Merry Christmas to you all!!! No matter how I may try to ignore this season, I still love it in the end. Have a good one....
"It's like a warning to me...... Stay still, Shakey, and you'll turn to rust and dust....... So I keep on moving" -Neil Young
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
My Tree and Hearth
Merry Christmas to you all!!! No matter how I may try to ignore this season, I still love it in the end. Have a good one....
Monday, December 22, 2008
Monday Dec 15 and Tuesday Dec 16
I woke up Monday in my own bed and a house full of nasty kerosene heater smell...it had burned dry and filled the house (and my bedroom) with that odor....yuck. It filled up my head and made me a little sick to my stomach....
The reason I had to be home this morning was to be here when they came to install my new satellite internet. (When I bought this house, I was told that I could get Verizon DSL....hint..ALWAYS check yourself!!!...not true...NO high speed internet at this place at ALL) Well, high speed internet is still something I am waiting on (they are due to try again the saturday after christmas). It can not be installed if you don't have electricity....
So, when the installer called and asked that, and told me he couldn't come, I decided the best thing for me to do would be to take off on the next part, and last part of my adventure....the MSG Neil shows. For these I am staying at Jilly's....so down to NJ I go....
The ride was an easy one. I stopped for breakfast and breaks and it still only took 2 1/2 hours. At around 10, I called Jill to let her know I was on my way. I figured that when I stayed there before, although she sleeps later than I, she was usually moving by then. There seemed to be something wrong with the phone because it went right to voice mail. I think I also left a message on the cell phone....but I didn't think much of it as I moved down the Turnpike....
Until I got to her house. It was quiet and dark at noon. I rang the bell. No answer. I called the house phone...didn't ring and went right to voice mail. Hmmmmm....as I stood there wondering what I should do, a very tired appearing Don opened the door...
So...as always the great host, I was assured that it was ok, and ushered into the house while he called up the stairs to Jill...who came down looking really tired too....I guess the night before was a long one for them!!! But...NEIL IS GOING TO PLAY IN JUST A FEW HOURS!!!!! ....didn't matter I had already seen him twice, I was more excited than ever because these were the last two shows of this tour (Neil often gives a little more in the last show) and I already KNEW how great these shows were.....
So they got ready for their day and we worried about time and when to go and such as that....
The preshow party was at Mustang Harry's at 6pm SHARP or they would not hold a table for the group. Of course, we wanted a meal, and reviewed our options...eat in NJ, eat in Manhattan, eat at Mustang Harry's. I think we decided to eat in the city, but when I was delivered to MH (I thought I was meeting someone there for a ticket, but she couldn't make it until the next day, come to find out) we just stayed and ate. When we got there in a small group, the hostess held us as she conferred with others and jilly just went upstairs and found RUSTIES!!!! Forgive me if I forget who all were there, but i KNOW that Karen S, Keith, Joe, Kathy B were all present, excited over a great Grizzly Circus Living Room Jam that Karen held the night before....(that I missed, as it turned out, for NO GOOD REASON, as I didn't get my satellite install ANYWAY!!!!!....but i did warm the house so maybe that helped my pipes not bust during the next freeze before the electric came back). The VD (Volume Drinkers) and Cristina and Julie and Bill A and HarryO and Trasher and others all came too....or were there already.....and we sat down and had a very tasty meal. I had a spicy fish dish which was good and hit the spot, as I admittedly had not been fueling my body very well on this trip (which I will pay for later....).
We collected ourselves and walked over to the venue....Madison Square Garden. There were some rusties just about on the fence and we gathered near them for the show. I tried sitting down as much as possible....standing from 7 or so until after 12 in the same place is trying....Everest and Wilco continue to present some great music in their sets...but of course, i am HERE to see Neil....and see him I do. There are a couple men who are very high on something right on the fence, allowing people to get on the fence in front of them. Ok, allowing women.....Cristina is one of the women they pull up to the fence....but she, wanting to share the wealth, turned to me early into neil's show and pulled me into the place. The men didn't know quite what to do and one started rubbing my back. I made it clear that free feels were not acceptable to me and I just stayed there for likely an hour before Cristina came back and wanted the spot...which i gave up with lots of thanks for allowing me to see neil RIGHT THERE.....
We went back to the bar thereafter for the inevitable rustie conversation about how great the show was...and it was. Neil sang things like 'New York City will never die' and just set the crowd on fire....
My hosts, knowing how much I need coffee, set the pot for me and we all went to sleep at some point Monday night....I was down for the count almost as soon as I came into the house!!! LOL
Tuesday was a SLOWWWWW day. I took Pouchie for a walk...the cutest little dog I have ever known, besides Tim and Dees dachshunds....We again wondered about when to go and get there and where to eat....mostly because Jill doesn't have a ticket. She spent much of the morning on the computer and phone trying to buy a GA and unload other tickets that she didn't mean to buy.....we had a meal along the way to the city this time....again, a great meal, but I think I had a little too much carbs....
At the bar this time, it was Harry and a smaller group of rusties, just sitting at the bar. I joined them while Jill tried to find a ticket. I was trying to hook up with Monica, but forgot to check my phone and she must have had a nerve wracking half hour trying to discern who in the crowd I may have been!!! Jill ended up walking blocks away in the falling snow to get to a place to buy a ticket, but she WAS successful....
New York City in the falling snow at Christmas time is a beautiful thing. A few of us hung outside Mustang Harry's and watched it fall....it was so peaceful....
Tickets in hand (and sold...), we walk to the venue for Neil's last show this tour. The fourth for me in five days (and for others too.....this run was a well attended rustie group activity....lol), and STILL i didn't get enough. Never enough Neil.
When we came in to the floor, we find Karen and KathyB RIGHT ON THE FENCE with BillA and Laura and others.....and they are NOT sharing. I had to get sick to get on the fence!!! LOL....no, i would have rather actually HEARD and SEEN neil to bothering my friends......
Jill and i positioned ourselves right behind them (so we had 'second row' and conciously 'expanded' to hold room for us and our friends....harry, thrasher, etc...and jill got rid of a guy who actually commented that since we had been up to the fence up until then, we should let THEM in for the neil part.....WHAT THE!!!!!! Do they really think that we stood there all those hours for Everest and Wilco????!!!!
Ah, well....I was excited, so I didn't sit as much between sets as I did the first two nights....and it was hot....and i wasn't sleeping or eating like i should have been.....and somewhere around Cortez i started to get a hot flash--which led to overwhelming dizziness and nausea. At some point KathyB noticed me and I admitted to being really dizzy and she pushed me up to the fence....but it didn't work and next thing i know i am looking into harrys face as he is trying to get me off the floor....shit. They stood me up and kept telling me to stand or they would take me away (ha ha hee hee ho ho, the the funny farm.......). Anyway, the rest of the show was a wash for a me.....the music was so loud it somehow melded with all the dizziness and hotsweats and kept me on this wave that i couldn't make stop.....but it did. Neil did stop. And left. And i missed it....
Oh well....
At Mustang Harry's we had a couple good laughs and i had a coke to get some sugar....and that was a good thing. I think between it all...including that high carb meal and no intake after.....produced the fall out....LOL
I drove back to Jills house in the rain....and ran a red light in manhattan. The officer wasn't too kind but he wasn't going to stand in the rain to write me the ticket, so he let me go (whew!!!!) and we got home and again, i hit the couch hard and didn't get up until......
The reason I had to be home this morning was to be here when they came to install my new satellite internet. (When I bought this house, I was told that I could get Verizon DSL....hint..ALWAYS check yourself!!!...not true...NO high speed internet at this place at ALL) Well, high speed internet is still something I am waiting on (they are due to try again the saturday after christmas). It can not be installed if you don't have electricity....
So, when the installer called and asked that, and told me he couldn't come, I decided the best thing for me to do would be to take off on the next part, and last part of my adventure....the MSG Neil shows. For these I am staying at Jilly's....so down to NJ I go....
The ride was an easy one. I stopped for breakfast and breaks and it still only took 2 1/2 hours. At around 10, I called Jill to let her know I was on my way. I figured that when I stayed there before, although she sleeps later than I, she was usually moving by then. There seemed to be something wrong with the phone because it went right to voice mail. I think I also left a message on the cell phone....but I didn't think much of it as I moved down the Turnpike....
Until I got to her house. It was quiet and dark at noon. I rang the bell. No answer. I called the house phone...didn't ring and went right to voice mail. Hmmmmm....as I stood there wondering what I should do, a very tired appearing Don opened the door...
So...as always the great host, I was assured that it was ok, and ushered into the house while he called up the stairs to Jill...who came down looking really tired too....I guess the night before was a long one for them!!! But...NEIL IS GOING TO PLAY IN JUST A FEW HOURS!!!!! ....didn't matter I had already seen him twice, I was more excited than ever because these were the last two shows of this tour (Neil often gives a little more in the last show) and I already KNEW how great these shows were.....
So they got ready for their day and we worried about time and when to go and such as that....
The preshow party was at Mustang Harry's at 6pm SHARP or they would not hold a table for the group. Of course, we wanted a meal, and reviewed our options...eat in NJ, eat in Manhattan, eat at Mustang Harry's. I think we decided to eat in the city, but when I was delivered to MH (I thought I was meeting someone there for a ticket, but she couldn't make it until the next day, come to find out) we just stayed and ate. When we got there in a small group, the hostess held us as she conferred with others and jilly just went upstairs and found RUSTIES!!!! Forgive me if I forget who all were there, but i KNOW that Karen S, Keith, Joe, Kathy B were all present, excited over a great Grizzly Circus Living Room Jam that Karen held the night before....(that I missed, as it turned out, for NO GOOD REASON, as I didn't get my satellite install ANYWAY!!!!!....but i did warm the house so maybe that helped my pipes not bust during the next freeze before the electric came back). The VD (Volume Drinkers) and Cristina and Julie and Bill A and HarryO and Trasher and others all came too....or were there already.....and we sat down and had a very tasty meal. I had a spicy fish dish which was good and hit the spot, as I admittedly had not been fueling my body very well on this trip (which I will pay for later....).
We collected ourselves and walked over to the venue....Madison Square Garden. There were some rusties just about on the fence and we gathered near them for the show. I tried sitting down as much as possible....standing from 7 or so until after 12 in the same place is trying....Everest and Wilco continue to present some great music in their sets...but of course, i am HERE to see Neil....and see him I do. There are a couple men who are very high on something right on the fence, allowing people to get on the fence in front of them. Ok, allowing women.....Cristina is one of the women they pull up to the fence....but she, wanting to share the wealth, turned to me early into neil's show and pulled me into the place. The men didn't know quite what to do and one started rubbing my back. I made it clear that free feels were not acceptable to me and I just stayed there for likely an hour before Cristina came back and wanted the spot...which i gave up with lots of thanks for allowing me to see neil RIGHT THERE.....
We went back to the bar thereafter for the inevitable rustie conversation about how great the show was...and it was. Neil sang things like 'New York City will never die' and just set the crowd on fire....
My hosts, knowing how much I need coffee, set the pot for me and we all went to sleep at some point Monday night....I was down for the count almost as soon as I came into the house!!! LOL
Tuesday was a SLOWWWWW day. I took Pouchie for a walk...the cutest little dog I have ever known, besides Tim and Dees dachshunds....We again wondered about when to go and get there and where to eat....mostly because Jill doesn't have a ticket. She spent much of the morning on the computer and phone trying to buy a GA and unload other tickets that she didn't mean to buy.....we had a meal along the way to the city this time....again, a great meal, but I think I had a little too much carbs....
At the bar this time, it was Harry and a smaller group of rusties, just sitting at the bar. I joined them while Jill tried to find a ticket. I was trying to hook up with Monica, but forgot to check my phone and she must have had a nerve wracking half hour trying to discern who in the crowd I may have been!!! Jill ended up walking blocks away in the falling snow to get to a place to buy a ticket, but she WAS successful....
New York City in the falling snow at Christmas time is a beautiful thing. A few of us hung outside Mustang Harry's and watched it fall....it was so peaceful....
Tickets in hand (and sold...), we walk to the venue for Neil's last show this tour. The fourth for me in five days (and for others too.....this run was a well attended rustie group activity....lol), and STILL i didn't get enough. Never enough Neil.
When we came in to the floor, we find Karen and KathyB RIGHT ON THE FENCE with BillA and Laura and others.....and they are NOT sharing. I had to get sick to get on the fence!!! LOL....no, i would have rather actually HEARD and SEEN neil to bothering my friends......
Jill and i positioned ourselves right behind them (so we had 'second row' and conciously 'expanded' to hold room for us and our friends....harry, thrasher, etc...and jill got rid of a guy who actually commented that since we had been up to the fence up until then, we should let THEM in for the neil part.....WHAT THE!!!!!! Do they really think that we stood there all those hours for Everest and Wilco????!!!!
Ah, well....I was excited, so I didn't sit as much between sets as I did the first two nights....and it was hot....and i wasn't sleeping or eating like i should have been.....and somewhere around Cortez i started to get a hot flash--which led to overwhelming dizziness and nausea. At some point KathyB noticed me and I admitted to being really dizzy and she pushed me up to the fence....but it didn't work and next thing i know i am looking into harrys face as he is trying to get me off the floor....shit. They stood me up and kept telling me to stand or they would take me away (ha ha hee hee ho ho, the the funny farm.......). Anyway, the rest of the show was a wash for a me.....the music was so loud it somehow melded with all the dizziness and hotsweats and kept me on this wave that i couldn't make stop.....but it did. Neil did stop. And left. And i missed it....
Oh well....
At Mustang Harry's we had a couple good laughs and i had a coke to get some sugar....and that was a good thing. I think between it all...including that high carb meal and no intake after.....produced the fall out....LOL
I drove back to Jills house in the rain....and ran a red light in manhattan. The officer wasn't too kind but he wasn't going to stand in the rain to write me the ticket, so he let me go (whew!!!!) and we got home and again, i hit the couch hard and didn't get up until......
Wednesday Dec 17, Thursday Dec 18
I woke up on Jilly's couch to the sound and smell of coffee made....she had set it to go off and left me travel cups so I could get on the road! I collected my things, spruced up a bit, left a "Hippies for Obama" button on the coffee table and took off down the street, my head still ringing from the massive sound of Neil's guitar....
I ALWAYS have trouble finding the entrance to the Garden State Parkway from Jillys, but this time, I had no problem. I was home in a couple hours. I knew I was probably not going to be very happy when I got out of my car and heard generators running all over the neighborhood.....and yep, I was right. I walked into my house, still feeling SO COLD. I unpacked the car and stood in my living room, wondering how I should proceed to get ready for my speaking engagement at the health department on addiction meds when I suddenly noticed all the noises....groaning, kick starting, humming....My house was waking up!!!! I turned on a light...it flickered but YES, it worked!!!!
So I unpacked and went to my speaking engagement (which went well) and stopped at Pebbles and spent too much money (isn't any money spent this year too much??) buying some clothes....
Back to work on Thursday was difficult. I had been living very unstructured for almost a full week...the only thing I HAD to do was show up at a concert every night...not very hard for this rocker....but the staff had everything organized for me and i was virtually caught up by noon.
I still wasn't in the best mood for the Christmas Party. I don't know why it seems so hard for me to believe that people give a shit, but i was in full 'nobody gives a shit' mode, ready for tears. Seems to me that party always does that to me...until people start to be kind and i see that i am full of shit.....
This year, the same person did it for me as last year...Jen, one of the nurses. She made sure I got the ornament I wanted and just looked after me, I guess. Gosh, that sounds so weird.....but really, it is the little things that count....really. The point is, I went home feeling like the people i work with care. That is good....
I ALWAYS have trouble finding the entrance to the Garden State Parkway from Jillys, but this time, I had no problem. I was home in a couple hours. I knew I was probably not going to be very happy when I got out of my car and heard generators running all over the neighborhood.....and yep, I was right. I walked into my house, still feeling SO COLD. I unpacked the car and stood in my living room, wondering how I should proceed to get ready for my speaking engagement at the health department on addiction meds when I suddenly noticed all the noises....groaning, kick starting, humming....My house was waking up!!!! I turned on a light...it flickered but YES, it worked!!!!
So I unpacked and went to my speaking engagement (which went well) and stopped at Pebbles and spent too much money (isn't any money spent this year too much??) buying some clothes....
Back to work on Thursday was difficult. I had been living very unstructured for almost a full week...the only thing I HAD to do was show up at a concert every night...not very hard for this rocker....but the staff had everything organized for me and i was virtually caught up by noon.
I still wasn't in the best mood for the Christmas Party. I don't know why it seems so hard for me to believe that people give a shit, but i was in full 'nobody gives a shit' mode, ready for tears. Seems to me that party always does that to me...until people start to be kind and i see that i am full of shit.....
This year, the same person did it for me as last year...Jen, one of the nurses. She made sure I got the ornament I wanted and just looked after me, I guess. Gosh, that sounds so weird.....but really, it is the little things that count....really. The point is, I went home feeling like the people i work with care. That is good....
Friday, Dec 19 and Saturday, Dec 20
So I avoided much of the harassment of not having power in my house...I didn't live here during the outage and I skated on not having any real damage to my house....
By Friday, I was feeling ok, starting to feel rested, although I had a couple bouts of dizziness that led me to remind the staff at work not to have them take me to the ER unless 'I am not breathing'.
And it was snowing all day. Heavy, icy snow. The ride home was miserable. I pulled on my road, just a few feet from home. Coming towards me was a plow, but it looked like he was having some trouble coming down the hill. I pulled off to the side of the road and stopped so that he could pass....but he started to slide. I put my head into the passenger side and waited while the plow scraped the entire side of my car...
It is really scary to see a big plow coming at you out of control....and my poor car!!! it is not drivable. The state police officer stated that his judgment was 'no fault' and overall I agree....and said that the car had to removed from the road and could NOT be taken anywhere except the tow drivers place of business. The insurance company is telling me I have to pay for the 'second tow' to the facility that will repair the car...hmmmmmm.....got to talk to them today...
So, now, I am grounded. Shaken up. A very good friend who knew about the accident did stop by (in that snow!!!!) to give me some much needed and much appreciated support....but i was so tired and out of it....wow. And i wasn't even hurt!!!
The next day was full of phone calls to try and straighten out the tow thing, try to find a good place for the car, etc....and then I was done. No food in the house, I never did get shopping after I threw away all the spoiled stuff in the freezer...I am really not sure what I did, but time passed....and sometime around early afternoon MaryAnne called me from the supermarket...wondering could she pick something up for me....LOL.
I told her of my accident and she very kindly bought food for my house and for the evening Christmas Party at Todd and Michelles...
She also picked me up and brought me to the party....which ended up being her, paul, michelle, todd, me and mike later....so we ate really good chili, had some drinks and talked and laughed and then settled down for our yearly Christmas Carol sing....
I have been doing this at this party for maybe five years. When I started, it was really scary and i worked on those songs for a month before. Now, I don't practice the songs so much and to me, of course, it sounds like it....my friends think it is them, although I point out to them, we sound best on the songs that I have practiced!!!...and in the end, who really cares??? Are they having fun? Yeah? Then we sound GREAT....cause fun is what it is all about....and we did have fun. Lots of laughs and singing out and talking....good times with good people...music just enhances it...
I had told them when I started playing that I wrote a song and I was really scared of playing it, but I really WANT to, and they were to 'remind me'...and they did. Eventually, I sang the song that you will find if you follow the link to esnips to the right of this page, top of the bar, labelled 'Happy Holidays'. I hope you enjoy the song...and have a great holiday yourself.
By Friday, I was feeling ok, starting to feel rested, although I had a couple bouts of dizziness that led me to remind the staff at work not to have them take me to the ER unless 'I am not breathing'.
And it was snowing all day. Heavy, icy snow. The ride home was miserable. I pulled on my road, just a few feet from home. Coming towards me was a plow, but it looked like he was having some trouble coming down the hill. I pulled off to the side of the road and stopped so that he could pass....but he started to slide. I put my head into the passenger side and waited while the plow scraped the entire side of my car...
It is really scary to see a big plow coming at you out of control....and my poor car!!! it is not drivable. The state police officer stated that his judgment was 'no fault' and overall I agree....and said that the car had to removed from the road and could NOT be taken anywhere except the tow drivers place of business. The insurance company is telling me I have to pay for the 'second tow' to the facility that will repair the car...hmmmmmm.....got to talk to them today...
So, now, I am grounded. Shaken up. A very good friend who knew about the accident did stop by (in that snow!!!!) to give me some much needed and much appreciated support....but i was so tired and out of it....wow. And i wasn't even hurt!!!
The next day was full of phone calls to try and straighten out the tow thing, try to find a good place for the car, etc....and then I was done. No food in the house, I never did get shopping after I threw away all the spoiled stuff in the freezer...I am really not sure what I did, but time passed....and sometime around early afternoon MaryAnne called me from the supermarket...wondering could she pick something up for me....LOL.
I told her of my accident and she very kindly bought food for my house and for the evening Christmas Party at Todd and Michelles...
She also picked me up and brought me to the party....which ended up being her, paul, michelle, todd, me and mike later....so we ate really good chili, had some drinks and talked and laughed and then settled down for our yearly Christmas Carol sing....
I have been doing this at this party for maybe five years. When I started, it was really scary and i worked on those songs for a month before. Now, I don't practice the songs so much and to me, of course, it sounds like it....my friends think it is them, although I point out to them, we sound best on the songs that I have practiced!!!...and in the end, who really cares??? Are they having fun? Yeah? Then we sound GREAT....cause fun is what it is all about....and we did have fun. Lots of laughs and singing out and talking....good times with good people...music just enhances it...
I had told them when I started playing that I wrote a song and I was really scared of playing it, but I really WANT to, and they were to 'remind me'...and they did. Eventually, I sang the song that you will find if you follow the link to esnips to the right of this page, top of the bar, labelled 'Happy Holidays'. I hope you enjoy the song...and have a great holiday yourself.
Plans
so i have been off on many adventures recently. I really did mean to post from the road, but that didn't happen....and now I have a week to write about and there were so very many things to say about each day.....so this is what I am going to try to do.....start with the last days first and work my way back....so if you read this everyday, you will be backwards...but if you read the group when i am done, it will all be in order...hope you enjoy reading about my adventures....
Saturday, December 20, 2008
The Muse
"The less you know what you're doing, the easier it is to go to new places. You just have to surrender. It's the muse. That's the whole art of playing. It has nothing to do with notes." Neil Young, 2003
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Checking
I am going to be on the road and wanna know if i can post to my blog from my email.....
--
peace,
marilyn
http://scattered-neesah.blogspot.com/
When the music calls, i'll be there....Scattered, NY
"It's like a warning to me. Stay still, Shakey, and you'll
turn to rust and dust. So I keep on moving..." 1988
--
peace,
marilyn
http://scattered-neesah.blogspot.com/
When the music calls, i'll be there....Scattered, NY
"It's like a warning to me. Stay still, Shakey, and you'll
turn to rust and dust. So I keep on moving..." 1988
Grizzly Circus in Hudson!
Click on the title. Keith and Joe are taping in my home town...Hudson!!! The studio was pretty unknown when they arrived, but hit the paper in a large article just Sunday...The inside of the church is beautiful with solid wood everywhere. And the SOUND in the main room is just amazing and i am not talking about MUSIC, i didn't hear any...but the sound of my VOICE was clear and amplified...an amazing place. Glad to see Keith and Joe a couple of times.....now i am off to follow neil around the northeast usa in an ice and snow storm...figure, huh????
Anyway, visit Grizzly Circus' blog....see pictures of my hometown!
Anyway, visit Grizzly Circus' blog....see pictures of my hometown!
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