I have been wanting to listen to my record collection for some time now, and yesterday Rick and I went to Moog Audio to purchase a pre-amp for my turntable (our 10 yr old tuner didn’t have the proper fixins, imagine!), so for the past day I’ve been wandering down Penny Lane, past Strawberry Fields towards Shakedown Street, which is near where Sonny and Cher and KISS live. Through the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and 80’s – 4 decades of vinyl have waited to be played once again. A few of the albums I’ve missed listening to over the years include:

• George Harrison’s special release Goddess of Fortune, full of devotional songs to Govinda and Gopala, recorded with the help from the devotees at the Radha Krsna Temple in London, UK
• NUNSEXMONKROCK by Nina Hagen (a divine goddess in her own right!)
• Soul Mining by The The (awesome album!)
• Count Basie and Sammy Davis: Our Shining Hour, arranged and conducted by Quincy Jones (!)
• Adam and the Ants: Kings of the Wild Frontier (hot!)
• Vivaldi! Mozart! Tchaikovsky!
• Original recording of Around the World in 80 days (c) 1957!
• Fun Boy Three and The Colourfield (*sigh* Terry Hall)
• POPPA’S GOT A BRAND NEW PIGBAG! (takes me back to the The New Music with Jeanne Becker and JD Roberts – I’m old)
• Visage: the Anvil (sweet gothic music)
• The Cure: The Head On The Door (Classic!)
• Psychic TV: Dreams Less Sweet (with Always is Always, a song written by Charles Manson)

I’m sure there are a few more, I have some interesting albums for sure 🙂 YAY for MUSIC!! *happydance*

addendum: wow, I’m surprised at myself for remembering lyrics of songs I haven’t heard in 20 or more years!

…and mares eat oats, and little lambs eat ivy, a kid’ll eat ivy too, wouldn’t you?

This pictures just makes me smile 🙂

Life has been really crazy lately, and it all seems to be passing in the blink of an eye. I’ve been holding on with both hands with feet ready to land wherever, but I’m heavy and not sure how long I can hang on! When my life is chaotic, I find it hard to think straight. I’m not really sure why this is – usually I’m able to deal with lots of changes, and even welcome them – but lately, it’s been really hard for me to keep up to what’s going on. I think I’m just tired (and feeling a tad defeated), even though I’ve been making lots of progress lately. Perhaps, I’m just an overachiever trapped in a procrastinator’s body. I usually don’t feel fulfilled unless I’ve accomplished at LEAST 20 different things throughout the day, and I will often stay up late to get them done, losing sleep because my mind is racing to accomplish things but my body says rest.

Things I’ve accomplished these past couple of weeks:

• Cleaned out 3 closets worth of stuff (only to be replaced by 3 closets full of other stuff)
• Sorted through 3 large boxes of magazines (if anyone wants them, feel free to drop over to browse!) – mostly Country Living, Skywatcher, Sky and Telescope, Runner’s, Health, Mother Earth News, and various gardening and computer mags too
• Cleaned up the camping gear and organized it all on the shelves
• Sorted out our alcohol stash (only 7 boxes!), so if any of you out there get stuck wanting to party and you’ve missed the liquor store, come by and browse our selection
• Dug the hole for the small pond in the front yard, and got it working, but now I have to empty it, clean it and refill it because some critter knocked over the plants that were in the pond, and making a muddy mess
• Dug out many many raspberry plants to be transplanted into their own bed once the guys are done building the back deck
• Cleaned out the sewing/storage room (now with 2 walls and ceiling gutted, ready for wiring, insulation and drywall), and it’s contents stuffed into the dining room temporarily
• Cleaned out the laundry/storage room (this room is next to be gutted and insulated and drywalled)
• Cleaned out my stained glass/art room
• Added several bags and boxes of stuff to the lawn sale pile (YAY!)
• Got my passport renewed
• Finally found a vanity and mirror for the upstairs bathroom
• Organized Rick’s closet and mine too

To do in the next couple of weeks:

• Clean pond
• Finish priming, find paint colours, and paint the upstairs bathroom
• Finish priming and painting the downstairs bathroom door
• Scrub both of Angus’ cages
• Take the painting that we bought in Cuba 7 years ago to be stretched and framed 😛
• Sort through all of the lawn sale stuff to see what I can donate instead
• Set a date for the lawn sale (you’d better all come!!)
• Sort though all the paper in my large filing cabinet full of witchy secrets and arcane knowledge =D
• Get more done in the front garden, including a garden path and some landscaping
• Finish cutting the lawn in the backyard
• Paint the Muskoka chairs on the front porch
• Weatherproof the sides of the front porch
• Put the other 2 Muskoka chairs together and paint them
• Find some time to work on the few web projects that I am doing
• Get thee to the gym!

I think that should keep me busy. Perhaps if I list them and go week by week, it might become apparent at just what kind of progress I am actually making, and then I’ll feel good about what I’ve accomplished instead of only seeing what I haven’t! Isn’t psychoanalysis wonderful? 😛 *LOVE*

This is one of the most incredible things I’ve seen in a long time 🙂 WOW!

Elephant self portrait

Amazing 🙂 No wonder I love elephants so much!!

The award for the longest running song to go around and around in my brain goes to Across the Universe by the Beatles – I’ve been singing it since Monday afternoon. No other songs have been present in my head – I think this is a record! (actually, it IS a record, recorded first in 1968, then again in 1970 on their Let It Be album) 😛 I miss playing records. I used to have this pink portable record player and about 200 records of all kinds when I was a kid, and I’d spend *endless* hours just listening to music and giving all my little toys a ride on the turntable. I do still have a good collection of albums and a record player, so I guess all I need are some speakers. I love the crackling sound that they make, the endless spinning, and of course, listening to 33 1/3 speed records on 45 or even 78 – that could make anyone sound like a chipmunk! (and I think the toys liked it too!)

🙂

http://www.acrosstheuniverseday.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fO4RfVeOyRQ

ACROSS THE UNIVERSE

Words are flying out like endless rain into a paper cup
They slither while they pass, they slip away across the universe
Pools of sorrow waves of joy are drifting thorough my open mind
Possessing and caressing me

Jai guru deva om
Nothing’s gonna change my world

Images of broken light which dance before me like a million eyes
That call me on and on across the universe
Thoughts meander like a restless wind inside a letter box
They tumble blindly as they make their way across the universe

Jai guru deva om
Nothing’s gonna change my world

Sounds of laughter shades of life are ringing through my open ears
Exciting and inviting me
Limitless undying love which shines around me like a million suns
It calls me on and on across the universe

Jai guru deva om
Nothing’s gonna change my world
Jai guru deva

About 15 years ago or so, I worked at the Vegetarian Restaurant with a beautiful and talented young girl named Brit Biribauer from France. We became fast friends and talked at length about music, and making things, and the ups and downs of life. She recorded an album with her musician boyfriend Luc (which I still have in my record collection) and was aspiring to be a singer and dancer, and with all her talent I didn’t have any hesitation that she just might make it. I found myself wondering about her today, out of the blue, about her lovely smile and cute French accent, and what she might be up to these days. As the day progressed, my mind wandered here and there, I got busy doing things and thus, forgot about the lovely Brit once again.

Rick and I try to get to the Dufferin Park Farmer’s Market every Thursday, to pick up fruits and veggies, and to enjoy the walk through the park. Today, we bought some root veggies, kale and apples and dined on crepes and burritos for dinner, while standing in the rain listening to a dreadlocked musician strumming a tune on his guitar. We bought him a burrito too 🙂 But standing there, next to him, a face I recognized from many years back. A man, a baby. We smile and nod, and I eventually say to him, “I know you, but I’m not sure where from”. He responded with “Yes, I know your face too”. And as we were wondering where, Brit’s memory came back to me and voila! la connection! Luc! Apparently, Brit is back in France and is doing very well there, and Luc has moved on to become a wonderful daddy 🙂 Next time I see him, I will ask for Brit’s email address.

Don’tcha just love those out of the blue moments? I sure do 😉

…so does my psyche it seems. As much as I love this time of the year, it also seems to weigh heavy on my soul. Everywhere I look there are reminders of loved ones who have passed on to the other side. I can see their sad faces in the barren trees and the rocks, in the dying flowers and reflected in the pools of cold rain water. It’s as though I can feel all the sadness of the world, of all the dearly departed souls that have been laid to rest, and especially of those souls who haven’t found that final resting place. I’ve always been sensitive to the energies around me, and this time of the year is notorious for this kind of thing. And so, I find myself in that precarious in-between place, where life and death are co-mingled, and it’s enervating to say the least. I feel listless and tired, like I could sleep for days on end, and dream the odd dreams that seem to come to me at this time of year. Not really my dreams, but those of others it would seem, some are happy, some are sad, but they’re filled with strangers that I do not know. In some ways, these dreams seem to fulfill a need, whether they are thoughts that require transmission or feelings that need to be expressed, I seem to dream them. Often I’ll wake up forlorn or pining for someone I do not know – it can at times be very disconcerting. Some of those feelings stay with me all day, or are in my thoughts off and on during the day. I try to not let them get to me, but at times it happens. Sometimes I have dreams of those I do know, departed beloved pets come to visit, deceased friends and family sometimes come to call, and those are the dreams that I like. All these dreams make me feel thankful that I’m still alive and can experience life in all its forms, in full colour, with sound, feeling and depth. So in this time, so close to death, strive to see the life that’s around you and say thank you for that, but also, connect with those in your life who have passed on and if you have anything to tell them, say it, they’re listening and probably want to talk to you too…