hannah banana

sweet
little cousin
hannah girl
is graduating!!
she's off to wku,
where they've given her
some kind of
huge and well-deserved
scholarship...
so exciting.

things i'd like to know

i'm curious to know
(but don't feel entirely comfy taking a survey about)
the number of americans who:

1. sleep in the buff
2. have (and wax poetic about) electric toothbrushes
3. smoke pot on a regular basis
4. have tattoos (and when did they get them?)
5. know how to cook a decent meal

(annie-- seems like there'd be a
market research clearing house
with all this info. hook me up?)

in thanks: june 25, 2009

in thanks for...
* my beautiful, smart and talented sister Laura,
who has always inspired me with her energy and gumption.
she can do anything she puts her mind to! (Happy Birthday, sweet sister!)
* getting to sing with dear friends
* brunch plans
* the farmers market
* a clean bedroom
* writing songs
* a bank account that somehow, miraculously, always has enough
* respite
* letters

solstice 2009: parks hwy dance party

this past weekend,
on the way to fairbanks and back,
along the parks highway,
we stopped every hour or so to dance.
oh my, how i do so love
people who know how to
bring the dance party with them.
(click 'play' button in bottom left corner...)



Change is Gonna Come sung by Ben Sollee

museum of the north

just back from a whirlwind roadtrip to fairbanks and back--
all in one long solstice weekend.
highlights were our numerous dance breaks
taken along the parks highway
(video posted soon), and
the university of alaska museum of the north,
where we were truly delighted by thoughtful collections
and enlightening, uplifting architecture
(2006 expansion designed by Joan Soranno
and the GDM/HGA architectural team).

travels with claire

* finally at the top of bird ridge
* lounging at kenai lake with scott and sable
* hiking...
* a funny, funny fungus man
* fjords on the hike to caine's head, in seward

by two

i'm producing a concert series!
it's called By Two (click and scroll down), and
is a celebration of
collaborations between
alaskan singer-songwriters.
each concert features two
talented performers playing solo sets
of original work,
then collaborating for a set at the end.
they'll be unique performances—
for both the audience and the artists—
at terra bella cafe, an intimate venue in south anchorage.
the first concert, 7:30 on Thursday, June 25th,
features robin hopper and emily kurn.
tickets are $10 by phone (562-2259),
or at the door.
hope you can make it!

AK folk arts

this week, i get to
teach songwriting
and singing
at the AK City Folk Arts Camp.
so very cool!
today, our first day,
the kids wrote some groups songs,
the subjects of which were:
1, president obama decreeing a national pie day
and 2, hairballs and the feline digestive system.
genius, i tell you, genius!

from sweet regan, a poem for june

Admit something:
Everyone you see, you say to them, "Love me."
Of course you do not do this out loud,
otherwise someone would call the cops.
Still, though, think about this, this great
pull in us to connect.
Why not become the one who lives with a
full moon in each eye
that is always saying,
with that sweet moon language,
what every other eye in this world
is dying to hear?
~Hafiz

i'll meet you in dreamland

alaska, meet claire.

claire came to visit,
all the way from boston!
we hiked, laughed, ate,
sang, talked, canoed,
wrote, looked, remembered,
planned, walked in silence.
she is my 'twin'
in so many happy ways.
it was good
to introduce her to alaska
and to see them both
agreeing so well
with one another.
now to convince her to move here...

overlooking the harding ice field, at exit glacier
(more pics to follow.)

celebrating

johnny quit the coast guard
after ten years,
so last weekend
we threw him
a well-deserved
surprise party!
and then erica got married
this weekend,
and i got to play with flowers.
so fun!

in thanks: june 3, 2009

in thanks for...

* claire's upcoming visit!
* knowing what i want and need (sometimes)
* the twining twirling tendrils of pea plants
* friends' and sisters' well-being
* progress
* the hanging baskets outside our door
* one last good day (and a truly sweet few months) with camperoo
* the public-ity of libraries
* an impending art/poetry swap with annie

a sense of wonder

tonight, amanda and i
went to the loussac library
for the annual
rachel carson celebration
sponsored by ACAT
(alaska community action on toxics).
we watched kaiulani lee's
beautiful new film,
a sense of wonder,
which illuminates
carson's "love of the natural world
and her fight to defend it."
i was reminded of
waldorf education;
of eleanor duckworth's
"having of wonderful ideas" pedagogy;
and of a song i'm writing called
"wonders will not cease."
{so cool when things all
come together like that!}
i highly recommend
watching the film
when you can.