“Who has not dreamed a world of bliss on a bright, sunny noon like this?”
Today is beautifully sunny but cold. Fern didn’t join us last night because the open window made the room really chilly. I needed to snuggle under the comforter, and Gracie needed to snuggle next to me.
This is the first big weekend here. Yesterday afternoon traffic to go over the bridge was backed up for three miles. People are anxious for summer to wipe out the memories of winter and endless snow storms. Other than today, the weekend will be warm, even in the 70’s. I figure the beaches will be filled but not yet the water. It is still too cold.
When I was a kid, this was a big weekend. I got to march in the town’s parade first as a brownie then as a girl scout. I remember being so excited I was part of the parade. People would come and watch me. I, not ever being shy, would wave. It wasn’t the queen’s dainty wave. It was more enthusiastic with a quick back and forth. We never really marched in any sort of beat or formation. We just walked. The best part of the parade was marching by my parents. They clapped, waved and yelled my name. I was thrilled. The parade always finished at the cemetery where there were speeches. We stood way in the back, and I never really listened.
Memorial Day was always the start of summer for us. Bulky clothes were gone. It was time for the end of school countdown. The grasshoppers returned to the field and the polliwogs to the swamp. Darkness came late so the streetlights stayed unlit. Supper was a bit more casual maybe sloppy Joes or burgers or on Fridays fried dough. The windows were all opened so the air was sweet and the bedrooms seemed bigger, airier. Life was good.
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keepthecoffeecoming.blog 
May 23, 2015 at 12:26 pm
Live on YouTube at 3.00 pm EST it’s the Eurovision Song Contest. Will it be the gigantic (and I mean ginormous) Serbian ? The Polish chick in the wheelchair ? The bookies favorite from Team Christer ? Birgit’s hope ? Or Electro Velvet something ? Null points ????
The excitement builds, I have knocked down a bunch of tasks and am contemplating a big boy nap before the show begins in 3 hours.
The beers are in and I am ready to be entertained.
May 23, 2015 at 1:32 pm
They have now proof that a person working for the EBU has asked a greek journalist to trash our song as much as he can 🙂 He, of course denies it even if they actually have proof that it is him doing it 🙂 🙂 🙂 I hope of course we win but I like Australia and Montenegro better 🙂
May 23, 2015 at 2:09 pm
Christer, I am looking forward to the show. My wife is going to watch it for the first time via the live feed on YouTube.
We will be pulling for a KTCC win – dang Greeks
May 23, 2015 at 3:02 pm
Christer, Hedley, Mrs MDH and whoever is watching,
3 – 2- 1 – have fun!
May 23, 2015 at 3:10 pm
Birgit, we have a nice cup of tea, some chocolate biscuits and are watching some whacky Austrians who seem very enthusiastic
May 23, 2015 at 3:28 pm
Christer,
That is horrible. At least now that he is caught he is prevented from trashing. That must mean they see Sweden as a threat.
May 23, 2015 at 3:29 pm
I wish I knew the translation to the French song so I could understand the background film and the meaning of the drummers..
May 23, 2015 at 3:32 pm
Birgit,
I really enjoy those little opening vignettes with the boxes.
The songs are presented with such pageantry.
May 23, 2015 at 3:55 pm
I didn’t know anyone could replace Suh.
May 23, 2015 at 3:24 pm
My Dear Hedley,
I took a nap, inspired by you, and am now watching on youTube as the Eurovision song contest begins. I liked the homey touch with the horses.
I have Coke and chips and a dip for my watching snack.
Not having heard many I am a fan of Electro Velvet.
May 23, 2015 at 3:46 pm
Mrs MDH isn’t focusing , perhaps it’s my cackling. I am waiting for the huge Serbian.
Solid with Pitbull-Israel and Electric Velvet so far. The French girl was a bit depressing
May 23, 2015 at 3:49 pm
MDH,
England is still my favorite, and I still wish someone would translate the French. Not thrilled with Lithuania.
May 23, 2015 at 3:52 pm
The Serbian is replacing Suh next year
May 23, 2015 at 3:53 pm
Beauty never lies = who ate all the pies
May 23, 2015 at 4:01 pm
MDH,
I am lost on this comment.
May 23, 2015 at 4:03 pm
Sweden looking super strong….
May 23, 2015 at 4:08 pm
MDH,
I’m liking the voice of the guy from Cyprus
May 23, 2015 at 4:19 pm
Three useless hairy Austrians not in a dress.
May 23, 2015 at 4:24 pm
Someone complaining about Lithuania, my favorite so far? 15 so far, back to TV and beer… I wonder if we’ll get any points from Greece 😉
May 23, 2015 at 4:31 pm
Birgit,
Not me-I didn’t complain. I can’t even spell Lithuania.
I am watching and not liking Montenegro. My youTube went wacky just as Germany started but is back now.
May 23, 2015 at 4:35 pm
Anne Sophie, born on London, raised in Germany and getting zero points from Greece
I like wheelchair chick but she won’t win
May 23, 2015 at 4:44 pm
MDH,
Greece seems to be a problem!
May 23, 2015 at 5:31 pm
No chance for wheelchair Poland, the song was really boring. No obvious winner this year. According to my personal points I’ll go for 1. Lithuania, 2. Hungary and England. 3. Sweden and 5 others. I was wrong every year. I miss Turkey, they usually get our 12 points.
May 23, 2015 at 5:37 pm
Birgit,
I also liked Hungary. I found more than the wheelchair lady’s song boring. I liked Australia This waiting is not to my liking though I understand why.
May 23, 2015 at 6:11 pm
UK have more point than Germany.
Mrs MDH is pushing Russia, I still think Sweden.
May 23, 2015 at 6:12 pm
MDH,
I think Sweden seems to be racking up the points.
May 23, 2015 at 6:46 pm
Christer ! Christer ! speech speech
Meanwhile UK and Germany must take much pride in not exactly lighting this up, thank goodness
May 23, 2015 at 6:51 pm
MDH,
That was such a festive win for Sweden. Bows, Christer, bows!
May 23, 2015 at 6:54 pm
Congratulations to Sweden! Skål!
Glorious 0 points for Germany 🙂
May 23, 2015 at 7:09 pm
Sorry, Birgit!
May 23, 2015 at 1:36 pm
We’ve had sun all day and the morning was windy and bitterly so but it calmed down so the rest of the day was quite nice and warm.
This used to be a big weekend here, Whit Monday was a holiday here but they removed it and made our national day a holiday instead, something that annoyed us all since we always knew this Monday was free. Our national day can come on a weekend so we sort of loose one holiday. Not even the employers liked this so instead we now get 8 hours in compensation those years the national day happens on a weekend 🙂
No parades here as You know but I think the big amusement park in Gothenburg opens this weekend 🙂
Have a great day!
Christer.
May 23, 2015 at 3:37 pm
Christer,
We have also had sun but it is still chilly. The warmth will be here tomorrow if I the weatherman is correct.
Memorial Day is always on a Monday. It used to be the actual date of May30t but a law allowed it to be moved to the closest Monday to give everyone a long weekend.
The parade is decidedly patriotic in honor of the day.
May 23, 2015 at 2:19 pm
Long Pentecost weekend here. Nobody really cares about the Holy Spirit or speaking in tongues but it means that we have two holidays 🙂 We’ll probably go on a bike tour tomorrow.
Considering history you can guess why we don’t have a soldiers memorial day and parades. People’s Mourning Day in November.
Beer is ready, dinner not yet, ~1 hour until ESC. A typical snack for an ESC party here would be a cheese hedgehog which was popular party food in the 60/70’s, cheese cubes and grapes (sometimes other fruit pieces) on sticks arranged as a hedgehog.
May 23, 2015 at 3:47 pm
Birgit,
I didn’t even remember it was Pentecost. Religious holidays other than Christmas, which some would argue is hardly religious, are not celebrate here.
Yes, I do get why you don’t have this day, but it honors military dead, those who made the greatest sacrifice.
I like cheese and can do grapes but I love apples and cheese.
Enjoy Eurovision!
May 23, 2015 at 6:18 pm
Memorial day was always the end of the school year in Dallas. Normally by the end of May it was too hot to stay in school even with big fans running full speed at the back of each classroom. This has not been a normal month. When I moved back to NYC in the eighth grade the school year went through the end of June. We were off a lot more holidays such as a 10 day Spring break including Passover and both Lincoln and Washington’s birthdays.
When my kids were little our neighborhood staged a Memorial Day parade and the kids decorated their bikes with red white and blue streamers to ride through the neighborhood to cheering neighbors. The nearby Addison airport is the home to the Cavenough Flight Museum which has a collection of war birds that they would put on an air show on Memorial Day. The sound and sight of a formation of WWII fighter and bomber aircraft from flying low over the neighborhood was thrilling. The sound of large radial piston engines is an unmistakeable sound. Seeing P51s, a B17 and F4Us in action is an inspiring moment. A friend of mine will be flying the only restored and airworthy B29 in a flyover in NYC on Monday.
May 23, 2015 at 6:37 pm
Bob,
I wish I had gotten out of school so early. We went into June-no fans were in our rooms, but June didn’t get hot until late in the month and we out by then.
We had vacations in April and February. During February vacation was Washington’s and Lincoln’s birthdays which would be merged and become President’s Day. The Catholic schools weren’t held to the same calendar as the public schools so we were out earlier than they.
I would have loved to have seen the planes from the flight museum. They must have been magnificent.
All the small towns around here have parades. They last about 15 minutes.
May 23, 2015 at 6:58 pm
I’m sorry I couldn’t participate in the discissions You’ve had tonight, it was a bit tricky to watch tv, text my sister and write here too 🙂 But I have been following it all via my mobile phone 🙂
So we won again 🙂 I really liked the Australian song and it’s too bad they won’t continue to compete, they are after all members of the EBU so I think they should continue. Well the time difference is perhaps a bit too much, eleven hours ahead of Sweden 🙂 This was a morning show fore them.
It was fun to hear how the audience shouted Sweden every time we had a chance to pass Russia 🙂 Humble as we Swedes are we won’t say we knew we would win, we know it anyway 🙂 🙂 🙂
Good night!
Christer.
May 23, 2015 at 7:07 pm
Christer,
It was the first time I ever watched it, and I enjoyed it. I watched it on-line which was really easy to see with few problems. Every now and the the voices wouldn’t sync then it would correct itself.
I like England and a fe other countries. I also liked Sweden. When I watched the points roll in, Sweden was racking the up-there was no doubt.
Sleep well!
May 23, 2015 at 7:19 pm
So now You know what we all fight for 🙂 We’ve been lucky for a few years now but it isn’t that long ago when we not even reached the final 🙂 Even China watched it live this year, that means the show had a potential billion people audience!!!
My favorite was actually Australia but I can live with the fact that it was we who won 🙂
I will, have a great evening.
May 23, 2015 at 7:20 pm
I don’t mean that I will have a great evening 🙂 I will sleep well and I wish You a great evening 🙂
May 23, 2015 at 7:27 pm
Christer,
I figured you were wishing me a good evening, but I also wish the same to you!
May 23, 2015 at 7:37 pm
Sleep like a hero, Christer. Good night everyone! Half past 2 a.m. …
May 23, 2015 at 7:45 pm
Happy dreams, Birgit.