Impending profanities

For those have been guests of the rockey home in recent months, you are most likely aware of the seemingly endless project that has been the front entryway. The project began with the cheap linoleum flooring being replaced with ceramic tiling. Step one was a grand success. However, putting the rest of the area back together (i.e. reinstalling the bathroom sink and toilet, replacing quarter round, and the like) has been an incredibly slow moving process. Also, we decided that if we were going to replace our front door eventually, now would be the perfect time. Well, when you're doing it all yourself with little to zero experience,'perfect time' is a pretty loose term. Regardless, the new door is up and the end of the project is slowly closing in.

Meanwhile... check out that jazzy curious george sheet and pillow casing which Mama Jane threw together for Baby Jane. As you can see, she's pretty stoked about the whole deal.

And here we are enjoying our patio...

If you're wondering whether or not we got our hands on that sandbox for only one dollar at a consignment sale, well wonder no more. We in fact did. We dropped a bag of sand in there last night and Baby Jane was set for some hardcore excavation.

Well, i've wasted enough time avoiding the impending plumbing crisis.

If you hear the faint echo of violent profanities in the distance, let me just apologize in advance.

New songs for older kids

Occasionally playing deejay for friends and loved ones during their post-nuptial celebrations has been an interesting undertaking. It's a dance all its own trying to select just the right sequencing of songs which are at once poignant and pertinent while retaining the primal characteristics which provoke corporate booty-shaking. If done properly, it can be a bit like compiling a multiple volume mixtape for the happy couple. That's quite a daunting task. Daunting perhaps, but wildly enjoyable. I have to admit, since the near extinction of tape decks among family and friends, i've missed the ritual of compiling mixtapes. With compact discs, the sequencing of two separate acts known as Side A and Side B has been lost. Digital mp3 players pose their own tactile limitations. While i'm no hater of any of these forms of aural enjoyment per se, i can't deny that their is no worthy substitute for the double-sided reel-to-reel goodness of the analog artifact commonly known as the mixtape.

Having recently made a promise to a coworker to compile for her a mix cd, i was inspired to approach the process as if the selections were being put to two sides of a ninety minute cassette. The result is now available for your aural consumption. If you're super ambitious, have these tunes magnetically committed. Dig.

Download: New Songs for Older Kids - A Rockey Home Companion Mixtape (zipped folder 102MB)

Side A:

1. Caroline - Brandi Carlile
2. Never had nobody like you - M. Ward w/ Zooey Deschanel
3. Australia - The Shins
4. Librarian - My Morning Jacket
5. Laughing with a mouth of blood - St. Vincent
6. Zero - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
7. Unthought known - Pearl Jam
8. Kick drum heart - The Avett Brothers
9. In a future age - Wilco
10. Pot kettle black - Wilco

Side B:

1. Wake up - Arcade Fire
2. Say please - Monsters of Folk
3. Little bribes - Death Cab for Cutie
4. Genesis 3:23 - The Mountain Goats
5. Red wine, success! - Cold War Kids
6. Trials - Damien Jurado
7. The horizon is a beltway - The Low Anthem
8. Zion & babylon - Josh Garrels
9. To kingdom come - Passion Pit
10. Heaven - Derek Webb

Dig these vibes

We here are into the business of listening to and making music, then listening some more. Why, right this moment i'm digging on zimmy's soundtrack to the lesser known western film titled Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid. I am a frequenter of a handful of blogs dedicated to the listening of, enlightening of, and preservation of rad songs and records. One such favorite goes by the handle Aquarium Drunkard. If you dig good sonic vibes, check out this collection of digital mixtapes submitted for your approval.

Don't make me tell you again.

Shakes the stairs that stab the wall

In future times, records that could have been will look like this...

SCRAM! EP

Side A: Skyscraper, Tin Can Transmissions
Side B: Strong Enough, Between Dreams and a Broken Heart

(c) 2006 The Mustard Room

Them Jane Gals

For Mom's day twenty ten, Mama Jane received a hot new piece of apparel from Baby Jane.

Say hello to your mother for me

Bubbles make bath time a blast time. It were a long and winding week full of traffic jams, pearl jams, and peanut butter and jams. Thanks to Uncle Jere, the whole family got to enjoy free dogs, beans and beer before taking in seven and a half innings of a ball game which the home team actually won. Oh, and did i mention that we won free car washes? Well, now you know.

Check out this creeper...

He came to inspect the disturbing odor emanating from the dishwasher. Then, a flamboyant man with leathery skin made him disappear into thin air. Poof.

We spent mother's day sending photos to mothers, eating chicken, chasing chickens and mooing at cows. Upon request by Mama Jane, the Jane gals and myself spent the afternoon at Trader's Point Creamery. Baby Jane got to visit with the brown swiss cows who make her milk. Also, she tried to hug a chicken.

Here's another one of Mama Jane's gifts which Baby Jane and i worked on together...

Cluck.

Cluck.

Cluck.

Kool and the gang

Here's something: Last friday was so completely rad that i've been unable to blog about anything due to soaking in the afterglow.

First, Baby Jane and i spent the morning riding in circles atop horsies and deer. Then, after checking in with our pals and the newest member of their clan, me and the Jane gals made the short hike home to rendezvous with some house guests for a night of pinning cloth and connecting dots. It started in the mind of Katie Bee who shared the dream of her creative endeavor with Mama Jane and myself months ago before trotting off across the globe. Recently, we regrouped and talks began to set the plan in motion. An evening of beers, sheers and bobbins turned into a junction of function and fashion. The night served as a catalyst for grand conversation with buds from all corners of life. Here's a rundown:

• non-profit investigation
• cool porters
• merry bobbins
• second hand slicing
• cozy neck splicing
• granola fever
• baby snuggling
• party favors

Today, we put pen to ink, we put paper to pen and tore the whole thing apart to put together again. Also, for some reason, i made cherry kool-aid.

Word.