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:
Out in the yard I 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.
This is from Fleetwood Mac's show on December 3, 2014 at San Jose SAP Center. The last few minutes you can really see Stevie gyrate around as if possessed.
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?
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.
Running Down a Dream...
I'm glad our daughter got to run down her dream of getting her Psych Degree.
I have really had fun playing along with the #RMF this year. Thanks again to Mary at JingleJangleJungle for hosting the show. Hope that she'll do it again next year!
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.
I think of all the times we've seen Huey and his band, the best time had to be when they did the entire Sports album at the Mountain Winery.
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.
When the band finally came back out they told us they only had time for a few more songs because of the curfew and asked if we wanted to hear some new songs or the oldies. I'm pretty sure the crowd shouted for the oldies but instead they did some new tunes. We were not impressed and have chosen not to see them again.
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?
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.
Anyway, making up for that we've seen The Fab Four a few times now and they really do a great job of impersonating John, Paul, George and Ringo.
They even have someone to come out and address the crowd pretending to be Ed Sullivan. He is pretty funny and has the movements of Mr. Sullivan down very well.
Then the Fab Four come on stage and sing the songs they sang on that first appearance. The girls scream. Everyone sings along - you just can't help it.
For each set they change their clothes and dress as the Beatles did when they sang those songs.
My favorite has to be the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band set.
I just love the bright colors in these costumes.
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.
One of the bands we saw at our very first concert together way back in 1982 was Loverboy.
We didn't see them again until many years later when they were doing one of the free Summer Concerts on the Beach at Santa Cruz Boardwalk. We made a day of it and took the girls.
After riding the rides we got a great place to stand and watch the show.
There was quite a crowd on the beach itself and we had an unobstructed view.
Unfortunately, I made us leave after the first set because I thought they would be singing the same songs over again. Turns out it was a different show so I kept my eyes open to see if they would play somewhere around us again. Last year they did come to the Mountain Winery and we were able to catch them.
A snippet of my favorite song, "Hot Girls In Love."
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!
