Adele!

I'm usually not much for popular music these days, but one new singer is making waves in both the pop arena, and some even say she is finding a fit with her music within the jazz realm and I find her voice something fresh in a world of duplicates these days.

Who's the special singer that is hitting all the high notes both in the UK and here in the States?  Another one name wonder - Adele.

If you haven't heard her yet you should check her out!  I heard her first in a recent NPR interview that was really something else.  She's a regular Brit, with an edgy sound that really grabs whether it's with a pounding beat, or a ballad that holds you close.  I personally love the grit in her voice that is so gorgeous while being so real too.  She's not the rail skinny star, and at the same time goes way beyond what we consider totally beautiful musically.

The NPR interview is a great place to get a taste of her music - check it out! http://www.npr.org/2011/04/18/133687905/adele-tiny-desk-concert

A Gorse is a Gorse, of Course, of Course!

Gorse weed, Gorse (Ulex europea) is native to Ireland.  According to our Guide on the tour, Joe it’s a noxious weed of deadly beauty. It resists attempts to eliminate it. This thorny plant is not only difficult to handle, but, at certain times of the year, generates within its tissues a natural flammable oil. In 1936, this characteristic all but doomed the tiny town of Bandon, County Cork, Ireland. It is not certain how the fire started, but the Gorse burned furiously and within hours the inferno had consumed 484 of the 500 buildings that made up this small town as well. Much of this weed has finally been controlled by the commercial development that has happened here.  It has deprived even this hearty weed of a habitat.  Note the small picture taken in the county prior to the fire.  The same spot today is covered with pavement, homes and a whole neighborhood, which leaves no room for the weed!

This is a picture I took along the road in Ireland and   as you can see the Gorse still has a hold here along the roads and within the  hedgerows in many counties.

The funniest thing comes from how my granddaughter and I came to remember the name of the weed which of course gives us the title of this article.  I am a connoisseur of sorts when it comes to the old television show theme songs and remember many of them all too well.  The lyric I used came from a very old show called "Mr. Ed" (Who was of course a talking horse!), hence my very strange title. 

Soccer Grandmoms

We've all heard of the soccer moms that are the driving force today amongst the young and upwardly mobile with children these days.  Hey, they were the moving force in the last two presidential elections, right?  Well I am a soccer grandmom and I love it!  There is no need to be crazy I can just cheer and knit when I want, or get up and follow the action on the field too if I want too.

The best part of being a soccer grnadmom is I can go crazy with the wins and no one cares!  This job sure has it's perks!