23A. Comment about paparazzi? : LOOK WHO'S STALKING. Look Who's Talking.
36A. Momentum in Hagel's department? : DEFENSE STEAM. Defense team. Chuck Hagel.
54A. Alpine fabric sample? : SWISS SWATCH. Swiss watch. Here, Swatch is a Swiss watch also.
77A. Young John McEnroe? : TENNIS SCAMP. Tennis camp.
95A. Why the clown retired? : CIRCUS STRAIN. Circus train.
112A. What the fencer proved he was? : AS GOOD AS HIS SWORD. As good as his word.
15D. Forgetful night watchman? : KEYLESS SENTRY. Keyless entry.
53D. Accessories for Lansbury? : ANGELA'S SASHES. Angela's Ashes.
Love the puzzle title! And I grokked the gimmick very early on.
Do you think S is the most popular letter in this grid? How many S'es do you think we have?
I also don't get the LEAST (98D. LCD component) clue.
Across:
1. Stonewaller?: MASON. I'd nailed it if the clue were "Stone worker"
6. Shooter's stockpile : AMMO
10. Building toy : BLOCK
15. '70s-'80s Big Apple mayor : KOCH (Ed)
19. With 30-Across, Revolutionary patriot : ETHAN. And 30. See 19-Across : ALLEN
20. Nest protest : PEEP
21. 1978 Broadway revue : EUBIE. I definitely need "Blake" in the clue. Never heard of this.
22. Quito's land: Abbr. : ECUA (Ecuador)
26. See 86-Across : YARD. 86. With 26-Across, London police group, familiarly : THE. More familiar with the common Scotland Yard.
27. Lend, as a fin or a fifty : SPOT
28. Turkish VIP : AGHA
29. Home __ : PLATE
31. Less than medium : RARE
33. Nicklaus has won five of them, briefly : PGAs. The refers to the major PGA Championship.
34. Arabian Peninsula locale : MIDEAST. Different from Middle East?
41. Foundation : BASIS
42. Once more : AFRESH
43. "Here Comes Santa Claus" co-songwriter : AUTRY (Gene). Timely.
44. Said under oath : ATTESTED
48. Mine in Milan : MIO. "O Sole Mio". "My sunshine".
49. Uffizi display : ARTE
50. GameCube successor : WII
51. Carrier renamed in 1997 : USAIR
52. It's up your sleeve : ULNA
58. Shore flier : ERNE
59. Sugar and sweets : PET NAMES. Sweet!
61. Sites for mice : PADS. Mouse pad.
62. Lacking : IN NEED
64. "What __ around ..." : GOES
65. Method : MEANS
67. Sports number : STAT
68. Target of a 1984 breakup : MA BELL
71. Smarmy : OILY
72. Fence-sitters : NEUTRALS. Fashion bloggers use this word a lot, for colors.
76. Parisian peer : EGAL
81. Casual agreement : YEAH
82. Ear-relevant : AURAL
84. Pencil game loser : XOX
85. As indicated : THUS
87. Makes privy to : LETS IN ON. Poor TTP. The Target 10% discount would not lessen his stress.
89. Studio sign : ON AIR
91. Ballet position : POINTE. On pointe. My feet hurt looking at this.
94. First Niagara Center NHLer : SABRE. Gimme for Splynter.
97. Annual bestseller : ALMANAC
100. Canonical hour : SEXT. LA Times is a bit conservative, so no naughty clue here.
101. Apollo org. : NASA
102. Knock off : CEASE
103. Weaving fiber : ISTLE. And 45. Container weight : TARE. Both classic crosswordese.
105. Curious as __ : A CAT. Perfect phrase to describe Dave.
107. Small cleaner : Q-TIP
111. 91-Down section : MATH. And 91. H.S. exams : PSATS
115. Tivoli's Villa d'__ : ESTE
116. Coup __ : D'ETAT
117. Shuffle follower : DEAL
118. Shire of "Rocky" : TALIA
119. Jeanne d'Arc et al.: Abbr. : STES
120. Aides: Abbr. : ASSTS
121. Granola grain : OATS
122. Reporters : PRESS. Bottom row tends to be S-heavy.
Down:
1. Sitcom eatery : MELS
2. Sitting on : ATOP
3. "Buzz off!" : SHOO
4. Yellow ribbon site of song : OAK TREE
5. Miami-to-Orlando dir. : NNW
6. Orbital point : APOGEE
7. Screen door makeup : MESH
8. Arizona desert sight : MESA
9. Make a decision : OPT
10. Ralph who played FDR in "Sunrise at Campobello" : BELLAMY. First encounter with this guy.
11. Haas of "Jobs" : LUKAS. He looks familiar. Don't recall his name though.
12. Passing remarks? : OBIT
13. Movie-related : CINEMATIC
14. Frat party dispenser : KEG
16. City in Florida's horse country : OCALA
17. Magic bullets, so to speak : CURES. Wish our body has a "Reset" button.
18. Lacked : HADN'T
24. Like taskmasters : HARSH
25. Eponymous newborn score creator : APGAR. Apgar score.
30. Bid word : ADIEU
32. Short reply? : ANS (Answer). Short indicates "Abbr.".
33. "For __ sake!" : PETE'S
35. Believer's ending : IST
36. Obstruct : DAM UP
37. IRS requirement, often : E-FILE
38. Battle site : FRONT
39. "Slumdog Millionaire" wear : SARIS
40. Sounds of rebuke : TUTS
41. Sets, as a trap : BAITS
46. German "a" : EINE
47. Slave Scott : DRED
49. Leaves wide-eyed : AWES
50. Rolls (up) : WADS
54. Refine, as ore : SMELT
55. Fixes : SPAYS
56. Washed-out : WAN
57. __ for a loan : HIT UP
60. MapQuest parent : AOL. Been using MapQuest for a long time. Never aware AOL owns them though.
63. D.C. player : NAT (Nationals)
65. Seductress : MINX
66. Giant Manning : ELI
67. Sch. periods : SEMS
68. Happy __ : MEAL
69. It can give you fits : AGUE
70. Toon troublemaker : BART
71. Live-income filler : ON ONE. Live on one income.
72. Pacific island republic : NAURU. Same letter count as TONGA.
73. Blue Cross rival : AETNA
74. Christine who directed the Oscar-winning short film "Lieberman in Love" : LAHTI. Read here. The author had no idea that his short story was turned into a film.
75. Polish : SHEEN
78. Emulates Father Damien, in a 1973 movie : EXORCISES
79. Where to begin : START
80. Stylish : CHIC
83. Former NPR host Hansen : LIANE. She was married to Neal Conan, also from NPR.
88. Jazz gp. : NBA. And 92. Five-minute 88-Down periods : OTS
89. Leopardlike cats : OCELOTS
90. Said no to : NIXED
93. 21st-century conflict : IRAQ WAR. Nice entry.
96. Sluggards : SNAILS
97. Pinnacles : ACMES
99. Photo finish : MATTE
100. Weasel relative : STOAT
104. Friday and York: Abbr. : SGTS
105. Crossing the ocean : ASEA
106. Casual talk : CHAT
108. Gilded metalware : TOLE
109. You can see right through it : IRIS
110. Modern organizers, for short : PDAs
112. Oral health org. : ADA
113. Kerfuffle : ADO
114. Longtime sponsor in NASCAR events : STP
Happy Birthday to dear Misty, whose posts are always gentle and loving. Hope you have a great staycation with your husband next week!
 |
| Misty and her husband Rowland |
C.C.
Rewarding the Punk Who's Shown Spunk
ReplyDeleteBefore to the grounds I gain entry
I must first be approved by the SENTRY.
He identifies me while we're talking
To assure that I'm not someone STALKING.
If I were, he could call his whole team,
Together they'd sure cool my STEAM!
But once past the guard on watch,
Once more I admire the SWATCH
That I'm bringing into the camp
To give to my boy, the SCAMP.
He's come to this place to train
Away from distractions that STRAIN.
Of his conduct I've heard a good word;
He'll no more live or die by the SWORD.
And so, with his rise from his ashes
I bring fabric for new merit SASHES!
[DNF, but I amazed myself at how far I got before I had to throw in the towel. I had several splotches of white space before I turned on the red letters, but once I made that concession I filled nearly everything. The final 3 words I just wasn't interested in bothering to Google. (I wish it was as easy to give in on paper -- "Okay, paper, ya got me. Now show me those last two letters.") 83D NPR host, 94A NHL player, and 88D Jazz gp. (which I was expecting to be the name of a musical combo, I'm such a sports ignoramus).]
ReplyDeleteC.C., let me be the first of I'm sure at least 20 today to tell you -- LCD = Least Common Denominator, not Liquid Crystal Display.
Good morning all !
ReplyDeleteThank you Pam Amick Klawitter. I completed your puzzle in 23:19 this morning. But that's only because we bought today's paper yesterday, and I did most of it while watching the tube last night.
Thank you CC. I was stuck on Liquid crystal display, but in this case, it's LEAST common Denominator. I was also stuck with ANNIE instead of EUBIE, and my home was ALONE rather than PLATE for a while. Filled BELLAMY and LUKAS down based solely on letter sequences. Never heard of either.
I thought of Target with the 68A clue: Target of a 1984 breakup. My replacement Mastercard from CITI arrived yesterday, I requested fraud alert with the credit reporting companies, and Target has stated they will be offering free credit monitoring services for everyone impacted. The big deal is the potential for identity theft. I think I shall go off the grid. It has been nice visiting with all of you. Fare thee well !
Happy Birthday Misty !
Morning, all!
ReplyDeleteFun, fun puzzle today. I got the theme early on and was thrilled to be able to throw down ANGELASSASHES based solely on the clue.
The one place I nearly crashed and burned was at DEFENSESTEAM. I had ARENA instead of FRONT at 38D, and just didn't want to let it go. Plus, I had trouble coming up with EFILE, ANS and APGAR. Once again, though, the theme ended up saving the day. Once I stopped looking at the perps and focused on the theme answer, I quickly put in DEFENSESTEAM and the rest became obvious.
[kmselect]
Good morning C.C. et al.
ReplyDeleteAnd happy, happy birthday, Misty!! I hope Rowland fills it with fun for you!
¸¸¸.•*¨*♫♥♫¸¸¸.•*¨*♫♥♫¸¸¸.•*¨*♫♥♫¸¸¸.•*¨*♫♥♫
I didn’t look at the title before I started (I really should get in the habit of doing that!) But the theme emerged fairly quickly. In fact, I had filled in LOOK WHOS STALKING with perps and didn’t notice the extra “S.” Then I got to KEYLESS SENTRY and the light dawned. Great theme, and nicely executed.
Never heard of EUBIE, and the U crossing LUKAS was a WAG to finish the puzzle. Then there was the “Happy ___.” Hmmm…hour? Nope! Days? Nope! Oh – MEAL!!
I had to think twice about “gilded” metalware for TOLE. I was thinking of something covered in gold. But then I remembered the other definition: “Highly decorated, to cover a worthless item” (like this tin tray.)
All in all, a satisfying way to spend time on a lazy Sunday morning. Have a great day, everyone!
For those of you who had their cards compromised at Target and had a new one issued:
ReplyDeleteYou should look at your bank statement for the last month or so. If you use a debit card to automatically pay certain bills, it will say something like "Checkcard" at the beginning of the payment info. Then you can proactively contact the companies and notify them of the new card number.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteC.C. I counted 47 S's in the grid. Seems like a lot. Also counted 74 black squares. If I were into numerology (which I'm not), I'd probably think that was important.
Samoa is another 5-letter island nation. That's the one I thought of first.
Has it always been Pam Amick Klawitter? Or is the Amick a new addition? I remember Pam's name…just not the Amick.
Ralph Bellamy had a long, industrious career as a character actor. If you choose to read his filmography, you're going to be at it for a while. He also played FDR in The Winds of War and War And Remembrance.
No debit card for this curmudgeon. There are too many downsides to them. The bank always tries to wean me off my lowly ATM card. They send me a new debit card every couple of years. I never activate 'em -- just shred 'em. I do use credit cards for major purchases -- double's the MFR's warranty. You don't get that with a debit card.
I don't remember ever seeing EXORCISE in a cw before. Nice.
Happy Birthday, Misty!
d-o, I have seen her name as Pamela Amick Klawitter, Pam Klawitter, Pamela Klawitter and Pam Amick Klawitter. But her puzzles always entertain, no matter what name she uses!
ReplyDeleteHello Puzzlers -
ReplyDeleteWBS. Early theme-sussing definitely helped with this delightful puzzle, though it did take a long time to parse Look Who's Stalking. I had one or two incorrect perps there for a while.
Eubie Blake was familiar - at one time I considered buying a practice piano from the New England Conservatory that he had played while visiting there.
Pam Klawitter certainly has a memorable name. I wonder how it's pronounced.
Morning, C.C., a busy blog weekend for you - thanks! My hand is up for thinking Liquid Crystal Display right up to the last second. Then Least Common Denominator came through the mists of time.
Happy Birthday Misty! Thanks for yesterday's Glögg story. I'm hoping to try the potent-looking recipe Keith linked, if time permits.
Happy Birthday, Misty. Have a great day!
ReplyDeleteI was a math teacher, but I must admit I thought Liquid Crystal Display for w-a-y too long before LEAST common denominator popped into my head. Embarrassing.
Montana
For me this is about as enjoyable as a puzzle gets. (WES about LCD.)
ReplyDelete[26:34]
Greetings, Puzzlers! Happy to see you again,C.C.
ReplyDeleteMisty, happy birthday!
This was a properly slow sashay for a Sunday with long theme answers that required some thought. I love word plays so this fit the bill.
Nailed all but two sports fill, of course, PGAS and SABRE. I confidently filled ANGELA'S LASHES and was pleased with myself. Not!
Otherwise I enjoyed the solve and with only a few erasures got it done.
OwenKL:
You constantly impress me with your timely poetry.
Have a terrific Sunday, everyone!
Ralph BELLAMY impressed me in Pretty Woman as the indulgent hotel concierge to Roberts.
ReplyDelete@ Lucina 10:11 a.m.
ReplyDeleteYes, Ralph Bellamy was in Pretty Woman, but not the role you are thinking of.
Hector Elizondo played Barney Thompson, the hotel manager who treated Roberts' character so well.
Ralph Bellamy played James Morse, a businessman and owner of an underperforming company that Gere's character is interested in buying and breaking up. Sadly it was his final screen performance, dying the following year.
Really, no comments on how sword doesn't rhyme with word? Or how defense doesn't end with an s? Poor theme consistency...
ReplyDeleteFun puzzle. Not easy, but doable and just right for a Sunday.
ReplyDeleteI remembered Ralph Bellamy with about half the perps in place, but couldn't remember any roles. Lukas Haas is much more familiar, but is usually clued in regard to "Witness". The rest of his work is less well known.
98D on This Sundays paper is basic math for fractions. LCD is the Least Common Denominator for working with multiple fractions. e.g., 1/2+1/4+3/8. The LCD is 8 as it it the only one that the three number can be converted to easily to make a sum, so = 4/8 + 2/8 + 3/8 = 9/8 = 1 and 1/8
ReplyDeleteHappy Sunday everybody!
ReplyDeleteDNF, I'm sad to report. Got the theme, just too many unknowns, so red letters to the rescue in the end....
Do-overs include MESS for MEL'S (M*A*S*H), LEGOS for BLOCK, BRAN for OATS, TSKS for TUTS, and I'm embarrassed to admit, ALONE for PLATE....
Also had IRAN for IRAQ, but NTIP made no sense - cue the V8 can....
Favorite clue = You can see right through it....
Finally, HBD to Misty!
Now this was a fun puzzle! Thank you Pamela! And thank you, C.C., for keeping us going this weekend!
ReplyDeleteThis puzzle was about right for a Sunday. I needed lots of help from the perps, but I guess that’s why it is a crossword puzzle, right? There were too many to mention specifically. I got the theme after the first one, so that helped with a lot of long answers.
Hand up for the misdirection of LCD.
My favorite clues were 1A Stonewaller, 12D Passing remarks?, and 55D Passing remarks.
I promised to report on the dishwasher. It's in, and it's operating, but it was not without a hitch. The old drain hose wouldn't fit the new washer. The new drain hose wouldn't fit the garbage disposal. Had to make a trip to Home Depot to pick up a different size hose barb. My adventures under the kitchen sink are now at an end.
ReplyDeleteLucina, you SASHay, but you picked LASHes?
Dudley, folks in my home town with that last name pronounced it Kluh-WIT-ter.
And, yes, the captcha's are getting more difficult.
I believe LCD was used in the context of Least common denominatoHr
ReplyDeleteAnon@11:26 -- OwenKL@5:57, TTP@6:00, Dudley@8:14, Montana@8:33 and Anon@11:02 all agree with you.
ReplyDeleteHappy Sunday! As always, the big puzzle was time-consuming but doable and fun. Hand up for having trouble with LCD. I shoulda known.
ReplyDeleteHi Everyone:
ReplyDeleteHappy, Happy Birthday to our dear Misty. Enjoy your special day!
LCD threw me, also, until coming here. I loved the theme and much of the fill. I spent too much time trying to think of what word would describe emulating Father Damien's work in a leper colony. DOH! Wrong Father Damien.
Nice Sunday challenge, Pam, and kudos to CC for making everything crystal clear.
Temps around 60 today, rainy and very foggy. Cold temps return Chistmas Eve.
Have a super Sunday.
LCD (Lowest common denominator)
ReplyDeleteC.C. thank you so much for the Birthday wishes! And thank you all so much! The friendships of this blog have added much joy to these years of my life. I don't know what I would do without communing with you all every morning.
ReplyDeleteGreetngs!
ReplyDeleteGreat puzzles 2 days n a row! No cheats! Thanks to creators and to CC!
Got the theme rather quickly today.
Still having abysmal insomnia problem. Also horrible acid reflux.
Houseguest is terribly ill but leaving for semester break today. Something horrible going around here.
Have a super birthday, Misty and many more!
Isn't it strange that many people chirp in not having read previous blog entries.
Just finished reading J. Evanovich's 20th Plum diversion. Lots of fun!
Cheers!
@10:53 Sword and word are what's known as an eye rhyme, not something I usually use, but necessitated by the structure of the poem, and in this instance forgivable I think. Just consider it blank verse where every other line just happens to rhyme.
ReplyDeleteAnd I don't see anywhere that defense is spelled defens or defenses.
We're well on our way to my predicted 20 people explaining LCD. 3:)
Hi Y'all! Amusing puzzle, Pam, but far from easy.
ReplyDeleteThanks, C.C. I didn't understand "Live-income" until you explained it. I couldn't think of anything LCD stood for and didn't understand LEAST until Owen 'splained it.
Didn't remember HAGEL or LUKAS. Never heard of EUBIE. I did know BELLAMY doing that part. Yay!
Wanted "sisel" before ISTEL. Tried "open" before PGAS. Tried an "A" in MIO.
APGAR was all perps, although I remembered it when I saw it, having watched them do it on one of my babies. They did it on all of them, but I saw
only one. I was doing a newspaper column by then and the nurse thought the test would be a good subject. The baby passed okay.
We're going to have a white Christmas here. Right now we only have about three inches of snow not the 9" the weather man threatened us with. It came down softly and is lovely. How can snow lift the spirits of this curmugeon when I so hate to go out in it?
Happy Birthday, Misty! May your spirits be bright.
ReplyDeleteMontana: Really like your new avatar! Hugs back to you, too ~><~ !
ReplyDeleteBill G - Did you know that the real Wolf of Wall Street, Jordan Belfort, lives in Manhattan Beach? Just learned that from Wiki after watching Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio on Charlie Rose discussing the movie.
ReplyDeleteOwenKL, I had to laugh about your prediction on LCD explanations…if only people would read the other comments before posting theirs! And I really enjoy your poetry each day. Don't be put off by ignorant anons who cannot appreciate your art.
ReplyDeleteMontana, your new avatar inspired me…
I think you're all wrong. LCD surely refers to LEAST CRYSTAL DISPLAY, an expensive grouping of extra-small crystals on sale for the holiday season.
ReplyDeleteIrish Miss, no, I didn't know that about Jordan Belfort living in Manhattan Beach. I wonder where? We must move in different circles...
Hey, my Captcha is a bunch of very readable digits for a nice change. {35426433}
Good afternoon everyone.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Misty.
I think we've had Pam on a Sunday in the recent past. Enjoyable puzzle. Fun theme. I tend to have trouble with 'eponymous' clues, but remembered APGAR from the births of our children. Owen clarified LEAST. I don't remember abbreviating least common denominator in the LEAST. I remember LUKAS Haas from The Witness like others. Had Tonga before NAURU. No searches needed for the solve.
Tobogganing crow
66º here today.
Happy birthday, Misty. Enjoy your day.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this puzzle. I caught on to the theme early, but did the puzzle in bits and pieces because I was very busy.Solving goes faster when I can give it my undivided attention. I ended up going to Mr. G. for EUBIE which gave me LUKAS. I connect him with Witness. I didn't know Jobs.
Ralph Bellamy turned in a masterful performance as FDR in Winds of War.
NAURU was all perps.
JAZZ threw me for a while until I got OTS.
LEAST was all perps. I, too, was embarrassed that I didn't think math for LCD until LEAST popped up.I have taught and tutored LCD so many times.
I, too, was thinking of le[prosy for Father Damien for a while.
Today I baked 16 dozen rolled sand tarts from my grandmother's recipe. They are mostly butter and are so rich. We roll them extremely thin, just a tad thicker than potato chips. It takes infinite patience. For this reason are made only once a year. Fortunately today the dough was quite easy to handle. I think it depends on letting the butter achieve the exact degree of softness. The cookies are crispy and melt in your mouth. Like potato chips, people can't eat just one and pick up four or five at a time. They are everybody's favorite.
ReplyDeleteI didn't do the puzzle today, (just had no time.) But I read the Blog to make sure I didn't miss any Birthdays, or other important stuff...
ReplyDeleteOwenKL Yest@8:41pm,,, ONLY EVER GIVE THEM ONE CAKE AT A TIME!!! (Sheesh, Ya gonna put me out of business...)
Now I am going to have to find another schtick for everyones birthday!
HBD Misty!
Since I can't do silly things with a puzzle I haven't done, here are a few links I thought you might enjoy:
To Believe.
Funniest cats of 2013 compilation.
&, of course, equal time to Happy dogs!
BuckeyBob:
ReplyDeleteYou are so right! Now I recall Hector Elizondo in that role. I love him in everything I've seen him do. I guess I should watch the movie again. It's been a long while.
desper-otto@11:15
Go figure! It must be an age thing. That's my excuse for everything these days and I'm sticking to it!
Yellowrocks, IMHO there is no finer cookie than a super-thin sand tart.
ReplyDeleteWhen we lived up north, we had an Amish bakery nearby, and kept them out of sand tarts. We're now getting them shipped to us down here. We've tried making them, but damn, that's an art form.
Outstanding puzzle today, as was Merl's.
Happy Birthday, Misty; hope it's been a great one. I've always felt bad for kids whose bday is close to Christmas; it seems like they have to get cheated a bit.
I want to give a special THANK YOU to AKA Thelma, who again this year sent me the full-page crossword from the Arizona Republic, along with a wonderful Christmas card. An unexpected treat and very much appreciated.
lUkas/eUbie was right so I got a 100% on this entertaining puzzle. I laughed at every theme entry.
ReplyDeleteMusings
-I did the puzzle early but then had to leave for holiday stuff.
-Paparazzi are annoying but they’re the byproduct of fame
-My fencer was first, uh, putting up a fence
-Remember when we had to manually raise garage doors and open car doors with KEYS?
-Stonewaller? A bureaucrat with hand in cookie jar in front of congress
-Ever played or even heard of Scotland Yard?
-This American lovely had the right BAIT to catch a son of AGA(H) Kahn
-Don’t Google “Feet damaged by ballet” unless you have a strong stomach
-NASA was enthralling to all until Apollo 11’s APOGEE was the MOON and then…
-Cary Grant described the Ralph Bellamy character as “he looks like that guy in the movies, you know, Ralph Bellamy” in this screwball 1949 comedy. Too obscure for trivia?
-There’s an online OBIT today for my colleague of 35 years who died from cigarettes Friday
-Cinematic - Nebraska and Saving Mr. Banks are both fabulous
-Another? I just watched Lincoln on Showtime
-In this horrible season, ELI now has the most interceptions of any NY Giant, 2 yrs after winning a super bowl
-HBD Misty!
Re. Jordan Belfort again, he sounds like a really unpleasant, unscrupulous guy who still owes some rich people a lot of money. They had a small segment about him (really about Jonah Hill) on Sunday Morning.
ReplyDeleteSpitz, that crow speaks Russian too. Even more impressive...
YR, those sound wonderful! I'm guessing they wouldn't survive in the mail to Manhattan Beach? They would start off cookies and end up as dusty crumbs.
More and more Birthday wishes, thank you, everybody!
ReplyDeleteBut CrossEyedDave, your lovely pictures are totally special--the most special gift I'll be receiving. Thank you so much!
That crow reminded me of one wintry year on the farm. We had a covey of quail roosting in our cedar shelter belt behind the house. We were scattering grain for them in front of a little snow drift. They would march up the back of the drift and slide down the front on their backsides to the grain. It was such fun to watch. When they got full they'd disappear again into the trees. We weren't sure how many there were because some of them seemed to go back and slide several times.
ReplyDeleteGood evening, folks. Thank you, Pam A. K., for a fine puzzle. Thank you, C.C., for the fine review.
ReplyDeleteGot MASON early on after a couple Downs. I like that kind of entry.
Caught the theme early on. It did help with many answers.
AFRESH took me a while.
AUTRY was interesting. I did not know that, but it makes sense. I can hear him singing it.
Yes, LEAST, for LCD (Least Common Denominator). Great Clue/Word.
EGAL was easy. I four-perped it. Piece of cake.
EUBIE and APGAR ?????????? Perps all the way.
The center area with TENNIS CAMP/NAURU/SEMS was a brain teaser. By running the alphabet in my head a few times I finally pieced it together.
ISTLE ????? perps and a wag.
Did not finish yesterday's yet. I will work on it tonight. It was tough. Spent last night at a sleep test. Before that was at Tube Christmas in Chicago. Fun day. 387 tubas at the Palmer House.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
(52 69999358)
Husker, some of us still raise garage doors manually and use keys to unlock pickup doors.
ReplyDeleteMontana
Great puzzle. Loved it.
ReplyDeletePalmer House Tuba Christmas 2013 Abejo, this is the only one I could find so far.
ReplyDeleteEubie Blake had very long fingers! An asset for a piano player.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of piano players, or pianists, I remember Alec Templeton from a recording my dad had of Gershwin's Rhapsody In Blue in which he played the piano. He nailed it perfectly.
Love this blog.
Dennis and Biil G, I wish I could send you some sand tarts. They don't pack very well.
ReplyDeleteDennis, yes, we are PA Dutch and the recipe has been in our family for generations. Some of my sisters and a SIL still make them. It took a few Christmases for us to get the knack for it in the beginning, but it's well worth the effort.
We have given out the recipe upon request, but anyone outside our family works additional flour into the chilled dough as they roll it out, making the cookies heavier and less rich. We only dust the baking board and the rolling pin with flour.
Tomorrow I will make buttery pinwheel cookies from my other PA Dutch grandmother.
I used to make her sugar cookies, too, cut into animal shapes (very German),iced and decorated with colored sugar. I am passing on those this year. My son and DIL give us lots of their own delicious cookies.
A few days ago I finished reading The Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier. Excellent. I read her The Girl with the Pearl Earring twice. Also excellent. I will have to read some of her other novels.
ReplyDeleteNow I am reading In My Father's Country by Saima Wahab, the true story of a Pashtun Afghani refugee who was educated in the USA and returned to her country as an interpreter for the US Government. It details her culture shock in coming to the US and provides much insight into the Pashtun culture as she details her work as an interpreter.
I love traveling to learn about different cultures. I also enjoy books which explore the culture shock when different cultures meet. Discussing this interest and proposing lesson plans to build a bridge between US and Japanese cultures led to my award of a three week all expenses paid fellowship in Japan.
YR:
ReplyDeleteI also read and enjoyed The Last Runaway. A girlfriend (to whom I passed it on)and I discussed it at dinner tonight. Her comments were equally favorable.
I believe Tracy Chevalier is a gifted story teller and I love all the books I've read by her. Have you read Remarkable Creatures? That is also very good.
PK:
My fruitcake has been pronounced successful, I'm happy to say. Thank you for sharing the recipe. It was well worth all the effort and time spent on it.
Is there a fruitcake recipe floating around on the blog? PLease share.
ReplyDeleteLucina, I will have to get that book.
It's always fun to see an ex-student, Michele Tafoya, on the sidelines at a televised football game. It didn't look as if she was using any algebra though...
ReplyDeleteI came across the pilot of "Modern Family" and am re-watching it. It's fun to see how well-developed the characters were right from the start. Everyone was much the same and just as funny; just younger.
Yellowrocks, if you get a chance, I'd like to have your sand tart recipe. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI was in a coffee shop yesterday. A man came in with two boys, about eight years old. They were playfully tussling with each other, shouting, pushing, shoving, etc. No big deal but it was slightly annoying to me; I don't know how anybody else felt for sure. The man seemed to be oblivious and ignored their loud behavior. When I was out with my kids when they were young (or grandson these days), I was concerned if I thought their behavior was annoying others. I was wondering if this father thought dealing with their behavior would be detrimental to their self esteem? Is that the norm for young parents these days?
ReplyDeleteHere is a classic fruit cake recipe from Razzberry@10:43AM LINK
ReplyDeleteOr you might want Kazie's fruit cake recipe (@12:56PM) LINK
ReplyDeleteI was surprised that no one commented on TTP's comment that he was leaving the blog (6 am) or maybe I missed something? I will miss him.
ReplyDeleteDennis - you are welcome :) hope you have fun with it.... it is good to know that the puzzle arrived intact...
ReplyDeleteWay too busy to worry about the puzzle the last couple of days.... not enough time or patience to try to finish a Marti puzzle and only looked at today's briefly while I was trying to figure out how to do it on line.... that was a joke.... :)
Happy Birthday Misty...
Wishing you all a wonderful Holiday Season
thelma
Oops. Again, I plead the age card. It was pje who gave me the recipe and I thank her.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry PK.
We heard from TTP at 7:43 so I'm not sure what's going on. I refrained from commenting since I don't see the desirability of "going off the grid" because Target had a problem. I feel it's an exception and is being dealt with pretty well. We shopped at Target during that time period and have seen no fraudulent activity on our credit cards so far. There is probably more risk in driving your car regularly. Very little we do these days is completely without risk. I think there is very little danger in participating in our blog and sharing information the way we do. But that's just me and my two-cents worth.
ReplyDeleteOwen et al,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the LEAST explanation. I know the concept, just never know its Abbr.
Anonymous @11:09pm,
No worries. In real life, TTP is a computer expert. He can't live off the grid.
Argyle @10:44, thanks for the recipes. Loved Razzberry's version. LMAO.
ReplyDeleteKazie's recipe sounds great. I copied it.
PA DUTCH SAND TARTS
2 Cups sugar
1 Cup butter (not margarine!)
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs. Beat until fluffy. Add flour gradually. Chill several hours or overnight. Roll very thin on floured board with floured rolling pin. As you roll each portion keep the remainder in the fridge, Bake at 325 for 5 minutes. Sometimes we sprinkle cinnamon sugar on them before we bake them.
Quick links for cakes: classic fruit cake and Kasie's.
ReplyDeleteYeah, Santa, you rock!
ReplyDeleteCC and Bill G.: Thanks for allaying my concern about TTP. I wasn't worried about participating in this blog. Considering how often I shop at Target, I was surprised that I hadn't been there during the time period of concern. However, my doctor/hospital computer records were hacked over the summer, so understand the initial worry and hassle involved.
ReplyDeleteA Christmas present from Cassini; great close-up photos of Saturn.
ReplyDeleteSaturn slide show
Here is a slide show of those who have passed away in 2013.
2013 curtain calls
I'm continuing to enjoy Foyle's War, even in reruns.
ReplyDelete98D: LCD = Least Common Denominator
ReplyDelete