"It's my SONG!"

 I suppose some backstory is appreciated if not required for this post. Growing up, I feel like music was playing more often than not. My parents had a record player and the corresponding albums. One of my weekly chores was to dust the downstairs. I wasn't a fan A) being allergic to dust and B) because my parents had ... ornate? complicated? annoying lamps with glass bumps all over them and metallic swirls and man, those babies could be called the original Dustcatchers. Anyway, dusting is a chore I simply couldn't abide performing without music, so every Saturday morning I'd play ABBA, Mary Poppins, Godspell, Oliver, the Muppets Christmas album or what have you. My brother and I got really good at recognizing when it was going to skip and being in ready position to head that off. Generally lots of musicals to help me tackle all our bookshelves. 

At some point I acquired a small boombox. Bright blue and yellow with *gasp* a cassette player! Wheeee! So then it was Jive Soweto, Three Dog Night, Billy Joel, the Cure Mixed Up, Led Zeppelin IV (Zoso), and so on. Also listened to when I did the dishes, which was regularly as my brother did the floors because we hated doing the opposite chore. 

My Dad listened to classical, my Mom listened to jazz. I have a very fond memory of sitting in their yellow kitchen with my friend Joe who stopped her to ask what tape she was playing. It was Chick Corea and we sat in silence to listen. He was amazed, and I'd taken it for granted that everyone grew up listening to everything. My brother loved the Beatles and told me once that he really wasn't a big fan of female singers. I was a bit offended, but in looking at the following list of songs that come on Pandora and I squeal, "it's my SONG!" he may have a point. The station I've named Iko Iko that is one of my all time favorite stations played these songs while I kept a list so I could share:

1. The Dixie Cups- Iko Iko (hence the station's name)

2. The Tokens- Wimoweh!!!

3. Michael Franti- Good Day for a Good Day

4. Bobby McFerrin- Don't Worry, Be Happy

5. Tim Tim- Rum'n'cocacola

6. John Mellencamp- Hurts So Good

7. Bobby Day- Little Bitty Pretty One

8. Men At Work- Down Under

9. Tracy Chapman- Give Me One Reason

10. Bill Withers- Lean on Me

11. Chuck Berry- You Never Can Tell

12. Paul Simon- the Obvious Child

13. The Proclaimers- I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)

14. Eurythmics, Annie Lennox & Dave Stewart- Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)

15. Harry Belafonte- Angelina

It got to the point where I was trying to predict what would be played next. Some other regulars are Jimmy Buffett, Caro Emerald, Jim Croce, Gordon Lightfoot. 

Other "very favorites" would be: 

Cecilia by Simon & Garfunkel

Brown Eyed Girl by Ka'au Crater Boys

The Sound of Silence by Disturbed

Jump In the Line by Da Vinci's Notebook

Personal Jesus by Depeche Mode

Tainted Love by Soft Cell

(here comes "Come on, Eileen" by Dexys Midnight Runners as I'm typing, and I can hear my menfolk joining in from the other room)

Nadine (and Maybellene as well) by Chuck Berry

Mary Lou by Ronnie Hawkins

I've always had a soft spot for "oldies", even pestering my boss at my old Wendy's job to please, please, please change the station to oldies because if I have to hear Paula Cole one more time someone is gonna get hurt. Oldies are bouncy and short and fun and make you want to dance. 

Should I be worried that so many of these are about cheating or sketchy lovers? *giggle* Cecilia, Tainted Love, Nadine, Maybellene, Mary Lou, Sundown by Gordon Lightfoot, 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover by Paul Simon, haha. Goodness. I'm sensing a trend. 

Another huge favorite genre has been sea shanties. If you're looking for some good ones besides the Wellermen, I recommend Nathan Evans, Sail North, and Home Free. But man, if you only have time for one, don't miss this one:

And TURN IT UP

If the artist's percussion and/or bass isn't felt in my sternum, I'm not convinced they're doing it right. We've turned that song up as far as it will let us, sat on the kitchen counter, and felt it vibrate all through our bodies. Incredible. Disturbed's cover of "The Sound of Silence" is similar in my mind- I'm so impressed by his control and power. 

Anyway, I tell the kids regularly that they're going to have to play this station for my funeral reception/wake/whatever. They may not all be appropriate, but they'll be bouncy and fun and people will be singing along! What more could I ask? 😁"It's my song!"

Senior shenaniganery

Thing Two had an opportunity to be part of a K-12 special day in which he got to be the Angel of Death from Exodus. He was absolutely delighted and took his role seriously, even unintentionally frightening some of my preschoolers though our room had nothing to do with the special event.  Here he is at home whilst perfecting his costume.

Above, getting "leaves" prepared for the burning bushes the small kids would create. Older grades got to "make their own plague."

Below, he got a fog machine owned by one of his teachers to work again. I'd say he was a little bit crushed when he was told he wouldn't get to use it at the special event, but I had warned him it might be a possibility.  Either way, he was psyched that he got it to work.

And look, here he is in his natural environment, surrounded by gadgets, snacks, and yellow!

 

Will scavenge for treats

Tradition around here dictates that Easter baskets are hunted for by being given clues. At least if you're still of age, that is. This year we enlisted Pap to do the clues himself and they came home by courier (Thing One, who'd finished an extended visit). He did an outstanding job, ranging all over, inside and outdoors. Thing Three was delighted!

One in the mailbox out front, one in the tractor out back

One in the decade-ish old lean-to built by Thing One probably our first year here

One on the playhouse roof and one in the terrarium in Thing One's room. I should probably explain that the TP was a welcome home prank and that the bedroom is not normally decorated as such...

Haha, and in the STINKY pond still awaiting the most unpleasant task of leaf removal

Thing One cackling upon the realization that one of the clues was tucked near Triskal's ashes so that "she could be part of the fun."

On the grill on the deck and one on Bosley Underfoot

Basket acquired and devoured within three days. Glad we can keep our dentist in business. 😬

 

Turkey trot

Last week whilst we awaited his bus, Liam and I heard turkeys in the field across the street. We spotted at least two deer over there as well. He boarded the bus and I came inside to get ready to head to preschool.

When I went back out to leave for school, this bunch of turkeys was courting a female on the far side of my car. They puffed up even more when they saw me and I told the lady, "take your menfolk and get outta here!" They gobbled at me and I told them to not talk to me like that. Dada watched and said one of them chased my car as I pulled out.

Dada and I walked back down the driveway and heard this one up in the tree later that evening.  Crazy wildlife around here!

 

It's a wee bit wet

 

Our "leak" is turning into a channel and more storms are predicted for tonight- yippieeeeee!

Sit-rep

 Not much to report as we're in various stages of "my throat is getting scratchy" and "I can't breathe out of the right side of my head" and "I didn't sleep well last night." Germs are making their rounds, again, and I'm slated to be in preschool next week so I'm trying to get everyone healthy here before bringing home fresh, new germs. Dada's been in town, which is always nice, and the sun is attempting to shine more brightly, which is definitely welcome. It's not supposed to be above freezing here at night for at least the next week, so we'll take our wins where we can get them. I can't WAIT to rescue my sundresses from winter storage, but I know we have a ways to go yet. Some of us are counting down the days until spring break, which don't align this year, so I'll be up early every morning anyway. It's all good. Thankful for heat and sunshine and spring flowers and hot, running water and friends who send funny texts and that we have lots of boxes of tissues. And for cheese. 

Throwback hair and you weren't even there.

This kid. We were listening to the 80's in the car last night and he said, "oh wait, I can do 80's hair!" I turn around and promptly burst into laughter. His brother quips, dry as an old tea bag, "looks like someone blew your hair dry with a leaf blower."

 

Has spring sprung?

I know officially Spring has begun according to the calendar. I know unofficially the migratory birds are showing up and the earliest flowers are putting on a show. Above, a few days ago, we had a bunch of red winged blackbirds carrying on in our neighbors' tree. I wondered what they were making such a racket about and then saw one of our local red tailed hawks swooping around. 

Below, one of the male bluebirds (I've seen two pairs- wahoo!) was eyeing me curiously from outside while I was on the treadmill inside. That has to be confusing. "I see that she's moving, but she's clearly not any good at this because she isn't getting anywhere! Must be because she doesn't have wings." 

We had a few warm days last week and the dogs were thrilled to be outside in the sun and not the wet for a few hours at a time. It makes me happy to see Honey feeling secure enough to snooze in the fresh air. She is such a big scaredy-chicken, poor old thing. Still has a young heart, even if her back end can't keep up with her front's exuberance. Especially going up stairs. 

Below, three of those four clumps are squirrel nests, but the big green one on the left is actually .... da da da DA.... the nest of the red tailed hawks! I knew they were local, but I had no idea they were here! So exciting! They're pretty much just outside our front door and straight up. Yay for new neighbors! Maybe they will eat Bosley. Kidding. 

I think.

We've also had some really pretty skies lately. I love it when sunrises and sunsets are colorful instead of just... dark. Being someone who despises Daylight Savings Time, I'm trying to embrace the opportunity for seeing more sunrises. Forget about the fact that it had already BEEN light outside at the bus stop for over a month and now it's dark again. *sigh* This photo below was taken this morning, and Thing Two remarked that he thought the photo shows off the fun clouds even more than it looked in person.

 

I have a blog!

 Sorry, everybody, about not blogging for awhile. The reasons are twofold. 

One, I kinda forgot I had a blog. Thing Three's been on the computer a lot and I have books to read and seeds to think about (not that I've started any yet- eep!) and there's been some fun things on Netflix I've been checking out. 

Two, I've been subbing a lot. Our teachers have been out with GI issues and sinus infections and covid, so I spent at least some of every day last week in preschool and am slated to spend some time in Kindergarten this week. Wash your hands. It's germy out there! By some miracle we have stayed healthy but I probably shouldn't speak that out into the universe. Time to open the windows and get some fresh air and sunshine!

Probably gonna jinx it all...

At this point, I should know better than to publicly celebrate springtime-ish weather because it always leads to another snowfall or two and I get grumpy. It's bad enough we're back on stupid Daylight Savings Time which I can't believe became a thing and can't for the life of me figure out why it is STILL a thing! Anyway, here goes nothing and I will take all the blame for any upcoming horrendous weather which is sure to show up because this is Ohio.

IT IS SO NICE OUT!!!! I'm picking up sticks in a Tshirt! WOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Anybody need any pine cones or pine needles? We have a few.

And a few more.

And there's water in the creek/ditch.

I found a solitary Virginia Springbeauty!

The lilies are coming up on the left and the slightly taller ones on the right are our purple irises.

A brave new mullein by the pond:

And oh, to talk about jobs I am NOT looking forward to. *huge sigh* Now that I have a wheelbarrow that works, I have zero excuses to not clean this out. It used to have frogs and even a few fish and was lovely but it is completely choked with dead leaves and it going to smell righteously bad once I start baling all of that out of there. We didn't even have any frogs last year. I think they figured out how disgusting it was. That is not a job for today, but someday soon I'll have to put on my big girl pants and boots and get busy. You'll know when I'm doing it because of the stench and the black cloud of piratey talk!

On the flip side is the cool, downed owl tree. It's so full of holes and busted bark- it really is fascinating!

I'm wondering if anyone has been playing in this hole... or if anyone will move in! 

 

Just checking in

 Not too terribly much to report. Germs continue to make their rounds, so last week I spent two days in preschool, one in fifth grade, and tomorrow will be in kindergarten. The weather is off its meds again as well, up to 62 today and the dogs are out in the sunshine. We are indeed still in February in Ohio. I hear Dallas will hit the 90s today. Crazy.

Today I spent most of my time moving books from overloaded bookshelves to our new-to-us ones who've been standing naked for months. I have them 60% filled already and man, I need to dust. Where is Delores when you need her? 

Tomorrow Thing Two takes the ACT so send him some prayers and good vibes and your sympathies, heh. The science fair looms Thursday, so the general grumbling you hear isn't thunder, merely the mutterings of parents and children. Also tomorrow, Thing Three gets to tour the local vocational school, though why they do it now when they already turned in their schedule requests for the 2024-25 school year mystifies me. Much of life is confusing to me!

Make the most of the sunshine and fresh air, people. Have a great week! Wash your hands!

Mucho dinero

 I keep hearing about inflation and rising prices. I guess it's a thing. This is what one of the madly cackling preschoolers tried to charge me for a single brown crayon. Sheesh! Above my pay grade, buddy.

Last one, best one

Groundhog’s Day was my last day of Tamoxifen- five years of meds supposed to reduce the risk of cancer recurrence. When I looked at the last one I thought, “so, it is down to you and it is down to me.” If that sounds familiar it’s because it’s from “the Princess Bride” when the Man in Black faces down Vezzini.

Then I discovered I was trading one medicine for another as this winter has turned my sinuses into garbage, haha. I’m better now, but there are a lot of germs circulating and I’ve spent quite a bit of time in preschool lately, handing small people tissues as I sigh in dismay when they wipe their noses with their hands. 

Or sleeves. 

Or lick it.

So cheers to five years!

 

Homecoming

Thing Two had spirit week culminating in Homecoming earlier this month. The boys’ basketball team won their game but the girls lost theirs. Interestingly, one of the opposition’s players had been in his homeschooling co-op the last two years so they were delighted to see each other. The next evening he actually got gussied up and went to the dance with his friends! We think he looked pretty snazzy, and he had a pretty good time!

 

January felt like

 

High hopes

 I had high hopes for an old, disposable camera yielding great photos from a trip to an indoor water park either 7 or 8 years ago. More fool me, I guess. The camera had gone into hiding and resurfaced many times over the years. I finally dropped it off at Walmart around Christmas and remembered to pick them up today. The best one of the bunch? Thing 3:

Reminders

I try to start each morning with quiet time at my desk in what we call the sitting room. It’s the same room where I’d been doing daily yoga for 15 minutes, but now the floor is covered in Christmas boxes of decorations waiting to be put away but the attic is freezing and we have another yoga mat downstairs and it’s easier to just not deal with it right this minute. Maybe when the temps are above freezing… sometime in April…

Anyway, I put up year-round decorations so I’d have something to look at other than where the wall meets the ceiling. I spent a lot of time coloring as a kid, so that’s in my DNA and I enjoy it though I don’t do enough of it. I started with the dress and flowers, then remembered I had actual photos printed out of nature (of course I did- you’ve seen my photos on my phone) and since I’d discovered this quote which I love it made sense to put it all together. I got a box, cut off a flap, taped my photos on, and push pinned it to the wall. The quote with the photos is from Hal Borland: No winter lasts forever- no spring skips its turn.

 The green post it is a quote from Beth Moore’s Voices of the Faithful compilation: Contentment has little to do with what we have or lack. It is a state of mind.

 

The pink post it is Ecclesiastes 3:15 and reads, “Whatever is has already been, and what will be has been before; and God will call the past to account.”

These reminders help calm my heart when I get overwhelmed by winter cold, negative news feeds, doomsday scrolling, what I want to be doing but can’t because it’s the wrong season/time/geographical location/life right now. 

It’s comforting to know that people have been freaking out about the state of things throughout time. The Bible also says, “there is nothing new under the sun.” Anne of Green Gables talks about “the sun will go on rising and setting whether or not I fail geometry” and “tomorrow is a fresh new day with no mistakes in it”. Don’t let the 683 days of January bog you down or freeze you out. Put on your warm clothes, get your hot drink, and find some good to do unto others whilst being good to yourself! They are not mutually exclusive. Take good care of you, find or make something beautiful, and stay warm!

 

Three guesses

 Anyone care to guess whose colored pencils these are strictly based on use alone?