She's Not *Just* a Rock Star

Our family loves frisbee golf. It's one of the many ways we like to spend time together as a family. Jim is really good, and I, well, let's be honest, suck.

At 9, Lilac Rain R.O.C.K.S.!!

She is even amazing at the most unusual shots. How did she manage to put herself in this situation, anyway?!?

I really should stop being so stubborn and ask Lilac Rain for some pointers.

Jeff Tweedy and the Hummingirl

Wilco came to Ashville, NC this past Tuesday. Jim and I debated and debated whether or not we were financially able to go. About two weeks ago, Lilac Rain worked her magic and *POOF!! * tickets were placed in our laps...really great seats too.

Lilac Rain and I decided that Jeff needed a pair of knitted socks. Umm...what size to make? I did a little emailing, contacted the Official Wilco Spy Office, and within a few hours, the email with vital information was waiting for me. Unfortunately, it exploded within 10 seconds after I opened it. I immediately cast on and went to work. Little did I know that I was about to enter the gates of Crazyville.

I had *never* knit a pair of socks that size before in such a short time limit. What was I thinking?!? My only advantage was that I had 6 days left of Spring Break. I knit the first sock in 4 days. 4 DAYS!!!! On Saturday I couldn't knit; my wrists were cramped up. Sunday I cast on the second sock. This sock went much slower with much less pain. I finished it on Monday evening with time left to knit a little on my spiral shawl.
Socks: Yarn Harlot's plain vanilla sock pattern. The yarn is by Regia in the Kaffe Fassett colorway Landscape. 80 stitches in 2x2 ribbing all the way down the foot. Size 1 Clover bamboo needles. 6 in. cuff and 10 7/8 inches in the foot.

Jim, Lilac Rain, Aaron (a friend who has never been to a Wilco show) and I piled into the car at 3:30 and left for Ashville. It's about a 3 hour drive. We got there with time to spare, did a little walking around, and I took some pics of my current sock in progress.


















We made our way into the venue. When the guards searched my bag and found knitting needles, they wouldn't let me in. I either had to give them up or hike all the way back to the car. She said that anything that was considered a weapon was not allowed. Me being me, I politely asked her if her book of rules specifically said, "No knitting needles" and she replied, "Not exactly, but we have to be careful in case you might stab somebody." Then, me being me (and taking the idea from the ever resourceful Yarn Harlot), sweetly inquired, "Are pencils allowed in the venue?" She eyed me suspiciously and I added, "Because I could always knit with pencils" as I thought to myself, "Umm...hello?....a pencil could stab somebody, be *way* more dangerous, and do *way* more physical damage than my measly dull, metal double points." She informed me that you couldn't take knitting needles on a plane, and I assured her that a lot of times you can, and very rarely does a knitter go crazy and randomly kabob people for fun. Jim took the knitting back to the car, while she rolled her eyes and shoo-ed me to the door.

I thought that Wilco started off the show rather slow. They played a lot of slower tunes, and I didn't feel like they started to rock until the middle of the concert and continued until the end. It wasn't that they weren't ON; it was just that they had a little different start than other Wilco shows I've been to. It was almost like they teased us with some rockin' tune and then went back to a slower one, until about half way through...then they completely let loose! For the last song of the set, they played Hummingbird. Jim put Lilac Rain on his shoulders. The security guard came up to Jim and I thought that he was going to make Lilac Rain get down. The next thing I knew, she was running to the stage. When she got there, Jeff waved and took the mic off of the stand. Then he stopped the song completely. He said, "Hi Lilac! (To the audience) Lilac and I go way back. (To Lilac) How many times have we done this now? (Pause) 6 or 5? (Pause) 6?" And he jumped down and picked her up so she could sit on the edge of the stage. Then he sat next to her and they sang together. When it came to the chorus, he let Lilac Rain have control of the mic so she could sing by herself, and as soon as Lilac Rain started to sing, you could hear all the women (and probably some guys too) go, "Awwww...." She had the sweetest tone to her voice, and she belted it out! My daughter is definitely not shy!! (In the first pic below, Jeff looks positively enchanted!) Then they sang the chorus together again, and got up to do their little dance. After the song he gave her a hug and she came back to our seats. When they came back onstage for the encore, Jeff said something about how surprised they are every time they see her because she's getting so big. Then Jeff sang a bit of Cats in the Cradle in a sad, teary exaggerated voice that got some laughs from the audience.
Photos: The first and last pictures were taken by the extremely talented photographer, Charles Harris. Charles has taken pictures for Wilco on several different occasions, and he took the pictures of Lilac Rain and Wilco when she was 6. For a trip down memory lane, those pictures can be seen at http://www.charlesharris.com/wilco/hummingirl
The three pictures in the middle were taken by the rockin' Christen McNamara. She had front row seats and kindly emailed them to me. Thanks, Christen!!

After the show, we took our time leaving the venue. We met up with some online friends and people we've encountered at other shows and chatted for a bit. A few people were able to take pictures of Lilac Rain onstage and they kindly offered to email me pictures. Many others gave Lilac Rain high fives, congrats, and were just happy to talk to her. One very nice woman asked to take a picture with her, which Lilac Rain happily did. We finally made our way out to the tour buses. and it was FREEZING!! The wind was whipping and it started to drizzle. Only one other person was there. Jim went and got the car, and we waited in there for awhile. I went over to the security guard and he said that the band was only doing meet and greets for the people with backstage passes, so I decided to accept defeat until I noticed some Wilco workers over by the backdoor of the venue. I called one guy over and he seemed a little skeptical. I told him I was Lilac Rain's mama, and a smile instantly spread across his face. When I explained that we had a thank you gift for Jeff, he promised to give him the present. Then eyed it questioningly but warmly. I told him it was hand-knit socks, which he thought was oh so cool, and again he said that he would make sure that Jeff got them.

I'm extremely grateful that Lilac Rain got to have her rock star experience *yet again*, and I honestly believe that Jeff got the socks. I have my Official Wilco Spies on the lookout for any signs that he's wearing them, and a few have promised to casually inquire about them at their shows in the near future. I'm just hoping that they fit and he likes them. :)

Circle of Life

A few weeks ago, Lilac Rain's dog, Karma passed away. Lilac Rain doesn't remember a time without her "Karma Dog". We got Karma when Lilac Rain was around one. At the breeder, Jim, Lilac Rain and I walked around, and the puppies followed us. Jim and I went in one direction, but Lilac Rain wasn't paying attention and she went in another. As we looked over our shoulder, the puppies were still following us, but Karma followed Lilac Rain. Karma and Lilac Rain have always had that special bond. If Lilac Rain was playing in the yard and headed to trouble, Karma would literally herd her to a safe place, and if that strategy didn't work, Karma would get a hold of Lilac Rain's pants in the bottom and pull her to safety.






We knew that Karma was not feeling well because she had become so slow, but she wasn't in any pain. She just slept a lot and didn't move much. All of us were very lucky to be able to say our goodbyes, which made the healing process easier, and Karma was fortunate enough to die peacefully at home. While we miss Karma terribly, the pain is slowly subsiding. I can still feel Karma's presence at the bottom of my bed. Every morning when I wake up, I can feel her sleeping there, and I'm afraid that I'm going to step on her even though I know she's not there physically.












As one life left our lives, a new one entered. A couple of weeks after Karma died, we decided it was time to make an addition to our family. It gives me great pleasure to introduce...drum roll please...Dharma!



She has definitely won over all of our hearts!!

Just Call Me Candy

I might as well announce it to the world. My friends are harassing me non-stop. My new name seems to be "Candy".

Around Christmas I lost my cell phone. If I had to guess what happened, it probably ended up on a shelf or, more likely, in a cooler at Costco...don't ask. Anywho, I was not terribly upset by it. Personally, I hate cell phones, but Jim likes that I'll be able to call for help in some sort of emergency and likes to be able to contact me during the school year without having to go through the school's switchboard. Our cell phone contract was up in June, and then I could get a new one for free. No biggie. So June passes, it's summer, and we didn't even think about the cell phone. I thought I would be able to remain cell phone free. I was wrong.

We took our anniversary trip to the beach. I love the ocean!! It was extremely hot, but we managed to have lots of fun. Lilac Rain and I tried boogie boarding, while Jim kayak surfed. Nights were spent learning to play cribbage (so much fun!), hunting for shells, and stalking the ghost crabs. When we got home, there was a package on the porch. Jim had ordered new cell phones for both of us.

He opened the package and pulled out two boxes. I went about my business unpacking, starting laundry, and looking at emails. Jim took out a cell phone from one box and said, "This one's mine." Alright, whatever...it's a Blue Razor. He says, "Don't you want to open yours?" Sure. I open the box and can't keep from smiling and laughing. "Why would you do this to me?" is all I can say. Lilac Rain is bobbing around going, "What? What?" And I pull out the phone...A PINK RAZOR! I say, "You realize that this is *the* phone of sorority girls, right?" He just laughs and laughs...he finds this totally amusing, but then tries to find composure and plays stupid. "What? (shocked) Don't you like it? I thought that you would love it. I *told* you I was going to get you a Pink Razor. Besides, your new students will think your hip...totally cool because *you* have a pink razor." "I thought you were kidding!" Jackass crap weasel. Don't be alarmed...jackass and crap weasel are my terms of endearment for my husband that I truly love, even though he finds humor in the oddest ways. It's like a trade off...he can find humor in my horror and I get to lovingly call him a jackass, crap weasel or both. He then gets to laugh about it, because, again, he finds humor in the oddest ways.

So, I have a friend who has decided that my new name should be "Candy" for reasons that are so silly I don't even want to explain. Another friend asked me if I was going to start listening to Brittney Spears, NSync, and Hannson...like, OMG! Like, really? Totally.

Jim is constantly handing me the cell phone and saying things like, "Here's your Pink Razor. Call your friends on your Pink Razor. Don't forget your Pink Razor. " and laughing about it like there's no tomorrow. He's even getting Lilac Rain in on the fun. It's tag team torture, that's what it is.

I'm heading to Costco on Wednesday. My Pink Razor might just find a new home in one of the coolers.

How I became a mama of a rock star in training

I wish I could figure out how to put this in my profile...














That's my baby girl with her rock star idol, Jeff Tweedy. She absolutely loves Wilco! This picture was taken by Charles Harris at the Chapel Hill, NC show on March 5th, 2006. You can check out all of the pics that Charles took of Jeff and Lilac Rain that night at http://www.charlesharris.com/wilco/hummingirl.

In October of 2005, Lilac Rain attended her first Wilco show. That was in Ashville and was her 30th concert! We were about 3 rows away, and Jeff seemed to have a great time entertaining Lilac Rain for the song "Hummingbird." There was a review written about that show (http://www.popmatters.com/music/concerts/w/wilco-051014.shtml).

After her two experiences with Wilco, Lilac Rain definately wants to be a rock star. Her favorite expression to hear has been, "Rock on little sister" for the past two years now. All I have to do is say that as she's walking away, and she turns so slowly with the HUGE, dreamy smile on her face as it takes her back to the first time she met Jeff. She's gotten a few of her friends together, and sometimes we have overnight "band practice" at our house. I think guitar lessons are around the corner.

Our next Wilco show is coming up fast. It'll be on June 20th. Lilac Rain is excited (of course), but I have to keep reminding her that she may not get that special attention from Jeff everytime. She just gives me this look...almost a half "You're crazy! I'm too cute not to notice" with a quarter "WTF?!?" and a quarter of "Maybe she's right..." I'm trying to prepare her so her heart isn't broken when it happens. After all, even a 7 year old rock star can fall.