Derek Truck and Susan Tedeschi, Tampa Theatre 12/29/2008

Last night was a volunteer usher night at the Tampa Theatre.... the musicans were stellar. Derek and his wife Susan rocked the house. The had two percussionists, a keyboardist, vocalist, trombonist, and saxophonists. That is a lot of 'ists'. The show rocked from beginning to end. We had to deal with only a few boneheads and after the show Susan came out for a few minutes for pics and chatting.

What a cute couple!

Scott, Susan, and Liz after the show.

Derek doing what he does best... the slide. Do you recognize his name? Google it... music is in his blood. He's been doing this since he was a little guy.

Susan and Shelley

Christmas Eve with Emily

What's wrong with this picture? This is Emily at the Brandon Mall on Christmas Eve. Where are the shoppers?

We headed to the mall around 11am and the original plan was to park at Barnes and Noble and walk to the mall since the parking situation would probably be crazy. Well, when we arrived the traffic was light so we changed our plans and went to the mall parking lot. It looked like a normal weekday as far as traffic and parking availability. We decided to eat at California Pizza Kitchen because we had hoped to meet Maria and Becky for a quick lunch. We walked in CPK, got a table, and had a delicious salad and pizza.

Self portrait while waiting in line at Bath and Body Works. This was the only place in the mall that had a crowd. There were a lot of men with kids in the mall. smile

As we were leaving we saw Victor and Talia and he took this pic of us. We never did see Maria and Becky. We had time to kill so we headed to Target. Here is the second line of people we saw on Christmas Eve. All those hungry people waiting for their Honey Baked Hams! The parking lot at Target was empty too. It was kind of weird. After a while we headed across the drive to Barnes and Noble.

Emily and I had volunteered to gift wrap for GREAT (Greyhound Rescue). This is the largest item I wrapped. Most were books, CDs, and DVDs. We wrapped a lot of gifts, many laffs, and earned $$ for GREAT. What's with that hat?

Donation Jar. People were so happy to have us wrap their gifts and we had fun helping them complete their holiday task.

Peace and Happy Holidays

To my blog readers.... Here is my everyday - not just holiday - wish to you, your family, and friends.
Christmas cactus in full bloom. Everything is beautiful. smile
Of course.... one more of the cutest dog in the world:
We believe in Santa Claus. Or is that Santa Paws? Makes no difference... both work.

Ronan, being adorable as usual

Maria and Ronan stopped by for some oh-so-quick scrapping last week. Ronan was somewhat occupied with a show on TV and some snackie cakes. However, he also wanted attention from his mama. Just before this pic he was doing what maria describes on her blog sometimes. All I can say is... look at that happy face!

Mini candy bags for 50th wedding aniiversary party

A friend is having a party for her parents and she asked me to stamp some stuff on these bags. I'm not as excited about them now as I was when I was picking out the stamps. But, they will be cute next to the candy in jars at the party. Attendees will fill their bags with candy - make your own party favor. smile
There are 45 records, coke bottles, and an old thunderbird stamped on the bags. The black ink wasn't drying quickly - that is why they are all in a row. Today they should be dry and I can stack them for the party.

Gift for elephant lover

This is a set of 12 cards I made last night for a friend who loves elephants. They all have something coordinating stamped inside. If you have an elephant lover in your life and you need a great, inexpensive gift, send me an email. I will make cards in the colors and patterns YOU choose. (required plug for the business)
www.wearefullofscrap.blogspot.com

Gasp, I altered something

I had an order for some cash holders for kids and I thought... hmm.... and here is what I created .... totally from stuff/scraps found in the stamp room. Nothing was purchased to create these and I think they are all adorable. They will be filled with candy (of course) and then a small envelope added inside. Not the best pics but you get the idea, right?

Some recent projects...

This summer I spent a week at Englewood Beach with The Rebholz family. This mini album holds most of our memories. Too bad bonehead me didn't get a picture of the finished book with spiral and ribbon... I used the cricut to cut the letters and a quickutz die for the palm tree.
This is the inside first two pages. The rooms/buildings are on the beach...so you walk out the door....right to the beach. beautiful.

The Captain and Her Mate. This was taken before I glued the letters to the page. Again, bonehead me did not get a pic of the finished layout. I really need to remember to do that.... We rented a boat for a few hours one day.
Brian loves to fish and caught all sorts of stuff that day we were on the water. The last fish he caught was a beautiful snook. Then....
As he was taking the fish off the hook, the hook somehow transferred to his paw. Since it was time to take the boat back anyway, I suggested we let the guys at the dock cut the barb, etc. They performed what I believe is known as a Hookendectomy.

The left pic is of Stump Pass which is at the south end of englewood key. The pic to the right is Andy, passed out, after a day at Stump Pass. Clever, huh. LOL
Jan was there one day with Shaggy and China. The dogs had fun playing and hanging out together.

There are two more layouts -Brian and Elsie, Jan and her dogs, and the night at Skipper's with Eric Lindell. Again, bonehead me did not get pics of those.... Oh well. Maybe the new owner will take some pics and email them to me...
This is for my fun concert friends Scott and Liz Lynch. Inside I added quotes of musicians, etc.

This was made for The Perfect Travelers in Houston. Dontcha love that paper? My idea was for them to add their fav snapshots and minimal journaling....
Inside of Life's a Trip mini album.

Happy Holidays from the cutest dog in the world (her world)

I still need to get a few cards in the mail but I am almost finished. Elsie wanted (yeah, right) to wish everyone Happy Holidays so we took a couple of self portraits tonight.

Rockapella - Tampa Theatre, December 14, 2008

I am a member and volunteer usher at the historic Tampa Theatre. http://www.tampatheatre.org/

The Tampa Theatre is a beautiful old theatre. You will see mostly foreign and classic films there and other special events. However, this time of year is one of my favorites because a lot of musicians come to Florida... gee, wonder why... and perform at the TT.

If nothing else, it is moving to be there when the Mighty Wurlitzer raises from the stage and the music fills the air. This usually occurs before a film and always during silent films.

Anyhoo, my responsibilities include ushering the patrons to their seats, answering questions, and most importantly.... having FUN. After the show begins and everyone is seated, the volunteers may stay to enjoy the show. Oh yeah, free popcorn and soda for us too!

Last weekend was the annual Rockapella Holiday show. Five guys, no instruments, amazing!

Rockapella. If you've never seen them, there are lots of videos on You Tube. Some may remember them from the 'Where in the World is Carmen Santiago' show that was on PBS. The blonde guy to the left lives in Tampa and his son is on the drum line with Plant High School. (NOT Plant City Hight School!!) The drum line (8 incredible young men) opened the show. I think they've won some awards or something. Too bad I didn't get a picture of them. The guy in the red shirt is the 'drummer'. He uses two mics. One is attached to his throat somehow and the other he holds in his hand. It is amazing (to me anyway) to watch him and listen to him fill the theatre with sound with his voice only. The man on the far right has one of those deep, deep bass voices (like that guy who sang with ELVIS!) and between him and the red shirt guy....wow. The man 2nd from the right brings it all together. He dances, he sings, he's wonderful. I'm out of adjectives.
One of the other founding members (2nd from left in top pic) lives in Winter Haven, Florida and his wife has a dance studio there. When Rockapella performs this Holiday show she brings her dancers and they perform. This year they danced along while Rockapella sang 'The Grinch'. I posted a video on You Tube but the audio is not the best. He also has performed in many shows on Broadway.
Emily and Shelley

Emily in a sea of red velvet seats.

Next show... Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi... 12/29/08. Now, that should be a rockin' performance as well!

Is this what my dog is going to look like when she is old?

Squinty eyed and toothless?
Squinty eyed, bored, and toothless?

Santafest parade - no parade pics, sorry

picture removed by request :)

No pic of Scott and Liz before we started walking. Just a lame self-portrait with elsie.

..and... none of me at the parade so here is a self portrait. What's up with that dog sticking her tongue out???

Day with the greys

Today I spent the day with Scott and Liz Lynch at a benefit picnic for greyhounds. Today wasn't the best picture taking day for me but I did get a few shots.

http://www.ahome4greys.org/home

I believe his name is Jerry. One of his hind legs is gone but you'd never know it...he is the happiest, jumpiest, most excited dog.

Tired dogs.

This is Marilyn and one of her babies.

This picture was taken before the picnic...this is Dice and Princess ... or Polly.... she is pocket-sized! She's two years old and was rescued from a rescuer if that makes sense.... She's looking for a PERMANENT home.

Ded Ringers, James McMutry, Skipper's Smokehouse 12/05/08

Standing room only at Skipper's last Friday night for the much anticipated, long awaited, show. Opening was The Ded Ringers. I think I acutally enjoyed them more than the headliner, James McMurtry who I have followed for years and love his writing. However, James looked pissed off the entire night, didn't address the crowd until his show was almost over and when someone gave him a hint that 'the vocals aren't loud enough' he replied 'It's not my fault'.

Sean Faires, hmm, didn't get his name, me, and Jonny Burke.... The Ded Ringers. If they are in your town, go see them. They ROCK!

Ded Ringers rockin' the house.

Lovely old Fender amp and Sean's skinny legs.

Sean Faires - The Ded Ringers

Next year's holiday card pic? Maybe!

Here is a short article about The Ded Ringers:

http://www.austin360.com/music/content/music/stories/xl/2008/08/0821xlcover.html

They can also be found on myspace and facebook.

James McMurtry. He is truly a poet. If you don't know James you may know his daddy, Larry McMurtry. Like father, like son.

Smile, James!

I wonder why he is so angry?
I am happy to have experienced the show and that there was a huge turnout for wmnf. However, I'm not sure I will spend the $$ to see him live again. Can you believe it? smile

I put a couple of videos on You Tube if you are interested.