Hello, Friends.

This is a great week so far, and it is nice to realize that I’m about 1/3 of the way through the semester already.  It really is flying.   Remember, I’m working on my master’s in Library Science (for you newcomers), so I can be a K-12 school librarian.  I’m currently in Collection Development which is a bit dry (but important, I know) and Children’s Literature Through the Ages which is  lots of fun.  The only difficult thing about the kid lit. class is that I don’t work in an elementary school and, therefore, don’t have access to all the required readings as some of my classmates do.  This was, at first, a big pain in my rump as I found myself stopping by the public library a couple times a week looking for specific titles.  After a couple weeks of feeling annoyed, I decided there has to be a better way.  Now, each Monday night I pack up my laptop and head over to Barnes and Noble.  Ahhhh, yes.  First things first, I order a big latte and settle into a comfy chair by the children’s section.  There, I read, analyze and type at my leisure.  It has made what was at first a cumbersome extra chore into an enjoyable outing that I totally look forward to.   The work only takes me an hour or two and when done, I flip through some magazines, browse the new fiction – things I rarely have time to do.  So, to quote Mary Poppins (although I really can’t stand that perfect b#$%@) 

In ev’ry job that must be done
There is an element of fun
You find the fun and snap!
The job’s a game

So, classes under control, family well and happy.  Let’s take a minute to revisit those New Year’s resolutions I shared with you in a previous post.   Homesteading is well under way.  I signed up for a chicken keeping and goat keeping class in March.  Don’t laugh!  Did you know that a medium size goat produces 6-8 quarts of milk a day?  And that the milk has better fat quality and more vitamins than cow’s milk?  True.  Oh, and that chickens, besides the obvious eggs, are the perfect solution to pesticides on your lawn or garden.  Yep, they are amazing foragers when allowed free range and will leave your entire property bug, slug, and snake free!   Anyone interested?  Visit: http://www.denverurbanhomesteading.com/

Oh, and that pesky resolution to get in killer shape and rock a bikini on this very blog come June, 1st?  Yeah, I’m pretty sure I’m chubbier than when I started.  Must get butt in motion.  Will do.  Right after I dominate the brownies somebody brought into the teacher’s lounge!

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Mr. Ray

This has been a really cool week.  First off, I must give some background info: I am #1 Ray LaMontagne fan.  I listen to Trouble when I run, when I drive, when I do the dishes.  Lyrics from Gossip in the Grain, on a daily basis, guide my decisions, choices and prove to be the soundtrack as I blaze forward in this crazy world.  So, last week when KBCO was giving away Ray tickets every morning, I knew we had to win – by “we” I meant my husband who has a longer commute to work.  In fact, I told Bernie not to bother coming home on Friday if he hadn’t won me my tickets – jokingly!  Of course I was kidding… kind of… totally goofing around… maybe.  Anyways, my sweet hubby spent a couple hours researching Ray LaMontagne trivia, and on Wednesday morning he won!  Third row seats, Baby!  What a hero.

The concert was out of this world.  Ray was solo – just a guitar and his black and white photography behind him.  Although it may sound cliche, I really did cry through half the songs.  It’s just that the quality of his voice, his lyrics, his style – it’s all just so raw, but not raw as in rough: raw as in organic.  I hesitate to tell you that several big-life decisions I’ve been chewing on were made that night while I was 10 feet from Mr. Ray.  I want to move home.  I want to get back to Northern Michigan.  I want my little girl to grow up someplace quieter and simpler – a place where ice fishing and blueberry picking are taken into account when making the weekly grocery list. 

 Ray\’s Trouble

Ray LaMontagne’s music is so stripped of pretention, so poetic and intimate, that I was allowed to stip away my own complex walls, and multi-leveled thought processes.  Corny?  Perhaps.  But I walked out of there feeling clearer and more positive about where my life needs to go next.  Amazing art does that to a person. 

Now, I don’t necessarily have a plan on how to sell our house in this market, get a new job in a state that is economically devastated, and make this happen.  However, when we were leaving the concert, and I asked my husband, “Can we go home now?”  He said, “I thought you would never ask.”  So, I’m pretty sure we can do just about anything. 

It’s a good thing my degree is online.

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Things I Learned from the B-52’s

The last time I posted I was preping for a concert and a skip day from work following it.  I have to admit that I was far more excited for the day off of work than the concert; the B-52’s tickets were free.  Oh, how I have changed my tune.  Even my girlfriends noticed that I had a definite and spiritual connection with the B-52’s that night.  Maybe it was because, trying to get into the mood, I ratted my hair up into a big boufant, and it acted as a groovy music magnet that collected and then sent the freaky vibes down into my brain.  I don’t know, but I surely had the most fun out of the whole gang and can’t stop talking about it.  Where have the B-52’s been all my life?  Of course, I know “Love Shack” and “Roam” like the rest of the world, but MTV doesn’t do this band any justice; they are amazing live.  Let’s try to synthesize the experience.  Here’s what I learned from the B-52’s.

1) Age is but a number.  How old are these people anyways?  They’ve been playing together since the early 80’s.  My co-worker Kurt told me, “Yeah, I saw them in ‘84 – one of the most amazing shows of my life.  My old girlfriend was really into them and used to spend five hours working on her beehive and then would attach a fake lobster to it.”  And this band is still hot – sexy even.  Honestly, I had a little trepidation going in: I thought it might be sad to see a band my mom’s age still wearing miniskirts and doing the monkey.  No!  It was inspiring.  They are groovy, groovy, groovy people who can still get it on.  Sometimes the daily grind makes me feel tired and old, and at these times, I shall conjure and channel the B-52’s.  If they can be that cool at 50 or 60, I can do it at 30.

2)  Altered reality is a powerful thing.  Some bands are better in a studio; some bands, like the B-52’s, are best seen live.  The show was trippy.  Between the disco lights, the 60’s backdrop, the beehives and theatrics, I didn’t know exactly where I was.  Was I in a time warp?  1968?  1982?  A space ship?  A John Water’s movie?  The Laugh In?  I don’t know, but it was too much fun.  To drop expectations and suspension of disbelief and just allow myself to be surreal – well, it was enlightening and freeing.  One song was just called “Butter Bean” and those were the only two words of the whole thing.  And I was like, “Yes!  Butter Bean!  Of course!”  Now, the five beers might have helped get me to that spot, but wherever it was was sure nice.

3)  There’s nothing wrong with big hair.

Well, friends, I encourage you to take a look at some of the video I took that night, and, of course, to catch a B-52’s show anytime you can.  Take care.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31PaOvHeYsg

(Please copy and paste link)

Peace,

Sarah

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