Saturday Night Serenade–By Request

I’m a GRITS, y’all.  A Girl Raised In The South.  Sometimes known as a SAP–Southern American Princess.  Although I’ve lived in South Florida (which is not the South) for the past quarter century, at heart I’m a Southern girl.  And I love my Southern rock.  Give me the Allman Brothers, the Georgia Satellites, the Zac Brown Band, the Marshall Tucker Band, and the Eagles and I’m a happy girl.

But Lynyrd Skynyrd holds a special place in my heart.  Way back in the Stone Age, in high school, I was a member of the Varsity Chorus and the Show Choir.  Oh, yeah, I was a huge dork.  And I loved nothing better than to arrive at chorus early.  Because there was a trio of guys who’d commandeer the piano and play Freebird until the teacher made them stop.  It was the best and I can’t hear the song without traveling back in time.

Today’s Saturday Night Serenade comes by request from Mr. R.  We’ve had a crazy kind of week that ended with his being bought out of the remainder of his work contract to the tune of five months.  So he has five months of being paid every two weeks without the bother of having to show up for work.  Five months to find the next thing.  As he puts it, he’s free as a bird now.  Happy Saturday night!

Frugal Date Day

Yesterday after running a few errands (one of which nearly resulting in our acquiring two new dogs–sheesh!), Mr. R. and I went for a nice walk on the beach.  After an unusually rainy week, Saturday was absolutely gorgeous.  We found a perfect place to park along A1A in Jupiter, left our shoes in the truck, and waited for a group of tourists to leave the boardwalk beach access so I could take this picture.

Had they not been super annoying, they would have been a riot.  The older woman of the group helpfully informed the others of the shower that was stationed on the sidewalk just down the steps of the boardwalk.  “Now the top is a shower and the bottom jet is for feet ONLY.”  Yeah, thanks Captain Obvious.  We giggled about that all day.

Mr. R. and I strolled north toward the Jupiter Reef Club, walking along the edge of the surf, collecting a few rocks along the way.  He found this one shaped like a heart and sweetly consented to pose for a cheesy lovey-dovey picture.  I can’t help it, really.  Somewhere along this stretch (and we can never recall exactly where) is the place where some years ago he dropped to one knee and proposed.

After our walk, we drove the F-150 a few miles up the road to the Jupiter Inlet, where surprisingly for such a beautiful day, we found a perfect place to park.  We walked along the jetty nearly to the end as we watched boats zipping in and out of the inlet.  It was so nice to sit on the seawall enjoying the sun and the water, seeing the silver flashes of tons of fish that were darting around just off the rocks.

It had been a while since we’d been to the inlet and yesterday we saw the memorial sign someone put up in honor of two young teenage boys who went out fishing one day this summer and never returned.  The sign with all the gifts people have left is a sad reminder of such a tragic loss.

Mr. R. and I left the Jupiter Inlet and ended up making a run for the border, having lunch at a nearby Taco Bell.  It was pleasantly uncrowded and we really enjoyed ourselves.

So what did we learn?

• A date doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive.  As long as we enjoy each other’s company and take the time to make us a priority, we don’t have to spend tons of money.
• When A Second Chance Dog & Cat Rescue is having an adoption event at the pet store, don’t go there!
• Be sure to tell those you love that you do, and hug them every chance you get.  You never know which time will be the last time.
• Don’t be that obnoxious know-it-all tourist who ruins everything for everybody.
• Taco Bell’s new burrito with the Fritos in it is pretty darn tasty.

Saturday Night Serenade–Message In A Bottle

Jupiter Beach September 19, 2015

Mr. R. and I spent some time at the beach today.  We just took a walk, we didn’t swim or hang out for too long, but it was a beautiful day.  More on that later.

But I’ve had Message in a Bottle by The Police as an ear worm for a while.  Maybe posting it for Saturday Night Serenade will exorcise it.  On the other hand, there are worse songs to have stuck in your head.

Hopefully you spent the day with the one(s) you love doing the things you love to do.  Here’s wishing you a lovely rest of your weekend and a happy Saturday night!

Re-Releasing TODAY!

Sorry, folks.  Another shameless plug for my Smart, Sexy Adventure, Luke & Bella: Two Streets Over.

While it’s been out on Amazon since early June, I’ve re-published it with the help of Draft2Digital and today it comes out on three more venues.  If you’ve been waiting because you don’t use a Kindle reader, now’s your chance to get it in a different format.

Here are the links for the new online markets.

iTunes

Barnes&Noble

Kobo

I hope you check it out, and please be sure to leave a review, good, bad, or indifferent, where you buy the book.  And once again, thanks so much for supporting Indie Authors.

Saturday Night Serenade–Nothing But A Good Time

Confession: Back in the day (and even now) the band Poison was/is a guilty pleasure.  You know they’re not good.  It’s not what you’d call quality music.  But still…  They’re awesome.

A few years back, Mr. R. and I had the chance to see them at our local amphitheatre, which I’ll always call Coral Sky, the original name, regardless of which brand of liquor is sponsoring the naming rights this week.  Poison was appearing with some other band from the same era, probably Winger or somebody.  Anyway, they could have simply phoned it in, we’d all have been happy, if only for the nostalgia factor.

Except that they didn’t.  They came out and kicked ass.  Apparently they never got the memo that they were a joke, a slight footnote in the 80s hair band portion of pop culture.  I’m telling you now, if you ever get the chance, absolutely go see Poison in concert.  Because on a Saturday night, we don’t need nothing but a good time.  Happy Saturday Night!

Asking for Help – Please Share and Help Me Find My Sister

OM helps so many of us, supporting our blogs and books. Seems the least I can do to pass this along and hope that he finds his sister. Fingers crossed!

Date Night–A Walk in the Woods

No, we didn’t go hiking for Date Night.  Instead, Saturday night Mr. R. surprised me with tickets to see the Robert Redford/Nick Nolte film at the fancy-pants movie theatre.  I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again, I can’t see going to a movie at a regular theatre ever again.  I’ve been spoiled by being able to choose our luxurious leather recliners online when we order the tickets.  I’ve been spoiled by friendly and efficient wait staff greeting us and taking our orders, only to return moments later with glasses of wine and an elegant cheese platter.  It’s the high life, I tell you.

On the downside, there was a woman in front of us who slipped off her sandals and put up her feet.  Shed of their coverings and propped up right there in front of God and everybody were, without question, the ugliest feet you’ve ever seen.  Mr. R. took a photo as proof but since this a classy blog, you won’t see the picture here.

But I was excited to see the movie, A Walk in the Woods.  I read the Bill Bryson book a lifetime ago, way back when I was married to my nightmare, and I loved it.  It’s the true story of Bryson, an American writer who lived in the UK with his family for years, and had recently moved back to New Hampshire.  Determined to reacquaint himself with his home country, he found a willing partner and set out to hike the 2,000 miles of the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine.  The book is at turns humorous and heartfelt and the movie is the same way.  If you’d like a break from movies about robots, superheroes, and shit that blows up, you’ll like A Walk in the Woods.

I also recommend reading the book because like so often is the case, the movie can’t tell the whole story.  While you’re at it, I actually recommend any of Bryson’s books.  He’s sharp and witty with a dry sense of humor and a keen sense of observation.  And by the way, he knows that’s a grizzly bear on the cover of the book.  It’s a joke. Get it?

Another of my favorites is A Short History of Nearly Everything, the very title of which reflects his tongue-in-cheek pomposity.  It’s a terrifically informative and fun read.  So with this Date Night post, you get a two-fer–a movie review and a book review.  Plus a reminder to try out the fancy pants movie theatre in your community.  You’ll never look back.

Saturday Night Serenade–Seasons of Love

I love musical theatre.  Way back in the early 80s I saw Annie on Broadway and caught the bug.  I’ve been lucky enough to have seen some terrific live shows including amazing local performances of Spamalot, A Chorus Line, and Les Miserables, and I also saw Spamalot on Broadway.

While I enjoyed the movie, I’ve never seen a live performance of Rent.  It’s a beautiful, touching story with great songs.  I especially love this one, Seasons of Love.  Tonight, I want to slow down and appreciate my sweet and the other loved ones in my life.  And let them know that I do, while I have the opportunity to say so.  Embrace the ones you love and have a happy Saturday night!

Seasons of Love

Five hundred twenty-five thousand
Six hundred minutes
Five hundred twenty-five thousand
Moments so dear
Five hundred twenty-five thousand
Six hundred minutes
How do you measure-measure a year

In daylights- in sunsets
In midnights- in cups of coffee
In inches- in miles
In laughter- in strife

Five hundred twenty-five thousand
Six hundred minutes
How do you measure a year in the life

How about love
How about love
How about love
Measure in love
Seasons of love
Seasons of love

Five hundred twenty-five thousand
Six hundred minutes
Five hundred twenty-five thousand
Journeys to plan
Five hundred twenty-five thousand
Six hundred minutes
How do you measure the life
Of a woman or a man

In truth that she learns
Or in times that he cried
In bridges he burned
Or the way that she dies

Its time now to sing out
Though the story never ends
Lets celebrate
Remember a year in the life of friends

Remember the love
Remember the love
Remember the love
Measure in love
Seasons of love
Seasons of love