Saturday, June 30, 2018

I Ate The World Today, Oh Boy!

Let's just say that Charleroi's Community Days are a detriment to my diet.

Why?

Food trucks and other random food vendors.

OMG!

I think we ate everything.

BBQ chicken kabobs, mac and cheese, onion blossoms, funnel cake, burritos, haluski and halupki.

You name it, we ate it today.

Granted we brought all of that home and we all shared.

Seriously, the chicken kabob was so big that three people could get plenty from it.

The only problem with most festival food are the prices.

Yikes!

Very pricey, but oh so good.

I'm just glad that this sort of thing only happens once a year.

Friday, June 29, 2018

My Life In Music

Around my birthday I find that I always start thinking about songs and the music that shaped my life. For the most part, I still love the same music, I just add on new favorites.

If its from the 60s, chances are I'll love it, or at least like it, especially if its in the pop category. The Beatles, The Monkees, Herman's Hermits, Gary Puckett and the Union Gap..the list goes on and on.

The 70s for me are all about Gordon Lightfoot and David Bowie.

The 80s were my growing up decade, Madonna, XTC, Roxette, Erasure, Duran Duran, (those two I didn't pick up on until 92 for serious love) Cyndi Lauper, Wham!, Def Leppard, Poison...gah so much to love for me in the 80s.

Considering that I was born in 1974, I didn't go for the music I should have and even the stuff that was current growing up, wasn't my favorite. I always went for the lesser known artists. I was never a huge Michael Jackson fan, even though everyone else was.

I picked up on Elvis Costello when he worked with Paul McCartney in the late 80s, but didn't really start to appreciate his music again for another twelve years. That goes for The Moody Blues too.

Now I've picked up on Irish music again. I've always had a fondness for Enya and Clanaad, but now I like the Irish boyband Celtic Thunder. I know they aren't a real boy band, but they are a prefab bunch of hotties that can really sing. I love Keith Harkin, Ryan Kelly and Neil Byrne.

I miss making my mix cds for my birthday but I have no place to play them, as I haven't had a CD player in years.

Sigh

Thursday, June 28, 2018

Don't Mind Me

This has been a slow month.

Between political outrage at what the USA is becoming and just trying to keep my head above water, I'm doing little else but reading and cleaning my house.

I find it very hard to be lighthearted right now when the country is turning into a dystopian novel.

Probably the only joy I've found came from being awakened one morning by my mom to watch Jack Benny.

Why?

Because the song we were trying to find now for over a year, was finally on. This was a weird episode with Carol Burnett, but not the one where she sang The Trolley Song. (Oh and sorry Judy Garland, but Carol sings that one so much better)

The song I'm talking about is The Moonshiner or I'm a Rambler, I'm a Gambler (the title depends on who sings it...go figure). It's an Irish drinking song. We heard it once and mom and I both remarked that it was a silly song we could imagine Daddy singing. My daddy was weird like that, bless him.

Dennis Day did a great rendition. Look it up on You Tube, you'll get a chuckle. It might be the only thing that will make you laugh for a long time.


Wednesday, June 06, 2018

Music Apps Will Be The Death Of Me

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Let me tell you, there are strange songs coming out of our TV when I get home from work. She's found all the music she listened to as a young girl at the canteens and then she listens to the Irish station, usually Celtic Thunder.

Thanks to the Celtic Thunder station I've discovered a band called The High Kings. If you like Celtic Thunder before they really jumped the shark a few years ago, you will love The High Kings. I recommend checking out "The Irish Pub Song." It will have you laughing and singing. It will probably stick in your head too.

I'm kind of peeved that these apps don't have the new Celtic Thunder album streaming yet.  X has a few songs I really liked from their last special on it. They finally got around to doing a version of The Wild Rover. It is nowhere near as good as The Dubliners, but its such a fun song. Plus anything that gives Ryan Kelly some extra singing time, always makes me happy. I kind of crush on that little Irish cutie.

Yesterday I came home to The Monkees station which amused me. That wasn't what I was expecting. My nephew seems to prefer the Peter, Paul & Mary station when he has to chose for her. Myself, I enjoy the Gordon Lightfoot channel, because you get a nice mix of folk music, along with Gord's great tunes.

I wonder what the Elvis Costello channel will play, besides Elvis Costello.

Tuesday, June 05, 2018

Why Am I Reading Slower

When I was in high school and even junior high, I would blow through Harlequins in a few hours. For that matter when I was reading my bodice ripper historical romances, as I tried to get my summer tan.

These weren't long books. The longest Harlequins usually topped 300 pages. The shorter ones, the Romance, Desire, Regency line were only about 180.

Why does it take me so long to read these now?

Its driving me nuts, because I have books piling up all over the place. They seem to multiply like rabbits in my house.

I blame it on ereaders.

I don't know what it is about them, but they have slowed down my reading.

OK, and maybe because I don't get to sit out in the sun and read as much as I did all those years ago too.

I seriously need some beach or porch or some kind of not in my house reading time ASAP