Bucyrus, KS ~ sheep, goats, and llamas oh my!

Tonight we played a great house concert in Bucyrus, Kansas. Our friends have a beautiful country home outside of Kansas City with a huge yard and a bunch of barn animals. More about the animals later :). The food was great, especially the artichoke dip with a kick! That was my fave. Overall we had a great time with friends and family. It was the perfect way to kick start our Summer tour.

Now, more about the animals. :)

They had a LLAMA!! HA! Okay, so I'm not a big fan of the movie Napolean Dynamite...but everytime I see a llama I think of Tina the llama. hehe. But anywho...there was the llama, a potbelly pig, a bunch of sheep, and then there were two goats! One was a baby and it was SOOO adorable!! It was a definite photo opp, so I had my bro in-law snap a few.

peace love & animals,

Kate

Pics:

1. Tony the LLAMA!

2. tonight was my first night to play drums!

3. Annie the goat. :)

Coyotes on my trail

Last night I was almost eaten alive! Maybe that's a tiny bit of an exaggeration. But it could have happened! 

I fell asleep on the hammock by our lake, and woke up in the middle of the night to a coyote digging 15 feet from me. The dogs were closer to the house, but they started barking and the coyote ran off. I was so scared to move, let alone get out of the hammock and run for my car (which was about 150 yards away) that I just stayed as still as I could...a few minutes later I heard heavy panting to my left. I slowly peeked my head out of the hammock and saw two coyotes laying about 20 feet from me. I didn't want to call for the dogs (I didn't know how the coyotes would react), and I didn't want to shine the flashlight on them (again, didn't know how they would react), so I just laid there...as still as I could. It was a good part of an hour before I made the decision to just run and chance getting chased and eaten alive by wild coyotes, rather than laying there all night getting no sleep. So I said in my mind "now or never," and stood up and ran as fast as I could. Once I got in my car I had to take a breather before I could drive. I was shaking so bad I couldn't quite grasp the wheel. I soon drove up the road to my house and fell asleep in my bed (INSIDE...away from wildlife). I've learned that hammocks are for daytime use when you live in the woods!

Lynn thinks it's a "good omen" and that the coyotes were watching over me. Maybe, but it was scary as hell being there!

Beatboxing flute player!!

I found this video on YouTube yesterday. This guy is so talented. LOVE IT!!! :D

CHANGE

Okay, so I moved to KANSAS y'all!! Overland Park to be exact. I'm living with my sister and her family. My plan is to get a job and save as much money as I can for college. ...I got a job the other day working at a BBQ restraunt...and I'm also going to start teaching guitar lessons. I have about 10 students signed up so far.

Before I found a job, I considered several different types of jobs...such as, taxi driver, military, book seller, salesperson, coffee shop clerk, movie theatre, bartender, cleaning lady...and the list goes on and on. Ha. It makes me laugh looking back...those are pretty diverse jobs/careers. Umm, but I think being a waitress will be fun. I just hope my back doesn't give me any problems...

I got a music scholarship to South Plains College! I start there in the Fall and couldn't be more excited!! I never thought I could be this excited about SCHOOL. Ha...It will be a lot of hard work, but a lot of fun at the same time.

ANNNND I found this really cool music venue in KC called Knuckleheads! They have a blues jam every Saturday and Sunday...I went last weekend and it was SO much fun. I'm gonna try to make it back as much as possible.

That's it for now!
Peace,
Kate

The other day I was at the local art gallery for a showing. After admiring the art, I grabbed some snacks at the refreshment table and sat down on the couch. A lovely older gentleman sat down next to me. After a little small talk, a friend of his sat down and introduced himself. The man told me that his friend works at a local college. I believe his exact words were, "He's a teacher at that black college." ....... *silence* ...... I eventually replied with, "What do you mean when you say 'black college'?" He said, "Oh, well there are a few white kids, but mostly blacks."

This made me wonder ... if the majority of the kids at the school were white, would he had said 'it's a white college'? 

Sadly, I don't think so.

Rain and recent happenings

As I'm sitting here looking out the window to the rain pouring down upon the secluded 18 acres I live on. After a nice rain shower, I often feel refreshed and revived. It's a beautiful thing that nature gives us. It helps us grow, and afterwards there is always sunshine.

Lately I've been hosting the open mics at Crossroads on Friday nights. Last night was a lot of fun. We ended up having 13 people/groups sign up to play, and we went around twice. It was so much fun to hear all the talent we have in East Texas...there was even a group from Australia! They were real funky (the good musical type of funky) ;). One guy played banjo and guitar, another played dobro and harmonica, and they had an acoustic bass player. The whole night was a blast! It couldn't have gone better. I'm hosting the last open mic May 1st. (Next Friday I'll be in Tennessee playing a couple gigs with my Dad and Lynn ). I'm sad that it'll be my last one, but I hope I've started something that will continue with the next owner. 

I haven't been on here in a while...so I guess I better explain a few things so all this makes sense. :) I graduated High School in late February. I flew out to South Plains College to audition for a scholarship...and have been promised one, but won't get the contract until Summer time. Between now and August I'm moving to Kansas City to live with my sister Stephanie and her family. I'm going to get a job and save up for college. Also I'm looking at it as as a way to get some more blues education ;) (I'm going to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come).

Sooooo, because I'm going off to college, and now that Dad and Lynn have a new CD (To The Heart, it's amazing! Buy 20 of them and pass them out to your friends), Dad and Lynn have decided to move on from Crossroads and promote their CD and tour more. There is someone stepping up to the plate to manage Crossroads though, so don't fret, the music venue is not closing. It's just changing hands. 

*sigh* That's it for today, I'm worn out. But in a way the day hasn't even started. :) Susan Gibson and Jana Pochop is on the Crossroads' stage tonight! Woohoo!! ...I may sneak in a nap so I can recharge...the rain helped though. :)

Peace,

Kate

Rosa sat, so Martin could walk

Here's a link to a beautiful song I was sent today. 

"Rosa Sat"

Rosa sat

So Martin could walk

Martin walked 

So Barack could run

Barack ran 

He ran and he won

So that all our children could fly

Thousands of people that November night

All of us here who've fought the long fight

Now we are one we are creating a new nation 

Joined together in celebration

Rosa sat

So Martin could walk

Martin walked

So Barack could run

Barack ran

He ran and he won

So that all our children could fly

Mother and daughter listening to the news

Momma breaks down crying little girl is confused

Honey we worked so hard to get to this place

Daughter puts a loving hand on momma's face

Rosa sat

So Martin could walk

Martin walked

So Barack could run

Barack ran

He ran and he won

So that all our children could fly

Mr. Obama I've turned to you

Share with the country what you're gonna do

Wars and foreclosure surround us this year

But yes we can rise above our fears

Rosa sat

So Martin could walk

Martin walked 

So Barack could run

Barack ran

He ran and he won

So that all our children could fly