My Ode To Spring …
OK Spring … It’s time.
You have teased and taunted us for the last month, with 70 degree weather one day and snow the next!
Over the Winter you gave us little tastes of your magic; Christmas Day with screen doors open celebrating around the fire-pit.
Now it is time …
As soon as I start thinking I should bring out the Patio furniture, Mother Nature leans in and whispers, “not yet”. Then it snows. And not just a dusting of snow.
It’s time …
I want to be outside on the Patio. I have new lights, new recipes and new ideas. I want to Party!
I want to open the windows and breathe fresh Spring air.
I want to enjoy my first cup of Joe sitting on the porch while the sun peaks over the horizon. I want to hear the birds sing as I relax deep in a novel, the sun warming my bare shoulders. I want to sip wine in the evening near the crackling fire with smooth jazz playing in the background.
I want to end the day sitting under the stars enjoying the show as the Patio glows softly while daylight fades and the fairy lights begin to twinkle.
I want Spring …
The Holiday Season: A Glance Back
I’ve finally started to take the Christmas decorations down and in doing so, reflected on what this past Holiday has meant to me.
It was a wonderful Holiday Season, although, at times it seems like a distant memory after getting back into the daily grind. That stretch between Thanksgiving and New Years’ Eve can be pretty hectic, with demands from family, friends, work and last-minute Christmas shopping. But I’m still basking in the glow of this year in particular.« Continue »
HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA
Sweet Moments: Lunch with Mom at The Cedar Street Grille
Life really is about grabbing moments and creating memories. Last Friday, I skipped out early from work, picked my mother up and took her to lunch at The Cedar Street Grille. What a fabulous afternoon: great company, great food and great memories.« Continue »
Patio Fun! An Unexpected Gift Twilight Lounge Glasses!
A Patio should be all about Fun! A peaceful haven for friends, laughter, food and fire. Think about it, if you don’t take yourself too seriously any ‘project’ you may tackle can’t go too wrong.
So that outdoor fireplace you tried to build with cement and stone didn’t turn out the way you had hoped? Add a little paint, gather some plants around it and even a botched outdoor fireplace could turn into a great focal point on your patio. With a back story to tell!
My patio has been a work in progress for several years; ideas develop and change constantly. My friends are very aware of this and encourage it. When I christened my Patio the ‘Twilight Lounge’ after a sign I found in an Army Navy store several years ago, it was with a touch of whimsy. Now, all my friends have named their outdoor spaces, very cool!« Continue »
Life’s Curve Balls
It’s the new year, we’ve said good-bye to the old and look forward to a new year filled with good (better) things than the past year. We vow to make positive changes and forgive our past indulgences. Your off to a good start and then life starts throwing curve balls at you.« Continue »
A Magical Evening with Cat Stevens / Yusuf
“Now I’ve been happy lately, thinking about the good things to come and I believe it could be something good has begun” ~ Cat Stevens
I had the immense pleasure to see Cat Stevens / Yusuf at the Wang Center in Boston Sunday night. It was unlike any concert I have been to.
I go to concerts to see my favorite performers live and listen to their music, right? Concerts are about the music and visual stimulation. Well, the music was fabulous, the stage setting was tranquil and he looked great.
But this was more about feeling. In a deep way.
I experienced a different kind of excitement that night, something almost magical; kind of like the night-before-Christmas excitement I had when I was a kid and still believed in Santa Clause. Truly, this concert was an experience.
When I was a child, it was pure magic, waking up on Christmas morning, so excited that Santa Claus had visited my house in the middle of the night. Did he leave that ONE gift I had wished for all year long? Think about that for a second. I waited all year wondering if I would get a special gift. That was a magical time.
And so was seeing Yusef / Cat Stevens play again. A gift I have waited so many years to ‘open’.
Cat Stevens played his last U.S. concert in 1976. 1976! At the height of his Mega-Stardom. I didn’t know he had left music at first. There was no Farewell Concert Tour.
We were not alerted to every single event, whether catastrophic or mundane, every second of our life on our cell phones. And we certainly did not know the daily comings and goings and most intimate details of celebrities.
We could not Google them, download music on a whim or pull up a video on YouTube.
They were ‘Stars’. Bigger than life and mysterious. We were lucky enough to enjoy their creativity once in a while without being saturated with the minutia of their daily movements.
Aside from going to a concert, the only opportunity to catch a glimpse of your favorite musician was on TV. I used to stay up late or make sure I was home on a Friday night to watch my faves on Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert or The Midnight Special. The release date of a new album was a major event.
And I would take every opportunity I could to see Cat Stevens on TV. I can remember vividly watching one show that featured his artwork along with his music; it was the art from Tea for the Tillerman. I was mesmerized.
For me, Cat Stevens has been in a time capsule.
I adored him. His words spoke to my heart. His music lifted me. I had a full length poster of him hanging on my wall. The quote above was in my yearbook. Many milestones in my life were reached with his music as my soundtrack.
But I never got to see Cat Stevens live.
That he left music saddened me. This gorgeous man with the silky voice who wrote and sang about love and peace with such passion.
Why he left I can understand completely. More now than ever. We are all searching for contentment and we seek that in many forms. His was a spiritual journey. I can appreciate and respect that. But I missed him.
Watching him sing and play and listening to his words from the perspective of 30 years lived, I realized just how relevant his message is today as it was when he wrote the words. His music touched me on a completely new level.
I swear I was in a total state of bliss for much of the next day.
And by the many standing ovations he received, I wasn’t the only one feeling the magic that night.