Ramblings of a Menopausal Broad

Tag: Birds

Seven Things I Love (3-1-2021)

March 2, 2021 / / 0 Comments

Happy Women’s History Month!

  1. 1. This Video on the Accents of All Fifty States – Myself, I know I don’t have an accent. Well, at least I didn’t think I did (except that one time I had a bunch of people stare at me when I ordered a pop instead of a soda but that was more dialect than accent.) But then a few years ago I went to this conference in California. The first day I was there, before I had been introduced to anyone else, before I had even checked in, I was waiting in the lounge with some of the other conference attendees while they slowly checked us in one by one. I was chatting away with several of the people, most of whom were from California.
  3. After about five minutes the woman across from me said, “It’s so to be with someone from Iowa again!” I looked at her and said, “Wait, how did you know I was born in Iowa?” And she replied, “You accent! It’s great hearing that Iowa accent again.” I couldn’t believe it. Not just because I thought I had some sort of universal (and semi-classy) accent but because I had been living in Wisconsin twice as long as I had been living in Iowa. Though I moved to Wisconsin when I was 18 so I guess the accent was already pretty much permanent. You know what they say, people don’t lose an accent unless they move by 16 years of age, at the latest.

2. This Dance Compilation – I’ve seen a lot of compilations like this but when Kevin Bacon, THE Kevin Bacon, posted it on his Facebook page and wrote, “What a compilation! This might be the best of all dance numbers. Feeling inspired to watch one of the greats tonight. Are you with me?” I thought – I need to watch. And he wasn’t kidding. It’s FABULOUS!!!

3. This Nature Photographer, Tim Flach – this guy is a genius.

4. This Interview of Jason Mantzoukas by Seth Meyers – Been watching a lot of the talk shows – Seth Meyers (probably the most religiously), Colbert, Trevor, Drew Barrymore, the two Jimmys (Fallon and Kimmel) and James Corbin (the last three not as regularly as the rest). During the pandemic I’ve seen scads of interviews and I must say I don’t think I’ve seen one as entertaining as this.

5. This Canadian Artist, Tom Thomson – I recently discovered this artist because of a show called the ‘Murdoch Mysteries‘ (which I obsessed with) and now I’m looking for everything I can, not just about his art but about his life too. It turns out there was quite a bit of mystery surrounding his death and that just makes this all the more alluring.

IN THE NORTHLAND, WINTER (1915-1916) by Tom Thomson

6. These InStyle Virtual Elevator “Entrances” for the Golden Globe Awards – you can see more of them here but my favorite was Nicola Coughlan’s (and not only because she was wearing a fairy princess dress):

7. This Photographer, Kristina Makeeva – her work is truly magical. (Trying to only choose a few to highlight was incredibly difficult, you’ll want to look at more of her photos here, trust me!)

Word of the Day

Quote of the Day

Have a LOVELY Week!

Seven Things I Love (1-25-2021)

January 25, 2021 / / 0 Comments

1. This Short Film – anyone who knows me will tell you I have two obsessions: the UK/Ireland and all things India. This manages to combine both, it’s a short film about an Indian guy who lives in the UK. I’m pretty sure it’s London but it’s possible it could be someplace like Manchester or Leeds. The man works as a tech guy. He’s finally asked out this blonde, English girl in his office who his workmates clearly think is out of his league. He’s taking her out to an Indian restaurant in the hopes that he can impress her. Let’s just say, it doesn’t go as planned.

This a so well done. Very clever, funny, and for me, there were even a few “I’ve been there” (sort of) moments.

2. This 3-D Artist – I’m envious and completely in awe of artists. They must be able to visualize what they are going to draw, in every detail, before they actually draw it. Watching this guy’s process, you can see how that must be case.

3. This Dancer – he is marvelous. You should visit his Instagram and watch other videos. Truly talented.

4. This Seven-Year-Old Balalaika Player – Doesn’t this just tug at your heart strings? And how does balalaika music not make you think of Dr. Zhivago? Absolutely amazing! And she’s adorable!!! I could watch Anastasia Tiurina play all day! (By the way, she’s 9 years-old now and has her own YouTube channel.)

5. This Video of a Hummingbird Feeding her Chicks – what is most astonishing is the man whose hand is showing has obviously spend a long time working to earn her trust and she even allows him to touch her! Pet hummingbirds? Impossible!

6. This Gorgeous Coat Worn by the New First Lady on Inaugural Night – I had serious coat envy on Inauguration day. This one may have been my favorite. (I’m an embroidery junky.)

[Side note: though I must say Emma Emhoff’s embellished Miu Miu coat was a thing of beauty and there is a black version which is much better for my coloring! Course how many of us can afford the $5000 price tag? Living vicariously.]

If you would like to see more photos you can go to the Gabriela Hearst’s Instagram. She designed the entire outfit worn by the First Lady on inauguration night. There are fifty embroidered flowers all representing the flowers of the fifty states. And embroidered on the lining of the coat is a Benjamin Franklin quote. (Thanks KK for this info!) I wish we could find a photo of that. I put the quote in the “Quote of the Day” below.

7. This New Music Video by Jon Batiste – woooooo!

Word of the Day

Quote of the Day

Have a FANTASTIC week!

Seven (+2) Things I Love (11-30-2020)

November 30, 2020 / / 0 Comments

1. This Discovery of the Fountain of Youth – Scientists in Israel claim they have been able to reverse the aging process simply using oxygen. GIMME SOME OF THAT!

2. These Cardamom Cookies from Unna Bakery in New York – I found these locally a while back but couldn’t remember where I bought them. Damned menopausal brain fog. I checked to see if I could order them online and yay, I could! LOVE these cookies. They are my favorite treat to have with a cup of tea in the afternoon. A box contains five packets of two, all individually wrapped, so you don’t have to feel obligated to eat the whole package just to keep them from going stale (which is what I tell myself when I do that.) They are just the right amount of spice and sweet. In my opinion, the perfect cookie. The Swedes do so many things right and baking is on that list to be sure.

There are other flavors to choose from too. I ordered some Coconut Oat Cookies to try and they were different but equally good.

3. This Recipe for Sweet & Sour Brussels Sprouts – thanks to my brother Chuck for sending this to me. I’m a big fan of Camila Styles and I’m subscribed to her e-newsletter, but lately my inbox has been inundated so I’m missing a lot.

This girl (me) can’t get enough Brussels sprouts. Sadly, this girl also is on a blood thinner which means she has to pace herself. Well, you know what Julia Child says, “Everything in moderation.” (FYI, the full quote is, “Everything in moderation… including moderation.”) You can find the recipe by clicking on the photo or here.

4. This Book Review (and Interview) of Henry Winkler’s Newest Book by Master Crocheter Jonah Larson – they are all so damned adorable! Note Henry Winkler’s pillow behind him – love it! And Jonah Larson is a wunderkind! You can read more about him here and here.

5. This Cookware from GreenPan – I’ve bought all my GreenPan Cookware from Food52 but it’s available in many places including World Market, Kohl’s, and Amazon. One of my favorite pieces, which I use ALL the time, is the 12-Inch GreenPan Venice Pro Nonstick Ceramic Everyday Pan (pictured right). It’s no longer available at Food52 but they still have it at World Market. And there is a slightly smaller 11-Inch version called the Chatham Nonstick Ceramic Everyday Pan at Kohl’s for significantly less.

From the GreenPan website:

GreenPan is a Belgian brand with an international reputation. It’s the brainchild of two school friends: Jan Helskens and Wim De Veirman.

Upon discovering that traditional non-stick pans released toxins when overheated and used PFOA during the manufacture of the coating, they set out to create a new alternative.

After a long search, they found the perfect material for their range: a ceramic coating called Thermolon™.

With the biggest challenge out of the way, the duo put an expert team together and had a lot of pleasure in designing cookware that looked beautiful, performed brilliantly and made cooking even more of a joy.

10 years later their pans are loved around the world.

6. This Test Flight – I may not be a fan of Elon Musk (I think he ‘s batshit crazy) BUT I cannot deny he has vision and his company is achieving astonishing things. Besides, my nephew works at SpaceX so as long as he’s there I know that they they must be cool!

7. This Music Video (and tweet) – Daniel Stewart is Patrick Stewart’s son. The music video is awesome!

8. This Virtual Chess Game Against Beth Harmon (at four different ages!) – I ADORED ‘Queen’s Gambit’ (along with everyone else) and now I’m obsessed. Chess.com has developed this clever online experience tied in to the hit Netflix series. I finally got brave enough to try to play 8 year-old Beth. It was a draw because we ran out of moves. I thought my brain was going to explode though it was working so hard.

9. These Edible Christmas Ornaments for Outdoor Trees – I’m a Hallmark (and now Lifetime too) Christmas movie junkie. This year Hallmark has an incredible number of new movies. One of my favorites is called, Christmas with the Darlings. In addition to the usual christmas cookie making/baking scene that occurs in every Hallmark movie, in this one they made animal-friendly ornaments and I thought it was brilliant. I will definitely be doing this next year! There are two different links. The link on the photo below will take you to a recipe for the birdseed ornaments pictured. The link at the beginning in bold takes you to an article with a variety of ideas and links.

Word of the Day
(is actually the Merriam-Webster Word of the Year for 2020)

If you click on the graphic below it will take you to an analysis of the use and significance of the word pandemic for the year.

Quote of the Day

I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving and stayed safe!

And I don’t want to rub it in so I’ll let Charlie say for me what I can’t say myself….

Seven Things I Love (10-26-2020)

October 26, 2020 / / 0 Comments

1. This Short Film, The Magic of Chess – The Milwaukee Film Festival is running from October 15-29 and this year, for obvious reasons, it’s gone completely virtual. Frankly, I’m thrilled because it’s giving me the opportunity to see a lot more movies than I normally would be able to see. Because of that I bought a pass (and I’m a Milwaukee Film member so I got a really good deal 😊.)

I usually see all the film short collections and this year is no different. I also usually start with the kids film shorts. I have about a half dozen favorite short films so far, this is one of them. There is something about all these kids going on and on about chess, with such passion and enthusiasm – it’s amazing!

2. These Cakes, designed to look like shag rugs! Created by a baker in Los Angeles named Alana Jones-Mann.

3. This Fashion Line that used Puppets for a Socially Distanced Fashion Show – Moschino’s Creative Director, Jeremy Scott, is responsible for using marionettes dressed in doll-sized versions of the garments. I’m sure it was a tremendous amount of work but wonder, now that they’ve done it, will it get easier from this point forward to do it with puppets and less expensive than a show with live models? People do love things in minature too!

4. This Letter written by the Attorneys for the Lincoln Project (one of my two favorite Republicans against Trump groups right now) to Jared Kushner & Ivanka Trump’s lawyer. It brings me such joy! The Trump family (as has many other of their ilk) has gotten away with “having their cake and eating it too” for far too long. I hope that their stint in the White House was the straw that broke the camel’s back and that after the election everything crumbles. (November 3rd is ONE WEEK from tomorrow – EEK!)

5. These Photos of Birds in Motion by photographer Mark Harvey – you should click on the photo below or this link to see all the rest. Simply breathtaking!

Blue Tit by Mark Harvey

6. This Recipe for Bread of the Dead – super clever, easy and realistic way to make skulls from mushrooms! I’ll have to remember this for next year when I can actually entertain again.

7. This Bronze Sculpture inspired by the legend of King Arthur for Tintagell Castle, Cornwall by Rubin Eynon

Word of the Day

Did you know there was a word for this?!?!

Have a GREAT week!

Seven Things I Love (8-24-2020)

August 25, 2020 / / 0 Comments

1. Olive Oil Dispensers – I’ve been cooking more lately, especially since I signed up for Hello Fresh (will talk about that some time.) And a lot of what I am doing requires using a splash of olive oil. I buy my olive oil in a larger container (usually from CostCo) but those huge containers are a pain in the buttootie when you want to use it sparingly in salads or to saute. I found this great article in the Chicago Tribune (from last October) that reviewed olive oil dispensers. It was very informative and had some good options. I ordered choice number three – Aozita’s Glass Olive Oil Bottle Set. My primary reason for choosing this one was the mini-funnel to help fill the bottle up. As a menopausal broad, I found that most appealing.

2. These Cockatoos – which of these two cockatoos are you? I think it’s fairly easy to figure out which one I am as I sit here nodding my head listening to the video while I type.

3. John Mulaney’s SNL Musicals – I don’t know what made me think of these skits recently but man, am I glad I did because I actually missed the last one! It aired right after I came back from India and I must have been too jet lagged or something. Anyway, here they are, chronologically…

Diner Lobster (April, 2018)

Bodega Bathroom (March, 2019)

Airport Sushi (February, 2020)

4. This 11-year-old Nigerian ballet dancer – simply amazing.

5. This Tribute to Eugene Levy – On the occasion of his winning the Newport Beach Film Festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award his friends, family and fellow Schitt’s Creek cast members all let Eugene know how much they love him, shared wonderful memories, told him how much influence he had on their lives, and of course it’s all done with a lot of humor…

6. This Mommy & Me photo – it’s just so wonderful, the little girl is adorable and her mom is stunning. It went viral. Maybe she’ll become famous.

This is so cute! from MadeMeSmile

7. A Virtual Tour of Museo Frida Kahlo – La Casa Azul (or the “Blue House”) is where Frida was born in 1907. She spent most of her life living at La Casa Azul only moving out for the eight years she was married to Diego Rivera. She died here as well in 1954. The house is now used as a museum and now you can view it virtually. Virtual tours aren’t that great, IMHO, but it’s still wonderful to look around and see the gardens. That is what I am most excited about.

Here are a couple other links you might be interested in:
Take a virtual tour of “La Casa Azul”, the Frida Kahlo museum in Mexico from Paris Vogue (the article is in English
The Ultimate Self Guided Tour Of Frida Kahlo’s Casa Azul Museum

I’m adding a bonus this week. (Oh god, she’s started going over again! Don’t worry, it’s just this one time.) A friend of mine who lives in the UK posted this video. Amazing – very powerful. An organization that supports refugees projected a message onto the White Cliffs of Dover. You need to watch it!

Have a FANTASTIC week!!!

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