real big drinker, hence the fuzziness.
Speaking of fuzzy; RSD, what did you mean,...they were referring to the baby's six.
Morning all,
I haven't posted lately but had to wish Dennis a belated Happy B-day and as a fellow Eagles fan--Donovan Mc Who?
Dennis,
Sounds like you did the b'day justice! The limo was a good idea--even came up in today's CW!
@RSD, I regularly have to enter my password for two attempts before it accepts it whenever I post for the first time (each time I close my browser). Do you still have the problem if you try again right away?
Baby's six?? Is that how many times per day they get changed? Never heard that phrase before...
Good puzzle for a Monday, I liked the amount of 5 and 6 letter words. Quite a few abbreviations to counter that though, I counted about seven.
six=rear.
A common aviation/military term. 'Check six' means 'watch your rear. Refers to positions on a clock, with 12 being your front, etc. In movies involving dogfights, you'll often hear a pilot tell another pilot, 'bandits at 11 o'clock high', or 'bogies at 3 o'clock low'.
Dennis - Belated birthday wishes. And nice job with the blog answers. Tried "Barry's Newsday Stumper" that you linked to, and felt like an idiot again. So if that's the alternative, I'll be more patient with the current regimen.
Argyle - Great job as always. But in the spirit of "Ask a Stupid Question Day" can somebody help me out with OMS? I don't get that at all. Thanks.
Good job Argyle, it was an easy Monday puzzle and we finished it without trouble before my wife left.
For Mainiac: Re: lost cats? There have been similar reports of coyotes and lost cats in the Santa Cruz hills up hwy 17 area. They say the only thing you can do is to bring the pets indoors at night.
For Dennis: by SoCo do you mean Southern Comfort? That would explain a lot of fuzziness!
Looking for photos (or larger Photos) of following partial list of bloggers.
Lois
Jeannie
Hahtool
Carol2
JimmyB
Calef
Luxor
WM
PJB Chicago
EddyB
MJ
Would welcome photos from anyone that I've missed.
Need them for my "Blogger Album".
For JimmyB: Here's a definition of om
Hi everybody. I enjoyed the interview and write-up. Is it possible to find some of Patrick Berry's puzzles to do online?
Barbara and I saw 'Oklahoma' yesterday. What a wonderful musical. The long first act lags a little toward the end but the play has memorable songs. The two leads had wonderful voices and there was some excellent dancing. I'd say Oklahoma is a cornerstone of American musical theater. I enjoy all the old stuff like The Music Man, South Pacific, etc. more than the more contemporary plays. Just my genetic old fogydom.
bill, yesterday's NY Times was by patrick berry.
Good Morning All, I agree with Kazie. I thought this was a little more difficult than most recent Monday puzzles. That's a good thing.
Because of the long theme fills, I started with the Downs and had to switch back and forth to the perps a couple of times to finish up.
I had a little problem with the SW area. I had LARGO instead of ISLET (49A) and I know nothing about FANTASY FOOTBALL. STEN and LARD helped me out there.
It may not be good for you, but pie crust made with lard is very flaky and tender. I love to bake but don't do it very often. With only GAH and me, I could (and have) wind up eating half a pie.
Baby six..six diapers a day?..seems like I remember an even dozen was more like it. Thanks to Dennis for the real/rear explanation.
Coyotes are a fact of life around here too. We've seen quite a few people lose their cats and small dogs to those clever predatory critters. Charley the schipperke is never allowed outside the fenced yard unless he is being walked on a leash. Cats aren't as cooperative about staying where they are supposed to be.
Bill G, Yes to Oklahoma and all the musicals of the 40's and 50's.
Agyle, thanks for the dictionary references yesterday. I'll try them both.
Nice synopsis of the origin of the STEN gun designation. However, I've always wondered why/how the Sten is always the answer to the clue "British machine gun".
In fact the STEN is a SUB-machine gun. A sub-machine gun fires a pistol cartridge (9mm Parabellum for the STEN).
A machine gun fires a rifle cartridge or larger sized round. The true answer for "British machine gun" should be BREN Bren
There is a big difference between the two types of weapon. Maybe it's just force of habit on the puzzle makers part (and the solvers part) that STEN is associated with the clue, or perhaps the letter combination s-t-e-n 'fits' more easily than b-r-e-n.
The appearence of the clue in todays (9/28/9) puzzle and the Sunday puzzle got me thinking about it again.
Hugh
Rhode Island
Good morning to all, Friends,romans and Countrymen!
Since i switched my agenda, walking first and puzzle later, i don't get to the blog too much but, today i stayed in and enjoyed doing the puzz
3D. i used Pamper instead of Diaper so that slowed me down some, in the end i got it all out W/out googling.
Belated Happy Birthday Dennis !
And yes, thanks for the real/rear six explanation.
Love you all.
Oh, and Warren your OM was an eye opener, thanks
Smiled when I saw STEAK after yesterday's discussion. I can't justify buying a $500+ (don't forget California's 8.75% sales tax plus delivery charges) freezer for less than 100 pounds of beef a year, but I will keep an eye out for organic/natural meat on sale.
Interestingly, Sam's Club (Wal-Mart) and Super Wal-Mart do sell organic meats, but I don't shop there because of their employment practices. OK, I'll admit to stopping by a Wal-Mart once in a while to pick up a less than giant bottle of aspirin, but that's about it. Costco employees, some of whom are Teamster members, have an Employee Agreement that keeps pace with union contracts. They earn about 40% more than Wal-Mart employees, have adequate sick leave benefits, bonuses, seniority and most are covered by employer paid health insurance.
It isn't easy nowadays to decide what business practices are more or less uncomfortable.
Good morning all,
I knew that Dennis would know what
"six" would mean. It is also used in the Army. A common mistake pilots would make was looking back
and up and not also down.
Jimbo, Sorry there is no photo because I'm usually taking them and not in them. Maybe if we have that mini-conference, someone will
take one and post it. Hint, Hint.
eddyB.
Hello All--A Monday puzzle for sure, but one that I truly enjoyed doing. There were just enough clues to get me thinking, but not too many proper names to trip me up. I filled in the across and downs together today as that was the only way to get some of the longer fills.
I can never remember how to spell Mawr. I always want an H as in Mahr.I'll get it sooner or later!
I, too, liked Baby seat cover, and also "Raggedy" girl but there were no new words for me today.
Bill G, our grandson's H.S. put on Oklahoma a few years back. It was a perfect play for that age group and the young people did a wonderful job with the singing. The Arts department at their school is totally supported by the whole community, and there is even a banner across the main road into town advertising the plays each year. The "classic" musicals are the ones I enjoy the most.
@ Dennis:
Happy B'Day!
Your "liquor" choices went red, clear, yellow, brown - You ought to know that liquors should clear as the end of the night is near in order to avoid a "friendly reminder" in the morning ;)
Hi Argyle,C.C. and everyone -
I really tore through this one...very fast but I never time myself so I would guess 7-10 minutes. The clues were apparently just right for my brain waves. :)
Loved the baby seat cover (as in diapers) but thanks Dennis for the military explanation.
I always have trouble spelling Bryn Mawr..odd name. Is it still such a snooty place?
Loved Erma Bombeck and loved the quote!
I have a refrigeration magnet (only 1) that shows a very disgruntled cat with the caption:
"Without my morning coffee, I might as well be a dog"
Hi gang -
Almost everything to be said about the puzzle already has. This is (I think) the 3rd consecutive weekday puzzle with only 3 theme entries - at least one of which was 15 letter. Nice 6-stacks at the corners, and quite a few fives. Of course, DIAPER is a SIX-letter word!
Adjacent to Ft. Dix is McGuire AF base. Stepson Tom was there before his stint at Langley. We made the long drive over a couple of times per year. PA is a nice State, but there is just way too much of it.
The LW and I went furniture shopping this morning. Our stupid questoin was, "Where is it made?"
You can find U.S made upholstered furniture, but wood pieces are almost all from China. Oak from Pensylvania is sent to China, and the finished pieces shipped back. This almost made my head explode. We went to the store where we bought our solid oak kitchen table and chairs a few years ago, and learned that the company that made them - in Wisconsin - is out of business.
Somebody pass the worms.
The Music Man was on TV the other night - the 2003 version with Matthew Broderick and Kristen Chenowith. Talented people, but they seemed miscast.
Oh my, The Lions won! Not to GLOAT, butt Dan Snyder must have a pile of SIX bricks. My FANTASY FOOTBALL team won, and is now 2-1. (tfrank - I benched Romo.)
Tigers and Twins both lost yesterday. The plot thickens. Twins are here for 4 games, starting tonight. It's 56 degrees now, and rained hard overnight. Some sprinkles this morning from snowy-looking clouds. Now sort of a bright gloom overhead. Maybe they'll get the game in tonight.
Cheers!
JzB the made-in-America trombonist
It was a straight forward easy puzzle for me today as I just typed in the answers mindlessly until I heard the ta-da. My favorite clue was the diaper clue too, however I thought Democrat’s explanation was a mistype. You learn something new every day here. Well, it seems Minnesota decided to give up on summer as fall arrived here in earnest yesterday; and the high temps are only supposed to be in mid-fifties. I hope that the Twins and Tigers get to play tonight.
Dennis, belated happy birthday….sounds like a good time was had.
Jimbo, I don’t own a digital camera so the only pic I have to offer is my avatar. Well, until next foodshow anyway.
Terrific puzzle, Fred. Just about perfect for a Monday.
PEEK-A-BOO, MOSAICS, SAYS SO, IT'S A DATE, EATING AT, NO PETS, and OO LA LA... really enjoyable. And all topped off by lively, fun theme entries. At least this "anti-intellecual" knows who wrote the puzzle! :)
Argyle- When you think of "In the language" think of a phrase that's not contrived. All of Fred's themes are "In the language". However, IMAGINARY CHUM, DREAM HOLIDAY, FANTASY SPORTS would be contrived. The dictionary definition of contrived is labored or artificial. I'm sure most constructors have a rejection or two that say something like, "Sorry, but I find the theme phrases contrived and not in the language".
Ridiculous, contrived stuff-
ALL FATTY FANS BOO in FANTASY FOOTBALL.
On my DREAM VACATION I saw DRAMATIC NOVAE. And no, I'M NOT A CADAVER!
To my IMAGINARY FRIEND who thinks I wed a monster, my reply is simply, I, MARRYING A FIEND?
Just shoot me!
Sometimes my pencil disconnects from my brain and I get such things as "Mayr" instead of "Mawr." Had "obits" instead of "edits" at first - I still say it fits the clue! Yes, I did read 42A as "mediators" instead of "meditators," but the fills worked it out eventually.
I love cats, but most of the jokes about them are true. Carol, I wish I had a refrigerator magnet like yours! Cute! I'll be on the lookout for one.
Happy BD, Dennis!
Argyle, another good blog today and C.C. another informative interview. You've managed to snag some big Corssword nams to interview and you do such a great job.
I'll echo Chickie on the kudos to C.C. and Argyle.
Also, thanks to Warren for the link on OMs. I was way off course there, thinking it was just a wierd way to spell the thinking(meditating) sound I make when I pause for inpiration. I'd never heard of om. Maybe you have to have lived in CA to be around that sort of people more?
Jerome, Google has about 20,700,000 hits for "fantasy sports". Maybe we should consider it "in the language".
6:01 today. Got my timer problem fixed.
What a wonderful Monday puzzle! Besides the fabulous theme entries, how about PEEK A BOO and IT'S A DATE? You just don't find phrases like that in the puzzle very often. I loved it, top to bottom (seat covers). I have always seen it as OOH LA LA, except in crosswords, but I suppose the other form is ok.
@argyle: I had no problem with reading meditator correctly as my wife is a meditator, so OMS was a gimme. Thanks, Warren, for the link--I'll show it to my wife later.
Warren - Thanks for the OM link. It made me reread Argyle's post: add me to the list that misread "meditator" as "mediator". That'll teach me to try to do the puzzle before my morning coffee!
CC: excellent interview...am I to understand that his term "dodgy" is the same as your term "df-ness?"
Such a simple puzzle today...enjoyed it, though...it really helps to take your mind off "life."
Here are other "cat" lines: "Never try to baptize a cat!"
and, "You can own a dog...but a cat owns you.
Jazzbumpa: As per your post @12:28: Can anyone say "Largest trade deficit in history"? and "To whom is America in the deepest debt?" And, " Retract the crop limits on farmers...what they can`t sell at a fair price, let them ship to Darfur with agents to see it gets to the people... and anywhere else people are starving."
From the www:
A civic club asked for my old clothes to send to countries where the people are starving. I said, "Forget it! If they could wear my clothes, they are not starving!"
Re: um link? A few years back I was working in an Indian (Asian not American) house and he was playing an um theme next to an altar with incense burner. There are several um You tube links out there some several minutes long.
@jazzbumpa Ever drive through Nebraska, Iowa or Montana? Way too much of them as well, LOL!
@jeannie Good to see you back among the blogging. We have decide to do the Fall bit here in the big O as well. 60s for highs this week and the possible start of the rains. At least we had a glorious day yesterday!!
@jerome The snobbery over there is getting to be a bit much to handle, IMO. Some of the posters are fine, but there are some who are just horses' a#^@s! LOVE your anagrams!
@warren Ah, the magic of technology.
Have a great Monday, everyone!
For those of you with still an abundance of tomatoes, I made this recipe and it was to die for…all my guests loved it! I served it as an appetizer but it could easily be the main course.
Tomato and Basil Pie Recipe
1 piecrust, unbaked
1 1/2 C. shredded Mozzarella cheese, divided
5 Roma or 4 medium tomatoes
1 C. loosely packed fresh basil leaves
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 C. mayonnaise
1/4 C. grated Parmesan cheese
1/8 t. ground white pepper
Unfold piecrust according to package directions. Or try the vodka pie crust recipe, as I did. Place in a 9-inch quiche or pie dish. Prebake according to package directions. Remove from oven. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese. Adjust oven to 375?F.
Cut tomatoes into slices drain on paper towels. Arrange slices on top of melted cheese in the baked pie shell.
In a food processor bowl, combine basil and garlic; process until coarsely chopped. Sprinkle over tomatoes.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine remaining Mozzarella cheese, mayonnaise, Parmesan cheese and pepper. Spoon cheese over top, spreading evenly to cover basil mixture.
Bake at 375?F. for 35-40 minutes, or until top is golden and bubbly. Serve warm. Sprinkle with basil leaves if desired.
Argyle- I wouldn't use Fantasy Sports in a crossword if my life depended on it. Google hits or not.
But as a replacement for that can we settle on Fantasy Sumo Wrestling? By the way, how are you coming along with constructing? I've had this feeling that you've been dabbling. Yes?
For @Clear Ayes, FYI the current sales tax in the San Jose CA region is 9.25%, and it's an extra .25% in the Fremont area.
Effective Wednesday, April 1, 2009 sales tax in California went up 1 percent, or 1 cent on each dollar.
The temporary tax hike will be in effect until either July 1, 2011 or July 1, 2012, depending on whether voters approve the Proposition 1A Budget Stabilization Act in a statewide election to be held May 19.
Prop 1A failed so it should revert back to 8.25% in 2011.
Here's a link to CA sales tax rates
@Argyle
IMAGINARY FRIEND was the seed idea that begat the rest of the theme.
I originally had "fantasy island" instead of FANTASY FOOTBALL but thought it was too close to DREAM VACATION to use.
Thanks to everybody for the kind words.
Well, sure Fred, now with your avatar staring me in the face, it all becomes obvious.
Jerome, I'm contemplating but no dabbling yet.
Well, it's a little over an hour before game time here, 56 degrees, windy as hell and raining at my house, which is a looong ways from downtown.
Game prospects are iffy, at best. But, as we say here in the great (or, more realistically - pretty good) State of MI: if you don't like the weather, wait a minute.
Crockett - I have not had that pleasure - but, you can add Georgia (N to S) to the list.
Gotta run. Rehearsal tonight, not the game, thankfully.
Cheers!
JzB the pretty good, windy trombonist
Carol,
Loved your refrigerator magnet. At one time I was talking to my mother-in-law about how I thought Martha Stewart made women feel inadequate in their decorating/housekeeping skills (it was after the Halloween episode where she hand frosted the spider shaped cookies - about one cookie would get done every 5 minutes - who has that kind of time when you have little kids? Or was it the episode where she talked about purchasing a $5k library of books for her lawyer because his bookshelves were too empty.) For Christmas that year she bought me a sign that reads "Martha Stewart doesn't live here". I just love it. I also love to tell my friends that my mother-in-law purchased it, at which time they all raise their eyebrows until I explain further.
Jazz, I am hoping my kids get done with allll their homework so we can watch that game, weather permitting.
Good evening all!
Today's puzzle was comfortable, like a favorite old sweater. Fit the day just right. The clues were very nicely worded, and much of the fill had some panache... I don't read the comics too often except for Dilbert and Zits, so didn't know Hobbes was imaginary.
"OM" is considered the "seed character" or primal sound in some Eastern philosophies. I once took lessons in Tibetan calligraphy (the characters are based on Sanskrit, and done with a brush , a steel pen or a handmade reed pen). It's a very meditative art because you have to breathe a certain way and have nothing on your mind other than the character at hand.) Final exam consisted of "performing" 2 characters: a circle with one stroke-- perfectly round but not completely closed--and the syllable OM in Tibetan script. Just one crack at each symbol per student. Much harder than it sounds!
I passed. Was just an adult ed class, no credit, but the teacher was very serious!
@Jerome, you crack me up with the anagrams! @Linda, loved the clothing drive story.
@Argyle: solid blogging!
@Al and @RedStDem, I too almost always have to enter my password twice before my comment gets posted. No big deal, in the scheme of things as long as I don't lose the post in the proccess. That has happened only a couple times.
@Dennis, sounds like you had a grand time. Great quote about "enhancing" oneself. I hope B'Anne wasn't referring to nips, tucks or tattoos!
Will check back after dinner--pizza on the grill.
Greetings all -
I enjoyed today's puzzle. Plenty to make you think, but ultimately very doable. Favorite clue was baby seat cover. Thankfully we are completely done with diapers!
Yesterday's event was a success. It was a beautiful crisp fall morning with plenty of sunshine. The only snafu was when the wind blew over the prize table, and the raffle tickets blew out of their baskets and got all mixed up... Oh well - I think our prize winners were all happy nonetheless.
We had 365 participants ranging from very fast runners to parents with their jogging strollers to 12+ year lung cancer survivors to a woman who is having part of her lung removed this week. Teams of families walked or ran together in honor or in memory of loved ones, some with the family member being honored rolling along in a wheelchair. To top it all off, we've raised over $30,000 so far, and fundraising will stay open for another month. Such an inspiring and emotional day.
When my husband pinned the sign to my back that said we were walking in my mother-in-law's memory, I got pretty choked up - it really brought to life what all the hard work has been for over the past six months helping to organize the event. It is such an honor to play a role in positively impacting the lives of those touched by this disease.
It was also a powerful reminder about what a difference we can all make both collectively and as individuals to whatever cause we support.
Make the day.
Andrea
Good for you, Andrea!
I remember having similar feelings here a few years ago participating in a cancer walk too, not that I had worked all that much preparing for the event, but just with thoughts of my mother who died at 67 from colon cancer. I'm glad your event was a success.
Jeannie,
The tomato pie does sound delicious, and I have filed it away for a future occasion. Thanks for another great sounding recipe.
Anyone seen the Baby dancing to Beyonce? Saw it on the news this morning, and Harry Smith was just cracking up. Very funny and cute. Watch him even emulate the hand movements.
Gone for awhile. Had a touch of reality last Saturday when I attended the 50th reunion of the Class of '59--from the high school where I taught. When your students are 68, it does cause one to pause.
Kids are so different now. My granddaughter was called to the Dean's office the other day. Scared to death, she got to the office and the Dean told her to step into his office. There a boy with flowers in hand asked her to the Homecoming dance. Creative!!!
Hi:
Back again belongs to Vern.
Can't seem to sign on with old password.
Hello everyone. Greetings and salutations.
Argyle, great job.
Good puzzle. I liked the reference to my grandfather's hometown....Damascus, Syria.
Also the college near my hometown...Bryn Mawr.
The clue 'baby seat cover' was the best. I got meditator but got the answer wrong. But I did get some correct answers. Oh well.
Fred:
This was a wonderful puzzle; I just did it now at 10:00 PM, like many of us I have been away with stuff and then the sun down to sun down fasting and praying for Yom Kippur. Gmar Chatimah Tova to you all.
Dennis, congrats on the Saturday Blog and making it another year, but finishing the night with SoCo, you were asking for trouble.
We do need to get the rest of you to get some pictures in for CC, including all the infrequent bloggers and all of our lurkers.
Well back in the saddle tomorrow, which happens to be my baby’s 21 st birthday…time flies.
Kazie, I hope you enjoy the recipe soon as tomatoes are going to either freeze or drop off the vine at my house. Same with my barrel o' basil. (I covered that tonight to be sure.) I always take my rosemary and thyme into the house as they are in manageable pots. Ah, fall...we all know it comes and I enjoy it, it's what follows that bums us out. I know for sure I ate the last of my fresh corn tonight as it wasn't tender in the least.
Lemonade, how could such a handsome "counselor" have such a "baby" as a son? I am thinking good genes...Gmar Chatimah Tova to you.
Signed your sassy Lo-li-ta.
Thanks Jeannie,
Unfortunately, I might have to buy the toms and wait till my basil returns to health in the house--ours didn't do much this year. But I will be ready! You have given us such interesting recipes.
Thanks Sweet tart, it was good jeans in those days...
Count me as another who read it as Mediator. Even once I filled it in with perps, I still didn't notice the misread until I came here. :-(
FL is another state there's just too much of. It's SUCH a long drive from the southern part if you want to go to any other state.
As a fellow cat owner, Maniac, I'm very sorry about yours! Mine's 21 and he's more important to me all the time.
Andrea, Congratulations on a successful fund raiser yesterday. It is always a great deal of work, but with such a positive outcome, well worth it.
Jeanne, I've put the tomato, basil recipe into my file. It sounds delicious. I had to pull out the tomato vines today so will have to buy tomatoes for the recipe. Maybe the farmer's market will still have some good ones this week.
SIX is a military term reffering to your behind. I guess RSD was interchanging baby's seat for six. I was also confused by the term baby's seat cover as well.
Does anyone remember whether VP Dan Quale spelled potato with an e at the end or not?
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