LHOTR - We Did It!

 

Möet goes with everything. 

LHOTR - It’s Happening!

 

Excerpt from article on what people love about the Mitten. 

We’ve been working hard, really hard at our jobs in the time when we made our first offer. I got the call on Friday, while trying to wrap up a big work project that the time has finally come - we sign papers on Thursday to make our weekend place a reality.

So what do we need to do now? I have started a provisions pile, my nut jars now stocked with granola bars, tea bags, rice, pasta, and popcorn. Tins of tuna, spaghetti sauce, boxes of mac and cheese and stovetop stuffing. Peanut butter and jelly. Salt and pepper grinders. Steak sauce, ketchup and mustard. 

Tomorrow’s puttering will include gathering cleaning supplies and getting bedding together, first sleepover this Saturday!

I think we are both a tad overwhelmed at the things we want to do NOW to get settled, so the hardest thing has been the discipline to pace ourselves. Electric fireplaces and outdoor living rooms have been so tempting but we need to move in and get settled before we go buy more. We even have space heaters to take up that currently costs us nothing. 

Such a nice problem to have.

LHOTR - Well, Well, Well

Mr. Scott scoffs at sending the candle down. Mr. Scott is wrong.

It's fun to hear from Little House fans why they love the books. For me, it was about Laura's emerging sense of self, her gumption, and even her self-admitted shortcomings in terms of her bashfulness and her temper. You also saw her skills as a writer emerge through her descriptive narratives to help sister Mary visualize the Dakota prairies even though she was blind. I love that Little Town and Golden Years were about her courtship but it was also about her emerging sense of self. She even got a place with her girlfriend Flo for the summer to teach school!

Fans are passionate about details such as the recipes, medicine, politics, weather, farming, and late 19th century fashion. A Mennonite family author Kathleen Kelly Ferguson met while researching the path of the Ingalls family for the book My Life as Laura, wanted to uncover Pa's construction secrets, including wooden pegs for nails and leather door hinges. Lately, all of Pa's expertise at digging wells for his Little Houses has become a fascinating topic. Why?

The well continues to be an issue in finalizing our little house deal. The sellers are feigning surprise that this is an issue, as one inspector after another has confessed the well in its current condition is not up to snuff. However I knew, based on the fact the water was shut off during the summer while jugs of potable water were left on the deck and the kitchen counter, that something was up. 

The man who originally dug the well has not been answering his phone, which means he is not standing by the warranty on his work. We were refusing the deal until some compromise has been met. A more upstanding well guy has given an invoice for a new well to be dug, much to the chagrin of both sellers and us. Of course this couldn't be easy. And now, no matter what, everyone has to pitch in to resolve the issue. We have struck a compromise and sent our terms to the relator, hoping this issue is now resolved. We should know soon when and if we can close. 

So crazy to think this little house is feet away from all the fresh water we could possibly use, but no way of getting it in there at the moment. 

We'll figure it out, I hope. 

LHOTR - The China Shepherdess

 

Symbolic

Any LauraFan will tell you one of the consistencies in the Little House books is the moment Ma decided the family was settled in their new home. That's when the china shepherdess came out from her nest of quilts to grace the mantel, be it a log cabin, frame house, dugout, lean-to, farmhouse, or storefront doubling as a home. 

Today, the well guy is inspecting his previous work to fix it so the sale of the cottage can pass from the owners to us. 

I organized the piles on Friday, as my garage sale canisters have found tea bags and granola bars to fill them. And Saturday afternoon was such a perfect fall day, we drove up to the cottage just to look at it. Peeking inside, we noticed the toaster oven and some of the old blankets are gone, but it looks like there's a new coffeemaker on the kitchen counter and a pair of new pillows on the bed, so the Joys' time is coming to a close while we are anticipating the start of our time as weekenders. 

And for some reason, my Lladró statue of the Virgin Mary has been staring at me through hooded eyelids. Is she to be my china shepherdess for the Little House on the River? I have been adamant about no knick knacks that need to be dusted or things I'd be terrified of breaking. She was Very Expensive. But maybe she needs to get out of the house and grace our little home away from home. I think her box is still downstairs. 

But where to put her, as we have no mantel? Such pleasurable things to contemplate. 

LHOTR - stuff

Rule #1 at the house: if serving more than four, we use paper as a courtesy to the hostess. 

Otherwise, check out my chic budget style.  

Even though my head was telling me to wait, I couldn't help myself and splurged on new dishes for the cottage shortly after we made an offer. The carefully curated, budgeted style seen above came courtesy of the Dollar Tree, where every piece was $1; I got a four person, three piece place setting for $12 new. Since we have an abundance of coffee cups, I opted to skip purchasing mugs which are usually included in matched sets. 

I recently read an article on the psychology of shopping at dollar stores, which replaced the traditional five and dimes in American culture. It's considered a place where "even the most budget conscious can feel like they are wealthy," according to one study. Considering the fact I walked out of there with a new set of dishes, as well as a set of dish towels, and a set of cooking utensils for under $25, I would have to agree with that, as well as feeling like I was a savvy consumer.

You're not going to believe the bargain I got while garage sale-ing. 

Determined to reuse/recycle to make the cottage our own, I decided to peruse area garage sales in search of the other things we may need, such as a coffee maker and crock pot. These items were harder to find, as seller wanted too much money for things that were worse for wear, and frankly not that clean.

Still determined to find something of value on my hunt, I drive by a house where a woman is dragging a couch to the curb. I do a u-turn. No sign on it, so I go up to the house to ask her how much. "If you can get it in your truck, it's yours!" she said. Flip the seats, move the skates to the front seat, and it's in my truck in no time flat. Left it out in the garage for a couple of days in case of fleas or bugs, then moved it into the house to start the cottage pile. 

FREE - the beautiful blue fainting couch, my little reading nest for this winter, was FREE. I already have a basket prepared that will slide under it, stocked with girly spa things. 

Random drive-bys of garage sales has also given us a set of canisters that are old Kuzee Nut jars, and two knife blocks for $2, giving us the luxury of ditching knives from that are of no use and keeping the ones that are for a fraction of the cost. 

Shop the basement. 

And finally, why buy when we already have it? Having a big house and being married a long time means we have stuff, lots of stuff. We have been diligent over the years in parting with our excess, but after our offer was accepted and we started splitting things up (one saucepan for here, one for up north), we realized how much stuff we really had. So many glasses, mugs, platters, pitchers, and party trays. And ice buckets, why do we own so many ice buckets?! 

What's more is the agreement we signed was for the house, property, and all the content. I can see us keeping some of the housewares that are currently in the garage and I like the purple comforter, but we are going to attack the place like an episode of Hoarders, and throw down some keep, donate, throw away tarps before we get settled in. 

So, What's Next? Little House on the River

Offer pending!

One of the funniest bits from an Academy Award presentation was courtesy of Jim Carey, who called the statuette "the Lord of all knick knacks." Then you have George Carlin's bit on houses as just places to put your stuff. 

Well, that's how I'm viewing our current obsession: the purchase of a vacation/weekend/summer place, a knick knack we can visit and and a new place to put our stuff. 

The story for me goes back a ways, when on a trip to Adult Nationals, the girls and I designed the West Michigan Adult Skater "WMAS Compound." In addition to a customized ice rink with voice activated music system, fully stocked snack bar, luxury locker room, Chihuly glass sculpture at center ice, and rec room with theater seating to watch Nationals, Olympics, and Worlds, we would have guest apartments or cottages on grounds for judges and skating friends who would be visiting for private ice time, a competition, or test session. 

So I start to collect cottages on Pinterest. And you know how the mind wanders when you are falling asleep, you start to think about cozy couches, notion baskets, warm blankets, board games and such to outfit your little dream cottage. 

The Great Room. 

Fast forward to freaking COVID, and the world shuts down. I don't go anywhere or skate for months. All I do is work, get Will through virtual school, sew masks, and attempt to bake cookies until Dave tells me to stop. We need a vacation, and need one bad. 

We head to the UP and it is glorious. It was exactly what we needed, and my little cottage dreams start making more noise in my head. 

Muskegon River landing. 

So one weekend we have to go up north to deliver some things to the groomer barn in Baldwin. It's hot and we start telling Will tales of fun weekends up at his grandparents' cottage swimming, boating, and fishing. We aren't far, so it's the perfect opportunity to go run around Nichols Lake. We hit the public access beach for a quick dip; luckily I was wearing the equivalent of a bikini with my choice of bra and panty that day, behold the power of lycra! I can say I wore a bikini at age 50!

This then leads to us cruising the area, looking at cottages. And there's one for sale! But the owner is elusive in her willingness to entertain selling to us. This starts an immediate obsession in Dave to start looking at properties. And then we find it: the little house on the river. 

Little House on the River

We go see it. We go back two days later, this time with Will. We call friends and realtors for advice. We go back to tour the place and write a check that day, making an offer. It is accepted. 

We are still in the throes of inspections and negotiations. I'm hoping I don't have to delete or amend this post to say the deal went sour. I hope the next step in this blog is to chronicle the process of making this place, as Dave's friend Lois says, our "forever home," the place where we retire in the future. The place where Will and the kids come to hang out. The place where I serve a cozy Christmas meal this December. It sure looks bright and sunny in photos on a gloomy day. 

The Songs That Shaped Rock n Roll, The Last 28 Years Encapsulated for Your Pleasure

So what's happened in music the last 28 years or so? 

Don't ask Deaky, he's not talking. 

The list I used for the 500 songs that shaped rock and roll (with some numbering errors along the way) was published in 1995. The newest songs on the list were from Metallica, De La Soul, Pearl Jam, and Nirvana, so I established 1992 as the cut off. There has since been 28 years of new music to take into consideration, as well as new ways to consume music, new ways to deliver, and new ways to connect to your favorite artists. Anyone can be a recording artist, create a following, become a grassroots to superstar phenom.

As such, the following is a mish mash of information that has since moved the industry forward. For the best? Remains to be seen. 

American Idol and Its Incarnations

A British competition show called Pop Idol gave birth to American Idol here in the states. From that first season emerged Kelly Clarkson, who went on to have a very long career as a pop music artist. Her song, My Life Would Suck Without You, was the number one song the week Will was born. 

Other sensations came from the show, including Carrie Underwood (country), Katherine McPhee (stage and television), David Archuletta (pop), Adam Lambert (currently touring with Queen and is a solo artist), Chris Daughtry (rock band), and Academy Award winner Jennifer Hudson. Nearly 20 years later, the show is limping along, having not created a star in a while, but still pulling down the ratings. 

Who Needs a Radio? Or a record album? 
Someone figured out how to extract music files from compact discs, which led to file sharing through programs such as Napster and Limewire. Lawsuits ensued. This lead to the development of iTunes. Then sharing music became mainstream, and you could conjure up a song as easy as creating a streaming channel on Spotify or finding specific channels on I Heart Radio and Sirius/XM.

YouTube, Facebook, MySpace Sensations
Just two artists need to be listed here to justify these platforms as viable outlets for breaking new artists and new music: Taylor Swift and Justin Beiber. For Taylor, the song Tim McGraw broke her at the age of 15 from MySpace, a social media platform. Now, at the age of 30 and millions of fans and billions of dollars later, she is a complex, introspective artist who challenges the old boys club in the music industry to fight for her rights to her music, her career, and her brand. MySpace, once more popular than Facebook, has now become the place to find new music. 

As for Beiber, he was a YouTuber who became a sensation at the age of 16, to become an international star. While I don't like any of his music, this cannot be denied. I'd put his song Baby here.

MTV Still Works
One sneering complaint from my generation is MTV no longer plays music videos. And yet, artists like  Eminem, P!nk, and Beyonce have made their mark on the channel with interesting and ground breaking performances and videos that debuted there. 

Power Pop
What the Spice Girls started in 1997 with their girl power pop hasn't really gone away, it's actually gone to Vegas and numerous reunion shows: Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys, N'Sync.

I'm Talking About Girls 
The female solo artist has always reigned supreme: Adele, Alicia Keys, Billie Ellish, Lizzo, St. Vincent, Amy Winehouse.

Rise of Emo, Nu Metal

It's a blend of power chords, power lyrics, searing guitars, and mouthy vocalists. One of the first instances of me turning the volume down. System of a Down, Good Charlotte, Five for Fighting, My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy. 

And the Award Goes To...
Back in the 80s, the Academy Award for Best Song in a Motion Picture was a frustrating category, with dried up, boring songs awarded golden statues. 

Either I've grown older and become the establishment, or the Academy has gotten hipper. Edgy rockers and rappers have been given their artistic due on mainstream awards shows, proving that your don't have to go with the safe choice anymore. Props to artists such as Common, Nine Inch Nails, and Tyler the Creator.

What's Old is New Again
The rise of social media has created a phenomena among the kids who not only are looking forward, but embracing the past. This has led to artists whose careers have gone the way of the county fair circuit to get a surprising late career resurgence. These artists fall safely within the Songs That Shaped timeline, but given the current popularity, I need to revisit their status and place on this list.

Why? According to my niece, who is a freshman in college, her generation "embraces the suck," which I think my generation would call a guilty pleasure. The song Africa by Toto is one of these.

There are also popular YouTube videos of teens filming reaction videos of themselves experiencing their parents music for the first time. Two twin teens recently went viral for their excitable reaction to Phil Collins' In The Air Tonight. 

Dolly Parton has become a hero of social justice in these crazy times, speaking out for LGBTQ rights and Black Lives Matter. She had a limited series run called Dolly Parton's Heartstrings, which are made-for-TV movies using the themes and lyrics of some of her most beloved songs as plot lines. Peeps are going Dollywood.

Eighties power hard rock/pop metal is seeing a surge in popularity, although some of us would argue it never went away. Contributing to this sensation is the miniseries Cobra Kai, which is a look back at the world created in the Karate Kid movies, only this time told from Johnny Lawrence's hot mess perspective. It's the redemption story you didn't know you wanted, but with artful storytelling, humor, pathos, and acted to perfection by William Zabka, the story you needed in these chaotic times. You may love to hate him, but Zabka's Johnny will never not be badass. I may do a post on this series alone. 

The Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll, 491-500

X

Stevie Wonder, Superstition, Uptight

Once, when I was judging, a skater came out in a black velvet catsuit and I was vibrating with excitement, thinking she was going to skate to Superstition. Instead it was You Don't Own Me, a satirical take on catitude. So disappointed. I've entertained the idea of skating to Stevie myself, but then there's the fact I've sat on my ass for 6 months of a quarantine and IDK about me in black velvet catsuit. Still, Spirit of Halloween is now open. 

Link Wray, Rumble

The last half of this list has sounded like a Quentin Tarantino soundtrack, and here's it is. Rolling Stone considers him one of the greatest guitarists of all time. Rumble, from 1958, is considered one of his signature songs. Jimmy Page cites him as a creative influence. 

X, Los Angeles

There is something so cool and raw about X and this song. After the band, John Doe became an actor, Exene became a housewife in St. Louis, thankfully not the terrible blonde woman wielding a pistol. There's a punky rockabilly sensibility here that I love. I remember hearing The Hungry Wolf and finding is sexy and primal. From 1982, so I was only 12/13 at the time. What the hell kind of tween was I?

Jimmy Yancy, Midnight Stomp

He listed as Yancey on wikipedia, but Yancy on YouTube. He was an American boogie-woogie pianist, composer, and lyricist. One reviewer described him as "one of the pioneers of this raucous, rapid-fire, eight-to-the-bar piano style". Another one whose birthday could be anywhere between 1894 and 1903. He also played baseball in the Negro Leagues and was a groundskeeper for the Chicago White Sox. Oh, and inducted into the R&RHOF in the 1986 class. Wow.

The Yardbirds, Shape of Things
Watching this video with 2020 eyes makes me laugh, as they are all spread out on what appears to be a soccer field. Social distancing? Very catchy song, and a short-haired Jimmy Page looking so young. 

Yes, Roundabout
Never the biggest fan of prog rock but still this is a great song. Fandom of Yes came late for me, as I was listening to rock stations when Leave It and Owner of a Lonely Heart was out in the 80s. They weren't classic rock, they were just rock. Oooh, nice glitter cape. 

Neil Young, Down By the River, Heart of Gold, My My Hey Hey

Neil is a complicated man, a Canadian working for social justice in America. His voice isn't particularly pleasant, nor does he have rock star good looks. What he has is honesty, a knack for making catchy yet acid-touched lyrics. To put it in another way, he can charm you while telling you to fuck off. 

These are great songs, but as I am growing older, I find the magic in songs such as Harvest Moon, the love affair less May-December and more perhaps September-November. During the EPIC WLAV fundraiser where they would play your song request for a $10 donation to their charity, someone requested Harvest Moon in honor of his recently deceased wife, who he would love always. DJ choked up while I sobbed without shame. 

ZZ Top, Legs
This is it, the last song to enter? Sigh, I hate this song. I guess it's notable for bringing ZZ Top to the MTV generation, which was peak career. All I can say is at least it's not Sharp Dressed Man. 

There's so many other cool songs by ZZ Top, confirmed by the recent viewing of the show Rock Legends, that did a career overview in 22 minutes. And I love the inside joke built around the last name Hill, making Dusty Hank Hill's cousin on the cartoon sitcom King of the Hill. Give Me All Your Lovin', Head's in Mississippi, Tube Steak Boogie. 

So that's it! I have thoughts of course on this exercise but need some time to pull this all together, especially the missing last 25 years. So much has changed, especially in terms of how we consume music. And I'd like to get nerdy about what we found in this list in terms of dates, genres, female to male ratio.