Star Trek

Day 110

I am doing it again. Too many rambling thoughts rummaging for a place in my head. Best way to tame them is to name them.

WordPress Theme – I love WordPress. I have used it to design many, many websites over the years. I love the flexibility. I have two self-hosted WordPress websites but I have resisted self hosting my blogs. I love the WordPress Reader community. I would miss that. What I would love is the flexibility to format the blog the way I want it – the thing I most love about the platform. I searched out the old Pachyderm theme that I use on my other blog only to find out it is no longer being updated. Bummer. What all this means is that I may change my theme again. And maybe again.

Music – Songs have been running top-speed through my mind this morning. I was listening to one of my favorite songs — also the song I hope will be played at my funeral morbid as that may sound to some. It was written by Tom Waits and is featured on The Black Rider soundtrack but that is not at all the rendition of the song I love. The version that touches my heart is by Niamh Parsons. What an angelic voice and the harmony with Fran McPhail is pure gold. (I also intend to write my own obituary. As an amteur genealogist, accuracy is important!)

Then I found a recording of Ashokan Farewell which our daughter and our niece played at our wedding. The violin and piano duet is simply beautiful. When I played it on YouTube today hubby heard it and came down to look for the music for mandolin (the two instruments — violin and mandolin — are similar in some way). It was nice to hear him play it considering he has only had a few lessons.

The piece was composed by Jay Ungar and he says it comes out of a sense of loss and longing. Not what most people would pick for a wedding, I suppose, but give it a listen. It is beautiful.

Memories – My sisters have been very present in my memories. Maybe because I have been in touch with both my nieces today or maybe because I was perusing some old blog entries. Nonetheless, it was nice because the thoughts were pleasant and not wracked with grief. I do miss them so much. I chuckled today when I stubbed my toe and uttered “Dammit, Jim.” One of my sister’s favorite ways of expressing frustration and for you fans, a definite Star Trek reference.

Cleaning – I did manage to finish packing all the Christmas decorations and hubby stored them away. Well, all but the village pieces atop the kitchen cabinets. Maybe tomorrow.

So, a big jumble of thoughts day. Expecting some icy eather in the morning. Hubby is making his delicious chicken, potato, and kale dish for dinner. It will go perfectly with our bottle of our favorite new Cabernet — Sailor’s Grave. Try it if you can find it. Check out the video. It’s a hoot.