google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Sunday April 21, 2013 Robin Stears

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Apr 21, 2013

Sunday April 21, 2013 Robin Stears

Theme: Herbal Tease - One word in each theme entry is replaced by a sound-alike herb.

23A. Observation about sprouting aromatic plants? : SOMETHINGS ARE MINT-TO-BE. Somethings are meant to be.

36A. "Yes, I'm positive this seed is in five-spice powder"? : THAT'S MY FENNEL ANSWER. That's my final answer. Not fond of fennel or the Five-spice powder. My dad used star anise in meat dishes.

55A. "We should whip up some pickle flavoring"? : LET'S MAKE A DILL. Let's Make a Deal.

80A. Like something even better than a pungent herb? : BEYOND BAY LEAF. Beyond belief.
 
96A. Incense hung in two places? : MYRRH MYRRH ON THE WALL. Mirror Mirror on the Wall. Never thought of Myrrh as herb.

117A. Getting by with a loaner herb? : LIVING ON BORROWED THYME. Living on borrowed time. Pure homophone.

Very nice puzzle title!

Grid spanners can make things easier on a week day puzzle, but they're tricky to grid for a 21*21. Plus, Robin has a couple long 19's to deal with. Hence, 6 theme entries today. An extra 7th in the very middle row would make this extra tough, even if it's short.

Across:
 
1. Pricey sweaters : MOHAIRS. Angora goats.

8. They remove bad marks : ERASERS

15. Vertebral bones : SACRA

20. "__ Flame": Bangles ballad : ETERNAL

21. One in the running : NOMINEE

22. Blood of the gods : ICHOR. Learned from doing Xword.

26. Elementary fivesome : A E I O U. And 49. Alphabet trio : BCD

27. Roo's refuge : POUCH

28. Soul-searching events? : SEANCES. I love "Ghost". So good.

29. XIII x IV : LII

31. __-mo replay : SLO

32. "Washboard" muscles : ABS. Which angel do you like the best?



35. __ y Plata: Montana motto : ORO

43. Period relative : ERA

44. Trifle : SOU

45. Ultimate goal : END ALL

46. Easy target : SAP

48. Where It.'s at : EUR. Pay attention to the . in It.

51. Chinese tea : CHA. Literally "tea". Yum Cha ("Drink tea") is a daily activity for retired people in Guangzhou/Hong Kong. Dim sum & Cha & lots of idle gossip. It often takes 2-3 hours. Young people usually "Yum Cha" on weekends.

52. "Sideways" co-star Paul : GIAMATTI

60. Proceed (from) : EMANATE

61. Mythical sea nymphs : NEREIDS. This word reminds me of RESTAURANT in my early days of English learning. Hard to spell. Now looking back, nothing complicated in RESTAURANT.

62. Yield to gravity : SAG

64. 2005 Nobel-winning dramatist : PINTER (Harold). He wrote "The French Lieutenant's Woman".

65. Tears down, in Dover : RASES. Our Razes.

68. Broadband letters : DSL

69. Hägar creator Browne : DIK

71. Can't forgo : NEEDS

72. Bear witness : ATTEST

74. "My country, __ ..." : TIS

76. Every garçon has one : CEDILLA. The mark under that c. I bet this clue will stump some garçons. "I have a what?"

78. Pasture critters : GRAZERS

85. Black-and-tan terrier : AIREDALE


87. Center of gravity? : VEE

88. "__ rang?" : YOU

89. Aladdin's monkey : ABU

90. California's Big __ : SUR

91. Patio-brewed beverage : SUN TEA

93. Many IRA payees : SRS

95. Stimpy's sidekick : REN. "Ren & Stimpy".

103. Sushi tuna : AHI

104. Part of MYOB : OWN

105. "Nerts!" : BAH

106. Poetry Out Loud org. : NEA

107. Working like a dog : SLAVING

111. Prevent : DEBAR

113. Razzle-dazzle : ECLAT

122. __ acid : AMINO

123. Groundbreaking Reagan appointee : O'CONNOR. First woman on the Supreme Court. Tough lady. I think she intimidated even Terry Gross.

124. Showed disdain : SNEERED

125. Forms : MODES
 
126. Positively charged particles : PROTONS

127. Leather treaters : TANNERS

Down:

1. Cactus League spring training city : MESA. Cactus League is in Arizona. Grapefruit League is in Florida.

2. Native Oklahoman : OTOE

3. Half up front? : HEMI. As in, Hemisphere. Tricky, as DEMI, SEMI fit too.

4. Biological ring : AREOLA

5. Goes with one's gut : INTUITS

6. "Yay, team!" : RAH

7. Maidenform buy : SLIP

8. Swamp : ENGULF

9. The "R" in Edward R. Murrow : ROSCOE. Never knew this.

10. Eastern nursemaid : AMAH. Lots of Filipino AMAHS in Hong Kong. Cheap labor. Plus, they speak English.

11. McCartney title : SIR

12. San Diego-to-Albuquerque dir. : ENE

13. "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" band : REM

14. Jorge's half-dozen : SEIS

15. Bollywood strings : SITARS. 65. Music for 15-Down : RAGAS

16. Urgent come-on : ACT NOW

17. Prefix with -aholic : CHOC

18. Boxer's attire : ROBE

19. Olympian warrior : ARES. 86. Warrior companion of 19-Down : ENYO. Learning moment for me.

24. Always butting in : NOSY

25. Old electronic display source : NEON LAMP

30. Weatherman's line : ISOBAR

32. They're history : ANNALS

33. Murphy __ : BED. Never saw one in person.

34. Blast furnace refuse : SLAG

36. Honest : TRUE

37. "The Wizard of Id" co-creator Johnny : HART. The "B.C." cartoonist.


38. Tossed in, as a losing poker hand : MUCKED. Don't know this term.

39. Radar's soda brand : NEHI

40. Byron's words before "'Tis but the truth in masquerade" : A LIE. "And, after all, what is a lie? 'Tis but the truth in masquerade." Don Juan.

41. Probate concern : ESTATE

42. Snitched : RATTED

43. Flotsam or Jetsam in "The Little Mermaid" : EEL. Nice new clue!

47. Beach resort strolling spots : PIERS

50. Jefferson, for one : DEIST

51. MP3 holders : CDS

53. As a rule : MAINLY

54. Temper : ANNEAL

56. Earn a blessing? : SNEEZE. Not sure what Boomer is sensitive to. He sneezes a lot. Probably some kind of scents. Going to Kohl's or some other department stores can set him off.

57. __ around: wasted time : MESSED
 
58. Wing it : AD LIB

59. Weighed down : LADEN

63. Euphoric : GIDDY

66. Lobby brightener : ATRIUM

67. Characterized by twinkling : STARRY


70. Put the __ on: quash : KIBOSH

73. Criticizing harshly : TRASHING

75. U.K.'s longest river : SEVERN

76. Country singer David Allan __ : COE. Never heard of him. Not a country music fan. Wow, look at his hair!


77. Polo VIP : LAUREN. Ralph Lauren. Polo shirt.

79. Gentrification target : SLUM

81. "You betcha!" : YEAH

82. Viscount's superior : EARL

83. Third man? : ABEL

84. Kicks : FUN

92. Credit checker Experian, pre-1996 : TRW

94. Equal-ize? : SWEETEN. Equal sweetener.

97. Gorge : RAVINE

98. Safari sights : RHINOS. JD had a few Safari trips.

99. Moon of Uranus : OBERON. Named after the king in "A Midsummer Night's Dream". 

100. Pyle portrayer : NABORS (Jim)

101. Leave out of the freezer : THAW

102. City SW of Essen : AACHEN. See Essen a bit to the east?


 
107. Bridge feat : SLAM. Hi there Spitzboov!

108. Chauffeured car : LIMO

109. Voracious : AVID. Anyone noticed the similarities between Clear Ayes & Yellowrocks? Both knowledgeable, curious & voracious readers.

110. Gunk : GOOP

111. Villain on Crab Key : DR NO. Thanks for the "Villain" hint.

112. Symbol on a staff : REST

114. Ancient harplike instrument : LYRE

115. AKC part: Abbr. : AMER

116. Nugent and Turner : TEDS

118. ATM maker : NCR

119. Heckle : BOO

120. Fort Erie's prov. : ONT. China uses provinces too. 23 provinces. Lu Lingzi is from Shenyang Province. Due to China's One-Child policy, she was her parents' only kid.


121. Letters from your parents? : DNA. Nice clue.

C.C.

42 comments:

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Fun workout today. Love a good pun, as always, and this one had a bunch of them.

Struggled a teensy bit with LETS MAKE A DILL simply because I couldn't figure out how you can "make" a dill, but that was minor. Struggled a lot more with MYRRH MYRRH ON THE WALL, however, just because I couldn't think of the underlying phrase until I had most of the letters filled in.

Couldn't get PINTER from the clue, although I have vaguely heard of him. Did know COE, on the other hand, although I've never listened to him. Managed to pull OBERON out of somewhere with only minimal help from the perps. ROSCOE and AACHEN, however, were all perps.

Great clue for DNA!

[nyeenc]

Argyle said...

DNF for me because I wouldn't give up on SHOP-aholic for 17D (CHOC-aholic).

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Wow, I thought this one was tough! The game ran into overtime, and I've got write-overs in every quadrant of the grid.

There were a couple of gimmes. My nextdoor neighbors are the TANNERS, and my brother and niece live in MESA.

ENYA, yes. ENYO, no. C.C., that AREOLA was so faint I almost missed it. And that was a cute comment about the CEDILLA. I agree about MUCKED. To me that word evokes images of a guy in waders slogging through mud.

I remember David Allan Coe. He had a big hit with You Never Even Called Me By My Name. As a DJ, you can get really sick of some songs. That's one of 'em.

Middletown Bomber said...

This was a very punny puzzle. But i do like my Herbs. I noticed DEBAR didn't we have an issue with this word earlier in the week. This is a great way to end or begin the week.

Middletown Bomber said...

Oh I forgot I I drove through/around Aachen several years ago one of my first driving experiences on the AUTOBAHN.

Lemonade714 said...

I loved the title having the same punny feeling as the theme answers. We did have lots of Tea though with CHA and SUN TEAS.

ROSCOE was a complete unknown, not sure if I know SEVERN, but I have watched enough Poker on tv that MUCKED was a gimme.

Charlotte is a pleasure but it has been cold with snow showers.

HeartRx said...

Good morning C.C. et al.

Wow, this one took me just as long to do as the NYT puzzle this morning. Like Barry, I struggled mightily with MYRRH MYRRH ON THE WALL. I really don't think of myrrh as an "herb," either.

The other area I had problems was BEYOND BAY LEAF. I had SuVERN instead of SEVERN, and was staring at BUY...B.Y... and couldn't get "buy and buy" out of my head. But, I guess that would be an entry for another puzzle.

Have a great day everyone!

Argyle said...

So even though none of dictionaries at One Look had MUCKED as related to poker, Wlkipedia did. Link.

Yellowrocks said...

This was a real challenge today. I found yesterday's Silkie easier. I loved the puns.

AEIOU and NEREIDS took a while.I visited Mr. G for the first A in GIAMATTI which led to LAMP and gave me the P in PINTER. I should have had the patience to recite the Alphabet for the A in NEON L-M-

With M-RR I thought of mirror, mirror right away. It was a short leap to myrrh. I was thinking that there are herbs other than those for culinary use.

For pasture critters I had G__ZERS and laughed to think of GEEZERS, those out to pasture. HA HA.

TTP said...

Wow, what a difference a day makes. 24 little hours. Yesterday I flew through the NW where so many commented about struggling, and today I had misstep after misstep.

Started off stumbling in the NW with AFGHANS for a few seconds, but couldn't prove it and MESA looked solid at 1 down. Then confidently filled in Atoms for elementary fivesome. At that point I should have tried to go back to bed and get some of that sleep I missed last night. Or had some coffee. A few moments later, I multiplied 8 X 9 and LXII wouldn't fit. But wait, there's more. For Center of gravity, I wrote in avi instead of VEE. My Forms were MOlds instead of MODES.

Well, then I foldED where I apparently should have MUCKED, so my alphabet trio was KLM, Jefferson was a Mason, and my Broadband letters were aoL. When I got to TIS, I realized those answers were all wrong. Not good if you are playing beat the clock. I wasn't, and it's a good thing, because I was well over 2 hours completing this one.

TTP said...


91A across, not sure I agree with the answer. Shouldn't it be SUNDTEA ?

I continue to misspell EMINATE. Wish I could elimanate that error. MAINLY corrected it.

Thank you Robin Stears. I BORROWED THYME first then MINT TO BE. FENNEL ANSWER was my final answer (of the the theme fills.)

CC, thank you for the excellent review. In answer to 32A, the one in the bikini.

David Allan Coe is a longhaired redneck. He was drunk the day his mama got out of prison. :) You can read about it in the lyrics or play the song here: The Perfect Country and Western Song I encourage you to listen to the song in it's entirety even if you don't care for country music. It's funny.

Yellowrocks said...

We make SUN TEA when we are camping, rather than fire up the campstove.
Link recipe

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone. Always enjoy C.C.'s intro.

It was fun looking for the herbs today. MYRRH was a nice touch. Moderate difficulty, but eventually it all came together. Sussing out 117a, re: ……BORROWED THYME got me started on the theme fill. Cute tricky clues with CEDILLA, and VEE.
85a - AIREDALE; what we used to call Naval aviators.
75d - The SEVERN estuary has an extreme tidal range and is so shaped and the bathymetry is such that it experiences tidal bores.
102d - AACHEN was Charlemagne's capital.
107d - SLAM - Grand SLAM bid and made, (7 bid or all 13 tricks) does give one a rush. Small slam (or 6 bid) is pretty good, too.
120d - Ft. Erie is sort of a suburb of Buffalo. Some residents work in the Buffalo area while some Buffalonians maintain summer homes or camps along L. Erie west of Ft. Erie.

CrossEyedDave said...

I thought the period in "It.'s (48A) was just one of the many dirt spots on my PC monitor.

I'll be back after I get some Windex...

JJM said...

Completed the puzzle, but must"ve had brain cramps this morning as it took longer than usual and I found it hard concentrating. I had never seen the word CEDILLA before. Interesting word.

Lucina said...

Hello, C.C. and all fellow puzzlers. I enjoyed your expo, C.C. That is interesting about the CHA routine. I have to confess my knowledge of Chinese culture is limited so I appreciate all your insights.

How very sad for the parents of that beautiful young girl. So much tragedy was wrought by two angry young men who had benefited from what our country provided them.

This puzzle was a fun run for the most part with some clever cluing like:

they're history, ANNALS
soul-searching events, SEANCES
center of gravity, VEE (didn't fool me)
leather treaters, TANNERS
kicks, FUN

And the theme puns were funny, too. MESA, of course, was a given as it's one of my neighbor cities.

TTP:
Why do you think it should be SUNDTEA? Here almost everyone makes SUNTEA as the sun is so intense.

ENGULF was especially tricky because so many words exist for swamp (n.)fen, morass, etc.

I hope you are all having a blast on this gorgeous Sunday!

Jayce said...

Hello everybody. I love puns and I loved this puzzle. I wanted WORK-aholic as much as Argyle wanted SHOP-aholic. And I had a hard time giving up TRITON for the Uranus moon. Put in VEE, then took it out and put it back in, twice. NEON SIGN prevented me from getting GIAMATTI for a while, but finally I figured it out. I like Paul Giamatti; he's a very intense actor. Never heard of MUCKED; wanted FOLDED. Best wishes.

61Rampy said...

Major DNF today:( Had BaY aND BAYLEAF, which gave me SaVERN. Didnt know CEDILLA, but I did know it was that little hook thing hanging off the C. Also had ENDAim instead of ENDALL, so I had trouble with NEON LAMP. Had to look up GIAMATTI and PINTER. AARGH!Breezed through the rest of it, even getting the theme after the first theme answer.
As Lucina said, SUN TEA can be made in a very short time in the summer here!
Maybe I can make it through Monday without MUCKING something up.

Jayce said...

TTP said, "Shouldn't it be SUNDTEA ?" Ha ha, like the ole ICE TEA vs ICED TEA question, eh? Good one :)

Irish Miss said...

Hi Everyone:

I guess I am in the minority as I didn't really enjoy solving this puzzle. I had a hard time in a couple of areas and, IMO, the effort wasn't worth the end result. It was a DNF because of in the wall rather than on the wall; I had murmur in my head instead of mirror.

That said, kudos to Robin for a fresh theme and some very clever cluing. Thanks, CC, as always, for an informative, concise review.

Have a great Sunday.

Lucina said...

Once on a trip through the UK there was a couple and their son in our group. The son was named SEVERN and they enthusiastically cheered the SEVERN river when we crossed it. I never knew the connection with his name but I imagine it was important and possibly eventful.

Now I'm going to the airport to collect my youngest sister who will be here for two weeks.

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Did the puzzle just after midnight. Don't know how long it took, but after red-lettering every single answer I entered, five minutes had elapsed with nothing correct. I was still in the NW corner. Finally got a foothold at bottom & worked back up. Struggled more than yesterday. Needed red-letters.

Without C.C.'s great help I still wouldn't understand some stuff. Thanks! CEDILLA?

Didn't know any names except O'CONNER & DIK.

Flotsam & Jetsam I knew having seen my grandsons in "The Little Mermaid" and wondering what that pair were supposed to be. Very tubby eels.

I wanted cashmere/kashmir sweaters. (I once did a story on a load of angora goats that was fun.)

I enjoyed the theme entries which came easier than the perps. First one was LETS MAKE A DILL. I've made DILL pickles.

CHOCaholic was my second try. I am one.

I thought Maidenform only made bras & is defunct.

Montana said...

I started this puzzle in the middle of the night, but got very few answers.
Returned this morning and did better. I got the theme phrases, but a great big DNF for the puzzle as a whole. I nearly wore out the red letter function with the squares I didn’t know.

I don’t know any of your state’s mottos.
I wonder why you should know mine: Oro y plata.
Other tidbits of Montana trivia:
There are not quite 3 people and 17 cows for every square mile of Montana.
In my county, there are only 0.8 people per square mile.
Snow went around my area, but my daughter got 3" of the white stuff and the cold front from Canada moved in overnight.

Have a good Sunday evening, all,
Montana

AnnieB8491 said...

Good day all - Another brain tester today. Thanks Robin for making me think - a lot! Thanks C.C. for your great write up. Some familiar, some not so much. It always surprises me when I don't know a fill-in until a get some of the letters, then it come back to me. I knew the 'garcon' answer was the little 'thingy' under the c, but wasn't sure what it was until I got some perps, then managed to get the rest.
I did need red letter help today, (after all, it is a Sunday) just to let me know when I was wrong lol. Which I was with NEONSIGN, ....TUBE, ....LITE, til I finally got LAMP. Whew! I had ENDA.. - tried ...AIM, ACT, ALL - yes finally.
i went across, then down, then across again, down, again.... until I finished. A real workout, but enjoyable. I got the last themed answer first. Had LIVING...........HYME, figured last word was THYME, then filled in some of the middle, then figured it out. The rest were easier when I knew what I was looking for.

Bill G. said...

Happy Sunday. Boston is peaceful and so am I. Thanks Robin and CC. If you watch poker on TV, you'll hear MUCK often. When a player throws away his weak hand, the announcers will often say, "Into the muck." This one took me a while but I enjoyed the PUNgent herbs. SUNDTEA, good one!

We had a $10 off coupon so Barbara suggested we use it for lunch today. Everything was OK but their lobster bisque soup is REALLY good. I'm stuffed and ready for a nap.

AnnieB8491 said...

Beautiful day today. Took a top-down ride up Casey Key, Siesta Key, St. Armands and Longboat Keys and Brandenton Beach. Started clouding up on the way back, but still an enjoyable ride. Finished off with a Mcd's chocolate milkshake. Yum! My favorite.

Have a relaxing rest of the day everyone.

nofmyst

Sfingi said...

Sie essen ein bischen ashen. yuck.

Silver and gold are nice. And sounds so nice in Spanish. Excelsior (NYS) is wha? It means ever upward, I guess. Excelsior is also pine shavings.

Robin Stears said...

Thanks, everyone! I'm glad you enjoyed this puzzle. I had fun making it.

I have to give credit where it's due: I got most of those puns from Reddit.com. Thanks, Redditors!

AnnieB8491 said...

Uhhhh Maybe I should clarify - Convertible top-down car ride, for those of you whose minds wanders a bit. lol

Yellowrocks said...

Sfingi, they eat a little what?? Ashes??

Has anyone read Pinter's French Lieutenant’s Woman or seen the movie. This is the ONLY case where I found the movie better than the book upon which it was based.

I guessed that the Maidenform slips were Shapewear. (Shapewear: women’s tight-fitting underwear intended to control and shape the figure.) I was fairly sure Maidenform doesn’t sell regular slips which are so much more comfortable. Here’s a peek at the Maidenform website.
Link Maidenform slips

Argyle said...

Thanks for stopping by, Robin

and thank you, Annie, for popping a fine visual bubble.

Manac said...

Where is Jazzbumpa to post this
blog's trademark Areola Pic ?

Blue Iris said...

I think I've had a few Sundays where I haven't needed red letter help...this was not one of them. I still enjoyed the Sunday afternoon departure.

CC, can you wear perfume okay since Boomer has a problem with some department store scents?I remember when nurses were not allowed to wear perfume because of patient's possible allergies. We were also not allowed to wear jewelery and had to keep our hair up and under our nurse's caps. Of course, this is also when patients stayed months and months once admitted to hospital.

Instead of Chinese CHA tea we drink Chai while missionaries in Kenya. They boiled tea leaves, goat's milk and plenty of sugar over an open fire in middle of their hut. It tasted like hot chocolate and not like the Asian Chai served at Starbucks, etc. If you didn't partake it was an insult and after four to five home visits finding a place to for private elimination became a concern. No outhouse available.
BTW, we never saw a RHINO while in Kenya, Idi Amin had killed most of them.

Blue Iris said...

I plant MINT, rosemary, DILL and basil in pots Has anyone ever smelled MYRRH?

We traveled to our son university open house this weekend. He borrowed a wheelchair, at the VFW, for me. Worked out well. Loved talking with all his friends and instructors.

While traveling Friday evening, his twin sister called to say she had landed in Boston airport. She was able to get a taxi to the hotel, but said the silent streets were "just creepy." Two hours later she called to say every police siren in the city was on and they were headed in one direction. What strange timing for her!

Abejo said...

Good evening, folks. Thank you, Robin Stears, for a very good Sunday puzzle. Thank you, C.C., for a well review.

I was gone all weekend to a meeting. Got home this morning at about 9:30. Dug into the puzzle for a while. Stopped and went to our local high school play, Joseph, and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat. It was outstanding! My wife made most of the costumes.

Came home and continued with the puzzle. Got it all except with one mistake. I had CEDALLA for 76A and KABOSH for 70D. I no idea about 76A, but I think KABOSH is a legitimate spelling for that word, as is KIBOSH. So, that's my error.

Enjoyed the theme. Really helped with puzzle once I figured it out.

David Allan COE, no problem. Enjoy a couple of his songs from way back. I am a country music buff. The old stuff, not the new so much. My all time favorite is Hank Williams, Sr.

I had a few write-overs as well before I finished. MOLDS/MODES, OCONNER/OCONNOR, LADED/LADEN, HARDEN/ANNEAL, ICHAR/ICHOR. I think that's it.

AEIOU was easy.

I thought the Motto would be in latin, so ORO was slow in coming.

SUR was easy for 90A. Travelled through there many times while living in California. Beautiful country along the ocean.

Did not know TRW. Perps fixed that.

DEBAR again. Aha. Some controversy earlier this week.

I have a lot of catching up to do now that I am home.

Did not do yesterday's puzzle due to my weekend meeting.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

(aloremo)
(ionsdd)

Anonymous said...

Fun puzzle! Ichor was new to me, as was Severn River - learned something new today. Spring has finally really sprung here in the lower Hudson Valley, it's just beautiful. Hope everyone has a great week.

Bill G. said...

Abejo, we are in total agreement about liking old-time country music and Hank Williams Sr.

I've had interesting experiences about meeting people online. My first online adventure involved a fellow from England who I met on a puzzle conference. We corresponded back and forth about puzzle. Then, much like here, that evolved to writing about lots of other stuff. I mentioned to him that Barbara was going to be out out of town at a math conference and that I was likely to be lonely and bored. He offered up the possibility of finding a cheap plane ticket and coming for a weekend visit. It was an excellent weekend (though my students warned me about the dangers of meeting people online). Then, though the same First Class Bulletin Board, we were invited back to stay with a woman and her husband in Cumberland, Maine. It proved to be an excellent visit. We met a very nice group of Mainers there, one of whom was known as 'Grammie Jan.' I just read of her passing a few days ago. It's sad to lose one of my first friends made through this marvelous Internet technology. I'll miss her.

Sunday Morning had several nice segments today including Alan Alda and then another one about an 80-something man who had never learned to read but wanted to read at least one book before it was too late. He and some other samaritans made the effort and he's on his 14th third-grade-level biography.

I've lost my mind and I'm pretty sure my kids took it.

Husker Gary said...

-Home from windy Lincoln (where we were for a soccer game and prom pix) and a shot at Robin’s lovely puzzle. 3 personal Natick’s cost me a perfect completion, but waddaya gonna do? I’ll take 3 bad cells.
-Well, they got those monsters and America had better be back on their toes. The 19 years old had better not be allowed to lawyer-up and stay quiet. There’s a lot more to this onion.
-Everyone is rooting for Boston but my Royals beat them in the first game of the double header today and then the Sox reliever walked in the Royals’ winning run in the 10th and then Greg Holland struck out the side for a KC doubleheader sweep of Boston for the first time in 42 years.
-Splynter, I’m glad you liked Chichén Chong yesterday!

Blue Iris said...

HG, my daughter texted us a picture of Fenway on cell phone and said "GO ROYALS!" She called when the game was over. She also saw Harvard, Paul Revere's Church and Home today. Thankful Boston is moving around without fear now. God Bless Them!

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

Blue Iris,
Boomer does not react to my perfume. But sometimes my stir-frying can send him on a sneezing fit.

River Doc said...

Happy Sunday everyone!

Took a while, but I finally got the theme – Living on Borrowed Thyme was the Eureka! (CA)….

WEES about mucked….

Been to Mesa quite a few times. Home of the Cub’s Spring Training park, HoHoKam….

I’m on a temp assignment to the Middle East for a few months, so thanks C.C. for the abs and areola pix. Maybe that also explains why I REALLY wanted 17D to be alcoholic….

Anonymous said...

Agree on being stuck there to. VETEBRAL bones finally jogged that one loose fir me. A challenging puzzle though.