Long Time No Post - A quick update

Seems like I have taken an extended time away from blogging, but (sadly) it was entirely unplanned.  Just too much on the go these days.  I have been holding back until I get my list of 20 things crossed off from my "Must do before summer" list.  The good news is that I am almost there.  The bad news is that I got 2 new items when last week I ended up buying and putting together some furniture from Ikea which now has to be disassembled and returned and new pieces fetched and a second assembly session scheduled.  Oh well... the place is shaping up nicely!  As you can tell, I have been catching up with, among other things, my feathering the nest tasks.  I am very excited as I have even managed to order my window coverings!

I owe a special thanks to my friend Michael Golland who spent Sunday evening helping me figure out the best placement of furniture and hung some of my Cecily Moon pieces on my walls. He has graciously agreed to create a wonderful piece to hang on the larger empty wall which will be a focal point for the room!

In the meantime, until I get more time to blog, I thought I would check in with folks and post a few pictures and a brief update and a song that grabbed me as I walked home from work tonight. 

Almost got my living room sorted around.

My balcony is at the ready for sunshine and R&R!

My new vehicle!

Practising with my zoom lens

Zoom to the max!  All from my balcony!

Walking home today it seemed such a warm and (near) summer day when I heard this song by Donovan I cast my mind back to days of my youth.  It was fun to listen to the song and remember what life was like back then.

Remember Donovan?  According to Wiki:

Donovan (born Donovan Philips Leitch; 10 May 1946) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Emerging from the British folk scene, he developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia, and world music. He currently lives with his family in County Cork in Ireland.

It is his birthday today! 

Wiki provides us with some interesting background to the song Sunshine Superman and the period it was written in:

By 1966, Donovan had shed the overt Dylan/Guthrie influences and become one of the first British pop musicians to adopt a flower power image. More importantly, his music was developing and changing rapidly as he immersed himself in jazz, blues, Eastern music, and the new generation of US West Coast bands such as Jefferson Airplane and The Grateful Dead. He was now entering his most creative and original phase as a songwriter and recording artist, working in close collaboration with Mickie Most and especially with arranger, musician, and jazz fan John Cameron.

Their first collaboration was "Sunshine Superman". One of the first overtly psychedelic pop records, it was an innovative and eclectic blend of folk, rock, pop and jazz. The arrangement was augmented by prominent harpsichord and sitar, and set against a funky conga-driven back-beat. It also contained subtle but unmistakable references to LSD – notably, the line, "I could've tripped out easy, but I've changed my ways".

Sunshine Superman lyrics
Sunshine came softly through my a-window today
Could've tripped out easy a-but I've a-changed my ways
It'll take time, I know it but in a while
You're gonna be mine, I know it, we'll do it in style
'Cause I made my mind up you're going to be mine

I'll tell you right now
Any trick in the book now, baby, all that I can find
Superman or Green Lantern ain't got a-nothin' on me
I can make like a turtle and dive for your pearls in the sea, yeah!
A you can just sit there a-thinking on your velvet throne
'bout all the rainbows a-you can a-have for your own
'Cause I made my mind up you're going to be mine

I'll tell you right now
Any trick in the book now, baby, all that I can find
Everybody's hustlin' just to have a little scene
When I say we'll be cool I think that you know what I mean
We stood on a beach at sunset, do you remember when?
I know a beach where, baby, a-it never ends
When you've made your mind up forever to be mine

Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm
I'll pick up your hand and slowly blow your little mind
'Cause I made my mind up you're going to be mine
I'll tell you right now
Any trick in the book now, baby, all that I can find

Superman or Green Lantern ain't got a-nothin' on me
I can make like a turtle and dive for your pearls in the sea, yeah!
A you-you-you can just sit there a-thinking on your velvet throne
'bout all the rainbows a-you can a-have for your own
When you've made your mind up forever to be mine
I'll pick up your hand and slowly blow your little mind
When you've made your mind up forever to be mine

I'll pick up your hand
I'll pick up your hand
And slowly blow your little mind
(Fading)Blow Your Little Mind