Willie Nelson "And Then I Wrote"

Thinking and praying for many just now.  One of them is Willie Nelson who I understand is in ill health.  I hope that you all know that he is a Songwriter.  (Not supposed to be a capital letter, I know, but I think it should be.  There should be some mark of respect for someone who gives us melody and/or lyrics.   Willie does both.)  His first album was released in 1962 and it was entitled: Willie Nelson "And Then I Wrote".  
He wrote his first song when he was only seven years old.  Willie has had a fascinating life, you may read more about him just here.

Also, I have always been amazed by Willie Nelson's talent as a singer.  If you listen to him in this recording that I have for you here when he was much younger, you can tell that his timing is perfect and his voice!  So unique, you instantly know it is Willie Nelson singing.

"Blue Skies" was written by the great songwriter, Irving Berlin in 1926 but Willie Nelson knows a good song and he had this on his 1978 album of standards "Stardust".  I always think of him singing it.  I have it here for you. 

Hoping for blue skies for you all.  

P.S.  The photo above is from the Monastery here in Conyers, GA.

The monks lived in the barn when they first came from their monastery in Kentucky in the 1940's.  (Yes, along with the cows!) This would have been w-a-y  out in the country at that time!

I have shown you photos of the church at the Monastery but this is the barn, that has now been re-purposed as a Monastic Heritage Center, they give you the history of not just this monastery but for all monasteries.  Thanks to the monks, they restored civilization in the Middle Ages. Look it up, if you don't believe me! Now, this is mentioned in this exhibit at the Monastic Heritage Center because after all they are monks and they only quietly go about telling their story in a very modest way...but hey, the truth of it is there for anyone who cares to read about it.

Willie Nelson could write a good song about this, I am sure.

Ester Ledecka Wins Gold! (And Her Father Is Well Known Singer/Musician!)

Underdog wins at the Winter Olympics!  Did anyone see this on the news this morning?  (Many of you must have seen it last night but I only saw it today.)  Ester Ledecka from the Czech Republic won the Gold Medal in the alpine women's Super G, only just beating the 2nd place finisher by one one-hundredth of a second!   There, I do hope I have all that right, I do so get mixed up on numbers and I congratulate Ester Ledecka on her victory and am very happy for her.  I LOVE it when someone just comes out of nowhere and is totally unexpected to win and then, they DO win and all the "experts" are flabbergasted about it!  The American, Lindsey Vonn, had great expectations for victory but had a bad finish at the end of her run, and came in 6th, I believe.  (That is the big headline here...however, she was most impressed by Ester Ledecka and said so...I am so glad.  I like Lindsey Vonn myself and I like her even more really for having lost and being gracious about it.)

ANYWAY....here is what I MUST tell you.  Ester Ledecka's mother is a figure skater (which you could expect) but her father is a....wait for it... a SINGER!  He has been producing albums for the past 30 years! Why, you know I had to look him up!  His name is JANEK LEDECKY.  Of course, I had to watch several music videos and I found one that I really liked and wanted to share with you!   

(Some of the older ones remind me very much of Nigel from "This Is Spinal Tap"!)  "Turn it up to 11"!!

I love the video! Why, you can even see that Janek Ledecky can  juggle!  I am most impressed!

If you follow the Olympics closely, you might recognize the name "Ledecky"...Katie Ledecky is an American and is a 5 time Gold Medalist swimmer!  Since her paternal grandfather is from the Czech Republic...well, look- read all about this just  here!  

No snowy mountain to show you...just a bit of snow from my yard in January!

Do you also like to root for the underdog?  There is just something about someone coming ahead to win when no one expects it. That is what I love about sports..."it ain't over, till it's over"!

P.S. Not sure why it is Ester Ledecka not "Ledecky".  Perhaps someone can tell me why this is so?

Orange and Pink

Very nice to have a live-in gardener who happens to be my husband too!  We have a Christmas cactus that blooms in February and it has light pink blossoms and pale orange ones.  

  

Orange and pink, how can that be? It is a mystery to me but one that I enjoy with all my heart.  Orange and pink, what else is orange and pink?

A sunrise over the pier in Eastbourne...

and the sunset reflected onto a train, which had just taken us from Bexhill back to Eastbourne.  (Lovely to visit with you that year, Joy & Henry!)

Wild azalea- orange and pink...

Cherry blossoms, a very pale pink...

Oh! And Joan's lovely flowers from her 90th birthday celebration!

(Love you Joan and thinking of you!  xxx)

What else is orange and pink?  Your turn! (Or just do any other colors you like!)

We live in a colorful world, let's share it!

_________________________________________________

It is just so incredibly sad to see the news of ANOTHER school shooting in this country.  It is all just so heartbreaking...my Dad said that he watched the news all afternoon yesterday and they just kept showing them putting those young teens into waiting ambulances.  "America's Gun Culture in 10 Charts" is a piece that I read on the BBC,  you may read it here.

Everything's Gonna Be Alright-Peace

Everything's going to be alright...

those are good words to hear from someone, don't you agree?
I have been worried about a close family member who has some serious health problems.  My clock radio clicked on this morning and I heard the last part of the song by David Lee Murphy "Everything's Going To Be Alright" on a country radio station. (He also wrote the song.)   
Just in case you are thinking of other songs with that same title, you know I have them for you here!

And hey, don't worry about a thing, cause every little thing gonna be alright!

Guess what, that close family member I mentioned? MUCH better I am happy to say!  I am singing all these songs!

A few years back, I had a serious health issue myself...I had a very good friend who called me and said, "Hey, Kay, you know what...I have a peace about you."  Now, notice she didn't say that I would get well, she just said she felt a peace about it.  I instantly felt my body relax and my stress just evaporated..and all from those few words from a dear friend!  You never know how important your words can be, choose them wisely. 

Peace to you all!              

Adele and Sam Smith

Have you heard about this?  Apparently, if you listen to a song by Adele and slow it down, it sounds very much like Sam Smith!

Could they be the same person?  Have you ever seen them in the same room together?  Well, have you?   HA!  

Listen, I just wanted to share this here.  I think these conspiracy  theories are giggle-worthy.  I love Adele, I think she has the most gorgeous voice AND she is a songwriter and you know that puts her in a category that I truly admire.

I didn't care for the James Bond film where she did the theme song but I thought her song was wonderful... "Skyfall".  Best thing about the film to me!  (Funnily enough, Sam Smith did the next theme song for James Bond and sorry, but it was not as good as Adele's!)

Wishing I was at Covent Garden in London right now...even if it is nighttime!

Statue of A Fool/Ain't Too Proud To Beg

Remembering the butterflies visiting the Mexican sunflower I had grown from seed!


Dear me, the time I take researching songs for you!  I "watched" a TV show with my Dad. (I call my Dad on the phone and he tells me to quickly switch on my TV so I can hear one of his favorite songs on one of the country music shows.)  The singer was Jack Greene, and the song was "Statue of A Fool".   Who wrote it, I wondered...turns out, the authorship is disputed.   Some say that David Ruffin (you will remember him as one of the lead singers of The Temptations") wrote it when he was only 17 or 18 years old!   Others say that it was written by Jan Crutchfield.  I do wonder if the true ownership will ever be proved.  Whoever wrote it, my Dad is correct, it IS a good song.

Sad to say that all of these men are no longer with us...David Ruffin, Jack Greene, Jan Crutchfield...but songs live on forever.

Just in case you don't remember the incredible voice of David Ruffin, I have a video of "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" for you.

By the way, just this past week, we lost another one of the Temptations, Dennis Edwards...you would remember him singing lead on the song "Papa Was A Rolling Stone". 

So much music and so much to learn about the songwriters!

Mary, Queen of Scots (November 2018 Release Date)

You will never guess...I just did a lot of reading about Mary, Queen of Scots (as one does!) and as I was pondering this woman's life and death, I happened to notice that a new film will be released at the end of this year..."Mary, Queen of Scots"!   The film will star Saoirse Ronan as Mary and Margot Robbie as Elizabeth I. (These two stars were just competing against each other at the Golden Globes...and Saoirse Ronan won.)  One thing I remember about Mary was that she was very tall, especially for that time period, she towered over her first husband as she was about 5 foot, 11 inches. 
Saoirse Ronan is 5 foot, 6 inches.  It is all in the portrayal, I know, but of course it is something I had to mention to you.

So...what do you think about these two? (Not the actresses, the real people!)  Should Mary have been declared the Queen of England?  Did Elizabeth truly have a legitimate claim?   Elizabeth must have thought so, she had her....
No, I will NOT tell you, you will have to look this up or wait for the movie!  (You will be able to guess, I am sure, Elizabeth after all, was the daughter of Henry VIII!)  

I tend to side with Queen Mary and think the best of her, but then, I also try to do the same with Elizabeth and think, what would I have done if I had been in her shoes?  You see, that is what we forget when we are reading about these "historical figures".  They were people, albeit in this case, royalty, but they were still unsure of the outcome of what the future could bring.  (And when your very life depends upon your decisions, I can appreciate how carefully one would have had to consider.)

Would love to tell you that this is a "loch" in Scotland! Alas, it is not, it is just a small lake in Georgia which has a thin layer of ice upon it.
Just had to have a photo to go along with my post!
Stay warm and let's get through February!