Autumn rain, Dark Shadows, DWTS, Blue Bell ice cream
Good-morning, Kittens and Dawgs! Are you having your morning coffee? I’m on cup #2 and heading to get cup three. Coffee is good for you, didn’t you hear?
Autumn’s presence is making her mark gradually. There’s a slight change in the leaves color, mostly due to dry conditions and the last hurricane system out of Mexico hit us Sunday. We got lots and lots of rain. The heavy storms caused the changing leaves in our backyard to fall off but I’m hopeful if we get enough rain that the remaining will give us pretty colors. cross fingers If you want to listen to more Autumn inspired mewsic then check out yesterday’s post. 😉
Speaking of which, I heard some wonderful mewsic on the dance floor. Michele from Angels Bark introduced to me the Swedish heavy metal band Lake of Tears. This isn’t my normal mewsical genre but I really liked the song with the same name as their 1999 album, So Fell the Autumn Rain. I think it’s the opening violin that appeals to my ear then the bleed in with a contrast rock blend captured my interest to hear more and so from that album here are my favorites. Enjoy!
What did you think of Lake of Tears? Michele shared an amazing Autumn playlist yesterday and you’re invited to stop by boogie with her!
Are y’all getting lots of rain? What songs make you think of autumn?
Let me turn my thoughts to random TV talk. In 2012, I told y’all I started watching the vintage TV soap, Dark Shadows, on Netflix. What I didn’t realize is they did not have the complete series available for streaming. Luckily, Amazon Prime now has what I think is all episodes and a few movies. I found an interesting article online, 9 Terrifying Amusing Facts About ‘Dark Shadows’ that I wanted to share with fans of the show. I thought it was amusing to read the factoids and now I understand why the acting wasn’t the best. It’s interesting I never noticed the fumbled lines and production glitches as a kid that I pick up on now but still it’s a lot of fun to watch!
Are you a fan of Dark Shadows? Would you like to see a remake of the show?
Years ago, we began watching Dancing With The Stars (DWTS). It became a routine thing to do with the family. This was before streaming. We either locked in the time to do it or recorded the episodes.
We continue to watch the show and image my surprise to find the return of DWTS two weeks into the season! These days, we do not watch aired programmed TV shows, but instead stream the episodes the following day at a time that’s convenient. We’re still playing catch up so if you’re watching the program please no spoilers. Anywho, I will tell my favorite celebrity dancer is YouTube sensation, Lindsey Stirling partnered with pro dancer, Mark Ballas. I think she could win the Mirror Ball trophy. Here she is week 1, isn’t she awesome?
Do you watch DWTS? If so, who’s your favorite celebrity?
Although many of the new shows have kicked off, I’m always reminded of ones we started and because we do not watch programmed TV, then we need to resume some of last year’s favorites like Designated Survivor season 2 on ABC (began September 27th) and Lethal Weapon season 2 on the FOX network (premiered September 26th). A third show I’m looking forward to but won’t be back until next September is the Breaking Bad spin-off Better Call Sal. What a disappointment to learn of the show’s delay! I reckon executives didn’t know if they wanted to continue the series but I’m happy that they are going to run with it for a 4th season. Speaking of Breaking Bad, we have yet to finish that series, maybe we can do that now.
Now that I do not have any restriction on what I can eat since my oral surgery at the end of August, I finally got to have a bowl of my favorite Blue Bell ice cream flavor – Rocky Mountain Road.
The rich chocolate ice cream goodies combined with dark chocolate covered peanuts, milk chocolate covered pecans, white chocolate covered almonds, and roasted walnuts with swirls of marshmallow cream is some out of this world goodness! Well…it used to be. sigh It’s still good don’t get me wrong but they’ve changed it. The marshmallow cream is too sweet, the ice cream is kinda gooy, and it seems they’ve cut back on the nuts. I plan to contact Blue Bell later today to let them know that we do not like the change and hope they return to the recipe that we love!
Are you an ice cream fan? What’s your favorite flavor and brand? Can you eat year-round?
That’s a wrap for this morning. I’m taking a coffee break with Stacy, Les, and Amber, just click buttons above, to come with and if not, I hope you’ll stop by tomorrow for not-so Wordless Wednesday.
26 Comments
Birgit
I have always loved basic old Chocolate ice cream and I pick Chapman’s which is a Canadian company. I watched a bit of Dark Shadows and always noticed the sets moving etc… but I loved the storylines so I closed my eyes to the other crap plus the Great Joan Bennett was In it. I am a big watcher of DWTS since it began many yea4snago and I love that couple. Wait u til you see them dance from last night which is in honour of her dad…made me cry.
Cathy Kennedy
Birgit,
Mmm, yeah I like plain chocolate ice cream, too. I don’t know if I ever saw Joan Bennett in anything other than this series. We’re watching Monday night’s DWTS and you’re right I loved Lindsey Stirling’s tribute dance to her dad. I was in tears, too. I thought, she discovered three 10s and she’s way better than Jordan Fisher. He’s good but not as good as Lindsey. Tonight, we’ll finish Monday’s episode and then start last night’s result show. Maybe, we’ll get caught up this week! 🙂
Arlee Bird
Rocky Road is my favorite ice cream flavor and the Blue Bell version sounds fantastic. I don’t think they have this brand in stores around me, but I’ll keep an eye out. I’ve been kind of craving ice cream lately.
Dark Shadows used to come on shortly after I’d gotten home from school. I guess I watched a few episodes, but I don’t recall getting hooked like so many hard core fans were. It was no big deal for me then and I kind of doubt that I’d be interested any more now.
Lee
Tossing It Out
Cathy Kennedy
Lee,
If you like Rocky Road, then you’re sure to like Rocky Mountain Road! I figured with California being so close to Texas that it would be in store out there. Ice cream cravings are always with me but for the most part, I keep them suppressed until I can’t take it anymore.
I didn’t watch Dark Shadows a lot when I was a kid. I recall watching the program during summer breaks more frequently than after schoolhours when I preferred being outdoors more. I’m glad to watch the series in its entirety now or I hope that’s what I’m doing. 🙂
Myke Todd
I have only seen a few portions of the two television series.
I have enjoyed many portions of Blue Bell Ice Cream… Homemade with Hershey’s Syrup.
Cathy Kennedy
Myke,
I haven’t had homemade ice cream in years. It’s so expensive to make and it’s a big job, too. I’m purrfectly content with premium ice creams like Blue Bell or Turkey Hill. Vanilla ice cream topped with Hershey’s syrup used to be a favorite and I certainly won’t turn it down now. I made some homemade fudge topping recently so we could have hot fudge cake or in this case brownies (from scratch). Yum!
McGuffy's Reader
Coffee? Ice cream? Nostalgia? I’m in. I guess Les is still not up and running with Chats? I miss her and her chats. Are you starting a Chatty Cathy Chat? If you do, let me know. I will pass on dancing and on Lake of Tears. *yikes* Death Metal is not my cup of tea…or coffee. HUGS!
Cathy Kennedy
Annie,
Yeah, I miss Les, too. She might be like so many others too busy with life to blog and that’s ok. I regularly do Cathy Chats which is a random post of whatever comes to mind, no particular theme but if I ever get organized to do one then I’ll let you know. I could insert a linky code for anyone wishing to play along. Death Metal isn’t my thang, either. But…I did enjoy these few songs.
Morgan
It’s raining right now here! The autumn temps hit us last night and they are fantastic.
I don’t drink coffee.
As for Ice Cream — I love the mash up flavors from Ben & Jerry’s. Super yummy.
Cathy Kennedy
Morgan,
Thanks for popping over for a visit. I don’t notice autumn so much unless our nightly lows dip into the low 50s and upper 40s. We haven’t been that cool in weeks but this is normal for East Tennessee weather, though. Next week, the cooler temps are forecast to return. Yay! What’s this, you’re not a coffee drinker?! From what yonder planet do you hail from? Certainly, you aren’t an earthling! 🙂 B&J’s is good stuff but ouch is it expensive!
15andmeowing
I have never heard of Dark Shadows and I haven’t ever watched Dancing with the Stars. I love ice cream- Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia. 🙂
Cathy Kennedy
Ellen,
Ben and Jerry’s ice cream is good! We first fell in love with B&J in the late 80s after visiting New England the first time. We actually went to the B&J facility in Waterbury, Vermont and got ice cream. DD#1 wasn’t even a year old yet. Cherry Garcia and New York Super Fudge Chunk were our two favorite flavors. It’s so darn expensive and honestly, the quality of Blue Bell is every bit as good as the premium-priced B&J. I highly recommend if you can get Blue Bell to give it a whirl to see what you think. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
Patrick Weseman
Do not remake Dark Shadows. That would be so wrong.
Cathy Kennedy
Patrick,
I think if a remake is done it should be a copycat of the 60s-70 style production. Think about the Mad Men series, except no cursing or sex scene, just purely innocent dialogue, good manners, and classy throwback fashions. I think that’s what should be done for the series right up to the point that the original ends before extending the storyline. I believe at that point, the writers could bring the story forward to current day creating episodes with Barnabus having to adapt to the 21st century. There’s potential for someone to do this right if they follow this sort of thinking.
messymimi
Of course coffee is good for you, that’s why it is a religion here. Sweetie is a fan of Dark Shadows, i’ll have to point him toward the article.
Cathy Kennedy
Mimi,
I usually drink a small pot of coffee each morning. It holds enough for three 10 ounce cups. Sometimes in the evening, we’ll have coffee after dinner but I fix decaf at night during the week so to not affect bedtime. We love coffee here! 🙂
scr4pl80
I remember seeing Dark Shadows when I was in high school but was never a faithful watcher. I hardly watch any TV now, preferring to listen to music while I craft or reading before bed. I have never watched Dancing with the STars or any of those other “talent” shows. Mint chocolate chip ice cream for me as well. Jam packed post here, Cathy. Happy Tuesday.
Cathy Kennedy
Janet,
I’ve always liked watching TV but am glad to have gotten away from watching it during the day. It is a horrible time drain but we do enjoy sitting in front of it every evening to unwind. Mint chocolate chip is some good stuff! We have some in the freezer, too. We’re gonna have to open that carton and have some soon!
John Holton
I love ice cream, and believe it or not, my favorite flavor is vanilla, although I won’t say no to any flavor. Mint chocolate chiop is another favorite, as is plain ol’ chocolate chip. Mom’s was butter pecan, and I like that one, too. I usually eat ice cream in the form of Klondike bars…
We don’t watch any shows like Dancing With The Stars, American Idol, etc. I never watched Dark Shadows, either, but I saw a few episodes of the attempted reboot a few years ago and was underwhelmed. And Johnny Depp’s attempt was pretty awful. But then, his parts almost always get overwhelmed by his personality, the two exceptions being “Benny and Joon” and “Ed Wood.” Just my humble opinion…
Cathy Kennedy
John,
I never met an ice cream I didn’t like. Vanilla always has been my least favorite but over the years I’ve grown more fond of its plain, creamy goodness. I bet you would like the Vanilla Peanut Butter I mentioned to Michele. It’s really awesome stuff! I haven’t had a Klondike bar in forever. DH & I keep looking of Eskimo Pies but haven’t seen those in year. Do they still make them? He says they are better than Klondike but they are definitely good! Have you tried the Magic Shell on vanilla ice cream? That’s really good stuff!
I was hopeful the reboot of Dark Shadows in the 90s would catch on but it never did. I have not seen the movie version with Johnny Depp. I heard it was bad. I enjoyed Depp in the Pirates of the “Carribean Curse of the Black Pearl” and the second one but then the films got more weird causing us to lose interest in them. I’m not familiar with the two Depp movies you mentioned, so I looked them up. I watched the trailers for both and they interesting. I’ll have to see if I can find them to watch now. Thanks for the share!
John Holton
I haven’t seen Eskimo Pies in some time. I think they still make them, but can’t be sure about that.
greyzoned/angelsbark
Good morning Cathy. You made coffee sound so good this morning but I’m going to skip that right now because I woke up to a fabulous cold front: it’s much cooler and fantastically windy this morning so as soon as I sign off here, I’m going to go crawl back under the covers for a while. 🙂
Hey, thanks for the mention and the link to my Autumn Songs post yesterday! I appreciate that. And I’m thrilled that you like the band that I included in my playlist: Lake of Tears has an awesome sound, don’t they? I’m listening right now to your four favorites from the album and I’m in agreement: definitely strong picks! I was excited to discover this band and I’m so glad they did the ‘So Fell the Autumn Rain’ song, otherwise I would’ve never found them!
I haven’t watched any of this season’s DWTS. I was all in it last season. When they introduced the cast for this season I didn’t recognize anyone at all and so I just never felt invested enough to jump into the new season. Curious: do you guys vote? I know you said you usually don’t watch it live but the voting lasts for 24 hours so just wondering if you all call in your votes or do it online? If I’m real invested in a dancer, I will call in (up to the maximum times allowed) and then also go online and vote.
I never watched Dark Shadows but now you have tempted me and I think I just might have to stream it and get into it. I read the article you linked to and it got me even more curious.
As for ice cream: I am definitely a fan. I do like Blue Bell and they actually used to be a client of mine back when I was selling radio advertising airtime. Their headquarters and ice cream factory are close by, located in Brenham Texas. They have some awesome TV commercials too! Even though I definitely like Blue Bell, my favorite ice cream is made by HEB (the local grocery chain). My favorite flavor is the HEB Creamy Creations “Intense White Chocolate” — Wow, is that ever good! I actually dipped out a bowl for myself the other night — in fact it was when I was working on my Autumn playlist! — but I got so involved in the post research that I forgot about it sitting on the kitchen counter and it all melted in the dish. Now the dish is sitting in the freezer waiting for my next craving… Maybe today! 🙂
Okay, I’m off to go get under the covers and watch TV for a bit before I officially start my day. Again, thanks for the mention in your post today! XOXO
Michele at Angels Bark
Cathy Kennedy
Michele,
Oh, I’m sure you know some of the celebrities on DWTS but I’m horrible with names. Are you familiar with Lindsy Stirling? If not, check her out on YouTube. She’s an amazing violinist!! Other than a few of the athletic celebs, the only other names I recognized is Debbie Gibson (80s pop artist), Barbara Corcoran (Shark’s Tank), Nicky Lachey (formerly with 98 Degrees) & Frankie Muniz (Malcolm in the Middle). I have voted in the past but I don’t do it often. I prefer to only watch the fun.
I don’t know the HEB brand and probably never will but “Intense White Chocolate” sounds mighty good. We also like Turkey Hill Premium ice crea and they have Vanilla Peanut Butter which is knock-your-socks-off-good! Think white chocolate peanut butter Resse’s in an ice cream and that’s what it tastes like!
Comedy Plus
I want the ice cream. You’ve found my weakness. I love, love, love ice cream.
Have a fabulous day, Cathy. ☺
McGuffy's Reader
Share. *wink*
Cathy Kennedy
Sandee,
Ice cream is my weakness, too. I’m sure it’ll be the death of me but at least I’ll go happy. 🙂