Sunday Stealing: Lollipops, Stolen from Strawberry Lollipop Kisses...

Want to play along?  Go here, to the Sunday Stealing web site...  And thank you Bev!

Stolen from Strawberry Lollipop Kisses.

1. Are flowers a nice gift to give someone?
I like them, love actually.  My daughter sent me a big bouquet for my birthday.

2. Do you wear any jewelry?
Sometimes I do, but I don't bother most of the time.

3. Have you ever laid in a field of flowers?
When I was a kid.  There were fields of flowers in those days 

4. Do you like tea?
Yes, it's mostly what I drink.

5. What would you do with a million dollars?
I would buy a couple of houses, for my daughters.  

6. What word do you have trouble saying?
None I can think of.  I'm pretty wordy, especially if I get angry.  I'm pretty articulate.

7. Favorite fairy tale?
Hmmm.  This isn't a fairy tale but I like "Princess Bride", a LOT.

8. Do you sleep with stuffed animals?
No.  Our little animal on the bed is alive.....

9. Do you prefer the city or the country?
Country, just outside a medium-sized city, for the restaurants and hospitals. lol

10. Are you a big fan of makeup?
I've never worn anything but eye stuff and lip stuff.  So yes, and no...

11. Favorite drink?
I like Margaritas.

12. What’s the longest amount of time you’ve stayed awake?
Three and a half days.

13. Have you ever traveled outside of your country?
I've been to Mexico several times, from Juarez, below El Paso, Texas, to Rosarita Beach below San Ysidro, California.

14. Do you like spring?
Yes.  I like flowers.  They make life worth living.

15. Lipstick or lipgloss?
I've used both.  But now it's mostly lip gloss.

16. Favorite color?
This changes all the time.  Right now, it's Aqua blue, or Turquoise. 

17. Do you like to decorate?
I did.  It was really fun.  Not so much anymore.  It seems pointless.  But, I watch a lot of the Neflix things from Britain that are re-decorating shows.  The American ones are just so over the top.  Yelling and pizzazz like a game show.  What is WITH that?

18. Do you ever go barefoot when you’re outside?
All the time.  I'm barefoot inside the house most of the time.

19. Are aliens real?
Don't tempt me.  Actually, I think we have some politicians who are.. "Atlantis-ians" even.

The lost city of Atlantis...
I'd link the image but it's not a nice site... 

20. Does you zodiac sign fit your personality?
Yes.  And since I'm in the cusp between two signs, even more so.

21.Favorite sea animal?
I like the little sea horses.  

22. Are you a nice person?
I'm usually quite nice.  When you get as old as I am, you realize that everyone is struggling, even the alien politicians, and kindness HAS to be a watchword because everyone is walking around wishing they could go through a door into Alice in Wonderland or something.  Or maybe it's just me?    

23. Favorite word?
I like big words and use them often.  So this word is going to be big and obscure..............*tic toc tic toc*.......  If I could only remember it..... darn.. it escapes me.  😉  Slice.. I like that one.  as in Slice of pie, cake, melon, etc.

24. Night or day?
What?  No Twilight?  Please, can I have Twilight, or even "Dawn"?  

25. What would make you happy right now?
Either I'd like to dash out and buy a big house just above Santa Cruz. Or, I'd like a "smoking gun" (or several) to suddenly arise in our Justice Department before they are completely nobbled?  Yah, I think I'd go for the smoking guns..  We'll do that one...

Saturday 9...Winter Wonderland. Herb Alpert...

HERE is a link to the Saturday 9 Web page for this day...  Come on over and play....

Saturday 9: Winter Wonderland (1968)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

Welcome to the last Saturday 9 of 2018! Thanks for a great year, everyone.

1) This is an unconventional take on an old familiar song. Over the holidays, do you prefer traditional carols? Or do you like to mix it up with with more contemporary fare? 
I don't actually like the Tijuana Brass, so if that's contemporary, I'll take the old stuff.  I love the old choirs and stylizations. But I do like Tony Bennett and also, love to listen to Choirs and Carol Singers...And ANY carol played on a guitar.

From HERE

2) Now that Christmas is behind us, are you enjoying a relaxing week? Or do you have socializing/celebrating/chores to do?
I caught up on chores and read a couple of books. Haunted Pinterest a lot.  Bird watched on social media, and watched some British home improvement shows.  I also sat around eating Christmas fudge and knit a tiny bit on a Short finger glove.  My thumb is toast.  But, since I'm still recovering from an eye operation, my sore thumb must wait.
 
3) Winter is a time for cocooning. What book or movie did you enjoy in 2018 that you would recommend to your fellow Saturday 9-ers?
Southern Californians don't really cocoon, but reading is a great escape anywhere.  
I just finished a book that I can recommend that is about the mystery surrounding the deaths of nine Mountaineers in Russia in 1959.  Dead Mountain, by Donnie Eicher.  Here's the Wiki link
 
4)  Looking back on the past year, what was one of your happiest moments?
We took a trip up to Santa Cruz and spent time with our kids there.  I'm happiest there....

5)  What was the smartest thing you did all this past year?
I quit doing my blog for several months, and joined a few bird watching groups on other social media; it has helped me to quit caring about a lot of other stuff.  May they burn in hell.... ahem... *blushes*  Gee, I still DO care... hmmm?????
 
6)  As 2018 comes to a close, what are you most grateful for?
The passage of time, and it's amelioration of the terrible pain of loss. 
 
7) This week's featured artist is Herb Alpert. Because of the style he popularized and the name of his band, people assume he's Hispanic. Yet his parents were Jewish immigrants from Romania. What's something we'd be surprised to learn about you?
After my doing this meme, and others, for so long, I really doubt there are any surprises left.  There were no surprises in the DNA other than a drop or two of Neanderthal.  But everyone has that.  

Hello brother and sister Cave dwellers!  
 

Read about a terrible problem for them HERE

As an amateur in this science, I will go back to my training in Geology and Anthropology to suggest that one neanderthal's DNA sample does not make a case for any real hypothesis or extrapolation for an entire race.  
And, in another area: I think he's cute enough to tempt a homo sapiens female.  Especially if he was gentle and kindly.  Let's hear it for the hairy men! 

8) He performed an instrumental version of "The Star Spangled Banner" at Super Bowl XXII. How did your favorite sports teams do in 2018?
I don't follow Sports anymore.  If I did it would be a soccer team;  or a basketball team, probably the Lakers.  I LOVE basketball. 
 
9) Random question: When did you last check your social media feed?
If Good Reads counts as social media, then it was just a few minutes ago, for the book info.  Is blogging social media?  Then, this is the last time.. 

Tata til Sunday! 

Merry Christmas to all, and Stolen from the web, in homage to the Sunday Thieves is a Mince “ meat” recipe

Hope your Christmas has been Merry....

© Natalia NZ

I thought this recipe looked rather yummy. It also fits in with my one and only resolution for 2019 (so far) which is to Bake!

The photo above, and and recipe, below,comes from THIS Wonderful Page....

Homemade Fruit Mincemeat

Prep Time

5 mins

Cook Time

30 mins

Total Time

35 mins

Sweet and boozy this fruit mincemeat will have you looking for new ways to use it this Holiday season!

Yield: 2 c (roughly 24 oz by weight) of mincemeat

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: British

Servings: 8 people

Calories: 113 kcal

Author: Sarah | Curious Cuisiniere

---

Ingredients

• 2 large sweet apples, peeled, cored and diced
• 1 large orange, zested, peeled and diced
• 1 c raisins
• ½ c golden raisins
• ½ c dried apricots, chopped
• 1/3 c dark brown sugar
• ¼ c lemon juice
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp nutmeg
• ½ tsp allspice
• ½ c brandy * (bottom shelf is fine)

Instructions

1. In a medium saucepan, mix diced apples, orange zest, diced orange fruit, and remaining ingredients except the brandy. Stir and simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally for 30 minutes.
2. Remove the mixture from the heat and stir in the brandy.*
3. Place the mixture in an air-tight container and store in the refrigerator for at least 2 weeks before using, to let the flavors meld.
4. This will keep in the fridge 2-3 months.

---

Recipe Notes

*If you do not want alcohol in your finished mincemeat, you can either heat the brandy with the fruit mixture to a good simmer, to cook off the alcohol, or use fresh apple cider instead.

New questions- this ain't no Wordless Wednesday

Sorry that I've been goon with the wind so long.  I can't get healed up, eye or thumbness...

I was going to post this:

But, found the thumb would allow a little play time...

I found these New Questions a few weeks ago... I've been missing my memes..... 😪 

24 Questions of a Nosy Nature.

When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper?  

It's been several years.

Can you change the oil on a car?

Yes.

Ever gotten a speeding ticket?

No.

Run out of gas?

No. 

Favorite kind of sandwich?

I like BLTs or Tuna Melts without the bacon.

Best thing to eat for breakfast?

An egg on toast.

What is your usual bedtime?

10pm, but I usually stay awake and read until around one am.

Are you lazy?

No

When you were a kid, what did you dress up as for Halloween?

We made up our costumes.

Do you have any magazine subscriptions?

I still get "Birds", and "Animals".

Which are better, legos or lincoln logs?

Never gave it a thought.

Are you stubborn?

No.  and, I don't like stubbornness because it means that other people have to deal with your mistakes.

Who is better…Leno or Letterman?

I liked both of them in the few times that we watched them.

Ever watch soap operas?

Not unless the night time long playing things like "Grey's Anatomy" can be considered soap operas, which they resemble a lot.

Afraid of heights?

No, but I am afraid of falling off the edge of unprotected highlands.

Sing in the car?

Used to.

Dance in the shower?

That's a great way to fall, so no.

Dance in the car?

No, I am usually driving.

Ever used a gun?

Rifles yes, they were part of my young life.  I don't DO handguns and don't like them.  Too sneaky...

Do you think musicals are cheesy?

No, I like a lot of musicals.

Is Christmas stressful?

No, but I don't make a big deal of it anymore.  

Ever eat a pierogi?

I've only seen them in a film..."Men in Black", but they looked interesting.  

Major annoyance right now? 

I am annoyed with my thumb which chose now to get as stiff and unbending as a ... well, as a certain Politico...  I just had my eye operated on, and immediately swore off any more surgeries but ......

Occupations you wanted to be when you were a kid?

I wanted to be an Air force fighter jet pilot.  It was not to be.