"Funny How a Melody Sounds Like a Memory"

Follow my blog with Bloglovin {Day 29,  Topic: 5 Songs}

Music is everywhere in my life, attached to most of my memories. I've always found it funny how a song can be connected to a moment in time, even if that particular memory isn't an important one, but simply just life. So what songs do I share? There are so many to choose from....

Childhood...

 

My childhood is marked by songs by The Beatles, Elvis, and The Beach Boys. Music is one of those things I never forget and I can still remember the lyrics to almost any song even if I haven't heard it in years. But stronger are the memories attached to these songs. What I think of when I hear songs from my Cocktail Soundtrack tape, who comes to mind when I hear songs by The Voice of the Beehive or The Bangles, or the mental picture I see when I hear Kokomo. But I am going to share a lesser known song. When I was young I had 2 favorite tapes- a recording of Shel Silverstein reciting his poems and Barry Polisar's Naughty Songs for Boys and Girls. I had them up until a few years ago when one of the boys' music players pulled the tape and I couldn't wind it back. But this one is one of my all time favorites: Never Cook Your Sister in a Frying Pan....and when I hear it I can see my younger self, my room, my toys, my tape player...

 Love...

 

Being a rather empathetic person I love most any love song. I can feel the feelings, good or bad, regardless if there are any similarities to my life. There are many, many songs out there that remind me of my love. But there are two song that I would say are "ours".

The fist takes me back to 17 years ago, at age 16, falling in love with my future husband. I was dating someone when we met, so we started out as friends. Head Over Feet came out right around that time, so it was on the radio all the time and the lyrics just spoke to me. And it didn't take long for me to fall head over feet for Paul....

 You've already won me over in spite of me
And don't be alarmed if I fall head over feet
Don't be surprised if I love you for all that you are
I couldn't help it
It's all your fault

And then there's Remember When,  which describes...

Our past- Remember when I was young and so were you, And time stood still and love was all we knew 

Our present- Remember when the sound of little feet, Was the music we danced to week to week

And our future- Remember when we said when we turned gray, When the children grow up and move away, We won't be sad, we'll be glad, For all the life we've had, And we'll remember when

Sadness...

 

I've mentioned my struggle with depression a time or two. It's a part of who I am, some days a bigger part than others. I know many people who surround themselves with happiness when they are feeling down- happy books, people, movies and music- but that's not how I work. I tend to surround myself with sad things and music is the front runner. Listening to sad music, while it may make my feelings worse for a moment, works as sort of a release. And I end up feeling better because of it. There's something about not feeling so alone. Hearing the lyrics, you know that someone else, somewhere out there is feeling just like you.

And 2 of the songs I listen to most are:

Runaway Train, by Soul Asylum. This one came out back when I was in middle school and it's been with me ever since.

 "Can you help me remember how to smile
Make it somehow all seem worthwhile
How on earth did I get so jaded
Life's mystery seems so faded "

And finally, the #1 song. If I could pick just one to share, a theme song of sorts, this one would be it. It's the song I play on repeat when I have bad days. It's the song I feel deep inside. And the one I can identify with the most....so if you ever want to know what's going on inside the head of someone who suffers from depression, this is it:

Full of Grace, Sarah McLachlan

I feel just like I'm sinking
And I claw for solid ground
I'm pulled down by the undertow
I never thought I could feel so low
Oh darkness I feel like letting go
If all of the strength and all of the courage
Come and lift me from this place
I know I could love you much better than this
Full of grace

So those are my 5 songs. What songs are on your life's playlist? (And in case anyone is wondering, this post's title [ "Funny How a Melody Sounds Like a Memory" ] comes from the song Springsteen, by Eric Church)

Making- and Reaching- Money Goals

A couple of months ago I reviewed the FamilyMint Money Management Certification Program. In the course of using that program the kids were asked to make some money goals. One of Rylan's goals was to buy a laptop by Christmas this year. His target amount to raise was a hefty $1000. He had his sights set on a Mac. He started saving his money. Mowing grass and doing extra jobs for us. He helped his grandfather plant seedlings, bushes and flowers. He mowed grass for him as well.

When Rylan wants something he borders on obsessive. He spends way too much time researching options and prices and everything else. He also asks a million questions and wants our opinion on every little detail. Over the last few months we've had a lot of conversations about what he wanted the laptop for. And eventually he came to the decision to get a cheaper Windows based computer now and when it dies in a few years trade up to the Mac then. So he lowered his goal to about $300.

This weekend, his chosen computer was on sale. He was $8 short. But since he would earn $5 of that in his weekly mowing and he agreed to mow a couple other areas that needed cutting, we spotted him the $8 and took him to Best Buy.
 

And now he's loving setting up and playing around with his new toy. He's already installed Lego Digital Designer and ordered and received a cable that allows him to hook his computer to the TV to watch some of our iTunes movies.

Garden Update: May 27, 2013

We spent the weekend staking tomatoes and pulling off suckers. We also planted more beans and squash. This year I am determined to keep track of what is growing where so I can actually see which varieties grow and produce the best. Since I grow so many different types, using markers in the garden get a little difficult. So instead I planted with my notebook and pen in hand then transferred the lists to the computer. 

This is our main tomato bed. It has 75 plants total and 19 different varieties, all heirloom. 

And this is my map. All items marked with an * are Rylan's plants.

 

Today Rylan and I planted the melon bed. Most of the watermelon bed belongs to Rylan. It's his baby this year and he has big plans. We have 60 plants total in the bed.

We also planted most of the bush beans and summer squash. We haven't put the okra in since we were expecting cooler weather, but now that is' back to the 80s, Okra is next to go in the ground.

We also finished up our eggplant, peppers and cucumbers.  And added some of our extra tomatoes on the end. Rylan is taking the suckers off his 3 tomato types and planting them in order to get more plants for less seeds. I've done this most years when I find huge suckers that were hiding from me. It works pretty well and is an easy way to increase the number of plants.

Here's the map to that bed. The extra spaces at the end are for the extra tomatoes.

How does your garden grow?

This post has been linked to Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways, The HomeAcre Hop, The Homestead Barn Hop,