Some of us with a few miles on our odometers, can remember this 50's novelty song by Teresa Brewer whose first line was, "Put another NIckel in, In the NIckelodeon".
Well our lovely den mother C.C. and her frequent puzzling partner Don (Hard G) Gagliardo did not insert nickels but rather dropped in the chemical symbol for the element nickel - NI - into some common phrases to make some clever crossword fills. They were having so much fun, they "coined" ten theme entries. C.C. told me their original title was TENNIS ANYONE? which I absolutely did not get until she explained it to me. If you don't get it, I've explained it at the bottom of the write-up.
Theme fills (without and then Plugging In That NI)
23. Flier with a magical rod? : DIVINING BIRD - A fowl plummeting toward its next meal OR a feathered friend wielding this magic DIVINING rod to find water, minerals or whatever...
25. Signal that nails are dry? : MANI BELL - The colloquial name for Bell Telephone pre-divestiture OR a time piece with an alarm to let you know your polish is dried
35. Sweet tooth? : SUGAR CANINE - The tall, green plant from which much sugar is derived or this. Yeah, I know the CANINES are further back but work with me here.
41. Nocturnal critter enjoying a meal? : DINING BAT - Archie's pet name for Edith Bunker OR
56. Rejection of a parcel? : PACKAGE DENIAL - The whole kit and caboodle OR Jerry saying "I don't want it!" (Splynter's nightmare)
80. Part of the ad that sells the product? : FINISHING HOOK - A barb to catch a lenten meal OR how to catch a customer
94. Ace garage door mechanic? : GENIE WHIZ - A wistful remark OR the guy you'll need to fix one of these. He was at our house on Wednesday.
97. Ralph Lauren's "Celebrate Radio" clothing line? : MARCONI POLO - The Italian who spent years in the court of Kublai Kahn (but did NOT bring back spaghetti) OR the inventor of radio as a couturière
114. Superhero who doesn't do well in a crisis? : PANIC MAN - A early popular video game OR Superman who just wasn't up to it that day
116. Carrier pigeon's daily delivery? : NEWS CANISTER - A radio or TV reader of daily events OR the container attached to a homing pigeon to carry messages during WWI in this case
Now, filling my NIche as a blogger, I present my NIckel and Dime musings
Across
1. Compares poorly : PALES
6. Unites : MERGES - How we do Christmas card envelopes
12. Scoundrel : CAD
15. Terminus of all roads? : ROME - Yes all their wonderful roads did lead there at one time
19. Slip past : ELUDE
20. Lizard with a dewlap : IGUANA - Not an attractive feature
21. Coleridge wrote one on dejection : ODE
22. Scrape, in totspeak : OWIE
27. "We gotta go" : IT'S TIME
28. Work in a park, perhaps : STATUE - Work of art
30. Fight sites : ARENAS
31. Couple in a boat : OARS - Sometimes I don't have both of mine in the water
33. Venice glider : GONDOLA
46. Sporty auto roofs : T-TOPS
47. Cut with a beam : LASE - Would you really want to LASE your eyes as cheaply as possible?
48. First name in fashion : COCO - Ms. Chanel
49. Word accompanying finger-shaking : NO NO
50. San __: jet set resort : REMO - In the map above, it appears that one of those roads that led to Rome came from this far NW Italy town 30 miles from Nice, France
51. Many an earring : CLIP ON
53. A grand's ten : C-SPOTS - It takes ten of these C-NOTES to made a grand - $1,000
55. "__ you serious?" : ARE - A variation
62. Founder of what is now Lima : PIZARRO - My first Juan had two Z's
64. Drag racing gp. : NHRA - Should I write out National Hot Rod Association? Nah!
65. "My bad!" : I'M SORRY - Popularized in '95 move Clueless
67. Showed pain : MOANED
69. "__ I done?" : WHAT'VE
70. Eatery serving filled fare : TACO BAR - Let me at it!
72. First park with a Home Run Apple : SHEA - Home of the Mets from 1964 - 2008
75. Potpourri : GRAB BAG
79. Hockey great : ORR
83. 67.5 deg. : ENE - Here 'ya go
84. DVD player error message : NO DISC
86. Call before a snap : HUT ONE - Start of a QB's cadence but usually shared with the center
88. All square : EVEN - Tied up
89. __ the crack of dawn : UP AT
91. Time to give up? : LENT - 40 days that start on Ash Wednesday
93. Hamlet and Victor Borge : DANES - Victor would be bigger laughs at a party!
99. Where Puccini's "Turandot" premiered : LA SCALA - Turandot contains the fabulous aria Nessun Dorma
101. Salon, say : E-MAG
102. Patio door : SLIDER
106. In the thick of : AMIDST
109. Game with melding : CANASTA
118. Airbrush target : ACNE - Before and after airbrushing. SHAZAM!
119. Explosive first used as a yellow dye : TNT
120. Subside : DIE OUT
121. Scottish feudal lord : THANE - Macbeth was the THANE of Glamis
122. Wicked one's lack? : REST
123. Garden chopper : HOE
124. Controversial blasts : A-TESTS - America's first A Bomb TEST was in central New Mexico three weeks before Fat Man was dropped on Hiroshima (see 74 Down)
125. Gossip queen : YENTA
Down
1. Digital indulgence : PEDI - Maybe you'll need a PEDI BELL like 25 Across
2. Came down : ALIT
3. Ultra Leakguards brand : LUVS - Our girls had cotton diapers
4. Polish for publication : EDIT - Not Polish as in the country but as in polish - make better
5. Fourth-year group : SENIORS - SENIORitis is epidemic this time of year in High Schools
6. __ water : MINERAL
7. Metaphorical facial embarrassment : EGG - Sling one and you might get one back
8. Coaxes from a lamp, with "out" : RUBS - Coaxing out the Genie that doesn't make garage door openers
9. Canter or trot : GAIT
10. Really tick off : ENRAGE
11. "__ say ... " : SAD TO - "Well I'm SAD TO say, I'm on my way, won't be back for many a day"
12. Chuckle-inducing : COMEDIC - Some good COMEDIC material makes us uncomfortable
13. Oral health org. : ADA
14. Alaska Range highlight : DENALI - Pres. Obama moved to change the name back to this rather than Mt. McKinley. Works for me.
15. Loungewear item : ROBE - My summer ROBE just came upstairs this week
16. Wilson of "Marley & Me" : OWEN - Not on my radar
17. Leon Uris' "__ 18" : MILA - Title comes from the address of the Jewish Resistance in Warsaw ulica Miła 18 (18 Mila Street, in English)
18. Elongated fish : EELS
24. Desktop since 1998 : IMAC - Our great iMAC experience is not shared by all here
26. Persian Gulf land : IRAN - I met a woman who identified herself as Persian (ethnicity) not IRANIAN (nationality), adding that she preferred to separate herself from the politics of the country.
29. Come __: lose one's composure : UNDONE - She's Come UNDONE - The Guess Who
32. Vending machine item : SNACK
34. Tokyo-born artist : ONO
35. Spaghetti __ : STRAP - These spaghetti-STRAPPED bib overalls are not intended for farm chores
36. Gestation sites : UTERI
37. Addams family patriarch : GOMEZ
38. Mil. address : APO - Army Post Office
39. Key, e.g. : ISLAND
40. Stable negative? : NEIGH
42. Econ. measure : GNP - Gross National (State) Product equivalents in 2012
43. Anti at the ballpark : BOOER - Also a boor
44. Full of nervous energy : ANTSY - Example A - Teaching a 2nd grade art class
45. Deep-six : TOSS - I'll bet you know the huge movie where a woman decided to DEEP-SIX this diamond
48. Sonata finale : CODA
52. According to : PER
53. Leader who gave up cigar-smoking in 1985 : CASTRO
54. Polish relative : SLOVAK
56. Checks for errors : PROOFS - I PROOF my blogs to check for errors, but the best laid plans of men and mice...
57. Mideast language : ARABIC
58. Late-night show since 2010 : CONAN
59. Biomedical research agcy. : NIH- National Institute of Health
60. Insect stage after pupa : IMAGO - The end product of the process
63. Theater chain initials : AMC
66. Johnny __ : REB - His side got second
68. Pa. airport north of PIT : ERI(E)
69. Ring Cycle composer : WAGNER - Hitler's iPod would have had lots of Richard's work
70. Treasure stash : TROVE
71. "As You Like It" forest : ARDEN - From the River Avon to the River Tame
72. Close : SHUT
73. Top 10 song : HIT
74. __ Gay : ENOLA - Delivery vehicle for device mentioned in 126 Across
76. Bingo cousin : BEANO - A predecessor where I'll bet you know what was used to mark the cells
77. Word from the Latin for "messenger" : ANGEL
78. Painter's undercoat : GESSO - Applying and sanding Golden Brand GESSO
79. Universal donor's type, briefly : O-NEG - As you can see, O-Negative blood can be given to any other type and AB+ only to other AB+'s
81. Gomer Pyle exclamation : SHAZAM
82. Thus : HENCE
85. Pasta suffix : INI
87. Heat up quickly : ZAP
89. Hesitant sounds : UH'S
90. Hot and spicy : PICANTE
92. Alley lurkers : TOMCATS
93. It's good to lose with it : DIGNITY - or...
95. Juice: Abbr. : ELEC
96. Geniality : WARMTH
97. Reached the big time : MADE IT - Like George and Weezie
98. Chicken vindaloo go-with : NAAN
100. Singer Ronstadt : LINDA
102. Practice for a bout : SPAR - World's worst job? SPARRING with Mike Tyson.
103. Bra fabric : LACE
104. Holiday lodgings? : INNS
105. South Beach, for one : DIET
107. __'Pea : SWEE - Swee' Pea was left on Popeye's doorstep
108. General __ chicken : TSO'S
110. 1975 Wimbledon champ : ASHE - He won, lost and lived with DIGNITY!
111. Asian country suffix : STAN - There's a few
112. Lawn party rental : TENT
113. Interior designer's statistic : AREA
115. "Is that __?" : A NO - He's good at it!
117. "Stop filming!" : CUT - Or Stop Blogging!
C.C.'s original title of TENNIS ANYONE means TEN NI'S ANYONE as in ten insertions of NI. Duh, Gary!
Well, that's my NIckel's worth. Now, how about your two cents?
GRID
Greetings!
ReplyDeletesp
Thanks, CC, Don and Gary!
Fun puzzle! Cute theme!
Only a few things had to be perped.
(Gary: those aren't what I consider to be spaghetti straps!)
Time for buddy!
Have a great Sunday,all!
Morning, all!
ReplyDeleteHope everybody remembered to turn their clock ahead and are coping with the resulting loss of an hour's sleep.
It took me an embarrassing long time to get the theme today, but once I got it at MARCONI POLO I was able to go back and quickly deal with most of the rest. The only one that gave me trouble was GENIE WHIZ, simply because I don't own a garage and wasn't familiar with the GENIE brand. NEWS CANISTER, on the other hand, ended up getting entirely filled in by the perps before I even got around to reading the clue. Regardless, I thought the theme was very enjoyable.
Most of the rest of the puzzle was pretty straightforward, but I did stare at WHAT__ for a while before up with WHAT'VE finally occurred to me. Part of the problem was that I initially had CNOTES before CSPOTS and thought "Polish relative" was trying to be tricky and was referring to furniture polish.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteI failed to leap forward with DIGNITY this morning. Overslept, and my trusty atomic wrist watch also failed to make the leap. It'll stay an hour behind until I figure out how to set it manually.
Got the theme early, but failed to see the humor in it. To make matters worse, I ELIDEd where I should have ELUDEd, resulting in a DNF. Dang! DST is not beginning well.
"RUBS out" sounds more like gangsta activity than genie coaxing, IMO.
Forget the DEWLAP, I am now anxiously awaiting a Saturday cw with the clue: Critter with a subtympanic shield.
HG- what is worth more? a 'plug NIckel' or 'two cents'
ReplyDeleteUnusual for me but I caught the NIce theme at DIVINING BIRD. NIce NI intersections C.C. I didn't know what 'vindaloo' was but NAAN was a good guess. The only trouble I had was in the $100 bill area at the crosses of WHAT'VE, SLOVAK, C-SPOTS, & BOOER. I was thinking C-NOTES, BILLS, BENJIS, CROAKERS ( a local term for a fish)-just a GRAB BAG of words before SPOTS appeared. BEANO is a game I have never heard of.
"49. Word accompanying finger-shaking : NO NO"- shouldn't it be 'Words'?
Well the women get both a MANI and a PEDI today. So before I lose all my DIGNITY and come UNDONE, I'll just say that IT'S TIME to go.
Lovely puzzle C.C. and Don; terrific analysis, Gary.
ReplyDeleteHand up for ELIDE instead of ELUDE.
It took me along time to give up on VARIETY instead of GRAB BAG, but all's well that ends well.
Have a great day, everyone.
Musings
ReplyDelete-Ferm, bib overalls held up by straps came to my mind here in Nebraska even though jeans have mostly supplanted them. However, on a whim, I did a search on “Bib overalls + spaghetti straps” and got what you saw at several sites with Spaghetti Straps prominently featured in the description
-Big Easy, my two cents is worth bupkis!
-Merriam Webster says NO-NO is one word, so that finger shaker might be saying, “That’s a NO-NO” and perhaps I shouldn’t have inserted a space. Did you read where both my OARS are both not in the water sometimes?
-After a few interesting parses of “Magic Rod” in my head, I did get the theme at DIVINING BIRD
-BTW, a colleague of mine was asked by the city to use his divining rods shaped like this to find old burial sites under what is now a city park. He claims he found them.
I love the TENNIS ANYONE title. You can tell areal crossword constructor when they look at the simple word TENNIS and see it as TEN NIS.
ReplyDeleteThe origin of PLUGGED NICKEL is both logical and interesting.
It is fun to see the Dynamic Duo being productive together again.
Thanks Gary, Don and C.C.
I don't like time changes! Pick one and stick to it.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I LOVED this puzzle. Lots of clever and original stuff. I had a hard time thinking of NONO as one word. Even Gary wrote it as two words at first but I bow to Merriam Webster' expertise. I had trouble with GESSO, CSPOTS, WHAT'VE, spelling PIZARRO correctly and a couple of others but I enjoyed the cleverness of the theme and this whole puzzle. Well done you two!
Off for a little coffee, breakfast and a nap.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteWell, this was certainly no walk in the park! I did catch the theme early on and that helped somewhat, but there were still enough unknowns and temporary Naticks to make me work for the TADA. I don't know if it's the time change effect or time for new glasses but I read airbrush target as ambush, A Coleridge who wrote..., thinking the answer was Samuel, which, of course has more than 3 letters, plus one other goofy misreading that I can't remember. I thought the theme was devilishly clever (CC's trademark, IMO) and lots of fresh cluing and fill. CSO to Abejo at Eri and CED at alley cats, and Lucina at mani and pedi!
Thanks, CC and Don, for an enjoyable and challenging Sunday sojourn and thanks, HG, for your witty and wise write-up.
Have a great day.
Just rechecked the puzzle; my other goofy error was filling in Trane, (as in air-conditioners) for Thane (as in Scottish rulers!). As Tin would say, Go figure! 😉
ReplyDeleteHola y Buenos dias!
ReplyDeleteThank you, C.C. and Don G! This was a fun romp though of course I didn't catch the theme but didn't need it. DININGBAT was my favorite play on words today.
My SUGARCANINE has not been indulged lately and I've lost 13 pounds. No bread, either.
Ditto for ELIDE/ELUDE but saw it in time. My waterloo was POLO/BEANO. Had to look up RL's line.
Have a beautiful day, everyone!
Thank you, Gary, as well.
ReplyDeleteGreat Sunday puzzle, CC and Don. I caught the theme early on and it helped a lot. It was fun and clever. LUVS really held me up because I misread the clue as LEAF GUARD, but the P in PEDI gave me PALES and so LUVS. Gary, I like your style.. I recognized it right off.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed seeing the dynamic duo byline, so jumped right in. But it was slow going throughout. Didn't catch the theme until the third installment, but it helped a lot after that. got a good laugh out of Marconi Polo. Thank you C.C., Don and Gary.
ReplyDeleteGary, I can find an underground electrical line with copper wires bent like those you displayed. And Ive had some luck finding water lines as well. Can't find deep water though, so it has very limited use for me. But it's fun to play around with.
Would have bet the farm that universal donor was O+... Except it didn't work.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise a pleasant Sunday puzzle.
This is what spaghetti straps bring to mind for me. In high school I made a spaghetti strap dress which my sister borrowed to wear to her prom. I was pleased.
ReplyDeleteLink spaghetti straps
What fun to find a C.C./Don puzzle on Sunday morning! I really enjoyed filling it in although I had some trouble in the SE and had to cheat just a little to finish it all up (never heard of BEANO, for example). I got the theme early on but for some reason thought it might involve not only NI but also the reverse, IN. But later saw that the INs had an N before them and were NIs after all. Anyway, many thanks Don and C.C. for a pleasurable morning when I got up an hour late, to my surprise (shouldn't have been surprised).
ReplyDeleteHusker Gary, so glad you mentioned Teresa Brewer. I remember the song well and it will probably be the ear worm of my day.
Have a great Sunday, everybody!
A wonderful, smile-inducing puzzle. Loved it. Laughed out loud at DININGBAT. Just as Yellowrocks recognized Gary's posting style (as did I) I also recognized C.C.'s inimical style (as did Irish Miss). Thanks to you both.
ReplyDeleteAs for Friday's and yesterday's puzzles, I had to admire the clever TABLE construction of Friday's, which made that crossword puzzle more of a round-the-corner 5-way puzzle as well. But, I must say that it felt to me more like a showoff piece designed to satisfy the constructor for a job well done (and well done it was!) than as an endeavor to give the solver pleasure. Like many of you, I found Saturday's puzzle to be easier than expected, yet quite pleasurable and satisfying.
I also think of spaghetti straps as applying to a woman's dress.
Like Bill G, I don't like these time changes. There is a movement afoot in California to stick with standard time all year 'round, like Arizona does. Frankly, I'd love it if we stuck with daylight saving time all year 'round, because I like having the daylight in the evening rather than early morning before I'm even awake to enjoy it.
Best wishes to you all.
Sunday lurker say...
ReplyDeleteDoh! I missed a Sunday C.C. I'll print this tomorrow and give it a go (now that I have all the answers, he says impishly).
IT'S ALIVE! The Alfa started. Eldest & I just took it for a 30 min spin and then gave a quick wash. Damn, it's a beautify car (esp when it runs :-)).
The earlier talk of plug'd nickels made me think of what Levenson wrote of my favorite mathematician in Newton and the Counterfeiter (the Mental Floss article sums it up but, if you have the time, the book is wonderful).
Whoot! Good going Lucina on your un-sweet 13!
Cheers, -T
Wow. Two days in a row for quick solves. (Actually I finished this one last night in our weekend newspaper.) Thanks Don & C.C. and Husker Gary.
ReplyDeleteI smiled when I got the theme and appreciated all the theme clues. It did take me a while to figure out MANIBELL as my pronunciation of Ma Bell is not the same "a" sound as in Mani and I was trying to figure out how Mabell related to anything. (I hate to ask whether we have regional pronunciation differences again today or was this theme answer just a slight deviation.)
Our poor Anon will be apoplectic at the blasphemy in 94A. (I dare our CW constructors to work apoplectic into a future puzzle!)
I agree with Big Easy @9:25 that No No! when used as a warning accompanied by finger-shaking would seem to be two words as in this Harry Potter quote:
ReplyDeleteNoNoDefinitelyNot
Webster's one (hyphenated) word "no-no" is a pronoun while No as a negative answer or response is an adverb. Small nit because No is the same word, just repeated.
Erie is shortened today. CSO to Owen at 16D.
I had Slavic before SLOVAK (although I was misdirected with our mani/pedi clues also) and I wanted "is that all", before "is that a NO" (or perhaps a No-no).Groan!
Adjusting to DST. How can losing 1 hour make such a difference?
Try again for the Harry Potter clip. It is very short!
ReplyDeleteNONODefinitelyNot
Lots of chuckles today with the theme entries and with the clue misdirections.
ReplyDeleteI have no problem with "no-no" as one word as something taboo. I had an aunt who refused to childproof her house once she became a grandparent - she became known as "The Grumpy Grandma in the "No-no" House" to her grandkids- too bad...
Thanks CC, Don, and Gary!
I love the long light evenings with daylight saving time. I greatly look forward to it. I would miss it if it were outlawed. The time change is not disruptive to me at all. But then I do not get jet lag back and forth from Europe. I do get it coming home from Asia. With standard time it would be so dark on winter mornings, but if I had to choose one for year round I would pick daylight savings.
ReplyDeleteInimical means harmful or hostile. CC' s style is inimitable, unique and special.
ReplyDeleteHi Y'all! Great puzzle, C.C. & Don! Great expo, Gary!
ReplyDeleteI sorta got the theme, but the meaning of "plugged nickel" ELUDEd me. I could see the NI but was thinking money not elements. I like "Tennis anyone better."
#1 A & D were the last to fill after several tries. Had to red-letter run the "P".
I wanted to "slide" by before ELUDE.
67.5 was ENE. I had that perped but no idea of the meaning until Gary's great picture.
"Mila 18" I read over 50 years ago. Heartbreaking story.
In my teens, my parents left for a weekend to attend a funeral. My sis & I were allowed to have two friends stay over. The one girl taught us Canasta. We played non-stop for two days (well, except for food, bathroom and naps). Never played in the 60 years since. Somehow remembered MELD. Don't remember how to do it.
IMAGO, I got. But butterfly sounds so much prettier.
DINING rat, cat, pat. Oh, BAT!
Too long removed from diapers to get LUVS. Youngest grandkid I got to diaper is ten.
Did anyone ever hear of this? My sister-in-law's mother is getting shots in her EYEBALL for macular degeneration. I'm cringing at the thought, but glad she's getting some help. Introduction of infection seems possible to pessimistic me.
Oops, yes, I meant to thank Gary for his always insightful write-up but I forgot. Thanks Gary, CC and Don HG.
ReplyDeleteMusings 2
ReplyDelete-My dislike of DST is maxed out on July 4th when fireworks don’t start in earnest until 10 pm and then go on interminably
-Some energy studies show that DST saves no energy or perhaps even wastes energy
-Golf courses love DST for obvious reasons
-Farmers love the extra hour of sunlight for the corn. I know it’s an old joke but…
-When detasseling corn, I hated it because sunlight started later and later which made early August work tougher for the kids
-BTW, pursuant to last week’s discussion, the responsorial PSALM today was from Psalms 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6 (SALMS, SAHMS, PALMS, PAHMS, etc.) ☺ I had to look it up because, UH, I wasn’t really tuned in
-It never occurred to adults of my yute to supply an alternative activity rather than just say NO, NO and give us a swat where LUVS are being worn today
-My first links for Spaghetti (nothing to do with Marconi) Straps yielded much more attractive attire but I went for a more off kilter exhibition!
-The words Monarch IMAGO will never pass my lips, my keyboard, yes, but spoken, NO NO!
I misspoke. DST in winter would make the mornings darker.
ReplyDelete.
I meant "Time for buddy", of course. Lots of sleep but still feel tired.
ReplyDeleteMacBook Pro is sick. First time ever after 5 years. Have appt. with Apple Store tomorrow, if Harvey is available.
I, too, would like daylight savings forever!
Good grief! Time for bEddy!
ReplyDeleteI'm like Gary in that I've not woken up to an alarm clock since 1990. I can adjust to the switch from Daylight Wasting Time to DST without missing a beat. I won't notice any issues by Wednesday.. The switch back in the fall is a bit harder, but usually takes no more than ~10 days. And since we are near the western edge of our time zone I'd have a very hard time dealing with it being dark until nearly 9 AM on winter mornings. So, I'd vote for the current system, despite the twice yearly inconvenience.
ReplyDeleteRoget, you're right. I used the wrong word. I'm glad you knew what I meant anyway.
ReplyDeleteI sure was disappointed with Chuck Todd this morning on Meet The Press. He belabored silly questions and nonchalantly waved off a wonderful opportunity handed to him on silver platter by Ted Cruz to ask him about policy issues. I mean, if somebody said to me "I plan to have a flat tax and abolish the IRS" I would jump on the chance to ask him how and why he would do that. I wouldn't repeatedly attempt to get him to make disparaging comments about sensationalist finger pointing. Thankfully, Cruz refused to take the bait. Why doesn't the news media enlighten us as to the issues that matter? Never mind, I already know why: "If it bleeds it leads."
Lucina, congratulations! I don't have a sweet tooth but I'm not sure I could survive with my chips, popcorn, or other salty, fatty temptations!
ReplyDeletePK, shots in the eyeball are quite common for macular degeneration. I believe it is the only treatment for the "wet" kind. I hold my breath every time I go to my retina specialist because I can't envision getting those shots. So far, so good; I got a good report about a month ago,
Bluehen, I hope you check into the blog tonight as I wanted to wish you the very best for your surgery tomorrow! We'll be thinking of you!
Irish Miss: thanks for your reply. Do they put the patient under anesthetic? I can't imagine being able to keep from blinking when the needle came close. My SIL's mother is 95 and an avid reader with a lot of gumption.
ReplyDeleteAnonT & Irish Miss:
ReplyDeleteThank you! It was very difficult at first but now I hardly think about it. Today, however, I went to a friend's birthday party and cheated with a sliver of chocolate cake and a small dollop of ice cream. We'll see what that does in tomorrow's weigh-in.
Incidentally, my friend has dementia and when I mentioned about her birthday she responded, "yes, that's coming up, isn't it?" It was her birthday party. How sad it made me as she was a brilliant woman.
Lucina wrote: "How sad it made me as she was a brilliant woman."
ReplyDeleteVery sad indeed. My mother wasn't a brilliant woman but as she also proceeded through that terrible theft of her brain, it was the lowest period of my life. Best wishes for your friend.
Thank you, Bill.
ReplyDeleteI'm on the fence if I should post this or not...
ReplyDeleteLucina - For you, the blind who once could see...
Losing my mind is my biggest fear and an existential question - Am I my mind or what loved ones see of me in the flesh? If I don't know I lost my mind but others do, does it matter? Do I still feel, without my memories, the love of friends & family? Do they still feel my love if I just exist in the flesh?
This is heavy.
I'm sorry to hear about your friend. I think it may be harder on you than her.
God Speed. -T
To followup Lucina (since I got off the fence). I saw dementia 1st hand with maternal-great-grandma at the nursing home. It was like time went backwards for her.
ReplyDeleteUpon being told her son (my grandpa R) was there, she said "R? Where's R? You're R? No, where's my boy R? Oh, you're him? You're so grown up now."
"I have a song for you." And then she began singing "Mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy..."
I later learned that was the song she'd sung to Grandpa R. when he was a baby and to my mom when she was a tot. I was only 9 then; obviously it stuck (and scared me).
In retrospect, I think great-gram felt the love.
I know you'll be there for your friend w/ your love and she'll know it. -T
I don't understand why some adults would get excited over a totally unrelated coincidence such a fake name being used as fill in nationally published crossword puzzle authored by a unwitting constructor. **mind blown**
ReplyDelete