THIS AND THAT * Hey, who remembers Mr. Shier’s junior high English class? Do you all remember when we had to memorize the poem “Daffodils” by William Woodsworth? If nothing else, it does remind me of March and spring!! * This is so true…“Cooking a dinner takes like four or five hours, eating it takes like three seconds, and washing the dishes takes like seven or eight days and nights.” * Guess which quarterback NFL Hall Of Famer-to-be Peyton Manning’s kids like? I will give you one guess.

* I want to take this opportunity to THANK the Rooks County’s school districts and the health care/medical personnel, as well as all of the teachers and school staff who made it a priority to keep the schools open during this pandemic. Having some sort of normalcy for the kids is key and you all have gone above and beyond to make that happen. It is greatly appreciated.

* The other weekend I had a Denzel Washington movie marathon and I didn’t even plan for it! It just sort of happened. First, I watched his Oscar winning performance in “Training Day,” followed by the movie remake of “The Magnificent Seven.” Then on that Sunday afternoon, I went to the Nova Theatre and watched “Remember The Titans,” one of my all-time favorite football movies! Also want to add that two more of of my favorite Denzel movies are “Glory” and “Much Ado About Nothing.” Plus, I have to put a plug in for my Russell Crowe and Denzel teaming up for “American Gangster” and “Virtuosity.”

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETHEART! I saw this poem and thought of you! Wishing you a wonderful birthday filled with love, happiness and joy, but most of all, lots of presents!! What is a Daughter? An ally, confider, an on-your-sider; A lender, a sender, a generous spender; A worry inducer, a confidence booster; A life-enhancer, and knows the answer; A friend, a carer, a recipe sharer; A listener, a talker, a bathroom stalker; A cheeky borrower, a call you tomorrow; A dater, debater, a mess creator; A home lover, a needer of mother; A defender, depender, a cheeky rule bender; A company keeper, confessor and weeper; A shopping tripper and fridge dipper; A holiday taker, a happiness maker; A present buyer, a gentle white liar A joy bringer, a texter and ringer; A hand holder, a sympathetic shoulder; A secret keeper, a beauty treater; An honest advisor, a great trip organizer; A pride inducer, and a memory producer. Not a day has gone by that I haven’t thanked God for sending you to me.

* Already said goodbye to the first month of 2021! Can you believe how fast January went? * Actress Cicely Tyson recently passed away. I loved her as Sipsey in the movie “Fried Green Tomatoes,” and love the movie “Sounder.” If you haven’t seen these two movies, I highly recommend them.

THIS AND THAT * If I asked you to name all of the things you love, how long would it take to name yourself? * This is just my opinion, but I really don’t think we need chains or jewelry for our COVID-masks. * My summer body is never ready, but my winter body is always good to go.

* Just so you know Peyton Manning is one of the NFL’s 2021 Hall of Fame finalists! * This is so true of me. I don’t do and never have done Snapchat or Tik Tok, but I can write complete sentences with correctly spelled words in cursive, and tell time on a clock with hands.

* I read an Instagram post asking about when you were growing up if you went to bowling alleys, skating rinks or drive-ins for fun. Yes! I did! In fact I can do one better than just saying I went to these three places for entertainment since my parents owned 183 Lanes in Stockton in the ‘60s, so I have wonderful childhood memories of that place. We still frequent it often when our family has something to celebrate like birthdays or get-togethers, or just because we are hungry. As for the skating rinks, who remembers skating on Saturdays at Stockton City Hall and participating in the Limbo contest? And let’s not forget Saturday nights at the Park Drive-In Theatre! Whether you watched the movie in a car or sat by the concession stand with your friends, it was a great night out! Or how about those $1.00 family nights on Wednesday evenings in the summer when the movies were the “oldies but goodies” like Ma and Pa Kettle? Sometimes Dad would back in the station wagon and open up the back door, so we could lie down and snuggle up with our pillows and blankets to watch the movie.

THIS AND THAT * If you haven’t watched the TV series “Yellowstone,” I highly recommend it. And if you were fortunate enough to find out in time to record all of them, the entire three seasons were shown continuously on the Paramount TV station during the Christmas weekend! * As always, we had an AWESOME Christmas with lots of fun, presents and food! My kiddos put a lot of thought into what they got for me and were so excited when I opened up my presents! * Not going to lie, I love watching all the Christmas Hallmark movies— some over and over again—but once Christmas is over, and I mean that very day, I am done with them! That is until next year! * The bags under my eyes are Prada.

* “Kiss an Angel Good Mornin’” is one of the first country songs that made it on my all-time favorite music list. Country music star Charley Pride had such a melodic voice and now he can sing to all the angels in Heaven. My Mom will be right up front for that concert.