Dreamers Gotta Dream

Of a better world for man and beasts.

We all live under the same sun. 

One light, one sun... one sun lighting everyone.

One world turning...one world turning everyone.

One world, one home... one world home for everyone.

One dream, one song...one song heard by everyone.

One love, one heart... one heart warming everyone.

One hope, one joy... one love filling everyone.

One Sun, One Light -Raffi

Sweet Sentiments to Live By

Seen at the Poundstretcher store in Hexham, Northumberland, UK.

Not only is this great packaging, we think it is the national philosophy.

Why not? Good as anything.

And perhaps the accompanying sentiment that a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down will be reaffirmed upon the release of "Mary Poppins Returns", starring Emily Blunt set to open Christmas Day 2018.

We hope Lin-Manuel Miranda, of "Hamilton" fame, as a London lamplighter opposite Blunt's Mary Poppins will have an accent more acceptable than that of Dick Van Dyke who has offended ears since 1964 with his awful cockney impression. But if there are still problems with the production not living up to standards just remember what Julie Andrews had to say....

In every job that must be done

There is an element of fun

You find the fun and snap!

The job's a game

And every task you undertake

Becomes a piece of cake

A lark! A spree! It's very clear to see that

A Spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down

The medicine go down-wown

The medicine go down

Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down

In a most delightful way

A robin feathering his nest

Has very little time to rest

While gathering his bits of twine and twig

Though quite intent in his pursuit

He has a merry tune to toot

He knows a song will move the job along - for

A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down

The medicine go down-wown

The medicine go down

Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down

In a most delightful way

Buy yourselves some Jujubes, Milk Duds, or Junior Mints at the concessions counter, spoon them into your gob, sit back and enjoy.

March

Is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. If you don't believe NDL when she says it is very important perhaps you will take it to heart when you hear it from Fight Colorectal Cancer or from the CDC.

And if you still don't believe that screening is imperative (especially if you are related to someone who has a history that indicates you take action) maybe you will believe an old hippy who knows what he is talking (singing) about. 

Please, don't die from embarrassment or for any other lame reason. 

England and Its Gardens

We are thinking spring today. And remembering one of the greatest garden adventures ever.
We saw so much on our whirlwind tour of English gardens five years ago. It was amazing!

We would love to go on the 2016 version of this tour which moves North and into Wales, and are a bit envious of a friend who may get to, but even while the price of gasoline is dropping like a stone, confusingly, airfare is not.

Deborah Kerr in An Affair to Remember says, "Winter must be cold for those with no warm memories." and she is so right. So for this year we will rely on memories of our brief affair with English gardens and be thankful for them.

When we need a little garden fix in the winter we watch, and watch, and watch again this little production made from our photos of England and Its Gardens. You might enjoy it too.



If after this you still need even more promise that Spring is on its way consider coming together with like minded people for this annual, perennially inspiring event.

Think Spring!

Coquina!

On our recent bonus trip to Florida we needed to choose a micro shell to collect as we were banned from bringing home our usual giant haul-o-seashells.

Darling, colorful little coquinas fit the bill.

So many on the beach this time. Even the one who discouraged the idea of taking home shells became addicted to finding the pretty pairs.

One of the only other bivalves to make the cut and join the coquinas in the carry-on bag looks like a Big Kahuna coquina, but it is really a sunray venus clam which we learned from our googling is tasty and may soon be more common on seafood menus near you (if you are in Florida).

Every time we think or type coquina we want to say Coquina! as in Tequila! The perfect, circa 1958, top hit of The Champs, soundtrack for sipping our Sunshine State vacation beverage of choice, the Grapefruit Margarita.

(Peach Pit) Loon Magic

There was a period of time when one could find in every discount retail store a kiosk with a motion activated device that would play clips of the CDs on offer from a certain easy-listening music/relaxation sounds genre label. We blame the regrettable '90s and George Winston in particular.

You would be walking down the aisle headed for the Rubbermaid bins, potting soil, or printer paper and all of a sudden you might hear waves rolling in and out of the ocean onto a beach, the rustling of aspen leaves in a gentle breeze, or frogs peeping in a pond at twilight. After realizing you were not crazy you would go way out of your way to avoid that aisle on all future trips, but if you forgot, as we usually did, and passed by it again you might be surprised by one of  those aforementioned sounds or, perhaps one of the many, varied, haunting calls of a loon. Our memory is that that particular CD was titled Loon Magic. 

Here at NDL studio we have created, with a little help and enabling, er, encouraging from a Canada-connected friend a little loon magic of our own.

 To do so we revived a craft first seen in Canadian Living magazine two decades ago to make a new flock, or as some sources call it, a raft, of peach pit loons. Yes indeed, these little cuties are at their core humble, naked, peach pits. 

Ta dah! Incredible, eh?

And, since the original instructions are lost somewhere in our archives of pages torn from magazines we have had a devil of a time finding any guidance for round two of peach pit loon making. So, to get this almost lost art on the Google radar (personified new technology meets old technology in this wording), in other words make it Googleable here is a visual of what is needed to turn a peach pit into a loon. And just to make sure a Google search can find it. Peach pit loon. Peachpit loon. Peachpitloon. (Google may appreciate this effort, but Spellcheck is having a fit.)

  

And why would one want to make peach pit loons? Well, can you think of even one reason why not?

Thank you to the relatives both American and Canadian for consuming a half bushel of peaches during Canadian American Friendship Days 2015. 

Loons are pretty magical. We never fail to be enchanted when we hear them.

We don't do Cats

But there are exceptions to everything. This is a great commercial. Enjoy.

Be kind to your four-footed friends this holiday season and always!

It's Christmas Cryin' Time Again

The annual John Lewis department store advert is guaranteed to be poignant and good for a sniffle. Enjoy.





Our wish for you... peace, tranquility, and time to savor the small pleasures and joys of the season right where you live with those you love.

Like a Room Without a Roof

Does the world seem like a happier place these days?

It should be.

This incredibly uplifting video has been seen more than 100 million times. That's a lot of happiness shared.

We are responsible for at least a dozen of those viewings.





It just might be the way we start every day from now on. Or at least until spring arrives and we have the sky for a roof again.

And then, if you catch us clapping in the garden don't be surprised.

"Here come bad news talking this and that,
Well, give me all you got, and don't hold back,
Well, I should probably warn you I'll be just fine,
No offense to you, don't waste your time."

The Long Wait

And again from John Lewis, a really well done advert.

With a very sweet Christmas sentiment.

The Journey

The UK's John Lewis department store knows how important, and difficult,  it is to get it right.



For some it is more of a danger-filled odyssey than a journey.

Take heart oh ye intimidated shoppers. It is truly the thought that counts.

Stand Back!

Why the dog has to stay on the porch after swimming in the lake.

(Even though we love him dearly.)

Go on. Turn up the volume and take it to full screen. Oh yea.

from Variable on Vimeo.

Down in the Valley

If we can get a little bare earth around here we can probably go ahead and put in our pea crop.

For most of the year we rely on the hard work of the Jolly Green Giant to supply  us with little green peas via the freezer section of our local grocery store. 

What do the Giant's pea-pickers and their good friend Tennessee Ernie Ford do at the end of 

a long day in the fields? Why, sing favorite folk songs of course.

This recording was likely sent to young Nancy of Rib Lake for the price of a few labels mailed in to

 LeSueur, Minnesota * back in the decades when veggies were more available in a can than frozen.

The Green Giant loves corn and beans, and other Good Things from the Garden too.

If you need more information and/or encouragement to get going with some early peas 

follow these links and then get planting.

* Le Sueur, Minnesota hosts an annual festival formerly known as Corn on the Curb which we are aware of because of our close personal friendship with a Corn on the Curb Princess from the 70's. We hope she is not too disappointed that the current town celebration has been renamed and reinvented as Giant Celebration (24 years ago). Looks like it is a pretty fun event and we hope she is asked to dust off her tiara and ride on the parade float or the back of a shiny convertible every so often.

Video Valentine

We aren't really up on the current music scene, but with the help of others we sometimes happen upon little ditties that capture our fancy. Found at magpie & cake this version of You and I by the New Zealand folk rock band Avalanche City is a pretty much perfect audiovisual valentine with a crafty element to boot.



The lyrics are so sweet. Each stanza could be a valentine in itself.

But as the women at magpie & cake point out, the highlighted sentiment in the fourth stanza
would win the heart of any fabriholic. It did ours.

If you had an empty suitcase

I'd help you to pack it tight
And if you were afraid of darkness
Well I would stay till it was light

If you were a super model
I would help you lift your bags
I'd push those paparazzi over
So you could get inside your cab

If you found your toothpaste empty
I would squeeze out just a little more
If you had the sweetest victory
I'd high five you till our hands were sore

If you were scared and worried
I would keep you safe and sound
If you were addicted to fabric
You could fill a whole room in our house

If we climbed the highest tree top
And you said you couldn't climb back down
I would build the finest tree house
For our new life above the ground

And when you smile at me so sweetly
I love what happens in your eyes
When they open up to me my darling
Its all I need and its so right

Oh I have got a thousand reasons
For you to come away with me
The more I look the better you seem
And I hope that in your heart you see

Cause I believe that you are all I want
Cause I believe that you and I belong
 and, I belong. 

Extreme Editing

IMDB"s Top 250 movies in 2 1/2 minutes by Jonathan Keogh. If you are an avid movie goer it is kind of like having your own movie-watching life pass before your eyes. 

Marvel at the awesomeness of the editing and music, and see if this brief, long history of great cinema jogs your brain to remember where in your life journey you were when you saw (fill in the blank). 

Just a little ratings tip in case the little ones are in the room...

a couple of F-bombs fall somewhere in the middle.

Know Your Polka Kings

Oktoberfest is here and we wouldn't want you to be at a loss for polka facts to add to conversations around the dance floor. Especially if  if there is any debating about who is the true polka king. 

L'il Wally vs. Whoopee John.

Walter "Li'l Wally" Jagiello, "Mały Władziu" (August 1, 1930 – August 17, 2006), was an American (of Polish background) polka musician and songwriter from Chicago, Illinois. A self-taught Chemnitzer concertina and drum player, who sang perfect Polish as well as English in many of his songs. His most famous compositions include "Pukaj Jasiu" "No Beer in Heaven" and "I Wish I Was Single Again". 

His song "Let's Go, Go-Go White Sox", as recorded by Captain Stubby and the Buccaneers underwent a resurgence in 2005.

Originally starting out at the age of 8 singing with the Eddie Zima Orchestra performing up and down "Polish Broadway" in Chicago, Wally soon struck out on his own and formed his own band "The Happy Harmony Boys". He was a pioneer in the concept of the independent record label, starting his own Jay-Jay Records in 1951 after a brief career recording stint on Columbia Records, at the age of twenty. He was renowned for his drumbeat and slower and more danceable tempo, which became a mainstay of "Chicago Style" Polish polka sound. His arrangements of many popular Polish folk tunes, and many originals as well, are those used today by polka bands all over the United States. His nickname was derived from his short stature (5 foot 6 as an adult), especially during his youth, when he would stand on a picnic table to sing.

The highlight of Jagiello's career was performing for Pope John Paul II in 1984, who requested Wally to continue playing after his initial song, "God Bless Our Polish Pope". The pontiff blessed him after his performance, telling him "God will reward you for all your hard work."
He also appeared several times playing his concertina on The Lawrence Welk Show. He was one of the first two inductees into the International Polka Association's Hall of Fame in 1969. All total, he has collected 17 gold and 4 platinum records. In his later years, he retired to Miami Beach, Florida, but continued to perform and record and please audiences nationwide. Li'l Wally died in 2006 in Florida at the age of 76. - From Wikipedia

John Anthony Wilfahrt, (May 11, 1893 – June 15, 1961), the eldest son of John Wilfahrt and Barbara Portner, was a professional polka musician who recorded with Decca Records. He went by the moniker "Whoopee John." Wilfahrt was born in New Ulm, Minnesota and got his start playing the accordion at local gatherings and concerts in and around his community. In the 1920s Whoopee John and his band relocated to Saint Paul, Minnesota where they became regulars at live shows and on the radio. 

Wilfahrt first began recording commercially in the 1920s and would sign with the newly-formed U.S. division of Decca Records in 1934 as the label's second act. (The first act signed to the label being Bing Crosby.) Wilfahrt and his band enjoyed popularity through the 1940s and 50s on the polka circuit.
Over the course of his professional career Wilfahrt would record nearly 1,000 songs, some of the most popular being “Mariechen Waltz” and “Clarinet Polka.” -  From Wikipedia

After you listen to the Chug-a-lug polka and enjoy the accompanying vintage images there should be no doubt in your mind about who deserves to wear the crown. Long live Whoopee John.

Chug A Lug (Chug A Lug Drink It Down) by Polka_holic7839

Twofer

The invitation said, "come to meet the candidate". It did not say, "you will also be meeting and standing in the same room with the one, the only, Bowzer from Grease and Sha Na Na".

Yes, folks, if you got the invitation and for some reason did not show, you missed not only hearing about Kristen Dexter's plans  to help out as a state senator,  you also missed a chance to hear the election-themed vocal stylings and thoughtful comments of Jon Bauman, aka Bowzer.

And to think that it happened on West Central Street.

 What an interesting and pleasant evening it was.

Superfun

Just in case it's too cloudy to see it, or past your bedtime when it comes out, in honor of tonight's supermoon, here's a fun little moon-related something.

Waiting for Spring

Not long ago we read this article about the lack of nature and animal themes in children's books and frankly, felt a bit shaken. Could it be true? We had to see for ourself.

In the kid-lit  area of our big new bookstore  we found,  right on the top shelf of the picture-book  section this:

A wonderful book about a grandpa whose fading memories are kept in the topiaries he creates.

And this:

A girl's imaginings of the colorful and whimsical garden she will plant. Jellybean bushes are involved.

And this:

 

Author illustrator team, Philip and Erin Stead put out annual lists of their picks for the Phildecott and Steadbury awards and we are pleased to discover that many of their choices are both nature and animal themed books.

Based on our independent study and that of the Steads we are choosing to believe that the report of the dwindling of books of this genre is premature. They are there but it may take some intention to seek them out and share them with the kids in your life to help keep them connected with their "big backyard". Better yet, read some of those stories to them right in the great outdoors.

Say There Captain

A song from long ago comes into your head. You quiz all you meet to see if they remember it too. The facts are sketchy. Did you dream it, or is it from the depths of your memory bank? If so, how did it stick there for a half century while volumes of other information vanished, leaving room for "A Horse in Striped Pajamas"?




Thank goodness for the affirming power of the internet made possible by kindred baby boomer kids who sat for hours in front of early day educational TV, and then grew up to be creative YouTube uploaders. Captain Kangaroo, Mr. Greenjeans, Mr. Moose, and Mr. Bunny Rabbit made quite an impression on us and we are thinking that it was not a bad formative influence really.



THE HORSE IN STRIPED PAJAMAS

Well here we are at the zoo Mr. Greenjeans
Say Captain, I've never been here before. Do you know the names of all these animals?
Well, I do, Mr. Greenjeans, but do you?

Well, now, let me see…

Say there, Captain, do you see? There's a horse in striped pajamas
No, that's not what it is at all. That's an animal people call a zebra
I see, but it still looks like a horse in striped pajamas to me

Say there, Captain, do you see? There's a bird in his tuxedo
No, that's not what it is at all. That's an animal people call a penguin
I see, but it still looks like a bird in his tuxedo to me

There's a fish with whiskers on
That's a seal, for real

There's a teddy with two black eyes
That's how they planned the little panda

Hey there, Captain, do you see? There's a cat with polka dots on
No, that's not what it is at all. That's an animal people call a leopard
I see, but it still looks like acat with polka dots on to me

Well, look there, Captain, do you see? There's a bird with a big umbrella
No, that's not what it is at all. That's an animal people call a peacock
I see, but it still looks like a bird with his umbrella to me

Well, do you think you know them now?

Well, no matter what you say, Captain, when I get home this afternoon
I'll say to everyone there:

I saw a fish with whiskers on
You saw a teddy with two black eyes

I saw a cat with polka dots
You saw a bird in his tuxedo

And of course, the horse in striped pajamas

©1948 zell/kreeb