Tennessee Jed

This is why I am so Willin' to go back to Memphis.

IBC 2010

Pat and I escaped the depths of winter by fleeing to the 26th Annual International Blues Challenge, held in Memphis, TN. We went, we saw, we listened to 45 or 50 bands in 3 days, we ate bluesishly, we toured the Cotton Museum, we toured Graceland, we rode the trolley, we hung out with blues bands from around the world and their families, we dreamed of being great guitarists and drummers, we shopped at Lansky's just like the King did, we forgot about work for hours at a time, we stayed up late and slept later, we had a bluesnificent time. Below is a picture of the super large giant fresh flower arrangement above the duck pond in the lobby of the world famous, historic and splendid Peabody Hotel.

Me on Beale Street, sporting a Robert Graham shirt and smirking from a heavy dose of bliss. I have to wear Robert Graham shirts to keep up with Tab Benoit.

Beale Street was paved with musicians, their families, agents, promoters, blues festival producers. In the semifinals, representing 17 countries and 90 U.S. blues societies, 140 bands, 92 duo/solos and 33 junior bands performed in 19 different venues.

On our way to the band finals at the opulent Orpheum Theatre, Pat was looking bluesy and beaming with anticipation.

A band rockin' the house at Alfred's on Beale.

Of course, we spent a lot of time in the Rum Boogie Cafe, our favorite place in the world for listening to the blues.

Graceland

On our third annual trip to Memphis, Pat finally was successful at talking me into going to Graceland. I must admit, I had a surprisingly great time. I was struck by the stories of how kind and caring Elvis was. He was a true philanthropist, supporting oodles of charitable foundations, and he helped everyone who asked for support. His mansion was rather humble by today's standards. His body of work resulted in the sale of over a billion records. Twice as many as the Beatles. Friggin' remarkable.

Memphis food

Pat and I spent the weekend in Memphis, and you know how we like to eat, which meant we put some south in our mouth. We ate at barbeque shacks, juke joints, diners and some place kinda sorta gourmet, where Pat ordered something vegetarian that looked wanting and I munched sticky, slow roasted cajun duck.

Biscuits and gravy at the Blue Plate Cafe-Downtown. The best diner anywhere.

The BIG smoker full of racks and racks of pork ribs at the world famous Charles Vergos' Rendezvous Charcoal Ribs.

Pat was the one of us who showed restraint. She order a half rack of ribs at the Rendezvous.

Davisdale

Slushy, muddy, 40 and drizzling, it was an fantastic day for a hike in the woods. We drove to the southern entrance of Davisdale Conservation Area in Howard County and tromped to Sulphur Springs Baptist Church and Cemetery. Hiking back to our Pathfinder, we missed a turn and didn't notice our mistake for another half hour. Fortunately, I had my iPhone with me. I have an app for that. A couple clicks on Lost B Gone, another hour and a half of wandering in the woods and we found our way out just like we knew what we were doing.

Samantha Fish

This past week, Pat and I saw Samantha Fish burn up the night at Mojo's. Barely 20, she's sings with a lifetime of soul. Us? Maybe it is age. Maybe it was too much work. We boogied on home after the first set.

Korean connection

This month, 25 pre-service English teachers from Seoul, South Korea are attending an intensive English language camp at the University of Missouri. Claire is a volunteer conversations partner at the University's Asian Center, so she is enjoying hanging out with new friends. In this ridiculously fuzzy picture, seated L to R, is Pat, Gloria, Hanna, Claire and Lanna.

Big Slushy

Pat, Bojangles and I took a walk on the Katy Trail by Rocheport this afternoon. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon. The Missouri River was flowing high and fast, full of ten foot in diameter chunks of ice. A slushy river racing the icy, westerly breeze to Old Man River.

Brrrrrrrrrrr!

Most of this last week, temperatures were near zero degrees Fahrenheit and the windchill was -15 to -20. It was the coldest cold spell we have experienced since moving to Missouri in 2002. But Mother Nature's deep freeze was no match for Mr. Bojangles, who enjoyed hanging his head out my Pathfinder window as I drove 70 mph on I-70. I took this picture with my iPhone as I was driving. Do not try doing this yourself. I am a trained and experienced professional.

Even though I do most of my work on a laptop, I chose to work inside all week. The cabin is a warm fortress in the bitter cold.

Our lawn has transformed into an arctic tundra.

By noon today, the temperature pushed above 10 degrees F. The chickens took advantage of the heat wave to build a straw patio.

Happy New Decade

We took our annual New Years Day hike today in Rock Bridge Memorial State Park. It was 15 degrees F., a little breezy, a wisp of snow was in the air, and the trail was snow and ice packed. A great day for a hike!

But it was a bit too chilly for Little Roser.