Good morning, friends. I’m here in Marietta, GA, where we’re having Thanksgiving with the Hutson family. It was so good- family, friends- and it’s the first time we’ve all been together since Kenny’s dad died last month, so there was joy and sorrow mingled all together, as it should be.
It’s the morning after, and I’m alone at the house. Kenny and his mom headed to Home Depot to buy a few parts for home improvement projects. I’m trying to figure out how to work the single cup coffee contraption, wearing fuzzy socks and flannel and enjoying the sounds of silence. The women on my side of the family drove to Erie, stayed in a hotel and began their Black Friday at midnight. Which hurts my head to think about- somehow I missed the shopping gene. But hey, I sure love them, and it’s a chance at female bonding, so next year I will take a nap and drink lots of coffee and watch their bargain hunting prowess in action.
My, it’s been a month! The blog has suffered at the hands of one of those projects I’ve been hinting at forever, the one that’s finally here- Coal Train Railroad. I’m happy to say I’ve been largely consumed with it! Updating, getting the word out, filling orders, having meetings with Chris Donohue and other co-dreamers.
Aaand after 3 tries with the coffee where the coffee itself was mystifyingly bypassed and I ended up with a cup of hot water, I found a contraption to put in the contraption- I’m feeling confident about this next attempt at coffee. The synapses will start firing just as I finish this post.
Can I tell you how satisfying, how entirely satisfying it is, after years of writing and preparing these jazz tunes for kids, to finally share it with them? What a joy. Hundreds of bubble envelopes full of songs went out to the pre-orderers this week, and we’re starting to hear trickles of feedback. We were honored to hear in one instance that we made the “Thanksgiving travel mix” alongside Katie Herzig and Matthew Perryman Jones. Good company. And another mama told us that her daughter asked to skip past I Need a Nap: its soporific effect is effective! And a personal favorite thus far:
“Thank you for steppin’ it up for the little people! Our first few hours of CTRR have made our kids much cooler! Coolness… a very important, and often overlooked quality many parents forget to incorporate in the raising of their young. With CTRR any parent can instantly accelerate their progeny to maximum coolocity…” Dave Hoffman
I mean, we can’t promise anything… but it couldn’t hurt to visit our Facebook page or http://www.coaltrainrailroad.com
Also- visit http://www.terribleyelloweyes.com Cory Godbey is the artist who created the artwork for Coal Train, and this is a marvelous endeavor of his, collecting art, by, invitation, inspired by Maurice Sendak. Enjoy the wander. Watch out for monsters.
More soon, friends. Enjoy the morning.
