What I’m Listening To, Reading & Watching 1/22/21
I am listening to a new-to-me piano artist and her music is beautiful. This CD is called Porcelain.
I know it looks like the top of the plastic cover is broken, but it isn’t. Apparently they wanted the cover to look perhaps like broken porcelain?
The artist is Helen Jane Long. In Porcelain, there is a bit of cello by another musician, as well as some guitar and violin. But it’s just the right amount to create a moody ambiance to her piano music.
Here is the Amazon page where you can see her other CDs. Here is her website where you can read more about her if you wish.
From Her Website:
Helen Jane Long has a very signature sound yet remains undefinable. The impact of her piano music on the world is evident by the fact that Helen Jane Long is the highest streaming female pianist and composer in the world.
Born and raised in Hampshire, Helen was playing piano by ear aged four.
Her ability to recreate the sound she heard quickly became one of the cornerstones of her composing career as she taught herself to play many instruments in quick succession.
In 2006, three days after sending in a demo to Warner music, she was offered a record deal and released her first album, “Porcelain” (2007).
What I’m Reading:
I’m reading “Before We Were Yours” by Lisa Wingate. The book swings back and forth between 1939 and the current day.
A family of children is swept up by the notorious Georgia Tann, an American child trafficker.
It is heart-wrenching.
Georgia Tann:
(July 18, 1891 – September 15, 1950) was an American child trafficker who operated the Tennessee Children’s Home Society, an adoption agency in Memphis, Tennessee.
Yes, this ugly truth did in fact happen.
Wrenched from all that is familiar and thrown into a Tennessee Children’s Home Society orphanage, the Foss children are assured that they will soon be returned to their parents—but they quickly realize the dark truth.
As I’m reading this book, I wonder how close I actually came to being part of all that when I was six weeks of age. Read more about that here.
What I’m Watching:
A police investigation, the saga of a grieving family, and a Seattle mayoral campaign all interlock after the body of 17-year-old Rosie Larsen is found in the trunk of a submerged car.
No. of episodes: 44 (list of episodes) No. of seasons: 4
What are you listening to, reading and watching?
I think we have similar musical tastes. Just an FYI, but Helen Jane Long released a new album in 2020 called ‘Vessel of Light’, thought you might like to know. Also, I know you like CDs, but if in the future you’d like to make the switch to streaming, even if your current audio system does not have bluetooth, you can buy an inexpensive music streaming device that will attach to your current system, and with Spotify, you can stream through your stereo with your phone. I like CDs, too, but I have literally 1000s and no more room. Also, many new releases are no longer on CD and streaming is the only option. Fiona Joy Hawkins is another beautiful pianist you might like (Moving Through Worlds is her recent 2020 album), and anything ever written and performed by Gavin Luke is so moving you feel your heart will break with the beauty of it.
Brenda, that book sounds very interesting but quite sad. I will see if I can download it somewhere. I watched the Killing and fell in love with Joel kinnaman who played Holder. He is up for the new James Bond. In the end I was so rooting for his sobriety. And yes, you are an amazing individual and should be so proud of yourself and accomplishments.
I read that book too. My current reads have been two books by Lisa Jewell “Invisible Girl ” and “The Girls in the Garden.” I have read several Lisa Jewell books and Lisa Wingate books.
This great weather for reading. During the pandemic I have been reading and reading a book about the popular game of dominoes in Texas. It is 42. There is an app I found where I play with three other players who are computer generated. I prefer nonfiction.
I find that with a new administration in place I’m not spending as much time reading through the news and the latest updates while having MSNBC or CNN on in the background all day long. I have a stack of books to read (any Amanda Quick fans out there?) and I look forward to the day I can sit outside in my Shezebo again with my feet up and a glass of wine and just read without worrying about what may be coming at us next. It’s been a relatively mild winter where I live thus far and so grateful for that! And the last couple days the sun has been out and blue skies are visible, a mood lifter in and of itself. I’ve been watching room refresh videos on Youtube and re-runs of my favorite shows like “Maine Cabin Masters,” “Building Alaska” and “Building Off the Grid” on DIY Network on my streaming service, and a few days ago I watched “Twister” for about the 10th time, I swear! I can’t seem to get enough of that movie.
One thing we cannot choose is whom we are born to…I would not have chosen to have been raised by my abusive dad…one of my dear friends had an even worse step-dad…it is something we never “get over”. Mental illness is a heavy cross to bear when you are the victim of such people. Oh yes, we have gone on and had the best lives we could, but there is a sadness in us, that never goes away. We are both glad we became good friends however, as we often talk and can talk openly to each other. I think too, most families perhaps, have some secrets. I am writing down some of what I know of my kin, though focusing mainly on the really wonderful ones…with only a bit of reference to the bad. I think the best response we can have to our circumstances, is to be good people ourselves.
I read “Before We Were Yours”.. and cried frequently throughout. I am an adoptive mother, raised two boys. Now I have custody of a grandson, and am often dealing with absent parent discussions. That Georgia Tann was an evil, evil woman.
I don’t have a regular music time these days, although I like to see what our Alexa will provide for us if I request music by topic ‘meditation’ , calming’, country, rock and roll, or sometimes by specific artist. If my 12 year old grandson is not wanting to get out of bed to go to school, I simply request Alexa to play some country or rock and roll music. Grandson hates it, so gets up to tell Alexa to stop… then we have a good laugh, and our day starts.
I have been catching up on my Better homes and garden magazines that I really do enjoy reading. I love that magazine. I never got into Good Housekeeping or Journal like my mom did but I do like this one and Country Living magazine occasionally. Sometimes I treat myself to Joanna Gaines magazine and did buy Rachael Rays at the holiday time so for those times when I couldn’t read for length times but just wanted to rest. TV show for me is “This is Us”or a hallmark movie and not much else. Not into sitcoms. Enjoy your day!
Brenda, I feel so sorry for you, to have to endure such a lonely childhood! I believe you said your granny brought you up. Did she tell you anything about your mother and father? It seems as though your mother was incapable of loving anyone but herself!
My brother-in-law was brought up by my in-laws (they never adopted him). His mother was married to my father-in-law’s brother who was in the navy and gone a lot. When he was gone she was seeing other men. When he returned from a tour of duty he found the children home alone and she was out with another man! He took the children , there were four, that he knew were his and social services took the rest! My in-laws took my brother-in-law. After he was an adult he got in touch with his mother to try to find out who his father was. She would not (perhaps she did not know herself) tell him! It is so sad because he didn’t have any people of his own!
Don’t feel sorry for me. I didn’t miss things other children had because I never knew it. Can’t miss what you didn’t have. Yes my great-grandma raised me till I was 13, when she died. No one wanted to talk about my parentage. Guess there was shame. I don’t think my mother loved herself. I think she and her mother, my grandmother I was raised around, both had severe autism of some form. They weren’t “right”.
Well you should be proud of yourself! You are a very beautiful and intelligent woman despite how your childhood was!