Ever wonder...

What the inside of an upright piano looks like?

We had a sticky key, and our friend Ben, who's becoming a piano tuner opened up our piano to fix it (he's available in the Portland area if you have a piano that needs some help! Let me know if you want his contact info). The girls thought it was really cool!

Happy 2010!

We've been enjoying settling into our new house...

We even had some snow, a few days after Christmas...

As long as we've been together, Bret and I haven't been big on presents for each other...but this year with the sale of our house in Wyoming we treated ourselves to a used pop-up camper (to replace the Airstream)...

We found it on Craigslist...bought it from a family who was upgrading to a small RV. Can't wait to explore more of Oregon in it! (Sabine and Vivian are happy exploring it in the yard!)



And a piano...

we bought it from The Piano School for the Blind -- the only school in the world that teaches blind and visually impaired people to tune and repair pianos. They take donations of pianos that their students fix up then they sell them -- partially to raise money for the school. The piano we got used to be a school piano. I've wanted a piano for a long time, and am looking forward to learning and playing with the whole family.

We went to the farm of some other homeschoolers to cut down our Christmas tree (reminding us of Wyoming)...




We had a small New Year's Eve party (at which I completely forgot to take pictures!), and enjoyed roasting marshmallows in the wood stove when the snow fell!

All in all a lovely end to 2009 and beginning of 2010!

Music nights

We spent many nights (and one brunch) in April and May with new-found musical friends...These photos were from a dinner party we had...

LOVE little Ben with his 1/2 size banjo (and tie dye shirt)


Not the best photo, but you can get an idea of the parties here...


And Sabine, helping Daddy on the bass...

They Won!

Congrats, Anne and Pete! Prairie Home's site says it will be listed on their website on Monday (4/13).

Our brush with fame

We've been keeping busy since March 24th with a welcome stream of visitors -- first Kat and Marley from Corvallis (we met them at the Life is Good conference last year) -- Kat and I went to the Portland premiere of the movie Handmade Nation -- and then the Klomparens family from Jackson. We've been having so much fun that I haven't made time to blog about it!

I'll post some photos from those visits soon, but first had to share that our good friends and musicians extraordinaire, Anne and Pete Sibley, will be playing on Garrison Keilor's A Prairie Home Companion's Great American Duet Sing-Off live, tomorrow night (Sat. April 11) at 6 pm eastern. You can vote for your favorite act (Anne and Pete, of course) online -- click here to vote.

I dug up some photos from our past musical adventures with Anne and Pete...


Pete's one of those guys who can play ANYTHING...and make it sound good. He also knows how to trap a monkey with a banjo.


There's Sabine enjoying music as a baby, and later on at about age 4, I think, joining Anne and me on guitar.

Hopefully you'll get a chance to listen to them!

It's back...

Actually, it's a new one. We gave the old "peace wheel" to our good friends (and fantastic musicians) Anne and Pete Sibley before leaving Wyoming, so Bret made a new one. It was easier this time 'round! And in Bikeville, USA (aka Portland) it's been well received.

Road trip

Ok...just asked Bret what the title for this post should be and we both simultaneously said..."Road Trip" so there it is...we're on our way to Cedar Beach Resort on Salt Spring Island, BC.

We left Jackson at 7:40 after attending book release party for good friend Shawn Klomparens most excellent novel Jessica Z (available here). Bret and I enjoyed the delicious food, chatting with friends, chasing children and talking in half-finished sentences. Not sure we remember how to finish a sentence, actually...now where was I...?

One big hit of the party was Vivian's new Dollar Store baby (almost as strange looking as her other baby...) in his shirt pocket (could that be considered attachment parenting?)...it is, of couse made in China, and flops over at the waist, so you can imagine how that looks...well...you'll have to imagine because the camera was buried in the car, under Bret's upright bass.

I know, not many people take their upright bass on vacation, but there we are. We do after all, have a mini van, so why not. BTW, said minivan (2000 Toyota Sienna) got 24 MPG on our way here...and the bass is only a small part of our cargo...

We're in Dillon, MT, heading to Mt. Vernon, WA tomorrow night...

Good road trip juju...findinging a playground in Roberts, Idaho. Sabine had been asking to get out of the car for a few miles, and we couldn't find a good spot...I was voting for the vacant weed-filled lot between the Mint Bar and the rail road tracks, but Bret kept on driving. We pulled over in a spot with grass and a fence, and then saw the old school playgroud with merry-go-round, steel 12" wide slide (not to be confused with those static-generating-shock-your-child-when-you-catch-them-plastic-things), and monkey bars with fireman poles 9' tall. Yes. Also lots of bushes for the female bathroom breaks...Very fun.

The talented Burnett Browne Family

Show their stuff at the LIFE is Good talent show!



Fenna shows off her harmonica playing...



Hamish break dances...



Murray on piano...love the dancing baby!

Next year, Margaretha, it's YOUR turn!

Soup...glorious soup

I'll try to post a photo of the scene outside my door this morning, but in case that doesn't happen soon you can check out the Jackson web cams here. BRRRR!

It made me glad that Escarole and orzo soup with turkey-parmesan meatballs soup was on my menu for tonight...

I was introduced to this soup by Anne Sibley's mom (Phyllis, I think...how embarrassing, I can't completely remember her name...). Anyhow, she's a FABULOUS cook, and she made it for the musicians when Anne and Pete had their concert at the Pink Garter a few years ago. I was lucky enough to get to sing with them then...how fun!

For the recipe, scroll down to the bottom of my blog and click on the link.