Noah Gundersen - Ledges

This is what I've been listening to all week.  Noah Gundersen's first full-length album, Ledges.  You can listen to his full performance on KEXP here, and you should.  

Life Lately...

Skiing.

Laughing.

Braving the elements.  Cold, snowy days didn't keep us inside.  

Marveling at the view from the top.  

Feeling grateful we got that warm, gorgeous day.

Watching my boys glide down the slopes.  Aaron loves looking for jumps and trails in the trees.  Nathan has improved dramatically this season and is now fully independent.  His favorite trail had a relatively flat, narrow part through the trees, and there were no other skiers around.  He said he loved it because he could ski and have quiet time.  I love that.

Spending time with the best of friends.  

Taking a break from the normal home routines.

Watching the Olympics.

Enjoying a night out.

Relaxing in the hot tub each evening, appreciating the view of the mountain.

Reading.  Thinking.  Wondering.  Feeling.

Savoring those rare quiet moments.

Soaking in all the awesomeness of my boys.

Preparing myself to re-enter those home routines. 

Attending birthday parties.  

Getting together with more friends.  

Laundry, laundry, laundry.

Feeling happy.

Being grateful.  

Living.

Throwing Muses - Sunray Venus

Kristin Hersh and Throwing Muses.  Always a favorite.  Definitely a huge part of the soundtrack of my life.  

photo by c brandon/redfern

Recently Read - The Goldfinch

I just finished The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt.  It sounds like everybody I know is reading this book, and it is certainly making its rounds in blogland, so I thought I'd go ahead and throw out my opinion here.

It's a fascinating story, and the writing is gorgeous at times.  I am not one to highlight, but there were times I wish I had marked some of the more beautiful passages.  I felt for most of the characters, and I enjoyed the very descriptive writing.  Very different from other books I've read recently, where you get swept up in the story; this author is meticulous in setting up each scene, describing everything to the tiniest detail.  Sometimes, this is worthwhile, and other times, I wish she would just get on with it.

At almost 800 pages, it's simply too heavy-handed.  I feel like the story could've been told just as effectively and more enjoyably with about 200 fewer pages.  There were times I found myself skimming through some of the more descriptive paragraphs that did not advance the plot in any way.  But then I'd get caught up in a gorgeous, thoughtful sentence that would slow me back down.

"Isn't that the whole point of things--beautiful things--that they connect you to some larger beauty?"

Overall, it's wonderful.  But you have to work for it.

Getting Off The Couch...

I feel like I didn't leave the couch this weekend, but when I look back, I realize I did.  A pancake breakfast fundraiser at the school, out to see a movie with the kids, some errands, and an afternoon on the sledding hill.  Fill in the gaps with a lot of Olympics and movie-watching at home.  

I think I just wanted to stay on the couch all weekend.  I was fighting a cold and felt like I was walking in a fog.  I slept poorly and was therefore tired and impatient during the day.  A lot of apologies on my part as I sounded like Mommy Dearest at times.  They're boys, they're loud, they're slow when I want them to speed up and crazy when I want them to slow down.  I know this, I accept this, but I do not handle this well when I am not at my best.  

Even though I wasn't feeling well, I'm glad I got off the couch.  The pancakes were good, the movie (The Lego movie) was funny, the errands are now done, and the fresh air felt good as I mostly watched the boys sled.  It enabled them to get some of their energy out, which is an absolute necessity.

Although I stayed up way too late reading, as I always do when Kevin is out of town, I got a good night's sleep, and I woke up feeling whole again.  I had a productive day, and I'm energized to have a good week.  

Vampire Weekend - Unbelievers

It happens sometimes.  An album comes out, everybody raves about it, it's at the top of a bunch of "best-of" lists at the end of the year...and still I don't fall in love with it right away.  Then I give it another listen, and the timing and the mood is right.  I'm totally digging Vampire Weekend's album this week.  I honestly don't know what took me so long.

Little Things...

Sunny and blue skies after a snowy day.  Everything is clean and white and quiet.

The new app everybody is blogging about - Waterlogue.  It's pretty fun.

Doing a solid headstand in yoga.

Aaron keeps asking to help make dinner.  All week he has chopped, stirred, poured, rinsed, cleaned...  I need to find a recipe I'd be comfortable with him trying by himself.

Newport is starting to make their lineup announcements.  It's like Christmas every few days, and I love the anticipation.

Another snowstorm in the forecast.  I know this isn't a beautiful thing to a lot of people, but I love it.

Legos.  Love both watching my boys follow directions and look with pride at a completed project as well as watching them put together creations of their own.

Sera Cahoone.

Forgetting what day it is.