Unleashing My Inner Martha Stewart and Loretta Lynn

First of all, many apologies for being lame and not blogging. A variety of circumstances (mainly moving into a house without internet) have made it difficult for me to be as internetly active as I usually am.

Secondly, while I would like to write about Appalachia Rising (which I did not attend, as I was rising in Appalachia those days), I'm sick of thinking about the coal debate and talking about it. This will probably last a week, and I will come back in full force and explain what this all means.

Now for something less controversial.

Nesting!!!!

I moved into a new house! It's at the head of the holler. It's pretty big, poorly insulated and filled with wood paneling, and I think I'm in love. I moved in a week ago and ever since I've been cleaning, unpacking, installing shower heads and unleashing my inner Martha Stewart. I feel like I've successfully transformed our kitchen from creepy to cute in the past week (although it is still dark because of the wood paneling), revitalized the bathroom and shower so they are not only usable and clean, but also smell alright. My landlords are generous, the neighbors are friendly, and aside from a dog that tries to bite me when I walk to work and I secretly hope will get hit by a car, my holler is a wonderful place to live. I only hope my roommate and I can afford to pay utilities on it in the winter when we'll actually have to heat the place. If we can't I'm not really sure where I'll go. But friends and strangers are kind and generous with their couches and I'm sure I'll work it out.

Music!!!

Two note-worthy musical endeavors:

1. My friend got a gig playing banjo at the elementary school. He was nervous about it, so I agreed to accompany him on my bass, not knowing what I was getting myself into.

I make it sound so ominous, but it wasn't at all! We ended up playing on a stage in the cafeteria at lunch time during what appeared to be "Take Your Parent to School Week." It was one of the most fun gigs I've had. The kids were a blast. One group in particular (2nd-3rd graders I think) were particularly appreciative. They clapped, danced, made the "rock on" hand signal while we played, winked at us, and made us feel like rockstars. Maybe some of them will join the Pick and Bow afterschool program, or seek out other folks in the area who play music, but if not, I at least hope that their chicken nuggets tasted better to an East Kentucky old time soundtrack.

2. I'm in a country band! It's old country/honky tonk/whole lotta fun band called the American Divorcees. We've practiced a few times in the past week, and I just can't get enough. It is a blast, and so much different than the last band experience that I had. So far we have a guitar, a lap steel, a bass, and a fiddler. We've never met or practiced with the fiddler, but she has red hair too, so I'm hoping we can get some matching outfits going on for gigs or something. As we all know, the most important part of country, bluegrass, and old time music is the pretty dresses, western-style shirts, and cowboy boots. For our band to be successful, we must not only sound good, but be able to rock the country look for us to be believable as musicians singing about heartbreak, alcoholism, and murder. Of course, in that regard, I'm probably the least authentic of the bunch, but I can pull off dresses and cowboy boots pretty well, so of course they invited me.

I'm also joking about most of the clothing related parts.

But I'm dead serious about enjoying playing music with these fellows. It feels so good and makes me so much happier.