Friday Friends, Furry Creatures and Other Fun Stuff

“ Still amazed at my amazing life. Life is good.”

~Toni Armenta Andrukaitis

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My Friday was delightful. A lazy morning, walked Bella, had lunch and planned my evening. Joni and Bob texted me and said they would be happy to pick me up for karaoke at the VFW. I accepted and appreciated the ride. It was good to see old friends and dance and sing and drink a little too much wine. And now, it’s still Friday, so I have to have my Black Russian. I’m a creature of habit.

Speaking of creatures, during my many walks with Bella, I had the opportunity to see a few creatures. I wasn’t fast enough to capture the squirrel, but I did catch a few other creatures.

A crazy bird was carrying around some food source, fluttering about from tree to sidewalk.

Sammi, across the street, was playing hide and seek with me and Bella, the dog.

Bella had Sammi scurrying up the tree for safety and I was thinking, hmm, maybe I should call the cute firemen to rescue the cat. But alas, Sammi climbed down on his own. Darn.

It was a fun night at the VFW for Karaoke. I sang and danced and had wine, and it was fun. Joni and Bob were so kind to transport me both ways, as they know I won’t drink and drive.

Richard even told Danny, the DJ, that I wanted to sing “Proud Mary,” NOOOO! I never sang that before, but the wine convinced me that I could do it. Hopefully it wasn’t too bad. It was nice to sing and dance and have a good time, like the olden days.

I even convinced Jerry to dance one song with me, despite his painful back.

Now, it’s nearly midnight and I have to get my Black Russian in under the wire. Please forgive any typing and grammatical inebriated errors. CHEERS!

Just under the wire. 11:56

Quarantined Karaoke Thursday:) I Love You Just The Way You Are

“I find the best way to love someone is not to change them, but instead, help them reveal the greatest version of themselves.”

 – Steve Maraboli

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Another Quarantined Karaoke Thursday… just for you…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93KTyjP5ZzM

Toni’s Quarantined Karaoke Thursday:) “So Far Away”

“Let me be kind and loving today because tomorrow is far far away.”

― Debasish Mridha

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It’s seems like years instead of months since we’ve been together with friends, singing karaoke, dancing, laughing, and drinking. I sure do miss it. Until then, I’ll keep singin’ all by myself. 🤦‍♀️🎤 Oh, that’s a good song, “All By Myself.” Hmm…maybe next week.

Then, of course, our good friend Bob Goen is always beltin’ out an awesome tune from the confines of his lovely karaoke studio just down the road. I can almost hear him from my house. “Can’t Help Falling in Love With You.” Open the window, Joni!

Happy Thursday, my friends. I hope you’re singing. 🎤

Karaoke Thursday:) Elvis Has Left the Building

“Imitation is the sincerest form of poor imitations. Just sayin’.”

~Toni Armenta Andrukaitis

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It’s Thursday night again, and the old gang is missing our karaoke night at Delaney’s. Thank goodness that Bob keeps us entertained with his wonderful singing and over the top dramatic renditions. We love you Bob.

Seeing as we had an Elvis theme, I sang a few Elvis songs, and one was worse than the other. Here’s the least of the “worser” songs I attempted.

Happy Thursday, my friends. Keep on keepin’ on.

Thankful Thursday:) Thankful For Karaoke, The Texas Bluesmen, and My Great Entertaining Friends

Music is very spiritual, it has the power to bring people together.

Edgar Winter

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Thursday used to be karaoke night at Delaney’s Irish Pub. I miss hanging out with my fun friends, singing and dancing, and the great music.

So, in honor of karaoke days gone by, I’m virtually singing along with my friend Bob. His wife Joni has been kind enough to record Bob singing every Thursday night, just to keep us happy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toQ7Z6ZVG8E

Now, I’m watching my friends Justin and Paul performing live at Lava Cantina. They are the awesome Texas Bluesmen and Blues Brothers tribute band. Love these guys! 🎤

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1UqUgJhshA

Makes me feel like home… Sweet Home Chicago. Thank you Justin and Paul. Miss you guys. Can’t wait to see you back at Delaney’s Irish Pub.

Thankful for friends, family, and music.

Toni’s Extrovert Diaries~T.E.D. Talks/Sings Day#3

“When you walk through the storm, hold your head high And don’t be afraid of the dark! At the end of the storm is a golden sky And the sweet song of the lark. Walk on through the wind Walk on through the rain Though your dreams be tossed & blown Walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart And you‘ll never walk alone!”

~Rogers and Hammerstein

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Today is Thursday. It’s after 7:30, and I should be at Delaney’s Irish Pub with my friends, laughing, eating, drinking, and singing karaoke. But, NOOOOO… I’m on Day #3 of “Sheltering in place.” No karaoke for me… or maybe not?

These are tough times, and it feels like we are walking through a storm, but we have to keep our heads held high. Therefore, nothing is going to stop me from laughing and singing, and maybe a little drinkin’, even if I’m by myself.

This afternoon, the TOTS (Table Of Talent Sisters) had a FaceTime group chat. Four of us girlfriends were laughing and chatting and being silly for almost 3 hours. At one point, I had to go plug into my charger-low battery. Yikes!

So tonight, I decided to have my own karaoke night. It’s funny, I noticed the other day when I was cleaning bathrooms while singing a few show tunes, (I do that) that the acoustics in the bathroom are really pretty good. What a great idea.

Toni’s Toilet Karaoke~ Day #3 Never stop singing, my friends…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ED5-aaLR0F4

Thankful Thursday:) Rosaries, Rainbows, and Karaoke

” If you can’t go out with your friends to laugh and drink and sing karaoke, stay home and laugh and drink and sing karaoke.”

~Toni Armenta Andrukaitis

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This was a very lazy hazy Thursday. I didn’t get out of my jammies till 2 in the afternoon. I made a lot of phone calls to friends and family while sipping tea under the covers. Then, at 3 o’clock, I got my favorite rosary that belonged to my mother, and joined Father Don from St. Gabriel on a live streaming of praying the rosary. Thank you Debbie for telling me about this yesterday.

Amid worsening conditions related to the global coronavirus outbreak, Pope Francis urged Catholics to unite spiritually to pray the rosary simultaneously on the Feast of St. Joseph.

The pope invited every family, every individual Catholic, and every religious community to pray the Luminous mysteries on Thursday, March 19 at 9:00 pm Rome time. The initiative was initially proposed by the bishops of Italy.

With all the sadness, doom and gloom going on in the world, it was uplifting just knowing that millions of people were praying, not just for themselves, but for the entire world.

The rest of my afternoon slipped into evening. Storms and rain raged for a while, with tornadoes threatening. But 7 pm, the eerie clouds drifted away, and the sun peeked through. I needed desperately to get out of the house and get some fresh air. I was greeted by a glorious sunset, followed by a spectacular rainbow peeking between the trees.

Thursday has always been our karaoke night at Delaney’s Irish Pub. Our gang of great friends always get together for food, fun, song, dance, and assorted beverages. I was really missing that tonight. So, instead of feeling sad, I was inspired by the beautiful rainbow. I decided to have my own karaoke night and sing my solitaire quarantined version of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDlyS_df54A

And yes, the singing is off key and warbley, but that’s me and that’s as good as it gets. I love to sing.

Friday:) Friends, Food, and Of Course, My Fire Fighters

“Be happy, be fun, let your hair down and be AGELESS!”

― Margo Vader

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Every day seems to be busy with more plans than time. So, I squeeze in what I can. Yesterday, I had lunch with my friend Allison up at the Bluebird Cottage & Cafe. She had passed it by a few times, but never stopped in. I’ve been there quite a few times, but it’s been a while. So, off we went, Check them out on Facebook,

Sabrina Parker is such a sweet lady, and has brought a quaint and cozy breath of fresh air restaurant to McKinney. I had the quinoa salad. My favorite.

After lunch, we drove around the rural back roads past Myers Park, the tree farms, and multi million dollar mansions scattered along the way. It was a beautiful day.

After I got home, I ran a few errands before scooting over to Delaney’s for karaoke. We had a big group, and the place was packed with new faces, a big group of golfing buddies, and young people playing pool. Standing room only.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsl1y7qHvhQ

Yep, a lot of food, friends, and now for my firemen. Miss Pat always brings dozens and dozens of cookies to share at karaoke, and she always brings extra for me to take to our local fire stations.

Station 5.

My friends at Station 9.

That was yesterday, and today was even busier. I’ll keep that for tomorrow. I ran out of room and time. Plus, I’m tired and it’s just about Black Russian time. Cheers!!!

Thursday:) This is Miss Pat’s Big Birthday

“Happy Birthday. May each an every moment of your special day be filled with the same joy and happiness you bring to others.”

~

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Our dear friend Miss Pat was celebrating her birthday today, and many of her best friends celebrated with her at Delaney’s Irish Pub tonight. It was our usual karaoke night, so it was the perfect venue for a big celebration.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7CUvtscgE8

We are so blessed to have such a wonderful friend. Miss Pat is known as “The Cookie Lady,” because she bakes hundreds of cookies every day and shares with everyone and everywhere she goes.

Loretta and I changed the words to “The Candy Man” and sang this to Miss Pat…

Who can take a rainbow (who can take a rainbow)
Wrap it in a sigh (wrap it in a sigh)
Soak it in the sun and make a groovy lemon pie
The Cookie Lady can
The Cookie Lady can
The Cookie Lady can
‘Cause she mixes it with love
And makes the world taste good
(Makes the world taste good)
(The Cookie Lady makes everything she bakes)
(Satisfying and delicious)
Now you talk about your childhood wishes
You can even eat the dishes
Oh, who can take tomorrow (who can take tomorrow)
Dip it in a dream (dip it in a dream)
Separate the sorrow and collect up all the cream
The Cookie Lady can
Oh, the Cookie Lady can
The Cookie Lady can
‘Cause she mixes it with love
And makes the world taste good
(Makes the world taste good)
(The Cookie Lady makes everything she bakes)
(Satisfying and delicious)
Talk about your childhood wishes
You can even eat the dishes
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Who can take tomorrow (who can take tomorrow)
Dip it in a dream (dip it in a dream)
Separate the sorrow and collect up all the cream
The Cookie Lady can
The Cookie Lady can
The Cookie Lady can
‘Cause she mixes it with love
And makes the world taste good
(Makes the world taste good)
Yes, the Cookie Lady can
‘Cause she mixes it with love
And makes the world taste good
(Makes the world taste good)

Happy birthday Pat Richter!

Thankful Theme Song Thursday:) Friends~ “I Will Always Love You”

“Friendship is the only cement that will ever hold the world together.”

~ Woodrow Wilson

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I’ve said this before, I’ll say it again… I have the best friends. This afternoon, I met my friend Karen for lunch. I hadn’t seen her in a while, so we had a lot of catching up to do. Before we left, she said she had some scrap booking and crafting supplies for me to share with my senior artists at Towne Creek or my church group. She was cleaning up her craft room and thought we could use the supplies. We walked to her car, and I thought maybe she had a bag or a box. Woa! She gave me two huge bags and some baskets. When I got home, I looked through all the items. Thank you, Karen.

I’m not much on organizing my own things, but I had the greatest time sorting the piles into categories of alphabets and numbers, large 12×12 papers, 8×10 papers, markers, embellishments, etc. I spent a couple of hours sorting and admiring the cool supplies. Look how well I organized. My friends are always looking out for me.

After my crafting fun, I took the dog for a long walk, then got ready to go to Delaney’s for karaoke. More fun with friends. We sing and dance and eat and drink and have the greatest time.

Tina sang several songs, and I have to say, I think she has the greatest voice I’ve ever heard at any karaoke night.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S71zrp3f6H0

Elaine is one of our newer friends, and she’s getting into the swing of things. It’s great to see people cutting loose and having fun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mp-cPUbXnl8

I have the greatest friends, and “I will always love them.”