Finishing off my thirties in style

[Solana]

So next year I turn forty. My thirties were much better than my twenties (especially with getting the fibro and depression under control) so I'm hoping to make my forties even better. So I'm planning some good things.

-Swordfighting with the Highlander. (Check.)

-Loreena McKennitt concert. (This week. She's done two of my avatar's theme songs and has at least one track on the current project's soundtrack.)

-Bali round two. I missed swimming under a waterfall, cooking and dance classes, and snorkeling in some of the world's best coral reefs. (Candidasa, where I stayed last time, had way too strong waves even with a seawall. There was no beach- there was a staircase into the water.) I walked in up to my waist so have technically been in the Indian Ocean.

What are/did you guys do for this milestone?

[Solana]

Oh, man, I'm still floating in dopamine from that concert.

It. Was. Awesome! Loreena McKennitt has been my favorite musical artist for many years, ever since coming across her music on 'Pure Moods II'. She plays lots of Celtic, folk, and a sprinkling of Middle Eastern and is a big hit with my bellydance friends. There's a reason I have and continue to use so much of her music on my story soundtracks. (The next one has two- 'Ages Hence, Ages Past' and 'Sun Moon & Stars' from her 'Lost Souls' album.)

Not only was the music spellbinding but she was funny and thoughtful. She bought the 'skull of Brian Boru' from a shady guy in a trenchcoat outside of the Irish airport. The next year, the same guy was outside with a smaller 'skull of Brian Boru'. When she mentioned she'd bought it already, he explained that this was the skull of him as a child. What...?

She also introduced everyone on stage and had us give applause to the crew, too. Mad props for that.

The ending was lovely. She came back out for an encore and finished with 'Wild Mountain Thyme', having the audience sing along with the chorus. "It's printed in the program that you can't read." I know the song from other albums and though I'm no soloist, I can do okay blending my voice so sang along. She said it was lovely and bowed to us at the end.

Lots of ladies dressed up in fancy Renfaire gear. (I wasn't the only one wearing a burnt velvet kimono.) There were two ladies in their early seventies wearing red velvet and black gowns, and one had the most amazing red fascinator with feathers pinned to her hair.

[Rune Lai]

I don't recall what I did for my 40th. I'm generally not a big birthday/milestone person. There have been mornings where I've woken up and only realized it was my birthday after I started getting texts from people. 😅 Your plans sound fun though.