Ode to the grapes🍇

I'm working on my 3rd glass of wine. 🍷I just thought I should warn you.                                    I don't think wine drinking will ever go out of style. Wine seems so classy, even elegant at times. I found myself humming this old song I used to love, and I then I remembered a few of the lyrics. "From the vine came the grape, from the grape came the wine." A great but underrated group called "The Gaylords" sang that little ditty. That's them below. ⬇️

Seeing how it's been years since doing a blog post, I've forgotten how to add certain things like song links, but I'm gonna try. Give this great song a listen. You'll be happy you did! Cheers, y'all! 🍇🍷🍇

https://youtu.be/fFFzsBsxnQk

Kiss me once, kiss me twice 💋

It's been a long, long time! (See what I did there? I was compelled to use an old, classic song title. I can't help myself!) I haven't posted anything since June of 2011! Wow, shame on me!

I guess I should try to explain why I haven't posted in the last 11 years and 5 months, but I'm not in the mood to write about that now. I just wanted to get back on the "blog scene", and give it that ol' college try. 

Let's chat about a cute little plant that is currently coming into flower on my lanai.

I absolutely love that one of it's common names is "palm beachbells"!  I love, love, love palms and the beach makes me feel young and revitalized. The blossoms on my particular plant probably wouldn't overly impress too many people, but they sure impress me. Here are a couple of photos of mine. I love that the flowers hang upside down. They're kinda pinkish/salmon/cream hued with a reddish "stripe" and a yellowish interior.

The original plant was given to me by a wonderful, compassionate and thoughtful friend. She'll be featured in a future post. I'm privileged to have her in my life.                          This sure hasn't been an exciting, witty, vibrant comeback post, but at least I'm back! I used to feel a cathartic release when I blogged. I hope this go-around brings the same release. 

I'll be in touch! Speaking of touching, here's a close up of a rather famous (or should I say infamous?) touch as imagined by an artistic genius, Michelangelo.

"The Creation of Adam" 

I left my heart in...Massachusetts



My bloomers

 Ya, ya, it's supposed to be San Francisco, but I borrowed a little artistic license. I'm writing this with slightly glazed over eyes. I had a surreal experience one sunny afternoon while visiting my home state. I had the privilege of spending 6 hrs. with a person whom I hadn't seen in nearly 21 years. That's a long time considering that I own underwear older than that, lol.

The proverbial supernova

I'm so not sure why I've always had this connection to this dude I met back in 1990, but boy oh boy, there's definitely a spark or 2 remaining between us. Other people saw it and commented too. The server at the restaurant said the 2 of us lit up the booth we were sitting in. And later, a bartender asked us how long we'd been together. I laughed and looked at my watch and answered it had been about 5 hrs., lol. Mr. cute bartender didn't stop there. He said he'd seen lots of couples over the yrs., but when my friend and I walked in, he instantly saw an aura around us. Hell, we glowed brighter than a supernova!
I'm still under a spell that was cast that day, my mind has been going fast and furious. It wasn't even a lust thing, it's always been something more. And, I think that's what's bothering me. That damned connection thing! We had originally broken up because life got in the way, too many barriers at the time prevented us from seeing it through. Now, fate has presented it's ugly face as well as presented me with another barrier. The "slight" problem of 1,500 miles between us. Unkind? You betcha bippy!

For now, I need and want to bask in this feeling. For the first time in many years, I know that my heart still beats. It's been a long time! I had convinced myself that I never wanted to date again, or have a relationship, or to love again. I'm not dead afterall! Should I pray to the fates? Beg kismet, God, Buddha, or whoever, for another chance? I don't want this to end, it can't end! Please don't let it end............

It's a Marshmallow World





A New England invention!



Wow, I can't believe I haven't blogged in so long! What's up with that? It's not that there haven't been a myriad of thoughts in my head lately, it's just that I haven't felt like writing those thoughts out. Let's call it a self-imposed writer's block, okay? See, there's another great thing about blogging, there are no deadlines or obligations to meet. Yet, I feel guilty, so this post may be considered a "fluff piece".

Speaking of fluff....there should be snow floating down from the clouds very soon now. Alright, not here in Southwest Florida, but I bet my ol' hometown in Taxachusetts will see the white stuff piling up soon. The only thing I miss about snow, is the childlike wonder I would feel on the first snow of the season. Right up until my mid 30s, I would sit by the nearest window to watch in total silence as those gossamer flakes drifted down and painted everything with a soft layer of whiteness. Of course, the next day driving in the white stuff wasn't always a winter wonderland. (either was the shoveling or scraping of the iced-over windshield)

I love songs about snow, just take a look at this posts' title. I always liked the song, but didn't love it until I heard the Dino version! Oh, who's Dino you're asking? Come on, I'm talkin' 'bout the king of cool, Dean Martin! Back to what I term as seasonal music. My "seasonal" gift this year to my friend Pete up in Worcester, Massachusetts, will be an entire cd filled with winter and snow songs. He's not really into Christmas or Santa songs, so this should be something he'll enjoy.  It's the thought that counts, right? As long as it puts a smile on his face, then my work is done. :) Yup, that Christmas sharing and love is alive in my heart! (and besides, Pete's the "one that got away", so it's nice to slightly rekindle a bit of romance with him, even though we've got this danged 1,500 miles between us)

In case y'all are wondering, I'm always dreaming of a white Christmas too...even in Florida. And I assure you, this year's holiday will definitely be that magical "white Christmas", at least in my heart. So, let it snow baby...making a marshmallow world ain't easy. :)  If you're so inclined, check out Dino singing the title tune right here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VUKlPjwHWs

A Better Life

My mother Claire

Ahhhh, happy Friday blog readers! Today is a rather special day to yours truly. It happens to be the day to celebrate the birthday of my biological mother, Claire. In a previous post, I wrote that I was surrendered for adoption at my birth, but I had the true privilege of not just meeting my biological mother, but also forging a special relationship with her for the last 9 years of her life.

I was never mentally able to call her Mom, Mama, or anything like that. However, within the first month of knowing her, we had comical "pet" names for each other. I inherited plenty of traits from this woman. She left me with a beautiful gift for appreciating music, and I know beyond any doubt, that this gift was forged in the 9 months I spent in her womb. Ya, I know that sounds odd, even to me. Let's see if I can explain this oddity...wish me luck, lol.



Miss Doris Day



I have to rewind time a bit here and give you a glimpse of my background. You see, I grew up in a loving family who had great appreciation for music, though it was different music than what was already embedded in the little gray cells of my brain. Mom and dad enjoyed mostly instrumental styles of music and there weren't many albums by vocalists that played in our home growing up. (but I gotta add, that I love those old instrumentals, people like Mantovani, Bert Kaempfert, Percy Faith, even stuff from Mitch Miller and Ray Coniff) Now, when I was about 8 years old, I had been gifted with my first alarm clock radio. I had found a radio station which played older music. Awesome vocals came out of that clock radio by the likes of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Doris Day, Peggy Lee, Tony Bennett, and on and on. There was something in those vocals that reached inside of me and grabbed me like a ton of hot embers simply melting my heart. I never knew why, but I sure enjoyed listening to that "ancient" music. Throughout my growing up years in grade school and highschool, I never mentioned to any of my friends that I really, really loved Doris Day and that style of music. Doris was a voice from the past that older people had listened to, so I always felt alone and out of place admitting such a thing. Fast forward to the day I met my biological mother, it was May of 1990 and it happened to be one week before Mother's day. Slight bit of irony there, doncha think? After our introductions, one of the first things Claire asked me about was what style of music I listened to. I was a bit shy to answer, perhaps fearful at what everyone else present would think of me. I told her my 2 favorites were Doris Day and Johnny Mathis. Claire's eyes opened as wide as the whale's mouth that swallowed Jonah. I thought she was going to fall off the couch. And by the by, everyone else seemed floored by my "confession" too. Here's why I believe strongly that while I developed in Claire's womb, she instilled my love of certain styles of music. The entire time Claire was carrying me, she listened almost exclusively to 2 singers...Johnny Mathis and Doris Day. Yes the rumors that an unborn child can hear and feel music, are solid truth in my case. The others present, including 3 other siblings that weren't given up for adoption, had all been put to bed nightly listening to Johnny and Doris. They all loved these "singer's singers"! I wasn't alone and out of place afterall!



Johnny Mathis



I mentioned not being able to ever call Claire, mama or mom. However, when she was very sick and dying, I had visited her in the hospital. I was talking to her and she had misunderstood something I said. She thought I had called her mama. Ya know what? I never corrected her because it seemed to make her so happy to finally hear that word come from the son she had given up 36 years earlier. So today I celebrate Claire. Today I thank her for imparting a deep love and appreciation of beautiful music into my life. And today, I thank her for not only giving me life, but for giving me a better life through adoption. I love you Lala!

The Christmas Wish

"I don't know if you believe in Christmas
or if you have presents underneath a Christmas tree
but if you believe in love
that will be more than enough
for you to come and celebrate with me"

The words in quotations above are a portion of some lyrics to a song entitled "The Christmas Wish", written by Dan Wheetman. I had never heard the song until two years ago. Being the sap that I am, I cried my fool eyes out after listening to it. It touched my heart in many ways. I guess you're wondering why I'm writing about the holiday most of us celebrate on Dec. 25th. That's an easy answer, this past Saturday marked just 3 months until Christmas day. Y'all also might be wondering why those 2 famous Muppets are pictured on this post too. The version of the song I listened to was sung by Kermit the Frog. Why on Earth would a forty-something yr. old guy listen to Kermit's song and cry? Hmmm, I wish I could accurately answer that for you, and for myself. I'm sure it has to do with the fact that Kermit makes me think of my youth, a time when things just seemed a bit simpler. It also makes me think of having family to gather with and singing carols while dad played the organ. Just having us all together to share a happy occasion was something rather special. A good 95% of my family is gone now, so is my youth, and so are those seemingly simpler times. Fairly decent reasons to cry I guess.



Simpler times



If you put aside those memories of youth, and days when you were lucky enough to have family to gather with, you're left with some pretty danged beautiful lyrics that have deep meanings behind them. I fully realize that Earth will never have complete peace, or at least as long as humans are still inhabiting this planet. But, perhaps it's the simplicity of merely wishing for such peace that appeals to me and moves me to tears. My heart will always believe that Christmas is about giving of one's self, about holding love for mankind in your heart and sharing that love. I don't believe it's a cliche' to hold love in your heart all year through, or to wish for peace for man, or to wish for peace of mind either. Check out the YouTube link with Kermit. Please listen to the lyrics, the words are truly my Christmas wish. Thank you to Dan Wheetman and to Jim Henson as well. Get a box of tissues ready, then copy and paste the following. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mTIrG3ImHI

Reefer Madness

time to make the donuts

This morning was one of those mornings. Yucky mood, too little sleep, raining, and a ravenous cat screeching in my ear to have his breakfast. (I still love the little hairball though) Yes, today would have been a great "wake & bake" day.

Gotta love it!

I say "would have" because I don't have the necessary ingredients to make that very special breakfast for myself. And that really sucks! Let me turn back the clock a bit here and explain that I was a late-bloomer to the world of cannabis. I didn't try "the devil's weed" until I was 28 yrs. old. I grew up in a family of fairly strict Catholics. And being a good Catholic boy, I didn't dare try any illegal substances. Afterall, I'd surely end up going to Hell in a handbasket, or so I was told. I was so against illegal substances, that I once broke up with a handsome, kind, and loving man over his usage of marijuana...that's how unmovable my thinking was back then. I may never have tried smoking weed if it hadn't have been for the fact that I was devastated and stressed out of my mind after my dad died. My friends and family couldn't say or do anything to console me either. Until one magical day when someone suggested I take a couple of hits off of a joint to calm me down. (a joint is a rolled piece of heaven that makes you feel calmer for awhile) Ya know what? I did feel better and I swear to this day that it also made me see things clearer. It kinda made it so I could examine my inner feelings in a calmer fashion and with much more depth. Let's just call it "herbal therapy".

Yes, I need to chill out a bit today...badly. I need to calm my brain for just a little while. A few glasses of wine really won't help, even a stiff vodka cocktail ain't gonna do the trick. I hate to add this, but y'all know I'm going to anyway. I know firsthand that alcohol is so much worse for my thought processes (and liver, and every internal organ) than smoking a simple plant that has grown on this Earth for centuries. I don't think our "maker" would have made a mistake in putting the cannabis plant here if He or She didn't have a valid use for it. I don't believe that's a cop-out explanation either.

Mmmm, I can almost smell that sweet little bit of dried ganga leaves if I close my eyes and try hard enough. Maybe some future day I'll partake in the smoking of my favorite herb, at least I hope so. Guess I'll leave y'all by saying smoke 'em if you got 'em! And please blow the smoke on down this way if you think of it. My brain will thank you. It's kinda ironic, but I just glanced at the clock and lo and behold, it's 4:20! No kidding! :) 

Anyone care for a road trip?