Life's a Beach

Happy Monday! It's June 4th but if feels more like October 4th. It's definitely not a day to be "On the Beach", which is today's puzzle by Gail Grabowski. Here are the theme answers.

20A: Roofed area between a house and a garage (BREEZEWAY). This is what a breezeway looks like (see below). My friend converted hers into a loft.  Her ex-husband lived there before he moved out for good.

 

58A: Abrasive wood smoother (SANDPAPER). Sandpaper is a DIYer's best friend. It can be just as sharp as a saw and in fact works like a saw, except it can't be sharpened. There are many categories of sandpaper from superfine to coarse. There are two different grades of sandpaper, commercial (which is sold at hardware stores) and industrial (only available at industrial supply stores). Looking for sandpaper doesn't excite me as much as looking for shoes.

10D: Big name in Irish crystal (WATERFORD). I think I must have something Waterford in my apartment from our engagement party. Lots of wedding registry gifts from which to choose. Some of it is nice, most is downright tacky.

35D: Tall yellow-petaled plant (SUNFLOWER). The sunflower is not only beautiful and vibrant, but it's an excellent source of food. Sunflower oil is a healthy fat and sunflower seeds proved an excellent and tasty snack. My brother Brian eats them by the pound. However, I will always think of the Sunflower Girls, the organization (similar to the Girl Scouts) that Marcia Brady makes her brother Peter join in order to prove a point about equal rights.

Notes on Mad Men: Last night's episode of "Mad Men" was one of the saddest in the show's history. RIP, Lane Pryce we will miss you. Lane Price was a tragic character, but we can sympathize him thanks to Jared Harris's acting. Lane was in a lot of trouble financially and he sexually harassed Joan Harris (Christina Hendricks). If Lane was in that much trouble, he should have come to Don Draper (Jon Hamm) and company for help instead of embezzling money. It's ironic that he came to Sterling Cooper to trim its budget and he committed fraud. His crime came back to haunt him. Permanently. Click on this link for recaps. In the second main plot, Sally Draper (Kiernan Shipka) went to the museum with creepy Glenn Bishop and she also became a woman. There was a rare tender moment between her and Betty (January Jones), the ice princess. BTW, Marten Weiner (who plays Glenn) can't act to save his life. He got the part only because Daddy created the show.

Till tomorrow. . . .

Signing off,

The Puzzlechick

A Garden of Grecian Delights

TGIF! It's a new month and it's also National Donut Day. I'm also working half a day from home today. Nothing like the good life.

Today's puzzle by Clive Probert was rather clever. It's called "Mediterranean Diet" and you'll see what I mean. Research shows that the Mediterranean Diet reduces risk of heart disease. It is heavy in fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, legumes, and olive oil. Red meat and sweets are limited, and drinking a glass of red wine is encouraged (in moderation, of course). See the food pyramid below:

23A: Winter Olympics Gear (FIGURE SKATES). Figure skating always looked so easy on TV. I remember my first time ice skating with the Girl Scouts. I fell all over the place. Needles to say, I didn' go ice skating too often. Roller skating, on the other hand, was a blast. There have been many U.S. figure skating champions over the years (Peggy Fleming, Dorothy Hamill, Tara Lipinski, Michelle Kwan, Scott Hamilton, Brian Boitano). However, the one rivalry I will never forget is the one between Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding. Tonya Harding put the sport to shame.

34A: News-story starter (DATELINE). See NBC show with the same name.

42A: Quick beats (PIT-A-PATS)

51A: Obstetrics Device (FETAL MONITOR). I felt comfort when my OB/GYN told me everything with my son was normal. However, things turned out complicated in the end. I had strep and had to go on bed rest for a few weeks. Then I was induced but didn't go into labor until around 7:00 the night of January 31, 1995. Then the umbilical cord was wrapped around Alex's neck. If it weren't for a quick-thinking nurse, Alex wouldn't be alive today. He was delivered via an emergency C-section. I couldn't go through another delivery like the one I experienced. :-(

Looks like a nice day outside, but I hear rain and cool temperatures over the next few days. Tomorrow morning Alex takes his SATs and it's closing night for "Death of a Salesman." 

Till tomorrow. . . .

Signing off,
The Puzzlechick