Theme: Spot a bomb in a bull: Hidden snowmen.
20A. When to say night-night: BEDDY BYE TIME.
28A. Ohio Stadium purchase: BUCKEYE TICKETS. Why would anyone pick this for their team mascot name? The tree species Aesculus glabra is commonly known as Ohio buckeye, American buckeye, or fetid buckeye. It derives its unflattering common name from the disagreeable odor generated from the flowers, crushed leaves, broken twigs, or bruised bark.
42A. Advance sale teaser line: NOT YET IN STORES.
47A. Dubious Himalayan headline and phenomenon in 20-, 28- and 42-Across: YETI SIGHTING.
Hi all, Al here, time is kind of tight, so I'll have to be brief...
ACROSS:
1. Improvise at the jazz club: VAMP. From revamp, to fix or make over. A vamp is the part of a stocking that covers the foot and ankle, so revamping originally meant meant mending socks.
5. Butt (in): HORN. Cowboy slang, comparison to buffalo behavior.
9. Oncle's spouse: TANTE. French: Uncle, Aunt.
14. River to the Fulda: EDER.
15. Its French name means "high wood": OBOE. Hautbois.
16. Sun Valley locale: IDAHO. Scenic.
17. Move, briefly: RELOcate.
18. Monument Valley sight: MESA. Also very scenic.
19. Many a Justin Bieber fan: TWEEN. Know your audience, I guess...
23. Former Mideast org.: UAR. United Arab Republic, Egypt + Syria.
24. Author of the Yiddish memoir "And the World Remained Silent": WIESEL. A common crossword clue, turned into an answer (ELIE).
33. Swiss Guard charges: POPES. Why would there be a Swiss Guard in the middle of Rome, Italy?
34. Quick: AGILE. Almost directly from Latin: agilis, nimble or quick.
35. Chinese tea: CHA.
36. Prunes: LOPS. Verb use to cut, not dried plums.
37. Georgia of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show": ENGEL.
38. "Cinque, dieci, venti, trenta" in "The Marriage of Figaro," e.g.: DUET. Five, ten, twenty, thirty. Figaro is measuring the space where the bridal bed will fit while Susanna is trying on her wedding bonnet in front of the mirror.
39. Yellowfin tuna: AHI. A sushi staple.
40. Estate home: MANOR. The main house.
41. Sounds content: PURRS.
45. "I love what you do for me" automaker: TOYOTA. Anagrams to: Hey! You motivated a fool or two.
46. Big-house link: AS A.
54. Peer in a box: JUROR. Peer as an equal (from Latin "par"), not "to look" as with "appear".
57. Relinquish: CEDE.
58. Golfer Aoki: ISAO. He only plays with golf balls marked with the number 5. That number is pronounced "Go" in Japanese, and his goal is to never shoot higher than that on a hole.
59. Japanese art genre: ANIME. Animation (cartoons) often expanded from Manga (comic books).
60. Oregon Trail team: OXEN.
61. Sommelier's prefix: OENO. Wine.
62. Lose it: GO MAD.
63. Distance swimmer Diana: NYAD. At the age of 61, this summer she will attempt to swim from Cuba to Florida (103 miles) without a shark cage.
64. Pont __: Paris bridge: NEUF. The name means "new bridge", but is the oldest bridge across the Seine. It connects the Rive Droit (right bank) with the Rive Gauche (left bank). Now I have an urge to get my guitar out and re-learn this...
DOWN:
1. 3-Down, e.g.: VERB. Ah, yes, the referential clue mixed with a literal meaning. It's definitely Thursday.
2. "Zip-__-Doo-Dah": A-DEE. From Song of the South, sung by Uncle Remus (James Baskett).
3. Blend: MELD. Related word: meddle.
4. Yields: PRODUCES.
5. Man of La Mancha: HOMBRE. Spanish man.
6. Mind: OBEY. A strange associative progression from the word mind, originally meaning memory, or remembering: "Mind your Manners", "Never you mind about that". Those kinds of phrases were commands, which instilled the sense of needing to obey: mind your elders.
7. See 12-Down: ROSE. 12D. With 7-Down, Bette Midler classic: THE. A lot of people seem to like Bette, and they are allowed to, but she's not really my cup of tea. Feel free to provide your own links in the comments.
8. Bourbon order: NEAT. Unadulterated, free from impurities (like water from melting ice).
9. They may be tufted: TITMICE. Having a cardinal's peak.
10. Magazine that highlights Clio winners: ADWEEK. A magazine about advertising. In other words, a magazine.
11. "Sorry, laddie": NAE. Scottish.
13. Quite a span: EON. Time, not distance.
21. Goes on and on: YAKS. What I do sometimes.
22. Volunteer's offer: I WILL.
25. Like an encrypted transmission, in theory: SECURE.
26. Old anesthetics: ETHERS.
27. Future J.D.s' exams: LSATS. Law School Admission Tests. Juris Doctor, the first professional graduate degree in law.
28. Melodramatic cry: BOO HOO.
29. Haughty: UPPITY.
30. Greek New Ager: YANNI. I'll spare you the music link.
31. Goad: EGG ON. This sense of egg comes from "edge".
32. Feature of some fancy cakes: TIERS. Related words: tirade and attire.
33. Magician's secret cohort: PLANT. A ringer.
37. Really worry: EAT AT.
38. Term: DURATION. Latin durare, to harden (endure).
40. Like some mail: METERED. Postage is printed on instead of applying individual stamps, allowing for automation and time savings.
41. Sumptuous: POSH. Long explanation for this, but it does NOT mean port out starboard home, that is a backronym from people trying to retrofit a meaning.
43. He has a cello named Petunia: YO YO MA. He was doing a class in Salt Lake City, and a high school student asked if he had a nickname for his cello. he said, "No, but if I play for you, will you name it?" She chose Petunia, and it stuck.
44. Remnant: TAG END.
48. Tiny trash can, e.g.: ICON. On your PC desktop.
49. Hot: SEXY.
50. Thought: IDEA.
51. "Mm-hmm": I SEE.
52. Half a sitcom sign-off: NANU. Mork & Mindy.
53. Flub: GOOF. A gaffe.
54. Spree: JAG. A period of unrestrained activity.
55. The loneliest numero?: UNO. A play on Three Dog Night's first hit "One", written by Harry Nilsson.
56. Drum edge: RIM. Ba-dump Tish. And that's the end.
Al
52 comments:
Morning, all!
Another mostly smooth puzzle. Again, not quite as fast as yesterday, but still pretty quick.
The only spot that slowed me down a bit was way down at the bottom where NYAD met up with TAG END. I'm completely unfamiliar with Ms. NYAD and I can't say I've ever actually seen or heard TAG END before. "Tail end," yes. But not TAG END. I'm sure it's a perfectly legitimate phrase -- I just don't recall ever seeing it before.
Oh -- and thank you for nipping the inevitable POSH derivation discussion in the proverbial bud, Al. Saved me the trouble... ^_^
Good Morning, Friends. I am not really keen on puzzles where the first couple of clues are cross-references, but once I moved on, I found this to be a fun Thursday-level puzzle.
Nice shout-out to our old friend BUCKEYE! Do stop by today!
My favorite clue was Peer in a Box = JUROR. I also smiled at the Tiny Trash Can = ICON.
I know the California Coven will have a great time today. Wish I loved closer!
QOD: A bargain is something you can't use at a price you can't resist. ~ Franklin P. Jones
Good day folks,
I don't share the enthusiasm expressed by the previous posters for this puzzle. Too many foreign words for clues or fills and some unknowns. Nyad, tween, Wiesel, oeno were all filled via perps or wags.
The theme clues and unifier were the easiest part of the puzzle for me, but filling in around them was a chore.
Wonder if Buckeye tickets will be in great demand this fall in view of the current mess. If I were to bet on it, I'd say they will be.
Mr Humidity prevalent in Ct for yet another day. This kind of weather really stinks, especially this early.
Good Morning C.C., Al and all,
Yeah, Al, nice discussion of POSH. Thanks, for a perfect write-up and links.
Puzzle was definitely fun and relatively smooth, but 1D, VERB, took me forever. I had Oder for EDER, and had to put it away for a bit to come back with a fresh perspective.
Theme is clever and fill was exceptional. Thanks, Bill.
Dashing to get a haircut.
Here's to the coven.Would kill to be there.
Have a nice day everyone.
Had to play a guessing game for most of this one, especially in the midwest, where buckeye was not on my radar at all and I was trying to fit HOCKEY in there and thought prunes meant dried plums for the longest time. Quite a few names too, and that's my weakest point. If it weren't for the couple of French clues my first run through would have yielded little.
Al,
Nice job again, as usual. Brevity is not a fault, since many of us probably have little time first thing in the day too. Get some well deserved rest! You saved me explaining most of what's to be said about the Pont Neuf, and I enjoyed the guitar music too.
I think the Pont Neuf was the first of Paris' bridges to be built of stone, the earlier ones being wood, which rotted, whereas it has lasted into modern times.
Good morning, Al et al.
Since you were kind enough to skip Yanni, I will skip The Devine Miss M but I will link Evergreen, by Roy Orbison. I always thought it mash-up nicely with The Rose. Clip.(2:44)
Good Morning Al, C.C. et al.
I enjoyed your “brief” write-up, Al, and really chuckled at “a bomb in a bull".
I loved the “hidden” YETI theme. But the SE corner with NANU, ISAO, OENO and NEUF had me a little jittery. They are quite common individually, but when stuck together they look…odd.
Dianna NYAD’s name is so appropriate for her. She is planning to swim from Cuba to Florida next month, at the age of 60!! Her name reminds me of the mythical naiads that live in the water. My mother used to tell us that they prey on solitary swimmers, so that we would never jump into our pond unless one of our sisters came with us!
Have a great Thursday, all!
The start of this puzle,one across, probably set the tone for me: impossible! Have never heard the term, "vamp", used to describe an improvisation at a jazz club. Got the themes with Yeti in each but.... Had trouble with the foreign names also.
Rain at last in Houston.
Hi gang -
Lots of good stuff in the puzzle, and an interesting hidden word theme - love your title, Al - brilliant!. Without sussing the theme, I would have had a huge DNF, but eventually left no unfilled TAG END.
But I agree with Hondo, and didn't like this puzzle very much. VAMP is technically correct, but rubs me wrong. I found this: The term vamp has another meaning in music, which is "to improvise simple accompaniment or variation of a tune."
So, right off the bat we have an obscurity. I hate the displaced quasi-self-referential clue of 1D. ETHER, as defined here is a single, specific thing, and not amenable to pluralization. Next to it is a plural of an abbrev. BOO HOO!
OTOH, I like the ICON IDEA; and the high wood HORN on the MESA.
Be sure to mind your MANORS. I know I WILL.
Cheers!
JzB tittering over titmice
Good morning all. Nice Thursday puzzle although it seemed to fill a little easier than most Thursdays. Thanks for the write up and links, Al.
BUCKEYE TICKETS was low hanging fruit for me. We will be attending the OSU/Miami game in September with a group of 80 or so Buckeye fans from this area.
Fortunately, we've seen NAE often enough that my total lack of French knowledge didn't trip me up. I almost messed up by putting in UAr instead of UAL, but realized my error when HOMBLE didn't look right. Hmmm, better read the down clue... even if it is already filled via perps.
Have a great day, all.
Al, Good job, as always.
What thehondohurricane said.
Started with 'Jams' for 1A, 'Oder' for 14A, looked at my 1D 'jorb' until the V-8 can smack got me the VERB. Ouch!
Is 'Distance swimmer Diana NYAD really common knowledge? All perps.
Of course at 8D, NEAT, I would have clued it ...
Scotch order.
Cheers !!!
Hi All - it seems (to me) that this was more a Fri/Sat level. Lots of unknowns but on the other hand, I did surprise myself by knowing/guessing a lot of the answers in the SE corner. Still have to laugh at the word TWEEN.
When did that become a word?
Didn't know YANNI (yuk) was Greek. (There is another of those 'words': New Ager) yuk again.
Sorry to hear that the term Buckeye refers to a smelly tree. Our Buckeye is more sweet and sour :)
As with Kazie, names generally do me in and I did have my share of 'look-ups' but all in all enjoyed the whole thing.
Good Morning All, Even though I got BEDDY BYE TIME early on, I had to fumble through a lot of white squares until I got to YETI SIGHTING. Bingo! There it was in my already completed 23A.
I already had YANNI, so I backed up into BUCKEYE TICKETS. (Got a nice smile out of that one.) NOT YET IN STORES was equally easy.
The rest followed with a little back and forth perping.
Thanks Al, for the Swiss Guard information. It got me interested in them. A Guard interviewee at another website said, "The pay is 1300 Euros per month [about $1600]. We make six Euros per hour for overtime after 150 hours per month of work. We pay no tax, get free accommodation, and eat free, good Swiss-Italian food cooked by Polish sisters. So we do all right."
Bette Midler is a favorite, so I can't resist one of her earlier songs, Hello In There. Brings a little tear every time I hear it.
Gotta go now, have a good day. I know I will.
I rather enjoyed this puzzle. Tough cluing, but I had good luck with several guesses and finished with only one error. Had Nano instead of Nanu and didn't know the difference on the Bridge.
For once the theme reveal was very helpful in the solve. Friday level and a challenge, but largely doable.
Hello all.
Not a bad puzzle today. It just took me awhile to solve it.
Those bipolar proms were a little
crazy, but we had a ball.
According to the news story last nigth on Ch 11, 20 earth quakes hit CA every day. There is a good chance someone will be under the table in Stockton.
"let life enjoy you." ~ ee cummings
Take care.
Good morning all. Good commentary, Al
I found the cw mostly doable but ran aground in the NW and was DIW at the SW until the clever JUROR clue was sussed. Never heard of the EDER, but knew of the 'Fulda Gap' from the Cold War years. Always learn something. I knew revamp, but not VAMP in this context, so I finally invoked red-letter help for the E in Eder which gave me 1d, VERB. A fine Thursday level challenge.
Enjoy Thursday (Donnerstag). We had Donnerwetter here this morning.
Thank you Mr. Thompson, for a very nice puzzle.... Thank you Al, for the excellent blog. You are subtle, witty and posh in your humor - that is a 'triple' threat !!! Too bad, the clues did not have any chemistry, I miss your tongue-in-cheek humor on double bonds etc.
Phooey on you for destroying my favorite stories on POSH .... backronym indeed ! ( and it was such a cute story !, I guess I'll have to make up another one to suit my purpose .... hmmm )
I nearly completed the puzzle - except for - is it Zip-pity or Zip-itee or Zip-adee ? I really must pay more attention to these nonsensical syllables - my life, for future puzzles may depend on it.
Thanks, Hahtool, for your Quote of the Day - I, who love going to garage sales, to my wife's everlasting regret, should etch that in gold, and memorize that 5 times a day. !!!
Started slow, finished strong! Clever clues (Magician’s cohort, Peer in a box, et al) and a fun, helpful theme supplemented by Al’s effort!
Musings
-VAMP not Riff or Scat. I always think of vamping as continuing to play to cover a break in a performance.
-EDER not Oder
-Is there no limit to how OBOE can be clued?
-Frequent visitor Sonja Henie starred in Sun Valley Serenade
-6 yr old Elise is not a TWEENER but she’s got Bieber fever
-Swiss Guards are striking in their Michelangelo designed uniforms and highly competent! They’ll wow you in person!
-Zip-a-Dee-Do-Dah rings in your ears just before the big drop at Splash Mt.
-I love Bette and sang that song at a lot of weddings years ago
-If it ain’t YOYO, it’s Casals
-Mr. Wiesel (fist, last and both names) visits more often than Ms. Henie
Clear Ayes - So, following your quote, would you say, that the Swiss Guards are - all spit and 'polish'. ?
Have a great coven brunch in CA, ....( I wish I was going too - ). Do try to avoid crosswordese in your chit chats..... and have a wonderful time !!!
Hi There ~!
I thought this one was pretty tough; a lot of one-word clues make it vague at best, but "Himalayan" gave me a hint about YETI, and so I went back through the sparse fill, and added the missing Y, E, T, or I and got it from there - lots of foreign (I mean, French, of course) words, but it is Thursday.
I agree with JzB on his comments, about plurals....just waiting for the SEXY TITMICE people to get here....
Tried SOLO to start at 1A, and thanks for the link to Robin Trower, Avg Joe - I think I found a new artist to look into ~!
Moving out this weekend - new apartment coming soon ~!
WOO-HOO, not BOO-HOO ~!
Splynter
Just a quick comment. SCAT instead of VAMP, ARIA instead of DUET. Finally the perps fell into place. Loved the cluing today.
So, I'm off! First I have to find my passport. Wait a minute, I'm going to STOCKTON, not Stockholm! Then I have to stop at the Army Surplus store to get my gaiters (?) and galoshes (?). I hope my new purple hair doesn't clash with what I'm wearing.
Have a great day all. I know I will!
Al: I enjoyed your clever play on words in your title...
Hello everybody. Well, they posted last night's news report on YouTube already. Here it is if you want to watch it.
Al - you asked why Swiss Guards in the Vatican ? The answer, which should be self-evident is that 'soldiering', just like any other 'field', is a profession - and it requires a special type of skill, knowledge and attitude. ( and apparently, neither the French or the Italians had much confidence in their own countrymen .... ).
Another country, which like 'ancient' Switz., still is poor and devoid of industry and jobs, is Nepal - and their 'macho' men ( average height 5'4" - ) have traditionally and passionately chosen to become mercenary soldiers in foreign countries and Armies - and good soldiers at that - the Gurkhas/Ghurkas. They still serve in the British, Indian, Malaysian, Singapore and even Chinese armies.
Hello Puzzlers - Thanks Al for a solid and informative write-up that was mercifully and completely devoid of any links to Yanni! My wife made me watch "Yanni Live at the Acropolis" some years ago, and based on that performance I judge the guy to be overrated crap.
Mostly smooth puzzle, but I did pause long at JUROR and JAG. Forgot UAR again, knew it was something along those lines.
I read an article in which YO YO MA's daughter was teasing him about having once left Petunia in the trunk of a New York taxi. A frantic police effort did locate the cello, still in the taxi as I recall. Petunia is no cheap date - she's worth over a $Million.
And, it doesn't even belong to him - its 'lent' to him, with an extensive insurance contract.....
Talk about playing with other peoples stuff.(property)
GarlicGal from last night - Had to LOL at the re-treading of your galoshes!
Jayce - Interesting stuff. I hope that a dependable correlation emerges, the world could use it.
For you fans of Reeeally Big Airliners: we're up to twice so far, that an Airbus A380 has bonked a wingtip while taxiing. First was at JFK where another airplane was hit, then yesterday in Paris the wingtip was torn off and left sticking out of a building. Ooops!
Jayce, watched the YouTube link. Very interesting, but there is always lots of proving to be done with a new theory. Good luck to your company.
eddyB, unfortunately, an earthquake in Stockton would be very likely to be even more severe in San Jose. Keep that table handy.
Anon@10:05, Funny!
I'm glad Garlic gal had her flounder ready to go!. :o)
That's enough from me. I really do have to get outta here.
Hola Everyone, A surprisingly smooth puzzle for me today. However, I did have to look up Weisel's book. I didn't know that title. We had his first name in the puzzle yesterday. Also Ether was in the puzzle just a couple of days ago.
I had put in Secret for Secure for 25 down--encrypted transmission so that held up that middle east section for a time. The perps took care of that mistake, though.
I thought The clues for Titmice and Juror were really fun.
I'm just waiting for Garlic Gal to arrive. JD has come to wait with me. We're off.
A tough puzzle for me today, and it wasn't until I read the writeup that I understood all the answers. This was a true Thursday level puzzle that gave me a good hour of enjoyment.
Who's in the California Coven? What are the membership requirements?
Am I the only one to notice that the lead-off man is missing, or does everyone already know something? I miss that 'start' each morning, as well as the 'did you know' questions.
Oh, the POSH, POSH, Traveling Life, the Traveling Life for me!
Hello everybody. Interesting comments from all of you; I always enjoy reading what you all have to say.
Mixed feelings about the puzzle today. As JzB said, lots of good stuff in it. And as he and hondo also said, some not very likeable stuff in it too.
I wanted ARIA for 38A and ZOUNDS for 28D. Took me ages to figure out what PURRS had to do with the clue, until the Aha moment when I realized "content" in this case is pronounced conTENT. V8 time.
I liked "Peer in a box" a lot!
Totally screwed up the NW corner; hated VERB.
Here's sending best wishes to the coven for a terrific time together.
I miss you, Dennis, and hope you are all right.
Greetings!
Nice puzzle, Bill T. Great write-up, Al.
A bit of a struggle, but no cheating. Nothings stands out, except perhaps PLANT.
Had 2 hours' sleep before appointment with P. A. D. specialist. Nice fellow from Lebanon. No results yet. Thought I could catch up this morn, but not possible as construction guys chose to awaken me with loud noise at 7:15 AM. Have another appt. with a cardiologist tomorrow.
Envy the coven!
Thanks for the link, Jayce. It would be nice to have such activity here in San Fernando Valley.
Read all of Smokin' Seventeen yesterday. Great read. Much better than Stephanie Plum series nos. 13 - 16. Even had a plot!
Anyone know how to get italics on a Mac? CC's instructions do not work in Safari.
Cheers!
I liked the puzzle though it was hard for me. There were many words I couldn't fill in until several crossing letters gave me enough hints. I thought Peer in a Box was very clever. While I'm no jazz musician, I thought VAMP was an introductory passage repeated as necessary. Actually, I still do so I'm not crazy about that clue.
It's understanding that HGary's Elise has Bieber fever as teens did over the Beatles, Elvis, Ricky Nelson and others. But adults...? He was on The View this morning. I found it embarrassing how most of the women were fawning over this average-looking young fellow of mediocre talent. He's famous and rich for no good reason that I can see.
Hahtool, I loved your QOD.
Sue from Purdue: re the California Coven. In Oct 2008 several of the women on this blog decided to get together at a fairly central location. They all lived in Calif. I was there too but I live in Oregon and had to travel a bit over 700 miles to join them. My hubby thought it would be a fun trip and he ended up as a friend to JD's hubby. Anyway, there is no requirement. We had a wonderful time and I hope to be able to join them next time.
If I remember my witchcraft correctly, a coven is 13 witches, neither of which seems to apply to our group. It's not up to me but I respectfully suggest California Conclave or Council as an alternative. 'Course, coven may have a bit more caché.
This is one of the cleverest advertisements I've ever seen.
BillG, that ad is hilarious!!
I hope that everyone at the Coven is having a great time. Sounds like fun. Is there a pipeline running from Napa to Stockton??
Hi.
The under the table line had nothing to do with earthquakes
and every thing to do with having wine with lunch. Guess trying to be funny didn't work.
Half way through Seventeen. Also
got the new Clancy book this morning.
Don't forget the race in Newton,
Iowa on Sat. Should be real interesting with the two tied for
first.
Hi Gang, a toughie puzzle again for Thursday, I didn't pick up the hidden theme until I got here...
I didn't know exactly what a 'tween' was so here's a definition for anyone else who'd like to know...
;-)
Carol...you forgot to mention the purple hair and gaiters. :o)For the rest...I am sworn to secrecy.
WM: I didn't mention them, didn't want to reveal too much ;) (do you think we have them fooled?)
Just got an e-mail from Dodo, apparently all had a wonderful time, and we (Creature included) were toasted with champagne - Wow, can't wait for the pictures!
Hi all,
Bill G- On Tuesday you asked me why my info doesn't come up. I don't know. I have entered my info in to Google 2 times but nothing ever comes up so I use my URL. It comes in blue but doesn't bring up any info. I just now tried to get into it and all I get is my ID is invalid.
Any ideas anyone?
Marge
PS
If anyone wants to send me an E-mail instead of on the blog it is Marge32@centurytel.net.
Jayce, Did you feel the earthquake in Stockton? We all left Dodo's place in very high spirits. (I'll bet her neighbers are glad to see the back of us). We were a bit noisy to say the least. This time around the Coven consisted of Dodo, CA, Garlic Gal, JD, Lucina and Chickie. The membership varies with the date and whether or not you want to dye your hair the chosen color of the day!
Dodo said that she would like to see us again next year when Lucina visits her friends in the Bay Area.
We did toast all who weren't there with us with a wonderful bottle of champagne. The dining room at Dodo's place was a bit raucous during the lunch hour, but I don't think anyone was under the table except to retrieve a napkin or two. LOL.
We'll have pictures soon. Those who had cameras with them took a bunch.
Maybe our lack of a full coven of 13 is the reason our spells and incantations don't work very well. Seriously, I think it was WM who came up with the alliterative name. We thought it was funny for a couple of reasons and it stuck.
There was plenty of champagne and wine with lunch, but we were too busy talking to do much drinking except for a couple of toasts....everyone here included.
Sue from Purdue, no qualifications, except for being in the right place at the right time, an enjoyment of crossword puzzles and the willingness to laugh a lot, preferably at yourself.
Carol and WM, you were missed. I hope your ears were pleasantly ringing from all the nice things that were said.
Dodo was a wonderful hostess. JD and Chickie were their lovely and charming selves. Garlic Gal was a new acquaintance for me. She is so funny and a really nice person. Lucina came with two friends. That just tripled the pleasure. Photos will follow.
eddyB, my mistake in reading your amusing 9:40 comment. I was in too much of a hurry.
Now I'll go back and reread all those comments I glossed over the first time around.
eddyB - there's a new Clancy? Hmmm, whaddaya think of it?
Jeannie, I know you were interested. We had quite a choice at lunch today. Dodo lives at a very nice retirement community and variety is the spice of their lives. In addition to salad choices (I couldn't resist the salad bar), the entrees varied from spaghetti to sandwiches to mystery fish (the waiter wasn't sure if it was basa or cod). I did have the fish and it was very good. Tiramisu all around for dessert. There were drinks of choice as well as champagne, pinot noir and cabernet sauvignon. Dorothy said her sommelier is Trader Joe's and I must say he did a fine job.
I am glad you all had a fun time. Sounds like the food was fabulous. I still wished I was a fly on the wall, or better yet closer. Maybe all you travelers from the west should head up here for the fall colors. I'll whip something up.
No time for the puzzle today, but will repeat something I always do. Al, I learn something every time you blog.
MFCounselor, I hope your eyesight is up to the task tomorrow.
MFFarmer, I hope your absence has to do with crops. The corn is finally growing here, up to six inches now. I have a natural "eye" for such things. :)
Dennis, I hope you are just taking a break.
BillG, I have forgotten to say how proud I am for you making a big life-style change. You are a great guy.
Hello friends,
IT's late and I won't read the comments until tomorrow.
It'a been a really wonderful day! There were eight of us at lunch, finally and we never stopped tallking! What a blast! Everyone enjoyed meeting our invisible friends ahd they were all just as nice as they have been in posting~!
Wolfmom couldn't make it but we've planned for another one next year when Lucy and her friends are in the area!
Very, very tired, so good night!
AMEN!!
Hey, ease up on the Buckeye commentary. I'm not loving your comments on our mascot, but I do love this blog!!
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