December 15, 2019 – My goodness, it’s only nine days until Christmas. And the super strange thing, it’s only 16 days until the end of this decade! I find this one – the start of the new 20’s — to be very significant simply because I have a connection, perhaps a distant one, but a connection to the 1920s. My house was built in 1921. I remember saying it was 80 years old. When I bought it, that’s how old it was; only a couple of years ago, I realized it’s pretty much 100 now. My dad was born in the ‘20s, 1928 to be precise. I have furniture that was built in the 1920s. Historical things that happened in the 1920s seem familiar: the depression, a topic my grandparents talked about forever; women obtained the right to vote; women’s clothing became “modern”; changing from long Victorian-type things to “flapper” and shorter outfits; indeed, I think the modern world came of age then – cars, electricity, things like that became widespread. So as much as “Y2K” was a big deal, because I feel a sort of connection to the 1920s, this one is just as big for me.

Last Thursday night was the last full moon of the decade. I noticed it, and there were articles about it – other people taking notes of the “lasts”. Decades often have a feel, a flavor. Each of the decades from the 1920s to about 2000 were all very different. Mind you, I am not so sure the 2000s were that different than the 2010s, so who knows if the 2020s will be more of the same. But I’m curious to see what the new 20s brings, especially with all of these articles marking the lasts.

In the meantime, we have Christmas to celebrate. There are a few songs out there, new ones, old ones, a sweet one by Taylor Swift about growing up on a Christmas tree farm. But I think I’ll go with this duet from Kasey Musgraves and Lana Del Rey, a combination with a girl from the part of world where I was born, and a girl who makes my favorite songs, singing a song about going home for the holidays, which is what I’m going to be doing. More on this later, but I got to play Lana in my guitar lesson this week, parts of two songs that I’ve been dying to play, so I have Lana on my mind. Plus it makes me feel like I’ve graduated to playing the things I really love, and it’s a good feeling for me, going into the last Christmas of the decade too.

And speaking of lasts of the decade, this will be my last post of the decade, so I’ll give you all my holiday wishes now. Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Happy last day of 2019, also known as Happy New Year. And thanks to each of you who visit here and who visit with me here. It is a pleasure sharing our lives, our music, our musical dreams. You’re the very best on-line-real friends a girl could hope for. May the new 20’s bring everyone health, wealth, and above all, joy!