Frog and Goat

Today is the first “real” day at the new job. I’m working for the better half now and am no longer a consultant at the Commonwealth of Va. I went from a job that could have been cut at any moment because of budget woes to a job that pays me $0.00. Great plan, eh?

I made chicken salad for lunch from some of the leftover grilled chicken from our porch party. I have to say it was whippin’ good. That is one of the perks of hiring your spouse–she brings in lunch.

The perk for me is that I have my own desk. I used to share one cube with 3 other people. Another perk is being able to update my blog and not worry about the boss seeing me do it–not that I ever did that as a consultant–honestly, it is true.

Here’s something that made me lay my head down on my desk and laugh .

We invited family and extended family to a porch party yesterday. Extended family barely RSVP’d and didn’t show. The rest of us seemingly had a good time. Although, I usually get that impression and then all hell breaks loose later. I’ve decided that I just don’t have the energy anymore to figure out everyone’s motive. Maybe I’m paranoid in thinking everyone has a motive and I should just get over myself. My father still isn’t talking to me–which is an amazing feat considering he was invited to my house, showed up, ate food and then took some leftover lumber home. Probably no one else noticed. I did and I guess this is just the way it is.

Not to be a total downer….my sister got the job at NASA and will be moving to FL in August. This is a big summer for her…gets her PhD and a new job and will have some time to get articles ready for publication. WHOOOOOOHOOOO. Double-kudos to you.

Today we’re headed to Mt. Crawford, VA to get some books for our week at the beach (which is not until August). Mt. Crawford is home to a serious book fair and we usually try to go once a year to stock up on reading material for the beach…and beyond.

The better half got the latest Harry Potter for his birthday and cruised through it in 2 days. I have to finish my book about time before I can read it but semi-dry science is having a bitter battle with my need for Harry. We’ll see which one wins.

To end this totally disjointed entry–I think I bruised the top of my left thumb turning off the water in the shower this morning. We have a long handle that controls the shower and my hand slipped off it and my thumb raked across the long skinny end. Man that hurt.

We went to the Richmond Braves vs Toledo Mudhens game last night.

It was a double-header and, man, did it stretch out. We finally gave up around 10:50. The Braves lost both games. The first score was 3-0 and then 3-2. I ended up rooting for good plays even though I suppose I should fawn over the Braves. I’m not sure what their standing is but it can’t be good–I think between the 2 games they went through 5 pitchers. It could have been more–we lost count.

When we were walking up to the box office an older couple asked if we already had tickets. No sir. They had two box seat tickets from a rained out game and told us to take them and exchange them for seats. Thanks Mr. & Mrs. Baseball. We ended up sitting in the same section as Mr. & Mrs. Baseball and thanked them again. Then Mrs. Baseball asked us if we wanted one of the inflatable balls some organization was handing out. We declined and she said she was going to try to get some for the grandkids. She scored two balls–hope the grandkids were happy. I also saw Mrs. Baseball running down some free Bubble Yum during a promo between innings. I’m not sure if she chewed or if that was added to the pile for the grandkids.

It was a great night for baseball. Hot but not too bad. We also got to see a game of Beeper Ball during the break between games. Beeper Ball is where blind people play a version of baseball. The ball has a beeper in it and 1st and 3rd bases are replaced with traffic cones that beep. The “celebrity” team (sighted local celebs who are blindfolded) had their butts kicked in the game.

The only complaints are these:

Dominics–quit putting the cooked sausage in a bun and then in the steam box. The bread is nasty after that.

Obnoxious people–just stay away from me for crying out loud. A father and grown daughter got the “I’ll-kick-your-butt-in-a-second-and-not-break-a-sweat” stare when they came down from the cheap seats and spent their 20 minutes in the section bad mouthing both the Braves and the Mudhens. The stare was given when the daughter ragged on a player with the same last name as mine–she said “Inge, what kind of last name is that?” They left shortly after the death stare. Goodbye and good riddance.

The better half and I went to Wolf Trap Friday evening to hear Los Lobos and Buddy Guy. If you’ve never been to Wolf Trap I strongly urge you to go. We took a picnic dinner and spread our “Neat Sheet” out on the ground. It rained earlier in the day so we were concerned that once we sat on the Neat Sheet that we’d slide all the way down the hill, but we held tight. The Neat Sheet was awesome. It repelled the damp and was soft enough that I didn’t feel like I was sitting on a tarp. For our picnic we had green olives stuffed with blue cheese, mini pitas and Roasted Sweet Pepper Hummus, Blarney smoked cheese, crackers and an excellent hard salami. We also drank some Trinity Hill, which I think is so awesome that driving to NoVa to get it is not an issue. We also had a Sangiovese as well. Before you start thinking we’re total alcoholics remember that we drank 2 bottles of wine over a long stretch of time.

Los Lobos appeared on stage around 8pm and their first song was a little rough. We thought it kind of sounded like a sound-check but after that they rocked. They played for about an hour and ten minutes and wailed on all their songs. Now I remember why I like them so much. The bari sax was outstanding. 2 drummers–whoa nelly.

Buddy Guy was on stage around 9:15 or 9:30. He was amazing. He plays a mean guitar, is funny and can sing like nobody’s business. At 10 I was in the Ladies (remember the 2 bottles of wine?) and thought I can’t believe it is 10pm and I’m this wound up and this rocked up. A far cry from what I’m normally doing at 10. He went on and played until 10:45 when, apparently, he had to stop–I guess there’s a noise issue with the neighbors.

Saturday morning it was actually sunny for a little while and we met the better half’s aunt and uncle at Anita’s for breakfast. Mexican for breakfast is one of the best ways to start your day…who cares about Wheaties. It was really nice seeing them and his aunt gave us a show when she dropped the ketchup bottle (for her hash browns) into the salsa container. Salsa flew through the air. We all cracked up. I didn’t know this about her but she’s known as the klutzy one in the family.

After breakfast we went to Sutton Place Gourmet and got 2 bottles of the Trinity Hill wine and I got some pate (made Individual Beef Wellingtons for the better half’s birthday–a Rachael Ray recipe). We also went by Whole Foods Grocery and got some Lamb sausage–which is tonight’s feast.

After enduring horrible traffic getting out of NoVa (shame on you people for not voting for the bond that would continue to pay for roads), we turned off in Fredericksburg to get some Carl’s ice cream. To die for. Then we took the scenic route home.

The better half liked all his birthday presents and the dinner. I’ve eaten lots of different things in my life but I still can’t stand liver (of course I got too much pate so I’m not sure who is going to eat that). I thought after becoming a fan of Haggis (a couple of years ago in Scotland) and Steak and Kidney pie (in England) that I would be past my dislike of liver. I almost had to spit the pate into my napkin last night. I think the next time I make the Beef Wellington I’ll use pate on the better half’s and extra mushroom on mine.

For our next trip to Wolf Trap I’m going to come up with a more sophisticated picnic. I should start planning it now…only one month away. Every thing has to be portable in the cooler and easy to eat as we’ll be on the lawn again.

Why is that the Plastics Council needs to advertise? Come on. Plastic is everywhere. Look around.

Am I supposed to shop around for a different plastic manufacturer? Get a better price on plastic at a local retailer vs. one on the internet?

John Hammond’s performance as the opening act for the Blind Boys of Alabama was good. But while I was watching him play, there were certain things I noticed; I’ve decided address them directly to him:

You play a mean guitar… by that I mean that you can play fast, complex and accurately… but the blues don’t respond well to being rushed. They’re meant to be felt and savored… and they need to make the audience empathize with the pain of the song.

I believe that you feel a lot of the blues as you play them. But the speed of your emotion (if there is any such thing) exceeds that of the audience’s emotion. You’re off in your world, feeling the blues, as they watch and listen and are left in the concert hall. I believe there’s some adage about performance that says it must be larger than life– exaggerated to some degree– so that it can be perceived by the largest number of people in the audience. I’m not talking about “dumbing it down”– just that the speed of the performer’s mind and emotion far exceeds that of the audience. Don’t leave ‘em in the dust.

And the harmonica… dude, can’t you just have somebody up there to play the harmonica, while you play the guitar really well? I don’t need to see you wheezing out an oral sex session with a harmonica mount around your neck… I’d rather concentrate on listening to you play the instrument with which you’re truly skilled…

And you don’t need to play the classic blues, either… when you played that Tom Waits song, everything in your performance (even the silly harmonica) seemed to converge to “just right”. To your credit, before this performance, I’d never connected Tom Waits directly to the blues… and your performance illustrated that connection. But somehow I got the feeling that you were “into” the song, and although you “felt” the other songs, they didn’t fit your performace as well as that song.

P.S. If the headline act is expecting you to play on stage with them, you really ought to come out and join them when they ask you to… otherwise– no matter what the real situation/extenuating circumstances are– you end up being perceived as an ungrateful prick. Just so you know.

We went to see The Blind Boys of Alabama with John Hammond at the Carpenter Center tonight. Much to our surprise our seats were the front row–we could touch the stage. John Hammond opened and he’s a very talented guitar player. He also played the harmonica and I don’t know if it is because we were right there or what but I wish he hadn’t played the harmonica. It looked like he was eating the thing. The better half thought the sound/playing was off…it was a little too visceral for me.

The Blind Boys, however, rocked. They were outstanding. Jimmy Carter is the smallest and most delicate man but with a huge voice. He brought the house down or up–everyone was standing–he came off the stage and whipped everyone into a frenzy. I had no idea old men singing gospel could be so terrific.

Here’s what else is going on musically…

Here’s a decent article on The Thorns (my new boyfriends). I am really enjoying the album and, if it is possible, I’m trying to wear a hole in the CD. There’s even a Jayhawks cover–what could be better?

Something else I’ve been listening to is the new Lucinda Williams CD World without Tears. She rocks. I really love “Righteously”, but I also find myself drawn to “Sweet Side” and “Real Live Bleeding Fingers and Broken Guitar Strings” (that’s a mouthful). The other night I pulled into the driveway and refused to get out of the car until “Essence” was finished (from her Essence album). What’s a girl supposed to do? Jump out of the car instead of finishing singing (even if it is poorly) at the top of her lungs-doubtful.

The better half’s friend gave him a copy of Nick Drake’s Pink Moon and that is wonderfully haunting and what a shame that he offed himself shortly after recording….of course that was years and years ago so I shouldn’t start wearing the black now.

Hem-Rabbit Songs is another CD that I recommend. I really seem to be on an introspective/mellow listening track these days. Probably because I didn’t get A3′s La Peste for my birthday. I love that song “Too Sick to Pray”. And, there really is no excuse for me not running to the store for it.

We’re scheduled to see Buddy Guy and Los Lobos next Friday at Wolf Trap. Yes, we drive to Northern Virginia for shows. We’ve already bought tickets for the Tracy Chapman/Joseph Arthur show there in July. The Indigo Girls are appearing there in August and we may go to that show as well. Have I mentioned that there aren’t that many outdoor concerts in Richmond? What do we expect–radio stinks in this town and so does the city’s mindset on anything that may draw people to downtown, this in spite of the huge new convention center. One day I’ll be installing Satellite Radio in my car, I’m sure. We already listen to Music Choice constantly at home and that introduces us to tons of songs we’d never hear on regular radio. So, until the installation of Satellite Radio, the radio will be on the local NPR station and the CD player will be spinning.

I was driving home from the dentist thoroughly enjoying my clean teeth when I saw a high school kid driving a low rider. He looked like he was smoking (it will stunt your growth kid) and for some reason I wondered if the cigarette was a regular tobacco product or if he was smoking pot. Then I leapt to an incident that happened when I first started school. Some kids TP’d the neighborhood and my parents said I should keep my ears open on the school bus so I could find out who did it. My parents said “people like to brag” and that the truth would come out. My thought on that is if you don’t brag you may not get caught and then you can continue to do whatever you want. That’s what I thought about that kid in the car. Whatever he’s smoking he’s not supposed to be doing it but if he’s not bragging about it then he won’t get caught…ok, maybe he will when he walks into his house smelling like Philip Morris (oh, excuse me, Altria–what a stupid name).

I, apparently, don’t have enough to do.

We’re going to the Houndstooth tonight for dinner. They have outstanding BBQ.

Guess what? That’s right it is raining again. I’m sure everyone is sick of the rain and the whining about the rain. I know I am.

Luckily there was dryness on Monday and I was able to cut the grass. Our great yard project seems to be a success–no doubt due to the huge amount of rain we’ve had.

On Tuesday morning the better half put down two bags of grass seed in all the bare patches where grass didn’t sprout the first time or it came up too weak. I realize that we’re pushing the envelope on when grass seed will actually germinate and then take root but it is just too darn hard to pass up all the rain action.

On Sunday night we decided to put out some bait (a piece of week-old kielbasa) to see if I can finally get a clear picture of the grey fox that visits our backyard. I’ve taken one picture so far and I’m afraid that the level of light will make it very hard to figure out there’s a fox in the picture (I didn’t use the digital camera because instead of an actual zoom lens there’s just laughing when I press that button). Daggone if I didn’t put the camera away just in time to have another fox walk right by the porch…I could have spit on that fox. So, we either have a family of foxes or we will soon have a turf war going on.

We’re having take-out BBQ tonight for dinner. I am thrilled. If you are ever in Ashland, VA, check out Virginia Barbeque Co. on England Street.