This phrase is so true for me. It is true is a couple ways actually.
You can find many blogs I have written about the similarities between my father and I. He is my biggest influence in music, books, movies, and TV shows. When someone tells me that I am just like my dad, I take that as a compliment.
I remember my dad introducing me to Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin’s music. The Sinatra channel on Sirius XM is my go to music channel. My children were familiar with it because I always had it on in the car.
When my oldest son, Dante’ got his first job, he was working at an Italian restaurant. When I dropped in to see him one night, he pointed out a picture on the wall. I am almost 100% sure it was this one:
He liked talking about Frank. When he started hanging out with this girl he liked, he told me his was singing Sinatra songs to her. I wish I would remember which ones. Anyway, the other night he texted me something and we chatted back and forth. He asked me what I was doing and I told him I was reading a good book….
I just thought he would think it was cool. His response made me smile:
“I have that same book!”
I couldn’t believe it. He’d actually bought it at the store!
“You make me proud, son. I love that you dig Frank,” I told him.
Like father like son!
I told him that he needed to compile his top 10 Frank songs and I would do the same. Then we need to compare our lists! He loved the idea. Hopefully, we’ll go over those lists soon, when our work schedules allow us to get together.
I was pleasantly surprised while reading this book. Admittedly, I was drawn in by the title. I looked it up on Goodreads and after reading about it, decided to give it a shot. Here was their synopisis:
Older women often feel invisible, but sometimes that’s their secret weapon.
They’ve spent their lives as the deadliest assassins in a clandestine international organization, but now that they’re sixty years old, four women friends can’t just retire – it’s kill or be killed in this action-packed thriller.
Billie, Mary Alice, Helen, and Natalie have worked for the Museum, an elite network of assassins, for forty years. Now their talents are considered old-school and no one appreciates what they have to offer in an age that relies more on technology than people skills.
When the foursome is sent on an all-expenses paid vacation to mark their retirement, they are targeted by one of their own. Only the Board, the top-level members of the Museum, can order the termination of field agents, and the women realize they’ve been marked for death.
Now to get out alive they have to turn against their own organization, relying on experience and each other to get the job done, knowing that working together is the secret to their survival. They’re about to teach the Board what it really means to be a woman–and a killer–of a certain age.
The reviews I read were mixed. Some loved it – others were disappointed. I enjoyed it. One reviewer called it “The Golden Girls Meet James Bond.” I thought that was a good description, although James was more of a spy on a mission as opposed to assassins on a mission. At the same time, there were quite a few characters that made me wonder, “Should they really trust that guy?”
It all came together nicely and I would totally read about these four ladies again. Perhaps there is another story for them in the future …
The Detroit Tigers aren’t having the best year, but it has been neat to see all the wonderful tributes to Miguel Cabrera from teams in both leagues as he plays his final year. It was great to see just how much other players and fans like him.
This week the Astros were in town. The Astro’s beat the pants off the Tigers 17-4. Now if you can get past that (which is hard for this Tiger fan), there was one very cool moment that has all of baseball talking.
Picture it –
Former and current Detroit Tigers (Justin Verlander and Miguel Cabrera)
Both of them great in their own right. Both of them probably First Ballot Hall of Famers.
This would be the last day they would ever face each other in a regular season. Without saying a word, both “tipped” their caps to each other in great respect and friendship.
Before I begin, I need to thank Beth (www.ididnthavemyglasseson.com) for recommending this book. She read it awhile back and I added it to my “Want to Read/To Be Read” list. I’m only sorry it took so long to get to it. It was fantastic.
This book has me laughing out loud from the second paragraph!
“This story is about a lot of things, but mostly about idiots. So it needs saying from the outset that it’s always very easy to declare that other people are idiots, but only if you forget how idiotically difficult being human is.“
It had everything – humor, warmth, sadness, and heart. By far, one of the best books I’ve read this year. I loved every page.
Here is the Goodreads synopsis:
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove and “writer of astonishing depth” (The Washington Times) comes a poignant comedy about a crime that never took place, a would-be bank robber who disappears into thin air, and eight extremely anxious strangers who find they have more in common than they ever imagined.
Viewing an apartment normally doesn’t turn into a life-or-death situation, but this particular open house becomes just that when a failed bank robber bursts in and takes everyone in the apartment hostage. As the pressure mounts, the eight strangers begin slowly opening up to one another and reveal long-hidden truths.
First is Zara, a wealthy bank director who has been too busy to care about anyone else until tragedy changed her life. Now, she’s obsessed with visiting open houses to see how ordinary people live—and, perhaps, to set an old wrong to right. Then there’s Roger and Anna-Lena, an Ikea-addicted retired couple who are on a never-ending hunt for fixer-uppers to hide the fact that they don’t know how to fix their own failing marriage. Julia and Ro are a young lesbian couple and soon-to-be parents who are nervous about theirchances for a successful life together since they can’t agree on anything. And there’s Estelle, an eighty-year-old woman who has lived long enough to be unimpressed by a masked bank robber waving a gun in her face. And despite the story she tells them all, Estelle hasn’t really come to the apartment to view it for her daughter, and her husband really isn’t outside parking the car.
As police surround the premises and television channels broadcast the hostage situation live, the tension mounts and even deeper secrets are slowly revealed. Before long, the robber must decide which is the more terrifying prospect: going out to face the police, or staying in the apartment with this group of impossible people.
Rich with Fredrik Backman’s “pitch-perfect dialogue and an unparalleled understanding of human nature” (Shelf Awareness), Anxious People’s whimsical plot serves up unforgettable insights into the human condition and a gentle reminder to be compassionate to all the anxious people we encounter every day.
I found this book to be an absolute joy to read. I found myself jotting down little quotes here and there as I read. These quotes were things that I just found to be so honest and true.
“We have all of this in common, yet most of us remain strangers, we never know what we do to each other, how your life is affected by mine. Perhaps we hurried past each other in a crowd today, and neither of us noticed, and the fibers of your coat brushed against mine for a single moment and then we were gone. I don’t know who you are.But when you get home this evening, when this day is over and the night takes us, allow yourself a deep breath. Because we made it through this day as well.There’ll be another one along tomorrow.“
I loved how all of these lives intertwined with each other and how it all came together. This was just a really good story. You won’t be disappointed if you choose to read it!
If you have followed this blog, you know that the majority of the home projects I do are done with my father-in-law. He is always there to help me with things and I am so grateful for him.
Recently, you may recall, we got a second hand playscape. We knew it would probably need a bit of patch work. The other day, when Ella was climbing the rock wall, one of the rocks just fell off.
Most of the wood on it was starting to dry rot. So I went into my garage and took a look at the wood I had left from the deck/porch project. I had plenty of boards and a couple 2×4’s. That was really all I needed. I knew that Menard’s had the little “rocks” that were mounted to the boards, so I could pick those up after I put the new wall together.
It didn’t take long to measure everything out. The speed square I bought got a lot of use that day. Once the wall was finished, I packed the kids in the car and drove to Menard’s. The problem was, that they were out of the “rocks.”
I began to wonder how I could get around this problem. We looked at some of the other “swing set/playscape” accessories and there it was. It was a big plastic thing with holes in it. Basically, you build a square frame and mount this inside the frame. I, of course, thought “Why can’t I mount this thing right onto the wall I built?”
I ran to the tape measure aisle. Measured the plastic piece and saw that it would fit! So 8-12 screws later – it was mounted and guess what? The kids love it!!
An entire project finished without having to call my father-in-law for help!! Woo hoo!!
I apologize for not posting a dedicated blog to an update on my son. Many blogger friends have reached out and asked how he is doing after surgery a week or so ago.
We are blessed that he didn’t need to be in surgery very long. They had booked the operating room for 4 hours, due to the “possibility” of other surgeries, but he did not need them. This was good news mostly, but there are now other questions. From my wife’s social media post:
Surgery went amazing. You would never know this kid had anything done. He bounced back fairly fast and is eating and drinking like a champ now. But surgery left a TON of questions and opened up new concerns. Andrew has severe sleep apnea as well as a speech delay, which we have always blamed on the laryngeal cleft and his Laryngomalacia. Both of which are still there, but surgery revealed they are not the cause of the obstruction like we were thinking. We have an appointment at the end of September with neurology to start looking at different things.
Some of the stuff we are witnessing is really leaving us scratching our heads. In speaking to the neurologist, some speech delay or speech regression could be neurological in nature. There is also some concern about muscle tone loss in some areas. We’re working with PT on that.
He’s been a toe-walker for a very long time and that can cause future problems. So this week, he received his braces. Both feet go in them and he needs oversized shoes so the braces fit in them. He wears them off and on for a couple hours and as the days progress, he’ll eventually be wearing them all day. This will help him stop toe walking and with those lower calf muscles.
He continues to have non stop energy and leaves mom and dad exhausted at the end of each day. He has come up with creative ways to climb up to counter tops, turn on and off lights, and destroy anything in his path. He is our little firecracker!
We will continue with his speech therapy and physical therapy and hopefully he’ll keep making progress. We are praying that the neurologist will provide further answers.
Thanks for keeping him in your thoughts and for sending positive messages our way.
Every Vow You Break is the third Peter Swanson book I have read this year. So far he’s 3 for 3. I have enjoyed each one of his books and will add his remaining 7 to my list of books to read. This one was a bit more of a suspense/thriller than the last two. It had me guessing and questioning characters all through the book. There were some very shady ones, and there were times I thought I knew who I could trust and was wrong.
I could easily see this one being made into a film. Here is the Goodreads synopisis:
A bride’s dream honeymoon becomes a nightmare when a man with whom she’s had a regrettable one-night stand shows up in this psychological thriller from the author of Eight Perfect Murders.
Abigail Baskin never thought she’d fall in love with a millionaire. Then she met Bruce Lamb. But right before the wedding, Abigail has a drunken one-night stand on her bachelorette weekend. She puts the incident—and the sexy guy who wouldn’t give her his real name—out of her mind, and now believes she wants to be with Bruce for the rest of her life.
Then the mysterious stranger suddenly appears—and Abigail’s future life and happiness are turned upside down. He insists that their passionate night was the beginning of something special and he’s tracked her down to prove it.
Does she tell Bruce and ruin their idyllic honeymoon—and possibly their marriage? Or should she handle this psychopathic stalker on her own? To make the situation worse, strange things begin to happen. She sees a terrified woman in the night shadows, and no one at the resort seems to believe anything is amiss… including her perfect new husband.
While the synopsis was a good enough tease to get me to read it, the book is so much better than what synopsis gives you.
Side Note:
When I first started book thoughts on my blog, I was doing it more for me. I never thought these little teases and recommendations would come to anything. The fact is, that they have. I have gained some new followers who also read many books. I have gotten some fantastic recommendations from my own followers (Beth – I’m reading yours now and love it!). Dave, another blogger friend used an off the cuff comment I made about whether or not to finish a book and turned it into a very insightful blog. He also read one of the books I had read and liked it.
That, in itself, makes me very happy. I’m glad that I am not just typing stuff that doesn’t offer you, my reader, something. I hope that my writings gives you something to think about, something to laugh at, something to read, something to listen to, or something to share with others. I appreciate you making this blog a small part of your day.
This morning, I had a telemedicine visit to discuss whether or not I qualified for ADHD testing. You may recall a few months ago, there was some discussion with my PCP and my therapist about whether or not this is something I am dealing with. I blogged about it here:
In the 45 minute call the doctor asked me many questions and by the end of it all, I was told that I was to come in next week for about 3 hours worth of testing. It looks like it is very probable that this is an issue for me.
She asked me about things I had really no idea were ADHD related:
Do I often misplace things?
Am I disorganized?
Am I quick to anger?
Do I often zone out when people are talking to me?
Do I have a problem with motivation?
Do I sometimes hyper-focus?
Am I easily distracted?
Do I drink a lot of caffeine?
Do I have time management issues?
Am I forgetful?
Am I impulsive?
Do I have trouble falling asleep?
Do I have mood swings?
Do I have issues multi-tasking?
Do I get frustrated easily?
Do I cope with stress well?
Do I worry?
The questions kept coming and almost all of my answers were “yes!”
She asked about my relationships with my folks, my wife, my brother, and my kids. She asked about family history and more. It was eye opening. I am sure that the testing and questionnaires that I will be working with next week will help further some sort of diagnosis.
She stated that in most cases a simple medication change can help with things. I certainly hope so.
It seems like it took forever to finally talk with someone. I’ll be glad to have some sort of answers in the near future.
In the meantime, I wanted to tell you … (head turns quickly) …. Squirrel!
Today is the 99th birthday of WIlliam “Count” Basie. He was one of many legendary jazz pianists, and big band leaders. He formed the Count Basie Orchestra in 1935 and led the group for almost 50 years. He is noted for creating innovations like the use of two “split” tenor saxophones, emphasizing the rhythm section, riffing with a big band, using arrangers to broaden their sound, and others. So many musicians came to prominence under his direction.
He worked with many well known singers including Tony Bennett, Jackie Wilson, and Frank Sinatra. His list of accomplishments and recordings would take forever to write about. Instead, I’d like to share a couple of my favorite Basie tunes by Basie and some covers.
One O’clock Jump
Amazing cover by Doc and the Tonight Show Band
April In Paris
Again, Doc and the Tonight Show Band
Fly Me To The Moon – With Frank
Please Be Kind – With Frank
With Plenty of Money and You – With Tony Bennett
Chain Gang – With Jackie Wilson
It is said that one of Basie’s biggest regrets was never recording with the great Louis Armstrong.
There is a neat album that has been referenced as the “concert that never happened.”
This is concert vocals from Ray Charles and members of the Basie Band mixed together for a unique album.
Georgia on My Mind
Busted
Ok, a couple quick movie clips that feature Basie just because …
First a classic pantomime by Jerry Lewis in The Errand Boy. He uses Basie’s “Blues in Hoss’ Flat” as the basis for this gem.
…and finally, the Count and his orchestra’s cameo appearance in Blazing Saddles (using April in Paris)!
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 