A New Song from Our Son! (Home Inside Your Heart)

  

Happy 2026 to you all!

Do you have a song in your head that you are singing yet? No? I have one for you!  It is "Home Inside Your Heart" and it is written by our son, with vocals and guitars, all by Christopher.  (Richard tells me there is some percussion that is also added. I hardly notice a drumbeat; I am always about the melody!)  I love it and cannot stop singing it! (I promise I would love it even if it were not written and performed by our dear son.)

Please, give this a listen.  And tell all your friends to do so also!

Home Inside Your Heart

I can't seem to get it from YouTube on this post but if you click on that link above, I hope you can hear it.

Going back in time, I am showing you some photos of Christopher!

There is a more recent photo of C. with his lovely wife, Sarah!  Ha ha, can you see that I have taken a photo of that picture from a phone? Why? Who knows? It takes a while for me to figure out how to do things on a phone. LOL! Anyway, you can see why I wanted it, it's a great photo with the Tennessee river behind them.

Please, let me know that you were able to listen to the song!

The winter picture that Christopher chose to go along with his video is by Monet.  Did you know that Monet painted over 100 paintings with snow?  I think there might possibly be a future post about this!

I've Got Good People

 

I hope you can see the video that I have for you here!  This was the video of "This Month on TCM" but it was the one from December of 2020. I really like it! It is wonderful to see all these snippets from old films. (It is so wonderful to see Dick Van Dyke here, he turned 100 this year! And Spinal Tap also makes an appearance!) The song is "Good People", and I really love the lyrics. And I looked up the singer/songwriter and he is from England! His name is Rhys Lewis and I have the last part of the song lyrics here for you...

"We've all got good people in life to be thankful for.

We've all got good people in life to be thankful for.

So, tell them how it is, how you couldn't live

Without the love they give.

We've all got good people in life to be thankful for.

I'm lucky I got

Good people helping me out.

Yeah, I've got good people there when I'm down,

Yeah, I've got good people lifting me up.

When I'm low, I'm lucky I know good people.

There, don't you agree? And if you don't have good people in your life, FIND them!  Now, I must tell you, all you lovely people who read my blog, I consider you part of that group of good people. 

  Thank you!

Now, it seems that a lot of folks are preparing for a "Stranger Things" watch party for Dec. 31st!  I have seen all sorts of ways to prepare foods that look like the scary monster, "Demogorgon"!  I have even seen a crochet pattern! It is all very clever, and I am sure will be lots of fun for people. I think I have told you before that "Stranger Things" has had a lot of the filming done right here in the state of Georgia.  It has been fun to watch and to recognize bits here and there. The BEST thing about this TV series, I love how much the characters care about each other. That seems to spill over into real life, as the actors seem to be close friends. Good people!

The closest I can get to the scary flower face monster is the very tall amaryllis, with four blooms! Nothing scary there. Take care everyone and watch out for "Stranger Things"! (Look at the amaryllis just as it begins to grow, is it just me or does it look a wee bit like a monster?)

It's A Wondrous Story, To Me (Bethlehemian Rhapsody)

 

"Bohemian Rhapsody" was written by Freddie Mercury of Queen. Freddie Mercury - Wikipedia  (You should click on that link and read some descriptions of his incredible singing voice.) The song comes from Queen's album, "A Night at the Opera", released in 1975.  Richard told me in some of our first letters that he was a fan of Queen. He saw them in concert in 1974! When the album came out in 1975, I was amazed. It was unlike anything I had ever heard! Since that time, "Bohemian Rhapsody" has gained more and more fans and this year, it has now become the most streamed song from the 20th century with over 1.6 billion global streams! Years ago, I shared this video of "Bethlehemian Rhapsody", which is the same song with lyrics about the Nativity.  I am sharing it again and I am hoping you can see it, this one shows the lyrics.  (There are others that out there, but I really like this one, the man singing has a good voice, I think.)  The puppets and the lyrics are excellent and of course, we know the music is sublime!

 

   It is a wondrous story, to me. 

      Merry Christmas to you all.   Peace.

Quality Street - Nick Lowe

 

Hey!  Anybody remember me telling you that I had discovered a CD that I didn't know that we had?  I know you must have all just been waiting with great anticipation to know the name of it! Well, wait no longer.... it is "Quality Street", the Christmas album by Nick Lowe! It came out in 2013 and Richard tells me that we have had that in our collection since that year. Tee -hee, better late than never, right?  Anyway, I have given you three of the songs here but please, search these songs out. I love them all!

"I Was Born in Bethlehem" was written by Nick Lowe.

"Old Toy Trains" was written by another great songwriter, Roger Miller.

"I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday".  Roy Wood with Wizzard are the original artists. (Roy Wood is listed as the songwriter.) It is VERY popular in the UK! That song was on "Now That's What I Call Music (The Christmas Album") from 1985. You know we have it still!  It is becoming more well known here in the USA with more and more artists covering this song. I really love how Nick Lowe does it! It really makes you want to dance around and sing along to it, it does that for me anyway! 

 

Nick Lowe is from England and perhaps that is why he called his Christmas album "Quality Street" as that is the name of a popular tin of chocolates in the UK!  

Since I write so much about music and songwriting, I am sure you know that I think I really must go and see the new film that is coming out shortly, "Song Sung Blue".  It is based on a true-life couple who were singers who sang songs by Neil Diamond.  That movie seems tailor made for me!

  In my last post, I showed you a photo of my tree from last year. In doing that, I saw this picture of the Planters Nuts that I had gotten for my husband. La dee dah, I thought I would try to buy this again for him. Guess what, you cannot find this ANYWHERE!  You can see it on Amazon, but it is completely sold out.  Interesting to me, I think it is because it has such sweet colorful packaging with funny little sayings. I liked it so much, I didn't even wrap it, as you can see! 

Now, I have been going a little "nuts" myself crocheting presents for people.  Do my friends and family want homemade gifts from me? Ha! That's what they are getting!  Hope you are all doing well,  enjoying music and nature and creating things. You know I am!

"Christmas Can't Be Far Away".

Hey! I found another video! If you look at this, you can click on each number and hear a sample of each song on the album.  

Steve Cropper/Soul Man

 

"Play it, Steve!"

That must be the cry in heaven this week, as Steve Cropper has passed away. I am very much saddened by this. I have written about him on my blog before...I wrote a post when his very good friend Donald "Duck" Dunn died in 2012.  You may read that post here.  I told you all those years ago to make sure that you watch the film "The Blues Brothers".  I was surprised at the number of people who left comments who had never seen it!  It is always sad to me to lose someone like Steve Cropper, not just a talented musician and songwriter but also, a very nice guy. 

I have two videos here for you. "Soul Man" by Sam & Dave, where Steve Cropper was the guitarist for the backing band and that is where the "Play it, Steve" is first heard.

 

The next video is of Steve Cropper playing his guitar on a late-night TV show. What a talent! 

"Ladies and gentlemen, let's hear it for Steve Cropper!"

Thinking of the music of today, I was reminded of the lyrics of the song by Bob Seger.  ("Old Time Rock and Roll" was a big hit for Bob Seger but it was written by George Jackson. It became even more well known when Tom Cruise danced to it in a film in the 1980's!) George Jackson (songwriter) - Wikipedia

"Just take those old records off the shelf. I'll sit and listen to 'em by myself. Today's music ain't got the same SOUL, I want that old time rock and roll!"

There, I typed out those lyrics above and those are from my memory, so I might not have them exactly, but they are close enough, don't you think? 

Feeling a bit blue?  Nothing like a bluebird to cheer you up! Richard got this shot of the bird having a nice bath in our very expensive bird bath that we put out.  (Ha, it is a plastic dish, but we keep it very clean and the birds love it.)

All of our beautiful autumn leaves are now a thing of the past.  November was beautiful with color but now, December is with us, and it is rainy and grey. Oh well, all the more reason to break out the bright decorations for Christmas with the cheerful red colors and lights!

As I have been typing this post, I keep having to stop and go check on the clothes that I am washing and drying. It reminds me of something that someone sent me recently that made me giggle...."Do you know something that you can always rely on? Laundry. There is always laundry!"  There, that is very true, isn't it?  The next time you wash your clothes, you will think of me! Hope you giggle too.

I don't have my Christmas tree up yet but perhaps looking at these photos from last year will make me do so.

Take care everyone!  

I Hope You Dance/ Gold and Red

 

Lenora Park is a lovely park in Gwinnett County, Georgia.  When I was growing up, this property was still a working farm and was not far from our house. Every single time when we passed it, my Dad would admire it and say " that is the prettiest pasture and barn!".  He would love that they turned it into a park and now there are lovely walking trails winding around the edges of the land. They have left most of the gorgeous trees on there too. We just walked there yesterday...

Instead of animals in this barn, they seem to keep all the equipment needed to maintain this property.  One of the groundskeepers saw us admiring the trees and he stopped and invited us to pick up some of the pecans underneath one of the pecan trees just to the left of this barn. Wasn't that nice?  He seemed happy to stop and talk with us about our enjoyment of the trees. Hmm...I wonder how he knew I loved these trees?

Ha ha, it was dark under these trees but can you see me hugging this hickory? That golden color was gorgeous!

He told us that these Red Oaks were over 100 years old.  The red leaves lit up by the sun was stunning! I am holding one of the acorns that I picked up from under this tree. From a small acorn grows the mighty oak!

So grateful that the county bought this property for a park. I can remember seeing cows under these trees! How my Dad would love that my husband and I enjoy this walking trail now and that it is still the prettiest place!  (Note: Much of the property in Georgia is not destined for lovely parks. Trust me, it isn't!) 

Our November has been beautiful with lots of color!  Did you know that 2025 is a mast year for acorns? This happens every few years or so and it means that there is an overabundance of acorns and it is due to the weather and tree communication. Now, I don't pretend to know how trees communicate but I imagine that they only say what is necessary, don't you?

I promise I don't search out things from England; I just seem to find them. This video that I have given you above is of a couple from Liverpool! They are Joan and Jimmy O'Shaughnessy, and I think they are great. The video is only 17 seconds long and I can do this dance with them, even though, I am not as quick on the turn arounds as they are!  Do you like to dance? I do! Am I good at it? NO! Does that stop me? No way! If you have a chance, I hope you dance...

Of course, I have to find that song for you! I listened to several covers and I really like this one....

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Oh! And I meant to tell you that the dancing couple has a lot of dance videos to view but the two songs from Taylor Swift have MILLIONS of views! (twojays2).  It reminds me of watching "American Bandstand". Anybody remember that show?  The audience would "rate" new songs and often, they would give high marks if the song was "easy to dance to".  Guess Taylor's songs qualify! LOL!

Hey! I have a bonus video for you here too.  It is a video of Bill Mumy and Barry Livingston! Do you remember Will Robinson from "Lost in Space'? That child actor was Billy Mumy! (He now calls himself "Bill".).  And Barry Livingston was Ernie from "My Three Sons"!   How much TV did I watch in the 1960's? Well, a lot, I guess!  They both love music and Beatles music in particular, so they are obviously worthy to be included here. (If you are on Facebook, they also do "World Without Love". I really like that one!)

Worthy.  I like that word.  I am going to use it more. Hope you think this post is worthy of your time! Thank you for taking the time to read it. Take care, everyone!

No Offense/ None Taken- November!

 

After my last post, you all must have been wondering what in the world is Kay going on and on about now? I am not sure that many find the news from England as interesting as I do and even if I do, when I am not feeling very well, my brain doesn't work properly and therefore, I can't convey my thoughts very well.  I hope I didn't offend anyone.  I was reminded of being a teenager and hearing those words spoken if someone might have said the very slightest thing that might be considered off color or off limits.  "No offense" and the response was always the same, "None taken". Sigh, I do miss a lot about those times so long ago.  It seemed that courtesy was still alive and also, brevity of words. I miss them both.

A few things that have given me a reason to smile lately.... Paul McCartney is currently touring in the USA! Now, I didn't see him here in concert in Atlanta, but I know some folks who did! They said he was great; he performed for 2 hours and 45 minutes, isn't that awesome? He ended the show with "Golden Slumbers", a nice touch.

Did you see that they opened a new museum in Egypt? It is the "Grand Egyptian Museum" and it opened on Nov. 1st.  The museum looks amazing but what made me smile, was the image that I saw of the Danish Foreign Minister giving the Egyptian Foreign Minister a gift- it was a LEGO set of the Great Pyramid!  The delight and joy on that man's face when he received this gift!  I love that so much, let me see if I can link to it.... you may see it just here!

November is with us now and our leaves are having some nice color. Want to see?

The dogwood is a native tree, and, in the Autumn, the leaves are a pretty red and the berries are loved by the birds.

 Hey, I was trying to hide in this tree, but Richard got me anyway! I was really trying to use my plant app to help me identify it. I thought it was either a black tupelo or a sourwood. Well, guess what- the dang app said the same thing! No matter if black tupelo or sourwood, it is a lovely color and is even prettier than the photo. Honest, it is.

These photos were just taken today, November 5th. As you can see, many of the trees still have a lot of green so, we will shall see more color. 

 Happy November to you all!

"Money for Nothing", a favorite of our son's.  Richard used to use the Bert puppet to entertain our son with this song when Christopher was just 2 or 3 years old! (Bert, you know from Bert and Ernie fame!) I think he would have Bert dance around to it and it must have been quite elaborate as Christopher has such memories of it! He is lucky to have such a talented father.  It's the little things, isn't it?

Take care everyone!