Getting Through Summer

I've had an upset in my life that requires that I take some time for myself. I won't be posting here for a while but will continue photos on my other blogs that are listed at the right. I will be photographing and am doing some very cre8ive things in the studio. I'm enjoying it and will come back here and possibly show you when I'm ready. Check out:

• Just Picture It
  
• An Island Walk
• Pictures and Pursuits
• Photos and Pursuits
• Keep The Coffee Coming
• The Guardian
• Play Time
• When Is Your Blue Hour?
• Nelly's Garden

I'll add more and swap some from time to time. I'm perfectly ok. My life is just going through some changes. Music? Of course. A Change is Gonna Come is a favorite of mine. I have many covers of the song but will feature it's creator, Sam Cooke. One of my favorites is this live Al Green cut. I so would love to see this man live. I've heard other cuts of his concerts and he has great audience rapport and is just so fine. This is a fine example .

Summer

The clothes on this line show the Island weather perfectly; spaghetti strap tank tops hanging next to big bulky sweaters. Yesterday looked cold and I hesitated to go out to transplant flowers but it only looked cold. The temperature was 20 degrees and the sun came out while I was outside and it turned out to be an absolutely beautiful day. Summer starts today at 8:59 ADT. If I was not working I would have planned a little celebration on the deck.

Summertime is tourist season on PEI and all forecasts point to a slow year overall with one exception. It is one hundred years today that Lucy Maud Montgomery's famous novel Anne of Green Gables was accepted for publication. This is The Year of Anne and tourists are coming from far and wide to take part in year-long festivities. Japanese tourists, who have always flocked to see everything 'Anne' are supposedly breaking all records this year with Japanese tour companies booking more tours than ever before. I heard this morning that Chinese girls have found that Ann books touch a chord as with the one child families where girls are not as accepted, they see hope with the feisty orphan who can overcome just this obstacle. Her adoptive parents were expecting a boy. Canada Post is issuing a new stamp today depicting Anne. Ben Stahl, who's wife Pat was a good friend of mine, was the artist chosen to depict Anne. He illustrated several of her books years ago and portrays this imaginary girl very beautifully.

Summertime is one beautiful song. Let me link a few versions. Here are versions by Molly Johnson, Sam Cooke, and an instrumental by guitarist Gabor Szabo. Several have disappeared from the pages. Here's Susana Baca with a nice version and I'm replacing Seasons Change by Corinne Bailey Rae.

Now, I've got to run to work.

Two Part Post

Kenz was featured on today's Shutterchance post and Bella was a little put out. By her expression, you can tell she's very sad. No more sadness now though. She'll be pleased.

The cats have stayed out of my way today. I was doing that January ritual of cleaning out file cabinets and shredding. They don't tolerate either job very well. I was sorting and tossing papers from the file cabinets to piles on the floor. That's way too uproarious to a cat's sensibilities. Like bombs going off in an uncertain pile. Then shredding with the whining shredder motor. They did not even realize that shredded paper may be fun to play with. Kenz is making up for it now. It's very hard to type.

I had an unexpected departure and paused the post for a couple of hours. It's a little late now so I'll get straight to the music. I never did post additional covers of Bring It On Home to Me. Here's Van's and Sam Cooke's that were already up. Today, listen to a version by Al Jarreau and George Benson and one by James Cotton.

Cooled From the North

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Had a spectacular day yesterday on a north shore beach. It was very hot and humid on PEI and where I was had a cool breeze from the ocean blowing for the whole day. Old friends, marvelous food, good music, a long hike, then swimming; spectacular and nothing less. My hiking partner broke his little toe during our beach walk but it didn't pain terribly.....until the evening. Then it started in earnest. He had to take ibuprophen. There was a great sunset that we enjoyed during dinner to top off the day perfectly. I have quite a few versions of the old standard up but who knows if any of them are still there. I think they're still reachable somehow..

We've had very hot and muggy weather for two days. It is dry now and will remain like that a few days and is then forecast to get hot and muggy again. It's still summerlike and that's good enough for me. Sometimes this time of year can feel like fall.

To celebrate I'm throwing out the song Summertime. There's the one we all know and here's a version of that is by Sam Cooke. The other song is by DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince and not another version of the old standard....something completely different. My kids will probably like it.

Roots

I must say I feel like an old fogey tonight. My ex sister-in-law and I have tickets to the Chucky Danger Band concert tonight, one of the two dates they are playing on the Island this summer. Both of us are too tired to go thus have given up our tickets. The event is sold out so our tickets will be welcome to others who want to go. The boys are giving a three song EP to each person at the concert tonight but Robbie said he's sending me the whole cd to put some cuts on the blog. When I get it I'll put some songs up. Mowing - that's what I blame for this. It exhausts me.

The dog nursing the kitten that I mentioned last night was not the same dog that I'm familiar with. It's cool though. The owners talked about how the dog is keeping the kitty happy by running around letting the kitten chase it's tail.

I mentioned the other day that I have lots of versions of Bring It on Home to Me but had none on the music pages. Here are a couple; one by Van Morrison and one by Sam Cooke. Great song!

No Time Left

Thought about going to the beach for the daily walk today....until I got outside. Its very cold and windy, not beach weather at all! Was trying on clothing yesterday and have gained weight already since stopping work so I may be having two or three walks per day. I'm sure as heck not giving up eating. It weird having been thin my whole life to have my whole body change after giving up smoking ten months ago. Healthier, I guess.....

Music: Another of my thirteen versions of A Change is Gonna Come by Sam Cooke who I believe is the writer of the song but I'm not positive of that. It's a great song whomever wrote it. Another song that I have a lot of versions of is Baby It's Cold Outside, a song appropriate for today. Here's a version by James Taylor and I believe, Natalie Cole. I'll check that fact out and also who wrote A Change is Gonna Come.

No time for a link today. The phone hasn't stopped since I started this post.