I think the word would be "rollicking"

Did ya know that i love live music? I bet you did. Sunday night i went to the WTMD New Emerging Artist concert. If you ever have a chance to go to one of these events i highly recommend it; yummy food, an art show and 2 bands for $20 is a heck of a deal. It was the first time i have been to the Patterson Theater. It has a nice lobby where Zia's of Towson had the food set up amid the Creative Alliance's gallery show. The actual performance room was intimate, but still big enough to get a good sound mix. Baltimore's own June Star opened the show. A four-piece folk-rock-ish group, they had a nice mix of up-tempo numbers and lovely slower songs - apparently, all of them about love. The mix was a bit off, so it was hard to really hear all of the vocals; the singer's voice was mostly warm, though a bit twangy on the ballads for my taste. They reminded me how much i LOVE the mandolin and am less enamored of the harmonica. Also, i've said many times in the past that percussion makes or breaks a band (their drummer was good), but the same could certainly be said of the bass (he was also good). I would like to see a full show to get a better read on the band. The frontman was amusing with my 2 favorite quotes being: to the band – Lets' not play that one; i just realized it sounds like the last song. to the audience – I mean, no it doesn't. I'm so out of tune... i meant to say that on the inside. The best lyric i could make out was, “Your heart isn't red inside; just a stretch (or something like stretch) of slick, black ice.” Nice. Other random thoughts i had during June Star's set : why do band guys wear jackets on stage when i know from experience it is a jillion degrees on stage; it must be terrible to have an itchy nose when you are a drummer; where do band guys get those perfectly ripped jeans- do they do it themselves; not enough bands utilize the snare enough; when the bass player disappears behind his amp during a song and then the drummer joins him, it can't be good news (the amp apparently got unplugged somehow and no one could really reach it, but they got it before the next song started); nothing is as cool as a drummer playing hand percussion (a bright blue shaker, in this case) while also playing the kit. The “New Emerging Artist” being featured was Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles. Wow. Wow. One more time, wow. They were really good and i enjoyed their set immensely. Normally a four-piece, their pedal steel guitar was at his brother's wedding, so they had a guitar player and a mandolin player sitting in. I would love to see the normal line-up because even with the step-in players this band was tight. I have heard them described as a country-rock-punk band. Hmmmmm... having seen them i can't describe it much better than that. I'd say that they are like the BEST bar band you have ever seen; there were short, fast songs interspersed with long rollicking jams. The whole band was having a great time; you can tell when performers are actually enjoying what they are doing. It makes all the difference in a show. At one point they were genuinely laughing during a song and they just got better as the set went on. It was the last night of a 7 week tour and you could hear the triumph and joy in their playing. Sarah Borges was incredible. Her voice was somehow smoky and honeyed at the same time; how is that possible, since those are opposite vocal qualities? And she is a great frontman; this is a woman who could totally pull off a black babydoll dress with white cowboys, while slinging a guitar. My favorite quote of hers: I wish we had a good prize for you guys. All we have is some set lists and, like, some broken guitar strings. I wish we had a fruit basket and a puppy. ... they shouldn't give me a microphone. The line to buy CDs was so very long that i skipped it, but really want to buy it. Some of the songs were pure fun, but one reduced me to tears with the vivid (and identifiable to me) imagery. I can't wait to get the CD and really want to see them again. Such a fun show! Thanks TMD for finding them and bringing them to Baltimore.

YIPPEE!

If you recall, back in March i posted about submitting some cards to the Stampers' Sampler on the theme of using stencils. It was the first time i had ever tried to make something specifically for a submission. The new issue should have hit the stands sometime this week, so i kept waiting and waiting and waiting for a notice about my submissions. Nothing. Finally i gave up waiting and went to look at Borders for it. There, on page 59, is one of my cards! I am super excited because getting published in this magazine is the next step i had planned for myself in the journey toward my ultimate goal - getting published in Somerset Studios. Here is the picture from the original post They published the one i thought they would - the rust-colored gate-folded birthday card with the lady's face and the vintage button closure (lower left-hand corner). It was the last card i made in this batch and i specifically did it in a color palette i know the editors currently like. I was right. Personally, i would have gone with the blue Bon Voyage card (center on the right) cause it has real sand, shells and a shark's tooth on it, but i'm not the editor, huh? Thanks to everyone who has been encouraging me.

Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens

Continuing with my Monday adventures, after leaving the Kwik-E Mart i could only get onto 295 heading into DC -not the way i wanted to go, of course- so there were more adventures on side streets of DC trying to head north, which resulted in me passing a sign for Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens. I have seen signs for this place for years, but have never stopped and figured, Why not? Turns out that this is a National Park (and National Park passport stamp location! man, i love collecting those stampees) established in 1938. The 12-acre sanctuary was started by Walter B. Shaw, a one-armed veteran of the Civil War, in the 1880s. Shaw had a fondness for water lilies, transplanting several species from Maine (where he was originally from) and hybriding his own collection. He and his daughter, Helen Fowler, developed various aquatic habitats and ran W.B. Shaw Lily Ponds privately until the US Army Corps of Engineers was going to dredge the Anacostia River, thereby destroying the wetlands. Luckily, the land was purchased by the Department of the Interior for $15,000 saving this cool collection for anyone who likes water plants, urban parks, or who might be completely lost on the side streets of Kenilworth. Laid out in a series of ponds, there were tropical and winter hardy species. Most of them had either passed or peak or are night blooming (apparently you should go before 11am to see those) However, the plants are still lovely and sheltered lots of wildlife, like birds, turtles (spot one in the next pic), dragonflies and a zillion different butterflies: There was a boardwalk trail leading through the bordering wetland habitats of remnant swamp, marsh and tidal mud flats: What was the most amazing to me were what looked like vast fields of pink and white lilies that were taller than me (not hard, but pretty impressive for flowers!) It turns out these are actually growing in ponds and aren't lilies. They are lotuses. They were in all stages of bloom: and some were gigantic This place was an unexpected surprise and certainly worth a visit if you find yourself aimlessly driving around the western border of DC!

The Kwik-E Mart

Who needs the Kwik-E Mart? I do! So to promote the Simpsons Movie, 7-11 is offering Simpsons merchandise, like WooHoo Blue Vanilla Squishees, Buzz Cola and Crusty-Os, plus they gave about a dozen of their locations around the country a Kwik-E Mart facelift. Lots of big cities and tourist destinations got a Kwik-E Mart; then there is Bladensburg, MD. Bladensburg. It isn't really a suburb of DC or Baltimore. I mean it is close to DC, but not really to the parts of DC you would want to hang around. In short, the neighborhood is a bit sketchy - not terrible, but not great either. I have been meaning to go find it since i first heard about the promotion weeks ago, but finally yesterday I went on the Kwik-E Mart quest. I knew it was in Bladensburg, i knew it was on Kenilworth Ave, and i heard it described as "Kenilworth, right off of 295." Now, if you have spent any time driving anywhere near DC, you know that the simpler the directions are, the more likely they are to be wrong. You always want to believe that simple, clear directions are going to help you, but no, no they won't. Of course, that is what makes it an adventure. "Kenilworth, right off 295"... yep... what you probably don't know is that for a several miles Kenilworth Ave IS 295... yep... i ended up in DC for a little while; i ended up in the parking lot of some bakery with all of its delivery trucks; i ended up in a salvage yard... luckily, a big, big, big man (who i think was a security guard or perhaps a half-giant) at the salvage yard gave me these words of wisdom, "people end up in here all the time, especially at night; back up real quick so this truck doesn't hit ya; then i want you to go around in-between those two trucks and out past the other; turn left at the 'do not enter' and then turn right; at the top of the hill -once it's flat - take your second right; up ahead you'll see a street that'll take you to the on-ramp on the right." Easy-peesie. If you are driving around DC you want the directions to sound as wordy and complicated as possible cause then they are probably right. As i headed back into MD on Kenilworth Ave, there was the sign:

and i was able to quickly dodge traffic to pull into the store:

The facade looked like it had been attached directly to the building and featured some familiar faces: I don't know how in the world 7-11 picked Baldensburg, but i will say that it was one of the nicest convenience stores i've seen - there was LANDSCAPING for goodness sakes. And even if it was in a neighborhood that I would never think to do a national marketing promotion in, I sure am glad it is relatively close to home!

Happy Book 7 Day

Eleven

It is just after 11pm on my 11th day of work in a row; only 2 more to go in this marathon. I have nothing much to report. Oh, except that i have developed the propensity to laugh maniacally in the van even though no one is with me (except my imaginary partner, Willis). Oh, and i have a song stuck in my head that won't go away - it's about worms. Oh, and i really like tater tots, with or without cheese. Oh, and this is post #111. That is all. 'Kay, bye.

Bubble Art!

This weekend was Bubble Days at my museum. I volunteered to work the Bubble Art station weeks ago, not really realizing that it would put me into a 7 day work week. Oh well; it was super-duper fun and sleep is for the weak! There were all sorts of events going on yesterday and today that were bubble themed : bubble blowing contests, bubble carts outside, make you own bubble wands and solution, shows by the Bubble Guy (who would also autograph his book for you - on sale in the museum store) and 2 stations of bubble art. At one you would use a straw to blow into a bowl of bubble paint, making a mass of bubbles that were then popped onto your paper: At the other you would put different colors of paint onto bubble wrap and roll it over your paper: Of course there was a gallery where people could leave their prints to dry and pick them up later. I did have a lot of fun, but think that it might be days before i can get all of this paint cleaned off of me!

Franci and Charlotte

When I was in high school, my best friend was Franci Green. We were opposite in nearly every way : she was the quiet to my loud, the shy to my outgoing, the meticulous to my freewheeling, the balance to my insanity. Franci and I took nearly every class together, sitting next to each other whenever possible. Our senior year we worked it out that we were together every period of the day, except 1. We could not be separated. I believe that I survived high school because she was by my side. I sang "Wind Beneath My Wings" at her graduation party and meant every single cheesy word of it. We cried piteously when it was time to embark on our separate journeys at colleges that were 1000 miles apart. Throughout college we'd see each other at holidays and write occasionally, but you all know how people can drift apart in those years. When we saw each other we were the same friends, but the time between visits became longer and longer. After college we lost each other. Both of us spent our mid-to-late-20s in bad situations that we now consider lost years (i like that she refers to it as the "black hole" of her life). There would be a random phone call or letter, but we were both too proud to admit that we needed help and probably too screwed up to help each other anyway. In 2000 i got an invitation to her bridal shower totally out of the blue. We had a wonderful time reconnecting at the shower, then at her bachelorette party (what i remember of it), at the rehearsal dinner and at the wedding, where i read poetry as she and Brian lit their Unity Candle. Then somehow we drifted again. In 2006 she called. She was 6 months pregnant and she wanted to see me. Dinner was lovely; i got to spend time with her and Brian (who i barely knew but seems like a really great guy), catch up with her mom, see her house and meet her 2 big dogs. In November I got an e-mail from Brian announcing the birth of their daughter Charlotte. Then somehow we drifted again. Friday i came home to find 2 messages on my voicemail from the lovely Franci asking me to dinner last night. Can you say completely unexpected? It was GREAT to see her and to meet baby Charlotte, who has awesome red hair with blue eyes: We talked about our lives and spent a lot of time catching up on news. We had to go over all the "new mommy" questions, but eventually we fell into the easy pattern of conversation between lifelong friends. Silences weren't awkward and at least once we were laughing so hard that she was crying. I am amazed that after all this time, love doesn't disappear. When I look at her, my eyes see the grown woman, but my heart sees the young girl who kept me alive.

It was so good to see my Franci. I think that maybe I didn't even realize how much i missed her until I saw her. In keeping with 2007 New Year's Resolution #1 (reconnect with friends and family) i am resolved to not let her disappear again.

I urge all of you to think of someone whom you miss and call or e-mail them right now!

Bike Rack

This is the bike rack in front of today's library (yes, i realize it is Saturday, but in the summer TSP normally runs 6 days a week). I love that not only does this exist, but that somebody actually got paid to design it.

Pick a Card

Over at Scrap a Latte, Kelly posted a card-making challenge. WhooHoo! Very conveniently timed, I would say, since I sent another submission set of 6 cards off to The Stamper's Sampler today, on the theme "Odds and Ends" - using leftovers from other projects. I did one with leftover altered book pages, one with a torn scrap background, one where i used edge strips to make a quilt block (log cabin pattern, in case you care, and i know some of you just might), one with 2 types of homemade paper, one where i made a star embellishment from square confetti, and one with paper weaving: I think the book paper one is my favorite. I especially love the little loopy flower that i made from some leftover creme fiber, a piece of black string and a mini-button; i think it came out better than i expected. Send someone you love a card today, homemade or not. (and thanks to Kaaren for sending me a HOT card - i love mail!)