Early on one frosty morning

It has been so cold in the mornings this past week or so. It's not normally so cold this far into April.

The vineyards that have frost protection have been running them every day. We hear the womp-womp-womp of the windmills At first, they sound like a helicopter flying overhead, but unlike a helicopter, the noise does not vary, it's just steady. The vineyards that use sprinklers to rain water down on the vines to raise the temps to above freezing are beautiful to watch. They are like a symphony or a ballet of water droplets dancing in the light of the dawn, their partners the lovely grape vines with their fingers of new green leafy growth, warm and happy reaching up to touch the droplets.

We were also jolted by a small earthquake this morning. My alarm went off, I still have it set to 93.7, and the past couple of days I awoke to annoying songs from the 80's, not the smooth jazz I enjoy. I hit the snooze button and ka-bam! The house groaned for only one second and I felt the lateral movement of the bed for one quick motion, east to west. The earthquake woke me up. I always get energized by an earthquake, full of adrenaline for the potential danger. The cats ran into the bedroom and jumped on the bed.

Look away, look away, look away, Dixie land.

Testing Posting a Photo

I am testing posting a photo.



This shows a small girl looking for seashells at the sea shore.

This worked very nicely.







It was a cold day that day!!

I'm a Complainer

Think of the song, I'm a Believer, but I'm a Complainer. Today's complaint, my local Smooth Jazz radio station has changed format, now, they are Smooth Nothing. A big, beautiful, baritone used to announce " Smooooooooth Jaaaaaaaaahzz, ninety-three seven, Ahhhhh....", now, he says "Smooooooooth". That's it. Smooth Nothing! And that's how I feel about their new format.

I emailed the morning announcer and he actually answered back with a thoughtful reply.

Me: I'm finally going out and getting an iPod, I didn't need one before, I loved KJZY, where the J still had meaning. Your new format, well, it gags me. I'm taking your numbers out of my pre-programmed buttons. How many more times can I listen to "What a Fool Believes"????

Rob's Reply: Hi Bonnie, Thanks for the e-mail. I will forward it along to management. All I can say is that it was a decision that was not made lightly. In the last month or so smooth jazz stations in Washington D.C., Houston, New York and Denver have all completely changed formats....in part because the smooth jazz audience, as great and as loyal as they are, just don't show up in the ratings well enough. We decided to make some changes to try to reach a wider audience, but we also still play some smooth jazz. We also still have seven hours of mainstream jazz on Sunday nights. So in a lot of cases we're still playing much of the same music, but we are putting a heavier emphasis on the vocals than before. Reaction has been both good and bad so far. I do want to thank you for putting your comments in writing. We definitely want to know what people think, and it's easy for me to forward your e-mail to the people who need to see, so thanks.
Rob Singleton
KJZY

I replied one more time:
Thank you so much for your thoughtful reply. I'm really not as nasty as I sounded in my email. I just wanted to make a point that I really loved the old way, it was so relaxing for me. The new way makes me tense, it's hard to explain. I grew up with and still enjoy JamesTaylor, the Doobies, etc., but not on my smooth jazz station. Good luck with the new format. I think I'll go find some old KJZY Samplers. Maybe I won't exactly delete you from my presets and hope to hear Al Jarreau or Acoustic Alchemy or Diana Krall when I do tune in.

I still have my alarm clock set to this station, and again, they played an oldie but goodie, it's stuck in my head. I should have written that I also have to find a new station for my alarm clock.

Complaint mode off - for now!

I want my kids to write, so should I

It is so important to write well. I have given journals to each of my kids. I want to have journal hour, but who has an hour to spend journaling? I think we will have journal moment. 3 minutes to sit down and write a sentence or two together every day.

I have created this blog, The Bonnie Blog, to see if I can commit to writing down a few things, we'll see!