SUNDAY FUNDAY - AUGUST 8, 2021

 SUNDAY FUNDAY AUGUST 8, 2021

WELCOME TO THE SECOND SUNDAY IN AUGUST 2021. 

There will be five Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays in August this year.  And, I intend to LOVE every day!!!

This year seems to be different in terms of weather - at least in Central Texas.  I moved to Texas in 2013 and I have learned to grit my teeth in August - waiting for the heat to get over.  I’m not sure if we have had any 100 degree days yet - and it does seem like this has been a summer with more rain than normal.  

I have an image in my brain.  I think it goes back to doing jigsaw puzzles as a kid.  There is a summer day, with meadows, and trees.  There is a large tree in the image and I imagine myself laying under that tree, smelling the freshly cut hay, soaking up the sunshine (I’m in the shade - so not too much sun), and watching the clouds make shapes.  I used to watch the shaped change and morph into other shapes, and still do - when I stop and look up at the sky.  It is an August day - a day of just being!!!  (Maybe that is like August 10th - National Lazy Day!!!)

When I was a kid school didn’t start until after my birthday (August 24th), and generally after Labor Day.  I never brought treats to elementary school for my birthday.  

But, now, it is “Back to School” month - with schools starting soon.  Some states have “Tax-Free Weekend” (including Texas).  Parents can buy school clothes and supplies and not pay sales tax. In Texas, that is an 8.5% savings.  

Another phenomenon is “First Day of School” pictures.  Of course, picture taking has taken a big jump with digital pictures on phones.  In my day as a K-12 student, it would have meant getting the Kodak “Brownie” camera out (no, we didn’t have a brownie camera), and making sure you had the right film in the camera.  But these days, it seems like schools encourage the First Day of School pictures and you can have placards for your kids to hold like “First Day of Second Grade, Miss Thompson, teacher”.  They will be posted on social media soon.  And on refrigerators.  One of the downfalls of stainless steel refrigerators is that they are not magnetic, so those pictures might have to be taped on walls or bulletin boards.  Will you have the first day of school pictures at your house?

Of course, we are back in COVID precautions again.  I have been wearing a mask more frequently.  I keep about six masks on my gear shift lever.  (That doesn’t mean I remember to put it on!!)

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SOME RODGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN MUSICAL TRIVIA:

Which musical was set when this area became a state? (“Oh what a beautiful morning”)

Which musical had Yul Brynner as a royal? (and where was it set?)

Which musical had “It might as well be Spring”?

Which musical featured “I enjoy being a girl”?  (And set in San Francisco) 

(Maybe the easiest) Which musical is set in the Alps?  

Which musical has “There is nothing like a Dame”, or “Some Enchanted Evening”?

Which musical features “Tonight” and “Maria”?

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And, one of these was NOT a Rodgers and Hammerstein Musical - which one!!!

Do you remember these musicals?  Have you ever seen these on broadway?

LOGIC PUZZLE

COFFEE TIME

Four people, Emma, Hank, Eve, Enrico at a coffee shop.

They are drinking four coffee drinks: Latte, Americano, Cappuccino, Espresso

They have four snacks: sandwich, biscuits, muffin, and donut

Clues:
Hank didn’t order cappuccino or espresso

Expresso and the biscuits are served to the same person

Emma order a donut

Enrico had a muffin and a latte

So, who had what drinks and snacks?

NATIONAL DAYS

August 8th - National Frozen Custard Day
With a smooth texture and fresh flavor, frozen custard delights in many ways. Similar to ice cream, frozen custard is made with eggs in addition to cream and sugar. The dessert comes in several flavors, too. By adding egg yolks to ice cream created a smoother texture and helped the mixture/ice cream stay cold longer. 

August 9th - National Book Lovers Day 

I used to be a real ‘book nerd’. I almost always was reading something.  Then with work, I read professional books, textbooks, (and even wrote one textbook - that was a flop - but reviewed and wrote test banks for textbooks).  I have found I love audiobooks more than printed books.  I also didn’t get into the e-book world (although I have two e-books on Amazon and two non-published e-books).  

I’m not sure I can describe my taste in books/audiobooks.  I have listened to a lot of David Baldacci, James Patterson, and Lee Child.  BUT, some of these books are TOO bloody for me.  Sure, there are bad guys, but even bad guys have wives (or husbands, or partners) and children.  One of these killed off about 25 people in the first twenty pages - and that isn’t “Reverance for Life” or “Respect Life” - but murder.  Yes, books need conflict, but authors can get conflict without so much bloodshed!!!

A comment about Lee Child - who writes the Jack Reacher series.  Reacher is a former military office - who roams around America with no luggage, only (seemingly) a comb and a billfold.  Seeming he picks up odd jobs.  

The books seem so legitimate to me.  The last one I read (out of order), he is stranded in South Dakota by an abandoned Air Force depot that had been taken over for drugs.  He interacts with a female officer in his old military unit about his situation.  In the book that I read before it (but was written after it), he (Jack Reacher) goes to meet this female officer.  One was set in Northwest Nebraska.  BUT - today, I found this:

“James Dover Grant CBE, primarily known by his pen name Lee Child, is a British author who writes thriller novels and is best known for his Jack Reacher novel series. The books follow the adventures of a former American military policeman, Jack Reacher, who wanders the United States.”

I thought the author must be familiar with South Dakota, Nebraska to make the stories work - (and maybe he has spent time in the States)!!

NATIONAL DAYS

August 10th - National Lazy Day!!  

Okay, a day I can get behind (not really).  “The number one rule of any lazy day is if you can’t reach it, you don’t need it. Don’t break the rule. We assigned an alternative word for lazy for the day. We call it very relaxed.”

And, a quote from a lazy “person” - “You can’t teach people to be lazy – they either have it, or they don’t. ~ Dagwood Bumstead” (of the long-running Blondie cartoon).

August 10th is also National Smore’s Day I love to roast marshmallows until they are golden brown!!  I think I like the roasting better than the eating!!!

August 11th - National Son’s and Daughter’s Day.  

I have one son and one daughter, and I love them so much.  The National Day reminds us “Time with our children can be fleeting. Not only do they grow quickly, but their interests and needs change, too. Whether we realize it or not, sons and daughters look up to us. They emulate our behavior – the good and the bad. As much as times change, children don’t. We craved our parent’s approval and acceptance. Our children do, too.”  

Love your children (and grandchildren - and great-grandchildren if you have them!!!)

August 12th - National Julienne Fries Day.

Okay, to me Julienne Fries are shoestring potatoes.  “Cut into thin, uniform matchsticks, julienne fries tend to be crispier and are often called “shoestring fries.”  But, maybe Thursday might be a good day to have something different in terms of “French Fries”!!!

August 13th - National Filet Mignon Day

The National Day people wrote: “National Filet Mignon Day on August 13th celebrates a specialty cut of beef. Usually, from a steer or heifer, a filet mignon is a steak taken from the smaller end of the tenderloin of the beef carcass.

 

Since the filet mignon comes from the most tender portion of the tenderloin, it’s one of the most prized cuts of beef.

 

When found in grocery stores, filet mignon is already cut into bacon-wrapped portions. YUM!!!

 

August 14th - National Garage Sale Day.

I have been on both sides of garage sales.  I think I like the buying side more than the selling side.  You can wander around a neighborhood and into people’s driveways and see the “junk” they want to get rid of.  Some neighborhoods have communal garage sales where a lot of people on the block have their garage sales on the same day.  It generates more traffic.  And speaking of traffic, maybe your sale does start until 9:00 - but you’ll find people at your house by 7:30 while you are setting up.  Some might even come and knock on your door before you are officially open.  My bias is not to sell to them.  If you had an ad somebody who really wants a backyard hammock will be at your curb at 8:55 - expecting to get that hammock you had listed, instead of you selling it at 7:30!!!

 

 

WRAP-UP

Currently, I am planning on driving to Southwest Wisconsin over Labor Day weekend.  The high school where I taught my first two years after college is having the 50th reunion and I have been invited to come and join them.  I do see some of them online - so, why not??? 

I have not traveled since Christmas 2019.  I’m having fun in the planning of the trip.

I’m also going to Oklahoma City on the weekend of September 24-25 for a Granny Basketball tournament.  Part of me isn’t quite sure about that, but part of me is excited.  My granny team (the Georgetown Fire Ants) is trying to get me to be the “power forward” and stand under the basket and shoot!!!  I’ll be writing more on that next week!!!

Keep safe from COVID.  It seems (and I may be wrong), that vaccinated people can get the Delta variant - but generally a mild case.  

I’m wearing a mask sometimes.  

It’s the “Dog Days of August” - do you have a dog?  Are you making sure your pets are taken care of - have water and food - and never lock them in a car with the windows up!!!

RODGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN TRIVIA ANSWERS:

Oklahoma 

The King and I

State Fair 

Flower Drum Song

The Sound of Music

South Pacific

West Side Story ** NOT WRITTEN BY RODGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN!!!