in thanks for...

the view from the ferris wheel
enormous turnips, cabbages and dahlias
tamales, kettle corn and salmon quesadillas
girlfriends to laugh with
sunny days
tea with huckleberry honey
friends who've offered to help me move
sisters

(My aunts in Kentucky love love love me... Strawberry syrup, chili sauce, dried apples and sun-dried tomatoes. Yum. Thank you, Theresa!)

Just back from an adventure with Scott and Angela. First we went to pick up firewood in Wasilla (where Sarah Palin was mayor before she was governor!). Our directions to the firewood pick-up sight included the following: Turn right on Carmel Road, then right onto This Way, then continue straight on That Way, and right onto Finally There Road. :o) On the way back to Anchorage, we stopped by Pyrah's Pioneer Farm and U-Pick, where we got some gorgeous broccoli, peas, potatoes and radishes. The picture above is a view from the fields. I do love this state!

Yesterday, CNN Politics posted a commentary by Harvard Graduate School of Education Dean Kathleen McCartney. She writes about education and politics in the U.S., particularly during this election season. It is a quick read, and one that I recommend. Here's a link to the organization that Dean McCartney mentions, ED in '08, which is supported in part by one of my heroes, Bill Gates :o). [I have to say, though I appreciate the concerns of both Dean McCartney and ED in '08, I am troubled that these views seem to focus on increasing global economic competitiveness rather than simply bettering quality of life- two goals which are not one and the same.]

Last night, two hours before the concert, Ian and Danielle gave me a ticket to see John Prine! It was a great show: so direct, pleasant, unpretentious. I laughed and cried, and was reminded of the kind of music I want to write-- the kind that takes you, gently and with humor, through the whole honest-to-goodness gamut of life.

from Laura :o)

Before I left Boston, I traded my desk for a photo shoot. Here are a few of the shots that Kelly took, which I'll hopefully use for promotional stuff sometime... It was a warm and humid evening in the community garden where I volunteered, a day before I left for Kentucky (had been packing all day), and an hour before the lovely neighborhood Hootenanny that we hosted there. (How funny is the armpit pic?! --maybe I was fixing my hair? I definitely don't remember posing for it.)

Made it safely to Alaska. Here are me and Elise, just back from a walk by the inlet (with a stop in her sweet little greenhouse garden to eat peas and check out the herbs).

Summertime in Kentucky...

Patrick and Cindy Lou

Christina and Natalie

my nephew Alex and tiny Michelle

lovely cousin Crystal

Just back from a weekend in Memphis with Nancy and Jesse (and Cayuse and Gracie!). It was such a nice few days. We hiked, talked, ate yummy food and played music. Mom was kind enough to drive me down and then to fly down to pick me up on Sunday... I could get used to having my own private pilot. (Nancy sent these great pictures.)

Saturday I got to sing a gig with my Kentucky band, The Altarnatives (I call them the Tators, short for 'Altartators,' which is from 'Altarnaters', which, well... you get the idea.). We played for a packed-in crowd in the courtyard at Xavier's in Bardstown, KY - bourbon country, right down the road from My Old Kentucky Home. Mom took a few pics on her spiffy iPhone. I lovelovelove this one: us girls are playing crazy percussion instruments, Frank is whamming away at the bass and Dave is hamming it up (on Tightrope?). Smiles, smiles. I love these people!

Here's my packing assistant, Cindy Lou:

My little sister Laura, in Berlin, called today and left a message ...that she's going to be playing on MTV Germany! How very, very exciting. I can't wait to hear the details! Check out her myspace here.