Good
morning,
NOAA
is (and has been) predicting rain. I know it will come at some
point, after all, this is the Pacific Northwest!
I
am one of those Washingtonians who does not carry an umbrella, I
don't even own one. I decided to go to google and see what I could
find on this subject. I entered 'do washingtonians shun umbrellas?'
and got one of those annoying (at least to me) google corrections
'did you mean SUN
umbrella's?' (I'd really, really like a 'No, I did not' response
button). Argh, no I did not (and, does that even make sense .... a
Washington sun umbrella, really?) So next I exchanged 'use' for
'shun' and got a good number of hits. Many seem to require I use
Facebook or Twitter, which I don't, but overall, the jury seems
divided on this issue with as many saying they did not use an
umbrella as those who do. A bit to my surprise, I got this same
divided response when I queried my friends. (I think I was expecting
more who did not use or own one).;-)
My
'trails' for music books may have started with a book of Disney songs
I was given sometime back in the late 1950's. I was thrilled when I
could actually have my favorite songs right in front of me! I
remember collections of songs my folks loved, and then, from my time
in a junior church choir The Hymnal for Youth.
At some point I started reading not only about music history, and
more specifically (for me) about the French Horn, but biographies as
well. I'm taking the easy path here and starting with song books, or
in come cases, books about songs.
The
Hymnal for Youth includes two very specific favorites. "Day
is Dying in the West" and "There's a Song in the Air"
which was one of my Mom's favorites. In fact, this is the only place
I'd ever seen it until several years ago when I found it on a CD of
Christmas Songs. (Which is the only time I've ever heard it from an
actual choir, and not just played on the piano). Music Makers:
Camp Fire Girls is filled with many of the songs I remember from
Camp Kirby. While mine has the Camp Fire Girl cover, I'm going to
guess that there are also versions with the Girl or Boy Scout cover
as well. :-)
Stories
of Our American Patriotic Songs by Dr. John Henry Lyons, with
illustrations by Jacob Landau. This was a discarded book I picked up
at a book sale decades ago now. It has the words, music and a the
story behind ten of our national songs. It's one I often reread
around the Fourth of July.
Washington
Songs and Lore, compiled by Linda Allen, it was published for the
Washington State Centennial. Who knew there were so many songs about
our state? I'm sure glad someone did, and that they were gathered in
this wonderful collection. Illustrations include historic photos,
pen and ink sketches, the fronts of sheet music and so on.
John
Denver's Take Me Home Country Roads, adapted and illustrated by
Christopher Canyon. I almost included this book with an upcoming
blog about some of my favorite fiction series ... the Jennifer
Chiaverini Quilter's books, as these detailed illustrations
have a definite 'quilty' look that gave a cozy, homey feeling to one
of my favorite songs. In the end, I decided I liked it here. She'll
Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain by Philemon Sturges, illustrated by
Ashely Wolff. Warning .... you may get this song stuck in your head
after reading this. I did (but didn't mind). A clever, silly,
whimsical and fun version of a familiar (and favorite) folk song.
John
Denver: the Complete Lyrics, edited by Milton Okun. I'll admit
it, I love John Denver. There are times his songs bring tears to my
eyes ("Matthew", for example). I found this book of just
the lyrics to be no less powerful.
Dogs
can be a source of endless amusement. There once was a dog named
Scandal. She lived with her humans and several other dogs in a house
with a nice yard, a view of who or what was approaching out the large
front window, and one preferred pooch pillow. (There were enough
pillows for all the dogs, but this one was the best, it seemed). If
Scandal saw that the pillow was occupied she would go to the front
window and bark once. This would bring all the other dogs to the
window, most of them already barking. Scandal would then claim the
preferred pillow. Oddly enough, none of the other dogs did this.
Seeing that the pillow was occupied (by any of the dogs) they'd just
sigh and walk away.
This
brings me to a Puzzlement: I have seen many sorts of pooch pillows,
for the tiniest of dogs to the largest. Many have a bolster, or
raised pillow, and this is where the puzzlement comes in. The dogs
I've had, have, or known, all like to sleep with their bodies on a
pillow and their heads at a lower angle. The dog I have now sleeps
on the sofa, feet tucked in one corner and with her head hanging off
the front. Since this style of pillow is found in pet stores and
catalogs, I am sure there are dogs who love the pillows, but my
friends and I have yet to see one! : )
My
alarm has sounded .... the kind with four feet and a black nose, it's
time for our walk. Enjoy your day.
Reading
Hermit With Dog
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