What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store? What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more. ― Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
This Christmas we're making memories instead of collecting more stuff that we have to find places for. Oh, I have a few good surprises in store for the big day. There'll be a few pretty good presents under the tree. In the meantime, we're spending time together and spreading the Christmas cheer across the whole month. Our first stop on the 2013 Christmas Memories tour was the Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband Christmas Concert tonight.
If you ever have a chance to see Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband, do it. They put on a really great show, despite tonight's reviews from most of the residents at Bug Cottage. Grasshopper maintains that he smiled once, but it was painful. When we asked LadyBug what she though, she said, "eh," even though I saw her clapping along and laughing at their antics. And Mr. Bug said he went for me {sidebar: my enthusiasm embarrasses him at concerts so he gets double points}, but I saw a pretty content smile on his face as he watched. Despite what they say, I know that they all secretly had a good time. As for me, I had an awesome time.
I thought I'd share a little bit of the Christmas Mayhem with you. You can see the band performing live on a local radio station here, but I picked this video to share with you because the sound is a little better and lyrics are actually quite clever.
However you choose to celebrate the season, I hope you're off to a good start!
{Angel's Landing, Zion's National Park Image Source}
I've dropped off cliffs into the crystal blue,
And I've set up tents on golden sand.
But all I need is you, here, falling in my arms
And me, there, subject to your charms
And I don't know if I have ever felt this way before
All I need is you
–All I Need is You, Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband
Thursday, October 4, 2012 8:13 am
It's been a busy week at work, made even busier by the fact that I'm taking tomorrow off. We're going to Zion National Park. I have to say, upfront, that I'm an indoors kind of girl. But I'm really looking forward to this. Because our trip falls at a very busy time at work, I had to push my first-of-the-month tasks back a day earlier in order to make this work. This included working last Saturday, which meant I didn't get my regular Saturday chores done. I only did the essentials. I could have used that time to prepare for the trip this weekend, because there hasn't been a spare minute this week to even think of it. Until last night at midnight that is, when I was lying in bed trying to go to sleep.
Sometimes I come up with some really brilliant stuff while I'm supposed to be sleeping but can't. Other times, it's a little bit of madness. Last night I decided that we should have family pictures taken while we are in Zion's. Mr. Bug's youngest brother and his wife dabble around in photography. We were going to have them do family photos a couple of months ago, but Mr. Bug's work schedule wasn't cooperating and we had to cancel. They're going to be at Zion's. We're going to be at Zion's. There won't be any competing work schedules. Why not?
Well, for starters, I'm not sure what LadyBug and Grasshopper will wear. I have a pretty good idea for Mr. Bug and me, but not the Little Bugs. I'd need to go shopping for them. And it would have to be a miracle shopping trip, indeed, where the perfect outfits are hanging on mannequins just inside the front door of the first store I go into, because today is another long work day; perhaps the longest work day of the week, in order to get everything tied up so that I can be absent tomorrow. Aside from the outfits, LadyBug and Grasshopper both need haircuts and I need a touch-up. I've got quite a bit of silver showing at the roots. I wonder if I could pass it off as hair bling and start a new fashion trend? Perhaps not. In any case, I can do our hair. If there were enough time. But what I really wish was that my sister could come down and do all three of us.
It is probably a little unrealistic to try to squeeze in all the prep this would take. Perhaps it would be better to do it a different weekend, when I have more time to get us pulled together.
Right now, I need to get to work. Sigh. I miss my stay-at-home-mom days.
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Friday, October 5, 2012 8:31 am
The occasion for our trip to Zion's is Mr. Bug's annual family reunion. I'm always a little anxious to get together with his side of the family. There are some very strong personalities; too many Chieftainesses among the sisters and sisters-in-law trying to lead the tribe {and it's catching on with some of the older grand-daughters} and the men are just content to . . . well, they're just content. Getting a group of 50 {two parents, eight children, eight spouses, and thirty-two grandchildren} to all go in the same direction is pretty much impossible. There have been some squabbles and some hurt feelings. I guess that's what family is, but it takes me a few minutes to relax once we get there. After I've had a few minutes to settle in, I always have a great time and I always feel bad that I did not enthusiastically return the warm greetings we received when we got there. My goal today is to let all my stress go in the car on the way so that I can hit the ground running.
Yesterday was a long and stressful day at work. It was apparent, after I arrived and spent an hour helping someone else with their workload before my own because no one else had the time to train them, that trying to squeeze in the necessary prep for formal family photos was not going to contribute to my overall happiness and that finding another time soon to do them was in the best interest of my mental well-being. I have to go back to work today for a couple of hours. My goal is to get done only the essentials. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that something "urgent" doesn't come up while I'm there because I know I'll have to take care of it. We still have to pack, so I really do need to get in and out quickly.
We really are a fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants operation around here .
We'll pick the Little Bugs up from school and head out. It's a little under four hours, so barring any dawdling {which we are excellent at} we should get there about 7:00 tonight.
--
4:23 pm
We dawdled. We're finally on the road.
--
4:25 pm
False start. We have to stop and get gas.
--
4:32 pm
OK. Now we're on the way. Zion Park ETA: 8:30 pm
--
9:05 pm
We're here and we're settled in. We're staying just outside of Zion's, near Navajo Lake and Brian Head. One of Mr. Bug's brothers found a lodge that we could rent out in its entirety. There are six rooms each with a double or queen bed and private bathroom, and three sets of suites with a varying number of beds and sleeper couches and each with a bathroom. There is also a large common area and a nice kitchen. 49 of the 50 of us are here, which is amazing. The beds have been supplemented with cots and air mattresses. Some of the kids are sleeping on the floor, but I think we're all comfortable enough. It beats camping by a long shot.
Mr. Bug & I, along with his youngest brother and his wife {the aforementioned photographers} are in charge of breakfast for 49 tomorrow. We're doing French Toast Casserole, so it is time to put that together.
--
Saturday, October 6 7:46 am
My head hurts, in that old familiar left-side-only way. Seriously? Can I play the it-is-so-not-fair-that-I-have-a-migraine-today card? I've been looking forward to this trip for a while, and I'd planned to take advantage of the outdoors experience. We're hiking The Narrows today. I don't want my day spoiled. Maybe if I ignore it, it will go away.
--
9:45 am
Breakfast was a big success.
My head still hurts. I'm still ignoring it, but I think hiking The Narrows is out. A smaller group is going on an easier/shorter hike to Cascade Falls, and I'm going to play it safe.
--
11:10 am
I'm really glad we're staying in a lodge. With beds. And flushing toilets. I've never been a big fan of camping. It's not like I just don't like the idea of camping. I've been {at least once every summer between the ages of 12 and 18 and in the winter a couple of times too} and I actually don't like it. My quarrels with camping are several, the first of which is the lack of indoor plumbing, and the second of which is a lack of indoors. I have allergies, so I'm either stuffy or sneezy or runny. But I think the biggest deterrent for me is the location of the required amount of Nature to make a successful camping trip. The roads to get there are bumpy and winding and usually on an incline. I get motion sick. There wasn't much I could do about it on those camping trips as a teen, except for grin and bear the ride up the canyon. Now, it helps when I can drive, but I still usually arrive feeling queasy and uneasy. I think I equate that unpleasant feeling with camping.
Having said that, I can not deny how beautiful it is here. We're trundling down a dirt road that cuts through a large, green meadow ringed by quakies and pine trees. The colors are amazing.
LadyBug just asked when we were going to get the trail head. It seems that life is mostly about the "hurry up and get there." But the answer came to me that today it's not about getting there. Today is about enjoying the ride. That seemed to satisfy both of us.
--
12:00 pm
We made it to the falls. It not so much a waterfall as it is a trickle down an incline of mossy rocks. But the trail was easy and the scenery and view are amazing.
One of the things I love best about Mr. Bug is his sense of humor. A short way in along the trail, there was a lookout with two benches. They were woven like chain-link, but made of a sturdier metal. The end of one of them was seriously bent out of shape towards the ground. Someone wondered if a tree had fallen on it. Mr. Bug was certain that it was a bear. One of his greatest {irrational} fears is that we'll all be eaten by bears. I laughed a lot at the commentary he provided for the bear who bent the bench . . . those humans make such puny furniture. Ah well. I'll sit here anyway.
It might be funnier if you were there.
The lookout from the trail head is to Zion Park. The elevation here is 10,000± ft above sea level.
I cobbled together a panoramic view. It is so beautiful.
--
1:00 pm
We're back from the hike. I can't ignore the headache anymore. I'm checking out for the afternoon.
--
6:00 pm
I'm slightly annoyed that I don't have anything more interesting to talk about than my head. Nothing is helping. I'm going back to ignoring it.
--
9:46 pm
Dinner was excellent. There are several different board and card games going on, lots of great conversation and fun cousin interaction. This is my favorite part of getting together.
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Sunday, October 7, 2012 9:55 am
When Mr. Bug and I are away from the everyday drone we make an invincible team. Life is somehow easier and we're more in sync. It has been a really relaxing time but now we're packed and ready to go home. I really did not get my fill and we're going to plan something similar soon. Perhaps Yellowstone next. If I can convince Mr. Bug the bears aren't going to eat us.
Everyone is supposed to be on the back porch in 5 minutes for a group photo. It will take at least 30 minutes to get organized.
10:45 am
Four people in attendance missed the photo shoot {and one didn't make it on the trip}, so here are 45 of us. What a handsome group! And three more babies are due between January and May!
11:07 am
We've made our goodbyes and we're headed home now. T-minus 4 hours and counting. Hopefully it will be a quiet, uneventful trip.
1:15 pm
LadyBug is carsick. She timed it nicely with the appearance of a road stop.
3:07 pm
We've been off the twisty, winding roads for two hours now. Maybe she's not carsick. Maybe she has the flu. No rest stop this time. 25 miles 'til home.
6:00 pm
Home again.
The laundry is underway.
We get to sleep in our own beds tonight.
The violinist is that peculiarly human phenomenon distilled to a rare potency — half tiger, half poet. –Yehudi Menuhin
When I was in elementary school, my best friend played the violin. She started playing at about the age of four so by the time I met her in the 3rd grade, she was pretty good. In 4th grade, I decided that I wanted to play the violin, too. I joined a little orchestra at school, but became frustrated that I wasn't an instant virtuoso. The hours and hours of practice my friend put into her talent, combined with the years she had been doing it, made it look easy. My pitiful Twinkle, Twinkle just didn't compare to the beautiful music my friend could play, so I quit after not too long. As a child, I didn't realize that anything worthwhile in life takes effort. I have often regretted not sticking with it and have considered taking violin lessons as an adult.
This week we bought a violin for Grasshopper and it is so beautiful. He's decided to join the 6th grade orchestra and I'm pretty excited for him. I think he's pretty excited too. When I dropped him off for his first class this week, I told him to pay close attention so that he could show me everything he learns so that I can learn too. He is big enough to start out with a full-size violin, so we can share. And I'm seriously considering taking violin lessons.
The violin is such a beautiful instrument. It can touch your soul and bring joy to your heart like no other instrument. I love classical violin music and have a small collection I love to listen to. But there is more to the violin than that. A violin can make music to suit any mood. One of my favorite musical groups is Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband. Lead singer, Ryan Shupe, plays a mean fiddle. He started at the age of 5. His group puts on an amazing show. This collection of clips showcases some of his amazing talent.
And for good measure this is one of my favorite of their songs. I just love the sweet sound of the violin.
Today's post brought to you by:
P.S. Ryan Tilby, if you're reading, can you get me tickets to your show in December?
Music is forever; music should grow and mature with you, following you right on up until you die. -Paul Simon
I ♥ music. These are just a few of my favorites {Playlist didn't have everything I wanted. There was nothing by Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband. You can check out my faves by them here}. Uncharacteristically, I don't have much more to say than that. I'll let the music to the talking for me today.
I want to be a rock star and travel really far and buy me a big expensive car.
And make lots of money and find me a honey
And live in a nice big house where it's sunny
With a pool and I'll be cool
I'll always have a gig 'cause I'll be big
I'll have parties and friends and places to go
The only problem is
I play the banjo -Ryan Shupe & the Rubberband, Banjo Boy
Remember when I posted about Ryan Shupe & the Rubberband? Well, the bass player, Ryan Tilby (pictured above on the far right), commented on my post! I'm not sure how he found me, because I'm mostly about quilting and Twilight and gardening with a bit of cooking and family stuff thrown in, but I was totally giddy! Fangirl giddy, I'm ashamed to admit. I'm glad that I didn't post bootleg RSRB stuff (except for the pictures, which I totally stole off their site). In the event that lightning strikes twice and Ryan Tilby comes back, I'm now begging for forgiveness for stealing your photos and requesting permission to leave them up (code for I'm leaving them so you might as well get on board).
I also thought I'd post a few things about RSRB that I didn't know how to fit in my first post. First, I mentioned that they are all seriously talented musicians. Each has been playing for years and most of them play more than one instrument. I mentioned that sometimes they play each others instruments. Here are all five guys playing one upright bass. Don't ask me how they figured this one out.
That isn't the most spectacular on-stage stunt they do, though. Sometimes they'll line up and have one hand on their own instrument and the other on the guy's next to them and amazingly music still comes out. That is one you have to see to believe.
Next, I just have to say that I think that it is really cool that a group of Utah Boys has made it to the big-time (see Banjo Boy). RSRB has songs on a couple of LDS genre movie soundtracks. Snow, which I referenced here, was featured on the 2000 film, God's Army. In 2001, they played a song called Go to Hell in a bar on-screen in the movie Brigham City. Here's a bit of random trivia about that movie, which is only remotely connected to RSRB. The bar where RSRB played is now a Mexican restaurant called Joe Bandito's. I live a stone's throw away from Joe Bandito's and they have the best Mexican food around. If you're ever in Utah, give me a ring and we can meet up for lunch at Bandito's. Also, there is a city called Brigham in Utah, but the filming of the movie Brigham City mostly took place in other locations across the state.
Back to RSRB. Of the two movies that RSRB has songs in, I would highly recommend Brigham City, because although is falls in the LDS film genre, it is mostly because the writer/director/producer, Richard Dutcher, is LDS and set his movie in a predominantly LDS community. You really don't have to know anything about the religion to understand what is going on in the film, so if you're interested, it is available on NetFlix.
And lastly, I'm not sure how to wrap up this post. So, I'll end by saying, Ryan Tilby, if you come back to visit (or send any of the other members of RSRB over here), I'd love some passes (four please) to see you guys at the Sandy Amphitheater on Friday.
Shameless. I know.
P.S. Having a world-famous musician comment on my blog twice (squee!!!) totally Makes My Monday, so I'm linking up over at Twinfatuation.
I’ve been all over the rocky mountains Splashed in England’s hyde park fountains Seen denali rising up at three A.M. Watched the wind blow through the red wood forest Heard the tabernacle chorus singing songs like angels do in heaven
but all I need is you, here, falling in my arms and me, there, subject to your charms and I don’t know if I have ever felt this way before all I need is you - Ryan Shupe & the Rubberband,All I Need
I have talked about music before, how it has to get inside me and resonate with my soul for me to like it. Very rarely do I accept a musician or band in its entirety. I pick and choose what I like across the genres with no regard for popularity or public opinion and no loyalty to any particular artist or group. One of the rare exceptions to this is Ryan Shupe & the Rubberband. This is one of the few groups whose music I enjoy in its entirety, that I have a collection of more than one or two of their songs. I don't know if it is just good music or if it is becaues I can say I knew Ryan way back when. We attended the same commuter school and were part of the same student ward on campus. His band even played for a ward social. But It wasn't until quite a few years later that I became a fan.
Ryan originally intended for his band to be hired out on a gig-by-gig basis, which is why he called it The Rubberband. The name he chose reflected the flexibility he wanted in his band. His plan was to avoid a messy band break-up and just hire other musicians to play with him on a contract basis. But as time passed, he eventually took on a regular crew of band members, forming a sort of brotherhood between them. Their original bass player (whose name I forget -- so sorry) left the band seven or eight years ago and their drummer recently moved on to new adventures as well. Still, their group continues to produce their own brand of spectacular music, which doesn't quite fit into any one genre.
I've been to see them play several times. Their music is awesome on its own. But to see them play live is an experience you'll never forget. You never know what you'll get. They play each others instruments while still holding their own. They completely switch instruments. They switch songs mid-way through and then switch back again. They tell jokes. They improvise. They are seriously skilled musicians. This video, from their YouTube channel, shows an impromptu duel between band leader, Ryan Shupe, on the mandolin and bass player, Ryan Tilby.
If you're interested in seeing them play, check out their tour schedule.
Here are a few of their songs on my favorites list. I've linked them to the RSRB Facebook page, where you can listen to them in their entirety (I hope -- I did this while logged out, so I think it is accessible to non-Facebookers). You can also see their complete album list here.
Can you see my little garden? I can't either. Just four short days ago, I was out there soaking up the sunshine, even getting a little bit of a sunburn (I hope my dermatologist isn't reading this -- I'd be in big trouble for not wearing sunblock!). And now I can't even see the tippy tops of the flowers that had started to bloom. Silly spring bulbs!
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