Monday Musings
I heard Billy Joel singing Piano Man on the radio yesterday and the line "put bread in my jar" jogged a memory. When I first heard that song, I didn't know that 'bread' was another term for money and I always wondered what they were putting in his jar. Slices of bread? Sandwiches? Rolls? It was very confusing until I found out.
A little later, I heard Kenny Rogers "The Gambler" with his so-called good advice. "you got to know when to hold'em, know when to fold'em, know when to walk away, know when to run" and so on.
It does seem like excellent advice, but if you don't already know how or when to do those things, how do you learn to "know". The Gambler doesn't actually say how you know those things, how to learn them.
I suppose experience could be the teacher, but in my opinion, far too many people learn too late that they should have folded and/or run many games ago.
I don't like the song as much as I used to.
Have you ever noticed that potplants that look so lovely and quite a respectable size on your front porch, look so much tinier when you plant them out in the garden?
I planted many of my succulents this morning, I was going to wait until spring, but the day was so warm and spring-like, I decided to get them in now. They hopefully survive the winter and establish decent root systems ready for a burst of growth in spring.
Quite a few were already making new growth in the pots, the 'jelly beans' had teeny tiny baby jelly beans growing around the base, some of the aeoniums had tiny new rosettes starting where old leaves had been pulled off.
There is still so much empty space, I want to go out and buy many more pots, but I know I need to wait and let these grow for a season or two, just to see how much room they will take up.
Angel has been spending quite a lot of time outside. At first I just had him outside when I was there, but chasing and catching him to come inside when I was ready got to be annoying, for both of us, so I started leaving him out on his own and just checking his whereabouts a few times until I could be sure he knew the way back to my front door on his own. Now I let him out after his breakfast, unless it is raining, and let him in when he scratches at the door. If I have to go out anywhere, I'll get him in before I lock up and leave. He's happier, I'm happier.
A little later, I heard Kenny Rogers "The Gambler" with his so-called good advice. "you got to know when to hold'em, know when to fold'em, know when to walk away, know when to run" and so on.
It does seem like excellent advice, but if you don't already know how or when to do those things, how do you learn to "know". The Gambler doesn't actually say how you know those things, how to learn them.
I suppose experience could be the teacher, but in my opinion, far too many people learn too late that they should have folded and/or run many games ago.
I don't like the song as much as I used to.
Have you ever noticed that potplants that look so lovely and quite a respectable size on your front porch, look so much tinier when you plant them out in the garden?
I planted many of my succulents this morning, I was going to wait until spring, but the day was so warm and spring-like, I decided to get them in now. They hopefully survive the winter and establish decent root systems ready for a burst of growth in spring.
Quite a few were already making new growth in the pots, the 'jelly beans' had teeny tiny baby jelly beans growing around the base, some of the aeoniums had tiny new rosettes starting where old leaves had been pulled off.
There is still so much empty space, I want to go out and buy many more pots, but I know I need to wait and let these grow for a season or two, just to see how much room they will take up.
Angel has been spending quite a lot of time outside. At first I just had him outside when I was there, but chasing and catching him to come inside when I was ready got to be annoying, for both of us, so I started leaving him out on his own and just checking his whereabouts a few times until I could be sure he knew the way back to my front door on his own. Now I let him out after his breakfast, unless it is raining, and let him in when he scratches at the door. If I have to go out anywhere, I'll get him in before I lock up and leave. He's happier, I'm happier.
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I see you're up as late - or early - as I am...
ReplyDeleteBilly Joel - puts another slant on starving artist ;)
"Knowing" is the hard part - it's a gamble.
I used to think the same thing when I planted a "huge haul" of potted roses and plants in the garden. I couldn't wait til they grew and filled the gaps.
A happy kitty and human make for a happy home :)
Still like that Kenny R. song.
ReplyDeleteJazz n Jewel like their outside time too. In winter they only like it for half an hour or so though. Summer is a different story.
ReplyDeleteI am looking forward to seeing photos of your succulent garden.
Some cats are quite happy to never venture outside but Angel does sound like a pretty active cat and is meant to have some outside time.
ReplyDeleteI still like both songs; and both artists.
ReplyDeleteYour garden must be absolutely wonderful, River, full of a lovely array of plants.
A happy Angel is an angel. :)
greetings! River. Stopping by to say hello! ......Hello.......! Good post as usual. I am glad I am not the only one who didn't understand the lyrics in songs?
ReplyDeleteMy twin used to insist that Billy J was singing 'put beds in my tar'. He was such a dork... my twin, that is.
ReplyDeleteIt's so hard to be patient when gardening, not that I'm a terribly patient person at the best of times, lol.
Bread is an old American hip term for 'money'.
ReplyDeleteHere's the last verse of " Busted'' by Ray Charles:
Well, I am no thief, but a man can go wrong when he's busted
The food that we canned last summer is gone and I'm busted
The fields are all bare and the cotton won't grow,
Me and my family got to pack up and go,
But I'll make a living, just where I don't know cause I'm busted.
I'm broke, no bread, I mean like nothing, It's over
Visit www.azlyrics.com for these lyrics.Writer(s): Harlan Howard, Daniel Ticotin
Copyright: Sony/ATV Tree Publishing, Sahaja Music, Ram Island Songs
The entire lyric is worth reading as an example of clever writing.
Vicki; I schedule most of my posts a day or two in advance, usually early in the day before I get too tired to think straight.
ReplyDeleteThe waiting for the plants to grow is the hardest part, most flowers etc get going pretty fast once the weather warms up, but with succulents it's a slower waiting game. More like bulbs, you plant one then next year you get two, the year after that there may be four as they multiply, but already you've waited three years. and I have so much bare ground still where the succulents will eventually grow into mounds or cover some ground.
joeh; I like it well enough to leave it on my ipods.
Elephant's Child; Angel stays out for quite a while, but sometimes, like today, he can't make up his mind if he wants to be out or not. I could take garden photos, but the plants are small and some are dark coloured so not easily seen at a quick glance.
Andrew; I don't think he's terribly active, but there are so many more things to smell and explore out there.
Lee; I like the songs enough to leave them on my ipods. The garden won't be lovely until everything grows to at least double size, but it's making progress. It's kind of a mish-mash right now, until next summer at least, I won't see where I need more plants or different colours. Angel certainly is happier and this means I get more and better sleep at night.
mohave rat; hello. I haven't been to your blog in a while. I had terrible trouble with song lyrics most of my life, being partly deaf is the reason, but now I can look things up on the computer and get the right words. Once you do that for a while you sort of get an ear for what a singer is really saying and a lot more songs become easier to understand. in this case, for years I simply did not know that 'bread' meant money.
Jac; your twin is a funny man. Beds in my tar makes even less sense than bread in my jar.
I have truck loads of patience for almost everything, but I want my garden to grow and I want it yesterday! or last week.
R.H. I remember that Ray Charles song quite well, but haven't really listened to it. it isn't on any of my ipods and the radio doesn't play it either.
I learned several years ago, that 'bread' is an American term for money, someone told me once when I questioned the song.
I like that song the Gambler, but when you analyze it, when do yo 'know'. Fortunately I'm not a gambler.
ReplyDeletePlants in pots do shrink to the eye when planted in the ground, a larger area I suppose.
I hope Angel won't be killing any birds or lizards.
ReplyDeleteWhat I notice about plantings, is that my ambitions when purchasing them always far exceed my energy to put them in the ground when I get them home! They seem to multiply in the car.
ReplyDeleteHahaha, I used to LOVE Kenny Rogers until I shared a house with someone who only ever played his greatest hits album. Now I'm completely OVER it! And what I notice most about the seedlings in MY garden is how quickly they die once they're planted out! But that's because I've got a BLACK thumb!
ReplyDeleteThere is an ad on TV (now) of Kenny Rogers playing poker with a group of men and he's paying them no mind and just singing and looking at his cards. Priceless looks on all the other men's faces. He still looks good, for sure. lol
ReplyDelete