Family Trees

So, I'm not sure how this fits into the theme of this blog(our lifestyle, the Casita, our stuff)except for the fact that a lot of these songs have been in constant rotation at our house/cars for a few years now.

My brother-in-laws album is finally being released.  And I don't use "finally" in exassperation but in excitement.  I can't even tell you how stoked, excited, over the moon my wife and I are for Carlos.  This album is a long time coming, taking many years to come to fruition.  The last few years have been tumoltuous, to say the least, for the Forster family.  There have been some high highs and some dark lows. Through it all many of the songs from this album have been a constant in our lives. This album is fantastic and I think everyone should own it.

Congratulations Carlos!

Matajilla Poppies

These flowers have been going off in our yard.  And they smell good too.

Sunday Morning Running...Down(town)?

I hate running but it beats the alternative...being fat.  On my run Sunday morning I tried to think of all the redeeming things about running besides the obvious health benefits.

I like the me time.  Now I'm not a person that needs a ton of personal time but everybody needs a little bit.  My me time is rarely very productive, I do things like daydream and think about earth shattering ideas like why I run.  Every once in a while I have a brilliant idea while on a run and it makes it all worth it.

I can listen to music at any volume that I want.  I don't always listen to music while running but when I do I enjoy the fact that I can set the volume however I like.  My wife and I have different ideas about music volume, she usually turns my music down.  To be fair, I do the same to her when she puts on "I Will Survive" or some other crap super loud.  Our musical taste is actually not significantly different but there are exceptions.

I think it's important to see my neighborhood on foot.  Most of the time part of my run takes me through Old Town Torrance.  I like to see what community events are going on and it's exciting to see when new business are going in.  I tend to notice more things on foot than I ever would in a car. Like this:

My Sunday morning short run mix:
1.  Love You Better- Carlos Forster
I usually have at least one of my brother-in-laws songs on a running mix.  Carlos likes to know how fast people run.

2. Leavin' On a Jet Plane- J Mascis
Who knew that you could make a John Denver song sound like this?

3. Standing in the Shower Thinking- Jane's Addiction
My mom used to say that she liked the song with the dog's barking but not the one with peeing...sorry mom. This song brings me right back to middle school and in middle school I ran fast.

4. Rebound- Sebadoh
 Has a nice groove for running.

5. Freak Scene- Dinosaur Jr.
Ok a little bit of a trend here(Mascis, Sebadoh, Dino.).  My wife put this song on a mix she gave me when I went to Germany a few years back for the World Cup.  Kinda surreal flying down the Autobahn listening to Dinosaur Jr. with my parents.

6. Seven Nation Army-White Stripes
I think this song is cool, so there you have it.

7. Up on the Sun- Meat Puppets
Another good song for running and it doesn't rock as much as the previous couple of songs, gotta mix it up on a run.

8. Wild Mountain Nation- Blitzen Trapper
This song turned me on to this band.  I think this song sounds like it could be a Big Star song.
  
9. I Don't Care if There's Cursing- Phosphorescent
Saw this band in Portland at the Doug Fir, they were amazing.  At this point in my run I'm usually not looking for anything too fast that would mess with my pace.

10. Backwater- Meat Puppets
Another song by the Meat Puppets, I must have been lazy making this mix.  I just started getting into this band a couple years ago and I guess this is their "hit" if you don't count the Nirvana covers.

11. Headlights- Jackpot
Fully expected to be cooling down by this point.  Rad band should be better known.

Casita Del Oro Limoncello

Making limoncello at the Casita.

Fairly locally picked lemons.

Awesomely large Ball jar.

Close-up, lemon peels in booze

Live Music

My wife and I both think that seeing live music together is a fun date night.  In the last 5 years we have seen quite a few shows together.  Here are a few observations:

1. Susanna Hoffs is still super hot.
2. Fogerty has had some serious work done.
3. Dave Alvin is a pretty good guitar player.
4. M. Ward can also shred.
5. Steve Earle has an amazing belly.
6. John Doe's voice is awesome live.
7. Willie Nelson's constant touring may put us in the poorhouse.
8. Neither Wilco nor Son Volt are Uncle Tupelo
9. Apparently super tall people think it's cool to stand in front of the 5'9" guy and his 5'1" wife.
10. Can't wait  to see my brother-in-law play.

Mementos

I like to collect ceramic tiles when we go on vacation to places that are known for that kind of thing.  Last month my wife and I went to Spain for our honeymoon and came home with a few ceramic treasures including some tiles.  Now we need to figure out what to do with our vast tile collection...

Morning Music

Many mornings at the Casita begin with a music mix that I play to help get my wife out of bed.  Most of these mixes have themes and are dedicated to my lovely bride.  And most mornings she appreciates them(or at least pretends to).  Recently my best friend turned me on to the website grooveshark.com which has opened up a whole new world for music mixes.  Here is my relaxing Sunday morning mix for April 3rd:
1. Waterloo Sunset- The Kinks
2. And a Bang on the Ear- The Waterboys
3. Hearts and Bones- Paul Simon
4. Harvest- Neil Young
5. Loving Her Was Easier(Than Anything I'll Ever Do Again)- Kris Kristofferson
6. California- Joni Mitchell
7. Thirteen- Big Star
8. Tangled Up In Blue- Bob Dylan.

Thanks Brian.