Emmylou Harris forever

Emmylou Harris - woo hoo! The woman is 68 years old and looks incredible - that glorious thick mane of silver hair, legs in tight ripped jeans and fringed cowboy boots, and that plangent voice, almost unchanged after 40 years on the road. Okay, there's been a bit of work on the very smooth face - but we'll forgive her. She's gorgeous.

It was a fantastic concert, beginning with Amy Helm and her band - she's Levon Helm's daughter and I'm now a huge fan, will get her CD. And then Emmylou with Rodney Crowell, who also has been around for decades though without the high profile of his friend. What an incredible group of five musicians they had with them, particularly the guitarist, absolutely brilliant. I loved every minute of it - wild, powerful, haunting, hurtin' music. Yee ha!

I also loved the fact that at 7.30 I was sitting in my kitchen in my work clothes (which means braless in t-shirt and sweatpants) and by 8.01 I was at Massey Hall - changed into basic black, hopped on my bike and zipped along Shuter St. It's such a wonderful old hall, luckily unrenovated and snazzied up - funky and friendly, just perfect. I saw K.D. Lang there many years ago, Handel's Messiah, have been to several protest meetings ... one of my favourite places in all Toronto.

Speaking of the favourite of favourites:

Be still my beating heart. Is there a more serious face than that one? There will be drama.

There's a giant raccoon waddling about my deck. And - I confess, I just looked up the word 'plangent' to be sure I was using it correctly. Yes.

Oh, and one more thing - I'd like to show you yesterday's Doubletake purchase. You never know what you'll find there - it's like fishing. So I wander about casting my line, and what I saw yesterday were two lovely, very heavy pewter picture frames for $6 each.

Checked at home - they're made by Royal Selangor, which it turns out is the pre-eminent pewter manufacturer in Britain, for the Victoria and Albert Museum. And I know which photograph will be the first to go in one of them. (See above.)

One more more thing: my children's board book submission to OwlKids was sent back yesterday, with a form letter. It's still out with one other publisher, so I'll wait for it to come back and then figure out what's next. Life is not all kittens, roses, music and pewter frames. There is REJECTION.

Moving right along.