Beat the Clock with Dawg and Doc
There aren't many mornings like this when the kids are here and I'm still the only one up at 7:55 a.m.
I may have jinxed myself, but that's ok. I love having the kids around. But there's something special about mornings when Mama is up first. Being awake and functional before either of them is different from when they aren't here and I'm awake and functional. There's a little comfort, somehow, in knowing they are up in their beds, snoozing happily away.
The holidays are coming on fast. There's always so much to do so the holidays are like an added layer of strategic planning. I've been sitting here plotting which expenses I can handle when -- trying not to go out and blow it. In addition to the new furnace, we need a new printer, a new dishwasher (I'll post photos of the rusted out door for the nonbelievers) and a new range. While I'm glad that the previous owners have gotten the good use they had out of these appliances, the thought of taking on the holidays with a 30 year old range is like begging for trouble. At the rate my life is going, there doesn't seem to be any likelihood that I'll be moving out anytime in the next four years, so why not make the time I'm here more functional?
You know how you get, though, when you start thinking and planning ahead and getting a little carried away. Everything starts to look old -- my carpeting with its frat-house-like stains will be the next to go -- and you start to covet, covet, covet. I've gotten pretty good at living with what is but I'm kind of excited about a new furnace. I mean, it's like a really grownup thing to have to do. I'm so lucky to have a reason to need one, you know? And even luckier that I can find a way to replace it before I have to. Life is really, really good. My cup indeed runneth over.
But it's always better with music, isn't it?
This fun little medley includes a tune called East Tennessee Blues -- I don't think it's very bluesy but it's cute and fun to play. I've been learning it a little and played it for the rowdy kids last night who also thought it was pretty cute. I don't play it very fast -- I'm not one to believe everything in Bluegrass or in life needs to happen at top speeds -- but these two fellas do it just about right. How about one from the great Doc Watson and infamous Dave "Dawg" Grisman to go with that Beat the Clock game?
Best to all y'all this Sunday morning!
posted by Mando Mama @ 7:54 AM
3 comments
3 Comments:
It's too bad that you can't just get a new dishwasher, put a bow on it, and tell the kids "ta da! Happy Holidays!!"
I truly hate December. We only get inexpensive things for his family but there still seems to be so much work to do even for me, plus everything seems to break, and then it's time for a whopping tax bill. {sigh}
The only thing I like about it is that my day job gives us a week or so off.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4at-v1GGhI
Be sure to listen to "Not for Kids Only" - I used it for sleep music when my kids were wee little.
http://www.amazon.com/Not-Kids-Only-Jerry-Garcia/dp/B000003913
Amazon.com
An aptly named album if ever there was one, Not for Kids Only combines the talents of two legendary performers, the late Jerry Garcia, singer-guitarist of the Grateful Dead, and David Grisman, mandolinist and father of "dawg music," a melding of bluegrass, jazz, swing, Latin, and Jewish klezmer sounds. On this 1993 recording, the two devoted friends make seemingly effortless music, adapting traditional and old-time folk into a personalized sound so "homemade" (with jew's-harp and tambourine) as to inspire any child, young or old, to pick up whatever's at hand to play along. From the jaunty rhythms of "Jenny Jenkins" to the cornball humor of "Arkansas Traveler" and the laugh-out-loud lyrics of "A Horse Named Bill" ("I had a girl and her name was Daisy / And when she sang the cat went crazy"), this album, with Garcia's delightful hand-drawn cover art, tickles from top to bottom. --Alanna Nash
From Parents' Choice®
Gravelly voices, acoustic instrumentation (mandolin, banjo, jew's-harp, etc.) and an amused, ironic approach make twelve traditional cuts extraordinary. Dead-head Garcia and partner Grisman sing the ubiquitous Teddy Bears' Picnic backed by a muted jazz horn. Older children will be amused by the witty Arkansas Traveler, the lively Hot Corn, Cold Corn (not on the cob) and the lush Shenandoah Lullaby. Parents will find themselves humming along. After all ... this tape is "Not For Kids Only."
Blue you are so right. However this holiday season I am taking the kids to Target to each pick out a toy or game to give to the Salvation Army or Toys for Tots drive, and we will make a decision on an organization that will get a donation. We are so lucky to even think about getting a new dishwasher. Some families don't even have their own dishes to eat from.
Anon, I do love me some Jerry when he does his old time. After all he was a banjer player. He and Dawg have an old ballads cd that has a bunch of my favorites. Not for Kids Only sounds like one we need to add to our library!
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