What! Sept. 28, 2017
By Lisa Baker • 09-28-17
After five successful seasons, Chip and Joanna Gaines and Fixer Upper are hanging up their tool belts. Waco, Texas and their whole family of viewers will never be the same. WHO DOESN”T LOVE THEIR SHOW. They said that it’s time to think more about their family. No one can argue with that. It’s because of their grace, humbleness and love of their family, that we drop everything and run to watch the show. Let’s face it…they like each other. I watch Property Brothers (they like each other, too.) But I can’t stand Flip or Flop. What are we going to do?!?! It doesn’t matter what I write about in the rest of this column, nothing else matters…really.
Hurricane Harvey has not been kind to many…FEMA had a little typo on a phone number so hurricane victims in Florida hoping to get help with blue-tarping their roofs, were somehow directed to a phone sex line. The new number has been correctly posted.
Disgraced former Democratic Congressman and New York mayoral candidate, Anthony Weiner aka “Carlos Danger,” has been sentenced to 21-months in federal prison for sending sexually explicit pictures and messages to an underage girl. He is a perfect example of having it all but believing that he would never get caught.
According to Urbandictionary: When texting the acronym IYKWIM, it means “If you know what I mean.” If you add AITYD at the end, it means “and I think you do.” Just doing my part to make you a way cooler person than you were yesterday. It would take me longer to remember the letters than it would to just type it!
There is a house for sale in Michigan. The “For Sale” sign in front of the home says, “Quiet Neighbors.” The home is built next to a cemetery. Now there’s a real estate agent that knows how to enjoy life.
Remember when you had to defrost your freezer? Aauugh. My first apartment was horrible. It took all day, if you didn’t chip it out with a butter knife. Then I remember using my blow dryer on it and towels, lots of towels. It was just a mess. Don’t know what made me think of this. We sure have it easy now.
Police in Dumfries, South Scotland, have posted on Facebook that they are looking for the owner of a suitcase packed full of drugs that was left on a bus, then picked up by accident by another passenger. Police said, “Were you a bit wasted last night? Did you misplace a suitcase with £6,500 (which if I converted it properly, it’s about $8827 in American dollars) worth of drugs in it? Great news, it’s been found and we have it at Dumfries Police Station. Just pop in, tell us what’s inside it, where you left it and we will be happy to return it to you!” I love a police department with a sense of humor.
If you’re in the mood for a great show, AE and I have been watching the BBC drama, “Call the Midwife” – we started during Harvey and it’s great. Costumes are wonderful…it’s full of great history and just a really, really, well done show. It’s a group of midwives working in the poverty-stricken East End of London in the late 1950s – early 1960s. Miranda Hart plays Chummy and I’m convinced that she will play Julia Child in some future production. Let me know what you think.
If you love Sam Smith like I do, you should know that he just released a new single and an album is to follow.
HAAK Vineyard in Santa Fe! These guys have so much fun. September30th, is Wine and Stars in the Vineyard. Go to www.haakwine.com for updates and directions. October 7th is Haaktober Wurst Ever Wine Festival with Texas Sound Check Band. And really, good Madeira. Really good.
HAPPY BIRTHDAYS: Boxing promoter Don King is 86. Remember that hair! Former US Rep. Ron Paul is 82. He’s speaking “Foreign Policy Matters” at LJ Business Association on October 11th. Broadcast journalist Connie Chung is 71. Rock singer Robert Plant is 69. Led Zeppelin. TV weatherman Al Roker is 63. Country singer Billy Joe Shaver is 78. Movie director James Cameron is 63. Singer Madonna is 59. Actress Rose Marie is 94. The Dick Van Dyke Show. Journalist Linda Ellerbee is 73. Britain’s Princess Anne is 67. Actress Debra Messing is 49. Will and Grace. It’s back on NBC, September 28 (tonight) after 11-years. Rock singer-musician Roger Waters is 74. Pink Floyd. Actor-comedian Jeff Foxworthy is 59.
“When I was growing up I always wanted to be someone. Now I realize I should have been more specific.” Lily Tomlin
A new 12-sided British pound has entered circulation because it was believed that the round pound was too easy to counterfeit. It features a hologram that changes from the pound symbol to the numeral one. It was tested for three years to make sure it will work in vending machines. The old coin and the new coin will co-exist for several months and is the first new pound coin to be introduced in 30 years.
“The road to success is always under construction.” Lily Tomlin
Recently, I was reading an article on songwriter and artist, Sam Baker. He told a story about stopping at a little café and asking the waitress if they had any sparkling water. She replied that it all sparkles if you get it in the right light. Think about that…it applies to more than just water.
When someone says “Dory” I think of the friendly and forgetful blue fish that searches for her parents in Finding Nemo. Actually, a dory is a small, shallow boat about 16-23 feet long, lightweight with high sides. Pixar is clever.
In July, on a ranch in Jewett, a bolt of lightning struck a tree and killed 10 longhorn cattle, including an all-white steer and five calves. Wow. I didn’t know that could happen.
On May 3rd, 395 migratory birds collided with the American National Insurance building in Galveston. It was believed that the flock was flying lower because of a storm, there were clouds, then the bright office lights attracted the birds and they crashed. The company shut off some of the lights and is now researching ways to protect the birds during migration season, roughly March through May.
The 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster left behind radioactive puppies and dogs when people were forced to evacuate the area, thinking they would return in a few days. Soldiers were dispatched to shoot the abandoned animals, but some lived and have reproduced. Officials forbid petting of the dogs because of the hazards posed by radioactive particles on their fur. The Clean Futures Fund has a five-year plan to spay and neuter the dogs and cats in the area, then set up food and water stations along with a veterinary clinic to help care for the animals. YouTube, ”The Puppies of Chernobyl.” I never ever thought about this aspect of the disaster.
Twenty-one years ago, I was blessed with my first child. If he had been part monkey or puppy dog, I couldn’t have been any happier. Gage, I continue to derive much pleasure from being your mom. My daughter and I met him in Galveston to see Tommy Tune and Chita Rivera (a little West Side Story, a scene from Bye-Bye Birdie and All That Jazz – it was GOOD) at The Grand 1894 Opera House. Little Daddy’s Gumbo Bar, and we called it a successful celebration. Happy Birthday to my kid and my friend.
– Lisa
