Oh Where Oh Where Did the Time Go?

AWOL.

Missing in action.

Me.

One minute I'm blogging away, head swimming with so many ideas and thoughts that I couldn't type fast enough to get it all out into a post.

The next I'm looking at my blog and wondering why I haven't posted anything in months.

So what's the deal? What's going on?

Answer: I don't know.

Yup. I just don't know. You would think with all that's going on in my life right now that I'd have barrels of topics to explore and ponder. All for the benefit of you, gentle reader. But no. It's been like writer's block. I'll call it "blog block". And just like that I've coined a new term. Voila!

Blog Block - the mysterious act of totally ignoring and staying away from one's blog for an indefinite period of time.

But where did it come from, this ignorant Block? And what can I do to break Blog Block?

For now my solution is just this. And this. And this. Just type. See what comes out. Just get SOMETHING down on paper (so to speak). At least my huge world-wide audience will know that I still walk among them. That I haven't gone off to that great big bloggy boot-camp in the sky.

So bear with me, my adoring fans. I will enlighten you with exciting, earth-shattering, life changing posts any day now...so, wait for it....wait for it...

I'll be back. I've got so much to tell you!

House of the Rising Madness

Now where did I leave off? It's been so long since I've shared the highlights of my daily grind that I'm not sure where I should begin.

Well, think I'll just start with what my house looks like today.

A pig-pen.

No. No. Not THAT guy.

Something akin to a sty.

Yeah, that's the one.

It's a mess. Organized chaos. But somehow we're making it work...barely...agh!

I'm working. Part-time. It's okay. It's got good points, and not-so-good.
Hubby? He's working, too. Full-time with laid off days here and there. Again, good and bad points.

At this point last year, neither one of us was working so I guess we're making progress, right? Consider ourselves lucky...but are we lucky? The jury's still out.

Ok. Moving on. What to tell you next?

Grandchildren.
↓ not the grandkids ↓
Yup, they're still living with us, and they sure do keep us hopping. From the never-empty laundry basket to the piles of dirty dishes that never seems to go away. Sometimes I feel like I've turned back the clock 25 years to when I was a young mom with 3 youngsters under foot, except I'm now contending with a very old, tired middle-aged body that has seen its better days. I get tired a lot quicker nowadays. And unfortunately, the kids are not seeing grandma at her best. Thankfully, they seem to be pretty resilient and adjusting to life pretty well under the circumstances. 
                                                                 
We try to keep them busy and offer them lots of different experiences. From their first attempt at sledding to their first snow tunnel in the backyard. School fills their days. The boys go to a local school and the girl goes to daycare (what she calls "school"). One boy is taking hockey lessons, the other is signed up for baseball (hurry up, Spring!) and the girl is in gymnastics.

Last but not least, rounding out the house of madness, is an update on our animal kingdom. Our own petting zoo.

The two felines, Meow and EV, are purr-fectly fine and miraculously getting along.

And speaking of miracles, my dog Sammi has bounced back from her mystery ailment. She still goes for regular checks to make sure all is still ok. So far so good. The other 3 canines are doing well. Notwithstanding the occasional chewed toy or knocked over trash can, they are all cohabitating peacefully. (Just wish they would pitch in and clean up all the pet hair and fur floating around here and earn their keep...geez!)

Yeah, I know this only scratches the surface. There's so much more going on - and not going on. But my addled fried brain just can't handle espousing about it in blog format. And I seriously doubt if there's anyone out there that has hours to devote to reading about my woes...For if there's one thing I've learned in my long time here on this Earth is that no one really cares about anyone else's problems. They're too busy trying to take care of their own issues. Maybe you get a "poor baby" or a "there, there", a pat on the back, a quick cyber hug. But its all just going thru the motions. If they really did care, they'd roll up their sleeves and jump in to help someone who's drowning in stress.

So suffice it to say, I'm going to leave out the sordid details. And spare you the uncomfortable discomfort of trying to figure out how to delicately extricate yourself from listening to me drone on and on about how I can't get rid of the black cloud that hovers over me 24 hours a day.

What a friend, eh? Always thinking of others. That's me.

Aren't you lucky!

So, what's new with you?

I'm Back...In The Saddle Again!

Wow! Has it really been so long since I've been here? Since Thanksgivukkah?

Talk about time slipping away. I neglected my love-child, my blog. Sorry.

And you know what? I honestly don't know why. Many times I've opened my laptop with the intent of writing, only to go off surfing in a totally different direction.

A couple of times I just sat and pondered why I didn't feel like writing. I even had one of those late-night problem-solving in-the-dark discussions w/hubby. Nope. Still couldn't come up with any definitive answer.

I ended up concluding that since no one had reached out to me to find out why I hadn't posted lately it must mean that I stink. No no. Not me personally. My writing. It just didn't grab and hold anyone's attention. It's not very good. And maybe that's why I don't want to write again. Subconsciously, I must know this about myself and my conscious self is starting to realize it.

The holidays kept me busy so I didn't have much time to worry about writing. When things quieted down, I thought about getting back on the bloggy horse. And that's when it hit me...I hadn't received any emails, facebook posts, private messages, post comments, texts...from anyone asking about my bloggy absence or asking when to expect my next post. Hmmm...didn't anyone miss me? Hadn't anyone wondered where I'd been?

Um...no.

So. Huh. That's that. Now I have a big decision to make. Do I close up shop? Delete all my posts and let Kate Khronicles die a quick yet dignified death? Or should I take hubby's suggestion and continue on but with the intent that I only write for me? Write about what I like and not worry about if its read by anyone or not?

I let this decision stew inside my little grey cells for a few weeks.

Think I'm going to go with hubby's idea...Plan B.

Write for me. Write what I like. No more worrying about how many page views or comments I get. No more stressing myself out trying to keep to a writing schedule. Just write when the urge overtakes me. No more trying to write the perfect post, choose the perfect topic.

Ok. This is it. My foray back into the blogosphere. With a new plan. A new attitude.

And if no one likes it...well, pffft on them.

I'm baaaaack!

Health Care For The Music Community - Tune In & Tune Up

About a year ago I began volunteering with the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame ("RIMHOF"). RIMHOF is a "nonprofit dedicated to celebrating, honoring, and preserving the legacy of Rhode Island musicians, educators and industry professional who have made significant contributions to the national and Rhode Island music scene". I was initially partnered with one of the board members who had begun a very substantial project: constructing an online database that would keep track of all the venues state-wide that offered music performances. Within a few months, we were also including non-profit agencies and programs that pertained to music. My role slowly began to evolve and I took on more responsibilities within the community outreach program, such as keeping track of anyone who had expressed a role in volunteering for RIMHOF. I also assist with organizing quarterly meetings for the music community where they can discuss issues affecting them.

Recently, I was quite surprised and happy to be asked to join the board as an official member. I didn't hesitate to say yes! I'm very honored to be associated with a great group of people whose mission is to preserve and support Rhode Island music. All the members have spearheaded various meaningful projects, from an online archive to the community outreach program.

Which brings me to today. This weekend. And one of RIMHOF's newest projects, the health initiative, Tune In & Tune Up. Per the RIMHOF site:

TUNE IN & TUNE UP is the new health initiative of the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame. The program came about because Board members, many musicians themselves, were fed up with the lack of affordable health care options for the R.I. music community. We also fully understand how confusing and daunting it is to understand what may be available to you. If you are a professional Rhode Island musician or industry professional (soundman, engineer, roadie, tech crew etc.) OR the spouse of a musician or industry professional, sign up to become a member of the TUNE IN & TUNE UP program.

In the coming months, TUNE IN & TUNE UP will be offering seminars and workshops, soliciting retail outlets that will offer discounts to our members, and creating a web page (linked off of the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame website) which will try to help you navigate and more easily understand Rhode Island’s health care & wellness options.

A quite worthy and very important endeavor!

To support and raise awareness of the
initiative, RIMHOF will be hosting the 2-day Unity Concerts. The fundraising concerts will be held this weekend at the Ocean Mist in Matunuck (South Kingstown), RI. The concerts will feature some of the best of what RI has to offer. Household names like, John Cafferty & the Beaver Brown Band, Roomful of Blues and Steve Smith and the Nakeds. Up and comers like Kim Petrarca and The Brian McKenzie Band.

It's going to be a great weekend of great music!

 

To learn even more about the initiative and the concerts, visit fellow board member Herb Weiss' very informative blog post here.

I'll be heading down there momentarily to help in any way I can to make sure that this weekend is a success. Healthcare and coverage are very important to all of us in these current trying economic times, and especially vital to those who are under or uninsured. Music is so important to enriching our lives, feeding our souls. We owe it to ourselves to do what we can to keeping the music playing, keep our musicians healthy and support those special people who bless us with their musical talent.

Hope to see you at the Unity Concerts!! ♪♫♪♫

Happy Anniversary - Birth of a Blog!

"Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence." - Helen Keller

This week marks a monumental milestone for me. The anniversary of the birth of this blog.

This is my 140th post.

A lot has happened over this past year. Some really incredible, crazy, bizarre, never-saw-that-coming kind of things. And I've documented most of it right here. On Kate's Khronicles.

Along the way I've enticed some readers to come inside, sit a spell and take a look around. And those viewers left 351 awesome comments on my ramblings. It was nice to know that there was someone listening out there!

And would you believe...