Category: Music

Mr. Scruffy's News

Mr. Scruffy’s Happy News – January 10, 2017

Pam B. Newberry
Mr. Scruffy's News - Happy
Mr. Scruffy, a dedicated owl who offers news and advice for those who want to read it.

Mr. Scruffy here. How have you been? It’s been cold. We got about three or four inches of snow here at Hobbit’s Bend, and then the deep chill came on. Sunday morning it got down to 10 degrees Fahrenheit. That be cold, for sure. Burr. Am I glad I was snuggled up close to the wood stove. The warmth of a fire can not be beat. And, it makes me happy. Enough of my dribble…

On with the news

1. Stop Chasing After What You Think Will Make You Happy — How do you help yourself to be happy? Let me recommend – Pursue the things you love. You know all “creatives” need a jolt to get them back on track, stay on track, or just walk the track. Pursuing what you love, helps you stay on track. At least, it does me. What do you love? What do you wish you had time to do? Where would you go? Do you have places you’ve dreamed of visiting? Where would you go if you only had one trip you could make? This past Sunday, Pam shared about how she returned to doodling and it was helping her be more creative (See Bullet 3). Not that she hasn’t been creative lately. She thought me up. Hahaha. Besides doodling, I’ve found some other things you might want to try:

  • Find a website or blog that offers suggestions you can wrap your mind around. One such site is http://www.lifehack.org <– Life Hack offers a variety of resources besides a blog and you can get daily briefings sent to your e-mail to ponder.
  • Find things that are fun for you and do them. What do I enjoy? Watching the snow fall while sitting on a glassed-in porch with a blazing wood stove keeping me warm. My mind wonders as I watch the birds flying around outside, the bald eagles soar, the creek frozen from the temperature dipping below 15 degrees. I’m happy, warm, and content.
  • Find things that you enjoy listening to from poetry to songs you can sing along with because you know the words from years of singing along with the radio. Hearing Poetry Out Loud is a fine example. Music is another matter. I’m not sure there is enough room for all the songs I’ve come to love to listen to while Pam works. She’s made YouTube listings for her songs. For, The Fire Within – she has this YouTube song list, while for her current writing The Chronicles of Eldershire — this is a YouTube song list in progress (See point below for an update on her progress).

2. Watching PBS anything. It doesn’t matter what you watch, or if you have a favorite – support the public broadcasting because the service is worth it. A couple of favorites of mine – Masterpiece — many of its shows, but especially Sherlock – Season 4 – Episode 1 – The Six Thatchers are down right fun and some are maddening. America’s Test Kitchen with Christopher Kimbell is not only informative, but entertaining. Pam loves cooking. I love eating her food. It’s a win-win. Need I say more?

3. Enjoy good comedy. Cartoons are a must. Shaun the Sheep is so funny. I almost fall off my perch each time I watch an episode. There is even a Shaun the Sheep movie. I can’t wait to watch it with my human protectors. “Oh, it’s Shaun the Sheep; It’s Shaun the Sheep…” duh, duh, duhahahaha. Love it!

4. News from Hobbit’s Bend: Pam has been hard at work. Here’s her latest report—

“I’m writing, editing, erasing, blogging, journaling, and doodling. Trying to get my second trilogy written. A few snapshots of the story in the first book: A magical hat. A sixty-three year old woman wants to die after she caused the deaths of her family. Wood sprites. Tree spirits. Crazy, wicked witch who thinks she’s a dragon, of all things. An owl that talks (Shhhh…that’s me). A boy who should be a man. Will KC help save the Elderwians and the Brooks Forest? How will she get home?”

Now that Twelfth Night is over, we’ve also been slowly putting up our Christmas decorations. Do you celebrate Twelfth Night? I never knew it was a very old British folk custom. Shakespeare wrote about it in this way:

“…no spirit dare stir abroad;

The nights are wholesome; then no planets strike;

No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm,

So hallow’d, and so gracious is the time…” (Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 1)

Thanks for reading…see ya next week!

Mr. Scruffy

 

This post Mr. Scruffy News - January 10, 2017 first appeared on Pam's Blog.

 

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Sleep - No Sleep

Is it Just Me? Oh, My Gosh! It Was!

Pam B. Newberry

Okay. I admit it. I’m lost today. Sleep did not come to me very easily last night. I’ve been up since 3:00 a.m. trying to figure out just where I am, where I want to go, and how I can get there.

Is it Just Me? Oh, My Gosh! It Was!

The problem comes in that I’m trying to learn to do so many things that I find I’m not doing any of them as well as I like. Yep, I’m a type A–gold sealed in fact. I have the badge to prove it.

Right now, I’d like to crawl in a hole. What I need to do is go out into the yard and begin to pull those dreaded weeds that have taken up residence over night. Yes, I know we needed the rain. I’m not one to complain about rain. It’s just the overcast clouds are adding to my doom and gloom!

“Where’s my wine when I’m whining?” I call out in frustration.

“It’s 9:30 in the morning. Your going to drink now?”  Myself asked.

“Yes. If I could get away with it. But, in my heart, I know it wouldn’t help. What I need is music.”

“What kind of music?” Me turns on the stereo.

“Pandora. Or Sirius Spectrum. How about some The Head & The Heart or Coldplay or First Aid Kit?”

The music begins to play (Click to listen to my playlist).

Ah. I slip into the moment where my soul begins to relax. I’m at peace. With no sleep, I find that me, myself, and I have a hard time coping with the world sometimes.

Life is good. I’m focused now. I can get back to it. Oh, did I mention that I didn’t get any wine, but I did get some chocolate! Yum!

Write on!
Pam

The post Is it Just Me? Oh, My Gosh! It Was! first appeared on Pam’s Blog.

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Music, Death, and Magical Moments

Pam B. Newberry

After eleven days, I’m finally at a point where I can put into words my thoughts regarding music, death, and magical moments.

These words may seem strange put together, but they popped into my mind ten days ago when  I read Missing Pieces, a very touching blog post on the Letters to Ian blog written by Ian’s mother, Blair.

At the time of finding Blair’s blog, I was responding to an assignment given by the Blogging University 101 — assignment two to be exact. We were asked to visit other participants in the Blogging 101 class and to comment on the titles and tag lines of new blogs that were starting or to comment on those revised titles and tag lines of established blogs. Blair had updated her title to I Am Still Your Mother with a subtitle of Don’t you give me that look…

The second I read her title and tagline, I wanted to read her blog. I could so hear those words being said to me when I was growing up. I also knew I had said them myself to our daughter. I had even said them years ago to my little brothers when we were growing up in an orphanage (more about that in another post sometime). Of course, when I said those words to my brothers, it was more like screaming, and I said, “I’m your sister. And, you better not give me that look again!”

Reading Blair’s letter to Ian, Missing Pieces, took me back to feeling the grief and pain I had not felt for a while. Her letter reminded me of the magnitude of the loss of my youngest brother, Ralph, at the age of twenty-five in 1982, due to a motorcycle accident. He loved to listen to Queen, which was the artist Blair shared as she recounted the memory of listening to several of Queen’s songs with her son, Ian in a letter she writes him.

And, I felt the surge of grief and pain increase when I read the words from We are the Champions, which was a huge favorite of Ralph’s. Life being what it is, I began to think about music and how it affects our lives in so many ways.

Just as quickly, my mind took me to the memory, pain and loss of two nephews, Josh and Justin. Both were killed in a car accident in 2007. This time Creed’s With Arms Wide Open and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Free Bird were the center pieces as our family managed somehow to maneuver through the labyrinth of a two-day funeral process. One for Justin (eighteen and two weeks away from high school graduation) followed by one for Josh (twenty-four with a free spirit).

Creed’s With Arms Wide Open youtube video:

For years after their passing, listening to music by Queen, Creed, or Lynyrd Skynyrd would cause my heart to slow a little, pain a little, and then I’d shake it off, followed with anguish over the loss. Time, as many say, has a way of helping the healing process to begin. This I know. When I hear music by Queen, Creed, or Lynyrd Skynyrd, it is as though by magic, I no longer anguish over my brother’s or my two nephews’ loss. I celebrate in the memories. I cherish the time we had. I, do, still long for more. I pray that one day we will be reunited. Until that time, I’m going to play the music, dance when it moves me, and cherish the magic it brings to my soul.

How about you? How has music, death, or magical moments touched your life?