Chris & Maria's Blog

We drove to Asheville, NC,  on Friday (in a rental car with a 3-seater front seat which reminded me of the Weasley’s magically extended car) to go to see The Beach Boys play an outdoor concert at Biltmore. Apart from the children and teenagers who had obviously been dragged along by their parents, we were the youngest people there. Mike Love, Bruce Johnston and the rest were obviously well aware of their demographic ‘cos they made a few jokes about needing breaks and naps, however it was only a joke because they played through for nearly two hours. They mixed up the vocals with the rest of the band, who were all really talented, and performed some truly amazing, spot on four-, five- or maybe even more- part harmonies.

I was actually surprised to find a few songs I didn’t know (Chris was shocked that I’d never heard “Kokomo” or “Be True to your School”) but then I realised that all I really knew was Pet Sounds and the Greatest Hits. They certainly played all of those, and also a couple of covers (“California Dreamin'” was excellent!) and finished with “Fun Fun Fun” which had all the old-timers dancing. All in all it was excellent fun, and Biltmore is a gorgeous place for a concert; listening to live music outside while watching the sun set over the mountains is a  magical experience!

Yesterday we wandered around Asheville  – I liked it a lot but it was a bit too much on the hippie side of life for Chris – before heading home. Stopped at the Antique Tobacco Barn to look at all the amazing antique furniture (including a passable Mirror of Erised) that we would have in our house if we could. Chris took a few pictures here.

I’ve looked at this blank page for about 5 minutes now, trying to figure out what to talk about.  What’s new since the last time one of us updated something?

The biggest thing, I suppose, is that today marks the 6 month anniversary semiversary…. 6 months ago we got married (you know your children are destined to be nerds when you and your spouse actually have a conversation about the origins of the word “anniversary” and decide that it can’t be used to signify anything less than a yearly event).  Somehow, it just doesn’t seem like six months have gone by.  That’s fast!  To celebrate, we’re having a nice dinner and this weekend will be going to Biltmore in Asheville, NC to see the Beach Boys in concert (I, too, was amazed they had a website).

There are loads of little things going on right now.  The job has kept me really busy, which is good!  I just don’t have any time during the day to really think about the stuff I’ve got going on the side.  😛  The Highly secret Project we’ve got going on the side is coming together very well.  We were at the studio a couple of weeks ago and were really pleased with the results.  We’re looking forward to seeing further developments on that in the coming weeks.

We went with Pete on Sunday to the world’s longest yard sale (everything has a freakin’ website these days).  It’s 630 miles long!  Needless to say we traveled only a fraction of that amount.  We came across a few interesting things along the way.  I took some pictures, but didn’t buy anything.  It was late on Sunday, and most of the people had packed it up and left.  Next year, if we think about it, we’ll hit it on Saturday and might just drive most of it.