July 20th, 2024
“ 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 899 days since Russia invaded Ukraine.
This week I learned some stuff:
-
- I love me some Jambalaya!!! I have made it from scratch several times, but I must admit that doctoring up a couple of Zatarain’s boxes is a lot easier and just as tasty. When I say, “doctor up” I am not referring to just adding good andouille or shrimp. Those are good additions but not enough. I add corn off the cob, a can of Rotel, fish chunks, etc. Yum!
- The countdown to Chloe’s visit has begun!! We are even getting Murphy his first spa day (without the blueberry facial though). I also figured out the final design for our kitchen window stained glass piece.
- We had an adventure with our pond this week. We had it cleaned but in the process, something went wrong. We woke up to an almost empty pond! We had had some small leaks before but nothing like this. I called the company back and of course it was not their fault. I asked for an estimate to replace the liner and got some bogus – “we will charge you X$’s to buy the materials, trim the plants, and replace the liner but if anything unforeseen happens it’s all on you”. Oh and by the way you have to buy all the rocks needed but you can use are discount… I pushed back for more detail but so far crickets. Meanwhile, I figured out what was broken, and refilled the pond and so far so good.
- I am not sure I mentioned it before (read old guy cannot recall), but I have a new and great penpal. My granddaughter, Chloe and I swap letters every several weeks. We each got our own special stationary and such. I think we both enjoy it. I suggest their are much less enjoyable ways to spend your retirement:)
- We had us a week! AC died and getting it fixed is still ongoing. I ended up in the ER for 12 hours but all is well now.
- You can find out all about today’s history here.
This week’s Website Update:
-
- I almost didn’t upload any new recipes this week. But I did make some Gazpacho from scratch- Yum! Gazpacho with Tapas oh baby!Just before finishing the update, I came up with this WONDERFUL new tuna salad for sandwiches. I call it Tin Can Tuna Magic! Try it and you will like it! If not come to San Diego and I will buy you a beer.
- Oops!!! I had accumulated enough new words to develop a new Vocabulary Quiz last week. I just didn’t update the site until this week.
- The Home Page will have a quote fromGroucho Marx: “ Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies.”.
Writing, Bonsai Trees, Stained Glass, and Painting Update:
-
- I am working on a new design for the stained glass piece for our kitchen window. It’s almost 4 feet wide and we want to cover the top half – about 20 inches or so. Right now I am thinking about 4 panels connected together. Flowers might be nice but I am also thinking about kitchen stuff too – baking stuff, cookie jars, oil and vinegar sets, etc.
Weird-Stuff-O-Meter:
-
- Do you remember Good Humor Ice Crean trucks?? They would roam our neighborhoods ringing their bells and selling ice cream stored in dry ice coolers. Best Ever. When the Grateful Dead wrestled control away from the record company for distribution, the original idea was that they would distribute their albums from the Good Humor trucks! Who Knows it might have been enough to save the trucks and keep them rolling?
Music Update:
The good people at WordPress, the tool that the UJT site is built on keep “improving and updating” it (often while in production and without warning). This week I got 5 of the 6 songs in the audio playlist before they “helped me” out of business. All the songs listed below are there but the records aren’t updated.
This week’s UJT Radio Program:
-
- Manfred Mann — Do Was Ditty Ditty — I heard this one this week and had one of those flashbacks they warned us about. This came out in 1964. Dancing was a big deal to a 12-year-old from Miami. I loved dancing back then and loved this song. I remember singing it out loud walking home from the dances at school or the Youth Center.
- Pink Floyd — Money — The “Dark Side of the Moon” held so much timeless wisdom! Much of what the boys were talking about unfortunately remains true today. Released in 1973, it remains one of my all-time favorite albums.
- Greta VanFleet – You’re the One — Big shout out to my bud and music aficionado, Darell Datte for turning me on to this very talented band! This one is from their 2018 release, “Anthem of the Peaceful Army”
- Jimmy Buffett — The Captain and the Kid — Losing Jimmy still hurts but I am so grateful for his work ethic. He worked his craft almost to the very end. This one is from his, “The Songs You Don’t Know By Heart” released very late in his life.
- James Taylor — Walking Man — This one is from way back in 1972. Released on “One Man Dog”. There was always something about this song that reached me.
- Billy Joel — Just the Way You Are— I have always been an unabashed hopeless romantic and of course, this song hits all my buttons. Released in 1977 on his “The Stranger”
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!