The Bug Island Trio Rides Again - Thursday 6/18/2009

On the way home, we drove down Groveland Drive, aka the backside of Big Lake. Wow, it is really gorgeous back there.


Mom stopped so I could pick some mulberries. These are a weird fruit. Not terribly flavorful, but there's something addictive (to me) about pulling them off the tree and eating them. About one in every 15 is really sweet and flavorful.



The road home. That's where I grew up, on the left. Lots of good old trees.


The barn across the road. Mom's been taking photos of this barn and drawing it for probably more than 50 years. It was intact when I was a kid, but no livestock was in it when I played there. There were stalls and a few pieces of interesting antiquated machinery inside.

I'm so glad we went over and took pictures. A couple of weeks later Mom told me that it was dismantled. So sad to see it finally gone.



Met up with my nephew, the culinarily, musically and writingly talented Beans, in his apartment in downtown Columbia City. He served me this brew, which caused me to sing a capella with my mom and sister at an open mic later in the evening.

Yeah, the Bug Island Trio took the stage at Mad Anthony's (fka The Munchie) after Beans did a heartfelt, sometimes rollicking set of songs. We did our standard trio of a capella tunes in three part harmony : Music, Music, Music; Under the Bamboo Tree, and I've Been Workin' on the Railroad. Yeah, hokey old stuff, but we have some fun interwoven harmonies and parts and we actually got people's attention. A guy at the bar high-fived us all on our way back to our table!

As we left the stage, the host said, "Well, [Beans], this explains a lot."

I love my family.

Artsy? Perhaps Not. - Sunday 5/11/2008

Okay, forgive me. I was up late two nights in a row, singing.

And then there was this cleaning that just felt like it really need to be done, so that I can love my house. If it gets too messy, it just becomes petulant and demanding.

I really should have taken a photo of the evening light falling across the table in the library...but no. What you have here is one of the toys I was going to give a friend's baby a few years ago, but which turned out to be a wonderful mobile perch for Dodger.

While I have your attention, I'll tell you about singing song #4, "Every Light in the House is On," at a hoot last night.

It went over really well, even though people didn’t seem to remember it. It was a big hit in the early or mid-ninties I think, recorded by Trace Adkins. A sweet pining song. Here are the lyrics.

Hydra did “Play Me” (Neil Diamond) for the first time, and I did some harmonies on the chorus that went well. Especially these falling notes during a held note on his part at the end. I used to do these to the LP (owned by brother Brains) when I was in my early teens. I could see my bedroom and the record player while we sang.

It was a smaller group and we stayed later than usual, so we were able to do another song each. I reprized “That’ll Be the Day” and he did Armstrong a song about Neil Armstrong walking on the moon.. pretty and thoughtful.

Then a couple of women who play and sing together, who have been telling me we should do stuff together, pulled out another Buddy Holley song and we did that together, me harmonizing. We ended up also doing “Johnny B. Goode” They told me to take a verse while we were up there…good thing they had the lyrics right there! Also did “Pink Cadillac” with them. Too much fun!

The last song of the night was when Hydra started doing “Luckenbach, Texas” a capella and about 8 of us stood around singing it together.

Really fun night!

Bouquet Canyon Drive - Saturday 5/10/2008

On the way back from running errands in Valencia, Hydra suggested we take the long way home and drive up Bouquet Canyon. I'm always up for this sort of thing.

I think this is The Big Oaks Lodge.

I think I could really love living along this road. There are so many amazing old houses with stone bases and clapboard walls painted brown and green to blend into the surroundings. Usually they have neat little outbuildings around them, too.




Looking down into Bouquet Canyon Reservoir from the road. Spunky Canyon Road goes around the other side. How'd that get it's name? From some intrepid little burro, maybe?



Low reserves.



My foot. On the road. Lovin' the day.

On a completely different subject... I have this goal to sing 12 "new" songs in public this year. Last night I did #3, which was "That'll Be the Day." [#1 & 2 were "Chattanooga Choo-Choo" and "Accentuate the Positive." Granted, I've been singing about that train since before I can remember, but not really in front of anyone...usually in the back seat of the family car, with a soft serve cone in one hand.]

Here's my story about that:

Ha! I told the audience to sing along because there was no way they were going to drown me out—I do have a big voice—and promptly started off on the wrong key.

Thank goodness, our friend GL was playing along, because he stopped me and clanged out a solid A for me, and off we went. I have to say, the audience was really with me and we rocked it out.

Hydra did “Can You Sing Any Dylan?” which is a very fun Eric Bogle song, and I oohed along in the background, and hammed it up in reaction to the lyrics and got the audience involved.

I think the main thing in performing for people, whether it’s music or a novel reading, or anything, is getting the emotion across. If it’s a fun song, act like you’re having fun and you will…everyone will.

This was a benefit concert that raised about $450 for our music club.

Carolers! - Sunday 12/16/2007

How cool!

As I hoofed it up the hill toward the house at the end of my hike/walk this evening, I heard these kids walking up the street talking, gearing themselves up to sing, but I thought they were just goofing around.

They knocked on the door as I was walking into the bedroom in my sweats to change into p.j.s.

"Oh, no," I heard, "That's the second one!" I hadn't clearly heard their knock and I wasn't sure they were on the front porch.

"She's coming back!" I heard as I popped back into the library. I guess you can see right through those sheers when you're outside in the dark.

This excited bunch from the Vasquez High School Service club also left me a candy cane with a note of cheer and a couple of little pom pons attached... and no strings! They didn't ask me to contribute to anything.

[EDIT: Oops! Forgot to mention that they sang a cheery "Jingle Bells" while they were here. Thanks, Raul V!]

Very cool. I'll write a note of thanks and send it over to the high school. And to think only yesterday I was dissing their namesake!

Have I mentioned recently how much I love my little town?