A Night with David Berkeley

There is an awesome guy named David Berkeley.

He writes awesome lyrics.
He sings beautiful songs.
He plays the guitar.
He writes blogs.
And cool books.
And takes a daily picture of the sky.

Before  Friday, November 16, I didn't know any of these things.  And then my awesome brother invited us to a private house concert for "the guy who opened for Guster" which sounded like an amazing idea to me.  

My brother said he invited us because we are like the music version of foodies... musies.  :)  I like that.

The concert surpassed all of my highest hopes of loveliness.  The living room of the beautifully cozy house had been turned into a makeshift concert space with a hodgepodge of chairs and couches and stools surrounding a single chair, an amp, and a warm fireplace.  David (I'll call him that, since he made us all feel like we were best friends from the first time he opened his mouth) sat in front of us all.  He sang his songs and told his stories.  For about two hours.  Nathan and I somehow got the best seat in the house- a comfy brown leather couch on the front row.  We ate delicious smoked pork, sweet popcorn, and carmelitas.  And basked in the world of David Berkeley.  What a beautiful place to be!

We bought his book (140 Goats and a Guitar) which tells the stories behind the songs he wrote while living in Corsica for a year.  His songs are awesome, but knowing the stories behind each one makes the emotional connection while listening to each one even deeper and more awesome.  

Have I said awesome enough in this post yet?  

I wish that all of my favorite artists would do private living room concerts just like this.  And that I could go to each one.  David Berkeley's music is exactly what my soul feels like listening to lately.  And he has found a place amongst my favorite singer/songwriters.  

Thanks for the invite, Adam.  This musie loved every minute! 

A Year Ago Today...

A year ago today was the last time I hung out with my mom.
I didn't go to school that day.
My mom was really sick and getting worse every day.
When I got to her house, I asked her if she knew who I was, and she said "Of course, Rachel!"
She thought I was her little sister.
I read a few chapters of Fabelhaven to her.  But she kept falling asleep.
The Lundbergs came to visit, and she wanted me to get them something to drink.
They helped me take down her bed.
The hospice people brought in a hospital bed for her to sleep in.
I wish I remembered more from that day.
She "wanted to touch a puppy" so we let Samson lay next to her in her bed.
She petted him, and I hope it made her feel better.
I didn't make her take any vitamins. Or herbs.  Or her daily smoothie.
She didn't want to keep the oxygen tube in her nose.
She had a terrible cough, and couldn't breathe very well.
She was in a lot of pain.
She definitely wasn't herself.
That night, the Thomases came to visit.
She got a blessing from my Dad.
A neighbor brought over a CD of church music that played quietly in her room all day.
I went to WalMart to buy a baby monitor for my Dad to listen to her in the night.
I kissed her forehead and told her I'd see her in the morning.
And then I went home.

In the early morning my phone rang.
Too early to be anyone but an emergency.
And without picking up, I knew that she was gone.

And that was a year ago today.

Halloween 2012

At the Morris house this year, we had an entire five days worth of Halloween Celebrating.  Awesome...yes!  Halloween used to be one of my least favorite holidays.  But I'm surrounded by friends who LOVE it.  So it's growing on me.  

Friday, October 26: Annual Murder Mystery Party Extravaganza hosted by Nathan's bestie JJ.  This was our first opportunity to sport our completely homemade Alice and the White Rabbit costumes.  Nathan and I teamwork sewed that dress and apron ourselves!  Be proud, because other than curtains for our last apartment, this is the only thing I have ever successfully crafted with needles and thread.  We had a yummy potluck din with 22 of JJ's closest friends, and then a real life Clue game that JJ and Kaitlyn made up themselves.  It was pretty cool, even though everyone CHEATED!  I couldn't believe the various ways different groups of people banded together to cheat.  Nathan got all of the answers from JJ and ended up winning the game.  And then we stayed over with JJ and Kaitlyn for a few hours after the party watching Community season 2.  Cause we're obsessed.  

Saturday, October 27:  Ward Halloween Party and chili cook off.  Yummy chili verde and cornbread.  Runners up in the best couples costume (we lost to a seriously cute Mary Poppins and Burt, whom we are friends with, so it's ok), and my Dad was runner up for the scariest costume in an awful clown suit.  Then we went home and watched the Utes womp on the Golden Bears.  

Monday, October 29: After a long day of school, we met at Adam and Andrea's house for more delicious chili and corn bread and Halloween FHE.  Caroline and Olive sang all of their favorite Halloween songs for us and showed off their wonderful flower and honey bee costumes.  We loved on Baby Jane, who was also a sweet baby bee.  After the girls went to bed, we chatted it up while carving pumpkins and roasting seeds.  YUM! 

Tuesday, October 30: Halloween Restaurant Crawl with the Archulettas and the Walkers.  Since Lynsie lives in Idaho, and Katie is crazy busy these days, this took the place of our annual Girls Halloween Party, and I gotta admit, I really missed those two girls this year!! But I didn't miss watching/sleeping through The White Zombie.  

Ashley and Ray as Indiana Jones and that one girl from The Temple of Doom, Lacy and Brian as Scott Pilgram and Ramona Flowers, and Nathan and I as Alice and the Rabbit again started the night at the Tea Grotto for drinks.  Then we walked over to Koko Kitchen for sushi rolls and other such appetizers, then Himalayan Kitchen for delish Indian entrees and naan, and finally ended up at Dolcetti Gelato for dessert.  SO YUM!  After the crawl, we ended the night by watching Scott Pilgram vs. The World, so that Ray could understand Lacy and Brian's costumes.  

Wednesday, October 31: We didn't even dress up, which I think is kind of lame.  I had a full day of school and teaching, then came home and made THIS delicious Buffalo Chicken Soup recipe.  We saw the cute Thomas boys in their costumes and handed out candy to a few trick-or-treaters.  And then we watched The Wrath of the Titans with my dad- because it just happened to be what Netflix mailed to us that day.  

All in all, it was a wonderful Halloween week of celebration, wouldn't ya say?  I can't believe it's November already! 

Just Keep Running

After running our Cancer Thrasher 5k back in June, I really never thought I'd want to run more than 3 miles in a row again.  5k felt like a good amount of distance to run- a challenge, but not exhausting.  I wanted to keep running, but not for hours and hours at a time.  

But my sister was more inspired by our race than me.  She wanted another running goal to push her further than we had gone before.  But she didn't want to pay the entrance fee for a longer race.  So she organized us all together and planned a Beckstrom Family 10k.  She set a date and enlisted herself, John, Adam, my Dad, and me for the event.  She even emailed us a 10k training plan that I probably should have followed better.  

October 27, 2012 was the day of the race.  It was a chilly morning, so we all bundled up for the run.  Nathan and Andrea stayed with the kids and manned the timer while we ran the plotted course.  Erin made cute race participant numbers to wear and also taped up course direction signs all along the way.  This is the group before setting off on our run:

It turned out to be a beautiful morning.  From the starting line, John- the marathon runner- jetted off in front of everyone else.  My Dad and Adam were next, sticking together the whole way, and then me, and then Erin.  I was having a good time running, and just plain enjoying myself so much that I missed one of the route direction signs, which ended up making me run an extra .4 miles. Whoops! It was a pleasant mistake, through, because by the time I got back on course, I caught up with Erin, and we finished the race together.  And running with a sister is more fun than running alone.  

This is me crossing the finish line.  By the time we hit the home stretch, the rest of the family was there along the way to cheer us on.  Cute Caleb and Olive ran the last little bit of the race along with me, and Caroline was waiting at the finish line with a big sign of congratulations.  

It felt great to set a really hard goal and then to accomplish it.  And to work hard to get there! And to have fun doing it! After the race, Erin had made goodie bags for the runners, and she also presented us with race completion certificates.  She really put in a lot of thought and work to make our little family race feel as official as possible.  This is a picture of the winners podium: John on the top step, then my Dad and Adam sharing second place, and Erin and I coming in third.  

I ran the farthest I have ever gone.  I ran faster than I had ever ran.  And it felt great!  What's next for this novice runner- a half marathon?  Maybe so.  But I'll definitely be back for the 2nd annual Beckstrom Family 10k.