Beans and Fishcakes

It's high time I checked in with my old faithful friends. I'm not sure how I maintained it before, writing every day, but I'm certainly not able to do it any more. I'm having a wonderfully cre8ive winter and am dancing with the muse or whatever it is that ever keeps me feeling this way. Part time work and part time art making is perfect though I must live on a shoestring.

The weather's been very cold so people aren't out walking, snowshoeing, skiing, or enjoying outdoor skating. I think people would like to be though there can be all that wonderful 'tucked in by a warm fire' aspect to the cold days. A romantic image, I'm sure.

I met a friend for lunch today. We were early, about eleven. We had to wait a bit so I could have the special of fishcakes and beans. My friend wanted bacon and eggs. At about eleven thirty, our waitress started a CD and the first song was one by Johnny Cash. Sadly the CD turned out to be a compilation but I was thinking of the late Johnny being like beans and fishcakes or bacon and eggs - with us since early childhood, in the background, providing us with comfort. His unique voice has always been comfort food for me .

I know I played a version of Sea of Heartbreak quite recently. Here it is again, but by Johnny Cash, for the bacon and eggs, and here is Four Strong Winds, his version of Ian and Sylvia's great song, to accompany the beans and fishcakes. Because everyone knows Johnny Cash, I didn't feel I had to link his name to his website or Wiki article. I instead linked it to his YouTube version of Hurt, the most beautiful cover of another person's song that there ever was. In my humble opinion.....

Stormy Days, Stormy Nights

Forgot about posting, actually. A busy day with a storm in progress. I went for a walk but came home just as the wind came around and the blowing really started. It's late so music only today.

An essential, from the missing files: Four Strong Winds by Ian and Sylvia. Ian Tyson has one of my all time favorite male voices and it's even better now that he's aged. Here's the Johnny Cash version too. This is from his last album, I believe, when it was so obvious and touching that his wonderfully unique voice had aged. It makes me weak. Since I have the Johnny Cash file open here's a song that made me more than weak. I was in awe of this recording for about a year, playing it all the time. Here's Hurt and lately, I can relate.

Windy Weather Woes

I should be mowing but I'm taking the Mexican attitude......manana. I'd rather listen to music and read blogs. I'm going to town in a bit and that will be enough adventure for the day.

We had a wicked windstorm last night. I'm used to windiness blowing lawn chairs around the deck but last night's wind blew them off the deck. I came home at almost ten and had take a sail down. I couldn't untie the knots so cut the ropes. One corner was on a hook and it had blown off and the sail was rolled up into a tight tube between the two ends that were still attached. You can imagine the apples on the ground. With a dozen or so trees, mowing is something else altogether when you have to pick up apples first. Its windy today but not like last night. I'd say it was close to hurricane strength.

Wouldn't you love to hear some Johnny Cash? It so happens I have him singing a couple of songs written by Canadians. One is even about the wind. Four Strong Winds, written by Ian Tyson, would be that song. I had it up previously but it has disappeared. This was recorded near the end of Johnny's life when his voice was a bit shaky. I love it anyway and think it deserves another listen. Bird On A Wire is written by Leonard Cohen and sung beautifully by Johnny. You wouldn't have wanted to be a bird on a wire last night on PEI!

A River of Hormones

Red Water Because of the Wind and the Weekend's Rain

Something truly amazing is the range of, and really the whole story of, the hormonal changes a woman passes through from puberty through menopause. In every fourteen day period (but in truth every twenty-four hour period) a huge change happens and every twenty-eight days a complete cycle of these constantly changing chemicals occurs. Add pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum, lactation, and menopause and it is awe-inspiring.

It doesn't occur in men and that explains the main difference in the sexes, why women are considered emotional and men not so. Nobody can tell you about these changes, really. They can't because every woman's cycle and her body's reaction to it is so individual. You just have to experience it all. Fun, fun, fun!!!

The weather is warm and sunny but very, very windy. I went for a walk around the pond with my camera in the morning then for my regular after lunch walk but the north wind was fierce. Even though this time I had the proper hat for the conditions, I think my face got resurfaced . You must always find that positive aspect.

I haven't had any Bob Dylan up in a while. A long, live version of Watching the River Flow is worth a listen, as is the under three minute, Wind Blows on the Water. Find these on Page Two. Pure Bob!

Update: After I said there hasn't been any Bob Dylan up in a while, I uploaded and found that the last two songs were Bob Dylan songs. A couple of links too....Johnny Cash with Four Strong Winds and another from Bob, Blowin' In The Wind.

First Day of Standard Time

It is very windy but we've not lost electricity. There have been power outages across New England, in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. There are problems with the Newfoundland ferry system where they are experiencing one hundred and sixty km. per hour winds. I'm glad my friend moved there a couple of days ago and not today.

I am warm and content. I've been reading my music blogs, fooled around with some jewelry, have beef stew cooking early in case we lose power and listening to music. It's very warm out and sunny. The rain ended overnight....just the wind continues. I am going to walk down to the beach after I turn the stew off. I don't know if the tide is in or out but it will probably seem like it's in with onshore winds. The bay will be red and very churned up. It's much nicer when it's blue, of course.

Music: High Tide or Low Tide by Jack Johnson and Ben Harper and Four Strong Winds by Ian and Sylvia.

Link: Does anyone go to the links? I get so few comments here that I don't know what anyone thinks of any part of the blog. I'd appreciate some feedback, you know. Anyway a link for today
is another link place that I go to once in a while. It's called Linky & Dinky. The first one on there today, the mega closeup of a snowflake is cool.