whee!

woke too early after too little rest so my hubby & i could play music for several hrs... he'd been up all night like he does, the man w/the energy of a troop, but it was a happy night for him, he said, listening to music & reading the good news... we played & played & actually developed some strong harmony parts! then i spent several hrs on his gigs & t-shirt orders & networking & europe gigs/fishing for more... at bottom of this post are some links. "i've been waiting for this my whole life!" he smiled. "thank you, baby!" am grateful to feel appreciated, tho his upcoming tour's sure not solely my doing, & no amount of networking would work if james & his music weren't so strong. i believe in james's talent & charisma, as would anyone w/half a mind & heart: he's a white-hot flame of american music & he's gonna set europe on fire w/excitement...
1. (we're 3rd down): guadalupe salad bowl festival;
2. (i like how this site lists our free weekly show at harvelle's...) some of wbj's shows in europe
3. (this'll be a halloween to remember!) baden, switzerland's nordportal

"the girls at trout's"...

- that was donnie's caption to accompany this image; i like the bangs: L to R, short, medium, long... the other eve i got to practice very briefly w/karling, donnie, cesareo, & AJ at AJ's home, teeming w/food, joyful young family, & cool mexicano-rockabilly motif; then it was off to rick's for DD practice & i've said this before in past yrs w/past lineups, & maybe it just happens when there's a happy union of ability, talent, friendliness, high energy, & dedication, but we REALLY SOUNDED GREAT!!! bsp claims nearly each wk he's not been practicing, but (between you, me, & the net) i think he might be fudging a bit bc ea wk his playing rocks harder & more genre-appropriately... too, happily for me, he & i, who maddeningly used to fight like cats & dogs, now seem to be getting along just fine, & there's nothing that can aid musicianship for me than shared friendly feelings...
- i'm especially now looking fwd to our show sat w/james & the blues express (flyer below) cause i think we'll have a real chance to wow all & ourselves w/what we know we really can do... at our 1st oasis show w/them, i forgot my piano stand & had to play on a barrel that rocked & rolled on its own, making playing a bit tough! at another (maybe the same one?), our old bassist showed up late, so we did the 1st 6 songs bassless, which isn't horrible, but feels bottomless compared to the usual! at the last one, our former guitar player was a little shook up that night, i now know, cause he'd just gotten reamed by james for telling him he was leaving the band... so this'll be our time to shine @ the oasis (not having expectations, just hopes!)... at any rate, i know i'll have my fun, & i suspect the others will, too! :)
- after our awesome DD practice, it was out to trout's, where i saw a ghost from the past & our interaction, i'm thankful, was happy; got to catch up w/the kidwells, lisa p, lynda fette, & russ davidson, asking the last to deliver mark powell a happy bd from me; met craig garrison for the 1st time & later learned we both love alice the goon; & bsp & i got to play a few songs as pt of karling's "bakersfield band" (lineup listed at top)... all this activity acknowledged, am starting to realize the most exciting news of late is i just found out this morn i'm going to france w/becky & fabi, & we're gonna play the good rockin' tonight festival!! will be in la belle france long enough to learn some french, find jogging paths, enjoy local cuisine & soak up culture as i follow becky around (she knows the ropes), maybe even take a side trip (visit gene taylor? how far's antwerp from where we'll be, i wonder?)... fabi also really piqued my curiosity re travel to mexico city, from which she hails... life life life! love love love! carpe diem, friends, carpe diem! :) :) :)