LIVE ALL AGES Rock 'n' Roll Extravaganza This Saturday!

This Saturday morning at 10:00am, join the families of Cheverly Weekday Nursery/Mother's Day Out for a very special all-ages rock 'n' roll morning show featuring SOUL REVOLVER. Admission is only $5 per person (it's a tax-deductible contribution.) And there will be snacks available for a small fee.

Soul Revolver is Cheverly's very own Beatles cover band, and has played private parties as well as several times at The Surf Club on Kenilworth Avenue. Members are Charles Andrews (bass, vocals), Kelly Fisher (guitar, keyboards, vocals), Brian Jarboe (guitar, vocals), and Brian Youmans (drums, vocals). All four members have some relation to the Weekday Nursery/Mother's Day Out programs or to Cheverly United Methodist Church, so it's definitely a family affair.

The concert will take place in the historic church's Sanctuary, and we encourage dancing in the aisles!

We hope that many families are able to take advantage of a fun, inexpensive opportunity to hear (and see up close!) live music in Cheverly. This is the second concert in the Music at School series, which benefits the Cheverly Weekday Nursery and Mother's Day Out programs for young children. We bring a variety of music to children and their families in the Cheverly area, allowing them to experience live music performed by familiar people -- parents and other people the kids know. We encourage children to take an active interest in music, and families to pursue more opportunities to expose their children to a wide array of musical styles. In our first year, we've offered performances by classical pianist Naoko Maeda and rock band Soul Revolver. Next year, we will continue to expand the offerings of this exciting new outreach program.

For more information, visit the WDN/MDO website or read about it on your friendly neighborhood blog or its' close personal friend.

Trip down memory lane...

So I was just killing some time online while Paul is trying out his new "homework command center" and decided to put a few things up on the old pricklygirl site. I got to scrolling down through the archives and had a really nice time remembering back a year or two...or four. I'm going to do that more often -- very useful to go back when you're wondering what it is you're actually doing with your life.

Exciting news!

If you've become bored while reading these posts (completely understandable) and your eyes have wandered over to the right of the page, you've noticed that I've spent the month of February doing thing-a-day 2009, wherein you create something new every day. I had a list of projects I wanted to work on before the month started: knitting (lots), sewing (some), embroidery (nope), quilting (nope), painting (a bit), silkscreening (not so far), metal work (not so far) and decoupage under glass. Well, this week has been pretty much devoted to decoupage under glass, and I've had really positive feedback. Positive enough that I've decided to start selling my work -- a big step for someone with a hefty lack of self-confidence. I hope to show at local craft festivals (Crafty Bastards, Richmond Craft Mafia, Charm City Craft Mafia) as well as opening a shop on etsy. Etsy is a really cool website that allows artists to show (and, hopefully, sell) their handmade wares to a wide audience. Starting Monday, you can visit my etsy shop to see what I've been working on. Take a look at other artists, too -- there's a lot of great handmade stuff out there!

The other exciting thing that's been happening in pricklygirl land is that Andrews&Dunham Damn Fine Tea is fully up and running. The first series -- Nepal, Dragonwell and Ceylon -- are doing very well, and I'm going to the post office to ship new orders every day.

Okay, enough advertising. Just thought you might like to know what's up.

I am tired of being told I don't exist.

I am beginning to think that something big has happened and I missed it. Apparently, I have ceased to exist. Who knew?

According to the Washington Post, no one has books in their living rooms anymore. We do. In the living room, the bedrooms, the basement, the dining room...

We don't have a tv in the living room. In fact, there's only one in the house, and no cable. The door-to-door cable guy couldn't believe that when we do use the tv, we use a regular old antenna. That just doesn't happen. Apparently.

According to WAMU's Dianne Rehm Show, no one cooks anymore. I do. Every single day. I bake, too. And make candy. I even make my husband's lunch, nearly every day. Also, I sew and knit clothing for my family.

People in this house know how to play actual musical instruments, and do so. Frequently.

According to many, many outlets, no one reads anymore. I read more now than I ever did. So does the rest of my family. And we go to the library.

According to many of those same outlets, families don't eat together any more. We eat dinner together -- which is usually on the table when my husband (the only one I've ever had) gets home -- every night.

Also, apparently, everyone lives in much bigger houses today. We live in a small Cape Cod built in 1949. It has not been expanded one iota (not even a deck). We have a tiny kitchen without a dishwasher. In fact, the only real improvements since 1949 have been replacing major appliances as they've died.

We have one car. It's american.

And no one has a community anymore, or so I hear. We live in Cheverly, an amazing, active community. We know the teenagers. We know their parents. We're fairly certain we know many of the kids whom our own kids will date in a decade or so. Grandparents live here, close to their children and grandchildren. In some cases, right next door. And Facebook keeps us connected to family and friends that, in other times, we would have lost contact with long ago. In fact, I feel more in tune with people in my life than I ever have.

I am a stay-at-home mom who volunteers in the community and at my children's schools.

If I went by the media, I really would have to question my own existence. The thing is, I know that there are other families out there, just like mine. In fact, I have a feeling there are a lot of us, all beginning to doubt if anyone knows we're here anymore.

holding pattern

You know, I really should be able to think of something to do with 20 minutes.

But I can't.

And, since I've been sort of neglecting the blog (facebook + twitter + hulu = bad), I'm going to fall back on an old standard...

WHAT'S ON MY iPOD (20 songs in order, no skips)

1. Wilco: Should've Been in Love

2. Blur: Out of Time

3. Nirvana: Breed

4. The Strokes: Hard to Explain

5. U2: Do You Feel Loved?

6. Van Morrison: Brand New Day

7. Radiohead: Morning Bell

8. Rick Springfield: Jessie's Girl

9. TV on the Radio: Bomb Yourself

10. The Apollinaires: Envy the Love

11. Sonic Youth: Mary-Christ

12. The Beatles: I Will

13. The White Stripes: Passive Manipulation

14. Weezer: Possibilities

15. Siouxsee & the Banshees: Dazzle

16. David Bowie: Looking for Water

17. The Minus 5: The Town That Lost Its Groove

18. De La Soul: Magic Number

19. Outkast: Dracula's Wedding

20. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers: Here Comes My Girl

I have no idea what my iPod is trying to tell me. Except that maybe I should delete #8. Oh. And I'm old.

Okay. Your turn. What's on your iPod?

thing-a-day 2009 Day 1

Thing-a-day has started, and I am on the ball!

February 1 (day 1):

* Red Velvet cupcakes for Maggie's Tea Party (and the SuperBowl ... the tea party was really just a cover to make childish cupcakes for grownups)

* Chocolate-cherry bread pudding for brunch with my mother-in-law, who also went to Tot soccer and witnessed Maggie actually kick the ball into the goal twice, which is more than Paul ever, ever managed

* Spicy white bean stew for the SuperBowl, which doubled as a knit-in (thanks, Kelly & Monica -- I love traditions!)

* Tea party cut-out paper doll chains, which Maggie and her friend decorated. They were all princesses. Big surprise, that. The girls also played lots of pretend games, all of which seemed to center around a mother and child going on an airplane and being left alone. I have no idea what that was about.

* Finally, progress on Charles' new hat. This is a replacement for the first one I made for him -- a long overdue Christmas present that I had planned to complete during homework in December. Unfortunately, it was comically large. I hope it fits my dad!

So that's Day 1. On to Day 2...I think I can finish the hat today!