Hello 2016!

Greetings and salutations, gentle readers! And Happy New Year! I hope this finds you all well. 

I've finally managed to shake off the lingering effects of my annual holiday bout with the flu. This one was particularly tenacious, managing as it did to affect all of the Big Three (Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Day), alas. But I survived, and am moving forward, bloodied but unbowed, into the new year. And full steam ahead too!!!

Follow along below the fold - you'll be glad you did!!!

To start things off... what a year this is going to be! :D 

OK, now that I have your attention... I have to leave it at that for the moment. (Sorry!) But, suffice it to say, 2016 is easily going to be the biggest year of my life - on several fronts. Lots and lots going on here in Cass's Little Corner of the World, all of it very exciting. 

2015 had its ups and downs; believe me, it was exhausting at times. But to quote my favorite philosopher Bruce Springsteen:

Blow away the lies that break your heart

Bottom line: stay tuned. It's going to be mighty interesting around here! Ands peaking of the upcoming year and resolutions...

I've wanted to write more often than I have the past year or so; I really slacked off in 2015 for a variety of reasons. So, in an attempt to publicly hold myself accountable, I'm going to state for the record that I will post at least once a week for the rest of 2016. You read it here first!!! :c)

Now, they won't all be epics; I have a LOT going on in my life at the moment (trust me, you have NO idea). lol That being said, though, writing is a muscle, and it's good to exercise it regularly. 

And hey: if I can run 3-4 times a week, and exercise 2-3 days on top of that - and I can, and do - then I can certainly find time to write a semi-coherent post once a week. I mean, I *am* a writer, after all! 

I certainly have quite a bit to write about... but I will save the details for the first weekly post, coming in a few days to this very space. 

I *will* say that the picture above offers a hint about some of what I have been up to the past few months... and what I will be up to in the next few as well. [Insert mysterious sideways glance here. :D]

Speaking of the above photo, I want to give a shout out to the lovely Miss J, who, acting on behalf of Santa, gifted me with the overalls I'm wearing. 

Why overalls, you ask? Well, Miss J was wearing a pair in a photo she showed me, and apparently I mentioned in passing that I'd never owned a pair. And the next thing  I knew... I have my very first pair! 

Full confession: I lovelovelove them!!! They are sooooo comfy. And they look way cool with my teal Chuck Taylor 2 high tops. Best of all, they make me look as if I have hips (well, almost)!

I should also mention that Miss J, God love her, does nothing by half-measures. When she came by to present me with... well, my present [lol], she she insisted on dressing up as Santa's elf to do so. 

(OK, she insisted on wearing my elf costume. And no, I'm not kidding; I really do own one! In fact, if asked nicely, I may even model it for you all... ;c)) Anyway, thank you once again, hon!!! xoxoxo

On that note, I shall bang the metaphorical gavel and bring this first post of 2016 to a close. See ya next week: same space, same(-ish) time!!!

***

I thought I'd end with a few songs that have been on the personal playlist the past few weeks. 

First up, a killer version of the Stones doing "Happy," from the legendary Exile On Main Street tour in 1972:

They really were The World's Greatest Rock & Roll Band on this tour. (By the way, the opening act on that tour? Stevie Wonder!)

Next up, we have a great track from R.E.M.'s excellent  2007 album Live at the Olympia - "Living Well Is The Best Revenge":

Ain't it the truth. :D

And to wrap things up, here's a great song from The Long Winters, the pride of Seattle, called "New Girl": 

"New Girl" is just one of the amazing songs on 2003's When I Pretend To Fall, their second album. I was living in Seattle that year, and this was all over KEXP-FM. The entire album is this good, believe it or not. In fact, don't take my word for it [lol]; here's "Stupid," another gem:

OK, I know what album I'm listening to on my next run! Damn... so many great bands, and nowhere near enough time to listen to them all!

Ciao for now, kids!!! xoxoxo