the week in joy

of comfort and birthdays and purpose

Hello and welcome to the end of August. My birthday was yesterday and to me that’s always the signifier that summer is gone and it’s time to go back to school shopping. Of course I am not buying pencils and new jeans anymore, but I still do get a sense of closure on a season I hate, and a jump start on a season I love. And maybe I’ll buy one notebook. And a pen. Maybe a three ring binder. That’s it, though

The week that was:

A few months ago I put on post on the Buy Nothing page on Facebook that I would take CDs from anyone looking to dump their collection. Well, I finally heard from someone who was giving away their collection. On Thursday, I drove to Syosset and picked up two bags; one with a huge binder and three smaller binders, and one with a bunch of CD box sets. Readers, I hit a small jackpot.

In those binders were some CDs I was thrilled to find. Live Springsteen, Meat Loaf’s Bat out of Hell, several Beatles recordings, Genesis, Traveling Wilburys, Allman Brothers, the Les Miz soundtrack. There were a dozen Billboard hits from various years of the 70s, some movie soundtrack, and classical music. There’s a fantastic Elton John box set, Eagles, CCR, and Dylan!

To say I was thrilled is an understatement. I was giddy while going through those binders, like I was digging for lost treasure. Each subsequent find made me happier and happier, until I was grinning like an idiot while playing Bat out of Hell (which, I have the vinyl, but that’s not the point). A true highlight of my week. If you’re ever dumping your CD collection, let’s talk.

Every Thursday evening I go to my parents’ house for dinner and cards. When mom asked what my sister and I wanted for dinner this week, Jo-Anne immediately said grilled cheese and tomato soup and I’ll be honest, I thought about it constantly for until Thursday came around. This is the ultimate comfort food, and eating this for meal brings me such good feelings. It feels like fall, and early darkness, and the cold creeping into the wind in a prelude to winter. I love it.

Speaking of food, I went back to my parents’ yesterday for my birthday dinner. We had roast beef and mashed potatoes and corn, another comfort meal. My parents gave me a beautiful winter coat that I had been eyeing, and my sisters bought me a bird feeder that has a camera that identifies the birds who come along, which I think is a very neat and thoughtful gift. Can’t wait to get that installed. I had a wonderful birthday surrounded by family. Once again, I am blessed.

I mentioned last week that I retrieved an old junky website I had and was turning into a new, viable website about collecting vinyl. I put the idea out on twitter to see what people think, and if anyone would be willing to write about their record collections/favorite record stores/making records, etc. for the site. For no money. Just for the love of the game. I now have a Google spreadsheet of 101 people who said they would love to write, edit, interview people, help with the website in general. They are all doing this just because they love records and love writing, and this has made me so happy. When I launch the site in early November, I will have enough content to get me through the first few months of the site. I am hoping to do great things with this. I am considering it my post retirement passion project. I feel like I have a purpose now. If any of you are interested in contributing, just fill out this form .

Going to keep it short and sweet this week. I had a very joyful, very fulfilling, very happy week where I felt loved and respected. Can’t beat that.