Sitting At The Kitchen Table

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Waddon Pete
Date: 11 Dec 09 - 10:27 AM

...all that snow! All we have is mist. Today is just like the Thomas Hood poem! Glad you've brewed coffee, Dan...I've been telling them about your coffee!

Jerry....singing the song along with you!

Maeve...glad the song came together for you. Come and sing it with us sometime soon.

Best wishes,

Peter

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 11 Dec 09 - 10:02 AM

Reading your post, and Dan's, Maeve made me think of a song I wrote a long time ago about my Uncle Jim: Here's the verse that came to mind:

    Old Uncle Jim he said, said to his son he said
    Wake up Howard 'cause it's almost dawn
    The snow drifts have covered up the old hay wagon
    And we'll have to dig our way out to the barn
    The cows will all be waiting for the old milk pail
    And it won't be long before the rooster crows
    So we'd better hop to it, 'cause there's no one else to do it
    And the sky is getting cloudy and it looks like snow
                   from Uncle Jim

I did a concert out in my home town in Wisconsin, and just as I started singing this verse, who should walk through the door buy my cousing Howard with a big grin on his face, hearins his name in the song.

My youngest son Aaron picked up a line from this song which became part of his speaking for a few years. When I'd tell him we had to go do something he'd sing out, "We'd better hop to it, 'cause there's no one else to do it."

It sounds like that's what you're singing to yourself these days, maeve.

Jerry

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: maeve
Date: 11 Dec 09 - 09:42 AM

You have more snow than we do, Dan. We only got 8-10 inches followed by sleet and freezing rain. I do have to shovel as the snowblower needs new belts and the tractor is more than my wrists can handle for now.

I've been overwhelmed with the many tasks I can't do alone, with my husband working away from the farm during the day now. I try to take care of both chore lists, but much of it must wait for the few hours he has off on the weekends- or will be done sporadically (or not at all.)

Yesterday and early this morning however, I sat here long enough to enjoy the little birds visiting a new feeder stuck onto the window, and I suddenly knew the right tune and harmonies for a springtime poem I wrote twenty years ago. Just now I revised the poem in a few places, and today I will take time from work to record the song with the revisions in place.

I am grateful for the equipment to do that and for the inspiration for a new song of joy from an old sad poem.

I'll enjoy some of that pizza pie, Dean.

maeve

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: olddude
Date: 11 Dec 09 - 08:47 AM

Jerry
Well -I will put on the coffee, woke up and couldn't find my car. Buried under the snow drift.   They closed down everything including the through way.   Big winter blast. Today they say about 18 more inches. My friend Sam came by with his snow plow and old truck ... Praise the Lord, didn't want to do any shoveling with this old back. Got me all plowed out. The wind stopped blowing so it is really pretty all covered in white. Bit too cold with the -14 wind chill to go for a walk but maybe later if it warms up a bit I will put on the old parka and mittens and give it a try.   Got my office all relocated now to my house. Working today on your website. Hope to get something you can look at by the weekend
God's Love
Dan

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 10 Dec 09 - 08:48 PM

Hey, don't give me any ideas, Dean. I found an all natural pizza pack at BJs, with whole wheat crust. The package comes with enough pizza sauce for one pizza and there are three crusts and sauce packets in the package. Simply add mozzarella cheese and any other topping of your choice, add a sprinkling of oregeno and bake for 15 minutes and you got yourself one fine, relatively healthy pizza.

I'm going to disregard your post Dean. Pizza? La, La, La, I can't hear you....

:-)

Jerry

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: frogprince
Date: 10 Dec 09 - 07:45 PM

Dagnabbit, I'm getting kinda tired of this frogophobic stuff around here! : }

I've got some pizza-pasta pie left from the Christmas potluck at the art association. It's one of Judy's good recipes, but I actually baked this up myself this time. Who's up for a piece? I can use some of that coffee to wash my own down.
                      Dean

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: olddude
Date: 10 Dec 09 - 07:30 PM

Hey Jerry and Pete
I got your cards today in the mail. What a nice surprise, thank you my friends.   Well it is an official blizzard ... with -2 wind chill right now so it is a good night to watch football or play my guitar. My little dog doesn't even want to go outside ... can't say I blame him. Now yesterday it was almost 50 degrees. Amazing how fast this cold front came in ...

I will take mine black thanks... I brought the blueberry muffins. My wife says blueberries are good for ya

Dan

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 10 Dec 09 - 07:03 PM

Western New York State. Ah yes. Spring comes someone in early June doesn't it, Dan? It's like the upper peninnsula of Michigan where they get over 200 inches of snow in winter, I played at the North Country Folk Festival many years ago in Ironwood, Michigan and the stories could chill your heart, even in July.

There was a certain strange symmetry to my computer problem. I got a warning that my computer was in danger of being infected by a virus and that I needed to run a virus scan to protect myself. The message even had the official security shield symbol on Microsoft. When I was about to run the scan, my Norton 360 warned me not to do it and I tried to cancel the scan (which I had not yet started.) The virus the warning was about was a virus that infected my computer through the warning. That's getting pretty lowdown.. infecting your computer with a virus because you're being warned about a virus. I guess I could commend the jerk who got the idea for being honest.

If I felt like commending him.

Jerry

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Waddon Pete
Date: 10 Dec 09 - 02:37 PM

...I brought my boots and a shovel, but hey...you've finished it all!

Dan, your comment about frogs reminds me of Fred Small's song, "Hot Frogs on the Loose!".

Good to see you back on line Jerry.

Mmmm zucchini cake...thanks Nathan.

Best wishes,

Peter

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: olddude
Date: 10 Dec 09 - 02:27 PM

My dear friend, please make the coffee extra strong and I will bring the muffins.   Here in Western NY we have it all today weather wise. All we need now is frogs an boils and we would have all the plagues for sure. Wow what wild weather and pretty darn cold also.

Gods Blessings
Dan

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 10 Dec 09 - 02:19 PM

You and Eden each finished your own bottle? I hope yours wasn't formula, Nathan. :-)

For mountain dulcimer you can't go wrong with any of Jean Ritchie's albums. There are others who are more experimental who have expanded to range of music that can be done of mountain dulcimer, but Jean is the foundation.

Good to see you on here, Nathan.

Jerry

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Nathan Moore
Date: 10 Dec 09 - 01:21 PM

Hey Everyone:

Sorry I've been out of commission for a few days...I'm taking care of my daughter Eden in the mornings, and it's definitely a learning experience. Right now, we just finished our bottle and we're listening to Jean Ritchie's album "The Most Dulcimer." Speaking of which, I just got an Appalachian dulcimer and I've having fun messing around with it. What a fun instrument! Anybody have any good suggestions of dulcimer music?

Anyway, here's some coffee, zucchini cake (the wife's recipe), and my very best wishes to everyone during this holiday season.

Nathan.

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: GUEST
Date: 09 Dec 09 - 09:49 PM

My computer is back from R & R and is running like new. It's funny how much I could miss something that I didn't have for most of my life.

We had our first heavy snowfall of the winter last night. We got off relatively easy with 4 inches of snow, but then it turned to rain and shoveling 4 inches of snow felt like shoveling a foot and a half. I'm just thankful that I can still such heavy manual work.

Jerry

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Waddon Pete
Date: 07 Dec 09 - 05:13 AM

What ever you do, Jerry...don't download that file......!

I think you are doing the right thing taking it to the doctor! Ask him to sort out the system restore point otherwise you'll just be re infested again!

Sorry you missed the show, but glad my card arrived safely.

Best as ever,

Peter

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 06 Dec 09 - 10:39 PM

Cough, cough! I think my computer has the ragein' flu. I'm having all sorts of problems, so I'm taking it in to the doctor tomorrow. I may be off line for a day or two.

Peter: I tried a dozen times to listen to you today, but my computer just blocked everything. A couple of days ago, I got this sudden window blocking the screen saying that I was in extreme danger of my computer crashing because I had a virus. I clicked "next" to see what it was all about, and was told I could download a "trial" upgrade to my Windows antivirus. I started the download and then started getting all sorts of dire warnings from Norton 360, my anti-virus software so I cancelled the installation. I checked Norton 360 and I didn't have any viruses, but now I get this big warning window blocking the screen all the time telling me that I interrupted the download and I have to complete downloading it. My buddy at the computer store told me not to complete the download because it might be a virus, so I'm unplugging all the life support on my computer and taking it in tomorrow. Hopefully my friend Dan get straighten it out.

Computers! Ya gotta love/hate 'em. Thank God I've printed all my Christmas cards already. And thanks for your beautiful card, Peter! It was the first card we received and the first we posted on our wall.

Catch you later.

Jerry

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 05 Dec 09 - 03:14 PM

Great to see you here, Ron: You iz a singin' man!

Jerry

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Waddon Pete
Date: 05 Dec 09 - 02:49 PM

Let us know how it all goes, Ron! I'm sure it will be a sure-fire seven sector call-out!

Best wishes,

Peter

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Ron Davies
Date: 05 Dec 09 - 02:23 PM

Great going, Peter. Hope it goes well--sounds like it definitely will.




I can't write much--have to go up any minute and take Jan to the post office so she can send some packages to the UK.

And I've been banished down here to the computer--she found Schubert guitar and violin too hard to take--wanted to continue listening to Sara Evans.   I suppose it's all what you're comfortable with.

But I just came back from a dress rehearsal for a concert I was drafted to help the bass section with, after one of the stalwart basses said he really couldn't count on his voice.   He says he has diabetes and it affects his voice. I've never heard of that connection before--has anybody else?

Anyway the leader of the group called me a week ago Friday and asked if I could step in. I thought sure Jan would veto it--I'm already in 5 concerts this month--(3 on the same day) and there's the SATB door-to-door caroling I lead every year--this year on 18 Dec. That's the day some real tenors could make it. I'm still a prisoner of tenors--without tenors, no quartet. But it looks like there will be 3 this year--which is great.

Not so great is the food situation.   Jan will be in the UK herself--first time for Christmas since 1998--and she's desperate to see an 8 year old and 6 year old on Christmas Day. She's convinced it's the last time they will believe in Father Christmas--and I'm sure she's right.

But she usually cooks up a storm here for the caroling. This year, I hope to make do with contributions from carolers--and a big lasagna and salad I've just heard I can buy.   Good thing. I ain't no cook, and I don't think I should experiment on my singers.

Well anyway the concert is tomorrow and it's entirely Renaissance, Baroque and a bit of classical. Which is why I'm doing it--I just love Renaissance, in particular.   I sure had a chance to stretch sight-reading muscles last Friday when I saw the music for the first time.   And I only had a chance to plunk out a few notes last night at the piano--and finished doing that this morning since I got there a bit early and they had a piano.

You really have to know the tonality all the time--here he's in D minor, here in G major, etc.   And to watch the meter carefully--it changes. And to know if the half note has the beat or the quarter note does etc. And is the conductor directing in 2 or 4 or 1 etc? And who should you be able to get your note from, the tenors, the first basses (I'm a second bass for this concert)?

It's going to be a bit of a white knuckle affair.

Thank goodness I managed to get to the rehearsal at all--I have a wretched sense of direction.   And he said it was in a historic church--
Washington was a parishioner--or was it George Mason?--in right in back of the modern church. The director said there was an easily visible steeple.   Not really--I didn't even see one.   But it's called The Falls Church--and there was a sign saying that.



And on the way home I was listening to some old tapes--heard Ian Wallace on "My Music" sing "Westering Home".   He's one who needs to be on the "Singers Who Really Can Sing" thread.   And turned off the Beltway to go through some wooded areas with a fresh coat of very wet snow.

More later, I hope.

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Waddon Pete
Date: 05 Dec 09 - 01:44 PM

Hello everyone,

Thanks for the donuts and the coffee. Janie, you are very welcome. Pull your chair closer to the lemon drizzle cake!

I had some good news today....'they' want me to be on the radio again! So I can't have frightened too many horses last time!

This time it is rather short notice, folks. It is tomorrow night (Sunday 6th December 2009) betwixt 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. UK time. Now, I know some of you good people are on other times. If you Google world clock I'm sure you will be able to work out how the times coincide! For those near Connecticut, I know it's the afternoon!

It won't be all me. There will be Trixie and John Symonds from the Wisbech Acoustic Music Club and a young fiddler named Tom Moore.

It would be wonderful to know that you were out there rooting for me!

Best wishes,

Peter

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 05 Dec 09 - 08:16 AM

Good question, Nathan. I first started writing songs when I was in highschool in the early '50's (you've probably read about those days.) The first couple of songs I wrote, long since forgotten except for the titles, were The Curfew and Foam Rubber Dice. Foam Rubber Dice was in the style of Yakety Yak, and The Curfew was along the lines of other songs about getting your date home late. I loved the early R&B vocal groups from the well-known like the Platters and the Orioles, to the obscure who had only one minor hit on a local label. I still love that music and wrote a gospel song a few years ago patterned after a lesser-known record by the Penguins (one of my very favorite groups who recorded a ton of great stuff, including Earth Angel.) In college, I became more aware of folk music and wrote a corny western ballad, influenced by Do Not Forsake Me from High Noon, and a song about an escaped Slave. Neither made any sense, but when you start out, that's usually the case.

My songwriting really kicked into gear in 1960 when I came to New York City to go to Columbia University grad school and discovered Greenwich Village and traditional folk music. I wrote a couple of songs early on, including one titled The Words Of A Bum, in my socially sensitive phase and Drunkard's Last Advice, a finger-picked country blues influenced by Cocaine Blues. I wish that everyone had forgotten Words Of A Bum and I don't remember it at all. Unfortunately, I pereformed it in Pittsburgh in the early 60's and a couple of people learned it and sang it for many years. Hopefully it's finally been forgotten completely. I still do Drunkard's Last Advice. It's held up well and is fun to play. I was taking guitar lessons from Dave Van Ronk for awhile and had met Luke Faust. We were performing together, drawing on the Anthology Of American Folk Music collection heavily.

In 1964 I moved to Stamford, Connecticut and my songwriting picked up steam. I started writing songs about growing up in southern Wisconsin including several songs drawn from my parent's memories. I produced the bulk of my folk material during the next twenty years.

In 1996 I became friends with the director of a male chorus at a black Baptist Church, and joined the Chorus and church. I'd been writing gospel music for about ten years, mostly southern mountain and Carter Family influenced and had recorded a gospel album by then, which I never released. Shortly after joining the Men's Chorus I started a gospel quartet with three friends in the chorus, and that led to writing a batch of gospel songs building on the tradition of old black gospel quartet music, which was just another branch of the R&B vocal group tree. (Or the reverse, actually.)

Yesterday I finished my most recent gospel song, which has much the feel of slow, bottle-neck blues. The previous gospel song I finished has a feel and structure very similar to The Drunkard's Last Advice that I wrote almost fifty years ago.

And the wheel turns.

That's a long answer, Nathan, with a lot more information than you asked for. But then, I've been around a long time.

Jerry

And great to see you stop by, Janie. It feels like old times!

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Nathan Moore
Date: 05 Dec 09 - 12:50 AM

By the way, when did you start writing songs? This question goes out to everyone as well. I'm curious as to when folks caught the songwriting bug.

Nice to meet you, Janie, and thanks for the cake.

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Janie
Date: 04 Dec 09 - 11:09 PM

I've not come in to sit around the table before, but have been lurking on the other side of the screendoor, eavesdropping every now again, and taking in the some of the stories and good conversation. Here is one of my fresh apple cakes to share.

If you don't mind, I'll just sit here a little back from the table and listen for awhile. Not big on social skills and am prone to be really quiet except when I suddenly blurt something out that will usually be at least tangentially related to the conversation.

Thanks for talking some about your songwriting process, Nathan. I'm eager to hear more from you and from others about personal creative processes.

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 04 Dec 09 - 11:04 PM

I can identify with your approach to writing songs from stories I've heard, or incidents I've experienced. Everyone has hundreds of great stories in their lives, yet few think of them as worth telling.

That's a great description of how you write, Nathan. I knew that your wife was very much a part of the the writing. I've never written with anyone else. It's a very different process. Most of my songs tend to be from an individual point of view (mine or someone else's) so it would be difficult to have a group approach to that. But then, we all tend to write songs from our own perspective.

A few years ago I did a book of photographs, stories and reminiscences of my family's history. It was a real pleasure and more a compilation of songs I'd already written. I have the family collection of photographs so it was great fun to match the lines in songs to old photographs. As an example, I wrote a song drawn primarily for a long letter I asked my mother to write about her childhood on my grandfather's dairy farm. One of the lines is
"Throw all the kids in the old hay wagon, and point the horse to town" and I have a wonderful photograph of all 8 kids on the hay wagon with my grandma and grandpa Holliday standing in front, and the horse hitched up and ready to go to town. I put the book together to give to my mother, and she really treasured it. I gave it to her qa couple of years before she died, and it brought back so many memories, some of which ended up in The Gate of Beautiful.

Jerry

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Nathan Moore
Date: 04 Dec 09 - 10:39 PM

Peter:

I did bring donuts...Apple Fritters the size of bowling balls. Nice to meet you, Mauve and Dan.

Jerry, as to your question about how I approach songwriting, it tends to be a group effort. I like to write songs with my incredibly talented banjo-playing wife, and when we're working on one, there's generally other folks involved, too. For some reason, those songs are the best ones. I may have an idea, a chorus, or a melody, but the fun for me is getting together with other people and coming up with a finished song (if a song is ever finished).   

I tend to gravitate toward songs that tell stories--My mom's folks came from the Ozarks and I grew up with stories about their journey to Oregon, and some of those I've tried to form into songs. I wrote one called "Bound For Lakeview" about my grandfather.

Other songs come from interesting experiences. For example, when Kate and I got married, we went to Astoria, Oregon on our honeymoon. One day, we stopped into a place called "Mary Todd's Worker's Tavern" down in Uniontown, the old Finnish part of Astoria. I asked the waitress if she knew of any old union halls that I could check out, and she directed me to a man named Pops who was quietly nursing a beer at the bar. Now Pops must have been in his late eighties, and he proceeded to tell us all sorts of strange historical facts about Astoria. When he was finished, he said to us: "You know, Astoria started to go downhill when they took the red lights off of the porches and put them in the intersections." Kate and I just looked at each other, and we knew we had a song. We wrote "Progress and Porchlights" about that experience.

One thing I've learned over the last couple of years when it comes to songwriting is that you have to put aside the ego. The suggestions that I've received from band members, not too mention the friendly criticism has only helped me to grow. We tend to spend a lot of time on our songs. Quality vs. quantity. And then there's all the people who lived the stuff that we sing about. Every family has these amazing stories that come from parents, grandparents, children, etc. and many times they make for great songs. I take some dramatic license of course, but the stories come from real people about real events.

Anyway, I'm rambling. I'd love to hear about how other folks come up with ideas.

Nathan.

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: maeve
Date: 04 Dec 09 - 07:25 PM

Welcome, Nathan. Nice to see you here, friend Dan. Good evening to y'all around the table.

maeve

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 04 Dec 09 - 06:39 PM

I dunno, Pete... you posted three 666, the sign of old Beelzebub. I thought I'd reclaim the thread to something less threatening.

So, Dan and Nathan. You are both good songwriters who haven't posted a lot about your songwriting. Howzabout telling the good folks around the table about your songwriting... the kind of stuff you do, and how you approach it. Inquiring minds want to know...

Jerry

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Waddon Pete
Date: 04 Dec 09 - 06:17 AM

Welcome aboard Nathan, did you bring donuts?

Yes, it is good news about the 2 CD set of Utah Phillips. I bought a copy when it was first released and it is a keeper! Although some of the songs are familiar from other CDs in my collection, it was good to hear them in the company of songs and artists that were new to me. Like you, Nathan, I love to investigate new music and new people and so, when time allows, I shall be drifting over to you my space site and having a listen.

Good to see you here too Dan. Is the kettle on?

Best wishes,

Peter

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 04 Dec 09 - 12:11 AM

Hey, Nathan: I haven't seen the track list for the double CD, but I know that my old friend Art Thieme has a track on there, and I know Dan Schatz and Kendall and Jacqui. I finally had a chance to meet Dan Schatz at the memorial for Sandy Paton of Folk-Legacy records a month ago. It's always a pleasure meeting someone you've only known through cyberspace. It was Tom Paxton who recommended me to Folk-Legacy, and Gordon Bok is a long-time friend. Both wonderful folks.

Jerry

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Nathan Moore
Date: 03 Dec 09 - 11:49 PM

Jerry:

I've been meaning to read "The Duty of Delight: The Diaries of Dorothy Day." Have you read it? The folk connection is that I had never heard of Dorothy Day or the Catholic Worker Movement until I started listening to the songs and stories of Utah Phillips.

I just heard that "Singing Through the Hard Times: A Tribute To Utah Phillips" has been nominated for a Grammy! It's a great collection of songs by a variety of artists including Tom Paxton, Gordon Bok, Si Kahn, and Mark Ross. An extraordinary collection!

I just heard a song tonight by Richard Spence of the Porch Band entitled "Hank Williams is moving to Oregon." If only he'd traded in the Cadillac for a VW micro-bus!

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: olddude
Date: 03 Dec 09 - 10:31 PM

Well my dear brother, very few people in this life have figured it out as well as you and it shows in your writing my friend. If there is a road map to understanding the fathers message, you hit the nail on the head. It is a work of great love and your great love for others shows through on each page.

thank you Jerry, I will cherish the copy

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 03 Dec 09 - 10:04 PM

Hey, Hey! I just hit the duofecta! Nathan AND Dan both dropping in. I'm glad you're enjoying the book, Dan. It was a great blessing living the stories. I'm reading an insightful, reflective book these days titled It's Really All About God. The author is a Christian minister who grew up Muslim and has a great respect for Judaism. A step beyond that, he sees all of us in our own wat seeking after God, or at least some explanation about what our lives are all about. My best friend over the years is an Atheist, my youngest son is an Agnostic, my two son-in-laws are Muslims, and I've been a Catholic, Methodist and Baptist and for a good long time, just a slug-a-bed. I love the book because the author sees holiness all around us, and in all those who seek to live a positive life. It's refreshing to read something written by someone who sees life as I see it. It's nice to feel that you're not completely weird. :-)

Jerry

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: olddude
Date: 03 Dec 09 - 09:56 PM

My dear friend,
I had some time to kill so I took your book along to the airport with me. I can only say that it is not only inspiring, it is a work reflecting the great love that I have come to know in your heart. It is a beautiful write Jerry and you made the Angels in Heaven smile with it.   I wish everyone would read it ... it is so beautiful my dear friend

God Blessing Always
your friend
Dan

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: GUEST,Nathan Moore
Date: 03 Dec 09 - 09:51 PM

Hey All: Sorry for taking so long to respond. Having an eight month old keeps ya busy, I'll tell ya. Anyway, a big hello to everyone. I'm excited to start meeting folks on Mudcat. As Jerry said I'm from Eugene, Oregon and I play guitar and sing in a group called the Low Tide Drifters (www.myspace.com/lowtidedrifters). In fact, we practice around the kitchen table with a revolving cast of characters, a few beers, and strong coffee.

I'm heading out to see the Porch Band, a local folk trio, but I'll return to the thread later. I love checking out folk music that I haven't heard, so let me know where I can hear your music.

Anyway, I raise my glass to all of the down-to-earth folks out there. Have a round on me!

Nathan.

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 03 Dec 09 - 09:59 AM

Dan is away right now, but I'll invite him to the table when he gets back. He's almost done setting up a website for me.

Jerry

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Waddon Pete
Date: 03 Dec 09 - 09:21 AM

Good idea, Jerry....and give Dan a nudge as well..his coffee is awesome!

He'd also feel at home here, I'm sure.....

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 03 Dec 09 - 08:11 AM

Hey all. This is a busy time of year for all of us, so time is limited. Yesterday I designed and printed 150 Christmas cards and addressed the first 25. I'll write another batch this morning and get them in the mail.

I'll give Nathan a nudge. He did post to the Folk Tradition and songwriting thread. I don't know if he's mastered refreshing the threads yet. This thread disappears off the bottom of the page mighty quickly, so I'll post once a day just to keep it above water.

Good to see you all.

Jerry

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Waddon Pete
Date: 03 Dec 09 - 04:25 AM

Hello Jerry,

No...you are not alone...just been flat out like a lizard drinking lately!

Thought I'd stop by for a cup of coffee, a blueberry muffin and a chin-wag.

Did you give Nathan a map? He seems to be a-while a-coming':0)
(Guess it's that double roundabout on the edge of town....always confuses me...)

Good news about the concert, Jerry. Let us know how it goes.

Best wishes,

Peter

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Janie
Date: 02 Dec 09 - 08:10 PM

Supper's done but the dishes are still piled in the sink. (Hurray, no turkey for supper tonight!) Feeling quite outdated as my teenage son keeps asking me questions regarding his geometry and chemistry homework that I knew the answers to 35 years ago. Now, there is simply a vague thought, "that sounds familiar."

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: maeve
Date: 02 Dec 09 - 07:40 PM

Evening, Jerry. You're not alone. In my case, I've simply have been absorbed in making my first mp3 recordings. I did make some fresh biscuits however. I'll return in a day or so to have a better visit.

maeve

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 02 Dec 09 - 07:00 PM

Just sitting here alone. Deirdre says that she hasn't been able to access this thread for two or three days. If you've been having trouble, PM me. I'm getting mighty bored of myself.

Jerry

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 01 Dec 09 - 07:02 PM

I'm printing my first batch of Christmas cards for this year. It's an invitation from Ruth and me to join us at the Welcome Table. That kitchen table in the sky. Hopefully not soon, though. We send out close to 150 cards a year and receive almost that many.

Joyful, joyful

Jerry

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 30 Nov 09 - 10:49 PM

Just got home from Men's Chorus practice. I've been asked to do the lead on Just A Closer Walk With Thee for a concert we're preparing for Black History Month. I thought I'd add this short post just to move the thread up to the top. My friend Nathan said he'd drop by.

Jerry

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 29 Nov 09 - 11:13 PM

My friend Nathan Moore just joined Mudcat at my invitation. He's a fine youg musician and songwriter from Oregon who has a band, The Lowtide Drifters. I encouraged him to drop by the kitchen table, so I'm refreshing this thread.

More good stuff, later.

Jerry

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 28 Nov 09 - 06:45 PM

Hey, Pete: We had a wonderful thanksgiving. To be specific, the traffic driving down to Queens was light, so we made it in just less than an hour and forty five minutes. Same on the way back. My son and daughter-in-law came down later and it took them a few minutes short of forever to get there from closer than we are. I'm not much of a big crowd type, and there close to forty people in my brother-in-law and sister-in-law's small house. I really enjoy all the family, and I appreciate having them nearby as my side of our family are more than a thousand miles away and I only get to see them every two years, if that. But, I'm more of a kitchen table type. I enjoy conversations among a small number of people, and that's usually not possible in a large gathering. This Thanksgiving was different. One of my favorite human beings on earth is my brother-in-law Everett and he came early. Everett, Ari (short for Ariezelma) and I had a long discussion about the good things about getting old. Ari almost died a year ago from heart problems and is half the size she used to be, but she is full of life to the point of overflowing all over everyone. Everett has more health problems than he can count on both hands and feet, but both of them are enjoying life thoroughly. We ended up talking about all the things you CAN do when you get old. That's not the usual conversation for old folks. They want to sit around exchanging war stories about all their operations. Later in the day, those conversations raged for about an hour, and I managed to slip away. Everett is my most enthusiastic reader, and he is one of the funiest, most joyful people I've ever met. He calls me every couple of weeks, wanting more to read. He's sold fifteen copies of my book to other residents of the senior center in Brooklyn where he lives, and can hardly wait until I finish my next book. I don't write like that. I have to live it, and then I write it. Living takes time. So, I brought him every scrap of writing I've done in the last couple of months... one page stories, unfinished chapters, outlines and quotes. He said he'd call me on Monday and ask when I was going to send him more stuff.

And that's the way the day went for me. I got into a long, respectful discussion about the Muslim faith with Ari and Everett, and when my son-in-law Pasha arrived, I got him aside and told him that I'd clarified the difference between Sunnis and Shiites and how different the two branches of Islam are and he said, "You've only been in our family a few years and you know more about Islam than any of the rest of the family." Not quite true, because my daughter-in-law who is a Baptist Minister was a Muslim for about ten years. But, I probably know more than anyone else in the family.

I spent some time with my brother-in-law's son-in-law talking about my book, and some of the stories I've been writing for the new one, and it opened up another long, interesting conversation. It was as if I was creating a kitchen table all day, moving from one part of the house to another.

And then there was the food. Ruth made a list of the dishes and there were over 30. There was just about every kind of soul food imaginable and a wide variety of deserts. I was irritatingly good, eating only a small meal and not having any desert. But, I was happy and I didn't have to hide the scale under the bed the following morning.

Most of all, everyone was in joyful spirits and expressed how thankful they were for all the blessings in out lives. They're good people, and I am thankful for each and every one of them.

Kitchen tables are where you find them. Once in awhile they're in kitchens.

Jerry

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Waddon Pete
Date: 28 Nov 09 - 04:32 PM

So....how was Thanksgiving? As Wendy remarked, it was just an ordinary working day over here.

It was good to see Dan back on Mudcat on your "other thread", Jerry. Let's try and steer him towards our kitchen table. I hear he brews a mean cup of coffee!

Thought I'd share this with you all. In my line of work, when you are throwing words at the page at a fearful rate, you can't always get things right. One correspondent noted that I had used the wrong spelling of stationery. (Stationary and stationery). That led to this revelation:

"No matter how hard you push the envelope, it is still stationery!"

Anyone know any others like this?

I've left some apple crumble on the table. Dig in!

Best wishes,

Peter

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: billybob
Date: 25 Nov 09 - 02:33 PM

Jerry, have a wonderful Thanksgiving tomorrow. I always feel sad that we are not with Billy's family for thanksgiving in New Jersey at this time of the year. When his mother was alive all the family would gather at her house, last time we were able to visit her for Thanksgiving there were over 40 , sisters , brothers in law and nieces and nephews, lovely treasured memories.
Enjoy the turkey and pumpkin pies and think of us over in England , no holiday here just a normal working Thursday.
Wendy

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 25 Nov 09 - 10:49 AM

Hey, Peter. I could have said "The pedants are revolting," but I didn't want to stoop to their level.

Yeah, it would be a great thing if we could all gather around our kitchen table here in Derby, or any other assigned table. Unfortunately, that's about as possible as a Beatles reunion. Now, a serial gathering is always a possibility. We are a convenient, relatively inexpensive trainride from Grand Central Station in New York City, so if anyone is coming over to New York, we are a definite possibility for an in-person session at our kitchen table. On rare occasion we get up into northern New England, so there's always a possibility of getting together around the kitchen table of one of our friends up in that area.

The reality of life is that I only see my family once every couple of years because they are a thousand miles away and they don't travel, so it's up to us to get out to see them. Ruth's side of our family is almost almost all "local" so we get a chance to visit with them all the time. Tomorrow we're driving down to Queens, one of the boroughs of New York City) for Thanksgiving and will be with thirty or forty family members. On Christmas, they'll all be at our house, so there'lll be plenty of opportunity for table talk.

If you or any of the other table folks get over this way, remember that you are always welcome.

Jerry

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Waddon Pete
Date: 25 Nov 09 - 05:56 AM

Hello Jerry,

"Caught in the cross-fire of pedants".... what a lovely word picture! Yes, it was a shame that happened...still...let's spread the table with goodies, including your blueberry muffins (not the ones you baked especially for the baseball season (!)brew some good coffee and put the world to rights. We might also meditate on the fact that the wind is wuthering round the gables and the leaves are swirling across the street and piling up in drifts by the gate. There was* nothing better than kicking through the dry leaves when we were kids. If they are wet, you looked out for some of the really big ones...the ones that had landed and trapped some water underneath. If you stamped on them you could make quite a splash (which annoyed those wearing white socks as I recall!)

One day...one day....we must get the kitchen tablers together in reality! Now what a day that would be!

Best wishes.

Peter

*still is, if I'm honest!

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 24 Nov 09 - 11:45 AM

You'd better come on in the kitchen, because it's going to be nasty outside. I've been spending some time on a thread I started about the tradition in all music, and what it means, and got caught in the cross-fire of pedants. Time to come back in the kitchen, brew a hot mug of tea and have one of the whole wheat blueberry muffins I baked yesterday. Help yourself. I'm on a whole wheat quest, vowing that anything baked with white flour will never sully my tongue. (Where in the world does the word "sully" come from?) I've been lured onto the rocks by "No Sugar Added" baked goods, conveniently forgetting for awhile that when you put white flour in your body it is almost instantly converted into sugar. No Sugar Added baked goods are much healthier for you if you don't eat them. This is my second shot at whole wheat, stone ground blueberry muffins. The first batch turned out to be perfect for knocking someone unconcious at fifty paces if you have a good pitching arm. These are much better. I'll leave some on the table and after Thanksgiving make a double batch of oatmeal raisin-walnut cookies.

I'm starting to work on our Christmas card and it is an invitation to "sit at the Welcome Table." I always liked that concept of Heaven. It has the biggest kitchen table you've ever seen and you can "eat and never get hungry." Or get diabetes or be overweight. "Sign me up for the Christian Jubilee."

Jerry

Subject: RE: Sitting At The Kitchen Table
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 19 Nov 09 - 12:22 PM

Theodolites! Man, there's a word from the past. I was thinking about the mapping course I took for Geology in college. We used theodolites, but I couldn't remember the word. And there it is on your post, Wendy.

Thanks for refreshing the coffee. I'm going to mix up a batch of oatmeal/raising cookies today or tomorrow. I'll put a few out on the table.

Jerry