The band did a great job! The crowd was small but fun. B. ended up 'losing' a couple drum sticks during the performance and a lady at the front of the crowd grabbed them off the floor and screamed and held them up like they were a treasure of some kind. Just like a 'real' rock band groupie would. They sounded great, though really, really loud. And not a single word could be understood...bad sound system? Or just too loud in general...not sure. But it was still fun. We were home by 10:30ish and in by 11. B. went to get something to eat with his band mates and was home by 11:30 (I hope - I was asleep so who knows?).
They ended up playing at around 9:20 - B. and his details were a bit off. Thank goodness he texted us around 8:15 to say 'I think we're playing within an hour' or we could have missed it entirely.
My only regret is that they would have had a ton more people there had they played earlier. And we feel it's the right thing to do to buy all those tickets back from people who B. misinformed about the time - so we're out a little $$. This was an expensive concert.
But worth it's price in gold....to see the look on B.'s face as he's doing what he loves most in the world - worth any price to see that.
I don't know what his future holds.....I often wish I could 'see' that far ahead to know how it all turns out. But I think music will always be a part of his life - and if he can make a living doing that, great....
Monday, March 30, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Missing
If you have any information on this missing Tracy, CA. girl, please contact Tracy Police. Here's a link to the article about Sandra Cantu, last seen Friday afternoon.http://www.kcbs.com/Search-for-Missing-Tracy-Girl/4102202
Our town has been in the news a lot lately for horrible things.....and now this. Please help us find her and bring her home.
Spring
There are signs of Spring everywhere these days. My absolute favorite time of year...though the projects that pile up over the winter months sometimes seem overwhelming, it's still a great time of year. Here are some signs that warmer days are ahead - colors are out everywhere. And mother nature has her hand in virtually everything around us.
First, these are J.'s pride and joy:
His bulbs are blooming in the backyard - a handful of freesia bulbs planted long ago that remind us every year how much we love bulbs.
And all day yesterday, while we worked on the fence re-construction, she was lingering nearby:
She is building a nest in one of our trees. All day, she would go over the fence to our neighbors' yards and get twigs and leaves and various other materials for her nest. She'd hop back up on the fence and fly into our tree - a beautifully lush, green, full podacarpus - and build. I looked in the tree for her several times but it's so dense, I could never see where she's building. She chose well....she can't be seen when she's in the nest and neither will her babies. She is amazingly calm...she let me walk pretty close to take this picture. And Chloe was out with us most of the day and the dove never seemed concerned about the dog. She was patient and persistent and built right along with us all day.
She is a dove...and I've been hearing her morning call for weeks now. Takes me back to my grandmother's house - a huge screened in room with a giant backyard...and there were always, ALWAYS doves cooing in the morning. I remember fresh squeezed orange juice and then cookies of all kinds. An endless variety of baked goods - my Grammy was an awesome baker. Her house was so fun - we would play and play outside and the doves were always there.
And now there's a dove living and nesting in my very own back yard and she's having babies!
AND we also have Blue Jays making another nest in the tree near the dining room. They are less obvious about their building but they are definitely nesting. They hop in and out of the tree fairly often.
I like that they figure they're safe here. That the yard is peaceful and quiet and lovely. Costco had a pretty bird bath and I'm tempted to add that to our garden for them to have plenty of fresh water.
First, these are J.'s pride and joy:
His bulbs are blooming in the backyard - a handful of freesia bulbs planted long ago that remind us every year how much we love bulbs. And all day yesterday, while we worked on the fence re-construction, she was lingering nearby:
She is building a nest in one of our trees. All day, she would go over the fence to our neighbors' yards and get twigs and leaves and various other materials for her nest. She'd hop back up on the fence and fly into our tree - a beautifully lush, green, full podacarpus - and build. I looked in the tree for her several times but it's so dense, I could never see where she's building. She chose well....she can't be seen when she's in the nest and neither will her babies. She is amazingly calm...she let me walk pretty close to take this picture. And Chloe was out with us most of the day and the dove never seemed concerned about the dog. She was patient and persistent and built right along with us all day.
She is a dove...and I've been hearing her morning call for weeks now. Takes me back to my grandmother's house - a huge screened in room with a giant backyard...and there were always, ALWAYS doves cooing in the morning. I remember fresh squeezed orange juice and then cookies of all kinds. An endless variety of baked goods - my Grammy was an awesome baker. Her house was so fun - we would play and play outside and the doves were always there.
And now there's a dove living and nesting in my very own back yard and she's having babies!
AND we also have Blue Jays making another nest in the tree near the dining room. They are less obvious about their building but they are definitely nesting. They hop in and out of the tree fairly often.
I like that they figure they're safe here. That the yard is peaceful and quiet and lovely. Costco had a pretty bird bath and I'm tempted to add that to our garden for them to have plenty of fresh water.
Gig
We were on our way to Modesto for B.'s gig. Thankfully, he texted J. and we pulled over to read the text ('cuz J.'s phone is password protected like it's a CIA or FBI phone and I couldn't get the password to be 'accepted' without J. doing it.) The text said 'we start at 9:20'....crap. We called and it was actually 9:50 - there are SEVEN bands playing (up from the three we expected) and they are band #4.
We turned around and came home...and then the call came from friends who said they now have six tickets and can't go - it's a work night/school night and they can't go...so we will be buying back the tickets.
I guess we will be going late. I should probably be taking a nap.
I'm disappointed for B. because his good friends won't be there to support his debut. And I'm worried because I doubt he'll be home before midnight and it IS a school night/work night for all of us as well.
Maybe I'll make myself a triple latte.....or some really strong iced tea.
We turned around and came home...and then the call came from friends who said they now have six tickets and can't go - it's a work night/school night and they can't go...so we will be buying back the tickets.
I guess we will be going late. I should probably be taking a nap.
I'm disappointed for B. because his good friends won't be there to support his debut. And I'm worried because I doubt he'll be home before midnight and it IS a school night/work night for all of us as well.
Maybe I'll make myself a triple latte.....or some really strong iced tea.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Twilight
I finished Twilight at 2AM this morning. Started reading upon going upstairs after we returned from a birthday party around midnight last night. Couldn't stop reading until I was DONE. Now I'm reading the 2nd book 'New Moon' and can hardly put it down. J. humored me by stopping at Blockbuster on the way back from dinner and Smart & Final to see if by some miracle they had a copy of Twilight available - just released to DVD on the 21st of March. It wasn't available. I may have to go buy it. Now that I've read the book, I'm dying to see the movie.
Heading upstairs for another long night of reading. I'm about 1/4 the way through the second book and with a little effort (and little sleep), I might make it through Book 2 tomorrow. I went upstairs this afternoon to read for a bit and ended up falling asleep - only 5 hours of sleep last night will do that do you...I needed the nap.
Love good books!! I feel like I'm teaching myself to read again - to be patient. To really enjoy the words and the structure and the mystery of it all....It's such a joy! And I'm so excited that there are still two books to look forward to when I finish this one!
Heading upstairs for another long night of reading. I'm about 1/4 the way through the second book and with a little effort (and little sleep), I might make it through Book 2 tomorrow. I went upstairs this afternoon to read for a bit and ended up falling asleep - only 5 hours of sleep last night will do that do you...I needed the nap.
Love good books!! I feel like I'm teaching myself to read again - to be patient. To really enjoy the words and the structure and the mystery of it all....It's such a joy! And I'm so excited that there are still two books to look forward to when I finish this one!
Earth Hour
I'm blogging in the light of my computer - only. Are you? We are participating in Earth Hour. At 8:30, for one hour, we turned off all the lights in the house. We don't have many on anyway since we (typically - though with the kids, you never know) leave lights on only in rooms we are in at the moment. But we seriously are sitting in the dark. J. is watching TV in the family room (TV is allowed) and I am blogging and/or surfing blogs on my laptop (computers are allowed) in the study.
Hoping you participated, too!
J. and I went out to dinner ALONE and shared a margarita - and had great Mexican food. We got another errand on tomorrow's list 'done' by quickly running into Smart and Final just before it closed to get milk and sugar free vanilla syrup for my latte in the morning. We were OUT and I really missed my vanilla latte this morning.
The boys are out and about. Home any minute and we'll have to quickly tell them to turn the lights off!! B. is heading to the house of a band member that lives out in the country where they can practice all night long. He will spend the night and they will practice tomorrow morning and into the afternoon - the big debut is tomorrow night. Modesto Live - doors open at 6:15 and concert starts at 6:30. We think B.'s group will take the stage by 8ish. There's quite a few people coming - which pleases me. Makes me happy for him and us that we have so many great friends who are taking time out of their busy schedules to be there for B.'s big night. It will be great!
1/2 hour to go. Can we make it? I know we can.
Hoping you participated, too!
J. and I went out to dinner ALONE and shared a margarita - and had great Mexican food. We got another errand on tomorrow's list 'done' by quickly running into Smart and Final just before it closed to get milk and sugar free vanilla syrup for my latte in the morning. We were OUT and I really missed my vanilla latte this morning.
The boys are out and about. Home any minute and we'll have to quickly tell them to turn the lights off!! B. is heading to the house of a band member that lives out in the country where they can practice all night long. He will spend the night and they will practice tomorrow morning and into the afternoon - the big debut is tomorrow night. Modesto Live - doors open at 6:15 and concert starts at 6:30. We think B.'s group will take the stage by 8ish. There's quite a few people coming - which pleases me. Makes me happy for him and us that we have so many great friends who are taking time out of their busy schedules to be there for B.'s big night. It will be great!
1/2 hour to go. Can we make it? I know we can.
Project
J. has spent the day demolishing an old lattice fence that 'hides' the pool equipment. It was built by our gardener and the lattice never really 'hid' the equipment. We bought a bamboo screen roll from Home Depot years ago and 'added' that behind the lattice. But time and weather and the (same) gardener hitting the lattice with the lawn mower week after week has destroyed the fence. It was very sad looking. So yesterday, we went to Home Depot for the first set of 'fence slats' to try to 'test' and plan what we were going to do.
J. started this morning, made another trip to Home Depot for dozens of slats, more screws, and some cut-up 2x4's to help strengthen the cross beams. He's been out there drilling screws in and bracing up the cross bars for most of the day. The fence looks terrific - before and after shots below. (Technically, the 'before' is the small lattice side that we haven't demolished yet, so you'll see what it was like before). I'm not sure I'm a HUGE fan of the 'reddish' tone of the boards but they'll weather nicely, I think.
I'm so proud of him. Banker by day and handy man on the weekends. He's getting pretty darn handy for a guy approaching (in about six months) the big SIX-O.
Great job honey!! Thanks so much for getting this big 'to do' off our list AND saving us oodles of money by doing it yourself! Next: raised planter boxes for our veggie garden!! I see more power tools in your future!!
J. started this morning, made another trip to Home Depot for dozens of slats, more screws, and some cut-up 2x4's to help strengthen the cross beams. He's been out there drilling screws in and bracing up the cross bars for most of the day. The fence looks terrific - before and after shots below. (Technically, the 'before' is the small lattice side that we haven't demolished yet, so you'll see what it was like before). I'm not sure I'm a HUGE fan of the 'reddish' tone of the boards but they'll weather nicely, I think.
I'm so proud of him. Banker by day and handy man on the weekends. He's getting pretty darn handy for a guy approaching (in about six months) the big SIX-O.
Great job honey!! Thanks so much for getting this big 'to do' off our list AND saving us oodles of money by doing it yourself! Next: raised planter boxes for our veggie garden!! I see more power tools in your future!!
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Our cleaning lady D. is here today - she wears earbuds and chats on the phone while she works. She is the third cleaning 'person(s)...
