February, 2025

"This Just In..."

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C’mon It’s February.

Valentine’s Day. 

The day for lovers.

For affection.

For appreciation.

For surprise.

Hold that person close.

Kiss that special someone.

Early and often.

While you have the chance.

"Winter came down to our home one night

Quietly pirouetting in on silvery-toed slippers of snow,

And we, we were children once again."

           - Bill Morgan, Jr.

I know that it’s February and that means Valentine Day and flowers and words of endearment.

But, no, it’s not that.

I want to be specific. I’m in love with Joe Rampone.

And Fred Tremalgia, the Flicks, Bill Stiefel, Lucinda Lamb, Jackie Duda, Juan Pacheco, Rona Malakoff and Patty Commander. Oh, and Gail Sharkey and of course, Maggie Strolli, both Zajacs, Erin Pace, Karen Sullivan, Dan Naverette and Linda Hinchliffe.

I’ve got to be careful, because I am going to leave someone out, of that there can be little doubt.

Oh, wait…I’m in love with the Susans Costa and Henry, Barb Demartino, Frank Claudio, and Lisa Hausser and seriously I cannot live without John Heffernan, Frank Bonito, Lynn Keller, John Seamon, Carol Buongirno, Carla Tiezzi, Kathleen Powell and Carol Patenaude, and naturally, the great Michael Schnitzer.

How can I have such a love affair with so many? It’s easy. Every month I stare at a blank screen and try to fool these people. I find an impossible puzzle – they solve it. I choose a photo of a B-movie starlet from the ‘40’s – boom – they know who she is. Rock stars, dead scientists, obscure artists. No issues.

They play. They write back little notes.

Every month they engage in our little,"This Just In..." silliness and we are forever grateful for their participation. It makes all of this so…rewarding (at least for me) and I wish them – and you – well in this month of love.

Yes, my spouse understands.

"Loud are the thunder drums in the tents of the mountains.

Oh, long, long

Have we eaten chia seeds

and dried deer's flesh of the summer killing.

We are tired of our huts

and the smoky smell of our clothing.

We are sick with the desire for the sun

And the grass on the mountain."

           - Paiute Late Winter Song

The Roman month Februarius was named after the Latin term februum, which means purification, via the purification ritual Februa held on February 15 (full moon) in the old lunar Roman calendar.

Februalia, also Februatio, was the Roman festival of ritual purification. It is basically one of Spring washing or cleaning (associated also with the raininess of this time of year) in ancient, and possibly of Sabine origin.

According to Ovid, Februare is a Latin word derived from an earlier Etruscan word referring to purging. Wait. Spring cleaning? Maybe that’s why it’s the shortest month of the year. It is in my house, anyway.



Oh, and January and February were the last two months to be added to the Roman calendar, since the Romans originally considered winter a month-less period. (Don’t we all?)

Super Bowl is coming. Thought you might want to practice.

"Keep your faith in beautiful things;

in the sun when it is hidden,

in the Spring when it is gone."

           - Roy R. Gibson

"The flowers of late winter and early spring occupy places in our hearts well out of proportion to their size."

           - Gertrude S. Wister

Spring.

It’s on its way.

Sometime. Soon.

We hope.

Or is that…wishful thinking?

Here are a few images to spur your imagination.

Frank Bramley’s portrait of Ms. Helen Chambers

"Away in a meadow all covered with snow

The little old groundhog looks for his shadow

The clouds in the sky determine our fate

If winter will leave us all early or late."

          - Don Halley

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What a face. So, to whom does it belong? 

Tell us here and you may win a cherished Amazon gift card. As for last month - the biggest response ever - 315 correct answers. I got a cramp writing out all the entries into the drawing.

The answers were Lewis Capaldi, the Scottish singer and Cybil Shepard who worked alongside Bruce Willis in Moonlighting - but hundreds of you knew that! Winners included: Patty C, Tess J, Cliff C, Nicole M, Jo Ann T, Lisa H, John T, Janelle S, Diane L and Liz G - the most winners ever!

Thanks for playing and good luck this month.

"Surely as cometh the Winter, I know

There are Spring violets under the snow."

         - R. H. Newell

Corresponding with the Daily Mail in 1933, Compton Mackenzie presented two lists of the 10 most beautiful words in English.

The first was phrased in blank verse:

Carnation, azure, peril, moon, forlorn,

Heart, silence, shadow, April, apricot.

The second was an Alexandrine couplet:

Damask and damson, doom and harlequin and fire,

Autumnal, vanity, flame, nectarine, desire.



In his 1963 autobiography he said that these lists had a “strange magic for me … a sort of elixir of youth.”  Thoughts?

Sir Edward Montague Compton Mackenzie, was a Scottish writer of fiction, biography, histories and a memoir, as well as a cultural commentator, raconteur and lifelong Scottish nationalist. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compton_Mackenzie

"Wishing and wanting

to see you,

I step on thin ice."

       - Madoka Mayuzumi

It’s cold. Dark. Snow is probably in the forecast.

So, make a nice dish, settle in and watch a good movie.

Spaghettini Foriana

Foriana Sauce



•     1 cup walnuts

•     1 cup pine nuts

•      5 tablespoons sliced garlic (about 10 large cloves)

•      3 teaspoons dried oregano

•      3 tablespoons olive oil plus more for covering the jars

•      1/2 cup white or golden raisins

•      Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. Place the walnuts, pine nuts, and garlic in a food processor and pulse to a fine chop, until the nuts are like damp granola. Add the oregano and pulse a few more times to combine.
2. Heat the olive oil in a medium sized skillet over a medium heat. Add the nut mixture, the raisins, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly to avoid burning.

Spaghetti alla Foriana

•     3/4 pound spaghetti

•     1 cup Foriana Sauce

•      1/2 cup grated pecorino cheese



1.       Cook the spaghetti in salted boiling water until al dente. Drain and toss with the Foriana Sauce. Garnish with the cheese.

2.       Immediate write a thank you note to Food52.com – it was their recipe.

The Movie

Here are two you haven’t seen – in a long time. Both are just great!

Michael Clayton - a thriller with George Clooney &

Tom Wilkinson

Saturday Night.

The movie about the craziness around the first Saturday Night TV episode. 

"Standing in a valley,

With the mist coming in,

Berries grow on the holly bushes.

Robins hide in snow-ridden woods.

If I could stay here, I would."

           - Bethan Williams

Charles Addams drew hundreds of New Yorker cartoons and covers while also creating fabulously memorable Addams Family. Just a few more here: https://www.pinterest.com/kmeyer/charles-addams/

• Always wash with cold water, laundry detergent works just as well, and you’ll save 40 cents per load.

•  Turn off your water heater if you plan on leaving home for a few days. Most models will reheat the water to the set temperature in about an hour.

• Insulate the first six feet of the hot and cold water pipes connected to the water heater. It’ll keep your comfort high and your energy bills low.

•  Reduce your water heater temperature setting from 140 degrees to 120 degrees — it will save you money while keeping water hot enough for showers and cleaning dishes.

• Repair refrigerator door seals if you feel cold air around the closed door.

• Dust your fridge the next time you dust your house. Vacuum the coils behind the refrigerator. It will keep your fridge working more efficiently.

• Keep your freezer full – it uses less energy than an empty one.

• Wash and dry several loads at once, so that your dryer isn't completely cooled down when it heats up for the next load.

• Plug electronics into a power strip, then turn the strip off when not in use to save in energy costs.

•  Look for ENERGY STAR-qualified TVs – they’re up to 30 percent more efficient than noncertified models.

• Unplug battery chargers when the batteries are fully charged or the chargers are not in use. Many chargers draw power continuously, even when the device is not plugged into the charger.

It is a well-known fact that our bodies never out-grow their need for vacation. 

You could look that up.

So, we’re making a vacation suggestion for your immediate consideration.

We would love to hear from you about your favorites. 

It’s the Cinque Terre on Italy’s Italian Riviera.

It is in the Liguria region, west of the city of La Spezia. “The Five Lands” is composed of Monterosso al Mare, Ernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore. The coastline, the five villages and the surrounding hillsides are all part of a national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

There are few roads into the Cinque Terre towns that are accessible by car. It is best to plan not to travel by car at all but to park at La Spezia, for instance, and take the trains.

Local trains from La Spezia to Genova and the rest of the region's network connect the "five lands". The tracks run most of the distance in tunnels between Riomaggiore and Monterosso.

A passenger ferry runs between the five villages, except Corniglia. The ferry enters Cinque Terre from Genova's Old Harbour and La Spezia, Lerici, or Porto Venere.

A walking trail, known as Sentiero Azzurro ("Light Blue Trail"), connects the five villages. The trail from Riomaggiore to Manarola is called the Via Dell'Amore ("Love Walk") and is wheelchair-friendly. (I did that one with She Who Must Be Obeyed and loved it).

The stretch from Manarola to Corniglia is the easiest to hike, although the main trail into Corniglia finishes with a climb of 368 steps.

 

So…eat light.

"Go to the winter woods: listen there, look, watch, and “the dead months” will give you a subtler secret than any you have yet found in the forest."

             - Fiona Macleod, Where the Forest Murmurs

Observe the simple beauty of framing, color, content and style. Now, who took this great photo? Think you know? Tell us here and maybe you’ll win enough to buy a new hat. Don't worry, there's another quiz around the corner.

Hopefully it was good news.

"Every mile is two in winter."

           - George Herbert

In January 1984, Games magazine challenged its readers to create a form of communication in which a positive statement can be changed to a negative one solely by changing its punctuation. As an example, contributing editor Gloria Rosenthal offered this love letter:

Dear John:

I want a man who knows what love is all about. You are generous, kind, thoughtful. People who are not like you admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me for other men. I yearn for you. I have no feelings whatsoever when we’re apart. I can forever be happy — will you let me be yours?

Harriet

How can Harriet tell John to get lost solely by repunctuating her letter? 

Show us – here – and you may win an Amazon gift card to punctuate your day.