The Sandwich Life

Random Pictures from the Sandwich Life

1. Ernie in his happy place: watching Jacques Pepin, a Thanksgiving show no less, and with his foot up, per doctor's orders.

2. I love this woman so much! It was such a treat to see the brilliant and beautiful Melanie Brandabur last night. She thoughtfully not only brought snacks from Watson's, but made sure there were things I could eat. God bless the Vertebrats for giving me such wonderful friends. 

3. And here's a Leo in HIS happy place, with his new mixer.

4. And so Dr. Howard came down. Although I'm nostalgically sad to see it go, I know this is needed and is being replaced on the site by a new school, so this doesn't hurt my heart and soul the way the loss of the Burnham Mansion did. Yet still....to have this school that was a big part of our life for years, to be gone...is unsettling.

Earlier in the week above, and below is yesterday.

5. And then there was this little guy. Nobody told him he was off-duty for the season, so went ahead and just re-bloomed. Thank you, sweet little coneflower.

 Onward.

Taxi Boys and a Brat: The Circles of Life Tighten Again

Another Taxi Boys gig in the books on Friday night. I thought it was one of their best shows...they seemed confident and like they were having fun. They were missing numerous strings by the end of the set but they just kept going. So perfect.

Friday Night Live was actually cancelled because of the weather, but they were able to move inside Exile to play. Leo drove us and we stopped at Fries and Peanuts first, saw some friends and had a drink. When we got over to Exile my beloved Teri McCarthy immediately found me a stool to sit on. THANK  YOU. I could not have have stood that long. It was good to see lots of friends. I was really touched that some of them made it out to this.

I was chatting a bit to my friend Nancy, and she was saying good luck keeping this one on track in school this year. We laughed, and then, as we watched, Owen leaned back, tipped his head up, and did a guitar solo. I leaned over and shout-whispered in here ear, "I am SO FUCKED." She laughed in agreement. Lord help me, but man, he's got such passion. I am so proud of him.

I was beyond happy because our beloved Roy Axford, and his son, Noah, were there...so I got to watch Owen sing the Vertebrats' Left In the Dark in front of a Vertebrat. Life is fucking good sometimes. 

 

I like this picture of Owen because you can see the arched window frame behind him, and a bit of the Lincoln Building beyond that. A very CU picture.

I love this one because you can see the broken string hanging....he just kept playing and still sounded great.

Thanks to Roy Axford for the video, and to Richard Hill for the photos! 

Daily Notes and a Vertebrats Song

I'm listening to Owen and Ernie loudly singing along to the Mavericks' All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down in the kitchen. Leo will probably be home for lunch in a while. Rascal has wrapped himself up in his favorite blanket. Bob is asleep upstairs. Hattie, who is feeling much better, is meandering through the house. All is good.

Our sunflowers are finally blooming.

The rainy evening yesterday was lovely.

I think Owen is officially taller than Ernie.

Toss off dinner that was pretty good. Ground pork and zucchini with sesame oil/fish/sauce/chili oil, over rice. Oh, and some onion. I seem to be tolerating a limited amount of onion again. Praise the onion gods!

Oh, and the Taxi Boys doing the Vertebrats' Left in the Dark. The older we get the tighter the circles grow.

Onward

 

Taxi Boys and Locusts

The Taxi Boys had a successful stint on WEFT sessions, including a great version of Left in the Dark, by my beloved Vertebrats. Owen thinks they made lots of mistakes...I thought it was great. I suppose it was somewhere in between, but God knows I'll never be able to listen without total bias. Most of the band came back here after the show, and Ernie said when he came downstairs in the morning it looked like a plague of locusts had been through the kitchen.

Thanks to Doug Carlton for the picture from WEFT!

 

Let's Recap

My lord but I've been busy. The last week or so has been a blur. Let's recap in pictures:

We got to have Roy Axford over for dinner. It was an utterly delightful evening, and the boys loved him, which made me happy.

Mistakenly posted this picture of Ernie and Chewbacca on the Japan House Facebook page. Sigh.


Saw Santa at Fries and Peanuts

Thanks Rascal.

Yeah, thanks a lot Rascal for pulling these lights and beads off the tree.

Worked Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at the Japan House Bazaar.

Debbie Kim and her twin, Audrey, visited!

Got the best present from Roy Axford. Now we have to schedule a family viewing.

Saw Captain Rat for the first time in ages and ages. Got to have dinner with Tim Fruehe and Bill Wild, and his wife Mary Ann, and damn it I can't remember Tim's wife's name. She was lovely despite the fact that I can't remember her name. And did I get a picture of us all? Nope. Next time. UPDATE: Tiffany!!!!!

Oh, and damn I love that Mark Rubel.

Of course I love this guy too.

Saw people I like, albeit briefly...

Made Ernie stop the car and take a picture of the Art because their lights and neon look SO great all fixed up.

Got home and found Ernie had put lights up around the door because I'd moaned that there were no lights on the house.

Listened to the Taxi Boys practice. Warning: I think it's going to pretty crowded tomorrow night, given the Christmas tree and the band's set up. Worth it though.


Onward!

Damn It Boys: The Vertebrats

Man....an old friend just messaged me to say he was going to be in town next month. I started thinking about the scene...our beloved Vertebrats, so I looked them up on Youtube, which I hadn't done for awhile. Nobody TOLD me they had a song on Riverdale....and then I kept going....

Damn it guys...you have a responsibility to us...

 

 

 

 

In Which Cynthia's Heart Bursts: Peter Case and the Taxi Boys

Man. There is SO much I want to say about Friday night's show with Peter Case and the Taxi Boys. I feel like the words and thoughts are all still whirling around in my head, but Monday looms so I better see about putting down some of them.

First.

Peter Case.

I freaking adore Peter Case. There's the fact that he is just a master performer...the entire package as they say...brilliant songwriting, singing, playing, story telling, and then there's the fact that I just like him as a person so damn much too. It was an incredible show. I could have listened to him all night long. Add the fact that he was so kind to Owen and the other Taxi Boys...well, my heart was, and continues to be, just full to bursting. Bursting.

ALL his albums are great...but I do really love his most recent, Hwy 62...and the one that just came out that day, On the Way Downtown: Live on Folkscene. You won't go wrong with any of them. Go buy one, and if you can see him live, DO IT!

The place was CROWDED. Perhaps I should have announced it sold out sooner...I panicked a bit, but in the end I think it all worked out and I was happy to be able to pay Peter what we did. That's what it's all about after all...trying to help just a bit so the musicians can stay on the road and do what they do so well. It was great to have some new folks, our beloved regulars, and some we hadn't seen in awhile...thank you so much to all. And thanks to those that left behind their food because the band and Ernie and I devoured it after the show!

And then there's the Taxi Boys.

I can't properly write about them I'm afraid. I am just so enormously proud of Owen, and all of them. To see what Owen can do when he sets his mind to something, when he feels the passion, I am besides myself with happiness. When I watched them, and then remembered that they are 15 year old sophomores and this was their first show...I was just blown away. Please excuse all maternal bias of course. Congrats to Owen, Duncan, David, and Dave!

I had flashbacks to the Vertebrats when the guys were soundchecking. Not that they sound like them per se, but the youthful energy, the excitement and the songs....it brought it all back to me. And so many folks from our little corner of the CU music scene have been kind to Owen, reaching out, or encouraging him, that I feel somehow as though he's linked to all of them. It was a truly joyous night. This isn't Leo's kind of music but he watched the whole thing, Snapchatted it, and gave Owen some comments that pleased him beyond words. God I love those boys.

Thanks to all that made the night what it was. I send our love.

 
More pictures to follow on the Sandwich Life House Concerts Facebook page!

 

Another Shopping List and A Couple of Pics

Too busy to post anything that would require thought or being articulate so will share my grocery list, which is where I note, not only groceries that are needed, but random things I want to remember.

I really believe in my marinade. Heard on one of our ongoing bingewatches of all the old Top Chef seasons...and amused us. It's good to believe in your marinade.

Calcium. Eh, that's a real shopping list item. Ernie's on lots of calcium because of his bone stuff.

Friends Not Fender. The other day Ernie and I were sitting at Fries and Peanuts and somebody came in and Ernie and I both kind of looked at him and then we caught ourselves doing it. Ernie said, "Did you think he was wearing a Fender shirt?" I nodded resignedly and he said, "Yeah, me too but it turns out it's a Friends shirt." We both sighed and went back to our drinks.

Spoon River Anthology. Every time we drive through western Illinois and cross the Spoon River I tell myself I must finally read Spoon River Anthology. I always remember that it's by Edgar Lee Masters but then I feel bad that's all I know....

Harsh Beauty. I think Ernie came up with this phrase when we were admiring the the landscape and I loved it.

The FU Ups. Frankly, I can't recall if it was Owen or Ernie that came up with that as a possible band name. And that's telling.

Wheat Bros Reunion. I've decided one of my goals in life is to have a Wheat Brothers Reunion at my house. Kenny? Matt?

Can you starch my sheets? One of the hotels we stayed in in Iowa had the most delicious starched heavy sheets. I crawled into bed after having wine AND a cocktail and just mumbled about the curtains looking like Aaron Lee Tasjan and that I wanted Ernie to starch my sheets. Kinda sounds dirty when I write it out, which is nice too.

Pork shoulder. Another real grocery item. Cooking a meal to send over to some friends who need a little love.

And now...onward....

 

VerteFriends

It snowed. And I saw old friends.

I think you have probably figured out by now....I was VERY happy. Pete and Pam Schleifer were in town for a family thing and alerted the troops that they would be at Fries and Peanuts Monday evening. It was so lovely to sit and talk with them and beloved friends like Sasha, Kirsten and Melissa Records. A veritable Mabel's reunion. If only we could have seen the Brats after...

Thanks Pete and Pam for making my day. Hope it won't be as long 'til next time....

Oh, and thanks for picture Rex! It was lovely to see you and meet your wife!

Random Notes, Cynthia's Christmas Song of the Day 12/20/2016 AND Mabel's Night Unplugged

1. Ernie and I have started watching Top Chef over again, from the first season. So far we've been reminded of two great lines...."I'm not your bitch, bitch" and "It's a spring roll dude" which is probably only funny when done in the right tone of voice. Last night we also tried the first episode of the Crown.

2. Every time I walked into the bathroom during our house concert, this made me very happy because it just screamed, "the Fatman is IN THE HOUSE." It also says, "it wouldn't kill you to put the broom away Cynthia" but I didn't listen to that part.

3. Christmas Song of the Day. I DO love Ernest Tubb. I think Ernie might have this on 78. He's got some Ernest Tubb on 78 anyway....should dig it out.

4. Beautiful Jonathan with beautiful banjo. And I got to hear  Mary do wood geek talk...it was great!

5. Oh good God, I haven't even written about Mabel's Night Unplugged yet. Geesh. I guess we went right into house concert mode the next day. The night? Wonderful! The music? Fantastic. The weather? SUCKED. I didn't even realize how bad it was when we left the house. I just thought our alley was a little slick, oh well. Then we parked downtown and attempted to skate over to the Accord. DAMN. Despite the lousy weather which meant lousy numbers, it was great. Paul Kothheimer opened with funny, catchy songs. My beloved Kenny Draznik just blew me away. He sounded SO damn good. Lord but I love him. Oh, and Jay Rosenstein and Jim Rowland were fantastic...really beautiful songs and playing....you guys have to play out more. Maybe I need to do a Mabel's house concert or something.... What can you say about Lonely Trailer? They're so damn good, so damn weird, so damn right. Brian Reedy reminds me of Kieran Kane...not necessarily known as a percussions but a god damn rhythm machine. I hated to leave because I had really, really wanted to see Ed Burch and more but Ernie's arm was hurting and I could tell he was fading. We stepped outside and Ernie left me there to get the car so I watched people slipping and falling and hoped Ernie would come back in one piece....luckily he did. A million thanks and love to John Isberg and all the musicians and the Accord! Oh, oh, oh, and David Adams with Dawna Nelson...and then singing with Kenny! Della's got wonderful pictures up on her facebook page. She's the best! Go look at her pictures.

6. This morning, as Leo and Owen discussed finals, the subject of age came up. Owen asked Leo how old he was (I know) and when he said he was 17 Owen said, "WOW, you're 17? "Why is he getting older and I'm just staying the SAME?" I assured him he would be 15 very soon. Oh, to want to be OLDER again!

7. Merry Christmas all!