Mystery Concert

KRKT, one of the local country radio stations hosted a mystery concert tonight. It required a bit of faith to just show up and see who was going to play. I'm not sure many people would've except that the booking was done with the help of the Oregon Jamboree, which traditionally books some very good acts.

So, my sister and I went to the concert. The opening act was Jackson Michaelson, who won the Oregon state Colgate Country Showdown last summer. Then the lights went down and came back to reveal....James Otto. Neither of us had ever seen him live, so it was a nice surprise. And I have to say that small venue acoustic concerts really do rock.

The Stuff of the Past

Not long ago I was doing some cleaning. The type of cleaning that means digging through old boxes in hopes of condensing into smaller boxes. I know, I should just throw them out without opening them, but I just can't seem to do that. Anyway, this is one of the little things of the past I found.



At the time I tucked it into look-at-it-later pile, and today was the day I finally did. I flipped through the pages reading the names of people I'd highlighted. Most of them are now my Facebook friends, so I know what they're doing from time to time. Other names I can't place, and I can't recall know why I marked them. So I went digging further into the past hoping to jog my memory. I dug out my college journals. Wow, that was weird. It's amazing how something so innocuous as a directory can send you to a journal, and then to another place altogether.

My First DAR BOM

Cryptic title, huh? Sometimes it seems I live by initials and acronyms. For those not in the know, the title stands for Daughters of the American Revolution Board of Management. It's a meeting that happens three times a year where the state officers, chapter regents, and committee chairs gather to give reports and share information. This weekend was the first BOM I'd ever attended. A couple months ago I was asked to take over as state chairman of a national committee. Like many things, it's a learning process, but today I had to give an oral report. Oy!

I spend my days talking to teenagers, and it doesn't bother me to get up in front of a group of them and talk. Put me up in front of a group adults and the story's a little different. My report was brief, and it went well according to some of the ladies, but when I sat down I noticed that my hands were a bit shaky. Thankfully I don't have another report to give until State Conference in May...I think.

Seafood and Wine Festival

This weekend we headed to Newport for the Seafood and Wine Festival. I hadn't been to this particular festival before, but I had a lot of fun. I like wine and I love seafood, and let's face it a party atmosphere is a big plus. Who knew that costumes were optional, and that someone actually owns a crab costume or an asparagus costume. There was only one downside to the weekend. Winter hit hard last week. Hopefully, next year the weather will be a bit warmer. It's not supposed to freeze on the Coast.

Snow!

We did get some snow early this morning which means....SNOW DAY! I'm going to take advantage of it and do as little as possible before going back to work (probably) tomorrow.

To Snow or Not

That's what today has been like. The local news has been forecasting snow showers with possible accumulation on the valley floor since yesterday. In anticipation, schools and cities are gearing up for possible closures or delays. Needless to say some of the students are hoping for a snow day. Others, not so much. Our district cancelled our adult evening classes tonight.

Mother Nature seems to be in limbo. We've been having a few snow showers off and on today, but nothing is sticking so far. Now it's just a wait and see kind of thing.

Grateful for Jen

This is Jen. We met 30 years ago next month. I'm writing this now, because I'll probably forget to mention it next month...

Anyway, Jen knows me pretty well. We met at a birthday party, shared violin and band concerts, camping trips and sleepovers, high school and to many other things to be listed. She's seen me at my best and at my worst, and loves me anyway. We can spend hours doing nothing special and have the best time. Our friendship is comfortable and something to be treasured. I'm grateful for the presence she brings to my life: The balance, the sounding board, and the "get over it already" moments.