For the joy of dance

In my everyday life I can be scattered, clumsy and downright hazardous to myself. Not so with dance. It is like someone else lives in my body, perhaps that wild, free part of me that wants to take over now and again to just be. I’ve seen more of her out here on the road,…

Defining preciousness and value

  So, I bought a campervan.  Nothing big, nothing fancy, nothing new. Just new to me. I want to approach this kind of like a fiddler crab, edging sideways towards a new hole in the sand; or maybe a hermit crab, checking a new shell for a better fit, always remembering that it is me…

What do *I* want to do?

A friend of mine recently said ” It doesn’t matter what anyone else wants, what do YOU want to do?”  I thought back to what my goals were before Plannus Interruptus (common ailment for plans, no doctor needed).  Remember nearly five years ago when I bought an RV and planned on paying off debt and…

Preparing for Dorian (aka waiting, waiting)

  Some music to watch for storms by: Riders on the Storm Or if you like something a bit more upbeat: Skywatcher The good news is that no one in my family will be impacted by much more than some rain and a bit more heft to the breeze.  I have one friend on the…

Saving Wasps & Relishing Quiet

I saved another wasp today. No, no, not the White Anglo-Saxon Protestant type. The flying, stinging type. “Why?” will be most people’s response, understandably. But, I feel that wasps get a bad rap. They live all around my house – on the ceiling of the mud room, on the door frame of my front door,…

Looking back over my shoulder (aka 2016 in Review)

My goal is to make a post a day to wrap up 2016 and teeter into the unformed abyss of 2017 🙂 Carapasces of Dreams The dry wind chattered Winding through the carapaces of dreams Discarded in corners Shrugged off during a mental molt   Raw skin couldn’t decide Whether to embrace the nakedness For…

Last Grasping of Solitude

For almost seven years of widowhood, I have lived in solitude, with the exception of a one year stint with a co-worker roommate. She opened her home to me for a pittance while I was struggling to get back on my feet upon returning to work and I will always be grateful. I am comfortable…

Things that make me scream, take notice or engage me

Politics.  That’s a screamer for me. I’m happy you have an opinion – please, keep it to yourself. Just for the record I support neither party, registered Independent, and try to vote on issues when I vote.  What’s in the political news lately?  The damned Fast Track Trade agreement.  I’m currently neither for nor against,…

How to Impersonate a Calliope and other sickly fun

Ah yes, I bet you thought the topic would be  more romantic when I caught up on the blog, yes?  Actually, I’ve been so mentally busy that the title choices were difficult to narrow down, but since I’m coming off of a serious (for me) illness, this was that one which stuck. I should back track…

The Intimacy of Moving

Just like going to the Doctor for a check up is not intimate when compared with the touch of one who knows you, neither is having professional movers wrangle your stuff from one place to another.  But to have people who know me trail their fingers through my things is something quite different for me.  It is…

Memorabilicus – or The Umbilicus of Memory Found in Objects

Catchy and academic-sounding title eh? My brain works weirdly in sleep deprivation mode. I also love to make up words that have meaning probably only to me. Last night was a late night (morning) working as the next in line is out for medical assistance for his partner. That left me in charge of herding…

Walking into 2015

I remember the times when January 1st was a bleary-eyed sleeping in day.  A day that didn’t require going to work, woohoo!  Those days seem to be long behind me, although if I had television I might still be tempted to watch the ball drop in Times Square. This year my goal was to go to…

Who are you and what have you done with my Mother?

I can tell you first hand that widowhood sucks.  Just like when you marry, you learn to blend, compromise and bend to fit into a pair and it is a little awkward – stops, starts, spills, so too, is widowhood.  In a culture that practically elevates partnership to sainthood status, suddenly finding oneself pulling in…

This and that and other things

It has been a long and pensive non-public time for me, kicked into gear by the emotional trip to my property followed fast on the heels by Thanksgiving with family, and then as usual, ruminations on all kinds of things. While I’ve written some offline to keep the creative trickle alive, the rest of me…

36 hours upright, 3 hours of sleep, rough weather = goofy chick

Ensconced back in the micro-haus in balmy weather, last week feels like it passed in some kind of dream form. I’m pretty bone-weary in all honesty.  It was a very emotional trip, in both good and bad ways, thanks to incredible friends. The roughshod road trip was to pick up venison on another person’s timeline.…

Hitchhiking ghosts on road trips

I have made this run up 75 North so many times I should be able to do it in my sleep, but this is the first time in ten years I finally did it without taking a printed map. I’m directionally challenged in many ways and so I often don’t trust myself.  But in the…

Pampering, planning and the musical backdrop

Going to a salon is not really about vanity so much.  It is about going some place where someone takes care of you. I was reminded of this yesterday, as someone brought me coffee, I read magazines I normally do not see and enjoy human touch while having my hair washed. I don’t go any…

11.3.14 Monday Music Mention – City ‘Am Fenster’ (At the window)

I’ve not done one of these in a long while.  During a mini-blog catch up session last night I came across this song on wederwill’s blog.  I had never heard of the band or the song.  But there is something gripping about it, haunting in its melody, musical composition and beat.  I thought I would…

9.8.14 Monday Music Mention – Imogen Heap

I know, I missed last week.   Last Monday was a no-work day and almost a no-computer day too.  Hopefully y’all were off doing fun things like dancing, grilling, grabbing some end-of-summer fun. I’ve been on a bit of a hiatus due to stress, and hope to be back writing again soon.  In the meantime,…

8.25.14 Monday Music Mention – Jack Savoretti

So much emotion roiling in me this week made it a challenge to choose a musical talent to highlight. Jack won out because of the rawness of his emotion in the music coupled with a connection that I feel  internally. My connections are always mental.  I love a good and active mind 🙂 This song…

8.11.14 Monday Music Mention – Brian Crain

Happy Monday all!  I know everyone is rip roarin’ ready to return to well, whatever  it is that you do on Mondays 🙂 This week’s mention is another accomplished pianist, baseball player turned artist,  Brian Crain.  He is a majestic composer, and has produced several solo piano offerings and others including strings and piano duets…

A day of silence and fullness

I don’t have much to say today really.  If you’ve a mind, I ask you to visit my poetry site here: She Doesn’t Mourn Well Life is for the living, but sometimes living is harder than you expect. To those who have helped me along the way, my gratitude is truly inexpressible even for me…

8.4.14 Monday Music Mention

I. Can’t. Stop.  (smile)  This is one of my favorite weekly posts, sharing music that someone may not have stumbled upon yet. Music does so much for us: mentally and emotionally.  It is often the backdrop of many writers of all genres. Today I want to introduce you to one of the pianists that form…

7.28.14 Monday Music Mention – Adam Hurst, cellist

It is difficult to pick a ‘favorite’ instrument for me, as I appreciate all of them.  Participating in the Symphonic band and the marching band when young and geeky (still geeky), I was able to hear them closely. But strings, in the hands of the right people, reach into my body and elicit something that…

7.21.14 Monday Music Mention – O-Shen

Everyone should start their Monday with a little Reggae mon 🙂  This week’s artist is a personal favorite of mine primarily because it is one of his songs that became my personal theme song a few years back.  I enjoy this genre very much, finding the music uplifting, catchy and very easily stuck in your…

7.18.14 Friday Frivolous Foolishness

Did you hear that sound just now?  Kind of like a deflating balloon, that weird ‘Eeeeeeiiiiiiiiii’ with a whoosh accompanying it?  I think that was my energy.  Yes, it is FRIDAY, and not one minute too soon I might add. I may have to change the title to Friday Frazzles & Frustrations if something in…

Monday Music Mention – Blackmill

Today I thought I’d pull in one of my artist favorites that is quite a bit different from the ones I’ve introduced in the past. Music is truly a smorgasbord for me, and I find things to like  in almost every genre. This artist I listen to often when I’m doing things that require a…

Fridge Forensics…no, not the science stuff inside.

While I was cleaning     – an interjection into your day outside of my normal posting schedule.  Yes, it has to be done.  I’d love to be able to snap my fingers and have this chore away, but it isn’t so.  What I so dislike about cleaning, is that once you begin, you see more to…

Monday Music Mention – PassEnger (Michael Rosenberg)

Well, I know everyone has been sitting around in foot-tapping anticipation for this week’s artist mention…(snort!), so without further ado and delusion, let’s get on with it!

This artist has been on my YT play list for years, and I remember when I first heard one of his songs on prime local radio.  I was so proud.  Following an artist when they are unknown, recognizing that they have talent, and finally seeing others recognize it too, is a very sweet feeling – the feeling of knowing someone else that stuck with their dreams, is realizing them.

Michael David Rosenberg (aka Passenger) has been busking around England and Europe for many years now on the folk circuit.  If you don’t know what ‘busking’ is, it is when one plays in streets or parks for donations. While it is probably apparent by now that I have a strong preference for acoustic guitar, what drew me over and over to this guy is his abilities as a lyricist.  The words of his songs have really touched me, so choosing what to refer you to for a great experience might be tough.  I’ll probably link to more of his songs than the normal three I do, just because there is so much meaning in many of them.

Without further yakking on my part, I hope you enjoy Passenger.  I employed the older spelling variant in the title that was used when it was a full band, and I hope no one confused it with the rock band.

The first song is a new one out, and the irony of the fact that I’m sharing it with you via online probably won’t be lost on you 🙂  Funny thing is, I’m knocking out time behind a computer hard-core, so that I can go live in nature.  Irony there too…

This tune is called “Scare Away the Dark”.  Warning: there is some nudity in the video, in a ‘naturalist’ kind of setting.

Next up is one that starts a bit oddly, “Walk in the Rain” but the words are just , well, give it an ear and see for yourself.

The following song got a lot of play by me after the death of my husband.  I think the title is probably self-explanatory 🙂  “Life’s for the Living”

I’ll wrap up with one that sits near my heart “What You’re Thinking”:

I could go on, and on, lol! Ask, if you’d like further recommendations 🙂

Enjoy, and I hope that Passenger joins your playlist, and that you’ll support the artist by purchasing their work.

Oh, and in line with “M” and Monday – quick movie recommendation if you’ve not seen it. It’s older, and I’m always wayyyy behind on movies. “The Magic of Belle Isle” is just a feel-good movie, and it’s about a writer, played by Morgan Freeman.

Have a marvelous morning/evening/day, wherever you are reading from, and thanks for stopping by!  Please leave comments or feedback or queries about the musician if you have them.

~SE

EDTA: And I FINALLY figured out what was ‘breaking’ my YT links.  Bolding  the text wrecks the link for some reason. Thought I’d add this in case anyone else has struggled with that 🙂  Benefit from my struggles, lol!

Monday Music Mention – OrtoPilot

I discovered this group via an ongoing love for YouTube, and a penchant for original music.  While this group (primarily one guy) does do covers, in the original music the talent really shines through in my opinion. Matt Hutchison is another fab product exported from the U.K.  Perhaps it is the single-minded pursuit of a dream that endeared me to this guy. Dreams are important.

A Day to Remember

Driftin’

Time

And if you find those a bit too folksy, here is one of my personal favorites, with a bit harder of an edge.

Black Rain

As always, I encourage you to support the artists by purchasing their art via your preferred method.

OrtoPilot site

Enjoy the music!

~SE