Yesterday we experienced severe weather in our neck of the woods.
We live in South-Central Minnesota.
Tree branches came down on my street.
The news was worse. Others had been hit harder in surrounding areas.
After the storm, hubby and I took a walk.
Gladly, we enjoyed cooler temps.
Springtime storms can be scary.
I am a weekend worker.
Casual dress is OK when you don’t see anyone else but the radio DJ who worked a shift before you.
Today I am at my radio station doing my Sunday afternoon shift at knuj.net.
https://knuj.net/2022/05/29/music-from-germany-may-29/
I would probably not come out on a nice day if I didn’t love my work.
Yesterday I worked from 130pm until 7pm.
It was girl’s softball on the FM all afternoon yesterday.
As I wheeled into the downtown area where my station is located on a glorious Saturday afternoon, I thought of the many storeclerks, volunteers and other workers who had to be indoors on such a spectacular day.
My boss would call it a Play Hooky Day.
Cheers to all the weekend workers again! You are all amazing! 👏
Last night my husband and I were treated to some beautiful music played by a friend of ours, Ben Marti.
He is a fantastic musician and the son of the owners of Morgan Creek vineyards. He performs each Friday night there.
https://www.morgancreekvineyards.com/staff
Sadly, while he played these glorious tones on the Steinway upright, people yacked loudly, eating, drinking, texting and all I could think was, “Pearls before swine.” Perhaps a bit harsh. Nice atmosphere, nevertheless. Ben says it’s a salon-style vibe.
Nevertheless, after what happened recently in Texas, the horrible elementary school massacre, and the shootings in Buffalo at the grocery store, the music came to me as a balm, and a healing. I so wished many others could be so comforted by it.
The Debussy pieces he played were especially touching and lyrical evoking a feeling of bliss and tranquility. It felt like you were out taking a walk in nature.
I have decided to dedicate each Friday blog post to songs that come my way.
Whenever I discover a new song or remember a good song to share, I will post it here on Fridays.
Today we are going to feature a song that I had not heard before, or did not know much about.
It was dedicated to me by a jazz trio because I was wearing my beret at a jazz night last Saturday night.
The band leader said, “Here is a Django Reinhardt song for you called, “Nuages,” a French word for clouds. ☁️
Here is the illustrious Monsieur Reinhardt on the guitar performing, “Nuages.”
To find out more about Django Reinhardt you can click here.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Django_Reinhardt
Watch Django Reinhardt play incredible music with just 2 fingers on the fretboard.
Starting 11 days ago, I began counting my calories.
True, I took an hiatus from the scale all winter long.
https://zentsmusicstudio.com/2022/04/28/less-self-loathing/
To quote the song by the Chamber Brothers, “Time has Come Today.”
The time has come to quit too much unlimited fun eating and boozing. Mind you, I do allow for a few treats each day, but they are planned and oh so appreciated!
It seems restrictions heighten enjoyments.
I use my smartphone app, Samsung Health, to track my physical progress, including steps, food, sleep and weight.
Now I do not avoid the scale. I get on that sucker every morning and follow my calorie budget of 1450 a day.
I will stick to the plan for I heartily believe that a diet is like a marriage, it doesn’t work if you cheat.
We went to the open house.
The local arts center offers to teach the public the fine art of printing!
https://www.thegrandnewulm.com/cellar-press
The patience of these artists is amazing!
Benjamin Franklin was a printer.
You can be one too!
There is so much to enjoy when the weather turns warmer.
Walks up the street enjoying the blue sky, the trees, and homes brings fun and a bit of stress relief from the crazy news.
To feel better, take time to take in nature.
Yesterday was a very long day.
Nevertheless, it was time to get out of Dodge.
Hubby and I decided to let someone else entertain us with food and music for a change!
So we drove to Morgan Creek Vineyards on a chilly night.
https://www.morgancreekvineyards.com/
It was so pretty outside in the country, but we were able to sit indoors to enjoy the warmth of food, drinks & music!
We went to hear my former college guitar teacher, James McGuire play with his combo.
Longer daylight seems to provide more energy for the soul!
Yesterday was crazy.
What’s a nightmare?
Water in the basement. That’s what.
I went in the laundry room the day before wondering why there was so much water on the floor.
It was running through a wall.
I went to the back room to discover the water in the laundry room was nothing compared to the water on the floor in the back basement room, where the Internet modem is, along with numerous boxes and bins, old computer modems and old electronics. What a pain!
All those boxes and bins standing in 2 to three inches of water.
I mopped and mopped.
I finally had hubby turn off the water to see if it was leaky walls or a leaking pipe.
I phoned the plumber to see if they could squeeze me in on Friday.
They could not.
I spent hours and hours with hubby clearing out that wet storage room.
In desperation, I called the plumber again for a referral. He graciously obliged me with a referral.
A freelance plumber came out
He spotted the problem after awhile.
It turns the problem was pipe in the wall, where we had installed an outdoor faucet for the garden hose, had burst in winter. Never leave the water hose on in the freezing weather!
He replaced the pipe and so far all is well.
Hopefully the problem is solved now.
It looks that way.
I’m very grateful for our local plumber’s referral, and the freelance plumber who was available yesterday to come over, spot and solve our problem!
Like Shakespeare says, “All’s well that ends well!
I am a big fan of German-French-American star Marlene Dietrich.
I like the song “Falling in love again,” so I did a video with hubby here.
One of the most popular motion picture stars of the thirties and forties, Marlene even has her own museum.
Zents Music Studio 