An Ode to Dogs
Gary Larson's theme for this puzzle was service animals, which all happen to be dogs. But let's face it -- have you ever seen a seeing eye cat? 😀. Jimmy Stewart's famous Ode to Beau was probably my best option for a splash screen -- Old Shep is a bit maudlin (but a favorite of my Dad's) and Who Let the Dogs Out is positively manic. No asterisks, no circles, no reveal -- just 5 punny clues that fill to a two word in the language phrase, the second word being a wet-nosed canine (see also 15A for a slobbering comic Easter Egg). The fills are illustrated here with definitions of the full phrase, followed by the canine ...
17A. Service animal for a heavy-metal musician?: ROCK HOUND. Someone who collects rocks and minerals. For anyone with a passing interest in this subject I cannot recommend enough the Golden Nature Guide to Rocks and Minerals by Herbert Zim. This brief book is beautifully illustrated and chock full of info ...
 |
| Basset Hound |
25A. Service animal for a neighborhood cop?: BEAT BOXER. Beat boxing is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of mimicking drum machines (typically a TR-808), using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice. Here French Beatboxer/Singer MB-14 wins the Golden Buzzer on Britain's Got Talent 2023! Check out curmudgeon Simon Cowell's stunned expression ...
The American Kennel Club lists fewer variants of the BOXER breed and cites their loyalty, affection, intelligence, work ethic, and good looks:
 |
| Boxer |
 |
| Bunny Chow |
 |
| Chow Chow |
There are many breeds of SETTER, but my favorite is the Irish Setter, a high-spirited dog known for grace, swiftness, and a flashy red coat. They are famously good family dogs: sweet-tempered companions for the folks, and rollicking playmates and tennis-ball fetchers for the children.
 |
| Irish Setter |
 |
| Mark Spitz and Suzy Weiner on their wedding day in May 1973 |
This lively Finnish SPITZ, the flame-colored, foxy-faced breed from the “Land of 60,000 Lakes,” is a small but fearless hunting dog whose unique style of tracking and indicating quarry has earned him the nickname the “Barking Bird Dog.”
 |
| Finnish Spitz |
Here's the rest ...
Across:
1. Cheerless: GRIM.
5. Expression: TERM.
9. Language of "The Rubáiyát": FARSI. The Rubáiyát is a poem written by Omar Khayyam (1048–1131), dubbed "the Astronomer-Poet of Persia". It is a religious work and is 178 pages long, but the stanza you hear most often is
A Book of Verses underneath the Bough,A Jug of Wine, A Loaf of Bread—and ThouBeside me singing in the Wilderness—Oh, Wilderness were Paradise enow!
In FARSI (Persian) this would be rendered as
کتاب آیات زیر شاخه،یک کوزه شراب، یک قرص نان - و توکنار من در حال آواز خواندن در بیابان -آه، بیابان ها بهشتی بودند!
This passage reminds me a bit of the Song of Songs from the Old Testament.
14. "Mazes and Monsters" novelist Jaffe: RONA. Rona Jaffe (June 12, 1931 – December 30, 2005) was an American novelist who published numerous works from 1958 to 2003. During the 1960s, she also wrote cultural pieces for Cosmopolitan. In 1981, Jaffe published Mazes and Monsters, which depicted a Dungeons & Dragons-like game that caused disorientation and hallucinations among its players and incited them to violence and attempted suicide. In 1982 the book was adapted by CBS into a made-for-TV movie of the same name, featuring a 26-year-old Tom Hanks in one of his earliest appearances.
 |
| Rona Jaffe |
 |
| Odie |
17. [Theme clue]
19. Club rule: BYLAW.
20. Courtroom event: TRIAL. Purportedly the most famous criminal trial in U.S. history was The People of the State of California v. Orenthal James Simpson in Los Angeles County Superior Court. Former NFL player and actor O. J. Simpson was tried and acquitted for the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman, who were stabbed to death outside Brown's condominium in Los Angeles on June 12, 1994. The trial spanned eight months, from January 24 to October 3, 1995.
21. Family girl: SIS.
23. Esports event with fighting games, familiarly: EVO. The Evolution Championship Series, commonly known as EVO, is an American annual esports event that focuses exclusively on fighting games. The tournaments are completely open and use the double elimination format. Here's an Evo 2022 trailer
24. Legitimate-looking facade: FRONT. One of the most famous false fronts was the World War II Allies' elaborate disinformation campaign in the run up to D-Day 1944, codenamed Operation Bodyguard. It was a multi-faceted ruse designed to convince Hitler that the invasion would take place across the English Channel to Pas-de-Calais in Northwestern France rather than the Normandy beaches, and that it would be later than the intended date of June 6th. The plan relied on coordinated deceptions aided by fictitious reports by flipped German double-agents feeding false information back to Hitler; Allied general look-alikes appearing in unexpected places; radio reports of British troops massing in Scotland; dummy aircraft and an armada of decoy landing crafts, composed only of painted canvases pulled over steel frames; and even inflatable tanks that could be easily moved during cover of darkness ...
 |
| Dummy Sherman Tank |
25. [Theme clue]
28. Setting for climbing hills: LOW GEAR. IN A VALLEY was too long.
30. Portable writing surface: LAP DESK. As a modern form the lap desk is meant primarily for use in bed and other similar circumstances, and is also known as a bed desk. There are a variety of forms available, but as a rule it is much smaller and simpler than the antique lap desk, having at the most a small drawer or holding area for a ballpoint pen and a pencil. Lap desks have been around for a while -- here is one dating from the 18th or early 19th century ...
 |
| Antique lap desk |
32. Browser subwindow: TAB.
34. Settles in for the night: ROOSTS.
38. One who may be up a creek with a paddle: CANOER. Without one you'd be outta' luck. 😀
41. Part of BTW and FTW: THE. By The Way and For The Win.
42. Minor player: COG. An easily replaceable component?
45. Theologian Thomas: AQUINAS. St. Thomas Aquinas OP (Order of Preachers; c. 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest, an influential philosopher and theologian, and a jurist in the tradition of scholasticism. He devoted himself to synthesizing Aristotelian philosophy with the principles of Christianity and he has been described as "the most influential thinker of the medieval period". English philosopher Anthony Kenny called Aquinas "one of the greatest philosophers of the Western world".
 |
| St. Thomas Aquinas Altarpiece from Ascoli Piceno, Italy, by Carlo Crivelli (15th century) |
 |
| Moving sculpture |
52. Chipmaker: INTEL. Intel was incorporated in Mountain View, California, on July 18, 1968, by Gordon E. Moore (known for "Moore's law"), a chemist; Robert Noyce, a physicist and co-inventor of the integrated circuit; and Arthur Rock, an investor and venture capitalist. Intel supplies microprocessors for most manufacturers of computer systems (albeit not the one this review is being written on!), and is one of the developers of the x86 series of instruction sets found in most personal computers (PCs).
 |
| Intel Headquarters Santa Clara, CA |
54. Make use of: TAP.
55. Service order?: SEALS. A very clever clue. The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs' main functions are conducting small-unit special operation missions in maritime, ju😟ngle, urban, arctic, mountainous, and desert environments. SEALs are typically ordered to capture or kill high-level targets, or to gather intelligence behind enemy lines. It was Seal Team Six who took out 911 mastermind Osama bin Laden.
 |
| Navy Seals Insignia |
59. [Theme clue].
62. Unsettling: EERIE. That scary lake just north of Cleveland, Ohio.😟
63. Aweather's opposite: ALEE.
64. Some pickled pods: OKRA.
65. Jule who composed many Streisand show tunes: STYNE. Jule Styne (December 31, 1905 – September 20, 1994)[2] was an English-American songwriter and composer widely known for a series of Broadway musicals, including several famous frequently-revived shows that also became successful films: Gypsy, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and Funny Girl. Here's Barbara Streisand singing People from Funny Girl ...
66. Inappropriate at the office, briefly: NSFW. Not Suitable For Work.
67. Half-moon tide: NEAP.
Down:
1. "So mad!": GRR.
2. Tree trauma: ROOT ROT. How to identify, treat, and prevent root rot.
 |
| Plant afflicted with root rot |
4. Bringing in: MAKING.
5. 49-Down product: TOOL. E.g. a ratchet wrench ...
7. Hose off: RINSE.
8. In the center, in anatomy: MEDIAL. The practice of medicine requires precise terms for the location of anatomical entities. Here are some of the main terms.
10. "Vice" Oscar nominee Adams: AMY. Vice is a 2018 American biographical political satire black comedy film directed, written, and produced by Adam McKay. The cast of this film include Christian Bale as former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, with Amy Adams as his wife Lynne. The film follows Cheney on his path to becoming the most powerful vice president in American history.
11. Pricey watches: ROLEXES. This one can be yours for only $117,399 ...
13. "I guess that's acceptable": IT WORKS. In my experience IT often doesn't work! 🙄
18. Detest: HATE.
22. Sourdough need: STARTER. Lisa Bass will show you how to make a sourdough starter from scratch.
24. Fruit __: FLY. Who knew that the lowly FRUIT FLY, AKA Drosophila Melanogaster, the tiny pest that shows up in the Fall when fruits start to ferment, would turn out to be a lynchpin of modern genetics. In 1910 Thomas Hunt Morgan began using fruit flies in experimental studies of heredity at Columbia University in a laboratory known as the Fly Room. Several factors make them ideal for studying genetics:
- their simplicity -- they have only 4 chromosomes, compared with 23 in humans;
- their reproduction rate -- a single pair of flies can produce hundreds of offspring within a couple of weeks, and the offspring become sexually mature within one week;
- the large size of the chromosomes in their salivary glands -- making them easy to study with a microscope.
 |
| Drosophila Chromosomes |
25. Garments with cups: BRAS. Or 236.59 ccs when measured with the metric system. 😀
26. Fraternal gp.: BPOE. The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE; also often known as the Elks Lodge or simply The Elks) is an American fraternal order founded in 1868, originally as a social club in New York City. Remember, like the word deer, ELK is never pluralized.
 |
| BPOE Logo |
29. Draw in: ATTRACT. E.g. fruit ATTRACTS 24Ds.
33. Stake: BET.
35. Enlist: JOIN.
36. Li'l: EENY. Like 24Ds.
37. Become friendlier: THAW.
38. Taxi drivers: CABBIES.
39. Hair spray brand: AQUA NET. Use it to playfully nag your locks ... 😀
 |
| Aqua Net |
42. Gracefully stealthy: CAT LIKE. Garfield is a CAT (see 15A), sometimes stealthy, but never graceful.
43. Fat substitute: OLESTRA. Olestra (also known by its brand name Olean) is a fat substitute food additive that adds no metabolizable calories to products. It has been used in the preparation of otherwise high-fat foods, thereby lowering or eliminating their fat content.
 |
| Olestra 3D structure |
44. Set: GEL.
46. High priest who heals the sick: SHAMAN. A practitioner of Shamanism.
 |
| Buryat (Mongolian) shaman on Olkhon Island, Siberia |
49. Wisconsin manufacturer founded as a wrench company in 1920: SNAP-ON. Snap-on Incorporated, headquartered in Kenosha, Wisconsin is an American designer, manufacturer, and marketer of high-end tools and equipment for professional use in the transportation industry including the automotive, heavy duty, equipment, marine, aviation, and railroad industries. Snap-on was founded as the Snap-on Wrench Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1920 by Joseph Johnson and William Seidemann -- the business manufactured and marketed ten sockets that would "snap on" to five interchangeable handles (see 5D). Anyone who tinkers with car engines or other machines finds socket wrenches indispensable.
55. Misrepresent, as data: SKEW. The misrepresentation of data by skewing is common in the advertising industry and is taken for granted. Misrepresentation of data in science is much more serious and may be the result of either unintentional error or outright fraud.
57. ATM code: PIN. Personal Identification Number.
58. Comfy top: TEE.
60. Field worker?: REF. As in the REFEREE on a football field.
61. Nuke: ZAP.
Cheers,
Bill
And as always, thanks to Teri for proof reading and for her constructive criticism.
waseeley
Well, I can’t say the puzzle wasn’t fair because, for the most part, it was. Even the “theologian” was gettable, after a few perps. Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
ReplyDeleteA most impressive offering from Gary today, a clever themed grid which is also a pangram, fairly rare in a 15X15. I always wonder if a constructor sets out to create a pangram or it is just incidental? I was cruising along till the SE which had me stymied for a bit, last fill was the S in OLESTRA which gave me the FIR in 20:49. DNK AMY, STYNE or EVO. SUAVEST doesn’t sound right. EENY was a stretch, never used it or heard it in that context. Didn’t know SPITZ was a breed. I liked the clue for LOW GEAR. IIRC, sumdaze has maintained a sourdough STARTER for many years.
ReplyDeleteBill and Teri ~ always enjoy your informative reviews. Very interesting how the Allies were able to deceive the Germans before the Normandy invasion!
I don’t no if I’ve ever heard of a convent referred to as a NUNNERY, but it is a CSO to Lucina.
ReplyDelete“Get thee to a nunnery.l
DeleteGood morning!
ReplyDeleteHope our Florida contingent managed to survive Milton's visit without damage. It's not sunrise yet, so we won't know the extent of the damage for a few hours.
Yooper, haven't you ever heard, "Get thee to a nunnery" from Hamlet?
Got 'er done in under 15; d-o has no complaints about this one. EVO and AQUANET were unknown. Tried ELKS first. When I worked for the crane manufacturer, Mechanics at our distributors swore by their SNAP-ON tools. Nice outing. Thanx, Gary, waseeley, and Teri.
Took 10:02 today to serve the dogs some food.
ReplyDeleteI, obviously, noticed the service dog pattern, but really didn't know what was going on today with this puzzle. At least I knew today's actress (Amy).
Here's DAB's biweekly puzzle. And here's his usual enigmatic comment about it ...
ReplyDeleteIf you double the shortening in a recipe, is the result twice as fat, or half as long? Or both?
This Floridian and his wife are fine, with loud and strong winds all that ventured south to Pompano Beach. We are grateful. This puzzle was not too hard with EVO my only complete unknown. Here at the condo, the service dogs tend to be tiny critters. I grew up on a street with a Nunnery on one end and the word was in use in the 50's in Connecticut. Those who inquired about our safety during Milton, thank you.
ReplyDeleteThe anonymous was me again, I will try yo remember to check before hitting post. The storm knocked out power which required me to sign in again; ah well.
ReplyDeleteFIW. Should have noticed that a "U" was below my blank cel and another "U" was below it. Dead giveaway that the missing letter is a Q. My other mistake was up by the State-O-Maine. I had I lOsT instead of IM OUT. I knew that the word for sophisticated couldn't start with "SS" but by that time I had kinda tired of the puzzle.
ReplyDeleteI don't need a LAP DESK, but wouldn't mind having a LAP secretary.
"Aweather" isn't a term I use, but I knew it. If I'm referring to something upwind I say "to weather." When I tack I say "helm's alee," but when I do the opposite of tacking I say "gybe ho."
Dobie Gray had a big hit with I'm In With the IN CROWD, but I've always liked the Ramsey Lewis Trio's version better.
When I hung out at the Poop Deck on the strand in Hermosa Beach, they had a sign on their patio "Time flies like a silver-tipped arrow. Fruit flies like stale beer."
Thanks to Gary for the enjoyable puzzle (except for EVO - sounds like a Rachale Ray event.) Had I been more thoughtful or more Catholic I would have gotten this one. And thanks to Bill 'n' Teri for another fine review.
Yay, a pangram! Early on, I noticed that I had used a J and K or two, and so I was thinking, hmm, I wonder. And when "Aquinas" came up I was pretty sure. To me, discovering pangrams are a fun part of solving crosswords. And they give me added respect for the constructor.
ReplyDeleteAnd Gary's puzzle possessed an overall professionalism. There were no gimmicks, nor obscure starlets' names. Gary was not a show-off constructor here, but at the same time he was educational. I learned, for instance, that when I would refer to someone as a minor cog in an organization, I was being redundant, because the word cog already inferred insignificance. Similarly, I now know olestra, spitz, and evo.
This was a model crossword puzzle. Thank you, Gary, for providing us with an informative, rewarding, and clever solving exercise.
FIR. Safe and sound here in South Florida; the storm passed well to our north. Just a lot of wind now. Prayers for those who were in it's path.
ReplyDeleteFor a Thursday this was fairly easy. The theme was clever and for the most part the cluing was fair. Just a few unknowns for me, but the perps made it happen.
Overall, a very enjoyable challenge.
Thank you, Gary, and thank you waseeley.
ReplyDeleteYes, this was easy. But fun, and I enjoyed the dogs. The only stumble was self inflicted, as I read only the "fighting games" part of 23A, and neither MMA nor UFC worked. Like Lemonade, the perps gave me the unknown EVO.
Bywalters' puzzle was also fun and easy. I always enjoy his clues. Thanks for the link, waseeley.
Musings
ReplyDelete-Some “out there” cluing and a clever gimmick made for a delightful struggle
-It’s still two hours until our TEE time and so I had time to read and learn from Bill and Teri’s wri
-I thought BUNNY CHOW would be a Purina Pet product but not so much
-TERM: One person’s freedom fighter is another person’s terrorist
-Mayor Shin’s wife has an issue with “dirty Persian poetry”. Debate on book BANS continues today.
-The TRIAL found O.J. not guilty not innocent
-Around here LOW GEAR is sometimes called granny gear
-Slo-Mo replays are a REF’S best friend or worst enemy
-FORE!
Husker @9:25 AM Special thanks for that clip from the Music Man. Very contemporary!
DeleteGood Morning! Whew, that was a workout today, but a good challenge.
ReplyDeleteI relied heavily on the well-placed perps, but the east was the trickiest for me.
My only WOs were GluM -> GRIM and rESt -> DESK.
I think I kinda got the theme but came to the Corner to see the reveal.
Thanks, Bill & Teri. Your recap confirmed the theme was at face value without a deceptive hidden meaning. I’ll come back and enjoy your links, but I’ve got to get to a to-do list that I should have started a half hour ago!
Tricky obscure Saturday-esque clues combined with the usual pot pourri of proper names: STYNE, “Jaffe” (whenever I see that last name it reminds me of the crazy-haired actor Sam Jaffe who played Dr. Zorba on the old TV series “Ben Casey”)
ReplyDeleteSt. Thomas answered my prayers and helped me quickly fill in the SW as an anchor and his blessing slowly spread throughout the rest of the puzzle for an unexpected FIR 😇
I figured a BEATBOXER was a defeated pugilist 🥊.
Not sure I would classify ROOT ROT as “tree trauma” (like struck by lighting or a car)….. ITWORKS does, but my first attempt it will do doesn’t. Not a team or even a bit “player”.
LEE: “Aweather” opposite? Not windward? Afunny clue….
Index/indices, Apex/apices. ROLEX/Rolices? EVO? Not extra virgin oil?
“Where sculptures move” and “setting for climbing hills” super cool clues . Didn’t know you could pick a peck of pickled OKRA pods 🫛🫛
Was texting my bud in Bradenton last night as he watched the screen around his pool blow away. We stopped so he wouldn’t lose power on his phone when the electricity went out. Quick text just now says he’s OK.
Ray - O @9:40 AM Yes, a BEATBOXER is a song by Simon and Garfunkel.
DeleteThis was an amusing puzzle which took a bit to solve but eventually came around
ReplyDeleteWhen I hear of BUNNY CHOW I always think of the Easter/Spring version of Puppy Chow or Muddy Buddies which use Chex cereal but with White chocolate and pastel candy mixed in
https://www.suburbansimplicity.com/bunny-chow-chex-mix/
Like D-O I have only heard of NUNNERY in "Hamlet" where Ophelia gets summarily sent off to by Hamlet when he decides marriage should be done away with
https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=mcafee&p=get+thee+to+a+nunnery+meaning&type=E210US739G0#id=1&vid=83aea6408fa5e606ac4776e1044cbc7d&action=click
"Time flies like an arrow, but fruit FLIES like a banana"
was a line originally attributed to Groucho Marx - but I first heard it from The Flying Karamazov Brothers - a juggling/comedy troupe which started in the 70s doing open air performances
Thanks Bill & Teri for the interesting blog and Gary for the puzzle
A work out, yes, but a fun one. I didn’t know a couple of the theme answers like BUNNY CHOW, but trusted the puzzle. Loved all the dog references.
ReplyDeleteTK congratulations for noticing the pangram.
I really liked this CW.
Thank you waseeley for the doggy pictures.
Happy to hear some of the Florida people escaped the worse of ugly Milton.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteWhat’s not to like about a puzzle focusing on Man’s Best Friend? The breeds were all easy to spot, but I’ve never heard of either Beat Boxer or Bunny Chow. Ditto for EVO, but the rest of the fill was pretty straightforward. Props for some clever cluing and the rare pangram.
Thanks, Gary, and thanks, Bill, for another fact-filled review. Loved all the canine photos, although a Bichon Guest of Honor pic would have been nice! 😉 Thanks to Teri, as always.
Have a great day.
IM @10:26 AM Your wish is my command. Here ya go!
DeleteThank you, Bill, just looking at pictures of Bichons brings a smile to my face!
DeleteAn engaging, fun-but-tough outing that was just a tad too tough for me this morning. Bogged down badly in the Southeast corner, unable to suss SEALS or the fat substitute as clued. Enjoyed the challenge, anyway. And Bill and Terry put the cherry on top!
ReplyDeleteTerrific Thursday. Thanks for the fun, Gary, and waseeley and Teri. (Great catch with that Easter Egg ODIE).
ReplyDeleteThanks for explaining SEALS. It perped, but I had no idea.
I FIRed and saw the Dog theme (I knew IM would like it), but some head-scratching and several inkblots occurred.
Dour changed to GRIM,MEDIAn to MEDIAL.
I was parsing 16A as I pass, I rest, I lost; then I got SUAVEST and AMY gave I’M OUT.
Other unknown-to-me names (STYNE, AMY) perped. RONA was slow to recall.
AQUANET took a few perps also, but I did know AQUINAS.
DH gave me SNAP ON - I don’t know my TOOLs.
Wishing you all a great day. I hope our Florida gang are all safe.
Bah! That was me above. I still need to remember to change from Anonymous on the updated blog format!
ReplyDeleteFrom day, to day, I never know what rabbithole the puzzle, and The Blog are going to lead me down...
ReplyDeleteCED @11:50 AM See -- I told ya so! 😒
DeleteI enjoyed the canine themed puzzle and the write up very much. Thanks, Bill.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a much younger person my buddies and I would talk about somehow stealing a Snap-On tools truck.
I enjoyed solving Gary's puzzle: it seemed hopeless at the start and then filled in bit by bit. That feeling of overcoming adversity is great! And who doesn't love dogs? Fun to catch up here later and to learn so much from Bill and Teri. Great stuff! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI liked this puzzle. It's nice to see Gary Larson back to his usual masterful constructing. I didn't much like the one he did with Amy Ensz that was published last Friday.
ReplyDeleteELKS --> BPOE
I am familiar with Thomas AQUINAS because I studied his work as part of my philosophy degree, and am constantly reminded of him because of two roads on which we often drive, San Tomas Aquino Road and the San Tomas Expressway, that are in our neighborhood.
I have bought quite a few Snap-On tools, which are of very high quality. At that time (I don't know about now) they were not sold in stores; you had to buy them directly from the company. I remember the Snap-On trucks that would cruise the business districts, from which I bought the tools. Sorta like getting your breakfast burrito from the numerous food trucks that also cruised the neighborhood, except, of course, the tools lasted a very long time, as opposed to a burrito that didn't last long at all. I have also bought Craftsman tools, which were also high quality.
Good reading you all.
I’m with @Tehachapi Ken and @Yooper Phil — this was a nice meaty treat (see what I did there? 😆) from Mssr. Larson today. And thank you, Gary, for not inundating us with a pile of obscure pop-culture proper name entries this time! Snazzy clueing and a woofer of a theme made this an enjoyable romp, along with Waseeley’s entertaining recap (got a guffaw out of your Lake Eerie gag). But Bill: 236.56cc’s…what’m I missin’?
ReplyDeleteAbout the only meh one was EENY: every time I’ve seen that, it’s been “eenie”, as in “eenie, meenie, miney moe”, I thought. Also, I’d think a better clue for INTEL would be something like, say, “critical information” — but that’s just me and my thing with names rearing up as usual…
My 🤞🏽 for any of our FL friends; personally, I think I’ll stick to earthquakes — big ones don’t happen here six times a year!
=====> Darren / L.A.
Darren, it's equal to 1 cup. 😁
DeleteaHAH! I tried converting it but must’ve input wrong…
Delete====> Darren
Hola! I was gone most of the day attending a memorial for a departed brother of one of my friends. It was touching to hear from his army buddies and his nephew and nieces even though I was not acquainted with him. He must have been a loyal friend and unforgettable buddy the way they spoke of him. Afterwards we had lunch and it so happened that it took place in a NUNNERY, that is a convent which also serves as a local parish. My friend and her family attend services there regularly. When I got home I just crashed mostly from the heat and had no energy to do much else which is why this post is so late. I hope you've all had a good day.
ReplyDelete