Just much better all the way around!

Who knows what happens, gang, or why, but I slept great last night and woke happy and ready to bounce out of bed at 4:07AM, and everything just feels so much different from the vibes of yesterday.

Yay.

Before I forget —

I don’t want to get tedious about this, but as of right now (it’s in constant motion, though):

Gold: $4,643.99 per troy ounce

Silver: $92.35 per ounce

And if you want to know more about why this is important — in fact, sort of critical — check this out from Charlie Ward this morning. (7 mins):

And again, if you don’t have a preferred company that you buy gold and silver from, you can check SD Bouillon. I use them because my dad always used them, and I have always found them really easy to work with — fair, reliable, communicative. And they have plenty of gold and silver on offer as of right now.

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Okay!

In the continuing Good News Department!

Yesterday, I heard from the carpenter who will be replacing my 126-year basement stairs!!

So that makes the carpenter and the plumber, ready to get moving on my home repairs. The only one left is the Central AC guy. (Well, I did, technically, hear back from them, but they’re double-checking on the cost, since it took 6 months for the USDA to have enough money again to give out the home improvement grants.)

But it’s really gonna happen, gang. I can’t tell you how exciting this is!

Not telling you, but I guess, showing you

You know, in the nearly 8 years that I’ve been in This Old House, I’ve had to pay for a few repairs, but these are the grants I’ve been able to get over the years, at absolutely no cost to me:

Furnace upgrade
New insulation throughout the house including 4 (!!) attics
Duct work to get the house ready for Central AC
Totally new ceilings in the kitchen and downstairs bathroom
New ceiling fan in the kitchen
Entirely new roof (!!) (that one alone saved $18K!!)

And now I’m getting: New basement stairs, old water pipes replaced, new fixtures in the upstairs shower and in the kitchen, and Central AC.

I feel very, very blessed, I can tell you that. I really, really love this house but, as you can guess (or perhaps you know from experience) old houses need a lot of attention. And I have zippo skills to do any of the work myself.

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All righty.

I guess yesterday was the anniversary of this wonderful woman’s passing:

And, if you are too young to know who Ronnie Spector was, you MUST watch this TV montage of “Be My Baby”, which hit #1 on the charts in 1963:

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And speaking of women Keith adored (besides Ronnie Spector)–

Here’s Keith with Anita, in Venice in October, 1967:

I don’t think I have EVER seen a facial expression on Keith that is quite like this one…

And here he is with that other thing he adores–

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Okay.

Speaking of Nick Cave….

Jesus, gang. He sent out another one of those Red Hand Files yesterday, where he answers 50 questions with minimal replies. In the beginning, those things were funny, but now they just kind of make my jaw drop.

And if you don’t get the Red Hand Files in your inbox, this is his reply to the opening question from Paul in New Zealand (which was just sort of staggeringly mean):

“So, let’s get this straight – you don’t like me?“

You can read the RHF in its entirety HERE.

And in 4 days, this begins!! (Except for Paul in New Zealand). Buy tickets HERE!

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All righty, I gotta scoot and head out to see my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man!

And then tomorrow, I have the day off — I will be working on my contribution to the tribute to M. Christian coming from Parisian Phoenix Publishing. And then doing some work with Sandra.

Have a wonder-filled Wednesday, wherever you are in the world!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s leave with this!

For no particular reason, just because I always thought this song was so funny.

Yes, another one of those songs that I would listen to on my Sony Walkman, as I bopped around NYC.

“Dog Food” by Iggy Pop, 1980, from his album Soldier. (A great album, btw. “I Need More”, “Loco Mosquito”, etc. ) Enjoy, gang.