Rambling, in a Purposeful Sort of Way

Yesterday morning brought with it what most consider typical Seattle weather: wet, cold, wet, dark, wet, gray, wet --you get the idea.


Despite my island roots, I love days like that--days where the only sensible things to wear are sweats and fuzzy socks; when my thoughts suddenly turn to those books I've been meaning to pick up again; and I entertain the possibility of doing nothing but swirling coffee (makes it much more enjoyable), and writing to my heart's content.

Coincidentally, Mondays also usually happen to be my grocery-gettin' days, and after much back-and-forth, hemming-and-hawing, and a realization that I lacked the general creativity to throw together a decent meal with the last three cans-of-whatever in the pantry, I decided to brave the weather and fulfill my wifely/motherly obligation to gather food for my family.  (Run-on sentence if ever there was one.)

As I sloshed into Costco, my phone rang, and it was none other than Mr. Arnall, "just calling to say hi."  Actually, what he said was: 

"Hi, babe.  Whatcha doing? You're already out shopping?  Oh--nice!  What am I doing?  Oh, I'm just (sitting here on my dry, comfy chair, in my nice, warm office, at my big, pretty computer, looking at your fantastically awesome blog, and) wondering why you haven't posted video of our daughters singing yet?"

(That may not be verbatim, but sometimes things get lost (or found) in translation.)

So, because I'm all about making my husband happy, and just a tiny bit about showing off my daughters, here are a few shots and videos from the concert on Bainbridge Island this past Saturday (be sure to hit the "pause" button on my playlist to the lower right):

The theater.

Getting ready for the show.

What Daniel would look like if he was beautiful.
(according to my sis. :D)

Practicing "Grass Shack" one more time.

Perfecting "Pupu Hinu Hinu."

Running off some of the pre-show jitters.

The Little and the Middle.

Waiting to sound-check.

"Check, one-two...check, one-two."

They miss each other.

Theater starting to fill with friendly faces.
 Hi, Jean & Darin!

Dad starts off the evening.

Dad started off his set with James Taylor's "One Man Parade." It was one of the most solid vocal performances I've heard from him, live or recorded.  Wish I had video of it; instead, watch this video of him performing his classic original, "Forest," a song he penned at the tender young age of 15 :

The girls joined Dad onstage after a bit, and sang "Pupu Hinu Hinu" before

Uncle Josh joined them for "Little Grass Shack":

The girls' turn!

Eddyville took to the stage shortly thereafter, and strutted their stuff; very talented musicians, with good chemistry, and enough energy to hold the crowd's attention for a couple of hours.

Welcome to Eddyville.

Dave

Bruce

Jason

Darren

There is one more band member--Kyle, Eddyville's saxophone personist. (Only Miki can come up with stuff like that. :-D)  Apparently, my camera moves too slowly to catch him--he's a blur in all the pictures.

(Admittedly, I needed to check out their Facebook page to make sure I got their names right.)

Darren's drum solo, and some of the more energetic fans:  :)

Tired, happy girls.  Papa was far more excited about how the
evening went than this picture reveals.

It was a great evening, as good friends and good music often make for. 

For more info on Eddyville, check out their website: www.eddyvillemusic.com . 
Don't forget to "Like" them on Facebook, too: www.facebook.com/EddyvilleBand.

And if, for some weird reason, you are my friend, but still haven't looked my Dad up yet :-D:
 www.ReverbNation.com/charlesrecaido 
www.myspace.com/chasrecaidoproject

Happy Tuesday!

Lend Me Your Ear...

Or better yet, let me lend you mine. :) 

I'm sort of famous.  In an anonymous,
face-on-a-flyer-in-my-anaplastologist's-office
kind of way.

I write this with the presumption that you know what I'm talkin' about; if you don't, here's a link to an informative, written-while-under-the-influence-of-painkillers post: I wish to be informed so I can understand the rest of this post.

Now that we're all on the same page:  I headed over to Seattle today to continue work on my next ear.  I've had my current one for a couple of years, and it has served me well; I sort of got the clue that it was getting ready to turn in its retirement papers when it just kind of...fell off the side of my head in the middle of Fred Meyer's a few weeks ago.  I kid you not.  When I come up with an entertaining way to tell THAT story, I'll be sure to post, but for now, join me in a fit of laughter as I recall that day!!!  I'll have some pretty funny stories to tell my grandkids someday, for sure. :-9

Composure now regained, I just want to share a few shots from my visit.  It's interesting for me to think about what people envision when I speak of going to see the anaplastologist; that word in itself sounds so...medical, when, in fact, her part of the process is more like art.  She does amazing work, and I'm so glad to have access to things like this.

I'm not feeling confident enough to label anything in these pictures; suffice it to say, these are the tools with which she works the magic. :) 

A couple of other shots from the day:

This is actually a shot Kiana got yesterday morning before
school; too pretty not to share.

Feeling random and juvenile on the Kingston ferry:
I got a kick out of my GPS saying my car was driving on water. 

L'il Miss arrived home today with the best goose egg I've seen
in a long time.  Apparently, she was playing tag, and couldn't
stop herself from running into a fence post.  A tough girl, this one.

Tomorrow is hubby's birthday; yesterday was brother's birthday. 

Will post pics from both occasions this weekend.

Happy Thursday!

Ketchup & Relish

Every night, we set aside some time for Ketchup & Relish; the idea is to give the girls (and Mom & Dad) an opportunity to finish up any of their daily responsibilities (Catch-up), and then spend the rest of the time before bed doing something they love (Relish! :D) 

I love ending the day like this; happy girls, doing what they love most.  I always look forward to seeing how they choose to spend this time:

Bubble-blowing has been a favorite
with Malia lately.

Dancing in the garage.

Card-Making.

Nice job, Nanz!

Playing with dolls-always a favorite.

Their expressions crack me up.

Malia doesn't realize the show's over.

This is what "Ketchup" often looks like. :-9

Happy girls!

Happy Wednesday!

Checking in....

Short on words this evening; suffice it to say it's been a busy month.  Feeling the need to post, but too exhausted for any attempt at cleverness. 

My baby girl turned 7 on Saturday; my baby boy turns 37 on Friday. :-S  Not feeling old enough for either of them to be those ages.

Here are some pics from the birthday party her sisters and cousin put together for her; I think I've been officially removed from my position as family party planner--no complaints here! :)

Birthday banner.

Miraculously, no one was injured in the hanging of the
decorations. :)

She was a bit overwhelmed; I think she's more shy than I realize.

Make a wish!

Working on Mana's Halloween costume. In the middle of
Malia's birthday party. 

I don't know.  He just wanted me to take the picture again.

I like to post pictures of things that make me smile. :D

If you were hoping for something that looks more like this post, I've got to admit: so was I.  I'll get my flow back again at some point; until then, we'll let the pictures do the talking.

Happy Sunday!