Monday, April 30, 2012

2012 Menu, Part One

Yes, we’re already talking about food. And yes, I’ve put on a few pounds over the years; why do you ask?

I’d like to reprise the Friday Fish Feed. It was so nice to start the weekend with a delicious, healthy meal that filled us up without weighing us down.   I will purchase a whole salmon and request Uncle Dogboy’s help on the grill.  Salads, sides, potatoes and corn on the cob would be nice additions.
I know this is going to break many hearts, but we have decided to retire the Siskiyou tacos from the menu this year. Yup, no pulled pork and fry bread. Indeed, I am calling a moratorium on deep frying; well, unless Sequoia gets a wild hair and decides to make beignets for breakfast. 

With the retirement of the Siskiyou tacos, I am seeking a new menu headliner for Saturday night. Highlights from past menus include regular tacos (as opposed to the Siskiyou variety), pasta, egg rolls (more deep frying), and mixed grill.   I don’t think we should plan on a main course of pizza.   The outdoor oven still needs some work. It can definitely crank out a couple of casseroles, but it may not be up to the challenge of baking pizza for 50.
Any suggestions for our Saturday feast? 

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Colestin Camp Out 2012

Alright kids, here we go: the camp out is scheduled for June 22-24, 2012.

This was a hard one this year.  As most of you know, Sequoia works every other weekend, so we had a limited number of dates to choose. We finally settled on June 22-24 because it was the consensus choice among the out-of-towners and most of the regulars with one huge exception: our brothers and sisters in the OSF scene shop are working that weekend. That includes James Dean, Joe, Erin, Tim, Ed and several other camp out stalwarts.  It kills me, but what can we do?  Abraham Lincoln had something to say about pleasing all the people all the time.

I'm hoping our beloved scene shopsters can at least come out for dinner and some campfire time, but they work their asses off and may be too tired for even that.  Ah well, c'est la vie say the old folks.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Another Time

Another long, wet spring is upon us, but I’m not complaining.  Green is worth waiting for and the later it comes, the later it will keep.  Rambles around the property involve much slip-sliding in the mud and Mill Creek is too high to cross, but I’m grateful for the rain. 

Hamfist has finished recording our first album and hopes to have a disk ready by early summer. It was a fascinating process. In the last 10 years, digital tools have transformed the recording process. Anyone with the right computer, software and a few microphones can become a recording engineer. I’ve been through the process twice now, but have never actually gone “into the studio” as they used to say. The Hamfist album was recorded at Jimmy’s warehouse, the BGS album was recorded at an office space.  Regardless of their "DIY" nature, both experiences gave me a tremendous amount of information about my musicianship.  This is going to sound terribly conceited, but here goes: my voice records well. There’s something about my timbre and pitch that sounds good “on tape.”  I’ve learned my strengths (dynamics, pitch) and what I need to work on (e.g. rounder vowels!) But, generally speaking, I like the way I sound on a record. 
I imagine that attitude is not shared by everyone I work with.
Sequoia and I are contemplating a long car trip out to Cripple Creek Colorado this summer.  We’d take his truck and camp along the way. In my pre-Sequoia days I spent two strange summers in Colorado Springs, including one very wild weekend up at Cripple Creek. I was a different person then, full of wonder, fierce and free.  Looking back is like looking at a different person. I’d like to take a shot at reconnecting with that girl, but I wouldn’t go back. I like where I am right now.

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Dreaming of a White Easter?

Another April night, another glittering layer of frozen snow accumulating on the back deck. I've woken to snow almost every day this month and April is a week gone.  Tonight was amazing. The finest, faintest flakes sparked the tip of my nose as I floated in the hot tub. The full moon rising from behind a moving, misty cloudbank, the lilac sky alive with drifting ice crystals. The snow wasn't falling from the clouds; I could see stars in the sky, Mars rising overhead, Venus off to the east.  The warm spring sun heats the earth, moisture rises to meet the low lying current of cold air that just traveled in from the Arctic. Crystals precipitate out of a clear sky and float to earth. Convection and precipitation, right?  I seem to remember that from school.   


My energy has been at ebb recently and I'm ready for a spring tide.  If you believe in that kind of thing,  the astrologers say Mercury moved out of retrograde today and went direct. Time for the log jam to break.