Abide with Me

 This hymn I remember singing many times growing up at FBC in Monroe. We were a very traditional type of church and so was the music we sang during service.  This is one of those hymns that easily gets stuck in my head. I will find myself singing it for no reason at all.  The hymn was written in 1847 by Henry Francis Lyte as he was dying from tuberculosis.  I did not know that fact until just now when I looked it up and that puts a very different slant on it for me.  Gives it a more powerful impact, I believe.  Here it is beautifully arranged and sung by the BYU Men's Chorus. 

I took Facebook off of my phone

 

Several weeks ago, I took Facebook off of my phone.  I did that mainly for my mental health. Overall, I really enjoy my time on Facebook and I have worked very hard to have my personal Facebook page a place where people can go and not worry about all of the evils in the world and all of the bad things going on.  I have also worked hard to get my Facebook algorithm to do the same thing. But I came to the realization that I do not want access to that all day long.  I don't need to be constantly looking at my phone when I am notified of a message or of a comment. That kind of behavior is taking me out of the moment I am living at that time and it is no longer worth worrying about.  I can definitely tell a difference in my level of peace since I have let go of that.  It's a good feeling.

Another thing that is keeping my mental health in a good place is getting outside more.  Going on these daily walks really is refreshing and rejuvenating.  Again, this is an experience where I leave my phone at home.  I know will laugh at people (on the inside) when I see them walking and staring down at their phones.  They are missing so much.  On today's walk, many people spoke to me when I walked by.  That was so nice and reminder of what a great neighborhood I live in. I am finding it so beneficial to take these little steps to enhance my mental health.  Everything goes back to some sort of self-care with me.  I want to be good to others, but I must be good to myself first.  I am definitely going in the right direction. 

Nella Fantasia - Amici Forever

 Nella Fantasia was written for the 1986 film The Mission starring Robert DeNiro.  I was first introduced to the song about 20 years ago from a friend and this was the version he shared with me.  I think it's a beautiful song and beautifully performed by Amici Forever, an "opera pop" group.  I have several of their albums and always enjoy them.  Hope you do too!

Quote of the Week

 

It has honestly taken me a long time to learn this lesson, but it is well worth it!

Going antiquing

 

This past weekend, I took a day trip to my hometown of Monroe, NC.  It brought back a lot of good memories, and I had a wonderful day.  Of course, I thought a lot about Grandmother and all of the good times we had together.  If I had been in town for more than just the day, I believe that I would have traveled town to Waxhaw to see if any of the antiques shops were still there.  Back in the day, the 80s and 90s that is, Waxhaw was a major hub for antiques shoppers.  There were so many great stores and I spent many weekends there, especially with Grandmother.

That got me to thinking about other trips we took where antiques were involved.  Mostly day trips but sometimes not.  I remember one trip we took to an antiques mall in Locust with Mom and Alice Williams. I remember that because I bought a milk glass plate with cats on it and a beautiful green glass bowl.  I still have both.  Then there was the time on the way home from Raleigh that we stopped off in a little town whose name escapes me right now, but it was filled with antiques stores, and we stopped there several times.  That one is going to drive me nuts until I remember the name.  It's funny because an antiques dealer from Monroe, Robert Deese, had a shop there.  Oh well.  It will come to me!  Cameron!  It was Cameron, NC.  I wonder if there are still shops there.  I'll have to check it out soon. 

Anyway, what made those trips so much fun was not just the antiques but having people with me.  Spending time together doing something we all enjoyed. Stopping somewhere for lunch and doing a day's worth of antiquing. That was quality time in my world.  And I want that again.  I want to find some other antiques lovers to peruse the shops with.  Maybe take some day trips to shops in other cities and towns.  I think that would be fun.  As much fun as I have when I go antiques shopping by myself, I have much more fun with other antiques lovers.  I do have some friends that we try to get together and hit up some estate sales and shops, but we haven't been able to in a while. We need to change that!

If you're interested, just let me know!  It is not only about finding that special treasure or that incredibly good deal.  It is also about quality time with people I care about.  I want that.  

Peter Pan records

 As you know, I love records.  I have a pretty extensive collection of vintage vinyl that I have amassed over the last 15 years.  I think that I have somewhere between 500 and 600 records. It could be more, but I have not updated my inventory in a while.  That is including my collection of Christmas records, which is almost half of my overall collection.  There is just something about listening to vinyl that is like nothing else.  You hear all of the scratches and background noise.  Some of the records are still in mono which is kind of fun.  It may not be as clear as what you hear when you listen to a cd or hear something streaming, but I find it magical. It is another way I get in touch with my old soul, so to speak.  

Many years ago, at Christmas, Pam and Stephen, my in-laws at the time, gave me a stack of children's records as a gift.  They knew that I would love it and I absolutely did. They were the old Peter Pan records.  They are 45s. Each one came with a book that you would follow along with as the record read you the story.  And a bell would ring when it was time to turn the page.  

This week, I finally got those records off of the shelf and started listening to them.  It was just fun.  And it took me back decades to my childhood. Sitting in our den in my pre-kindergarten days, sitting in front of our record player listening to a wonderful story.  And it was such a wonderful gift to receive from someone or from Santa.  It made me feel so grown up.  How ironic that, as a grown up, I am listening to these records to remember my childhood and feel those feelings again.  And yes, I have been sitting and listening and following along with the books while the record plays. A fun pastime for a 51-year-old man LOL

I had a few of these records myself.  Some of mine were the regular size as well with large picture books.  I still have some of them. I have really enjoyed listening to these and I know I will revisit them later on.  Who knows, I may just start looking for more of these to add to my collection!

10 Favorite Best Actress Oscar Wins

 Looking at the list of Best Actress Oscar winners, I realized that there are so many of them that I have not seen.  That's kind of embarrassing for someone who loves good films.  I need to work on that!  But there are so many good ones that I have seen so this was a tough list to put together.  I chose these ten based on the roles that I enjoy watching over and over, not necessarily the best acting these actresses have done.  In some cases, that's true, but in others I simply love them in the role they won for. What are some of your favorites?

1. Kathy Bates - Misery

2. Katherine Hepburn - Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?

3. Sally Field - Places in the Heart

4. Jessica Tandy - Driving Miss Daisy

5. Olivia de Haviland - The Heiress

6. Emma Thompson - Howards End

7. Vivien Leigh - Gone with the Wind

8. Elizabeth Taylor - Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

9. Julia Roberts - Erin Brockovich

10. Julie Andrews - Mary Poppins

Reading progress

 

I am almost finished reading Vagabond by Tim Curry.  The fact that I started reading this a few weeks ago and am almost done with it is pretty good for me.  I am a slow reader, so this is really good progress. I have been able to read some each day, mostly, and now I only have a few chapters remaining.  Yesterday, I got a good chunk of it read because the power went out.  I had just finished putting my groceries away and was sitting listening to a church service when, all of a sudden, everything stopped working.  After confirming that it was not just my power that was out but the entire neighborhood's was out, I decided that I would take advantage of that time and read.  I got about 5 chapters in and that felt good.  I should be able to finish up this week.

I talked on my last blog about reading that I was figuring out which book to read next.  I have decided to go with the Teenage Outdoor Stories book that I had gotten from Grandmother's house at some point.  I think it is going to be a good read.  And I do enjoy a good short story, so this has the potential to be a very entertaining read.  I will keep you posted.  Now, onto the next chapter!

10 Favorite Best Supporting Actress Oscar Wins

This is another "the Oscars are coming up" posts.  Even though I don't watch them as much as I used to and have not seen any of this year's nominees, there is still something nostalgic about the Academy Awards to me.  And I do love a good movie and great performances.  These are my 10 favorites in the Best Supporting Actress category.  There are so many great ones to choose from. If you don't know any of these performances, I highly recommend you check them out. What are some of yours?

1. Josephine Hull - Harvey 

2. Catherine Zeta-Jones - Chicago

3. Whoopi Goldberg - Ghost

4. Beatrice Straight - Network

5. Hattie McDaniel - Gone With The Wind

6. Jennifer Hudson - Dreamgirls

7. Patricia Arquette - Boyhood

8. Dianne Wiest - Bullets Over Broadway

9. Rita Moreno - West Side Story

10. Cloris Leachman - The Last Picture Show

Tree removal

 I think it is a rite of passage into a different level of adulthood the moment you have your first tree removed.  Today is that day for me haha! I love the little house that I live in.  Yes, it's a rental but I still consider it very much my house.  After all, I have been here for 16 years and so much of life has happened to me in the Brice Street Manor, good and bad. So, when I need to have something done to the house that is definitely my responsibility, I feel obligated to step up and take care of it.

You might be thinking to yourself isn't it the landlord's responsibility to remove trees and such?  I think that would normally be yes depending on what your lease says.  And Lynn and Melissa, my landlords, did have the dead dogwood that was in the front yard removed.  But that tree was already there so I did not feel it was my duty to take care of it. The fig tree, however, was my duty.

Years ago, Michael and I decided to plant a fig tree.  It took several years to produce good figs but once it did, there was an ample supply. Usually, the birds and squirrels and other animals fed off of them, but we would occasionally be able to get a handful.  And I do not mind if the animals eat from whatever is in the yard. I feel like it is their right to. The tree was planted at the corner where the patio meets the garage.  It seemed like a nice spot for the tree.  It would get plenty of sun and still provide some shade for a part of the patio. 

However, once the tree began to really grow, it is almost like it did not stop.  It got bigger and bigger and practically took over the side yard.  There was a fence around that portion of the patio that the limbs absolutely destroyed.  It simply got to be too much.  And I did not want it to irritate the foundation of the garage or the patio if it kept growing at the rate it was.  So, it was time for it to go. A friend of Jason's who does landscaping and yard work gave us a great deal to get the tree gone.  I am thankful that it was easy and did not take incredibly long.

Now I can look at where the tree used to be and see all of the work that needs to be done over in that portion of the yard.  It is making me excited for spring.  Ah, another escapade in adulting is in the books!

Could I Have This Dance

 I posted a song by Anne Murray a few weeks ago.  And while I try to not duplicate artists during the year, today I'm making an exception for two reasons.  One, it is Valentine's Day and this is a beautiful love song for those who celebrate. I will celebrate tomorrow when all of the candy is half off LOL  And two, Mom and I loved to listen to Anne Murray together and I wanted to honor her this week.  Enjoy!

Household inventory categories.

 When I work on my household inventory, I divide it into categories like furniture, china, records, etc. I like to do it this way as opposed to room by room for several reasons.  One of the reasons is that I enjoy moving things around in the house.  It creates variety. And I don't have to go back and change the inventory to indicate where something is located.  That would be a lot of work.  Not that I am afraid of a lot of work, but it seems unnecessary in this case LOL Another reason I like to do it this way is that it is easier to add to collections if the inventory is separate.  If I want to add a piece to my set of sterling, I can simply look at that inventory and add it.  It comes in very handy with things like records as well.  I add records to my collection all of the time and having a specific inventory of them at hand, I will usually not buy the same record twice. I have done that many times, especially with my Christmas records.  

While I do not log my inventories room by room, I do go room by room to do the actual inventory.  And, like most household processes I have, once I've gone through the entire house I start over again because things change and I need to update.  Right now, I have about 15 different categories in my household inventory. I do enjoy doing them.  Not because I like to see how much stuff I have, but reading through these inventories will bring back wonderful memories.  Remembering which family member I received something from or what antiques shop I bought something at.  It's a comfort to me.  I don't think I will ever be done with it because I add and get rid of all of the time.  Still, in the meantime, I enjoy it. That is all. 

Quote of the Week

 

One Drawer at a Time - Keeping things together

 I have been finding it interesting while I am going through my kitchen cabinets that not only have I been keeping like things separated, i.e. glasses over here in this cabinet, glasses in that one, but I am also realizing that I will separate parts to kitchen gadgets.  While it is really not a big deal in the long run, I have been wondering to myself why I do that?  Why not keep all of the pieces to things together in one place?  It's not that difficult so I have no clue why I have not been doing that for all of these years.  This process is going to help me to correct that issue.

I was going through some cabinets the other day where I keep some kitchen tools like my food processor and my rice cooker.  The cabinet only has three shelves in it yet I manage to spread out the parts all over in different places.  Almost like there was some kind of kitchen gadget accident and pieces went flying.  Wherever they landed, there they stayed.  I'm happy to say that is not the case.   I have just been lazy when I put things back up.  So now, everything that goes to my food processor like the different blades and the different attachments are all together.  The parts of my rice cooker are nicely nestled in one corner.  It's the little things, you all.  This makes me happy and I feel like I am better organized because of that.  Well, I am better organized because of it.  That is the entire point of this exercise.

Not mine but you get the idea of all of the parts!

Next up is the spice shelf and then the food cabinets.  I'm quivering with anticipation!

Selecting my next book

 

I am about halfway through the Tim Curry biography, so I am happy with my progress there.  I did not read as much as I had originally planned this weekend, but I did get some in.  Honestly, since the weather was pretty clear compared to the past few weekends, I spent most of my free time finally getting my Christmas decorations put away. I have not been in a huge hurry to put them away, but since I had the time on my hands, I wanted to get it done. 

Now that I am halfway through this book, I am thinking ahead to what I want to read next.  I literally have at least a hundred books at my disposal here in the house that I have not read yet.  But what kind of book do I want?  I want to read something different than the kind I'm currently reading.  I love biographies and could spend my time just reading those, but I want to branch out to something else. It's not like I don't read other things; those are just some of my favorites. 

I checked my bookshelf on Good Reads to see what all I had listed in my "want to read" section.  That's when I realized that I still had a book labeled "in progress".  It's a book called Teenage Outdoor Stories.  It's a collection of short stories from 1947.  No doubt this book belonged to my Uncle Bill.  I got this book from Grandmother's house when I was a teenager.  So, I think I've found my next book.  I remember that the few stories I have read have been entertaining.  Problem solved!

Today's Moment of Mindfulness

 

Observe the ordinary events that occur around you.  When you spend an extra moment looking, they can transform into rich treasures.  Thing back to your own childhood and recall that some of the most vivid and happy memories were made when you were doing the simplest of everyday things. 

Morning Prayer

 I did not sleep well last night.  I woke up at 3:00 a.m. from a nightmare.  I have not had a nightmare in decades so I'm not sure why I had one last night.  But it did scare me, so I'm glad I made it through the night and that I am up and about my business today.  Just saying thanks for that. 

Recipe of the Week - Sausage with peppers and onions

 Kielbasa is not something that I buy regularly.  But whenever it is on sale, I will snatch it up as do I enjoy it.  Normally I will use it in a pasta dish. I wanted to do something different and found this recipe online.  It's very easy and it is similar to what I've done on the stove top but only this is in the oven. I really liked how it turned out and how it easy it is.  I will definitely make this again! I was not always successful and not slicing all the way through the kielbasa but that will come with more practice!

Sausage with Peppers and Onions

1 16oz Kielbasa

1 red pepper, cut into 1" chunks

1 yellow pepper, cut into 1" chunks

1 onion, cut into chunks

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 400.  Cut sausage into 1" chunks but don't cut all the way through. Put onto a lined baking sheet.  Toss all other ingredients together.  Place veggies around sausage.  Brush remaining oil on the sausage.  Bake for 20 minutes. 

Getting inspired for theatre

 Several weeks ago, I spent my Saturday afternoon reading a new play.  That is something that I have not done willingly since I was in college the first time.  It is not because I do not enjoy reading plays.  As a former theatre student, I loved it.  I just have not made the opportunity to actually sit down and read something new.  Sidenote, I did pick up a collection of Alejandro Sievking's plays last year at a thrift store and I did read the one I loved, The Praying Mantis, but that one was not new to me.  I have not read the other ones yet as I loaned that to a friend.

So, the play I read was The Book of Will by Laura Gunderson.  The premise of the play is two friends of Shakespeare's are trying to put together a portfolio of his works after his death.  They are trying to find the plays and piece them all back together with the help of different characters.  I found the play to be very interesting though I could never quite determine if it was a comedy or drama or a combination.  I could really see it going any of those ways. And that is one of the reasons that I think it's a very good play. The writing is excellent and yet it does not trap the actors or director into a preconceived notion of how to interpret the script.  It simply depends on how one approaches the work.

The Little Theatre of Winston will be doing this show soon and I must see it.  I have several friends in the cast.  I had thought about auditioning for this one, but circumstances did not allow it this time.  There was actually one part I was very interested in, and it wasn't either of the two leads LOL  But I know it's going to be a great show, and I am looking forward to it. But reading the play got me very inspired to have theatre be an active part of my life again.  Whether it be onstage, backstage or in the audience or even being an advocate for the arts, I now feel motivated to make my presence known in this world again.  And that is a good feeling.  

Theatre has always been such an important part of my life in many ways.  I had forgotten that and the excitement around theatre has been hibernating in my soul.  It's time to awaken the bear and be a part of this community again.

10 local restaurants I want to try

 We have had several good restaurants close over the past few weeks.  All locally owned.  So, I want to do my part in putting a little money back into the local economy.  I went online today to look up local restaurants that I have not tried yet.  There were way more than I really thought there would be.  And I was surprised at how many of them I have actually eaten at.  It reminded me that I liked the majority of them and need to revisit.  While there are many more local restaurants that I intend to try out, here are the ten that got my attention today.  

1. Nostra Pizza and Italian Restaurant

2. Creek Stone Bar & Grill

3. One Wok Chinese Grill

4. Coliseum Country Cafe

5. La Costenita

6. Strawberry's Breakfast House

7. Freeman's Grub & Pub

8. Zeeyum Kitchen

9. Bandito Bodega

10. Noor Kitchen & Cocktails 

Have any of you locals been to any of these places?  I would love some feedback.  Or are you interested in trying them out with me?  I would love some company!