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.....

A Journey Nonetheless

Continuing with the documentation of the window process that I'm on I will ask you for a favor. If I can figure out how to make a poll, it would be swell to ask you a question at the end. For some reason the photo above is presenting vertically even though my file is horizontal.

I marked pattern pieces onto glass today on large sheets of glass. I cut the large sheets into smaller pieces. It took longer than it did in the past just because I have to ensure that I've done everything correctly in terms of the geometry of possibility for cutting, economical usage of glass, artistic integrity, and all those other things that were on automatic at one time.




I had to think harder and check and recheck things. I had to make an oil blend for the cutter and get the cutting table cleaned off. The aim of these old cutting hands veered off a couple of times but I think that's because I'm shorter. Some of these pieces of glass are big! The photo above is of all the glass I have to cut tomorrow, not much compared to what it looked like earlier.


Now about the sun. I have red iridescent glass that could be used for the sun. It would change the piece from realism to something else. I think the sun would stand out and at night it would be completely visible and apparent inside the room. The glass above is the red iridescent and the photo below is the sky colour. The poll is on the sidebar.


Is there still room for music? Any requests out there? Here are some possibilities. George Jackson has Aretha, Gillian Welsh with Elvis Presley Blues. Even Ry Cooder has a request with Johnny Cash.

Distractions - Sia

For today, a storm day on PEI, some pictures from this little hide away. We've had freezing rain off and on all day. The off melts the last adherence. It's not too bad as you can see. It could be serious with the weight of ice pulling down tree branches and electrical wires. I could hear ice falling off (luckily) because the temps here were on the warm side.

I had too much old music yesterday probably, but I enjoyed every bit. Here is some music for today:

Life Is So Peculiar - Louis Jordan, Louis Armstrong

Girl From The North Country - Bob Dylan & Johnny Cash


Que Sera Sera - Doris Day

Which One?

I didn't have any guessers on painting number one so doubt I will get any for number two. The sunflowers are far from finished and I don't even know when I'll find time to get to it. If my sister in law comes over to work on hers, I will make time. I have found my kitchen table and one table in the studio so I've made headway after working two straight day. The big desk in the study is piled even higher than it was because it has taken items from the other areas but I can see a light at the end of the tunnel.

This is very strange but my curser has disappeared. Has this ever happened to anyone? I can still type but there is no cursor in sight. Weird! It's very disconcerting actually. I think I 'll make this a short post and get back to my reorganizing.

The first song I think of for today is Love Song For No One by John Mayer. I can think of some pretty good love songs though. Here's Louis Armstrong with A Kiss To Build a Dream On and Here's kd lang and Tony Bennett with another wonderful version. Another wonderful love song is The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face. Here's a version that is not all that well known but I love this voice so much. Here's Johnny Cash. Love songs and ballads are a muse for the soul.

Get Me Through December

I've not been posting very regularly since I've been home. Just like all of you, I've been busy. The holidays should all be over soon though and a steadier winter routine will set in.

In my last post, I told you that so many days in late December hold powerful events and memories in my life. So far, December 29th had not had any big events attached to it's date. I was glad about that. Then yesterday happened.

A man in a pick-up with a big steel bumper backed into my car in a parking lot. It was his fault and I doubt I'll have trouble with the insurance but the car is a mess. It can be fixed but I had planned to have some mechanical work done this week in preparation for a little winter trip to see my father. My brother says I should have that done following the body repair and an alignment after that.

A car is only a car and it's mishap was not the big event in my life. No, my dear Nanie passed away last night. Twenty-five years and a day after her grandson, my brother. She had been in an almost vegetative state for a long time and in just a couple of days weakened and passed away without pain or suffering. She was soon to be ninety-one. My mother was her only child and I was her first grandchild of five. Only four survive her. She also has nine great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren. She has in the last few years lost most of her brothers and sisters but has two remaining sisters, both of who were with her when she died. She was the second oldest (oldest girl) of ten.

I told my son today that I plan to hibernate from mid December to January third every year. You think posts have been scarce lately......

Ralph, now you know why Get Me Through December is "my song". For my grandmother, I would choose a Van Morrison song but have been asked not to play them. My Nanie was a very deeply religious woman and many of Van's spiritual songs would fit with this post. They would comfort me and help send her on her way. My brother who died twenty five years ago was famous for his singing of Amazing Grace. Since I don't have a recording of him doing it, the Blind Boys of Alabama have replaced him at my request. I also have an old hymn that she would approve of, Johnny Cash with In the Sweet By and By.

This twenty-five year old photo shows my Nanie (in the red skirt) when she was around sixty-six. Also her mom, my mom, my sister and niece. I took the photo and was pregnant with my second child. We were a five generation family for quite a few years back then. God Bless My Nanie!

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

And there are lots of excited kids in my family. I talked to my grandchildren yesterday and they were so sweet and at three and five years old, very filled with joy and anticipation. I had my son e-mail photos right after talking to them and got a bonus of my grandson's fifth birthday and his kindergarten's Christmas Concert. That's the best part of my Christmas so far. I went out with my sister-in-law this morning dropping off gifts to her family. I introduced myself as Joy and her as Cheer. We had lots of fun. I'm in a great mood this Christmas which is unusual so I can be Joy with no problems at all.

We've had light snow all day, about 5 cm. We are to get rain and possibly freezing rain tonight. The temperature is going to be 9 tomorrow so I would say we're seeing the end of our white Christmas. A plus is that the roads will be good for travelers tomorrow. I canceled a drive in to friends who are having a party tonight.

I just remembered to take the turkey out to thaw. It's not too late, I hope. It's a small one as there are only three of for dinner. I am missing my daughter terribly. She is usually Joy and I am usually Comfort. Sis-in-law is always Cheer.

I am making my annual Christmas Eve CD. It's a long tradition. It is always a sample of songs that say something of what is going on in the world or my life and a few Christmas songs. I can play any one of them and remember the year. Some people do this at New Years but I've always done it for Christmas Eve. A couple of songs on it this year are Silent Night by Johnny Cash and Winter by Ethan Lipton.

Have a wonderful, Christmas Eve, family and friends and as always, I wish for peace.

Bright Out of Dark

I had the best time yesterday. Besides company with friends and a great dinner, I got an awesome walk in the woods. The autumn colours are just beginning their display and it was a gorgeous crisp, sunny day. We came out of the woods at almost dark. While in the woods it actually did seem dark as the sun was pretty well cut out from the thick, high trees. We were in pretty deep woods. Awesome!!!!!

I got my granddaughter's birthday gift off today. Whew! It was to the wire as to arriving on time for her birthday but I had wanted to include other things. I'm going to price couriers for Christmas parcels as Canada Post's prices have become so outrageous.

One of the songs still needing to be replaced on the music pages is Johnny Cash's version of Long Black Veil. I've mentioned how I love that old song and he does a fine version of it. While I was in the Cash file I noticed he does a version of Sea of Heartbreak which was a popular song of the sixties. I don't remember who did it back then but we had the 45.

Emotional Songs

I thought this was cool but strange photo of a couple of cows. One cow's ear is spread across another cow's face and the fastener of a tag is exactly where the eye would be on the first cow. A once in a lifetime shot.

I started this an hour ago but had a couple of phone calls so am short of time again. I was talking to my son and making specific plans for when he and his family are here in August. We have a barbecue planned where he will invite the family of his best friend from high school. My son has two kids; his friend has three. My daughter is going to invite some friends and my younger son and I will too so we've got the makings of a party.

I came across another Johnny Cash song the other day that gave me goosebumps. He is one of the most emotional singers ever placed on this earth and this, like so many of his songs, can bring strong reactions. I've mentioned Johnny's version the Trent Reznor song, Hurt, before. This one affected me like that one did. The song is Help Me. I also have his version of Lord Help Me, Jesus but this is a different song. I had his and Nick Cave's version of I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry on the pages but it has disappeared so that is going up again today too. This is one of the all-time greatest country songs. The original by Hank Williams is gone too so I will get it up one day soon.

Hurtin' Songs

I'm a bit frustrated. I started going to physiotherapy again as my arm isn't coming along as well as I think it should. The physiotherapist agreed and I've entered an intensive program. The only trouble is that my arm hurts so bad now that it's hard to get the work done at home that is required for this intensive program. She had said in the beginning, "No pain, no gain", but realizes she started the intensity too quickly and is trying to backtrack. It hurts like heck and I wonder if the fracture site hasn't been re-damaged. Hopefully it is just aggravated like the rest of the arm and will settle down.

My son is going off to Europe tomorrow. I have to anticipate heavy things I might need done in the next week and have him do them tonight. I bought kitty litter today. That's a start.

The first song that comes to mind for today's post, I put up on 02 January, just a few days after my injury. I love the song so much that I can stand to hear it again. It's the Johnny Cash version of Trent Reznor's Hurt. It is one of my favorite songs in a decade. I have a live version of Trent Reznor doing it and even though it has a cello, one of my favorite instruments in an emotional song, there is a lot of background noise so I won't put that up. At Arm's Length by Steve Dawson is a good second song. Upbeat, after Hurt. Otis Reddings' Try A Little Tenderness is next - that's what I need from the therapist right now. When the Pain Dies Down by Chris Stills is where I want to go so that's the song of the day.

Living In the North Country

I went for a two kilometer walk today and upon returning, when walking down the driveway, it started raining. Now that's good timing!! The above photo of my pond is from the 7th - a little over a week ago. It's hard to get a photo of the pond with a reflection as there is always movement in the water. This was taken very early in the morning, right after sunrise, when the ducks were still sleeping. There's less snow now and I'd say if it warms up, which it is forecast to do, it will be gone in a couple of days.

My son is golfing, believe it or not - on brown dead grass. The golf club he is at is not doing any favors to their grass by opening this early but it's probably the only one open at this time so is attracting all the golfers like my son who can't wait to get out there.

One of my favorite Dylan songs is Girl From The North Country. I came across a great version yesterday by, Mark Everett , of The Eels. I usually put up two new songs a day but today I'm putting up four. The versions I had up already are gone and need to be replaced and this girl from the north country thinks that it's such a great song that exceptions sometimes have to be made. Here's the original version by Bob Dylan and one by Dylan and Johnny Cash and a group effort from M.Ward, Conor Oberst and Jim James. I love them all.

Spring is Napping

I've asked for music requests before and have only had one- from my brother, but got one for a recipe yesterday so I will start with that. Impossible Pie is a pie that is made by mixing up a whole lot of things, throwing this mixture into a pie plate and having a fully formed pie come out at the end. If you like custard and coconut it is also really delicious.

Impossible Pie

4 eggs
1/4 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups milk
1 cup coconut
1 tsp vanilla

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Pour into 10 inch, buttered glass pie plate.
Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.
How simple is that?

The above photo was taken last year but the pond looks just like that in the mornings right now. In the afternoon it is melted and freezes overnight again overnight. It's been a bit cooler than normal but our snow is almost gone whereas New Brunswick, our neighbouring province, is still knee deep. My sister will return to the snow when she leaves here.

We both had naps today. I'm not a napper but the urge hit me today and I ran, not walked to take advantage of what I hoped was not a fleeting fancy. Luckily the urge stuck and I had a glorious nap. It's been months since I've had one.

Making Pies by Patty Griffith is first musical choice even though I had it up yesterday. It's such a great song from a great singer, I don't mind at all putting it up again. A couple of new ones today are about sleep and dreams. First The Arvett Brothers have the right idea with Go To Sleep and this is one of my favorite Johnny Cash songs - When I Stop Dreaming. It has a talking preamble which is fine with me. It is considered one of the essential songs that I've trying to return to my music pages.

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.

Sunday Monday

I'm listening to some great music on another blog right now so should give it a shout out. I've pointed you here before, to Keep the Coffee Coming, where like here, there are two songs a day. Not like me, a slacker, Kat has four songs on the weekends, she doesn't miss a day, and she's a great writer. I've checked in every day for a couple of years. It's like an old friend. Here's the post of the song I'm listening to and here's a link to the blog. When I fix up my sidebar.....

The weather is not nice today so I didn't walk. Didn't dance either. I'm always tired on Monday after Sunday's shift. Cooked, cleaned, did laundry - Monday stuff. These are the cold, windy days of November. It's too sudden after the wonderful unseasonable weather we've had. Brrr.

I'm going to have a four song day today after all. I was looking for a certain song with Sunday in the title. I found it and three others. Two were up on Page One previously, but have been removed. They were popular too, as both artists do a great job of this song. Here's Sunday Morning Coming Down by Johnny Cash and by Kris Kristofferson & Steve Earl. Also, Working Sunday, by Dorado which is what I was looking for for this post and Sunday Morning by K-os.

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.

There Is Always a Cliff, Sometimes Steep

The weather is really weird today. It was supposed to be fine and warm with a couple of centimeters of snow beginning to fall in late afternoon. I got up at 3:40 am. It has been flurrying ever since and now at 4:00 pm it has stopped and there are large blue sky patches. I planned on walking this afternoon but even at just below zero, it's windy and feels just too darned cold. The flurries would have been ok but wind, no. I didn't dance either. It's kind of a lazy day.

I collect songs, as you know and every now and then like to put up a few versions of the same song for your listening pleasure. Everyone brings something different to a cover. Some versions are better than the originals but some songs, no one will ever do as well as the writer. An example of that would be Joni's later version of Both Sides Now. It is a song written for an older woman, she said, and now that she's attained that status, it was perfection when she brought it out on the album of the same name. Sarah Vaughan supposedly became annoyed when Joni complemented Sarah's version many years ago, when she said that it was was written for an older woman. Sarah was somehow insulted by the comment.

Another example is the old classic, I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry. I don't know anyone who can do it better than the original by Hank Williams. Here is Johnny Cash and Nick Cave that I had already uploaded and new today, a version by Southside Johnny and Little Stephen.

Mid-February

Who's watching who?

I don't have very many photos of blue jays because they are so shy. Nuthatches and chickadees stay on the feeders when you open the door and go outside. Blue jays simply fly away. Most blue jay photos I have are taken through glass windows. A pity. They're beautiful birds.

My favorite ex is back from her Mexican vacation. I've missed her a lot. Last year she and my daughter were in Mexico together and I had to miss them both at the same time. What a difference a year makes in a person's life journey. I could go on and on here but will not.

I can smell my meat loaf cooking in the oven. There is also a potato and half a squash in the oven and I have the salad made. I've had more meat than fish this week which is unusual and a definate no no. I'll make sure I'm heavy on fish and seafood this week.

Music today: I'm still listening to ECMA music thanks to my wonderful CBC radio. I'm giving you something else though. I grew up in the 50's with Johhny Cash an everyday friend. I kind of rejected a lot of the country music that listened to while I lived with my parents till 1970 but somehow Johnny Cash remained a well-loved pleasure. I love his voice. I love his time. I love that he loves Bob Dylan and other musicians and does their songs. Long Black Veil is a favorite Dylan song of mine. I love Johnny's version (here it is) as well as Joan Osbourne's. God's Gonna Cut You Down is from Johnny's last album. I don't know who wrote the song but I sure like the way Johnny sings it.

I'm five minutes late with my meatloaf topping. I'd better get at it.

Togetherness

My darling daughter has made it home from Calgary. They left Saturday morning and arrived yesterday morning. She's all in one piece - not even road weary, just glad to be home.

I actually have to cook and feed people for the next week seeing that I have two children home so I have to get some groceries today. The cupboards have been pretty bare. I have a dinner party in town this evening so will go in early and get final preps for Christmas and food. A rarity these days is that the dinner party is not a potluck. I am not supposed to bring anything except something to drink because they're serving wine, which I am allergic to. It will be great not to cook for once.

I've made a cd of dinner music for tonight and while going through some music I found some I'd forgotten about. It's not dinner music but one cut for today is God's Gonna Cut You Down by Johnny Cash. It reminds me of Dylan's, Gotta Serve Somebody. Another cut is an old one that I always liked. Some would consider it cheesy but I like it....One Less Bell To Answer by The Fifth Dimension.