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

Wednesday’s Theme Music

It’s a fine June morning. Sunshine floods the area and washes the ground. Trees and cats both approve.

Today is Wednesday, June 8, 2022. Sunrise was a few hours ago, 5:34 AM, and sunset is a number of hours away, 8:46 PM. Our thermo says it’s now 62 F but the weather pros claim we’ll see 80 F today. Hazy high clouds are sliding through, so it’s a little humid. Not uncomfortable, though, with a polite breeze circulating, tapping our shoulders and faces, whispering, “Hello,” in our ears.

The neurons suggested the song “Drive” by REM from 1992 to me after I thought, this would be a nice day to put the top down on the car and go for a drive. “We don’t have a convertible,” the neurons retorted. They then began singing, “Tick, tock, tick, tock,” until the song found its roots in the morning mental music stream and here we are.

Stay positive, test negative, etc. You do know the rest, don’t you? “Coffee?” the neurons suggested. “Why, that’s a great idea,” I replied. “Let’s do.”

Here’s the music. Cheers

Tuesday’s Theme Music

‘Fire season’ officially started on June 1 for 2022. This is the June 7; I’m a little late in reporting it. Guess I was beguiled by the cool temperatures and generally damp conditions. Essentially, certain activities are curtailed during fire season, or potentially curtailed. It gets down to the local level and the fire threat/danger depending on the soil and vegetation conditions, humidity, and air temperature. It’s all about being alert and ready, vigilant, and cautious.

Despite sunrise at 5:35 this morning, the temperature remains a springish 56 F right now, but a high of 76 is anticipated before the sun dips at 8:45 PM. This is Tuesday.

In other news, we’ve set up appointments for our COVID-19 booster shots. We’re starting to socialize more, cautiously creeping out of our shells, and we have some travel plans for this summer, so we decided, do it now. Like most people, I have collected a list of friends and relatives who have contracted COVID-19. My relatives are all distant. Only four that I know died; the rest have survived but we’re waiting to see if they’ll experience long COVID. Four friends tested positive for COVID-19 last week. Four more were exposed. One tested positive and was rushed to ER with a spectrum of issues. All of these people had vaccinations and boosters. Most were diligent about masks and social distancing. As the CDC and virologists note, vaccinations help deal with the viral load, but your results can vary.

I’m repeating a song that I’ve used before. It’s a good song, though. I haven’t watched the new season of Stranger Things yet, but I hear that Kate Bush’s song, “Running Up That Hill” from 1985 is featured in the show. Well, my neurons caught wind of that and just launched it into loop in the morning mental music stream. Thus, I need to share it to get it out of my system. I don’t make the rules.

Stay positive, test negative, etc. Coffee? Why, yes, of course. Here’s the music, there’s the day. Seize it. Cheers

Monday’s Theme Music

Monday’s 5:35 AM sunrise was sharpish, white light and warmth. The cats were first to say hello before launching into their good morning sunshine song. Our June — this is June 6, 2022 — continues spring’s cool, wet trend. It’s now 51 F. Will likely reach 71 they say, with lots of clouds AND sun. They daylight portion of the day will see its finale with an 8:44 PM sunset.

My neurons, of their own volition — they’re like wild mustangs galloping through my head — began singing snippets of “Life on Mars” by David Bowie from back in the last century, 1973. I enjoyed their snippets and decided I wanted to hear the song in its fullness. Choices were to find it on the net or go to the music collection. The first choice was easiest because I was already on the computer. I found this live version, which brought youthful chords back into the moment. It’s a mood maker, a song where you chew upon the words and let the music take you over, under, and up. Lot of Bowie’s music was so.

Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask as needed, and, etc. The coffee is at hand; the moment is near. Here is the music. Have a good day on Earth. Cheers

Sunday’s Theme Music

Here we are, at the top of June, 2022, and the winds are roaring in like it’s March. Yes, strong winds today, along with strong sunshine, after a day of rain and clouds yesterday. Sunshine blazed in at 5:43 AM, turning the lines of gray clouds into neon gold. It’s 60 F now and feels balmy. 73 F is possible before sunlight calls it a day at 8:43 F.

The dream parade continued last night and this morning. I came away from it with a Tom Petty song called “Room at the Top”. I hadn’t heard it in a long time and used Wikipedia to refresh myself on its details. After confirming it was released in 1999 and was off the album Echo, I read that Petty considered it depressing and intensely personal and refused playing it in concert once the Echo tour ended. Well, maybe that’s why I’d not heard it much. My neurons were just riffing off thinking about seeing things, per a dream, which is why they brought the song up into the morning mental music stream. I always like Petty’s declarative statements that he uses in songs. In this case, he sings, “I ain’t. Coming. Down.”

Stay positive, test negative, and so on, as needed. Here is the music. Hope you don’t find it depressing. I’m going to find coffee. Cheers

Friday’s Theme Music

I’m sitting on Friday, June 3, 2022. Also, sitting on my ass, and on a chair. at

First Friday of June. That means art walks around here. Wine tastings. The OSF Green Show on the Bricks.

Mild day for it. 70 is the expected high. 52 F now. Sixty percent chance of rain, and thunderstorms might come around. Sunrise was at 5:36 AM — a minute earlier — while sunset is at 8:42 PM, a minute later.

The cats are loving this weather. I opened the pet door, and they slip in and out. Eating, checking to ensure we’re not breaking any floof rules, and ensuring we’re still capable of opening cans and dispensing treats. They’re mostly sleeping outside. Papi had claimed the Boo spot and made it his own. But Tucker noticed. Guess who is now in the Boo spot? Yes, Tucker.

Today’s music was brought on by an overheard conversation. Someone said, “It happened right before my eyes.” They said this three times, using the same inflection and nuances each time. I wanted to know, “What happened before your eyes?” They never said in my hearing. Like they were deliberately withholding the info as a prank.

Hearing it, though, the neurons started humming, “Baby, What a Big Surprise” by Chicago from 1975. Within seconds, it went from a hum to the full-on song. It was still residing in my morning mental music stream.

Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask, and get the vax as needed. Stay alert and aware. Have some coffee. I know I will. Here’s the music. Cheers

Thursday’s Theme Music

I wonder what it is about a day that things feel like they’ve come together, and the day seems wealthy with promise? This Thursday, June 2, 2022, is one of those days. Nothing extraordinary in its appearance. Sunshine crept in, gentle and friendly, at 5:37 AM — same as yesterday — and the air temp is 64 F. Though cloudy, with a chance of rain, we expect a high in the upper 70s to low 80s before sunset at 8:41 PM. The felines are loving it, happy with washing and slumbering in shaded spots in the yard. I’m cool with it, too.

The neurons continue their music games, inserting “Tempted” by Squeeze (1981) into the morning mental music stream, a song which was featured just two and a half years ago. I think it might be related to a dream. As I’ve been going through the morning, a dream segment was flash like sunshine on a wave, and then is gone. It is interesting that several songs that my neurons are loading are from the 1980s, n’est pas?

Stay positive, test negative, have a wonder-filled day, or at least a satisfying or successful one. Maybe you’ll hit the trifecta and enjoy all three. Coffee time. Cheers

Wednesday’s Theme Music

June has arrived with the soft sound of muted sunshine. Yes, it’s Day 1 of the thirty that make up June, 2022, different this year; in previous years, June had 31 days.

Just kidding. June hasn’t had thirty-one days since the late sixteenth century when the Calendar Makers convened to settle how many days each month should hold. June had seventy days until that time, and July wasn’t yet a month. Although February was, it had poor representation, and ended up with a short month and an iffy situation. According to the records, this was because February was a very cold month that year at the convention site, and the attendees wanted to keep that cold to a minimum. Such was the thinking that went on back then.

Sunrise was an underwhelming event at 5:37 AM, as clouds were present in force, dictating coverage. One salient aspect to bring out is that today’s sunrise is earlier than yesterday’s sunrise. Changes have already begun. Even though sunset is one minute later than yesterday, we still have the same amount of daylight.

Our temps were top out at about 80 F and hold to 61 now with a mild wind singing through the leaves.

Now, for some reason, the naughty neurons loaded Juice Newton’s cover of “Queen of Hearts” from the early 1980s. “Why?” I asked the neurons. Shrugging with sluggish indifference, they replied, “Why not?”

I think I need to give them some coffee. Let’s be safe out there, and test negative. Cheers

Tuesday’s Theme Music

This is it, May’s last day. It will not be extended.

Yes, welcome to Tuesday, May 31, 2022. Back to work if you were off for the Memorial Day in the U.S.

We’ve returned to cloudy and warm weather today. Woke up to 59 F after the sun kicked in its light at 5:38 AM. The flip end of the sun’s presence comes at 8:40 PM today. Before then, we expect to see temperatures of 77 F. Yardwork has kept us busy as the rains encouraged everything to “grow, grow, grow”, leaving us with an unkempt landscape. Great seeing the bees abuzzing around the backyard’s weeds. It’s a weed zone, where we let weeds proliferate. The bees love it.

Today’s song emerged from conversations with friends and relatives about the state of the world and the state of the nation, and where we’re going. Thinking about that and change and direction, the neurons pulled up Roxy Music from 1982 and a song called “More Than This”.

I could feel at the time
There was no way of knowing
Fallen leaves in the night
Who can say where they’re blowing
As free as the wind
And hopefully learning
Why the sea on the tide
Has no way of turning
More than this – there is nothing
More than this – tell me one thing
More than this – there is nothing
It was fun for a while
There was no way of knowing
Like a dream in the night
Who can say where we’re going

h/t to AZLyrics.com

Yes, who can say where we’re going? There’s always some indications but then shifts arrive. Something dramatic is pulled off. A galvanizing speech is made. A moderating influence is found, a new hope delivered. Who can say? History is full of downs and ups. Fingers crossed that we find something that pulls us from the brink and takes us into a new direction.

Stay positive, test negative, etc. I know, it’s a difficult challenge in the current news cycle. Still…try. And now, I will drink the magic elixir, coffee, and draw new hope and energy from it. Here’s the music. Cheers

Blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑