If 30 is the New 20...

...then why is water skiing so hard, all of the sudden?? When I was 20, I could ski all day. Now? Not so much.

My family had their first ever family reunion, recently. During said reunion, we had a day at the lake. One of my brothers took his, new/used, sparkle-tastic boat for it's debut!!!



And he had skis! Lawd, was I excited. I love to ski! At least I used to. I couldn't wait to ski all over the lake. However, I experienced a problem. I kept falling. What the...

It took my brother and two of my cousins, to "show me up" before I was successful on skis. Even then, after a minute, I thought, "I'm already tired. When did this get to be so hard?" This getting older thing is no bueno. After water skiing, I asked my brother (who is now a practicing lawyer), if he could file a Motion, with the Court, against Father Time to make him stop, already.


Exhibit A: Brother "shows me up"



Exhibits B & C: Cousins "show me up"




After the wake up call at the lake, we went to "Live at the Gardens" at the Botanic Gardens. Each year, there are several outdoor concerts at Botanic Gardens...Tickets are reasonable and you can take chairs, food and drinks (of the alcoholic variety)! It's a win/win. Anyway, the Steve Miller Band was playing the night we went.

My brother and cousin, "Lil' Denise." My sister's "Big Denise," 'cuz she's older.


My cousin Marty (Lil Denise's hubby) and me before the show. Two Martys (well, a Martie & a Marty), one huge chair.


Steve Miller Band! I could not stop watching the guy to the right. You can't see his face because my phone takes terrible pictures, but he looked like a black Burt Reynolds. Oh, and his moves...he had so many moves!!


During the show, Steve Miller had several talented kids join him on stage. There were a few singers and a guitarist from Stax Music Acadamy and another guitarist from "Kids Rock," which is a free music school (in California, at the moment - I think). Kids Rock is free to kids who want music lessons, if their parents volunteer 8 hrs of time! What a great deal!! I wanna say that Steve Miller had something to do with starting the program. Anyway, all the kids were super talented! What a great time!

What A Weekend That Was

'Tis the season to bring the busy, I suppose. But that's ok. All in all, this weekend was great fun. It began with the St. Jude Marathon. Nah, I didn't run...my knees are still really angry about the two half marathons that I ran last month. I did, however, meet one of my dearest friends at mile marker 22 to help her finish the marathon. Still smiles after 26.2! Amazing. I was ready to be finished after just 4 miles.



Later on, I met some friends at the new bar downtown, "Bar None." It's located where Circa used to be. Don't get me started about how upset I am that Circa moved to East Memphis. It was my absolute favorite. I. Am. Seriously. Hurt. Anyway, Bar None's set up is quite unique. There are couches, bistro tables, but mostly rectangular, copper topped, bar style tables. Since, this weekend was a "soft opening," they were not serving food from the menu, but had menu's available so that we could see the fare. Also, they had a room where they offered some of the food, buffet style. Free! :-) They had loaded potato skins, chips and cheese dip and all types of sliders. I tried the crab cake slider. Yum. The menu had a creative mixed-drink selection, as well as, a decent selection of what I would consider, upscale bar food.

Then it was off to see one of my favorite local acts, John Paul Keith and the 1, 4, 5's. If you haven't seen this band, you are truly missing out. It's rockabilly at its finest.





There was an odd mix at the show. This was happening:



Then, a guy asked me to dance, so I assaulted his feet for a while. Well, it's his own fault. I'm not well versed in country swing. Is that even a dance style? In my defense, I did warn him. Regardless, it was still fun to dance. Probably not so much from his perspective, though. C'est la vie. Nothing could keep me from having a good time. I even got to see my old pal, Anna and her fiance, Kevin.




Happy Busy Season to you all!

Brown Baggin' It

One of the perks of working downtown, is that sometimes there are free concerts and entertainment during lunch hours and/or after hours. In the summer, Court Square has concerts and the Center City Commission, Urban Art and Live from Memphis (I think) sponsor Alley Jams.

Today was the last of Center for Southern Folklore's Free Lunch Performances. Josh Shoe was the musician who played. He has a bluesy, country style. He was very gracious, as well. He acknowledged everyone who walked in and thanked them for coming to see him play. Quite nice, in my book!



Since, I was on my lunch break, I couldn't stay too long, but stayed long enough to listen to about 5 or 6 songs. He started off with a few old country covers. Garth Brooks and Randy Travis. It was ok, but not quite my thing. His voice was a bit whiney, which I don't care for. Then he played some of his own tunes. His voice changed; it was no longer "whiney"...it was the strangest thing. He was definitely more invested in his own music and gave himself the liberty to "let go." I even turned to my friend and said, "he should stay away from covers and only play his own music!"

It was definitely worth watching. And, it was a good way to support the local flavor, which I LOVE to do at every opportunity. If you get a chance, check him out & lemme know what you think!

Just 'Cuz I Like it...and You Should Too!

Listen to David Byrne's collaboratin with Brian Eno. My absolute favorite tracks are: Strange Overtones, One Find Day, and Life is Long. I can't get enough...I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!