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| Durham, UK |
"Mom, do you know an artist named Jim Croce?"
It was our 20-year-old son, bringing up a musician I have not listened to for decades, as we strolled the cobbled streets of Durham, England. What?
"Sure, but how do YOU know about Jim Croce?"
"One of his songs was in a YouTube video I watched."
Ah.
"I like his music and I am looking for other artists like him."
So, Spousal Unit and I dug deep in the collective memory banks. John Denver, America and Gordon Lightfoot came pretty easily. When we returned to the house, I went to the source of all knowledge (Google - LOL) and was immediately entranced by the music of another era. Cat Stevens. Dan Fogelberg. Jackson Browne. James Taylor. The Carpenters. Spurred by the song "Everything I Own" by Bread, I grabbed Spousal Unit for an impromptu dance around the front room at my in-laws' house.
I don't often listen to music on my phone, but I couldn't stop myself; every song Google delivered had lyrics that resonated profoundly. Was it just the era, or might I be a touch sentimental? After all, August 3 would be our 27th wedding anniversary … so, when "We've Only Just Begun" by the Carpenters popped up, it sparked the idea to build a dedication blog post around the song. Although it was not our wedding song (we didn't have one), the lyrics fit our journey, then and now. To Spousal Unit: "We've Only Just Begun"!
We've only just begun to live
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| #1 Daughter with her paternal great-grandfather |
White lace and promises
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| #1 Daughter with maternal grandfather |
A kiss for luck and we're on our way
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| Big sister and little brother |
(We've only begun)
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| #1 Son in Krakow, Poland |
Before the risin' sun, we fly
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| Rockin' out in the family van |
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| With #1 Daughter - top - Corsica - bottom - Cayman |
We'll start out walkin' and learn to run
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| Another day feeding ducks and geese in England |
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| Seven Mile Beach on Grand Cayman |
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| 2006 trip to Montana |
Watching the signs along the way
Talkin' it over, just the two of us
Workin' together, day to day
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| 2010 ski trip to Park City |
Together
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| Another day in the water with #1 Dad - 2011 |
And when the evening comes, we smile
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| Reflection in the lake at our new home in Montana - 2018 |
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Upper right - 25th anniversary walk in the UK - a "miracle" hedgehog on the path!
Left - 26th anniversary - champagne breakfast by the lake at our new home
Lower right - future anniversaries will be at places like this - Many Glacier, Montana
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We'll find a place where there's room to grow
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| Our new house in Montana, June 2018 |
(And yes, we've just begun)
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| Anywhere, any time |
Linking to:
All Seasons
Mosaic Monday
Oh how sweet!! A lot of those artists were favorites of mine as well. No heavy metal for me...lol I still have that Bread album. Your post is a great way to remember your special times. :) Kit
ReplyDeleteand now I am crying, so inventive! Loved the pics. I don't know if I could find pics in the mess of a computer but yours were terrific. We are at 24 years as of last week. Married, 25 together. Jim Croce had that fab gravely voice. Randy Newman too, and Joe Cocker too. Jim Croce sang me through college.
ReplyDeleteBad, bad Leroy Brown. Your son has good taste. Our supermarket plays as the Husband likes to say Senior Citizen music (meaning us!) so we sing and dance around the aisles often. I love your song collage. Perfect.
ReplyDeleteGood post
ReplyDeleteLove it!! Cherished memories and great music from the era. I can spend literally hours on YouTube listening to bands and songs from my youth. So much fun! Not sure why, but the music then seems so much better than anything I hear now.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely post.
ReplyDeletesweet post.
ReplyDeleteHello, Happy Anniversary! I enjoyed seeing all the wonderful photos, great trips and happy memories. Your tube is awesome for finding these great songs. LOL, they were the good old days. Happy Friday, enjoy your weekend!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful post. Nothing like the old songs to bring back the memories. I think that every generation or subgeneration has their songs like that.
ReplyDeleteThat was lovely seeing all those pictures and hearing about your happy memories.
ReplyDeleteHappy Anniversary. Great post.
Hopefully we will be moving into our new house in the next week or two.
This brought back some great High School and First Love memories!
ReplyDelete...my 48 year-old son is the 'music guy.' We both share an interest in lots of music and he's into some stuff that doesn't sound like music to me. Keep humming a tunes!
ReplyDeleteThose songs spark memories for me. This is a lovely post and tribute to 27 years of marriage. Congratulations! I'm hoping to get up to Montana in September. We were married in Wyoming and went back last year for our anniversary. We went up to Little Big Horn, but hope to travel a little farther this year.
ReplyDeleteHello, stopping back to say thank you for linking up your post. Your birds and critters are a beautiful sight. I love the swan and family in England and the Hedgehog. Happy Saturday, enjoy your weekend.
ReplyDeletegorgeous photos! 'Memories are made of this...'
ReplyDeleteHappy Day to you,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)
Awww... that was lovely Angie! Such a beautiful look-back .... and Happy Anniversary!!! (I have an earworm now, but it is a welcome one -- I like that song a lot, even though of course it is not the music we could have chosen had we had a wedding song, because we are even older oldies! Actually way older!!! (ours would have been more like the song Carol mentions in her comment above!)
ReplyDeleteYou named a lot of my music - great post. Good music is good music. I had a young friend visit me back in 2000 and she heard the Carpenters for the first time and she loved them.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful images of the world, europe and the america.
ReplyDeleteA fabulous post! Love the music references to your lives, caught by your camera. Very sweet.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, just wanted to tell you--yes, the osprey love to pull strings, ribbons, plastic and all kinds of colorful things into their nest-making. Have a wonderful week!
ReplyDeleteGreat post Angie. More so because you read my mind and mentioned favourites of mine although I had forgotten about Jim Croce. But Karen Carpenter had the most wonderful, beautiful, clear, soulful voice with "It's Only Just Begun" one of my favourites too.
ReplyDeleteYou didn't mention Roy Orbison! Another wonderful singer - In Dreams. They don't make 'em like that anymore. But You Tube does have some uses I find.
Happy Anniversary.
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ReplyDeleteone day, i will learn to proof read before i hit publish!!
ReplyDeleteoh this was just wonderful...everything blended together so well!!
all of your images are so beautiful, all of them...but the 7 mile beach is amazing!!
and "spousal unit", it is just so funny!!!
A fabulous post! So nice and beautiful pictures!
ReplyDeleteHappy anniversary! I love your photos. That was the best era of music ever made!
ReplyDeleteMy goodness there's a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye after reading this wonderful post, Angie. All the way through as I sang the lyrics that went with each photo I could hear the lovely Karen singing in my head. Wishing you both many more Happy Anniversaries in your beautiful place to grow.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun post! Happy Anniversary, Angie. I was singing along!
ReplyDeleteHappy Anniversary! What a wonderful retrospective on your life together. Our 44th anniversary is coming up, and our wedding soen was Jim Crocce's "Time In A Bottle." We were thrilled to meet Jim Crocce's wife, Ingrid, in San Diego a few years ago in the Crocce restaurant she owned after Jim's tragic passing in an airplane crash. Sadly, her restaurant is now closed.
ReplyDeleteWhen your visit Aspen, walk in the beautiful little John Denver sanctuary in the park. I blogged about it last year. Also, if you can, hike up to Hanging Lake in Glenwood Canyon! It is spectacular! Slightly above is a trail to Sprouting Rock--also a sight to see! I blogged about both. Also, the Maroon Bells wilderness near Aspen is a beautiful place to visit--very popular with photographers and tourists, so check into visiting early. We visited off season so we were able to drive in to the arera and park, but in high season a shuttle bus from Aspen takes you there.
Ahh...I love this song themed post. A very Happy 27th year to the two of you. So much to remember and enjoy. Here's praying you have many more years ahead of you. Love that little hedgehog! Wow!
ReplyDeleteSuch terrific photos...and tunes too, we've got all kind of earworms going on now!
ReplyDeleteHi Angie wow what a beautiful post,love your pics,thankyou for sharing my friend xx
ReplyDeleteThe tune to your song is looping through my head - I love the Carpenters and many of the other artists you've mentioned. This is a lovely reprise of your years together - I hope you have a wonderful anniversary celebration!
ReplyDeleteAngie, What a creative post full of wonderful memories. Have a great week. Sylvia D.
ReplyDeleteLots of great memories for you here!
ReplyDeleteOh this is a wonderful trip down memory lane and I do remember all those songs.. Happy Anniversary and many many more...Michelle
ReplyDeleteThose innocent questions are the best. I remember that song too. Beautiful photos of your wonderful journey together. Happy Anniversary!
ReplyDelete-Soma
What a sweet trip down memory lane. I do love the musicians and music of the era you highlighted. I'm not one to listen to much music either but when I hear this stuff it gets me going (mostly on YouTube these days) to listen for awhile. Happy Belated Anniversary to you and your hubby Angie. May you have many beautiful years and memories ahead.
ReplyDeleteYep, there was so much good music back-in-the-day.
ReplyDeleteLots of great photos in this post. LOVE your new house!
Oh, the holiday time is here, I love it.
ReplyDeleteThis is really fun! A great post. I loved Croce!
ReplyDeleteTo #1 Mom - After asking me if I had read this blog post while you visited me in Aspen, CO and I had to sheepishly admit that I had skimmed it, I knew that I had to go back and read it through in detail. Because I knew this blog post was important to you and to this family. Boy, am I glad I went back to read it because now I am sitting my new kitchen in Cincinnati, OH nearly in tears with how much I love you and #1 dad and #1 brother. I miss you all so much already. Thank you for writing such a beautiful tribute to our family. Happy (late) anniversary. Love, #1 daughter
ReplyDelete