Watching Mystic River as a Dad

I know I promised posts about our Michigan trip - that will still come. But today, I woke up early with Olive (all snotty), and watched Mystic River. I saw it in the theaters back in 2003, and it was good, but not the sob-fest it was for me this morning.

This morning however (2010), I have 2 girls. And as I got to the scene where Sean Penn finds his girls dead body, I lost it. It was an incredibly acted scene. I bought it 100%.

And I'm not just saying that I got misty-eyed, I was a mess for about 5-10 minutes. Maybe I needed caffiene really bad, maybe it was the allergies, but wow, that scene messed me up. I cannot imagine the loss.

So on that note, have a great day :-)

Peace,
Ross

...we're back!

And we're back folks! This past week, we rented a cute little Victorian house on Lake Michigan. Here's a quick pic to tide you, but I promise much more detail each day this week.


Peace,
Ross

Bridge

Last night, Kate and I went out to a great place downtown, called Bridge. The tap house & wine bar is built around the theme of a violin bridge - so that hit pretty close to home.

It was a cool venue (very swank), and the beer selection was pretty impressive. I decided to try a lot of 4oz glasses. Here was my selection:

Founders - Cerise
Bells - Two Hearted Ale
Broweij Van Steenberge - Monk's Cafe
North Coast - Brother Thelonius
(Kate's choice) California Cider Company - Ace Perry

The winner goes to the Monk's Cafe!

That's it for now. I need some coffee.

Peace,
Ross

Cora's BIG Day!

This morning, Cora headed off to her first day of preschool. I know, I know...it's hard to believe that, that day could be here already. But alas, she came, went, and conquered - and no tears (by her anyway).

As you can see in the pics, she was extremely excited (and has been for weeks)! She's quite the social butterfly. Though, I rarely see butterfly's in groups; it's usually just the 1 butterfly doing his/her thing. And they don't really make any noise to conjure a "social" kind of buzz either. So really I take back the whole "social butterfly" comment, as I now realize the saying makes absolutely no sense.

Peace,

Ross

More Apple Pickin' Fun...

Here's a few more pics from our annual apple picking extravaganza out at Centennial Farms in Augusta, MO. I also added a fun little video of Cora performing her famous rendition of Zaccheus (added words and giggles are complimentary).

{SEE MORE FUN APPLE PICS HERE}

Peace,
Ross

Great (early Fall) Weekend!

The weather turned absolutely beautiful just in time for the holiday weekend and we've spent the majority of it outdoors. Friday night we enjoyed a 'winning' Cardinals game. It was 72 degrees at the first pitch, and by the 6th inning (when Olive decided she'd had enough) it was 64.
Yesterday I spent some time outside working on the yard and garage before Mizzou kicked Illinois' rear in our first football game of the year. Late yesterday day afternoon we BBQ'ed with some friends and enjoyed more time outside. Late last night, Kate and I read on the porch as the temp continued to drop. 'Twas a perfect night for a stogie!
Today after AWAKEN, we headed out to Centennial Farms to go apple picking. As you can see, we had great success!

Enjoy your day off tomorrow and spend as much time as you can outside...

Peace,
Ross

p.s. i'll post more (& vids) tomorrow of our weekend adventures

Transient Permanence

Here's a new piece I composed last week. Its title again is contradictive - that's done on purpose. The song has several parts, each conjure different emotions, pictures, scenes, etc.

I've played this one for a handful of people and everyone commented a specific scene or scenario. That's the true magic of music - especially something created sans-words. Its completely up to the listener to decipher the locale, the situation, the players, etc.

So close your eyes and enjoy, Transient Permanence.

Transient Permanence by rosschristopher

Peace,
Ross