Today's horoscope was perfect for me: "You'll enjoy time off by yourself today if you can swing it. If you could cocoon at home with a little junk food, it will make your day. You need some pleasant, relaxing time."
I ran to the nearest convenience store and bought all the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and Cheezies in stock along with the cranberry juice I love to fulfil the couch-potato prophecy.
I turned off the TV, put the answering machine on and stacked the sofa with sheepskin and down covers. Being a retired senior can be a wonderful thing.
I can delay putting my Christmas music away. I added Lady Antebellum to my CD collection and enjoy their Tennessee sound. The three young musicians are so fresh and good looking I was amazed at the depth of their sound. I especially loved their harmonies on the classic Silver Bells.
Rod Stewart's Merry Christmas, Baby was my favourite this past holiday. His We Three Kings, with Mary J. Blige is still sounding good in the background. That old rocker is simply the best.
And how about Taylor Swift? Isn't she the poster girl for a State of Grace? Actually, that is the title of the first song on her CD, Red.
I loved her voice the first time
I heard it and her lyrics are as memorable as her music.
She writes that "my experiences in love have taught me difficult lessons, especially my experiences with crazy love." The red relationships she calls treacherous, sad, beautiful, and tragic. Call me romantic, but I think Taylor Swift puts a whole new spin on the age - old obsession with love. That she looks like a movie star and speaks like a Harvard graduate doesn't hurt.
I don't get the significance of 19 (a young friend explained it was the age at which she recorded the music) in Adele's recent CD title, but I understand the mood behind the writing and singing of Best For Last. And her stand-out performance in the new James Bond film is right up there with Carly Simon's Nobody Does It Better.
Combine the opening graphics with Adele's voice and you have the start of something good. Skyfall was the movie of the year, in my opinion. I loved Judi Dench as M growing old and Bond with out-of-date gadgets, which made saving the Empire an even bigger challenge.
Hard to believe James is 50 years old. And that there have been
23 movies in the series. I never thought any man could ever shake a martini like Sean Connery, but Daniel Craig is a contender.
The man's performance is totally believable and makes the likes of David Niven, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, and Pierce Bronson totally forgettable.
Since I am taking the day off, I'll listen to Caribbean Sunset and songs like Hora Azul and La Billirubina. Add steel drums to an orchestra and the results are uplifting rhythms. This is an old CD in my World Music collection and the titles are foreign, as my language skills are extremely limited. But the mood is exactly the one
I want to complete the pleasant, relaxing time I have scheduled for today. My horoscope predicts "an important decision must be made this year, choose wisely."
I will get right on this - tomorrow.
Jeanette Dunagan is an Okanagan artist who has lived in Kelowna for more than 30 years. Her column appears each week in the Okanagan Saturday. Email her at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .