Invasion of the Vespula germanica

Our yard has been invaded by several nests of Yellow Jackets and I've been trying to read up on how to get rid of them. They make nests in the ground, and were 'stirred up' the other day when our lawn was being mowed (luckily no one got stung yet). So this got me thinking about insects like bees & wasps (Yellow jackets are actually a type of wasp). When I was a kid I remember there were wasps who liked to make nests in the hollow metal crossbars of swing sets on the playground at Lincoln Elementary School in Westfield. It didn't keep us from playing but those wasps looked pretty scary & aggressive.


But being the 'bleeding heart' that I am, I actually found a sick wasp trapped in my bedroom window during the colder months when I was a kid and brought it a dish with a glob of jelly on it. He never did thank me. 


I am sure I have had my share of bee/wasp stings in my life, but the times I recall are the times when my daughters got stung when they were kids. You always hate to see your children in pain, and also the worry that they might have an extreme allergic reaction (which thankfully they didn't). We all have to get stung sometime!! 


 Do you have any memories of getting stung or ideas on how to get rid of Yellow jacket nests without using stuff that would be harmful to other animals? Please post your comments, I'd love to hear from you. Meanwhile, enjoy these Bee-utiful tunes:

A current country song about a bee (couldn't find one about wasps!):

HoneyBee

And here's an 'oldie' Bee-type song:

Bumble Bee

Shoo-e! You hurt me like a bee, a bumble bee, an evil bumble bee!

Peanut! Peanut Butter!

Sitting here just finishing up my usual morning breakfast of a toasted English muffin spread lightly with natural crunchy WholeFoods peanut butter. It got me to thinking, when I was a kid I loved peanut butter on toast, the way it got all melty when you put it on the hot bread tasted so much better than a cold PB&J. 


 I remember one time when my best friend Kathy Marshall was over at our house in Westfield NJ, and we asked my mom to make us 2 pieces each. She said something like "Are you sure you can eat all that?" and we insisted we could. Anyway, we got done with our first piece each and we just couldn't fit anymore in! So we got a brilliant idea (as least we thought it was brilliant).  We took the extra 2 pieces of toast slathered with PB, and shoved them under the refrigerator while my mom wasn't in the room!! As far as I know my mom never discovered it, or at least never mentioned it. So I wonder how long that toast was there before anyone found it?? I wonder if Kathy remembers this? 
 By the way, now I have NO PROBLEM finishing my PB on toast, actually I could go for another one. I promise I won't shove it under the refrigerator this time!   


Peanut Butter Song 1961 song by The Marathons

Sitting in the stands of the sports arena...

Waiting for the show to begin. (in case you don't recognize it, those are lyrics from a Paul McCartney & Wings song entitled "Venus & Mars Rock Show").

Well, I saw Keith Urban in concert for the first time this past Saturday night at the RBC Center (home of the Carolina Hurricanes and NC State Wolfpack Basketball). It was a fantastic concert and I plan on going to see him again the next time he comes around these here parts! I never thought of myself as a big Country music fan but that is changing, or is it that the definition of what is called Country music has changed too? It seems like so much of Keith's music would have been categorized as 'Southern Rock" 20-30 years ago.


 Mr. Urban really rocked his guitar(s) and there was so much interaction with his audience, it seemed like everyone was having a great time. My friend boldly reached out and touched his bicep when he walked by us! She said it felt sweaty, probably from all that running around and playing his guitar under the bright lights! Keith even went into the upper stands during one song and gave the guitar he was playing to one lucky lady in the audience, he autographed it before handing it to her.


I want to keep this short so I'll save my other concert experiences (the first having been when  I was at the tender age of 14 to see  The Dave Clarke Five  ) .

Put You In A Song:

http://youtu.be/WrZd8JOxjBM


Edited to add this: I forgot to mention that Keith sang a snippet of Paul's "Silly Love Songs" as an intro to one of his songs. I was thrilled!

Supercalafragalisticexpialadoshus

Epcot Nov. 2008

OK, I admit it. I'm a sucker for Disney movies and the accompanying songs. Always have been & I suspect I always will be. One of the reasons is they bring back so many memories, old & new. Like when I was a kid,  the time I saw "Lady & The Tramp" at the old Rialto movie theater in Westfield NJ, and they played "Bella Notte" while Tramp sucked up spaghetti with his date, Lady.  And many years later when I took my daughter Nikki to see a re-release of "Pinocchio" at the quaint, family-run Rosendale Theater and she jumped out of her seat and ran up the aisle because she was terrified during the whale scene. 
 And many years later, laughing crying and singing along to Disney movie classics such as The Lion King, Aladdin, Pocahontas,  Beauty & The Beast with my daughter, Chelsea (actually Nikki took Chelsea to see "Beauty & The Beast" in Kingston as Chelsea's first movie theater experience).  And tearing up while watching her dance to "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" in her very first dance recital. 
I've watched lots of Disney films with my grand daughter Estelle, the last one we saw together was "Tangled".  And I look forward to the time when I can cuddle up with my little grandson Edward and watch more, maybe Cars II!!!



This version of "Colors Of The Wind" sung by Vanessa Williams gives me goosebumps:


http://youtu.be/J8rU2CK_1FI

Little Lambs Eat Ivy

  I didn't have any particular song playing in my brain this morning, that is until I started thinking about the first 33 1/3 RPM record (you have to be old to even know what that means!) that my father brought home for me. It was The Three Stooges singing a bunch of silly songs and I just loved it! My friends Suzie & Jackie Cory and I would stand in front of the big mirror in our living room at 524 Washington St. in Westfield NJ pretending we were Moe, Larry, and Curly while we lip-synced along with the tracks on the record.  We tried to act like the Stooges  & most likely gave each other nuggies too. I'm pretty sure there wasn't any ear-pulling though.






 The selections I remember best are:

Mairzy Doats
The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down
Three Little Fishies
The Aba Daba Honeymoon
Chickery Chick


Now I hear there is a "Three Stooges" movie in the works. I wonder if it will be a musical????


http://youtu.be/-D6l9K-IrNk

Long Distance Information

Give me Memphis Tennessee!

Actually, I have never been there. I have yet to set foot in the great state of Tennessee. I'll bet it's a beautiful place, though. I have 2 friends who grew up there and they are extraordinary women. And then of course there's Elvis Aaron Presley, the most famous Tennessean of all time!
 In case you haven't already figured it out, the song on my mind this morning was "Memphis". The version I am most familiar with is the one by Johnny Rivers which hit #2 in 1964 (originally written & sung by Chuck Berry). It probably resurfaced in my brain because I had been talking on the phone with my daughter yesterday and she mentioned she might be heading to Memphis. I hope she'll meet some awesome people there, stay safe, and head home soon.


http://youtu.be/V1kGuUZUgI0

The King of Graceland

P.S. I found out that Elvis also recorded the Chuck Berry song in 1965.

Hollywood

The song in my head this morning when I woke up was "Hollywood" by Michael Buble. 

When I was about 12 my parents took me on a trip to California. We visited a friend of my father's named George West & his family and they took us to Disney Land, and we also drove around Los Angeles & I swear I spotted Richard Chamberlain (Dr. Kildaire - a show I loved because he was my first "TV" crush) driving around in a snazzy red sports car! I was so thrilled! Later Mr. West drove us around the Hollywood Hills and pointed to a little humble shack. He told me that was where Richard C. lived! I guess he must have been pulling my leg??  

So don't go higher for desire
Put it in your head
Baby, Hollywood is dead
You can find it in yourself


Here's a link to the Buble song & video, It's very funny:


http://youtu.be/QBrlYtV60GA

Dad's Songs

My Dad used to like to sing. Here are some of the songs I remember him singing to me:

"Give My Regards To Broadway"

"How Much Is That Doggie In The Window?"

"This Is The Army Mister Jones"

"Oh, How I Hate To Get Up In The Morning"

"Don't Send My Boy To Harvard"

"Yankee Doodle"
"Where Do You Work-a, John?" 

He actually got the nickname "Grandpa Doodle" from his grandkids because he would often sing "Yankee Doodle" to them while bouncing one of them on his knee when they were young.

I found a YouTube of the "Hate To Get Up..." song, sung by Irving Berlin himself! My dad would have loved to watch that.

http://youtu.be/71smG5d29to

I miss you, Dad and thank you for all the songs you gave me.

Happy Fathers Day to all you wonderful dads, past present & future! 

Did you father sing you any songs? If so, I'd like to know what he sang, so please leave a comment!

Sara

Now & Forever

Nearly every morning I wake up with a song in my head, and sometimes it's lyrics my brain makes up in my dreams. And I do not wake up to a radio or anything like that. Today the resident song in my head was "I Love You Now and Forever". I had to look it up to find out it was a song by Donna Lewis from the 90's. 

http://youtu.be/SqdWTeXWvOg