Day ONE of 2017!

Happy New Year!

While Bob had to stay home with a crumby cold, I went out with Becky and her friend, Chuck, to a party/concert. That got "slashed" because it was, technically, a concert, for which we had tickets (bought several weeks ago, as it has been sold out since mid-December), but because these performers are friends of Becky's, it was more like a really fun party. The band we saw were The Henhouse Prowlers - a really, really fun group. They have their own genre - great bluegrass, but with a Chicago twist. Normally, when you hear "bluegrass," you think of people sitting around on hay bales, blowing into empty bottles, drinking 'shine and chewing hay. Yeah. Not so much. These guys dress in black suits, dark shirts (think John Belushi and the Blues Brothers) and sing "Chicago bluegrass." They have a great shtick. (They have just returned from a European tour for the State Department.) Last year they played in Seattle and we didn't go down - Becky even reminded us to go and we didn't. Our loss. Anyway, we had a really great time. After the performance, Becky and Chuck (who is a talented guitarist and singer) dropped me off and they went to the "after party" with the band. A great time was had by all.

I took a video of Becky and Chuck sitting around picking and singing, but it wouldn't send to my computer - too big a file, I guess. Anyway, it's been fun being inundated with bluegrass. I can now identify different songs....we went out on Friday to hear The Wandering Boys, a traditional bluegrass band with guys I remembered from Becky's music classes (they were teachers). We got waves and "hi, Rebecca!!" from them, which was fun. Chuck had a song dedicated to "our buddy Chuck" which happened to be a song I remembered, so we could all sing along. One of the good things about bluegrass is that you are expected to sing along, and since most people do, they can't hear me (and that makes everyone feel better).

We have the kids home with us all week, so we'll be hitting museums (The Field Museum has an exhibit on the history of tattooing, which sounds pretty interesting...you can get a temporary tattoo...Naomi thinks that sounds super cool. I do not.) I believe that ice skating is in our future this week, also....I plan to sit on the sidelines and cheer. :)

We have found a bar in town - The Brownstone - that is a Seahawks bar. It shows every game and would like patrons to come in blue and green. Niner fans are discouraged. :) We stopped in on Friday and the bartender gave me a pair of Seahawk gloves - because we're "real" Seattle fans. Evidently, Seahawk fans who are NOT from Washington state do not count as "real" at The Brownstone.

Go Hawks.

Pictures next time.