… Or at least trying to, and I had to go to Denver to do it, although not sure being on vacation provides more writing opportunities when the vacation is visiting grandkid #2.
I closed my last post saying I’d do better but that hasn’t happened. And that was a whole weekend plus all the days between, and I’m still sitting staring at the screen thinking I know I’ve had some good insights on the things happening around me but just not capturing it.
It is now the officially the Days Between, at least in deadhead land, between Jerry Garcia’s birthday and death day. I read this New Yorker article about the Dead & Co. residency at the Sphere in Vegas, and I have to say I think I am the same type of curmudgeonly deadhead as the author, Nick Paumgarten, although I also think I am something like 14 years older. I’m the person who didn’t go to the last Grateful Dead show at Soldier Field in 1995. I was living in Chicago, and my friends from Madison came down and I stayed home with Uncle John and watched the kids. Jerry was too drugged up by then and the moments when you felt transported by the music were getting too few and far between, which Paumgarten talks about in the article. He and I both tried going to Dead spinoff bands too, and looking for that lift. I saw the Other Ones a few times, and Phil Lesh and Friends, and even Ratdog once, Bobby’s band and I actually liked that one the least. Probably the best show was the Other Ones with Joan Osborne with Bob Dylan opening at an outdoor venue in Minnesota. We went with the Worcester’s kids, Ben and Elizabeth, and Rach knew one of Dylan’s crew, and she got them back stage for Dylan. Oh, and I also saw Phil Lesh & Friends with Ryan Adams at a dance hall here in Denver. Maybe that was the best one. And I went to one of the Fare Thee Well shows in California in 2015, and I believed them when they said fare thee well. Now I only go to see Phil Lesh’s band. As Paumgarten says, after 2015, “Exit Phil”.
My cats have the same birthday as Jerry, August 1.
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- Lucy 1st birthday
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- George 1st birthday
July 22nd was my mom’s 20th jahrzeit and Al and Emma’s 7th anniversary. Rach was here and we had a salad-y supper and drank canned white wine and lit the Ruth Bader Ginsburg votive candle in honor of Ruth my mom.
I got Al and Emma a felted wool trivet for their anniversary because stuff I read online said the traditional choice for year seven was copper and the “modern” choice was wool.
It looked sort of like this, and it fits just right under a Le Creuset
When I went to drop off the anniversary gift after yoga class on Tuesday Al & Emma & I talked schedule a bit and I kinda knew this but confirmed Al has inherited my reluctance to go away. We never wanna go on vacation and we always want to come back sooner. Somehow Mark’s talked me into more travel in addition to our big trip to England to walk in the Yorkshire Dales: we’re in Denver now, Door County in September, UK in October. Anyways our Door County trip nicely coincides with a trip they’re taking to California, and since Jasper & Emma are staying longer than Al I get a catch-up day when we get back, instead of a granny daycare make-up day.
And I think I have rescheduled and moved and dealt with all the conflicts created by the extra trips.
I’ve had two Wednesdays of Jasper care with 40+ pictures all together. I always felt like I missed the money shot. It’s hard for me to take pictures of him when we’re playing because it’s usually just me, no extra person to pose with him while I take the pictures. Here’s a selection.
On the Thursday night of the week Rach was here, we went to see the ghost particles, 2 from Spooner, 2 from the Rousers, plus Phil Davis and Pauli Ryan on percussion, who I kind of cut out of this pic. Sorry Pauli.
The ghost particles closing with Mr. Tambourine Man
I’ve made a number of summer-y dishes.
Corn risotto with arugula salad. I ran out of corn cob broth and used chicken, which I could taste when the risotto was leftover, but not when it was fresh
Peach cobbler with Andy & Deena’s peaches. They were bigger than usual this year. I used my biscuit cimmy bun recipe for the topping filled with peach & apricot jam instead of cinnamon sugar. Jasper liked the leftovers.
Our neighbor’s flowers seen when we were out for a walk
Insta star, the mom brekkie: the tomato that split coming home from Farmers Market, the carton of yogurt that leaked, the slice of bread I cut too thin & the edges burnt in the toaster.
And what else …
NPR did a soundbite roundup of the month’s news. July goes from the presidential debate to the Trump assassination attempt to Biden stepping out of the race to cautious optimism for Kamela to the Olympics, and much more whole-hearted optimism for Simone Biles. Personally I’m somewhat optimistic, but still on the lookout for Trump shenanigans. And I do think it’s still possible that the assassination attempt was planned.
OK, that’s all I can think of for now. Maybe I’ll get some good pics here in Denver. Next up – my birthday and my brother is visiting.