Polar Dusting

The goofy weather men here in the Rogue Valley started saying last Thursday that a snow storm was coming. Some went as far as calling it the "Polar Express". Despite a few short lasted flurries....when we went to bed last night, the ol' weather man was striking out!!!

So, imagine my surprise this morning when I was awakened at 7:00 by shouts from my sons room of "Hooray! Hooray!". I went running in and he was jumping on his bed claiming that the ground was covered in snow! And by golly...the weather man got it!

So....we went outside to play as quickly as we could, as the forcast called for a warm front moving in to melt it away pretty quickly! So.....enjoy the picsmy friends:






We found the neighbor girls and played snow foot ball and had a snowball fight (which Jude followed with shouts of "missed me missed me now you gotta' kiss me")



Next we built a small little snowman...Merrick's 1st--which she proclaimed to be a "Snowgirl" and named her "Jewelry".


It's all gone already......but we sure had fun!

Funky Funky Christmas

Why isn't this a classic yet?

Top Albums of 2008

It is list time in pop culture! So, I thought I should join. This one is hard because I have 100 faves in 2008, but I chose to just write about 5 of my faves. It was hard to leave out Fleet Foxes and She & Him...but I digress........


ROBERT PLANT AND ALLISON KRAUSS- RAISING SAND

You have to look twice when you see these names together. Two legends from two completely different genres. But together they make beautiful Americana magic! I think it was probably released at the end of 2007, but I don’t care ! It is full of soulful and mellow, smoky harmonies and reverb. Light a candle and enjoy!

COLDPLAY-VIVA LA VIDA

I remember listening after anxiously opening the disc! Epic is the word I 1st used to describe it to Patrick in a text. I guess the actual full title — Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends — should have been a clue. The fellas have really pushed the boundaries of what we expect from a modern album. The attention to detail is incredible. And the songwriting is impeccable. The album is full of religious references, which add to the intrigue. The CD comes to life with a beautiful instrumental opener Life In Technicolour. It seems like it is just about to explode into sonic wonder…and then dies…leaving the rest of the disc to build to soaring climax! Every song is unique and wonderful….long live Coldplay!

DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE- NARROW STAIRS

Narrow Stairs, Death Cab's sixth DISC, is one of the darkest and STRONGEST in their discography. It's an album about growing and changing and becoming resigned to the fact that you'll never be truly content. Narrow Stairs starts along the California coast, where Gibbard retreated to write the album. "I descended a dusty gravel ridge," his bookish tenor begins, in clear but vivid language, on "Bixby Canyon Bridge". Gibbard has said the song is about trying to commune with Jack Kerouac, who stayed in the same cabin to write Big Sur. It is a different record for them, but If you love the band, you'll probably find enough reasons here to keep sticking with them .

JON FOREMAN- WINTER SPRING SUMMER FALL (SET)

I am not a huge fan of the CCM market. There are a few good songs here and there, but mostly it is plastic. I have always felt that Switchfoot was actually a good band, just victim of overplay and horrid marketing and management. This year their front man put out a set of stripped down and raw songs that is amazing. Don’t let the Switchfoot background scare you…this is amazing stuff. On his web site, Foreman says, "These are simple songs, but they're mine. There's blood and joy and anger and laughter in them. My reasons for living. My hopes and fears. And pain. These are my fight songs."


RADIOHEAD- IN RAINBOWS

I LOVE this album! It's true that we've come to expect a certain level of genius from this band, but when they actually exceed expectations, as they do here, it's a clear sign that Radiohead will continue to reinvent themselves and drop more jaws along the way. I could list the virtues of every song, but I’ll spare you that! It flows seamlessly along it sounds supremely confident, like a band who know they're at the height of their powers. And they are! I saw them live finally this year…and will never be the same ! I’ll stop now…it is AMAZING!

These are a few of my favorite things

Once again.....a few delights of life I enjoyed last week. Most are music based:


Yeah.....they are back! Guns n frickin' Roses!!!!


I've fallen in love with Sir Elvis Costello


Satisfies my deep inner longings for power pop magic!


A fun quirky little movie

"Long distance information.......

......Give me Memphis,Tennessee"

Hey guys. I am back. I missed you all. I just returned from visiting some family in my ol' hometown of Memphis. It was crazy, hectic and stressful, but also quite wonderful too. The trip was 2 fold purposed: to see my badly ailing Granddaddy, and to surprise my family! Both of these were great successes! So......I am about to bore you with a TON of pictures. They will be quite random. Ready???? Here we go:

My daughter Haddie had her 1st food in Memphis! We knew that Gaga would carry on her tradition of feeding the babies her world famous (it really is that good) banana pudding...so we broke her tummy in first:





We also got to see the newest beauty to the clan...Sophie girl! Shes a doll....and makes the cutest faces and laughs adorably



No trip to Mempho is complete without eating the world's best BB-Q,and Corky's (or "Corys" as it was called this night) is the place to start!



It was great to see family!




and check out these old school jammies my sis pulled out:


Jude got a cool surprise when Uncle Pat got him a GIANT Jay Cutler fathead! Look at the joy on that face:





We spent some time at Bass Pro Shop, which was all decked out for Christmas. Very cool time...I mean guns and Santa, what could go together better?








One night we ridiculuously crammed the house for a party where we reconnected with old friends!








I drove to some old haunts to show you guys. Man..this granola hippy boy is ghetto at heart! This is the house I grew up in...the one where the cops chased a neighbor to his house, after he had stolen a cop car in a crack fueled rage :) I wanted to get pics of my last apartment there in Orange Mound..yeah ORANGE MOUND! But I never got to it:

This is Kirby High. They now have to wear uniforms due to the gang violence. Notice the reference to Obama on the sign! How a PUBLIC school can get away with something so cool baffles me??? I forgot how much it looks like a prison!




And only in Memphis...this is in front of what I still call Central Church


Check these out. 1st is Noriah our dear friend singing a song from her school program. And last is Sophie's adorable laugh:




It was a crazy trip. We had 14 people crammed into a 1200 sq ft house! There was very little personal space. It was short so we couldn't accomplish half of what we wanted to. The family argued some...mostly pver my "crazy" political beliefs....and my argument that maybe they should research politicians in another way other than chain emails! My Sisters LOVED to push each others buttons. We ATE! I loved Memphis and hated it at the same time. I talked to Grandaddy for what will probably be my last time. I will cherish those talks. We saw family and friends. And I loved it all. I love my family. We may be crazy, and even resemble a cast of a Jerry Springer show at times :).....but I would not change them for the world!