Since we last spoke I’ve listened to Stairway to Heaven 16 times, Sweet Emotion 27 times, and Foxy Lady 82 times. It seems even corporate radio favors Hendrix. Wisely so. There was one moment earlier last week when we literally heard Stairway and Freebird back to back. It’s like they’re not even trying. If I ever hit the jackpot, I think I’ll buy up all the corporate owned radio stations and create world peace by bringing interesting and unpredictable tracks to the airwaves. Or, at the very least, better playlists will encourage the good soldiers of peace as they infiltrate and dominate the world. Something like that. Honestly, I’m so high on new construction fumes right now, that for the moment, my two-bit idea sounds like a winner.
Over the weekend we realized that we’ve been so focused on waiting for winter to arrive, that we nearly missed the seasonal shift toward longer days, to starting seeds and gathering sugaring supplies. Do you go through that period of time each February where you keep forgetting to start dinner because you’ve grown accustomed to doing so by the changing light, only now it is changing much later, which finds you with a still empty soup pot dangerously close to mealtime? Yeah, me too. We’ve finally caught onto the shift though: meals are getting made, onion seeds have been started, and a new arch for our evaporator pan arrived last night. The oil drum Adam converted for the job last year served as a good no-cost temporary set up, but we’re ready for things to run more efficiently. It’ll be nice to have a proper rig.
It was a little bittersweet starting those onion seeds. Sweet because what is not to love about getting your hands into moist soil and waiting patiently for those elusive first sprouts to appear. Sort of bitter because I was reminded of the brand new, season-long gardening workshop that Ben and I have in the works. The one I needed to back burner in order to place my attention on family matters for the coming season. It’ll be there waiting for us to pick up when the time is right, but man we thought it would have been so much fun walking through a full growing season with some of you… filming and sharing our own food growing escapades, writing up great instructional content, building a community of fellow growers, and the pièce de résistance, bringing the masterful insight of Ben’s wife, Penny, into the mix. Next year, we hope. To that end, I’ve also cleared my spring and possibly summer calendar of workshops. There might be something small that pops up, but I really don’t know if that’s possible just yet. Right now I need to take things as they come and trust that whatever plays out, it will be enough. Family first.
Before I go, a few things I’ve noticed recently (and a question):
:: I was talking with Louis (one of the construction guys that is now living here) about swear words because he was feeling apologetic for offering up an impressive collection within five minutes of our meeting. I told him not to worry about it, they’re just words, and words have meaning. They served a purpose in his communication. Swears are not always gratuitous. Using them does not automatically equate with the person "not being able to intelligently express themselves” (a super pretentious argument that is a personal pet peeve). And while I might not choose to drop f-bombs in a professional setting, they were definitely in Louis’ lexicon. I tried to put him at ease; hopefully he felt better. Then we talked about writing and he told me a friend of his wrote a memoir about his time in the Iraq War. The book is called Lines in the Sand and the reviews offer high praise. I look forward to checking it out, maybe you’d like to as well.
:: Tiny Desk Concert just put out a show with Brent Cobb who is one of my favorite discoveries of 2016. He’s a fine songwriter and if you’re not familiar, you might like to be. Give this a listen while making dinner… I promise it will be twenty minutes well spent.
:: How Utah welcomed back the new legislative session a couple of weeks ago. I don’t even know what to say about this. It is stunning and hopeful and everything I love about humanity. I'm Gonna Walk It With You. (Damn straight.) Gorgeous lyrics can be read here, and you can check out the original artists perform it here.
:: Question – Going out on a limb and asking if anyone knows how to get a song from the Bandcamp app to an iTunes library? I purchased the song in this video* and would love to have it in my regular library. It’s the prettiest version of Down in the River to Pray I’ve ever heard. (*Video is labeled “mature” so fair warning if you click through. I don’t know if I’d call it mature, I do think it’s beautiful though.)
:: A few short and sweet yoga playlists from my library. Maybe you're looking for some new yoga tunes? Lately I’ve been really into twenty minute practices that literally take place while dinner simmers. It’s nice to get on the mat with an empty stomach, so right before dinner is perfect. And I do love the late afternoon light. (It is said that you haven’t yoga-d until you've yoga-d to Otis Redding. And Willie Nelson. And The Velvet Underground. It’s true. Pretty sure it’s written somewhere in the Sutras.)
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I guess that will do it for now. I hope to back here soon, and regularly, I’m just not sure what to expect from these next several months so I’ll have to ride it out and see. Until next time. xo