Abbott Kinney!!!

We all went to the Abbott Kinney festival in Venice this weekend. It's a fun festival with a lot of good hippie stuff and tasty food. There's also a great kids area with a slew of bouncy castles, so it's not all boring grown-up stuff. The arts and crafts were particularly good this year though, and it would be so easy to spend a fortune here - but it's still fun just to look and enjoy the atmosphere and the scene.

We ate breakfast at a great Mediterranean restaurant that would be dangerous to have too close to our house! Jack attacked a cream cheese bagel and Em & I enjoyed having breakfast out, which is kind of a rarity for us. In the back was a really nice garden store and the kids had a fun time running along the garden path and looking at the koi fish.

We all had a great time and Em got a beautiful white dress that she has been looking for for two years now!! Actually, about the only thing not so great about the festival is the lack of a good hippie band, like, ummmm, Morning Glory. As Phil Lesh said, "The only thing missing from this little seance is us!"

Summertime done come and gone my oh my...

Happy Autumnal Equinox and happy birthday to Frodo & Bilbo Baggins! Time to read again.

Oregon Wedding!!!

Well, technically it was a Washington wedding, but since it was just over the Columbia River from Portland, it still felt like being in Oregon. The couple in question were my step-brother Brian (My dad's wife Molly's son) and his girl Krista (nee Striker). It was a terrific wedding, and I was honored be asked to play the music for it.

I flew in on Saturday morning, and it was a true whirlwind trip! After getting picked up by my Dad & Molly, we helped out with the last minute preparations, and met with my uncle Colin, aunt Katie, Grandpa Hank, and cousin Andy. I also had to get ready to play and went to the father of the bride's house to borrow a guitar (doctors and dentists always have the best guitars!) He had 4 guitars to choose from and I picked a beautiful Laramie that is about 10 times nicer than my guitar - even though I still love mine! It was a joy to play though.

The wedding was at a really nice Victorian bed and breakfast, and Brian and Krista (I think mostly Krista) did a great job getting everything together. It was a beautiful wedding and, amazingly for Oregon, the weather was perfect. I guess I added my part with the music. Brian had requested a lot of Beatles, so I played "Imagine" while the ceremony was getting started (for about 20 minutes - a real Jerry version). When the wedding party came down the aisle I played "Here Comes the Sun", which Brian had requested instead of "Here comes the Bride". I thought it was a pretty good choice too.

Brian and Krista had asked our friend Fred to perform the ceremony. Fred got a "license" to perform weddings a while back, I believe from the back of a Rolling Stone magazine, and has actually performed about 30 by his count, so he knows his stuff and did a great job.

One of the highlights for me was when we both performed "In My Life" during the actual service. I moved up next to Krista and accompanied Fred. I think it sounded good and was really enjoyable, even though Fred's strap broke half-way through the song! Being a true pro, he kept on going, and people said that they just thought that he was really getting down. That is kind of how it looks in these pictures. Anyway, I think that it was a good song for that day.

One final cool thing about the wedding was getting to see a bunch of family that I don't get to see that often, and in particular it was nice to see my cousin Andy. He took a bunch of these pictures - which is why they look so much better than usual, and is a really fun guy who I wish I could see more often. Even though I was exhausted by the time I got back, it was great to be back in the Northwest with family and friends.

First Days of School!!

Our baby Finn started Kindergarten this week!!! Em and I were typical nervous parents, but Finn seemed to take the change pretty easily. He proudly showed his first homework assignment - collected leaves - to his teacher, and was excited to have two of his old friends, Hannah and Simone, in his class. We worked pretty hard to get him into this school (it is a public school, but it's not exactly in our area) so it was a relief to see him have such a great start. He is so smart and friendly that it's hard to worry about him too much, but it's still a big step and we are both so proud of him!!!!!

Anyone reading this might be interested to know that all of the public schools are having a tough time. I went back this week also (not as excited as Finn), and there are sooo many problems, from broken copy machines to no food for the students at lunch, to not enough teachers. Finn's teacher said that they are feeling it in the elementary school also, and there are play areas that can't be used because of a lack of funds, etc. But life goes on & we're all trying to make things work for our students. Hopefully Finn will enjoy his experience and not be too affected by the difficulties that plague the system right now.