I am growing sugar snap peas and "Blue pod Capucijners", which according to my Cottage Gardener seed catalogue are "an ancient pea...developed by Capuchin monks in Holland." (I love Cottage Gardener heirloom seeds!) Needless to say, the pods are blue. Well, really they're purple. Whatever.
Here's a bowl of mixed peas:
And blanched:
Now they are in our new freezer, which we are slowly filling. Currently it contains peas, raspberries, and two chickens from my friend Judy's farm. (No, I'm not telling my chicks what's in my freezer, nor am I telling them that I'm grilling chicken breasts for dinner tonight.)Onto other news...
My friend and her hubby and their four delightful kids (they are! really!) visited for five days last month. Sophie reaaaally, reaaallllly wanted the licorice Robert was snacking on:
In fact, both dogs are apparently licorice fiends. (I hate licorice.)
Meanwhile...
Naomi lounging on her kitty shelf.
Alex the tripod-kitty being very tolerant of the 10-year-old boy putting a mouse on his head. Alex LOVES kids. Of course, we have none of our own (offspring, that is), but whenever any of my friends' kids come over, Alex is right there in the middle of the action. Makes me wonder if he lived with a family with children before he was caught in the leghold trap and taken to the SPCA.
Naomi likes kids too, but she likes everybody. Julius thinks children and most other visitors are absolutely foul.
And since it's a holiday Monday here in Ontari-ari-ari-o (but my hubby works in Quebec and took off St. Jean-Baptiste Day instead, and thus is not holidaying), CBC 1 has some whacky radio programming on. I just finished listening to an old broadcast of the venerable Lister Sinclair discussing disco music. I grew up in the 60s - 70s, God help me, just one of several reasons my childhood was hell. All the fumes from those polyester pantsuits would retard anyone's emotional development!
I sang along with gems like "Kung Fu Fighting", "Do the Hustle", and Boney M's stunning rendition of "Rasputin." No wonder I did a music degree playing classical clarinet... all that disco drove me to Mozart. Don't Rock the Boat, baby
No, no, okay, okay, I confess, I cannot lie, I admit it: I liked disco when I was a kid. I was in complete and utter love with that fuzzy-haired gnome Leo Sayer, and when my uni-browed Ukrainian boyfriend dumped me at 13, I dripped salty tears on vinyl as Leo crooned "When I Need You" over and over and over again. The Ukrainian, whom my mother's evil alcoholic then-boyfriend called "Super Uke", later reunited with me, but dumped me again when I was 16. I subsequently fell in love with an even greater idiot who coincidentally had the same first name as Mr. Uni-brow, and the soundtrack to that wretched romance was the Genesis album "Duke." Ciao, disco.
But in the disco era, I thought white pantsuits on men were totally hot, especially if the men had beards and hairy chests and gold chains and long hair. Eeyyyuw! (Well, I still love men with beards.)
I learned all about the Mad Monk after listening to Rasputin 4,639 times (I will still listen to a favourite song a hundred times in a row before moving onto another. Out of kindness to Gordon, I try to do that when I have my iPod plugged into my ears, not when we're together in the car.) Barry Gibb was my favourite Bee Gee and I wanted to bear his love child, but really Electric Light Orchestra was more my musical scene. When I wasn't listening to Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, and Wagner, that is. I especially loved Tchaikovsky's tragic life story.
That said, I have fond memories of doing The Hustle at Scarborough Music Camp in the late 70s. And ooh, let's do the Time Warp again!
"Everybody was kung fu fiiiiighting...." All you youngsters out there who grew up in the 90s don't know what you missed. And I have no idea how this post digressed from peas to disco.
Here's a little Boney M for ya... Ooooh! Those Russians! "But when his drinking and lusting and hunger for power became known to more and more people, the demands to do something about this outrageous man became louder and louder!"
Oddly enough, I worked with the co-writer of "Do the Hustle" on a book when I was an editorial assistant at William Morrow back in the mid- to late '80s, a guy named Charles Kipps.
ReplyDeleteHe's had a very odd career. At that time, he was an editor at Variety, and the book he wrote was about a film producer. And at one point, he worked on a TV project with Bill Cosby, though I forget which one.
More recently, he was in the news again when a true-crime book he wrote was a plot point on (gulp) "The Real Housewives of New Jersey." (You're in Canada, right? I hope you're not even familiar with that "reality" series up there.)
But it all started with "Do the Hustle."
Well that's very cool! He has indeed had an interesting career.
ReplyDeleteAnd alas, I suspect we do get The Real Housewives of New Jersey, since we get all manner of American TV up here. But I don't get a lot of TV-watching done in summer, and we stripped our satellite service to the bare minimum, so it's possible The Real Housewives may not grace my set. I do remember seeing an ad for it somewhere. God help us. I think we need a show called "The Real Chickens of Apple Hill."
Jim, you're a fountain of info, from bergamot to songwriters! :)
OMG!! I AM DISCO LOVER TOO!!! woohoo (blow that whistle!LOL)....I still listen to it to this day...sorry, it never died with me....makes me happy so I keep listening. I had many happy memories in the disco, I used to dance for hours at a time, talk about aerobics!! My friend and I even invented a dance routine to some disco song, but I cant remember what the song was.....ahhh Saturday Night Fever...lived it and loved the movie also!! I know, I know, I am sad, LOL....Glad I am not the only one who likes disco.
ReplyDeleteand Rasputin??? sorry, never heard of that, so I dont where that came from....obviously I missed out on that, LOL.
and the BeeGees....oooohhh LOVED THEM!! but Andy was my fav, even saw him in concert and had 3rd row seats!!! I was so sad when he died.
and The Real Housewives of New Jersey??? what a hoot!! You had to laugh most of the time, but some of it so true....those Jersey girls and their hair!! so true!!
But I loved The Real Housewives of NY better, maybe because I live so close to NYC and know how they are.
But real???? no, cuz they are not housewives cuz they all work!! But loved it anyway. I dont like most reality shows but these are almost comical.
Anyway, great post today!!
Jill from NY
Oh my, I clearly have to catch up on my TV watching! The Real Housewives of NY?! (I love NYC and can't wait to visit again.)
ReplyDeleteI forgot about Saturday Night Fever... I had the soundtrack on vinyl but who knows where that ended up?
But I think my greatest musical sin is loving, GASP, Abba.
And before everyone thinks I'm stuck in the 70s, I'd just like to say I have a wide range of musical tastes, as evidenced by the collection on my iPod. Elliott Brood, anyone? But NO COUNTRY! Well, except for one Dixie Chicks song. And while I respect jazz, I'm not a big fan, except if I get to sing it.
Always nice to hear from you, Jill. We are planning a day trip to your fine state this month, a little drive around the Adirondacks.
I listened to disco and other 70's -80's music by osmosis thru my kids. Love ELO. In the 60's we cavorted to 'Those Were the Days' by Mary Hopkin, a Russianesque number. You can get a hit of Tchaikovsky AND Rasputin in the film about the former with Richard Chamberlain and Glenda Jackson. And if you like that you could check out Women In Love, based on the novel by D H Lawrence.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the video, I'll be hearing it all day now.
You made me howl with laughter! Remembering the disco era.... I remember it all. Rasputin, the BeeGees, the white pant suits, which I ALWAYS thought looked goofy on guys!
ReplyDeleteKeep it up!
Laughing is the best thing, except maybe cute baby animals!... so my cup runneth over with this blog!
Oh! Those Were the Days! I can still sing it, and I used to play it on piano. "Thoooose were the days my friend, I thought they'd never end..." My Mum loved that song and was always singing it.
ReplyDeleteI read Women in Love decades ago but am damned if I can remember whether or not I saw the movie. I will check it out on Zip, and Rasputin too! And Frannie, "Rasputin" is still going through my brain two days later...
Elisabeth, it's my pleasure to keep you laughing. I'll try to take more chick photos today. Actually, I think it's time to get a chick video up.