Loving this track
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Inspirations: The Avett Brothers
I just went and saw these guys in Boston with my husband last month* and they completely rocked our socks off. If they play any where near you, GO SEE THEM! They are the type of band who encompass you in their charm and bring you in close to their music. Their stage presence is humble and they must of thanked us a thousand times for coming out to see them.
They work so hard to give a good show and definitely pull it off. They give the impression that they are trying to get in as many songs into the set as possible to heighten your experience. The brothers literally run around the stage playing musical chairs between the full drum kit, the piano, banjo and guitars. It got to the point where I felt out of breath.
They've got this indie-folk-newgrassy-punkrock-ballad style that I adore. They have a great sound that isn't completely polished, but in a way that is soulfilling and unassuming.They encompass these different types of music with out being too busy or disjointed. The result is a high energy rock/punk show with bluegrass/folk intimacy.
Their lyrics are beautifully executed: " I want to grow old without the pain, and give my body back to the earth with no complaint."...After putting some serious time in listening to their latest album, I and Love and you, I am feeling inspired enough to tell you all to go out and buy it! I love it! I want to love a little harder and write a little more and laugh as hard as I can after listening to this.
I also have been rocking their last release, "Emotionalism" for the last couple of years and I love that too.So check them out! Buy their records! Go to a show! Check out the you tube video I posted below ( I couldn't find a live video with the kind of sound quality I wanted to share with you.) And I hope you like them as much as I do.
* an birthday gift for me , the best ever!
Monday, November 9, 2009
Be a free bird
I've always been a pretty orderly person,but I've held on to things... and stuff, mementos, birthday cards, letters, gifts I was given and never wanted but felt too guilty to give away...
Then I started to get into Feng Shui*. Now I am Free Bird. I keep only what is practical or brings me joy. A friend once even said to me, everything in your house is only just enough. Just enough artwork on the walls, just the right sized coffee cup, just the right amount of furniture to sit in.This doesn't mean my home is bare and cold. It has just been organized using clear intentions.
I suggest to you, look in your closets, look in your drawers. With the holidays coming up it is a great time to ditch what doesn't serve you. Give it to Goodwill or a friend. Some people even box it up and sell it on ebay. And when you start, you won't be able to stop. It feels that good!
There are all these "things" in our lives that can bring a person down- a beloved mug with a broken handle you've never fixed or an old article of clothing that you once loved but never wear any more. Everyday you glance at these items and it does something to you. It's not even something that you may be consciously aware of. It barely registers, but its THERE, in the back of our heads. Fix this, organize that, I should still fit into that...
The first truckload (that's right truckload) I got rid of gave me a sinking feeling as soon as I dropped it all off.What if I needed one of those items? What if I regret it? And you know what? I didn't and I don't.Everything I own is now more beautiful and valuable to me now. Because I've made a conscious decision to keep it. And now when I bring something into my home I make sure I know where it's going to go or how I'm going to use it.
I've found that when I work to make more space in my home, I have more space in my life. It has been an exercise in letting go. My intention in sharing this with you is that you can achieve this same sense of liberation, starting with one drawer at a time. You have the ability to surround yourself with only things that make you feel happy. Be a FREE BIRD!
* "Clear your clutter with Feng Shui", by Karen Kingston got me started!
Then I started to get into Feng Shui*. Now I am Free Bird. I keep only what is practical or brings me joy. A friend once even said to me, everything in your house is only just enough. Just enough artwork on the walls, just the right sized coffee cup, just the right amount of furniture to sit in.This doesn't mean my home is bare and cold. It has just been organized using clear intentions.
I suggest to you, look in your closets, look in your drawers. With the holidays coming up it is a great time to ditch what doesn't serve you. Give it to Goodwill or a friend. Some people even box it up and sell it on ebay. And when you start, you won't be able to stop. It feels that good!
There are all these "things" in our lives that can bring a person down- a beloved mug with a broken handle you've never fixed or an old article of clothing that you once loved but never wear any more. Everyday you glance at these items and it does something to you. It's not even something that you may be consciously aware of. It barely registers, but its THERE, in the back of our heads. Fix this, organize that, I should still fit into that...
The first truckload (that's right truckload) I got rid of gave me a sinking feeling as soon as I dropped it all off.What if I needed one of those items? What if I regret it? And you know what? I didn't and I don't.Everything I own is now more beautiful and valuable to me now. Because I've made a conscious decision to keep it. And now when I bring something into my home I make sure I know where it's going to go or how I'm going to use it.
I've found that when I work to make more space in my home, I have more space in my life. It has been an exercise in letting go. My intention in sharing this with you is that you can achieve this same sense of liberation, starting with one drawer at a time. You have the ability to surround yourself with only things that make you feel happy. Be a FREE BIRD!
* "Clear your clutter with Feng Shui", by Karen Kingston got me started!
Friday, November 6, 2009
A week of Mondays
Has anyone else had a terrible week? This whole Time change thing has been torturous. It just seems so antiquated. Is anyone really needing the extra daylight in the morning? Isn't it just fine in the afternoon when folks are fully awake and can appreciate the sun? Is this just some sort of weird federal mind control program that we are falling for every year?
And here in Maine it is going to be 15 degrees tonight. ( 15!) Is it really fair for it to be both to be frigidly cold AND oppressively dark?
I am typically a pretty good natured gal, but the combination of time change and a gnarly stomach bug has bittered me. Every day of this week has felt like a Monday. And I, for one, am glad its over. So good bye Lame Week of Time Change. You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here.
And here in Maine it is going to be 15 degrees tonight. ( 15!) Is it really fair for it to be both to be frigidly cold AND oppressively dark?
I am typically a pretty good natured gal, but the combination of time change and a gnarly stomach bug has bittered me. Every day of this week has felt like a Monday. And I, for one, am glad its over. So good bye Lame Week of Time Change. You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Talented People
This Post is kicking off the first of what I hope to be a series show casing creative and talented people. I don't plan on sticking to any real genre, so you can look forward to posts on food, sculpture, painting, sewing, music....anywhere I can appreciate a persons talent.
Stephen Page* has a lot of energy. He welds, he builds, he draws and mostly just creates. He has told me if he gets going on a project he may start at 7am and not put his tools down until 4am the next morning. This could go on for weeks at a time.
All of his pieces consist of "found" items. He is the type of person you think of when you find an antique barn board in your garage or a length of steel pipe in your attic. He is the type of guy who can think of a use for whatever comes his way.
Some of the pieces he's given to myself and my family are:
-a bench that he made out of old boards that he milled on a sawmill he built
-a wheel barrow made out of oak, handmade nails and polished with beeswax
-a toy range built out of an old cherry cabinet
-a scorpion welded with nails for the legs
-a sun made machine out of a brass gear
Some of his work has more practical applications :
-a wood splitter partially built out of a car axle ( and run by his diesel tractor)
-a dump truck built from an old oil tank
-a metal lathe
-a cold air exchange floor fan
(sorry no pics of these)
I really can not even began to express to you the sheer prolific nature of his work. He is ALWAYS making something. Right now he's told me he's building a scaled model of a motorcycle engine . (and that's definitely not from a kit!) Who knows what he'll make next?
I hope you enjoyed the first installment of Talented People!
* Stephen Page is my Dad :)
Stephen Page* has a lot of energy. He welds, he builds, he draws and mostly just creates. He has told me if he gets going on a project he may start at 7am and not put his tools down until 4am the next morning. This could go on for weeks at a time.
All of his pieces consist of "found" items. He is the type of person you think of when you find an antique barn board in your garage or a length of steel pipe in your attic. He is the type of guy who can think of a use for whatever comes his way.
Some of the pieces he's given to myself and my family are:
-a bench that he made out of old boards that he milled on a sawmill he built
-a wheel barrow made out of oak, handmade nails and polished with beeswax
-a toy range built out of an old cherry cabinet
-a scorpion welded with nails for the legs
-a sun made machine out of a brass gear
Some of his work has more practical applications :
-a wood splitter partially built out of a car axle ( and run by his diesel tractor)
-a dump truck built from an old oil tank
-a metal lathe
-a cold air exchange floor fan
(sorry no pics of these)
I really can not even began to express to you the sheer prolific nature of his work. He is ALWAYS making something. Right now he's told me he's building a scaled model of a motorcycle engine . (and that's definitely not from a kit!) Who knows what he'll make next?
I hope you enjoyed the first installment of Talented People!
* Stephen Page is my Dad :)
Go green, go shopping
My sister first introduced me to thrift shopping in my teen (maybe even tween) years when she was home on breaks from college. The first one she took me to was at St.Ignatius church and it was AMAZING. A person could fill a paper grocery sack for a mere 3 dollars!
The clothes were usually donated by elderly folks and therefore from a different era in fashion. The era where people took care of their clothes and cared how they looked. Where clothes were made to flatter womens bodies. And you know if you packed that bag right you were coming out stacked!
In recent years, my children have been too young for me to be away from them for the length of time it takes to dig through the racks. And this is NOT something you can do with little people. But now, NOW I am free to spend an hour, here and there, doing just that! It is fantastic!
I never really feel right spending big money on clothes for myself, but I also believe you get what you pay for. And this is why I love thrift shops. Somebody paid good money for that London Fog coat or that J.crew sweater...and now I will pay 4.99 for them. It's a perfect recycling plan. And usually the cash goes to support a good cause.
Sadly, St Ignatius closed years ago and I haven't found anything like it since. Recently though, I have had fantastic luck in Good Will and local consignment shops. As a matter of fact I am going to check one out in Portland on Forest Ave pretty soon and I hope to post an interview with the owner. So stay tuned!
Here are some of my great scores from Goodwill:
The clothes were usually donated by elderly folks and therefore from a different era in fashion. The era where people took care of their clothes and cared how they looked. Where clothes were made to flatter womens bodies. And you know if you packed that bag right you were coming out stacked!
In recent years, my children have been too young for me to be away from them for the length of time it takes to dig through the racks. And this is NOT something you can do with little people. But now, NOW I am free to spend an hour, here and there, doing just that! It is fantastic!
I never really feel right spending big money on clothes for myself, but I also believe you get what you pay for. And this is why I love thrift shops. Somebody paid good money for that London Fog coat or that J.crew sweater...and now I will pay 4.99 for them. It's a perfect recycling plan. And usually the cash goes to support a good cause.
Sadly, St Ignatius closed years ago and I haven't found anything like it since. Recently though, I have had fantastic luck in Good Will and local consignment shops. As a matter of fact I am going to check one out in Portland on Forest Ave pretty soon and I hope to post an interview with the owner. So stay tuned!
Here are some of my great scores from Goodwill:
Monday, November 2, 2009
Little man speaks
Today my son uttered his first understandable sentence. "Uh-Oh, it broke!" This was both adorable and pretty appropriate for being his first statement.
This same morning he took a bite out of the bathroom soap, flung yogurt across the room gleefully, put a dime in his mouth and took off one of the radiator valve caps. ( hence "it broke") All before 8am.
I am excited to hear his words to complete his vibrant little personality. And maybe he'll stop putting everything in his mouth?
This same morning he took a bite out of the bathroom soap, flung yogurt across the room gleefully, put a dime in his mouth and took off one of the radiator valve caps. ( hence "it broke") All before 8am.
I am excited to hear his words to complete his vibrant little personality. And maybe he'll stop putting everything in his mouth?
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