Whew!

I sat down at the computer and started finally compiling a list of all the books I have on the Kindle, or at least each file (several have books within a collection). It's taken a couple of hours to get the formatting and sorting right, but I'm finally finished. If you'd like to see, feel free to follow this link:

Eilir, the Rabid Librarian: My Kindle Books

The entire time I've been listening to the cable Celtic music channel, and I'm apparently pretty decent at recognising singers. For example, the Chieftains came on with 'The Lowlands of Holland', and even though Natalie Merchant was not listed on that, it was her singing, I realised, and I confirmed on the web. I also recognised a band I really like, Battlefield Band, playing their version of 'Ballad of Accounting' from their album Dookin'. I really like it:



It was written by Ewan MacColl in 1964, according to the website Ballad of Accounting. The lyrics may be found at the following page http://www.balladofaccounting.org/ballad.html. This is the version by Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger, which is excellent:

I've been straightening up the house a bit and listening to

the Celtic music channel on the cable system. A friend is going to come over later to watch some movies with me. I'm eating a bit of brunch now (two tortillas and cheese with orange juice). Then I'll take my medicine and call over there to see what they're up to and whether they're ready for me to come over, for we also have to do the grocery run today, and we need to do it before 'the Game', namely the University of Kentucky vs. the University of Louisville in men's basketball, for A will be glued to the set then. By then YKWIA and I should be watching some movies. :) Okay, I've eaten. Time to go to the next thing. Have a good day.

Relaxing

My home is full of the scent of newly-baked bread and of soft Celtic music. While the bread baked, I took a nap (I baked it on the rapid cycle, so it was less than two hours). It has been a good evening. The bread, a standard white, is excellent. I had a little with some cheese, letting the cheese melt on the warm slice. What a nice time.

Spent some time with a friend and his family

who gave me a ride home from work (with a quick stop at Kroger for bread). It was nice to see them. Since neither of us have a car (he had borrowed one for the day), it makes it hard to get together much, and both of us stay pretty busy, but we usually text at least every other day. In fact, he's the main person (okay, the only person) I text. :) He and his wife just celebrated their ninth anniversary, and have two rowdy (especially the youngest) children. More power to them, they seem like great parents, but they have more guts than I do in that regard. :)

I've washed dishes, straightened up the kitchen, taken out the trash (the recyclables outside are full to the brim, so that will have to wait until tomorrow), and put away a few things I had on the loveseat. Tomorrow I need to call the leasing office and ask maintenance to have a look at my commode, as it seems to have a slow leak if you don't jiggle the handle a bit each time. It's probably time for the guts to be replaced again. I go through them fairly quickly for some reason. I promise, I'm not mega-flushing or anything.

I need to water the plants, which are doing well, but I think they're overdue for that--I normally do it on Saturdays at home, Mondays at work. The ones at work are flourishing. The shamrocks are growing like weeds (the purple one gets lots of oohs and ahs at work, it's so big), the violet is blooming (finally), the Christmas cactus isn't but it's very healthy. I did come in Monday to find the rose withered in places. I don't know why; it takes quite a bit of water but I gave it some extra towards the end of the week. I cut the withered pieces away and left the new growth, which was doing fine. I've never been able to keep miniature roses alive indoors, for some reason, but I'm going to give it a try.

Outside, the apartments have replaced the rather scrubby yew shrubs with holly ones, full of berries. I think they'll be a delight come winter when the berries are red. It makes for a nice change. I was saddened when I went into work the other day and they were cutting down a crabapple to get to the gutters and roof near the portico. They're working on the roof of the hospital, and likely will till November, replacing the whole thing. I'm getting somewhat used to the high-pitched sawing sounds, and the hammering, but there's something that causes a vibration that makes the walls shake that just gets under my skin. I've been wearing my headphones when I can and listening to music. Unfortunately, since a lot of my morning is spent on the phone, that's not always possible.

I'm feeling better about my work in regards to the referrals. I'm busy trying to get a handle on three very large clinic days next week, so I'm not doing them at the last minute. 'Course, I did that last week, too, and look how stressed I was Friday and Monday. :)

I'm listening to the Celtic music channel on cable. I'm seriously considering removing the TV package from my cable bill and relying on Netflix for entertainment. It would mean not seeing 'Doctor Who' as it comes out, but all the other seasons are on Netflix and I expect I could watch it after the new season ends. I'm bad about DVR'ing it anyway and then not getting around to watching it, especially as it comes on at a time on Saturday when I'm likely on my way home on the bus. We'll see. It seems silly to pay $75 a month for a service I rarely use. That's $900 a year. I'd still keep the Internet service, though, because, well, one, broadband service is important to me and I use it a lot, two, my Vonage phone piggy-backs on it, and three, that's how you watch those shows on Netflix. :) But it really would half my cable bill entirely. I only spend $16 a month for Netflix in comparison, and that's about $8 for the streaming bit, as I also have the DVD-by-mail subscription. I also have a trial going of Amazon Prime, which includes streaming video, which comes out to be about $6 a month. I'm trying to decide if I'm going to keep it. It also includes borrowing Kindle books and free two-day shipping. We'll see.

Okay, I think I'm going to go read. Or maybe play Ninja Chicken. No, read. :) Good night if I don't write again this evening.

Listening to haunting songs

Loreena McKennitt's 'Tango to Evora', from The Visit



And then there's 'The Old Ways'

Well, I did many of the dishes

Those that are dishwasher safe, anyway. The rest I'll leave for Monday night, and I'll clean out the fridge, do a bit of cleaning as far as the counters and floors go. The day of rearranging and housework went pretty well. I'm tired, but I've also had quite a bit of caffeine, so I'm not entirely sure I will sleep soon.

I also set up the mist lamp (it's an ionising humidifier with a light that glows and puts out cool stem) in my bedroom, with a little lavender oil in it, and that was relaxing. I went in there for awhile during the dishwasher's cycles.

Now I've had an evening snack and I'm going to take my long-acting insulin for the night. I'm going to check the news and then read for awhile and listen to some more Loreena McKennitt. I was originally going to try to catch up on some TV, but that's more relaxing. If I find something particularly blogworthy on the news, I'll post, but otherwise, good night.

Feeling much better

I found a CD I'd been looking for quite by accident before I took my nap, and listened to it before drifting off to sleep. It's Parallel Dreams by Loreena McKennitt, which among other things, has a lovely rendition of 'Annachie Gordon', which is a classic Scottish ballad about a maiden who is married against her will to a rich man, but dies rather than consummate the marriage on her wedding night. Her love comes home on the tide the very some day and arrives to find his true love dead, and dies there in her chamber of a broken heart.

What can I say? I'm a hopeless romantic. And I love Celtic and traditional folk music. I also love Romantic poetry, Art Nouveau and Pre-Raphaelite art, and fantasy literature. (Although I've never actually gotten into romance novels.)

Some soothing music before bed

An Arran boat song played on two mountain dulcimers, a bowed psaltery, accompanied by a guitar.

A song of the Famine

I wrote of the Irish Famine memorial in New York City the other day. Here is my favourite song about the time...this version is by the Clancy Brothers and Robbie O'Connell (the latter of whom is the one who sings).



This is a version with Mick Moloney--with lyrics included:


Thanks, Bill, for having introduced the song to me so many years ago.

In a bit of a Scottish music mood

[If you don't understand Scots (and I seem to have a genetic understanding for some reason at times), the lyrics including translations are under 'more info' at the video's page.]



During the Potato famine, part of the Irish Diaspora found its way to Scotland, to the factories of its cities.

Two songs of love lost to death, sung by Kate Rusby

No, I'm not depressed. But I love this sort of song, so popular in Celtic music.

'I am Stretched on Your Grave' (very different from Dead Can Dance's)


'The Unquiet Grave'