music – Peaceful Reader

Austin City Limits

Two weekends ago Groovy Girl and I enjoyed the music, food, and weather of Austin, TX. We had an amazing time together and are the perfect traveling companions. Japhy approached me last spring when the lineup was announced saying “wouldn’t this be fun!” And after looking into it more I took her up on the idea. We looked into tickets and found out you can split the payments up, we found a small Airbnb and the ball started to roll. A few weeks ago our wristbands arrived and it was a reality.

We did have some travel glitches but it all worked out in the end even waiting until Saturday morning to get our luggage. I highly recommend flying Delta out of Minneapolis.

We got in Friday afternoon after our initial delay and picked up our car via my Turo app directions. Have you tried this car borrowing system? I liked it for the most part. Once we had our 2022 Prius we headed for food and our AirBB before venturing off to Zilker Park. Our first restaurant choice was not our best pick but it had a patio and the food was edible. Our AirBB was as pictured, small but tidy and enough for what we needed.

Unfortunetly because our original flight was still in Minneapolis our luggage did not arrive with us so we had to journey to the festival with our travel clothes still on. Luckily we had on cool clothes because Austin weather was warm. A friend had pre-warned us that the walk would be long to get to the park and she was absolutely spot on. And then when we got inside the larger-than-life park there was a lot to traverse to get to different stages, food, etc. Our band line up was amazing:

Friday:

The Moss at 5:15 which was pretty amazing to get there after traveling, eating, and checking in

Maggie Rogers right after and she was amazing-she owned that stage!

The Lumineers-also amazing to hear in person and a great way to end our first night

At the end of our night we found a Target so we could get toothbrushes and other essentials for the night. We knew we would be able to pick up our luggage back at the airport in the morning. We found an amazing Korean food truck across the street and had a fried tofu dish for a late night dinner.

Saturday:

We stopped at a VeraCruz, a taco shop that was highly rated and thus very busy but we wanted to eat before entering the gates.

Mt. Joy-Lovely band that I’d never heard of but loved.

Tanya Tucker- to be honest we saw her so we would be in place for Noah Kahan (Japhy’s favorite) and we ended up loving her sass and style.

Noah Kahan-He was definetely a headliner for Japhy and as a treat Mumford and Sons came out and played a song with him.

And then we listened to a bit of the Foo Fighters from afar (the crowd was huge) and headed home.

Sunday:

We found an amazing brunch spot, Another Broken Egg, and had fun sitting at the bar with my now 21-year-old daughter! She had a spiked cold brew comb and I had a Breakfast Blueberry Margarita and then we ordered delicious breakfast items including Smoked Salmon Benedict, cinnamon roll french toast, and a half order of beignets!

Corook- We were at the park much earlier this day and headed across the dirt to hear her sing and commune with her audience, she was very entertaining, funny, and relatable.

Suki Waterhouse-Daisy Jones and the Six keyboardist-she has an amazing voice

Hozier – So fantastic! We saw him at Hinterland a few years ago as well.

We found a delicious ramen place for dinner that night after the show. We were pretty tired and happy to head home after warm, healing bowls of noodles.

Monday- We had a day of exploring vintage shops, boot stores, and boutiques and ended up at Meteor on Congress for an outstanding butternut squash pizza. And then we were off to return our Prius and start the journey home. It is an absolute wonder to have a daughter that makes such a great travel companion. I feel blessed to have that relationship. I’m still missing my mom, my chest still aches from surgery but there is so many happy memories I’ve made over the last year and ACL will be one that I treasure as we continue on through the years.

How is it August already?

This summer is flying by…

Even when I was a young school girl I knew that as soon as August rolled around it wouldn’t be long before school started again. I love summer. I like to have equal time to relax and get things done in a very balanced summer way. This summer I’ve not had as much downtime as I would have liked. The one day I had time to lay in the hammock and read I broke the hammock trying to get Ruby the dog in with me! Luckily the crash was soft as the tree trunk timbered slowly down and didn’t hit me.

I spent my birthday weekend with Groovy Girl, her BFF Katy and Katy’s mom, Beth in St. Charles, IA for Hinterland Music Festival. We saw Hozier, Kacey Musgraves, Jason Isbell, Brandi Carlile, The Wood Brothers, Jade Bird, Maggie Rogers, and St Paul and the Broken Bones just to literally name a few. I had so much fun listening to music under the sun and the moon.

(Hozier)

We camped and thankfully it didn’t rain. Camping in the rain is just not fun yet the weekend was super sunny and we all about suffered from heat stroke. Sunday afternoon we took a little break and headed into Winterset for a little lunch and a lot of air conditioning. We found a wonderful Mexican restaurant open and then found the Winterset Cidery where we relaxed with a flight of delicious ciders and a game of cards with the girls. Once we soaked up enough cool air we headed back to the festival to hear the last 4 musical acts. Maggie and Brandi were the last two singers and they were both amazing performers. Brandi is a natural storyteller and I love how she openly shares about her family.

I’ve had two teacher-librarian meetings this week and have a bunch of projects to work on before school begins. I’m going to have to cut out my summer naps from now on I guess. I still have a lot of books on my to-read stack (but really – who am I kidding-that stack grows more than it dwindles!)

Happy last weeks of summer..

Gratitude

We are back from the crazy music festival. Almost all of the music was amazing. We took a lot of pictures with our Nikon (which of course are not uploaded yet) I created the above video from just the few pictures I had on my iPhone.

We had a great time with the friends we went with and we now have other friends who are interested. We met some cool people while there (Lindsey and Joel stood out as true kind folk) and we ate some interesting festival food. We had camping neighbors that were parents of the harmonica player for Horseshoes and Handgrenades. Another camping neighbor and I exchanged books; she gave me Wild by Cheryl Strayed and I gave her Left Neglected by Lisa Genova. I also ran into an old friend that I’ve not seen for like 20 years. Strange things happen when you listen to the music.

Camping was good. I do not have a sore back. Positive. It stormed pretty crazily Friday afternoon but we all survived. One car did get crushed by a tree though. Coming home we found a small bakery (donuts and great bread) and a cute diner in Wabash that fed us real meals on real plates with a real bathroom.

Getting back inside my lovely house I was happy to have indoor plumbing once again, a kitchen to cook in, and I bathed for the first time in four days! Yes, that felt great. Whispering Pines Campground DID have a shower house but it was ice cold water as two of my camping mates experienced. I opted to be happy with the dirty hippie brigade instead of cold water spraying over me. My hot bath last night brought joy and order back to my world. That and creating a feast for my two children who took care of each other while we were camping. As we sat and ate together, just the 3 of us, I felt so grateful for my children who I love to the moon and back. They, in return, were over the moon for the meal I made them.

Groovy Girl is on Pinterest and she’d asked me if over the summer we could make it a goal to make some of the meals on her “yum” board so I made one last night. Only 28 more “Yum” recipes to go!

From The Recipe Critic-Crispy Parmesan Chicken with lemon pasta. It says boldly on her page that this recipe takes only 30 minutes to prepare which must mean if you have all ingredients completely ready to go. It took me an hour to prepare which is no big deal especially because I made my own breadcrumbs. My kids laughed about that-but of course I could not use something so pre-packaged! They know me so well.

Favorite new music from Blue Ox:

The Wood Brothers
Sierra Hull
The Pistol Whippin’ Party Penguins
The Last Revel (we already loved this band)
Blitzen Trapper
Sam Bush
Railroad Earth
GinStrings – This group played right as the storm ended inside the merch lodge and it was beautiful.

It was also devastating to wake up on Sunday morning and hear about the tragedy in Orlando. I can only hope (and beg the people who govern us) to change our gun laws.

Blue Ox

Thinking back Blue Ox cues me to our time as a family visiting Paul Bunyon Park in Northern Minnesota. Gorgeous and fun. I do remember a childhood video ( I grew up with a photographer father) of me losing my pristine white sandal in the muddy Babe, the Blue Ox area. I cried.

That’s what the whole video is about, me sad about losing my shoe in the mud, knowing there might be hell to pay. There are also highlights of Babe and Paul speaking to us. Super cool technology for the day-the badass 70’s.

Fast forward in crazy time warp speed I’m now at the Blue Ox Music festival, camping, and listening to amazing bands. Leftover Salmon 💜, the Big Wu, the Last Revel, Sam Bush, Shovels and Rope, The Del McCoury Band, and Bela and the Flecktones. That’s just the bands that I personally recognize or have heard. Wow! F-(/)/&:& yes.

Dynamic music, beautiful WI scenery, great Bell’s beer. Come on over. Sit a spell- my husband and Paulie will be happy to play a bit with you.

Traveling Mercies

(collage by Groovy Girl: G.G. with her super cute cousins)

We spent three days last week in Minneapolis, one of my favorite cities. I lived there for years while I went to college the first time and loved it. Lucky for me I still have family there so it is easy to drive the 3 1/2 hours north to see some of my favorite people. Sadly I don’t make it as much as I’d like to but this time our purpose was to see our new niece born August 13th. You’d think (because of my deep love of babies) I would have made the journey before now except that was just about the time school started for me and then it seems that pretty much every weekend after that was filled to the brim with activities.

Somewhere in October I vowed not to fill November weekends up just so we could head north and it worked. I persuaded my husband to journey with us and he complied by finding a Bluegrass show to sweeten the deal. The show just happened to be on Thursday night so I took a day off from work (oh, so rare) and we headed to Harriet’s Brewery after dropping Groovy Girl at my (step)sister Robin’s new house. Her family of four just moved to the Minnehaha neighborhood after living in South Chicago for about 6 years and they are so excited about this move.

https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/VFR63YxU6R4&source=uds

Greg and I enjoyed music by The Last Revel at the brewery. They were fantastic and I would head out of town again to hear them play. The second band was good also but I can’t remember their name.

This was a perfect toe-tapping band and the guys were equally as nice by they way they tolerated chatting with my husband several times about music.

I was a wreck that night for some reason. I got carded coming through the door into the steamy brewery and I could NOT find my driver’s license anywhere in my bag. While I was desperately searching my glasses dropped out of my hand because I’d taken them off due to that steaminess. They snapped in half and were completely unwearable. So I couldn’t drink the delicious brewed beer or truly see the band. It was a mess and I still managed to enjoy the evening. Now I have to buy new glasses and I wasn’t ready to do that and I still don’t know where my ID is.

(Upside down cousins)

The rest of the weekend was spent at my (step) sister Autumn’s home in Eden Prairie. We walked even though it was chilly. We ate delicious pizza and generally lazed around the house holding her little one. My hope was to give my sister time to sleep and rejuvenate. Maybe it worked. Sometimes just visiting with each other can make the day solid. We also had a delicious lunch at a diner in their neighborhood with Robin and family on Saturday before we left town. I had the best fish sandwich ever. The coleslaw had cranberries in it and the fish had perfect crunch.

Thank you for the alignment of the stars to bring us all together on one weekend even though my glasses and ID decided to jump ship.

We also checked out the construction of my brother’s new house. We can’t wait for a return trip in December or January to see the finished product.

(new house)

This picture is all about the cookie. Groovy Girl wanted to show the size; it is bigger than my face. My husband is behind me hoping I’m not going to eat that cookie. My glasses in the photo have been super-glued. That trick only lasted two days.

Soothing my soul

This past week I was treated to some amazing music and instead of sitting in a crowded bar with noisy people this concert took place in an apartment. It was a perfect intimate setting at a fellow banjo player that we know. There were 24 people there on a Tuesday evening and John and his girlfriend had spicy jambalaya and cold beer to serve. It was fairly casual as people mingled for about 30 minutes before the show getting to know new folks, chatting with old folks, and waiting for the music to begin.

The first band, The Lowest Pair, began around 7:30. They are a double banjo duo from Olympia, WA and Minneapolis. Why is that when I meet people from Minneapolis/St Paul I feel like I should know them? I haven’t lived there for years and years but yet I feel this thread of a connection as if they live perhaps in one of my old apartments or have Sunday brunch at the same place I frequented. Could be but probably not. Their music was amazing and I would love to hear them again sometime. The next few days they play several clubs around the Minneapolis area including one venue that I’ve spent many a night at listening to great music.

https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/yTaBsa9-iaM&source=uds

When you watch the video play close attention to Kendl’s fingers as her they fairly fly over the strings. This particular video shows Palmer playing guitar and I like this song but the sound of both of their banjos together is pretty cool.

This was my first musical house party and it was a wonderful treat. I loved that I didn’t have to put up with that one annoyingly loud table that just doesn’t care that good musicians are on the stage.

In October our church is hosting another cool duo, Jenny and Tyler, and I look forward to hearing them inside the great acoustics of the sanctuary. I’ve heard many musical groups play in churches including the amazing Greg Brown a few years back. Again it provides a more intimate setting but without the cold beer and hot jambalaya.

Jenny and Tyler:

https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/m0_rr1APv6M&source=uds

Bring some music into your day…

Happy Anniversary!

{Amana, IA, 2013}

It’s so nice to be married to the one that you love. My husband came home the other day and shared some interesting facts about relationships. He loves sharing tidbits with me and this time he’d drummed up some frightening facts about marriage. Did you know that 73% of long-term married couples are not with their true love! Can you imagine? And that if given the chance they would leave their partner to get back to their true love. To me, that’s a little like, love the one you’re with…

We were married 12 years ago in a beautiful ceremony in Galena, IL. At the reception at the picnic shelter my husband with some musician friends sang an original composition to me. It was lovely and made me cry. We’ve had an incredible journey and hope for many more years together. Yesterday at church an older woman that we keep in touch with said to us “12! Try 61 years!” She was smiling as she said it but there was a wistfulness as her husband of 61 years died two years ago. How sweet love is, whether you have it for 2 years, 12 years, or 61 years.

If you find someone that you can live with, that brings you joy and laughter, make them yours. It isn’t about all the sexy stuff-it’s about eating breakfast together morning after morning, listening to them slurp their huge bowl of cereal and still rubbing your foot next to his before you head off to work. It’s about being a good listener even when you’ve heard the story before. We should treat our companions with the same respect we give our co-workers and friends.

My parents were divorced when I was a young adult. No matter what age it happens it tears you a part. My parents hadn’t been compatible for years. There was strife and anger about who knows what-and frankly I don’t want to know. I think my mom realizes now that they both could have tried a little harder, been more sympathetic, patient, or thoughtful. However you look at it; marriage is a lot of work and it takes being aware of that everyday and yet everyday needs a little fun. It’s up to you to remember to bring the joy in; maybe a smile, a game of cards, a movie to share together or just a hug in the kitchen. Don’t wait for the other person to provide your happiness.

{In Virginia, 2013}

Today we’ve enjoyed working in the kitchen together as I made three new batches of pesto with basil from my mom’s garden and he cooked a hearty breakfast with biscuits, bacon, eggs, and fruit AND then as I started on the 3rd batch he cleaned the kitchen right around me! As we cooked, blended, scraped, and wiped we played a whole slew of old country favorites like Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty and this other one by Conway Twitty that my husband sings me all the time. We are not actual fans of country music yet there are some classic songs that speak to us. Like this one by George Jones and Tammy Wynette. Classic. This one by Otis Redding also makes us happy, which then led us to this interesting reinterpretation of Otis’ song.

And yes, there was a little dancing going on in the kitchen. And a lot of smiling. So much so our daughter had to leave the room.

As Maya says: “We need just three things in life: something to do, something to look forward to, and someone to love.” We heard Maya Angelou speak for our very first date together and we hold her words close to our heart.

4 New Books to LOVE!

At the beginning of September I challenged myself to read through my big and beautiful, ever-growing pile of ARC’s from Little, Brown and Company. I aimed for ten and finished seven. Here I bring you the top 4 realistic fiction titles to look for.

Ask the Passengers by A.S. King: This was my absolute favorite story. I’m now a huge fan of A.S. King and her coming-of-age, coming-to-grips tale of Astrid Jones. She’s unusual and knows it yet longs for the shelter of a loving family and honest friends. She struggles with her own identity, familial disfunction, her sexuality, and what it means to be a good and true friend. This story is a marvel and Astrid is a character that I think about often. Buy this for your library or a teenager in need. Booklist Online has a very creative interview with A.S. King – read it, it will make you laugh. (ARC provided by Little, Brown, and Company, release date October, 2012)

My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece by Annabel Pitcher; The Matthews family is broken in every way. Jaime, the youngest, narrates the story of this family’s critical loss. Rose, Jaime’s sister and twin to Jasmine, dies from a terrorist bomb in a local park. Jaime’s mother, trying to heal herself, attends a local grief group, meets someone else and leaves the family. In order to douse the overwhelming pain Jaime’s father drinks. Eventually Jaime, his sister, Jas, and father move to the country to get out of London and away from the Muslim’s. Jaime’s father blames all Muslim’s for the death of his daughter and he emotionally abandons his two living children while grieving for Rose. This book brings out the blanket racism that clouds good judgement as Jaime, in his little country school, befriends a local Muslim girl. This book by debut author Annabel Pitcher is beautifully written with rare wit about a topic that will have people talking. (ARC provided by LBC, August, 2012)

DJ Rising by Love Maia; Music is Marley’s world. With a scholarship to attend a prestigious school and a job busing tables at a hip restaurant he has his hands full just trying to make it on his own. In the midst of his own teenage life he juggles caring for his drug-addicted mother who never recovered from the death of her husband, Marley’s music-loving dad. Marley has two dreams: one is to DJ at a fancy club and the second is that the beautiful Lea Hall will talk to him. When his mother tries to recover, and the DJ world starts to suck Marley in, will he be able to accomplish any of his real goals as he learns to figure out what is most important? This book is well worth reading as you want Marley to triumph over the life he’s been handed and Maia’s lyrical writing make it a quick read. Soundtrack to come according to her website. (ARC provided by LBC, Feb., 2012)

The Boy Recession by Flynn Meaney; At first glance this could appear to be a fluff YA chick read but there is much deeper stuff below the surface. Budget cuts leave Julius P. Heil High without a football coach or a team causing several affluent families to take their young players to private schools. With so many young men gone the girls start looking at the second and third tier of eligible guys. The theatre geeks, the band boys, and the stoner dudes suddenly all have a place at the table. Through this new adventure Kelly begins to see her old band-friend, Hunter, in a new light; he could be truly crush-worthy if the plastic girls (the “Spandexers”) can keep their hands off him. I enjoyed this story as it explores high school stereotypes and told through Kelly’s and Hunter’s alternating chapters. Hunter is a boy I would have loved and you will cheer for him as he finds his true voice. Flynn Meaney is also the author of Bloodthirsty. (ARC provided by LBC, August, 2012)

These four easily captured my attention. I have several others still to review including an elementary fiction title and four picture books and I am happy to share these exciting titles. The common denominator is identity which is something teens struggle with whether gay, straight, male, female, rich, or poor and these titles raise awareness for this angst.

Thank you Zoe!! You make my day with your monthly emails.

Weekend Cooking; Market fresh produce with an easy recipe

Weekend Cooking:

It’s a busy day here in the Holt household. My husband is off doing a shoot for 3M and I’m diligently working on homework to finish my Fantasy Literature course for Fresno Pacific.We also have a casual wedding this evening.

I did sneak out early this morning to go to our beautiful Farmer’s Market which I missed while in Colorado.

I picked up two baby eggplants, a basket of okra, and a nice-looking cucumber. I’ve been making a lot of easy dishes using garden produce especially using the large box of tomatoes I carted home from my mom’s house.

I plan to make this eggplant recipe from The Chew; a cooking show my mom introduced me to. For dinner last night I whipped this recipe up created by me using lots of fresh produce.

Garden-Fresh Vegetables and Rice

1-2 T. of olive oil

1 yellow squash, diced without the inner seed section

1 small zucchini, diced

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

4-5 soft tomatoes, diced

1 can of garbanzo beans

Several large pinches of sea salt and curry powder

Fresh ground pepper

Cooked brown rice as much as will feed your family

Saute the zucchini and yellow squash in olive oil for a few minutes and then added the garlic. Continue to saute to soften the dreaded squashes that my children despise but will eat if cut small enough. Add the chopped tomatoes which will create a nice juice. Add the can of garbanzo beans and stir to mix. Sprinkle in sea salt, ground pepper and curry. Serve in low bowls over brown rice. Garnish with grated Parmesan cheese, cilantro, or torn basil leaves. This is a perfect summer recipe because you can tailor it to what ever extra veggies you have on hand or what you find at the market. Spice it up with cumin or change the garbanzos to black beans for variety.

My husband just finished Ragbrai (the famous ride across Iowa) yesterday and he had three helpings. My kids each ate one bowl and the only complaint Groovy Girl had was that I hadn’t added enough tomatoes to her bowl. Enjoy!

Oh and Adam Duritz: What? Yes. He was part of my week!

The last night of Ragbrai I met up with my husband and we saw The Counting Crows together. I still love Duritz’s hair (real or not). He was fun to watch and the music was fantastic!

Happy eating.

Simply Monday

We made chocolate chip cookies at our house tonight. Groovy Girl and I owed Teenage Boy a batch because he walked her and two friends over to the cemetery on Saturday at dusk. We live across from a cemetery and this is a favorite “challenge” activity when friends sleep over. He remembers doing this when he was in middle school with a group of his friends. To thank him for following through we made him the cookies. He’s been eating them while he watches football and reads Inheritance, last in his favorite Eragon series..

I just made the recipe on the back of the Nestle package (yes, every once in awhile non-organic lands in my grocery cart-I don’t know how?) because it was there and easy. I know I have several good recipes but I’ve never hit on one that was so amazing that I have to make that one ALL the time, they all seem to be pretty similar. Do you have a favorite chocolate chip recipe? If so, please share.

My kitchen’s not clean but the cookies are done. Dinner was easy. My kids are happy. Groovy Girl and I had a serious conversation about an article in her Discovery Girls magazine. About bras. Ugh. She’s worried because other girls in her class have started wearing them. Double ugh.

When I went up to get her headed toward sleep she was dancing wildly to one of her Taylor Swift CD’s, lucky for her she was already in her pajamas with her teeth brushed. We read the last half of The Snow Queen by Amy Ehrlich and talked for a few minutes. She wanted to share one of Taylor’s songs with me. It’s a sweet song and it made us hug repeatedly. Listen to it; Never Grow Up, not an official video but still a good.

Hoping your Monday was peaceful and simple.