Grand Funk Railroad

 

At the end of the 60's one of the bands I liked a lot was Grand Funk Railroad.  They played both Atlanta Pop Festivals in '69 and early 1970's and their music was primarily the kind of hard driving, guitar lead blues/rock that spoke to my rebellious & young southern soul.

 

I'm pretty sure I went to both of the Atlanta Pop Festivals but, like much of the 70's, I can't exactly remember.  What's the saying, "if you can remember the 70's you weren't trying hard enough", or something like that.  Actually I was trying just about as hard as most to have a really good time which means now I have significant black holes in my memory.  I think my friend in Atlanta, Amy Munn, went with me to one or both of them.  Amy?

 

The reason I liked GFR wasn't necessarily their music.  My infatuation had a lot to do with the lead singer.  He had the most beautiful (in my 20 year old mind) long hair and bulging biceps and he always performed naked from the waist up.  I certainly enjoyed that part of their "music"!

 

Anyway they are long gone I guess, and actually that's not the reason for this post.  I'm simply using their name as a segue into the state of my mind over the past weeks ... I've been in a grand funk mood.   I haven't wanted to do anything or move off the sofa.  Tenuous link?  Maybe, but better than taking the whole blog post up with my blah state of mind which is driven by my ongoing foot operation and the weather.

 

About the foot.  It's better but the healing has a long, long way to go yet.   A friend in Georgia, Donna D., told me that foot surgery is serious business.  I didn't think that at the time I went into the operation.  In my mind it would take 6-8 weeks to heal and then I'd be as good as new again.  Wrong.  Even when the cast came off mid July I thought I would be well on the way to normality.  Wrong again.  I've been in a 'moon boot' now for 4 weeks with another 3 to go, I'm still in a lot of pain and I can't walk very well yet.  George, who has been the absolute perfect husband and carer, is over it completely and can't help letting that little bit of frustration seep into current conversations.

 

And the weather.  It's been beautiful but very cold.  The days have been unseasonably warm with non-stop sunshine but once the sun gets low on the horizon the cold starts leaving the nights and  mornings bone chillingly cold.  I'm akin to a reptile in this weather ... I don't want to move or venture out until I know the sun can warm my blood enough to move which means I stay inside most of the time doing very little but reading.  Jae turned me on to a terrific writer and I've just about devoured all of his books.  If you like crime novels with a touch of film noir atmosphere then you'll love Denis Lehane!

 

With both the foot and the weather to use as excuses I move from the warmth of the bed to the living room where the heater is and then I can't seem to get motivated to do much of anything else.  My BFF in Atlanta suggested I was depressed but I think I've been suffering from plain laziness with a rather large dose of self pity thrown into the mix.  Nevertheless this week I've officially moved on from that self defeating mind set.  Hence this blog post, the 4 loads of washing on the line and the big pot of soup cooking on the stove!

 

The great winter weather means the flowers and the backyard are lovely .....

The camellia in the front is bursting with blood red flowers!

And the lime tree is covered in fruit ready for picking.  Molly loves sitting under it in the sun.