Throw Back Thursday

Happy Halloween!!

Cute kids arena't they?  Except the scary ones - those are really, really scary!!

What year was it?  Maybe 93 or 94.

Picking Pumpkins

I keep seeing pictures of everyone and their kids at the pumpkin patch, and I thought I'd join in.  Of course, my kids are grown so the pictures are older - but still fun.

We always said they could get any pumpkin they wanted - as long as they could carry it!  Andy was definitely up for the challenge.

Laura started with a valiant effort, and then settled for something smaller 

Kate was definitely more realistic!

Happy pumpkin picking everyone!!

Dinner and a Show

Once we finalized our plans to go to the gulf coast, we started searching online to see what was gong to be happening while we were there.  We found out that there was a singer/songwriter festival. Singer/songwriter performances are always a favorite of mine.    

When you get a group of two or three songwriters together a couple of things happen.  First, they bring out the best in each other - they have a great respect for each others' talent while at the same time, they don't want to be the worst performer on the stage.  Second, they feed off each others' creativity and don't hesitate to jump in and jam with the person performing, which results in some awesome collaborations! 

So we heard about the 6th Annual Pensacola Beach Songwriters Festival and thought, since we would be close by, we'd go over and check it out.  Friday night we decided to find a spot to have dinner and listen to the songwriters.  We ended up at little italian place called Lillo's Tuscan Grille.  What a great choice!  We didn't think so at first as we waited quite a while for a table, and it seemed like we were being ignored, so we almost walked out at one point - boy I'm sure glad we didn't.  We finally got seated and when I looked around I realized the restaurant only seated about 60 people - which explains the wait.   We ordered salads, pizza and beer.  All of which were really good!  It wasn't too long before we saw the first singer.

  Aubrey Wollett is from Nashville and sings country songs.  She has a good voice but she sounds just like all the other cookie-cutter-little-blond country singers in Nashville.  She needs a gimic if she wants to be recognized

Next up were Thom Bresh and Ed Beaver.  Thom is  showman - very outgoing and  loves the audience!  He is the son of Merle Travis - who sang Sixteen Tons (and what do you get - another day older and deeper in debt).  He's a great finger picker and has some fun tunes.  Ed Beaver is a self-proclaimed anti-establishment songwriter.  He also has some great songs.  We were fortunate meet Ed after the show.  He lives in Nashville and, thanks to his Facebook page - we'll be able to see him play locally.

Alan Rhody, Jim Pasquale and Louis 'Cowboy' Johnson were up next.  The schedule showed them performing separately, but they did what is referred to as a 'round', which is where they each take turns performing one of their songs.  These three guys played for a very long time.  They were fabulous.  Alan Rhody sang a song called Charlene and the Quarterback - YouTube it if you get a chance.  

Jim Pasquale is the mastermind behind this music festival, a talented songwriter and a great storyteller.  So fun to watch. 

  

And in the tradition of saving the best for last - Louis 'Cowboy' Johnson.  His voice has been described as 'tobacco honey' which is quite accurate.  There was complete silence in the restaurant when he sang.  He sang lots of songs from his latest album -  definitely a storytelling songwriter.

  

And Steve Lillo, owner of Lillo's Tuscan Grille.  He came out to join the guys for a song or two.

Such a fun time - we might have to go back again.....

Sunrise, Sunset

A couple of photos from our trip to the Gulf Coast last week.  

Sunrise on the beach and sunset over the river.

Nothing manmade comes close to being this beautiful.

House In A Box

Shortly after we moved to Nashville we saw a newspaper article about a local Habitat for Humanity chapter that was holding a 'House In a Box" build day.  The house in a box is a unique way to build a Habitat for Humanity house.  You build the walls to the blueprint specs but you don't attach them together.  They are shipped, laying flat, to their final destination and are assembled there.  They use this process for a number of different reasons.  Sometimes there might be a large group that wants to participate in a build, but there are no local builds that can accommodate that number of participants.  Sometimes houses are needed in parts of the country where volunteers are lacking.  Or sometimes there is a need for a large quantity of homes, and it's faster to build the structures elsewhere and assemble them on-site.  

 The houses that we helped build were to be shipped to New Orleans to help rebuild the city after Hurricane Katrina.  We knew that's where they were going, and while we were in New Orleans we decided to go find them. 

Harry Connick Jr. and Bransford Marsalis, both musicians and New Orleans natives wanted to help people who lived in poverty before the hurricane, and  had been displaced.  They also wanted to provide a place for teaching, sharing and preserving the music, culture and history of New Orleans.  They chose to build a community called Musicians Village 

Musicians Village is comprised of 72 single family homes and five elder-friendly duplexes, a playground, and the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music.  The houses have been painted bright colors in an attempt to brighten the neighborhood and bring joy to those who see them.  The village looks great.  Most of the houses are well-kept, a couple are even for sale.  

It is a great community.  There is definitely a pride in ownership happening there, and that is a wonderful thing.  You can read more about Musicians Village here.

The community includes a playground, which  sits diagonally across from the music center.  We were there on Sunday morning and both were empty, but they appear to be well-used.

I'm so glad we took the time to seek out this neighborhood.  We are so pleased to have helped build such a great place for so many people.