Life

Summer sped by at an unbelievable pace.  Here I am cuddled up in the computer chair with my cardigan and scarf, candles lit, kettle on the stove... it's my favorite month!  God has really provided for my family this past summer - just a week after I left my job at the school of music, I heard from an acquaintance about an amazing new opportunity with thier education group, Meta4.  Rodney may have a new opportunity on the horizon as well.  Photo sessions are picking up, the squash are ripening in the garden, it's almost time for apples and bonfires... I don't know what it is about this weather and this time of year, but I am feeling really optimistic.

Warm days, old friends...

Mike is a great friend of mine from my Outdoor Ed. days.  This past weekend he came up for a visit, and I got to show off Midland a bit.  There may be many things about this quirky little town that I dislike (see old blog posts), but there are also many things about it that I LOVE.  We spent a great day visiting the local Indian restaurant, used book store, downtown shops, and my favorite coffee shop.  The next day we visited my favorite place in the world: the Chippewa Nature Center. 

The fact that the Chippewa Nature Center can exist and be as well-funded and well-maintained as it is says a lot about what a community values.  It is an amazing piece of land with passionate, well-educated staff.  I loved working at their day camp, and hope someday to have a part-time job as one of thier naturalists.

It was great to spend time with Miker again - talking to someone about common passions is very important, and there aren't a lot of wilderness junkies in the area (at least that I know of.)  I would really love it if he were to get a job at the Nature Center's preschool and land in the area for a while!

Let The Yoke Fall From Our Shoulders

As many of you know, I have really been grooving on the newest album by my favorite artists, The Decemberists.  The album is a folksy, pastoral love letter to American roots, and is the perfect Spring/Summer soundtrack.  In January Husband and I and our friends Fran and Josh were supposed to see the band live in Royal Oak, but due to a surprise "Snowpocalypse" it was rescheduled for April!  I have caught every tour since Picaresque, and, as usual, was not disappointed.

Beautiful backdrop!

As I mentioned to Fran, half of the fun of going to a concert is seeing the band you love live.  The other half is seeing what sorts of people also love the bands you love.  I feel that no matter what sort of concert I am going to, there are a few types of fellow concertgoers who always seem to find me.

• The Overly Emotional Fangirl.  Standing quietly by herself, hand on heart, eyes wide and brimming with tears. She knows all the words.  She is in another world.
• The "This is Our Song" Couple.  In between every song, the couple in question becomes so romantically charged by the concert experience that they tackle each other in a fit of passion, oblivious to the crowd around them.
• The Encroacher.  They start out behind you, but somehow by the end of the concert they rudely stand in front of you with thier cell phone raised up taking pictures (or worse, video!) right in front of your face.
• The Inappropriate Bromance.  Some guy loves - like, REALLY loves the lead singer.  He is in the front few rows reaching high above the other fans - so close he could almost touch them.  He yells out "jokes" and attempts to banter with the lead singer between songs.  He addresses the lead singer by first name.  He cries out the names of the songs he would like to hear.
• The Drunk Grinding Girls.  Somebody mentioned that there would be music and a bar.  They don't usually care about the band, but are just excited to slut out with thier girlfriends in public.  Often seen with a nondescript red plastic cup in one hand grinding up on whomever happens to be closest.  Can also be identified by piercing shrieks emanating from them after every song.

This last group is the funniest at a concert like the Decemberists.  It's really odd to watch someone dirty dance to songs about labor disputes in Montana or fantasy butchers who murder naughty children in thier beds.

Also, Peanut sat on my seedlings.  I am thinking I might just ground sow everything but the peppers and tomatoes...

I am currently really into Great Lakes Myth Society.  Compass Rose Bouquet is a great album for the day-to-day... it makes me excited for spring and ready for summer.

I love friend days.  Why is it I have to travel at least 1/2 hour to have them?