an exquisite beginning

august started with fridays after five, one of its better nights this summer. the opening band, a male female duo called birdlips, performed thoughtful, melodic, quirky, celestial songs. they were like the exact antithesis of the white stripes. they had a haunting, sometimes elfin lilt, that walks one through inward meadows of the wild.



during the break between bands we ate some really good food at the box. i highly recommend it. the prices are hella reasonable and you have all these great choices of sauces and skewers and add ons for a variety of noodles. the scallion crepes topped with asian slaw were perfect as an opener. tashi was quite content with her skewer of seasoned shrimp served with plain & simple cellophane noodles.



the second band at fridays after five was larry keel and natural bridge. i'd have to say this was the best bluegrass show i've witnessed since moving to a place where the banjo-is-often. it was well balanced, not too twangy, but still traditional. larry keel spun shards of good energy and the band continually aligned with the stars.



so it was a festive friday, indeed.

saturday had a blissful start as i was given the gift of hanging out with baby aurora while her cool mama taught yoga. tashi and i proudly carried aurora into the new milano. i nibbled at a tantalizing waffle served with juicy berries (just $3!) while dancing with baby amongst the rich furnishings of an italian villa. aurora fell asleep on my shoulder, which is the ultimate honor. she awoke as we perused the farmer's market and she gave tashi and i some of the biggest smiles we've ever seen come across her wee moon face.



later that day we drove tashi off to a sudden overnight with her friend. sudden overnight means sudden datenight. dan and i had no idea what to do, as there didn't seem to be a single interesting thing happening in town. so we drove out of town, out to the blue mountain brewery, where we had a beer tasting while gazing at sunset play across blue ridge.



dark hollow bourbon barrel stout wins, hands down.



after that we drove off to uncle charlie's in crozet where a band called basshound was playing. i didn't know what to expect, but my curiosity was sufficiently piqued after listening to their tracks on myspace.

my friends in ann arbor will understand what i mean when i say they approximated the cloud nine experience.

the major difference being, basshound is just four musicians. and they pull some really odd covers, songs one would normally not want to hear covers of: zz top's cheap sunglasses, steeley dan's josie, david bowie's let's dance.

but the thing that they did was, they brought the songs to an entirely new level, turning each into a sweat house of stomping rhythm.



when i awoke this morning, it was followed by this:



and this:



and later, more of this:



also, despite the risk of black lung, we purged and rearranged our basement. we now have a pile of total junk under our deck, moldy, broken, crappy stuff, that even freecyclers won't touch. but in the basement, one no longer walks into a death trap of inaccessible items smooshed haphazardly together. everything is carefully arranged, and the center of the basement is open -- wide open -- as it hasn't been since we
moved in.



these first few days of august center around lughnasadh, the first of the ancient celtic harvest holidays. it is a time to feast on the fruits of the first harvest, dance, celebrate the earth, play games late into night, and clean out the root cellar, so sealed jars of summer's bounty can be stored away for winter.

this weekend was such a nice start.



wishing fresh food for your table, spells of stargazing, a sudden urge to dance and great stores of space in your heart, as the harvest season pulls us forward.