Kelowna Vacation, Day 4

At least some things never change… I went to the creperie this morning, and it was closed. So I went off to Café Soleil and had breakfast, then checked back, and they were open. I asked the lady about it and she said, “Yeah, we were late this morning.”

I wonder if this is habitual around Kelowna? In one way, it’s kind of nice that these people don’t live in fear of being a few minutes late. On the other hand… c’mon folks, you’re running a business.

I packed up – the suitcase closes, barely – and drove up to the hills to see if I could get a decent picture. Relatively decent; telephone poles in some directions. Still, another gorgeous, clear day. It should be a lovely flight home.

This morning, driving out to the airport, I was thinking of all kinds of observations about Canadians… and now they’ve all fled my mind. I was thinking that while I’ve been detailing what I’ve been up to, I haven’t done such a good job describing what’s around me or how I’m interacting.

Something I did learn last night: what the point of curling is, and why Canadians enjoy watching it. Okay, I gotta admit I still can’t understand the latter. But the “tournament of hearts” curling matches are on television – women’s curling – and after watching it for a while last night on the television while eating my dinner, I figured I needed to look up the rules. Essentially it’s a game of marbles on ice. You’re trying to knock your opponents stones out of the circle, leaving your own closest to the center. Those who are closest to the center, wins; if you have two or three stones closest to the center you get 2 or 3 points, respectively. At the upper levels, you usually only wind up with one or two stones left in the ring, as the girls are too good to leave many of them in the middle. It has become more interesting to me, now that I understand the point. But still: 10 rounds of watching people sweep brooms across the ice to make a stone do what they want it to? Seems very strange.

I enjoyed hearing something of what is going on up here, since the U.S. tends to think there is no life beyond our borders. My friend in D.C. actually sent me an article about this over the weekend: not just that Americans are stupid and insular, but they are aggressively so – they will vehemently argue they don’t need to learn. In part, I would assume, because it’s easier to deny than to have to learn. I thought about looking to see if I see the same thing elsewhere – do other countries write the same way? Clearly the increased connection and constant stream of information has decreased our capacity to absorb any of it. I know my memory is much worse than it used to be. But I don’t know that Americans are really unique in that way.

Maple. I do love the land of maple. Last night at the end of dinner I had the “bite-sized” maple blondie – sponge cake, maple cream, caramel, vanilla ice cream – I’m very glad it was a bite-sized one because the regular one would have killed me. Still, I love maple and it is good to see it get its fair turn up here.

Kelowna Vacation, Day 3

You can start playing the “It’s a small world” theme… one of my former co-workers emailed me today because she is also in Kelowna. At Big White, actually. And at the time she was emailing me, I was busy snowshoeing along the paths at Big White. If only she’d emailed yesterday… we could have gone snowshoeing together. We’ve been playing tag for, I don’t know, a couple years now. So it would have been quite something to have gotten together up here. Which tells you some of how I spent my day.

I was up pretty early, got my Starbucks (on-the-go breakfast of convenience next to the hotel) and then headed up to Big White. It is another glorious day of sunshine. On the way up I heard it was -8 C at Big White. Kelowna doesn’t get all that much snow – too close to water, to low down. There are signs of it everywhere in melting piles previously shoveled, but the trees are green and the streets are clear and snow is much more hit and miss. Heading up it did start to accumulate, although again – a lot of the trees are clear of it, making it seem deceptively less than perhaps it is. The radio report said the base at Big White is 242 cm, or about 96 inches. Nice!!

I suppose I should mention that I’m not sure I’ve ever been to a major ski resort. I didn’t get to ski much as a kid – too little when Bonnie & Jenny took lessons (a major theme of my growing up) and then dad didn’t want me to ski when I played basketball, because I could blow out my knees. So I’ve been skiing probably a half-dozen times in my life, usually up at Snoqualmie, which is kind of a throw-back ski area. There’s the ski lodges, some nearby cabins, that sorta thing, but nothing like what I saw today Big White not only can handle… what did they say, 14,000 people an hour? – they are also clearly building it out – tons of condos going in. It was horrifying. Just like being in the U.S. It is a beautiful area, and I’m sure they’ll make tons of money. But it would be nicer if they put the condos somewhere else. Anyway.

You park, and take a gondola up the mountain so you don’t have to hoof it up, which I did like. My one major failing on this trip was I forgot my sunglasses… the snow was quite bright with the sun on it. Fortunately, I got into the woods fairly quickly so I wasn’t blinded any more. The snowshoeing was great – the paths had been groomed and the snow was packed enough that it was easy-going. I’m not sure if the path names had anything to do with anything… they appeared mainly just to be names, because I didn’t see any lakes or meadows on my way. I did get to tromp through a pretty fun forest path – fun because it wasn’t so packed down, but it also wasn’t so powdery that it took tons of effort. The snow up here is incredibly dry… can’t make a snowball to save your soul.

I passed a warming hut on the way, which was cool. Stop in, sit by the fire – there was a guy there we might call a park ranger. What a fun job. As I came back up to the starting area, I noticed a guy attaching harnesses to a sled and I inquired about the many dogs that were there in the woods. There were all these dogs, on leashes, with their own dog house – most of them were sitting on top of the dog house. Many of them looked one step removed from wolves. They are Alaskan racing dogs, and the guy dogsleds with them and does tours.

Along the base of the ski area there’s a skating ring. What do Canadians use it for? Why, hockey training, of course. I think they start kids skating before they train kids to walk. Little kids, 4, 5 years old… pulling out the hockey goals and hitting the puck.

Coming back to Kelowna, there was a point where you could see the whole valley, the lake, the ring of mountains, the town, all sunshine… wow, it was breathtaking. I do get why people live here.

The afternoon has been quiet. I went to a winery: Quail’s Gate. I figured I could get away with not buying anything, that they’d have distribution in the states. Of course not. So I had to buy a bottle of their ice wine. It was so good. The winery is on the other side of the lake, so it was a phenomenal view looking back at the city. It really is a gorgeous area. I would think in the summer this place really is the place to be, but I think it’d also be totally overrun with people. I’d love to come back in September/October though.
I also bummed around town, went by the Unitarian church – it is quite small! – went back through town and decided tomorrow morning for breakfast I’m going to a creperie. Usually I look for gelato stands on vacation, but creperies are fast moving up my list.

Tomorrow I go home, and I’ll post photos.

Kelowna Vacation, Day 2

I shudder to revisit this, because I’m in a good mood this evening, but I left last night at about 12:15 a.m. from the hostel.

I was, honestly, trying to be good about it. I figured if I could make it through the night, the next days would be better. But the party was loud, yelling, running through hallways, pounding on doors… at 11:45 I asked them if they would keep the door to the stairwell shut. At 12:10 I just started packing my stuff. I gave them back the key; it was clear they had no idea how to do a refund, so I said I’d be back in the morning. I found a motel not too much more expensive and finally unwound enough to go to bed. Or at least I fell asleep.

This morning I went to the hostel first. They said they had called the owner, but she wasn’t in yet, and didn’t know when she would be. I’m not willing to hang around all day waiting for this lady to show up. So I gave them my phone number and said to call me. Went for breakfast a dutch-type café place. Read a Canadian newspaper… lots of curling and hockey coverage. I so don’t get it. I was aiming to head out for Okanagan Mountain. There are signs for it from the main drag through town, Hwy 97, but I wasn’t sure which way. So I asked the waitress, and she has no idea what I’m talking about. She asks other waitresses. They also have no idea what I’m talking about. It’s a provincial park about 15 km south of Kelowna. It would be like if I hadn’t heard of Saltwater State Park. It seems… like it shouldn’t be too unknown. Then I remember it seemed like it was off of Pandosy on to Lakeshore and keep going. I know where Pandosy is, so I head out. All is going well to start with; the road gets narrower, more obscure, then hits a sign “no thru road.” This seems strange to me and I think I probably took a wrong turn. I go back to a cutoff and up the other road and it’s climbing – good sign for a mountain – but heads in to random housing developments. Despite it being 10 a.m., I passed Summerhill winery – one of the ones I wanted to go to – and it’s open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. So I think, hey, I’ll go there, they’ll know, and I’ll check off the winery.

I suppose I should realize with everything else, nothing is going to go according to plan.

I get to the winery (it’s 10) and the gate is closed. Being American I think maybe the road is slippery or something. There’s a lady in a car also waiting. Turns out she works for the winery and the guy who was supposed to open went home to get his key because he didn’t know he was supposed to open. In another 15 minutes or so it all gets sorted out, guy turns up, finds key, and we all go down. Summerhill has an astounding view over the river and is an all-organic winery with a lot of champagnes and some amazing (and pricey) ice wines. They have a pyramid they built at 1/80 scale of the great pyramids in Egypt. The woman explained to me that pyramids are a sacred shape along with domes and arches. Anyway, she talked about how in a pyramid, milk will not curdle. Meat petrifies, not putrifies. They cellar their wine there, and it is quite something. I can only carry so much, but the lady let me taste the ice wine for free and gave me a container to put it in – the only question is who would I drink such a spendy bottle with? I can’t even say what I paid because it’s quite embarrassing.

As a complete and total aside, this article in Slate is amazing about a wine that by rights shouldn’t exist and sounds like it is mind-blowing and mind-altering to everything you think about wine.

Anyway, she has no idea what Okanagan Mountain is either. But I check my random wine maps in the car, and I think I just should have gone further on the “no thru road” sign – I wasn’t at the end yet. But how can you not know about a rather large park that is no more than 5 miles away?? Here’s perhaps the more bizarre part: I show her the big green area on the map. She says, “Oh, that’s not Kelowna.” Mind you, it is just past a sign for the Kelowna city limits. But she’s looking at Peachland, which is across the lake, and there’s no connection between them. I say, “but it’s on the east side of the lake.” She just looks confused. It reinforces my idea that there’s Kelowna… and then there’s everything else. Kelowna really isn’t isolated, but I think the people who live here have the perception that they are.

I am right, and get to the park, and hike up to a stunning view over the lake. The path isn’t great – icy snow that’s wonderful to slip on – no traction on my boots, at least not for ice. There is no one there. It’s completely quiet. I’m still wound up a bit, but at least I do appreciate the moment.

I decide to head back and shower and rest a minute before continuing my day. I send an email to the owner of the hostel as I haven’t heard from her yet. I’m not really hungry, so I eat the maple nut clif bar. It’s okay. There are better clif bars.

I head out to Gray Monk winery, making a shift in my thinking. I do love wineries, but I’ve done it enough to have a good sense of them, and am starting to feel that if you’ve done one winery, you don’t have to do all of them. I really like Gray Monk from years back, so I’m excited they are in the neighborhood, but I won’t hit any of the other ones on my list.

The way up is beautiful: you pass Wood Lake on one side, and it’s frozen enough there are ice fishers out there. It’s a sunny, gorgeous day today, only in the low 40s, though.

As per normal on this trip, I totally miss the turnoff, take a different way, and have to backtrack a few times to get where I want to go. I find the route they want you to take on the way out – and it’s not hard – it was just closer than what I was expecting, given the map.

Gray Monk is quite reasonably priced, I’m impressed – just about all their wines are $10 - $20. These days, that’s quite good. I get three more bottles and hope my suitcase will hold it.

About this point I get a call from the hostel. Not from the owner, but from Irma from Holland whom I met last night. She says they can do a direct deposit to my account, but they'll need my bank account number, my ABA, transit number... and I said no way. You can write me a fargin' check people. I will happily dispute the charges on my credit card. But ain't no way I'm giving them that information. Sigh.


I get back and figure I owe myself a decent, long walk. I’m not far from the nicer downtown part of Kelowna. Kelowna pretty much runs along the strip - Hwy 97 – and it’s not attractive. The scenery is lovely with all the hills around it – like Montana in minature – but Hwy 97 is as bad as any strip mall area in the U.S. Then there’s a “downtown” area near the lake that is much more homey and friendly. My hotel is maybe a half-mile or a little longer from here, so I walk it in. There’s a beautiful boardwalk/park area running along the waterfront, which I walk quite a ways… I don’t quite get to the end of it, but probably a mileish, and then on back. I sit at the end of a path on the water with a couple ducks who peck their way right up to me until they decide to take off for elsewhere. The sun is going low over the hills; the water is gorgeous; the lakefront, although not pristine, at least mostly reflects the park which is welcome relief. For probably the first time I just like where I am. It’s good. Nothing went wrong. It’s a beautiful, beautiful day.

I walk back to town and stop at a bookstore. One upside to hostels is that you can swap books, so I lost that chance. Fortunately, the bookstore has a discounted section – new books that didn’t sell - and I pick up a light-weight novel for $4. Excellent. I head for greek food for dinner – I didn’t really have a choice, I could smell it a block away and it pretty much sucked me right in. Yummmmmm.

I’m back in my hotel room – sad about not having anyone to hang out with, but it’s not to be this trip – but I have a book, curling on TV, and I’m looking forward to snowshoeing tomorrow.

Kelowna Vacation, Day 1/2

I feel old and cranky tonight. It’ll be better tomorrow, I think…

I came tonight to Kelowna, BC. In the Okanagan, wine country and ski country. Seemed like a good choice… modeling myself from Tofino, I decided again to stay in a hostel. It really is nicer than staying by yourself, even if I’m cranky at the moment. And I figured I could do some snowshoeing and some wine touring… all good… get out of town. I feel like it’s a last trip I’m going to be able to do for a while… probably not, but that’s the feeling I have. So I felt I really need to take the three-day weekend opportunity.

So I got in tonight, quick baggage, quick car rental – there was no one checking you out of the lot, could you imagine that in the US? – that immediate feeling of less bullshit and better people up here. It was good…

Kelowna, at least in the dark, sorta reminds me of Santa Cruz – a main drag, everything on it. It also reminds me of a Western town – a town, and not much around it. I don’t know if that’s true, but there’s isolated places in the west, where there’s the town and then there’s nothing for a long, long way. I at least have that feeling about Kelowna. We’ll see if it’s true.

Anyway, I cruised the main drag en route to my hostel. Found the hostel. Managed to hit the panic button on my car and set off the alarm instead of opening the trunk; delightful. Don’t like my Dodge Avenger. It seems wimpy, and has the irritating habit of leaving the lights on if you click the “unlock” button and you then have to open up the car door, turn the lights on and off to get them to go off.

I get to my hostel. You have to know the code to get in, but of course, if you haven’t been there, how can you know the code? There’s no doorbell. So I knock and someone comes to open it up. The girl at the desk speaks marginal English. I’m totally appreciative that she is a foreigner and her English is much better than my any other language, but it’s still trying. Then she rings me up, but rings me through credit rather than debit, so then she’s supposed to charge me 3%. I’d like to point out she didn’t run the machine right, but hey… so she takes me to my room, opens the door, stops; turns on the light; turns off the light and closes the door. There’s someone in it – 2 someones, actually… they messed up their bookings. The room is halfway between the main floor and the floor below, so it’s got about a 6’4” ceiling – Mark would definitely be hitting his head. Good thing I’m not claustrophobic. So as I stand on the landing waiting for the girl to come back, a guy kicks a beer cup down the steps, which ricochets off the wall right by me and down the steps to the lower floor.

Did I mention the hostel is having a keg party tonight to celebrate their 10-year anniversary?

I know, I’m old and cranky, but it’s not a great first impression.

I go up the steps, and now there are four employees trying to figure out what to do with me. I decide, finally, to stay; but the people in my room aren’t here, and they don’t want to move their stuff, so I volunteer to go have dinner and come back.

I hit Choices Market, first … kinda like a Whole Foods type place, not quite as hardcore. This makes me happy: in the Clif Bar section, a “maple nut” bar. Maybe we have this in the states, but if so, I haven’t seen it. I get a couple for tomorrow, and some goat milk yogurt… yum. I ask the checkout girl where I can go for dinner and she recommends “Kali O’Brien’s.” Okay. I head there. Kelly O’Brien’s. And she says the Pachos are really good. Folks, the pachos are fries with cheddar cheese and green onions. Good, but really, not worth getting excited over. Ah well. Still, men in kilts are always a plus, and all the staff are. J

I get back to the hostel about 9. The people in my room still aren’t in, but the staff moves their stuff anyway and is very nice to me and hasn’t even mentioned the 3% they were supposed to charge me. It’s $4.50, so I think if they bring it up, I’ll suggest they let it go, but I’m thinking they’ve already figured that out.

The room is all blues and purple, with dolphins on one wall, butterflies on another, a flower vine up a third and clouds all over the ceiling. Entertaining. I’ve been painting the interior of my house – did my bedroom a watery blue, and the guest room a sunny yellow. I was trying to figure out what to do with my office, but was considering the possibility of doing something like our youth group room and putting random quotes on the wall and that sort of thing. With sharpie marker? Or paint? If I do it, of course, I can choose what I want. Hmm. There’s not that much wall space, is a downside. It’s rather teenager-ish. But it would be me.

So I’m in now, in my private room, and I can hear the boombox through the floor above me… not bad, but it’s not going to be an early night. I hope it will not be a long, late night. I’m not sure what to do if it is… tomorrow is Saturday, after all, and at least there will be no keg, but it might not be much better.

It looks like tomorrow will be wine day, because some of the wineries are closed on Sundays. So Sunday will be snow day. Tomorrow hopefully will also involve some trails.

On the upside, the hostel does free pancakes every morning. A fortified way to start the day…

Love Songs, Part III

My favorite radio station (www.1037themountain.com) just played their top 9 love songs, as voted on by listeners. With one glaring exception and one more minor quibble, I can live with the list. It also showed me my tastes are somewhat further afield at the bottom, but right on target at the top.

9. U2 - All I want is you
8. Van Morrison - Into the Mystic (he leaves me cold - minor)
7. Etta James - At Last
6. Journey - Open Arms (ofergodsakes people. Major)
5. John Hiatt - Have a Little Faith in Me - on my list!
4. Elton John - Your Song
3. Eric Clapton - Wonderful Tonight
2. Marc Cohn - True Companion - on my list!
1. Peter Gabriel - In Your Eyes - Well, duh. Told you it was a gimme.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Love Songs, Part II

Though it didn't take long to make a list of Love Songs, there was still quite a bit of thought in it.

A few notes to preface the list:
1. It had to be about love. Not about getting dumped by love, or having your love unreturned, or yearning for love, etc., but about actually being in love with someone who loves you back. This took out a lot of songs, even songs I totally love, like Yaz's "Only You" - because the love is lost - or Brandi Carlile's "Have You Ever" - because while I find it a love song, there's nothing really about love in there.
2. I had to like the song and really know the song. So there are some love songs that are pretty classic ("God Only Knows" by the Beach Boys, or Van Morrison's "Have I told you Lately that I love you?", for example) that I know vaguely but as a pure song aren't really my favorites.
3. The Cheese Factor. I teeter fairly dangerously on this cliff, because any love song can be beautiful and still cheesy - either from violins playing or by being so overplayed it loses its power or just the pure lyrics - but in the end this killed Dan Fogelberg's "Longer" and Joe Cocker's "You Are So Beautiful" and a few other songs.

So without further ado....

As mentioned - freebie - Peter Gabriel's In Your Eyes. The only song in my whole iTunes library I give 5 stars to. Or, as a friend said, the one song made two careers. (Peter Gabriel's & John Cusack's.) I'd argue Peter Gabriel was already made, but it certainly placed him into legendary iconic god status.

1. Anniversary Song by the Cowboy Junkies. A beautiful song about the simple pleasures of being with someone else. "Have you ever seen a sight as beautiful as a face in the crowd that lights up just for you? Have you ever felt more fresh or wonderful as when you wake by the side of that boy or that girl who has pledged their love to you? Well I've known all these things, and the joys that they can bring, and now every morning there's a cup of coffee and I wear your ring."
2. Perfect Moment by Darden Smith. I think you have to have been around the block a few times to appreciate this song. It's about how you have to get to a certain place in your life before you're really able to have that perfect moment and really connect to someone else. "Lucky that we did not meet, ten years back on the street. So many pages yet to turn, so many dreams still to burn, Oh but I don't cry for the wasted years, Or the twisted roads that got me here. I have been to the end of the earth and I know what standing still is worth."
3. It Must Be Love by Madness. Sheer joy of love from a band much better known for their happy-go-lucky ska tunes... this one was just a celebration.
4. Power of Two by the Indigo Girls. "If we ever leave a legacy, it's that we loved each other well." I had a definite tendency toward songs where love had lasted, and this song is about two people with great respect and love for one another who are more than they would be because of each other. YES!
5. This is Us by Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris. A couple looking back on their love, from their wild days, to being married, to having a child, to celebrating their anniversary with their family. Another tale of love that has lasted.
6. True Companion - Marc Cohn. Teetering dangerously on the "cheese" cliff (it's a crumbly cliff, and slightly stinky), this song makes it for me because of the intensity of his voice and his emotion. I think the very fact that it's a guy being so gushy carries tremendous power: guys don't do that. But he's so overwhelmed by love, he lays it all out there.
7. Annie's Song by John Denver. Likewise teetering on the cheese cliff - yes, there are violins in this song - and influenced at least in part by my being an Annie. But this was Denver's true love, and gorgeous imagery of the outdoors and love.
8. With Arms Wide Open - Creed. My last selection that teeters on the cliff of cheese. I always thought this song was about a guy who screwed up ("it seems my life is going to change") and got nailed for it ("I hope he's not like me, I hope he understands..."). But it appears that I simply couldn't understand the lyrics: he's singing about finding out he's going to have a baby and standing in awe of creating new life. He's embracing it with arms wide open. That's not only love, it's a leap of faith.
9. Have a Little Faith in Me - John Hiatt. One of the most powerful aspects of love is that when you start tackling the toughest and most intimate subjects you can think of, and the other person still loves you, all kinds of things become possible. That's what this song is about for me - seeing that fear, risking letting the other person in, and having that risk be rewarded.
10. One Step Closer to You - Michael Franti & Spearhead. As an aside, perhaps my favorite album ever - the more you listen, the better it gets. Another song about being hurt, but risking love anyway.

"I let go of my broken dreams
I let go to the mystery
And I believe in the miracles
I believe in the spiritual
I believe in the one above
I believe in the one i love
& take one step closer to you
I just take one step closer to you
Even when i've fallen down
My heart says follow through
I take one step closer to you."

Pink sings backup vocals on this song.Well, there you have it. My top 10 (11) love songs. Enjoy!!

Love Songs, Part I

... Not for me in any personal sense. But on an upswing of emotion, I seem to be just rather in love with the world. Certainly it helps that Valentine's Day is coming up. I'm fine with not celebrating Valentine's Day - I didn't even when I did have someone - but I also just felt a tremendous affection for humanity in general.

Anyway, I was on iTunes checking out love songs and valentine's day songs and came across some really lovely ones. Josh Groban's "You raise me up". Dan Fogelberg's "Longer" (which if you don't know - you should check it out). "Kiss from a Rose" - Seal. An 80's Classic: Madonna's "Crazy for You." "Can't Help Falling in Love" - Elvis Presley. "Beautiful" - Moby. Those, if you hear them, likely you'd recognize. There were a couple more you likely wouldn't: "Falling Slowly" by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova... if you haven't seen the movie "Once" - it was a Sundance Audience Choice - it's a wonderful tale, and the song is just a tremendous illustration of how subtle love can be. The other one was "Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop" by Landon Pigg. Heck, I'd never heard of it, but it is lovely.

And don't forget, "Babe" by Styx. That's a classic. Ha ha.

What I really love, however, is lists of top love songs. This is where it gets funny.Wedding Central Australia has a list of the top 100 wedding songs. Someone on the list has included, "Careless Whisper" by Wham! The song is about cheating on your s.o. and getting caught by the careless whisper. (and it's #18.) Then there's Wicked Game by Chris Isaak (#13) - similarly about getting fucked over - "What a wicked game you play - to make me feel this way". But why stop there? I gotta figure Australia just has a different way of looking at the world. You know what their #1 song is? "Let's get it on" by Marvin Gaye.

Seriously, people, do any of these folks listen to lyrics? Or is just a slow melody good enough for them? And who thinks the transparently titled "I can't make you love me" by Bonnie Raitt (#89) makes a great wedding song? What, at a shotgun wedding? "I can't make you love me, but you gotta marry me or poppa'll kill you?"

I think they really make these lists to see who is paying attention. There was another one that was pretty good - again for weddings - but also included the song, "We've got tonight" by Bob Seger, which as you might guess, is about the "love" lasting only the night. "Who needs tomorrow - why don't you stay?"

All right. I am coming to the conclusion that the people who make these lists have *no clue* what love means. I mean, you can argue if it means fidelity or emotion or beauty or what you want, but to me it doesn't mean stalking ("Every Breath You Take" - The Police) or "a bitter, consumptive poison-pen letter from a spurned admirer to his lady love." (Leonard Cohen's "Tower of Song"). So I will undertake the challenge, and I invite you all as well - What are your top ten love songs? Sometime between now and Valentine's Day, I'll post mine. I'll even give you a freebie: Start with Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes." That's a given. We'll figure out the next ten from there.

And remember, Love the Universe. Be in Love with Love. Love is Everything. Do what you Love, and Love what You Do. Life is Good.

Love, Anne-Marie