Laundry, Jelly, and Josh.....

Josh Groban, that is. And Andrea Bocelli, as well. These two incredible gentlemen kept me company while I was doing chores around the house yesterday. And ooooh, how I love them both. Not at the same time, of course. *wink*

I waltzed with Josh while I swept the floor, and swayed as I stirred another batch of jelly (6 jars from 2 pounds of apples, picked at Dad's yesterday). And Andrea so beautifully serenaded me while I did laundry and made dinner. Now, with company like these guys, who could possibly hate housework?????

Of course, the hubby doesn't care for my love affair, which is why I generally only get their company in the privacy of my own car on my way to & from work, but...... On the weekends when the hubby is gone, I can enjoy them to my heart's content.

I don't think many people (if any) realize how incredibly important music is in my life. I used to participate in the middle school & high school choirs, and do semi-regular duets at church. Of course those parts of my life have ended, so it no longer seems as though music has an important place in my life. And, seeing as how neither DH nor DD completely agree with my choices in music, I rarely get to enjoy my chosen tunes when the hubby or DD are around. They're pretty firmly into country, though DH loves rap as well, and I love a much greater variety than that.

On Friday nights, I prefer to turn to the local modern pop station, as they've got 2 hours of nineties flashback, and rocking out to those tunes brings back a LOT of memories. It's funny to hear "and now from '95, "this song" by ____". I stand there and think..... "wow, I thought that song came out more recently." LOL I tend to get very nestalgic as I listen. I think, what was I doing in '98..... Oh, DD was coming up on her first birthday. In '95 I was a sophmore in HS. '93, I was just finishing up 8th grade, and I can't believe how long ago that feels like.

Of course, back in school, I was as likely to be listenting to Golden Oldies as I was to the local pop station. I would waltz around my room singing "Johnny Angel" or tap my toes in time to "my boyfriend's back" as I was reading or doing homework. I also loved Neal Sedaka's "breaking up is hard to do." Not that I had a boyfriend, or any experience with breaking up. But it was a great song to sing along to.

As I'm doing housework on the weekends, I generally pop in a little of the fore-mentioned Josh or Andrea, or one of my many, many celtic cds, or some classical music like Beethoven or Tzchaichovski. And this is why we don't generally listen to music if the hubby is around. He wants to turn on the station that plays rap, which I can't stand (and I don't think the lyrics are appropriate for DD). DD wants country, which I DO get tired of, though I generally like it. I want celtic. One can't solve that sort of disparity. LOL

But, on my drive to work, when the music choice is all mine, one often sees me singing heartily along to the radio. And, sometimes it IS the pop-station or country. In fact, on the frequent occasions that I forget my cd case at home, I quite happily turn on one of these two stations & just belt out the songs right along with the origional singers.

At work, I frequently (as in, every day) find myself constantly humming whatever was the last tune I heard on the radio. This gets quite annoying at times, as I frequently cannot recall more than 1 line of that song. Of course, it isn't only myself that does this. A couple of coworkers and I will "trade songs", when we mention what's been running through our head, and get the others stuck on it as well. I had a good laugh when one time I for some reason was stuck on "I could have Danced all night" from The King & I, and was humming it, and before long, my most exhuberant coworker was waltzing around the work-room, badly singing the same tune. *grin* Or, finding yourself humming the Sesame St. song or "The ants go marching" after inspecting a book that prompted the song-memory.

And, these very rare weekends where I get to spend a night home alone.... I even pop in a cd of soft tunes to lull me to sleep. Last night it was an old "sax for lovers" cd. The night before Josh was again my choice of music. I also love my Celtic Twilight 1 cd for that purpose (or any other, really). If it was just me again tonight (which it's not, DH will be home) I'd probably put in my Kenny G "Breathless" cd and drift off listening to the same songs that used to be my constant companion in HS. I've lost my tape of Kenny Loggins' "Return to Pooh Corner" and Shaina Knoll's "Songs for the inner child" and need to buy myself these cds to add to my "lonely weekend lullaby" repetoire. I recall listening to these all the time as a teen, as well, when mom gave me the tape she copied for me from her cds of the same.

So, while I may not participate in any choral groups, or sing as part of the church's music ministry, if one were to find me in a dentist's chair or an elevator, and unless Eminem or Fifty Cent is being played, I'll probably be rather happy with whatever music is on the intercom. I may not be terribly up-front about it, but music continues to be a very big part of my life.

Have a Blessed, Musical Day!