Happy 62nd Birthday Van!!!

Today I have spent the day listening to one of my favorite singers on the occasion of his 62nd birthday. The CD I chose to listen to was one I downloaded to my iPod last night and is a recording of a recent live show, one I would have given my eye teeth to have gone to, the performance as The Abbey in Glastonbury, England, that mystical place that was has been an inspiration to many of his songs as on his CDs Avalon, Enlightenment, and Common One (songs Haunts of Ancient Peace and Summertime in England being two of my favorite songs from the latter album). A Van Morrison concert is like a grab bag. You never know for sure what songs you're going to get. whether he'll say a few words to the audience or maybe nothing at all. It's pretty certain the evening will end with Brown-Eyed Girl and Gloria (and that the concert will last precisely 90 minutes) but no two concerts are the same. As so wanted to hear him sing Into the Mystic when I saw him in Seattle in October of 2006 and then again in Vancouver, BC in February of 2007 but it wasn't to be. And checking the set lists for ths shows since then, I can't recall that he has had this song in his repertoire. So it was with a sigh that via my friend Pat's review http://patrickmaginty.blogspot.com/2007/08/sun-was-setting-over-avalon.html I found out that he had sung it at Glastonbury August 11th. I was thrilled to get a copy of this show and doubly thrilled that it was of such good quality. One of the best I have heard in a long time. (BTW, check out Patrick's archives for his reviews of his favorite Van Morrison albums - they are wise and intelligent, the best I have ever read).

I own all of Van's commerically-released CDs and dozens of live shows and bootleg CDs and DVDs. I just can't get enough of this voice, the genius of his words that touch me to the very depths of my soul. It matters not to me that he is tempermental or grumpy (to put it mildly) what matters to me is that his words reach me.

Book Review: Here if You Need Me by Kate Braestrup

As a mother of four and wife to Maine State trooper Drew Griffith, Kate Braestrup thought her life was in order as a wife, mother, and writer. Drew’s plans though were to go to school to become a Unitarian minister. Suddenly though, Kate becomes a widow and then decides to pursue Drew’s dream. She becomes a Unitarian minister and begins working with the Maine Game Warden department, mainly ministering to the families of those involved in search and rescue attempts – the hikers, the lost snowmobilers, the swimmers falling over a waterfall, the despondent young women, the lost children.

However this book isn’t, as I had first thought, simply full of anecdotes of Kate’s involvement with search and rescue attempts. Oh no, it is much, much more than that. There, are plenty of interesting anecdotes that’s for sure but it is a story of Kate’s life as a single mother, as a spiritual woman, as a spiritual leader, and as a caring human being. It is a book full of the essays of a talented writer giving her take on life, death, and heaven, all in a gentle way where it is easy to imagine the skill in which she is able to minister to those in need. She does so without judging anyone be they a fundamentalist, atheist, agnostic, or of any other belief.

There is the story of a young suicide victim whose brother she counsels and consoles as he is worried she will be unable to have a Christian burial because of the way she died, there is the story of the parents Kate spends the night consoling with after their daughter goes missing, answering the atheist mother who says, “It’s so cool that the warden service has a chaplain to keep us from freaking out,” by responding,”I’m not really here to keep you from freaking out. I’m here to be with you while you freak out.”

And here is the story of Kate, the mother, helping her four children get over the death of their beloved father, all the while in deep mourning herself. Kate who loved her husband so deeply. So very deeply that she does for her husband what few new widows will ever do in this modern age.

All I can say is WOW. I don’t know when I have been so moved by a book.

The reader will be moved to tears, laugh out loud, begin a spiritual awakening – and keep the book nearby for re-reading of Kate’s essays again and again. You will wish she was your friend, your pastor. You will wish you had the honor of having her wisdom nearby on a daily basis. But since you don’t reading this book will have to suffice. The world would be a better place if there were more Kate Braestrups in it. God bless you Kate and thank you for sharing a part of your world and your wisdom in this magnificent read.

Book Review: Little Heathens: Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression by Mildred Kalish

I delved into this book with great anticipation. The author is only a few years younger than my mother and the area she writes about in rural Iowa is just 50 miles east of where my grandfather was born.

There were many things to like in this book that combines anecdotes from the 1930s with recipes and how to do things the old way. I enjoyed the anecdotes and would have enjoyed the book if it had been sprinkled with less of the recipes and more of the stories from the 1930s--stories which ranged from poignant to laugh-out-loud funny. Her stories range from such events as box socials (and giving a complete explanation of what one is for those who may not know) to how to gather honey from bees (and what happens if you do it the wrong way). She tells of how hard work it was it was back in the day, but does recall there was time for a bit of leisure as well.

At once a memoir, a how-to book, and a cookbook, Kalish tells her story with enthusiasm but with a bit of pompousness that was a bit unnecessary. She acts as if she was the only person ever to know how to do some of these things described and that her way was the only way. Heck, I am 25 years younger than she is and I can remember doing many of the same things at my grandparents' farm in North Dakota two decades later, and even do some of these same things today. Although the subtitle mentions "hard times" it is clear that due to help from her grandparents and a self-sufficient farm, Kalish and her siblings never really went without anything on her farm during the depression so anyone who is reading this book and expects it to be a true hardship tale best look elsewhere. It is a great look down memory lane for those from Kalish's generation who I am sure will enjoy reading and reminiscing about another time and place. It seems though that most of the time the author is writing for an audience who hasn't lived through any of these events, remembers none of these times (stoking an old wood fire, splitting wood,making head cheese, butchering a chicken, making May Day baskets). That said, it is quick interesting read but recommended with reservations as although a memoir, how-to book and cookbook, it doesn't completely succeed at any of these.

Click here to listen to: Linda Thompson

: "1. Day After Tomorrow - Linda Thompson "

This is a great anti-war song written by Tom Waits (and his wife, Kathleen Brennan) interpreted beautifully by the amazing Linda Thompson. Here are the lyrics:

I got your letter
Today
An' I miss you oh so much here
I can't wait
To see you all
And I'm counting the days dear
I still believe that there's gold
At the end of the World
An' I'll come home
To Illinois
On the day after tomorrow

It is so hard
And it's cold here
And I'm tired of taking orders
And I miss old Rockford town
Up by the Wisconsin border

What I miss you won't believe
Shovellin' snow,and rakin' leaves

And my plane will touch down
On the day after tomorrow

I close my eyes
Every night
And I dream
That I can hold you

They fill us full of lies
Everyone buys'
Bout what it means
To be a soldier
I still don't know how I'm s'posed to feel'
Bout all the blood that's been spilled

Will God on his throne
Get me back home
On the day after tomorrow?

You can't deny
The other side
Don't wanna die
Any more than we do

What I'm tryin' to say
Is, don't they pray
To the same God
That we do?

Tell me
How does God choose?
Whose prayers does he refuse?
Who turns the wheel
Who throws the dice
On the day after tomorrow?

I am not fighting
For justice
I am not fighting
For freedom
I am fighting
For my life

And another day in the World here
I just do what I've been told
We're just the gravel on the road
And only the lucky
Ones come home
On the day after tomorrow

And the summer
It too will fade
And with it brings
The winter's frost dear

And I know
We too are made
Of all the things
That we have lost here

I'll be twenty - one today
I been savin' all my pay

And my plane
Will touch down
On the day after tomorrow

And my plane
It will touch down
On the day after tomorrow

Click here to listen to: Teddy Thompson

: "1. My Heart Echoes - Teddy Thompson "
This is the song with Iris Dement I like so much -- Simply click on the heading above to be taken to the Rhapsody website and you can hear for yourself this sparse, lovely song.

A CD I'm Loving: Teddy Thompson

I love Linda Thompson, Teddy's mother and I love Teddy's parents Richard and Linda Thompson together (sadly, they're divorced and no longer perform together). After hearing Teddy on the Brokeback Mountain soundtrack, I fell in love with his voice as well. In his new CD, a collection mostly of cover songs by such Nashville (and Bakersfield) legends as George Jones, Ernest Tubb, Dolly Parton, and Merle Haggard Teddy Thompson excels. He has the perfect voice for these country classics. Who knew something like this would come from a singer from the UK? Last year another favorite of mine, the great Van Morrison did a CD of country classics and although very good, I think Teddy has eclipsed him. Of course it doesn't hurt that he employs the fabulous Iris Dement on one cut. Here's the blurb from Teddy's web site http://www.teddythompson.com/

Teddy Thompson's self-produced Up Front & Down Low offers distinctive readings of beloved country classics: George Jones' "She Thinks I Still Care," Ernest Tubb's "Walking the Floor Over You" and Merle Haggard's "(My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers." Equally impressive, however, are such lesser-known songs such as Boudleaux Bryant's regretful "Change of Heart," the yearning "Touching Home," Dolly Parton's bittersweet "My Blue Tears," the tongue-in-cheek Bob Luman hit "Let's Think About Living" and the Elvis Presley chestnut "I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone." The album also features a lone Thompson original, "Down Low," whose heart-on-sleeve lyrics take on added resonance in this context.

"As strange as it may seem, country music was the music I was brought up on," says Teddy, whose parents are British folk-rock legends Richard and Linda Thompson. "It's the music that's closest to my heart and the music that speaks to me the most, and it's always been a big influence on my own songwriting. I was obsessed with country music when I was a kid, and it's definitely had a huge influence on the way I write songs. I was always attracted to songs that had a brilliant pun or a clever turn of phrase, but came from a dark, bitter place. As a writer, I've always gravitated towards that feeling." Throughout Up Front & Down Low, the songs are supported by artful, evocative arrangements that often diverge from the material's original country milieu. Six tracks feature distinctive string arrangements by legendary English arranger Robert Kirby, renowned for his groundbreaking work with Nick Drake, while "My Blue Tears" features strings arranged by frequent Thompson cohort Rufus Wainwright.

Up Front & Down Low's compelling blend of melancholy and uplift is consistent with Thompson's prior work. "It was liberating," he adds, "to be making a record of songs I didn't write. I was able to be a bit more detached, and I didn't stress over every little detail as much as I do with my own material. It was easier to concentrate on whether it was a good performance, and not worry so much about whether the snare sound was perfect.Indeed, Up Front & Down Low marks a temporary departure from the London-born, New York-based singer/guitarist's prior recorded work.

Whereas his first two albums Teddy Thompson and Separate Ways showcased his formidable songwriting skills, Up Front & Down Low focuses on Thompson's abilities as an interpreter of outside material. The collection finds him delivering personalized reworkings of a memorable assortment of songs drawn from America's rich country music tradition, all delivered with a level of commitment and musical imagination that consistently cuts to the emotional heart of the material.

Book Review: Heart in the Right Place by Carolyn Jourdan

When Senate Counsel Carolyn Jourdan returns to the mountains of eastern Tennessee from Washington, DC after the sudden illness of her mother, she has no idea how long she’ll be needed to fill in her role as receptionist for her father, the kindly country doctor. She figures at first it will just be two days. But readers can be glad that it wasn’t as in Heart in the Right Place, Jourdan takes the reader on a true journey of the heart to the people of eastern Tennessee and through all the trials and tribulations of a small country one-doctor medical practice. One where he might be paid in even a fox carcass if he charged his patients anything at all.

We meet and learn to love the patients in the practice such as the eccentric Miss Hiawatha and the kindly Mike who doesn’t hardly know he is handicapped. And then there are the two friends Obie and Kermit. You never know what kind of predicament they are going to get themselves into next and what kind of injuries it’s going to cause. Each time they come through the clinic door it’s going to be something totally different. The big question on everyone’s mind is, will Carolyn stay in eastern Tennessee where she earned $0 in one year or return to her high-power, six-figure job in Washington, DC?

It was recommended I get this book via Amazon’s Customers Also Bought feature after I had purchased another book. I clicked on it and read the description. As a long-time medical office employee it sounded right up my alley. But it would appeal to anyone who enjoys sweet stories with quirky characters such as the Mitford series by Jan Karon or anyone who loves the TV series Northern Exposure or Ballykissangel. But these are very real people here, not those from fiction. I laughed and I cried, I read passages out loud to my husband, and I stayed up into the wee hours of the morning two nights in a row to finish it. I can’t recommend this book enough. You will want to buy one for yourself and another as a gift for someone you care about.

Book Review: Fifty Acres and a Poodle by Jeanne Marie Laskas

I had this book on my TBR pile for the last couple of years and I don't know why I had been putting off reading it. I guess the time was just right and I pulled it out and read it this weekend - finishing the last 25 pages on the patio this evening.

Jeanne Laskas was/is writer in Pittsburgh where she lived on the South Side with her cat, Bob and her dog, Betty. She had a perfectly happy life, with a little garden, friends (aka "The Babes") she enjoyed and an interesting writing job. But she had always dreamed of having a farm. Still when she and her psychologist boyfriend, Alex, go out for a drive one fall afternoon they really didn't intend to buy the 50-acre farm an hour south of Pittsburgh. But that's what happened. This book chronicles their first year as farm owners and the characters (animal and human) they encounter. The poodle in the title refers to Alex's dog, Marley ("a standard poodle, not the yappy kind").

This was a simply delightful book! I laughed and I cried. It was all I could do not to double my 15 minute break this afternoon to finish it but I am glad I didn't as that last part was one where I ended up having tears streaming down my face and at one point I could no longer see the pages. I have Laskas' sequel, The Exact Same Moon, Fifty Acres and a Family and I just may have to read that next. I imagine I will end up getting her third book about her raising her two adopted girls from China as I just can't get enough of Jeanne, Alex and their adventures at Sweetwater Farm.

Tomatoes Update

When I came home from work today my husband was very excited. He said he had something to show me. As he was out weeding the garden today he found our youngest tomato plant had tomatoes that were actually beginning to turn RED!!! As you can see they are not quite ready but it won't be long now.

Eating Locally

I know we can't do it too often. But we're going to try to do it every once in awhile. That is eat locally. The first time I was a made of this aware of was with Barbara Kingsolver's latest book, Animal Vegetable Miracle http://www.animalvegetablemiracle.com/ and then I saw something on the news about the 100 Mile Diet http://100milediet.org/ where in essence one only eats what is grown 100 miles from where they live. Some people do it for a year, some for a month and in our instance we did it for a meal. OK, most of a meal. The olive oil and Grana Padano cheese for the pesto (recipe from my favorite cookbook - The Silver Palate Cookbook) wasn't local - and neither was was the penne pasta. But the spot prawns were from Puget Sound (purchased at New Day Fisheries in Port Townsend), the basil for the pesto was home grown, the salad (buttercrunch and romaine lettuce, zucchini, onion, peppers) were all from our garden, our grilled zucchini - from our garden, the wine - Johannesburg Reisling from Chateau Ste. Michelle across the sound in Woodinville, Washington. It was a wonderful dinner and we're are going to try to do this more often. Everyone has their reasons for participating. They want to reduce the use of fossil fuels by buying foods that aren't shipped cross-country or internationally. They're supporting and getting to know local farmers and businesses. The food is fresher, healthier and better tasting - the latter I can attest to. I couldn't believe how wonderful this all tasted. And it was quite an accomplishment. As my husband remarked, "Did you ever believe you'd be eating this much food from your own garden?" I shook my head no. As we came inside from eating our dinner al fresco (shockingly the weather warmed up just enough for us to be able to do so) I told my husband that I didn't think our garden was big enough. Now that is a real shock coming from someone who couldn't even keep a houseplant alive.

It Happened Overnight

Our corn has silk!!!!! Yesterday it wasn't there. But today I went out to pick some zucchini and lettuce for dinner and looked over and there it was --- silk on the ears of corn. If we can keep the bugs and raccoons away it won't be long now.

Vegetables Just About Ready

These may be the last pictures of a few of these - I think I am going to pick the peppers tonight as well as a couple more zucchini. And check out the tomatoes. How many can you count? I wasn't even trying very hard and counted over two dozen. These are a cherry tomato called Supersweet 100. Not too bad for amateurs, eh?

I Know I'm Not in Iowa, but . . .

They said it couldn't be done. Even my mother, the Master Gardener, never raised corn instead preferring to buy it from Norm at the stand down the road. And while that corn was delicious, I have always wondered what corn might taste like coming right from the garden. I do have memories of having corn at my aunt's farm in South Dakota and remember even as frozen corn it being the best I'd ever tasted. It was those memories and a love for good yellow corn that motivated me to try to grow my own. Here is what it looks like today. If we can just keep the ears free of bugs for a few more weeks. . .

Garden Essay Books I've Enjoyed

(Reviews from Google Books)

FROM THE GROUND UP by Amy Stewart

Amy Stewart had a simple dream. She wanted a garden. When she and her husband finished graduate school, they headed west to Santa Cruz, California. With little money in their pockets, they found a modest seaside cottage with a small backyard. It wasn’t much—a twelve-hundred-square-foot patch of land with a couple of fruit trees and a lot of dirt—but it was a good place to start.From the Ground Up is Stewart's chronicle of the seedlings and weeds, cats and compost, worms and watering that transform a tiny plot of earth into a glorious garden. From planting the seeds her great-grandmother sends to battling snails, gophers, and aphids, Stewart takes us on a tour of her coastal garden and shares the lessons she's learned the hard way. In the process, she brings her California beach town to life—complete with harbor seals, monarch butterfly migrations, and an old-fashioned, seaside amusement park just down the street.Delighting in triumphs and confessing to a multitude of gardening sins, Stewart dishes the dirt for both the novice and experienced gardener. With helpful tips in each chapter, From the Ground Up tells the story of a young woman’s determination to create a garden in which the plants struggle to live up to the gardener’s vision.

THE $64 TOMATO by William Alexander

Bill Alexander had no idea that his simple dream of having a vegetable garden and small orchard in his backyard would lead him into life-and-death battles with groundhogs, webworms, weeds, and weather; midnight expeditions in the dead of winter to dig up fresh thyme; and skirmishes with neighbors who feed the vermin (i.e., deer). Not to mention the vacations that had to be planned around the harvest, the near electrocution of the tree man, the limitations of his own middle-aged body, and the pity of his wife and kids. When Alexander runs (just for fun!) a costbenefit analysis, adding up everything from the live animal trap to the Velcro tomato wraps and then amortizing it over the life of his garden, it comes as quite a shock to learn that it cost him a staggering $64 to grow each one of his beloved Brandywine tomatoes. But as any gardener will tell you, you can't put a price on the unparalleled pleasures of providing fresh food for your family.

Review: You're Not You by Michelle Wildgen

When Bec, a 21-old Madison, Wisconsin college student decides to change her part-time job from bartending at a local greasy spoon restaurant she has no idea how much her life will change or how much her charge will influence her.

Sophisticated 36-year-old Kate Norris has had ALS aka amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or Lou Gehrig’s disease for two years. Happily married she to husband Evan, she is wheelchair-bound and literally unable to do anything for herself. Her speech is even getting so bad that it difficult for her to be understood by anyone other than those very close to her. Bec literally has to do everything for her from bathing her to toileting her to putting her makeup on. As the months go by Kate, a former gourmet cook who is unable to eat by mouth due to her condition, teaches Bec to make the meals she used to love. Meanwhile, Kate’s marriage deteriorates and when she and Evan separate, Bec is called upon to perform even more caretaking duties.

The life of caretaker and patient are vividly portrayed in this novel, by first-time novelist Michelle Wildgen (who has done essays and food writing, editing a couple of books of food related essays). While it is void of a heavy plot, what is at stake here is more gripping than a thrilling page-turner. Bec goes from carefree college student having an affair with a married instructor, to more sophisticated young woman who grows in more ways than one from her experiences with Kate.

This book was a New York Times Editor’s Choice and was selected as one of People Magazines Top 10 books of 2006. And while I was expecting perhaps a bit more, I did end up enjoying the book overall. I give it a solid B and look forward to this author’s next effort.

Concert/Road Trip - Van Morrison in Vancouver - February 2007

Review and story to come

Concert Review: Emmylou Harris - May 3, 2007 - Eugene

I had a wonderful time at the concert at the Hult Center in Eugene. I drove down in a torrential rainstorm --- foreign to me from the land of the rainshadow -- but finally arrived around 5PM. Rested a bit at my friend, Joan's home and then we went to dinner at a little place across the street. The Hult Center is fabulous. The seats plush and the acoustics just outstanding. I would put it all on par -- if not even better - with the Benaroya in Seattle. She was with Kennedy/Rose so the set was similar to what we saw in Seattle in December yet enough different to make each song a surprise.

From what I could read from my messy notes taken in the dark:

Emmylou Eugene Set List

Here I Am
Orphan Girl
Love and Happiness
To Know Him is To Love Him
Red Dirt Girl
To Mother You (Sinead O'Connor) – Beautiful!!!!!!!!
Spanish is a Loving Tongue (Ian and Sylvia Song)
In My Dreams
Strong Hand (for June)
Evangeline
The Boxer
For No OneGo To Sleep Little BabyTo Daddy

Going Back to Harlan

After the Goldrush

The Pearl

Bright Morning Stars are Rising (Spiritual)

Encore:

Boulder to Birmingham

Save the Last Dance for Me

I had just said to Joan that I didn't think I had ever been to a concert where she hadn't done Boulder to Birmingham -- and that was the only song I would have been disappointed if she hadn't done. My friend discovered Emmylou with Wrecking Ball so she didn't miss not hearing a lot of the old songs. Joan is also a big Neil Young fan so enjoyed After the Goldrush. And amazingly, before the concert they were playing Neil Young -- after the concert they were playing Van Morrison as the house music. Pretty amazing. As I told Joan, there are no coincidences.

Concert Review: John Prine - April 19, 2007 - Seattle

This was my third John Prine concert, and although not my favorite, I think the man is incapable of doing a bad concert. We had great seats (sixth row, center) and the only real negative was an obnoxious couple sitting immediately to my right who when they weren't talking to one another, were singing along (loudly), whistling, or walking over me to get (more refreshments, to the bathroom, who knows?) but I digress.

Opening act Mindy Smith did an adequate job. Her song dedicated to the memory of her mother, "One Moment More" was particularly touching.

Here is the set list for the evening - please forgive any mistitled songs:

1) Spanish

) Picture Show

3) Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore

4) Six O'Clock News

5) Souvenirs - before the song he mentioned that his Martin guitar had walked around backstage in the dark and broke its neck so he was using Steve Goodman's guitar -- very fitting

6) Far From Me

7) Grandpa Was a Carpenter

8) Fish and Whistle

9) Glory of True Love

10) Long Monday w/ Mindy Smith

11) Taking a Walk w/ Mindy

12) In Spite of Ourselves w/ Mindy (she is no Iris)

13) Angel from Montgomery w/ Mindy

14) Jesus, The Missing Years

15) Clay Pigeons

16) Dear Abby

17) Sam Stone (you could hear a pin drop except for the couple next to me talking)

18) Take Me Back "In Memory of Hunter Thompson" (This is one I am not sure of the title)

19) Saddle in the Rain

20) Ain't Hurtin' Nobody (Wow!)

21) Hello in There

22) Lake Marie

Encore:

23) People Putting People Down

24) Paradise

I missed hearing Big Ol' Goofy World and That's the Way the World Goes 'Round (or the Happy Enchilada song and story) and other favorites but realize he can't do them all in a two hour show. The consensus from people I talked to after the show was that it was "fantastic" . I was happy I went even though we had a long drive back to Port Townsend on a weeknight -- it was well worth it.

Concert Review: Patty Griffin - Seattle March 19, 2007

We had a wonderful evening in Seattle for my first Patty Griffin concert. We caught an early ferry from Bainbridge Island to Seattle, parking behind the Moore Theater and then walking the two blocks to Lola's one of of our favorite Seattle restaurants, walking back to the theater and our seats in the center section on the aisle, the first row of permanent seats but with four rows of folded chairs in front of us. I have to say her opening act which consisted of her drummer and another percussionist doing a lot of latin-flavored tunes, wasn't really my cuppa. And it took an inordinately looonnnngggg time for the roadies to get things ready so Patty didn't take the stage until after 9PM. But she was well worth waiting for. I know I should have written out the set list but she did start out with Get Yourself Another Fool, went to Stay on the Ride (my husband's favorite song from the new CD) and then Trapeze. She then went on the play the piano, did some songs solo with just her and the guitar, and a BEAUTIFUL Up to the Mountain (MLK Song) accompanied by her guitar player.

What she did do that was different from the set lists from this tour I have seen was including Long Road Home (but not Fly). After her encore, they began to play the house music but after a rousing version of Getting Ready the audience was just not ready to let Patty leave. She came back out, solo, and went over to the piano and did a goose-bump giving J'irai La Voir Un Jour - it brought tears to my eyes. And it wasn't the first time during the evening her singing had brought me to tears.

This was my first Patty Griffin concert and I can assure you it won't be my last. If possible, I came away liking her even more than I did already. She was absolutely outstanding!

The Church of Garrison Keillor

Many years (over 2o) before the movie came out, Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion has been a mainstay of my life. My children were raised on it, I introduced my Midwest-raised parents to it, have seen the show live (albeit in Seattle) and when visiting Minnesota in 2000 and having cousins take us to St. Paul to the Titanic Exhibit the only thing on my mind was getting to see the Fitzgerald Theater! We try to catch it on Saturdays but now it comes on at 3PM instead of 5PM like it did back in the day so we tune in to the broadcast on Sunday mornings. I have even caught my daughter listening to it at the Celtic store she works at on Sunday mornings. Not being church-going people any longer (I was raised in the Lutheran church so I get a lot of the jokes - especially since my dad was German Lutheran, I get both sides of the jokes from the show) and my husband was a PK (preacher's kid) - surprisingly the only church was have joined during our 15 years of marriage has been the Unitarian Church. And while we SHOULD go more often, we prefer the tranquility of the quiet Sunday mornings, a little Guy Noir, a Little from the Hopeful Gospel Quartet, some ads from the Catsup Advisory Board and the Duct Tape Society and the News from Lake Wobegon where as you all know, "WHERE THE WOMEN ARE STRONG, THE MEN ARE GOOD LOOKING, AND ALL OF THE CHILDREN ARE ABOVE AVERAGE®."

Jefferson County Courthouse

Another sound I love is the sound of the clock tolling the time on the hour at the County Courthouse. Built in 1892, it was recently restored and is one of our town's treasures. I love sitting in our backyard in the summer when all is quiet and hearing the gong - Big Ben, it's not, but the sound couldn't be any sweeter to my ears especially when it was out of commission for about a year and we were wondering if it was ever going to be repaired (evidently clock tower repairmen are in short supply these days). But after an over six-figure restoration project, the clock tower is making sweet sounds once again -- and making me smile every time I hear it.

Our Lighthouse

Sitting here this evening (well actually very early AM) listening to the foghorn emanating its low growl from nearby Point Wilson Lighthouse, reminds me of one of the reasons I love living in a seaside community. I am so fortunate to live in a place where so many people only come to visit for a weekend or sometimes longer, that has been written up in all of the travel magazines and is as picturesque as any community you'll ever want to see. It is one of only two Victorian Seaports on the National Historic Register. We either hear the foghorn from the lighthouse on our many foggy nights and mornings or, as the ferries begin running to Whidbey Island on foggy mornings the foghorns in warning coming through the mist. And every hour on the hour, we have the historic clock tower at the Jefferson County Courthouse, just recently restored. But I love the sound of the foghorn for it reminds me I am near the sea and near the sea is where I want to stay.

A Garden Visitor

We get a lot of bees in our lavender so much that if it's quiet we can hear a constant humming. We keep wondering where all that wonderful lavender honey is being made. Today we had an unusual visitor alighting on the lavender, this lovely little butterfly. Click on the image to enlarge it.

Can I Pick Them Yet???

These are yellow peppers - I am dying to pick the biggest one but they aren't supposed to be banana peppers and I think they might get wider. I am afraid they might weigh down the poor little plant and there are lots more blossoms. Does anybody know?

And the baby Brussel sprouts

We didn't even know what to look for with the Brussel sprouts but here they are, growing on the stalk - you might have to look carefully!!!

And Our Corn has Tassels!!!!!!!!!

We're feeling like real farmers now -- Our corn has tassels and we can even see the beginnings of some little baby ears! And they said it couldn't be done in raised beds!!! In the one photo you can see the beginning of our first little ear of corn!

Baby Tomatoes - But When Do They Turn Red???

A Baby Artichoke

I surprised John when he came home the other night with the news, as Coral said to Marlon, "We're going to be parents!" But unlike Coral, I said, "Let's call him Arty." We were surprised because we weren't even trying. Especially since we were told that in the first year our artichokes wouldn't bear fruit. But look for yourself. Here are the first photos! I wonder if all first time vegetable gardeners take as many pictures of their garden as we do?

On the menu tonight: Grilled Zucchini!!!!

We checked the zuuchini vines this morning and it seems we have plenty to grill this evening -- we are thrilled!

Review: Water for Elephants

Practically everyone had been raving about this book but I think the circus setting kept putting me off. My local book group chose it for it's summer selection, so I was forced to read it. I ordered and I was kicking and screaming. Even then I procrastinated. Knowing that our discussion is coming up in a few weeks, I decided I'd better start it and I was feeling guilty about reading everything BUT this book during my breaks and lunch (working with two other members of my book group). Once I started it I COULD'T PUT IT DOWN. I was up two nights past midnight and the third and last night until 1:30 AM finishing the book -- on a weeknight! What a fabulous read. This story of Jacob Jankowski, almost-veterarian who after a tragedy finds a job in this a struggling circus really touched my heart. Perhaps it was because I liked Jacob so much. I really enjoyed the scenes in present day, set in the nursing home where Jacob, now 90 or 93, is living as much as I enjoyed the scenes in the circus. But Rosie the elephant almost steals the show. Since I started reading the book, several others have told me how they have been reluctant to read it because they don't care for circuses. Don't let this stop you. The book is fabulous from beginning to end. I can hardly wait until our book group meets. It's going to be quite the discussion!