The Boho Cafe (thats “Hobo” backwards) is fast becoming the newest hot spot for White River Junction. This Friday, Juliana Lapatino hosts an evening devoted to original music. All songwriters and music lovers are invited.
We live across the street from a cemetery. Every spring, the flags appear in preparation for Memorial Day.
It’s an old cemetery. The veterans there mostly fought in the American Revolution and the Civil War. A couple of years ago, when I was out walking one morning, I met two young men putting the flags in place. They were carefully studying each headstone, worried about missing one. We talked for a while and I learned that up until that year they had an older man working with them who knew exactly where all the flags had to be placed.
Shortly after I moved up here, we were walking in deep woods out past Barnard in early summer. There in a small clearing was a small cemetery. It had a forlorn, abandoned appearance and yet the grave of each veteran was marked with a flag. Just like across the street from my house. Just like at Arlington National Cemetery.
I’m spending a lot of time this weekend on website redesign. I’ve made huge progress templatizing the new design and finding drop down menus that work (pure CSS, not JavaScript). Here’s a sneak peek:
http://www.yellowhousemedia.com/yellow/
Only the home page is active right now. I have about 80 pages to convert to the new template, but once I do, new updates will be a lot faster and easier.
The next big hurdle is finding a good calendar solution for the events. We’ve been embedding the Airset calendar that Dave keeps updated but I find it slow and all around annoying.
I also need to write a lot of copy. The stuff on the home page is old and I need new filler stuff for the music page, etc. Also on each of the over 70 musician pages, I want to add a blurb and links to their sites. It’s a big research project from that point of view, but it’s the least I can do for these people who are so graciously letting us stream their original music.
Luckily it is grey and cool here so I don’t feel like I’m missing out too much staying glued to my Mac.
(PS – the radio and “Fresh Tracks” feature on the new page work so enjoy!)
Update: the new site is live now!
Dave’s song “Yellow Chevy” is going to be featured on Car Talk today. It should be on after the first 15 minutes of the first half hour, but if you miss it, you can listen to it here.
A couple of years ago on my birthday, I received a flood of email messages wishing me the best on my day. It was astonishing. I heard from all sorts of people, old friends and new, many of whom I never imagined knew it was my birthday. I was surprised, I was flattered. I didn’t think anyone had been paying that close attention.
Well, they weren’t, actually. Dave had thrown me a virtual birthday party by giving everyone we knew the heads up that morning and asking them to send me a note. Did that cheapen it? Maybe, but it was still really fun to get all those good vibes.
Today is Dave’s birthday so if you see this post, please send him your best wishes at dave @ yellowhousemedia.com.
In this episode, Dave and Effie Cummings interview Vermont musician Jeremiah McLane, accordion and keyboard player for Nightingale. The show features live performance footage of Nightingale at the Lebanon Opera House in Lebanon, New Hampshire.
Ten years ago today I had surgery for ductal carcinoma in situ, which is really just fancy talk for a tiny little bit of cancer. I’m still not sure I know what that means, but I’ve been in pretty good shape for 10 years now so I guess it wasn’t so bad. Sometimes I think like I’m a real sissy to even think it was anything like an ordeal.
It’s funny to remember now, but at the time, I developed an irrational attachment to the surgeon. He was probably in his mid-60s, but he was my new best friend. I found it very hard to be separated from him. It was almost a relief to develop some minor complications that required a visit to the ER where he happened to be on call.
Then I had daily radiation treatment for 6 weeks and became irrationally attached to the technicians who administered it. It must be some kind of medical version of “Stockholm Syndrome.”
Anyway, here I am 10 years later. My life is radically different, and I think the experience of cancer, surgery and the aftermath has a lot to do with where and who I am now.
People are looking at me funny, asking me if I’m all right in a heartfelt way and sending me email so I guess I should let you know I’m okay. Thank you for your concern. I know I’ve been writing some gloomy entries here lately, but day-to-day I’m in a pretty good mood.
In addition to keeping up with my regular job, I’m learning to use Cascading Style Sheets and re-designing our yellow house web site (yes, I’ve gone back to hand-coding, Bill). It’s exciting. I had a web design/programming job back in the dawn of the web so it’s fun to update my (very modest) skills.
I’m also reading quite a bit–just finished two books last week. Right now I am enjoying the short stories of Katherine Mansfield, alternating with some gardening essays by Anne Raver. My sister lent me a book yesterday that I couldn’t resist starting called “Birds in Fall.” I read the first chapter before bed last night. It was gripping, but afterward I dreamed about crashing airplanes. Maybe I’ll save that one for reading earlier in the day.
And, of course, I have my extensive dog-walking duties. When I need a lesson in enjoying the present moment, Cammy is ever ready to oblige.
I can’t believe it is the last day of April already. I have a lot to do, most important of which is the company billing. Oh, and make a ball gown for Friday.
I did want to share this video with you. It made my eyes well up (of course, I used to get teary over that old Folger’s commercial where the kid comes home and makes coffee before anyone in the house wakes up).