Saturday’s Theme Music

We have liftoff. Saturday, June 18, 2022, is climbing through time, leaving its contrails behind for us to study.

Cloudy is today’s word. Chilly is related, with us staring at 52 F at the moment, hoping for something in the sixties. Hoping is a strong sentiment; my wife, cats, and I are all comfortable with the low fifties and some dabble of sunshine. Rain potential hangs above us with the clouds asking, “Will I? Will I?” Such capricious characters. Sunrise drew the curtains open on the daylight hours at 5:34 AM and the obverse is at 8:50 PM. Our weather is better than places like Spain, where they’re baking in 40 degrees C, which, using the formula learned in school eons ago, translates to 104 F. Ouch, yeah?

Cats and neurons conspired behind my back to plunk a Bruno Mars song into the morning mental music stream. I’d stirred from dreams this morning. Ready and waiting, Tucker pounced on my hand, tapping it for some loving. I began scratching him as directed. He reciprocated with motor-boat purrs. I asked in sotto voce, “You like how that makes you feel?” Just like that, the neurons delivered a ten-year-old song, “Locked Out of Heaven”. It bothered me a little as I song it to myself after feeding the cats and preparing my breakfast, because Bruno sings, “‘Cause your sex takes me to paradise, yeah, you sex takes me to paradise.” I told the neurons, you guys are a little bizarre, you know?

Stay positive, test negative, mask up as needed, space out as required, and, you know. Here’s the music. I hear a cup of coffee singing the song of my people. Cheers

Friday’s Theme Music

A blizzard of dreams dominates my awakening consciousness. Friday’s sun is an amorphous presence hiding behind a pile of gray clouds. It’s June 17, 2022 but the air bares closer semblance to late April. Rain fell last night; more expected today. Our temp is 54 F and we look for a high in the mid-sixties. Sunrise came upon us at 5:33 AM and the sun’s turn will end at 8:50 PM.

We’re past June’s midpoint and bearing down on the year’s middle like a bull in Pamplona chasing a man darting in front of him.

The dreams left a song in my morning mental music stream. Or I’m blaming the dreams. Who knows what quantum entanglement and confused neurons really deposited the song? The song is “White Flag” by Dido out of (wait – let me look that up), yes, almost two decades ago 2003. Probably just word association between things witnessed in the dream and the song’s lyrics, things about giving up and surrendering.

Stay positive, etc. Coffee is in order, I think. Hope your Friday comes with a large order of positive energy and good experiences. Fingers crossed, you know? Here’s the tune. Cheers

Thursday’s Theme Music

Gothic clouds black and white hover perilously over the southern ranges of sloping trees. Sunshine offers a brave front but the clouds, abetted by a chilly northern wind, own today’s weather.

It’s Thursday, June 16, 2022. The temperature since sunrise at 5:34 AM has slowly crept into the mid-fifties. Won’t get much higher, they tell us, before the 8:49 PM sunset, maybe hitting the low sixties, say 63 F.

“Never Ending Song of Love” by Delaney & Bonnie & Friends from 1971 is in the morning mental music stream. I enjoy this song’s vocalizations and beat, and the song is a regular that I sing to myself while walking or doing chores. Surprise registered when I discovered that I’ve never shared it as a choice for theme music.

Stay positive and test negative. COVID-19 in wastewater in our area is the highest recorded levels to date. All agree, this is due to tourism returning, mask use receding, and complacency rising. In parallel, testing kits in the area are sudden in short supply because demand has spiked. The COVID-19 pandemic remains a treacherous situation.

Here’s the music. Sing along, please. I’m gonna go get my coffee. Be right back. Cheers

Wednesday’s Theme Music

Wednesday touched down in the valley. 6.15.2022, aka 15.6.2022, 2022.6.15, and 2022.15.6

It’ll be 82 F today in the valley. The sun has been warming up and stretching, saying, “I’m gonna shine today.” 52 F now but it’s a fiery 52 in the sun’s grasp, but cool, almost cold in the shadow. We have no discernible but a few strung out cirrus boys and girls lazing across the high blue bowl. The tops of the all the mountains are visible. Sunshine illuminates and limns pines and oaks, maples and firs. The sun’s segment began at 5:32 AM and will proceed to 8:48 PM.

My wife inspired today’s music. She was in the recliner and said, “Okay, get up, move your feet,” and then rattled off the things she must do before going to bed. Well, the neurons tuned her out a soon as they heard her first words, filing my mental music stream with KISS and “Detroit Rock City”. A good friend was from Detroit — still is, I suppose. We met when we were assigned together in California. Now I’m in Oregon and he’s in Virginia. We keep in touch. He’s a solid person, friendly, trustworthy, honest, intelligent, and loyal. When this song came on, his mind would excuse him from the conversation and situation. His head would bob, lips moving. He was on a stage somewhere, guitar in hand, a rock god before thousands of people. Don’t we all of certain generations have a song which takes us to that dream?

Of course not! Some never dream of that, they say. And they give their reasons. But the rest of us have our fantasies and dreams.

The song remains in the morning mental music stream, but it’s a good one for this hot day, this day of promise that shouts, well, “Get up! Everybody’s gonna move their feet.” Stay positive, test negative, brew coffee, drink coffee, etc. I know I will. See you on the downlow, if I find it.

Let’s rock.

Tuesday’s Theme Music

Twilleekin on Tuesday trimantled toi toward testigenical twellings. But other than that, all is calm in the valley on Jun 14, 2022, at least in this household. Don’t know what’s going behind other walls and winders.

Fifty-one F is the claimed temperature and it feels right by degrees. Sunshine bathes cat furs and plants. We turned toward the sun at 5:33 this morning and will turn away at 8:48 this evening. Temperatures remain cool for spring’s final days, with 70 F being mentioned as the likely high. No rain today, alteough they rain has been welcomed in our area. Even with this added rainy season, our local lakes, rivers, and dams are only measuring at less than a quarter of capacity. Our local cistern is 100%, of course, but that’ll provide the city with about 31 days of water. The irrigation district, which provides water to a lot of farms and orchards, still says it can only provide about thirty days of water, not enough for a proper growing season, especially if we’re seeing regular breakouts above the century mark.

Did yardwork for the past several days — it’s an ongoing project — and discovered black bear scat just off the front porch. Wasn’t big so the bear probably wasn’t either. Sightings are regularly reported all around this area so it’s not a shock, just worth noting.

Jim Seals of Seals & Crofts died recently. They had several pop hits and the neurons have introduced their song, “Summer Breeze” into the morning mental music stream. The song was released in 1972. I entered tenth grade that year and met the girl who would become my spouse three years later. It’s a mellow song for a mellow day.

Stay positive, and so on. I am trying, myself. Speaking of which, here’s my coffee. Enjoy the music and thanks for reading. Cheers

Monday’s Theme Music

Clickity clack, Monday is back. Forty-two degrees F on this Jun 13, 2022 day. Looks like a typical and beautiful southern Oregon June day. Well, except for the heavy cloud cover and lack of sunshine. That lends it a Octoberish appearance, but with green leaves and flowers. Sunrise and sunset were at the proper times for June in Ashland, 5:33 and 8:47, AM and PM, respectively. Today’s high will be a mild 62 F.

The cats encouraged the neurons to sing “Minute by Minute”. Do you know the song? Written by Michael McDonald and Lester Abrahms, the Doobie Brothers released the song in 1979 (had to look that up) and showed some moderate chart success. The neurons liked it for the cats because there’s lyrics in there which proclaim, “I’ll keep holding on.” That’s what Tucker was doing after I picked him up for some personal time. His claws found their way into my sweatshirt, and he kept on holding on. The neurons so delighted in this, they began playing the song. It continues to reside in the morning mental music stream.

The coffee has arrived. Stay positive, test negative, and be aware, responsive and responsible. Here’s the tune. Cheers

Sunday’s Theme Music

My wife declared, “I love this weather.” It’s a cool Sunday. June 12, 2022. Clinging mists obscure the downslopes of pine and hardwood trees. The temperature dropped fast last night. It’s back up to 63 F but with clouds and rain dominating, that’s the day’s high. And it’s peculiar, as I was out last night with the cat, admiring the bright moon. “Pretty nice, isn’t it?” I said to him. “Not quite a full moon. I like the air’s smell. It’s so fresh.”

“That’s a waxing gibbous.” The cat yawned and stretched. “About ninety to ninety-five percent, I’d say. Rain’s coming.”

I checked, and he was right about the moon. Clouds stormed in, delivering a snare-drum rain performance before sunrise at 5:34 AM. Sunset: 8:47 PM.

Songs about flying fill the morning mental music stream. Don’t know what the neurons are thinking with that; did I have a flying dream that I don’t remember? Or are they gaslighting me?

But looking out the window reminded me of Germany. We lived there in the eighties while stationed at Rhein Main AB. Clouds and rain were frequently experienced in that region. The neurons eventually began singing “Jammin’ Me” by Tom Petty (1987). They didn’t give a reason although it might be that friends and I were discussing this song because we’d gone to see The Grateful Dead. Conversation had turned to Bob Dylan, and one person mentioned that Bob Dylan wrote this song with Tom Petty and Mike Campbell. Could be. The reflective trip down the memory highway ended with the usual refrain, wonder where those guys are now?

Saturday’s Theme Music

And so, all of us came to Saturday, June 11, almost the month’s middle, almost 2022’s middle. We’re bracing for the year’s longest day in the northern hemisphere while south of the equator, they’re prepping for the shortest day.

Spring weather continues its reign with temperatures at 72 F today, showers sometimes sprinkling us for a few seconds, and a high of 76 possible. 5:34 AM is when the show’s daylight portion began. The turning away comes at 8:47 PM.

Yesterday was a COVID-19 booster shot rollercoaster. Walking was often a Frankenstein’s monster imitation. Joints felt like they’d been carved from the finest granite and thoughts were doing a slow doggy paddle through confusion. Then, all is good! Hurray! It’s passed. No, wait, here it comes again. We surfed the net, returned to bed, read books, slept, repeat. Today, I feel pretty damn fine. She says she’s feeling better, too.

Today’s song, a 1993 offering from Billy Joel, arrived in the middle of the night. I’d gotten up to attend a cat’s need to leave the house. (“It’s urgent! I have important business,” he claimed. After he left, I heard him snicker. “Sucker.”) Returning to bed, I was thinking, it’s the middle of the night. I’ve almost been walking in my sleep. The neurons shouted, “A-one, and a-two.” Then they began “The River of Dreams”. Lovely song, so I wasn’t overly bothered.

So, you know, stay positive, etc. We shall overcome. Or endure. Here’s the music, and, yes, there’s my coffee. Cheers

Friday’s Theme Music

Friday. June 10, 2022. That’s the bare facts of it. It gets interesting when we talk about sunrise and sunset and temperatures. That’s where places show their differences. Here in the Rogue Velly, it’s 72 F with a chance to hit 81 F. Sunny but cloudy, so it’s humid on us. Cats are in floof heaven, coming in to eat and then seeking a pleasant napping space outside, somewhere perchance to do bird watching and insect spying without getting too warm. The world’s spin will take the sun away at 8:46 PM after bringing it around to us at 5:34 AM.

Don’t tell Tucker about the weather, though, he still needs his ration of attention. Entering the office, he fixes a dark stare on me and makes a pitch: “Merow.” Having fed him, refilled all the bowls, and replenished his water, after spending a night petting him whenever the other one, Papi — they’re a tag team — woke me up, I ignore Tucker. He then comes over and sits beside me and asks, “Mmmmw.” I shake my head. A trill is issued and then Tucker jumps up onto the desk, walks around the computer, and waits for my hand to go to the mouse. As soon as it does, he begins rubbing his head and face against my hand, pouring out a purr that would shame an idling dragster.

Received my second COVID-19 booster yesterday, Moderna, and feeling it this morning. Like the body is fighting off a low-grade flu. Aching joints and listless muscles, lethargic brain, and low energy, right? Yeah. Got up late and will probably return to bed shortly. Tucker says, “I’ll join you if you do.”

The neurons are playing “Wishing You Were Here” by Chicago (1974) in the morning mental music stream. There is a chain of events for this. My wife bought me a small pin which says, “Wish you were beer.” I wear it on my Tilly hat. Often while chatting with people, they’ll say, “What’s that say on your hat.” Then they’re read it aloud. Overhearing that happen yesterday, the neurons began with the Chicago song. Why that instead of Pink Floyd, “Wish You Were Here”? Don’t know. They’re not saying.

Here’s the song. Stay pos and test neg, etc. Enjoy your day. Cheers

Thursday’s Theme Music

Summer is rolling into the valley. Today’s high will take us to 86 F, probably more around our house. Sunrise cruised in at 5:34 AM this morning and the valley sun tour will end with sunset at 8:46 PM. It’s presently 62 F on this Thursday, Jun 9, 2022.

I was having beers with friends, a weekly meeting outside. A local brewery, Caldera, was our host and provided us with the various ales and IPAs consumed. Eight of us, all vaccinated and boosted, fingers crossed, gathered. A ninth person joined us to tell us what’s happening with the local high school robotics club. It competes and we sponsor it, providing five hundred dollars each year through donations made when we have beers together. As the group broke up, my neurons started serenading me with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and their song “My Friends”, from 1995. Even a night of dreams didn’t shake it from its lodging in the mental music stream, where it remained this morning. It’s a reflective, introspective song, and I don’t mind it being there. I’m just singing along with the neurons. Maybe you will too.

Stay pos, test neg, and be real. Here’s the music for your morning listening pleasure while I boldly seek out new coffee. Cheers

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