Teresa and The breast cancer blog and A better life: September 2010

Back to the grind. At least I have a visit from my parents to look forward to. Still, I'm feeling melancholy & not exactly sure why. It could be due to hormonal imbalances. I've been especially imbalanced since my period came back nine months ago. Though I feel mostly back to myself physically, the messed-up hormones plus my fatigue plus my arthritic hands are everyday reminders of what I've been through and how different my body is now.

Let me reflect more on Saturday, and maybe that'll put a smile on my face?

First off, Miles and I went to the Will and Anders house show in SF last Wednesday. It was at a Mission loft and the hosts were a very nice young couple. At one point the guy noticed from across the room that Miles didn't have a bottle opener for his beer, and he came over to offer assistance - we're talking that sort of nice. There were about 30 people and it was very cozy. Anders played first and it sounded amazing. I wasn't very familiar with him but his songs and voice were instantly memorable. He played a song called Don't Let the Darkness In about his dog that he said he'd just finished while up in Portland - it's so good it's still stuck in my head. Will played second, and what can I say other than it was the very best? I would've been extremely pleased if the SF house show was all there was. But... then we hosted our very own house show!

So on Saturday we weren't expecting them to show up til later since they had such a long drive up to Guerneville. But the doorbell rang around 5:30 and I saw the top of tall Anders' head through the glass! They took powernaps while dinner cooked. Then my long lost fellow Marooned friend Sarah and her BF Cameron arrived. It was like a day hadn't passed between us! I made bbq pulled pork sandwiches, garlic mashies and salad. We were well-stocked on booze: fridge full of Budweisers, Blue Moons, Pliny the Elder, Blind Pig and champagne; and pantry full of whiskey, wine, and many half-full liquor bottles. We ate and drank and joked around. Will was impressed with Miles' childhood baseball photo signed by Ozzie Smith. He also joked that he told his fiancee that the fam was moving to Guerneville! Sarah and I demonstrated that our patented synchronized swoon hadn't lost a beat in twelve years. Guests eventually arrived - and when I say "guests" I mean all of seven other people - 8 of 11 paid tickets were no-shows! So there were a total of 13 people, including Anders and Will. Can you imagine your favorite dude playing in your own living room to such a tiny crowd?! I can now!!! Anders played first. I recognized many songs already just from SF - and he sounded so amazing. I was stoked to hear Don't Let the Darkness In again. I'm now quickly fixing the fact that I don't know his material. He was so at ease playing and talking between songs - "So how's everyone doing?" was kind of a joke since everyone had already been talking to everyone else. Then Will played. It was the very very best. Kind of like how ginger boy cats are "the very very best." A couple songs in, he asked if anyone had any questions and Miles said "I have a question - can you play something off Redo the Stacks? We sort of got married to that record." And he obliged with Rock n Roll Eyes!! Later a dude asked for something from Carlton Chronicles, and Will played I Feel Too Young To Die. He sort of forgot bits of the song and it was really cute watching him try to sort it out in his head. He played the following: Almost Let You In (a fave), Triggers & Trash Heaps, Rock N Roll Eyes (swoon), Take The Maps, Atlanta (all-time fave), Alabama Crusade, Kept On The Sly, Philo Manitoba, I Feel Too Young To Die, a song about Bastrop and inflatable pools and devils crossing the state line, and a couple others. Then everyone wanted more and Miles asked if Will & Anders ever played together - and so they did! Anders sang the first song with Will doing harmonies. And then they played Just To Know What You've Been Dreaming, and it sounded awesome with Anders' backing vocals and guitar bridge! So good!!! BTW, Charlie was so good with everyone & he was a huge hit! He went from person to person for pets for a while and then just laid down in the middle of the room! Joseph made himself scarce all night, of course. Nutsy - poor painkiller-ed Nutsy who had 8 teeth pulled the day before - was around but not very social. Douglas was present but hesitant. During a song, Doug ran out to the middle and then spazzed, twitched, and ran full speed out of the room! One by one our guests departed. Sarah and Cameron left earlier than I hoped for, but they had far to drive in the morning. Miles, Will and I talked til late in the kitchen about baseball, facebook, children, touring, the Green Bay Packers and other things. It's awesome watching Miles talk to a fellow die-hard St. Louis Cardinals fan - he gets so adorably animated. In the morning I made breakfast for the dudes - B&LG, little sausages, eggs, and hash browns that wouldn't brown. I wasn't very pleased, but both dudes cleaned their plates. So it was either passable, or they're just very polite. Which they are... so wdk. We bid them adieu and they got on the road to Reno, but not until the Japanese tourist side of me asked for Polaroids. Miles and I basked in the joy of the weekend the rest of Sunday & cuddled with our animals. Even Charlie was pooped from all the excitement and he flopped on the floor all day long.