Does the date December 13, 1928, mean anything to you? That’s the day the clip-on tie was invented, but nowhere can I find who the mystery guy or gal inventor was.There are no monuments, statues or memorials to its inventor. Some say it was morticians who found it way too hard to tie a tie on a dead body. The Great Depression started just months after the clip-on tie was born but I don’t think the tie was to blame. But it certainly did make me want to ask the guy sitting next to me today at a lunch meeting, “is it real or is it clip-on?” Compared to current fashion trends, the clip-on tie seems to have had some great staying power. Happy 91st Birthday to the clip-on tie.
When you’re happy you enjoy the music. When you’re sad, you understand the lyrics. George Jones
There’s a new Coca-Cola flavor that is only here for a limited time during spice season. It is cinnamon flavored, but cinnamon was not listed in the ingredients. But it could be part of the natural flavors list.Someone suggested that a Cinnamon Vanilla Coke would sure be delicious. Lay’s has come out with Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup flavored potato chips. Hmmm. Can it beat the real thing? Pop-Tarts will release two new flavors in January 2020. There is chocolate and cinnamon sugar with both new flavors having a slightly salty pretzel crust. So far, I’m not rushing out to the store, still just sitting at my desk.
The Brazosport Symphony Orchestra will present Handel’s Messiah on December 14th. They are asking you to bring a canned or non-perishable food item (or 2), always needed at this time, but even more so with the recent damage to the Houston Food Pantry. See you there.
A San Antonio man held his girlfriend by the neck and punched her face after a fight, then carved his name into her forehead with a knife. When your name is Jackub Jackson and you carve JACK on your girlfriend’s forehead, it’s a dead give-a-way that a jury is going to have no choice but to find you guilty.
Every woman has a little bit of Marilyn inside of her. You just have to find out, Monroe or Manson.
The Buffalo Bills and the Pittsburgh Steelers play on Sunday, two teams that are currently holding the AFC wild-card spots. Exciting. Yes. Sunday will also mark the first known instance of three brothers appearing in the same NFL game in over 90 years. The last time it happened was in 1927, with Joe, Bill and Cobb Rooney playing for the Duluth Eskimos. Hmmm. (The Duluth Eskimos were from Duluth, Minnesota in the National Football League and spent most of their time as a traveling team. They existed for five seasons from 1923-27. In ‘27, when the Rooney brothers played, they were 1-8 and were one of the first NFL teams to use a logo.)This year Pittsburgh has brothers Terrell Edmunds and Trey Edmunds, and Buffalo has Tremaine Edmunds. Bet their momma is hooting and hollering.
To avoid cracked, dry skin this winter, take half a lemon, a bottle of tequila, salt, and don’t go outside.
President Trump said that his administration is looking into relaxing water-saving regulations for toilets, sinks and showers, saying consumers end up using even more water by flushing multiple times and trying to get clean with low water streams.Use of low-flush toilets started after President George H.W. Bush signed the Energy Policy Act. The 1992 law said new toilets could use no more than 1.6 gallons of water per flush. Two steps forward, ten steps back.
eBay has reached a deal to sell event-ticketing business Stub Hub (largest resale ticket marketplace in the U.S.) to Viagogo for a $4.05 BILLION, cash deal. eBay purchased Stub Hub in 2007 for $310 million. That’s a tidy profit.
RECENT BIRTHDAYS: Actor director Woody Allen is 84. World Golf Hall of Fame Lee Trevino is 80. Singer Dianne Lennon is 80. The Lennon Sisters are an American vocal group initially made up of four sisters from a family of six sisters. The original quartet consisted of Dianne, Peggy (now 78), Kathy (now 76), and Janet (now 73). Hall of Fame sportscaster Vin Scully is 92. Blues musician John Mayall is 86. Actress Diane Ladd is 84.
Michael J. Pollard, 80, died of cardiac arrest. He earned an Oscar nomination for the 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde, playing the getaway driver, C.W. Moss, even though he never learned how to drive a car. He lost to George Kennedy of Cool Hand Luke. Ah, I’ll never forget that impish face and mischievous grin.
On Saturday, I attended the Celebration of Life for Daniel LeFave, who was only 36 years old. Daniel was an Asst. Principal at Bess Brannen Elementary in LJ and suffered from a brain tumor or he would never, ever have left this life and his beautiful family. The celebration was styled as an Irish Wake and was perfect…not only for Daniel, but for those of us that were able to get one more glimpse of a pretty special person. There was song, poetry, tears, education and laughter. A lot of laughter. It said so much about the way he led,then left this life.
Months that begin on a Sunday will always have a Friday the 13th. Like this month.
The Houston Rockets filed a protest with the National Basketball Association after James Harden’s dunk was not counted in the game against San Antonio Spurs. The final score was 135-133 in double overtime with the Spurs winning. Sorry, refs. We all watched the video where he made the dunk and believe he deserved the points and the win. What happened? Well, the NBA denied the rockets’ protest and agrees the referees misapplied the rules on the play. “Commissioner Silver determined that the Rockets had sufficient time to overcome the error during the remainder of the fourth quarter and two subsequent overtime periods and thus the extraordinary remedy of granting a game protest was not warranted,” the NBA’s statement said. The League also announced it had disciplined all three referees in that game for misapplying the coach’s challenge rule. Hmmm.
You don’t get to choose how you’re going to die. Or when. You can only decide how you’re going to live. Now.Joan Baez
The slain officer that was shot and killed as he responded to a domestic violence call in East Houston was a nine-year veteran of the Houston Police Department. Two Papa Johns’ locations in Pearland donated all proceeds from their December 11th sales, to the family of Sergeant Christopher Brewster. Donations can also be given directly to the Assist the Officer Foundation at www.assisttheofficer.com.
There is a house in Houston now on the market for $24.5 million. A house, not anhuge apartment building.
The Library Book is a story of the 1986 fire at the Los Angeles Public Library. The fire reached 2000 degrees and burned for more than seven hours. It consumed 400,000 books and damaged 700,000 more. Not only does Susan Orlean tell the history of the fire, she convinces all over again on how important libraries have been in history and why they should remain such an essential part of our hearts, our minds and our souls. I just finished reading this book. If you love to read and love to go to libraries, I recommend it to you. Might make a nice present for the reader in your life.
Common sense is a flower that doesn’t grow in everyone’s garden.
Some of my friends (Becky, Cheri, Debbie) had a get-together brunch last week at Cheri’s very lovely home. We were all asked to bring unwrapped toys to donate to Freeport Blue Santa and The Salvation Army. When I arrived, Santa was standing in the front yard next to Cheri’s husband and the most beautiful, shiny red TRUCK, tailgate up, overflowing with toys and gifts. Her husband found the truck advertised in The Source Weekly one day while he was getting a haircut. He totally restored it over a two-and-half year period, and it is gorgeous. All my friends are fabulous cooks so there was a feast along with champagne & limoncello. (Note: I will be heading to Spec’s in the morning after the Farmer’s Market – I didn’t realize how fabulous the combination of champagne and limoncello was.) Then as we left, she offered each of us a take home gift…cookies iced to look like a red truck with a Christmas tree in the bed. They were adorable. I just ate mine while I was typing this column. Some days are just more fun than others. Thank you, girls.
For every ‘real’ book I read, I try to throw a little trash in, because it’s good for me to know what’s really going on in the world. Hah. I just finished the sequel to The Devil Wears Prada. The novel was titled Revenge Wears Prada: The Devil Returns. The plot happens a decade after Andy Sachs quit the job “a million girls would die for” working for Miranda Priestly at Runway Magazine. Now, mind you, I loved the first book and I really, really loved the movie with Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, Stanley Tucci…it’s actually one of my favorites. I wouldn’t call the sequel book a waste of time, but it was pretty close, so I’ll use descriptive words like dull, unrealistic and pleasureless. I know…I should say what I really think. ☹ I just heard that The Devil Wears Prada Broadway Musical will make its debut on July 13, 2021 in Chicago. Audience reaction will determine whether it transfers to Broadway in NYC.
Thank you to Russell at Tractor Supply. He carried out a 40-pound bag of horse bedding in the rain so I wouldn’t get my good clothes dirty. Thank you to Mike Painter for delivering the beautiful antique wood for my daughter. Thank you to Gay Linford and Jennifer Monical for pulling together such a great program at The Local called Better Together. It was a very special evening.
About a month ago, the zinnias were blooming their hearts out, so I was able to have fresh cut flowers in the kitchen all the time, but I was puzzled because something or someone was eating the leaves off. It could only be a CAT. Sure enough, I watched as Winnie chewed off leaves as soon as I brought flowers into the house. In fact, she would nibble on anything I put into the vase. Basil, asparagus fern, eucalyptus, ivy, you name it. Her eating the leaves wasn’t as alarming as the thoughts and possibility of finding green throw-up on my carpet that set me thinking. So, I found some Cat Grass seeds at Buchanan’s Nursery in Houston. It’s just a flower-package sized envelope of oats, wheat, rye and barley. I located an abandoned clay pot at the side of my house, deposited a handful of the seeds, then about 2 weeks later when the first green popped through the dirt, I planted another handful. Now, every day and sometimes twice a day, I take out the kitchen shears, cut a handful and yell, “Grass!!” My three cats come running faster than when I yell “Treat,” (and they love treats.) They gobble the grass down in no time flat. What a welcome Christmas idea for a favorite pet. A gift that keeps on giving. It’s good for people and dogs too, but be sure to get non-GMO seeds. There are also companies making cat-bernet, meow-lot, and kitty-anti wine from things like beet juice and organic catnip. Purr-fect gifts for fur babies.
If you want to give an unusual gift, try Buddy the Elf wreath from Etsy featuring Will Ferrell’s face. It’s crazy looking, but I know it would be SO popular with MY kids. But if all else fails, give the gift of your time to those that love you the most. You can’t go wrong and it’s easy to wrap.
Thanks for reading us.
Lisa
