Don't Ya Just Love That New Car Smell? ~ STMUSS

Good Morning!

OK, folks... I'm in a much better mood than I was for last week's Songs That Make Us Sing Saturday!  Why is that, Mary? (you might ask)

Here's a little hint...



Well, peeps... It's because we finally have our new car! Yep. A brandy new, Toyota RAV4 Limited V6 AWD, with all of the bells and whistles!! She has...

Leather... um, make that heated leather seats.
Power everything.
Keyless start Yup-per... Look Ma, no key!
Keyless entry
XM Satellite Radio
6 CD Changer
Tinted rear view mirror with integrated back-up camera
Hands free, bluetooth enabled phone, through the JBL stereo system
An I-Pod auxillary port
Several USB ports and
There's even a 120V plug adapter in the center console!!!
And a whole lot of other things that we haven't discovered or I've forgotten in all of the craziness.

Oh.... and she's a lovely metallic country (or maybe it's cornflower?) blue.

Wanna see her??  OK... Here she is!!

I hope our new neighbors don't mind that we got their work in progress in the photo. They're in the process of totally gutting and remodeling the house and saving our neighborhood from the "party house" that we've been living next to for the last 5 years. We don't know them very well yet, but we already LOVE them for that!

Our Passat was a lighter silver blue metallic. I initially wanted the gorgeous claret red version that they had, but hubbs wasn't a fan. I honestly don't know what he has against the color red... OK So he won that battle. This time.

She's sooo shiny!

Of course, any car that we bought just HAD to have room for Hubby's precious golf clubs and his fancy, schmancy new bag and push cart. That will be properly tested out this morning, of course.

Don't ya just love those shiny alloy wheels? (truth be told, that wasn't exactly a top selling point for me, but hubbs seemed to need them. whatevs...)

Ooops! I guess my cane wanted it's picture taken too.

The command center. So much to explore...

So, folks... There you have it! I'm so happy to finally be getting rid of that horribly uncomfortable rental car.  It was getting just a tiny bit annoying to have to have hubby help me get out of the passenger seat every. single. time.  we went somewhere. (you'd be surprised how important one of those little "grab handle" thingys above the door can be for someone with physical limitations)

Anywhooo.... Of course, I'm linking up with my good buddies Ginger and Becca for Songs That Make Us Sing Saturday! Why don't you come and join us?? We really do have a lot of fun checking out each other's videos every week. I mean, who doesn't love a great mix of music and a little story behind why the music was chosen on a Saturday morning?? (or afternoon, or evening, or whenever you have the chance to stop by and visit everyone)




So... Since I rarely EVER post just one video for STMUSS, here are a couple more car related videos for your listening pleasure!






This song was a huge hit for Neil Young. It's been covered by many well known artists and played at funerals and memorial services by probably thousands of people, as a tribute to their lost loved ones. But what most people don't/didn't realize, is that the song is actually about a car. Yup... not just any old car either. It's about a 1954 Cadillac hearse that Neil and his band (Buffalo Springfield) used as a kind of "band bus" to get them from show to show. It broke down on the way to a show they were heading to, somewhere near Sudbury, Ontario in 1965 and he wrote this song as a way of saying thank you to the car for all of the times that it got the band where they needed to go.  I know... makes it seem silly that so many people have used this song as a way of memorializing someone they loved, but we are talking about the great Neil Young here. Who else could make a song about a car, mean so much to so many?

Crazy Times ~ STMUSS

Phew!  I'm finally linking up again with my good friends Ginger and Rebecca for another Songs That Make Us Sing Saturday! (they probably think I've abandoned them)

It's a little insane around here at the moment. I'll try to just put this as simply and concisely as possible, 'K?

Easter - wonderful
Daughter and her family were here for 4 days - incredibly wonderful
Dear friend passes away unexpectedly - absolutely devastated
I get some kind of GI bug/flu - sick as a dog
Hubby is in an accident - scares me half to death
One and only car is totalled - cars can be replaced
He's fine (Thank God) - hubby can NOT be replaced
Hubby goes out of town for work - I hate being alone in this big old house
Hubby comes home - Happy Mary
Accountant calls - taxes are finally done - safe?? OR broke??
We get a refund this year! - Yes! unusual, but very nice
Start car shopping- hubby is right brained and very frugal, I am spoiled
Insurance decides NOT to total 10 year old totalled car - WHAT? - panic
Hubby, smart, savvy claims adjuster makes calls - relief
Back to car shopping - research and test drive a gazillion cars
Last night - finally decide on one of those gazillion cars
Today - going to the dealership to buy the car! - I win - Yipeeee! (photo later)

Maybe the rollercoaster has finally come to a stop?? - Fingers crossed...

I thought these songs were appropriate for what's going on in my life right now. No special order...







And last, but certainly not least.... a little something for a dear friend, brave Marine and Vietnam vet, who we will miss more than words can say.  RIP Richard. Semper Fi.

Just click right HERE to link up and join in on the fun!

Under The Weather

Sorry that I've been MIA...

Started out with a busy Easter week and weekend and then on Tuesday, I got hit with a nasty GI/stomach bug. Believe me... I wasn't feeling much like turning the laptop on, let alone making any blog posts. Unfortunately, when you live with an autoimmune disease or chronic illness, a "24 hour bug" can easily (and usually does) turn into something more like being on the losing side of a week-long WWF smackdown.

That being said, I am feeling much better and should slowly be getting back into the swing of things over the next couple of days.

Looking forward to catching up with everyone!

Dogs Rule, Cats Drool?

Because our daughter has no "human" children yet, the two grand-dogs always come to visit when she does.  Now, Dad and I love to see them....

Our three furry kids do not.

After four days of barking, drooling and jumping around like monkeys at the zoo, when my grand"kids" finally go back home....

Tonka (aka Donkey)

Miss Lily (her bite IS as bad as her bark!)

This is what my (much releived) "kids" do:

Monkey

Miss Pretty Girl

Simba

For days and days and days.....

"Who's" Having A Birthday? ~ STMUSS

My honey, that's "who"!

Morning everyone! Today, I'm making my Songs That Make Us Sing Saturday post a special tribute to the man who means the most to me in this world, because this is a special weekend and tomorrow is a very special day. It's his birthday!!

Source

Since The Who is his favorite. band. of. all. time. I figured that I'd give him his own personal "Who-a-palooza" as a little musical gift.

It's almost always a Who CD that first gets popped into the car player, when we're heading out on a road trip. I chose this first song, (The Song Is Over) because I love the way he sings along with it when he's driving.

 


This next video is of somewhat rare footage of the first night of The Who's two night show at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, on December 6 & 7, 1982. It's rare, in that they only ever intended to show footage filmed on the second night of this leg, but because they wanted to have back-up footage in case something went wrong on the second night, they filmed the first night as well. There are many music insiders and rock fans alike that have long considered this song (Eminence Front) to be one of the greatest rock compositions of all time.




Next, I had to include one of The Who's most popular songs ever... Baba O'Reilly. Funny thing is... not many people actually know that's the name of the song.




Last, but certainly not least, is the Who classic that most makes me think of my hubby when I hear it. This version is a slightly different one, in that it's not the entire band, but legendary lead singer Roger Daltry singing with a group that's near and dear to my heart, The Chieftains.



Happy Birthday, honey!



Here's the link to this really great party. Come on... join us this week, as a birthday present to my hubby. ;~)

Click HERE or HERE to link up

Mainly Maine

I chose #5 from Mama Kat's prompts this week: What was the occasion? Write about the last time you stayed in a hotel.

The last time we stayed in a hotel was this past Fall. September to be exact. We stayed at The Beachmere Inn, in Ogunquit Maine. As a matter of fact, we stay at this hotel every year in September, because my Hubbs is a darling, dear, sweet man who loves me more than anything in the world. Even more than golf. Or so he says. ;~)

Ya see, I have this thing about the Northeast coast. Especially the Southern Maine coast. Most specifically, Ogunquit and the surrounding areas of York and Kennebunkport. I don't know why. Maybe I was a bawdy bar wench salty old sea captain in a former life. Whatever it is, when we hit that stretch of highway right around Portsmouth NH and I roll my window down and take my first breath of that sea air, my mood changes completely. It's as if all of the cares and woes of the world, just melt away.

September is my "birthday month" and our anniversary is in October, so our annual trip is a kind of shared celebration of both. The family that owns and runs The Beachmere Inn are some of the nicest, kindest, most thoughtful people I know and they are the consummate "innkeepers". Because they found out about our little joint celebration each September, they have a special little treat waiting for us in our room when we check in. Every year.

I was drawn to it when I vacationed there with my family growing up. I rented summer cottages there with friends in the years following high school and through college. We loved and laughed and played there both as a young family and sometimes, just as a couple. The day after we said our last goodbyes to our youngest daughter, my little family needed to be in a place where we could begin to grieve and to heal, so we we packed a bag and headed to Maine.

It is my place of solace and peace. It is my place of renewal and reflection. It is the one place, other than my home here in NY, where my soul feels most at home. The brilliant blue skies, the golden sunrises and the sweet salt air of Maine, co-exist equally and interchangeably along the spectrum of my memories. The joyful, the reflective, the silly and the sorrowful.

Ogunquit is a Native American word that means Beautiful Place By The Sea. They must have read my heart when they named it, because that is indeed, what it is.

Linking up with:




  

Time To Spill It ~ A Rant

I usually refrain from posting about or discussing what might generally be considered controversial subjects or topics on my blogs, but (and there's always a "but" isn't there?) at some point we all have something that gets under our skin enough to induce even a temporary change in policy. Well, I've reached that point.

I'm not posting this little rant in an effort to invite any heated debates, but I'm open to a civilized, lively discussion, if that should happen to occur. What follows is just my opinion and as the saying goes, everyone is entitled to have one. Please just keep it friendly and respectful of each other's feelings.

In the slightly over 50 years that I've been on this earth, I believe that I have gained a reasonable amount of wisdom. I've experienced both incredible joy and profound sorrow. I care about my fellow human beings and the planet that we inhabit and I try to give genuine consideration and respect to the opinions and the feelings of others. I am not always 100% successful in the pursuit of my best self and I am certainly not perfect. I do try to rectify any insult or injury that I have caused and offer my most sincere apologies to anyone I might have offended.

Along those lines, I purposely choose to refrain from discussing political and/or religious views with people outside of my close circle of family and friends and due to the deeply personal and often controversial nature of many social and moral issues, I don't necessarily share my opinions about those topics with anyone other than my husband or my daughter.

That being said... I would like to inform the multitude of so-called "women's organizations", on both sides of the aisle, that I am insulted and frankly, outraged by your assumption that you know how I feel or what I think about political, social or moral issues. In the spirit of clarity and so that there is no question about what I am asking, please allow me state my intention and explain my request as briefly and politely as I can....

Understand this. You do not speak for me. You are mistaken and I would appreciate it if you would stop insulting my intelligence and undermining my individuality, by proclaiming to the world that you do. I have my own opinions about what is right and what is important to me and I will vote in accordance with what I believe.