saturday 9

Devil in the Bottle

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) This song begins with T. G. Sheppard taking off his shoes to slip into the house with disturbing his sleeping wife. Are you wearing shoes as you answer these questions? no

2) His wife hears him anyway. Are you a light sleeper? yes

 

3) This is the first of 22 consecutive #1 hits for T. G. Sheppard. Not bad for a high school dropout. What's the last year of education that you completed? I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Secondary Education with a concentration in Social Studies; however, I have 30 years of teaching experience + credentials for teaching College Board courses and am considered adjunct faculty at the local university

 

4) He was born William Browder and chose the stage name T. G. Sheppard just because he liked the sound of it. He says "T. G." doesn't stand for anything, and he gets a kick out of fans who insist there's some secret meaning behind the initials. Since most of us didn't choose our names: Is there a story behind your name? Did your parents tell you why they chose it? (If you did choose your name, share what influenced your decision.) my first name is after my maternal grandmother and my middle name is after my paternal grandfather (and I love my name)

 

5) It was after hours at a Memphis roller rink when he first met Elvis and his entourage. As T. G. was leaving, Elvis was entering and asked if he wanted to stay and skate longer. T. G. was confused because he knew the place was closing for the night. "Not for me," Elvis replied and T. G. skated with Elvis and his buddies until dawn. Are you good on roller skates? noooooo

6) T. G. loves NASCAR and was an associate sponsor of the Folgers Chevrolet. He enjoyed the collaboration with the coffee company and has performed the familiar jingle – "the best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup" – in concert. Are you loyal to a particular coffee brand? not especially

 

7) T. G. understands the lifestyle of his fans. That's why he named his live country music venue Guitars and Cadillacs. If you were going to name a business after two of your favorite things, what would you call it? books and yarn

 

8) In 1974, when this week's song was on the country charts, Linda Ronstadt was getting a lot of radio airplay with "You're No Good." That song is about a real cad. Let's turn that around: Who is the nicest person you know? oh gosh--that's a hard question to answer!  I only know nice people.

 

9) Random question: Have you ever had your palm read? yes, but it was in Spanish and no hablo español

finished reading

Maybe I just wasn't in the right frame of mind for this book. Based on the synopsis, I was expecting a glorious, messy meltdown, but instead, it felt more like a slow wallow in self-doubt and self-pity. To be fair, the characters were very well developed. I just found the central friend group deeply self-indulgent and unlikable. I kept waiting for higher stakes: I wanted way more drama between Caroline Lash and her author mother, and I definitely wanted more angsty rants from Van to shake things up.  Maybe I wanted campy romps through the almost incestuous relationships.

From the publisher:

When Caroline Lash arrives in Greenhead, Massachusetts, she falls head-over-heels for Van Whittaker, a fleece-wearing, litter-collecting, kayak enthusiast with long, floppy hair and the personality of a Border collie. Born and raised in this picturesque coastal village, Van runs with the same crowd he did as a His ex-girlfriend, Bailey, a beautiful girl who attracts men like moths to a flame; Augusta, old money, horsey, and snobbish; and Fran, surrounded by brothers and sons, too fed up with boys to ever consider marrying one.

Together, the group runs wild through the marshes, beaches, and bars of Greenhead, drinking on houseboats, spending long afternoons sunbathing with their children, and playing games the way they always have. But when Bailey discovers that she is pregnant with Van’s baby, the delicate balance of the group’s friendship is thrown off. Soon Caroline is cast out of the circle and what she does next—in a potent mix of fury and heartbreak—exposes long-held secrets and works the entire town of Greenhead into a lather. Dazzlingly funny, sexy, and as juicy as it is astute, The Shampoo Effect is a story of late-night parties, early mornings with small children, the dawn of midlife, and a group of old friends finally growing up despite all their best efforts to the contrary.

school ties

 September 11, 2001 shattered my sense of how safe and predictable the world was. But amid the horror, I wanted my students to understand that when the world feels frightening, we can still choose connection. We wrote letters of friendship and support to schools near the attacks, and every school wrote back. Twenty-five years later, I still remember that lesson: we may be powerless to stop tragedy, but we are never powerless to reach toward one another.

sunday stealing

 

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Labor Day Questions

1) What’s something you want to do before summer slips away? I would like to join the Turtle group for a hike (they're the slower-paced, pretty flat-surfaced hikers)

2) What book are you currently reading? The Shampoo Effect by Jenny Jackson

3) What have you been listening to?  one of my nieces creates Spotify playlists for me and I'm listening to one of the first ones she made--a blast from the past

4) What shows or movies have you been watching? Taskmaster UK, which is absolutely outrageous; Big Brother season 28, and Ludwig

saturday 9

Workin' In The Coal Mine

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) In this song, Lee Dorsey sings that at 5:00 he's already on the job. What were you doing this morning at 5:00 AM? Saturday morning I was asleep at 5 o'clock--but then I went on a weekend getaway to Southern Maine!

2) He's worked so hard all week that he's too tired to enjoy his weekend. What are you doing for fun this holiday weekend? visiting with friends in Southern Maine 

3) Lee Dorsey was raised in Portland Oregon, home of the Portland Trailblazers. The NBA season kicks off next month. Do you have a favorite basketball team? the team at the school where I teach

 

4) This song was written by Allen Toussaint, who had a long career as a composer and producer. He produced Fats Domino in the late 1950s and worked with Elvis Costello and Paul McCartney into the new millennium. What job have you held the longest? this is my 29th year at my current position--and also my final!

 

5) In 1966, the year this song was popular, celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey was born. Are you a good cook? passable but enthusiastic

6) 1966 was the year when more Americans purchased color TVs and black and white sets. When you were a kid, did your family have a black and white TV? we did--in the basement which was really the "girls' playroom"

7) Labor Day is a big weekend for mattress sales. Do you plan on buying a new mattress before the year is out? no, my mattress is relatively new

8) Though kids go back to class earlier these days, store aisles are still full of school supplies. When she was a little girl, Sam was crazy about her big box of 96 Crayola Crayons with a sharpener in the back. Share one of your back-to-school memories. oh--the new notebooks to decorate were the best!

9) Labor Day weekend is the unofficial beginning of fall. Have you had any pumpkin spice yet? yes!  We were shopping at the outlets in Freeport on Sunday, and I got some Pumpkin Spice Lindor Truffles after having a sample

postsecret

PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a postcard. I like to post one that speaks to me each week.

finished reading

I’ll be honest: this was almost a DNF for me. The pacing was uneven; at times dragging on endlessly, only to pick up for a brief stretch before slowing down again.

Despite the sluggish plot, the character work keeps it grounded. It's a coming-of-age story set in 1970s Yorkshire, England, against the dark backdrop of the Yorkshire Ripper murders. The protagonist, Miv, is delightful as she navigates the transition from childhood to adolescence. Her self-consciousness, curiosity, and naivety are richly developed. Driven to help find the killer, Miv starts a "List of Suspicious Things": a project that turns a sharp eye on her neighbors and gradually unravels community secrets.

If the pacing were tighter, I would have loved this book. Still, it deserves credit for how delicately it handles heavy themes, including domestic abuse, systemic racism, prejudice, and mental health.

From the publisher:

'What if we decided to try and find him?'

'What on earth are you on about?' she said. 'How are we going to catch the Yorkshire Ripper, when the police haven't even managed to?'

I sighed. Her questioning my ideas was a recent and unwelcome element to our friendship. But it was a valid point. How would we catch him? We needed some sort of plan, a way of gathering clues and putting them into order.

I thought about what the policeman had said about structure, and then about Aunty Jean and her notebook, and the idea I had hardened like toffee. I knew exactly what we needed to do.

'We'll make a list,' I said. 'A list of the people and things we see that are suspicious.

And then . . . And then we'll investigate them.'

The List of Suspicious Things is a tender and moving coming of age story about family, friendship and community. Sometimes the strongest connections are found in the most unlikely of places.

three on thursday

 

Thing 1:  I finally finished the book I wasn't enjoying.  The pacing was off, but it definitely picked up during the last third!

Thing 2:  today is my Friday for school.  I have another eye treatment tomorrow, so I took the day.  I'm usually so uncomfortable that all I can do is rest after the injection.

Thing 3:  this is going to be a very fun-filled weekend!  I'm staying with my dearest friend, Sue, and her family.  And Sunday, we'll be going to Chebeague Island to visit another dear friend, Piper.  It will be a whirlwind!

currently

I am...

Reading: I just realized that I am not enjoying the book I'm currently reading.  So, why not DNF it?  I've invested so much time in it already; I may as well finish.

Listening to: the ringing in my ears

Thinking:  about nothing in particular

Feeling:  happy tired

Celebrating:  today was a very good day

Grateful for: getting back into the groove of school

Enjoying:  I felt comfortable in my outfit today

Weather:  65° and sunny

A quote I want to share: 

happy day 31

8/31: Today I am happy.  I woke up happy; the weather is perfect; I had meaningful conversations while on morning duty; classes went well; and I'm home on my comfy couch.

More importantly--where did the month go?

happy day 30

8/30:  Fresh sheets.

sunday stealing

 

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Survey Time!

1. What will you remember from August 2026? I started my last year of teaching!  My last first day of school; last school picture day; last bloodborne pathogens video training; last ALICE training (school violence scenarios)

2. When will you start your holiday shopping? I have already begun picking up little things

3. Where did you meet the person you fell the hardest for? he was walking down the street and I was with my high school friends--I pointed to him and said something along the lines of "he will be mine"

4. Where did you meet your best friend? we were in a freind group in high school but got to be besties in college

5. Share a fact about the last person who texted you. you would never expect her to be a Big Brother fan

6. EXTRA! EXTRA! Since June's DIY meme was such fun, let's do it again. Please close out this post with a question for your fellow Sunday thieves. Hopefully we'll have enough responses for a September DIY. 

What's a completely useless piece of trivia that permanently lives in your head?

What song immediately transports you back to high school?

If you had to be trapped in a TV show universe for a month, which one are you surviving?

postsecret

 

PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a postcard. I like to post one that speaks to me each week.

happy day 29

8/29: It was a beautiful, sunny day (mid-70s) with just the touch of a breeze. 

saturday 9

Animal Crackers in My Soup

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

This month Saturday 9 will be tasty, featuring songs with food in the title.

1) Do you eat soup all year round, or do you consider it a seasonal dish? it's mostly seasonal, although, rainy days count

2) Gazpacho is a popular cold soup. Made with water-rich tomatoes, cucumbers and bell peppers, it's considered a good choice for hot weather because it's hydrating. What are your favorite summertime foods? I make a wicked gazpacho!  And strawberry spinach salad is a favorite summertime food

3) This week, Shirley Temple sings of the delights of having crackers in her soup. How often do you add crackers to your soup: always, sometimes, never? regularly--but only certain types of crackers

4) "Animal Crackers in My Soup" was the big musical number in the 1935 movie Curly Top. Shirley played Elizabeth, who helps her older sister find love with a handsome millionaire. Have you ever played matchmaker? If yes, were your efforts successful? a time or two, it's hard to work with teenagers and not feel the urge to matchmake!  And there are two married couples that started out in my classroom

5) Gertrude Temple, Shirley's mother, was her daughter's onset hairstylist, creating the famous "curly top" with pin curls. What's your hair care regimen? twice a year I get perms, and two other times I get a trim; I use WEN cleansing conditioner and conditioning mousse and air dry

6) Bartenders are still called upon to create the non-alcoholic Shirley Temple, made with ginger ale, lemon-lime soda, and grenadine. What's the most recent alcoholic beverage you drank? I can't even remember, it's been so long!

7) In 1935, when this song was popular, Amelia Earhart flew from Honolulu to Oakland, California. Are you a nervous flyer? no, I'm not

8) Also in 1935, The Hoover Dam was dedicated. Today it's a popular tourist attraction, with more than 7 million visitors each year. Have you ever been to Las Vegas? no, I haven't

9) Random question: You get a spur-of-the-moment invitation to a meal with your best friend. Could you go wearing what you have on right now? absolutely!