There isn’t much that makes me sad anymore… mainly trashing our Earth… you know who you are… but now this. You may want to find a chair and sit down. Grab a cold washcloth for your forehead. Better yet, hang on to something fluffy that brings you joy, and lie down, so you don’t fall down. Here it is. If you are a fan of Hobby Lobby’s 40% off coupon, you will have less than a month to continue your coupon pleasure before it’s discontinued at the end of February. There, I said it. I couldn’t find it on their website, but here is what I could find. “As of February 28th, 2021, Hobby Lobby will no longer be offering the 40% off coupon in stores or online. By making this decision, we are intensifying our efforts to discount thousands of items every day. This will offer a better value instead of providing a discount on only one item with the coupon. It is always our intent to provide you with beyond compare service, great prices and the best selection. We appreciate your understanding during this period of transition and thank you for your continued business.”  Come on. It’s not just a coupon, it is a best friend. You don’t leave home without it. When my daughter was going through the Architecture program her freshman year at UH, we would spend at least $100 (or more) every weekend she came home. Hobby Lobby had it all in stock. Pens, pencils, X-acto knives, drawing paper, triangles, T-squares, glue, cutting mats, steel rulers, scale rulers, more pens, and pencils…and that was just the beginning of the list. It was always so nice to know that at least one of the items (two, if both of us stood in separate lines) on our list was going to be 40% off. The end of an era. For those of you that don’t understand, I don’t know what to say.

There might have been just the tiniest bit of whine in my recent text conversation with my favorite uncle. His reply was, “Man plans – God laughs.”  Geez. I needed to hear and be reminded because it is SO true. Why must we forget it so often?

The vaccine according to the Mayo Clinic: “After you get both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, it takes about two weeks for your body to build up protection. But even then, you could become infected with the virus that causes COVID-19. Keep in mind that the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is 95% effective in preventing the COVID-19 virus. The Moderna COVID-19 vaccine is 94.1% effective in preventing the COVID-19 virus. While your risk of getting the COVID-19 virus after being vaccinated is low, it is possible.”
“Even after getting the COVID-19 vaccine, continue to follow safety precautions and consider avoiding in-person visits with friends and family until more is known about the immunity the vaccines provide. If you choose to have in-person visits, remember to keep distance between yourself and others (within about 6 feet, or 2 meters). Wear a mask. Visit outdoors when possible, or open windows and doors to make sure the space is well-ventilated. And wash your hands often.”

Once a month…I publish a financial report in Brazoria County. One report is the Assumed Name Certificates aka new business filings. There were 298 new businesses in Brazoria County last month. That seems like a lot to me. Don’t forget to support these new businesses.

Legendary, 94-year-old Tony Bennett revealed he has been battling Alzheimer’s. He was first diagnosed in 2016, but continued performing, having his last public performance in March 2020. Tony Bennett is a family favorite at our house, and we last saw him in 2018 at Smart Financial in Sugarland. He was great! Except for the fact that he sang one song twice, you would never have believed that he was in his 90’s and had been doing this for 70-something years. One song had no amplification, and it was outstanding. His wife is 54, having met him when she was 19, and president of his fan club in the San Francisco Bay area. They have been together since the late 80’s. According to her, part of his treatment plan includes twice weekly rehearsals with his pianist, where he transforms into “the old Tony.”

RECENT BIRTHDAYS: Actor James Spader is 61. Boston Legal, Blacklist. Country singer Garth Brooks is 59. Keyboardist David Bryan of Bon Jovi is 59. Composer-conductor John Williams is 89. Jaws, Star Wars, Superman, Indiana Jones, E.T., Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan and three Harry Potter installments. ABC News anchor Ted Koppel is 81. Actor Nick Nolte is 81. Actor Mary Steenburgen is 68. Author John Grisham is 66. Singer Vince Neil of Motley Crue is 60. Good Morning America co-host George Stephanopoulos is 60. Actor Laura Dern is 54. Actor Joe Don Baker is 85. Sheriff Buford Pusser.

Broadcaster Roger Mudd is 93. Actor-turned-politician Sheila James Kuehl is 80. The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. In 1994, she became the first openly gay California legislator. Singer Carole King is 79. Rhythm & Blues singer Barbara Lewis is 78. Actor Joe Pesci is 78. Author Alice Walker is 77. The Color Purple. Actor Mia Farrow is 76. Singer Joe Ely is 74. Actor Judith Light is 72.  Ugly Betty, Who’s the Boss.

Actor Tina Louise is 83. Gilligan’s Island. Singer Roberta Flack is 84. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, Killing Me Softly with His Song, Feel Like Makin’ Love; and Where Is the Love and The Closer I Get to You, two duets with Donny Hathaway. Actor George Segal is 87. Singer Michael McDonald of the Doobie Brothers is 69. Actor Joanna Kerns is 68. Growing Pains. Actor Kim Novak is 88. Singer Peter Gabriel is 71. Genesis. Musician Sergio Mendes is 80. The Fool on the Hill with Brasil 66. Singer Sheryl Crow is 59.

Cloris Leachman, Emmy (8 Primetime) and Oscar winner (Best Supporting Actress in Supporting Role 1972 – Last Picture Show), died at 94. The legendary actress set a record when at age 82, she appeared on Dancing with the Stars in 2005. She was in The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Young Frankenstein, and so much more. Emmy- and Tony-winning actress Cicely Tyson, who distinguished herself in theater, film, and television, died at 96. She won two Emmys for playing the 110-year-old former slave in the 1974 television drama, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. A new generation of moviegoers saw her in the 2011 hit The Help. On stage, Hal Holbrook started playing Mark Twain when he was 29. As he grew older, he found he needed less and less makeup to look elderly. Holbrook had a substantial career in TV and film, but nothing compared to the one-man show that he did for more than six decades. He died at 94. Lake Jackson: Local diver and underwater photographer, Jackie Reid, died. He had a passion for photography and was always so generous with his time and proud to show his beautiful photographs.

Jeopardy revealed new guests hosts that will arrive once Ken Jennings’ stint is finished. Executive Producer Mike Richards will host for two weeks, then NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers, Actress Mayim Bialik and Journalist Katie Couric and Bill Whitaker will take turns stepping into Alex Trebek’s place.

A Russian woman swam under the frozen surface of a lake for 279 ft. in a single breath. It is believed to be a world record for under-ice swimming. (There is nothing that sounds fun about that.) Johnson & Johnson’s one-shot vaccine appears effective (72% in US), but not as much as rivals. Boeing posted record losses and plunging sales after dual crises: the collapse of travel during the pandemic, and the struggle to get its troubled 737 Max back in the air. Want to feel old? ZZ Top’s first album is now 50 years old. It was called simply, ZZ Top’s First Album. Ha-ha. We were so complicated back then.

The drama Phil Collins has been going through with his nasty divorce is not over. He could not get ex-wife and her current husband to move out of his $40 million house, so he evicted them. His ex-wife has decided that some of her possessions no longer spark joy for her. Her rep said, “She is moving to a smaller home and getting rid of some of her clothing and jewelry that she no longer wears…I mean, after all, she does have 5,000 pairs of shoes alone and only two feet—she can’t wear them all!”  Poor baby.  So, she is auctioning off gold records and awards belonging to Phil Collins. Hmmm. Her divorce settlement was reportedly $46.68 million.

Ben & Jerry’s debuted frozen canine treats called Doggie Desserts and are available in two flavors: Pontch’s Mix and Rosie’s Batch, named after employees’ dogs. Pontch is a French bulldog and Rosie is a rescue dog of mixed heritage. I like that…mixed heritage. My pup, Teller, is of ‘unknown’ mixed heritage. I just finished an article about what you should not feed your dog. Ice cream was on the list. Hmmm. It seems that dogs’ bodies are not designed to digest milk after they are weaned as puppies.

The robins are still here, eating my raisins. My neighbor told me that we also have Orange-crowned Warblers. I wondered what they were…beautiful with a yellow-green and gray color, but the orange crown is usually only visible when the bird is excited and raising its head feathers, according to a Google search. Fill your feeders with suet, peanut butter, and sugar water for them. Birds need our help.

Public-service announcement for the week. The names were not changed to protect the innocent. My office phone/internet bill went up by $40 this month, so I phoned, and was put on hold, for forever. I tried again, speaking with three different people, eventually leaving my number to return my call, since there wasn’t a soul in the correct department that was available to help me. Hmmm. I am a positive person. Three days later, Nestor called me, we played phone tag, then finally connected. It seemed promising until Nestor told me that he could not help me…wrong department. Sigh. He sent me to Mike…another wrong department. Then Mike sent me to James, who was ready to help. I explained that I am a small business and need his help. We eliminated the TV which had gone from $9.99 per month to $39.90. Easy break. Nothing else was available unless I signed a 2-year contract. No new 2-year contracts during a pandemic, is my mantra! He even suggested that if I didn’t stay in business, then I could stipulate that the next buyer or renter of my building could take over the contract!?! Thanks buddy, for making this so much fun for me. At this point, I happened to glance at the bill and saw Broadcast TV Fee of $17.05. “Yep,” he says, “that goes away too.” So, total, it looks like I just saved $61.28 a month by eliminating TV in the kitchen that we only watch during storms. An autopsy on bills, would find that most customers are paying 20-40% or more, than the base rate they originally signed up for. Not good.

Super Bowl 55 will be played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida this Sunday. COVID has messed up everything. This will be the first Super Bowl in 37 years without a Budweiser commercial. Instead, they will support ‘critical covid-19 vaccine awareness’ with donations and future ad campaigns. I will miss those Clydesdales in their fuzzy house slippers. I am only good for the commercials and the halftime. It was just last week that I even realized that it was time for Super Bowl Sunday again. The 2021 national anthem will be a duet performed by Grammy-nominated artists Jazmine Sullivan and Eric Church ahead of this year’s Super Bowl matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The national anthem will be preceded by a performance of “America the Beautiful” by Grammy-award winning artist H.E.R. then Warren “WAWA” Snipe will perform both songs in American Sign Language. Three-time Grammy award winner, The Weeknd will headline the halftime. It costs an estimated $5.5 million for a 30-second commercial advertising spot during the Super Bowl, so with only 20% of fans in the stadium, the possibility of lower TV ratings, canceled viewing parties, and social distancing, many of the traditional advertisers are sitting this one out in 2021.

Headline: Target and Costco are the latest retailers to stop selling Chaokoh coconut milk following accusations that its manufacturer uses monkey labor. WHAT! Now listen, I am a compassionate consumer and not one to abuse ANY animal. Ever. But if it was done safely and in a kind way, it seems silly not to let monkeys do what monkeys do. Climb coconut trees and pick coconuts. I bet there is more to the story for another time. Have a great week. Thanks for taking the time out of your day to read us.

Lisa