Another show (sort of), floods, and a lazy day

Last week, I found out JMC's Des Moines show as a sunday, and not a saturday as I had originally though.. so.. yeah, I headed up there for another show. Des Moines is only about a 4 hour drive... normally.. LOL

Had a choice of driving up a shorter route, that was likely not going to be, due to river flooding, and a slightly longer one which were on roads that I know better... as I've driven them for years while in school. Took the better known roads. Didn't want to mess with flooding and detours.. yeah.. more on that later..

Car was being a bit finicky, going through transmission fluid kinda fast so I stopped periodically to check it and make sure everything was ok. Listened to Good Charlotte, Glen Templeton, and Adam Lambert most of the way up. LOL Have to say.. listening to Adam's songs (especially Strut!) in the middle of rural Missouri almost-towns is a weird experience. Had the urge to stop at Hasting's in Kirksville - and so glad I did! Finally found a Living End CD (an Aussie band that a really good Aussie friend introduced me to). Also picked up a couple of other things (Green Day rubon for the car window, note pad, and a Scott Cunningham book - there were several more I would have liked, but I didn't have that much money.)

One minor difference in roads was to use highway 149 in Missouri. Not a road I'm very familiar with, but it shave about 30 miles, so what the heck. Not too bad until I saw this:

{And noooo before y'all start yelling at me - and as I've said before! - I never take my eyes of the road! I point the camera in the general direction of what I want a picture of, take a couple of shots and hope for the best. LOL It's one of my favorite things about having a digital camera! Can delete all the really bad pictures, and they don't cost anything or waste film!}

So anyway, I think the sign was designed from this road. Because first it went this way

and then it went this way

And then the roller coaster fun started!

Yep, that's all the same road... LOL  {and no, I wasn't crazy enough to get pictures in the middle of it LOL}

Ended up driving through some of my old stomping grounds. Made me think of Rick, who was a very good friend... and found several years ago murdered in his van {unfortunately, they never figured out who did it} Kinda made me sad to think about all those fun times we had - he was definitely a good ol' boy..  Was also very sad to see several of the places in Corydon were closed - my favorite gas station (though I would have had to boycott them, since they were bought out by BP before they closed down) and the Windmill Cafe.. nice little restaurant that made some of the best food.Drove up through Chariton.. where part of Hwy 34 was closed, and they had a detour. Well, apparently, DETOUR in Iowa means "Include part of every road in the county." Turn here, turn there, yet another road that was NOT 34.. it was crazy. Longest freakin detour I've every been on.

Got to Des Moines about a half an hour before the show was to start. Got directions from a gruff little old lady at the gas station. She said a lot of people were leaving early because of all the mud. Not a big deal for me.. I was wearing old jeans and my old ratty shoes anyway LOL Found a place to park - behind the stage incidentally.. lol nice..  and locked the doors..  headed up to get a ticket.. realized I forgot my hat, so went back to the car.. and realized that yes, the keys were sitting right there in the front seat. *facepalm*

Ended up spending most of JMC's show trying to get back into my car. Checked with security - they were very nice, but could do nothing. They called over one of the cops.. who could/would also do nothing. "Call a  locksmith."  (to which I replied  - "great, do you know one, I don't live around here!" wandered over to Jiffy Stop - nope, no coat hangers. Got a banana, since I hadn't eaten anything all day, and nothing else appealed. Even asked a guy with an RV if he had a coat hanger. I'm sure he thought I was a lunatic. Stopped at McDonald's to get a cheeseburger.. wasn't really hungry but figured I'd better eat something. Told her I wanted a cheeseburger with no onions... "oh, and I don't suppose you have a coat hanger?" She looked at me, a little blankly, like she thought I was joking. So I told her what happened, and she asked the manager. Who not only found me a coat hanger, he actually came out to my car to try to help me get into it. Wasn't very successful, but man, talk about great customer service!

Was rather bummed. Didn't want to get a ticket til I knew I wasn't going to have to call a locksmith (since I only had about $65 on me). Then these two good looking, half dressed cowboys came over to see if I needed help. Nice. Did I get a picture? Of course not. They were cool, and luckily managed to get me into my car so I could get my keys. I was grateful. There was something to like about Iowa after all. LOL. Started walking up to the gate... singing along with Jason the whole time. He had a shorter set, since he wasn't the headliner. Sang Where I'm From, George Strait Cover Band, Hurry Home, Drinking to Drink, Meet Me in the Barn.. and a few others. By the time I got to the front gate he was singing Stray. I was a little unsure about getting a ticket - really had not planned on staying for anyone else (since I had that lovely 4 hour drive home!), so I waited a minute. And then he started talking about Brittany.. and that was that. He said he thought that Brittany was the reason for the beautiful weather, then starting singing Livin Our Love Song. I snapped a couple of quick shots (I did actually see him.. lol he was about an inch tall! and can't be seen in the pictures because I was so far away.) So I started walking back to the car. Got razzed a bit when I got there, but oh well.

Went to Target afterwards (since we don't have one around here) Picked up a couple of new books, something to eat, and a Journey CD... seemed appropriate.. Took a different way home.. ran into some flooding, but nothing bad enough to block my side of the road (at one point, the other side was closed). But several fields were simply covered with water. 

I don't know if this bridge is normally used, or if it is just an old one... but it was under water. Yep, there's a road down there somewhere too.

Saw this cloud on the way home... made me think of a flying dragon.. The rest of the trip was rather uneventful. Stopped a couple of times to check the transmission fluid, but everything went well, and I got home around midnight. Long day, but worth it.

Would I do it again? Hell yeah... already have 2 shows lined up in September.. LOL 

Spent one day out in the yard with Rhi.. just being lazy. Was chatting with Chris (my Aussie friend - isn't the internet great?) while we were outside.. One of the things I love about my new phone (a droid) is that I have internet outside. So I sat out there for a bit. Started out by the sandbox and the mint garden, but that wasn't very comfortable, so went to lie down on the front porch for a bit. Which was fine.. until I moved the black grass barrier thing and a skink ran out from under it. Now, I realize he was just looking for something else to hide under.. but the something he picked was me.. which startled me, and I screamed. Silly skink.

This was my view.. the first picture is the porch ceiling - the house is old, and the paint is peeling. The windchimes have been there for a couple of years, they are really beautiful when it is  breezy. The second one shows how lovely the sky was.

Sat up when Rhi said she wanted to take some pictures.. so here's a pic of me messaging on the phone.. lol. Yeah, I know, the porch is a mess.. we were going to work on the flower garden.. but we didn't.

Lost the connection after a bit, so moved  under the tulip tree, which Rhi kept trying to climb. 

She took some more pictures.. LOL yep still messaging..

me and Rhi

lazy barefoot kind of day

Room for one more... lol

Yes, another JMC show... and look! new music!

Took Wednesday off work to head up to Steamboat Days in Burlington IA for yes, another JMC show.

Was very excited, because shortly after the April concert, a gal had contacted me, saying she was a JMC fan too and was going to have extra VIP tickets for the show, and did I want them? Naturally I jumped at the chance. Unfortunately she bailed on me, but not until AFTER the VIP tickets had all been sold out. I was so mad - not because of whatever reason she had for not giving me the tickets - but for not telling me I couldn't have them. Instead of  saying something, she ignored my messages and said absolutely nothing. Rotten.

Luckily I work with a very nice girl (Danielle) who had season passes and let me borrow them so I could still go to the show. So Cindy and I headed up there. The drive was relatively uneventful, though it involved driving in a bit of a circle to get a picture of The Pink, and another for a detour due to a road closing.

 This motorcycle was parked outside the Pink. Thought it was cool looking :D

Looked for parking - nothing really close by.  Ended up parking near the church that had been burned down a couple of  years ago. Arson. Which is something I just don't understand. Good grief, nobody says you have to like every one else's religion, but geez. It's a CHURCH. 

Wish I'd taken more time to get some other photos.. some of the angles were just amazing..

 Got to the riverfront just in time to enter the giveaway for backstage passes. We both about passed out when they called out "Cindy.... " but the last name was different. So bummer - 7 concerts.. still no meet and greet.  Ah well. There will be more ;)

Stopped at the merchandise tent to get tshirts (including one for my daughter, which she will get for a birthday present) and the latest keychain, then headed up to the stage to find a spot. We ended up right up against the barrier, about as close to the stage as we could get without being in the VIP section. The barrier turned out to be helpful for steadying the camera too, for some better low light photos. I am actually pretty pleased with most of them. And, yeah, I ended up taking a ton - good thing I had a new card LOL.

As it got closer to concert time, 2 guitar players and a drummer came on stage.. and I started to get a little confused.. I knew Jason had new band members, but I certainly hadn't heard that Sean was leaving, and I didn't recognize these guys. There hadn't been any mention of an opening band either. When the announcer came out he was talking about Jason... then said "But first - " and introduced Glen Templeton, a new singer from Nashville. LOL At least I knew I wasn't crazy. 

Well, let me just tell you.. Glen is Hot. LOL. Great voice. Nice.. jeans ;) He portrayed Conway Twitty in a movie, and learned a lot of his music. At the show, he sang "Slow Hand" and oh my, even if it hadn't been 90+ degrees out the ladies would have been melting.  

Musically, he is a lot like Jason - more Country Rock than anything else. Some very awesome songs. (My favorites: I Could Be the One, Fixer Upper, and I Threw It Away).  He played for almost an hour, and Cindy and I both said we wanted to get his album. I think he will go far in this business. He's really fabulous. And I think he had just as much fun as we did.

Had to laugh.. one of the security ladies was having a great time listening to Glen sing.. tapping her feet, bopping to the music, singing along. This will be me eventually, I think...

 After a 20 minute break, during which the bands changed out the instruments, and the sun went down... wasn't sure how the pictures would go for the rest of the night... definitely too far away from the stage for the flash, and no zoom lens..

Jason finally came onstage. Silly me didn't think to bring a pen to write down the playlist (yeah, I know, I was UNPREPARED - what was I thinking?). The first song he sang was "With You" which was different.. but a good change. And one of my favorite songs. Then I Can Sleep When I'm Dead.

 Considering how far away we were, I think the pictures turned out pretty well. Most of the shots are cropped, but they are still really clear, which makes me very happy. There are a ton that didn't turn out as well.. but that is one of the reasons I love the continuous mode on my camera (that and I can get serial pictures of hip swaying ;) )

I think this is one of my favorite pictures... meow ;)

 He sang Honky Tonk Friends (of course), Where I'm From, Barn Burner.. a couple of new songs - Drinking to Drink (which is actually rather funny - "I'm not drinking to forget anything.. I'm just drinking to drink") and Meet Me in the Barn (hot hot hot).

New guitarist.. who is also named Jason :) 

He did an absolutely FABULOUS cover of Randy Travis' Nothing at All.. which has always been one of my favorite songs.. and hearing him sing it.. amazing. Something I wish I had a recording of. He also sang Garth's Friends in Low Places, which everybody sang along with. He always comments about that too, I think he really likes it when the audience sings along with him.

My favorite part of the whole night? He sang Stray. Not only did he sing it, he said it was going to be on the next album!  (To which I replied "About damned time!!") He also sang George Strait Cover Band. (This picture will be added to the composite picture I have on my desktop - it has one photo from each concert I've been to.)

I think he made the security guys a little nervous - he climbed out onto this huge speaker that was in front of the stage. Didn't surprise me at all, but they looked very nervous. Have to wonder what they thought when he was out in the audience for Drinking to Drink! (didn't get any good pictures of that, we were too far away and the lighting was terrible.)

Oh, yeah, and you should have heard the screaming when he took his shirt off.. LOL (check out those muscles!)

Rockin' out with Jason.

 It was so hot.. I can't imagine how hot it was onstage with all the lights. And it's not like Jason just stands up there and sings.. he is dancing and moving around a lot. It doesn't stop him though.

He climbed up the supports on each side of the stage. Silly man.But it definitely made the crowd roar.

Lookin at me :D

Finally caught this at the right time ;) yummy.  Yep, lots of screaming.. and yep, I shot a series ;)

Looking at me again! :D During Barn Burner, I think.

"Give a hand to my band!" After Livin' Our Love Song, before which he talked about Brittany, and which was the last song of the night. It was done as the encore.. after he left the first time, and Cindy asked if he was coming back - I said of course, he hasn't done LOLS yet.

It was an absolutely fabulous concert. Oh my gosh, I was so tired when it was over.. so glad I didn't have to drive home. 

After the show, we headed back to the merchandise tent, where Glen was for photos, and selling brand new copies of his album. Of course I got one! And it was autographed too, which was nice. And Oh my, he has a line in Fixer Upper that goes "I clean up real good" and yes he does. We listened to the album on the way home, and the songs are all really good. (And yes, he's really tall)

Glen's website: http://www.glentempleton.com/

Jason's website: http://www.jasonmichaelcarroll.com/

Got home and saw Jason posted this photo on Twitter after the show with this comment:
 The one night I didn't take a pic of the crowd?!? I guess this will give you some idea of how fun it was...

(photo by Jason Michael Carroll)

And.. another bit of new music.. LOL though I can't really call it that yet..

Thursday I picked up a new guitar! I have been thinking about starting to play again for the last 6 months.. and actually looking at guitars for the last 4 weeks or so.. Stopped in at the music store that was selling out, and found a great Palmer beginner electric guitar, for a very reasonable price. Looking forward to learning to play it - although WOW it's already making my fingers hurt! Will have a name eventually... for now I've been calling it Blue.

A couple of scrappy things, a new bracelet, and a yummy

Managed to get a couple of scrappy things done this week. They were all done for the Scrap Sisters NSD Crop last weekend.

Lilacs was done as a progressive challenge that I posted. I guess it was a litle too intimidating though, because only one person did the challenge. Oh well. I'm really happy with my layout. It's the first one I've done in a while, and I think it is really pretty. Funny thing, though, I never though Nickelback would be such a great inspiration for a frilly, girly scrapbook page. Who knew?
{This layout was chosen as the Pick of the Day on the Serendipity Scrapbooks site for 5.4.10}

The Anti mojo layout was an idea I had in my mind for a long time. The photo was originally posted on Tim Holtz's blog when he first started his FB and twitter accounts back before the christmas tags.  I made it into a challenge - yet another that was barely touched. Again -  too hard I guess.

This altered card was done for Karen's challenge (alter a playing card). I sanded it, inked it, and covered it with Tim's rock candy crackle paint. added the rest of the embellies and voila.  {Yes. The letters mean something. No. I won't be telling} {this card was chosen as the Pick of the Day for 5.7.10 on Serendipity Scrapbooks}

This is my latest bracelet. They had charms on sale for 1/2 off again at Hobby Lobby, so I stopped to look at them. The snake charm got me to thinking about the Ghost Trappers companions.. ended up finding several more companion charms. The bracelet isn't finished yet. I found gemstomes that look like Chrono Fragments (another part of the game) though I realized the color isn't right. So I need to check back at Joann's tomorrow when I go  (to order the Everyday Paperdolls Cricut cartridge for $40) and see if they have any blue-ish ones. Or aurora borealis looking ones. They will go between the companion charms.

Made these for dessert the other night.. individual strawberry shortcakes. And ooooh they were YUMMY.