Les Mis, Lyres, Linus and Lucy...

My soul is feeling the need to blog and yet there is so much going on in my head that has not yet settled into order. This seems natural and obvious as I am still waiting to find out what my life will look like come August. I long for the day when I can look back and tell you all about the journey and assure you that everything will be okay, because I will know from experience.

Right now, my life strongly resembles a jigsaw puzzle, which pains me a little bit to say because I am sure some insightful truth lies in the fact that I love doing puzzles. The only problem is that I don’t have the box with the picture to guide me on the front. Like all puzzles, there are many pieces, some of which are edge pieces that keep it all within the boundaries, others are full of detail while yet others comprise the sky and are just one blue piece out of many others that you know all must fit together somehow.

Here are some of the pieces…in no particular order:

CAN. NOT. WAIT

As of late, my saving grace has been my graduate course. In the evenings, whilst Ben is studying or like tonight, when he is out preparing for his recital, my course keeps me occupied. Instead of sitting on the computer searching for jobs (for him), or places to live, or schools to send my kids to (all of which would just freak me out and is COMPLETELY unnecessary) I read and I read and I read and then I right a review and then I start reading again, because that is what history students do. But its okay, because I love it. This past Saturday, I had a chance to go to the University of Cambridge Library. I even got myself a library card so that I could go and do some research in the Rare Books Room. This may sound completely dull to you but for me its like being a little kid in a candy shop. This week I devoured the proceedings and resolutions from the Anti-Slavery Convention from 1840!!! Me! I got to read a publication that is older than Canada itself people! No, no history buffs out there…okay, onto the next puzzle piece…

I spent far too much on a new bottle of nail polish today but I think I actually like it better than Privacy Please: OPI You Callin’ Me a Lyre?

I found this guy on the internet and just love the idea…it makes me smile anyway.

After a major emotional melt down on Wednesday I had a little pep talk from one of my aunts. Everyone needs aunts like I have. They are always there to speak truth into my life and while my mom is my ever constant cheerleader, my aunts often tell me the things I don’t want to hear but need to hear. She talked about, how in her dark days, she found it helpful to listen to podcasts of sermons and whatnot just to be getting the Word in. She also talked about Kay Arthur’s When the Hurt Runs Deep: Healing and Hope for Life’s Desperate Moments. To be honest, my time is limited for leisure reading but I found the audio version of this book and I listen to it while I am in the kitchen getting meals ready and then cleaning up…goodness knows I spend enough at the sink. I am not saying it has to be this book (I’ll let you know what I think of it when I am done) but the idea of listening to an audiobook while in the kitchen was a bit revolutionary to me. In fact, tonight I also downloaded War and Peace because I had started it in the winter and put it down for too long so forgot all the characters’ names and who’s who….
Point being: audio books while cooking supper….think about it.

And one last piece of the puzzle: I admitted to my friend here in Cambridge that I am a Jazz fan. It came up while exchanging texts. I quoted a line from an Ella and Louis song and she had no idea what I was talking about so spilled the beans and she, like a good friend, googled it to find out for herself. She said wanted a mix tape but would settle for a blogged top ten. So here it is:

10. I’ve Got You Under My Skin by Frank Sinatra
9. Lovelight By Michael Kaeshammer Okay, yes I have posted this video before and Michael is more boogie Woogie than jazz but I love him.
8. Dance Me To The End Of Love by Madeleine Peyroux I wanted to give you a modern jazz diva. Give this Canadian Girl a try.
7. The Way You Look Tonight by Harry Connick Jr. yes, I love him too. Why? The guy is freaking talented! Did you know he writes, orchestrates and conducts must of his own music?! Plus, not too bad looking either I might add.
6. But Not For Me by Billie Holiday
5. Favourite Things By John Coltrane
4. Linus and Lucy- by Vince Guaraldi. Everything he does is SO good. I typed a few others before settling on this song only because everyone knows it best. His Christmas album is obviously a must as well.
3. Old Folks by Miles Davis. Really you just need to own the whole Album Love Songs. Light some candles, pour some wine and enjoy.
2. They Can’t Take That Away From Me: Ella and Louis (the best duo in history)
1. Somewhere over the Rainbow – this is a truly awful recording but Ella does it best. It was our wedding song. It’s not really a wedding song, more like a funeral song but I don’t care. Get it off of the Pure Ella album: Best. Album. Ever!