10 Concerts and performances I have attended

Carole's prompt this week takes me back to younger days-I am a child of the 80s-Def Lepard, Duran Duran, Prince, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Cyndi Lauper anyone? I wanted to be amongst those who would camp outside Turtles Records and Tapes to make sure I got the best seat. Alas, I was not one of those cool kids of my youth, and it wouldn't stand in line for a concert ticket until I was almost 20.  I wasn't sure I'd even been to 10 concerts, but I made it with a couple extras.  The photo is of my concert t-shirt (yes I still have it after 24 years) from one of my all time favorite performers.  My list is chronological as best I can remember from the first to the most recent.

10.  George Thorogood and the Delaware Destroyers- Colosseum -Columbus, GA 1988(?)- you know the song Bad to the Bone.
  9.  Billy Joel-Omni-Atlanta GA 1990-I didn't know much about his music until I met my husband and his family-went to this with my now husband and sister and brother in law-this concert was amazing, and he's a performer I could listen to all day-every day.
  8.  Cher-Omni-Atlanta GA 1990 or 1991-I grew up watching her, and always thought she was pretty cool.  She's gotten sorta weird since I saw her,  so yea.
 7.  Damn Yankess and perhaps Bad Company (can't remember!)-Lakewood Amphitheater-Atlanta, GA-1991.  This was a good one, don't remember much.
 6.  B-52s-Chastain Park Amphitheater-Atlanta GA 1992-I knew the security guard, and he let me and my friend in without a ticket.
 5. Vince Gill-Omni-Atlanta GA 1995-this concert was good, but I'm not as big a fan as I used to be.
 4. The "Charles"-Ray Charles when he sang at the 96 Olympics in Atlanta, Charlie Daniels and Charlie Pride at the Grand Ole' Opry.  Oldies, but goodies.  We also so Joe Nichols who was just starting out in country music.  One of my favorites of the "new" country.
 3.  Cigar Store Indians-Eddie's Attic-Decatur, GA-local band we went to see with my sister in law and her family (late 90s?).  Love their Americana style of music.
 2. Ronnie Milsap-North GA Fair-Marietta, GA-boys were little so mid-90s?  It was good, I knew most of the songs he sang as my dad was a fan.
 1. Celtic Thunder-Fox Theater-Atlanta, GA-20oh my! Men in kilts- this was an amazing performance.

I don't think the concert experience is as great as it used to be-lip syncing, pyrotechnics, big screen monitors.  The performers seem less real, and the ticket prices!   I'm not sure who I'd go see today-Neil Diamond, Toby Keith, Billy Joel and Celtic Thunder again for sure, Matthew West, Audio Adrenaline, Mercy Me, Michael Buble.  For now, I'll enjoy them in the comfort of my home or car with my i-Phone!

10 things to try and do.

 clip art found at www.sweetclipart.com

This week's prompt got me to thinking.  I'm always making a list or notes about things to try/do: recipes, restaurants to try, cleaning tips, places to visit, etc.  Along those lines there is probably more I could add to the list, so here's just a few:

10. Drawing-would love to be able to do this.
  9. Return to Paris and see more of France.
  8. Travel to Italy and Greece.
  7. Cauliflower pizza crust-have heard really good things about this dough alternative.
  6. Small DIY projects that would include using power tools.  So many little things I see on Pinterest that I'd like to do, but alas I don't know how to use the tools required.
  5.  Caligraphy
  4.  Cake decorating
  3.  I love calamari, so maybe it's time to try octopus-gives me the heeby-jeebes thinking about it.
  2.  Raw sushi (see #3)
  1. Weaving

My list may be a bit boring, but I am definitely not someone who desires to EVER-jump out of a plane, go for a hot air balloon ride, bungy jump, hang-glide, repel from a mountain, climb Mt. Everest, go snow skiing, snow boarding, etc.

dutch treat.

fresh coffee and a siroopwafels (butter syrup wafer)-mmmmmmmmmmm.

sock.tacos & pudding.

i very seldom eat out for lunch-reasons being-- getting to a restaurant, eating and back to the office can often take more than an hour, it can be expensive--i save my lunch money for yarn, and there are times when i just enjoy being on my own. this summer concentric restaurant group has offered 50% off coupons for all their restaurants. always one for a good deal i checked out their menus and the parking-cause you know what parking is like in downtown atlanta. so i decided to try taps. i had 2 fish tacos-very good and a shrimp fradiavlo-just okay-but the sticky toffee pudding-well let's just say it's a good thing i didn't lick the plate when i was done.

color denial?

or lack of blog fodder? either way, if you ask me what my favorite color is, i'd tell you it's purple-so why is my sweater, ipod case and iphone case all pink-if you look in my closet, there is a distinct absense of purple-hmmmmm. the things you notice when you're sitting in traffic listing to the knitmore girls podcast (which i'm loving, thanks mary!)-jasmin, by the way has- you guessed it hot pink hair!

odds and ends

i bought a lip pencil on 9/29 and had lost it by 10/4, but found this in my make up basket~~brand new how'd i do that?~~ on 10/7- does that mean i'm even?









one of mary's selections- good call mary- hope to find more of this, and it has a cool bottle, note to self~~buy more!









last of the summer wildflowers- these were uprooted on monday, they were on stalks taller than i - thought they'd look much nicer on the window sill in the kitchen.

weekend wrap-up

friday night football~~~~ homecoming 2008

the moms- kathy, myself and joyce (our new friend and quilter from pennsylvania)















the kids---danielle, pj and andrew -they went off to mingle














the team















the quilters- first installment of the quilters club- searching for a name- lydia, kathy and brenda, joyce couldn't make it so hopefully next time- great fun














i also made some birthday cards, finished a quilt top, cooked more meals than i care to think about as well as washed so many dishes, pots and pans, my hands are woefully chapped. we lost our soccer game, but i've started the second froot loop, yea-looking forward to the week of the 13th, since it will be 3 day work week, of course soooo many plans for that time off-stay tuned for that-

focus.

no photos for this post. will definately have a pictorial update after labor day. the word for the last 10 days has been FOCUS as it relates to projects at home some seems like they are NEVER going to end
♥moss sweater- literally 18 in (or less) of total sleeve length to go (doing moss stitch on #4's) a bit tedious-
♥loose nut socks- decided to take karen's advise and try smaller needles, am down to #0 circulars, but have not re-cast on yet, those socks were going to be HUGE!
♥another baby blanket finished and delivered-am taking a few days break before i start the next one-a great bus riding project.
♥favorite socks #2- needed an easy pattern to take to the rome braves last week, so yes, i've cast on another pair of socks from the interview knits favorite socks book.
♥scarf for my secret sister- have frogged an re-started with a different pattern as i was getting no where fast, so new pattern is one that is more portable and socially friendly, should definately have this done before december
♥sorted through lots of old paper that has now been tossed, all office/school supplies corraled in one area
♥all knitting and quilting patterns that were downloaded off the internet are now in sheet protectors and in notebooks with dividers. the sock patterns are in a binder all to themselves-didn't know i had printed off soooo many patterns.
♥one quilt top finished- hope to finish-finish the quilt by sunday, it's a surprise so no photos until after labor day
♥re-planted herbs and other plants that were in containers, but needed new homes, moved some stuff around, and am trying to keep the garden tidy which has been a chore, but am looking forward to fall- need to put the sundial in the garden as well-will definately post a photo of that
♥printed photos are in the album, but have a whole folder of pictures to upload and order from ritzpix. hopefully tonight!
seems like so much is going on, i've also signed up for the PTSA landscaping and beautification committee at the HS, and am the soccer mom for andrew's team-yes i know-- crazy, but it's another way to be involved in what the boys are doing-i think it's just as important to nurture and guide them at this stage as it is when they are little~~~~i'm off to continue to properly focus my time- happy friday

a whole new meaning.

to the phrase "riding shotgun"

-i know what you're thinking- do we want to know what this is all about? of course you do! one of our "guys", i'll call him "secret agent man" (SAM) is being transferred to another division, so we had a going away lunch

at

if you know the place it is a carnivores heaven, some say "that's too expensive for lunch", or "who can eat that much food", well we did, and it was amazing. of course, to do it right, you have to prepare and approach it like an athletic event, so monday's lunch and dinner was very light, and breakfast even lighter. i knew we'd be eating lunch early so i wasn't too concerned. i started out at the salad bar with some yummy greens, asparagus, fresh mozzarella, beets, and tomatoes, and then dove into the MEAT, various cuts of beef cooked to perfection, delicious pork tenderloin, and i splurged on a very small chicken breast wrapped with bacon. now you gotta understand that they don't load up your plate with food, just a small slice, unless you really want more!

oh yea getting back to the shot gun thing--i road to this luncheon with SAM, and because we had another passenger i volunteered for the back seat where i was greeted by a shotgun- makes for interesting blog fodder-right? i will greatly miss SAM he was the only man i met that really understood women, i always joked with him that he was a woman fighting to get out of a man's body- he knows way tooo much about women's fashion-and what makes them tick!

another lunchtime funny--we're sitting there with about 20 undercover cops, and in walks this guy with a t-shirt that says "undercover police", we about died laughing, had there been a way to take a photo i'd have done it-

time.

time can be both a dirty and clean four letter word- it's either i don't have [enough] time, or too much time on my hands [never the case for me!]. when i was in high school one of my best friends used my notebook to do his "song of the day" lyric. usually it was about how he felt, i know-- my notebook, his feelings-- why pray-tell? anyway, they were usually pretty good lyrics. i kept that notebook for years, and thought it would turn up, but when we moved this last time, i realized it was gone for good- soooo what does all that have to do with this post-



well, since i'll be turning the BIG 4-0 in 8 days, i'd say i've seen a bit of time go by, this weekend i was please to have plenty of time to get caught up on stuff [especially the "fun" stuff] updated the literary side bar: finally!---time is a valuable resource, and one that seems very scarce- more scarce once we're adults [parents], and have to spread our time between family members, children, friends, work, play, hobbies, and yourself. it's enough to make your head spin! again i digress- thought it would be fun to mention some lyrics that have the word-
i'd love some feedback on which one's i didn't think of, so here goes . .


time is on my side-rolling stones---time slips away, and leaves you with nothing-bruce springsteen----i've got too much time on my hands-styx---there is a time for every purpose under heaven-the byrds and ecclesiastes 3:1---time keeps on slipping- into the future-steve miller band---time to learn-time to care-pet shop boys [somewhere]---who knows where the time goes-10,000 maniacs---time may change me, but i can't trace time-david bowie--take time to celebrate-point of grace---i think i like this one the best♥

progress report

42 days left if you're keeping track, and i feel pretty good about what i've gotten done so far, especially in the crafting arena. the moss sweater groweth, thanks to about 6 hours last wednesday (sitting pool side and in my room).

completed clues 5&6 of sotsii, hope to start on 7 this weekend, but it's not looking good for the crafting team. this is how it will look when it's worn, the little "bump" at the bottom was an odd addition.

have completed what i can of the wm quilt top. on the 27th kathy and i will get our april square materials, and have a big girl lunch! and i will get what i need for the wm quilt top, the photo isn't the best, but essentially what i have to do now is get enough material to fill the "carpet spots" that you see, any suggestions on a different placement? not sure if the way i have it is the way i'll go with it. plan to leave it on the carpet and have a look at it between now and the 27th. it's not perfectly aligned as my squares are not the exact same size, i'll be relying on kathy to help with this.

isabelle has her socks

-and then i started this pair so i'd have some plane knitting, love the colorway and it's a simple 1x1 ribbing --this yarn was bought in cleveland at Fine Points

have done some other "non-crafting" bits that are on the "to do" list, so i haven't started stressing, yet! the new maisie dobbs book is good!

25 degrees of separation

Miami Mosaic
Originally uploaded by lifeandyarn

that describes the temp. between atlanta and miami when i left on monday. how do you pack for that? luckily when i came back the weather in atlanta had improved. miami was a great time of rest, and i really did sit in my room and knit for hours and watch episode after episode of "law and order", and a couple of "monk".

the training was excellent, and was glad to see great improvements with the web based performance mgmt system we use. i didn't knit during the training, but i did manage to write-then type the notes for our personnel training we're conducting at the end of the month-had to do something during the lag time!! our training finished earlier than expected, so i spent about 4 hours near the pool-a shady spot all to myself! knitting on the moss sweater. i would have sat in the sun, but i didn't think to bring shorts with me, and the jeans were a bit warm! the hotel location was nowhere near the beach or any other hot spots- but the peace and quiet- well there's nothing like it!

i also managed to start and finish a sock for my "plane knitting", photo of that on the update posting. somehow my 2 1/2 sock mates to finish have increased to 3 mates even though i finished the 1/2- is this some kind of new math?!

on wednesday i had a wonderful meal at chispa- stone cellars pinot grigio (yum), chorizo and shrimp quesadilla, spinach salad, bread with this fabulous bean/veggie spread, and caramelized bread pudding with vanilla ice cream- okay i had to take the salad back with me, and i left half of the pudding (ate all the ice cream :-)), but it was all soooo good, i want the recipe for the quesadilla and bean spread- i may be a copy-cat of mary in asking for it from bon appetit. i ate here last year, and just fell in love with the food and atmosphere, AND it's right next door to the hotel-very convenient. i snapped a couple photos while i was there and notice the liquor lockers-then i overheard the manager explain to a new hire that people pay for these, and they have an engraved name plate put on them, and they can keep their "stuff" in there for when they dine at the restaurant- check out this name- there's only one person i know of that has that name- looked like his locker was empty!

the descent into atlanta was-well, let's just say, it was a scene right out of a movie- don't know what the pilot was thinking or doing-friday gave me the chance to get caught up on some stuff, shopping with the boys, more knitting, grocery shopping, cooking, etc. now monday is around the corner-uhhh, don't know if i'm ready!

catching up . .

had an absolutely fabulous time with my sister last week. the weekend was filled with "who knew", "ya'll are definitely related", and "this must be your sister". the location was superb for a chance to get to know each other --no distractions-just time together. charles was a gem by keeping the conversation going and being so supportive of our time together that's charles bennett of bennett landscaping (it told him i'd give his company a bit of advertising-he does beautiful work). i got to meet several friends and other local folks, and we're planning another visit as soon as "summer begins"!

we found that we had so much in common, i won't bore you with them here, but it would make for fun conversation over a glass of wine♥ the boys enjoyed hanging with john, and we got to spend some time with jessica between her job and other commitments. you can tell from the photos at the end that it really was a perfect weekend. charles has promised to set aside a patch of the mountain for "the sheffields"--- enjoy the pix view from the front porch, us and the kids,
kecia and i--
charles and kecia

a perfect match

i finished the mate to the "nymph" on Wednesday (at lunch), and had to wear them, even though my feet started sweating before lunch due to the heat today, supposed to get upto mid 60's, we'll see. anyway carol ann graciously took the photo so you could get the full effect of shirt, pants and new socks yea! thanks again to melanie for doing the color way for me . .

let's do lunch . . .

knowning how i am about food when mr k sent me the notice about a lunch and learn for on-line survey program i jumped at the chance. . . not to learn, but to LUNCH! today i had a fantabulous lunch at the city grill in the hurt building downtown, and while i didn't take photos of my lunch mainly because i was at a table of total strangers who might find it a "bit" odd, i will describe to you what was in a word delish-

a grilled chicken sandwich with grilled portabellas & caramelized onions, topped with melted fresh mozzarella with a port wine reduction- served on a fresh chibata roll which i didn't eat, and served with wonderful flash fried french fries with coarse ground salt (yum, it was hard to eat only a few- they were so crispy!, and the grand finale was a pistachio chocolate mousse, served in a molasses/caramel shaped bowl-thing, topped with chopped pistachios, fresh strawberries, raspberries, and the biggest blackberries i've seen in a while! alright wipe the drool off the computer- i even got a few rounds of sock knitting done, while listening to the presentation and taking notes.

i left full fat and happy! well maybe not fat per say, but very satisfied! the presentation wasn't so bad either, in fact, i think we're going to subscribe (for our training initiative) and while i don't have photos of the food i did take a few of the restaurant- what a gorgeous place

un-relativity

as i was saying to mary yesterday, i love blogging and projects like her create 08 album because it's simple and if you only have one picture you don't have to fret about the "right" layout-or taking lots of staged pictures ; which is what i found i was doing when i was into the whole "scrapbooking my children's lives" mode, capturing memories and thoughts should be simple, so that being said here are some random un-related photos


first up, here's Brenda and her first sock, my first sock student-Brenda crochets and quilts and has now self-taught herself to knit-excellent job, girl! and she's already gotten started on the second sock, has yarn for pair 2 and 3! on a note about new sock knitters, kare (SIL #2) has completed 2 pair and is getting ready to start #3, and she learned how to do these the end of january- yeah!


how about this cute tin, bought this at Knitty City in NY- the top say's "Put money for wool fix here",










can you read the small print- "is wool your dirty little secret too?"
love it- mum needs to save her pennies for more yarn! you can have one too for the low low price of $8, call Pearl she'll take care of you- tell her i sent you!



here's clue #3, finished it at about 10:00 last night- ugh, gotta get caught up on this- thinking of hiding out in my hotel room in april when i go to miami, and doing power knitting while eating room serivce, or stuff from publix- we'll see






how about this little dealy- found this in the ladies at the GT Research Institute, had to grab my camera- every fan needs one!





now for a belated v.day update, the flowers are from carol, all the chicks at work got them, aren't they pretty, since i wasn't quick enough on the draw, i had to use my very large- greatest writers mug mum brought me back from england- it has all the great, dead british authors on it male and female!♥


here's my favorite, think i've gotten a handle on close ups. steve got me the roses for v.day several days ahead so that i could enjoy them for several days before i left for ny . . how sweet, yes i saved one for the memory box♥




here they are at my desk- as of this posting they've gone into the trash, but i got to really enjoy them, and they didn't turn brown-

city scapes

here are a few photos from our trip . . . hav a look at the rest on my flickr account (lifeandyarn) . . . . thinking about doing a collection of photos from central park in black and white and putting them over the headboard in our room.

in a new york minute

well maybe not a minute, more like a few-
in a word the trip was FAB-U-LOUS!
the slogan for the trip was . . if you forget something-just get it while you're there- it's not like your going to a foreign country- well okay you sorta are. . . but anyway . . . truly it was a lot like another county, we saw people from around the world-NYC "natives" and visitors! amazing. Photos to follow, too many to try to post now-

weather-cold, blue sky, gray sky, damp, light rain, cold, windy, warm-but not at the same time! the cold and rain didn't stop us from being out for 12-13 hours each day!

favorite shops-Himalayan Crafts (Jillian) and Knitty City (Lydia)- missed the Yarn Company on Broadway, and just stepped into String on Lexington/Park Ave-must visit them both next time

food-cannoli (yum), bagel, omelets, doughnut (Jillian), coffee, tea, hot chocolate, dried fruit & apple (grand central market-way cool place a "mini" Harry's, Joe Allen's (awesome), pretzel from a street vendor, and pizza, of course!

sights-people, fur coats, dogs, taxis, bright lights, Trump Towers, marquees, trees, snow, park benches, doormen, runners, joggers, strollers, shops galore some very posh, Whistler, Degas, Picasso, Cassatt, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Pollock, Kandinsky, Manet, Monet, Van Gogh, Turner, Rodin, WM Chase, Madam X, Greek-Roman art, artifacts, sculptures, jewelry, Cyrian artifacts, armour, medieval stained glass, chevy's suspended in the air, life-like wolves, "paintings" made with gun powder, Cezanne, art, art, and more art!

favorite spots- Central Park! The Met, Barnes and Noble on Broadway both of them, Starbucks.

our route-started out on W 47th street headed east to 5th Avenue-north to 86th St (Park Avenue was somewhere in there!) across Central Park to W79th and Amsterdam to Broadway to W46th Street, back again on Sunday all the way through Central Park- past the Imagine mosaic, and through Strawberry fields, Monday-subway from 42nd Street to Grand Central Station to E86th via Lexington Avenue- Tuesday to School of Visual Arts on E 23rd St. then the airport.

museums- The Frick, The Guggenheim, The Met, The Cooper-Hewitt, MOMA

missed most-coffee first thing in the morning, the family

what to do next-The Cloisters, The Met, the financial district, Brooklyn, Statue of Liberty, Wall Street, the Zoo, more picnics in the park and less time in restaurants! maybe a show?

lessons learned- come back when it's warmer! buy food at the deli's or places like Grand Central Market, use the subway more, spend more time sitting in the park watching people

we really did a lot of stuff and my boss, who's from Brooklyn, said we really made the most of our time and did the trip right-even if we missed a lot of "hot spots". Jillian was a great traveling companion, never complained, and I felt that this was "our" trip, we discussed what we wanted to do and when-we even enjoyed the quiet moments-her with her book, and me with my knitting and my book-I think these times were a refreshing break so we wouldn't get too tired of each other-- within 24 hours of arriving we were talking about when we could come back (next year Spring Break?!)- a big thanks to Jillian for going with me and thanks to Karen and Steve for financing our adventure!

work week wind-down . .

work has been busy, busy, but not to the point that i've resorted to pulling my hairout-good thing ♥
looking forward to the weekend-

♥friday night- sock class #2 (Brenda's already ripped out and started over)
♥saturday morning-ride stationary bike i've done something to the ol' knees, so i've backed off the walking thing for awhile, and video
♥delivery of baby blankets and lunch with the "ladies"
♥sunday-bike again, typical church stuff, coffee fellowship, counting the offering-don't ask,
♥sunday afternoon- lunch with cindy-to finally exchange CHRISTMAS gifts, you'd think that i'd see someone who only lives 15 miles away a bit more often-unfortunately with different aged children, different interest, etc. that has been the case for the two of us, hopefully we can get more on track. when i was staying at home with the boys and going to school we were able to do more-oh well, part of growing up!
♥finalize plans for new york-itineraries, probably some packing, checking the weather- can't wait!
♥ hopefully i'll get clue #3 finished by sunday

Less fun things include- greeter name badges, HOA january financials, laundry, chauffering the boys back and forth, meals for while i'm gone, and ya' know i think that's it sssshhhhh. . . don't tell anyone!

de'ja vu?

well not really, we did re-celebrate katie's birthday for her anyway . . . original plans were to have dinner and a drink- but life/school got in the way, so we met for coffee this morning- katie got up early and i went into work late-lucky for us school and work are very close by

here's katie with the birthday plate i plan to use at other birthday celebrations, complete with a candle and cupcake, say cheeese! doesn't she look fabulous at 7:30 am!















we only had about an hour and a half, but managed to talk about lots of stuff:
college guys-jobs-travels (where we've been, where we're going, where we'd love to go)-Mr. Legs va va voom!!!-photography (katie showed me how to do close-ups so the writing isn't blurred thank you!)- where Sara should go for college-apartments-atlanta traffic-parking on campus-priviledges of being "older"-voting-and tons more- a great way to start the day!










love the cup with Katie's name on it- very artsy!



thank you katie for spending some time with me

TTFN
Gratitudes:
rain
the opportunity to have a say in my government
chicks who are fun to be with