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elvislives

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Though still plagued with the cough from hell, I ventured out into Grayson County with my family today. My parents are spending every spare moment they have fixing up the 100 year old house they bought, so I volunteered to go out with them. I wanted to spend some time with them, especially today if I could, because it's their 12th wedding anniversary. I was a brat on their wedding day and today I really went out of my way today to make up for it. Without coming out and saying so, of course.

Mom and I spent a good four hours scraping 3 layers of paint (country blue on dark blue on peach) off of the huge staircase in the entry hall. I dropped the acidic paint remover on my arm and a piece of sheetrock on my foot. Nothing out of the ordinary - I am a klutz. We only got about halfway through the staircase, but I'm going back out next weekend to help finish it off. It's really weird, because I've never been much of an enthusiast for the countryside, the fresh air, the peace and quiet ... but that house has such a nice feeling about it. I enjoyed my time out there, and my parents are in such good humor these days. Mom, Dad, and I threw sarcastic jokes at each other all day long - very out of the ordinary for my family. It was so nice! Again, I could see more of myself in my mom.  We took some time out from the razor blades and turpentine to sit on the wrap-around porch and talk. She sat on the railing and I sat on my old rocking horse that my Uncle Eddie made for me before we left Kentucky when I was four. I knocked the head off of the horse a year later, but that horse has lasted through four kids. And there's really nothing cooler than a headless rocking horse, if you ask me. 

So we talked, and talked, and talked. And I'm going to have to go ahead and say that my mom is really my role model. She has her moments of being my worst nightmare, but she's a lot more intelligent and thoughtful than I ever realized. I think maybe the house has calmed her down, and she's resigned herself to a few facts of nature about my brother, and now she's just really level headed and fun to be around. I like the way she sasses my father when he tries to act like the breadwinner of the house - she'll let him know that it's not just him that runs things in a mock fashion that sends me into hysterics.

I'm already excited about spending next Saturday out with them. Which is such a weird feeling for me. I finally feel like I have a place in my family - when I was younger I always felt like an outsider. But now, I'm proud to have such neurotically insane people as my closest comrades. I am neurotic myself.   We're a good family.

Yesterday I went to lunch with Erin and Amanda. We went to a cool little Mexican restaurant called Chuy's. Lots of Elvis motif and bright colors. Then we headed to Tower Records and I took advantage of the sale on Elvis Costello CDs. I have a few of his albums on vinyl, but now I have reissued versions with extra tracks! Yay! Last night we went to see Chomsky and The Commercials at the Curtain Club and that was fun, if not a bit on the long and tedious side. Chomsky were great, they impress me more every time I see them, but The Commercials ... if they'd change tempo or keys or something, it would be more entertaining.  I was glad to finally get home and in bed.

Tonight I'm going to make a couple of mix tapes for people and then go to bed early. Hopefully. Unless 120 Minutes is on, which means that I'm going to wake up tomorrow feeling awfully tired. Nothing new for a Monday morning.

 

listeningto
this world and body - marion. props to amanda for nudging me to listen to this again. it didn't do a thing for me when i got it a couple of years ago, but oh times can change a weary soul. this is SO good.
this year's model - elvis costello
get happy!! - elvis costello. beaten to the punch is the best song ever. and then love for tender.
the hey! album - marvelous 3.
sing it again, rod - rod stewart. oh yeah! straight up. damn fine album.
literarygarb
high fidelity is hitting too close to home in a couple of spots. it is really scaring me into making wiser decisions for myself. thank you nick hornsby. and i can still make lists instead of opinions and not feel shameful about it.
mixtape
I made Angie a mix tape this weekend. A Side Wins...

love for tender - my own declan.
freak of the week - marvelous 3
unbehaved - trinket
you and me song - wannadies
seems so tired - jack drag
SOS - kula shaker
candy in the sun - swirl 360
tender - blur
love - brian jonestown massacre
jesus says - ash
if you were here - kent




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