Susan's long weird musical Saga

WARNING: THIS BLOG MAY MAKE SOME PEOPLE SLIGHTLY UNCOMFORTABLE BUT LIKE LISA SAYS IT'S MY BLOG AND I CAN WRITE WHAT I WANT TO.

Well now that I am past my ominous disclaimer I will get to my blog.


I have been thinking lately about some of my favorite music. There aren't a whole lot of albums where I love every song on it. Some of those few are : Steely Dan - Can't buy a thrill, Carole King - Tapestry, Everclear - Songs from an American Movie Part One [this is a teeny bit of a cheat because I don't like the lame last song about Alex's daughter] , Elton John - Yellow Brick Road, Don Mclean - American Pie.

There are more but I think that's enough for now.

Anyway my point here is to talk about what I think is my favorite album of all time. Where every song is just so perfect and connected to each other in the most sublime act of musicrey, that I feel it compares with any famous classical composition from any of the past musical masters.

What wonder of the musical realm could I possibly be referring to. It would be my beloved,

Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon.

Now you might not agree with my assessment of this great work and that's okay by me. There are so many wonderful artists out there that I would actually be a little surprised if anyone agrees with me.

But that's not what this blog is about anyway.

I have had quite a long and curious connection to this great album. It first came to my attention when I was probably 14 or 15. I can't even quite remember my first exposure to it. It could have been when I first heard the song "Money" on the radio but I think I had heard the whole album before that. It might have been at a party I went to at Vicky Morrison's house. It might even have been at Grandma Mathew's house, even though I doubt that too. However I have a very distinct memory of hanging out with the the Twins and listening to it with them and on track three "Time", after the alarm clocks, they told me that the music following that sounded just like the music in a Clint Eastwood film.

It's crazy the things that stay so clear in your memory for years while other much more significant events are just a vague fog.

Well I loved this album and somehow I got my hands on my own copy of it which was a really cool thing for my teen-age self!

At this time in my life, I was doing a lot of things that I should not have been doing. I was pretty rebellious. My best friend Sally and I had discovered the joys of smoking pot, which we did downstairs, in her wing of the house when her Mom and Step-Dad were not home. Although when I think back on it I realize her Mom was the kind of super liberal, almost but not quite a hippy, Mom, whom I doubt really cared what we were doing down there. In fact Sally had marijuana plants growing out on her deck outside her room. So I doubt her Mom would have cared that we smoked the stuff.

Now, I'm not writing about this because I'm proud of it, because I'm not. But I'm also not ashamed of it either. I actually have some really good memories of those times.

We used to go upstairs to her living room where the really good stereo was after we had smoked our stuff. We would listen to Cheech and Chong, The Youngbloods, Cream, even the Rolling Stones. But our favorite was you guessed it......

Dark Side Of The Moon.

Man we loved that album.

So over my teenage years I came to associate the album with getting high.

Fast forward a few years after I had repented of everything and was actually worthy to go to the Temple with Don to be married.

I still had most of my albums that I had accumulated during my misspent youth, and I not only listened to them often, I also introduced them to my young children. My kids have a pretty good background in the really good music of the sixties and the seventies because of me.

The one album that I could not listen to though was Dark Side. It brought back so many memories that I was not in anyway comfortable with. I loved it so much but every time I tried to listen to it I ended up turning it off after the first few minutes, because it made me so uncomfortable.

I believe I actually gave it away to my brother Mike. At least I kind of remember doing that. [Mike if I did and if you still have it could I have it back?] I just could not have it in my life because of all the negative feelings it brought out in me.

Then one day, probably about 15 or 16 years ago, Donald discovered the BMG music service. You know the buy one get twelve free kind of thing? In fact he discovered it with a passion!

That little rat probably had at least three different accounts going at any given time.

I decided I wanted some of that action myself.

I looked through his list and quickly picked out about eight or nine albums that I wanted but then I hit a wall and couldn't really find much else that sounded good. I kept coming across Dark Side Of The Moon though and I finally decided that I had deprived myself long enough. I was a good active Mormon mother of five and that my past was just that. My past.
.
I ordered it along with all the other CD's.

When they came it was the first one I listened to, and you know what?? I loved it all over again!!! I was able to enjoy it for the musical masterpiece it was without any of the negative connotations I was expecting.

I was so relieved to no longer be a prisoner of my past mistakes!!

I have introduced it to all of my children [well except for Shawn, it's so not his style] and they have all loved it.

I try to not listen to it too often because I somehow fear that might dilute it's specialness.

I have been listening to it lately more often and reflecting on my really long weird history with it, so I decided to write this blog. If anyone is still with me I hope you enjoyed my story. And if you are not familiar with this incredible artistic and moving piece of music I strongly reccomend you find a chance to listen to it.

I don't think you will be dissapointed.

Grandma Thoughts

I am sure that everyone who reads my blog also reads my Daughter-in-law Lisa's blog [this is of course, where I would put a link, if I knew how to create links. So please for me imagine a nice link to Lisa's Blog. I know everyone knows how to get there anyway]

OK, I definately know that everyone knows about my precious, youngest, Granddaughter Elisabeth.

Ever since we even started to suspect that Lizzi couldn't see, I would always get right in her face and say, in a soothing voice, Elisabeth it's Grandma, it's Grandma. I do this every time I see her which is quite a lot. I also do Lisa's thing of taking her precious, wecious, chibby, chubby, dimpled little baby hand and touching my face with it.

I knew that someday this would pay off and she would start to know Grandma.

Well I was there today and she had just woken up from her nap and Lisa had put her in her reclining bouncy chair. I always go and lie on my stomach next to her and talk to her and give her the, this is Grandma routine.

I was still talking to Lisa while I was getting down on the floor next to her. I looked at Lizzi and she was starting to smile. I nuzzled her and started with my this is Grandma. She just smiled as big as she could and it suddenly occured to me that she was smiling because she knew who I was!

I was so thrilled my sweet little Elisabeth knows her Grandma!!!

She just kept smiling and she was being so attentive when I took her little Paddywad, [old family name for baby hand] and touched my face with it!!

I pointed out to Lisa that I was sure Elisabeth knew who I was, and Lisa agreed that she was sure she did too.

I have kind of suspected this for the last couple of weeks. I thought she was smiling just for me, and today I am sure of it.

I think another thing that helps is that when I go over there Lex and Lori always come running and screaming GRANDMA!! GRANDMA!!

I truly can't think of anything in this world that brings me more joy that my five beautiful little Granddaughters.

This is definately the BIG pay-off for raising kids. Those of you with young children please learn to enjoy them now, because it goes by so quick. And to all my fellow Grandmas out there have a great day!

Some random thoughts

I was thinking the other day and it occured to me how many different prescription drugs there are. Not just the name brands but also all the generics.

Of course that led me to wondering where on earth do they make all these drugs? Are there plants here in our country that manufacture them? Are they mostly made in other countries and if so then how does the FDA monitor them.

Also, I do know that there are the really big names that are resposible for most prescription Meds {hereafter refered to as PM} but do they have only a few plants where they make all of their PMs or do they have several different ones for different meds.

If they are all made in just a few big plants then how do they schedule what PM gets made when. And I would really like to know how they go about preparing the equipment to go from making anti-depressents to the latest heart PM. Do you think it could ever happen that a little bit of Plazix could contaminate a new batch of say Viagra?

I guess one could just go crazy thinking about such things. Of course if any of my readers {assuming that I have readers of course} knows any answers to these weighty questions let me know.

Well another thing that I think about more often than I should really admit to, is how many silver cars there are today.

Silver you say? I don't think there are so many silver cars. Well my answer to that is that the next time you go out anywhere make a conscious effort to notice silver cars. I bet you will find that you can't go more than two blocks without seeing at least one silver car probably more like two or three. I really don't know when silver became such a popular color for cars, but it sure has taken off.

Now to get really weird! I first noticed this thing with silver cars about five, six months ago. And as sometimes happens with me, I became a little obsessed with noticing silver cars . Not counting them, mind you, just noticing them. It got to where I couldn't go anywhere without being aware of silver cars. It actually started to get on my nerves. Talking to my Husband, oh,
there goes two silver cars. Talking to my daughter while taking her to work, oh, look at that, three silver cars a white car and another silver car. You see what I mean?

I realized I had to stop it. I'm not sure exactly how I did stop it from happening other than just making myself not think about it. Now I can say I am fairly free of silver car noticing, but still every once in awhile when I'm unhappy or really stressed I will let myself notice a few silver cars and amazingly enough it helps to calm me down.

Of Fish and Chips and Drivers Licenses

My son Donald on his blog pointed out that he had a bit of writers' block, thus explaining his failure to post frequent blogs. I don't think I will ever have this problem. I can think of so many things to write about that I could do three blogs a day and still not run out of ideas.

However, since I am humble enough to realize that no one would read this plethora of bloggage I will try to keep my musings to a managable amount.

In our neighboring city of Richland there is a nice little park by the Federal Building slash Post Office. Now as I said it is a pleasant little park with benches, trees, grass, flowers, various park type wildlife and occasional people. Usually business type people on what I assume to be lunch breaks. I enjoy driving by this park whenever I have occasion to be in Richland and on GW Way {the street that runs by said park}.

Several months ago I noticed this quaint little yellow old-fashioned trailor was set up alongside the park with a sign announcing it was a fish and chips stand.

I was intrigued. First of all the only thing like that I've ever seen in the Tri-Cities are taco trucks. I have nothing against taco trucks and there was probably a time when they also seemed exotic. But my point is you seen one taco truck you seen them all.

I was facinated by this new fish and chips vendor though because it was so different and because I love fish and chips and because I really like things that are out of the norm.

Well imagine my dismay when I should happen upon an article in the paper the other day saying that the bossy, bossy, bossy City of Richland whom apparantly had already given the guy a contract and had been happily taking his money has now decided that his being there is probably illegal and they will have to study the problem and come up with REGULATIONS.

I am absolutely outraged by this!!! The article pointed out how popular his little fish and chip establishment is and how the park is seeing more use than it ever has because of him, but is that good enough for the City of Richland??? It is not. I hope this will all be resolved and that he will be allowed to stay where he is. I have even thought about writing a strongly worded letter to the editor. I'm just afraid it wouldn't carry much weight since I live in the slightly more rational City of Kennewick.

Now the next thing I am thinking about is my Driver's License that expires in June. I recieved a notice in the mail yesterday that I can now renew my license on line.
I thought this would be great. But then I started thinking of the drawbacks.

The biggest problem that I can see is that we have been in our new house for almost three years now and all that time I have had to make do with my new address written on the back of my current license. THIS IS REALLY ANNOYING.

Now for the good points.
Obviously anything that stops me from having to actually go into the DMV is a good thing.
Also I like the picture on my current license, {at least as much as a very chubby 50 year old woman can like a picture of herself}. and it would be nice to spend a few minutes on the internet and be over and done with it.

Quite a dilemma right? Well i have about a month to decide what to do so I gues I will just have to give it more thought.

My First ever Blog

After seeing how much enjoyment Donald and Lisa get from their blogging, I have decided to start my own blog. I decided last night to start one and I think Lisa's even more excited than I am.

The first thing I will write about is the weird night I had last night.

Now I am not a very talented sleeper. I usually get to sleep semi OK but then I wake up and am not able to get back to sleep. Usually for hours. It was truly horrible. My Husband, GEEZ, he can fall asleep in minutes stay asleep and wake up feeling refreshed. In fact a bad night for him is waking up. That's it, just waking up! He goes right back to sleep in less than a minute usually, but to him, that 30 seconds of consciousness means a bad night sleep.

Well, a few months ago I visited my Doctor for probably the fourth time in a year and a half, pleading for some help with my lack of sleeping prowess and she started me on Welbutrin. After a couple weeks I really started sleeping much better. It has been wonderful.

Last night after deciding to start a blog I woke up and instead of going right back to sleep I started thinking of what I wanted to write my first blog about. I couldn't believe I was staying awake thinking about something so silly. I was drifting in and out of sleep and after a couple of hours I realized I had a song running through my head. I should mention that this happens to me quite often when I can't get back to sleep. Now it's usually a song that I really like and that's why it's there in my head, annoying but not too torturous.

So last night was definitely a first for me . I realized after about an hour of it playing in my head that the song intruding on my consciousness was none other than the song " If you sit on my lap today the gift of a toy is the price you pay". That's right, that horrible song from that horrible Bankin Rass Christmas special "Here comes Santa Claus" I hate that show. I hate that song. And I have absolutely NO IDEA how that song got in my head!

After I realized what I was thinking I tried my hardest to stop thinking about it, but of course I couldn't. Even worse was the fact that I don't even know most the words to that idiotic song, so that one line " If you sit on my lap today etc." kept going over and over in my head. Every once in a while it would change to "Oh what a good girl. Oh what a good boy Blah blah blah blah blah all because of a toy" It was absolute TORTURE!!! It actually seems kind of funny to me now, but it sure as HELL wasn't at 4 in the morning. On top of all that I had to get up at 6:30 to shower and get dressed because I had to take my daughter Courtney to the Dentist early this morning so I couldn't even sleep in like I normally would after a bad night.

Well, to make what is turning into a pretty long story short { Are you still with me?} I finally sort of solved the problem myself. One of the songs that I quite frequently have in my head, "Honeymoon" by Everclear, a song that I really do love, came to the rescue and flushed that stupid Santa Claus song right out of there. I was finally able to get back to sleep for a little bit at least. I am hoping that this won't turn into a self perpetuating problem. You know you're afraid it will happen again so it does. I will try to keep a good thought and hopefully tonight will be better.