Can it really be
20 years ago tonight
we first walked along
the shore road together?

Can it really be
16 years ago I ran up the hill
to take this picture of the house
that changed us forever?

Can it really be
almost 9 years ago
our little angel came crying
and laughing into this world?

Can it really be
20 years ago tonight
you became my guy and
lucky me became your girl?

Well, look at the calendar – it WAS 20 years ago tonight!  Happy first-date anniversary, Baby! 

Whoo-hoo — TWENTY years!!!

And dear readers… someday I’ll show you more pix of the little house in Mahone Bay we remodeled, added onto and sold. (1994 photo above shows it after additions, but before finishing touches.) [edit: we were living in Texas and doing up the house in Canada mostly from afar, with one carpenter working on it.]

xoxoxo

Verse 1.
Sail a child like a ship out on the sea
Anchor her with love, then set her free
Stand upon the windy shore
Where so many have stood before
Sail a child to sea.

Verse 2.
Sail a child with all that’s good and true
From the deepest, sweetest, giving part of you
Listen when she speaks to you
Catch her dreams and sail them true
Sail a child, and true

Bridge.
Know that she’ll be safe out on the water
Know the love you show will lead her way
Know that you have raised a beautiful daughter
Know that she’ll be sailing home one day

Verse 3.
Sail a child and your heart around the world
Your tiny, shiny angel dancing girl
Hear the splashing of the spray
As she goes laughing far away
Sail her ’round the world

Sail a child like a ship out on the sea…

(end of lyrics.)

Ahh, feels good to finish those up and be happy with them.

“Let’s Drink Up The Stars” has not fully come together yet, but will some day, just have to let it find it’s own way up and out.

But…

My melody for “Sail A Child” is complete!

My camera tripod is set up!!

And I’ll post a video of me singing it when I feel it’s ready. I can’t promise an exact date, but know I’ll be working on it, and aiming for it to not suck.

Have a super-blessed day.

Love,
Jannie
xoxoxo

P.S. To hear me singing some of my songs, just click this “Videos” link.  Whoo-hoo!

Color me even crazier than usual – but today I tweaked this blog to upgrade my photos from 700 pixels wide to this all-new 740 wide!!

[My Canadian hometown, 2008. Kelly, Alyssa, nephew Austin.]

Okay, so My Amazing Camera is still a thing of the future, but what do you think of these 740 px wides??

I would be SO grateful if you could please let me know your most intimate thoughts pertaining to my new Ludicrously Wide photos.

[Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia, 2008. Sister Rosie, Alyssa, Kelly.]

In the poll below, please check ALL that apply.

Thank you all so very very much a lot!!!!

And feel free to leave any additional input in a comment below.

xoxoxo

Some still here with us

Others passed on

Each of them sweeter

Than a favorite song.

“When somebody loves you…”

“Little Brown Jug”

Late August roses

& rice pudding love.

Wind in the wheat fields

Sun on the sea

Each mother with us

For eternity.

(end of jannie-on-the-spot poem)

Happy Mothers’ Day, everyone!!  And I do mean EVERYone – gals, guys, pets, plants. Rocks.  Gems. Minerals.  Is a gem also a mineral?

xoxoxo

But wait – the photo!  Kelly was 5 weeks old in Canada.  Ann, Jim’s mom, was 95.  She passed on at the age of 97.

The other lady up there is my mom, still very much alive and cooking.

And boy — can she!!!  Beef stew, chicken soup and rice pudding like you would NOT believe!

She’s not much into making wine or beer, but I more than forgive her for that — there’s a liquor store just down the road from Her & Dad’s. 

And Jim’s mom — oh my dear heavenly Lord — she made a rice pudding that rivaled the gods’. I kid thee freaking not!

Do you like rice pudding?? 

And Frank Sinatra?

Do you like the thought of Frank Sinatra making and / or eating rice pudding? Or flinging spoonfuls of it into the audience?

(Okay, maybe that’s a little much on flinging it.)

Of course, Frank’s no longer in this realm, but he just might be up there with the angels cooking up a rice pudding storm.

And singing this song to Ann, her favorite.

xoxoxox

(end of post)

xo

Gratitude –  this month’s R.A.O.K.A. theme.  Where do I even begin?!?!  I have nothing but GREAT things in my life.

I am so grateful for my Awesome Wordpress Consultant friend, Kim Woodbridge, who made my blog vision of Big Photos come to life, yay!! Thank you so so much, Kim!  People — if you want someone you can absolutely trust 100% to help develop your Wordpress blog, Kim is it!! She’s been tweaking my blog for over a year now. And it’s no wonder she’s now got close to 5000 Twitter followers — she adds value to lives!!

Summer Cousins On A Beach At Sunset,2008

Speaking of photos, I am grateful that when my laptop’s power recently died, I didn’t lose any files on my hard drive!! Whoo-super-hoo!! I have experienced the heart-break of lost digital photos before, but not this time.

So so grateful, People.

(All pictures in this post are ones I thought were gone forever.)

Austin & Alyssa, (niece and nephew)2008

Yes, I know in the grand scheme, losing one’s digital photos is pretty far down on the list, but still — I’m so happily grateful I recovered them.  And all the new songs I’ve been writing!!

First Time Roller Skating — age 5

And lastly but very very far from leastly, I am grateful for bloggers like Happy Lotus Nadia, whose following comment to someone recently helped cement my decision to stop blogging on a set schedule.

“So often people fence themselves in by rules that they created and then forget that the boundaries can be broken at any time.”  Nadia — Happy Lotus

It’s only been 3 weeks, but I already feel so stifled by my self-imposed MWF blogging schedule, an experiment to see how it might affect my Google Analytics stats. But what do I care about stats if I feel hemmed-in while blogging?!  Where’s the spontaneity, joy and fun in that?!??  Duh, Jannie.  As of today I’m back to posting when I’m ready to, (whoo-hoo) and stats will take care of themselves.

And if I ever get to the point where I occasionally close comments because I’ve got a lot going on in life, I guess I’ll just have to take my blogging lumps. 

ALRIGHT!!!

Oh, wait — another wonderful Gratitude Thing today!!  Jeanne’s in town!!!  Jeanne, who’s been rambling this great country in a 30′ motor home for the last 4 months — is finally swinging our way. I’ll be meeting her in a few hours and we’ll hang out hopefully a lot until she has to leave Monday.  How great is that!?!  I’m even going to wash my hair after I post this and don a pair of matched socks in Jeanne’s honor!!

As to R.O.A.K.A, I am not quite sure who is still in, but check here with Sami for the gratitude posts.

And of course, I am wondering, what are you grateful for today?

xoxoxoxoxoxxoxo