My "while I don't have a job" project

Well... now I do have a job, 4 almost 5 actually. But during that down time, while I was still trying to busy myself with productive, meaningful ways to spend my time, I decided to start making wine out of things I could find around the house. I made a half gallon of dandelion wine. It is fermenting in the dinning room as we speak.


I'll let you all know how it turns out.
Here's the recipe if anyone else has some free time and an un-mowed lawn.

Love,
Laney

We are children again

So last weekend Carytown had an event called Chalk Up the Town, which did nothing more than hand out free chalk, and tell people to draw.
You were encouraged to abstain from naughty words or controversial topics, but I saw some rule bending, as Richmond is known to do.

Here are some pictures of the event that we didn't take:
(our camera wasn't working at the time)



It was a lot of fun. I drew a giant snail with a television head, flower vines coming from under trash cans and news paper stands, and one (pictured above) asking "Where can we recycle?" in Carytown.

I really think Richmond has some of the best, random, festivals and events.
This weekend is Earth Day and Fish Festival. These aren't separate events, they are a combined (related?) festival. What?

The river, music and a shed.

We have finally settled into the cozy little shed we are living in, behind our friend's house. Amazing what pictures of birds can do to improve a living space (Pictures to follow). The spring has rained pollen on all things once shinny. But seeing it is Spring, the weather is warm and kind. When we arrived the James river was nearly overflowing on to the train tracks that run beside it. April showers.
It was hot enough one day to go swimming in the river at Texas beach (which is in Richmond, VA, I know right?)

We have already gone to three concerts and seen almost everyone who lives in this small city. We are playing music with friends to get our album ready for the studio, and glad to be back. Richmond has a distinct energy that gives you culture shock one minute and goose bumps the next.

Part of us is feeling anxious, ready to pick up our bags and move on. While another part tells us to stay, get involved again, in this place we know far too well, and yet has areas we still need to explore.

First thing's first. We need to make some money. Jameson is already working 4 shifts a week at the vegetarian coffee shop. While Laney is debating whether or not she has the inner strength to work with children again. We will figure it out. Rent is cheap, because we live in a shed.

The Spirit of St. Francis of Assisi

I know that these photos are amazing, but what is even more amazing is that this squirrell recognized Jameson from them meeting over a year ago at my mom's garage sale. Stuffy the squirrel saw Jameson through the kitchen window and came right up to the glass and pressed her nose against it. When Jameson went outside to give her some peanuts, she ran up to him and sat on his lap. I think this is one of those examples of his unspoken connection with State of Virginia.

Stickers!

We have been working on stickers for our band LOBO MARINO for the past couple of days now, and this is what we have come up with.







The name of our upcoming album, to be recorded in May, is in the puzzle, in the last sticker above.
A: Keep Your Head Up.

We are back in Richmond working, living in a shed, and playing music.
This time around, culture shock has been a little more off setting, hopefully we will even out soon.

Ukranian Easter Egg Decorating

This is my favorite easter tradition.
My Aunt Lynette married a first generation Ukranian man. With the wonderful tradition of kielbasa sausage and potato pierogies, into the family came pysanky easter egg decorating.
To make a pysanky egg, you have to work in reverse, lightest colors first dark colors last. You use a little tool (a metal funnel on a stick) you fill the funnel with hot wax and draw on to the egg everything that you wish to turn out the color that the egg is dyed. It's hard to explain. Here's a link if you want to know the more technical details.

http://www.cs.unc.edu/~yakowenk/pysanky.html

An Austin After-thought

Our good friend Lauren's French bulldog Lady, how she does the stairs.

Breakfast Tacos

These are breakfast tacos, one of Austin's many claims to fame.

Though this may be an overly boastful claim, seeing as breakfast 'tacos' are just miniature breakfast 'burritos' that come from Santa Fe.

But any proud Austinite knows that the details and "technical" creation of the breakfast 'taco' is undebatable when your mouth is full of egg, guacamole, salsa, cheese and tortilla.

So the breakfast 'taco' has become a staple in Austin, and is found in almost any restaurant or food cart (another Austin claim to fame), which makes finding the breakfast taco that's right for you a bit of a challenge.

Seeing as we are vegetarians we usually opt for a nice selection of veggie fixings over varieties of sausage.

So our selection for best breakfast tacos in Austin is:
Food Heads
(pictured above)
* based off of close proximity to our location, veggie selection and economic value.

Free Parties and Photo Booths

South by South West

SXSW is a music festival in Austin, TX that started in 1987 with only one location, and a handful of bands. Now, 23 years later, it has become an entire city endeavor that occupies a calendar week or more.
It is a monster that grosses the city almost $110 Million dollars in revenue and attracts people from all over the country, and globe.

The "official" SXSW event last 4 days and includes tons of independent feature films like academy award winning The Hurt Locker or Passing Strange along with well known musicians like Motorhead, Dillinger Escape Plan and GWAR.
These official events usually run $10 or $20+ a pop or hundreds of dollars for special day or weekend passes of various sorts.

However, because this event brings the city so much outside tourism, sponsorship and attention, local clubs and organizations hold FREE shows and events through out the week bearing the SXSW name. Seeing as Austin, per capita, has more venues than any other US city, there end up being a lot of these. As if that wasn't enough, many of the venues or community organizations throw in free beer or food during their show to get a bigger crowd.

I have never, in my life, seen such a busy music fest. There is SO much music and events to attend that we have now gone out every day and night for the past 4 days, with no sign of slowing down until next week.

Somehow, accidentally, we came to Austin at the perfect time.

slide show: Austin, Texas

The epitome of the US

We are there...