Interesting bits in the news recently. Barbara Walters has an upcoming special with updates on where to find heaven. Must be a fascinating panel of guests lined up, if they are privy to such information. I’m definitely tuning in. I’m sure I’ll be looking for it once I’m gone, and with my track record I’ll need explicit directions.
Snookie has seen her baby on the sonogram and announced he looks like an alien. I’m sure he’ll paste that lovingly in his scrapbook when he gets older. Why does this news not surprise me a bit? I can’t understand why that girl isn’t picked up on every cable channel. What is it that we find fascinating about these reality stars? I’m so curious about this. Gene Simmons. Really? With all his money wouldn’t you think he could afford an excellent hair stylist? Rumor has it that the man is bald. If true, and I find bald men sexy, and it is not his desire to be, write a check for a wig that doesn’t look as though it was stolen from the head of a well-loved doll. You know ladies, the doll you always took in the tub with you missing one arm and appearing to have been the victim of electrocution.
You can hear the buzzing from the hive as the elections draw near. It would be nice to have a selection of candidates beyond the two-party menu that we’re presented with now. It you don’t support either, which is often the case, where do you go from there? It’s like going to an Italian restaurant and finding they only offer ravioli and spaghetti and you have a pasta allergy. Better hope there’s a lot of bread in the basket.
Also, if you haven’t done so already you might want to check your computer for cyber intruders. If you go to this website http://www.dcwg.org/ you can quickly determine if your computer has been infected. As I have had a problem with my old computer, I would suggest you do this easy detection before you find yourself deep in the soup. Don’t these people have jobs? Maybe this is their job. Reminds me of evil little kids that tie firecrackers on a cat’s tail and hide in the bushes to watch it run screaming across the yard.
An article came out saying that French women, besides being thinner and speaking with that delightful accent, are also happier and freer when it comes to love. It seems their American counterparts are a bit goal-oriented when it comes to affairs of the heart, say, writing the name of their first child on a cocktail napkin before dinner is served on their first date. French women are less attached to marriage, yet it seems French marriages suffer less from divorce. Also, although we revere the sanctity of marriage, we have no less infidelity than the French. Interesting.
I was sorry to hear about Andy Griffith’s passing. In the morning, while reading my paper, I still tune in The Andy Griffith Show. There was something, and still is, so engaging about the cast and the premise of the show that makes me smile, even though like I Love Lucy, I have seen the same shows over and over again. I can do the entire monologue from Lucy’s Vita Veta Vegimen show by rote. Certain shows remain with you long after the last episode is in the can, M.A.S.H., Cheers, Frasier, Friends, Seinfeld, Bewitched, all shows I seem to still tune in when I see a rerun on the schedule, for a visit to old friends. It must be odd to see yourself as a young person on the screen, and find yourself aging in the mirror. For those of us not in the public eye, it comes gradually with gentle reminders in old photo albums in the drawer.
We watched a series of concerts the other night, Foreigner, The Rolling Stones, and Stevie Nicks among them. Nicks looks great. It is strange to see your rock idols with considerable snow on the roof and some with more generous bodies, belting out the old songs with the same feeling as when we were kids. Jagger, I have to say, still moves across the stage as if he was twenty and amazingly Keith Richards is still hitting the chords while lighting his next cigarette with the one he is smoking. The music, is eternal.
I’ve been to so many concerts. Stevie Nicks was great. I saw her about fifteen years ago in the Bay Area. On the lawn, which was where our tickets placed us, we were surrounded by so many people smoking joints that it was difficult to see the stage through the haze. If we’d been stopped on the way home we would have been arrested because I’m sure by osmosis we were higher than the Himalayas. Through the haze, you could see a small figure on a faraway stage that sounded a great deal like Stevie Nicks herself. Fortunately, they had the large screens scattered around for the people in the back to confirm that we’d gotten what we’d paid for.
Concerts are fun, for the most part. Bette Midler was amazing. What a performance she gave. When singing “The Rose”, she put so much emotion out on the stage that for a minute I seriously thought she was having a breakdown. This was also an outdoor concert but we were much closer, and I could see the fins on her mermaid costume. A sellout situation, people were packing the parking lot long before the music was to begin. My second husband and I attended with two other couples. Each of us had packed part of a picnic to share with the others. My basket housed the potato salad, the coleslaw, the chilled wine and the pickles.
Somehow we managed to be close to the front in the massive crowd. The gate was not to open until the staff was ready for the swell to be released. On the lawn it was, first come first serve as to seating, so when the gate was open I heard my husband yell, “Susie, run”, and Susie (looking over her shoulder at the mass of humanity behind her), for once, did exactly as she was told. He said later all he could see were my little legs pumping like crazy and the picnic basket waving back and forth like a baton. Laugh if you well, I got us great seats. The potato salad was a little worse for wear but the concert was glorious.
Blueberry, Strawberry and Peach Crunch
1 1/2 cups strawberries, halved
1 cup blueberries, washed
3 peaches, peeled and sliced
2 Tbsp. whole wheat flour
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup oats
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup finely chopped pecans
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/2 cup butter, cubed plus 2 Tbsp. butter, melted
Whipped topping or vanilla ice cream (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spray 8 x 8″ baking dish with cooking spray.
In med. mixing bowl combine strawberries, blueberries, peaches, brown sugar, 2 Tbsp. flour and vanilla. Stir until well blended. Pour mixture into prepared baking dish.
In separate mixing bowl combine oats, 2/3 cup flour, 1/3 cup brown sugar, cinnamon and sea salt. Using pastry blender, cut in cubed butter until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle evenly on top of fruit. Drizzle melted butter over top.
Bake for 40 mins. until filling is bubbly and crust is golden brown. Serve with whipped topping or vanilla ice cream if desired.
Great story! And, by the looks of it, great recipe 🙂
Thanks! My other half most enjoyed the mix of fruits in this 🙂
I think Keith Richards died years ago. He’s just one of the “undead.” 🙂 Fun post and a yummy looking dessert. This looks like one for my husband. 🙂
Really, who can subject their body to all that mess and still be putting one foot in front of the other? Luvin the music though.
This is my kind of dessert, Susie — it’s hard to beat fresh fruit crisp. Good sprint.
My grandmother used to make blueberry, apple and rhubarb crisp. Always loved it. Never used peaches before but was a nice mix.
This is such a great looking dessert, Susie. And it’s nice have a muti-berry dessert where the crunch is the actual crunch and not seeds from raspberries or blackberries. I love both berries but sometimes I just want fruit. This would do it for me.
My Dad had a good friend who a major ticket broker in Detroit. Throughout the 70’s, I got 8 tickets, 3rd row, center, for any concert we wanted to see. I saw just about every band you can think of, often more than once. And I’m alive to tell the tale.
Wow, John, how lucky are you? Just talking about it makes me want to go again. We have several casinos in town and a lot of the older headliners make it through here. It’s funny, like having Disneyland in your town, you drive by it but don’t stop to go on the rides.
I liked this dessert a lot. Wasn’t sure that the mix was going to complement one another but in the end it was just right.
Yummy dessert! I grew up in Michigan so went to lots of concerts. Do you remember did Peter Frampton open up for Stevie Nicks at that concert?
I don’t think so. I definitely would have remembered that. She was great.
This looks amazing! What a great, fun post with lots of good memories. Thank you!
Cindy, appreciate the thoughts!
Great memories, stories, commentary AND a recipe to boot? What a great post 🙂
You are too kind!