Monday, May 18, 2015

There's No Place Like Home....

I spent the first weekend of May back in Oklahoma, celebrating Tanner's graduation from OSU. It was the first time that both brothers and I were back home at the same time in maybe a decade? It was Courtney's second trip to OK and Hallie's first. It was a great weekend.

Taylor, Courtney and I had the same flight into Tulsa. I'm glad there's a non-stop flight. Hallie was ready to go....

We were stuck in the last row of the plane where I became 'bathroom captain' and Hallie was pretty entertainable.


Uncle Tanner picked us up on the way from Stillwater, and off to Poteau we went. It was a two hour drive or so, and Courtney asked if anything was around, cause she didn't see much of anything during the drive. Welcome to Oklahoma!

We had parents and a Mexican food feast awaiting at home. Tons of queso and fresh salsa, red chili meat for burritos and more.

Pre-bedtime stories with Grandma and Grandpa. Thanks to her good momma, Hallie knows who her grandparents are.


Friday we went to lunch at Bud's - a gas station, restaurant, campsite, pool hall, all in one. I tried to capture the poster that advertised the upcoming calf fry.  The place was full of regulars and we overheard some hilarious conversations about ammo and explosions and someone's cousin Pickle and convict neighbors.

The boys went shooting and I ran some errands for a graduation party, then we all went out to the farm to hang out. It was muddy and green.





Hallie got to ride in the mule. She hated it at first, but eventually got into the 'bumpy' ride.

Me and the graduate.

Blueberries are coming!

Back home to clean and set up for Tanner's party. 

I made the most beautiful veggie tray ever. Mom's idea.

The guest of honor.



Her favorite. She bit into three cupcakes that night.

One of our funniest friends gave Tanner this present.

The world's highest hill.

Best thing to read on the weekend? The Poteau Police Log. And the courthouse report.

Off to Stillwater for graduation. Bad weather threatened the day, so OSU cancelled some receptions and moved everyone's ceremonies to earlier timeslots. Tanner's was moved from 4pm to 1:30, so we had to leave earlier to make the three hour drive.



We found Tanner in the crowd!



After the ceremony it was pouring. We walked through the rain back to Tanner's apartment, me holding a child and walking barefoot. Didn't want to step in puddles in my suede shoes!  Then it was off to Tulsa to have dinner. Good friend Bill joined us.



We had a hotel room in Tulsa for the night, so my high school BFF, Minon, came over to say hi. We can always pick up right where we left off, even if we don't get to talk to often. She's a momma of four and is about to move over a couple states. I miss her. We snuck out for some conversation and ice cream.

Braum's is best.

Since we didn't take any pictures in the rain after the ceremony, Tanner had to get dressed up again before we flew out.



Getting in Hallie time. 




Back to the airport. I distracted Hallie while Taylor and Courtney checked bags. Then back to Utah! So good to be home this weekend and see my mom on Mother's Day too.

Musical Monday - The Moth & the Flame

So these guys had a bit of a stir over Mother's Day weekend.

Here's the real video. It's rad.

Friday, May 15, 2015

April's Third Trip - Back to LA

Right after Palo Alto, I was off to Los Angeles again. I'd purchased concert tickets months earlier, and then April ended up being a crazy month of travel. I wasn't about to cancel this trip though.

I landed at LAX right in the middle of rush hour, per my usual flight, and stayed on the Westside. I went to the Hammer Museum to kill some time.

This design studio exhibit was so cool.


Trevor soon met me there and we played in these chairs. This gif is so amusing to me.



We ran into Cubbie there, who I was so glad to see. Then off to dinner at 800 Degrees, of course.

That first night was one of the major reasons I came this particular weekend - I wanted to see Clark.

It was loud and interesting and not quite what I expected, but I'm glad I went. I was so tired though - even one hour time change is tough. We didn't stay to see all of Nosaj Thing's set, but I got a taste.

The next day I popped over to Mike's office building, where he had space for me to work. Fun day working alongside a friend. And what a view of LA! Hollywood Hills, downtown, it was a gorgeous day.

After work I drove to Melrose and met up with Jonathan. I miss that street. We had some Thai for dinner, then walked down to the Directors Guild of American for the Colcoa Film Festival.


There were many films I wanted to see, but we saw Danbe, which I really liked. I tried to get back to another film over the weekend, but I just didn't have time. These will be on my watch list.

After the movie I wandered over to Salt & Straw for round 1 of ice cream.

I worked on Friday morning then went to the LA temple for the afternoon. I never went there when I lived in LA, so I figured I'd better check it out.

Then it was race again through rush hour traffic to get over to the Greek, for the main reason I came this weekend - Marketa and Damien. Be still my heart! I love them both so much. Such a delight that Marketa opened the show - and I remember being at this very venue years ago when she played with Glen. I don't have words.

Then Damien. Wow. It's been years. Years. And with just a guitar, he put on a magical evening. And made fun of everyone who kept getting up - maybe LA people drink too much and constantly need bathroom breaks, he said?


Simple songs got blown up - I was so into it.

It got pretty cold and the show needed to end, but someone gave him a coat so he could keep playing.

This was one of the most magical nights of music I've had in awhile, and I'm scheming to see if I could catch him again this summer. He is brilliant.

He closed the show with this track. I'm not one to really watch many Youtube videos, but the way he blows this song up - I couldn't breathe. Then when he takes it back down, you can hear someone in the audience echoing a line. Damien invited him to the stage and they finished the song. It was a magical ending, and I loved every second. This is why I travel for shows. Do yourself a favor and watch this.


Trevor's caption on Instagram for this photo - we were the cutest couple-that-didn't-work-out there. Bless him.

I slept in Saturday morning then went to the Sundance Cinema in West Hollywood to see Wild Tales. I'd heard good things and watched to see it before it left theaters. It's an Argentina film with 6 stories, all along the theme of revenge. It's a dark comedy and absurdly hilarious. I really enjoyed it. I left the theater into some rain.

Saturday night I met up with Patrick at Cafe Gratitude - can't get more LA than that - raw, vegan, organic, and you order dishes named Happy and Ecstatic. Great food and great company though. It was good to see Patrick, and we walked down the block for more ice cream at Salt and Straw. He ordered a flavor called the Awesomenator made by a nine year old and it was full of candy. Gross.

Sunday morning I woke up earlyish and headed to the airport. Off to Nashville! At this point I was almost ready to just go home, but a great 36 hours awaited me there. See ya next time, LA.

2023 Recap

Oh, hey there. It's been awhile. I disappeared for a bit. Everyone's doing their 2023 year in review today, and I figured I'd ju...

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