Category Archives: Americana Music

Americana Music, Baking, Gratitude, Happiness, Lifestyle, Recipes, Simplicity

A Sweet Tuesday

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The Tuesday before last, while Mr. None of the Above (my husband, AKA my “hubs”) was out of town for work, I had myself a lovely day.

My work schedule (it makes me so happy to type those words, you guys) is 9-4 Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. This means on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I am free to do as I please, especially when the Mr. is out of town.

I was so grateful for that day.

That Tuesday was the first day of the fall season here in Minnesconsin that felt like fall. It was overcast and about 60 degrees out.

A perfect day to do one of my very favorite things in the world: bake.

This past summer, I published a blog post about the rhubarb patch in my front yard. I found some great recipes for said rhubarb, which included a delectable and simple-to-make rhubarb sauce. In that post, I mentioned a recipe I found for orange bread. It was handwritten by my mom, bequethed to her by her father. Grandpa Frazer, it turns out, was quite the baker. I wrote about how I’d like to make that orange bread “one of these days” and pair it with the rhubarb sauce.

A slice of the finished product!

So, on that sweet Tuesday, while listening to some chill tunes on my Google nest, I did just that. Gosh, it was such an enjoyable experience. A simple pleasure. Very K.I.S.S. of me.

The bread, as well as the rhubarb sauce, was delectable. It was a beautiful pairing of sweet and tart.

Here’s the recipe:

Mix together 1 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon shortening. Add 1 egg. Add in 2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Once that’s all mixed up, add 1/3 cup (and per my mom’s instructions, add water to make 1 cup-or just add 2/3 cup of water-ha ha!). Grate some orange peel and add it to the mix. Once it’s all nice and mixed up, put it into a greased and floured bread pan and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Now, for the rhubarb sauce:

There’s not much to it at all, as you don’t need to do much measuring.

Put 1 1/2 to 2 cups diced rhubarb, a little sugar, a little water, and a bit of orange or lemon juice. Cook it up on the stove, smooshing the fruit as it cooks (unless you like chunky fruit in your sauce). I added some sliced strawberries for a little extra sweetness, but it’s not necessary.

As I said earlier in this post, while baking that Tuesday (I made banana chocolate chip muffins that day too), I enjoyed listening to some chill tunes. Along with some of my favorites (The Avett Brothers and Dawes), I hummed and sang along to songs from the great Minnesota rock band, the Jayhawks.

Here’s one of their best songs, IMHO. Enjoy!

Americana Music, Love, Memories, Self Compassion

Be Gentle

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The other night, I watched the best thing I’ve seen in a good long while. It was a Brandi Carlile concert on the streaming platform, HBO Max. I liked it so much that I watched it twice.

This concert was nothing short of magical.

The setting was in California’s Laurel Canyon (hence the title “In The Canyon Haze”). This was a loving nod to all the fabulous music that came out of there in the late ’60s and ’70s. I loved the “Hotel California” style vibes. Brandi and her multi-talented band performed songs from her latest album, “In These Silent Days” as the sun slowly set. She answered questions from audience members who were watching on IMAX screens live across the country. She performed a couple of covers of other artists’ songs (which I will provide no spoilers for but assure you will enjoy). It was so well produced. As it went on, it just kept getting better and better. I guarantee it’s going to win all the awards it’s nominated for.

In other words, I highly recommend that you watch this.

Brandi’s song, “Stay Gentle”, was one I hadn’t heard before. It reminded me of a special piece of artwork that I acquired from my dad, which I wrote a blog post about in 2018. What follows is a re-imagining of that blog post, because, with this song, Brandi reminded me of the power of this message.

I don’t know the origin story of this sign.

I can only imagine that someone made it back in the early 70s and gave it to my parents. I just remember it hanging on the fiberboard walls of my dad’s beloved garage while I was growing up. I can only assume that my mom couldn’t find quite the right place to display it in our house. Or she found it tacky.

But my dad had an appreciation for this sign. It meant something to him. It was hung on those fiberboard walls next to scribblings from family and friends from near and far who were visiting our house for one celebration or another. Dad got a big kick out of having guests sign the wall in the garage to commemorate various celebrations. To some, he was gruff, but those who loved him best knew he was quite the sentimental guy.

It’s bittersweet for me to re-share this now, with the knowledge that someone new is living in this house. Dad passed away in 2018, and Mom in 2019. The house was sold earlier this year.

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As a silly 13-year-old, I christened myself the cutest “chic that ever came here”. 

I think first and foremost, these words, “Life is fragile, be gentle”, are the crux of self-compassion. It’s so easy to go through our days mentally haranguing ourselves about how we could have done “this”  better, or how we shouldn’t have said “that” to whomever, and all that unhelpful baloney. I strive to put my self-defeating thoughts on pause and ask myself if the negative thoughts about myself would be something I would say out loud (or even under my breath) to a close friend. The answer is always, emphatically, “no”. This simple phrase, “Life is fragile, be gentle”, puts me in that head and heart space where I can do that.

I believe if we have any hope of ushering in a kinder, less dysfunctional, society, we should endeavor to heed these words in our day-to-day interactions with ourselves and others, whether they be strangers or friends.