Tag Archives: music

Mar8

The Theme Tonight Is

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The Theme Tonight Is

I’ve been working on the third part of my book. And I’m struggling with how to get to the ending. I’ve tried four or five different sequences of events and I’m not satisfied with any of them. I get these crazy ideas in the middle of the night and it’s wreaking havoc with my sleep pattern. I seem to do my best writing in the wee hours of the night.

I’ve been checking out the time changes. Here in Aguascalientes we are not springing ahead. But they are in Washington. Not sure what’s going on up in Canada. I’ll have to check because one of the Zoom groups I’m on is in Canada. Wouldn’t it be nice if the whole world was on the same time zone?

I was talking to one of my friends in Leavenworth last night. She’s moving to Wenatchee at the end of the month. We teach SAIL classes together and it will be nice to have her close by. I don’t really know many people in Wenatchee yet. Most of my friends are in Leavenworth, Dryden and Cashmere.

The weather has become incredibly hot here. Ninety degrees. The sun feels a lot stronger here too. Yesterday I met friends at a restaurant three blocks away from where I live. While I was able to walk mainly in the shade it was still hot, hot, hot! Then I see the photos of all the snow in California. I hope it’s gone by the time I get to Washington.

I need to get back to my writing. I just got another brilliant? idea. I’m listening to Eric Burdon and The Animals from back in the 60s. I wonder if that’s what inspired me.

By the way, I don’t live anywhere near Matamoros, although I have been there. It’s not one of my favorite border towns and what happened there this week doesn’t surprise me.

Happy Humpday!

Feb26

I’m Just A Little On Edge

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I’m Just A Little On Edge

A month from today I’ll be back in East Wenatchee. I’ve warned everyone that they snow better be gone. I don’t expect it to be 85 like it is here, but I don’t want to see any of that white stuff either.

Charlotte arrived in Calgary the other day to -37 and her car buried under snow. Sharon arrived in Portland after a detour to Seattle because there was too much snow in Portland and the runways were a mess. In the news all I read about is the cold and snow up north and as ready as I am to head home, I don’t want to experience another winter up there.

Yesterday was Koal’s birthday. It’s hard to believe he’s been gone for over fourteen years. I would love to have a dog again but it’s bad enough that I deal with three different Immigrations every year and I can’t fathom doing it with an animal. Of course I do have seven chihuahuas waiting for me in Washington lol.

Today is Madeline’s fifth birthday. It seems like yesterday that I flew to Ontario when she was born. As I recall an ice storm greeted me there. Happy Birthday Madeline! Grandma loves you and we’ll party when I come to visit you in Kelowna this summer.

I’ve been on Zoom a lot this week. The Writer’s Workshop was most informative. The bible study I do with Church of the Rock focused on forgiveness this week, very thought provoking.

Of course in person is still better. I’m looking forward to the next SAIL training in April in Wenatchee. I really miss teaching those classes when I’m here in Mexico for the winter. It’s much more enjoyable to be with other people.

I’ve been listening to a lot of country music while I’ve been writing this week, mainly from the 60s and 70s. I alternate between Spotify, You Tube and of course Alexa. That genre seems to go well with the stage of my main character’s life right now. Of course it also inspired me to revamp the chapter I’m working on.

Have A Great Sunday!

Feb19

Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream

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Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream

I’m not sure if it’s because I listened to the song or if it was just my turn to have a strange dream. But Thursday night was the night for more than one strange dream. As I whizzed through different decades in my life, the imagery was distinct and clear. I don’t recall all the details. But I went from nineteen to four to thirty-seven and a variety of other memorable ages. The people in my dreams seemed so real although many have not been a part of my life in years, either by choice or in some cases death. But they were all there and alive in my dreams.

Friday night I was surfing through Spotify and came across some old Perry Como songs. Yes I am that ancient. When I awoke the next morning I felt more than a little disoriented. I expected to see my childhood rocking chair and my record player. Those songs really got to me. They were favorites when I was a child. Middle of the House, Mi Casa Su Casa, Catch a Falling Star. I wonder if my readers remember any of those.

But when I opened my eyes I was here in Mexico, not in my childhood bedroom. Yet it had all seemed so real. For a few fleeting moments I was transported back to the safety of my childhood, a very comfortable place. At that age I didn’t watch the news on TV so I had no idea how chaotic the rest of the world was. My parents did a good job of sheltering me back then. Of course there was no Internet or Facebook in the olden days either.

I wonder if my own children ever have similar experiences. Of course they probably remember Madonna or Michael Jackson rather than Perry Como. The 80s were definitely different than the 50s.

This afternoon as I work on my novel, I’ve decided to listen to 60s country in the background. Can’t wait to find out what the dreams will be about tonight!

Happy Sunday!

Oct19

Where Does The Music Take You?

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Where Does The Music Take You?

I’ve been doing a lot of writing lately. And I like to have music on in the background. And I use different types of music depending on if my main character is in his childhood, teens or adult stages in life. Anything from Raffi to Cranberries to Chumbawumba to Backstreet Boys to Pink and so much more.

I find it interesting how a song can take me back in time. If I really listen to the words and close my eyes, I’m magically transported back to a place or event in my past.

The other day I was listening to an old Elton John song called Making Friends. And I found myself in the parkade at Daytons in downtown Minneapolis back in the 70s.

Carrie Ann. A great song by The Hollies. And I was back in the gym at University of Winnipeg watching them live back in the 60s.

Wild Horses. And I’m up in the stands at the old Winnipeg Stadium watching Mick Jagger prance across the stage.

Whenever I hear a tune from the Irish Rovers I’m reminded of when I did programming on a dementia unit in a personal care home. Oh how the residents loved that group!

Vamos A La Playa. Desperately trying to keep up with the pace and intent on improving my Spanish when I first arrived in Aguascalientes.

Handel’s Water Music. I’m back in Mazatlan at the Angela Peralta Theater at a live performance. Or even further back I’m in Mrs. Christie’s music class back in junior high.

Kokomo by the Beach Boys. I can still see Kyle at about age 7 trying to play it on the piano. Somehow he had convinced his very conservative classical music teacher that he wanted to learn this song.

I could go on but I think you get the idea. I can identify chapters of my life story by the different genres of music I’ve listened to over the years. And I’m sure you can too. All you have to do is close your eyes and lose yourself in the music. Try it!

Jul20

Happy Humpday!

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Happy Humpday!

I thought I was back in Mexico yesterday with hurricane season. Torrential rain, flooded streets. Nope. I’m still in Winnipeg.

I’m staying with my son for a couple of days. I don’t think he quite gets it when I tell him we need to get together more often. Kyle has no family here in Winnipeg and I live in another country. Over time you get used to being on your own and then it does feel rather strange when you get bombarded with family. But it’s a nice kind of strange. And I think that the older you get the more you value that kind of time.

My WIP is going well. My characters have been quite talkative lately. And they’ve had some interesting adventures. I am definitely enjoying writing fiction.

Because I’m constantly flipping back and forth in time when writing, I vary my background music. For a while there, The Stones were inspirational, especially Voodoo Lounge. The Beach Boys and The Byrds are also favorites, as are John Denver and Elton John. But last night it was Handel’s Water Music.

Computer shopping with Laura is on the agenda for today. I was a tad overwhelmed looking in Seattle and Wenatchee didn’t have much to offer. I know. There’s always Amazon. But I want to play with a laptop before I buy it. And Laura is my computer guru.

Happy Humpday!

Jun8

Let’s Go

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Let’s Go

Ok. I’ve been in areas and experienced tornados, hurricanes,thunderstorms and blizzards. I’ve seen hail the size of golf balls and have been caught up in flash flooding. But on Sunday I added mud slides to the list. From sunshine to rain to flooding to mud slides in a matter of minutes. Power outages affecting traffic lights and even shutting down Walmart and the movie theaters. Wenatchee was a mess!

Yesterday I was in Ellensburg. It was a gorgeous, hot and sunny day. The drive over Blewett from Leavenworth was beautiful. I never tire of driving through the mountains in Washington. The scenery is spectacular.

When I write I always have music on in the background. The latest added to my playlist is some Marianas Trench from about ten years ago. Don’t ask me why but Celebrity Status has always been one of my faves by this Canadian rock band.

The other day we went exploring at a Coastal store. My friend is an avid equestrian and showed me all kinds of saddles, chaps and other paraphernalia associated with horses. My favorite area was all the cute baby chicks in cages. Coastal also has clothing, kayaks, wood burning stoves,cowboy boots, toys, feed, outdoor furniture and so much more.

I’ve started researching my travel to Canada. Winnipeg is not the easiest city to get to from East Wenatchee. By the way, East Wenatchee and Wenatchee are two completely different cities. The former is where I live and is in Douglas County. The latter is in Chelan County.

Back to travel. Shuttle to SeaTac and two flights or an Amtrak out if Wenatchee and hope someone wants to pick me up in Grand Forks and drive me across the border. Like I told Lise the other day, maybe I should just fly there on my broom! LOL!

May18

After Plan B Comes C, D, Etc.

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After Plan B Comes C, D, Etc.

Life. A sequence of events where unplanned by far outnumber the planned. And when you get to Plan Z, you start over with Plan AA, Plan BB, Etc.

March was when I arrived back in Washington. I expected to go to Kelowna in March but Canada still had too many Covid restrictions. The next plan was May but that isn’t working out either due to my daughter’s work schedule. Another plan was May in Winnipeg but a minor health issue got in the way. I thought maybe June but there’s some fitness training all month that I really want to do here in Wenatchee. So now it looks like July in Winnipeg. There is always another plan.

https://youtu.be/M7wYyVi1ugo

I hope you check out the above link. It’s an old John Denver song I came across the other night. And I can’t get it out of my head. It really takes me back in time and I realize now that none of my plans back then have ever come into fruition. And that’s okay because there is always another plan.

So…….why make plans at all if they never seem to work out? I’ve come to the conclusion that long range plans don’t work for me. Even short range plans don’t always come about. But I still continue to make plans because I have learned to become extremely flexible. I don’t stress out when plans fall through.

To quote John Lennon, “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.”

My plan for today is, hmmm, that isn’t going to work out either. Oh well!

Jan26

Voodoo Lounge And Pozole

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Voodoo Lounge And Pozole

As I write this I’m eating a bowl of pozole and listening to Voodoo Lounge. They don’t go together? In my world they do. I know I’m in Mexico because it’s pozole. And I’ve been a fan of The Rolling Stones  for decades.

But as I listen to The Rolling Stones I’m magically beamed back to a hot August night in 1994 mildly buzzed as the smell of pot wafts through the stands of the old Winnipeg stadium. Down below Mick Jagger is strutting his stuff across the stage just as he did back in the 60s when I was a teenager.

Amazing how music can make you travel back in time like it was just yesterday.

So how is your 2022 going? I actually am beginning to wonder why we were all so eager to slam the door on 2021.

With the advent of Omni, I find myself no closer to going back to Canada than I did last year. I have way too many friends now struggling with family crises. I’ve had a few small blips on the radar screen myself this month.

But, ever the optimist, I’m looking forward to the future. February will be a bittersweet month as it’s countdown time until I head up north. It kind of feels like 2020 again when I didn’t know where I was going or how I was getting there.

My playlist for meditation time today will include Matt Redman and Josh Groban in addition to the usual Pachelbel. Lots to contemplate. Lots of people in my life who need prayer.

It’s all about FAITH.

Jul21

Musical Memories

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My housemate Clairesse is a very talented violinist and vocalist. She also comes from a very musical family where jam sessions were common.

Tonight she was playing a variety of music that triggered some memories. I’ll begin with the ones pertaining to the violin.

I had an uncle who played in The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra back when I was really young. Then there was the other extreme. I had an older brother who attempted to play but I used to run outside to play when he practiced because I couldn’t stand the screeching sound. And I put my foot down when it was suggested that I learn to play the violin. No way!

Clairesse played everything from Home On The Range to The Battle Hymn Of The Republic to the Wabash Cannonball. She plays jigs, waltzes and hymns.

Home On The Range reminded me of a high school boyfriend who played guitar. We used to hang out with friends at a park and this song was always a favorite.

Battle Hymn reminds me of attending 9/11 memorial services. And then a swarm of other songs such as The Marine’s Hymn and God Bless America filled my head.

It’s interesting how I seem to associate music with the events in my life. My teenage years in the 60s were filled with the British Invasion. I attended tons of concerts back then. Some of the most memorable were The Rolling Stones, Herman’s Hermits, The Who, The Hollies, Peter and Gordon, Chad and Jeremy and The Dave Clark Five. Unfortunately The Beatles never came to Winnipeg.

Lots of American talent came to Winnipeg too. Other memorable concerts I attended included The Beach Boys, Paul Revere And The Raiders, Sonny and Cher, Carly Simon, Neil Diamond, and The Monkees.

Yes, the 60s was one of my favorite decades. Was it one of yours?

Apr20

Saturday Now

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Saturday Now

Saturday is a very different day than it used to be. One cup of coffee with yogurt and granola. Off in an Uber to teach English for a couple of hours.

Another Uber home and off to the carnicería. He grilled the chicken I bought for me. I’d take a walk to the bakery and do any other shopping and then return to pick up my chicken.

After lunch (yes lunchtime was at around 4 pm) I’d head to the church to teach for an hour.

In the evening I’d explore the Expoplaza area. There were always numerous food vendors. I’d watch the children ride around the square on a burro. I’d listen to music and walk through the San Marcos park.

I’d have interesting conversations with people. A handful understood minimal English but it was a great opportunity for me to practice my Spanish.

Occasionally I’d attend a birthday party or another fiesta on a Saturday evening. And there were concerts close by as well.

Saturday now is very different. Lots of time for that second cup of coffee. I can leisurely make an omelet. No rush to get dressed. No reason to call an Uber. No students to teach.

I take two walks a day. One is before it gets too hot and the other is after it cools off in the evening. Daytime highs are in the low 90s.

This is what Expoplaza area looks like now.

I color, I watch movies, I write, I phone friends and I listen to music.

Actually Saturday seems pretty much like every other weekday now.