July 25th, 2019
“Iterluarit” or “Good Morning!!!” in Greenlandic, an Eskimo-Aleut language spoken in Greenland and Denmark.
Blood Pressure. I have had hypertension for a number of years. After having normal readings for over 5 years, it seemed like I didn’t need them/ My doc and I decided to take me off them.. But then my readings started to climb so we restarted one med at a lower dose, then we increased the dose to what it was before and now we just added the other med I was taking back into the mix. I never truly understood why hypertension is a bad thing but I know its not good. I am taking my BP each day, hopefully it will normalize again soon.
This week I learned some stuff:
• Today is a 0(Zero)Fer!!! That is to say, we have no holidays to celebrate on July 25th. However, On July 27th we have, NATIONAL LOVE IS KIND DAY!!! This is the day we celebrate the independence from their abusers in domestic violence situations. Statistically, we all know someone who has been or is living in an abusive environment, so celebrate the freedom for those that got away and try to support obtaining that freedom for those still trapped in that horrific cycle.
• Some time back I mentioned that I thought that intrinsically us strange ass American’s kind of identify ourselves at least to some degree by our rides. So I started a little exercise to capture “ The Cars that I have known” and the context of my automobile-ic history. It has been an interesting experiences. The was kind of a gap in the disposition of a very important vehicle (to me) by name of “Urge II”. I gave Urge to my son when he was in high school which pretty much made him the coolest kid in Carrollton, TX, at least for a little while. Any he later got a small red pickup truck but I never knew what became of Urge. So I contacted him and got the scoop. I was right it was an interesting exercise. Probably more so for a dweeb who names all of his vehicles than for normal humans. But there you are.
• Sometimes you do everything right but things just don’t turn out as expected. This week I tried a very interesting and complicated dessert – Chocolate Flan Cake. While it was tasty, it fell far short of my expectations. I am tweaking the reciepe to see if I can’t find a more interesting and flavorful result.
Website Update:
• We have a new New Vocabulary Quiz! Yeahhhh!!!
• Last week (again) for our “new” UJT Music Trivia Quiz!
• This week I have added another wonderful new desert for you – Fruit Tarte Tantin. I also included a new recipe (to me) for Mussels in Cream Sauce. This week I also came up with a variation of meatloaf that I call, “Abuelo’s Mexican Meatloaf”. I like meatloaf a lot. I always have enjoyed it for dinner and especially for the great meatloaf sandwiches from left overs. But even good things can get stale if you do it enough, so I decided to change things up a bit with tasty results. Enjoy!
Writing, Ceramics and Painting Update:
• I have been doing a lot of sketching. I finished one of Chris Spains photos and this amazing photo of a Hibiscus that Larry Yocky is growing in his yard here in San Diego.
• Grandpa Stories is still not re-published.
Weird-Stuff-O-Meter:
• After months of peace and quiet, our mammoth mamma raccoon came back to park her fat butt on top of our wisteria arbor and to make faces at Georgie, who barks incessantly below. Thankfully, she departed the next night and my backyard is a bucolic Shangri La once again, placid.
Music Update:
Once again this week, I have created a very nice collection of song samples that I think celebrate life in a grand way!
Go to this week’s UJT Radio program.
• AC/DC — Thunderstruck — This is just another one of those special genre of rock and roll I call,”Ass Shaker” songs. I was reminded of this particular one watching Battleship.
• Led Zeppelin — Immigrant Song — From the Vinyl!!! This was a huge hit when it was released on Led Zeppelin III in 1970. My granddaughter got herself into this one via the soundtrack for “Shrek”.
• Traffic — Rock and Roll Stew — This is a deep cut from their “The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys” album released in 1971
• The Derek Trucks Band — I’d Rather Be Blind, Crippled and Crazy (Album Version) — This is just a whole bunch of Cajun Goodness with that capital “G”. You got Mr. Trucks getting his dobro and slide workin’ together, not to mention the fine vocals complete with whistling. From their “Songlines” album released in 2006.
• The Halibuts — Hula Scuba — I just love everything that my friend Bruce Paddy is part of the The Halibuts! This is a tight and sweet surfer instrumental! We get this one from their great 1996 release, “Life on the Bottom”.
• Simon and Garfunkel – Bridge Over Troubled Water — For many this is their signature song and certainly well remembered. I always get a tear in my eye whenever I hear it. My daughter thinks of it as a sad song but if you really listen to the lyrics, its all about reassuring someone of unconditional love. Anyway, I love the song. It’s the title cut from their 1970 album.
• Coldplay – Speed of Sound – This song was my introduction to Coldplay’s music. Released in 2005 on their “ X & Y” album, I have always loved the tightness of their music.
That’s it… Do the best you can; Laugh every chance you get; And always remember … The best is yet to come!
As always, thank you for being my friend!