One of the things one needs to keep in mind when one writes a blog, is the fact that it is a PUBLIC journal. Anyone can stop by to see what you’ve had to say. It’s common to see a blogger comment on their standing at Google for a specific word or subject.
Yet, a number of people have forgotten that blogs are public, and have lost their jobs.
My first response, when I heard the promo on ABC nightly news, was “What about the right to free speech?” I waited to hear the story.

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I’ve been reading Ronni’s blog, and Cop Car’s Beat, and they have shared a music meme from Jeanne at Cook Sister. Ronni’s answers are in the comments below Jeanne’s entry.
I thought I’d toss my two cents into the mix, and then I discovered it was more difficult than it looks on the surface. My early training is in music education. I like almost all kinds of music, so it makes it horribly difficult to limit my answers. Still….I’ll give it a try
1. Total amount of music files on your computer?
I think there is one…..just one. A good friend sent me a blues song he felt I needed to hear, and it’s still on the computer. I’ll have to see if I can find it.
If I could learn how to do it, I would download songs with the word “Lady” in the title or the body of the song, and then I might have 15-20 more songs on the computer….at least until I transfered them to a CD.
2. Last CD you bought?
I bought four of Diana Krall’s CD’s at the same time. Listen to “Cry Me A River” from “The Look of Love.”
The newest CD was a Christmas gift: Nora Jones: “Feels Like Home.”
3. What is the song you last listened to before reading this message?
Josh Groban’s CD “Closer,” the entire CD.
4. Five songs you often listen to or which mean a lot to you?
This is where it gets really tough. It’s almost impossible for me to limit this to five. ANYTHING by Rogers and Hammerstein, or Rogers and Hart, George Gershwin, or Cole Porter. Rosemary Clooney has a songbook of Rogers and Hart that I’ve worn out. The music from “Out of Africa.”
Festival Overture by Dmitri Shostakovich……or almost anything by him.
Celebration Overture by Paul Creston. Mannin Veen by Ralph Vaughan Williams. ANYTHING Sousa. I’m fond of Grieg and Mussorgsky and Tchaikovsky, and Tower Brass, and Beethoven’s works for piano.
I like Stan Getz, Paul Desmond, Gerry Mulligan, David Sanborn, most of Dave Brubeck’s work. I ADORE “Standards in Silhouette” by Stan Kenton. Judy Roberts, especially “My Attorney, Bernie.”
“Romanza” by Andrea Bocelli, and most of the music on the soundtrack from “What Women Want,” and dozens and dozens of other things that I will regret I didn’t mention, like big band, and swing, and……you get the picture.
I can work when popular music is playing, but classical music inevitably draws my attention away from what I’m doing. I get to listening to the shape of the phrase, and to the conductor’s interpretation and loose track of what I’m supposed to be doing. When I have the house to myself, I crank up the Bose and fill the rooms with sound.
5. Who are you going to pass this on to and why?
Rather than send this on to specific bloggers, I’d like to invite you to enter your answers in the comments here, or post the meme on your own blog.

…but not quite.
Cosmo almost got me to buy their magazine. There was an astounding blurb on the cover that was almost successful. But I resisted.
I was rounding the corner into the checkout lane at the grocery store, and noticed the magazines in the racks on the end cap. While I waited to get to the conveyor, I noticed a blurb on the cover.
“His Butt!”
Yup…..I almost bought the magazine. The article purported to tell you about your relationship based on your guy’s butt. If you read the fine print, it suggested you GRASP…..or maybe it was “fondle” said butt….and then they would tell you based on his reaction what kind of relationship you have.
Who needs a magazine to tell them THAT??

No…..not the era of “I Like Ike,” or any of dozens of other possibilities, but rather…..the temperature today. I don’t know just how warm it got, but when I was out running errands it felt absolutely BALMY!
It was supposed to get to 54 degrees F. today. I suspect it might have gotten even warmer. It was a sparkling, sunny, warm day that drew people out in droves. The girls collecting carts in the grocery parking lot left their coats inside and walked with a bounce in their steps. Car windows were rolled down, and people were out walking.
Isn’t 55 an odd temperature? In the fall, when our season is closing down, and we’re headed for winter, 55 feels chilly and our bones ache. We wear coats and look for gloves and mufflers, and shift over to heavier clothing. We complain about dripping noses when we have to go out to rake up the leaves.
But in February, when it hits 55, we’re out there stripping off our coats, and lifting our faces to the sun. Snow was melting, and patches of grass appeared here and there today.
This is Mother Nature’s annual joke around this time of year. She sends us a couple of days of warm weather to remind us what we’re missing. People watch the groundhogs, in the hope that winter will end soon, but you know…..it never does.
We have six weeks of chilly weather left before we see warmer temperatures on a regular basis. But, OH! how lovely it is to be reminded that it’s coming.

I am building up a head of steam over the health insurance system in the U.S. I suspect that there will be several entries on this subject in the near future, and it’s likely to be an ongoing subject.

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Tonight is the annual Souper Supper for my quilting bee. The bee meets the first Friday of each month, and in February we have the tradition of having a meal together. I’m making soups and roasted garlic with toasted French bread slices and baked Feta cheese. The rest of the ladies are bringing bread, salad, crudit

Mother returned from Key West on Wednesday evening. She told us that her plane would be arriving at 7:00, so I assumed that we would see her about 9:00 at night. My SUV was showing the “Service Engine Soon” light, so I had taken it in to be checked, and we went to pick it up Wednesday evening. Of course, we were gone when the travelers returned. 🙁

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Last week I received a package from my youngest sister. It contained a movie, an article that she wanted me to read, and some recipes. That package was the jumping off point for several thoughts I want to blog about.
Today’s thoughts are on the subject of how I communicate with my siblings.

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