Roscuro sat on the dungeon floor. The whiskers on the left side of his face were gone.  His heart was beating hard, and though the light from the match had disappeared, it danced, still, before the rat’s eyes, even when he closed them.

“Light,” he said aloug.  And then he whispered the word again.  ”Light.”

From that moment forward, Roscure showed an abnormal, inordinate interest in illumination of all sorts.  He was always, in the darkness of the dungeon, on the lookout for light, the smallest glimmer, the tiniest shimmer.  His rat soul longed inexplicably for it; he began to think light was the only thing that gave life meaning, and he despaired that there was so little of it to be had.

-The Tale of Despereaux, Chapter 16

So, I’m at the beginning of some gunk or another this morning.  Usually the swollen gland on the right side of my neck is a good indicator that something’s up.  And it says, “You can pay now, or pay later.”  I drank some herbal tea, went to sleep, and hoped for the best.

12 hours of sleep later, I woke up with congestion, a sore throat, sore ears- general beginnings of  sickness. Today’s job:  get better.  Especially as I’m supposed to sing with some friends tonight!  We’ll see.

I thought I’d take the opportunity to share with you some of my favorite “don’t get sicker, get better” things.  My regimen for general gunk. I’m not advising these as your only course of action for serious symptoms.  Go to the doctor.  This is for general gunk.  Take it or leave it, but here are the things that go with fighting sick for me:

-Go back to bed.

-Steam.  Whether in the shower or my handheld steamer or with my face over a pot of water over the stove, the point is to loosen the gunk and get it out so it doesn’t sit there becoming stagnant infection material.

-Sinus rinsing.  I use a Neilmed sinus rinse bottle, some people use a neti pot.  The goal is, again, to get things going, flush out those sinuses.  Be gentle- I do believe I made an existing problem worse last year by forcing to much pressure into my sinuses, which were already cramped, inflamed and angry.

-Ibuprofen.  Get the inflammation down.

-Sudafed.  Get the gunk out.  To the same effect, if you’re very crunchy and don’t like official medicine, Traditional Medicinals’s Breathe Easy Tea is comprised of ephedra- the herb that the modern synthetic pseudo-ephedrine- Sudafed- comes from.  Good stuff.  Use one or the other- that’s a lot of ephedrine in your body if you use both.  Not healthy.

-Vitamin C.  As it’s winter citrus season around here- carted in from Florida and California- I just bought a bag of my favorite citrus, clementines, and will be eating them like candy all day.  Also, we really like Emergen-C packets around these parts- big boost of Vitamin C.  They always go with us on the road, where your body is fighting so many depreciating factors- sleep deprivation, stress, truck stop restrooms…

-Garlic.  You may want to quarantine yourself for a day or two if you go this route.  Garlic is supposed to have awfully strong immune-boosting properties.  So, I simmer about 20 cloves in a small saucepan with a bit of butter and/or olive oil until they’re soft- spreadable soft- and spread it like a paste on a piece of whole wheat bread.  Or you could have a garlic martini, like at The Stinking Rose, the only and best all-garlic restaurant I know of.   Oh, that’s right- alcohol’s not going to help you right now.  Whatever you do, don’t do what my Friend Whom I Will Not Name did and strap a clove to your forehead.  She tried this on good authority.  Let’s just say she had to grow bangs afterward.

-Avoid white flour & sugar.  They’re not helping your body.

-Chicken noodle soup.  I’ve got no evidence, but I have heard that chicken broth is pretty good for you.  I make chicken noodle soup with my own stock, made from the remains of the last chicken we’ve eaten.

-Favorite teas:  Breathe Easy, as I’ve said before.  Throat Coat.  Does what it says, kind of feels “sweet” on your throat, if that makes sense.  Yogi’s Cold Season tea.

-Olba’s Oil.  Olba’s is out of Switzerland, and is an oil made of menthol, eucalyptus, cloves, and a few other herbs.   We put a few drops in the steamer or a pot of boiling water and breathe it in.  It hurts real good.

-Thayer’s Slippery Elm lozenges.  So soothing, keeps you from coughing.  Hence, keeps you from losing your voice.

-Don’t use your voice.  It’s being besieged, let it rest.

-When you’re awake, watch or read something delightful.  Those endorphins- they’ll do you good.

Think some of this is silly?  Well, they’re the things I’ve gathered over the years.  And moreover, in addition to their body-boosting properties, you’re telling your body and mind “I want to be well”.

OK, back to tea & something fun to watch.

“Pretzel comes from a Latin word meaning “a small reward.”  The pretzel was first made by monks in southern France as a reward for children who learned their prayers.  It was shaped to represent the crossed arms of a child praying with palms on opposite shoulders, making a crisscross.

Lent, the 40 days prior to Easter, is often considered a special time for prayer and fasting.  Pretzels were baked for Lent to take the place of bread.  Milk, eggs and fats were forbidden during Lent, and these little loops of bread are made only of yeast, flour, water and salt.”

Here’s the recipe for you- it would be a tease to just tell you about them and not share.  I enjoy the idea of foods as a liturgical activity- largely, I think, because I love the physicality of the world God has made. Christmas is passing, with its rich fare, sweets and goodies as we delight in a birthday.  Easter will come, with its time for contemplating the reason for that birth, the living, passion, death and rising of Jesus on our behalf.  Happy baking-  pretzel time.

Yield: 12 pretzels

How to mix the dough:

1. Combine:

1 pkg dry yeast

3/4 cup warm water

2.  Add:

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2-1 cup flour

How to Twist:

1.  Divide dough into 12 pieces.  Roll each piece into a rope 12″-15″ long.  Work on floured surface.

2.  Lay one rope in a U-shape. About 2 inches from each end, cross the dough ends.  Picturing the dough as the face of a clock, bring ends down and press into bottom of the U at 5 and 7 o’clock.  Repeat with all remaining ropes.

3.  Dip pretzels into a solution of 1/4 cup cold water and 2 tsp baking soda.

How to Bake:

1.  Place dipped, shaped pretzels on a greased cookie sheet.

2.  Sprinkle with a small amount of coarse salt.

3.  Bake at 400-425 for 15 minutes.

4.  Best eaten warm.  Serve with mustard, if desired.

I woke up an hour before the sun.  Aaaand there goes my train of thought.   A very nice man named Red just came over to tell me that he and his girlfriend think that I have the best smile in the whole world.  Getting a coupla little tears on the fingerless gloves.  Nevermind, no more writing for now.  I’m a puddle.

Well, one more thought.  I’ve been starting to see little bits of getting older on me.  Little wrinkles, coupla gray hairs.  No big surprise, no major stress.  This side of the fall, bodies break down, and keep going in that direction.  And I’ll keep taking care of it.  But I’d very much like to have a face all worn in and worn out with smiling and crying when I’m old.

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.

So dear blog, I’m going to let you do your little part to help.  Spread the word:

Our pre-order “thank you” deal has one week left- tell your friends!

Coal Train Railroad arrives on Thanksgiving.

*Five CDs for $40

*No S&H on pre-orders

Just in time for Christmas, here comes great jazz for kids!

http://www.coaltrainrailroad.com

Want to hear? Listen to samples and download two songs for free, Belly Button Stays the Same and My Mouth and Me.

What parents, musicians and educators are saying about Coal Train Railroad:

“I love what Chris & Katy are bringing to the table with Coal Train Railroad. It makes ME feel like a kid again! I think children of all ages will love the humor, silliness and the catchy, cool, and crazy music that reminds us all that music should be fun to listen to. I’m honored (and slightly tickled) to be part of this wonderful project. Thanks!”

-Jeff Coffin 3x Grammy Winning Saxophonist/Composer (Dave Matthews Band, Bela Fleck & the Flecktones, The Jeff Coffin Mu’tet))

“If you want your kid to be cool when they grow up stick COAL TRAIN RAILROAD in the minivan ipod dock when taking the family vacation this year!  While super catchy, packed with energy, full of fun feel-good runs, riffs, and sounds, COAL TRAIN RAILROAD is educational and pays homage to some of the jazz greats.” Brooke Waggoner, singer & songwriter

“Just ordered two. So excited to expose «my» nieces to this great music!!!!!” Janna Roper, aunt

“Quirky, cool, and touching… in all the right ways. In the tradition of classic children’s songs and stories, this record is for everyone… moms, dads, musicians, and of course KIDS.”

Neilson Hubbard, producer and songwriter

“My kidlets & I love, love, LOVE Coal Train Railroad, at least the 2 songs we have heard over & over!! Can’t wait for the rest!!” Anne Dye, parent on Twitter

“Coal Train Railroad is a wonderful age-appropriate vehicle for transporting young children into the world of jazz.” Mary Ann Dudko, Ph.D., Educational/Media Consultant

“Buy one for each child in your life. If there are no children in your life, get a new life.” Denis Haack, editor of Critique magazine

“All them notes is nutritious for them little noggins!” Pianist/composer Scott Hallgren

“I wanna jump on the Coal Train and ride ride ride! Full the best jazz children’s songs I’ve ever heard!” Julie Lee, singer/songwriter

“With Coal Train, Katy Bowser has done the seemingly impossible.  She’s produced a record that is as catchy and well crafted as it is charming and loved by my 2 year old son and 7 month old daughter.  In a market where most wildly popular children’s music is almost unlistenable after repeat listens by parents, Coal Train is a record that this daddy (& mommy) put on the stereo well after the little ones are in bed.  A great record is a great record, regardless who it’s made for.”
Derek Webb, singer/songwriter/daddy of Rhodes and Carter

Coal Train Railroad: Coal that kids want in their stockings.

And, our favorite new quote, from Denis Haack:

Buy one for each child in your life. If there are no children in your life, get a new life.

You can read the rest of Denis’s thoughts here.

And you can pre-order and download two free songs from Coal Train at:

http://www.coaltrain railroad.com

You can also download two songs from the homepage here- that big blue widget?  And if you’re feeling generous and particularly “for” us- embed the widget on your blog!  (The widget will tell you how.  Seriously.)

Mwah-

Katy

All aboard, friends!

After many years of dreaming, writing, tweaking, recording and planning, we are releasing Coal Train Railroad on Thanksgiving Day. It’s great jazz for kids! Coal Train is a collaboration between Katy Bowser and Chris Donohue. It’s music about kid stuff- juice, snuggling, naps, getting along, sharing- with music that we can all enjoy together. We weren’t kidding around when we made this music- we found the best jazz musicians in town, with special guests like Jeff Coffin and Rod McGaha jumping in.  Kids deserve good music, too.

YOU PUT THE COAL IN THE COAL TRAIN! When you pre-order, you are helping us share our vision, and voting for kids to have good jazz! Be one of the first to get the word out by pre-ordering, and you help get this project out to kids all over.

THIS IS HOW WE THANK YOU: -No shipping and handling on pre-orders. 5/$40- Great Christmas gifts!

Head to http://www.coaltrainrailroad.com to order and to download two songs for free, My Mouth and Me and Belly Button Stays the Same.

Share with everyone you know who loves kids, jazz and good times- we have something good for you.

http://www.coaltrainrailroad.com

Are you still reading?

So, dear friends, all of this oblique language I’ve been using about projects that I’m working on?  Here we are, and I’m ready to share!

A note to those of you who’ve been keeping up with me for a long time:  this project is six or seven years in the making.  It began when I used to watch a sweet baby girl named Maeve Donohue, and I sang her little jazz ditties I made up as I walked around East Nashville with her in a Baby Bjorn, and as we played with blocks, and as she went down for naps.  Chris and Laura, Maeve’s very musical folks, took to the songs, and Chris and I, with Laura’s strong encouragement, began to work these little tunes up, write them together, and generally have a ball making jazz for the little people in our lives.  As a singer/songwriter who has musical roots in jazz, this was the best.  So, after years of finetuning, we’re ready to share. Kids are growing up, we need to put the songs out!

Enjoy, and please share.  You’re the best thing we’ve got- the people who love us and what we do.  We love you back.