Sixteen years ago today, I married
my incredible husband. It's hard to believe that it's been so long
already - not that sixteen years is long, when compared to other
folks I know who have been married for thirty, forty, fifty years,
and more! But it seems like Steve and I exchanged vows only yesterday
at times. And other times, I can't remember a time in my life when
he wasn't at my side.
He had to work today, and I thought that I'd work on a video slide-show
as an anniversary gift. I thought the project would only take a
couple of hours, but it ended up taking me nearly 8 hours to put
it together. First I had to dig through some old photos (taken over
the years with my 35mm) and find some that would tell a sixteen-year
story. Rather than scan them, I took photos of them. Then I had
to edit them for brightness, etc before resizing them for the internet.
Once I had that done, I had to choose which ones I would use for
the slide show and then put them in chronological order.
But the hardest thing of all
was deciding on the background music to go along with my project.
I spent hours listening to snippets of music on the internet. First
I thought I'd go with a classic love song like "Embraceable
You" or "When I Fall in Love" by Nat King Cole. Then
I started looking at more popular classics such as "Because
you Loved Me" by Celine Dion. But, as beautiful as those songs
are, they just didn't "fit" the mood I wanted to convey.
I didn't want anything too sappy, but I did want something that
expressed the love I feel for Steve.
And then I came across some of John Denver's music. I loved John
Denver. His songs were memorable, and fun to sing along with, and
they told a story. I'm not usually a lover of 'country boy' type
tunes, but the songs I chose seemed to fit my slide show perfectly.
In fact, if you listen to the words while watching the slide show,
there are moments when the photographs fit perfectly. And so...
here is my creation, and the lyrics to the two songs I used to accompany
it.
Annie's
Song
You fill up my senses like a night in the forest,
like the mountains in springtime, like a walk in the rain,
like a storm in the desert, like a sleepy blue ocean.
You fill up my senses, come fill me again.
Come
let me love you, let me give my life to you,
let me drown in your laughter, let me die in your arms,
let me lay down beside you, let me always be with you.
Come let me love you, come love me again.
You fill up my senses like
a night in the forest,
like the mountains in springtime, like a walk in the rain,
like a storm in the desert, like a sleepy blue ocean.
You fill up my senses, come fill me again.
The second song in the video slide show is entitled "A
Song for All Lovers" and was only released on "The
Wildlife Concert Album". Here are the lyrics:
I see them dancing somewhere in the moonlight
Somewhere in Alaska, somewhere in the sun
I hear them singing a song for all lovers
A song for the two hearts beating only as one
Imagine the morning no longer alone
The arms of another, a place to belong
No longer the struggle, no longer the night
And ever becoming in the quickening light
To see the darkness, to listen within
To answer in kindness, to ever begin
To ever be gentle, to always be strong
To walk in the wonder, to live in the song
In a place of enchantment where the wild things
are known
Will the future remember when the lovers are gone?
And I see them dancing somewhere in the moonlight
Somewhere in Alaska, somewhere in the sun
I hear them singing a song for all lovers
A song for the two hearts beating only as one
A song for the two hearts beating only as one
I thought spring was on the verge of "springing",
with all the lovely weather we've had for the past week. The snow
has been quickly melting and I can see dirt in my front yard! This
is exciting stuff, as I haven't seen dirt in six months or more.
(It doesn't take much to make us happy after 6 months of snow!)
I had to run a bunch of errands yesterday, and I took
Sedona with me for company. In between paying bills and picking
up a few things at the grocery store, Sedona and I stopped at Pioneer
Park (Alaskaland) and Creamers Field for some fresh air and exercise.
I hoped to see some puddles - as puddles are the most exciting thing
to see in April. There were a few, but not as many as I remember
seeing last year. We've still got time for some more warming days
and melting snow, so I'll keep checking for puddles until the snow
is totally gone.
Gold Rush Town
Gold Rush Town
Gold Rush Town
Seasonal Wetland Pond
Boreal Forest Trail Boardwalk
Boreal Forest Trail Boardwalk
Creamers Field Footbridge
Not quite ready
Creamers Barn
Creamers Barn
Creamers Field
Creamers Field
They've prepared the fields
for seed. Next thing we know, the sandhill cranes will be passing
through again. I can't wait!
Steve's off for the next couple of days and we thought
about going out tomorrow to continue the anniversary celebration,
but I don't know if we will. We had snow on and off all day today,
with high winds too, so it looked like a blizzard out there for
a time. The temperature hovered in the 20s and 30s today too, which
was not enjoyable. A blustery day for sure.
Other than that, it's been pretty low key around here
lately. Tonight, for our anniversary dinner, I cooked (surprise!)
a pork loin, mashed potatoes and broccoli with cheese for dinner.
Steve came home bearing roses last night (two dozen long-stemmed
red roses), so it's the least I could do in celebration of 16 wonderful
years with him. He knows how much I dislike cooking, so getting
a home-cooked meal, which he didn't have to prepare himself, was
a real treat.
In closing, I want to say thank you to John and Shirley,
for your beautiful anniversary card. It arrived today - perfect
timing! I hope all is well with you both and, you're staying healthy.
