press photos by Nick Miller

I listen to a lot of music, and I often get asked to name my favorite artists or bands. One huge standout from last year for me is singer Sea of Bees (Julie Baenziger), who made a big splash at SXSW this year along with her five-piece band. Check out this video for "Willis," an amazing gem from her album “Songs for the Ravens.” Except for drums and a few other instrumental lines, Julie wrote and played every single bit of the entire album – including handheld percussion, glockenspiel, guitar, bass, keys, marimba and slide.  Grab your copy of the album at iTunes or through Crossbill Records.

"Hope is the thing with feathers, that perches in the soul, and sings the tune without words, and never stops at all." - Emily Dickson

Photos by Lori King

I just can’t figure out why in the world our neighborhood  squirrel seems so fat and happy.

Photo: Swamplot

This morning was one of those Hectic Mornings. I was rushing to get my son’s bag packed for today’s snowshoe outing with his class. Of course, today was the day when his long underwear, ski socks, and gloves were hiding in Full Stealth Mode. It was becoming quite clear that we were going to be late. This particular son was not very happy about going on this outing, because he wasn’t sure what exactly was planned. He likes to have a Detailed Itinerary before he goes out to do something new. Since he didn’t know what exactly was going to happen that day, he was Capital G Grumpy. His grumpiness quickly spread like dominoes through the whole family. Soon we were all muttering, frowning and stomping around the house in search of the elusive winter gear. 

I was amazed at how I let my mood go from happy to grumpy in a mere matter of seconds. This sudden mood switch made me think of a good friend of mine who told me the story of the Law of the Garbage Truck.  She had heard about a guy who was sightseeing in New York. He jumped in the back of a taxi and headed toward Central Park. They were calmly driving down the Lower West Side when suddenly a car jumped right in front of the taxi. The taxi driver honked and slammed on his brakes, just inches away from plowing into the back of the offending car. The crazy driver had the nerve to turn around and unleash a stream of profanity at the taxi driver. The taxi driver just leaned back, smiled and gave him a big friendly wave. When the tourist asked the driver why he was so friendly to such an obvious jerk, he said that most people live their lives like garbage trucks - carrying around a big garbage pile of anger, stress, frustration and fear. The more and more garbage they collect, the more they need to find a place to get rid of it. And if you aren't careful, they will take their pile of garbage and dump it all over you. He suggested to the tourist that the next time someone with a garbage truck full of negativity is headed his way, just smile, wave and wish him well.

Reflecting back on what happened this morning, it's obvious I should have acknowledged my son's frustrations, and calmly helped him think through the various places where his winter gear might be hiding. Service with a smile.

Next time, when I see a big garbage truck coming, I'll be ready. With a smile, a wave, or a hug. Maybe all three.

photo by Lori King

on the desk he sits

waiting for the warm summer

to help melt his clocks

Photo by Lori King

It’s Monday. It’s time to deal with the weekly task of putting the house back together. As I tried to put some sense of order back into the Tornado That Is Our Family Room, I noticed that our storage cabinet was literally bursting with DVDs that have been ignored for months, even years. Within three minutes I had amassed a giant tower of workout videos (FIVE Tae Bo videos? Really?). Several of these are VHS tapes. We haven’t had a VHS player in our house in six, maybe seven years. And most of the DVDs in this stack still have the plastic on, so it’s rather obvious I don’t have a problem with over-exercising. I guess you could call me a collector. Instead of naval fluff, Ken dolls, or toothpaste, I collect exercise videos.

I'm going to change that starting today.  According to that famous Earl of Derby, "Those who do not find time for exercise will have to find time for illness." So I'm keeping the pile of DVDs in plain sight. In fact, I'm putting the entire pile smack dab in the middle of the family room. My self-imposed rule is that I can't put away any of the exercise videos until I've taken the plastic off, put it in the DVD player, and push myself through the workout.

I think I'll try the "Ease into Ashtanga with Yoga Hawaii" this morning. Any DVD that has the words "ease" and "Hawaii" in the title can't be all that bad.

Wait! Hold the presses! I just heard that there's a fabulous new DVD called "Face Yoga" that's on sale at Costco...

I’ll admit it. I love to ski. I’m just an average skier (gimmeabreak, I grew up in Iowa), but that’s ok, because skiing is one of those sports that you can truly enjoy whether you’re flying off a frozen lip on the double-black-diamond backside, or cruising down the sweet blue groomers . But here’s the thing. On a gorgeous weekend day, with fresh powder and glorious sunshine, it’s torture to have to stand in the long lift line with the rest of the Bendites and ride slowly up the mountain. You want to GO GO GO and get another run in NOW.  

Stuntman extraordinaire Troy Hartman has come up with the perfect solution. He built a jet pack using engines from decommissioned UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles  - like the Predator). Strap on your skis, strap on your jet pack, open her up to just half-throttle, and you’ll be carving the snow at 47 miles-per-hour on the flats! It’s not too likely that the Mt. Bachelor folks will allow this, ever, but one can dream. Troy is taking orders, so if you foresee a jetpack in your future, get in touch. And let me know so I can capture your jet pack debut on video. Wear bright colors.

Photo by Warburg (Own work) CC-BY-SA-3.0

This morning marks the debut of the iPad 2. It’s all very exciting, and I hope to get my hands on one very soon (Peter, Mother’s Day is May 8^th). But I am equally excited about the prospect of getting my hands on TC Boyle’s new book “When the Killing’s Done.” Not the e-book, the p-book—the one made out of paper. I’m not a Luddite by any stretch of the imagination, but there’s something about the smell of a book, the feel of its pages, the cover art, the type…I take in everything. I have an old Kindle and still use it for traveling, but there’s nothing like the feel, the weight, the “soul” of a real, material book.

My favorite type of book is often an old used one that I might find at Powell’s, a book from my childhood perhaps, that smells like memories, and is creased and ripped in places—a strong hint that some little kid loved and cherished that book. As a child, I have fond memories of my parents dropping me off at the library. “Pick you up in a hour,” they said, “and remember, 12 books is your limit!” So off I’d go and make my way through the adult library, down the creaking stairs, and into the musty basement, into a young reader’s heaven.

As an adult, I still love libraries and bookstores. If I’m having a stressful day, I’ll take the time to wander into one of my favorite local bookstores and take it all in. There’s something comforting about being in the presence of hundreds a books. It’s as if they’re whispering “It’s ok. We’re here for you. Relax. Breathe. Sit down and read one of us.” A good bookstore is like an electric blanket—it’s so comforting, you never want to leave it.

Photo by Lori King

iced sculpture reaching

upward trying to see the sun

dark clouds moving in

When it’s bitter cold outside with gusty winds whipping over the terrain, it seems like our house is transformed into an igloo from Saariselka (no, this photo is not our house).  So for me, getting warm requires a 4-pronged approach:

1) Music. Whether your thing is Soca, Reggae or vintage Jan & Dean, turn on the island music to set the mood.

2) Hot tea. My favorite is Gunpowder Green Tea from Adagio.

3) Mittens and scarves. We keep the heat low to save energy and $$$. I don’t like working in front of my computer dressed in a bulky ski jacket, but I do wear winter boots, multiple scarves and my trusty USB heating gloves. Which brings me to the age-old battle of Men vs. Women and the Thermostat.  Why do women in general want to crank up the heat, while men are perfectly comfortable in a 60 degree house? According to an article in the New York Times, a woman's hands are almost three degrees colder than a man's. When your hands feel cold, so does the rest of you. So there, women really ARE colder than men!

4) Visuals. This is where those beach screensavers can do wonders. I personally have an affinity for watching videos of solar flares, like this amazing one that was captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory last Thursday.