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Joanne and Katie from a few years back

Our friend Joanne Shenandoah, Grammy-winning singer-songwriter, actress and all around good person, tells us that she has a new album about to drop on Jan. 20. We can’t wait to hear it! Joanne has one of the greatest voices in contemporary music today (and I’m not saying that just because she’s married to my buddy, Doug George, and lets me sleep on their couch when I’m visiting central New York). She has recorded with Neil Young, Robbie Robertson and Bruce Cockburn — or, I should say, they have recorded with her. She and her sister, Diane, were the opening performers at Woodstock II back in the early ’90s. They were also asked to perform at the White House for the unveiling of the Sacagawea dollar coin. Check out her songs (and download them) on iTunes.

The picture above was taken a few years ago at Ganondagan State Historic Site in New York (as you can tell from how young Katie is in the photo), where Joanne sang and Katie performed with the Young Spirit Dancers. (Yes, I did the beadwork on Katie’s crown and dress).

Big Evil Bastid

The girls are finally done racing cows or ski-jumping or whatever they were doing on the Wii, leaving the way clear for me to fight a rematch with this bastid, Boss #1. He killed me about 3,975 times last night before I finally gave up, curled up and crying like a 2-year-old. You won’t see any Mission Accomplished banner stretched over my flight deck in other words…. How appropriate that the song playing on Pandora as I write this is Bob Dylan’s “It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding).” Sometimes the musical fates have a really twisted sense of humor. Well, Boss #1, the times they are a’freakin’ changin’. Prepare to be pwned.

Mmmmmmmmm

Yes, I took a break from work to whip up three separate meals this evening for our picky family. Jesse the vegetarian had barbecued fake ribs that she pronounced good and spicy. Laurie and Katie, who don’t like spicy Thai food, had leftover turkey and gravy over biscuits. I had the aforementioned laab gai, with fresh basil, mint and cilantro. Kowalskis was out of Thai chilies, so I grabbed a handful of serranos and a habanero for the pot. Mmmmm. I’d better be careful wiping the tears from the corners of my eyes. That might smart. Chef-Boy-R-Me!

Fixed the link in the Christmas slide show a few posts down. Sorry about that….

Apparently, Papa John’s Pizza has stopped delivering to our neighborhood. To quote that great TV newsman, Les Nessman, “Oh, the humanity.”

Laab gai — It's tha (flavor) bomb

Here’s what I’ll be having for supper tonight, if all goes according to plan. It’s called laab gai and it’s a spicy chicken and chili pepper dish from Thailand. The best laab gai I’ve ever tried comes from Taste of Thaiyai in Apple Valley, but I think I’ll be making my own this evening so I can keep my nose to the grindstone here at home. It’s pretty easy to make and great for the dieter, if you skip the sticky rice they normally serve with the dish. I’ll be having mine with a green salad.

If you want unbiased reviews of dining south of the river, check out Bill Roehl’s Lazy Lightning blog, which focuses on news and happenings in Apple Valley, Eagan, Rosemount and Burnsville. I don’t think Bill has been to Taste of Thaiyai yet, but I’ve taken his advice on a few other restaurants and have not been led astray.

The Scooby Gang

The girls have a friend over this morning and they’re hunkered down in the home theater downstairs watching a Buffy the Vampire Slayer marathon on the big screen. It’s turning into a real estro-fest with German chocolates (Sarah brought them from — who’d've guessed it? — Germany), popcorn, diet soda and no boys. Heck, even the pets curled up on the couches are females.

I, on the other hand, will be working on a newsletter project and trying to keep enough coffee brewed to get me through the day. I’ve been slacking off over Christmas — on work, not coffee — and I’m afraid a whole bunch of these projects are going to collide sometime over the next several weeks. I’d better get a jump on something, even if it’s the wrong thing, as our president always says. That’s the current prez, not the incoming one…

Art hard at work on a newsletter project

Ahhhhhh. I am such a n00b at Metroid on the Wii. I couldn’t get past the first boss (but, in my defense, he was an evil mutha). I finally got tired of dying, so I put the Wii away and came back to the office to work. Hah!

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