So, last Thursday, a group of us organized a fundraiser for Sen. Joyce Elliott in her bid to fill Rep. Vic Snyder's seat. I am so pleased to report that there were no earth crises, no meltdowns, no flare ups & money was raised! A job well done & the campaign asked what was our next move was (early voting initiative, of course!), so I will accept that on behalf of all of those who worked pretty damn hard on this event as a compliment. Seriously, ladies & gents, a TERRIFIC JOB!
Rep. Kathy Webb kicked things off & warmed up the crowd for Sen. Elliott:
Sen. Elliott!
Frankly, I didn't expect the senator to make an appearance, so when the campaign told us that she'd be there, I knew that half of my work was done. I knew that once people heard what she had to say, they'd be on board; she can best speak for herself. Honestly, I thought that she'd leave after her speech, but she stayed & talked to everyone at White Water Tavern. Impressive, since she campaigned all that day with President Clinton & attended numerous events. By the time she got to us, it was late & I'm certain she was exhausted. Not only did she stay, she participated in our spelling bee!
Ever the school teacher, she intervened on this poor speller's (pun intended) behalf, like a good Representative! Her word was 'libelous'. An aside: she is a scotch drinker.
KMHD takin' a crack at it:
I kinda love this "How dare you, betch?" thing this fella has against David, our spelling bee emcee:
Our winner, Derek! Winning word was 'exchequer':
In addition to the spelling bee, we also had some Arkansas-flavored trivia, with everyone's favorite host ATM. What a crowd pleaser! Really! Available for wedding receptions & convention entertainment!
Matthew, Rett:
Many thanks to Matt/WWT & the Elliott campaign for their endless patience & guidance. Throwing a fundraiser is HARD!
Big ups to BellWood for showing a little early to help us get ready.
The best thing about this gig was the people I met & got to work with. Heartfelt gratitude to ATM, KMHD, Carrie, Maggie, Westley & David. Old friends and new, we worked so well together. Rarely does a group stay so focused, I've never worked with such an easygoing lot ever. True love.
For all who attended, who gave, who early voted? Put your hands together for...YOU.
I am impatiently waiting for these bad boys:
Hey, hey! I finally read True Grit! The only other Charles Portis novel that I don't know is Norwood and I've only heard good things about it. Frankly, I've yet to read a bad Portis book. I oughtta go down to the Faded Rose on Rebsamen Park Rd. and stalk him thank him properly. What a great Arkansan!
I immediately started reading The Monkey Wrench Gang by Edward Abbey. Has anyone read his stuff? Although it is very well written, it is...tedious. The first time I've heard his name was when I was young & working on my Aunt & Uncle's arborist/ranch in Colorado. It came as recommended reading from my Aunt Pati. Whenever KMHD & I reflect on the things we were told by the females in our family, we are amused at how they had/have a finger on the pulse. I wish I recognized it then. Anyway, I'm finally taking up her suggestion. I really need to write her a letter. I miss that part of the country in a big way.
What am I going to do with these peppers?
Let me rephrase the question: When will I have time to do something with these peppers? The smoked ones are filling our kitchen with the aroma of campfire. It is so soothing, so comforting. I may drop a couple in my next soup. I think I'll make a little jelly out of the habaneros. Pour that on a cream cheese block & serve on crackers, invite some friends, go to town.
It's the last couple of days before Speak & Spell, the Joyce Elliot fundraiser organized by KMHD, ATM, Westley, David, Maggie, Carrie & myself. I just have to say that we did our very best and our very best is turning out to be AWESOME. Everything is coming together! We've got free-flowing beer, snacks, great prizes, and lovely auction items that even WE want to bid on. Sen. Elliott will actually be in attendance & I truly believe if you meet her, you'll fall in love with her, much like I did. I feel a huge lump of gratitude in my throat & heart to my fellow organizers. It's a dream come true for me to work with my peers on a project as big and important as this. Maybe I should TELL THEM.
I'm stoked, too, because my mum will be there!
So, this wedding we are attending in Texas is in a cave. The website answers the question of "What should I wear?" thusly:
Whatever you want. Austin is very casual, so you won’t need to dress up for anything. Just remember that there will be a short walk down into the cave and it will be 68˚ inside. Consider the uneven terrain when selecting your shoes and maybe grab a jacket.
Well, I want to wear spelunking gear. Boots & a headlamp. Am I poorly misinterpreting the answer? You tell me. And tell me soon, because I gotta get ready. I'm hoping that this is o.k. because I do not want to shop for a dress. No. No.-----On Sunday, some of us are going down to Hot Springs for the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival to support our very own Matt Rowe. His film (<--p. 7, Dogpatch) will be showing at 4:15 p.m. and we wanted him to have a healthy-sized, cool-lookin' (heh) posse. Please come! Contact me if you wanna caravan or meet up!
It's hardly work when I'm paired up with KMHD. On Sunday, we made 20 tissue paper flowers for the Joyce Elliott fundraiser. No doom and gloom...blooms!
KMHD & the "cool breeze" (Photo by ATM)
Hope y'all can make it! Even if politics isn't your bag, it'll be good times.
Nicole + Jim got married!
And we danced! Like a wave on the ocean, romanced!
Hear-hear!
Rx:
T. Leo & C. Wilson:
James! 1/5 of N.O.U.!
T. F. Leo:
Ted Leo/Rx soccer scarf! Want!
Good show! Very miscellaneous crowd. There were olds scattered throughout amongst the randomest lot of folks. Ears still ringing, tired eyes burning. I love this.
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Wait. UPDATE. After waking up some and letting last night sink in, I have to say that last night's show was just o.k. First of all, $15?!!! I missed The Reds and The Moving Front, but that is my own fault. I am not accustomed to shows starting ON TIME. The act before Ted Leo/Rx was some fella playing acoustic guitar, too long, too loud. It was AWFUL. I had to go outside to escape the pain in my bleeding ears. I wondered why people looked so shocked when I told them I thought it was t'rrble because it turned out to be Kevin Seconds of 7 Seconds fame. Well, I can't & shouldn't apologize. It isn't my bag, right? Ted Leo & Co. were great, but the sound at Vino's is so so so so so so horrible. Ted Leo didn't sound like Ted Leo. Frankly, I should've just hung out in the last stall of the ladies restroom; that's where it sounds the best in that venue. Lordy. And was it just me or did the band seem not too into it? Maybe because the sound was so bad? Also, I dislike it when people text or status update or whatever it is they are doing on their phone while watching a show. Stop it. I'm sorry you are sooooooo bored, but it's distracting to me! I promise, I'm not being a grump. I think that show would have been better @ WWT, even Mr. Seconds.
KMHD & I handed out handbills for the Joyce Elliiott fundraiser. I kept approaching people & offering them one and they answered, "Oh, K already gave me one." Then Will was like, "You need to give them to strangers." I just looked at him completely mortified. But, that's what I ended up doing. I also ended up sneaking them into people's pockets and bags during the show. Heh. The thought of them being all, "The HELL?" when they discover it tickles me. We really need people to come to this thing. You can't make people care, but I feel this group I'm working with, we are trying to make Arkansas even awesomer.
Edit: I renamed this post, it came to me in a half-awake state.
I. Halloween! Alice Cooper here!
Wait, not that one! This one:
II. Camping - this past weekend was only our second time this year! Craziness. III. Baby Jett is expected sometime this month!IV. Beginning of soup season! I've made at least three so far. (Two versions of tortilla & mushroom)
V. Mums, gourds & pumpkins. Got mine!
VI. Finishing all of the books I had going at one time. So, I really enjoyed Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon. I clapped at the end, even though it was a very neat finish.
VII. Birthday countdown! I will be 32 this year! Normally, we throw a proper party, but the planning process started so late, I think we are just going to have a very grown up cocktails, snack & desserts thing at Capital Bar and Grill. I am not complaining. VIII. Seeing Stacy Mackey for the first time in a long while. I got to meet her bluesman. IX: I'm just going to merge all exciting October events into one: N&J's wedding party, Ted Leo, Joyce Elliott fundraiser, beginning of the Walking Dead series, Halloween, Dias de los Muertos, Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival (one of our own -- Matt Rowe -- will be featured). I feel like I'm forgetting something. I always forget how busy things are towards the end of the year. Oh, right! I know a little sweetie pie in Starkville who is turning TWO. Awwww.
X. I am still growing and changing. In a weird way, it's refreshing and exciting. WHO AM I?!!!
Before we took off for our camping trip, we received this in the mail:
Oh, what up?! How can we not go to this Halloween party?! According to host Jake, "I got a 1968 Wurlitzer jukebox (no change necessary!) back in April and have collected a bunch of old Halloween themed records from the 50s and 60s to stock it with." Oh, goody goody! The Monster Mash! Reminds me of dad's jukebox in Ft. Smith:
This past weekend, ATM & I went camping for the second time this year. What? It was such a busy spring & a long, hot, racist summer, we couldn't get around to it up until now. It's one of our favorite things to do, so I'm a little sad that it was so limited this year. Anyhow.
Our tent is so special & magical. I love it in there! We've got an air mattress and a lantern/fan, so it's extremely comfortable. It really encourages sloven behavior. It's ideal for napping, reading & watching movies. (Don't judge!) I always emerge feeling so much better. All of that downtime & fresh air. I love the sunshine being filtered through the trees. 
Tent lounging was during the day. When dusk fell, the camping trip turned remarkably creepy. The wind was strong and constant. My brain was busy trying to discern all of what I perceived to be human footsteps in the leaves, all around us. We were sitting around the campfire, tending to our modest flames because we figured that we shouldn't have a big fire in that wind. The local Sheriff's Department agreed, because they asked us to extinguish it due to a county burn ban. (I felt so bad that I could've potentially started a wildfire!) So, we are sitting in the dark, listening to "footsteps" all around us and getting wind burned. I looked up at the trees, watching them practically bend over. I figured I'd be much more comfortable in the tent, so in I went. The tent lantern swung wildly about, making me completely uneasy. It was hardly better inside! I tried to keep my mind off of it by reading or playing with my Nintendo DS. It wasn't long until ATM joined me. Honesty, I think we may've been in the middle of a major thoroughfare for spirits, making their way through to their winter destination. We briefly debated whether we could endure the spookiness. ATM was concerned about falling trees; I was concerned about I don't even know what. Sometime during the night, the wind stopped. Some townies drove through yelling, "FUCK". I knew things were back to normal. I did find it odd that our distant neighbors packed up and disappeared before dawn. Hunters, maybe. Generally, I usually feel completely at ease whilst camping. There was only one other time that I felt scared. I managed to get a couple hours of broken sleep.
Extinguished!
TIRED. But, I enjoyed the morning part of our trip the best. Sunshine. Radio. Coffee. Considerably less wind.
And after camping, we picked up our mums & pumpkins from my green thumb in Caddo Valley. I love this little tradition.
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It's recipe time!
Introducing... Pregnant Lady Cocktails!
These refreshing beverages, which are in my regular rotation, were possibly invented by, but definitely introduced to me by my lovely pregnant lady friends:
1. Mix orange juice + ginger ale, in equal parts.
2. Mix 2/3 white cranberry strawberry juice cocktail (it exists) + 1/3 sparkling water.
Enjoy both beverages in cocktail glasses for added effect. GUILT FREE! Well, don't drink too many, way too much sugar.
Here's another recipe for BUTTERMILK PIE, which is very custard-like. Criminally easy to make, criminally delicious.
You will need 3 eggs, 1 c sugar, 2 T flour (plus some for dusting), 1/2 cup (one stick) melted butter, 1 c buttermilk, 1 t vanilla extract, 1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell, preheat oven to 325 degrees. Beat eggs slightly and add sugar and flour. Then add melted butter and mix well. Add buttermilk and vanilla and mix. Dust the unbaked pie shell with a little bit of flour. Pour batter into shell, and then sprinkle a little more flour on top. Bake @ 325 degrees until the custard is set, approx. 1 hour. (About 1.15 hours for me!)-----
I have SO MUCH TO DO. I need to just deal with it.
Apparently, I have signed up for the 1/2 marathon in March! Thankfully, we will be walking, not running. I NEED SPONSORS! Click here for more details. I think Leigh & I will start training soonish (?) if anyone wants to join. Yeah, join! It's like a win-win-win situation!
Lindsey from AR Times asked me to write food reviews for their online blog Eat Arkansas. I'm still debating whether I should do this or not. It seems like an obvious "Hell yeah!", but I am so so so so busy. We'll see.
O.K., seriously, I need to deal with this list of things to do.
