Though there is much more snow than in the above example (from a late winter storm) our fierce blizzard today is forming some pretty neat snow sculptures. Ones that were there this morning have long been covered over and new ones, differently shaped, have appeared. There is no snow at all on the main part of my deck but my door is completely buried under a snowdrift. My son will have to shovel to come in. I can exit through another door in an emergency.

Luckily our power is still on. I got up early to turn on the heat thinking that if the power did go out at least the house would be warm. Plows have not been out on the Island yet. That's how extreme this blizzard that began overnight is today. I've plenty to eat and drink, electricity and a telephone. It's all I need today.

Those who've been reading here for a while know that one of my all-time favorite songs is Don't Fence Me In. Here's my favorite version, by Ella. In honour of the snow barring in my back door today, you get to hear another version or two or three. Here's Roy Rogers and The Sons of the Pioneers and one by Louis Armstrong and Velma Middleton, my second favorite. It has that humourous, fun-singing that certain jazz singers did in those days which I love so much. When you need a more country mood Willie Nelson and Leon Russell can't be beat. Love that song!

Happy New Year again. I guess I said it a little prematurely yesterday.

Summer Perfection

I thought it was strange that my pedometer was recording an average of 34,000 steps for the last week instead of the average 25,000 steps that a work shift had usually entailed. I discovered I had the mode on calories all week. Whew! Still, I walk about 20 km. per shift but it's a bit more sane that 28.

A cool front arrived a few days ago taking the humidity away. Since then, sleeping has been wonderful. I swear that when it was so hot and humid I was averaging four or five hours of sleep in total per night. With no humidity the clear blue skies with big fluffy clouds show the bright red and green colours of our landscape at it's best.

Three more weeks till my family comes home. A friend is getting married that day too but I won't be attending any weddings or partied. I'll be hugging my kids and grandkids. Having four days off work in a row will be great too.

I've long been a fan of the great songwriter Leon Russell. I saw him live in '70 in Massachusetts and in Toronto in '71. I've featured him a few times. I was reminded of him yesterday by another blogger mentioning that Russell wrote This Masquerade that he had up with George Benson singing. This link is from my post in April. I too love this version by Benson. Leon Russell's most famous song that has been covered by so, so many is Singin' This Song For You. Here's the original by him and another version where he is the pianist and gets some help from Willie Nelson and Ray Charles.

Round and Round

After four days of glorious sunshine we had light rain today but it seems as though the sun is trying to come out. My daughter just commented that it's snowing (or has snowed) in Calgary. We are supposed to get some on Sunday as well. It's all ok though because spring is here. Green grass is poking through the brown, the daffodils are growing an inch or more each day, and people are smiling. That's all the proof I need.

It's funny how one little music search can lead me round and round. On Kat's blog today she has a song sung by Elizabeth Mitchell called Winter's Come and Gone. I thought I knew the song from a long time ago but upon research found it was written by contemporary Gillian Welsh. I looked in my files thinking it was familiar because I had it but no, I do not. It's really bugging me because I was singing along with the chorus. I know that song!

Anyway, above her name I saw That Masquerade by George Benson. That brought back lots of memories. I really liked George Benson years ago and even extravagantly bought a boxed set of his music as a gift for another fan. The song is also a memory of the movie, All That Jazz, which I loved. I looked at the information on That Masquerade and found it was written by Leon Russell who I also am a big fan of. So today's music is about going round and round. Here's Leon doing a Bob Dylan cover, A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall and Bob Dylan doing a live cover of Leonard Cohen's Halleluja. Now if I could only find Leonard doing a George Benson cover......

Rain

I'm stuffed to the gills from a big turkey dinner. I didn't know the turkey was so big - eighteen pounds - so the kids are going to be eating turkey leftovers for days. They are cleaning up the kitchen and dishes and I'm having hot flashes. What a fun Saturday night.

I am not allowed any food after midnight tonight and have to take a concoction tomorrow that is going to require me staying near a bathroom all day. I can have clear fluids only and no alcoholic beverages. I have a really great juice called Antioxia that I'm hooked on so that's what I'm having for all my meals. Two more sleeps.

The hours and hours of freezing rain that was predicted did not happen though we've had a huge amount of rain. It's still raining and there's a possibility that it will turn to freezing rain or ice pellets. That's not enough to force me to town early though. A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall is an old favorit of mine. Leon Russell does a great job and here's one by The Staple Singers as well. I so love Patty Griffin and here is her song Rain from her album 1000 Kisses.

Tropical Storm Watch

We are on tropical storm watch as we have been downgrades from a hurricane. Parts of the Maritimes will be getting winds of 150 km per hour. Those are some pretty fierce winds. My deck is naked and looks so strange. My sis-in-law helped me move the trays of rocks off to the barn and my son is here now to help me with the rest. The barbecue is next. I usually only clear the deck at the first sign of snow so it's a bit early to be staring at a bare deck.

I have a staff meeting in a while and don't know how long it will last so am posting early. When I come back, I'll be cooking supper for the boy and I. He likes his mama's cooking.

I don't know how many versions of Stormy Weather I have. It's an old American standard that I really like. I can not believe there are none up thus far but I'll remedy that. Here's a girl version and a boy version. Dinah Washington or Willie Nelson. I believe Leon Russell is playing piano in Willie's version.Which one do you like? If neither appeal to you I have many more.
I just discovered I have uploaded both of these versions to Page One. I must investigate if they are still reachable through the page.

Stormy Weather

I have a 45 minute break then back to work for the evening. I get to attend a concert and get paid for it. Not bad...

My car was looked at and tested by another mechanic and he is 99 percent sure that I don't need a distributor, the $332. part that Toyota wants to put on. He cleaned the intake today and is going to fix me up on Monday. Mechanics are very busy around here, that's for sure. I just hope this guy can make it all work.

It's pouring out right now, a few hours earlier than forecasted, and very cold too. More rain and storm music would be appropriate, I'd say. I already have Dinah Washington's version of Stormy Weather up. Today I'm adding Willie Nelson and Leon Russell's version, as well as, the wonderful, Sarah Vaughan's.

Now for something to eat.....