Saturday Night Serenade–Feeling Bluesy

I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling kind of low-key this last weekend of March.  This past couple of weeks have been absolutely gorgeous.  The last half of March is always the most beautiful time of year here in south Florida.   The sky is bright blue, the sun is golden, it’s neither hot nor cold…

It’s not the ideal time to go swimming–between the migrating sharks and the Portuguese man-o-war, the ocean is a little dicey.  But to sit on the sand and watch the turquoise water at Juno Beach or Jupiter Beach?  It’s a little slice of heaven.

As is this bluesy song by Tracy Chapman.  Give Me One Reason is from her 1995  album, New Beginning.  It’s the perfect soundtrack for a low-key evening.  By the way, did you know you can ask Alexa to play this song?  And thousands of others?  You don’t even have to scroll through YouTube or iTunes.  Ain’t technology grand?

I hope you’re enjoying this lovely spring evening.  Be sure to hug those you love.

Happy Saturday night!

Oh, and P.S.–Between you and me, don’t tell anybody about Juno and Jupiter.  Let’em all go to Ft. Lauderdale and Daytona.  😉

Saturday Night Serenade–Summer Songs #5

Happy Weekend, everyone!  Hope your 4th went well.  Mr. R ended up making two trips to the fireworks store, and suffice it to say, we had plenty of things that went BOOM.

Friday was Date Night, and being the middle of July, it was time for Shakespeare by the Sea, the annual outdoor performance at the Carlin Park Amphitheatre.  This year’s play was one I’d never heard of, Love’s Labour’s Lost, but as always, it was lots of fun.

We enjoyed pizza al fresco and shaved ice, but, tragedy, we forgot the wine.  On the upside, there’s wine in the fridge for tonight.

After the show, we headed back home by way of A1A, driving along the beach.  There was a beautiful, nearly full moon, and we stopped along the way to take a look.  We were not disappointed.

All in all, it was a fabulous evening.

I hope you’re enjoying this hot summer night.  It’s the fifth installment of the Summer Songs series, and I’m pulling out an old favorite.  Remember that summer when we all walked like an ‘Egypt-she-in’?  I say, let’s do it again!  Who’s with me?

You know you want to do that sideways head bob.  While you’re at it, hug those you love.  Happy Saturday night!

Saturday Night Serenade–Summer Songs #4: A 4th of July Two-fer

Happy July!  Here in the States, we’re celebrating the long Independence Day weekend.  It’s the ultimate summer holiday, with cookouts, picnics, trips to the beach, and fireworks.

There’s a lot that divides us Americans these days–politics, ideologies, and hateful, vile rhetoric, to name just a smattering.

But I’d rather focus on what unites us–good food, fun, pride as a nation, and good old rock ‘n roll.

Wouldn’t it be fabulous this weekend, rather than getting baited into some pointless social media debate, we put down our electronics, went outside, shared a hot dog and a cold beer with a neighbor, and enjoyed fireworks set to a soundtrack of great music?

Mr. R and I will be in lawn chairs on the driveway, watching all the neighborhood fireworks.  I hit the bargain bins, so we’ll be the dorks wearing the blinky jewelry.  Actually, I’ll be the dork wearing the blinky jewelry.  He’ll be sitting next to me, rolling his eyes.

But maybe that’s what it’s about.  Agreeing to disagree, embracing our differences, and appreciating that variety is, in fact, the spice of life.

I’m bringing you a two-fer for week #4 of Summer Songs.  I couldn’t pass up John (he’ll always be Cougar to me) Mellencamp, despite the fact that they’ve commercialized the crap out of this song lately.  And Phil Vassar’s American Child is a sentimental favorite.

Be careful out there.  No drinking and driving.  No holding a firework and blowing off your hand.  Haven’t you seen them do that on all the morning talk shows?

Enjoy your holiday, and hug those you love.  Happy Saturday night!

Saturday Night Serenade–Saturday Night in Paradise

It’s May, glorious May, and I couldn’t be happier.  We’re nearly to summer.  In a mere 25 days, I will be leaving the glamorous world of public education to become a full-time writer.  As I unexpectedly explained to my administrator this week (long story, but suffice it to say, the cat is out of the bag), with Mr. R starting his own real estate business, it’s time for a new adventure.

Having been in school in one way or another most of my life, for me summer is long lazy days spent relaxing, reading, going on vacation, hanging out at the beach…  This summer will be a little different in that I won’t quit working–my work will just be here at my computer.  Which isn’t different from the last few summers, but now there’s the added pressure of needing to see lots more sales so that this becomes a viable operation.

But I’m thrilled for the opportunity and for the support of my love, who says I should go for it.  That brings me to tonight’s serenade, Zac Brown and Jimmy Buffett in a joint venture.  Don’t we all wish we were knee deep in the water somewhere, finding our own kind of paradise?

I hope you enjoy a beautiful and relaxing weekend in your own kind of paradise.  Happy Saturday night!

Cat 5 Hurricane at Guanabana’s

Juno Beach

Juno Beach

Juno Beach

Saturday Night Serenade–Don’t Mean Nothing

Waaaaayyyy back in nineteen something-something, lifetimes before Mr. R. and I met, I saw Richard Marx in concert on Daytona Beach during Spring Break.  He was preceded that day by The Squeeze, who, I’m embarrassed to say, I mistook for a really good local band.  Sheesh!

Anyway, Marx was in his heyday and the concert, simulcast on MTV, was terrific.  He even had Dave Koz on sax.  While he had a number of hit songs, Don’t Mean Nothing was always my favorite.  It’s kind of funky and bluesy, reminiscent of the Eagles, and that, it turns out, is not by accident.  On the original recording, Joe Walsh played slide guitar while Randy Meisner and Timothy B. Schmidt sang backing vocals.

Richard Marx still tours a lot, a fact I know because I follow him on Instagram.  Yep, I’m that kind of dork.  This live performance is as good or better than that one so many years ago on the decadent shores of Daytona Beach.  Of course, it’s sans the industrial sized mullet he used to sport.  His audience has changed, if this video is any indicator.  Or maybe we all just got old.  It could be that those folks are the same ones who were in that audience that March day.

But I suppose getting old beats the alternative.  Hope you enjoy this throwback to a kinder, gentler day.  Happy Saturday night!

If It’s July, It Must Be Shakespeare

July is always a bit of a downer for me.  That’s because past the 4th of July, my summer vacation is more than half-way over.

However…

Mid-July brings Shakespeare by the Sea, the annual performance by the Palm Beach Shakespeare Festival at Carlin Park in Jupiter.  Each year, they choose a play by the bard and give it their own spin.  This year, they’re doing The Taming of the Shrew, and it’s set at the Kentucky Derby.  Which has me shrugging my shoulders a bit, but I’m happy to go along for the ride.

The play is performed at the Seabreeze Amphitheatre across the street from the beach.  Patrons of all ages are invited to bring picnic suppers, wine, blankets, and lawn chairs as they come to enjoy an evening of entertainment.

A couple of years ago, my folks were visiting along with my six-year-old niece, Lily, and I was so excited to take them to see Much Ado About Nothing.  They were not convinced that Lily would be content to watch a Shakespeare play.  But once we arrived and got settled, some of the actors came out and interacted with her.  When the curtain went up, she was riveted.

The event runs for two consecutive long weekends and is free, with a suggested donation of $5 to cover their expenses.  At last year’s performance of Hamlet, an actor performed a private sonnet in exchange for your donation.

I love everything about this video.  The actor is spot-on, his young audience handles the one-on-one attention with aplomb, and you get the feel of sitting on the hillside waiting for the play to begin.

So tonight, we take our picnic and enjoy opening night of The Taming of the Shrew.  I love this part of July!

2016 cast of The Taming of the Shrew

A 4th of July Freebie

I hope everyone’s having a fabulous Fourth!  I love this day–all the picnics, barbecues, trips to the beach (Unless it’s crusted over with blue green algae, don’t even get me started!).

There will be fireworks tonight.  Mr. R. took himself to the fireworks store and returned with enough pyrotechnics to power us into the next millennium.

But I wanted to let you know that today is also the last day you can get my latest book, a naughty little summer novella called Just One Night, for FREE.  It’s exclusively on Amazon and here’s the LINK.

If you like your romance spicy, follow my Pandora Spocks author blog for the latest news and updates.  I often post excerpts of my books and occasionally from my works in progress.

And…I’m having a major book launch before the end of July.  How’s that for a teaser?

For today, hurry on over and get a great beach book for FREE.  Happy 4th of July!

Only In South Florida–Your Moment Of Holy $#!t

This unbelievable video was shot this week by a local paddleboarder.  The location is uncomfortably close to where we go to the beach.  It’s the beach where my boy and his lovely bride were married last May.

I mean, you always know sharks out there, right?  But seeing this is a huge reminder.  They’re OUT THERE.  Which is why I prefer to enjoy the ocean from the sand.  Yep.  The sand is just fine for me.

Laughter

We had a terrific time while my son was here this week, although the time went WAY too fast.  We hung out, visited a few of his favorite haunts, and had his buddy out for dinner one night.

Since my boy would too soon be land-locked once again in Nebraska, we made sure we got out to the beach one day.  While walking along, my husband spotted this.  The photo and caption are his.

Which explains just one reason why I love this man so much.

Saturday Night Serenade–Anniversary Edition

Yesterday, Mr. R. and I celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary.  We enjoyed a lovely day, going out to the movies and then cocktails at one of our favorite waterfront bars.

In honor of the occasion, tonight’s Serenade is ‘our’ song.  I’ve undoubtedly posted this song before but this is a really great version, a live performance from Berlin in 2010 backed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.  Be sure to notice the chick with the “I need to speak to your manager” haircut on backing vocals.

This is dedicated to my sweet, my husband, the yin to my yang, the peas to my carrots, the love of my life.  May we enjoy forty more and then some.  Happy Saturday night!