Mumble Jumble (April Fluff Post)

I have been doing a bunch of random things lately and every day seems to slip away very quickly. I never feel like I have accomplished anything or completed everything I wanted to complete.

So, since I was not able to decide on one activity or experience to write about, I decided to share a list of things–in no particular order–to briefly describe some of what’s going on in my life. The funny thing is, after I wrote the list, I can see I actually have gotten some things done and I am generally moving forward. This is very satisfying (insert smile emoji here, lol)

CURRENTLY. . .

WORKING – a full time job with a multinational company.
EATING – a new omelette combo, eggs with diced red onion and chopped dill. I learned about it from Kathryn Grody, wife of Mandy Patinkin, in one of the entertaining YouTube videos her son Gideon posts about his parents.
DRINKING – lots of water and Prince of Peace brand organic white tea.
WEARING – my comfy pjs and if I MUST get dressed to go outside (big smile) my comfy jeans and a soft tie-dye t-shirt.
STUDYING – the Italian language; using DuoLingo, LingoPie, and various YouTube lessons. I am enjoying this more and more as years go by and even though I am still at an intermediate level, I am pleased I haven’t forgotten anything I have learned so far. I am doing a very slow journey towards fluency.
ENJOYING – opportunities to spend time with my older daughter, Meghann, my son-in-law, Adam, and my grandson, Leo. We all took a road trip out to Long Island this month to celebrate my Mother’s 88th birthday. We had a chance to visit with family and eat some delicious Italian food.
CREATING – collages; I recently attended a terrific collage workshop with my younger daughter, Claire, and her friend Erica. We were able to be part of the inaugural event held at Casa Collage Dream in Brooklyn hosted by Luis Martin, “the Art Engineer”. I also created a collage to trade via Luis’ collage community. I took a photo of it (below) to make it easier to say goodbye. My daughter Meghann and I are also creating art journals and other multi-media pieces. We are enjoying this a lot and are sharing our art supply collections with each other. (Yes, collecting art supplies is a ‘thing’.)
FEELING – nostalgic as I spent last Saturday texting with friends in Madrid as they held a memorial concert for Barry Harris. It was organized by Irene Albar. Irene and her trio invited other former students of Barry to perform. It seemed like a lovely reunion as musicians from several different countries attended. I was touched to hear her perform “Burgundy” the song I wrote lyrics for; very heartwarming to hear that tune float over the pond (aka the Atlantic Ocean).
NEEDING – to walk around outside more. I took the “featured photo” of the vegetable stand to send to my friend Steve in California. I needed to show him I actually went for a walk in the sunshine last week.
THINKING – about all the people in the world who are displaced right now and who will never have their life back in a way that made them feel safe. I am very sad about this.
LOVING – “Decluttering at the Speed of Life” by Dana K. White. This is a simple system to remove unwanted things from your home, but it applies to other decluttering projects as well. I recommend looking her up on YouTube as she is really funny as she declutters her own spaces to demonstrate the process. I have made a lot of progress using her methods.
ANTICIPATING – a fully functioning art/studio space in the other room of our apartment (We have two rooms in total). It was once a bedroom, then a temporary storage space after our girls moved out, and now it’s being repurposed as a place for creating: art, music, and other fun kinds of messes.
WISHING – every success to my husband, Derrick Judge Early, as he prepares to distribute his independent U.N.C.L.E. film, “The Safe House Affair”.
WATCHING – the first season of “Julia” with Sarah Lancashire playing Julia Child. The characters are compelling, the dialog great, and the production quality is excellent. I really believe they got the settings and costumes correct for the time period (except for a touchtone phone in the hotel room, in episode 7; that caused me to disbelieve for a moment.) Derrick predicts Sarah will win an Emmy for her performance; she is THAT good.
READING – Richard Lui’s “ENOUGH ABOUT ME: The Unexpected Power of Selflessness” on my new Kindle. What a nightmare for me to have to say goodbye to my old one which was configured for 3G and no longer worked. I used the keyboard on the old one to play word games. (Deep sigh, oh well.)
PLAYING – Wordle; yes, I finally broke down and started playing it this month. I already missed playing word games with Barry and then I had to say goodbye to my Kindle games, so, yeah, I am a Wordle-person now.
LISTENING – to a lovely backing track created by Ken Takata for the song “Velvet Moon”. The original lyric was performed by Mel Torme and Frank Sinatra but about 9 years ago I wrote another set of lyrics that appealed more to me. I posted about this on Facebook and Ken was inspired to record the track for me in my key. The melody is looping in my brain even when I am not listening to Ken’s recording. As soon as I am confident in my ability to sing the song properly, I will record it for him to hear.

Velvet Moon

Music ©1942 Josef Myrow

Lyrics ©2013 Laurie Early



Stars that sparkle in your eyes

once adorned velvet skies

'til twilight gave you its prize



Moonbeams float around your hair

whisp'ring their love affair

I know they left silver there



The night's in love with you

devoted to your pleasure, but

I will steal its treasure

The evening flatters you as

my heart grows ever 

more fond and true

you're the moon in my darkness



So, wrap your arms around me tight

soft and light, through the night

we'll take a celestial flight



Constellations pass us by

as we fly, you and I

the universe our playground,



And, when night lets you go

I'll prove that I love you so,

(For) I know morning comes too soon

please remain, velvet moon.