Janet's Smiles

It is November now so of course I needed a new title for my blog posts.  I try to come up with something catchy each month but I don’t want to duplicate so I was checking my archives to see what I had used in past Novembers:  Last year was “Noted in November.”  I only posted 10 times though so in a few years maybe I’ll bring that one back.  In 2017 it was “No, it Can’t be November” but there was only 1 post!  In 2016 it was “A November to Remember” and I actually did pretty well with that one, posting 26 days.  When I went back to 2015 I had used “Nostalgic November” but as I scrolled down I saw that one of the posts had photos missing! 

Aw, nuts!  Looks like I have some cleaning up to do on the blog.  Maybe I’ll rewrite some of them and delete the ones that have pictures missing.  Not exactly a fun undertaking since it could get very time consuming.  Still, I want to have a fully functional blog and if pictures are missing, maybe some links don’t work either.

In other news, I am so honored that my author friend, James J. Cudney, IV., did a small write up about me in his newsletter this month!  He so generously linked to my Etsy site as well.  What a guy.  I’ve written about his wonderful mysteries and the latest one, Haunted House Ghost, came out this month.  I entered a contest to win a signed copy of the book and I DID! 

Doesn’t the cover of the book look like a card I made recently?

Well, maybe not exactly but close.  Anyway, decided to use November Novelties as my title this year.  What do you think?  Do you clean up your blog once in a while?  Like a good mystery?  Lemme know!

Playing along with Linda’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday too where the prompt is “nuts.”

from Blogger http://asmile4ufromjanet.blogspot.com/2019/11/november-novelties-2019-aw-nuts.html
via IFTTT

Happy Halloween to all!  A couple of nights ago our dog, Benny, woke us up with his barking at about 3 in the morning.  When my husband went to check to see what the issue was, he saw a raccoon on our front porch.  He opened the door to shoo it away and found this:

Guess the raccoon had a sweet tooth!

It was a really cute idea but given the propensity of raccoons in our little neighborhood, we chose not to bring visitors to anyone else’s house at 3 AM!  (I did briefly consider putting it on the neighbors porches we are not particularly fond of – just kidding!)

For the last day of the Rocktober Music Fest I had to go with my girl, Stevie Nicks.  Gold Dust Woman is from the Rumor’s album.  I think it is particularly fitting for today since toward the end of the song Stevie goes into a frenzied dance which looks kind of spooky. 

Stevie has said that it is a “crackhead dance,” acting out her memories of being under antipsychotic medication (from the book “Gold Dust Woman” by Stephen Davis – a great read if you are a Stevie Nicks fan). 

Once again a big thank you to Mary at JingleJangleJungle for hosting a really fun Rocktober Fest.  Hope everyone enjoyed playing along.  What fun can we come up with for November?

from Blogger http://asmile4ufromjanet.blogspot.com/2019/10/rocktober-music-fest-2019-and-other_31.html
via IFTTT

We got some really good news the other day.  Our youngest daughter graduated from Sonoma State University in 2018.  The first two years we had to take out loans in order to pay for her dorm and tuition.  In the beginning of the third year my husband was declared Permanently and Totally Disabled from his job as a maintenance mechanic and the Department of Education sent us a notice that if he continued to be disabled for three years, our loans would be forgiven.  Each year we have had to submit proof that he was not working and this September was the last time we had to do that.  The letter came saying that the debt was permanently discharged!  What a relief. 

Going to college for some is a dream.  For my Rocktober Music Fest I’m using Tom Petty and Running Down A Dream.  I am so glad that we were able to see him twice before he passed away.  It was a real shock when he died.

This is from October 5, 2014, the last time we saw him.   

from Blogger http://asmile4ufromjanet.blogspot.com/2019/10/rocktober-music-fest-2019-and-other_30.html
via IFTTT

Today we have Huey Lewis and the News to help us with Rocktober Music Fest and Song Lyric Sunday’s prompt of Hide/Seek/Lost/Found.  Thanks Mary and Jim for hosting these fun challenges.

The first time we saw Huey Lewis was when I won tickets from a radio station.  I had never won anything before but this was a relatively new station and the way to enter was just by sending in your email address so it seemed simple enough.  I came home from serving jury duty one day to find the tickets in the mail.  I think that this is when the concert bug bit me and there’s been no turning back ever since.

The seats were in the second level and we had to drive about an hour and a half to get there but it was worth it.  Interestingly, Huey Lewis was the opening act for Chicago and they stole the show in our opinion.  We actually left early because Chicago just wasn’t doing it for us.  In fact, the best reaction Chicago got from the audience was when they brought Huey back out to sing with them! I also realized that I needed a better camera if I was going to be able to take decent pictures. 

The next time was at the Mountain Winery which is one of our favorite places.  This time Dwight Clark of the 49ers was there and came up on stage to sing “Hip to Be Square” with the band.

Some of the 49ers had actually sung the chorus on the original song.  Not being a football fan and especially not a niner fan, I wasn’t that impressed but the rest of the crowd went wild.

The worst performance was also at the Winery and it was the last time we saw them.  Uncharacteristically it rained and the show had to be stopped for 45 minutes.

Huey Lewis has had to stop touring because of some hearing loss but I just read that they released a song from that latest album “Soulsville” which was put out in 2010 and that they are planning to release a new album in 2020 with songs that were recorded before his hearing issues.

The song for today is “Finally Found a Home.”

We only have a few more days of the Rocktober Music Fest and I don’t know about you but I have been having a great time playing along and catching some really great music from the other participants as well.  What are we going to do for November? 

from Blogger http://asmile4ufromjanet.blogspot.com/2019/10/rocktober-music-fest-2019-and-song.html
via IFTTT

I am going with The Fab Four for today’s Rocktober Music Fest.  I wish that I had been able to see the real Beatles but I was not of concert going age at the time.  Plus, pretty sure even if I was old enough my parents wouldn’t have let me go. 

I also have to say that this is one group who encourages picture taking during the show.  They hang around after each performance to sign autographs too.  Kinda cool.  If you get a chance to see them I’d highly recommend it for a trip back to “the good old days.” 

Here’s some Sgt. Peppers for you.  Check out “Ed Sullivan.”

Playing along with the Stream of Consciousness Saturday group too, where the prompt for today is “dress.”  Congrats again to Shelley for winning the badge contest.

    

from Blogger http://asmile4ufromjanet.blogspot.com/2019/10/rocktober-music-fest-2019-and-other_26.html
via IFTTT

One of the bands we saw at our very first concert together way back in 1982 was Loverboy.   

from Blogger http://asmile4ufromjanet.blogspot.com/2019/10/rocktober-music-fest-2019-loverboy.html
via IFTTT

Today for the Rocktober Music Fest I’m going with Cher.  At 73 years old she is still going strong.  We saw her in 2014 and I thought it was a great show.  She looks terrific and has so much energy.  Of course, I don’t know what she’s like when she’s off the stage and maybe she shows her age then but clearly there is no hiding things with the costumes she wears! 

She even joked about still being able to get into the outfit she wore in “If I Could Turn Back Time”:

The reason I picked Cher and this particular song today is because I had my annual GYN exam yesterday and the first thing the doctor said to me was “This is the last time you need to have a pap smear.”  What?  Apparently after you hit 65 (coming in March for me) you don’t need to have this exam anymore!  Who knew? 

So, while there may be times I think about what it would be like to “turn back time” and be “young” again, there are definite benefits to getting older!  Also, good news, my blood pressure was normal the first time (I have “white coat syndrome” and usually they have to take my blood pressure twice) AND their records show I have lost 20 pounds since my visit in June (it is actually 60 since my all time high weight).  Maybe I am turning back time a bit! 

Happy Wednesday everyone. 

from Blogger http://asmile4ufromjanet.blogspot.com/2019/10/rocktober-music-fest-2019-and-other_23.html
via IFTTT

I may have mentioned that I am a Creative Memories consultant.  Mostly I do it to get a discount on my own supplies, especially since to be honest I don’t use their scrapbook albums.  I prefer the 3-ring type.  However, Creative Memories has much more than just albums and I made a short video showing some of their card kits and how easy it is to make really cute cards for any occasion.

With Christmas around the corner and the fact that I have three Holiday Boutique shows coming up next month I started with the Christmas collection.  Here are the first three I made: 

Please feel free to share all of this with your friends, neighbors, relatives, the mailman, etc., etc., – LOL

from Blogger http://asmile4ufromjanet.blogspot.com/2019/10/october-oddities-2019-creative-memories.html
via IFTTT

I said yesterday that my husband and I saw REO Speedwagon in a show at the San Jose Civic and that the opening act was a band called “Sir, Please” which included Kevin Cronin’s twin sons, Shane and Josh Cronin.

Shane and Josh Cronin

Michael Leese

Marshall Via

David Kohn

 Since “Dance” is my word of the year, I was particularly struck by this song called “Dance With Me.”  Have a listen and read the lyrics below.

LYRICS

I think this is a really catchy tune and I have been listening to it a lot while writing this post.  I’m going to keep my eye on these guys to see if they release some more songs.  I know they did a few others last night but some of them were covers.

I am hoping that the Rocktober Music Fest host, Mary at JingleJangleJungle, allows for new rock music to be included.  What do you think of this one?

from Blogger http://asmile4ufromjanet.blogspot.com/2019/10/rocktober-music-fest-2019-and-other_21.html
via IFTTT