There's no place like gnome

This is our travel gnome. You know, like the Travelocity roaming gnome, except softer and less hairy. It started when he was 1 month old, with our first trip to Seattle. It took us 6 hours to make the 3-hour trip and we discovered what the advent of safe travel means to hungry babies. Lots and lots of stopping.

We went to see The Starlings cd release show and Moe Provencher accompanied by the lovely Aimee Zoe Tubbs. Chad has produced two of The Starlings albums and toured with them last October. It was great to hang with friends who cooked us up some deliciousness and good times. Turned out that Jack Quick, former member of Chad Hinman and the Never Was, also had a show the following night, so we were excited to check that out too.

The music was great...from what I heard. Turns out babies aren’t so popular at bars--we got kicked out of two. (Finley’s gonna be so cool when he tells that story in high school.)

So, Finley and I hung out in the company of two other fine mamas with another baby and a young artist, Sophia. But, we could see and hear the music through the open door, had plenty of visitors from the inside, and Sophia’s sidewalk chalk art entertained us and passersby.

And, I had to admit that one month after giving birth and with nursing during the night, I was just plain tired and couldn’t have hung with the band very long anyway. So, I had a great excuse to go to bed early and it worked out for the best in the end. Plus, we got our own private concert at the next day’s barbecue and Finley got to participate in his first song circle.

All in all a great first trip and one we hope to do again in the near future.