Anyway, this is what I did while I was recovering:
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Me Sans Appendix
I had an appendectomy last week. It was horrible. I had to be rushed to the emergency room. I was in excruciating pain for HOURS while waiting to see a doctor. After that a CAT scan, 30 minutes of surgery and 2 nights in the hospital only cost me $40,000.
Anyway, this is what I did while I was recovering:
Anyway, this is what I did while I was recovering:
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Teachers Who Changed my Life
From school girl crushes and inspired learning to near trauma, there are a few teachers in my many years of academics that made a significant and lasting impression on my life. (I don’t mean to ignore all of the teachers I’ve had outside of academia but those may be too many to name.) Below is a list and description of how my life was affected. I have used the names by which I called them. Some I never knew their first name, other’s I never called them by their last.
Mrs. Foster, Second Grade, Mountain Avenue Elementary School- This woman was the single worst teacher I ever had. I hated her so in protest, I never did any of my work. First off, I thought everything she assigned was way too easy and I didn’t understand why I had to do it if I already knew how. I wanted to LEARN something and she was totally against that. She told my mother that I asked too many questions and that I’d been raised wrong for doing so. When she used the exact works, “I will break that child if it’s the last thing I do,” my mother had her fired.
Mrs. Roselle, Sixth Grade, Mountain Avenue Elementary School- Mrs. Roselle was the first person who made me think that I might be good at any kind of writing. I’d never particularly liked writing assignments and remember many agonizing nights sitting over blank sheets of paper trying to write book reports. However, in 6th grade I wrote a poem and she loved it. She called me a poet laureate. I had no idea what that was but I thought it was kind of cool.
Miss Skinner, Seventh Grade, Rosemont Middle School- Bay far, the most anal retentive teacher I ever had before or since. In Advanced English she taught us how to outline a sentence, parts of a sentence and how to properly write a Five Paragraph Essay. These are tools that I have remembered my entire life and use, literally, every single day. I’ve even taught these lessons to many students based on exactly what I learned from Miss Skinner. As a side note, there was a big rumor that she had been a nun which turned out to be untrue but was incredibly believable.
Mrs. Jackson (nee’ Hutichson), Eight Grade, Rosemonet Middle School- I had English, Drama and Journalism with Mrs. Jackson. The first time I’d ever taken a school based Drama class and participated in school plays. She was so inspiring and really awakened a new world to me. I would spend the rest of my academic years focusing on Drama. This is also the only Journalism class I ever took.
Brent Beerman, Ninth through Twelfth Grade, Crescenta Valley High School- I had Brent for Drama for four years and English for one year. He directed almost all of the school plays that I was in and there were years where I arguably spent more time with him than my own family. To a girl who had been raised in a fairly sheltered conservative community, Brent was like nobody I had known. Furthermore, he pushed me to learn, to work and to embrace my emotions in ways I didn’t know possible. He very possibly saved my life by offering an outlet when I needed one more than I needed air to breath or water to drink. I don’t know that I can name all the ways that Brent truly taught me but his influence is a huge part of who I am today. I am a more enlightened, accepting, creative person for having had him as a mere public school teacher.
Mme Cohen, Ninth through Eleventh Grade, Crescenta Valley High School- Madame Cohen was a batty French teacher to say the least. She was often either drunk or hung-over and not less than once did she stumble over her own feet. However, she taught me French, a language I would use when I lived in France, which had been a lifelong dream. I battled with my parents to take French. “You live in Southern California, you’ll take Spanish,” my father said, “When will your ever use French?” “When I live in France!” I yelled back. “Like that’s going to ever happen,” he responded with sarcasm. It would be a few years later that I called him from a payphone in Paris and said, “Good thing I took French.”
Ms. Morris, Tenth Grade, Crescenta Valley High School- Ms. Morris seemed to be a great appreciator of literature. You can’t help but value when someone is passionate about something. When reading a book, one of the things she asked us to look for was “beautiful language”. This was probably the first time I ever looked at literature as beautiful and to this day I strive to use beautiful language in my own work.
Mr. Keyes, Tenth and Twelfth Grade, Crescenta Valley High School- I had Mr. Keyes for both Sociology and Government. He regularly promoted political and social debate and always kept a sense of humor about things. I frequently opened my big mouth and took on the rest of the classroom on topics ranging from Vegetarianism to the Flag Salute. A mild mannered, medium sized man with huge glasses, he somewhat resembled a frog. He was in his 50’s when I had him and he might have been my first little crush on a teacher. I was so attracted to his mind that it overcame both age and froggishness.
Debbie Martinson Twelfth Grade, Crescenta Valley High School- Debbie taught senior year Advanced English, a class that was not required for either graduation or college entry. Those of us in the class literally took it as an elective and in the hopes of gaining an upper edge when college applications went out. Debbie also taught at Occidental College and was one of the reasons that I was accepted at Oxy. She molded and coaxed creativity and free thinking in a school that otherwise frowned upon anything other than driving cattle from one pasture to another.
Jamie Angell, Occidental College- I don’t remember how many classes I had with Jamie for but I know I took Intro to Acting and Acting I with him. He was my first “professional” acting teacher and he was amazing. He pushed me to expand my mind, emotions and body in ways that I didn’t know I could. He didn’t just teach me how to be An Actor, he taught me how to be a person who acts, reacts, receives and responds.
Dale Wright, Occidental College- Dale was a neighbor of mine growing up. He helped me get into Oxy and first sparked my interested in Religion. My freshman year I took his class Intro to Eastern Religion and never turned back. I ended up majoring in Religion and Dale became my advisor. It was something in my life that had never been nurtured and I felt a huge void because of it. To this day I’m incredibly passionate about spirituality, religion and cultural traditions. I strive to continue learning about them and growing in my own understandings.
John Bouchard, Occidental College- I think that I had John for several classes over my four years of college. However, I most remember Acting II. John challenged me, pushed me, frustrated me, overwhelmed me and taught me that being the best can always be improved. Every Chemistry major who thought being a Theatre major was a breeze had never taken a class with John Bouchard. Ultimately, I learned from John that perfection is never done and that constant learning and changing is required to keep from stagnation. I love him for this.
Laurel Meade, Occidental College- Laurel Mead is an amazing playwright and an amazing person to know if you have even the mildest interest in theatre. I took her Playwriting class. It was wonderful. I filled notebook after notebook with ideas, dialogue, fantasies and plotlines. What came out was by far one of the worst plays ever written. However, there are still moments in it that I love and occasionally I drag it out and work on it.
Jill O’Hora, Oxford University- I took Jill’s Detective Fiction class while at Oxford. I just thought that it would be a fun Lit. class and an easy “A”. Little did I know that it would spark a deep passion for Detective Fiction in general and Inspector Morse in specific. Detective Fiction makes up the great bulk of what I’ve read over the last 10 years and most likely years to come. I find a character I like and then have to read everything they are in. I also make a point to never solve the mystery before the end of the book. That just ruins the fun. If I accidentally solve the mystery it’s always a great disappointment to me.
Professor Elmer Griffin, Occidental College- Professor Griffin’s photo was in the college handbook I received as a freshman. I thought he was so hot I cut it out and put it on my dorm room wall. He taught all the coolest classes that everyone wanted to get into but was rumored to be the hardest teacher at our school. A professor of Religion and Psychology he was also a clinical psychologist and taught stuff like Psychological Theories of Evil and Whiteness. I had him for both Rasta and African American Religious Traditions. He opened my eyes to cultural practices in my own country that I didn’t know existed so deeply. And they weren’t all good. I didn’t know how sheltered I had been to so many things right under my nose. For a midterm assignment he asked us to write a 20 page essay with a partner. He wanted us to understand what it felt like to be mentally chained to another person for survival. My partner and I worked our asses off. We went into his office hours every chance possible do discuss what we were working on, if we were going the right direction and how we could improve. We broke the curve and got the first “A” he’d given out in 5 years. Everyone else in the class hated us and a rumor started that one or both of us had slept with him. I WISH!
From school girl crushes and inspired learning to near trauma, there are a few teachers in my many years of academics that made a significant and lasting impression on my life. (I don’t mean to ignore all of the teachers I’ve had outside of academia but those may be too many to name.) Below is a list and description of how my life was affected. I have used the names by which I called them. Some I never knew their first name, other’s I never called them by their last.
Mrs. Foster, Second Grade, Mountain Avenue Elementary School- This woman was the single worst teacher I ever had. I hated her so in protest, I never did any of my work. First off, I thought everything she assigned was way too easy and I didn’t understand why I had to do it if I already knew how. I wanted to LEARN something and she was totally against that. She told my mother that I asked too many questions and that I’d been raised wrong for doing so. When she used the exact works, “I will break that child if it’s the last thing I do,” my mother had her fired.
Mrs. Roselle, Sixth Grade, Mountain Avenue Elementary School- Mrs. Roselle was the first person who made me think that I might be good at any kind of writing. I’d never particularly liked writing assignments and remember many agonizing nights sitting over blank sheets of paper trying to write book reports. However, in 6th grade I wrote a poem and she loved it. She called me a poet laureate. I had no idea what that was but I thought it was kind of cool.
Miss Skinner, Seventh Grade, Rosemont Middle School- Bay far, the most anal retentive teacher I ever had before or since. In Advanced English she taught us how to outline a sentence, parts of a sentence and how to properly write a Five Paragraph Essay. These are tools that I have remembered my entire life and use, literally, every single day. I’ve even taught these lessons to many students based on exactly what I learned from Miss Skinner. As a side note, there was a big rumor that she had been a nun which turned out to be untrue but was incredibly believable.
Mrs. Jackson (nee’ Hutichson), Eight Grade, Rosemonet Middle School- I had English, Drama and Journalism with Mrs. Jackson. The first time I’d ever taken a school based Drama class and participated in school plays. She was so inspiring and really awakened a new world to me. I would spend the rest of my academic years focusing on Drama. This is also the only Journalism class I ever took.
Brent Beerman, Ninth through Twelfth Grade, Crescenta Valley High School- I had Brent for Drama for four years and English for one year. He directed almost all of the school plays that I was in and there were years where I arguably spent more time with him than my own family. To a girl who had been raised in a fairly sheltered conservative community, Brent was like nobody I had known. Furthermore, he pushed me to learn, to work and to embrace my emotions in ways I didn’t know possible. He very possibly saved my life by offering an outlet when I needed one more than I needed air to breath or water to drink. I don’t know that I can name all the ways that Brent truly taught me but his influence is a huge part of who I am today. I am a more enlightened, accepting, creative person for having had him as a mere public school teacher.
Mme Cohen, Ninth through Eleventh Grade, Crescenta Valley High School- Madame Cohen was a batty French teacher to say the least. She was often either drunk or hung-over and not less than once did she stumble over her own feet. However, she taught me French, a language I would use when I lived in France, which had been a lifelong dream. I battled with my parents to take French. “You live in Southern California, you’ll take Spanish,” my father said, “When will your ever use French?” “When I live in France!” I yelled back. “Like that’s going to ever happen,” he responded with sarcasm. It would be a few years later that I called him from a payphone in Paris and said, “Good thing I took French.”
Ms. Morris, Tenth Grade, Crescenta Valley High School- Ms. Morris seemed to be a great appreciator of literature. You can’t help but value when someone is passionate about something. When reading a book, one of the things she asked us to look for was “beautiful language”. This was probably the first time I ever looked at literature as beautiful and to this day I strive to use beautiful language in my own work.
Mr. Keyes, Tenth and Twelfth Grade, Crescenta Valley High School- I had Mr. Keyes for both Sociology and Government. He regularly promoted political and social debate and always kept a sense of humor about things. I frequently opened my big mouth and took on the rest of the classroom on topics ranging from Vegetarianism to the Flag Salute. A mild mannered, medium sized man with huge glasses, he somewhat resembled a frog. He was in his 50’s when I had him and he might have been my first little crush on a teacher. I was so attracted to his mind that it overcame both age and froggishness.
Debbie Martinson Twelfth Grade, Crescenta Valley High School- Debbie taught senior year Advanced English, a class that was not required for either graduation or college entry. Those of us in the class literally took it as an elective and in the hopes of gaining an upper edge when college applications went out. Debbie also taught at Occidental College and was one of the reasons that I was accepted at Oxy. She molded and coaxed creativity and free thinking in a school that otherwise frowned upon anything other than driving cattle from one pasture to another.
Jamie Angell, Occidental College- I don’t remember how many classes I had with Jamie for but I know I took Intro to Acting and Acting I with him. He was my first “professional” acting teacher and he was amazing. He pushed me to expand my mind, emotions and body in ways that I didn’t know I could. He didn’t just teach me how to be An Actor, he taught me how to be a person who acts, reacts, receives and responds.
Dale Wright, Occidental College- Dale was a neighbor of mine growing up. He helped me get into Oxy and first sparked my interested in Religion. My freshman year I took his class Intro to Eastern Religion and never turned back. I ended up majoring in Religion and Dale became my advisor. It was something in my life that had never been nurtured and I felt a huge void because of it. To this day I’m incredibly passionate about spirituality, religion and cultural traditions. I strive to continue learning about them and growing in my own understandings.
John Bouchard, Occidental College- I think that I had John for several classes over my four years of college. However, I most remember Acting II. John challenged me, pushed me, frustrated me, overwhelmed me and taught me that being the best can always be improved. Every Chemistry major who thought being a Theatre major was a breeze had never taken a class with John Bouchard. Ultimately, I learned from John that perfection is never done and that constant learning and changing is required to keep from stagnation. I love him for this.
Laurel Meade, Occidental College- Laurel Mead is an amazing playwright and an amazing person to know if you have even the mildest interest in theatre. I took her Playwriting class. It was wonderful. I filled notebook after notebook with ideas, dialogue, fantasies and plotlines. What came out was by far one of the worst plays ever written. However, there are still moments in it that I love and occasionally I drag it out and work on it.
Jill O’Hora, Oxford University- I took Jill’s Detective Fiction class while at Oxford. I just thought that it would be a fun Lit. class and an easy “A”. Little did I know that it would spark a deep passion for Detective Fiction in general and Inspector Morse in specific. Detective Fiction makes up the great bulk of what I’ve read over the last 10 years and most likely years to come. I find a character I like and then have to read everything they are in. I also make a point to never solve the mystery before the end of the book. That just ruins the fun. If I accidentally solve the mystery it’s always a great disappointment to me.
Professor Elmer Griffin, Occidental College- Professor Griffin’s photo was in the college handbook I received as a freshman. I thought he was so hot I cut it out and put it on my dorm room wall. He taught all the coolest classes that everyone wanted to get into but was rumored to be the hardest teacher at our school. A professor of Religion and Psychology he was also a clinical psychologist and taught stuff like Psychological Theories of Evil and Whiteness. I had him for both Rasta and African American Religious Traditions. He opened my eyes to cultural practices in my own country that I didn’t know existed so deeply. And they weren’t all good. I didn’t know how sheltered I had been to so many things right under my nose. For a midterm assignment he asked us to write a 20 page essay with a partner. He wanted us to understand what it felt like to be mentally chained to another person for survival. My partner and I worked our asses off. We went into his office hours every chance possible do discuss what we were working on, if we were going the right direction and how we could improve. We broke the curve and got the first “A” he’d given out in 5 years. Everyone else in the class hated us and a rumor started that one or both of us had slept with him. I WISH!
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
The Dirty South
Alvin opened a bunch of dates in The South with Son Volt and he asked Cali and I to join him. It was wonderful to spend that time with him before he left again for Europe. And I got quite a taste of the "different hotel every night" routine.
Other than Memphis, it was my first time visiting anywhere in The South and it was very interesting. Most of my pictures are taken from the car. And I'm not a great photographer to start with. However, since most of my family are Californian and haven't visit The South I wanted to snap some shots just to give them a little idea of what it's like.
The tour schedule was this:
2/13/09- Headliners- Louisville, KY- Solo w/ SonVolt
2/14/09- Rhythm & Brews- Chattanooga, TN - Solo w/ SonVolt
2/15/09- WorkPlay Theatre- Birmingham, AL - Solo w/ SonVolt
2/17/09- The Orange Peel- Asheville, NC - Solo w/ SonVolt
2/18/09- Lincoln Theater- Raleigh, NC - Solo w/ SonVolt
2/19/09- Neighborhood Theatre- Charlotte, NC- Solo w/ SonVolt
And then back to Memphis for a Folk Alliance show on the 20th.
On a map it kind of looks like this:
The night before we left we picked up the rental car and did our best to pack up leaving enough room for Cali to curl up on the back seat.
We made it to the Headliner in Lew-Uh-Vul and saw that there had been others before us:
I still have never determined if the plane actually crashed into the hillside or if it was put there for artistic reasons. Either way I thought it was pretty cool looking.
Alvin played a killer set at the Headliner:
...and the crowd was great. They really dug it:
We stayed in Elizabethtown overnight and hit the road in the morning.
Kentucky seems to be very fond of water towers:
...and dinosaurs grrrr:
...and Corvettes:
What this weird yellow hat looking design with a red pointy thing sticking out has to do with Corvettes I'm not sure.
Son Volt drove faster than us:
Previous to our trip, my only knowledge of Kentucky was "Coal Miner's Daughter". But I didn't see Loretta Lynn there at all. Maybe she was busy helping Dew make 'shine.
We made it to Chattanooga which is a very pretty place with Lookout Mountain hovering over the city:
We stayed overnight outside the city center closer to Lookout Mountain:
The morning when we left Alvin humored me and we drove up Lookout Mointain. He normally doesn't do "tourist stuff" when he's on the road. To me it might be a little vacation but he's actually "at work".
This is the city from the top of the mountain:
This is some pretty trees covered with ivy:
This is looking back on Chattanooga as we head out of town:
As we headed into Birmingham the first thing of interest I saw was a cemetery:
Birmingham is a pretty industrial steel town and you see these very tall smoke stacks all over:
Alvin played at the WorkPlay Theater which is a cool kind of place. Design wise it kind of reminded me of Keck Theare at Oxy. It had a couple of levels of tables and a dance floor in the middle.
This is Alvin sound checking:
I got us dinner that night at this really cute little take-out cafe downtown. I can't remember the name of it now but they had really good pizza and gumbo. You just walked up and ordered, no table service but it was decorated really cute with lots of tables to sit and eat. That night, Cali ate the ice chest for dinner. She followed it with the heated massage car seat cover that Lisa K. got me for Christmas the year before last. She did really well the rest of the trip but evidently there was something about Birmingham.
Late that night we drove past this very busy Hispanic strip club. Or maybe the people where just there for the cool neon palm trees out front.
We thought we maybe should have stayed at the hotel next door to ours because they had free high:
...speed internet
On our way through Alabama to Atlanta we made a very very special stop:
Living in Boulder, Talladega nights became one of our favorite movies so I couldn't not stop and take a picture for the girls!
See how there is like a mile of parking with the speedway way in the background? Well that's nothing. There is easily another 5 miles of parking around the place. It must get insane out there when a race is on. "Dear lord baby Jesus!"
Atlanta has some really interesting architecture I took a few pictures of some building I thought were cool looking:
...and the Olympic torch:
...and the Click-fill-uh headquarters (I took this one special just for Ann):
We through briefly about staying overnight in Hotlanta and visiting with Leslie and Johna and John but we wanted to get closer toe Asheville, NC where the next show was. We ended up staying in Greenville,SC where my friend Christian is from. It's situated kind of in the foothills as you head up into the mountains. I took this between Greenville and Asheville:
Asheville is very cute and parts of it remind me of Boulder, Co but it's much much bigger and incorporates a big downtown area with high risers and many outlying suburbs. It does still have some seriously Southern feel to it though:
Alvin played at the Orange Peel which was very cool:
They had a really nice big backstage with two dressing rooms. And they were super pet friendly and invited Cali to hang out with us in the dressing room. She just loved that. The Son Volt guys were all over her and loved giving her treats. She loved not being left in the car and getting extra treats.
Cali likes to ride in the car. She curl up on the back seat and dozes. Then she'll wake up and want to know what's going on and poke her nose up front, sometimes rest her chin on our shoulders and remind us that she's there with us.
Despite the fact that I would normally never ever post a picture of myself with my genetically cursed double chin, (all of the girls on my dad's side have it, it's sooo not fair) Cali was just too cute not so share with y'all.
From Asheville to Raleigh we saw some awesome car advertising! Just so we all know, this guy is crack free:
So do you think that means he used to do crack but he's clean now and going to meetings and has a sponsor so it's cool, he's not going to smoke crack under you kitchen sink anymore. OR does he just have a magic belt that protects our innocent eyes from his hairy butt while fixing the Norge?
I'm glad to know that this guy has extra protection while driving:
Catholic much?
So if he gets pulled over for speeding can he be like, "Jesus made me do it"? Or "Officer I was really trying to watch my speed but Jesus was F*&^ing with the radio"?
We stayed over night in Durham, home of the Bulls! Of course the whole time I'm "breathing through my eyelids", "lallygagging in the right field, lallygagging in the left field" and believing in "The Church of Baseball".
As some of you may know I was once told, "You have the bladder of a seven year old girl!" This is not far from the truth and on one of my many road side breaks with my purse sized Lysol (They really make that! I know, SOOOO awesome!)we stopped on Dale Earnhardt Blvd. in his home town of Kannapolis, NC. Now I couldn't really care less about NASCAR but I do have family members that live and breathe it. I tool this picture for them and called and left a message on Aunt Mary and Uncle Dave's answering machine.
The last show was in Charlotte, NC. The Neighbood Theater is in a very cute area with lots of little local owned shops and restaurants. We stayed outside of town a ways so that it would be easier to leave in the morning for our 10 hour drive home:
I spotted these at a truck stop and couldn't NOT take a picture! My good friend James refers to any baton shaped object as a "Beatin' Stick" so I had to make sure to snap this for him. The tag says they are "Real Americana", you know, like apple pie and human chattel:
From Asheville to Knoxville you cross The Smokey Mountains. They are really beautiful and remind me much more of The Sierra Nevada's than the Rockies. However they have a sort of gentle broken down kind of feel. Previous to this trip my only concept of the Smokey Mountains was Dolly Parton:
As you get to Nashville things flatten out:
This is the Cumberland River outside of Nashville:
Clearly this picture of the happy family on their way to Wally World was taken on day 8 of very little sleep and thousands of miles of driving:
Some of my the general observations:
-Wow, Kentucky is really pretty.
-I guess they don't have flouride in the water here.
-The girls look a lot like Ann and I, kind of Irishy and pretty and normal sized.
-I would like to go back to the Carolinas and spend more time there and maybe go to the beach.
-WHITE WATER RAFTING! It's only maybe 6 hours drive from Memphis.
Other than Memphis, it was my first time visiting anywhere in The South and it was very interesting. Most of my pictures are taken from the car. And I'm not a great photographer to start with. However, since most of my family are Californian and haven't visit The South I wanted to snap some shots just to give them a little idea of what it's like.
The tour schedule was this:
2/13/09- Headliners- Louisville, KY- Solo w/ SonVolt
2/14/09- Rhythm & Brews- Chattanooga, TN - Solo w/ SonVolt
2/15/09- WorkPlay Theatre- Birmingham, AL - Solo w/ SonVolt
2/17/09- The Orange Peel- Asheville, NC - Solo w/ SonVolt
2/18/09- Lincoln Theater- Raleigh, NC - Solo w/ SonVolt
2/19/09- Neighborhood Theatre- Charlotte, NC- Solo w/ SonVolt
And then back to Memphis for a Folk Alliance show on the 20th.
On a map it kind of looks like this:
The night before we left we picked up the rental car and did our best to pack up leaving enough room for Cali to curl up on the back seat.
We made it to the Headliner in Lew-Uh-Vul and saw that there had been others before us:
I still have never determined if the plane actually crashed into the hillside or if it was put there for artistic reasons. Either way I thought it was pretty cool looking.
Alvin played a killer set at the Headliner:
...and the crowd was great. They really dug it:
We stayed in Elizabethtown overnight and hit the road in the morning.
Kentucky seems to be very fond of water towers:
...and dinosaurs grrrr:
...and Corvettes:
What this weird yellow hat looking design with a red pointy thing sticking out has to do with Corvettes I'm not sure.
Son Volt drove faster than us:
Previous to our trip, my only knowledge of Kentucky was "Coal Miner's Daughter". But I didn't see Loretta Lynn there at all. Maybe she was busy helping Dew make 'shine.
We made it to Chattanooga which is a very pretty place with Lookout Mountain hovering over the city:
We stayed overnight outside the city center closer to Lookout Mountain:
The morning when we left Alvin humored me and we drove up Lookout Mointain. He normally doesn't do "tourist stuff" when he's on the road. To me it might be a little vacation but he's actually "at work".
This is the city from the top of the mountain:
This is some pretty trees covered with ivy:
This is looking back on Chattanooga as we head out of town:
As we headed into Birmingham the first thing of interest I saw was a cemetery:
Birmingham is a pretty industrial steel town and you see these very tall smoke stacks all over:
Alvin played at the WorkPlay Theater which is a cool kind of place. Design wise it kind of reminded me of Keck Theare at Oxy. It had a couple of levels of tables and a dance floor in the middle.
This is Alvin sound checking:
I got us dinner that night at this really cute little take-out cafe downtown. I can't remember the name of it now but they had really good pizza and gumbo. You just walked up and ordered, no table service but it was decorated really cute with lots of tables to sit and eat. That night, Cali ate the ice chest for dinner. She followed it with the heated massage car seat cover that Lisa K. got me for Christmas the year before last. She did really well the rest of the trip but evidently there was something about Birmingham.
Late that night we drove past this very busy Hispanic strip club. Or maybe the people where just there for the cool neon palm trees out front.
We thought we maybe should have stayed at the hotel next door to ours because they had free high:
...speed internet
On our way through Alabama to Atlanta we made a very very special stop:
Living in Boulder, Talladega nights became one of our favorite movies so I couldn't not stop and take a picture for the girls!
See how there is like a mile of parking with the speedway way in the background? Well that's nothing. There is easily another 5 miles of parking around the place. It must get insane out there when a race is on. "Dear lord baby Jesus!"
Atlanta has some really interesting architecture I took a few pictures of some building I thought were cool looking:
...and the Olympic torch:
...and the Click-fill-uh headquarters (I took this one special just for Ann):
We through briefly about staying overnight in Hotlanta and visiting with Leslie and Johna and John but we wanted to get closer toe Asheville, NC where the next show was. We ended up staying in Greenville,SC where my friend Christian is from. It's situated kind of in the foothills as you head up into the mountains. I took this between Greenville and Asheville:
Asheville is very cute and parts of it remind me of Boulder, Co but it's much much bigger and incorporates a big downtown area with high risers and many outlying suburbs. It does still have some seriously Southern feel to it though:
Alvin played at the Orange Peel which was very cool:
They had a really nice big backstage with two dressing rooms. And they were super pet friendly and invited Cali to hang out with us in the dressing room. She just loved that. The Son Volt guys were all over her and loved giving her treats. She loved not being left in the car and getting extra treats.
Cali likes to ride in the car. She curl up on the back seat and dozes. Then she'll wake up and want to know what's going on and poke her nose up front, sometimes rest her chin on our shoulders and remind us that she's there with us.
Despite the fact that I would normally never ever post a picture of myself with my genetically cursed double chin, (all of the girls on my dad's side have it, it's sooo not fair) Cali was just too cute not so share with y'all.
From Asheville to Raleigh we saw some awesome car advertising! Just so we all know, this guy is crack free:
So do you think that means he used to do crack but he's clean now and going to meetings and has a sponsor so it's cool, he's not going to smoke crack under you kitchen sink anymore. OR does he just have a magic belt that protects our innocent eyes from his hairy butt while fixing the Norge?
I'm glad to know that this guy has extra protection while driving:
Catholic much?
So if he gets pulled over for speeding can he be like, "Jesus made me do it"? Or "Officer I was really trying to watch my speed but Jesus was F*&^ing with the radio"?
We stayed over night in Durham, home of the Bulls! Of course the whole time I'm "breathing through my eyelids", "lallygagging in the right field, lallygagging in the left field" and believing in "The Church of Baseball".
As some of you may know I was once told, "You have the bladder of a seven year old girl!" This is not far from the truth and on one of my many road side breaks with my purse sized Lysol (They really make that! I know, SOOOO awesome!)we stopped on Dale Earnhardt Blvd. in his home town of Kannapolis, NC. Now I couldn't really care less about NASCAR but I do have family members that live and breathe it. I tool this picture for them and called and left a message on Aunt Mary and Uncle Dave's answering machine.
The last show was in Charlotte, NC. The Neighbood Theater is in a very cute area with lots of little local owned shops and restaurants. We stayed outside of town a ways so that it would be easier to leave in the morning for our 10 hour drive home:
I spotted these at a truck stop and couldn't NOT take a picture! My good friend James refers to any baton shaped object as a "Beatin' Stick" so I had to make sure to snap this for him. The tag says they are "Real Americana", you know, like apple pie and human chattel:
From Asheville to Knoxville you cross The Smokey Mountains. They are really beautiful and remind me much more of The Sierra Nevada's than the Rockies. However they have a sort of gentle broken down kind of feel. Previous to this trip my only concept of the Smokey Mountains was Dolly Parton:
As you get to Nashville things flatten out:
This is the Cumberland River outside of Nashville:
Clearly this picture of the happy family on their way to Wally World was taken on day 8 of very little sleep and thousands of miles of driving:
Some of my the general observations:
-Wow, Kentucky is really pretty.
-I guess they don't have flouride in the water here.
-The girls look a lot like Ann and I, kind of Irishy and pretty and normal sized.
-I would like to go back to the Carolinas and spend more time there and maybe go to the beach.
-WHITE WATER RAFTING! It's only maybe 6 hours drive from Memphis.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
The Absentee Blogger
Alas, I'm such a disappointment to my 4 readers. I guess when so much is going on in life that it's hard to stop and write about it. I couldn't possibly uptade all of the last many months. However, I'll tell you about some of my knitting projects and then come back and post the pictures.
Fagen Gloves:
My sweet mommy always has cold hands. As she says, "Cold hands, warm heart". So for her birthday I made her a pair of fingerless mittens. I told her, "You can wear gloves and still pick your nose" hahahaha. Well I get the first mitten finished and my guy says, "What, is your mom playing Fagen in Oliver Twist?" hahahaha He was obviously jealous so I made him a pair too. They both wear them all the time and I'm so happy to have found something useful for them both. We now call them "Fagen Gloves"
They knit up super quickly on straight needles and then I sew a seam up the side leaving a thumb hole.
Billed cap:
We were out in Colorado and my dad mentioned that he was looking for a warm hat with ear flaps and a bill. So I made him one. It took me a while to invent the design because interestingly enough I couldn't find one anywhere. I ended up combing a few different patterns and adding my own flair. I'm now making one for my guy without the ear flaps and I'm doing this one slightly differently. For the bill I used plastic cross stitch grid which worked perfectly because I could sew through it to tack the knitting in place before I sewed it.
I started with a basic hat pattern with 1 inch of garter stitch around the brim. I picked up and knit the ear flap and had planned to pick up and knit the bill also. However, I realized that I wanted the hat to be lined for extra warmth so I picked up all the way around and knit a duplicate of the hat plus the extra room I needed for the bill. I copied the shape of a bill from a machine made knit hat with a bill.
I am now working on one for my guy that will be a little different. It wont have the brim of garter. And when I cast on and knit a few rows I went back into the very same cast on stitches and started knitting in the opposite direction to create the inside lining with room for the bill.
Fagen Gloves:
My sweet mommy always has cold hands. As she says, "Cold hands, warm heart". So for her birthday I made her a pair of fingerless mittens. I told her, "You can wear gloves and still pick your nose" hahahaha. Well I get the first mitten finished and my guy says, "What, is your mom playing Fagen in Oliver Twist?" hahahaha He was obviously jealous so I made him a pair too. They both wear them all the time and I'm so happy to have found something useful for them both. We now call them "Fagen Gloves"
They knit up super quickly on straight needles and then I sew a seam up the side leaving a thumb hole.
Billed cap:
We were out in Colorado and my dad mentioned that he was looking for a warm hat with ear flaps and a bill. So I made him one. It took me a while to invent the design because interestingly enough I couldn't find one anywhere. I ended up combing a few different patterns and adding my own flair. I'm now making one for my guy without the ear flaps and I'm doing this one slightly differently. For the bill I used plastic cross stitch grid which worked perfectly because I could sew through it to tack the knitting in place before I sewed it.
I started with a basic hat pattern with 1 inch of garter stitch around the brim. I picked up and knit the ear flap and had planned to pick up and knit the bill also. However, I realized that I wanted the hat to be lined for extra warmth so I picked up all the way around and knit a duplicate of the hat plus the extra room I needed for the bill. I copied the shape of a bill from a machine made knit hat with a bill.
I am now working on one for my guy that will be a little different. It wont have the brim of garter. And when I cast on and knit a few rows I went back into the very same cast on stitches and started knitting in the opposite direction to create the inside lining with room for the bill.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Mile High Music Festival
Pretty fried from the Mile High Music Festival this weekend. But there were some really great shows that I'm glad I got to see.
First off I have to say a big huge thanks to my friend who put me on the guest list and got us passes. It was incredibly generous and I greatly appreciate it. He knows who he is.
Saturday Ann and Dino and I drove down to Commerce City to see Hill Country Revue. I was really looking forward to this set and I wasn't disappointed. It was a really solid strong set and the audience went crazy.
We spent a good part of the day sweating you asses off in 95 degree weather in the middle of a field with 50,000 other people. However, I never once threw a hissy fit. Fortunately they granted Artist Guests VIP access so we could get into the VIP air conditioned tents and get free water, beer and food. Honestly, if we hadn't had VIP access it's very likely I would have gotten heat stroke. All day we poured bottles of water over each other. It was VERY Flashdance hahaha.
Steve Winwood did a KILLER set. He played a bunch of Spencer Davis Group hits, Traffic, Blind Faith. Unfortunately we did get Higher Love, but we just ignored that and forgave him for the entirety of the 80's. About half way through I had to go find some cool shady grass to sit in so I just listened but didn’t see the stage. As Dear Mr. Fantasy was being played I thought to myself, “Man, who is playing guitar for Winwood? That guy SHREDS!” Turns out it was Stevie himself!
Later we caught Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers which was also fantastic. Petty never disappoints. I mean, the guy has so many hits that it’s nearly impossible for him to not please any audience. And after all these years he absolutely stands up to all those young hacks. And despite the dorky hair do Mike Campbell KILLS! The guy is so freaking talented it’s ridiculous.
Winwood joined Petty and the Heartbreakers on stage for a few tunes and man was that awesome. I already feel like I’m gushing and don’t know what more to say that in was REALLY freaking AWESOME! I had this big goofy smile on my face the whole time.
Sunday we were in no rush, which was good because it was even hotter out. I admit, I did have a little melt down. After getting screwed around about where to park and where to pick up out tickets and all that crap we found out that the rules had changed overnight and Artist Guests would no longer be allowed into the VIP tents. So we hoofed it about 1/4 of a mile out to the Artist Catering tent just for a bottle of water.
There was no air conditioning, I hadn’t eaten and that’s about when I lost it. Unfortunately, I missed a chunk of the Rodrigo y Gabriella set. But what I caught was really good. A little bit too showy for me. I mean, I get it, you can play cool flamenco music and you can even turn Zeppelin into flamenco. However, I have to admit they are incredibly talented and the lack of excitement at the time could well have been due to my little tantrum.
Thanks to Shelly for sticking with me and holding my hand while I imploded. We hit the big water feature thingy and I got soaking wet. That helped a LOT.
Next up was Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. There have been a few really amazing moments in my life where I first heard a band and it was like an explosion inside of me. These moments that come to mind are the first time I heard Marc Ford, the first time I heard Will Hoge and Sunday night when I heard Grace Potter.
HOLY CRAP!!!! She and her band are phenomenal!!! She totally wails and she plays a Hammond B3 and a Flying V and does this little booty shake and it’s like watching a forest fire. Guitarist Scott Tournet is incredible! The whole thing reminds me a lot of Deep Purple but new and now and sexier.
I don’t think that there is a way to really describe this. You just have to see a GPN show in person. And I’ve listened to her studio music now and there’s no comparison. I was able to download one of her live shows and it’s awesome and I can’t stop listening to it. All I can tell you is if they come to town do NOT miss it.
Ok, enough about my new obsession with Grace Potter and The Nocturnals.
THE BLACK CROWES! The whole reason I wanted to go to this festival in the first place. I normally don’t do festivals or big shows because I don’t like big crowds etc. However, I had not yet seen The Crowes with the addition of Luther Dickinson.
If any of you who haven’t known me very long, I’m a HUGE Black Crowes fan. I was into them a little bit when they first came out, but around college is when I got totally hooked. I became involved in The Black Crowes community and blah blah blah. In any case, I’m a really big fan.
I’ve also gotten to listen to a lot of Luther’s work with Alvin and with his band the North Mississippi Allstars and I’ve really come to enjoy his playing a lot. Also, the Crowes have had past issues with lead guitar players. So, I was very interested and excited to hear Luther play with the Crowes.
They were FANTASTIC! I think that Luther is a really great addition. He has a lot of his own feeling to add. He’s a very passionate player which sooo comes out on stage and he sounds great with Rich Robinson. It appears to me that Rich feels really comfortable with Luther, that he kind of opens up and takes some risks and there is a give and take that I don’t think I’ve seen with Rich before. They traded off solos and really gelled.
Now I’m a pretty die hard Marc Ford fan. For some reason Marc’s playing does something to me that I can’t explain. And having Marc as part of the Crowes has always been awesome. But it will never be 1995 again and I there is no point in dwelling on that. I sort of just prefer to think of it as a different band altogether and not compare apples to oranges.
I think that Luther is a fantastic addition to The Black Crowes and I would make a great effort to see them as much as possible with this lineup.
It was also really cool to see the Crowes and look around me at the people I was with. A lot of them I have been friends with for a long time but originally met because The Black Crowes brought us together in some way or other. It felt really good.
After The Crowes, Dave Mathews played which you couldn’t drag me to for all the whiskey in Ireland. We busted out of there as quickly as possible and I have to admit that I did plug my ears because it was just that bad.
All in all I have relatively little sunburn (only in the places on my back and Ann didn’t get but lied and said she did!). My feet weren’t too swollen and I didn’t have a panic attack.
Thanks for all my friends for being there with me and sharing the love and the vibes and all that. And thanks to the musicians for putting up with the same heat AND working to bring us some great tunes.
P.S. I know that was a lot of words without any pictures but I promise I'll add pictures when I get them. -Em
First off I have to say a big huge thanks to my friend who put me on the guest list and got us passes. It was incredibly generous and I greatly appreciate it. He knows who he is.
Saturday Ann and Dino and I drove down to Commerce City to see Hill Country Revue. I was really looking forward to this set and I wasn't disappointed. It was a really solid strong set and the audience went crazy.
We spent a good part of the day sweating you asses off in 95 degree weather in the middle of a field with 50,000 other people. However, I never once threw a hissy fit. Fortunately they granted Artist Guests VIP access so we could get into the VIP air conditioned tents and get free water, beer and food. Honestly, if we hadn't had VIP access it's very likely I would have gotten heat stroke. All day we poured bottles of water over each other. It was VERY Flashdance hahaha.
Steve Winwood did a KILLER set. He played a bunch of Spencer Davis Group hits, Traffic, Blind Faith. Unfortunately we did get Higher Love, but we just ignored that and forgave him for the entirety of the 80's. About half way through I had to go find some cool shady grass to sit in so I just listened but didn’t see the stage. As Dear Mr. Fantasy was being played I thought to myself, “Man, who is playing guitar for Winwood? That guy SHREDS!” Turns out it was Stevie himself!
Later we caught Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers which was also fantastic. Petty never disappoints. I mean, the guy has so many hits that it’s nearly impossible for him to not please any audience. And after all these years he absolutely stands up to all those young hacks. And despite the dorky hair do Mike Campbell KILLS! The guy is so freaking talented it’s ridiculous.
Winwood joined Petty and the Heartbreakers on stage for a few tunes and man was that awesome. I already feel like I’m gushing and don’t know what more to say that in was REALLY freaking AWESOME! I had this big goofy smile on my face the whole time.
Sunday we were in no rush, which was good because it was even hotter out. I admit, I did have a little melt down. After getting screwed around about where to park and where to pick up out tickets and all that crap we found out that the rules had changed overnight and Artist Guests would no longer be allowed into the VIP tents. So we hoofed it about 1/4 of a mile out to the Artist Catering tent just for a bottle of water.
There was no air conditioning, I hadn’t eaten and that’s about when I lost it. Unfortunately, I missed a chunk of the Rodrigo y Gabriella set. But what I caught was really good. A little bit too showy for me. I mean, I get it, you can play cool flamenco music and you can even turn Zeppelin into flamenco. However, I have to admit they are incredibly talented and the lack of excitement at the time could well have been due to my little tantrum.
Thanks to Shelly for sticking with me and holding my hand while I imploded. We hit the big water feature thingy and I got soaking wet. That helped a LOT.
Next up was Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. There have been a few really amazing moments in my life where I first heard a band and it was like an explosion inside of me. These moments that come to mind are the first time I heard Marc Ford, the first time I heard Will Hoge and Sunday night when I heard Grace Potter.
HOLY CRAP!!!! She and her band are phenomenal!!! She totally wails and she plays a Hammond B3 and a Flying V and does this little booty shake and it’s like watching a forest fire. Guitarist Scott Tournet is incredible! The whole thing reminds me a lot of Deep Purple but new and now and sexier.
I don’t think that there is a way to really describe this. You just have to see a GPN show in person. And I’ve listened to her studio music now and there’s no comparison. I was able to download one of her live shows and it’s awesome and I can’t stop listening to it. All I can tell you is if they come to town do NOT miss it.
Ok, enough about my new obsession with Grace Potter and The Nocturnals.
THE BLACK CROWES! The whole reason I wanted to go to this festival in the first place. I normally don’t do festivals or big shows because I don’t like big crowds etc. However, I had not yet seen The Crowes with the addition of Luther Dickinson.
If any of you who haven’t known me very long, I’m a HUGE Black Crowes fan. I was into them a little bit when they first came out, but around college is when I got totally hooked. I became involved in The Black Crowes community and blah blah blah. In any case, I’m a really big fan.
I’ve also gotten to listen to a lot of Luther’s work with Alvin and with his band the North Mississippi Allstars and I’ve really come to enjoy his playing a lot. Also, the Crowes have had past issues with lead guitar players. So, I was very interested and excited to hear Luther play with the Crowes.
They were FANTASTIC! I think that Luther is a really great addition. He has a lot of his own feeling to add. He’s a very passionate player which sooo comes out on stage and he sounds great with Rich Robinson. It appears to me that Rich feels really comfortable with Luther, that he kind of opens up and takes some risks and there is a give and take that I don’t think I’ve seen with Rich before. They traded off solos and really gelled.
Now I’m a pretty die hard Marc Ford fan. For some reason Marc’s playing does something to me that I can’t explain. And having Marc as part of the Crowes has always been awesome. But it will never be 1995 again and I there is no point in dwelling on that. I sort of just prefer to think of it as a different band altogether and not compare apples to oranges.
I think that Luther is a fantastic addition to The Black Crowes and I would make a great effort to see them as much as possible with this lineup.
It was also really cool to see the Crowes and look around me at the people I was with. A lot of them I have been friends with for a long time but originally met because The Black Crowes brought us together in some way or other. It felt really good.
After The Crowes, Dave Mathews played which you couldn’t drag me to for all the whiskey in Ireland. We busted out of there as quickly as possible and I have to admit that I did plug my ears because it was just that bad.
All in all I have relatively little sunburn (only in the places on my back and Ann didn’t get but lied and said she did!). My feet weren’t too swollen and I didn’t have a panic attack.
Thanks for all my friends for being there with me and sharing the love and the vibes and all that. And thanks to the musicians for putting up with the same heat AND working to bring us some great tunes.
P.S. I know that was a lot of words without any pictures but I promise I'll add pictures when I get them. -Em
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Summer!
As we ALLLL know, in Colorado, Summer means rafting season. It has been my goal to get as many days in the river possible before I move. I think that I've gotten in 6 days in the last 6 weeks. That's pretty good considering that I've also spent more than a week in Memphis and generally drive 4 hours to get into the water. I have not been down to the Arkansas this summer which I'd really like to do. I need to talk my dad into that. I'd also like to hit the Chache de Poudre as well. I here there's some really awesome whitewater up near Mishauka Falls.
Here is my mom and dad and I comming off of the Colorado.
But wait, Moving? Did I miss something? As of mid August I will be living primarily in Memphis. I will still occasionally fly to Colorado to work with clients and visit my parents and friends. Alvin and I decided that after two years it was high time we live in the same city. The cost of living is much lower in Memphis and it is less affected by the winter weather making it easier for us to travel in and out of. So, I'm giving it a try.
I found a house in Midtown near Overton Park and the Hi-Tone. Living in a new town, I didn't want to be in a big house alone on the outskirts of town. I want to meet new friends and be in the center of things.
AND, our landlord decided to sell out house here in Boulder. Yes, the selling of the Pine Street house will be the end of an era for many. However, I'm sure everyone will find another backyard in which to BBQ and drink wine in sky chairs.
Wait, Clients? What clients? For the last many months I have started my own PR firm. Yes, being a loud mouthed busy body has finally paid off. I specialize in Real Estate, Music and The Arts. Among my clients, I represent Alvin Youngblood Hart, The United Realty Group and United Lending, Dog Daze Photo. I have been working on my website which will include my full client roster. We're still finalizing the design etc. but it will look something like this:
On the knitting front, well I haven't been doing a whole lot of knitting. First off, it's been hot out and that makes it hard to cover yourself in yarn and WIP's. Also, as I've been do so much rafting I've been having some issues with my tendons and muscle tension in my arms. This make it a bit uncomfortable to knit as my hands have the tendancy to fall asleep and tingle. I've been working one regular stretching and trying to get massages.
That being said, I have finished a couple of guitar straps. Here's a cool camoflauge one that I made for Alvin.
I have also been doing some sewing. Amber's birthday was last month and I decided that the chef finally needed an apron. And I made one for myself as well. I still have some work to do on both of them but here is mine all pinned up.
Yes, those are skulls. How can the rocker chick not have a rock and roll apron?!
On the rock and roll front? Hmmmmm, there hasn't been too much rockin and rollin other than the usual being in a relationship with a musician stuff. A couple of weeks ago we did go check out some of Alvin's friends play at The Buccaneer. A while back Ann and I saw Band of Heathens with our friend Ed Jurdi down at The Soiled Dove. Now you wouldn't think you could make a bunch of Texas boys blush but clearly they haven't been on the road long enough. Will Hoge heads into town this week and we are looking forward to hassling him. After that Lucero is in town. I'm definitely looking forward to that show and seeing my buddy John C.
In a week in a half we have The Mile High Music Festival with a pretty killer 2 day line up. We are looking forward to seeing out buddies in Hill Country Revue and The Black Crowes. But I'm super siked to see Tom Petty, Steve Winwood and Rodrigo y Gabriela.
I saw Petty a few years ago in Aspen and he really kicked ass. I've never seen Steve Winwood and how freaking cool would it be if he played 40,000 Headsmen. I keep hearing awesome things about Rodrigo y Gabrielabut haven't hear much of thier stuff. So I'm really looking forward to checking them out.
Oh and last week I got to see my Aunt Karen and Cousin Megan who made thier first trip to visit my folks. It was great to be with them and do some fun Colorado stuff.
And overlapping that my awesome friend Bryan Lasseter came out to visit from New York. I only got less than 24 hours with B but we did it up right!
And kickball started! I missed the first game cause I was in Memphis. But last Monday we won 6 to 1 WOOOHOOOO!!! GO TEAM!
I think that's all I have to share for now. I've been up to my eyeballs in work and stressed out about moving. I don't know how I'm going to fit everything in PLUS get all of my crap into a U-Haul.
Later Skaters
Here is my mom and dad and I comming off of the Colorado.
But wait, Moving? Did I miss something? As of mid August I will be living primarily in Memphis. I will still occasionally fly to Colorado to work with clients and visit my parents and friends. Alvin and I decided that after two years it was high time we live in the same city. The cost of living is much lower in Memphis and it is less affected by the winter weather making it easier for us to travel in and out of. So, I'm giving it a try.
I found a house in Midtown near Overton Park and the Hi-Tone. Living in a new town, I didn't want to be in a big house alone on the outskirts of town. I want to meet new friends and be in the center of things.
AND, our landlord decided to sell out house here in Boulder. Yes, the selling of the Pine Street house will be the end of an era for many. However, I'm sure everyone will find another backyard in which to BBQ and drink wine in sky chairs.
Wait, Clients? What clients? For the last many months I have started my own PR firm. Yes, being a loud mouthed busy body has finally paid off. I specialize in Real Estate, Music and The Arts. Among my clients, I represent Alvin Youngblood Hart, The United Realty Group and United Lending, Dog Daze Photo. I have been working on my website which will include my full client roster. We're still finalizing the design etc. but it will look something like this:
On the knitting front, well I haven't been doing a whole lot of knitting. First off, it's been hot out and that makes it hard to cover yourself in yarn and WIP's. Also, as I've been do so much rafting I've been having some issues with my tendons and muscle tension in my arms. This make it a bit uncomfortable to knit as my hands have the tendancy to fall asleep and tingle. I've been working one regular stretching and trying to get massages.
That being said, I have finished a couple of guitar straps. Here's a cool camoflauge one that I made for Alvin.
I have also been doing some sewing. Amber's birthday was last month and I decided that the chef finally needed an apron. And I made one for myself as well. I still have some work to do on both of them but here is mine all pinned up.
Yes, those are skulls. How can the rocker chick not have a rock and roll apron?!
On the rock and roll front? Hmmmmm, there hasn't been too much rockin and rollin other than the usual being in a relationship with a musician stuff. A couple of weeks ago we did go check out some of Alvin's friends play at The Buccaneer. A while back Ann and I saw Band of Heathens with our friend Ed Jurdi down at The Soiled Dove. Now you wouldn't think you could make a bunch of Texas boys blush but clearly they haven't been on the road long enough. Will Hoge heads into town this week and we are looking forward to hassling him. After that Lucero is in town. I'm definitely looking forward to that show and seeing my buddy John C.
In a week in a half we have The Mile High Music Festival with a pretty killer 2 day line up. We are looking forward to seeing out buddies in Hill Country Revue and The Black Crowes. But I'm super siked to see Tom Petty, Steve Winwood and Rodrigo y Gabriela.
I saw Petty a few years ago in Aspen and he really kicked ass. I've never seen Steve Winwood and how freaking cool would it be if he played 40,000 Headsmen. I keep hearing awesome things about Rodrigo y Gabrielabut haven't hear much of thier stuff. So I'm really looking forward to checking them out.
Oh and last week I got to see my Aunt Karen and Cousin Megan who made thier first trip to visit my folks. It was great to be with them and do some fun Colorado stuff.
And overlapping that my awesome friend Bryan Lasseter came out to visit from New York. I only got less than 24 hours with B but we did it up right!
And kickball started! I missed the first game cause I was in Memphis. But last Monday we won 6 to 1 WOOOHOOOO!!! GO TEAM!
I think that's all I have to share for now. I've been up to my eyeballs in work and stressed out about moving. I don't know how I'm going to fit everything in PLUS get all of my crap into a U-Haul.
Later Skaters
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Sorry for the Long Absence
Hiya Kiddies,
I'm been traveling a lot between Boulder and Memphis and I'm trying to get in as much whitewater rafting as possible. I've also gotten totally sucked into Ravelry!
That being said, I HAVE done a decent amount of knitting and I'll be sure to post some pictures soon.
-Em
I'm been traveling a lot between Boulder and Memphis and I'm trying to get in as much whitewater rafting as possible. I've also gotten totally sucked into Ravelry!
That being said, I HAVE done a decent amount of knitting and I'll be sure to post some pictures soon.
-Em
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