My happy heart beats Cubbie blue

Kris Bryant signed his contract and will be ours next season. Which is why I'm walking around the house on this cold day singing, "Warm it up, Kris ..."
 

Saturday 9

1) As she sings, Ariana muses about the songs she could compose on her piano. Do you play the piano? Nope. I'm sadly non-musical.

2) She compares love songs, saying there are sad ones about how hard love is, and happy ones that make you want to dance. What's your favorite love song? Is it sad or happy?  It changes. Currently, it's "The Way We Were," which is very sad, even though it emphasizes "the laughter we will remember." Here's Gilda's luminous rendition. (It's a little long, so if you're in a hurry, you might want to start at the 2:00 mark. Though I love the whole thing.)

 3) Ariana's mother always told her that they took her name from Princess Oriana in the 1988 movie Felix the Cat. Who is your favorite cartoon character? Mr. Peabody.

4) Ariana's favorite board game is Monopoly. What's your favorite board game? Scrabble. I miss playing Scrabble with my nephew. He doesn't seem to enjoy games unless they're on a screen.

5) She relaxes by baking. When you feel keyed up, what do you do to relax? Farmville. Old movies. Napping.

6) She is a huge Florida Panthers fan, even though once, as a little girl, she got hit by a puck. Now that the NHL season is underway, how's your favorite team doing? The Blackhawks aren't doing so well this year.

7) In 2013, when this song was popular, the NHL reached an agreement with the players union and averted a strike. Have you ever belonged to a union? Nope. I wish I did. I think I'm about to be aged out of a job, and that might not be so easy to do with a union behind me.

8) Also in 2013, Pauline Philips died. Ms. Philips was better known to millions of readers as "Dear Abby." At its height, her advice column appeared in 1,400 newspapers across the country. Do you still read a printed copy of your newspaper? Yes. I have the Chicago Sun Times delivered Tuesday through Friday and then on Sunday.

9) If you could get the answer to one question about your future, what would that one question be? Will I still have a job when I'm sitting here next year?