Friday, October 20, 2017

Thursday: Feeling Better and Another Song

Today, I woke up feeling more or less back to normal.  I didn't have more sleep than in the past several days, but, perhaps, the quality of sleep was better, although I still woke up at least a couple of times in the night.   I still would have liked to have slept a little longer, but I was able to get up and go to work without any problem.

Yesterday, I froze in the office and had to wrap myself with the crocheted blanket I keep in my desk drawer!  Today, I wore a scarf and it kept me warmer.  I think I will take a spare scarf and keep that at the office, in addition to my blanket.

We had our annual earthquake preparedness drill ("Duck, Cover, and Hold" - the building alarm sounds, we are told to pretend there is an earthquake and we practice ducking under the desks and holding on for the duration!)  I have been in the office during several earthquakes, so, I've experienced the real thing.

I had a very productive day at the office and accomplished all what I had wanted to accomplish this week, and more.  Which was good because I had planned to take tomorrow off and I don't feel guilty about taking time off when I've completed my work for the week.

This whole week, I have been eating from what I had in the pantry, fridge, and freezer, augmented by some of the yogurt and apples that were at the office.  But, I have been wanting a Big Mac for a couple of days and, today, I gave in to the craving and bought myself one for dinner:

Uh Oh!

After having a piece of cake at the office, too!  (We were celebrating a colleague's birthday, which will be tomorrow.)  There goes my reputation for eating healthy!  Oh, well, I believe the last time I ate a Big Mac was in early April.  Once every 6 months isn't too bad, though, is it?  Once again, I didn't get any fries, only the burger!  It came to $5.01 with tax.   

I had planned to get a little more cleaning done, this evening, but I didn't do any of it!  Instead, I played the piano, sang (more songs my mother taught me), watched some TV (a program about the planets on the science channel), had a phone call from a friend, and video chatted with my daughter.  I will do my cleaning, tomorrow.

Today, I am grateful for:
- Feeling better
- Scarves
- Productive day at the office
- Safe commutes to the office and back
- Songs my mother taught me

Here's today's song my mother taught me: there's a bit of a story that goes with it - almost every weekend, we used to drive the three hour journey to my step-father's hometown, where he had a second dental clinic.  Our car didn't have a radio and so, we sang during the drives there and back.  One day, my step-father sang "When I Grow Too Old to Dream" and my mother sang this song in response.  Of course, I learned both songs!

When Our Dreams Grow Old

When our dreams grow old, our love will always be young
While we can still remember the melodies we have sung
As we go through the years with all their laughter and tears
The songs we've sung will make our hearts young
When our dreams grow old

I did a search and found several versions, sung by Vera Lynn, Gracie Fields, and others.  I hope you are able to find and listen to one of them. 

What are some of the songs you learned when you were growing up?

12 comments:

  1. We sang all the time in the car. We had a radio, but little radio stations were hard to pick up in hills of WV. We sang a lot of songs we learned in scouts--mostly folk songs.

    What a lovely thing it must have been to listen to your parents sing to each other. I listened to Gracie Fields version of the the song and it does have a melody that makes you want to sing along.

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    1. Folk songs are among some of the best songs. I still enjoy singing in the car! I tried to teach some of the songs to my daughter, but she's not that interested in learning them. She says I sing off key! :D

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  2. Beautiful song. Glad you are feeling better. Oh that Big Mac looks good! Andrea

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    1. Thank you, Andrea. Now you know that I don't always eat that healthy! :D

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  3. It doesn't make any sense to me when a building has the A/C on so cold that you need warmer clothes. I also don't like it when you go into a building, shop etc. in winter and the heat knocks you over. How difficult can it be to set the thermostat at a reasonable temperature. Good idea to continue keeping a warm scarf or cardigan at work.

    Well done on getting all your projects completed at the office.

    Pace yourself getting ready for the prayer meeting. Looking forward to hearing all about it.

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    1. Sandy, our office is supposed to be kept no colder than 78F during the summer to conserve energy, but it is always colder than that! I don't know what the temperature is supposed to be in the winter, probably no more than 70?, but the building seems always too cold for me! Also, I sit under a vent, so the air is always blowing down on me.

      Yes, I am trying to pace myself. I felt slightly panicky, last night, that I won't be able to get everything done, but I am telling myself that it is not necessary to get everything done! :D Now, if only the chicken would thaw! I've had them thawing in the fridge since Tuesday and they are still frozen solid!

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  4. We were car singers also though I can't blame bad radio reception. My folks just loved to sing, so my sister and I know all the show tunes through the late 60's along with tons of other popular songs from the 40's and 50's. I suppose one day knowing the words to Elmer's Tune or Joshua fit the Battle of Jericho will come in handy?

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    1. Oh, definitely! My mother's family loved to sing. According to the family stories, my maternal grandfather refused to buy a radio because he was afraid the children will stop singing!

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  5. I listened to Gracie Fields on Youtube and the melody seemed familiar, then I realized that it was the same as "Plaisir d'amour". I was familiar with the music of Gracie Fields as a child, but the one song I particularly remember singing when small, was "You are my sunshine". It dates back to 1939 and comes from the US although I warbled it in England as a little girl.

    I'm glad you had the burger. Everyone needs to have such a treat from time to time. I try to eat healthy and avoid a lot of sugar, but the box of large morning glory muffins, (probably loaded with sugar) called to me in the supermarket and we had one each for breakfast the other day. I've put the other four in the freezer but we will enjoy them again soon.

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    1. "You are my sunshine" is another song I learned as a child and I used to sing it to my daughter when she was a child. I wonder if she still remembers that; I must ask her.

      The occasional indulgences, whether it is a hamburger or a muffin, is important, isn't it? My daughter said she bought herself a doughnut, today. :)

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  6. Aren't Big Macs wonderful? Such a nice treat!

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