Kathy 2026

If You Go Away #remix #SoCal #highscool #nostalgia

I’ve been in a real nostalgic mood lately. But I do that when I’ve been living in Florida for too long. I’m also missing those that I knew from way back when. There’s something about people who knew you *back when* once you get to a certain age.

And what better way to warm of for FAWM (February Album Writing Month) – less than a month away.

So this is a remix of the song I sang in my high school spring concert. Dedicated to Mr. Vaughn, my music director who chose me for the Acapella Choir, the Concert Choir, and for my first public solo when I sang “If You Go Away.” Later I discovered he had ties to Karen and Richard Carpenter and, somehow, made me feel even more honored.

Also dedicated to my friend Carol (the tall one in the pic) who shared so many adventures together.

This is wildly different from how I sang it in high school but to think of the great production tools I now have at my fingertips is pretty cool. I think Mr. Vaughn would be proud.

Kathy 2026

It’s a New Year and a New Month

It’s a new year and a new month and I always think of Elvis in January since his birth date was 1/8/1935. We were an Elvis family with me in the lead, although my mother didn’t mind hiding behind me in her swooning (she was born the same year as Elvis). I wrote this song after she died (August 16, 2023) – the same “day” that Elvis died.

This story is fictional but the photos are real. I miss those days more and more.

Photos:

Swimsuit beauties – my mother and her friends on Balboa Island, California. My novel “Letters on Balboa Island” is loosely based on those adventures.

My mother’s kids – my sister, brother, and me.

Kathy 2026, Cruising, Music, The Journey

My Wish List for 2026 #cruising #restless #travel #music #writing

We found ourselves hanging out at Port Canaveral again today. We love watching the cruise ships. That’s how we found ourselves cruising on Utopia of the Seas last summer. That was a 3-day test cruise for Royal Caribbean (did not expect to like this cruise line) – we thought we’d be 1 and done. Instead, it instigated a 7-day cruise on Star of the Seas, my 25th cruise.

And once onboard Star of the Seas, not only did we have a blast with the nightlife – a Jazz Supper Club, Disco Night, 80s night, a romantic dinner at Chops Grille, and an evening at Lou’s Jazz Club, but we went on a sunset catamaran sail out of St. Thomas. Simply fabulous! So then we booked the brand new not yet sailing Legend of the Seas.

I’m been feeling so restless since then. I’m dying to get back out to sea. We have plans for a March cruise on Sun Princess and are double-booked next December on the newest Royal Caribbean ship, Legend of the Seas from Fort Lauderdale, but also Discovery Princess from L.A. We can’t be in both places at the same time so we’ll see which cruise wins.

Sounds fabulous right? But in the meantime, how do I stay landlocked in my house? I realized watching “Gone With the Wynns” on youtube and their latest boating lifestyle, that I really need to hit the road. Live in an RV, live on a boat. I need to be more mobile. Land or sea, it doesn’t matter. I just can’t stay home like this. I never really could. Isn’t it time for the next leg of “The Journey“? I may continue that story this year.

So to tide me over, I put together this video paired with 3 of my favorite songs I wrote in 2025. You might have heard them before. 😀