Welcome! I hope I bring a spot of calm and happiness into these uncertain times. I blog about my photography adventures, flowers, gardening, the importance of chocolate in a well lived life, or anything else on my mind.
Over the summer, I bought a crochet hook. I thought I had brought it home but then I couldn't find it. Although I didn't need it at the time for a project, I wondered, from time to time, what had happened to it.
In October, the mystery was solved.
We had gone somewhere and the car would not start when we finished. So we ended up calling AAA (the American Auto Association). It turned out our car battery was nearly dead. If this sounds familiar, I had blogged about it when it happened, except for this one detail.
The tow truck driver, in changing out our battery, found....the crochet hook.
In the engine compartment.
How it ended up there I have no idea, but it did make for a good story.
Today
I am joining up with other Music Moves Me bloggers (and you can join us
at the linky above). We are a group of music loving bloggers who blog about music
each Sunday or Monday (or even later in the week). If you have music to share with us, you are most
welcome to join! (Music Posts Only-meaning at least one music video,
please! Otherwise, your post may be labeled "No Music".)
Every other week we have a theme. This week's theme is "you pick" .
I had a (sort of) theme for this week, but first, I have to announce a new induction into Rock and Roll Heaven. Singer, songwriter and actress Marianne Faithfull passed away on January 30 at the age of 78. She had a hard life in some ways due to drug addiction and a spell of homelessness while she was addicted, but she also carved her own path.
She had a four year romantic relationship with Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones, and this may be her best known song, written by Mick and Keith Richards. Here is "As Tears Go By".
There is also, years later, the song "Broken English" shows how much her hard life changed her voice.
What I was originally going to use as a theme was the Chinese New Year. This year is the Year of the Snake.
Here are two songs mentioning snakes.
Jim Stafford had a hit with the song "Spiders and Snakes" in 1974, where it spent over five months on the charts here in the United States. Here he sings the song to and with Dolly Parton.
The song The Snake was first written and recorded in 1963. A couple of its covers have become hits; this is one of them.
Here is Al Wilson's 1968 cover of The Snake.
Finally, just because, here is a song about celebration. Maybe I'm celebrating the fact that spring is coming closer and closer each day. So here is 3 Dog Night and their 1975 hit "Celebrate".
And that's a wrap. Join me again next week for another episode of Music Moves Me.
How fitting that, this year, that Shadowshot Sunday comes on Groundhog Day.
Although these shadows won't predict if we will have an early spring or six more weeks of winter (noting that the official Groundhog of Groundhog Day is only right about 40% of the time), they make for a good Shadowshot.
Groundhog in shadow from back in June, 2024.
Incidentally, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow. Let's hope he's wrong again.
And, in a number of cultures, they are celebrating the new year. This year will be the Year of the Snake. This picture of a shake was taken this past September.
It's been years since I've written a post featuring the photos of my "guest photographer".
My guest photographer is a friend of over 25 years, and unlike me, does her photography with a DSLR, and not an iPhone.
These after sunset photos from earlier in the week were so pretty that I just had to reintroduce her photos.
The snow in this picture is sitting on a frozen pond, and even the snow covering the pond was glowing pink.
Please, Punxsutawney Phil. We want spring and we want it now, even if winter pictures can be beautiful like these. It's up to you on Sunday. Don't disappoint us.
We've subscribed to our local newspaper for many years, but I'm beginning to wonder if we should continue to support its journalism.
Here's one example from earlier this month.
This was the headline one day, and by that I mean the main headline on the front page. I think newspaper people call the main headline that hits your eye first "above the fold".
There's lots of news out there. We had a President-elect getting ready to assume office. There were horrible wildfires in California. There were wars. Lots to report on and all of it front page headline worthy.
Including this fact, I guess. An actual front page headline in our local paper.
So, drumroll, here it is.
For those of us who live in the Northern Hemisphere, I ask you, was this news to you?
Sadly, I'm considering cancelling the paper we've subscribed to for nearly 40 years. It just isn't worth the money anymore.
Today
I am joining up with other Music Moves Me bloggers (and you can join us
at the linky above). We are a group of music loving bloggers who blog about music
each Sunday or Monday (or even later in the week). If you have music to share with us, you are most
welcome to join! (Music Posts Only-meaning at least one music video,
please! Otherwise, your post may be labeled "No Music".)
Every other week we have a theme. This week's theme is "artists, bands or songs that make you think of cold weather."
Here in New York State, I don't need artists, bands, or songs to make me think of cold weather. All I have to do is step outside.
What I hate about winter the most is ice. I'll devote my first two selections to that slippery substance.
Here's Vanilla Ice and his 1990 song Ice Ice Baby. Maybe I like it so much because of his sampling of David Bowie/Queen's Under Pressure. Or maybe all the dancing warms me up?
Foreigner and Cold as Ice.
Let's warm up more by some fast heavy metal. Here's Metallica - Trapped under Ice.
Or, we can go the classical route with Winter from the Four Seasons by Vivaldi. I love that violin.
Finally, from Season Six of Game of Thrones (which I have never watched) here is Winter has Come.
And that's a wrap!
Join me again next week for another episode of Music Moves Me.