My allergies are acting up so I feel a bit runny eyed and stuffed up.
Our house strangely maintains its level of messiness. It doesn't get worse but it doesn't get better
I've been having strange dreams but the only thing worth recounting is that I dreamed my BIL Dennis adopted two Corgis and named them Barry White and Barry Manilow.
I've only got three seasons of My Kitchen Rules left. God knows what we'll do then.
Frozen pizza for dinner last night because I put Ernie and Owen in charge of dinner. Yet again, fresh basil and herb oil elevate the hell out of a frozen pizza.
I'm always amazed by ridiculously chickeny Triple S's chicken is. I know that sounds foolish, but honest to God..it's so CHICKEN. It truly makes you rethink cheap grocery store chicken just in terms of flavor if nothing else. We were too lazy to grill or do much of anything the other day so we just roasted the whole chicken wings at 400 degrees and they were so damn good.
And, last but certainly not least, here is Rascal's portrait for those that haven't seen it on Facebook. He has two gold hoops in his left ear just like his father, Owen, does. It's pretty wonderful, isn't it? An artist friend of Trinity's did it.
Given that the ash had had little to no foliage in the last two years I didn't think I would miss it that much. I guess I wasn't taking into account how absolutely massive that trunk was. It did a fair job acting as a fence of its own. Although I hated the weed trees growing too closely behind the fence, they were a nice visual shield. This will take some getting used to.
Side note...I am so grateful that tree had already been taken down before those winds from the derecho came through the other day. Second side note....derecho is a new word to me and that's always pleasing.
It took a crew of 3 men with a backhoe and truck two full days to haul away all of the tree from both our yard and our neighbor's. They also took down a smaller tree as well, but still, there's no way we could have handled this without them. Although there are a lot of smashed plants, they did a pretty good job of clearing things out without causing more damage and lord only knows the yard was a lost cause this year. We'll have some rethinking to do over the winter. I don't know whether to try to plant something in front of where the tree was, or just wait for that evergreen and hydrangea in front of the fence to get larger. Suggestions welcome.
I wish this picture captures how huge this tree trunk really was. Once again, the house shook when they managed to get it into their truck.
The yard needed a revamp anyway. What had been a lovely shade garden had slowly become a bit ratty as the shade plants died off but sunny plants were not impressed by their opportunity either. We shall see.
1. My favorite thing in our somewhat abandoned yard this year was this nicotiana. Alas, it could not withstand the downpour of branches from the ash tree.
2. Don't tell Hellman's but I may be a convert.
3. More Chesapeake Bay rockfish because we love it so much. With a side of quinoa, kale and cherry tomatoes. Simply baked the fish for ten minutes at 375....bit of olive oil, salt and pepper.
4. The hydrangea is taking over the yard. It may burst through to the media room at any moment.
5. I've always been told that Thara Thai is the best Thai in town but we had somehow always gotten it elsewhere. No more. I'd been CRAVING a green papaya salad and this was glorious (despite the lousy picture I must share) and massive and spicy and refreshing.
We got up yesterday intent on a wander. We thought about staying overnight somewhere but staying in a hotel makes me a little anxious. We packed a bag, complete with bleach wipes, just in case and off we went. We were headed for Indiana but didn't have specific plans. I asked Ernie if we'd ever been to State Line City in Indiana. He said no, so off we went. I can't say there's a whole lot in State Line City but damned if Lincoln didn't speak there in 1861. We passed a film crew, all masked up, filming a woman in her front yard. Everybody gave us the small town wave. We saw a nice old brick building and I was delighted when we turned the corner and saw that it was Odd Fellows hall. I have such a soft spot for them AND it looks like this one was proudly donated to the Fire Department in 1980.
An old truck was tucked up against it and an abandoned brick building with the roof fallen in stood next to it. Across the street was the plaque that proclaimed Lincoln's speech.
Highlights from State Line City's Wikipedia page:
In the mid-1850s, two large railway lines converged on the Indiana-Illinois state line – the narrow-gauge Toledo, Wabash and Western Railway (later the Wabash Railroad), whose route from the east crossed Warren County and reached the state line in October 1856, and the standard-gauge Great Western Railroad, which shortly thereafter reached the state line from the west. State Line City was platted on June 29, 1857, by Robert Casement at the convergence of these two railroads. The city flourished, and within 10 years had reached a population of approximately 550, but because of the drinking and carousing of the numerous railroaders it gained an unsavory reputation.
On February 11, 1861, Abraham Lincoln stopped in State Line on his way from Springfield, Illinois, to Washington, D.C., for his inauguration. He dined at the Frazier Eating House, then gave a short speech to a crowd in the public square before resuming his journey. A historical marker on the site commemorates the event, and records the words which Lincoln spoke:
"Gentlemen of Indiana: I am happy to meet you on this occasion, and enter again the state of my early life, and almost of my maturity. I am under many obligations to you for your kind reception and to Indiana for the aid she rendered our cause which, I think, a just one. Gentlemen, I shall address you at greater length at Indianapolis, but not much greater. Again, gentlemen, I thank you for your warm-hearted reception."
The Kent Township Fire Department sponsored for a number of years an annual town festival called the State Line Fun Days, but this is no longer held.
Not too much left of what Lincoln would have seen. We saw one nice early house and there is some kind of store or commercial building converted into a house but that's about it. But given that its population hovers around 150, State Line City had a lot of character. Nice job, State Line City.
We meandered on, coming across a few more things. I ended up not feeling well because I did a gluten cheat the other day and it was starting to hit me. It seems as though while I used to do an occasional cheat and be ok, those days are receding. We were just as happy to head home. I curled up on the couch with a hurt stomach and we watched My Kitchen Rules. Have I commented that my favorite judge reminds me a bit of my beloved Steve Lindstrom? If you transpose food for music....you'll see it. I mean, Manu DOES have a certain charm, but I'm all team Colin (and yes, of course he used to play in a band).
I went out for a work/brunch meeting today. Me. In public! I felt like I'd forgotten how to do it. Getting ready...where's my laptop bag? Better put a bra on. Good Lord, I should have looked at my toenails before leaving the house in Birkenstocks. I drove down Neil and was pleased to see a Biden sign in the window. Then I realized it's the Champaign County Democrats office. Ah. Got to the restaurant and sat and waited outside. I realized I was sitting near someone with no mask. Thought about moving but then figured I'd be downwind of him...maybe this was better? Tried hard not to look at my toenails. Eventually, I got to sit and talk and drink iced tea with my beloved Pam. It felt so good. We didn't even do as much work as planned because they had no wi-fi. Fine with us!
It did make me realize I DO need to try to get out a bit more. I felt so off-kilter and unsteady. I always remember the first time I went out after having given birth to Leo. I was so used to the weight of that big-headed baby that being without him I felt like I would tip over all night. I vividly remember that. In the dark cool of the old Highdive....feeling like I'd tip over. Today felt kind of like that.
Came home to my boys clearing the weed trees behind our fence. The neighbor said it was fine and they can get hauled away with the ash tree. It REALLY changes things. Yikes. I'll miss the shield of the trees but they were going to take over our fence. I hope our new neighbors (the old renters just moved out) are ok. We've had varied luck with renters of that house. I'll get used to the new view though. I'll have to really think about what we're going to do with the yard next year.
Sometimes I think I'm doing fine and sometimes I don't. When I stopped seeing a therapist a few years back because I had no insurance for a while, she asked me how I would know if I wasn't doing ok. I said if I wasn't posting on my blog that would be a sign. Because this is, as I've said before, my cheap therapy routine. Plodding along processing my life for all. Of course, I don't spit everythin out here...I do have a FEW filters, but generally speaking, much of my life is laid out in this blog.
I have been steadily posting so that's good. I realize there is something else though, something I could not have imagined. I haven't been listening to music.
Nothing.
Once in awhile, I play a David Olney video. Or something by Nick Rudd. That's it. Ernie sometimes plays music but it's as though I don't take it in. I've somehow blocked my music receptors. How can that be? I know that's not healthy for me. You'd think I'd be burying myself even more in music but I just can't do it. Maybe it opens me up too much. I'm reading a lot but mostly fluff that I don't care about...I try to read something with more weight and I can't do it. I'm watching more tv than I should but it's mostly My Kitchen Rules.
I know I will come out of this one way or another.
Onward.
side note: I had no idea One Direction had covered this.
As the tree in front of our house came down, bit by thundering bit, I kept thinking there must be some sort of splendid metaphor that I could find in it. I don't know. The way 2020 has been dismantling our life? Maybe. We're left with a view that is even more different than I could have imagined, so perhaps that is it.
When the huge piece of trunk hit the ground the whole house shuddered.
Some Mondays just are supposed to be Sunday 2.0. Today was one of those. I asked Ernie if it could be Sunday again but he said he couldn't help me with that. So I stayed in bed later than I should have and read the news and poked around online and then, to make myself feel better I played this very loudly.
Thank you, David. You are still helping me get by. He talked to me in a dream the other night but I can't remember what he said.
I have no other news of import. Bob still loves Ernie. Here is Ernie sitting on the side of the bed after waking me up. Oh, Bob. Then he just hurled himself at Ernie and kind of deflated.
We tried some Chesapeake Bay rockfish for dinner last night. I'd never had it before. We absolutely loved it. I think I overcooked it a bit but it was still good. And the lime/ginger/mayo marinade really didn't do a damn thing, but it was so good that didn't matter a bit. A nice, clean, somewhat meaty white fish. Ernie LOVED it.
My beloved Steve Scariano messaged me last night, asking for my email because he had a belated birthday present for me. The next thing I know I have a recording last night of Ernie playing guitar and singing with Nick on a cover of REM's Don't Go Back to Rockville. Here's his message:
I'm helping Gina put together what we all hope will eventually become a permanent Nick Rudd music archive. For the past month I've been going through and archiving boxes and boxes I have of Nick related cassettes. So much stuff! From the very earliest days of B-Lovers in 1981 to the final days of Blown in 1994. A great chronicle of Nick in his twenties and thirties. Lots of live and rehearsal and studio recordings, and lots of Nick's amazing home demo recordings. It's been quite overwhelming emotionally for me, re-discovering all of this stuff I've had sitting in boxes over all these years. And I'm convinced now more than ever that he really was a genius. Next up is going through the mountain of Jans Project cds I have. Lots of studio and live stuff, and I think we recorded every damn rehearsal we ever had.
Anyway, this is from a Turning Curious show at Mabel's on November 12, 1984. Last song of the night and Ernie guests on guitar and vocals with us on a cover of REM's (Don't Go Back To) Rockville. If I was ever told why Rockville, I don't remember, so maybe Ernie can refresh us on the story of how and why this came about? I know it was something he and Nick cooked up while they were behind the counter at Record Service. As you can hear, we really didn't bother to learn the song properly. I think we learned it in the soundcheck. Sure sounds like we don't know it. But hey, Ernie and Nick are great singing together! So sweet. This was the only time Turning Curious ever played Rockville. Enjoy!
Ernie and I excitedly muted our current episode of My Kitchen Rules and played it. Tears rolled down our faces. They weren't all sad tears, but tears just the same. Owen popped in from a trip to the grocery store and looked alarmed at the two of us sitting there crying. I waved to him that it was ok and handed him Steve's email to read. He got a huge grin on his face and kept saying, "Dad, no WAY, no WAY, that's YOU?"
Mabel's 1984. I was 22. I'd just graduated from the University with that oh so valuable degree in art history. I was taking a year off before grad school and was working full time at Record Service with Ernie and Nick. It was a pretty good year. We were on the permanent guest list at Mabel's and got free tix for most other shows if Record Service was selling them. We seemed to know enough waitstaff to merit free drinks or food at restaurants when we went out. We had no credit card debt and could pay all bills on record store wages. Ernie and Nick had started playing together with Mark Enloe, a friend of Nick's. They never got beyond rehearsing but Ernie loved it. They called themselves Buckethead (prior to the other Buckethead of course) and as Ernie recalls it they were going for a cross between Nick Young and Husker Du.
I know, I know. Neil Young and Husker Du.
By the following August we left town for Michigan so it came to an end, although knowing Nick he would have moved on anyway. Neither Ernie nor I can recall what led to Ernie doing this song with them. It's hazy in our memories...maybe the haze will clear, maybe it won't, but hearing this made our hearts full.
I was 22, Nick was maybe 24 or so...Ernie a bit older. As I struggled to express myself to Ernie last night I said there was so much hope ahead of us then. I stopped though because you can be hopeless when you're young, but I guess what I meant was there was so much FUTURE ahead of us. Good and bad, but it was all there waiting.
I wish I had a picture of this night but maybe it's just as well because the picture of I have in my head is so fucking beautiful that it hurts. Nick and Ernie singing, Jeff, Steve, and Berni. So beautiful.
Thanks for sharing, Steve. Such a gift. Such a wonderful gift.
Here's a picture of Ernie and Nick last fall at Huber's. It was a few weeks before Nick was going to open for the Peter Holsapple Combo show. Nick confessed to us that he had thought of canceling, and I said, "Oh, lord Nick....we knew that," and we all laughed.
Recent Comments