Category Archives: music

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Every day

Every day
I am thankful for clean water
water to drink
water to wash
I am blessed
by clean water

Every day
I am thankful for food
Good food
to cook
to eat
to share
I am blessed
by good food

Every day
I am thankful that I can stand
that I can walk
that I can carry things
up and down stairs
I am blessed
that I can stand

Every day
I am thankful that I can hear
voices of friends
voices of my family
all the music
my cat and birds
I am blessed
that I can hear

Every day
I am thankful that I can see
all the faces
all the smiles
the trees, the ocean, the birds
the ever changing sky
I am blessed
that I can see

Every day
I am thankful that I can touch
my cat purring
a vegetable for lunch
clothes and doors
friends to hug
I am blessed
that I can touch

Every day
I think of those
who cannot touch
who cannot see
who cannot hear
who cannot walk
who do not have food
who have no clean water
and some of them
are children

Every day
I am thankful
and grieving
at the same time

And I try to do a little
it’s not enough
yet

Some day I will be gone
or we will all have done enough

And every day I am still

thankful

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For the Ragtag Daily Prompt: warning.

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More dance

Now, here is some tricky twirling. The photograph was taken by Terry, in April 2023 at the Bishop Hotel. Tom had an injured ankle but we danced anyhow! I was very careful twirling because his balance was tricky, his foot was sticking out and I did not want to knock him over! I didn’t, and we both had a good time anyhow.

This is from March 31, 2023, right before the Swinging on the Sound dance weekend. Live band and lots of dancers warming up for the dance weekend.

My daughter called home from college at one point and said, “Mom! I love to TWIRL!” She was contra dancing and soon started swing dance and shag and other styles. I bought her dance shoes for her next back to school supplies. We bring shoes that we don’t wear outside, to protect the floors of old 1930s dance halls. We need leather or suede soles often so that we can twirl and slide!

Here is the band that Tom and I were dancing with: Jonathan Doyle and friend.

For the Ragtag Daily Prompt: twirl.

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Home!

I got home in the afternoon on Monday, a friend brought food and I crashed to sleep early. Sol Duc is a bit surprised to be here.

Tuesday I stepped in a puddle in the laundry room and uh-oh! The utility sink had filled and overflowed, though not much. There is a pump in the laundry room that handles the water from the kitchen sink and the laundry and it died. It was working when I was here for two days in October, I think. I can’t remember hearing it on this trip. I can hear the pump from the kitchen. As soon as I saw the water, I realized that I had not heard it.

The plumber came yesterday, confirmed that the pump has died and hopefully will have a new one to install next week. I told my house that I’d like a warmer and less wet welcome home, but never mind. Things wear out, leak, break down. At least I have the money to fix it since I am working.

The photograph is from Tuesday, from the Bishop Hotel downtown, the live music from 5-7. Casey Macgill and friends and they are fabulous! I got to see friends, hear the music and dance some! Happy!

For the Ragtag Daily Prompt: leak.

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All night vigil

Rainshadow Chorale is getting ready for our fall concert. Amazing music! One hundred pages of Rachmaninoff in Russian! I have been practicing remotely, using the recorded choral practices on Facebook, MP3s, language recordings, and my flute to practice tricky sections until they are earwormed into my brain.

The concerts are on Saturday and Sunday, three weekends from now, November 2 and 3, at First Presbyterian Church at 4:00 pm in Port Townsend, Washington. I leave soon to drive back there, cat and all. I think Sol Duc has learned some Russian too.

Here is one of the 15 parts. I like the title: Blessed Be the Man. It makes me think that this is Russian rap music. Actually, I think the whole thing sounds like angels singing in Russian. This is the first time I sing in Russian, but it’s the time that is particularly tricky. Rachmaninoff doesn’t care a bit about time signatures so some measures have eight beats, others twelve, others ten. Count, count, count.

I am using this for the Ragtag Daily Prompt: burgundy, both because of the poster colors and because the music and language is so rich and complex.

Come to the concert if you are anywhere near by!

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Dance the night away

I chose the word hospice for the Ragtag Daily Prompt today. Last weekend I traveled back to Port Townsend to see my friend who is in hospice. She is doing well, but I wish she had more visitors. She has a brother in Alaska, but has always been a fairly solitary person. Maybe I mind more than she does. She said that I was too far away, but no other complaints.

Last night I went to a dance and danced my socks off. This was a fundraiser for the plane in the photograph and the Commemorative Air Force that flies it and takes care of it. And I can’t credit the photographer, one of the gentlemen of the Commemorative Air Force, many thanks!

Isn’t it a fabulous poster? And a live band in a hanger at the airport, two food trucks, classic car and the plane and dancing.

It is nice to be alive.

For the Ragtag Daily Prompt: hospice.

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Reason

Dr. Suess has a ruse
that disguises when he pats a moose
He’s teasing that the hidden reason
Is the looming change of season
Locks the box, rocks the docks
Fox in socks, equinox.

We do have concerts on the docks in Port Townsend in the summer. Not in the winter, the instruments get wet. This is the Pourhouse, which is also right on Port Townsend Bay, in August 2022.

For the Ragtag Daily Prompt: equinox.

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Betty Ford’s

I met my daughter at Betty Ford’s on Saturday. No, not the rehab, Betty Ford’s Alpine Gardens in Vail. Vail is about half way between us. We found lunch at the Farmer’s Market, walked the gardens, and shared a banana split. My daughter was laughing by the end of it. “None of my friends are still eating at the end of a banana split, mom. You and my brother are the only ones who can keep up!” We walked over six miles and yum, how often do I have a banana split?

The gardens are not huge, but the alpine flowers are beautiful and from all over the world.

We heard music too, since the gardens are right next to the amphitheater. Robert Plant and Alison Kraus were warming up and doing their sound checks. My daughter was underwhelmed.

This looks beautiful and peaceful, but the Farmer’s Market is big and was packed with people. We were pretty much out of the range of Robert Plant at this point, but he accompanied us much of the way.

I heard it on the radio! Well, no, I found it on Youtube.

For the Ragtag Daily Prompt: radio.

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Travel back

This weekend I traveled east and a friend that I’ve known since I was in high school and she was taking a year off from college, met in Glenwood Springs. We soaked in the amazing hot springs there and then stayed in Carbondale. We managed two more hot springs the next day. Saturday evening we went to Steve’s Guitars and heard Quinlan Valdez. He is touring from Wyoming and we intersected with his tour and enjoyed it very much.

For the Ragtag Daily Prompt: nostalgia.