She Dreams

It has taken me ages…but today during my lunch-break at work (when I was editing my book), I came to the conclusion that I had to write the song “She Dreams” that I refer to several times in Annabelle’s story. I have the music in my head…but I can’t write music, so the lyrics will have to do.

I don’t want to hear her scream

I want her to live her dream

Let’s go build a boat for me and you

And sail away on the ocean blue

We’ll stop at every bay we pass along the way

Dancing in the sand, walking hand in hand

No matter where we roam

She dreams of finding home

 

I thought my girl was wild

Turns out she’s just a child

I thought she’d make me free

Turns out she just needs me

Didn’t think I really cared

Never thought I was prepared

To carry her broken heart

Now I need my girl to start

 

Finding herself a voice that sings

Growing herself a pair of wings

Beat them hard and away you’ll fly

Don’t give up til you’re up on high

Don’t limit what you can acheive

If only my girl would believe

That she can make her dreams come true

Your dreams are the best part of you

 

I love it when your eyes gleam

I want you to live your dream

Let’s go build a boat for me and you

And sail away on the ocean blue

We’ll stop at every bay we pass along the way

Dancing in the sand, walking hand in hand

No matter where we roam

She dreams of finding home

 

She dreams she’ll the best

She dreams of a great quest

She dreams she’ll pass the test

She dreams of finding rest

 

Any difference I could make?

Does love mean laying awake?

Praying about your lover

Hoping that’s she’ll discover

She has beautiful ideas

But she’s held back by her fears

Doesn’t know where she belongs

I keep on singing her these songs

 

If you ever quit this team

I want you to live your dream

Let’s go build a boat for me and you

And sail away on the ocean blue

We’ll stop at every bay we pass along the way

Dancing in the sand, walking hand in hand

No matter where we roam

She dreams of finding home

 

Keep that smile beaming

Stay forever dreaming

I hate to see you look glum

I need your dreams to become

Stronger than the shame

Stronger than your tears

Stronger than the pain

Stronger than your fears

 

No matter where we roam

She dreams of finding home

From The Eyes Of A Child

So this week, I started to think that it would be better if we were more like children. Children who trust those who are responsible to care for them. I am not sure why adults complicate things so much, bickering and questioning and grumbling.

I also had a wonderful reminder of how special people are. He sent me some videos from the area of Africa he is in at the moment. Jack is washing himself and his clothes with a bucket of water. But wow – the singing and the joy from the people he is working with, training them in skills that will benefit them and their communities for many years to come. When you watch videos of beautiful smiles they become infectious. I am so glad Jack is filming so much.

Something else that is cheering me up, is working on my SHARE-YOUR-WORLD post this week. The questions are of course from our fabulous Melanie, the creator of sparksfromacombustiblemind. Take a look at her original post below:

https://sparksfromacombustiblemind.com/2020/04/13/share-your-world-4-13-2020/

QUESTIONS:

What do you do to get rid of stress? 

Instant fix for me is singing. I always knew that singing was good for me, but recently even more so. I especially find songs that are about gratitude help me. There is a line in a song that my friend’s daughter sings over and over that I often have in my mind often as I walk to work (not knowing what the day at work will involve). The line is “when each morning I wake, I remember to take, just a moment to thank Him for this day“.

I find the media would make me drown in stress if I did not severely limit how much I watch. I usually try to just watch some of the BBC Breakfast show because I think they do a great job of keeping their show balanced. But sometimes it means I am leaving my little nest with my heart gripped with worry. So…I start to sing. I love the effect it has on me. I can feel my face start to smile and my heart feels as if it is being healed of all soreness. By the time I reach work I am ready to face absolutely anything that comes.

I should explain, my friend is from mainland China. She is teaching her little children to know their Creator. The song was something I saw them singing and so I wanted to know if it is available in English. It turns out it is an international hit.

I was amazed to find an incredibly long list of languages it has been recorded in…including Welsh! I showed it to a Gujarati speaking colleague who started weeping because she thought it was so beautiful. I have to admit, I have been moved by some of the children’s songs I have discovered, teaching children about what life is really made of.

I also sent it to Jack, who was able to play it in one of the more than fourteen languages spoken in the area he is working. He played it to the children and a day later he send me a video of them singing it. Wonderful!

A long time before the current challenge the world is facing, I have learnt to accept that the injustices and suffering in the world are temporary. Death is temporary. They will be undone. Death will be undone. I often dwell on the joys ahead. The joys ahead help me cope with the stress of human independence now. I can’t wait to see a happy healthy human race, who live without fear of violence, disease or any other threat.

In the past people were buried with the items they would need in the afterlife, what would you want buried with you so you could use it in the afterlife?

I don’t believe that myself. But it has fascinated me to visit museums in different parts of the world and to see ancient burial sites unearthed revealing the belief that you could take things with you into an afterlife. In Sweden we saw evidence that people were buried with family, servants, horses and all manner of luxuries and practical objects like tools.

Our Creator has promised to restore life, not possessions, to those who have died. But there is a silly part of me that imagines being laid to rest with my private journals next to me. The only reason is to keep them private. All my silliness, all my worries and my dreams and wishes, laid to rest until the moment I wake up again.

I realized long ago that every thought, every feeling, every tear, every smile was observed by someone who loved me more than anyone else did. I am not afraid because I am sure that if I was to be in the grave for a while, I would be kept very safely within the memory of my Creator until it is time to wake me up.

I have always just hoped that if I went to sleep before the end of the corrupt system, my loved ones would know not to worry about me. I had one major near death experience the night I was attacked. I remember thinking how important it is to make sure the people in your life know how special they are to you. Let them know how very wonderful they are to you. Don’t leave them with any guilt or regrets. Confirm your love so that they remember you with great fondness.

What’s the opposite of a koala?

I don’t know. A pike perhaps?

Do I have to explain my answer?

Koalas live in Australia. So I was thinking of a creature that lives here in the UK. They may have pike in Australia – I should Google this really.

Koalas live in trees. I know because I saw them myself – so gorgeous! Pike live in the water.

Koalas are incredibly cute. Pike – not so cute, in fact they can be pretty aggressive.

Koalas eat eucalyptus leaves I believe. Pike eat mostly other fish, smaller fish or large fish and sometimes even other pike.

What’s the creepiest tech out there?  

I am not very ofay with tech to be honest. But some people have some kind of app that allows them to track someone else’s phone. I can see some advantages of this. Tracking your teenager might seem a sensible idea. But in other circumstances, I find it a bit creepy.

Aren’t there some weird apps that alter your appearance? I think some of them make you into a cat, others age you. I don’t know…the more I think of these weird apps, the more glad I feel that I don’t have a smartphone.

It does concern me that people can type your name into a Google search engine and find things about you. That’s the reason why I choose to maintain my anonymity. I don’t know what else I can do to eradicate the unkindness that spread years ago when Jack and I first came into contact and then when he moved into our apartment. He does not seem to think it is possible to eradicate all of the unkindness either. He has always said that people move on to someone else, they get bored, they forget what it was that interested them and who it was they were being unkind about.

I guess the point is…all these technical applications are tools, but when they fall into the hands of a creepy person, they become creepy and sinister.

GRATITUDE IS AN ATTITUDE

What method are you using to find your smile right now? 

Finding my smile? I look in the mirror and there it is! My whole face is a big smile because I have been smiling for a lifetime. Maybe it’s the deep joy and excitement about the future that no challenge can eradicate.

People. People make me smile. The people I love, my family and friends who are all being wonderful – and I mean by that, they are all being obedient and trusting of the direction for their protection. I sometimes wonder why so many people question so much that is done for their good. Well, it is either because they do not trust those making decisions or they think they are not being dignified with full accounts as to the entire decision making process. Neither are my family going to extremes. They are rational and content with what they have. But like beautiful children they are doing exactly what they were asked to do over a month ago – they are staying at home. The younger ones shop for the older ones. Family life (amongst my roughly 200 member family) is taking place over the phone and over the internet.

The guy who keeps on turning up at our practice (he has always been prone to anxiety and is a frequent visitor to our practice, but I am worried that his anxiety is climbing to new levels) who is covered in PPE beyond belief. I am not sure whether he is preparing to go deep sea diving or moon walking…but his PPE is a reflection of how scared he is of catching the …you know. Bless him – I always make sure I have a little chat with him. He has a place in my heart now – the little lamb!

I smile when I see other people smiling. I love to see people happy and healthy. It reminds me of what all this is about. We want people to be happy and healthy and safe. As another of the songs my friend’s daughter has shown me confirms – we are a world wide family and the more we love each other, the happier it will help us to be. We – the human family – we are beyond borders. Soon the whole earth will be united under one government that makes decisions that will help the earth and all of it’s inhabitants thrive!

This Is Heartbreak Radio 104.6 FM

I can’t cope with the radio.  I don’t listen to it at home usually.  Years ago when I worked for a record company I found my head never stopped buzzing with lyrics of popular songs and I needed to switch music off to be able to think clearly.

I do love music, especially going to live music events, but I tend to listen to music with friends rather than on my own, because when I am alone it can have a big effect on me.

Well today at work, my workmates wanted to have the radio on, and I kid you not, the playlist was just about the worst combination of songs to hear when I am so heart broken about Goldfinch.  I kept on having to hide my tears.  It was as if someone knew what I was carrying in my head and heart and they just thought “let’s play all the songs that are going to push her buttons and make her cry“.

As soon as my work mates left…it was radio off!!

The first song was especially poignant because it was the song Jack and I shared:

• It’s Never The One You Haven’t Met…It’s Always The One You Can’t Forget

But all the other songs just made me think of what is happening with Goldfinch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Splish Splash – So Hard To Choose

This is the last Wednesday when I will share with you one of my shower songs and to be honest I have struggled to pick one song…because there are so many I wanted to share!!!

So because I could not choose just one…and I don’t think I want to be providing shower songs for the rest of the year, I thought I would end the series with a medley of songs, all of which I love singing in the shower for various reasons!

And on that note…I am going to say goodbye to Shower Songs every Wednesday. I am back in London and busy preparing posts about Australia. So no more songs Shower Songs until next time I have a holiday 🙂

 

Splish Splash – The Only Boy Who Could Ever Reach Me

Yet another Shower Song Day – next week will be the last because I will be back with lots of photos from Australia and tales of my travels to share with you.

Singing in the shower is sometimes just about a song that you want to belt out with no fear how you sound. There are a number of songs that call for a bit of volume. The shower is the perfect place to indulge.

Here is one of my favourites for singing at the very top of my voice.

Son Of A Preacher Man – Dusty Springfield

Splish Splash – Dark Black

Shower Songs are all about songs I might not want to sing in public for one reason or another. Some times it’s because the song is so cheesy, sometimes it’s because its the kind of pop music that makes people cringe, or it could be because the version I am singing has different lyrics than the original version.

But the song I am featuring today I sing in the shower because if I sing it around my family or friends they think I am depressed. I sometimes feel as if my nearest and dearest have been waiting for me to encounter depression ever since I was attacked. I had what I can only describe as despair before I was attacked. But afterwards, I was just trying to establish some kind of normality. I was very practical, very pragmatic, very placid. I did have some challenges, I was very nervous around men – that was the primary challenge. And I was frustrated by the black-outs and fainting and falls I had after the head injuries I had received.

But there was a song I liked that made my family fret that I was depressed. They did not like me listening to it. But I liked the song. It was easy to learn the lyrics and I liked them – they were simple and memorable. I like Kristina Train’s voice. I liked this song. For some I have only sang it in the shower so that nobody hears me singing I and thinks I am depressed! It’s just a nice song! Whether you are depressed or not.

“Dark Black” – Kristina Train

Splish Splash – Don’t Talk Back

Another Wednesday, another Shower Song!

When we were children, my Dad decided he would try cable television. He was interested in the sports channels. But my sisters and I found a show that we absolutely loved. There are some sixties songs that I know only because of the series which was about five (originally six) girls from an orphanage who came to live with the wealthy Nick Foley.

Every episode featured music from the sixties – but with different lyrics that told the story of one or more of the girls. In many cases I know the words used in the series rather than the words on the original recordings!

This was one of the first songs in the pilot episode of “Rags To Riches” and me and my sisters fell in love with it from the start. We still sing those songs years later, and I sing them in the shower. This is the six girls singing “Yackety Yak”.

A Treat For Goldfinch – Triple Chocolate Cheesecake And A Trio Of Love Lullabys

All because the Goldfinch loves milk and dark chocolate…

By the time you see this post…I will be on my way to meeting my beloved.  Look what I am taking with me.  It might not look great in the photo, but this simple make (it’s not a bake, because it is a chilled cheesecake, rather than a baked one)  is one of the most popular desserts I serve at dinners (I normally make individual mini-cakes for posher dinners served with a berry coulis).

Everyone loves it.  More importantly, Goldfinch loves it!  So he is getting it!  He is getting lots of treats from me because it is at least three weeks since I saw him last.  Oh yes he is!

Three weeks is way way too long!

It has put me into an utterly romantic mood…so I am going to revvvv up the romance even more with three numbers for all the love-birds out there who are separated by distance.  Two soppy songs and one that takes me an awful long way back…I am showing my age!

 

 

 

Splish Splash – My First French Lesson

The first French I ever learnt was the following expression “Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi”. I learnt it at a very tender age. It means “I don’t know why”. It was the main line in the chorus of a song from Kylie Minogue. This is a song I never ever hear! Don’t laugh at me! This was the music of my very little girldom.

I still know this song off by heart – and yes it is one of my shower songs!!! Don’t tell Goldfinch – he would be so embarrassed.

“Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi” – Kylie Minogue!!!

Splish Splash – A Shower Song And A Half

I hope you are enjoying Shower Song Day each Wednesday…because there are more to come!

Today is a shower song and a half! It is a song I am too scared to sing in karaoke because it is fast!! But in the shower it is a different matter. This is a great song for the shower and I love it!

Bonnie Tyler – Holding Out For A Hero! Wooo wooooh!!!