Graceland

I watched the PBS show celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the release of Paul Simon's Graceland and I am reminded why this was such a great album, one that continues to be one of my very favourites. The rhythms and the music and the joy all the musicians have in sharing them is infectious, even 25 years later. I have the cassette tape I bought way back then, and I've played it over and over across the years. I bought the album too, and I think I have it still, but since I don't have a record player anymore, it's just gathering dust. My tape is so old it's worn thin, and I decided tonight I should buy the CD (and get a new CD player, so I can play it, lol). I'd forgotten how much controversy there was over Paul Simon's trip to South Africa to record this, and found this documentary really fascinating, to see the making of the music from the point of view of Simon and all the others who made the music with him.
Thank you, PBS, and Paul Simon.
Great music never ages. Happy anniversary, Graceland.

Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes

The year so far.

Four days into the New Year, and it's as busy as the last four days of the last year. I've worked 2 out of 4 days in ICU, could have worked today too..my alarm went off at the same time the phone rang at 7 a.m. So I guess I shouldn't worry about not getting enough shifts! Had a crazy busy shift on Wednesday,and a better day yesterday. I was very glad I didn't have the patient on the other side of the room, because the poor guy was just totally out of his mind delerious..or as we said at about hour 8 of watching him flailing about, totally batshit crazy. It happens more often than you'd think, that patients in ICU have a big issue with delerium; it's not their fault, they really don't know that their agitation is driving their nurse up the wall, but man, it's hard to deal with. The man's nurse was exceptionally patient with him, but when he finally fell asleep (the drugs finally caught up with him) she just about wept with relief.

I was up early to get out to the farm; it was Kelly's day off, so stalls had to be cleaned. When I got there it was so icy we couldn't put the horses out; the ground was like a skating rink. We got out our special TRAKS to put on our boots (great invention, wire coils attached to a rubber frame that pull on over the soles to give traction on ice) so we could walk without falling down. No way could we take the horses on that..they don't have TRAKS!

I hadn't been out there for a couple of days, and it's amazing how much progress the builders have made on the barn. It's almost all framed in, and we can really get a sense of what it's going to be like. Progress.

I have new neighbours upstairs, it seems. Haven't met them, but I've heard them. Seem to be doing a lot of banging and crashing around, hopefully it's just them moving stuff.

I have a new greatnephew; my niece and her husband had a baby boy just after Christmas. I haven't seen any pictures yet..but they've picked a rather unusual name for him, so I hope the kid doesn't grow up to hate his name. He has a regular kind of middle name, so I guess that's always an option. I remember my hippy days, when kids had the weirdest names..I knew a Bear, a Freedom, a Tree, and oh, yes, a Yippee. I met Yippee later on, and he told me his name was now John. Heh.

That's it so far for 2013. More to come.