Oysters

Good day to you, wherever you may be on this big blue marble. Today is January 16, 2023. I am still trying to get used to the change in year and have dated a few things with 2022. Right now, Tacobelle is purring loudly behind me, and Hubby is tinkering with his musical equipment. It’s been cold here in the Coachella Valley, and we are actually getting rain right now. Just like heaven, I tell ya. (This was written early this morning.)

We shopped local at Temalpakh Farms in Coachella.

We got through the holiday season (yay!). Actually, our holiday season ended this past Saturday as I had my boys and grandkids over for a Thanksgiving – Christmas -New Years – Birthday get-together. For the holidays, I don’t put pressure on my kids to see us as I know that they have plenty of places to be for the holidays. When the kids were younger and I was a working, single parent, I would take the holiday shifts, not only because they paid time and a half, but I had an excuse to not be at family gatherings. So, my kids spent most holidays with their father’s family. Now that they are older and the world is their oysters, I don’t want to make them chose between me or their Dad’s family so I try and plan things that are convenient for all of them as I do live almost two hours from where they live. Anyhow, this past weekend, was really nice. I loved getting to sit in our patio and talking about stuff and things going on in their lives. It is so nice to see that they all have turned out to be such good men. I am proud of all four my children and I hope they know this.

January has been eventful for us. Hubby played with the Ghosts of Kelso at Sands RV & Golf Resort, in Desert Hot Springs. RV gigs are so much fun! Many of the residents carried their own spirits and loved to dance! One day, maybe Hubby and I will have to stay at one of those resorts and get the full experience.

The Ghosts of Kelso playing at the Sands RV & Golf Resort.

The last time the guys played there, was in 2022 around the same time last year as I remember how cold it was. I have been having increased sensitivity in my right leg and foot making my skin feel like it is being shocked when clothing rubs against it, so I wore shorts. By the way, I fit right in with all those cool people. When I got too cold, I joined the dancers on the dance floor. Thank goodness there are no pics of that!

This is the guys covering Can’t You See.

The guys will be playing a gig January 27, 2023, at the Tack Room Tavern in Indio, CA. The last two times they were there it was packed, and the crowd was lively. Do come out if you, dear reader are in the area. It should be a classic rocking night.

This past Friday the 13th, I lucked out and got free tickets to the Collective Soul show at The Show located in Agua Caliente Casino. Our seats were located in Loge 205 Row A. For me, as usual, they were perfect. We were seated in the first row looking over the floor. Even when people stood up below us, we had a clear, unobstructed view. I took my Lumix point-and-shoot in and somehow was shooting in a mode that captured live 1 to 2 second shots. It took me a bit, but I finally figured it out during the end of the concert. Honestly, I was more interested in getting live video of them performing and not so much great photos. Don’t get me wrong, I love shooting stills, but photos just can’t tell you what a musical act sounds.

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This is how they sounded. They rocked!

Hubby had made a comment that he was sure that the show would start right at 8 PM. He mentioned that guys in Collective Soul are around our age and probably hope to be on their way home by 10 PM and too “mature” to be divas. Funny enough, singer Ed Roland mentioned that he loved the venue and the fact that they would be home by 10:30 PM. Many of us in the audience laughed in agreement as it was nearing our usual early bedtime.

Collective Soul played all their hits like Shine and Heavy. They also did an amazing cover of an R.E.M. hit The One I Love. The show went by much too fast. Before we knew it, they were doing the last song and the audience was standing, dancing and singing along as the band left the stage. Do check them out as they just released a new album recently.

It’s been a long day; we took a drive to the Salton Sea this morning and the sky was gorgeous. The rains we just had made our skies seem so blue and bright. The clouds though, they seemed like they were close enough to touch.

Well look at that, it is 7:06 PM and bedtime is nigh. Thank you, dear reader, for visiting. Hope you have had a great start to the New Year. Wherever you may be going, I hope you make it there safely. Hugs to you and you and YOU.