What babies want

Ever seen a baby go after something he (or she) wants? It’s like watching Baby Olympics. Their determination and sheer audacity is amazing. Observing the way their mind works when they see something they fancy can be amusing and scary at the same time. Toy companies can spend millions on research and studies to discover what babies want and which educational and fun toys are most marketable to parents but what they don’t understand is simple. Babies don’t want things made for a baby. They want things that are not made for a baby. They want our things. Ever notice how they covet our remote controls, laptops, cameras, cell phones, purses, wallets, photo albums, magazines, makeup, ink pens, shiny things, breakable things, and so on, and will usually do anything in their power to snatch them? With unrivalled stubbornness and a will of their own a baby will stretch, maneuver, squeeze through, go over, go under, dodge, dash, and dance around a table with incredible finesse, just to get what they want. Yes, babies want our things.

And that’s not all they want. They want our dog’s things too. Why a baby finds Fido’s prized possessions much more irresistible than their own I have no idea. I mean really. What is so desirable about an icky bowl of dog chow, a slobbered over squeak toy, or better yet a gently used (or not) piece of rawhide? Heck if I know. I’ve tried to figure this one out for myself. I’ve sat my inquisitive and intelligent grandson Jude on the floor and surrounded him with stimulating objects such as building blocks, musical play things, colorful baby books, etc., all to no avail. Without shame nor remorse and right in front of my eyes he will spot, dart, and crawl at the speed of light after a thing he should not want, or have, as if it is the most desirable and fascinating thing on this earth.

And last but not least…cabinets and drawers. Babies want them too. Anything that pulls open and anything with a door and they are there. As can be seen in the following clip it didn’t take Inspector Jude long to overcome my lame attempt at childproofing cabinets. All I can say is I am out of practice, it’s been a long time since I had to do this, it’s time to buy a childproofing kit, and...Gotta love that Jude!



And now,
…a little childproofing tip from Ty Burrell (Modern Family funny guy)

Remembering Frank

Mel called yesterday with the sad news that Frank passed away. I had just finished writing a long post about him when suddenly everything I wrote seemed inadequate and trite. It seemed no matter what I said or how much I wrote I was unable to capture his true essence. I could say what a good father and brother and friend he was. I could say how much my family and I grew to know and care about him. I could say how much he loved life and how unfair it is his was taken too soon. I could say so much but never enough. The past few weeks Frank has been on my mind. I remember the first time I met him and the last time I saw him. I remember old and happier times. There were many, but what I remember most about Frank is how very much he loved Mel and I thank him dearly for this. We will miss you Frank. Requiescat in pace.

Frank and Mel - January 2007

Old Town St. Charles Christmas - 2006

St. Louis Polish Falcon Festival - September 2006

Frank and his daughter Andrea on her wedding day - 2009

Francis M. "Frank" Snopek
Snopek, Francis M. Frank Thursday, July 21, 2011. Beloved father of Andrea (Guy) Wittler, Amanda, Arika, and Alisa Snopek; future grandfather to Luke Wittler; dear son of the late Casimir and Thelma Snopek; dear brother of Larry, John (Margie), Paul, Steve (Carrie) and Joe (Diane) Snopek; former husband of Cynthia Snopek; dear nephew, uncle, great uncle, cousin, and friend, and will be missed by his dog, Sherry. Frank owned and operated Snopek Major Appliance Repair for over 30 yrs. Services: Funeral from KUTIS AFFTON CHAPEL, 10151 Gravois, Monday, July 25, 9:15 a.m. to St. Stanislaus Kostka Church for 10 a.m. Mass. Interment Our Redeemer Cemetery. Memorials to Heartland Hospice appreciated. Visitation Sunday 4-9 p.m.

New kid in town

There's a new kid in town and her name is Leighton Ann! Born on the 15th of July and what a little doll she is. Congrats to Holly and Jeff on their new bouncing baby girl. Also BIG congrats to Holly on her new job as a 6th Grade Math Teacher at Coolidge!

Jude's future girlfriend ;-)

mommy and baby doing great!

All things hipster

A few funnies for a self-proclaimed hipster (and you know who you are). :)

How to seduce a hipster


Times I tried to be a hipster


Hipster Olympics


P.S. Hey hipster friend, I'm thinking you may need to switch to Pabst.

Mark and Nancy's Canadian Adventure

And what a great adventure it was! Mark and I had a blast on our Canadian Adventure and would love to do it again some day. Although we were never "knee deep" into Canada it was great seeing and experiencing life in another country for a week. Crossing the border into Ontario (from Buffalo, NY) was fun and exciting (even if the Border Crossing Guard didn't stamp our passport).

A few things I'd like to note and remember about Canada/Canadians:

Ok, now for the good stuff, the vacation videos I just KNOW everyone and their brother's been waiting for...hahaha.

Warning: These videos may induce sleep (big time zzzzzzz's) but the good thing is you aren't stuck in a living room politely/blindly staring up at a wall watching slide after slide after boring vacation slide (like the good old days). You can turn them off any time you like and the person who made them will never know. And that is the beauty of online vacation videos.

June 26 to July 3, 2011
Part 1 - Niagara Falls, ON - Aww yes, a city best known for Niagara Falls, a set of two large waterfalls on the Niagara River, the American and the Horseshoe (my fav). This city has plenty of high-rise hotels, casinos, theatres, souvenir shops, and observation towers.

Part 2 - Niagara on the Lake, ON - Possibly the prettiest town in Canada and also home to Shaw Festival, a series of theatrical productions featuring the works of George Bernard Shaw. Lots of B&Bs, Inns, Spas, and absolutely gorgeous plant life, flowers, and landscaping.

Part 3 - St. Catharines, ON - The largest city in Canada's Niagara Region and a personal favorite of mine. I could so live on Nokara Farms.

Off to the Falls

 Niagara Falls, here we come. :-)

Summertime

Today is the first day of summer. Of course with the hot muggy weather we've already had this year it feels like summer began a while ago. Now that it's official the rest of the season will likely fly by like it always does and before we know it we'll turn around and it will be fall and then winter and brrrr I don't want to think about winter. The important thing is it's summertime now!

First day of summer 2011 backyard pics:

some sort of flower in my jungle of a backyard

I forgot what these are called but they're kinda pretty.

bright and sunshiney

Winnie, good as new after her recent surgery

Miss Lola

Lola loves her squeaky toy (watch below).

Emily's garden ;)

Emily's blueberries...if only the birds would stop eating them.

Just some songs

Just some songs...little bit country, little bit rock n roll, little bit soul, and a few good covers:

1) Paul Westerberg - Things
Absolutely love this song by Minnesota's Paul Westerberg, formerly of The Replacements.

2) Denison Witmer - Northern Sky (Nick Drake cover)
Denison Witmer from Lancaster, Pennsylvania does a great job on this sweet romantic Nick Drake song. 

3) The Moondoggies - Empress of the North
The Moondoggies are a four-piece band from Seattle. They're a serious band with a silly name that makes me think of old Gidget movies. Moon Doggie, aka James Darren, be still my heart. :)

4) The Moondoggies - Down the Well
and another from the dogs...

5) Hotel Lights - Falling Down
Hotel Lights, from Houston, TX is an American indie band founded by Darren Jessee, former drummer for Ben Folds Five.

6) Joseph Arthur - Out On A Limb
Joseph Arthur (discovered by Peter Gabriel in the mid-90's) is a singer-songwriter and artist from Akron, Ohio. Very talented artist.

7) Jim James - All Things Must Pass (George Harrison cover)
James Edward Olliges Jr., professionally known as Jim James or Yim Yames, is the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of Louisville, Kentucky-based rock band My Morning Jacket. Can't wait to see Jim James with MMJ (along with Delta Spirit) in August!

8) Thad Cockrell and Mindy Smith – I Know The Reason
Thad Cockrell, the son of a Baptist pastor, grew up in Tampa, Florida and I like him plenty.

9) Rural Alberta Advantage - Muscle Relaxants
The Rural Alberta Advantage is a Canadian indie rock band based in Toronto, Ontario. I like the name of this song and the way it makes my car's rear windshield vibrate when I play it.

10) Thad Cockrell - Pride
Another pretty song by Thad.

11) Sparklehorse featuring The Flaming Lips – Go (Daniel Johnston cover)
Sparklehorse was the work of singer and multi-instrumentalist Mark Linkous, who sadly took his own life in 2010.

12) Sparklehorse featuring Thom Yorke of Radiohead – Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd cover)
Turn it up. This is an interesting cover of a Pink Floyd (Roger Waters) classic. I really really like this one.

13) Will Johnson – Tangle For Less
What else can I say about Will? Love him.

14) Thad Cockrell - A Country Of My Own
One final country-type tune by Thad (and I don't even much like country).

15) Dawes - All My Failures
Dawes, a band from Los Angeles, recently backed Robbie Robertson on live shows to promote his LP How to Become Clairvoyant.

16) Kill County - Three Bullets
A sad sack banjo picking Oklahoma-based alt country kind of band.

17) Liam Bailey – I’d Rather Go Blind (Etta James cover)
Liam Bailey, an English musician, does an interesting version of an Etta James classic. I like his version...a lot.

Father's Day

Love you dad.

What a man

He rides a bike.
He looks good in uniform.
He is thoughtful and kind.
He has a good heart.
He makes me laugh.
He loves music.
He replaces dryer vents.

Who could possibly ask for more?
Not me. :-)

A modern day troubadour

Eric Hensley, Alton’s modern day troubadour, played at Jacoby Arts Center Friday night. His one man band is called “Names and Titles”. Check out the video below for some samplings of his tunes.

For bookings, contact:

“He’ll do whatever”

Jacoby Arts Center, Alton, IL

http://www.jacobyartscenter.org/

Names and Titles myspace:

http://www.myspace.com/7813832

Look who's 10 months old today!

Love love love this little Jude bug! :-)

diaper cakes

Well, you can't eat 'em but diapers cakes can still be cool. They're fun to make, they make great gifts, they make a nice centerpiece at baby showers, they look cute in nurseries, and best of all they're useful. The pink cake below is for Holly's little one, Leighton Ann.

Holly and Leighton in the sun

how to make a diaper cake:
(click pics for better view)

Ingredients: 60-70 diapers, a base to transport the cake (in this case a pizza pan for later use), 2 baby blankets, booties, baby socks (for making rosettes), 2 baby bottles (to hold the tiers in place), candy to fill the bottles (to surprise mommy later), rubber bands (must have lots of rubber bands, small and large), tissue paper, ribbons (wide and narrow), double-sided tape, little toys, pacifiers, or whatever else you want to add.

pizza pan wrapped in tissue paper and
strawberry malted milk balls for the first bottle

tier 1, 2 and 3 (each diaper rolled and rubber banded)

two baby blankets around the bottom tier and more tissue paper

next, pretty ribbon and sock rosettes

more ribbon, pacifiers, booties, etc

and to top it off, a bright flower and ribbon curls



Some things are just too funny

...and Sarah Palin is one of them.

The Colbert Report
Tags: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

Another holiday gone by

Funny how time flies when you're having fun. My 4-day holiday weekend was fun and it certainly flew by. From staying home and watching a movie with Emily on Friday night to hanging out with Mark in Grafton on Saturday to a barbecue and time with Jude on Sunday to being lazy and relaxing on Monday, it was all fun and fast and I wish I could go back and do it all again.

Memorial Day Weekend 2011

June (and a new album by Centro-matic)

It's June! Yay! June always feels like the beginning of summer to me, even if it's not officially summer until June 21st. The 21st of June is also the day Centro-matic (one of my fav bands) will release their new album Candidate Waltz, their tenth release. It was recorded and produced by Scott Solter (Spoon, Mountain Goats) and Matt Pence (C-M's drummer), and I can't wait to hear it!

I've been a fan of Will Johnson, the front man of Centro-matic for some time. He's actually the front man for two bands, Centro-matic and South San Gabriel (his quieter side project). He's a solo artist. He's the new drummer for the supergroup Monsters of Folk. He's an actor in a strange little indie film called Salt Creek County. He's a lifelong Cardinals' baseball fan and he's an artist! Talk about a multi-faceted guy!

I've written about Will before and most likely will again. He's the real deal...talented, humble, and just plain nice. People, including other musicians and fans, geniunely like him. His own manager (Bob Andrews of Undertow Music) may be his biggest fan. He named his son after Will by using the first three letters of his first name and the final three letters of his last, resulting in . . .Wilson. If Wilson's anything like the guy he's named after I bet he's a pretty darn cool kid.


Will and the big painting that became the cover art for Candidate Waltz.


A behind the scenes Monsters of Folk ACL video. The song "Dear God" showcases the uniquely different and beautiful vocals of Jim James, Conor Oberst and M. Ward. (Will on drums)

One song, two sounds, decades apart:
All Night Long - Lionel Richie (80's original)



All Night Long - South San Gabriel
Will and company took the same song and turned it into something totally their own. I wonder if Lionel's heard it and loves it too.

Ultimate dog tease

"Covered it with what?"  haha, love love love this dog!

City Garden and other places

May 21-22 weekend

St. Louis links:

Terrace View
http://www.fialafood.com/Jim_Fialas_Restaurants/THE_TERRACE_VIEW.html
Nice little restaurant with a minimal décor (and minimal menu). Mark had the chicken with cheddar, caramelized onion, mushrooms and arugula sandwich (which he said was good other than the chicken being a bit rubbery…eww, hate it when that happens). I had the organic tilapia with dill aioli, lettuce, tomato and onion sandwich (which was dee-lish!)

City Garden
http://www.citygardenstl.org/
Not much to this little garden other than a few pieces of unusual art, nice plants and lovely landscaping. It’s an attractive spot downtown and has a nice view of the Arch.

The Delmar Loop
http://visittheloop.com/
The loop has plenty of cool places to walk and stop. Plus, it has Michael McDonald’s star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame, among these others: http://stlouiswalkoffame.org/star-location/.

Jilly’s Cupcakes
http://www.jillyscupcakebar.com/
The cupcakes at Jilly’s were really BIG and really pretty but a little dry and only so-so tasting (imo). Personally, I much prefer the The Cup’s cupcakes in the Central West End and Edwardsville (yum yum). I hear Jilly’s has a great Sunday brunch though and hope to give it a try.

Joplin tornado

It’s hard to fathom the unbelievable devastation a tornado can produce until you see the pictures.

May 22, 2011 - Joplin, MO
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1389737/Joplin-MO-tornado-At-89-dead-twister-cuts-4-mile-swathe-Missouri-town.html

There, but for the grace of God, go us all.

two years

I seem to write a lot about my dad. And I think that’s because in one way or another he’s on my mind nearly every day, even more so today with it being the 2nd anniversary of his death. I’ll go to his grave today and with my eyes closed try to remember all the dear things about him I never want to forget. There are so many things I never want to forget. Sometimes I wonder if it's really important to visit a loved ones grave. Does it make us feel better, even if they don’t know we’re there? Do they know we're there? I’ve wondered about this before. I think of past visits over the last two years, his birthdays, Father’s Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and other times when I’ve needed to feel close to him again. Sometimes it helped and sometimes it didn’t. Sometimes it just felt empty. Though I know where to find my dad I don’t believe it’s where he really is. I think about where he is now and wonder what it’s like, if he’s aware in some spiritual sort of way that I’m still here, or is he sleeping, resting in peace until the day he’s united with Christ. Is he already? I wish I knew the answers but then again I know we’re not meant to know, not until our own time comes. I know dad used to wonder too. I can still see him sitting in his favorite chair looking out the window with a faraway look as if contemplating the Universe and what it was really all about. He always wanted to know what it was all about. I know he still had questions when he left but I feel certain that even with his questions, deep down, he knew there was more than could ever be explained. He may not have understood God the way he desired but he knew God. He always knew he was there.

A little hot tub humor

When Mark asked if I would help him dispose of his hot tub last Saturday I thought sure ok. He had a plan. He rented a dumpster and acquired a saw powerful enough to cut the "fiberglass" hot tub into manageable pieces. He and I would then simply haul the thing piece by piece to the front yard and place them in the dumpster. Fairly simple plan right? Uh, no. It would have been a real mission impossible without the assistance of our two helpmates Marilyn and Jake. God love 'em!

Friday the 13th and Jessica Lea Mayfield

On this Friday the 13th the weather may have been bad but the music was all good. Mark and I had the pleasure of seeing three unique and entertaining bands at Off Broadway. The highlight of the show was of course Jessica Lea Mayfield. Opening up for Jessica was Blood Pony followed by Nathaniel Rateliff.

Blood Pony (below), this local St. Louis band has lots of members and handclapping/foot stomping fans. Their music may start out a little slow [yawn] but eventually builds layer upon layer into an enthusiastic crescendo [yes!]. A band I liked and appreciated a bit more than Mark.

Nathaniel Rateliff (below), Denver, CO, an interesting and slightly rumpled musician. I love his voice and the way he belts out songs with it. Standing near the front of the stage I didn’t notice the loud talking the night of the show…until I listened to this video. The video really picked up the noisy crowd. Gross as it was when it happened it could explain why in the middle of his song Nathaniel shot a loogie clear across the stage floor. ha! That’ll teach a rude crowd. Eww ick and yuck Nathaniel (but I love your voice so I forgive you).

Whimper and Wail (loogie and all)

Jessica Lea Mayfield (below), a 21-year-old singer-songwriter, from Kent, OH known for writing dark and sad songs with a plaintive minimalist style that draws on both country and rock music (Wikipedia, and I couldn't agree more). I can’t say enough about this young woman. She has a gentle shy way and a sweet sounding sometimes haunting voice, a truly mesmerizing and talented performer. Like Mark says…she’s going places (or words to that effect).

This video includes three partial songs by Jessica.

Nathaniel Rateliff

Nathaniel and Mark

Jessica Lea Mayfield





Guitarist Richie Kirkpatrick

For another great song and a video better than mine:

Jessica Lea Mayfield - Sometimes at Night

A weekend past

This post is a little late but better late than never I suppose. The video below is from last weekend (when the weather was warm and the skies were dry, very much unlike the current one).  The accompanying song is called "Please Don't Go," a great old song by Willie Tee.

A great mother's day

I had a great Mother's Day yesterday. Good food and good company at mom's house, nice gifts from my kids. From Emily, a framed picture of her and I (on table below) along with a cute top and necklace. From Mandy, a sweet Mother's Day card plus an Express gift card. From Jake, a Mother's Day card and promise of a dinner (Thursday, right Jake?). And, to top it off, beautiful flowers from my grandson Jude (with a little help from his mommy). What a great Mother's Day. What a great family.