Tuesday Randomality

Some random thoughts that have been percolating around in my head today....

****

Today was the first day that really said "spring" to me. Even without the sun out, the atmosphere felt warm and gentle and softened around the edges. The harsh, barren look of winter is gone! The birdsong ringing throughout the neighborhood made me think of a Baroque symphony as I walked Jewel, and I could smell the earth. Finally, you can see a haze of soft pink and red and yes, even green on the tips of the trees. When I get home from work, I hear kid's voices outside--see kids on bicycles.

**

Yesterday at work, I had an illuminating conversation with a customer. A painter who is somewhat well-known in the area had come in to price frames for an upcoming show. She asked if I, too, was an artist and I said I was, b-u-t...really hadn't done much with my art since becoming a parent. She told me she didn't take off with her art until after her last child was away at college. That was inspiring to me and made me think it might be "okay" to be a late bloomer after all.

***

I saw this magazine cover when I was in the grocery store today: Why does every celebrity now think they are that interesting when they are pregnant? Do they not realize that millions of other people have, yes, carried babies and the public have seen plenty of bulging bellies. And, Mariah, that is a rather unflattering photo of you and why do you have a need to share it with the whole world? Didn't Demi Moore and countless other copy-cat expectant celeb mothers already do this gimmick?? Why do so many celebrities feel that their pregnancy is so much more interesting than any other pregnancy? "All about the babies"...spare me!

Just last weekend, I finished re-reading the second of the two memoirs ("A Girl From Yamhill" was the first, and "My Own Two Feet" the second) written by Beverly Cleary, of Beezus and Ramona, Henry Huggins, Mouse And The Motorcycle, and other books fame. I was so enchanted with her early life in the 1920's and Depression era 1930's that I started to wonder if she were even still alive and I had to look it up. I was relieved to learn she was indeed, still alive and would turn 95 this year. And her birthday happens to be today. This is a woman whose books I discovered in the second grade and I felt I "knew" her characters, especially Beezus and her little sister, Ramona. To walk to my elementary schools when I was growing up in Augusta, Maine, I cut through two yards from my street to a Quimby Street, and that was the last name of Ramona in the book(who actually lived on Klikitat Street--I'll always remember that). I really related to those books, and even though Cleary's characters in her books lived on the other coast all the way over in Oregon, I saw my own neighborhood when I read the books and it felt familiar to me. I got to relive a little of my childhood over again when I read some of the Beezus and Ramona books to Rachel when she was younger, too.

**

Finally, an amazing video showing some intra-species love(or else the fish breath on the dolphin was what was attracting the cat!). This is guaranteed to make you feel all gooey inside...awww...

Daily Affirmations

I never actually think to do this, but have read about the positive results of giving oneself a little pep talk. A few weeks ago, I discovered the above daily kitten affirmation on the Page-A-Day Cute Overload calendar(our second year with this one--gotta get the daily dose of the Cute!) we have sitting on the dining table, and I had to put it up on my bathroom mirror. I just adore that kitten's vulnerable and oh-so-sensitive expression.

And, who knows-- seeing this on my mirror every day, may improve my inner "cattitude".

Or it could just remind me of Al Franken's SNL Stuart Smalley character every morning. ;-)

Alternatively, I could just watch this uplifting video(see below) for inspiration. I wish I had half the self-confidence and cheery outlook(and dancing-on-bathroom-counters without- falling-off skills!)this little girl has.

Monday Morning Video

I have watched this one already more than a few times--a "thriller" of a cat fight that someone was lucky enough to catch on camera(and someone was clever enough to add the cinematic movie music to ). Not only are there cats involved, but there are these 2 birds(yes, birds), which makes this even more creepy/amazing. In fact, this seems almost choreographed--like a scene out of a ninja movie or The Lion King.
Alright, I should stop talking(writing)--I have(as usual) said too much. Just watch it.

Rock This Weekend...

...with Ben Folds and the Western Australia Symphony Orchestra.
I am SO happy it is 5:30 and I am home (finally) from work and this live Ben Folds video is my intro to the weekend(even though I have to work tomorrow, but for right now, I am trying to forget about that).

It was such an otherwise perfect day....

Yesterday was bright blue skies and sunny and perfectly September-ish(just like the fateful Sept. 11 nine years ago, in fact) and I spent much of the day with Miss R, doing errands(grocery store, pharmacy), poking around(but not buying anything--we were good this time) in our favorite consignment shops around town ( Chameleons and The Phoenix ), and then lunch at El Fuego (very fresh & tasty Mexican fare).
When we got back home, we baked an applesauce spice cake together. Of course, all this mother-daughter closeness was possible because the "boyfriend" was working all day. Otherwise, I would have been doing all this alone.

Then I left at 6:00 to meet my sister and her friend at the commuter parking lot(for carpooling) nearest to our house. I drove up with them to the Brooklyn Tea and Coffee House(so cozy inside and out) in Providence......
..... to see Robin Lane --a musical blast from my past whom I hadn't thought about in years and years(my sister happened to notice the announcement that she was playing at the Brooklyn and got tickets for me because she remembered I had her 2 albums back then and was a fan--isn't that sweet?). She attained some local fame from out of Boston in the late 70's/early 80's--and I saw her open for the Kinks at a concert in 1980. A little background info from the Music Museum of New England site:

Singer-songwriter-guitarist Lane found her way to Cambridge in the late 1970s after a whirlwind introduction to the world of music through a great deal of hanging out with Crazy Horse guitarist Danny Whitten, which led to her singing backup on Neil Young's "Round & Round (It Won't Be Long)." The move East saw her form the hit band Robin Lane and the Chartbusters and sign a multi-record deal with Warner Bros. But raising a family came first, and Lane and her red Fender Mustang guitar stepped out of the spotlight for a number of years, mostly writing songs for others. She came back in the mid-1990s with a batch of pop, rock, and country tunes on her 1995 album Catbird Seat, reformed the Chartbusters for a couple of years, and now lives in Western Massachusetts, where she performs "living room concerts" in people's homes.
(by Ed Symkus-
Music Museum of New England)

The concert was very intimate--like being in some one's kitchen(there are actually kitchen tables in the Brooklyn). Robin must be about 60 now, but her voice is as warm as ever, and I even got to chat with Robin before and during the show(she tells a lot of stories and interacts with her audience throughout her performance) and she even complimented me on the necklace I was wearing(an old post-war Germany stainless steel and green Bakelite beauty that my mother had since the 1950's and I have been wearing sine the 80's).This was the big hit from 1980('81?) and the 11th video ever shown on the then new MTV. Supposedly, this song was also recently featured in the movie "Grownups".

So...there's enough music trivia.
Now, let's get to the bad part of my day. Whaaa....
After the performance was done, we left the city at around 10:30 to drive back home, and were approaching the entrance to the lot where I had left my car when we noticed a tow truck, and police car and some people standing in the lot. Then I saw my husband(!) standing there talking to the police and I immediately knew something had happened to my car.
Turns out, it and the green truck I had parked next to, had been hit(and damaged badly) by a car on the road that passes the lot(we were parked facing the road). It was a "hit and run" that the owner of the green truck actually witnessed because he was just getting a lift back to the lot as the car "jumped the curb"(his words) and smashed into his truck, and then the impact of that made his truck smash into the left driver's side of my poor little Ford Escort wagon. What a coincidence that the accident would happen just as the owner of the truck got back to the lot and saw it happen before his eyes?

He and his friends actually chased the car down once they realised the driver of the car(a young woman) was not stopping and continued on down the road(was she drunk? Had she been texting and driving? How did she just veer off the road like that, smash into other cars and then keep going like that?).

But they could not get her to stop--they said she was driving only 25 miles per hour(obviously her car must have sustained some damage, too) and looking straight ahead. So, they went back to the lot to examine the damage, called the police and I got there in my sister's car shortly after the police and tow truck(because the truck was damaged far worse than mine--at least mine was still drive able) arrived. From the license plate on my car, the police were able to look up my phone number and get a hold of my husband to get him there.

So now in the daylight of the next day, my car looks terrible(the front grill, front bumper, rear view mirror and passenger side ),

and we need to contact our insurance tomorrow(this hit-and-run driver, whom luckily the owner saw do it and knew her plate number so the police could get her, better have her own car insurance paid up because she is going to be having to pay for some damage otherwise), but know that this could have been far, far worse.

But, no one was hurt(not so sure about the driver who hit the vehicles, but at this point I am not so concerned about her...gggrrrr....), and I even can drive my mother's car until this is all sorted out(don't know yet how safe my car is to drive and whether we'll be getting a new one) since she will be away in Germany and Greece for the next four weeks.
Still,even though my old Escort is hardly the greatest car in the world, I like my car(it has gotten me where I need to go for the last ten years with never a problem, and has even climbed steep mountain roads), so it pains me to see it all banged up like this.

Feeling.....

B ...blogged out
L ...lethargic
A ...apathetic
H ...hard... to get back into blogging after being away so long

I think I have been in a late summer funk these last few weeks. I haven't felt like communicating with both online or offline-world friends. I haven't been doing anything creative and barely constructive with my time. I am a boring blah person these days with not much to say.
I think late August into early September is just never my time. It's sort of like March is not a good time of year for me--energy-wise.
Like March, I am feeling done with the season and eager to be refreshed and into a new season. As if I need some crisp autumn air to re-energize me.
August(and now early Sept.) to me is humid, tropical air, replete with hurricane weather,
dried out vegetation,
a tired and dragged out look to the landscape.
I haven't been doing much of anything, other than work and flopping down onto my bed at night to read. I have read some very good books--all summer, in fact. So there's a good thing.
I think I have read more books in the last two months than I did all last winter.

The books I have read are as follows:

*The Tutor by Peter Abrahams
A sinister psychological thriller in a Stephen King vein, but with a kind of lame ending.

*The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
The perfect summer "thumpin' good read".
Sort of a A.S. Byatt-lite type book. I'll be looking to read more novels from Morton in the near future.

*I Am The Messenger by Markus Zusak
This was listed as a "Young Adult" book, but was recommended to me by a bookclub friend, after we read Zusak's excellent "The Book Thief" two years ago. All this time, she has been pleading with me to read this book and I finally got around to it last week. I am glad I did--it was funny, whimsical and moving at the same time.

*The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larrson
Even better, I think, than the first book in the series. Just could not put this one down--was even reading this with breakfast!

*A Year In The World by Frances Mayes
How did I not know what a wonderful writer Mayes was until this summer?! I picked this hardcover book up for a dollar while up in the White Mountains at a library book sale, and simply swooned over her evocative travel and food writing, especially the chapters about Portugal, Naples and Sicily. I'll have to read her books about Tuscany now, too.

*Little Face by Sophie Hannah
A promising psychological thriller that petered out towards the end.

*When Will There Be Good News? by Kate Atkinson
Another good one from a favorite author of mine-a mystery with a difference, meaning literary depth and interesting, real main characters.

My next book from my pile(which I have whittled down from a tall tower to a small, manageable one)is "The Girl With No Shadow" by Joanne Harris--the sequel to "Chocolat".
I'll start that tonight. We are supposed to have some heavy wind and rain(from Hurricane Earl, churning up the coast, but staying further out to sea) which would make my ideal reading-in-bed scenario(I love reading in bed, while the rain and wind lashes the windowpanes).

Here's some video footage of the waves off the coast of my town from earlier today:

Happy Birthday...

...Jonathan!
Yep, it's Jonathan Richman's 59th. And I know I am repeating myself by featuring this video of him on the Conan's old "Late Night" show, but it's a favorite of mine(the song, performance, Conan's show) so I had to do it again.

That's all there is....

Just a few more photos from the Public Garden(and one from Newbury Street) in Boston.

The fresh green and blooming atmosphere in the Garden made it feel as if you had stepped into Monet painting at times. The city--besides the throngs at Quincy Market and the Aquarium(the line to purchase tickets to get in was so long, we didn't bother) was kind of quiet, it seemed to me. Maybe the absence of flights coming in from Europe because of the problems with the volcano ash had something to do with it?(still heard lots of different languages there, but interestingly, mostly German this time!) The stores -both low end and upscale--were for the most part empty. A sign of these struggling times.

Of course, I had plans for more of an interesting blog entry earlier in the day, but I am so gosh darn tired today, so this is all I can manage.

Boston and all the walking wiped me out.

Or maybe being 47 and 6 months old is wiping me out.

Standing on my feet all day at work for seven hours is making me feel old and tired.

Also making me feel tired(and a little depressed)-- knowing that my only week long vacation of the entire year is still yet to come(end of July) and feeling like I could certainly use that week right now, and also thinking to myself,

"Is this how I should be living my life? Just little spurts of free time...a day or so(every once in a while--a three day weekend), but then never truly long enough to be entirely free from thoughts of work?"

Kvetch..kvetch...I know. I shouldn't.

Other things in my life are good, including my good health(for the moment, and I am truly grateful for that), great little home and family. Most days I am pretty upbeat and okay with the way things are. They could certainly be far, far worse.

Still...there are those days when you think,
"is that all there is?"

TGIFF-thank god it's finally....

..Friday!

Yes, it is that time again. It's good to be home with my shoes kicked off and away from work for a few days. The tension between two of my co-workers was so thick and toxic when I sneaked out of there a little while ago. I was so glad to get the heck outta there.

And now let the fun begin--it's the weekend

and time for a

Friday Fill-in:

1. I am so looking forward to _____________next Saturday. I am signed up for a Soul Collage workshop. I'll actually be stepping out of my comfort zone a little and am going to be making art and do a little self exploration alongside other people--not just me all holed up by myself, for a change.

2. "Enjoy yourself,

it's _________ later than you think." ~ Prince Buster.


3. When you get __________to a fork in the road,

take it. ;-)

4. National Public Radio _____________ is a big part of my life. It's always on, it seems--even at work(and I make my dog listen to it in the house when I am away).

5. "If you need anything ______________, just whistle."

6. Hmmm...my daughter is hosting a "movie night" on Saturday and there are two boys invited, so seeing her interact with these young men on our home turf should be ________ a trip.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to _____simply hanging out with my small family unit(husband, daughter, dog, cat),

tomorrow my plans include _____listening to the Car Talk guys(on yes, NPR!),signing R up for sewing lessons and doing some house cleaning

and Sunday, I want to _____watch a movie(maybe Avatar)!

I say tomato...

.... you say,
........ canned tomato soup?
You'll never want to eat it again after trying this easy recipe for homemade tomato soup.
I adapted the following recipe for this evening's supper, from a recipe that I found in a back issue of Martha Stewart's Everyday Food magazine(you know...those cute digest size magazines that are usually displayed near the supermarket check-out aisle?)
My small changes and additions are in purple (I say you must add the garlic!). Served with grilled cheese or BLT sandwiches, or simply with some tasty croutons or bruschetta, this makes a simple and flavorful meal.

Classic Tomato Soup
Serves 6

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped (add one to two minced garlic cloves)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme) (I used a half teaspoon dried oregano instead)
2 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) reduced-sodium chicken broth (veggie broth okay, too)
2 cans (28 ounces each) whole peeled plum tomatoes in juice

Directions
In a 5-quart saucepan or Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat; add oil and onion, and season with salt and pepper. Cook until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in flour and tomato paste; cook 1 minute.
To saucepan, add thyme, broth, and tomatoes, breaking up tomatoes with your fingers. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, 30 minutes. (Remove thyme sprigs before blending.)
Using an immersion blender, puree soup in pot, leaving a fair amount of the tomatoes in chunks. Or, working in several batches, puree half (5 cups) of the soup in a conventional blender until smooth; return to pot. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately, or let cool to room temperature before dividing among airtight containers (leaving 1 inch of space at the top) and freezing.

From Everyday Food

Journey Over Rhode Island

A nifty video shot from the air over portions of Rhode Island. This makes me long even more for summer when this little place really shines. Ocean breezes throughout the summer months keep it cool and comfortable and it is a great place to live(or visit). Small is beautiful.

In order of *appearance*

Rose Island Lighthouse

Newport Mansions

Newport Harbor

Newport Bridge

Narragansett Bay

Beavertail Lighthouse ( one of my favorite places in the entire state)

My town--shown from 1:20 to 1:37 !!

Block Island Ferry

Block Island views, including the old hotels and North Light at the northern tip of the island

Back on the mainland to the north part of the state

Pawtucket(make sure you pronounce it P'tuckit like a true Rhode Islander)

The capital city-Providence(not much of a skyline, aye?)

TGIF

Thank God It's February!

We got through January.

Now it's just February, March, and April(April is never quite spring around here)we have to get trhough.
"Thinking About Tomorrow" by Beth Orton is a perfect mid-winter song for me.

I see in my mind an empty beach on a late winter afternoon with cold blue skies and sparkling waves rolling in
and
a far off house on a hill with a lit fireplace inside waiting for me,
when I listen to this song. It's wistful and melancholic and beautiful. Orton's voice, with that slight husky and sad edge to it--I just love it!
And...if you can look past her modern day clothes and hair, doesn't she look like she should be in a Jane Austen novel?

Random Tuesday Re-Entry

You know you have been away from blogging for too long when you dream about writing a blog entry!
Last night(or early this morning?), I dreamed I was watching a chickadee in a bush in my front yard. Then I noticed a larger bird perched on a branch next to the smaller bird. First I thought it was an American Bald Eagle and was all excited, but then it morphed into an osprey(which is kind of like an eagle)--then two ospreys--just hanging out in the bush with the tiny chickadee. And in the dream, I was thinking I should blog about my up-close encounter with this magnificent bird.
Then I woke up.
And it took me a few moments to realise that I hadn't yet writen a blog. It was just a dream. Actually, I knew it was a dream in the dream, but the going-to-blog-about-it seemed real.

So...here I am and ready for a Random Tuesday, after being away for two weeks.
It just happened. I had lots to say, if I wanted to, but was feeling both non communicative and slightly depressed over various things beyond my control.
Politics.
Rush Limbaugh (ggrrrr.....)
Earthquakes.
Human misery.
The unfairness of it all.
Add to that my own petty little problems.
And there was no way I was going to publicly moan about my own petty little problems while there were other humans going through far worse at the same time.

But now I am ready to write down some petty little random thoughts for the day:

**I saw Sherlock Holmes in the cinema on Sunday and you know, I thought I was going to like it more from what I read of the reviews and because I generally adore Robert Downey, Jr. in movies(turns out I preferred Jude Law much better in this one). But it was just.... okay. Holmes and Watson were turned into action heroes, Rachel McAdam's red lipstick and artfully applied smokey eyeshadow never smudged nor budged, and the end of the movie has it already set up for a sequel(ala "Pirates of the Caribbean").

* * It only occurred to me last night why a woman was carrying a Danish flag into the the bar up the street(I passed it on my to the cinema) on Sunday. It was a Minnesota Vikings fan going to watch the game and cheer on HER team(Vikings= Danish--get it?!). Duh. Here I thought there was some kind of interesting multi-culti thing going on(like they were going into the bar to watch an international pre-Olympics speed skating event on the bar's TV) and it was just a plain ole' American football game. (can you tell I am not into football at all?).


**I have not eaten any sugar(except one slice of cake my sister brought to me at work one day last week and I could not resist) for over a week. At first it was difficult, but now I know I can easily make it until February 1st, and even after that date, I think I have rounded a corner where I will be more conscious of what I eat and that I'll be eating far less sugar(and processed stuff like tortilla chips and salty snacks)

** Why couldn't my daughter take after her father instead of me in mathematical matters? She is struggling with algebra this year in school and it reminds me so much of how it was for me back when I was in high school(actually...I started to lose my grip on math as far back as the fifth grade when long division was introduced). She has exams this week and today is the math exam...please, please... let her do well.

**What are those Harajuku Lovers perfume bottles that look like dolls? I have seen them on line and in the stores and I just can't get my head around the fact that there is a perfume bottle inside that hard plastic shell. Funny, but they remind me so much of these Avon "It's A Small World After All" kid perfumes and bubble baths I had when I was around seven years old(I had a kimono-wearing Japanese one and a beret wearing French one), but these things are geared towards teenagers and young women, not kids under ten. I am just old , so can't understand, I suppose. And as much as I love perfumes, I am not even tempted to sniff these. I refuse to spritz a giant doll's head(or neck).

** It is just now sinking in that there will be no more Conan! I (and Mr. F) have been watching him for years on late night(last few years we taped and watched the show the following night at a "more-agreeable-to-a-40-something" hour). The last show on Friday had me choked up, but still laughing. The only consolation is that maybe...just maybe, we'll now get a chance to "bump into" him in Westerly(the furthest south-west corner of Rhode Island)where he has been spotted before(at a certain breakfast restaurant, in particular where he ordered the coconut pancakes...and this was well before he got the Coco nickname). Conan's parents and I think, sister, have homes just over the border in Connecticut and when he visited in the summers and weekends(easier when he was based in NYC) he would slip in to Westerly sometimes. And with him having the summer off...he might just be around on this coast again.


*sigh* Don't stay away from our TVs too long, Conando.

** And lastly, I still have five of those yellow ranunculas blooms(arranged in a smaller vase) left after 2 weeks..a little faded and getting ever so slightly crinkly, but still looking pretty jaunty. Just like me? ;-)

Heaven x 2

pixdaus.com

Heaven

(J. Harrison, D. Byrne)

Everyone is trying to get to the bar.

The name of the bar, the bar is called Heaven.

The band in Heaven plays my favorite song.

They play it once again, they play it all night long.

**

Heaven is a place where nothing ever happens.

Heaven is a place where nothing ever happens.

There is a party, everyone is there.

Everyone will leave at exactly the same time.

Its hard to imagine that nothing at allcould be so exciting, and so much fun.

**

Heaven is a place where nothing ever happens.

Heaven is a place where nothing ever happens.

When this kiss is over it will start again.

It will not be any different, it will be exactlythe same.

It's hard to imagine that nothing at allcould be so exciting, could be so much fun.

**

Heaven is a place where nothing every happens.

Heaven is a place where nothing every happens.

A double digit day(and my sister's birthday, too), so I thought for Music For Monday I would have to have two songs. But the same song.
First, "Heaven", the Talking Heads song, sung and played by my new favorite Irish band, BellX1(who I always thought sounded a lot like Talking Heads, and then voila! I discover this on You Tube:




And then of course, as done originally by the Talking Heads:

Music For Monday

A favorite song from probably my very favorite Christmas album--The Squirrel Nut Zipper's "Christmas Caravan":

Carolina Christmas

Ken Mosher, Tom Maxwell

Whats that up on the roof?

**

The snow is falling down

Up in some northern town

But a Carolina Christmas

Is still the best around

**

Wrap up your teddy bear

Hang your stockings up with care

It's a Carolina Christmas

We're chillin' in our underwear

**

Well Old St. Nick's got a bag of tricks

And he's comin' 'round after 'while

This must be his favorite haunt

'Cause we always do it up in style

**

Grandma's got the fiddle

And Grandpa's got the bass

When it's Christmas in Carolina

It's Christmas all over the place

**

Grandma's got the fiddle

And Grandpa's got the bass

When it's Christmas in Carolina

It's Christmas all over the place

***

Yes boy, get that stocking out of yer mouth

*

MMMMusic For Monday

Feeling a little moody
melancholy
muddled
mumbly
...meh today, so far.
This Alison Krauss song with phenomenal Natalie MacMacmaster on violin(the melody is actually an old Scottish one-- "Neil Gow's Lament on the Death of His Second Wife") is a perfect fit for this Monday morning.

Get Me Through December.....

What a Difference a...

*4:00-ish, early December by the sea wall *

*****

....sunny and calm day in December can make.
Yesterday was wild and rainy and cold with the waves crashing right over the seawall. It was grey with icy rain pelting against the windows and the lights had to be on in the house almost all day. If it hadn't been for the fact that it was my husband's birthday(he took the day off and in his typical philosophical and optimistic Sagittarius way, had a great day in spite of the weather), I could say that December is kind of a bleak looking and depressing month, with each day getting darker and darker earlier.
No wonder wassailing and under-the-mistletoe kissing and Glog/Nog/Grog/Gluhwein guzzling and all that Christmas stuff was invented to get the cold humans through this time of year.

On top of that I find myself becoming more and more cynical each year, at this time of year. Working in a retail type environment for over 20 years(and the last 17 as one of the busy elves staying up late to get every one's gifts built for Dec. 24 in the frame shop business) has done that to me. You work up until December 24th, then go back to work December 26th , after all that build-up.
Not to mention hearing the same songs over and over as background music at work, and then in the stores(right now, it's a tie between "It's A Marshmallow World" and that horrible "Man With The Bag" for worst Holiday song),
being assaulted by crass commercials right after Halloween trying to get you to buy more stuff and make you feel out and out guilty that your life isn't as jolly as the singing and dancing perfect people in those ads ,
being tired at the end of the long day(and short days have that effect on a body, too) but also having to bake cookies like Martha,
make sure the house is decorated like the neighbors--it seems like there is so much to do in such a short amount of time.
I honestly don't look at this time of year as my favorite time of year.
There. I said(wrote) it. I am a Grinch. That is the way it is.

I wish I could spend a Christmas in a cabin in a snow covered mountainside forest.
No shopping.
No "shoulds".
No full calendar.
Just a quiet place with a crackling fire in the fireplace, some Christmas carols, and a little contemplation. That image always comes to my mind by the third week of December when things get a little too crazy at work.

But...back to what I was going to write when I decided to write an entry this afternoon. That little bit of December magic started to work it's way into my soul today. Just a little.
Driving in to work, I liked the look of the bare trees and exposed stone walls and the griege colored moss on them. I liked the slant of light that I remembered from exactly the same time last year. A weak sun, but the world looked beautiful under it's weak winter light. A different kind of beauty at this time of year.

I like listening to the left-of-the-dial University radio station this month, too, because the DJ's play those great old jazz and swing Christmas-themed songs and they talk a lot, too, in between the songs, but it is like listening to old friends. The DJ I was listening to this morning as I drove in to work, (thinking that December wasn't so bad after all--when the sun shines on it), was one I had not heard in a while and was glad to know that after all those years she is still doing the Thursday morning show. She has a soothing voice and this morning I loved the way she said "chuckle" and "duet" and that she introduced me to a singer called Kevin Mahogany(how perfect a name is that?!).

And now that I am back home, it's a nice comfort to have my dog and kid here with me in this warm little house, a cup of tea made for me by my *sometimes* thoughtful daughter(we are going through a little annoying uber-teenage phase with her lately)by my side and George Winston's "December" album playing. It was R's idea to play it this afternoon and I had forgotten how this music calms me and makes me love this season a little more.

I'll never be a jolly old soul at this time of year, but I can always try to find those happy and good things, too. And sometimes, I don't have to try, even. Those good December moments can kind of sneak up on you. (like right now...I have to smile and feel happy as I listen to not only the exquisite voice of Ella Fitzgerald singing "Winter Wonderland" but my daughter singing along in the other room)

A Bohemian Rhapsody....

...Muppet Style!
If you can spare just under five minutes of your time, I think you'll agree that this is a masterpiece.

Music for Monday

In the mood for some Regina Spektor and this is one of her songs I have playing constantly on my MP3-player(yes, it's just an MP3-player--no iPod or brand name). Just never get tired of this song.

And....I'll dedicate this song to a unique and caring blogger who lives in Guatemala(and loves music and radios..), and whose birthday it is happens to be today(Hola, Claudia!).

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On the radio
We heard, 'November Rain'
That solo's really long
But it's a pretty song
We listened to it twice
'Case the DJ was asleep

This is how it works
You're young until you're not
You love until you don't
You try until you can't

You laugh until you cry
You cry until you laugh
And everyone must breathe
Until their dying breath

No, this is how it works
You peer inside yourself
You take the things you like
And try to love the things you took

And then you take that love you made
And stick it into some
Someone else's heart
Pumping someone else's blood

And walking arm in arm
You hope it don't get harmed
But even if it does
You'll just do it all again

And on the radio
You hear, 'November Rain'
That solo's awful long
But it's a good refrain
You listen to it twice
'Cause the DJ is asleep

On the radio, on the radio
On the radio, uh oh, on the radio, uh oh
On the radio, uh oh, on the radio
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Regina Spektor © SOVIET KITSCH MUSIC

Just One More Sesame Street Video

This is all kinds of wrong, but I think it's my favorite Bert and Ernie clip ever. Heh.