March Meandering - 2018 - Blogging from A to Z Challenge - Reflection posts 2016 and 2017

We are about to embark on the A to Z Challenge for 2018 and I thought I'd take a minute to share the Reflection posts from the two prior years I have participated.  Each year music was the basic theme.

In 2016 I wrote about something to do with music for every letter of the alphabet.   Some of the topics were a little off the beaten track such as Funiculi Funicula for F and Xylorimba for X. 

This was for the letter "C" - Cowboy Jack

I was able to finish the whole challenge on time and I am pretty proud of my first abecedarium.

In 2017 I wanted to incorporate my love of scrapbooking with my love of music and so I went through the alphabet showcasing the concert album I am making of all the bands we have seen.  I did take the liberty of using some song names to cover the letters rather than the names of the bands.

This was from my letter A for Adele

I overestimated my abilities for this challenge and could not finish on time, although I did eventually do all the letters and they are linked in that recap post.

Next Monday, the 19th of March, is the big Theme Reveal for this year's challenge.  There are already over 300 participants signed up and there will probably be many more.  You can find out all the info and sign up to participate here.

It is a really fun challenge and I have learned so many things and made so many new blogging friends through my participation.  I highly recommend it and even if you don't want to blog, there are many interesting themes out there to explore.

April 2017 - #Atozchallenge - Verifiably V

Okay folks, here it is...the last letter in the A to Z Challenge that I skipped.

V is for Van Halen!  We had pretty good seats for this one, on the floor in the first row of the second section.  We were afraid that we weren't going to get a chance to see them because after the tour started they cancelled a bunch of their shows because they said they overbooked themselves.  Of course there was speculation of fighting between them and/or drugs as per usual.   Fortunately, our show was not one of the ones that was cancelled.  

Kool and the Gang were the opening act and they got the crowd off to a good start.

There was a big screen behind the stage and Van Halen used it extensively.  Having the images on the screen like that makes it easier for me to get some great shots.

Eddie may be getting older but he can still play a mean guitar.

I must admit that although there are a lot of songs I like, I was not a very big Van Halen fan in my younger days.  To be honest, I don't even know if I can tell the difference between the songs that David Lee Roth sings from the ones that Sammy Hagar sings.  Given that, I thought they put on a pretty good show.  My husband, being a bigger fan, was a little disappointed.  I know that we both were not thrilled with the little tidbits that David Lee Roth put out there about his old girlfriends and his dog.  Sing the songs, don't give me your personal history.  He did his twirling of the microphone and some leg kicking but I don't think he was nearly as acrobatic -- but he is getting older!

A huge cloud of red and black confetti spread over the crowd and I managed to get a few pieces to include here.  I included a shot of the area seating and marked where our seats were in this layout.  

There were also two reviews of the show in the local papers and I have included those with the scrapbook as well.

So, there it is.  I can finally say I really finished the A to Z Challenge.  Looking back on it now, I realized that I had originally intended to tell a bit more about my scrapbooking process and explain different techniques I used and the supplies, etc.  However, as I got farther and farther into it, I realized that I didn't leave myself enough time to do that and the pages that I had done a while ago I could not remember the different names of paper styles, etc.

I also realized that I TAKE A LOT OF PICTURES AT CONCERTS!  I have come to the conclusion that I don't need to keep every single picture I take and that I need to be more selective and edit them before I print them.  I was getting free prints from Shutterfly because my son worked for them and that was one of his perks.  Since he doesn't take pictures he let me have them.  I had a lot of pictures printed that way.  Now that he no longer works there, I have been trying to take advantage of their sales and giveaways and be more careful about the pictures I have printed.  I'll still take a lot of pictures at the concerts because you never know when something special is going to happen, but I don't have to keep them all!

Now it's time to start thinking about what I can do for next year's A to Z!  Hope you have enjoyed reliving my concerts with me.  Love to hear any comments!  




Even though the challenge is over now, you can still click over to the main A to Z Challenge page to see what other participants have come up with for this letter if you are so inclined.

April 2017 - #Atozchallenge - Suddenly S

If you pay attention to the dates on the blog then you'll know this is seriously past due for the A to Z challenge.  I made it one of my goals, though, to finish the letters so here is my letter "S."

Sade is one of those singers like Adele, who does not tour very often.  When she came out with her "Soldier of Love" CD we were hoping she would do a show near us.

John Legend was the opening act, which was a pleasant surprise.  His first song was a cover of Adele's "Rolling in the Deep!"  We had some real Legend fans around us who kept shouting, "Sing it, John!"  "That's right!"

Sade took FOREVER to come out.  We had heard rumors that she was slow to start her shows but we were beginning to get frustrated.  All that changed, however, when the first beats of "Soldier of Love" started and she rose from underneath the stage.

She sang songs from the new album and also lots of her hits from other albums.  She had a really good backup band.  When she came out for her last few songs after a costume change, she wasn't wearing shoes!  I thought that was pretty funny.

Unfortunately, because she was so late in starting the show, we had to leave before the encore or we would miss the last BART train home.  Still, it was a great show and she has not done a big tour since then so I'm glad we went.




Even though the challenge was over a month ago, you can still click over to the main A to Z Challenge page to see what other participants have come up with for this letter.

I have one more letter left, "V," and then I really will have finished the A to Z!

April 2017 - #Atozchallenge - Wow it's W

W is for The Who --

We got a chance to see them when they had a make up show in Oakland.  They had had to cancel an earlier show because Roger Daltrey got sick.  Being another one of those iconic groups, I felt it was important to see them before they stop touring.  We take BART over to Oakland and my husband was having such pain in his leg from a blocked artery that we had to stop every few steps to let him rest.

My daughter, Amanda, came over to visit and helped me decide on the background papers.  Then I added the "extras."

Even though this was just a couple of days before our anniversary, I forgot to take our usual concert picture so I used the owls to represent us.

My husband didn't think they really put their all into the show but I thought it was good. 

It was Peter Townshend's 71st birthday so it was a bit special.

Ringo Starr's son, Zak Starkey, is their drummer.  He did a great job.

They pretty much covered their hits and talked about the last 50 years.

There was a good write up in the paper the next day and I am happy when I can include that in my album.

So, better late than never I say.  I only have two more letters to cover and then I really will have completed the challenge.  I have ordered the pictures so it will be a bit, but I'm sure you don't mind waiting :)


The challenge is officially over for this year but you can still click over to the main A to Z Challenge page to see what other participants have come up with for this letter.

April 2017 - #Atozchallenge - Quest for Q

Q is for "Quit Playing Games With My Heart" by the Backstreet Boys.

Of course my husband was not interested in seeing this group so my daughters and I took a road trip to Concord.  It was quite a warm day.  The car showed the temperature to be 103 degrees.    

Jesse McCartney was the opening act.  I had forgotten how many songs of his I liked.

Then came the Backstreet Boys.  I have always liked them better than NSYNC because I think their harmony is better.  They have a ton of energy on the stage and I love their choreographed dances.

I used another one of my templates on this page.

We had a great time and it was fun to share the concert with my girls.

Though the A to Z Challenge is officially over, I am still going to add my missing letters.


You can still head over to the A to Z Challenge page to see what other participants have come up with for this letter and read some of the reflection posts.  I know I am going to be revisiting to catch some posts I may have missed.  There are a lot of talented people out there!

#A to Z Challenge Reflection

Well, I almost managed to complete the A to Z for my second year.  I did have to skip a few letters because I forgot how long my "Creative Process" can take and I didn't quite get the scrapbooking done in time.  Rather than give up, though, I chose to skip those letters and I may take the next month to add them in.

Just in case you missed one, here are my posts, in reverse order:

Z is for ZZ-Top
Y is for "You Shook Me All Night Long" by ACDC
X is for Bone Bash XI
W is for Who
V is for Van Halen 
U is for "Urgent" by Foreigner
T is for Tina Turner
S is for Sade
R is for Rod Stewart.
Q is for "Quit Playing Games with my Heart" by the Backstreet Boys
P is for Prince
O is for "Old Time Rock and Roll."
N is for Stevie Nicks
M is for Paul McCartney
L is for Loverboy
K is for Kihncert
J is for Journey
I is for "I Am...I Said" by Neil Diamond
H is for Huey Lewis and the News
G is for Genesis
F is for Fleetwood Mac
E is for Elton John
D is for Def Leppard
C is for Cher
B is for Bon Jovi
A is for Adele


Notable other bloggers from the A to Z this year for me were:

Our leader and founder, Arlee Bird with Tossing It Out who talked about Time.
John Holton from The Sound of One Hand Typing had some really good word play again this year.
Deborah Weber at Temenos of the Blessing Light talked about Pronoia (quiety, serenity and peace).
I got a Hockey instruction from Scarlett79.
Josie Two Shoes shared a story of 26 women in a small community using only six sentences in each episode.
J. Lenni Dorner captivated me with the story of telepathy.
I saw Dorky Mom Doodles by Erika.
AnneMBray showed us watercolor effects on the trucks she sees on her commute.
Doree Weller talked about some really interesting characters in books.
Iain Kelly wrote a story using the letters from a children's puzzle.
Leslie Moon showed us Uganda.
Cathy sketched her way through the alphabet.
Lisa at Tales from the Love Shaque gave us hair bands.
Natalie at There She Goes gave us some more great music to listen to.
Outside Perceptions showed us some great movies.
The Plagued Parent used Calvin and Hobbs to enlighten us.
Barbara from Life & Faith in Caneyhead gave us her perspectives.

If you get a chance, it would definitely be worth your while to check them out if you haven't seen them.  I know I will be revisiting them during the coming months to catch some letters that I missed.

There was a bit of a commotion when the challenge was announced this year as there was not going to be the usual "link-up" post.  I read that a few of the regulars were not going to be participating because of this.  I, for one, did not notice any significant difference without the link up.  I did manage to learn how to put a link to my posts in my signature so that when I commented on other people's posts they could find me in return.  It worked most of the time.  I did forget a few times to link my posts on the main Facebook page and more often forgot to link on the A to Z main page, but that was my issue.  Actually, I felt the original linky was a bit intimidating with all the different links.  Using Facebook, I could get a better sense of what the blog was about.

I forgot to play the bingo game put up by co-host J. Lenni Dorner, but if there is one next year I definitely will try to play.  I am going to be more prepared next year so that I can finish all the letters, but I'm pretty okay with the way things turned out.

Thank you SO much to all who stopped by and left me a comment.  It is so much fun to see the notices that I've had visitors.

How about you?  Finish?  Did you play the bingo game?  Ready for next year?

Man, It's May - Award Winning Edition

Well, it seems that there actually was at least one person reading my little blog in the month of April and that has led to me winning a "major" award (as Ralphie's father says).

So, I've always wanted to be a mystery writer but that's not really what the award stands for.  You can read about that on the creator, Okoto Enigma's, blog.

In order to "qualify" I have to follow the rules...not significantly difficult for me unless you are ruling me not to take pictures at a concert, that I have a problem with.  Here goes:

Rule 1:  Put the award logo/image on your blog.  -- Done

Rule 2:  List the rules -- You're reading them.

Rule 3:  Thank whoever nominated you and provide a link to their blog. -- That would be Outside Perception, a really cool blogger who talked about movies during the A to Z.  I have several on my list that I need to watch thanks to him.  Thank you again for the nomination!

Rule 4:  Mention the creator of the award and provide a link as well.  -- See above.

Rule 5:  Tell your readers three things about yourself.  --

• I have three sisters and all of our names start with the letter "J."
• My first job was in the local library working as a "page" - that person who puts all the books away when you return them.
• My current mission in life is to make someone smile every day.  (Did it work on you yet?)

Rule 6:  You have to nominate 10 to 20 people.  -- Do I even know 10 to 20 bloggers?  From the A to Z Challenge this year I came across these gems:

• Scarlett79 who wrote about hockey, a sport I knew nothing about.
• J. Lenni Dorner had an interesting story of telepathy.
• AnneMBray used her commute to show us different trucks.
• The Plagued Parent used Calvin and Hobbs to enlighten us.
• Lisa at Tales from the Love Shaque gave us hair bands.
• Curious as Cathy sketched her way through the alphabet.
• Leslie Moon at Moondust Writer showed us Uganda.
• Iain Kelly wrote a story using the letters from a children's puzzle.
• Doree Weller talked about some really interesting characters in books.

Outside Perception would have made the list as well, but he's the one who nominated me so...Of course if any of you don't have the time or inclination to participate, I totally understand.  No hard feelings and I'll still follow you!

Rule 7:  Notify them. -- You'll have to take my word for the fact that I went to each blog and commented on them to let them know.

Rule 8:  Ask your nominee any five questions of your choice, one weird or funny question.  My questions to answer were:

• Tell us about something you used to believe only to find out it was incorrect.  

I used to believe it was possible to have too many scrapbooking supplies.  Now I know I was incorrect.  There are never enough!

• If given the choice between cake or death...what would it be?

I'm trying to lose some weight right now so death...NOT!

• What was your imaginary friend's name and what special skills did they have?

I had a little sister so I didn't have an imaginary friend.  I had a pest who wouldn't use their invisible powers :) (Love you sister).

• What is your all time most watched movie?

In actual number of times watched I'll bet it is "A Muppet Christmas Carol."  I love that movie.

• When (if) I ever have down time what would I do?  

See the answer to the first question.  When I have down time I am in my craft room.  That and/or reading books.  

So, the five questions for my nominees are:

1.   Who is your favorite author?
2.   How long have you been blogging?
3.   Have you ever been nominated for a major award?
4.   If you could play a musical instrument what would it be?
5.   Who is Carmen Sandiego and why should I care where in the world he is?
6.   Extra credit question, did I make you smile today?

Rule 9:  Add a link to my best post.  I don't know about best but I have a few favorites.  One is from the A to Z last year, the letter "Q" where I talked about a very special quartet.  

Okay, I think I passed all the requirements.  Thanks again for this "Major Award."  My blog will wear it with pride!

Man, It's May!

May 1 - Well last month I was consumed with the A to Z Challenge and except for 4 letters, I finished.

 I may still go back and add those missing letters.  They were: Q - I was going to use "Quit Playing Games With My Heart" by the Backstreet Boys; S - I was going to use Sade; V - I was going to use Van Halen; W - Who else but the Who?  I have most of the pictures but I did not get the scrapbook pages made and since my theme was scrapbooking the concerts we've seen, I didn't think that just adding the pictures was right.  I have started my "Reflection Post" for next Monday and then it will be time to think of the theme for next year!

But, I have also been keeping up with my 365 pictures and here are a few of my favorites that I took during last month, in no particular order:

#103

My husband helped me get a picture of the full moon.  The times I tried to get it, there were too many clouds because it was raining during those couple of days. 

I Googled Rod Stewart for some information and I was excited to see that MY blog posts on him were #'s 2 and 3, following his official site!  I'm not sure that means much to anyone but I found it kinda cool - so I took a picture of the computer screen.  The same thing happened when I Googled Tina Turner. 

#117

We went into San Francisco for dinner one night and we saw the Bay Bridge with its flashing lights.  I love the way it looks on this rainy night.

#97

Shopping at Safeway I came across this shelf full of flavored waters.  They look so pretty with their different fresh fruits in the bottles.  All different flavors.  I haven't tried them yet, they just looked pretty.

#109

Also while shopping I found this new treat!  They have a couple of different flavors but the Cinnamon Churro sounded the best.  It was QUITE tasty I must say!  There were not that many calories in it either, even though there is sugar.  Four marshmallows for 80 calories.  I usually only ate two at a time because I am not used to eating too much sugar anymore and that was just enough.

#108

We went to our first baseball game of the season and it was a great one!  Our Giant's haven't been doing too well but they won in dramatic fashion in extra innings that night.  I got my exercise in by walking around the stadium since we got there early, in addition to walking to the train station and back.  Of course, I did have to have peanuts while we were there, but I stayed away from the garlic fries.

#116

When I am doing my scrapbooking and listening to music I turn the iTunes visualizer on and every once in a while I catch a shot of the fascinating scenes.  Maybe that's why it takes me so long to make my pages - looking at the computer screen instead of crafting?

#119

Have to include my May selfie.  This is me in my scrap room.  It is my happy face in my happy place. 

#112

Some of the pictures were of my A to Z layouts so I'm not including those here since I know you've been following me and have seen them :)

So, how about you?  Survive the A to Z?  Taken any interesting pictures this month?  Love to hear about them.

April 2017 - #Atozchallenge - X-cellent X

X is for Bone Bash XI -

One of our local radio stations (107.7 - the Bone) puts on a concert at Shoreline every year and they call it Bone Bash.  This was in 2010.  The first band was one that we like a lot, .38 Special.

On this layout I used a corner punch to put a mat around a couple of the pictures.

I love the decorative edge it makes and I am finding that I've been using a lot more of my tools doing these pages than I have in a long time.  

I felt sorry for the group this time because they were the first band out and the audience hadn't all filed in yet.  I think having so many empty seats affected their performance because I didn't think they were as good this time as when we saw them the last time (K is for Kihncert).

Unfortunately, the lead singer, Donnie Van Zant is no longer working with them because of health issues (hearing issues) and actually there is only one original member left, so I don't know what they sound like now, although I think they are still touring.  

The second band was a metal band called Eagles of Death Metal and that is so not my kind of music!  We ended up walking around the grounds and I took some pictures of the lights they show on top of the tent.  

Have you seen .38 Special?  Been to a Bone Bash?  Tell me about it.


You can click over to the main A to Z Challenge page to see what other participants have come up with for this letter, and come back to see what Y has for us!