Friday Night Out

It was Friday and we had a classic Missoula afternoon/evening planned. After taking care of Tiika, we would head to Bayern Brewing, our favorite local watering hole, for a few German microbrews. Dinner would be across town at Sean Kelly's, a great Irish establishment, where they serve a mean Bangers and Mash to be washed down with Harp's on tap. Entertainment that evening would have a tropical flavor with the University Percussion Ensemble and Islanders Steel Drum band.

So what does all this have to do with the picture? Well, we have a grand trip planned to New Zealand where we will be sea-kayaking, hiking (or tramping as the Kiwi's say), biking, whale watching, glacier-trekking, etc. We're leaving in five weeks and that means we are in TRAINING. The only way to justify a couple of brewskis is to earn them with sweat (I mean perspiration, if my Mom is reading this :-) ). Spring is here so we broke out the bikes, drove to the edge of town, and did it all on two wheels. We had a great time. Unfortunately, we ate and drank more than we biked, so Tiika and I went off on a long hike today. Jenn, whose return from ArtFest has left her enthusiastic about more projects, spent the day rearranging her studio (easily equal to a long hike). Maybe if we work out hard for the next three weeks, we can justify going out again!

weekend slipping away

I can't believe how this weekend is slipping right by me! I made some progress on an ArtFest project yesterday but it took a long time. I think everything is dry now so I can at least stack 'em up and move on to something else. I also finished a gift that now needs to be wrapped and packaged for shipping.

I still have a couple of gifts to make in preparation for next weekend's trip to Oregon. Neither of them are started except in my mind. However, I have cleared out some correspondence that has been bugging me so this is a good thing. Lots to do including laundry. Oh, joy!

I recently heard a couple of songs that I really like and wanted to share with you. I tried to buy the cd but found out it won't be available* in the US until mid-March. Dang! I'll have to make do with these two pieces for now. The artist is an Israeli woman named Yael Naim.

The first one you may have heard on a tv ad. Apple is using it for one of their new products. I like it anyway. It is called New Soul.




The lyrics of the second one really resonate with me. Especially these two:

"How can you stay outside?
There's a beautiful mess inside."

The song is called Far Far.




Listen to the clips and let me know what you think.

*It appears to be available now on iTunes but sometimes I just want the physical cd. I like iTunes more for when I just want one or two songs from a cd.

I'm off to tackle my list of "to do's". It will be good to keep myself busy, too. I am looking forward to hearing from Rob tonight. He's been away in Seattle for the follow up course to the one he took last month. I'm eager to hear how it's gone for him...

amazing cellist

Last night we were privileged to hear an amazing cellist from Israel, Amit Peled, as part of a festival concert at UM. He is the most expressive cellist I have ever seen. Not that I've seen that many, mind you. However, it's not often that symphony music stirs me. And at this performance, I was stirred. I could feel the resonance in my chest.

The piece I liked best was a Jewish prayer that comes early in the celebration of Yom Kippur called Kol Nidrei, Op. 47. The symphony plays the part of the congregation and the lead cello is the cantor. I really enjoyed the interplay of the two.

The second piece Mr. Peled contributed was a Tchaikovsky one with lively variations. It was a lighter piece. It was a demonstration of just how high a cello can go. (Much higher than you might think.)

We left at the intermission because he wasn't going to be playing any further and we were tired. Apparently he is going to be recording a cd with the String Orchestra of the Rockies called "The Jewish Soul". We are both very curious about it and may have to search it out.

(Oh, by the way, this concert was free.)

new music

I recently was having a bummer of a day. In perusing a couple of art blogs in an attempt to cheer myself up, I came across some music recommendations. I listened to clips on iTunes and took the plunge. I'm glad I did, it has been a nice addition to my music library. In addition, I think it fits in well with my art-making playlist.

The first is a duo called The Weepies. Here is the iTunes* link to give their album a listen:





The female half of the duo is Deb Talan. I really, really like her voice. I hear shades of Shawn Colvin, Natalie Merchant and sometimes Sarah McLachlan. This is the solo album of hers I chose:





I couldn't tell you which songs on either of the albums are my favorites yet. I haven't listened to them enough. I just know I liked how soothing they felt to me. I hope you might enjoy them a bit, too. If you listen, tell me what you think.


*From what I understand about this link, if you don't have iTunes installed on your computer, it will lead you to the page where you can download it. If you have it installed, it will ask to open iTunes.

exercise

I just got back from a "run" with Tiika. I say "run" because it seemed like barely a jog. I was quite ok most of the time when Tiika wanted to stop to sniff something. Usually I get quite annoyed when she does this and we're out exercising on her leash. This is why having access to a trail where she can run free is so important for us in a new place to live.

This picture is a bit old but she's awfully cute when she's running around with a pink toy in her mouth (thank you Grandma!).

Last night we went to a great percussion concert at the University. There was a family sitting in front of us and the little boy was clearly enjoying himself. I whispered to Rob, "I can't wait until Will is old enough for us to take him to things like this!" Especially if he likes drums...

Laundry's going and there is a list of things I'd like to get done today including some emails I need to respond to.

-ttfn