January Saturday Nine

I'm participating in the Saturday Nine meme.  I love this song and heard it often when I was a little girl and it would be on the radio. I also liked the questions today. Thanks to Sam from this blog for hosting.

Saturday 9: Calendar Girl (1960)
    

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

 

1) How will you keep track of your days/weeks in 2025? Do you have a desk planner? A wall calendar? A pocket planner? Do you use the app on your phone?

I'm recently retired from teaching special ed PreK. Of course I have a desk calendar...what teacher doesn't?? haha. habit.  It's on my desk in our bedroom and I use it for things like my volunteer work appts, doc/dentist, etc. I also have a kitchen wall calendar on our family bulletin board because again, habit. this is where birthdays, appts for hubby and I go, etc. And yes, I use my google calendar. 

2) Consider your typical week. Which day tends to be your busiest?

The cool thing about retirement is there aren't really any super busy days. If there are, then it's because I've scheduled appointments back to back or lunch dates  followed by volunteer work, etc.  But typically, Wednesdays tend to be busy. I take a morning class at my church and then I usually either have a client to visit in the afternoon or some kind of appointment like chiropractor or I go on a lunch date with a friend or run errands since I'm out anyways. It really depends. Sundays are almost always busy with church, ministry duties, choir rehearsals and sometimes hosting one or both  daughters for dinner. My real Sabbath  tends to be Saturdays or part of  a day during the week. 

 

3) This week's artist, Neil Sedaka, is one of pop music's most prolific singer-songwriters, but his first love was classical music. He was so good that he trained at Julliard and won the accolade, "Best New York High School Pianist." Recall one of your passions from your high school years.

ooh..I graduated in 1978 so let's see...I was most passionate about practicing all of hte classical and baroque piano pieces I was going to perform for my college auditions. That was mainly my 2nd-3rd year of  high school. I was also passionate about being a "Jesus freak" (remember: the 70s were when the Jesus revolution took off in this country) and I was passionate about taking care of the earth. I remember being involved heavily into theater and music groups, too. 

4) Elton John has always enjoyed Sedaka's music and in the 1970s, when Elton was one of the world's top stars, he requested a meeting. If you had the power to contact and then meet anyone in the world, who would you choose?

Well there are 3 people I would just love to meet. Actually four because one is a couple:  the Obamas, Hoda Kotb, Savannah Guthrie. I would love to meet all 4 of these  people. They stand for many ideals I'm passionate about.The Obamas because I voted for them, I wish he could be president again, and they are good role models as a married couple and citizens of the USA. Hoda because I too had to make a tough decision about leaving a career I thoroughly enjoyed to be home iwth my daughter(s) for 6 years. Hardest decision I ever made and still  don't know if it was the "right" one. Savannah because it's refreshing to have a real Christian...someone who represents Christ well, in the journalism field in a top ranking spot on morning news and  Savannah's book was amazing. Read it. 

 

5) Sedaka appeared as the musical guest during the second season of Saturday Night Live. What's the most recent show you watched on TV? Was it live, from your dvr, or did you stream it?

It was our in-home date night last night: we watched the latest episode of High Potential on Paramount + and then watched a Reba movie called The Hammer. Both were quite good!

6) His daughter Dara sings on TV and radio commercials. What advertising jingle sticks in your head?

"the best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup". Keep in mind I don't drink folger's brand. I'm a coffee snob. But that is what comes to mind first when you say "commercial jingle". 

 

7) In 1960, when "Calendar Girl" was popular, To Kill a Mockingbird was first published. Have you read it?

oh absolutely I've read it as has my two daughters and husband. I read it first in high school English Lit class, again in college and one more time as a young adult. Love the movie. Such an important book. 

8) Also in 1960, John F. Kennedy, Jr. was baptized in the Georgetown University Chapel. His godparents were Charles and Martha Bartlett, the couple who introduced his famous parents. Do you have any godchildren?

nope. Isn't that a Catholic thing?? I'm not Catholic so no godchildren for us. I'm honestly not sure what that entails. I do have 2 young people, friends of my daughters, whom I call "my third daughter" or "my son" because they used to be here all the time when my girls were living at home. I still see 3 of them often. 

9) Random question -- Which did you enjoy more: the last week of 2024 or the first week of 2025?

HM...both weeks had good things about them so hard to choose. Let's say from 12/25-1/3 was my fave. Lots of family time, decadent foods and drinks, mild temperatures and lots of good walks in nature preserves before the bitter cold temps and wind arrived. 

HAPPY SATURDAY!  YAY! eastern NY is finally getting a little bit of light snow this morning. I'm so happy the grass is getting covered up.