November 23rd, 2023
“ Dobroho ranku”, or “Good Morning!” in Ukrainian, an Eastern Slavic language spoken mainly in Ukraine. I have decided that the UJT will remain focused on Ukraine until we can all rejoice at the end of hostilities. It has been 630 days since Russia invaded Ukraine.
This week I learned some stuff:
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- This is a tough week for ex-presidents. Trump lost another legal battle in Colorado. Rosalyn Carter joined Jimmy in at-home hospice care this week. November 22, 2023, marks the 60th anniversary of JFK’s assignation too.
- November 23rd is the 327th day of 2023. Just 32 days till Christmas. Today is my 71st Thanksgiving Day! I am so grateful for that. You can find out about November 23rd in history here.
- I solved the MS Word Licensing Mystery! I simply imported the Word source document into Google Docs. Works like a charm! Trying to knock out 3 chapters each day.
This week’s Website Update:
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- Week 2 for the Vocabulary Quiz. I uploaded a new Music Trivia Quiz for you.
- Here is a recipe you might enjoy! I call it my Greek Spaghetti Casserole. My son shared a new Butternut Squash/kale salad recipe. It was very good but i think I need to tweak some things. I am trying a couple of new side dishes for Thanksgiving so if they turn out I will post them for next week.
- The Home Page quote for this week’s wisdom is from the late First Lady, Rosalynn Carter (1927-2023): “Do what you can to show you care about other people and you will make our world a better place.”
Writing, Ceramics, Bonsai Trees, Stained Glass, and Painting Update:
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- I glazed my first piece in my new Ceramics Class this week. Woohoo!
- I actually haven’t started cutting glass for my never-ending Stained glass project!! Yeah!
- For better or worse, I often get my inspiration to paint in my sleep. Almost all of the results of those times are less beautiful than I had hoped but doing them sets something free inside.
Weird-Stuff-O-Meter:
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- Always looking for the silver lining, I discovered another delightful unadvertised feature of getting old. Every morning, I enjoy my Oats Overnight Breakfast, and being old I never remember the flavor I made the day before. So every morning there is a surprise party in my mouth!
- We lost a great woman this week. Rosalynn Carter was a great woman by any measure. I remember reading a book on fly fishing that her husband Jimmy wrote after he left the White House. In it were lots of great stories about fly fishing adventures he and Rosalynn had over the many years they had been together. One story in particular sticks in my mind today. Jimmy was trying to organize a peace process for the Middle East. He hosted a summit with Anwar Sadat of Egypt, and Menachem Begin to try to establish a framework for peace. Jimmy describes the first morning as a platform for each leader to reframe and repeat their long-held ethnic grievances. Carter was very frustrated. When they broke for lunch. He talked it over with Roslyn. Her advice: Go Fishing! She thought having Jimmy in the room was inspiring the posturing by both sides. So Jimmy told Sadat and Begin he was going fishing and would see them at dinner. Marine One took the President and First Lady to one of their favorite streams in Maryland for the afternoon. When they all three sat down for dinner, Sadat and Begin told Carter, they had the framework decided and needed to work through the details the next day. All three got a Nobel Peace Prize but I always thought it should have been awarded to Roslyn. RIP Sweet lady! Thank you for your service to the world.
Music Update:
Here is a new batch of music for you to try out.
This week’s UJT Radio Program:
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- Roberta Flack – Killing Me Softly — I remember crying the first time I heard this song. It was such a different kind of music than i was used to. It was so raw and feeling! It was the title cut from her 1973 release.
- Robin Trower – Bridge of Sighs — This is the title cut from his 1974 release. It just took us over when it came on the radio.
- Billy Joel – Innocent Man – This is the title cut from his 1983 release. I love this song of unconditional love.
- Matchbox Twenty – I Will — This one is a deep cut from their iconic album “North”, released in 2012.
- Phoebe Snow – Good Times – This is a special lady that left us far too soon. This is a deep cut from her debut album released in 1974.
- Joe Walsh – Ordinary Average Guys — Happy Birthday Joe! There is absolutely nothing ordinary or average about Joe Walsh! This is the title cut from his 1991 album.
- Bruce Hornsby and The Range — Every Every Little Kiss —Happy Birthday Bruce!!! If you have never been this in love. keep trying because it is worth all of it! I have loved like this and it warms me to this day to remember those feelings. This on is from their, “The Way It Is” releases in 1986.
That’s it… Do the best you can; Laugh every chance you get; Always remember… The best is yet to come! As always, thank you for being my friend!