Dwight Yoakam

We had tickets to see Dwight Yoakam last night at The Woods at Fontanel, an outdoor venue.  He's one of those performers that we have wanted to see, but hadn't yet had the chance.  We decided to get seats instead of 'lawn' - which turned out to be a good choice given the rainy day we had.  We were about 10 rows back from stage - here is our view of the stage from the seats - not zoomed in, this is it

We sat through a couple hours of a chilly (yes, I do think 65 degrees - in Tennessee -- in July is chilly!) misty rain, two less-than-stellar opening acts (more about them in another post) and lots of people watching.  And then the stage was set......

and out came Dwight Yoakam

We were treated to some great, classic Dwight Yoakam music and moves.
Like this

and this

and this

Clearly, that's how he's able to fit into these jeans......

It was a great show.  He played a wide variety of music - from his first album to his latest, and everything in between.  

He told us at the beginning that he would play until 'curfew', which they do have there as it's in a fairly residential neighborhood.  And he did.  He didn't even pause between some of the songs - he has a crew member whose job is to bring out his guitar when he needs to change, and they do a quick swap and the music keeps playing.

He is a singer / songwriter / entertainer.  Obviously loves what he does, and he does it well.  He came back on stage for a encore - which was Suspicious Minds - and made his exit, stage right, with music, a smile and a wave.

If you've had enough Dwight, feel free to skip the next video.  If you want to stick around and here A Thousand Miles From Nowhere, enjoy.  I did!!

The Robins Have Almost Outgrown the Nest!

An update on our babies.  Since, Wednesday, they have grown -- a lot!!

I don't think think it will be too long until they are fighting for space and pushing each other out of the nest.

Robins in Their Nest

Right outside of our kitchen, on the top of the drainpipe elbow, is a nest.  Every year the robins use it and we get to see the babies before they fly off.

I took these still pictures on Sunday.  There are three babies in the nest and they're still really small.  Their eyes were closed and their necks were very weak - it was obviously challenging for them to keep their heads held up!  You can easily see two of them, the third one is in the back on the left.

They were obviously hungry and when they heard me they hoped it was Mama bringing some food.  Sorry babies!!

I did manage to get some video of Mama feeding them on Tuesday night.  In the first section, you can see the babies really well.  Mama came with some food, but then got spooked by something and flew off before feeding them.  The second part of the movie shows her feeding them.  Their mouths open wide, wide, wide to get some food!  The babies will eat worms, insects and berries.  She was feeding worms this time.

Apparently it's not uncommon for them to build a nest in a sheltered area.  They don't generally use bird houses, but do like some shelter.  They've been there for years, and come back every year, so they must like that it's protected from both the weather and the predators.  

I just saw her fly up into the nest tonight, so I know they're still there.

Shining Brightly

Have you ever heard of 'Points of Light"? Maybe you remember George H. W. Bush talking about his desire for people to become points of light by volunteering and giving back to the community. In response to his call to action, the Points of Light Foundation was created to encourage and empower the spirit of service. The Foundation presents both individual and corporate awards annually. 

Last year the Advisory Board challenged it's employees to achieve a volunteer rate of 100% and we rose to the challenge. Well, this year we won a Points of Light Corporate Award. It doesn't come with a trophy, or a monetary award, or anything tangible to show off. But you know what it does come with -- a really good feeling (and bragging rights!). How great to know that we are doing great things, one contribution at a time.

The Advisory Board Company – The Advisory Board Company’s employee volunteer program, Community Impact, aligns its efforts with the firm’s mission to elevate the performance of health care and higher education institutions. Community Impact enables employees to apply their core competencies in technology, research and consulting to empower community partners, helping them to independently operate more effectively. The success of the Advisory Board’s approach demonstrates how the same business principles that make our nation’s leading health care and higher education institutions effective can drive improved performance from nonprofit organizations, ultimately moving the needle in improving public health and education. In 2013, 100 percent of the Advisory Board’s 2,700 employees participated in Community Impact, resulting in 32,000 hours of service and $1.7 million in monetized impact. Advisory Board employees recently ranked Community Impact as the No. 1 driver of engagement throughout the firm.

So let us be an inspiration - get out there and do something good!!

Brussel Sprouts

Well, tonight I cooked the brussel sprouts that we got in this weeks' CSA package.  They were quite tasty.  When I started, I didn't realize how much work is was going to be to get them off the stalk!  With a sharp knife and a steady hand I found my rythym and was able to get a nice little pile of them in a short time.  

A friend of mine had recommended balsamic-braised-brussels-with-pancetta - which looks great, but I didn't have pancetta or bacon, so I looked around and found this recipe for cavatappi browned brussels sprouts with buttery breadcrumbs.  Because I consider recipes a suggestion, I made this one minus the noodles.  

It was really good!

Jim went back for seconds - and finished the all, so it must have been good!!  I do still want to try Mal's recipe some day.  In fact, there are MANY recipes on that site that look fantastic.  Check it out if you get the chance.

I'm still not sure what that round yellow/orange squash is that we got last week.  It doesn't feel hard like a butternut.  I'm going to cut into that tomorrow and see what it looks like.   

CSA Day!

There's a group of us at work who are participating in a CSA.  Every Tuesday we get a new delivery of meat, cheese, eggs and produce.  This week we got ground beef, pepper and onion brats, chicken breast, carrots, a couple varieties of squash, and brussels sprouts - along with eggs, cheese and almond butter.  The quality of the food is fabulous.  Even the eggs are so much tastier than what we get at the grocery store.  

Every week when that delivery email hits the inbox, people start heading into the lunchroom to see what we got.  It's a lot of fun - and gives a chance to play "What is this?",  and then "What do I do with it?"  We're learning new things every week.  Last week I learned how to prepare beets - this week I could use some help with the brussels sprouts - anyone??

I always knew what a CSA was - it's like a subscription service where you buy food.  Good food.  Free range, grass fed, non GMO -- you know, good old fashioned food.  CSA actually stands for Consumer Supported Agriculture.  One of the owners of the farm came into the office to give us a presentation.  She and her husband were government employees who burned out and wanted to farm.  They knew they probably couldn't be self-supporting, so in order to do this, they needed to become a CSA.  For them, it was't just that they had an abundance of food and thought they could sell it for a profit, it was actually a business plan.  They've been doing this for 18 years now and still love what they do.

Check them out here.

Peach Cobbler

Easy Peach Cobbler is what the blog said  http://thepeachtruck.com/blogs/blog/14253153-easy-peach-cobbler

As much as I hate to cook meals, I love to bake.  And when a recipe name starts with the word easy, I'm willing to take a look.  If it doesn't look quick and easy, I'm probably not going to make it.  But this one - this was easy.  Remember the peach cobbler I mentioned here?

I had peaches that were past their prime, but I didn't want to throw them away.  I peeled and sliced the peaches, 

melted the butter right in the baking dish, mixed the other ingredients - poured it all in the pan and spooned the peaches on top.

 Into the oven, and Presto.   Oh-My-Goodness deliciousness in a baking dish.  I wish you had smell-o-vision, because this smelled fabulous.

 A dish of this with a little cool whip on top - mmm mmm good!!

Thanks Peach Truck!!

Now,  a couple of things - because I view a recipe as a suggestion, not a mandate.  I didn't have self-rising flour, so I used Bisquick (it's the same thing, right?) and I had 3 cups of peaches (5 peaches cut up) not four, so I used 3/4 of the amount of everything else (see kids - math does come in handy!) and used an 8x8 pan.  It did take almost the full 40 minutes, and when I looked at it I didn't think it was done.  But it was cooked through and delicious.  

It's definitely not a diet recipe, and I might work on slimming it down a little, but I think a splurge is justified when it's something this good.