AN EVENING WITH “MOJO” O’KEEFE

I planned to go to dinner at Outer Aisle in Murphys, an interesting organic store that serves all organic food in their small restaurant. Their chef was burned out and the proceeds from dinner last Thursday were donated to him and his family. I was told that every Thursday would be a different family. My neighbor and I got ready to go when my brother called and said he wanted to go with us because he knew the musician hired to playing there last night. He met a woman he only knew as “Mojo” at a Stop Wall  Street demonstration last year but didn’t know she could sing.

When we arrived, we were told that there was no benefit dinner for another family, it was just that one time for their chef. I was really disappointed, but we stayed.

But, when Meghan Joy O’Keefe got up to play, she told the patrons that all proceeds from her performance would be donated to the Fire Recovery. In the audience was a woman who had burned out and the money flowed into the basket. It made me a happy camper, but even better,  “Mojo” is an excellent singer. She has a high soprano range and a deep alto as well. She sparkles and the music reached the stars.

Since I haven’t blogged much this past year, I forgot my camera and during a break, she gave me a copy of her River Reflections CD with a home-made cover. In side are the lyrics from six different songs she’s written and plays about the Mokelumne River. Her dedication reads:  To the Mokelumne River and to everyone and everything she touches that our river may remain a living gift to the many generations to come.

Meghan regularly plays at the Rosebud Cafe in Jackson, Amador County along with her brother’s band.

Thanks, Meghan for turning our dinner into a benefit for fire victims after all.

 

SMART MACHINES

Rain came down with a vengeance, off and on all day yesterday. And, mighty welcome, too. I have a yen to sew when it rains and my Elna, ten years old but hardly used, is, like a cell phone, smarter than me. Read: frustrating. When I used to sew all the time, I had trouble with it. Now, I have to re-read and re-read the directions that are of questionable help, as in- to do this, you do this, and refer to page 21?  GAK!  I hate that. Thread kept breaking. I couldn’t get the tension right, nor the stitch size right given you have to change it for zigzag. From the pictures, I couldn’t tell what dial they were talking about. I brought the machine to my dining room table where the light is excellent and gave up after 3 or 4 tries. It sat there for a month. Yesterday, I got the tension and stitch right. A small ephiphany.

But, I’m not abandoning my reliable straight stitcher Singer that I hauled out of storage to use while the fancy machine took up space in the dining room. I’m going to keep it on my sewing table, JUST IN CASE.  It yanks your arm out of its socket when you lift it, but it isn’t smarter than me. Read: simple.  (That probably describes me, too.)

I had new gutter guards professionally installed so I don’t have to climb on the roof and clean gutters anymore. The company has returned five times because there is a leak in front of my door. I called the owner and he came to fix it. Well, the rain is gone for now, the whole deck is dry this morning except for that spot in front of my front door. I’m about ready to diss this company. There wasn’t a leak before they cleaned my gutters and installed their system. If Jim were here, he’d be down to their office in a heartbeat. I might do the same come Monday since I have to go to Sonora for new tires.

I’m working on my book a bit each morning as I try and limit my on-line time to two hours a day.

I hope we get the rest of the rain we’ve been promised.