Happy anniversary to me

I just looked back through my blog and noticed that I wrote my very first post on March 30 of last year - almost exactly one year ago.  Wow - time passes very quickly.

In my first post I said one of the reasons I started this blog was to talk about what I'm learning as I grow up into the world as it is now.  Hmmm.  I'm not sure I really did much of that.  I railed against new technology which is now, to me, pretty ordinary.  I may be a late adopter, but I adopt.

I have learned things I haven't written about here.  I've learned about how differently business runs now than it did 20 years ago.  I've learned that people, on the whole, are always plugged in in some way.  No one is "off" anymore - smart phones have made people accessible 24/7, and it seems no one wants to be inaccessible.  (I am an exception, of course.  Why would I want to be available all the time?)  I'm learning to let go of "the way we used to do it" and now become impatient with people saying "but that's how we did it last year".  I've learned that I can't sit at my desk - or anywhere else, for that matter - for an hour or two and expect to get up without some complaint from stiff joints.  

I was also going to use this blog to write, and not have to use anyone else's voice but mine.  I've found that because I write so much at work, I often can't face writing even more when I get home and have the chance to write here.   I have no intention of changing jobs so that will continue to be a problem for me, but I really do want to post more often ... this is a great outlet for me.

What I didn't want this blog to be is a place to just complain, complain, complain.  Oh, I know I've gone on about a few things, but I never want to get to the point where that's all I do.  It's easy enough to get into that rut especially as I'm turning positively grouchy and more intolerant as I get on in years.

Now I'm going into my seond year with this blog.  Here's what I want to be writing about in the next year.  I want to write more about food.  I love food.  As I've been going through recipes, I've been getting more interested in trying new things again.  I also want to touch more on what's happening in the world.  There is so much to talk about - crazy things, important things.  And I'd really like this to be a place where readers would feel free to comment or add to the discussion.  It would be nice if this was more a conversation than a monologue.

So happy anniversary to me, and thanks for checking in.

Darkness returns for another few weeks

Thanks to Daylight Saving Time, my morning walk is once again done in darkness.  Until this past Sunday, it was almost light when I left the house for my 6 a.m. walk and pretty much completely light when I returned at 6:30.  It was lovely.  I heard the first birdsongs of the day;** I felt the first stirring of the breeze.  It was the best part of the day.

Then the clocks were changed, and now it’s dark and quiet and makes me feel as though spring is months away rather than just a few weeks.

I was reminded this morning, as I saw a streak of white disappear under a bush, that in my concern over seeing Ralph the coyote in the dark, I had completely forgotten to watch for skunks.  There seem to be fewer skunks than there used to be (do coyotes eat them, I wonder?) so they’ve been totally off my radar.  Until this morning.

Luckily the skunk saw me and decided retreat was the best option, and I was thankful he did.  My mind wasn’t at all on where I was walking and what was around me, so it could have been an unhappy meeting if we had surprised each other.

So – now I must watch out for skunks again.  Somehow, after the worry about Ralph and my old dog, the occasional skunk doesn’t seem like such a big deal.  I’ll just have to be more watchful and give the skunk wide berth so we can both happily go our separate ways.

Speaking of Ralph, I haven’t seen him for a long time, and now that our pooch has gone to doggy heaven, I don’t even worry about him – I have no fear for myself.  I haven’t heard of anyone meeting up with him lately, either.  I wonder if Ralph is still lurking, or if he’s gone to happier hunting grounds…or the final happy hunting ground.

** Note for anyone who knows me and knows I don’t much care for birds:   while I’m not a fan of their beady eyes, long skinny claws and impossibly light little bodies, I do appreciate their songs.  I will ignore the fact that it’s mostly the boy birds doing their territorial thing and just appreciate the variety and loveliness of the sounds they produce.   Oh yes, I like their feathers, too.

Hallelujah!

On Saturday, Jim and I watched YouTube videos for a good part of the evening.  It started because I was looking for a video of the Notting Hillbillies “Feel Like Going Home”.  It’s one of the saddest songs I have ever heard – not the sad story songs of country music, but an achingly sad song from someone totally beaten by life.  It’s wonderfully done on the album, and I wanted to see a performance of it. 

Then I wanted to see if there was a video of Patricia O’Callaghan’s rendition of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”.  I remember seeing a video of it a long time ago, and it was what turned me on to the song (long before the song became “the” song) and Patricia O’Callaghan.  We found a few videos (one of which I really liked), and then we started watching other artists’ versions of the same song.  There are so many versions of the song, but few really good ones.  Here are the ones I liked best, in no particular order.

Patricia O’Callaghan - love her voice.  Her version is perhaps a bit pristine and over-controlled, but it’s the voice that does it for me.  I could listen to her over and over again.  (And did!)

Jeff Buckley – I was told that Jeff Buckley had the definitive version.  After watching his unadorned, emotionally raw performance, I can’t say I liked it best, but it certainly is a powerful performance.

K.D. Lang – love her voice.  The best video was of her performance at the induction of Leonard Cohen into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame and Leonard Cohen was sitting in the front row of the auditorium – talk about pressure!  K.D. Lang has such a fabulous voice - it seems so effortless. 

Jon Bon Jovi (unplugged) – a surprising performance.  Not great, but interesting and obviously emotional for him.  I first heard this version with the tv volume low and wasn’t too impressed – it really shines, though, with the volume higher. 

Those are my top four.  I’d be interested to know if there are others I didn’t get to that I should have.

By the way, here’s the link to the Notting Hillbillies’ “Feel Like Going Home” that started the evening – it’s worth watching even though the video recording isn’t very good.

Oops

Okay, so this isn't a real post ... I hit the wrong button when I logged in and ended up publishing a blank page.  It just looked weird, so I thought I would offer an explanation.

If this is any indication of how this day is going to go ....