Month: April 2026

My Musical Life 4-7-26

On By Heather HoustonIn My Musical LifeLeave a comment

April 7th, 2026

#90 The Mighty Quinn (Manfred Mann) 👍🏼

Lyrics:
Come all without, come all within
You’ll not see nothing like the mighty Quinn
Come all without, come all within
You’ll not see nothing like the mighty Quinn🪄
Everybody’s building ships and boats
Some are building monuments
Others jotting down notes
Everybody’s in despair
Every girl and boy
But when Quinn the Eskimo gets here
Everybody’s gonna jump for joy🪄
Come all without, come all within
You’ll not see nothing like the mighty Quinn🪄
I like to go just like the west, I like my sugar sweet
But jumping queues and making haste
Just ain’t my cup of meat
Everyone’s beneath the trees feeding pigeons on a limb
But when Quinn the Eskimo gets here
All the pigeons gonna run to him🪄
Come all without, come all within
You’ll not see nothing like the mighty Quinn
Come all without, come all within
You’ll not see nothing like the mighty Quinn🪄
Let me do what I wanna do, I can’t decide at all
Just tell me where to put it
And I’ll tell you who to call
Nobody can get no sleep, there’s someone on everyone’s toes
But when Quinn the Eskimo gets here
Everybody’s gonna want to doze🪄
Come all without, come all within
You’ll not see nothing like the mighty Quinn
Come all without, come all within
You’ll not see nothing like the mighty Quinn
Come all without, come all within
You’ll not see nothing like the mighty Quinn

My Abundant Life 4-7-26

On By Heather HoustonIn My Abundant LifeLeave a comment

April 7th, 2026

Come Alive With Color

“With color, for the price of a pot of paint, people can express their own style and individuality. But, as with style, a gift for color has to be developed by experiment. If you don’t dare, you are doomed to dullness.”

Shirley Conran (English Author and Designer; September 21st, 1932 to May 9th, 2024)

“To build a wardrobe with staying power, invest in classic colors for the foundation—black, white, navy, gray, beige, camel, tan, khaki, ivory, and the ‘reds’ including wine and russet.”

“The purest and most thoughtful minds are those which love color the most.”

John Ruskin (English Art Critic; February 8th, 1819 to January 20th, 1900)

“I like the idea of selecting color chips from a paint store to begin building your color palette.”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 110-111 of 501.

I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.

My Musical Life 4-6-26

On By Heather HoustonIn My Musical LifeLeave a comment

April 6th, 2026

#89 Say It Loud, I’m Black & I’m Proud (James Brown) 👍🏼

Lyrics:
Uh, with your bad self
Say it louder (I’m Black and I’m proud)
Say it louder (I’m Black and I’m proud)🪄
Looky here
Some people say we got a lot of malice
Some say it’s a lotta nerve
But I say we won’t quit moving
Until we get what we deserve
We’ve been ‘buked and we’ve been scorned
We’ve been treated bad, talked about
As sure as you’re born
But just as sure as it take two eyes to make a pair, huh
Brother, we can’t quit until we get our share🪄
Say it loud (I’m Black and I’m proud)
Say it loud (I’m Black and I’m proud)
One more time, say it loud (I’m Black and I’m proud)🪄
I’ve worked on jobs with my feet and my hands
But all the work I did was for the other man
And now we demands a chance
To do things for ourselves
We’re tired of beating our heads against the wall
And working for someone else🪄
Say it loud (I’m Black and I’m proud)
Say it loud (I’m Black and I’m proud)
Say it loud (I’m Black and I’m proud)
Say it loud (I’m Black and I’m proud)🪄
Ow!
Ooh-wee, you’re killing me
Alright, uh, you’re out of sight
Alright, so tough, you’re tough enough
Ooh-wee, uh, you’re killing me, ow🪄
Say it loud (I’m Black and I’m proud)
Say it louder (I’m Black and I’m proud)🪄
Now we demand a chance to do things for ourselves
We’re tired of beating our heads against the wall
And working for someone else
Look here, there’s one thing more I got to say right here
Now, we’re people, we like the birds and the bees
And we’d rather die on our feet than keep living on our knees🪄
Say it loud (I’m Black and I’m proud)
Say it loud (I’m Black and I’m proud)
Say it loud (I’m Black and I’m proud)
Lordy, Lordy, Lordy, say it loud (I’m Black and I’m proud)
Ow!🪄
Uh, alright now
Lordy
You know we can do the boogaloo
Now we can say we do the Funky Broadway
Now we do
Ha, sometimes we dance, we sing, and we talk
You know I do like, I do the Camel Walk
Alright now, ha, alright
Alright now, ha🪄
Say it loud (I’m Black and I’m proud)
Say it loud (I’m Black and I’m proud)
Let me hear ya, say it loud (I’m Black and I’m proud)
Say it loud (I’m Black and I’m proud)🪄
Now we demand a chance to do things for ourselves
We’re tired of beating our heads against the wall
And working for someone else, huh
You know, we are people, too
We like the birds and the bees
But we’d rather die on our feet
Than keep living on our knees🪄
Say it loud (I’m Black and I’m proud)
Say it loud (I’m Black and I’m proud)
Let me hear ya, ha
Say it loud, h (I’m Black and I’m proud)
Say it loud (I’m Black and I’m proud)
Ow!🪄
ooh-wee, you’re killing me
Alright, uh, outta sight, alright, you’re outta sight
Ooh-wee, oh Lord
Ooh-wee, you’re killing me
Ooh-wee, ooh-wee, ooh-wee, ooh-wee, OW🪄
Say it loud, huh (I’m Black and I’m proud)
Say it loud (I’m Black and I’m proud)
God, I feel it, say it loud, uh (I’m Black and I’m proud)
Say it loud (I’m Black and I’m proud)

My Abundant Life 4-6-26

On By Heather HoustonIn My Abundant LifeLeave a comment

April 6th, 2026

Classic Chic 101: The Color Story

“Adornment is never anything but a reflection of the self.””

Coco Chanel (French Fashion Designer; August 19th, 1883 to January 10th, 1971)

“To build a wardrobe with staying power, invest in classic colors for the foundation—black, white, navy, gray, beige, camel, tan, khaki, ivory, and the ‘reds’ including wine and russet.”

“I like the idea of building my wardrobe based on classic base colors to build upon.”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 108-110 of 501.

I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.

Daily Gratitude 4-5-26

On By Heather HoustonIn 5 Daily GratitudesLeave a comment

April 5th, 2026

  • I am grateful for our ‘Hobbit House’ as a sanctuary for our daily life together with my family.
  • I am grateful to live in such a lush green state.
  • I am thankful to see blooming flowers everyday on my commute to work.”
  • I appreciate having access to clean potable water to enjoy a warm morning shower…GLORIOUS!
  • I appreciate our Hyundai Venue for being a reliable and thrift tool to commute to work and run our daily errands.

My Musical Life 4-5-26

On By Heather HoustonIn My Musical LifeLeave a comment

April 5th, 2026

#88 Scarborough Fair/Canticle (Simon & Garfunkel) 👍🏼

Lyrics:
Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme
Remember me to one who lives there
She once was a true love of mine🪄
Tell her to make me a cambric shirt
(On the side of a hill, in the deep forest green)
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme
(Tracing of sparrow on snow-crested ground)
Without no seams nor needle work
(Blankets and bedclothes the child of the mountain)
Then she’ll be a true love of mine
(Sleeps unaware of the clarion call)🪄
Tell her to find me an acre of land
(On the side of a hill, a sprinkling of leaves)
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
(Washes the grave with silvery tears)
Between the salt water and the sea strands
(A soldier cleans and polishes a gun)
Then she’ll be a true love of mine🪄
Tell her to reap it with a sickle of leather
(War bellows blazing in scarlet battalions)
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme
(Generals order their soldiers to kill)
And gather it all in a bunch of heather
(And to fight for a cause they’ve long ago forgotten)
Then she’ll be a true love of mine🪄
Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme
Remember me to one who lives there
She once was a true love of mine

My Abundant Life 4-5-26

On By Heather HoustonIn My Abundant LifeLeave a comment

April 5th, 2026

Whom Do You Admire?

“Undoubtedly, we become what we envisage.””

Claude M. Bristol (Author; 1891 to 1951)

“I am going to begin noting images or style I find attractive or that I am drawn to. I think this may unveil some hidden longings in my own style.”

–Ban Breathnach, Sarah. “Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy”. Grand Central Publishing. (1976). Kindle Page 107-108 of 501.

I challenge each of you on this blog series to post comments so we all can grow together.

Daily Gratitude 4-4-26

On By Heather HoustonIn 5 Daily GratitudesLeave a comment

April 4th, 2026

  • I appreciate being able to have an early morning grocery shopping excursion with my husband so we could retreat to our home for the day’s festivities.
  • I am grateful for the local donut shop having my favorite chocolate bar to enjoy with my morning coffee.
  • I am thankful to be able to watch the Gunners play, even though I thought their game was shitty.
  • I am blessed to have a husband who loves me so completely I have no, “Yeah buts…” EVER.
  • I am so grateful to be enjoying fiancé #3 with the man I love endlessly.”

My Musical Life 4-4-26

On By Heather HoustonIn My Musical LifeLeave a comment

April 4th, 2026

#87 Do You Know the Way to San Jose (Dionne Warwick) 👍🏼

Lyrics:
Do you know the way to San Jose?
I’ve been away so long
I may go wrong and lose my way
Do you know the way to San Jose?
I’m going back to find some peace of mind in San Jose🪄
LA is a great big freeway
Put a hundred down and buy a car
In a week, maybe two, they’ll make you a star
Weeks turn into years, how quick they pass
And all the stars that never were
Are parking cars and pumping gas🪄
You can really breathe in San Jose
They’ve got a lot of space
There’ll be a place where I can stay
I was born and raised in San Jose
I’m going back to find some peace of mind in San Jose🪄
Fame and fortune is a magnet
It can pull you far away from home
With a dream in your heart you’re never alone
Dreams turn into dust and blow away
And there you are without a friend
You park your car and ride away🪄
I’ve got lots of friends in San Jose
Do you know the way to San Jose?🪄
Oh, LA is a great big freeway
Put a hundred down and buy a car
In a week, maybe two, they’ll make you a star
Weeks turn into years, how quick they pass
And all the stars that never were
Are parking cars and pumping gas🪄
I’ve got lots of friends in San Jose
Oh, do you know the way to San Jose?
Can’t wait to get back to San Jose