Updating is hard

So much has been going on that it's hard to keep up.

First things first: There is documented video of the Grays Harbor Banjo Band. If you're a FB friend, check out my videos IF YOU DARE. We were playing th Bluegrass by the Bog festival at the Cranberry Hall in Grayland. We do not play bluegrass, although a couple of 5-stringers who have infiltrated the ranks can pick out "Blackberry Blossom" and "I'll Fly Away," so we have some filler for the peeps there. According to Ray, the reaction from the watchers was more excited than you'd think. The president (our benevolent dictator) of the Banjo Band announced the songs and people were like, "Oooh! 'Take Me Out to the Ballgame!'"

Next things next: My birthday gift. I RODE IN BETSY's IZETTA! She picked me up in her itty bitty car and, so inside, there's one little pipe that brings in warmed air from the teensy engine. For fresh air, there's a little sliding vent in the door, which is the front of the car. The gearshift is on the left and is about the size of a car's dipstick. We went to the 7th Street and ate lunch, then Betsy ran me back home to get my gym bag and we went via Scammell hill. Now, on the way to try to cross the street Betsy almost got us T-boned (on my side) but not really. That car is so tiny that even if it had gone out into the street an approaching car can easily dodge it.

So you noticed I said Scammell Hill. Now, this is a famously steep hill. It is seriously steep. And we were going to go up it. In a tiny car that was already kind of underpowered. I was halfway expecting to have to get out and either push it up or just try to keep it from careening downhill by grabbing it from the side window. Oh well. Lemondrop, as the little yellow car is called, totally made it and didn't have to be put in second gear. Betsy, as usual, was laughing the whole way up.

Other news: The sun came out this weekend! It was great! But I was working so I didn't get to enjoy it until Sunday, when Ray and I went biking, first out to Junction City and then back around to Hoquiam. Then, at four, we saw the Olympia Choral Society perform some stuff. The program was kind of Americana with one piece called lambscapes that was Mary Had A Little Lamb in the style of Handel, Schubert, Verdi, "Carmina Burana" and sons of the pioneers, which I'd never heard of.

God help me, when I hear "We Shall Overcome" I get all choked up. I'm supposed to be too cynical for that.

Today I took advantage of the sunshine by walking my errands (I thought I'd bike but I changed my mind at the last minute: Too much locking the bike up over and over in too little a space of time to make it worthwhile. This meant I was in my dipes (i.e. padded bike pants) the whole time). I stopped at Rosevear's but they were closed. Like Ralphie in "A Christmas Story," I pressed up against the window and saw that there was a five-string banjo. Drool. One of the five-stringers showed me how the five-string has a chord already tuned so all you have to do is put your finger across all four strings. Making a minor chord is another situation entirely, as is a 7th or a diminished. Still, I'm game.

I also pulled out an old crummy media shelf of Ray's from the basement (it did not survive the transition of going from being his room to our room) and put it on the porch. I dug out some old pots I'd once had dreams for and got some herb seeds and starts and potting soil and I'm going to try and make those fresh herb dreams come true: Cilantro, sage, mint, basil, thyme and tarragon. Do you know how tiny mint seeds are? Almost all the seeds, really; they're all part of the mint family. Yeah, I'll drop some Linnaeus.

Well, I'm hosting the Young Artist's showcase again. Wish me luck! No accidental cussing! No whammies!