Wishing my beautiful wife, Sam a very Happy birthday today!! She continues to be the glue that holds us all together. I have no words to express how much she means to me and our family.
This photo is from when we went to a “Golden Girls” show. It was a play where the girls were played by men and it was quite raunchy.
It was a fun night out together. Because Ella is home recovering from her surgery, we won’t be able to go out this weekend, but I’m working on something for us soon.
I have mentioned how messes raise my anxiety levels. When the kids are playing in slime, or with play dough, or painting I am anxiously awaiting the mess.
They have a sandbox that they love to play in. Naturally, the sand winds up on the side porch, in their shoes, on the driveway, in the road, and in their hair. My wife, Sam, decided that they needed a “Mud Kitchen.” The idea is that they can make mud pies, etc…
Andrew and my father-in-law built the frame out of scrap wood. I ran up to the store to get bags of top soil to fill the frame. My wife went to the dollar store and bought containers, bowls, spoons and such so they could play in it. At first it wasn’t so bad. They the added some water.
They had mud all over themselves. I had to spray them down with the hose before I could even let them inside the house. I know that someday soon I will put on a shoe that will be filled with topsoil – or mud!
Mother’s Day was full of surprises, even if my wife had to sleep through it, because she worked the night before. Ella brought her home a flower from preschool for her. She was so happy to give it to mommy.
The kids and I had to run out to Home Depot on Saturday (more on why in a paragraph or two). While we were there we walked through the garden area. Andrew saw a hanging flower/plant that he though mom would like, so we bought it and actually got to hang it from the shepherd’s hook in the yard.
Sam has always loved gnomes. For her birthday one year I bought her a birdbath with a gnome sitting in front of a mushroom. The mushroom stem goes up to hold the mushroom top, which is the actual bath for the birds. There was a cute gnome that had mushrooms rising up around him that light up at night. So we bought that to put by the birdbath.
Earlier in the week, our dryer stopped spinning. It made noise when you turned it on like it wanted to spin, but it didn’t. After Googling, all the sites pointed to a broken belt broken pulley or a bad roller. I ordered a kit online and after watching YouTube, decided I could do this job myself.
The first thing I had to do was shut off the gas. So I went downstairs and found the only shut off valve I could find.
After I turned that off, I went upstairs to disconnect the hose from the dryer. As soon as the nut was loosened, I could hear the gas pouring out of the hose. It took me a bit to get it back on, and now the entire house smelled like gas.
It took me almost an hour of following pipes around looking for another shut off valve. There is a space right above the furnace that is like a dark hole. There is no light up there, and it is such an odd place for a valve, but it was the only place I hadn’t checked. After getting up and in a position where I could shine the flashlight, sure enough, there it was!
I watched step by step and did exactly what the video showed me to do. I kid you not, I almost had the dryer completely taken apart for this job. I pulled the drum and checked the belt, which looked ok. I looked at all four rollers and they looked ok, too. The pulley for the belt looked like it might be going bad, so I thought maybe that was the culprit.
After replacing the belt, the rollers and the pulley, I watched the video on how to put it back together. Once it was together, it was time for the moment of truth. I turned on the power and selected a cycle. I hit start and ….. it was still making the noise and still not spinning. I was devastated. I truly thought that I could fix it.
The aftermath of a wasted afternoon
Monday after we dropped Ella off at school, Andrew asked if I wanted to take a walk. I was thrilled that he wanted to do that! We walked the entire neighborhood and he talked almost the entire way. He asked questions, pointed out dogs, talked about which cars were the same colors as ours, and watched squirrels run around.
It was a highlight of the day.
Tuesday, Ella had her first T-Ball game. I’m going to have to find days to take off so I can watch her play. Sam says she is like a different player this year. She is hitting pitches that the coaches pitch and catching/fielding balls like crazy. I’m thankful for mommy taking pictures for me.
Yesterday was one long list of things to do. My wife and kids were out almost all day doing something. When they got home they all went to bed.
This morning, Andrew had an early doctor appointment. It was close to where I work. So Sam suggested that before this work training meeting I had to be at meeting at a park. There is one about 2-3 miles from work. Ella and I met Andrew and mom there. The kids got to run and play with new friends and Sam and I got a little time to sit and enjoy each other’s company.
Being stuck at work is not the way I wanted to spend my birthday, but at least this morning I got to be with some of the most important people in my life!
Thank you, AI, for making me look thrilled to be turning 55 today.
I’m not sure exactly when the excitement of turning another year older started to fade. Today, it is just another day, despite everyone trying to make it a big deal.
The folks at work all signed a card and brought brownies and tasty treats to celebrate yesterday. My brother has brought out his A Game and has been posting pictures with “old” jokes on my Facebook all week. My kids know that birthday mean cake, so they are excited about that. Then there is the internet:
I honestly thought I had at least another 10 years before being considered a “senior.” Apparently not.
I’m not sure how I feel about turning 55. There is an awareness that I have reached an age where I realize that there are more years behind me than in front of me. The older I get the more I try to make every day mean something. There is that fear of the unknown – how many more grains are in the top of the hourglass?
I suppose I’m a little confused about these overwhelming feelings. I’ve had plenty of birthdays. In the last year or so, I feel like we’ve finally come up with the right “cocktail” of meds to make me feel good. However, as this birthday approached, I found my thoughts turning to my age, my life, and just how fragile and short life can be.
I guess I should decide right here and right now to embrace my age and do whatever I can to make an impact every day. I looked for some sort of “feel good” quotes to help…
“Age is a case of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it don’t matter.” —Satchel Paige
“Aging is just another word for living.” —Cindy Joseph
“Birthdays are good for you. Statistics show that the people who have the most live the longest.” —Larry Lorenzoni
“You don’t stop laughing when you grow old. You grow old when you stop laughing.” —George Bernard Shaw
“My belief is that it’s a privilege to get older—not everybody gets to get older.” —Cameron Diaz
“Having a birthday is like reaching a higher peak on a mountain. Pause to admire the view; reflect on how far you have come.” — Richelle Goodrich, “Being Bold”
“Life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of eighty and gradually approach eighteen.” — Mark Twain
“Getting old is a fascinating thing. The older you get, the older you want to get.” —Keith Richards
LOL – No wonder Keith Richards is still around!
Well, at least AI made me look happier celebrating my birthday with Dino…
Five years ago, my life changed forever. I became a girl dad. Happy birthday to my sweet baby girl.
My wife made me shed a tear or two with her post today:
HAPPY 5th BIRTHDAY to my sweet Pamela Rose!!
Today you are officially 5, the day that you have been waiting for, for so long! This has been such a year of growth for you! You started sports and completed a year of TBall. You are in dance which has totally turned into your favorite thing. You started preschool and have the best teachers and friends! You have turned into such a great friend who is always so proud of your friend’s accomplishments. You have started to read and write and just all around thrive.
This year you have asked us to start calling you your “big name” Pamela instead of your nickname Ella. Which totally made my mommy heart melt when you told me it is because you wanted to have matching names with your best friend (Nana!)
Sweet girl keep being the stubborn, funny, loving, best friend and best big sister, the smart and caring girl you are! Because you are loved!
Loved indeed!! Oh, the love I feel for her!!
From the moment I first saw her my heart was bursting with love. That love continues to grow every second of every day!
Happy birthday, Sissy! Daddy loves you more than you will ever know! I am so thankful that God gave you to us! What a blessing you are!!
We did our taxes this weekend. Well, we didn’t, but our tax guy did. It’s always nice to know that you’re getting a refund. What was even nicer was to know that we are getting back money from the state taxes, too. It’s never really a lot of money, but it is better than having to pay!
Children’s Museum
On Sunday, I took the kids to the Children’s Museum in Flint. The last time I was there was with my two older boys when they were about 2 and 6. They’ve really changed it up and I was impressed.
There is an area that is all done up like you are under water. This reading room had an otter that Ella loved.
They improved the dental area a bit. Andrew had to show me the “tooth that had a cavity, but is now worth a lot of money.”
There is an area that has to be new, because I don’t remember it. It’s a pizzeria. Ella tried her hand at making pizzas.
The store that they had there is still around, but it has been redone. It is much better now. Andrew had to run the cash register for folks.
It was a fun afternoon. They each got a stuffed orca. Ella actually surprised me by calling it an orca! I have no idea where she learned that! We’ll be going back again.
Still to Come
Ella is excited because this Saturday is the Daddy Daughter Dance. She’s got a new dress and new shoes. I’ve gotta see if I can fit in my pants after taking all those steroids! If not, it’s gonna be a trip up to the store so I can look nice for my girl. I cannot wait for our special night.
She is also excited because her birthday is less than a week away!! She will be turning 5 on Monday. I have the day off and we will be celebrating her all day.
For today’s Friday Photo Flashback, I want to share one of my favorite pictures of my dad. I asked my dad about his age in this picture and he told me he was 15.
I love this photo so much. ALll my life, my dad has never been without a guitar. He was always playing it growing up. I know that he played it growing up and eventually played it in wedding bands.
Check out those cheesy tuxes!
I have fond memories of him listening to current hits trying to figure out the chords or solos. One that sticks out, I have mentioned a few times. Watching him figure out the intro to The Breakup Song by the Greg Khin Band was mesmerizing. I loved every second of it.
There were times when my dad would need a drummer to fill in at a gig. It was often my Godfather and Uncle Tom who would be there. Those two together were always a blast, so I can only imagine those gigs. I actually found a photo of my Uncle Tom with my dad at a wedding.
After his band broke up, he joined another band and began to play bass guitar. I guess he would occasionally play lead guitar, but not often. The instrumentation was different in that band and it had a great sound.
When I graduated in 1988, my dad gathered together some of the old band members. Without rehearsal, they played music for my graduation party. It was a jam session for them all. When my uncle wasn’t playing drums, he would sing. My cousins would fill in on drums and guitar.
You can see how much fun they were having in that first picture.
When DJ’s sort of took the wedding band’s job, my dad started spinning records at the VFW. My Uncle, who was also a veteran, would come up and hang out. Those nights always consisted of loud laughter.
I shared theae pictures today because today is my dad’s 78th birthday. I truly hit the jackpot to get him as my father. He has been a great supporter of me throughout the many years of my life. He has influenced me musically in more ways than I can count. Not to mention the introduction to classic movies and TV shows. He is a hero to me.
I am so lucky to still have him in my life. I love when we get to be together, and love that when we can’t, there is video chat.
Thanks, Dad, for simply being you. Thank you for all you’ve done for me. I wish you the happiest birthday, yet. I love you, Pop.
As I celebrate birthday 54, I am borrowing (ok, stealing) an idea from another blogger. I have altered the idea a bit, and may decide to change it up after a few posts …
I am calling the feature “The Music of My Life.” I plan on starting with the year I was born and picking 10 favorites from that year. I will move on through the years one by one. I doubt I will go too deep in the more modern years, so I’m not sure how long this will go on.
Right now, I am hoping to do this once a week. That’s a bit adventurous of me, but I am really hoping to be able to work ahead on these.
So what sources am I using to choose my songs? First, I am looking at the Billboard Year-End Top 100. This can be a problem as some of the songs from the list may have been released the year before. Next, I am looking a lists from various sources with all the songs released as singles for each year. Finally, my buddy Max (who may or may not be the blogger I stole this idea from), gave me a cool website to check out. It is acclaimedmusic.net
With that being said, let’s take a look at some of my favorites from the year I was born…
1970
I may as well start with the song that was number one on my birthday – American Woman by The Guess Who. It was released in January of 1970 and was the third biggest song of the year. A cool thing about this song – the whole thing was improvised on stage during a concert after Randy Bachman was tuning his guitar after breaking a string!
American Woman – The Guess Who
Next, a group that never had a number one song. That has always baffled me. CCR had a few hits in 1970. Travelin’ Band was released in January of 1970 and has a very 1950’s sort of sound to it. John Fogerty has been said to have channeled a bit of Little Richard in the vocal delivery of this song. Coincidentally, CCR was sued by the publishing company that had the rights to Little Richard’s “Good Golly Miss Molly,” because they sounded so much alike. The case was settled out of court.
Travelin’ Band – CCR
I always loved the sound of Dave Edmunds I Hear You Knocking. In 1970, he was getting ready to cut a version of Wilbert Harrison’s Let’s Work Together, when he heard that the group Canned Heat had just cut it. As he was driving in his car, a radio station played the Smiley Lewis’ 1955 version of I Hear You Knocking. He realized just how similar it was to Let’s Work Together and knew he wouldn’t have to change much and recorded it. He played all the instruments on the song (except maybe the bass guitar).
I Hear You Knockin’ – Dave Edmunds
Another group I have always liked is Badfinger. The song was recorded in May of 1970 and released in October. The band loved this song, but some of the folks at Apple records had no interest in releasing it. In August, the American director at Apple in New York heard the tape and liked it. The song was remixed and released as a single. It was a Top 10 single.
No Matter What – Badfinger
Released in January of 1970, Norman Greenbaum had a Top 5 Hit with Spirit in the Sky. Jesus is mentioned many times throughout the song, so I remember being surprised to read that Norman was Jewish! In a 2006 interview, he said that he was inspired to write the song after watching country singer Porter Wagoner singing a gospel song on TV. He said that he thought, “I can do that,” and wrote “my own gospel song.”
As far as the unique sound of the opening guitar lick? Normal used a Fender Telecaster with a fuzz-tone circuit built into the body to generate the song’s characteristic guitar sound. Because of the song’s length and religious tone of the lyrics, the record company was initially reluctant to issue the song. They came to their senses and finally released as a single after two other singles from the album had poor sales. The rest … is history.
Spirit in the Sky – Norman Greenbaum
Edwin Starr is one of my favorite Motown singers. In 1970, he released a song co-written by another Motown artist, Barrett Strong. The song is basically a protest song as the Vietnam War was still going on. The song was recorded originally with the Temptations singing it, however, the label decided to withhold the Temptations’ version from single release so as not to alienate that group’s more conservative fans, and had Edwin Starr record and release it.
War – Edwin Starr
By the time I was born, the Beatles were getting ready to call it quits. However, in March of 1970, they released Let It Be. At the time, the song became the highest debut ever on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It entered the chart at number 6 and went straight to the top. This was the final single released before Paul announced he was leaving the band.
Let It Be – The Beatles
One of the great song intros in classic rock belongs to All Right Now by Free. The song was recorded in January of 1970 and released on my birthday in the UK (May 15). Drummer Simon Kirke said: “‘All Right Now’ was created after a bad gig in Durham. We finished our show and walked off the stage to the sound of our own footsteps. The applause had died before I had even left the drum riser. It was obvious that we needed a rocker to close our shows. All of a sudden the inspiration struck (Bass Player Andy) Fraser and he started bopping around singing ‘All Right Now’. He sat down and wrote it right there in the dressing room. It couldn’t have taken more than ten minutes.” It’s a great jam!
All Right Now – Free
This song fits exactly what many blogger friends and I do often – Turn Back the Hands of Time through music, movies, and nostalgia. One of R&B’s greatest was released in February of 1970 by Tyrone Davis. The song was Davis’ second big hit. It went to number one on the Billboard R&B Chart and went to number three on the Pop Singles Chart.
I’ve always loved the way the intro starts with drum and bass, then adds guitar and keyboard (xylophone?) and finally the strings before Tyrone’s smooth vocal. And who doesn’t sing along with the background singers when they come in? I know I do.
Turn Back the Hands of Time – Tyrone Davis
Finally, we grab a cut from Van Morrison’s 1970 album, Moondance. Into the Mystic is just such a cool song. I guess this would fall into the category of “Yacht Rock” today. It has a spiritual feel to it. One article compared it to Yesterday by the Beatles describing it as “another song where the music and the words seem to have been born together, at the same time, to make one perfectly formed, complete artistic element.”
Van said the use of homophones really lent the song to have alternate meanings. He states: “Originally I wrote it as ‘Into the Misty’. But later I thought that it had something of an ethereal feeling to it so I called it ‘Into the Mystic’. That song is kind of funny because when it came time to send the lyrics in WB Music, I couldn’t figure out what to send them. Because really the song has two sets of lyrics. For example, there’s ‘I was born before the wind’ and ‘I was borne before the wind’, and also ‘Also younger than the sun, Ere the bonny boat was one’ and ‘All so younger than the son, Ere the bonny boat was won’ … I guess the song is just about being part of the universe.”
Into the Mystic – Van Morrison
I hope you enjoyed giving these songs a listen. Picking just 10 was harder than I thought. What about your favorites from 1970??
Tuesday was my wife’s birthday. She wanted to take the kids to the Detroit Zoo. It was the perfect day! The temperatures were in the mid-70’s and the sun was shining. We got to see all the animals that we hoped to see and the kids (and us) had a blast!
You may remember that Sam’s favorite animals are penguins. When we were married in Florida, we paid extra to actually see, and hold a penguin. She was especially excited to go to the zoo because the new penguin exhibit was now open. It didn’t disappoint.
They were really active Tuesday. There is a part of the exhibit where you can actually watch them swim around you. It was a very cool thing. The kids loved it.
Sam wanted to get something “penguin” for herself for her birthday. She was thinking of a stuffed penguin or maybe a t-shirt. We planned on stopping back there on the way out (the penguin exhibit has its own gift shop).
I got to see my favorite animal as well – the otters. They were also active and swimming around where we could see them. I could be wrong but before we even went inside, Andrew showed me that he liked otters, too!
We got to see the zebras, giraffes, rhinos, and monkeys. As a matter of fact, the line of the day came from Ella when she saw this one:
She said, and I quote, “That monkey’s butt is really red, mommy! He needs some diaper cream on that!”
The reptile house is always neat because the alligators are in there with a lot of other animals, but it is always hot as blazes! The kids really loved that this huge turtle was swimming in front of them!
After being there for some time, Ella said she was ready to go home. We started our way back to the penguin exhibit to get Sam her birthday prize. Now let me tell you something about my wife. It is never about her. She is the most unselfish person I have ever met. As we were walking back to the exhibit, Ella said she wanted to have her face painted. Without thinking twice, she said she didn’t need to get anything and got Ella her face painted.
She wanted to be a butterfly and the look on her face when she finally saw the finished product was one of the best moments of the day.
My dad lives close by, so we stopped to say hello. Sam’s car was in the shop getting new tires put on, so we couldn’t stay long. The kids were happy to see my dad and he was equally happy to see them (even though we woke him up from a nap). Naturally, they had to go and bang on the keyboard in his music room.
We got the the tire place just in time and picked up her car. Once we were home, we finally got to grab dinner and sing happy birthday to Sam. She loves red velvet cake, so Ella, Andrew and I baked one for her! It came out better than I could have imagined. Bonus – no egg shells fell in the batter!
By the end of the day, Sam was exhausted. You see, she worked the night before and we literally left for the zoo after she got home. Even though it was her birthday, it was more of a day for the kids and it was an amazing time for all of us!
Today I finished my 53rd trip around the sun. Birthdays stopped being special to me a long time ago. They are just another day. However, I will tell you that today was a birthday I won’t soon forget. Let me tell you why …
Ella has been talking about my birthday for months. She’s known that mine was coming up and eventually the “next” one. So she told Sam that she was going to get all the stuff for my “party.”
So her and Sam went to the store to order my cake. She told the woman that she was positive that I loved princesses, so this was the cake they brought home:
Ella sang Happy Birthday loud and proud and both kids helped me blow out my candles.
Yes, I did wear the tiara and hold the scepter after cutting the cake.
Sam and the kids got me the coolest card and a book I have had on my Amazon wishlist for some time. Once I get through the library books I have, I will be diving into this one.
They also got me an amazing shirt. The card and shirt go together as they are both from Bluey, the cartoon I just love! Perhaps mom was trying for a Bluey theme, but the princess won out!
We even had princess plates!!
If you are wondering about the tiara and scepter – don’t worry, there is a princess at our house making good use of them!
I also heard from my dad first thing this morning. He got a chuckle out of my cake. My oldest son called me this morning too. My middle son texted on his way home from the bus stop to send birthday wishes. There were countless text messages and birthday wishes on Facebook, too.
As much as I hate counting the years (and still claim to be 39 every year like Jack Benny) it is nice to know that so many folks will take a brief moment out of their day to send a birthday greeting. It’s almost overwhelming, but it is a reminder of just how blessed I am.
I’m not sure I’d ever have what it takes to be a photographer. Oh sure, many people comment on the pictures I take with my phone and post on Facebook, but they are far from professional.
There is a local photographer close by that has never disappointed us with her photos. She took Ella’s First Birthday pictures, Andrew’s helmet pictures, and recently Andrew’s First Birthday pictures. Her name is Beth and she owns Enjoy the View Photography.
I am always amazed when I look at the pictures she gets. I know the chaos that was happening when the pictures are being taken, yet she is able to grab that perfect split second in time that makes it frame worthy.
For Andrew’s session, she set aside some time for us to get a few of both kids and the family. The autumn colors were not at peak, but the outdoor photos still look fantastic!
She got pictures of the whole family sitting, standing, with Ella on my shoulders, and more. It is hard to pick a favorite and which ones to put on canvas.
Then there were photos of the two of them together. Some truly amazing shots of them sitting, but the one that both Sam and I love is them running from the camera.
There is one of Ella grabbing Andrew and hugging him that makes me laugh …
…and one that makes me tear up….
Beth got a couple solo shots of them, which wasn’t easy with Ella. She was way past being done, however, there is one that just came out perfect…
…my favorite solo picture of Andrew captures him in all his sweetness…
We headed inside to get birthday and cake pictures. Again, Beth was able to get these split second moments perfectly. Andrew was not really about sitting still, but you’d never know it by these pictures.
As far as a cake “smash,” we didn’t really get that for pictures. We got some at home on his birthday, but he was just to careful during the photo session. It was almost like he was saying, “I’d rather not make a mess…”
My kudos again to Beth and Enjoy the View Photography for these wonderful pictures which we will look back and enjoy for years!
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 