Tempo Rubato

Holly West, Anna Christina, Clementine (drums), Gretchen Menn. Zeperella.

Is your life happening to you or someone else? You get a quiet moment to circle around it and truly observe. But behind tinted windows, intimate and muffled stories are happening. You can only hear every other other phrase. Your ego is talking to itself, making up stories and reliving your memories. Most of 2019 has been on overdrive, but then the beat slowed and the cracks became larger--a season for reflection:  tempo rubato.

View this post on Instagram

Keep Austin weird. #art #nature #cars #rural #Austin #Tarrytown

A post shared by Rachel D Medanic (@vampituity) on Mar 19, 2019 at 10:31pm PDT

Despite these widening cracks, music has continued to play all year. And I'm grateful. July's sounds sung, witnessed, or coveted include:

• Zeperella. Just a gorgeous immersion at Sweetwater. Close enough to touch them but perhaps more enjoyable than the real Zep. Incredible musicians. 

• A chance to personally sing some Clapton, Raitt and Creedence. 
• Lady Be Good. (I'd never sung it before, heard it maybe 5 times? All whilst keeping up with the pianist playing it at runaway horse tempo: like this from the Hot Sugar Band). A true improv situation and a confidence builder, and a true rubato fail. 

Souls Who've Left Us and... Death

Songs, wisdom and works by or about the dead continue to get airtime:

• Amy Winehouse
• Anthony Bourdain. His efforts to tell stories beyond the cultural male dominance. 
• Prince's rarer works; his Piano and a Microphone.
• Alice Cooper's dark revelry. I feel connection with anyone who has blood relatives that are pastors and ministers.

Ascending in 2019

• From friends:  Vulfpeck. This song. Also, incredible musicians. And this one with the pancake drums?
• Three Dog Night's Never Been to Spain
• Revisiting tunes I've always loved by Stevie Wonder. 
• Lots and lots of Pink Martini. Yes, a soul can thirst for this AND Alice Cooper.  
• We're all trying not to repeat the mistakes we've made before. How many times have you declared that you won't get fooled again? (Time to stop counting)

No Ovens Need Apply

To cover all the sensory bases (if you're here seeking dessert), I refer you to this no-bake Strawberry Mascarpone Yogurt thing that has been a hit this summer. Photos were eclipsed by the speed of its popularity (made and devoured a couple of times at parties).

• I reduced the recipe's powdered sugar by 1/3...yet
• Doubled everything else to fill out a full pie plate (this recipe is just for two)
• I changed up the crust to these Trader Joe's banana nut swavory (swavory = sweet + savory in case that's not obvi) crackers and froze them. 

How to make an offering to the Goddess who gives you desserts on her birthday? Eat them. And make yummy sounds. And don't fake it, she'll know if you are faking.