March 2010 Links

• The Hangout
• The azaleas are blooming!
• Grandma's Chair
• Natural Gas commercial
• The Joe Motel
• Friday Fragments
• What is a name anyway?
• Goat Bunny Tale
• Gulf Shores bathroom before and after
• Birdsongs
• Friday Fragments and tour dates
• Wallpaper and more wallpaper
• Gulf Shores!
• 4 decades
• Friday Fragments
• oops!
• Costumes and Confetti
• Bird sculpture
• Basilica Santa Maria sopra Minerva
• Italian Leather
• Guido!
• Friday Fragments
• Cats, Cokes, Candies and Karma
• Piazza Navona, Pantheon and Spanish Steps
• confession

The Hangout

One of the more popular places on the beach in Gulf Shores, AL is a bar/restaurant called The Hangout.  It has a large outdoor fenced in area,  it's own sandy beach, tables, dancing room and a stage.  This is probably where the concert is going to be in May.  The concert being the Hangout Beach Music and Art Festival.  I just found out today that both of my sisters are coming for the event.  That's going to be so much fun. 

When you first walk into The Hangout, the first thing you see are all of these paper lanterns hanging over the front desk.  They are Fabulous!

The two times that I had breakfast here, we sat down here at the high tables.  If you sit at the tall tables you can see the ocean.  When the weather is nice (and not cold as it was this particular day) the windows roll up like a garage door and let the ocean breeze in.

The lunch box wall was so much fun!  One of the owners of the restaurant told me that this is her lunch box collection.  I stood looking at this wall for a long time - just taking it all in.  The Hardy Boys, Flipper, Emergency (my favorite!), Pac Man, Match Box Cars and so many others.  Each time I saw a cool one, there was another cool one right next to it. 

Look!  It's School House Rock and the Partridge Family!

This is the large dining room.   It looks so homey and comfortable and that furniture is very comfortable. 

Look up, do you see that giant wheel in the sky?

It's a big fan.  Well, if you enlarge the photo, you'll see that it's actually a big ass fan! haha  too funny. 

I asked about the artist who made all of the word signs seen throughout the restaurant, but the woman's name that I wrote down did not give me any results when I searched for her. 

I was told that if you liked the artwork, you can buy it right off the wall.    Have lunch and take home the art hanging over your table :) 

I just found out that we are a go for the concert in May.  My sisters will be traveling down to Gulf Shores while my Mom takes on the task of watching my three nieces.   I'm so excited for the sisters week, but yet I'm a little bummed that I won't see the kids. I think that my sister Alison might have been worn to a thread if she had to haul those girls in the car and then try to go to a three day concert, too.  My Mom is going to be tired, but I bet she'll have fun. 

Thanks Mom!!!  Can't wait to see you Alison and Hillary. 

If you are ever in Gulf Shores, stop by The Hangout (breakfast is great - that's the only time I've gone, so far) and the view is awesome.

Kristin

The azaleas are blooming!

I don't love the pollen that is literally falling down in sheets, but I do love the azaleas that are blooming all around the city.

Most of the azaleas that are planted in the medians are trimmed within an inch of their lives, so the blooms are small and contained.

This azalea bush I found in a neighborhood was truly wild and carefree!  Click the photos to enlarge.  They are gorgeous!  I can't help but get a huge smile on my face when I see wild azalea bush :)

I need to get out and take more photos of these beautiful flowers before spring is over.  It's a very short period here in Florida.  Spring can be completely over in just 10 days.  Thankfully we've still had some cool evenings so maybe we can get three weeks out of this spring.

Have a great week!
Kristin

Grandma's Chair

I Am In Love.

Head over heels in love.

Seriously, I even became a bit of a stalker - good thing it was an art fair - you're allowed to stalk from 10am through 5pm on art fair days :)

Julie Schwarz in her booth
photo by Leigh - Thanks Leigh!

This is what has just about sent me over the edge.  It's the art, the artist, the booth design, and the personality of the prints, the artist and the booth design!  The artwork is hanging from old ladders.  I didn't notice that the first day I met Julie, but I did notice it after the second time.  By the third time I saw Julie I was an expert.

See?  I'm in love :)

The artist is Julie Schwarz and she's from Michigan!  I first met her at the Orange Beach Art Fair in Alabama.

She explained that each photo is actually a Polaroid photo that was "smushed" (her term) before it completes the photographic process.  She'd use things like her fingernails, cuticle sticks, golf tees, etc to make marks on the newly emerging image. This gives such an interesting look to each photo, which just can't be replicated.  She then scans the Polaroid to make an e-negative so that she can print them like you would any other type of photo.

I wanted to buy on the spot, but couldn't make up my mind.  I was torn between two photos. Grandma's Chair and Pottery Barn.

Grandma's Chair

I took this photo at the art fair, so the light was bouncing off the glass like crazy.  But I have a little red and white step stool chair that was my grandmother's, so I was immediately drawn to this one.  The frame was red barnwood, which complemented the red in the photo which would fit right into my home because I have a lot of red tossed about :)

This photo earned Julie an award at the Orange Beach Art Fair, so that's very cool, too.  It means that she's invited back next year.  Guess that means I'm coming back next year, too!

Pottery Barn

I love love love pottery.  I eat out of pottery bowls or plates every day.  I love the feel of silky smooth glazes.  I love the colors and and and, I can go on for years about the things I love about pottery.  The one thing I don't have is a really cool photo of pottery.

So, I left the Orange Beach Art Fair knowing that I'd go to the Fairhope, Alabama Art Fair the following weekend and Julie, we're tight friends by this point, said she'd be there all weekend.  All week I thought about those photos.

Which one?

The chair or the pottery?

Chair or Pottery?

Red frame? or Black frame?

I still had no idea which one I would choose until I finally arrived at Julie's booth a week later at Farihope. Then as I was looking at both of the photos I realized that one place that I still hadn't placed a piece of art was at the front door.  It's a red wall and that black frame would be perfect.

But I still really loved Grandma's Chair!

Julie then told me that the Pottery Barn photo was #1 out of 500.

SOLD!

It's not very often when you can get the first one of an edition.  I mean, you have to be first!

Here it is, in place at my front door.  Beautiful!

Click on the photo to enlarge so you can see the gorgeous wood on this piece of art.  Julie's husband, Daryl Schmidt,  makes the frames for her artwork out of barnwood, old ladders or other rustic woods.  

Love it!

The first day I met Julie, I was gushing so much about how much I loved her work that she gave me this magazine.  It is the 2009-2010 Guide to Harbor Country.  It serves the Michigan cities of Michiana, Grand Beach, New Buffalo, Three Oaks, Union Pier, Lakeside, Harbert and Sawyer, where Julie lives!  The guide featured Julie's work throughout the magazine and on the cover, shown above. 

Each new topic in the Guide had a little blurb to what could be found in that section and then three Polaroid shots of Julie's work. 

And look!  Under the shopping topic is Grandma's Chair!  I may have to frame this page.

I went back to the Fairhope Art Fair with Leigh (Tales from Bloggeritaville) and Jennifer (Dust Bunny Hostage) and we spent a good 30 minutes in Julie's booth.  Both Leigh and Jennifer bought the book that she had and we all admired the beautiful artwork and frames.  I contemplated buying Grandma's Chair again.  I realized that it was #22 of 500.  Twenty-two being my favorite number, but I resisted, kicking and screaming.

I'm so pleased with my purchase and it was worth the three trips combined to both art fairs to get to know Julie Schwarz.  She was so much fun and infinitely interesting.  I can't wait to see her again next year.


Have a wonderful Monday!
Kristin

Natural Gas commercial

I found something very cool :)  I hope you have a few minutes to watch the commercial and the "making of" about the commercial.

I found this on the Craftzine.com blog - Knit stop-motion commercial

Now, I'm not a knitter, but I can certainly appreciate the time it takes to create with that craft.  Just look what they did with knitting.  Very cool.



Click on the video once it starts to go to YouTube to see it - for some reason it didn't reduce in size like it should have and you have to see the full screen to fully appreciate it :) 

Here is the Making Of...




Enjoy!
Kristin

The Joe Motel

Here I was, minding my own business, driving down the road today on my way to an art fair, when I spied this motel.

I  let out a little gasp and did a U-Turn and parked in the driveway.

The Joe.

The Joe Motel.

Wow.

The Joe Motel on Phillips Hwy is not open any longer, but it is in surprisingly good condition.  The brick is still brilliant red, the windows are unbroken and it seems like someone is keeping the lawn mowed.

I didn't get the sign and the motel in the same shot.  I'm going to have to go back now.  I didn't realize that I had missed that shot.

I love a good mailbox. 

This is the upper window of the front building.  I'm assuming it's part of the former managers house. 

This door and screen is what makes me think that no one really does live in this run down motel.  The door looks like it's cracked clear through  and wouldn't protect a soul.  Yet, it hasn't been broken into.  I find it odd that this place has not been vandalized, yet very thankful.

Whenever I see old buildings like this I start trying to see them as a new business.  What could use this space?  How could it be used so that it could be revitalized?  Would it be another Motel?  Could it be studio space for artists?   An antique mall with a lot of bathrooms?

It just seems like something could be done with this building. 

What would you do with an old motel?




I've wanted to link up to Unknown Mami's Sundays In My City for eons now. Since I just posted this about The Joe Motel and it was indeed in my city and I was totally fascinated, I think it qualifies as being a part of the carnival. If you'd like to see more snapshots of cities, please visit Sunday's In My City.

Friday Fragments

Eeek, I don't have any Friday Fragments started for this week.  Usually I have a draft with some interesting tidbits, but this week there is nothing!  So I'm going to have to put on my thinking cap.



While I'm thinking, Friday Fragments is hosted by Mrs. 4444 over at Half-Past Kissing Time and she and many others all put there little bit and pieces of unrelated pieces of goodness and laughter into one post and then share it with the other fragmentors (fragmentors or fragmenters?)  and their friends.  Please go visit the other FF posts, when you finish with mine of course! 

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Since I have the house to myself today and I've got very little on the DVR to watch, I turned the TV to the Ellen show.  Funny thing is that she had an interview with Dennis Quaid, who I love, and she showed this clip from a few years back.  I saw that clip when it originally aired!  Oh goodness, it is so funny!




Dennis Quaid is here!

Dennis said in the interview I watched today that his local Starbucks employees say, "Dennis Quaid is here" every time he walks in the door.  How funny.

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In the mail the other day an "InStyle" magazine was in the box.  I don't get that magazine, so I looked at the name.  It was addressed to my husband.  Hmmmm.  I handed it to him and asked him if there was something he wanted to tell me?  He laughed and said no.  Looks like we have this subscription until Aug.  Sorry InStyle, we will not be readin your magazine.  I'm allergic to perfume inserts so I just toss the magazine if they are too smelly and yours is too smelly - even for my husband :)

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I'm going back to Gulf Shores May 14-16 for  The Hangout, Beach, Music and Arts Festival.   You can get more information here at HangoutMusicFest.com. John Legend and Alison Krauss will be there and those are Alison's two favorite artists. So when my mom and I told her about it, she decided to make it a vacation and come down to Gulf Shores. If Hillary can get the days off of work, she will be coming down with Alison - and my mom will watch the kids. If Hillary can't, then my Mom, Alison and the three girls will all pile in the car.  I don't usually attend music events, but if my sisters or my sister and nieces are going to be just 6 hours away, I'm there!  I'm wearing a path to Gulf Shores that's for sure.

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Have you ever heard of the Impossible Project?  When Polaroid stopped making their film, there was a cry from the art community - a big giant cry.  Many people came together to make the impossible project a reality.  As of the 25th of March 2010 (yesterday) sales of the brand new instant film for traditional Polaroid cameras went on sale.  The impossible was made possible.

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One of my favorite bloggers has started up another blog. She closed her original blog and took some time off from the online craziness for several months but she's back.  If you like beautiful photography, vintage finds, before and afters and lovely writing, then please take a peek at Vintage Remixed. 

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I still haven't unpacked my suitcase and I got back home on Monday, so I'm going to scoot.  Happy Friday Fragment day!  Hope you have a delightful weekend :)
Kristin

What is a name anyway?

While in Gulf Shores chatting my my cousin Neta and my Mom, Neta turned to me and said, "Do you know why your folks chose your name?"  I said that I really didn't know and then looked to my Mom and she pulled out this story that I swear, I had never ever heard before.

I mean seriously.

I'm positive I asked why they chose to name me Kristin.

but this was news to me!

So here's the story and some extra little tidbits because it's interesting.

The photo above is of Tom Harmon. Football player at the University of Michigan,  Heisman Trophy winner, LA Rams, Sports Broadcaster on radio and TV and was one of the first athletes that made that transition from on-the-field to in-the-booth. 

Mr. Harmon married an actress named Elyse Knox and then had three children, all of whom got into show business. 

One of Tom Harmon's daughters was named Kristin.  (Tah-dah!!)  She's seen here with her husband Ricky Nelson.  Ricky Nelson of the Ozzy and Harriet Nelson's, the youngest son of of Ozzy and Harriet and the one who danced his way into the hearts of teenagers across this land singing Garden Party.

Kristin and Ricky had four children - Tracy (who was Sister Steve in the Father Dowling Mysteries 1987 - 1991), Twin sons Matthew Nelson & Gunnar Nelson (of the 90's rock group "Nelson") and the youngest son, Sam.


 

Tom Harmon's son is this handsome guy, Mark Harmon.   I know he's done a ton of acting work, but every time I hear his name or see his picture I think of Ted Bundy.  He portrayed the serial killer in the made for TV movie "The Deliberate Stranger" in 1986 and I've seen that movie several times.

Tom Harmon had one other child, Kelly.  I couldn't find a photo of her or any info on her.  Sorry, Kelly.

EDIT EDIT :)  Thanks to Darren Proctor, he mentioned in the comments that Kelly Harmon did this Tic Tac Commercial.  I recognized her immediately and remember those commercials - so this is Kelly Harmon.  Cool.  Thanks Darren!




OK, so let's recap.

No, there is too much.  Let's sum up.

My Dad was/is a football fan and was also a radio broadcaster, so Tom Harmon was on his radar.  He liked the name of his daughter Kristin and offered the name as one he'd like his first daughter to be named.  I guess my Mom agreed, because I'm named Kristin.

I still can't believe I'm 43 years old and this was the first time I'd heard this story.  It's amazing what you learn.  Thanks Neta for asking the question!!

Have a wonderful day!
Kristin

**All of these photos were found on Google Images.

Goat Bunny Tale

Leigh, Kristin, Jennifer

This is just one of the many happy stories of bloggers meeting one another. This particular meeting had the Tales of Bloggeritaville meeting The Goat. Dust Bunny Hostage had already met Tales and Goat, but we decided to invite her along anyway :) She's taller than us, so we really didn't have a choice.

Oh I jest!

It's always so much fun to get together.  Leigh (Tales from Bloggeritaville) brought her Mom along, too - so we were actually a group of four.  We met at the Fairhope Art Fair on Sunday, the coldest day of the weekend, I do believe, and we shivered and shopped and talked and talked.  We ate lunch, too. 

I have to tell you, I forgot to bring an extra battery so my camera was rendered useless.  I had to borrow Dust Bunny's camera, but I was so defeated that I only took a few shots.    I can't begin to explain how much fun this little adventure was - we wandered around the fair and I loved seeing what caught the attention of our group. 

This was one of the very first booths that we passed and it was an immediate hit.  Leigh and her mom, in red, are looking through the antique spoon handle rings looking for the initial "B."  They found a K for me, but I knew I would never wear it - heck I rarely wear my wedding ring!  The windchimes called Leigh's mom though and just moments before we left the fair she splurged and bought a windchime made of flattened spoons.  The sound it made was just lovely.  I'm so glad she got it. 

Leigh never did see a B, as far as I know, although there were a lot of cool rings in this booth.  The belts on the far right of the photo are flattened spoons!  Everyone thought that it was a look that Leigh would wear - and when she held them up to her waist, it was confirmed - she would look great in them.  She chose not to buy them though.  That's alright, you can't buy everything at these places.

I was thinking that I didn't buy anything when I was with the girls, but ya know, I did!  My Mom had mentioned that she'd like to have a map of the area to hang up at the condo (which I am tongue in cheek calling "the retirement home.")  I don't think this map is what she had in mind, but I love these hand drawn maps.  This particular one is by Linda Theobald.  You can click the photo to enlarge it - it's kind of hard to see this small.

There were several antique shops, consignment shops and thrifty little shops along the art fair route and Leigh and her mom had to steal a peek in them.  It was great to see Thirfty Thursday in action!  Jennifer (Dust Bunny Hostage) and I tended to stand outside and jab away.  I found that Jennifer and I could have a talking competition and I still don't know who would win! 

At 5pm we got back on the shuttle to our cars and said goodbye in the parking lot.  However, Jennifer gave Leigh and I a gift (which I have not photographed) but I love it!  It's a jar full of wooden spools of thread.   I have always admired the wooden spools but have never collected them, I'm thrilled to pieces that I was given this gift.  Thanks so much dear bunny of dust.  I appreciate having something that you spent time collecting.  What a joy.

Now, here's the part that I have to admit that Jennifer and I didn't part ways quite yet.  Leigh needed to go retrieve her kids from her dad, but Jennifer and I just couldn't part, not quite yet.  So she took me up to Mobile Bay, through her little town and then back to my car.  We sat in the parking lot for another 30 minutes or so and we both knew that it was indeed time to part ways. 

Thanks Leigh!  Thanks Jennifer!  Thanks for making this meeting a wonderful event.  I can't wait to do it again.  Oh and to Leigh's Mom, Thank You for coming along.  It was an absolute JOY to meet you. 

Have a Fabulous Week!!

Kristin

Gulf Shores bathroom before and after

This was the bathroom before.

And this is the bathroom nearly after.

I say nearly because we didn't get completely finished before I left, but we got really really close.

The walls were stripped of the wallpaper (both layers) and then spackled.  The walls underneath all that paper was in terrible condition.  They weren't primed or painted and there were large gouges and rough patches.  It was a much bigger job than I ever imagined.

After patching and sanding and patching and sanding again and sometimes a third time - we painted the walls and all of the trim a bright white satin.  It's Gorgeous!!  (The cabinets and doors will be painted white as well, but that may not be this trip but you never know.)  My Mom and I discussed many different color options for the walls, but we both got kind of excited to have a bright white bathroom.   The small wall next to the toilet may still be painted a different color, but for right now, it's white.

We thought the accessories would add to the character of the room. 

Thankfully we had two different art shows in the area and we were both very confident that some interesting and fun art would be found.

We weren't disappointed.


OK, the theme for the condo is beachy.

One of the very first booths that we saw at the Fairhope art fair was the Earth, Fire and Spirit Pottery* booth where mom spotted these little starfish and the turtle.  These are going to go on the wall across from the sink mirror - so you can see them while you get ready.

*(she doesn't have a website unfortunately)

Then we saw this fish.  WOW.  It's so interesting!  I love it!

It's elegant and sophisticated and yet whimsical.


This doesn't have a dedicated spot in the bathroom yet - but it's probably going to be either over the towel rack above the toilet tank or on the wall next to it. 

This shower curtain is a hoot.  The fabulous creator can be found here, Shower Curtain Art.

It gives a fun humor to the bathroom right away and also brings a whole bunch of color into the space.  I'm totally in love with the hairy legs on the guy...

but this shark is great, too!

The towel rods are going to be sprayed silver, the new light fixture (which I completely forgot to photograph) is silver with white square light covers and the towels are a light turquoise.  It's all going to work so wonderfully together.  I wish we could have gotten it all finished before I had to come back home, but I really didn't leave much for my mom to complete.  She should have it done by the end of the week - right Mom??

It was a nice vacation - a working vacation :)
I am glad to be home again though. 

Have a great week!
Kristin

Birdsongs

This is a photo of a clock that is very close to being on it's last warble.

I've left the picture in its giant size so you can click the photo to see what delightful birds greet us with each hour.

The 8am/pm bird is the one I dislike the most.

It's frightening.

My grandmother purchased (or received) this clock right after it first came out.  The subsequent releases had an off switch.  This one does not.

My mother finds it amusing.

After a week of hearing it each hour, I'm finding it less amusing.

Today we had guests and they both were startled when they heard the bird sound for the very first time.

They agreed that if it were in their house it would be without batteries.

I'm thinking I would be willing to find a replacement clock.

One with zero chirping, warbling, cooing or croaking.

I'm  going to be on the lookout for one :)

Hope you're having a fabulous weekend!
Kristin

Friday Fragments and tour dates

It's Friday Fragment day!!  I love FF day.  I always seem to have a lot of little things that I must say, but that really don't need an entire blog post devoted to the thought.  There are a lot of others like me and a lot of them are just a hoot!  To meet the other Friday Fragmentors, please head on over to Half Past Kissing Time and see what Mrs. 4444's (Mrs. Fours) has written and see who all has already posted their FFs.

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I'm in Gulf Shores Alabama this week and I'm so sore I can barely get off the couch!  My mom and I have been removing wallpaper and getting the walls in the master bathroom ready for paint.  I have never seen walls in such disrepair - goodness.  I think we have spackled almost the entire wall.  The wallpaper was actually fairly easy to remove with the steamer.  Well, today I have to sand a few more spots, probably spackle a few more spots, but we are absolutely painting today.

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I'd be upset about taking up so much outdoor beach time with wallpaper removal and subsequent painting, but honestly, I'm not a beach person - and it's been cold and windy this whole week.

Today (and this weekend) however, is the Fairhope, AL art fair and it's sunny!  It's supposed to be 73º today and tomorrow.  What a blessing.   I'm also meeting two of my blogging friends - one I have met before and one I haven't.  Expect a lot of camera clicking as we are going to have to blog about it!

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Overheard in my travels --  These are both so funny!  Enjoy!

A man and his three children get out of the car and walk toward the grocery store.  The 6 year old girl, the oldest of the children, says to her 4 year old brother, "I have three whole pieces of gum left.  If you don't' talk for the rest of the day, I'll give them to you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A 17 year old girl locks her keys in the car.  She calls her mom and tells her what has happened and that she doesn't want to have to tell her dad about the event because he's going to be mad.  She decides to call the lock out service anyway because what else is she to do??!!  She has to be on her way and there is no other way to get the keys to open the door.

The lock out service guy arrives within the hour and when he notices that the two back windows on the car are open. He says to the 17 year old "Did you know your back windows were open?"

The girls says "Oh yes!  I always drive with my back windows down because if I roll down down the front windows, it blows my hair."

The service guy says once again, "Did you realize that the windows were down when you called?"

She says, "Yes, I just told you why they were down."

He reaches in the back window and unlocks the door for her.

He chose not to charge her for the service call.

I bet his laughter was the best payment he's had all month!

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I saw this rusted wrecking ball sitting out in front of these houses along the beach road in Gulf Shores, AL.   The ball isn't just abandoned, it's actually art.  I thought it was so incredibly cool.  I'm not sure if it's supposed to signify the destruction of homes from hurricane Ivan or if someone asked for it to be left - either way,  or whatever the reason, I love it.

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I'm going brag on my sister's husband, my brother-in-law, Jim, for a few minutes.   He got some exciting career news the other day. 

I'm going to be the first-call keyboard player for LA based singer Janiva Magness (www.janivamagness.com).  She's still kind of under the radar (though she's a star in the blues world), but she won the 2009 BB King Entertainer of the Year Award at the Blues Music Awards last year, has been getting write-ups and reviews in major publications like USA Today, and is working like crazy at some very top-notch festivals.  

 I'm so excited for him, but my sister is going to be one busy woman with three children at home.  Jim is going to miss his family something awful - he is one devoted family man, that's for sure.  However, he's been hoping for a big break for years now and this just may be the perfect gig.

Here is their current schedule; this will probably get even fuller as the weeks go by.  If anyone sees my keyboarding brother-in-law at any of these events, please let me know!

APRIL

16     Portland, OR       private event

17     Seattle, WA           Hwy 99 Blues Club

23     Gulfport, MS            The Quarter

24     Baton Rouge, LA       Baton Rouge Blues Fest

25     Houston, TX            Houston Int'l Fest

27     Austin, TX           Antones (H)

28     San Antonio, TX        Sam's Burger Joint

29     Travel Day           905 miles

30     Tallahassee, FL        Bradfordville BC  

MAY

1     Atlanta, GA            Blind Willies     

2     Memphis, TN            Beale Street Music Fest

4     Merryville, TN          Brackens Blues Club

                              

7     Nashville, TN            3RD & LINDSLEY (hold)

8     Oxford, MS           TBA ?

8      Bristol, TN            Mackavelly’s

9     Hillsborough, NC     Blue Bayou  

10     Lexington, KY      Woodsongs O/T Radio

11   OFF

12     Alexandria, VA         Birchmere

13     North Hampton, MA     Iron Horse Music Hall (H)

14     Freeport, ME            The Venue 

15     Fall River, MA       Narrows Center for the Arts
16     Manchester, CT        Hungry Tiger

17     Patchogue, NY        Bobbie Q

18     NYC, NY                    BB KINGS *TRIPLE BILL

19     Cambridge, MA       Regatta Bar

20      Reading, PA             Gerald Veasley's Jazz Base

21+22  Philadelphia, PA      Warm Daddy’s 

23     Pittsburgh, PA         Moondog's

24     Cleveland, OH       The Winchester

25     Dubois, PA           Treasure Lake Ski Lodge

26     Buffalo, NY            The Tralf Music Hall

27     Cleveland, OH       The Winchester (H)

(I'm trying to get the rest of these changed from all caps, but I wanted to post this now, I'll continue editing...)

JUNE

4-5   OFF

9-11     NORTHERN CA            TBA

16     CHATTANOOGA, TN     RIVERBEND FESTIVAL

18/19 CHICAGO, IL              LEGENDS (H)

19  LAS VEGAS, NV       CANNERY CASINO FEST

20     UKIAH, CA            BLUES BY THE BAY

21     LAKE OF THE OZK      OSAGE BEACH CONCERT SERIES

25     MONTREAL,Q     C     MONTREAL INTL JAZZ FEST

26     LEWISBURG, WV      RHYTHM, BLUES & ALL THAT                              JAZZ  FESTIVAL

27     CHARLESTON, WV        MOUNTAIN STAGE…. TAPES

                             SUNDAYS?

30     LOUISVILLE, KY      WATERFRONT WEDNESDAY

JULY

4     PORTLAND, OR       WATERFRONT BLUES FESTIVAL

9     DENVER, CO           TBA (H)

10     DENVER, CO           BLUES & BREWS FESTIVAL (H)

16     LONDON, ON            BLUES FESTIVAL

17     WINDSOR, ON       BLUES FESTIVAL

18 OTTAWA, ON               OTTAWA BLUES FESTIVAL

19     MONT TREMB.,ON       MONT TREMBLANT BF

25     TAHOE CITY, CA       COMMONS BEACH CONCERTS

31     DEMING, WA           MT BAKER BLUES FEST

AUGUST

7-8     Nottoden Norway (H)     Nottoden BF 

13-14     BILLINGS, MT       Magic City BF ?

14     WHEELING, WV      HERITAGE BLUES FEST

27-29 KANSAS CITY, MO  FESTIVAL

SEPTEMBER

3-4     DALLAS, TX           THE PEARL (H)

3-4     DALLAS, TX           BEDFORD BF

5-6 HOT SPRINGS, AR      FESTIVAL (H)

15 UNCASVILLE, CT          MOHICAN CASINO (H)

17-18TELLURIDE, CO       TELLURIDE FESTIVAL

17-18FREDERICTON, NB       HARVEST JAZZ & BLUES   (H)

18     PARAMOUNT BF       GRAFTON, WI (H)

OCTOBER

17     TUCSON, AZ          SABHF

22-23 KANSAS CITY, MO   BEYOND THE BLUES FESTIVAL (H)

*•-:¦:-•:*''''*:•-:¦:-•

Alrighty!
I hope you have a fantastic weekend.  I'm going to get changed and get ready to go to the art fair while my mom is painting the first coat on the bathroom wall.

Kristin

Wallpaper and more wallpaper

What did you do on your Spring Break?

Why, I went to a hip and happening beach town and volunteered myself to remove wallpaper from the condo master bathroom.  In fact, I suggested the task.

I'm crazy, what can I tell ya. 

The bathroom had blue tulip wallpaper, with a tulip wallpaper border.  Underneath that was another wallpaper that was an orangey southwesterny kind of paper.  It probably wasn't southwestern but that's what it reminded me of as I was stripping it off the walls.  The tulip paper came right off the wall.  The other one, not so much.  

I'm not sure where the striped pieces came from to cover the outlet covers, but they were the exact same colors as the tulip paper.

My Mom is giving such a look!  She said to me that she wasn't even posing! 

Actually, the steamer made the removal of both papers, really easy.  It was just tiring and of course - sticky.  Having two of us in there working really made it go fast.  One person could steam a portion and then hand off the steamer to the other person so they could steam a section while the other one scraped off what they just steamed - back and forth.  The same with washing down the walls after we got all the paper off - one washed and the other rinsed the sponge of all of the goo.  We constantly had one sponge in use and one sponge being rinsed.  We actually ran out of hot water this afternoon!  We took this as a sign to go buy supplies and have lunch.

We have now completed the rinsing of the goo phase of the project and are going to be entering the spackling and painting phase of the project in the morning. 

But first we are going to try to watch the sunrise.  We tried that this morning but it was pouring rain.  So we're going to try it again.  Then by golly we are going to attempt to finish the bathroom.  I'll be sure and take pictures.

Gotta run!
Kristin

Gulf Shores!

Gulf Shores is experiencing high winds and chilly temps, much to the chagrin of all of the Spring Breakers.  If you can see the American flag, it's at a 90º angle to the pole.  That's a bit windy.

I took a picture of this momma holding her kid - they were nearly being blown off the beach.  It made for some nice shell seeking though - the upper soft sand was totally blown off, revealing the hard layer of packed, wet sand that contained all of the shells.  I managed to find a few for myself.

Can you see the ripples in the sand.  Well there were people and kids all over the place, but the wind just erased those footprints in a matter of minutes.  It was awfully pretty though.

I thought this was funny :)

One of the popular hangouts is the Flora-Bama.  It's a multi-level bar on the beach with live music and a ton of people.  We went there around 4pm, so it wasn't packed, but I can see how it would be a lot of fun.

I got a dietCoke however and it was pretty thin.  You get free refills on sodas if you keep your cup, so I took mine back and asked the guy if the syrup was running out because that was really really weak.  He filled up another glass and said that it's just the way they serve them.

So now instead of one really weak drink I had two.

There were several bars in this place, so I went to another one and asked that girl that was behind the station if they had a darker dietCoke than this one and I handed her one of my drinks - she said sure and filled it up.

When I got back to the table and tasted the darker one it was like drinking syrup!   So I did my best to combine the two drinks and got a fairly decent soda out of the deal.  (and a good blogging story, too!)

They had good oysters on the half shell according to my cousin Neta and my Mom.  I ordered a plate of onion rings and ooooh!  those were good. 

One of the other "famous" things about the Flora-Bama is that girls tend to lose their bras in this place and they end up on this clothes line (or two) that run the length of the main room.

After just buying a few new bras, I wasn't about ready to toss $40 over a clothesline at a bar.  Seeing the relative newness of some of the bras that I saw up there, I'm thinking the girls that put them up there, weren't thinking about the replacement costs.

I have been a gone a few days from here - goodness, that wasn't intentional.  I hope you've been having a great week!  and keeping your bra on :)

Kristin