Attitude Check

(...if you know the correct response to the title of this blog, please post in the comment section.)

Today was an awesome day. A little background:


This is my friend Mike, on the right:

(That's my friend Sean on the left)

Mike and Sean are standing in the living room of their college apartment. Oh, yes, that's a bar. They built that themselves. Needless to say they didn't get their deposit back. They even had a name for their bar: The Silver Parcan. (Yep, you are correct. They are lighting nerds.) I don't think I need to tell you that I spent many of my college hours in this bar/living room. I don't remember most of those hours, but I'm sure they were fun. Plus I got to to teach a bunch of freshmen how to shotgun a beer. You see? I like to give back to our youth.


This is what a typical Friday night at SUNY Purchase looked like for me and my fellow D/T's:




Thirsty? Why not grab a beer? What's that? I think I hear "Roxanne". Better make it two beers for me, thanks. And what's with the soy milk, Mike? If you got rid of all of that stuff on the top shelf, I bet you could fit AT LEAST another case of MGD . Let's be practical, now.




Okay, enough history. Point is, Mike is an awesome friend of mine, a great drinking buddy and an all around swell guy. He grew up in Philly, and visits often. Today he texted messaged me at 10am to let me know that he was in town and drinking beer-- would I care to join them for a little pre-noon imbibing?

Does a bear shit in the woods? I was THERE. Since I'm too poor to buy beer right now, I brought over a peace offering of pasta salad (my pasta salad is ALMOST as good as beer) and we commenced to drink the morning away. It was great to catch up and to reminisce about old times. (The ones we could remember, anyway...) Mike's lovely wife Kelly was in town getting her hair cut, and joined us looking mighty swanky. I attended their wedding a year ago, and blogged about it here. Anyway, we had a wonderful morning and I stumbled out into the afternoon a little buzzed and very happy. Good to see you again, Mike and Kelly!


I went home to sober up and to listen to this week's Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, which featured my good friend Gina! She sounded great on the air and even won Carl Kasell's voice on her answering machine!! (I admit it, I'm jealous... and a giant nerd.)


Gina and I then attended a Fringe show: Ombelico Mask Ensemble's production of 50 Ways To Kill Your Lover, which was staged in the courtyard of the Betsy Ross House in Olde City Philadelphia. The production was loosely based on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, done in the Commedia dell'arte style. Very Fringe Festival, no? I really enjoyed the performance-- it was lit solely by torches placed around the stage, and as the sun set, the torches created some amazing atmospheric effects. The cast was great and very funny, and while there was just a taaaaad too much improv for my taste, I really enjoyed the production as a whole. A big standout in the cast was the lovely (and hysterical) Jess Conda, playing the role of Tybaltiniweeniefettuccine. And the best part of the show? It was FREE! (Unemployment has made me very grateful for free stuff)

All together, it was a fantastic, spontaneous day. My favorite kind. I'm loving the fact that I'm actually getting to see a bunch of cool Fringe shows. And I do love seeing old friends.


**my thanks to Mike, for the free beer and for the pictures.

Playlist

It really speaks to my level of motivation when, instead of cleaning the house, an hour after I decide to get down to it, I find myself still putting the finishing touches on my House Cleaning Mix using my trusty iTunes. (To be fair, I just finished cleaning. And the mix was rad-- totally got me in the cleaning groove. So time well spent.)

Anyway, this got me thinking about the awesomeness that is the mixtape. I know I'm not alone in my undying devotion to an artful mix of music that's just so damn perfect for a situation that you play it until you can't stand it any more. I remember spending hours in my childhood closet, carefully queuing up the cassette tape so that my transitions were smooth and clever. (It was truly the mark of an amateur to have those nasty clicks between songs. Hello, people, that's what the "Pause" button is all about!!) Mixtapes have come back into fashion lately with a vengeance, with everyone from hipsters to hip-hop artists embracing the control of a rockin' mix.

I have discovered some amazing artists from friend's mixtapes, and I must confess that I aspire to be that cool friend for people I mix CDs for. My favorite present from any friend is a mixtape of their music. I love everything about it: homemade liner notes, Sharpie artwork on the disc itself (I scoff at those fancy computer printed CD's!), listening to the type of music and the way it's laid out on the CD. How the mix starts and ends is just as important as what's in the middle. Now I can't claim that I'm any good at this myself. But I do love trying, and I do have a few friends who are seriously kick-ass at mixtapes. (Noelle, Edna, Jesse- I'm looking at you, kids.)

Nothing is more frustrating than getting an unlabelled mixtape with unfamiliar songs. What if you love a song? How are you going to find out more about this artist? At the same time, though, there is a thrill in the mystery of it all. One of my favorite mixes of all time came with no label. It was entitled The Toilet Brush Mix, after a gag in the show we were doing at the time, A Perfect Wedding. I was able to identify 3 artists at the time: Raffi, Weezer and G Love. (I told you it was an awesome mix!) The rest of the songs were amazing, and when I would hear them out in the world, I would immediately demand to know who the artist was. (Hello, Belle & Sebastian!) I still listen to that CD.

I especially love mixtapes with themes. Recently I've been challenged to create a Soundtrack of My Life. I suppose you could be very literal with this, starting at the beginning from the sounds of your childhood and progressing through chronologically until today. I went for the looser approach, choosing songs that meant a lot to me during different phases of my life.



Here's my list:



1. Hold Tight (Want Some Seafood, Baby)-- The Andrews Sisters


I was introduced to The Andrews Sisters in high school, and they made a huge impact on me, musically. The harmonies, the clever lyrics-- they are some cool gals. Plus this song is silly and cracks me up and reminds me of riding in the car with Noelle and Kevin, thinking that I had really grown up friends.




2. Super Connected-- Belly


This song also takes me back to high school, when I was discovering both "secular" and "alternative" music all at once. It was a great time to come into the music scene, I must say. I loved Belly because they were the first female-fronted band that I loved. I also loved this song because my mother had no idea what the lyrics meant. That was a definite plus.




3. My Body Is a Cage-- Arcade Fire

(I don't think this is the official video.)

I'm here right now. This song came over my headphones the other day when I was walking in a driving rain, and I thought "Yeah. Yeah, this is me. Right now." Plus, you know, Arcade Fire seriously rule.




4. Alarm Call-- Bjork

(It was a true toss up between this song and Army of Me, which I also love, and which reminds me of being in Germany when I was 16, when it was the only damn video they played on MTV Europe.)

This song reminds me of college, when I was struggling but suddenly had this breakthrough: I was actually doing it. I was actually succeeding, when so often I thought I was failing. This song helped me to pick up my head and say "fuck it" to all of the negativity and bullshit that was swirling around me at the time. Plus I love Bjork, and her random use of profanity in the song.




5. Ghosts in My Machine-- Annie Lennox


This is me now, again. Trying to clear the clutter from my head. Fighting this beast on my back. Fighting against despair. But becoming increasingly angry about it. Only Annie Lennox can express this particular frustration so well. I love everything that she sings.




6. The Space Between-- Dave Matthews Band

(This isn't the official music video, this is from Dave's performance at the Winter Olympics Apparently Dave doesn't like his videos to be embedded. Jerk. Anyway, for a much better version, click here.)

Aaargh, this song still breaks my heart a little. It came out when I was a freshman in college, seeing someone I shouldn't have been seeing. And falling for this person a little, even though I knew they belonged to someone else. And knowing that it was wrong, and that it would end badly and that I would get hurt. And then doing it anyway.




7. Better Version of Me-- Fiona Apple


This song was the soundtrack to getting my current job at the Walnut Street Theatre. It came at a time in my life when I was kicking ass and taking names, moving up in the world, happy in my relationship and generally feeling pretty awesome. We saw Fiona Apple in concert that summer, and it was a really great show. She's a very cool, if slightly crazy, chick.



8. Eleanor Rigby-- The Beatles


The Beatles were a little known garage band in the 60's. Ha. Ha. Ahem. But I must say that Sgt. Pepper was the first album I ever bought with my own money. The Beatles were a major part of my high school experience. I fell in love with this song during our high school production of The Diary of Anne Frank. I played Mrs. Van Daan. I remember getting into costume to this song. I love the strings. My favorite Beatles song of all time, and that's a lot for me to settle on just one.




9. All We Have Is Now-- The Flaming Lips

(Again, not the official video, but the song is set to clips from Quantum Leap, which I find hilarious!)

Another "now" song-- I play this to remind myself to stay in the present. It helps my anxiety. Plus, again, The Flaming Lips are rad. I would LOVE to see them in concert. Apparently it is the trippiest experience.




10. Legend of a Cowgirl-- Imani Coppola


This takes me back to college... the first time. In my freshman dorm room at SUNY Fredonia, I discovered Imani-- I think on MTV. She was a one-hit wonder, but I bought the whole album and loved it. Plus she went to SUNY Purchase, my soon-to-be alma mater. This was right around the time Princess Di was killed, and I have vivid memories of flipping back and forth between the news and MTV. Ah, to be 18 again...




11. Rifflin' the Scotch-- Billie Holiday

(I couldn't find Rifflin' the Scotch, so this is Billie singing You Go to My Head, another favorite of mine)

Billie takes me back to living in Pittsburgh, when I started my female jazz artist obsession. I made my boyfriend at the time buy me a Billie Holliday CD with the last of his cash. I listened to it constantly in our cramped apartment, wondering what I had gotten myself into.




12. I'm A Woman-- Koko Taylor

(This is Koko singing both Good Times Roll and I'm A Woman live in 1978)

I discovered this song on the preshow mix of Shadowland Theatre's production of Proof that I stage managed. Koko Taylor really blew me away, and introduced me to the blues. Plus the lyrics are awesome-- any song that includes the line "I can make love to a crocodile" is a good song in my book. This song takes me back to those heady nights when we would cram into an actor's bedroom to listen to Megan on her guitar, while I would feel the haze in my head from too much drinking, smoking and sleeping with someone who was no good for me. Ah, the trajectory of Sara's failed heteorsexual relationships...




13. Super Sex-- Morphine


Morphine is another one of those bands that I love fiercely, and have collected their whole catalogue. My good friend Amanda Oechsle introduced me to them, and I have a huge fan since. They are no longer a band, as the leader singer died ONSTAGE during a concert in 1999. Morphine reminds me of the last summer I stayed at home between college semesters-- waiting tables, dinner theater, Amanda and Weas, driving through the country summer night with the windows down and the music telling you which turn to take.




14. Star Witness-- Neko Case

(I apologize for the shitty pirated concert version, there's no official music video)

GOD, I love Neko Case. I only just recently purchased this album (I was heavily influenced by the picture of her and her greyhound on the cover), but this song takes me back to high school. Or maybe some time beyond that when I was home... anyway, I think it perfectly captures the thrilling claustrophobia of growing up in a small town. Neko was introduced to me through a mix of Edna's, and I am Edna's eternal slave for that.




15. The Dog Song-- Nelly McKay

(This is her performance on Letterman)

Nelly McKay is the bees knees. She's got a jazzy, soulful voice, wildly original musical arrangements and lyrics that are slyly subversive. We saw her perform at WXPN, and it was one of the best concerts I've been to. I even waited for her autograph afterwards. This song speaks to me on two levels-- I had this CD on constant rotation when I was living in New York City during that horrendous production of The Beauty Inside. I have never been through such professional hell, and yet at the same time I was living by myself in New York and it was springtime. Nelly captured my conflicting moods pretty perfectly. I didn't have an MP3 player at the time, so I bought a $20 portable CD player from some shitty bodega and carted it all around. The subway was my favorite place to listen to this CD.

Of course now this song speaks to me because I have a dog, who I walk everyday. Singing a song.




16. Big Exit-- PJ Harvey


Another song that reminds me of my last summer at home. I was feeling a little frustrated and impotent that summer, so listening to PJ Harvey at full volume as I cruised around town in a beat up minivan was just the ticket for my mental state. I like a woman who can get angry and still sound so damn sexy. That's what I want to be when I grow up. This whole album is amazing.




17. Mother's Little Helper-- The Rolling Stones


What a drag it is getting old... I first really discovered this song during a production I stage managed at InterAct... help me out, here, InterAct people. It was scene change music for... Was it American Sublime? Since Africa? Woof, I'm getting old. Anyway, it sort of never occured to me that I was actually aging before. Sounds silly, I know, but in these past few years I've discovered that I'm becoming an adult. For better and for worse.




18. Feeling Good-- Nina Simone


This song blew my mind. I was introduced to it on a mixtape (yes, an actual cassette!) made for me by Noelle Lutz when I was living in Pittsburgh. There's nothing like striding down the street on the Northside of Pittsburgh listening to this song. (I guess you had to be there...) I felt so young and alive and open to possibilities during that time, and Nina knew just what that was like.




19. In Spite of Ourselves-- John Prine with Iris DeMent


I discovered this song on the amazing album A Date With John Waters, which is a collection of songs that John Waters picked out for some sexy time. Seriously, this is an amazing CD. Go buy it.

Anyway, this song pretty much sums up my relationship with Deb. With a few pronoun substitutions, of course. If we ever get married, expect to hear this song at the reception. Plus I really dig John Prine's gravelly voice.




10. Last but not least.... Clair de lune-- Claude DeBussy


I directed a production of Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de lune in the summer of 2005, and it was an absolutely transformative for me. I don't think I have a big future in directing, but this was a truly magical experience. SueAnn and Bill were breathtaking and incredibly brave. The set was gorgeous. And I still get tears thinking about Rachel's slow, beautiful sunrise lighting cue set to this song. This show defined and strengthened me as a theater artist. I miss you, Bill.





Whew! Longest blog EVER. Of course this is just a small sampling of my musical influences-- now I'm thinking about so many other songs I left off.... practically the whole jukebox at BG's! So far the only theme I can determine from the above mix is an undying love for strong female vocalists. But hey, you've got to start somewhere with the soundtrack of your life, right?

So now it's your turn. Let's make some mixes, people! Somebody pick a theme 'cause after this blog, I'm just TIRED.

Hope

My political leanings shouldn't shock anyone who knows me, but I try to keep political commentary to a minimum in the public forum, since there are so many annoying political blowhards already making much too big of a racket for my taste.

I must make an exception here, though, to say that I'm fiercely supporting Barack Obama's bid for president. I find his politics enlightened and his persona inspiring. And I'm totally in love with his family.



What a classy, intelligent woman!

This family will do great things for America. Now let's get him elected already!

Riding in Car

It's that time of year again-- The Philadelphia Fringe Festival is about to get into full swing. Yesterday my friend Carrie asked me if I wanted to attend a dress rehearsal of the show Car, which is an immersive dance piece. I said "Hell yeah!"



Car's show blurb is here, and I don't want to spoil anything for you, but the show was absolutely INCREDIBLE. Go see it. I came home, sat down at the computer and literally wrote down everything that happened during the show so I wouldn't forget. Perhaps I'll post it after Car closes so as not to ruin the experience for those of you who are able to go see it in Philly.

It started with us being instructed to meet at the elevators for a parking garage in West Philly. At the appointed time, a man came down and told us to take the elevator to the 5th floor and get in the gray Jetta. And then the experience started. Amazing. Innovative. Exactly what out-of-the-box theater and movement should be. Huge kudoes to Kate Watson-Wallace and all of her collaborators for this truly original experience.

Now go see it already! (A huge thank you to Carrie for the invite!)







In other news, I go to my first rehearsal for the Fringe show I'm... err... production supervising, (because naturally I would never stage manage a non-union show!) called Janet 2.0 for Keila Cordova Dances. Show blurb here. I worked with Keila last year on Girl Y, and it was a really fun experience. I'm looking forward to doing a some work again.





And on a totally unrelated note, I'm FAMOUS! Well, okay, not exactly famous. But I did get something I overheard right here on 2 Street published on the hilarious website Overheard in Philly. My quote is here.

See? Living in this neighborhood may be finally starting to pay off.

Shuffle Mode

A couple of random things for the day:

1. I'm totally digging on Santogold these days.

Her music is such a wonderful hybrid of indie rock, funky hip-hop, 80's grooves and that hipster post-modern sound that makes me swoon. Plus it just screams summer to me. If last summer's soundtrack was all about Feist, this year I'm rolling down 2 Street in my tricked out Subaru blasting Santogold. (And by "tricked out Subaru" of course I mean that I've added two sporty greyhound stickers to the back of the old Forrester)





2. A couple of geniuses are claiming that they have discovered Bigfoot's corpse. Awesome. Full official news story here, but I'm also getting word that Bigfoot himself is a little upset over this whole kerfuffle. To set the record straight, I would like to post Bigfoot's own rebuttal here:

(click on image to enlarge and read this very important message)

My thanks to colere for the press release.

And that's all for today.

Back to the Woods

Summer is coming to a close for at least one part of our family... Deb goes back to work on State Fair this Monday. To celebrate her last day of freedom we went for a hike around Fairmont Park, topped off with a stop at her favorite ice cream place in Manayunk.


Hyde missed the woods-- he was very eager to get into the car and go on a long hike.


He still was very unsure about the water, though-- after some coaxing, we got him to put a paw in, but not even Milkbones floated by him would entice him to go any further.


He did enjoy an ice cream treat after the hike!


We topped off the day with a late night showing of Tropic Thunder, a movie I have to highly recommend. Hilarious.



A stop at The Good Dog to celebrate Beth's birthday and to beat off a few slobbering Irish would-suitors and our day was complete.

I hope that this brief time off has brought Deb a sense of peace and relaxation that she can take into this coming season.

Retreat

Our vacation this year was what I like to call a "working retreat"-- we weren't sitting on the beach relaxing and we weren't doing a bunch of tourist-y stuff. Instead we concentrated on relaxing, spending time together, spending time apart and generally working on our relationship.

Plus we wanted to introduce Hyde to the country, and let me tell you, he was in HEAVEN. He moped about the apartment for two solid days after we came back. And I can't say that I blamed him....

The cabins were gorgeous. They felt more like little apartments in the woods... comfy living room, two bedrooms, fully stocked kitchen (with a diswasher!). Since we had the pup, we were given the "Dogwood", or Cabin 5, which had a dog theme. Plus it was the handicapped equipped cabin, so our shower was HUGE and had a place to sit down!


No country kitchen is complete without a bouquet of wildflowers on the table...


Right outside of the cabin we were provided with a small grill, a picnic table and a fire pit-- we made a fire every night. S'mores are the taste of my childhood. The woods around the cabin were beautiful, with lots of fallen pine that made excellent, crackly fires.


Hyde immediately took to the whole experience, carefully marking his territory all around the cabin before settling down into guard dog position.


He also regulated dinners on the picnic table, carefully ensuring to clean up any scraps that happened to fall on the ground.


Hyde helped Deb with the grilling, doing important sniffing and watchful pacing as she cooked.


We had several amazing meals, but two really stick out to me. Flatbread pizzas on the grill:


Turkey burgers:


The guard dog sitting at attention. The ears just kill me.


Supervising fire activities.


We went into the historic village of Boalsburg, PA (the birthplace of Memorial Day!), enjoying cute little shops, the awesome farmer's market and drinking with locals at the local watering hole, Duffy's Tavern. On the way there, we saw this on the highway:

Good advice, I think!

Creepy statue in Boalsburg commemorating the first Memorial Day.


Next to the cabin was a recreation area, with a golf course, go-karts, a batting cage, a picnic area and a great little pond with a walking path all around it. We walked around the pond several times a day, and tried to get Hyde to jump in, but he never did.


Time slowed down here, and I spent a lot of time outside reading, writing, watching my surroundings. It was incredibly restorative.


I even started to smile more...


We took a hike in the nearby state park-- Deb and Hyde had a lot of fun on the trail, jogging around the rocks and jumping over fallen logs.


We hiked around a gorgeous bog, surrounded by dense rhododendron.


Oh, yeah, and we defaced some state property as well.


Happy girlfriends.


We came back from the hike to a great dinner (turkey burgers on the grill) and Deb spent some time teaching Hyde to "leave it"-- he doesn't look happy about this!


Dinner on the grill, a bottle of wine, the sun starting to set...


Gathering firewood, I became enraptured by the sunset.


Can you blame me?

Soon

Deb and I will be here:



We're taking a vacation. In the woods. Cabins, hiking, swimming, reading on the porch, bonfires... we're going to do it all. And nothing more. No site-seeing, no tourist attractions, no night life.

Just me. Deb. And the dog!

I can't wait. I'm looking forward to peace and quiet and some major rekindling.

We'll be gone Sunday-Thursday. Catch you on the flip side.

Video Killed the Radio Star

Things we learned at the Radiohead concert last night:

~Don't mix Jaegermeister and Sparks and Golden Monkey beer.
~Always carry your cell phone on you.
~Stick together, or people worry.

The concert itself was amazing, although we did lose the New Zealand contingency of our party for a little while. Thankfully we were reunited safely.

Next concert: Ben Folds!!

Where Troubles Melt Like Lemon Drops

We've had a run of absolutely gorgeous weather these past few days-- cool nights followed by bright sunny days, no humidity and a touch of (dare I say it?) fall in the air. Crisp, beautiful, perfect. Not beach weather by any means, but perfect walking around the city weather.

The garden has exploded with blossoms in this weather, which just adds to the loveliness.

My morning glories have finally bloomed... and although we're usually such late risers, my early morning walks with Hyde have shown me a whole new morning world.


Not sure what kind of flowers these are, but they are enjoying the weather as well. When I bought the plant it had purple blossoms. Now white. Interesting...


I'm even getting blooms on my pepper plant, which means lots more goodies to come!


The cukes are blooming as well. I'm going to have a mighty cuke and pepper crop in September, weather-permitting...


And the best thing about this weather is the sudden rainstorms, violent and heavy and beautiful. And after the rain starts to die down, the sky puts on more theatrics...



It's a great time not to be in a dark theater, to be home and here to glimpse all of these small beautiful things.

Porno Stash

Deb and I went to see our first summer concert of the season, The New Pornographers at the Electric Factory.

It was an amazing show-- I was slightly disappointed that Neko Case wasn't there, but nonetheless, a rockin' concert. A perfect mix of the old stuff and the new stuff, and while the opening act was plagued by false starts and sound issues, the New Pornographers put on a flawless, boppin'-in-your-seat show.

Oh, yeah, I had a seat at the Electric Factory. You know you're old when you look at the crowd gathered around the stage and sigh "It's just too crowded. Plus it's such a long walk to the bar. What's that? There are seats up by the bar? Dude, I'm so there."

By chance we met up with my good friend Melissa Raffel and her husband Lawrence and after Deb convinced two nice men to scoot down, we actually got to sit next to them. (Behold the powers of my persuasive girlfriend!) We did have to jealously guard the four seats when one of us got up for a pee break-- those skinny hipsters are like hawks! All together it was an amazing night.

I didn't get a great picture of the actual concert, as there was a strict no-camera rule in effect and Deb was making me paranoid about confiscation of my camera. As it was, I had to smuggle it inside an alternative menstrual product.

Security lady: "What's this?"

Me: (praying she doesn't notice the weight of the camera) "They're like pads. Only, you know, washable."

Security lady: (quickly putting the bag back) ..."Oh. Okay, then. I still have to frisk you"

Me: (relieved) "Oh, SURE!"

After getting over the intial awkwardness of maybe appearing a little too excited about being frisked, I only managed this blurry shot:


But here's a better, more professional picture of the band for you:


After the concert, we stumbled out of the Electric Factory, a little buzzed on our too-expensive beers when we spotted something on fire across the street.

It turns out Shampoo was having a Pirates vs. Ninjas night and to promote it had people playing with fire in the parking lot (I suppose this makes sense in some freaky nightclub world):

This girl kept smiling at me. Which was disconcerting when she was swinging fire all around herself.

This guy reminded me of college:

Miss you, Magic Mike!

It was such a great night. Radiohead is our next concert-- tomorrow night! We're going with Lindsay and Carrie, so debauchery is sure to follow. Lots of pictures and stories to come, I promise.

In the mean time, I leave you with a little New Pornographers... and a huge crush on Neko Case.

Shore Enough

I've never been to the Jersey shore. Pathetic, right? I'm entering my 5th year here in Philly and I have yet to do that ultimate Philly summer rite of passage.

Well, all that changed yesterday. Arizona rounded up the troups (and by troups I mean those of us who weren't working or away) and we headed out to Strathmere, NJ. Free beach, free parking-- all we had to do is sneak in a little beer and have some long awaited relaxation time.

Not a moment too soon, either-- I am having some unemployed financial woes, Deb is completely stressed and tired and things here are just getting a little too overwhelming. I needed to get away for the day.


The beer and the bitches. (L-R: Melanie, Beth, me, Arizona, beer cooler)*



My mermaid moment.*



Melanie is also a mermaid*



Arizona and her buddy*



Oh, Beth.*



My lovely lady friends (L-R: Beth, Arizona, Melanie)



Fresh from the water, letting the sun dry us off.



Melanie as a pinup girl.



Sun and sand-encrusted beer cans.



It was the best day ever, just what we all needed. We're going to try to do it again next Thursday, and this time hopefully Deb can join us. I know she needs the beach calm too.



*My thanks to Arizona for these pictures.