Daylight come and it’s time to get up. That was not always the case. A shift worker for over a dozen years, I was often driving home as the sun bite into the sky.
Not so today, Wenzda, June 25, 2025. Let’s run the Ashlandia summer day checklist: cool night; check. Blue sky; check. Bright sun; check. Temperature in the low 80s; well, that’s not usual. We generally reside in the 90s at this point but I enjoy the 80s more, when we’re talking temperatures in Fahrenheit. Today, the sun will rouse us from the 60 F where we now chill to the low to mid 80s.
The neighborhood is lazy with low passing vehicle noises and a number continuing a porch project. No trains or aircraft are heard today, and the birds are circumspect in their discussions. I’ve not read much news yet this AM and continue to dwell in a ‘wait-and-see’ spirit. That spirit has songs ’bout trouble circulating in the morning mental music stream. Coming into six months of TACO’s second presidency, many balls are in the air. We’re witnessing the GOTP sabotaging justice and the legal system, the education and healthcare systems, environment and the economy, doing so under the guise of progress while ignoring fact-loaded decades. Meanwhile, PINO TACO saber rattles like he’s an old battle hand and not the coddled man-child born with a silver spoon in his mouth.
The Neurons cultivated a broad selection of trouble songs for the old stream. From it, Buddy Guy’s take on trouble, “I Smell Trouble”, has assumed dominance.
Into the day we go. What happens next, nobody knows. Hope yours goes well. Cheers
Greetings to all Earthbound beings. It’s Tuesday, October 10, 2023 — 10/10 — in Ashlandia, where the rain is welcomed and the temperature is chilly. Autumn has swiped brushes over the window’s vistas. Overnight, plums and burgundies have been delivered to compete with green, amber, lemon, and red. Quite a splash for the eyes.
Rain plays metal notes on the roof’s vents. It’s 53 F now and will advance ten degrees up the thermometer before the sun’s retreat.
With this ambience underway, I’ve not checked the news. I’m saving myself for a few minutes more to just ensure my safe little bubble of existence.
I’m eager to continue writing. On the other hand, chords loaded with guilt on sometimes struck. I feel I should be doing more about the house. Part of this is that my wife has a busy week: Food & Friends deliveries yesterday, exercise classes every other morning, and book club Wednesday night, in which she’s the moderator. She takes moderating very seriously.
Besides those pretty standard things, Empty Bowls is on Friday. This is a fundraising effort to fund the city’s charities to help fed, cloth, and shelter the less fortunate and homeless. Local artists and art classes provide bowls. You basically buy a bowl for $25 and fill it with soup. Local restaurants and politicians provide the soups, along with breads.
An annual event, my wife has been preparing the table centerpieces for a decade. The pursuit has become more involved; Peace House, the hosting organization, has less and less resources for the centerpieces. That moves the burden to my wife’s shoulders, so she’s been scrounging for flowers and vases. The ‘vases’ are pint bottling jars. Thanks to one of my friends, we managed to procure enough of those.
All that puts her on edge. But in addition, the Empty Bowls commit also asked her to make some vegan cookies for the event.
Well, my wife isn’t one to refuse such a request. Agreeing added anxiety, though. She went through recipes and made a decision about what to make. We bought the supplies last Friday. The baking will be done Thursday. I wish I could do more to help her, and that’s why I feel guilty for going off and writing.
The cloud-heavy sky has me thinking about the upcoming ring of fire eclipse. Due on Saturday, we’re right on the path’s edge as the eclipse traverses North America but wonder whether the weather will clear enough for us to enjoy a view. Stores and businesses have been selling eclipse glasses for several weeks, but Scienceworks gives them out free. We’ll get them free and then give them a donation, LOL.
I was listening to Papi singing this morning. Papi is my ginger gentlefloof, a slender blade of a feline who exhibits a standoffish air. I’m the only one permitted to properly visit with him, although my wife is making progress with him. He’s skittish and wary to the extreme, a complete 180 from Tucker (our black and white long-haired fellow), who deeply enjoys human company. Papi avoids people and animals.
So, growing cold weather induced me to close the pet door. Papi loves the night and enjoy popping in and out. Coming in to eat kibble, going back out to witness the world. The pet door’s closure forces him to convince me to let him out. He knows I don’t like breaking out of sleep and slipping out of bed to do this, so he now sings the “I Want Out” blues.
The song starts soft and slow, just one gentle note every other minute. Gently the notes build in volume and then begin to come more frequently. Finally, a wail invested with the power of all unfairly imprisoned entities breaks the dark. I usually get up and do as bid with the first few notes. I thought that I’d let Papi sing a while before letting him out, as he has such a beautiful voice.
Naturally, rain and Papi’s blues inspired Les Neurons to conjure blues about rain in my morning mental music stream (Trademark possible). Well, first there was Tina Turner singing about rain on the windows. Then John Fogerty broke in to ask me if I’ve ever seen the rain.
Slipping into the blues, Stevie Ray Vaughn apprised of flooding in Texas. Finally, though, we had Buddy Guy singing “Feels Like Rain”. Buddy’s song struck the right balance of feeling and being so it won honors as today’s theme music. It’s a song I’ve used before as my theme music, basically for the same reasons.
Stay pos, be strong, and keep chill. Coffee has landed; here’s the music. Cheers
The furnace is running. It’s 36 F (2.2 C) outside, not so bad while you’re inside, where it’s sixty-eight. No sunshine through the windows, even after I opened the blinds and curtains, and the daylight is tentative. A mottled grey field meets my eyes when I turn them skyward. Autumn is finally surrendering its grip. Nude trees wave and bow.
It’s Monday, November 28, 2022, November’s final Monday. By the week’s midpoint, we’ll be in 2022’s final month. Winter is closing in with increased speed, having already arrived early in some places. But then, the calendar gives us an average. It’s different around the world, even in the northern hemes. South of the equator, summer is coming.
42 F and rain and snow showers will play for the afternoon. The sun delivered the daylight portion at 7:16 AM and the performance ends at 4:41 PM.
“Skin Deep” by Buddy Guy is playing in the morning mental music stream. The Neurons lured it out of memory last night when I was thinking about racism and prejudice and the insanity of it all. This song was offered as part of the Playing for Change series in 2018. I admire the project, and Buddy Guy is one of my favorite blues performers. Beyond Buddy, there’s other impressive singers and musicians coming together from diverse locations to present us this music, including several choirs. Hope you’ll take a listen.
Stay positive, test negative and do what’s needed to protect yourself, family, and community. You know, like masking to keep the spread down. Coffee is here so I shall retire to the solace of a cup. Here’s the music. I’m going to listen again. Cheers
Yes, today is Lundi, December 13, 2021. It’s raining. The temperature sits at 37 with plans to go lower, bringing snow, our first of the year. Been a long time, been a long time, been a lonely, lonely, lonely time. Snow is part of our December festivities. It used to snow lightly, just enough to elicit oohs, kindling holiday spirits as the snow dusted the decorations. It was especially wonderful during the parade of lights, when Santa visited town. Don’t know if that’ll happen this year. COVID, you know.
Sunrise illuminated the gray wet scene at 7:31 AM and the sun will pass on at 4:39 PM. Today’s high temperature will be 45 and the low will be 25 F.
The morning mental music medley stream includes songs about rain and dreams, just like yesterday, but also Monday songs. Overpowering them all is a cat-inspired song, “I Smell Trouble” by Buddy Guy from 1994. Yes, we’re feeling the blues. The cats have been disliking this whole rain, wind, cold temperatures going on outside. Forced to stay inside, they’re inspecting new ways to annoy one another and new places to go. Some of those places include the verboten areas of the dining room table and the kitchen counters. Of course, once one goes up there, the others are like, “I didn’t know we could go up there,” even though the first was scolded and chased down.
So the cats are singing “I Smell Trouble”.
Lord, knows I’ve tried To do what’s right One whole year of stayin’ home Both day and night
‘Cause I smell a mean trouble Way over yonder You know I heard a mean, yeah Always in trouble people Lord, they just won’t let me be
Hi. Today is April 2, 2021, Friday. Sunrise is 6:52 AM in Ashland, and sunset will come at 7:38 PM. Weather-wise, spring is establishing its footprint with sunshine, light breezes, and a high of about 70 degrees F. Right now, it’s 50 degrees F outside, so we have a strong start toward that high. Light, intermittent showers are expected back next Monday.
The blues were on my mind this morning. So many great blues songs have passed through my ears over the years. Great artists were and are out there. Eventually, though, a Buddy Guy – Eric Clapton collaboration, “Every Time I Sing The Blues” (2008), found its way to my mind front. One line was sharpest: “I’m just trying to tell the truth every time I sing the blues.” Oddly, it’s a line I associate with fiction writing. No matter what story genre, writers are digging out the truth behind the story in their head, trying to convey this to the page, hunting for the details that delivers the essence in a satisfying manner, whether that page is ink on paper or bits on a screen. That struggle to capture that truth and tell the story in all its right facets is what it’s all about.
Here is the music. Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask, and get the vax. Cheers
Yes.Sunrise was at 6:59 AM in Ashland, Oregon, on this soddy Sunday, February 21, 2021. Sunset is at 5:51 PM. Outdoor temp is 39 degrees F but it’s a warm 72 in the snug. The rest of the house is a more proper 68 degrees. The snug stays warm. Might be the computers and bodies, feline and human. We’re all in there. The cats, of course, are surfing the net. Can’t seem to get them off the ‘puters these days. I’m always imploring them, “Don’t you want to go outside and get fresh air and exercise?” They just cling to their mouses and click on, occasionally swatting at the screen.
Today’s theme music is a jam with Stevie Ray Vaughn and Buddy Guy. Warning: it has a lot of guitar playing. It’s my music choice for today because I enjoy when two major talents get together, have fun, and share it with the rest. Plus, given the chill rainy presence, it’s a sortofa blues and reading day. I will mix in some coffee, of course. Every day is a coffee day. I do enjoy it when I sip back some hot black coffee and gaze out the window as rain splatters existence.
There will be writing. It’s a requirement. The muses have had their coffee, and are eagerly chattering in my ears about which character does what thing where. Feels like it’s gonna be an intensive writing session.
Stay pos., test neg., wear a mask, get the vac. Here is SRV and BG with “Champagne and Reefer” from 1989.
Out yard working yesterday, tidying, clipping, trimming (killing time). I kept thinking, it feels like rain. More than that, it looked like rain might be on the way, and it smelled like rain was out there. It was out there somewhere, but not in my area. The rain never came but a Buddy Guy song (written by John Hiatt), “Feels Like Rain” (with Bonnie Raitt) 1993, slipped into the music stream like morning fog coming into the valley.
A simple, mellow song for this laid-back Tuesday morning. Good tempo for sipping coffee while gazing out the window and drifting the net.
Bad news out of the political and economic jars dissipated my early morning dream-induced exuberance. Then Tucker attacked Meep and an epic cat fight erupted. Tucker refuses to be rehabilitated. His aggressiveness stresses us out and forces us to segregate him from the rest.
Bottom line: I’ve got the blues. Numerous ways to cope with the blues exist. I drink beer, wine, vodka, whiskey and scotch but I don’t do it in the morning. I’m not going to do it while in a funk. I did that when I was younger. I’ve learned not to. Mostly. I still trip now and again.
The best way to deal with the blues is some blues music, writing, coffee, and solitude. That’s my method. Your method may differ.
Today’s blues: ‘Ball and Chain’, belted out by the composer, Big Mama Thornton, with Buddy Guy on guitar. This is a recording from 1970. I love finding pieces like this on the net and witness such performances. I consider this one of the finest effects of our burgeoning technology.
Michael Seidel, writer 