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Thursday, May 15, 2008

HOT-PINK SATIN IN MY CASKET, PLEASE!
So the fruit of my loins and I are briskly traversing the downtown sidewalk towards the Courthouse, each lost in our own thoughts when she looks up at me and proclaims, "Mom, if you fell down right now and died I would flip you over, open your purse, get your phone out and call Dad to tell him to come pick me up."

(Pause.)  

(Inner chuckle.)

"Oh really?  Good thinking!   Glad you're planning for emergencies.  Would you try to revive me, tho?"

"Well, I would like to but if you're dead, you're dead.  But we would pick you up and bury you."

(Gee, thanks.)
Loin_Fruit.jpg
(Shoot, now I bet Google will start running ads for caskets and funerals here.)
12:03 pm

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

SMILING AGAIN
Smiling_Again.jpgYesterday I felt like sitting on a park bench and crying but somehow I managed to keep moving. Luckily I had on my dark glasses and "Henry Blake" hat so nobody saw my emotional state.  

I swear when my child is slighted, I feel it deeper and longer than she does. 

Ahh, we sensitive songwriting types, what would the world do without us?

That temporary glitch having been kicked to the curb,  I'm back in the saddle today and at precisely 11:00 shall do my dishes while listening to my recorder to learn my harmony parts for Kalyani's songs (going to back her up for her shows on Memorial Day Weekend.)

And get kicking on these...
1.    Tidy front room (20 mins)
2.    Tidy front walkway (10 mins)
3.    Guitar practice for 45 mins
4.    Lunch
5.    Computer goofing for 30 mins (includes E-mails)
6.    Work on (and hopefully finish,) lyrics for those 2 new songs (An hour each)
7.    Hmmn, what next?  I'll see when I get there.

Decisiveness!  Action!  Go, Jannie, GO!!
10:50 am

Monday, May 12, 2008

To Christine In Ardeche, France...
A letter is being mailed to you today!  (From me, that is.)

A Real letter.   

In my handwriting. 

On nice stationery. 

In an envelope.  

With stamps on it!

Note to Jo, "the other Christine," Diane, Lisa and Jean... you're next*.

* Please allow 2-3 weeks for mailing of such tomes.  xo
7:11 am

Sunday, May 11, 2008

How Do You Spell Mellaninn?
"Mom, the kids at school are saying that if you spend a lot of time in the sun your skin will get brown but that just nonsense because everybody knows the sun bleaches things."
1:38 pm

Girl Refills Freshly-Scrubbed Pool
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12:25 pm

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Six Reasons To Be Blue And Six Ways To Unblue Them
1.  At the parent-teacher conference yesterday it became apparent that although Kelly has a good grasp of math basics she resists her math work, is not finishing a lot of her other work, sings during study period which is distracting to her classmates and often cries when she doesn't get her own way.  Short of feeling like a failure somehow as a mom, I'm hoping this is merely her "settling in" year on her path to maturity at elementary school.  On the more positive side... her reading, writing and art are very advanced - she's already creating stories with illustrations in her composition book  (And Teacher say she's very loving and loveable, knew that!)  And extracurricularily ... she earned another promotion belt in Kung Fu this week.

2.   Just when I'm starting to really make headway on guitar practice, my guitar strap breaks, the instrument crashes onto the hard tile floor and a
tuning peg snaps off, the assembly for which is an odd shape that has to be ordered from lower East Mongolia but only between 6:00 to 6:05 a.m.  on the fourth Monday of every third month.  And you can't order just one peg - they only come in a set of 6.  (At least I can use Kelly's little guitar to practice on.)

3.The hardwood floor is buckling, even the new part we patched. (At least we have a floor.)

4.  After 14 years of adding-on and remodelling, our house is still not finished and now is even farther from being so because of the floor setbacks.  (At least we have a house.)

5.  Kelly's pool is full of pollen again.  Below is how it should (will again,) look, this photo from last September...
As_It_Will_Be.jpg
I am NOT going to post a picture of its very gross-looking current giant-shot-of-wheatgrass condition.  (At least we do have a nice little pool to splash around in and I'm able-bodied enough to clean that mofo it.)

6.  Six.. Six... hmmn, wasn't there a sixth thing?  Maybe not. (See, things aren't so bad after all, even if I am a little blue.)
1:40 pm

Friday, May 9, 2008

471,093 ! ! !
Movin' on up, movin' on out, movin' on up - anything could happen!
4:05 pm

Thursday, May 8, 2008

I took these pics on The Trail this morning,
then I ate a glazed donut.
Real.jpg
Yes, the duck is real!  Here, I'll bigger him (or her...)
Biggerness.jpg
(And even bigger...)
Even_Bigger.jpg
Wow, looks like a painting to me!  To you?
Duck_Light.jpg

Before_Donut.jpg
11:10 am

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Is that so awful?
So I'm running on the trail thinking donut, donut, donut instead of bagel, bagel, bagel. 

9:06 am

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Roof This (backyard adventure 17)
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2:07 am

Monday, May 5, 2008

Did You Cry?
Yesterday as I was toting 2x6s and sweeping out the Backyard Adventure and such, an entire song came to me. 

(I like when that happens.) 

Actually, has that ever happened to me before?  Most times I get the melody quickly but slave for weeks (months, years,) on the lyric completion.  The "I Need A Man" first verse came fast but I had to work V2, the bridge and V3 quite a bit.

A whole song in an afternoon, yes!  And a good one too.  I cried all the way through the guitar chordaging this a.m.  Nice and simple with C, FMaj7, Dm7 and G.  (I don't think "Blowing In The Wind," even had a Dm7 - not sayin' that I'm Bob Dylan but again, simple sometimes is the biggest mind-blower there is.)  For the beat and feel, think Lou Reed's "Take A Walk On The Wild Side." 

I'll divulge the lyrics to the "lumpy" proletariat general population after I copyright 'em.  Which reminds me, since the rest of my new batch of 12 songs are well on their way lyrically and melodically too I best be a-finishin' 'em.  And to go even deeper, record me singing them and pack the whole shebang off to the Library of Congress.  Better safe than sorry with copyrighting, I do believe.  "Stealing" is usually unintentional but the writer can always protect him or herself by COPYRIGHTING - a whole batch can be tucked away nice and safely for only $35.00.  (At least the price was $35 a couple of months ago.)

Shoot, I have to sign up with ASCAP or BMI too.  Better get cracking!!

Aha! I just this second have decided on BMI because my link to ASCAP "in same browser window" wouldn't let me hit the back button anywhere, and I find it annoying to downright rude when sites hold you hostage.  It's the littlest things folks - if ASCAP won't even let you off their site, what else are they going to be discourteous about?  (Waiver: that's just my unique experience with ASCAP's site today - you go on and decide for yourself, of course.)   Jannie
xo

Jannie's Second CD "Love To Spare" Song Titles...
1.    Did You Cry?
2.    Love To Spare
3.    (So Not,) Feng Shui  (a funny one)
4.    Love Is The Only Way To Go
5.    Bring On The Angels
6.    Dreams As Sweet As You
7.    You Could Love Me Good  (3/4 time, maybe 6/8)
8.    Jessica
9.    The Library Lady (a funny one)
10.  Gonna Shine
11.  Song In Shades Of Green (*Actual Title Name?)  (yummy jazz.)
12.  A Miracle Of Zero (*Maybe, not yet sure on the title.)
13.  Bones (Funk Remix)

Yesss! 

(Please God, let me not die until I finish recording all those, because the songs are overall shaping up to have very positive themes, and heaven (You) knows, the Worlde can always use some positivity, if "positivity," is even a real word. 

And please, God, let the economy get better and the price of gas go down so I can press a few hundred of the First CD (Bones,) and buy Photoshop CS2 and hire the guys to record this second CD.)

(If it be Thy will, of course.   Please see what You can do.  Thanks! )

10:59 am

All Swept Up And Ready To Go
(Backyard Adventure 15 & 16)
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9:38 am

Sunday, May 4, 2008

First Published Songwriting Article
UltimateSongwriter.com just accepted a short article I wrote on how my tune "I Need A Man," was born. 

(But maybe they publish everyone's submissions?)

Anyhoo, if I submit it someplace else I'll probably expand on the story a bit, but you can read my UltimateSongwriting piece here.  Below it you can add comments and / or rate it by clicking where it says, "Click here to post comments."

A published piece, Whee-hoo! 

Go, Jannie go!
12:41 pm

The Carpoolians
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the_carpoolers.jpg
12:30 pm

Saturday, May 3, 2008

A Miracle Of Zero
Seeing as I've now officially pronounced myself a songwriter and all - my final career change after years of being a dish washer, slag hoser, chicken farmer, umbrella salesperson and library book spine label attacher, and seeing as I'll be writing songs until death do my melodies and me part, I've lately been Googling "Songwriting Blogs" and oh -- the wonderful places I've been!

Like
this guy, for instance...  I've bookmarked him and will stalk regularly.   Oh, and this lady, gonna make her sick of me too.  (And I'm sure there will be more little nuggety blogs out there for me to discover yet.  Yummy, yummy.)

8:48 am

Friday, May 2, 2008

I Can Haz Cheezeburger
amputee kitteh...  i haz ich in fantom feets today
I submitted this lol of  Kit-Kat today.  It most likely won't get in but what the hey, can't win unless you play

Anyhoo, I'm  going now to munch my chicken pot pie.  And guzzle o.j.

Then work on gee-tar.  Totally gittin'  'er done today!

Kelly's being picked up after school for a sleep-over so the day is mine, all mine.  Until the handsome husband gets home, then it will be ours, all ours.
2:04 pm

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Three Out Of Four Funsters Agree... Fun Is Very Good.
3outof4.JPG
And I'm sure
Stevie feels the same. 

Speaking of Stevie Dale "Funster", be sure to check out his music page for the MP3 of his Cockroach Stomp song, (and not just because that's me on the background vocals... ahem,) it's a GREAT song.   And you're gonna love his other ones too!  Stevie's like... how shall I put this, no other being you'll encounter anywhere in this or any other galaxy. 

Go Stevie Dale, you're the man! 

We missed you Tuesday nite.  Hope California's treating you well!

6:59 am

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

   Third Time's The Charm ?
  CDCover-iTunes2.jpg
1:44 pm

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

"Bones" Album Cover, 2nd Draft
CDCover-iTunes.jpg
Almost there. Still two more little tweaks to go.
Maybe three, yeah three tweaks at the most.
Absolutely no more than four or five tweaks!
Care to guess what those tweaks could be?
12:12 am

Monday, April 28, 2008

The Super Sucker 2008
Let's just say that instead of double-checking that leaves hadn't clogged the French drain, Jim, Kelly and I were all snuggling nice and cozy in bed yesterday before dawn, marveling at how utterly safe and sound we were from the Force Five big storm pummeling our humble abode.  Fantastic light show! 

Well...  leaves had indeed clogged the drain out front.  We had just to wade through the kitchen to discover that.

But what started out as a potential mini-disaster actually ended up improving our life because the tile floors were due for mopping anyway, the carpet in Kelly's playroom looks better than ever, (nothing like a good rainwater deluge followed by hours and hours on the Super Sucker 2008 to brighten up the olde wall-to-wall, 7 gallons out so far and counting,) and I bet all remnants of puppy pee are now gone from the foyer's area rug.  Gone.  Forever.  Yes!   (Said rug which weighs 800 lbs soaking wet is now out merrily drying in the mid-morning sun.)

Oh, and it was high time to organize and sort through all those cardboard boxes of clothes and things in the spare bedroom anyway.  Darn tootin'!

Do lemons turn much lemonade-y-er than this?
Super_Sucker.jpg
9:52 am

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