Spring Cleaning

I'm posting a photo from another year as our daffodils are not yet in bloom, but I want to envision stopping to smell the flowers. I have been cleaning all afternoon, am exhausted and have many miles yet to go. It does smell like flowers here though. I'm on a well deserved break.

Spring has sprung and an urge for spring cleaning permeated my bones. This is my first day off in eight days from work. Some days are part time and in those days and in this full day off, the cleaning tools have been put to good work. Painting group met this morning but the minute I got home I dug out the pail again.

I have been looking at all the gardening work I have to do so with the house clean I will be able to take that on. I have extensive and unusual gardens which includes deck gardening. Our early spring is requiring work to be done earlier. I need tilling done now - not a month from now. There is a whole lot of heavy work that is quite exhausting for this middle-aged grandma. Once the early season work is done, maintenance takes over.

Since this is a break I'd better get to the music. Rachel Ries describes the past few days with Hands to Water. It's today's slow song . For music to make cleaning go faster, I chose my old standby, James Brown. I wanted to name my first child after the king of soul but my husband talked me out of it. Funny, that child now has a child named after a favorite musician. Here's James Brown with something to get you moving - Get Up Offa That Thing. James Brown is still my first choice for housecleaning music.

Off I go to throw in some baked potatoes to go with my old standby, ribs. Then make a salad and put a houseful of furniture back in it's proper place before I get to sit down again. Ah, spring!

James Brown

Could there be a worse Christmas for soul and blues lovers with, after Dutchie Mason's passing, we hear the news of the Godfather of Soul, James Brown? I couldn't believe it, really. I truly wanted to name my firstborn after him but got reasoned out of it.

Today's music, of course, is all from James. One I'd never heard him do, Your Cheatin Heart, is already up. Here's the link. The other two......well let's say I've danced to these tunes tons of times and still when I have serious house-cleaning to do, they're first in the cd selection. This version of Sex Machine is pretty darn good and Get Up Offa That Thing is such a classic. I knew heaven was going to be special this weekend.

Oh the food in this house! Turkey, ham, lobster, potato salad, leftover mashed potatoes and veggies, fruit, desserts, drinks, candies and chocolate and nuts and on and on and on.....I'll feel guilty later but for right now, I'm enjoying it. My kids just arrived with their biggest friend and made a dent in the turkey and bread but only a dent.

My grandson is three today. The alien age, I think.

Napping Predicted

Been awake since 3:45, a pain to be sure, but I'm not stressing about it today because......it's my day off and when I get tired I can go have a nap. I don't know what's up with the new wake time. Five thirty has always been my time and I'm fine with that but three forty-five and four are just a little tooooo early.

The weather has been fantastic - sunny with temps 22 - 24. On Saturday the forecast was that the trend would continue through Monday but on Sunday, Monday's forecast changed to cloudy and showers. I'll nap through the showers. Ha!

I have several versions of September Song that I was going to upload this month but here it is half way through and I've not put one up yet. Today, I'll put up two and leave it at that unless some day in the next few weeks I can't come up with anything more interesting. This is not likely though because I have lots and lots of more interesting music than September Song. These versions I've picked because of the contrast......James Brown and Nat King Cole. They are so far apart on the musical scale and their versions of the song show just how far. A couple more today are Warm Bed by Jamie Fox though at this stage I prefer a cool bed with the window open wide and wind blowing a gale into the room. A fun little number by Bettye LaVette is Sleep to Dream. I've got a couple of numbers by her and like her Macy Gray type voice. She sounds more fun than Macy though. I will put her version of Down to Zero up someday. It's great!