The roaring '20s

{or How I Wish I Was a Flapper}

Click here to listen to some quintessential 1920's music while you enjoy this post.

You know how I wanted to be an Olympic gymnast during the Olympics? And then how I was dying to be an American colonist and live in Williamsburg around Thanksgiving? Well, I recently watched the 1970's version of the movie The Great Gatsby and re-read the book in anticipation of the upcoming release of the movie remake, so (as one might expect) I am now wishing I lived in the 1920s. I've been oogling over the clothes, the hairstyles, the music (which I've always enjoyed anyway) and the trends of the era. What an interesting and crazy time in history.

Say, I'm due for a haircut and I always enjoy making it worth the money, maybe I'll go for a bobbed look. Did you know that the "bob" first made its appearance in the 1920s (it was quite controversial) and prompted the advent of the "bobby" pin?! Just a little tidbit I learned today.

The hats of the day were cloche hats. Gloves were popular, and the "character" shoe (a sturdy heeled dress shoe) became popular and is the shoe still worn by dancers today. We recently inherited a whole bunch of gloves that used to belong to Gary's grandmother. I should go through them and see if any would fit that era. I know some of them were made in France, so they certainly aren't cheap drugstore varieties.

I have sweet memories of my grandma singing "Bye Bye Blackbird" and dancing the Charleston for me once or twice when I was little. She would have been in elementary school in the 1920s but as the eleventh of twelve kids in her family I'm sure her older siblings were wearing the styles and listening to the music of the times. It's so fun for me to imagine what it was like in her little Pennsylvania town back then.

Speaking of the Charleston, here's a video of some '20s peeps shaking their groove thing.

The new Gatsby movie opens in May 10th in the U.S. and it's going to be in 3D (which I am actually disappointed about because 3D movies kinda irritate me, but hey - maybe it'll be cool). Plus I'm thrilled with the casting of (the oh-so-dashing) Leo DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby and (the adorable) Carey Mulligan as Daisy. I loved her in An Education.

Last night I said to Gary "I wonder if they'll ever figure out how to time travel." He just shook his head slowly and rolled his eyes. He's known me long enough to just to smile and hope I never get too whacky. And I've known him long enough to say "Well, if they ever do I'm going off and leaving you here, old sport." ;)

In my neck of the woods

. . . I am thankful for red berries to brighten our drab landscapes


 . . . it's still cold, but there are more and more songbirds flitting around, singing and gathering on branches and power lines.


. . . I am thoroughly engrossed in The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood.


. . . it seems that Emma inadvertently touched the flu beads. Phooey. Poor thing is in bed as I type this.


. . . I've been on a classical music binge the last several days.


. . . we had a refreshing cucumber salad for dinner last night:

~ slice cucumbers
~ mix in a bowl with white wine vinegar, lots of dill, a few dashes of salt and a shake or two of sugar.

The whole family loved it. It felt summery.

. . . everyone is dreaming of Spring.

Dear Spring,
The groundhog said you were arriving early this year. Are you on your way? What's your estimated arrival date?

We are all so looking forward to seeing you!

xo

Acoustic Lennon

Listening to this song about 100 times a day.

50 x John singing it.

50 x Gary learning to play it on the guitar (usually around 11 p.m., but that's okay. When he plays guitar he's in his happy place).

Auld Lang Syne : JT style

 

I'm a little in love with James Taylor.

That voice — it's like butter (I say in my best New York accent).

James Taylor's songs have been woven into the background of my life ever since I can remember. My parents had his early albums on vinyl, his newer releases we purchased on cassette, and now I own them all on CD. His musical career exactly spans the entire length of my life. His first album was released the year I was born and he continues to make music and tour today.

I remember singing along with "Sweet Baby James" on a family road trip circa 1978. I watched the scenery pass outside my window and relished a line from that song —"with 10 miles behind me and 10,000 more to go." I loved the notion that there were so many more miles ahead. So much promise. A long journey that was just beginning.

My list of "Things to do in This Lifetime" included seeing James in concert and I finally got to see him perform several years ago when he came to Missoula. I cried the entire time. I think my husband thought I'd lost my marbles (Honestly, I was a little concerned too).

My mother once said "That's one of the things I'm going to miss when I die . . . James Taylor's voice." I soooo agree. Gosh, I'm really going to miss it. 

But I'm here now and it's almost the new year so I'm listening to this song and thought you might like to hear it too.

Happy New Year friends.  Here's to all the miles we have ahead of us!

Sniffle, cough, snort, moan

{or "Boo Hoo For Me, I Have a Cold"}

I feel like crap. I have one of those colds where you can feel your brain banging around on the inside of your skull and every time you stand up you feel like you're going to faint. I'm wearing lots of layers, resting when I can, drinking lots of hot tea with honey during the day, and drinking my fair share of Nyquil at night.

A cold front moved in today and began spitting bits of snow. Tonight the real storm hits and we should have snow falling for the next three days. Sounds like a jammies-movies-crocheting-hot tea and soup kinda weekend.

Other things I'm doing when I'm not sniffing:

~ Reading "Let the Great World Spin" by Colum McCann. It's really good. Heartbreaking, but good.

~ Crocheting lots of white granny squares with no specific use in mind, just piling them up (?!)

~ Thinking about Italian Wedding soup. My friend Crystal over at The Skillet blog posted the recipe and it reminded me of my sister-in-law, who comes from an Italian family from Yonkers, New York. It's a tradition in her family to serve this soup as a first course before the big turkey dinner. She made it for us when she came for Thanksgiving several years ago and it's sooooo tasty.

~ Daydreaming about learning to quilt.

~ Listening to this song. I love Zooey Deschanel.

~ Giggling a little as I watch these poor children who think their parents ate all of their Halloween candy. I love the little kid who just drops to the ground.

What are all of you up to this week?

 

Autumn in New York

Thinking of all the folks on the East Coast who continue with the cleanup from Sandy. What a mess life can be sometimes.

20,500 SCREAMING Girls

{or how I took my daughters to see Justin Bieber} 

How to go to a Justin Bieber concert:

1. Buy tickets in May

2. Watch daughters scream, jump up and down and CRY when you tell them 

3. Wait for many long months, plan, make a purple poster to take along

4. Drive 8 hours to Tacoma, Washington 

5. Stay in hotel next to the Tacoma Dome

6. See tour buses the morning of the concert and . . . 

7. Spend all day standing outside with a large group of girls hoping he'll come out to see the fans (he never did) 

8. Get dressed in Bieber shirts and purple hair ribbons, scream/dance a lot 

9. File into Tacoma Dome with 20,500 people 

10. Scream/cry/cheer through a really fun show

11. Moms - look around at thousands of darling, elated faces and wish they could all be chosen as the "one less lonely girl"

12. Lose hearing for a while after show 

13. Stand in a ginormous claustrophobic mob for almost an hour to buy t-shirt 

14. Go back to hotel, talk it over 

15. finally sleep 

16. Drive home 8 hours, sleep (if you're a kid) and listen to Justin's CD 

17. Give your mom a sweet card saying thank you and how it was the best day of your life and you'll never forget this

18. Lay in your own bed with JB songs stuck in your head until you finally sleep


I'm so tired.

Sunflower

Goodmorning!

Happy music (click here) to accompany this photo I took the other day at Benson's Farm: "Sunflower" by Alice Peacock, from the "Because of Winn Dixie" soundtrack.

If you have little people in your life and you want to snuggle up on the couch and watch a sweet movie then "Because of Winn Dixie" is a fine choice. We still watch it once a year or so, just to be reminded . . .

Unexpected Visitor: Jack Frost

Criminy! I didn't pay attention to the weather guy and the temperature dipped below freezing last night, leaving a thin layer of frost on our corner of the world. My poor unexpecting tomatoes! Fortunately I harvested lots of cherry tomatoes earlier this week, but the larger ones (and there are lots of them!) were all still green, so I left them to keep on sucking up the sunshine. *large sigh* This gardening thing is not really a strong skill of mine.

The chilly air reminded me that I have been a little lazy about working on Emma's blanket. I started it early last spring but as the days warmed the urgency waned and I've all but ignored it now for the last two months. Time to get busy so my gal can snuggle up before the snow flies.

Kate is feeling much better and is putting in a full day of school today. Her neck is still a bit stiff but things improve daily. I told her no jumping on the trampoline for a while.

Tomorrow she and some of her friends are joining the middle school show choir ~ go Glee! Don't Stop Believin'! 


p.s. A couple business items: I've added a button on the right so you can "Join this site" and get updates through Google. Also, if you go to my Facebook page you can 'like' Audrey Finch there and I update my status whenever a new blog post uploads. 

As always, thanks for reading. 

A Song for School

Sweetness Follows

Somewhere west of here fires are burning and smoke shrouds the sky. Sadly this is the new normal for August in the West. 

This past week the winds have picked up and our 100-degree temps have turned the hillsides a crispy, crunchy, brown. Everything is parched.

But the sun has a new slant. It moves more quickly and a bit lower on the horizon. The night air dips below 50 degrees now and all around me everything seems to be in a holding pattern. Waiting, patiently but with a hint of happy anticipation for the Summer to lift and a soft September to settle in. The smoke will break, the grass relax, the school bus will come, the robins will leave, and the newness will refresh us all.

The soundtrack to my day is R.E.M.'s eighth album, "Automatic for the People." Michael Stipe's voice and lyrics feel like home. 

Happy Wednesday to you all. Thank you for reading!

Wilco, Missoula, 2012

Tonight, we rock

Today's forecast: 84 degrees, cloud-free, and melody-filled.

So excited to see Wilco in concert tonight out at the Big Sky Brewing Amphitheater.

Here's a song to get you excited. I've posted the lyrics below so you can sing along with the video or you can print them out and put 'em by your desk or other creative space for inspiration.

If you feel like singing a song
And you want other people to sing along
Just sing what you feel
Don't let anyone say it's wrong

And if you're trying to paint a picture
But you're not sure which colors belong
Just paint what you see
Don't let anyone say it's wrong

And if you're strung out like a kite
Or stung awake in the night
It's alright to be frightened

When there's a light (what light)
There's a light (one light)
There's a light (white light)
Inside of you

If you think you might need somebody
To pick you up when you drag
Don't lose sight of yourself
Don't let anyone change your bag

And if the whole world's singing your songs
And all of your paintings have been hung
Just remember what was yours
Is everyone's from now on

And that's not wrong or right
But you can struggle with it all you like
You'll only get uptight

Because there's a light (what light)
There's a light (one light)
There's a light (white light)
There's a light (what light)
There's a light (one light)
There's a light (white light)
There's a light (what light)
There's a light (one light)
There's a light (white light)
There's a light (what light)
There's a light (one light)
There's a light (white light)
Inside of you

Song of the Day

A little Gillian Welch & David Rollins for your listening pleasure. I played this over and over in my car today while I ran errands. It went nicely with the rain and the gray.

A Girl called Birdy

 

I'd never heard of this girl before but she's this weeks #1 most-played song on my iTunes. Not only is this an amazing cover of Bon Iver but I really want to try on all of Birdy's cool vintage dresses. I wish I had the guts just to wear dresses like these all the time instead of all my usual (yawn) clothes. And while I'm being jealous, I actually kinda wish I went by a cool nickname like Birdy. Maybe I could be Buggy or Coyote. Ya know, there actually was a couple month period in 7th grade when I went by "Cricket." (Remind me to tell you that story later.) Maybe I could try to bring that name back? I could be an eccentric lady named Cricket who wears old thick lacey dresses. My kids would be mortified.