Author Archives: singinggrandma

Why is is surprising to get old? You just wait around for a long time, keep living your life, and after a while if you are lucky enough to stay reasonably healthy, you’re actually old. Which is to say that I am actually old. You may not be. Things that imprint on you early inContinue reading “Young to Middle age to Old”

Why is it we can feel shocked by where we are in the age span? I know I feel shocked by being almost 82. You would think I wouldn’t feel surprised, even though the number 82 has come about a day at a time. But I vividly remember being the youngest in my class inContinue reading “Reflections upon Aging”

In the Middle Ages and Renaissance, people sang about things that don’t occur to us now. Well, now that I think again, one of the two rounds I’m going to publish on this blog today is a medieval marketing tune. The opening lines are, “Who’ll buy my roses? Who’ll buy my posies? Who’ll buy myContinue reading “Rounds Are Cool Music”

A very talented quartet of young accapella singers, known as Windborn, have recorded a song in which they sing about the money they earn if a listener plays one of their songs on Spotify. The amount is .4 cents per play. Wow. What happened to value for value? These folks are trying to make aContinue reading “Strange Times for Music”

I know sugar is addictive. I know sugar causes inflammation in the body. I know sugar can make you fat. And there was an era a few decades ago during which butter was a forbidden food. One was supposed to eat margarine instead, only for this to be disproved in time. But I love butterContinue reading “Butter and Sugar”

Digital recorders are a marvel. So are video cameras. If you ever want to know how you really sound and look when you make music, go ahead a record yourself. Ditto if you are preparing a speech for an audience. You will need a strong stomach. If you retain a sense of humor and hope,Continue reading “Just Keep On Going”

A couple of years ago, my husband Stan and I bought a 1995 Ford pickup truck from Craig’s list. I will never drive it, but I admire it either from the passenger’s seat or as an appreciative observer of him carting around something useful, like furniture, mulch, or stuff to be moved to the dump.Continue reading “Let’s Hit the Road”

This year I decided to pay more attention to both my anniversary with my beloved husband Stan, and also to Valentine’s Day. In the past, it has been easy for me to be either dismissive or cynical about national holidays that can be characterized as Hallmark events; in other words, commercialized markers in the year,Continue reading “Valentine’s Day, 2021”

Actually, my goal is to be grateful more often. So far I haven’t found pep talks about gratitude or suggestions about gratitude practices to be helpful. It all depends upon how willing I am to receive comfort or direction. Having been pushed around too much as a kid, often I  have resistance to suggestions, andContinue reading “About Being Grateful”

It’s remarkable that a song like Amazing Grace, with such a simple, repetitive melody never gets boring. It’s a chant, really, with a hypnotic magnetism that can be personalized by anyone who sings it. “Amazing Grace and the News”  is my variation of this classic prayer. You could probably figure this out yourself, but myContinue reading “Amazing Grace Despite Everything”