Traumfrau

Missy has a new book that just came out! The book is called "TRAUMFRAU", which is German for "DREAM GIRL" (the whole story is written in German). The story was written by her friend ALEXANDER BACH and then illustrated, graphic novel-style, by Missy. We're sharing a few of the original drawings from Missy's sketchbook, since we haven't gotten a copy of the book yet. You can order Traumfrau via the German version of Amazon HERE)...Alexander used some of Missy's illustrations to make a cute little BOOK TRAILER to help promote the release of the book:

Adios Frida & Diego, Pt.2

WE'VE MOVED! The post you were looking for can be found on our new blog HERE: RANCHOCOCOA.COM

Jumbles Wears a Hat

Thank you to the lovely Alessi for sending a box of great goodies to us! It included this hat that I let Jumbles wear! It also had some sugar mice that are too cute to eat, British candies, chocolates, and cute notebook! Thank you so much! We love the treats.

Making Kokedama

I went to Treehouse to make kokedama! most of my photos did not come out, so here are the best ones.


Kokedama moss balls are very easy to make. We used a mixture of red clay and potting soil, then we added the moss. We added a small succulent and last wrapped it in nylon string and added string to hang them up!


I got on a roll and made a bunch of mini kokedama.


Then I placed them in our kitchen!


I can't wait to make more kokedama!

Snuggle Bunny Monday

Here is the funniest picture of all three of my pets together! I love this photo for so many reasons - look at Oreo and her pose! It makes me laugh so hard! Nilla is there and Jumbles is behind her, hanging out in his pan. They just all look so cute.

Our pets have been great, for the most part. Back in November our bunny, Jumbles, was diagnosed with a parasite. It is a terrible thing that rabbits can get this, but we caught it early and treated this. So we have been to the vet school so many times since November. I also hesitate to write about this, because the buns are doing really really good, but if you notice he is separated from Oreo in this photo. Poor Jum has been on and off medicine since November. In March he had a minor surgery, and his blood test levels were high for the parasite, so he has been on the treatment ever since. He will finally finish May 31! I am counting down the days!

Oreo was sick about two weeks ago, and now she is back to "herself." Rabbits are such different pets than a cat. So different - and we have learned lots since finding Oreo in 2009. I am happy to report she is doing great and is happy and healthy!

And for our cat Nilla, she is totally good and happy and healthy! Go Pets! this is where I sound like a crazy pet lady, but I love my pets so much. It is like Nacho Libre when he says "the children, they are my heart" about the orphans he cares for. I feel the same way - "the pets, they are my heart."

Adios Frida & Diego, Pt.1

WE'VE MOVED! The post you were looking for can be found at our new blog HERE: RANCHOCOCOA.COM

Happy Mother's Day, Mama Ruth!

Just wanted to wish my Mother a very HAPPY MOTHERS DAY! I swiped the photo above from my sister Cynthia's Facebook page. I wish I could be with the rest of my family, celebrating with them! Also, very HAPPY MOTHERS DAY to my other sister, Belinda, mother of my two wonderful nieces and wonderful nephew. I swiped the photo below of her and my niece, Lillian, from her Facebook page. Happy Mothers Day, y'all!

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to my favorite mom! Here we are having the time of our life at the Tanglewood Farm! We loved it here and had a great day seeing all the lovely and adorable animals at the farm. Here is me and my mama, and a llama and a llama mama! Happy Mothers's Day! I love you!

Nilla One Hundred And Thirty-Eight

NILLA gets a taste of Missy's VANILLA ICE CREAM...

Weekend Wind-Down #163

A couple of Fridays ago, Missy and I headed downtown to see the pre-race festivities at the TWILIGHT CRITERIUM, Athens, Georgia's yearly night-time bicycle race. After grabbing some freshly-squeezed lemonade, we headed over to the RED BULL HUMAN-POWERED CHARIOT RACE. Teams from local businesses and the university built their own CHARIOTS. While one person rode in the chariot, two other teammates pulled them around the track for two laps before heading back across the finish line. We perched ourselves on top of Wuxtry Records, overlooking the finish line and watched the rough and tumble hilarity ensue...































FAVORITE MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK-AND-A-HALF?
MISSY - Getting Neutral Milk Hotel tickets!
RAOUL - Scoring tickets for the "locals-only" Neutral Milk Hotel show in October.

FUNNIEST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK-AND-A-HALF?
MISSY - How fast we got ready to go stand in line for tickets!
RAOUL - Scoring tickets for the "locals-only" Neutral Milk Hotel show in October.

WORD OR PHRASE OF THE PAST WEEK-AND-A-HALF?
MISSY - "I'm here! I'm here!"
RAOUL - "Cilantro"

FAVORITE MEAL OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Tomato basil soup from Transmet.
RAOUL - Veggie burrito and yucca fries from Cali & Tito's.

SOMETHING YOU'VE BEEN OBSESSED WITH FOR THE PAST WEEK-AND-A-HALF?
MISSY - Listening to music on my iPod.
RAOUL - Lime Jarritos.

THREE THINGS ON YOUR TO DO LIST FOR THIS WEEK?
MISSY - Photograph new stuff for Etsy, fill out order for Shanalogic, mail Mothers Day stuff.
RAOUL - Punch out Dana's buttons, photograph more stuff for my Etsy shop, try to get to bed early.

PERSONAL SOUNDTRACK FOR THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - A Hawk And A Hacksaw, The Black Atlantic, Beulah, The School, Kishi Bashi, Alessi's Ark, My Bubba & Mi.
RAOUL - Madonna, Oingo Boingo, Dave Wakeling, The Untouchables, Soul Train Hall of Fame compilation, Ashford & Simpson, Sportique, Basemint, Sleater-Kinney, Scout Niblett, Grace Jones, Peaches.

Neutral Milk Hotel

On Friday, we tried to score tickets to one of the two NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL shows that are going to happen in October later this year, here in Athens at the world-famous 40 WATT club. The shows are going to be the first couple of shows that the band has performed in over 10 years. Because of the popularity of the band and the location of the concerts (Athens being the spiritual hometown of the band), the show sold out within a matter of minutes. Because the tickets were sold on-line, most of the tickets went to lucky people outside of Athens and many local fans and friends were left with nothing but disappointment...including me and Missy!

Then, a little bit before noon yesterday, word came through the grapevine (a.k.a. Facebook) that a third LOCALS-ONLY ATHENS SHOW was going on sale at 2pm, and that the tickets would only be available at the 40 Watt. As soon as I saw that piece of news come up on my Facebook feed, I yelled out, "MISSY, WE GOTTA GO! NOW!" She thought it was some sort of emergency before I explained that a third show was going on sale and we needed to get down to the 40 Watt as soon as possible. We got dressed, grabbed our umbrellas, and headed out in the pouring rain for downtown Athens...

By the time we got in line a little after noon, there was already 50 people waiting ahead of us. We were soaked and cold, but we were happy that we would finally be getting tickets to see Neutral Milk Hotel...





We saw a lot of people we knew standing in line for tickets in the rain...despite the weather, it turned out to be a fun event in itself. Practically everyone knew each other - everyone shared their disappointment at not being able to get tickets the day before and now we were all savoring an Athens locals-only show. We went from feeling pretty low to feeling pretty special.

Around 1:30, they let the first 50 or so people into the club to buy tickets. Missy and I were that last two people in that first group. The savvy staff at the 40 Watt opened their bar and served drinks to the folks standing in line inside the club, running orders and bottles and cans between the bar and the line. Now THAT'S service!

They started selling tickets closer to 2pm. Everyone was allowed to buy up to 4 tickets, but everyone was encouraged to buy just as many tickets as they truly needed, so that the most number of people waiting in line would get a chance for tickets. After you purchased your tickets, the staff wrote your name on an envelope and then sealed your tickets inside. In order to discourage TICKET SCALPING, the 40 Watt is holding these envelopes until the day of the show in October. That night, ticket buyers will have to show I.D. at will call (and have all their party with them at the time) in order to retrieve their tickets. I handed over $31 and waved goodbye to my ticket..."See you in October!" I thought.

















Afterwards, we spent a fair amount of time reminiscing about Neutral Milk Hotel's heydays in the late 90s. I had never seen all the members of the band perform live together, though I've seen all of them perform in all their own individual bands and projects. Thus, my wish to see the entire band together playing live. Missy on the other hand had the good fortune to see them "back in the day", opening for the band SUPERCHUNK. That was in the late 90s, at a club in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, called GRAFFITI. Missy told me she had photos from that show and I told her that I would like to see them again. So we busted out one of her many amazing photo albums and took a nostalgic trip back to the 90s. Because photos and videos won't be allowed at any future Neutral Milk Hotel shows, we decided to share some fond memories from Missy's 90s indie band archive...starting with a photo of her posing with a fresh-faced Neutral Milk Hotel...











A totally meta "photo of photos" - the photo album chock full of wonderful photos, with Neutral Milk Hotel on the left, and photos of MELT BANANA on the right:



Just to give the album more context, here's a few more photos of Missy and other indie luminaries from that time (who are all still going strong today), starting with Missy and KEVIN BARNES of OF MONTREAL. She *thinks* this was after a show he did with THE MUSIC TAPES at the Millvale Industrial Center in Pittsburgh, in 1999:



ARCHER PREWITT of THE COCTAILS and THE SEA AND CAKE with Missy after a Coctails show at Luciano's in Pittsburgh, in 1995:



Missy with ROSE MELBERG and JEN SBRAGIA of THE SOFTIES, after their show at Luciano's in Pittsburgh, sometime in the mid-nineties:



And finally (one of my favorite photos), Missy with LOU BARLOW of SEBADOH and THE FOLK IMPLOSION, at the Echo Lounge in Cleveland, Ohio:



I'm glad that Missy and I grew up listening to and loving the same sort of music we did in the 1990s, because it's a shared experience that we can really share with each other NOW, even though we weren't together THEN. Standing in line for Neutral Milk Hotel tickets in the rain for two hours - we not only felt nostalgia and fondness for our misspent youth during the the 90s, but we were happy to share NEW experiences with the music and bands that we love, new experiences that we wouldn't have to share second-hand with each other...