Lake Junaluska NC

Bring on the fireworks!

One of those months

It's been one of those months. There's been a lot going on but nothing to really blog about. I feel like I should be posting more often, but there just hasn't been a lot to say. I went through that introspective phase a few weeks ago and that just sort of shot my wad as far as having anything relevant to say. I hope you haven't felt too neglected.

Darlene's mom is doing well. Her radiation is progressing well and we're happy to report that spirits are high all around. This upcoming week is Spring Break so Darlene and the kids are going to go to Maggie Valley to visit her parents. I'll be doing the bachelor thing. Hopefully I can take the time to get caught up on 24 and Dollhouse and get some writing done. Keep an eye on the writing blog to see if I manage to pull it off. Actually, I'm going to post over there when I get done here about some books I've been reading over the last few weeks. Check it out if you want some good sci-fi/fantasy recommendations!

Today (well, technically yesterday, since it's after midnight now) was my nephew Jackson Tyler Brady's 2nd birthday! He's getting bigger all the time and I just want to take the opportunity to wish him a Happy Birthday from Uncle Bubba, Aunt Dar, and all the kids. We love you!

The birthday boy (pic courtesy of The Brady Blog)

My parents have an exciting summer coming up. You may or may not know that they are full-time RVers and have been living the gypsy life for several years now, since they retired. Last summer my dad took a seasonal job with the United States Park Service as a Ranger at Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee. He had thought he was going back there this summer, but as it turns out he is going to a different park instead. He'll be heading west to Glacier National Park in Montana. We're hoping to be able to take a road trip out there this summer to see them. That would be exciting. It's more than 2,000 miles from here, across most of the country. It would be a great chance for us to see a lot of places and things we've never seen before. Yet another reason for you to keep your eye on the blog this summer--to see if we get out west.

Huh. I said I didn't have anything to say and it turned out to be pretty newsy after all. How about that.

Go Braves!

Happy Birthday, Steven!

Today is Steven's 14th birthday. We're excited that he's made it through another year and we can't wait to see what the next 12 months bring. He'll be starting high school in the fall. He's not a little kid any more. He's getting big and his mom and I are so proud to see him growing into a great young man. He's still got that big smile and that crazy sense of humor. Here's hoping 2009 will give him the opportunity for more growth and maturity and show him just how wonderful life can be. We love you, Steven! Happy Birthday!

Another in a series

$19 for 12 gallons. Oh yeah!

Again, wow

Good news!

Fantasy football was good this week. Sandy Springs FFC kicked the jamba juice out of Bake-O's. winning 44-12. As of this writing it SFC is still in line to have the highest score in the league this week, for the first time all year. RB's Mojo and Steve Slaton both scored 12 points, and K Neil Rackers picked up 17 big points to lead the charge. Yes! I picked the right kicker!


I won't know the full implications of the win until tomorrow. Monday Night Football is ongoing and there are games still up in the air. We're 5-6 and in the middle of the playoff hunt, though, and have the last two weeks. Mojo has come alive, with 5 TD's the last two weeks. Hopefully he'll stay alive for a while longer.

Wow

I didn't think I'd ever see this again.

In which I try to catch up

I never wrote about fantasy football earlier in the week. Sandy Springs FFC got beat again, losing to Outlaws 33-25. That drops the record to 2-4. To make matters worse, Jon Kitna went on IR this week, making my two top QB's from last year hurt. I now have a QB corps of Kerry Collins and Jeff Garcia. We'll see. I also picked up Shaun Alexander in a move to possibly strengthen my RB crew. No idea how much work he'll get in Washington, but with Mojo on bye this week he'll probably get a start for SFC.

The other fun from today was that Da Bunch had gender-specific outings. The ladies (Darlene, Sabrina, the twins and Sage) went to the church for a mother-daughters banquet. I suspect Darlene will write about it in her own blog, so I'll only say that everyone won door prizes of some sort and they seemed to have a great time all the way around.



In the meantime, Steven and I went to the opening night Gwinnett Gladiators game at the Gwinnett Arena. They beat the Mississippi Sea Wolves 6-2. It was an extremely chippy game, with penalties all over the place. Gwinnett scored four power play goals. Steven was happy to get to see a fight. It wasn't a very long fight, a couple of good shots and it was over. The Gwinnett fighter won. It was nothing like the fight Wanda and I saw that time at the Knights game when that guy leveled Wayne Gretzky's brother (on his birthday, no less) and the teams fought for 20 minutes. That one was straight out of Slap Shot. I don't know if I'll ever see anything to top that. Still, we had a great night. I wore my Knights jersey. Exchanged greetings with a couple of other Knights jerseys and had a short conversation with a guy who said he was a referee in the IHL. That was pretty cool. It was fun. Hockey is cool.

In which we saw a great concert

Sage is visiting this weekend and it was a beautiful day today so we decided to go to Riverside Park and play. We got there about 5:30 and saw that they were setting up for a concert. We did some checking and found out that today was the last concert in their free summer concert series. On the spur of the moment we decided to stay and check it out. I went home and got chairs and snacks and we wound up thoroughly enjoying ourselves.

The artist was Michelle Malone. She's been a fixture on the Atlanta music scene since the late 1980's, collaborating over the years with artists like Indigo Girls, Shawn Mullins, and Kristen Hall (who was one of the founders of Sugarland). She has a definite blues vibe, from the Janis Joplin/Melissa Etheridge school with some Bonnie Raitt and Sheryl Crow thrown in now and then. I wasn't familiar with her music, but I've heard of her many times over the years so I was excited to get to see her.

The girls went up by the stage and spent most of the night dancing. Darlene, Sabrina, Gracie and I hung out at the chairs. I spent my time butt-dancing and Gracie went to sleep in Darlene's lap. During the intermission I purchased Malone's newest CD, Sugarfoot. She was at the merchandise table so I was able to get it autographed. The second half of the show featured the original members of her early 1990's band Drag The River and they played several songs from their 1990 album. It was a fantastic show.



I would definitely recommend Malone's music to anyone who likes blues guitar and an honest delivery. I came home and immediately signed up for her e-mail list. I'd pay to see her again. Her website is here and features sound clips. Good stuff. I'm glad we went to the park this afternoon.

In which I got to see the Seventy Sevens

I went to a concert Friday night. I got to see my favorite band of all time, the Seventy Sevens. I must have known the concert was coming up, but I suppose it never really registered with me, since I got an e-mail Friday from their mailing list with a show reminder and it was a total surprise. I decided I really wanted to go. Darlene couldn't go because there wasn't time to round up a babysitter, so she kindly allowed me to go by myself while she stayed home with the girls. Thank you, my love. You are a truly beautiful woman.

The Seventy Sevens are, I believe, the finest band out there that no one has heard of. They have been around in one incarnation or another since the late 1970's. Their first album came out in 1982, and the current lineup has been in place since Tom Tom Blues in 1995. I was introduced to their music in 1993-94, just before Drowning With Land In Sight came out.

Michael Roe is the primary singer/songwriter/guitar wizard. He also plays lead guitar in the folk/gospel group the Lost Dogs. The man has serious chops and he showed them off to great effect Friday night. David Leonhardt used to be in the band and still handles rhythm guitar duties on the road from time to time (he did so Friday), and the rhythm section is comprised of the incomparable Mark Harmon (bass) and Bruce Spencer (drums). They put on an incredible show.

They played in Marietta, at the Three Bears Cafe. It was a nice little venue. There was a bar and tables on the floor, and a couple of rows of tables and some random chairs in the balcony. I would guess there were around two hundred people in attendance. I sat in the balcony, in a chair in the very back, so I had a good view over everyone else's head.

June 20 was the release date for the Sevens' new CD, Holy Ghost Building, and they debuted seven songs off the new CD during the set. I bought the CD at the show but haven't had a chance to listen to it yet. If the concert was any indication, though, I'll love it, and so will my wife. It appears to be a collection of older, traditional gospel tunes. The show was very bluesy, featuring several long, jammy numbers. They dipped into their new wave origins in the encores before closing with a tune off the new CD. The set list was as follows:

1. "Self Made Trap" (from The Seventy Sevens, 1992)
2. "Dave's Blues" (from Drowning With Land In Sight, 1994)
3. "I'll Remember You, Love, In My Prayers" (from the new CD)
4. "Keep Your Lamps Trimmed And Burning" (from the new CD)
5. "I'm Working On A Building" (from the new CD)
6. "Stranger Won't You Change Your Sinful Ways" (from the new CD)
7. "You're Gonna Be Sorry" (from the new CD)
8. "I'm Gonna Run To The City Of Refuge" (from the new CD)
9. "The Lust, The Flesh, The Eyes & The Pride Of Life" (from The 77's, 1986)

Encores
1. "Someone New" (from Ping Pong Over The Abyss, 1982)
2. "Ba Ba Ba Ba" (from All Fall Down, 1984)
3. "He's A Mighty Good Leader" (from the new CD)



The show opened with an introduction in Mike's trademark dry humor: "Please welcome the best band on this stage at this moment, the Seventy Sevens!" Mike also brought out the humor when, while pausing to tune his guitar at one point, he told the audience, "If you come to Hendersonville, TN tomorrow night you'll see this exact same concert, only better rehearsed."

The opener was a long, winding, ten minute jam that really set the tone for the night. A couple of the songs included quotes from other songs inserted into instrumental breaks, Zeppelin-style. "Keep Your Lamps Trimmed And Burning" segued into "Riders On The Storm" by the Doors, and "I'm Working On A Building" quoted the Sevens' own "Perfect Blues". Before playing the final song, a reverent reading of "He's A Mighty Good Leader", Mike told us that they were going to close it with one that would remind us what it's all about. No humor in that, just belief expressed through music. It was a moving way to end the show.

I saw the Seventy Sevens in 1997, the Lost Dogs in 2002, and now the Sevens again in 2008. All three shows will stay with me for different reasons. I'm glad to say I've gotten to see these amazing artists at different stages in their careers. The show in '97 was completely different from the show Friday night in the way it sounded and felt. It's almost like I've seen two different bands, which to me, is really cool. It's a testament, I think, to their talent, that they've covered so much stylistic ground in their history--from new wave to R.E.M.-style jangle pop to anthemic rock to blues to gospel, they've done so many things so many different ways.

Even beyond the Seventy Sevens, Mike Roe's personal body of work is immense and so eclectic that it's hard to believe the same guy has appeared on all of it. He has put out acoustic solo albums that are achingly beautiful and fragile, and his work with the Lost Dogs is completely different again, veering more towards country and rootsy folk and down-home gospel. He and Mark Harmon have even collaborated on some jazzy instrumental stuff that is unlike anything else the Sevens have done.

I'd like to thank my wife again for giving me the chance to go to the concert, and I'd like to thank Mike, Bruce, Mark, and Dave for putting on a fantastic show and for so many years of great music.

In which we play well but lose anyway

We're 1-7 now. We played LifePoint Church. They beat us again, then they prayed with us again. It was only 13-3 this time, so we were a little better than before. It's too bad, really--we hung close then gave up like 6 runs in the next to last inning. Same thing has happened three or four times this year. We close the season next week with a doubleheader vs. Wild Wings (who beat us 11-7 earlier this year) and Bo's All-Stars, who we haven't played yet, and who have yet to win a game. Maybe we can win that one! We'll see.

Mom and Dad came to the game. Mom brought her camera and took a bunch of pictures and shot some little videos. I've got some of them here. Enjoy!

Your faithful blogger



Here's the pitch!



Eat your heart out, Bob Uecker



Keeping an eye on the ball



Didn't miss this one!

In which we came really close to winning...

...but fell just short.

The Tornadoes beat us 12-4. We were ahead 4-2 going to the last inning, and out of nowhere they started beating the cover off the ball and before we knew what had happened they put 10 runs across the plate. Kristin pitched a great game, and the defense played well. They just got off the schneid and started hitting the ball right there at the end, darn it! We fall to 1-4. I played the whole game at catcher and avoided crashing into the pitcher this time, which is always a plus. I got on base all three times I came to the plate, but two of them were fielder's choices so officially I was 1-1.

We had a pretty good crowd cheering us on. There were a couple of sets of player parents and dogs in the crowd as well as other friends and family. Darlene and the kids came again, and Darlene's mom was there as well. She had her camera with her and took a couple of pics of the man himself in action behind the plate.





Foul Balls are the opponents next week. Hopefully we'll get a win!

In which I test picture posting with my new phone

Jonathan Creek in Maggie Valley

In which I tell you about the fire

We had a fire in Winding River Village today.  We're all fine; it wasn't in our building.  It was the building next to ours.  I was at work and received a frantic call from my wife to come home.  I rushed home and we spent the next three hours watching the efforts of the Sandy Springs FD.  They did a great job and contained a fairly nasty fire to just one building.  It was a very emotional experience for all of us.  It wasn't our building, but it was still part of our home.  We all tried to pitch in; Steven actually went into the building before the fire spread and helped some others bang on doors and roust all the residents out.  Darlene and the girls helped guide people out of the immediate area and I gave inspiration and hope just though my comforting presence.  No, not really.  I went back and forth between the parking lot and the rally point the condo board set up in the clubhouse and tried to keep everyone in our area of the parking lot informed about what was going on.  No people were hurt as far as I know.  A couple of cats are still missing, but everyone else is present and accounted for.  Steven got to talk to a couple of news crews, so he was feeling like the shizzle before he passed out asleep on the bed.  We haven't seen him on TV yet, but if we do maybe I can get a video posted.  I want my blog to be all multimedia and stuff like Rake's.

Anyway, we tried to end the evening in a normal way with a little trick or treating and a trip to McDonald's (the McRib is back! Whoo!).  Right now we're all exhausted--the kids are long since in bed, the wife is probably asleep on the couch, and I'm soon to bed after I get done with this post.  For those with concern, we're fine.  Shaken, stirred, and emotionally worn, but fine.  We're all safe and we still have a home.  That's what matters.

Here are some pics (taken with my camera phone) of the fire, the SSFD in action, and Steven the media hound.

edited a few minutes later: We just saw a report on Channel 2. No sign of Steven's interview, but there was a quick shot of the twins in one of the crowd pans. Pretty cool, if it wasn't such a tragic situation. 12 families out of their homes. Trick or treat, indeed. Not the kind of trick I like.

Okee-dokee Buck Rogers!

In which we went to Maggie Valley

...and it snowed...

In which I got soul (food, that is)

We had "Soul Food Day" at work today. Each month, someone in my department chooses a theme and we all bring in a dish that matches the theme and we all eat and enjoy. Last month was the first month we tried it, and we did hot dogs. This month, the theme was more challenging: soul food. The menu was wonderful--smoked turkey, collard greens with pear relish, macaroni and cheese, yams, potato salad, cornbread, and banana pudding for dessert. My contribution was...meatloaf.

That's right. Meatloaf.

I made meatloaf.

All by myself.

Shut up, Ben.

I have never done anything this ambitious in the kitchen before (Marcel I am not (although I would love to have hair like that)). Yes, it's only meatloaf, but when your previous masterpieces are taquitas and Hamburger Helper, you take your ambition where it leads you.

Soul food was the theme, and my first thought was collards. Unfortunately, someone had already ganked collards, so I was in a quandary. I thought of meatloaf, my mouth began to water, and in a strangely lucid (yet not, considering my culinary history) moment I volunteered to make one.

I went home and e-mailed my mom for the recipe for her famous meatloaf, a staple in my childhood home, and did it up myself. Darlene was going to help, but she fell asleep on the couch watching Deal Or No Deal. I hung around until Tater Cake won his money, then I headed for the kitchen. I soaked bread in milk, cut up an onion (for the first time in my life, no lie), cracked eggs, measured other stuff, smushed it all up with my hands (a treasured childhood memory: watching my mom make meatloaf and smush it all together. I'd always thought it was so disgusting when she did that. Subconsciously that's probably why I wanted to make a meatloaf in the first place, so I could do that) and put the bowl of meatloaf-to-be in the fridge. This morning I woke up, turned the glob of meat paste into a loaf and baked it up. The morning house was filled with the delicate aroma of onions and lean ground beef. Mmmmm!

After it was done I covered the dish in aluminum foil and packed it up in the casserole sling thingy Walter gave us for our wedding last year (thanks, buddy) to keep it warm and headed out the door. Of course, on the way out the door I dropped the *&%#*$% thing!!! The whole thing turned over as it fell and landed right on its head. I started leaping up and down like a lunatic and cursing, scaring Steven to death, as tomato sauce leaked forlornly out onto the carpet. The loaf itself, though, was fine, having been trapped in the pan by the foil and the sling. All was well and my leaping about was for naught. Steven said, "I've never seen you like that." I was happy that he felt he could say that and mean it.

I added a layer to my burden, wrapping the dish in a towel before putting it back in the sling to keep the heat in (since lunch wasn't until 11:30), and headed to work. My boss told me my wife must have packed it for me, since apparently wrapping a towel to keep the heat in is a woman thang. I told her nope, it was me all the way. She was impressed. I figure I'm just in touch with my feminine side. I didn't tell Teresa that, though.

Lunchtime came, and the meatloaf, as well as the rest of the soul food menu, was a huge success. Everyone told me how much they enjoyed it (and some of them even managed to not sound surprised that I had successfully cooked meatloaf) and a couple of people even asked for my mom's recipe. That made me feel good. I had done it! Later, my mom told me I have to make meatloaf for them when they get back from Arizona. I can do that. I'm a meatloaf maker now.

Eat your heart out, Paula Deen

In which I test mobile blogging

I took this picture with my phone. Now it's on the Internet.

In which I resolve and stuff

Happy New Year!

I realize that the last day of January is a little late to be saying that, but as usual I'm way behind in my writing, so here I am now.

Before I get to the meat of the entry, I want to report that the Brady Bunch attended their first hockey game the other night. We went and watched the Atlanta Thrashers lose to the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1 at Phillips Arena. I was the only one who had been to a hockey game before. We all had a blast and fully intend to go back, either to the Thrashers or the Gwinnett Gladiators (an ECHL team that plays in Buford).

On the way to the Thrashers game


With the New Year comes resolution time. I'm already a little behind on one of them, as you'll soon see, but I wanted to put on the record what I intend to do with my life in 2007. Of course, this doesn't include the "common sense" stuff like being a better husband and father, working hard at the office, and perfecting my Irish accent--everyone has those aspirations, and renews them year after year. My resolutions are the things I intend to do differently this year--the things I want to change about myself.

• Write more often
  
  Every entry I've entered in this journal over the last few months has stated my intention to write more regularly. I've never followed through. I really want to make an effort, though, to write at lest once a week. It's hard for me to keep to a schedule--heck, I'm still two hours behind on 24--but I'm going to really buckle down and try to build the discipline it takes to write on a schedule. It's an outlet that I've always loved, and over the last few years I haven't indulged in it nearly as much as I would like. In 2007, that's going to change.
  
  
• Lose 15 pounds
  
  Even thinking of writing those words leaves one side of my brain saying to the other, "Yeah, ok. Let me know how that works out for you." The other side then responds, "I know you are, but what am I?" and pandemonium ensues. Next thing you know I've polished off a package of Sugar Wafers and gained another pound. I spent quite a while between 212-215 pounds and lately have gotten down to the 207-208 range. Darlene is on Weight Watchers so I'm going along for the ride and am trying to eat better; partly to support her, but also to achieve my own goals. I'd like to get down to 190-192 pounds. My cholesterol was a little high last year and my potbelly, no matter how sexy my wife thinks it is, is starting to bug a little. Both are areas that need improving. We'll see what happens. I'll post updates in my written-more-regularly entries.
  
  
• Socialize more
  
  Since I have been married, my family and friends haven't seen me nearly as much as they did before. They haven't seen much of my wife and kids, either. I want us to plan on getting together with my friends at least once a month, and my family as often as we can. We got off to a good start on this one a couple of weeks ago as Ben and Wanda, Walter and Merry, and Bill and Liz (and Mia) came over for a celebration of Steven's and Sage's birthdays. It was great seeing everyone again, and Walter took pictures out the wazola. I still need to get those from him. Walter: send me a clicky, you goobahed! To my friends--see you in February!

That's really all the big ones. Write more, eat better, and spend time with the people I love. That's the ingredients for a pretty good year, I think. Hopefully they will result in habits that will continue into 2008 and beyond and won't need to be resolutions any more. Common sense rocks.

See you next week!

(Don't you love my optimism?)

It's been too long since we took the time...

It almost does feel just like starting over. I don't write here nearly as often as I'd like. I haven't reached that phase of marriage yet where I'm really comfortable doing my own thing, away from my wife. I feel like I want to be with her every second, and it's hard to take time away from that to write.

She's dozing on the couch, though, so I thought I'd take a few minutes to write and get everything caught up. I'm going to have to pause in a few minutes to go make sure the kids are in bed, but other than that I should have some time to put some words into the ether.

It's been a busy month. Work has been busy, for me and Darlene both, and sick kids to boot, on top of it all. Jessica got strep again a couple of weeks ago, but the upshot was that the doctor finally agreed it was time to take her tonsils out. Last Tuesday she went in for a tonsillectomy and came out like a champ. Her Grandma and Pop came down from Maggie Valley to support her and babysit during the week. She was out of school all last week, and won't go back until after the break. She's feeling a lot better lately, I think. She's certainly starting to act silly again.

Jewel is making good headway in learning her multiplication tables. She passed her 6's the other day and as far as I know is still working on 7's. We're certainly proud of her for what she's doing.

Steven is a beginning drummer and had his first concert the other night at school. He played bells and snare. It pleases this old trombone player to see a musician in the family. Of course, Jewel and Jessie have decided to join the band too, when they are old enough.

We have a new addition to our household this month. Gracie the Jack Russell-dachshund pup has come into our lives and filled our home with joy, wonder, chewed-up bits of paper, and little piles of poop. The girls call her the "four-legged ankle biter." She's a trip, and we're digging having a dog.



Darlene and I recently passed eight months of marriage. That amazes me. Two years ago I was on the verge of thinking I would never get married and now here I am, eight months into the rest of my life. It's been the best eight months of my life. Our first Christmas as a family is approaching, and I can't wait to see what 2007 brings.

Before I go, a quick shout-out to Ben and Wanda with luck and paternal thoughts as the Great Wall process continues.

I'm reading Dune again. Good stuff.

That is all. Thanks for stopping by. I'm not going to promise to write more often because I keep doing that, then I keep not doing that, if you get my meaning. So I will just say I'll write when I can. Take care, Happy Holidays to all, and love from the Brady Bunch.