Author: boomingbanter

The coverage of the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings has been extensive.

Many veterans who were so young at the time of the invasion, some no more than teenagers at the time have returned to France for the occasion.

Those who have been interviewed  seem reluctant to give details of what happened. The recurring message from relatives of those who are no more is that their loved ones who experienced the turnaround of WWII just didn’t want to talk about it.

No movie or TV can capture the extent of the loss of life that took place. Only a visit to the place itself can adequately do that. We went some years ago on a bright sunny day.

We weren’t wet and in the dark we saw the beauty of the extensive golden sandy beaches and everything thing was still.

There was no bombardment or sea turning red only cemetery after cemetery and thousands of acres of graves that went on forever.

Horrific and humbling. Terrible and touching. Unimaginable and unforgettable.

Blessing #359 – Lasting Impacts

The rain and storms have beaten my summer plants down a little but everything is still alive and there hasn’t been a single day when I’ve needed to water.

That’s just fine by me. Bring it on around dusk please so it cools the air too before bedtime!

Usually on the back porch we have  annuals like petunias but this year for the first time the perennial Coreopsis went into the big pots.

The reason for this selection was simple they were on offer at Aldi and looked like a good way to save a lot of work planting.

They also are said to have very low maintenance and a great color. Even Better, thanks to a few break offs in the storms we discovered they’re very robust as a cut flower and last a good ten days!

Now to the best bit of all. They came with the promise that they would attract butterflies and bees and they have delivered nicely.

We’ve had a slew of bees as big as young birds and the butterflies have started too. Hoping this will continue all season as they are such important critters to cultivate for our beautiful blue planet.

This brought back memories of a little song that won the 1970 Eurovision Song Contest called All Kinds of Everything 

It was sung by a teenage girls from the Bogside of Londonderry one of the most troubled areas of the time. Her stage name was Dana and she was and is a sweetheart. She did so much good in our province and everyone from across the divide was delighted she won.

Dana went on to be a successful recording artist and later a politician. A robust performer in many ways just like our little patio flowers.

Blessing # 358 – Unexpected Winners

 

Does technology ever drive you crazy? There are few things make me more mad than not being able to get something to work!

This morning Krishna mentioned that he couldn’t see my blog post from yesterday on Facebook.

For some mysterious reason the connection that has worked faithfully went belly up.

My nose tells me that a certain teenager may have had a hand in this but he claims total innocence.

No matter what I do I cannot make  Wordpress and Facebook talk to each other again.

Was I sleeping when Facebook made some big changes? Anyone know what the error might be or how to fix it?

This is not a good omen or birthday gift for Booming Banter. The WordPress people have a link where you can chat with them and they tried to help but it’s a Facebook issue and they are impossible to reach!

Looks like the only solution I can find for sharing is a multi step approach.

So if you happen to see posts with the same content just ignore them. Put it down to age related wandering aka ancient surfing.

Blessing # 357 – A Long Way Home

The Queen rolled out the red carpet today for President Trump. She is certainly very experienced in such diplomacy. Just wonder how she feels about such events.

Of course it is part of her role as head of state to play host and it must be with a sense of pride in her kingdom that she oversee every detail.

Does she enjoy the big dinners though or would she rather have a BBQ or a plate of cheese on toast?

The first big dinner I ever attended was the sixth form formal at school. It was held in a lovely hotel and was full of fun! All around were people I loved and laughed with. That was such a wonderful evening. Relaxed and memorable.

As a student I got to go to a few conferences and meetings and these usually entailed a fancy event that was very exciting too.

Later, thanks to work, many a banquet came my way in many parts of the world. The food was always fabulous and the settings palatial.

Many people would give their eye teeth for such an experience but give me informality any day.

There was always an element of anxiety within me before one of these work events. Who would I have to sit beside? What would I say? How long would it go on?

You’d think with experience it would get better but if anything it got worse.

It may sound ungrateful but it got old. Like it or not for the duration of the meal you were sandwiched between two people you may or may not know or like. Sometimes you got lucky and got to sit with some people who were hysterically funny. More often than not it was heavy and serious.

When it was over there was usually a short nights sleep thanks to too much food and drink before another day of work.

So much more enjoyable were the nights spent at a friends eating a home made meal or the treat of a night alone in a good hotel room with a tray of room service and the TV remote control all to yourself!

What’s your experience? What do you prefer?

Blessing # 356 – Casual Dining

 

A few days ago a funny cartoon made me think a bit about bitterness.

It’s one of those words that has multiple meanings.

Applied to character it generally has negative connotations associated with resentment and an unwillingness to forgive.

We encounter it from time to time in literature. Dickens was a master of developing bitter characters but who can surpass the Grinch? Fortunately most make a turnaround and end up sweet as pie!

This brings us to the bitter sensation we taste. It is often associated with danger and is a warning signal that there may be some risks in eating a bitter material. Many cannot stand anything bitter yet others like it.

Why is that?

For sure it has nothing to do with ability to taste bitter. Working in product development we were trained to detect sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami and I was highly sensitive to bitter taste.

Yet beer, black coffee, limes, the quinine taste of tonic water you name it these are some of my favorite things. They all give a kick and light up the old brain!

Is this a genetic trait or is it an evolutionary carryover? After all there must have been some cavemen who were the taste testers. Just as long as I don’t keel over and die too soon!

Blessing # 355 – Refreshment

Aaron has been studying world religions at school so it was with great pleasure that we accepted an invitation from our dear friends to join them at their Synagogue yesterday for a very special Sabbat.

We learned a lot including a little Hebrew finding that Beth means home and Bethel is God’s House. This house had wide open door last evening.

The Rabbi and the leader of a local Muslim community had been very active in building cross community understanding. The Muslim congregation like us joined in the worship and also offered a delicious dinner to everyone.

This is the holy month of Ramadan so no food could be eaten before sundown. The service was really interesting with messages from both teachers on the significance of fasting and commonality across the doctrines.

The experience once again reinforced that we all have one fundamental belief and that is that we must love and do good to all people.

How tragic then that while we were celebrating together these common principles of common good that yet another mass shooting had taken place in this country.

It is with steps such as those taken by these wonderful men and women in these two communities last evening that such tragedy will eventually come to an end.

Blessing # 354 – Inclusion

Some people are extremely loyal to a particular brand others will test and try most anything.

My Mom was very dedicated to her favorites yet this didn’t rub off on me so much. Something has to really “work” for me to seek it out and buy it a second time. It happens but it’s rare!

When it came to skincare my Mom  swore by Oil of Olay. It was her only beauty routine and an obvious gift for birthday, Christmas and Mother’s Day. Maybe back in the day there was less to choose from but for fifty years the pink potion was all she wanted.

 

Today in most stores if we want a moisturizer or sun screen we are faced with a wall of choice. What drives our decision and how brands differentiate is the subject of intensive research.

This is what makes me an ideal Aldi shopper. If you want a sunscreen they offer one or two. Same with face creams or body lotions. You have the choice of  their totally acceptable private label. You take it or leave it.

Luxury items like body butter don’t even figure in their inventory unless perhaps as a special that’s in and out in a jiffy.

That’s when you rely on hints to hubby that maybe Santa might bring you a little. If your lucky, like me, he’ll then bring you Body Butter in every image shape and form. Nothing else just the Body Butter so  you’ll have a bucket load that will do you for the rest of your days!

Blessing # 362 – Loves & Limitations

 

We needed two cars to get all the goods to the store. Aaron was very helpful in squeezing as much as possible into each vehicle. Must have been all those Star Wars legos he did as a kid that makes him such a good fitter.

We set off just after lunch and lucked out finding two 2Hour parking spots just outside the store. By this stage it was steamy hot so we were glad we didn’t need to walk too far.

We emptied the goods onto the street and raised a few eyebrows. the last thing to come out was the first thing that went in La Piece  De Resistance the dreaded bench.

It stuck! By now my nerves were a little fried and I couldn’t imagine why I ever touched that piece of firewood in the first place. Dad and Son almost came to blows over how to extract the beast. Yet more eyebrows were raised. Finally Dad was victorious on how it had to be manipulated and Aaron got it out.

We then began the relay of moving everything inside and two little calamities occurred. Aaron set a large garden statue down a little too abruptly and broke off the base. He was full of remotes and has agreed to dig a big hole so we can stick it in our own yard.

Not to be outdone Dad dripped one of my prized retro Japanese salt and pepper sets and took the head off one Mr Pepper. So we will need to reattach him and keep him as a treasure at home with his Mrs Salt.

Yet another of Mother’s classics comes to mind; There Were Bigger Losses at Waterloo!

We got down to work arranging and it was only close to five o’clock that it struck me that I was parked in that two hour spot!

Yikes a ticket could erode my entire annual profit. Good omen though we lucked out again the ticket passed us by!

Blessing # 353 – Superglue & Spade

 

Can’t remember if you know that as of June 1 we are graduating from the glass cabinet at the antique mall to a half booth.

Today it was all hands on deck to get ready. Aaron and his girlfriend got into the painting while Dad cleaned recent purchases and took inventory.

My task was once again the dreaded bench.

This time there was no time for mistakes. It worked! The effect is a bit seafaring and both Aaron and I can sit in it so it can take a fair weight!

It was a very noisy business though putting in sixty or seventy big tacks so the whole afternoon there was major auditory disturbance across the area! I’m a bit shaky too. Talk about knock knock knocking on heavens door!

It went on so long one of our neighbors came over and asked what all the banging was. Fortunately he was joking I think.

We are good to go tomorrow for set up. There has been absolutely zero sales from the glass cabinet so the empire is off to a slow start.

Not to worry though we are now taking on the second frontier. As my Mom often said Rome wasn’t built in a day!  Just consider all that banging the drum roll for something to shout about.

Blessing # 353 -Third Time A  Charm

 

 

Do you ever hear a tune and instantly love it?

There is no explanation for this but it happens now and then. There is a familiarity with it. It’s sincere and not contrived. Maybe it reminds you of another tune maybe it’s just easy to sing along to. Maybe the lyrics strike a chord that play a little bit on your heart strings.

Thanks to Pop Pilates class there is a new favorite on my list. It’s our cool down song and it’s called It’s Worth It Every Drop of Rain.

It’s by two Scandinavian musicians Matin Carlsberg Feat and Jonathan Jarneek whom I’d  never heard. Seems it was written a few years ago but thought that since it was new to me and made me so happy it had to be shared with you too.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=share&v=9yxKjCO2lcM

If this link doesn’t work you can google it.

The repeating chorus is so sweet and so true and so summery

Whats your favorite recent find or  your all time number one summer song?

Blessing # 352 – A New Song