Tag: friends

Hearts and no flowers

A few of my little stone and crystal friends because the Internet is full of hearts right now.


Labradorite and rose quartz


A couple of river rocks


Healerite and goldstone


Black moonstone and amethyst


Amazonite and white banded carnelian

They remind me there are so many variations on love in the Neverending Saga. Love can be…complicated.

The perfect music for writing on an overcast, drizzly day when my characters are grappling with love and all it demands and provides is music by the great Texas blues guitarists, the Vaughan brothers. I’ll always miss Stevie Ray and wonder what music he’d have created if he hadn’t died too soon. The biography Texas Flood: The Inside Story of Stevie Ray Vaughan, by Alan Paul and Andy Aledort, is a good account of him if you like biographies. Many years ago, I wrote a musician who turned his life around from a very dark place, and Stevie Ray Vaughan later proved to me that not only could it be done, he dedicated so much time to helping others who grappled with addictions.


Jimmie Vaughan, Strange Pleasure; The Vaughan Brothers, Family Style; Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, Greatest Hits, The Sky Is Crying, and The Real Deal: Greatest Hits 2; various artists including Jimmie Vaughan, A Tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan.

ETA: Oops, missed one. Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble’s In Step.

In the live version (below) of “Look At Little Sister,” watch for the smoothest guitar switch ever after a string breaks (around 2:40). I freely confess to having a moment like this in the Saga as tribute to Stevie Ray and the guitar techs who make live music fun for us all. I’m so glad Tom and I (with Lynne) got to see Stevie Ray in person after we moved to Texas.

Mood: Monday


The Primrose Girl
oil on canvas
William Ward Laing, English, ca 1873 to 1902

Today is National Primrose Day for the flower lovers among you.

I didn’t watch the Grammys last night, but congratulations to Miley Cyrus for her first Grammy wins, Best Pop Solo Performance and Record of the Year, for her song “Flowers.” I read a brief history of the song at some point recently. It originally had a sad trajectory, then somewhere in the process she turned it into a song of empowerment after a broken relationship. That and being catchy definitely worked to the song’s advantage.


Fun photo thinking back to that day in October 2009 when my Miley Cyrus doll and I went shopping. Now I wish our nearby antique mall still existed. Debby and I loved browsing there. It was a great place to find unique gifts. Too late, I realize I could have had a lot of fun posing my dolls among the antiques and collectibles. Missed opportunities.

The way I’m structuring the seventh novel in the Neverending Saga is tricky, and I’m working it out as I go. Even if it has to change, I’m going to be thinking of “Flowers” when I get to the character who’s made some big changes in her life between the sixth book and this one. I want her to have that spirit.

ETA: Oh, for crap’s sake. Just read this reference on a post-Grammy sum-up of how well women fared in the awards last night: –From Eilish’s heart-stopping performance of “What Was I Made For?”—wearing cat’s-eye sunglasses and a 1960s sweater like Peggy Olson from “Mad Men”—

If only they’d done their homework, they’d have understood Billie Eilish’s outfit was a tribute to Barbie, the film, and the Barbie doll. The photo from the Grammys:


Photo by Valerie Macon/Agence France-Presse, Getty Images

Eilish was wearing classic Barbie!

Poodle Parade Barbie, my 1995 reproduction of the 1965 original


Shared this version because the film version makes me cry, and I still haven’t seen the movie yet.

Run to you


The most recent play list: Diana Ross and the Supremes 2-CDs, Anthology. Not really sure why they were in the middle of the “T”s but they have now been relocated correctly in the CD binders. Also listened to the Trio CD from Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, and Emmylou Harris.


Forthcoming: U2’s Achtung, Baby 1991, and Pop, 1997.
I didn’t lose any U2 albums in the flood. What I had was on cassettes long ago and long gone, including Rattle and Hum, which I’ll likely get again. I must have something in iTunes–Oh, yes! The one everyone with an iTunes account received free in September 2014 before it was released that October, Songs of Innocence. I remember the bitterness from people who aren’t U2 fans having it downloaded into their iTunes without their consent. I also have “Invisible,” the RED edition, in iTunes.

I have no beef with U2. Sometimes I agree with their messages; sometimes I don’t. Some of their music resonates with me, some doesn’t. I used a tear of their sheet music to get a lyric for a painting I did a couple of years ago. Afterward, I was thrilled to remember I have a brother-in-law who loves U2, so I offered, and he gave a home to, the painting. That made me really happy, because I love him and respect what U2 means to him.

I’m making great effort not to amplify what distresses me most in the world. I’m trying to make my little world, including Houndstooth Hall and its writing sanctuary, as well as this blog, places where I feel safe. I can’t always shut down my anxieties and distress over global events, politics, war, and hate. I can only try to manage them. I appreciate the people in my life who understand this isn’t a new struggle for me, but it has been exacerbated by several factors in recent years.

I saw this the other day and it resonated, too. Doing my best.

Below, one of my favorite U2 songs, is supposed to be about a guy who’s fallen in love and is a little overwhelmed by it. But it always makes me think of a message my mother once sent to me through Tom:
“Tell Becky to stop trying to save the world.”

So far on midweek Wednesday


I no longer have any James Taylor on vinyl, but I think I lost at least my original Sweet Baby James to someone who “borrowed” it. A few incidents like that are why I stopped loaning albums and books to anyone who isn’t named “Lynne.” Lynne might forget she borrowed something (she’d be the first to say so!) but if I reminded her, she’d absolutely return it.

A bit of wisdom age afforded me: People who deliberately steal stuff from you are not your friends and will also lie to you and about you.

I lost 17 Three Dog Night albums to the Harvey flood and was able to save four on vinyl; replaced the drowned It Ain’t Easy with this CD; and acquired The Best of Three Dog Night to give me at least some of the songs I loved listening to. In time, I’ll decide which of their albums I want to replace, though it won’t be all of the live ones and imports (I had those because 3DN was among a small group of artists for whom I collected everything, including rarities–not a goal, anymore).

When listening to their music, I can always identify which of Three Dog Night’s three singers (Cory Wells, Danny Hutton, or Chuck Negron) takes the lead on any song. The three of them worked with Brian Wilson when the Beach Boys were making their Wild Honey album, and Brian’s sometime-collaborator Van Dyke Parks said he (Van Dyke) was part of creating the name “Three Dog Night.”

Decades later, Danny Hutton is still part of Brian’s group of friends and revolving musicians. In sadder news, it was announced that Brian’s second wife, Melinda Ledbetter Wilson, who’s credited with changing and improving his life starting in the 1980s, died unexpectedly yesterday. If you like musician docudramas/biopics, their story is portrayed in the film Love & Mercy.

Three Dog Night didn’t write their own music, but they sure had the pipes to sing other artists’ songs and make them hits. RIP, Cory Wells, along with your bandmates Jimmy Greenspoon, Joe Shermie, and Floyd Sneed, and your fishing buddy Rob Grill of the Grass Roots. I was a fan of you all.

Here’s Chuck taking the lead on this blast-from-the-past version of “Easy To Be Hard,” written for the musical Hair.

ETA 2/11/24: Acquired another Three Dog Night compilation, The Complete Hit Singles. It’s basically what’s on The Best of Three Dog Night plus one song. That’s all right.

Mood: Monday

There’s art. Assign the mood it evokes for you, regardless of the painting’s name.

Solace
oil and mixed media on canvas, 2015
©Deedra Ludwig, USA


Then there are coloring pages. While looking through this book, ponds were still on my mind. Started coloring just before bedtime one night to wind down. Resumed a day later when waiting for an appointment while also plotting and storybuilding in my head. Finally finished it today when I got home from a run of several errands.

Below is what I colored.

During writing time, these were on the playlist.


Switchfoot, The Best Yet; Taylor Swift, Fearless: Taylor’s Version, two disks; Red: Taylor’s Version; two disks.

I’d forgotten there’s a song on that Switchfoot CD that I gave to one of my Saga couples long ago. In fact, she even uses an image in it to describe her attraction to him. It so happens to be the male character I’m writing now, so the song was helpful for writing him (even though he hasn’t met her yet).

I’ll be getting more Taylor Swift music. I like listening to her. I understand why adolescent girls like her. I would have, too, when I was a ‘tween/teenager. I’m glad I had (deep breath!) Dusty Springfield, Lulu, the Supremes, Carole King, Gladys Knight, Carly Simon, Mama Cass, Aretha Franklin, Karen Carpenter, Cher, Grace Slick, Joni Mitchell, Janis Joplin, Tina Turner, Janis Ian, Linda Ronstadt, Joan Baez, Emmylou Harris, and later, Rickie Lee Jones, Debbie Harry, Chrissie Hynde, Ann and Nancy Wilson, Christine McVie, Stevie Nicks. And Madonna, Annie Lennox, Bonnie Raitt, Whitney Houston, Sinéad O’Connor, Alanis Morissette, Sheryl Crow.  Some of the women I’ve left out include country singers and girl groups that came before I was buying music or had control of the radio or stereo the way my parents and older siblings did. I loved plenty of them, too, and I never listened to anyone who said they weren’t as good as their “favorites” or that rock and roll or popular music was really the place of male artists.

ETA on 1/30/24: You know, it was just a matter of being in the “S” section when I got to my two Taylor Swift CDs. Timing. Thanks to my goal every week of getting a notification that says, “Your screen time was down __% last week for an average of __ hours, __ minutes a day,” I’ve eliminated seeing a lot of online hate and vitriol. No Fear Of Missing Out in that regard.

ETA on 1/31/24: Sorry for being vague, but I’m cackling at this and need to note it for myself: 150 seconds out of 9.5 hours. Or 150 seconds out of 34200 seconds. Math is fun.

Brunch

Tom and I had a great time cooking, eating, and socializing today with Rhonda, Lindsey, and Timothy. (Debby wasn’t able to join, so Jack and even Delta hung out with her and Stewie for a bit, and we sent her a plate of goodies and dessert.) Lots of cooking happened, like some Millennium Falcon waffles from Tom.

Pretty sure Pepper was hoping for a handout.

We also had pancakes from Rhonda and a quiche from Lindsey. I baked Jim’s popular egg casserole, and we had lots of fresh fruit and bacon. It was good to be together and catch up, because it’s been way too long.

Also, we were celebrating Lindsey’s birthday, so of course there was cake!

She got the unicorn decoration to keep. I didn’t want any chocolate frosting staining those hooves, and if you’ve been around a while, you might recognize the unicorn’s “platform” from several stories about the lime slice coasters through the years.

Full Wolf Moon in Leo

I found the quote below from Elle magazine’s online site about this month’s full moon.

A cosmic shot of courage is coming our way on January 25, and we have the first full moon of 2024 to thank for it. The full wolf moon, as January’s lunation has been dubbed, is a nod to the brave packs that howl at this time of year. There’s no better full moon for finding or establishing your public voice.

The full moon is in Leo, and here’s a link to the article if you want to know how this moon affects your sign.

As I read the article, I remembered a story Marika shared with me in August of 2022. August was her birth month, and she was very proud of being a Leo. But there was another identity she embraced as well. She was drawn to the wolves in fiction and fairy tales. We had fun during the Twilight times discussing wolf versus vampire. It was Anne Rice who made me a vampire fan, and this is a lenticular print Marika sent me that changes between Twilight’s Jacob Black (wolf) and Edward Cullen (vampire) as you shift it.

I’m very glad to still have her real-life story she shared in my text messages so I can retell it. Marika worked in a big box retail store, and I’ve only lightly edited what she texted me (she wouldn’t mind–she always asked for my edits).

A little girl came in and had her face painted like a dog and I asked if she were a dog and she shook her head and said, loud and proud, “I’m a werewolf!” And I said I was a werewolf, too, and it was very important [to answer] when she heard our tribe’s call. I waited until she was in the fruit section, and I howled. And without missing a beat, she tossed back her head and howled. I howled again, and so did she.

My boss was standing behind me and said, “I didn’t know you were a werewolf.”

So when they checked out, she came running to me and whispered, “I’m glad you’re a werewolf, too,” and that’s when I told her, “In a world of unicorns, be a werewolf.” And I told her I hadn’t been really happy in a long time…but she changed that, and she was tickled. Her mother came up, and she turned around and howled again, so I did, too.

I dedicate today’s Full Wolf Moon to the Leo Marika and her reminder that whenever we need it, we can find our inner wolf strength, raise our voices to tell our stories, and call out to our pack in solidarity.

Wolf sculpture gift of Tom’s mother in the 1990s.