Entertainment & Leisure

What’s in a song?

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I am sitting here, listening to the album Faith by George Michael.  What a memorable album for me!  It reminds me of high school.  It reminds me of a trip to Europe.  It reminds me of  how utterly embarassed I was when I first heard it in the car while driving my mother to the store.  George Michael said the word S-E-X.  He said it many, many times.  I don’t think my face has ever felt THAT warm.  Catholic mother and a song about S-E-X.  Yikes!  That was one of the longest car drives in history!  But I digress.

Has anyone ever asked you what your favourite song is?  I always found that a difficult question.  My answer was always, “it depends.”  It depended on the mood I was in.  Was I sad?  Was I happy?  Did I feel like dancing?  Did I feel like relaxing?  So many questions in order to be able to provide the most accurate answer.  Now, if you asked me today, I would definitely say “Faith” by George Michael.  That song is, like, totally, like making me like happy right?  (so feeling the high school vibe right now.)

Yesterday it would have been Nora Jones and her beautiful, hypnotic voice singing “Come Away with Me“.  The day before it was definitely Adele and “Rumour“.  See what I mean?  Sometimes it’s AC/DC and something from “Back in Black“.  On sunny days, when I am driving and the windows are rolled down and the wind is blowing through my hair, there is nothing like Sheryl Crow and “Soak up the Sun“. 

I don’t have a specific genre or a specific band.  It really just depends on the type of day and the type of mood and what season it is and how sunny or cloudy it is and the company I am keeping and what I’m wearing and if I’m having a good day or if I need a pick-me-up.

Oftentimes I have found that I preferred movie soundtracks because they have a mix of bands or artists and a variety of music styles.  From pop to disco to rock to all the new kinds of music that I like the backbeat to but have no idea who the artist is.  That happens a lot and that is when I need The Princess or one of the other kids to tell me who it is as well as to somehow provide me with said music.

How about foreign music?  Love it!  I have music from Europe and Asia and Africa.  So much talent and such different sounds!  I love when artists find ways to mesh the varieties of music.  Isn’t that how rock ‘n’ roll started? 

You are probably listening to music on your MP3 player or on your computer, or maybe the old fashioned radio.  There is something about having background noise that can easily calm you and make your day a better day.  If you think you know your friends and family really well, ask them what song or music they enjoy listening to.  It really is an eye opener.  Some of their answers may surprise you.

I leave you with this quote that I found.  It really does express my true feelings about music.  I don’t know who said it, but that person put my thoughts into words: 

“Music is what feelings sound like.”

Flower or Weed?

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I have decided, after looking outside my window, that I like dandelions.  Yes, call me crazy, but looking at the beautiful, green grass and seeing dots of yellow just screaming out “Look at me!  Look how bright and pretty I am!  Don’t you just love spring when you see me?”  Yes, they talk to me.  Really, I do hear them.

So I started wondering, who decided that green, beautifully manicured lawns were better than the blanket of dandelions?  Does no one see the benefits of dandelions?  Who declared them to be weeds and comdemned them to death anyway?

I decided that perhaps I should research this phenomenon.  I really did not come up with much information.  Not much concerning their ultimate demise, but I did find some other really good information as to why we SHOULD let them procreate and tint our world a lively, bright, yellow.

Did you know that the English word dandelion is actually taken from the French dent de lion which translated means “lion’s tooth”?   The coarse leaves of the dandelion are jagged, like a lion’s tooth.  Hmmm, interesting.  Then I recalled my father talking to someone about dandelion wine.  These lovely buds can’t be all that bad if you can make a fermented drink out of them.  I have heard people make tea from dandelion leaves as well.  Then there are the many recipes of dandelion salad.  Personally, I think it might be a bit bitter for my taste, but to each their own right? 

For the environmentalist, I give you this little tidbit:  dandelions provide an important source of nectar and pollen early in the spring season for bees.  You recall the bee fear of 2009?  NO bees means NO pollination and eventual death to mankind.  See?  Dandelions are very important. 

Don’t you love the sky after dandelions dry out and these beautiful little white fluffs go floating around everywhere in the sky?   It looks like snow (for those who prefer snowy weather).  How beautiful!  (Unless you have allergies, then not so much.  sorry)

My dandelion sources (mainly wikipedia) also state that dandelions have medicinal properties and are used to treat infections and liver problems.  Who knew? 

For those who prefer not to mow their lawns (you know, for ecofriendly reasons) you don’t have to worry about it when there is dandelion power in your backyard.  Once those wonder flowers start spreading and sprouting, you will have a beautiful sea of yellow and subsequently…no more lawn!  No lawn means…no need to mow!

Well, I think I have made my point.  Next time you decide you want to choke out the dandelions, think about the automatic, low maintenance beauty they provide to every lawn.

But now….it’s extermination time!  Time to rip out and weed out those doggone creeping charlie plants that are suffocating my dandelions.  Drat! I can’t stand weeds!

Technologically Incapacitated

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You know you’re getting older when…

You get a new cell phone and your 5 year old has to show you how to use it.

What would we do without the younger generation?  Seriously, am I the only one that feels so technologically incapacitated when it comes to newer electronics?  I heard the word “android” for so long on the radio that I thought there was a new Sci Fi movie coming out.  I discovered later, while watching tv, that the “android” was a new type of cell phone.  Go figure.

I myself was so thrilled when I purchased my iPhone.  It’s an antique now.  I bought it two years ago.  They don’t even make the safety-cover-anti-scratch-screen-thinga-ma-jiggy protector for it anymore.  Obsolete.  I am sure that if I bought an electronic gizmo today by tomorrow there would be a new better, faster, smarter, piece of electronic hardware to replace it.

My iPhone was just so neat and compact and colourful.  I just didn’t know how to use it.  Flip through starter manual.  Got it.  Sort of.  My one stepson, The Wiz, sat me down and showed me all the neat-o things my iPhone could do.  We downloaded apps.  We played with the apps.  We surfed the net. We checked out facebook.  Amazing!  All of this in one neat little electronic unit.  Then I couldn’t part with it.  I wouldn’t let the battery level drop below 95% because I couldn’t live without it!  It was like a newborn child to me.  I had to carry it everywhere with me.  I downloaded more and more apps.  I played so many games every evening while making dinner, while washing dishes, before going to bed, at breakfast the next day.  I believe I am missing about two months of my life….all in playing games.  I just kept playing new games and marvelling at what my itty bitty machine could do.  Absolutely fascinated!  Riveted!  This was definitely the adult version of Atari (lost about 6 months of my life playing that as a child).

So it was that about a month ago, I suddenly woke up from my electronic revery wondering where I was and what had happened.  How did winter come and go without my even noticing?  It was then that I decided to review my downloaded apps and came to the conclusion that I needed my life back.  As such, I vanquished many of my game choices to the app graveyeard and found that I could still continue to function without my iPhone being holstered to my side. 

However, I am not immune to the enticing commercials that show me how wonderfully exciting and enriching my life could be if I only owned  _________ (fill in desired electronic gizmo of choice).  The first thing I do after I have been sold on how much I need this new gizmo, is that I invite the kids over for sunday lunch.  It really is a two-sided invitation:   1) I get to cook up a storm of wonderful foods that they will happily devour and 2) I get to have them explain to me, in simple kindergarten terms, what these new amazing portable adventure units can do. 

After lunch, the three of them (The Wiz, The Debater, The Princess) gently guide me to a comfortable seat, in case I swoon from being overwhelmed by information.  They start explaining and I get the deer-in-the-headlight look.  After they slowly explain everything and show me examples,I just sit there in awe and amazement.  It really seems like a miracle to me to see what new things have been created and what these gadgets can do.  It also gives me something new to wish for…besides shoes.

My 17 month old granddaughter likes to play with my iPhone.  She knows how to pick the app.  She knows how to play the app.  She knows how to get out of the app.  Wiseguy (my hubby) got the newer iPhone recently.  He got it with the indestructible manly protector case.  He learned how to turn it on.  He learned how to turn it off.  Then it happened.  HE got the look.  You know, deer…headlights.  I know it well.  So I did what any intelligent and supportive wife would do.  I took the iPhone out of his hands and put it directly in the hands of the 17 month old.  She could set it up for him.    : )

Hello world!

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This is it!

I have finally decided that I should enter the exciting blogosphere world!

I myself am an avid googler and searcher of all things exciting and popular and fun and educational.

My life, like everyone else’s, is full of so many interesting people, places, and things.  I am hoping to share my joys and my sorrows (which I am hoping are few and far far between). Life is a wonderful adventure and with my husband (a.k.a. wiseguy) of 21 years, he has been the one that makes me laugh and has always been the one that could bring me out of a slump or make me laugh until my stomach ached.  I’m a lucky girl for that.

I have happily become the proud stepmom or 3 grown children and 5 grandchildren.  Being part of their lives has also been an experience in and unto itself.  Love you guys!

So, this is it!

Welcome to my blog and to my life.  I am happy to be able to share with you the interesting view I have of life and my opinions on it as well. Agree or disagree with me, it makes for an interesting read.

I welcome myself to the Land of Blogs and am really excited about my new journey into the realm of the unknown.  Computer illiterate…yes, that would be me.  I welcome anyone willing to spend any minute amount of time actually wondering what has gotten into my head on a daily basis.   (We’ll work through the cobwebs and the derailed trains of thought together.)

Looking forward to newfound friends and intriguing commentaries.  Enjoy because…this is it!