got my kids with me for a week or two, it’s been nice just chilling. work’s very slow and money’s beyond tight, but I’m not letting that stress me as usual. the weather’s sunny and warmish, we’re slowly getting the place into livable order and I get to play dad again.
all’s well on this front.
it’s warming up, so we’re about to tackle the next stage of turning this dilapidation (is that a proper word? didn’t trigger my spelczeck) into a habitat and public eating house. we’re armed with gallons of gloss water-based white paint, bucketloads of cleaners and solvents, and a freshly baked tray of spanikopitas for energy.
the spans came up pretty good, I think we’ll put them on the menu. those of you who frequented our old place will remember those simple yet fab greek spinach and feta cheese pastries. I’d best go check on them, for quality assurance purposes only of course.
speaking of food, one of the chef blogs that I subscribe to had this interesting conundrum posted:
if you could only listen to either heart, journey, queen, or styx for the rest of your life, who would you pick?
now, this doesn’t specify if you’re left with each band’s whole catalog, or merely the hits. if I were to nitpick, I’d pick a) journey, but only pre-steve perry; or b) queen, but the album tracks including their first three releases. however, I’d probably have to go with heart. being raised in the pac nw, I have a fond affinity for ann and nancy.
I’ll posit my own version, southern style. same question, but the bands are:
lynyrd skynyrd; allman brothers band; zz top.
couldn’t really think of a suitable third to join that list, marshall tucker, 38 special etc, naw. little feat would be no contest. the gypsy gal joking suggested the new romantics, so it’d be adam & the ants; duran duran; spandau ballet; flock of seagulls.
at least, I think she was joking…..
not much to report, blog about or otherwise waffle on with. still sorting out the new digs, it’s a much bigger job than we’d thought. getting the cafe to opening stages seems a million miles away.
had a great gig with the blues pirates last sunday though. there’ll be another in november.
I hate moving. I know most everyone else does too, especially those who do it for a living. but I really hate it. the past several times I’ve moved house, it was always in the midst of a heatwave. saturday, we had a gorgeous spring day, mildly warm and sunny. the next day, half an hour out from the truck’s arrival, it started bucketing down with rain. and did not stop, even at the other end.
but we persevered, and now I’m slowly unpacking, sorting and doing a little spring cleaning/discarding along the way. the residential side of the cafe is pretty rough & ready, so we’ve had to make improvements as we unravel in order to feel civilised. had the electrician in for a few small repairs, finally got to switch on the lights in the front dining room & kitchen for the first time. I’ll probably make those comments in my long-neglected food blog, which may see some new life now that we’re finally here.
I’m back down the hill on sunday for the blues pirates show at the bald rock. jim finn is joining us on percussion. do attend these proceedings, if you wish.
and speaking of the blooz, I may already have a couple of locals lined up to start a lil acoustic blues trio up here. more when we get a chance to have a blow.
kasey chambers at number one on the americana charts - you go, girl. oh, shane too.
as is often the way, or always the way with this particular monopilistic isp, my promised new broadband connection isn’t where it’s supposed to be. they’re “looking into it”, which from my last experience with these assclowns in a regional area means it could be several days, if not weeks.
so anyone wondering why I have’t responded to emails, I’m currently dwelling in cyberlimbo.
finally… we’re moving this weekend. I’ll likely pack up the office shortly, so anyone needing anything from me, I’ll be offline for a couple of days. am really hoping that the new isp won’t cause me any grief - I’d had many problems with them in years past, and as we’re going to a regional area, my choices are again very limited. but I’m just glad to be on our way, it seems I’ve been in neutral for nearly a year now.
did the annual hank williams bach last night. for me, it’s more about catching up with some pals from the country scene that I don’t get to see very often more than the actual performance. then I shot down to the merton for the gringos gig, which was special guest-a-rama. but that may well be my last tango in gringoland, as I don’t expect to be driving back up to the mountains at 1am on a thursday…
had my semi-occasional political chat with an e-pal from the states. she’s a staunch republican and thinks that sarah palen is a breath of fresh air and a good choice. my own views (and the facts) aside, it seems to me that americans have, more and more, come to assess the viability of their leaders with much the same superficiality as they do ‘celebrities’ and media personalities. the women will flock to her because she’s not hillary, but close enough. the guys see mccain and mcmilf. the rachael ray of american politics. yum-o. does e.v.o.o. come from the alaskan shelf? it may soon.
happy b-day to carnsey for sunday, we’ll have to catch up for a rousing rendition of ‘driving my life away‘ before long.
packing up the house for the big move this weekend. still going round n round with the telephone/broadband people about which lines are and aren’t working in the aging weatherboard building, it’s possible I may be offline for a little while… grrr….
thursday, I’ll be joining the crew at the canterbury-hurlstone rsl club for the annual hank williams birthday bash. think I’ll do my bucket’s got a hole in it and may have a shot at kawliga. should be fun.
I see kasey chanbers‘ new album has hit number three on the u.s. americana charts in as many weeks. nice.
speaking of the untied states of bushistan, the political posturing, stunts and grandstanding by both sides in the upcoming race have made the once admired ‘democratic process’ a complete laughing stock to those in the west observing from afar. obama skips bill, er, hillary, and mccain digs out the female ted nugent. the extemists must be pissing themselves in laughter - especially the ones who schooled in u.s. colleges during the nixon/ford years.
martin sexton has a new solo album out next month - check out his cover of prince’s purple rain. his tune happy from the “seeds” album is still in my top ten for the year.
father’s day came and went here quietly, not a word from my kids. guess they didn’t need money this week. I did get a message from the rose, but that was only after the gypsy gal was reminded to call her dad. cynical, jaded? moi? bah… humbug. as the great late walter brennan said in meet john doe, youth is wasted on the young.
and speaking of young, happy b-day to misty.
nine days til we move. still haven’t done much packing, but that’s not an issue as the two of us could pack this whole joint up in a couple hours. I’m headed up to the new mountain digs in the morning to resume cleaning/painting/freezing/whatever. more food-related details a little later in my food blog.
got the new david rodriguez album in the mail, it’s hauntingly wonderful.
am about to head out the door to check the final mixes for the long-awaited - well, by us anyway - blues pirates album. if it goes to mastering next week, we should have a pre-christmas release. oh, the band’s at the bald rock on sunday 21st september, one for the diaries.
anyone got the new google chrome browser yet? I’ve just started having a play with it. I’m a hardcore firefox user (or ‘mozzarella’, as pinny calls it), old dawgs n all. we’ll see.
and since I probably won’t be posting over the weekend, happy b-day to greg shaw.
