Song Sung Blue

Gourmet Chef Elaine and I recently saw the movie Song Sung Blue at the movie theater.  It's the story of the life of Mike and Clair Sardina, a Wisconsin couple who performed as the Neil Diamond tribute band Lightning & Thunder, based on the 2008 documentary film of the same name by Greg Kohs.

The lead roles are played by Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson, and they do a great job of singing the Neil songs I know by heart, including the film's title song, Play Me, Holly Holy, I Am...I Said, and, of course, Sweet Caroline.  If you're thinking that Jackman, best known as the character Wolverine that he has played in ten Marvel movies, couldn't possibly be as good as Neil, you're right; that's a high bar, but his singing, and Kate's, is a marvel (pun intended) and is wonderful.  Two thumbs up from this occasional movie critic.

https://www.reelasdirt.com/song-sung-blue

Laundry Basket

One of our highest priorities is not falling.  We see too many people, young and old, who suffer serious injuries from a fall.  The older we get, the more we realize how that could wreck our quality of life.  So we're always on the lookout for tripping or falling hazards, and we identified taking our laundry from the second-floor bedroom to the basement laundry room as something we needed to address.

Our old laundry basket is on the right below.  It takes two hands to carry it, leaving none to hold the banister.  After searching on Amazon, I found a great solution, the laundry basket on the left.  It's made with a sturdy iron wire frame sewn into the top edges, which, when you stretch it out, will stand upright on its own.  The handles make it easy to carry in one hand, leaving the other free to prevent falling.

I got a pack of two baskets for $12, a 40% discount off its normal price, at the link below.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B7JGC67R

Jalapeno Honey

Like most folk, we don't vary from our list of regular purchases very often, but when Gourmet Chef Elaine spotted the Tillamook Jalapeno Honey cream cheese spread you see below, she made the impulse buy, and we're glad she did.  When you take a bite, the sweetness of the honey is pronounced, but wait a couple of seconds, and the flame of the jalapeno takes over.  If you like hot, this is for you.  Tillamook makes a few other flavored cream cheeses, and their Chive and Onion is next on my list.

https://www.tillamook.com/products/cream-cheese/jalapeno-honey

Bent Light Pole

I have no idea how long the light pole you see in the photo below has had a serious bend to it, and I would think I would have noticed this long ago, it's that out of place.  I have to assume that the power line that runs to it must have a large tree limb lying on it, without breaking it, and that force was enough to bend the aluminum pole a couple of feet.  My home city of Kettering, Ohio, has a website, at the link below, where issues can be reported, including street lights, barking dogs, potholes, dead animals, manhole covers, and illegal dumping, among others.

https://www.ketteringoh.org/report-an-issue

Expedited Service

Gourmet Chef Elaine had a horrible delivery experience after ordering an Advent calendar she found in an Instagram advertisement.  She even paid a premium for expedited delivery, only to watch it very slowly traverse the planet.  The snippet of the tracking log shown below doesn't indicate the weeks it took to travel from China (of course) to Spain, but rather the four weeks it spent being transported around Spain and finally entering the United States.  The top line shows the package in Ogden, Utah, nowhere near the intended destination.

Long story short - no more ordering via Instagram.

The Best Of 2025

As is my yearly tradition, I keep track of notable events and experiences during the year, then narrow that down to the top ten, and publish the results over on my Life Experiences blog, each with a short descriptive paragraph, which you can find at the link below.  Each of the balloons below represents one of the top ten adventures.

https://lifeexperiences.paulishing.com/2026/01/the-best-of-2025.html

Using AI To Find Stores

We're in the market for some new end tables and don't want to spend a small fortune, so I turned to the Gemini AI app at the link below.  The question I posed was "List the top five largest discount furniture stores in the southern half of Montgomery County, Ohio," and the list can be seen below, along with a little narrative and their address.  At the bottom, it threw in an extra suggestion, CORT in West Chester, that was a little outside the bounds of the question, but may be worth checking out.

https://gemini.google.com/app

Ruth’s Chris Buttery, Melted Cheese Potato Delight

Included in our Christmas dinner (which we more appropriately call a feast) is the potato casserole shown below.  Gourmet Chef Elaine used a mandolin to make perfectly thin slices of potatoes and combined heavy cream, whole milk, and shredded Gruyère cheese, shredded sharp white cheddar, and grated Parmesan into a creamy sauce.  Garlic powder, salt, and black pepper were the only spices.  Plenty of leftovers that yours truly did not let go to waste.

As often happens, the first time you make a dish, you learn how to improve it the next time, and the chef wants it to cook a little longer and use our oven in convection mode.  I can't wait!

You can find the recipe at the Instagram link below.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DR6HgL1j5qG

Volcan Tequila

Not only is the Volcan shown below a delicious tequila, but its 14.5" tall bottle is stunning.  It comes from the western Mexican state of Jalisco, where tequila is thought to have originated.  When we finish it, we will add it to our small collection of repurposed liquor bottles, which we fill with water and serve at special dinners.

Big shout-out to our friend Janet for this tasty treat!

https://www.volcan.com

BBX Pro

Forget a motorized wheelchair.  This guy is fishing at the Lincoln Park Pond in Kettering, Ohio, from the comfort of his BBX Pro.  That's short for Boomerbuggy X Pro, a micromobility scooter with an enclosed cabin, climate control, and safety features.  The Short Range model will set you back around $6,000 with a battery with a range of about 30-35 miles.  Still, you have to admit, that's pretty cool.

https://medium.com/evolve/discover-the-bbx-pro-a-mobility-scooter-that-redefines-independence-1a64a93b2b65