I Love Al Jarreau

I have loved Al Jarreau for decades. I first heard the romantic song "After All". Then I heard the upbeat "Mornin'". Then I heard the theme song "Moonlighting" on that TV show (which I also loved, by the way). I loved them all. I bought the album "Breaking Away" back in the 80s. I recently bought the "The Very Best Of" CD and have discovered him all over again.

I love jazz, particularly Dave Brubeck, and Al does amazing things on this CD with "Take Five" and "Blue Rondo a la TurK". As the CD insert says, "he fearlessly tackled the challenge of improvising in the tricky 5/4 meter". I never imagined lyrics to "Rondo" but he and Dave Brubeck wrote them for this "virtuosic vocal" ("melody married to harmony"). It is simply a joy to listen to, energetic and inventive.

We saw Al at an outdoor concert in the 80s. Wow! When he sang "Boogie Down" the whole place was up dancing and rocking. A great memory! I feel the same way every time I listen to it.

I have been trying to post some of his songs here from YouTube but can't make it work. After I go visit the Genius Bar I will try again. I just couldn't wait to share this!

Kitties On Our Deck

These are some of the homeless kitties that we have adopted. We did TNR... trap, neuter, release. They live in our neighborhood, mostly in back yards adjacent to our house. They gather on our deck for food and shelter.

The photo above is blurry because I took it through the screen door.

The little blacks ones are sisters of Munchkin, the one we adopted to live in our house with us. Munchkin was the friendliest one and was very easy to tame. She is the friendliest of our indoor kitties. It amazes me that kitties who are born in the wild and considered feral are capable of being so tame and friendly

The little blue cubes in the background are some of their shelters. They have large, insulated igloo-type doghouses for the winter.

I would say these kitties are now "semi-tame". They wait for us to bring food in the morning and run to the door when they see us. Like this:

Oh well, I might as well put up the whole photo album:

I guess some people think I'm silly... but I love these kitties!

Blog Love

I am a fan of blogs. I like the people whose blogs I read. I would miss them if they were to stop blogging. Some bloggers have given up and gone to Facebook. I'm on Facebook too, but it doesn't feel the same. Blogging has more depth and more thought goes into it.

Bloggers share more. They share their crafts, their art, their recipes, their interests, and so much more. I have learned from bloggers. I have been inspired by bloggers. They have made me laugh, made me cry, and made me think. I don't get that from Facebook.

Blog World

Moonlighting

I loved this show!

Do you remember it?

Bruce Willis looked so young...

They were great together... so funny!

I wish they would bring it back... maybe on TV Land? I loved the theme song too; "Moonlighting" by Al Jarreau. I love him too. I tried to put embed it here from YouTube but it didn't work. Oh well... if you want to hear it go to YouTube yourself.

Going To The Farm

It was a hazy, hot morning as we started our drive to the farm. We crossed the river into Ohio. The Cincinnati skyline is usually a very pretty sight, but it was obscured by the muggy haze this day.

Officially, this is called the "Clay Wade Bailey" bridge, but locals call it the "Big Mac" bridge. Can you guess why?

A little over an hour later, we arrive at the farm:

It's peaceful and quiet, and there's a swing...

...and there are kittens:

and a gentle giant of a dog.

The old blacksmith shop was built by my great-great-great-grandfather. The farm has been in my family since 1811, when it was granted to my ancestor by an act of Congress.

The man in the photo is the actual farmer. He and his son run the farm for us.

Our great-great-great-grandfathers used horses to farm; they made their own horseshoes here. Amazing!

That was our tour of the family farm. Next, we go on to lunch, then the annual meeting. In the car on the way to the meeting:

When I was her age, we didn't even have a/c in the car!

At lunch:

The "kid's table":

We meet for lunch at a great Dayton, Ohio market, Dorothy Lane Market. Wish we had it in Kentucky! It's our local version of Wegman"s. If you know what that is, you know why we wish we had one in Kentucky.

Ready for the meeting:

Finally, we were on our way back home. The hill in the background is Mt. Adams. It's a great, funky neighborhood with a Tony Award winning playhouse and lots of cool restaurants.

Back across the river, into Kentucky:

This bridge is called the "Purple People" bridge. It's a pedestrian-only bridge. A few years ago, you could climb across the top but they didn't make enough money so they discontinued it. Now there is talk of putting a restaurant on the bridge.

There was lots of traffic, because of a concert later that night:

I left my house at 7:45 in the morning and got home at 7:00 that evening. It was a long, hot day!

My Nieces on Molly's Birthday

The other day, we celebrated Molly's tenth birthday. As usual, I was busy taking pictures of them.