Friday, August 2, 2013

The Best Version of "Hallelujah"....and stuff ladies talk about while on vacation with wine!



August 1, 2013 Iron Springs - l to r: Sarah/louie, her daughter Emma, me, Julie/jj. I finally figured out my self-timer on my camera, which is why i'm laughing, i had to jump in quickly!


Just got back from a three night galpal trip, or as Emma likes to call it, "The Ladies' Vacation". (Emma is one of two non-family people  who i would be willing to adopt as my own daughter. I posted on this sometime last spring on this blog.) We went to Iron Springs on Copalis Beach, which is one of the nicer Washington ocean beaches because the cars can't drive between the inlets so there are fewer cars. Plus the cabins are very cool. (My husband and i were there earlier in the month.)

Here's what we did:

1. On the last night we played every version of the song the Leonard Cohen song "Hallelujah" on our iPods. We had them by: Rufus Wainwright, k.d. Lang, Jeff Buckley, Brandi Carlile, JJ Cale. (I thought i had Jackie Greene's version, but didn't.)

2. We then voted on k.d. Lang's version as being the best. (Check it out and see if you don't agree.) Emma sort of likes Brandi Carlile's the best, and i might put her second, equal with Jeff Buckley's.

3. Then we gave some shit to Emma (who is 25 years old) for not knowing that Leonard Cohen wrote it.

4. Weird than none of us had Cohen's version. We found it on YouTube and then understood why.

5. We also drank 9 bottles of wine during the three days. We cooked every meal, steamed clams, marinated flank steak on the BBQ and pasta with homemade pesto and proscuitto. (We eat well on these trips and don't mind cooking. )  It was funny that we all brought goat cheese and granola.

6. We talked about lots of stuff. How young men are terrible in bed, family dynamics, actors we like and actors who irritate us, how to fix education (Emma is a teacher too, so we are all in education).

7. We also talked about how size doesn't matter (though louie didn't participate in THAT conversation, being that her daughter was present).

8. We talked about vegans vs. vegetarians and how irritating it can be to cook for them. Emma used to date a vegan and it was a stressful trying to come up with T-Day vegan dishes. I know, cause i was there.

10. We tried too late to make a drinking game out of every time that Sarah and Emma shared a funny endearment about Ron, (louie's husband, Emma's dad).

11. We watched The Big Lebowski and even though we had all seen it, Silver Linings Playbook.

12. I think we all agreed that Bradley Cooper is someone we would date.

13. louie and i played a card game Speed, for quarters. We were evenly matched, each winning four quarters. (We forgot to have our playoff. Too bad because Julie and Emma could have laid bets on who would win.)

14. We completed a 513 piece puzzle that had three missing pieces and three dog chewed pieces and entirely too much white.

15. We took two long walks on the beach. I ran once, but not long, i hate beach running, so boring going out and back.

16. We played Qwerkle and louie won one game and i am not sure who won the second. Emma kept score. We have to ask her.

17. We talked about how hard it must be to date when you are 50 - since this is what Julie is doing. And then laughed about what if you are dating someone who needs to sleep with one of the sleep apnea machines that makes you look like an aardvark. (How does one look sexy in one of those?) But if Bradley Cooper needed to use a sleep machine it would be okay. Though I realize he is not 50 years old.

18. We weren't careful of our language. Emma had the best quote. "She always uses the F-word more in July" ....(in talking about her mom).

19. We talked about our future....with the exception of Emma, i think we are all ready to be done with our jobs. But worried about what we want to do. Julie maybe Peace Corps, Sarah - uncertain, me - watching a lot of TV, taking bowling lessons, archery lessons. (I'm the least ambitious in the group, not embarrassed to say.)

So come tell us: what are YOU doing on YOUR vacation?

Notes to Self: 
Sunset: 8:43 pm
Sunrise: 5:50 am
All time blog views: 46,610
Shout Out: equeyaya....cause i know you love the song Hallelujah too!







Above is Alexandra from the X-FActor that louie is talking about.



Above is Swiss's link of Hallelujah of the guy's singing together. I actually like this one better than Alexandra. But i still think kd lang does it best.

18 comments:

jojo cucina cucina said...

It was also Sarah/louie's birthday yesterday when we took that photo! Happy birthday, louie!

jojo cucina cucina said...

i don't think there is another female artist who sings with such feeling as k.d. lang...except for maybe Natalie Merchant.

jojo cucina cucina said...

Emma kept saying.... "WHAT is the marble arch?" hahahaha. love that girl.

jojo cucina cucina said...

i think next year we should figure out who does the best version of "Amazing Grace"!

jojo cucina cucina said...

OOps. i didn't mean to reply to myself.

louielouie said...

Had the best birthday ever!!

After leaving Iron Springs, em bought me a birthday lunch at El Ranchon in Elma, yum!

Then my sister called. She had baked an angel food birthday cake that morning and was driving it to my house from Spokane. So, Em and I picked up salmon to grill, bread and a bottle of the Boxer on our way into town.

My sister was here in time for dinner and to serve the cake with fresh peaches and whipped cream. yum, yum!!

The next day, my mom took the two of us to birthday lunch at Marzano's. Yum, yum, yum!!

Yes it is all about food with me, I'm getting ready to go out for my 4th birthday meal now.


thoughts about vacation later

jojo cucina cucina said...

In Kylee's world that means if you were 59 on your birthday you are now 63 years old after your 4th party.

louielouie said...

But have you heard Alexandra Burke's Hallelujah? 2008 finalist on the X Factor
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaWLsgxDzuw&noredirect=1

maybe my favorite

Justin Timberlake has a cool version from the Hope for Haiti concert.

learned this all from the "how-leonard-cohens-hallelujah-became-everybodys-hallelujah" link.

Guess it must be time for me to go back to work after all.

Swiss said...

That sounds like something I would like doing...and I am always comparing Hallelujah's as well as other songs. I do not mind Leonard Cohen's version - his phrasing is interesting. I do admit I go batchit for k.d. Langs version though...and her version of Cying- I would have loved that vacation....an dlouie louie I will listen to your suggestions Louielouie..............I have a cousin we call legslouie

Swiss said...

um the one suggestion I mean

Swiss said...

this is kewl because it's a group of guys each doing a verson...I listened to a couple again...still love k.d.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qt2FWAbXinY


JJ said...

We also had a great salad for lunch and steak and goat cheese and arugula sandwiches. I think it was the only time I had three meals a day for three consecutive days this summer (not because I am healthy but because I have been eating breakfast at - oh - 11:00).

Jo - did you figure out how many years in a row we have been doing this? Which is kind of amazing given how long it takes us to find a date that we are all three available and a place that we can agree on.

I will listen to the other Hallelujah's later - I like Leonard Cohen's version and I love the DVD "I'm Your Man".

Oh BTW - I am posting on Jo's blog right now - because I got to the part of my resume' where I am supposed to list my publications, awards, achievements, scholarships and grants. Whatever. I feel like a major loser. I can't even remember what I did yesterday.
I need a nap.

Unknown said...

Random thoughts on all I read.

I would have voted for Jeff Buckley.

Dating after 30's is damn near impossible. Been single for 7 years and I'm thinking in another 7 I'll be 50 and will get a cat. Well, not a cat, not a cat person, a couple rescue dogs thought will do.

Size does matter. never thought it did until I was single for life. now it matters.

It's been such a long time since I did a girls getaway. I envied you when I read this. Ive got great women in my life and I'm always invited. Just havent been in the position to go in recent years.

I'm of a fan of puzzles. Maybe if I was stuck in a room with a relative I didnt like and had to find something to do..then puzzle it is, but 513 pieces sounds daunting and loooong

Your "least ambitious" list sound ambitious to me. Guess it's all in what you think you have to get out of it. You dont have to change the world for your plans to be ambitious.

Cant think of anything else that was written so I'll stop commenting now :)

jojo cucina cucina said...

Mary...i like coming back to an older post and finding someone added to it. I sort of want blogger to ' bump' blog posts like the Gumbo message board so i would know this happens!

Girls' weekends are great! We've been doing this since 1996..sometimes twice a year but at least once a year in summer. Often we do a trip on our winter breaks from school right after Xmas.

jojo cucina cucina said...

Mary...i like coming back to an older post and finding someone added to it. I sort of want blogger to ' bump' blog posts like the Gumbo message board so i would know this happens!

Girls' weekends are great! We've been doing this since 1996..sometimes twice a year but at least once a year in summer. Often we do a trip on our winter breaks from school right after Xmas.

jojo cucina cucina said...

Mary...i like coming back to an older post and finding someone added to it. I sort of want blogger to ' bump' blog posts like the Gumbo message board so i would know this happens!

Girls' weekends are great! We've been doing this since 1996..sometimes twice a year but at least once a year in summer. Often we do a trip on our winter breaks from school right after Xmas.

jojo cucina cucina said...

Mary...i like coming back to an older post and finding someone added to it. I sort of want blogger to ' bump' blog posts like the Gumbo message board so i would know this happens!

Girls' weekends are great! We've been doing this since 1996..sometimes twice a year but at least once a year in summer. Often we do a trip on our winter breaks from school right after Xmas.

jojo cucina cucina said...

I have no idea why this posted three times!