3 Generations of Blankinship men

Isabella, can you say cheese...

then time for traditional birthday spanking...

Like father, like son...

he is getting ready... to blow them out... wishes made... and ...

Andrew getting serious... notice the tongue!!

Missy and Reese having good time...

Can't seperate a man and his pitchfork, especially at a winnie roast!

Note to self: need to find out who was running the camera...

kiddos in pool having fun...

Andrew 'diving' in ....

more videos on youtube... as of this am... link on the right

little late.. but better than not at all... right?

Karen Murphy, who works with Grandma Ann, recently celebrated her big 50 birthday... and it was a 50's party.... Grandma and Missy attended and had a great time. Karen has been a life long family friend, even helping with our kiddos, etc... Thanks Karen for the friendship and we wish you another 50 great and happy years.... plus 50!

Quiet before storm

But we are ready to party - thanks to Trisha and Jake the yard was mowed & it looks great to these old eyes. Thank you Jake and Trisha.
And now the party starts for Mr. Andrew Paul Blankinship who turns 8 on July 20th, but first we are gonna eat some great grub... via a winnie roast, with lots of different kinds of links. Let's see, the folks coming are Andrew's parents Paul and Heather and sis Madison; Grandpa and Grandma Blankinship; Uncle Chris and Aunt Jennifer and Hanna and Tyler; Uncle Jake and Aunt Trisha and Isabella; Missy Hannan and Reese; Great Grandma Moffat, and Grandpa and Grandma Moffat.

got a cool postcard from Phil

and family on vacation... nice to be thought of - thank you guys very much!

AWESOME CAKE!!!

Andrew's cake was very unusual... It had his photo on it... how cool is that? and it was edible, too!!! chocolate and white both too... with homemade ice cream.. ummmmmmmm good....

from Phil... on morning walk in RNFP in

Estes Park, near there, said its cool..we are too FINALLY

From Missy... I so agree...

Interesting concept. I think our government would wake up if they had to pass legislation that actually impacted them too.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
John Fleming, Rep. from Louisiana, is sponsoring house resolution 615.
Basically, it is saying that if Obama's health care plan is good enough for us, it is good enough for all members of congress.
He was on Fox News this morning.
He said, and here's a shocker, not one Democrat has backed the resolution or returned his phone call, not even Nancy Pelosi.
You can go to his website and vote for his resolution.
You can also see who is supporting his resolution.

His website is:
http://fleming.house.gov

and away she goes....

from Heather ~ Congrats to Madison Ann

Madison passed her swimming lessons to night, a level 1 swimmer going down orange slide twice and twice off the diving board-way to go sister!

Monica Taylor... our neighbor...

Howdee friends and neighbors!

How's the heat treatin' ya? ME too! Here's the honest truth: I don't perspire OR glow in this heat of the summer- by God, I sweat like any old boy! Whew!

Woody Guthrie Folk Festival... well, that was quite a weekend.

It's always like a family reunion. Ya know, you see friends from all over the country and the world that you just pick right back up with for 4 days... like you've never been apart. Singing with dear friends and NEW friends from Boston to Austin from Canada to Australia! Listen, this Red Dirt farmgirl was a mighty happy and exhausted pup by the end of sunday. So good to get to visit with you all- really was.

Big Thank you to Nancy Kamm (fiddle!,) Don Morris, Jared Tyler, Terry Ware, Dean (drums) and TZ Wright for playing with me at The Brick!! They were awesome!

Also... Thank you for your letters and for helping cleanout my cd supply! (ha-ha)

Really, I have enjoyed reading your lovely comments and feedback on my Brickstreet show on thursday, the Graperanch on friday, the Hootenanny song (Young Mother)... and the duet that Ellis Paul asked me to join him on during his set friday night.
Don Conoscenti, Patrick Turnmire, and Rad just sounded so beautiful backing him up on "Dragonfly" or *Was it you*? This will probably be on his new cd... which is really wonderful! He's mixing it now- got to hear some sat. night. Wow!

I do enjoy singing with Ellis... and face to face was the best way to do it on that sort of song. (grin) Thank you again for visiting with me and writing and such, friends! (look below to see what tune we're going to put on my new recording... smile.)



Lots goin' on this month and next. Let me get the schedule out to you for me and a couple of other Okie's (grin)... including Patrick Williams! Then I might throw a brief look at my new recording project out there... for a little smile or two on your faces.


July dates:

17th Friday @ The Blue Door in OKC, OKLA. 8 or 9pm $10
Eric Devries, Gene Williams, and Greg Jacobs.
What a show! Eric is in from Holland where he is quite well known for his songwriting... and he's a very handsome feller, too. Of course, Gene Williams and Greg Jacobs are two of favorite Red Dirt performers and songwriters! I do hope to make this show... maybe I'll see you with me in the audience?! See you there!

18th Saturday @ Joseppi's Italian Rest. in Stillwater, OK 8-10pm
Uncle Don Morris and I are playing! and eating... m-m-m, I love this place. And it's just 10 minutes from my barnhouse! Come on out friends!

18th Saturday @ Southern Hills Sports Bar in Tulsa, OK 8pm
*Patrick Williams (my former Farm Couple partner) and a friend of ours, David Bright, are playing here! You don't want to miss his amazing new self-penned tunes, my friends... and all the classic country & rock.

Also on saturday the 18th: noon to 5pm in Tulsa at 41st & Peoria area my dear friend Sarah Barker and her band are playing at Lambrusco's Deli and Eatery! I'm gonna try to make it there for an hour sometime to listen AND to eat... wowser! Miss Becky, another red dirt sister, works there and it will be good to eat the amazing she and her compadres fix!

Aug. 6th, Thursday night from 7-9pm Wichita State University, Art Museum lawn
The Monica Taylor trio
Me, Jared Tyler, & Don Morris! This is a favorite folk concert series up in Wichita for the summer. Please your lawn chairs, coolers, blankets, and water bottles! I know that Mark Erelli had a wonderful time July 9th doing this concert- I got to pick and hang with him at Woody Fest. He's awesome!
SO I will see you all here for a fun evening, my Kansas friends! I'll bet cha we might be able to persuade some of Sycamore Swing, maybe a Cherokee Maiden or two to join in a song if they aren't on vacation? (grin) We'll see!



Aug. 7th - 8th Patrick Williams' dates:
Aug. 7th Univ. of Arkansas (Fayetteville, AR) Writers in the 'Vill 7pm In this ballroom.
This wonderful writers in the round showcase will have Patrick, Still on the Hill,and duo from Austin... all hosted by our dear friend and amazing songwriter and performer, Effron White. Please don't miss this great evening, friends!

Aug. 8th Friday *Effron & Patrick at Foghorn's rest. 7pm, Fayetteville, AR

Aug. 9th Effron and Patrick will travel to Eureka Springs, AR
to play at The Basin Park bandshell, I believe. Please check Effron's website for time and more info!
www.effronwhite.com.


Recording a new CD, Dear Hearts! Finally... I know. Here's a brief rundown...

my songs:
Hello, Goodbye, I'm Gone
My Little Diner Gig
The Distance
Young Mother
My Last Name is Williams
Peaceful Evermore

duets:
The Price of Love (written by and duet with Jimmy Lafave)
She (written by Gram Parson/ duet with Ellis Paul)


Goin' by The ole Sunrise (written by Malcolm Holcomb- Jared plays dobro with malcom, too.)

Red Dirt Songs: (in addition to jimmy's)
Enjoy the Ride (bob childers, greg jacobs, brad piccalo)
Rosalie (Randy Pease)

Gospel song? Might put a tune that Jared, Chick Rains, and I are working on "It's all in God's Hands, Same as it ever was.)

Probably ONE or two more tune will be added... what do YA'LL want to hear me record? Suggestions?? Write me back with an idea. Your homework assignment.(grin)


Word o' wisdon for my friends:
Ya'll keep cool, drink lots of water (both you AND your pets).... and take walk down a country creek. Find yourself a good Honey-hole to swim in! That's my advice for this month...

love from Monica~ a red dirt farmgirl

Dems to GOP Nominee: Will the Defendant Please Rise? by Ann Coulter (more by this author) Posted 07/15/2009 ET Updated 07/15/2009 ET Every time a Democrat senator has talked during the Senate hearings on Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor this week, I felt lousy about my country. Not for the usual reasons when a Democrat talks, but because Democrats revel in telling us what a racist country this is. Interestingly, the Democrats' examples of ethnic prejudice did not include Clarence Thomas, whose nomination hearings began with the Democrats saying, "You may now uncuff the defendant." Their examples did not include Miguel Estrada, the brilliant Harvard-educated lawyer who was blocked from an appellate court judgeship by Senate Democrats expressly on the grounds that he is a Hispanic -- as stated in Democratic staff memos that became public. No, they had to go back to Roger Taney -- confirmed in 1836 -- who was allegedly attacked for being a Catholic (and who authored the Dred Scott decision), and Louis Brandeis -- confirmed in 1916 -- allegedly a victim of anti-Semitism. Indeed, Sen. Patrick Leahy lied about Estrada's nomination, blaming it on Republicans: "He was not given a hearing when the Republicans were in charge. He was given a hearing when the Democrats were in charge." The Republicans were "in charge" for precisely 14 days between Estrada's nomination on May 9, 2001, and May 24, 2001, when Sen. Jim Jeffords switched parties, giving Democrats control of the Senate. The Democrats then refused to hold a hearing on Estrada's nomination for approximately 480 days, shortly before the 2002 election. Even after Republicans won back a narrow majority in 2003, Estrada was blocked "by an extraordinary filibuster mounted by Senate Democrats" -- as The New York Times put it. Memos from the Democratic staff of the Judiciary Committee were later unearthed, revealing that they considered Estrada "especially dangerous" -- as stated in a memo by a Sen. Dick Durbin staffer -- because "he is Latino and the White House seems to be grooming him for a Supreme Court appointment." Sandy Berger wasn't available to steal back the memos, so Durbin ordered Capitol Police to seize the documents from Senate computer servers and lock them in a police vault. Led by Sens. Leahy and Chuck Schumer, Democrats ferociously opposed Estrada, who would have been the first Hispanic to sit on the influential U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. They were so determined to keep him off the Supreme Court that Leahy and Schumer introduced legislation at one point to construct a fence around Estrada's house. In frustration, Estrada finally withdrew his name on Sept. 5, 2003. At the time, liberal historian David Garrow predicted that if the Democrats blocked Estrada, they would be "handing Bush a campaign issue to use in the Hispanic community." Alas, today Democrats can't really place Estrada -- James Carville confuses him with that other Hispanic, Alberto Gonzales. On MSNBC they laugh about his obscurity, asking if he was the cop on "CHiPs." They also can't recall the name "Anita Hill." Nor can anyone remember African-American Janice Rogers Brown or what the Democrats did to her. Only the indignities suffered by Justices Taney and Brandeis still burn in liberal hearts! So when Republicans treat Sotomayor with respect and Sen. Lindsey Graham says his "hope" is that "if we ever get a conservative president and they nominate someone who has an equal passion on the other side, that we will not forget this moment," I think it's a lovely speech. It might even persuade me if I were born yesterday. But Democrats treat judicial nominations like war -- while Republicans keep being gracious, hoping Democrats will learn by example. Sen. Teddy Kennedy accused Reagan nominee Robert Bork of trying to murder women, segregate blacks, institute a police state and censor speech -- everything short of driving a woman into a lake! -- within an hour of Reagan's announcing Bork's nomination. To defend "the right to privacy," liberals investigated Bork's video rentals. (Alfred Hitchcock, the Marx Brothers' movies andRuthless People -- the last one supposedly a primer for dealing with the Democrats.) Liberals unleashed scorned woman Anita Hill against Clarence Thomas in the 11th hour of his hearings to accuse him of sexual harassment -- charges that were believed by no one who knew both Thomas and Hill, or by the vast majority of Americans watching the hearings. But when the tables were turned and Bill Clinton nominated left-wing extremist/ACLU lawyer Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Republicans lavished her with praise and voted overwhelmingly to confirm her, in a 96-to-3 vote. (Poor Ruth. If Sotomayor is confirmed, Ginsburg will no longer be known as "the hot one in the robe.") The next Clinton nominee, Stephen Breyer, was also treated gallantly -- no video rental records or perjurious testimony was adduced against him -- and confirmed in an 87-to-9 vote. As Mrs. Sam Alito can attest, the magnanimity was not returned to Bush's Supreme Court nominees. She was driven from the hearings in tears by the Democrats' vicious attacks on her husband's character. The great "uniter" Barack Obama voted against both nominees. Even Justice Ginsburg recently remarked to The New York Times that her and Justice Breyer's hearings were "unusual" in how "civil" they were. Hmmm, why might that be? To the extent that the Sotomayor hearings have been less than civil, it is, again, liberals who have made it so, launching personal attacks against the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, Sen. Jeff Sessions, and even the fireman whose complaint started the Ricci case. But it was a nice speech.

Bombshell: Orders revoked for soldier challenging prez

Bombshell: Orders revoked for soldier challenging prez

If you think the Obama birth certificate issue is going away.. think again... I thought this deal was beat to death and the man has proven many times over he can not be trusted.. but America elected this idiot... now we are suffering. Anyway... check out the latest, I was truly surprised at what I read in this article!

from http://www.musiciansatlas.com/newsletter/jul09/tellingontrixie.asp

Telling on Trixie

“There's nothing easy about it. If you want easy, this is not the way to go. Frankly, if you want easy, you're probably in the wrong business anyway.”

- Telling on Trixie frontman Derek Nicoletto recaps on his experience calling upon fans to fund the band’s latest album.

New York-based Indie Rock quintet, Telling on Trixie, is proof that taking your career into your own hands can lead to success. The band funded its March ‘09 release, Ugly, Broke & Sober, entirely on donations and its promotional campaign has inspired other Indies to ditch traditional methods of recording and distribution and rely solely on the power of fans. Here, vocalist Derek Nicoletto fills Atlas Plugged in on how he and his bandmates (Brad Small- guitar, Tommy Kessler – guitars & keys , Andrew Frawley - drums & percussion, Tom Welsch – bass) raised over $20,000 through online promotion directed towards their Band With A Plan site and various levels of donation opportunities and rewards.

ATLAS PLUGGED: Why did you decide to launch a dedicated Web site (abandwithaplan.com) in an effort to raise funds (as opposed to doing it just on your MySpace or official site?)

TELLING ON TRIXIE: A key aspect of A Band with a Plan was the exclusivity of membership. We needed a separate website with password protected areas for the behind-the-scenes blog and news. Our site had voting poll modules and a forum where members could express their opinions. Right before the release, we posted all the songs so all the members could have a private sneak peek. The operation of A Band with a Plan was intense and totally its own beast from the day-to-day of Telling on Trixie. As you can quickly see from the site, there was a lot involved to our program and I think that's one of the reasons it succeeded.

ATLAS PLUGGED: This project began last May 12st. Was it slow to start off? When do you expect to meet your $50,000 goal?

TELLING ON TRIXIE: This project began in beta in May 2008, and in June, we launched it properly. At first, we thought we would spend a year trying to raise $50,000 to support and promote an album and a video. After some discussion amongst ourselves, we realized we didn't want to spend a year fundraising. So, we decided that September 30th 2008 would be the last day of the fundraising and membership portion of a Band with a Plan. We hoped to raise $20,000 by then, and we did. The actual musical creation of an album is so all-consuming, there's no way I could have had the fundraising and membership drive running entirely concurrently. There was some overlap, but by October 1st, we needed to concentrate fully on the music. I'm so glad we did.

ATLAS PLUGGED: What was the biggest donation you received?

TELLING ON TRIXIE: $5,000

ATLAS PLUGGED: The Lowest?

TELLING ON TRIXIE: $10

ATLAS PLUGGED: The Average amount & tier level?

TELLING ON TRIXIE: Most people donated at the $50 "Groupie" level, probably because it included the most bang for your buck. A $50 level member got a private username and password for the site, an autographed CD and a T-Shirt. The T-Shirts are still in the making, because the first batch we got were totally ugly when they arrived. After all our fans and Band with a Plan members have done for us, I'm not giving them ugly fashion.

ATLAS PLUGGED: “Band Managers” who donated more than $500 received a personal 1-2 minute instrumental jingle for their MySpace page. How many of these did you have to compose?

TELLING ON TRIXIE: Well, we offered five people this option and actually, none of them wanted the jingle. But they did want to be in the video for "Crash Me Up," so they all make appearances. In many cases, people wanted to participate on their own terms. One couple offered us an extra $100 if they could be the first to hear the rough cut of "Mad About You." We obliged.

ATLAS PLUGGED: How many people did you write 3-4 minute private songs for?

TELLING ON TRIXIE: Two songs have been written. One song is completed and was delivered privately. For the second song, our member asked if she could write a song with me, which I think is really cool. She created her own experience out of it, which is awesome. Also, you can see both of the people who donated $1,000 and more in the “Crash Me Up” video. Actually, many of those people in the video are members of A Band with a Plan.

ATLAS PLUGGED: What was it like working with producer Jamie Siegel (Lauryn Hill, Taking Back Sunday, Joss Stone) on select tracks?

TELLING ON TRIXIE: Jamie produced our first album, Telling on Trixie. Since he knows us really well, we knew we could show him what we had done with the first seven tracks and trust him with the last three. We had a lot of responsibility to get it right with this album. There's no one else I wanted to mix the album or produce those tracks but Jamie.

ATLAS PLUGGED: You included your fans from around the world in the music video for “Crash Me Up.” How did you film those from Italy, Orlando & Germany? Was it really the same red ball?

TELLING ON TRIXIE: I ordered about 20 of the same ball and sent them around the world. But in many of the shots, it's the exact same ball.

ATLAS PLUGGED: How did you team up with Project Runway star Jack Mackenroth to design you an article of clothing for the $10000.00 donation? Has anyone gotten this yet?

TELLING ON TRIXIE: Jack was in our video for "Orion's Light." We filmed portions of it in Shanghai, China and the rest of it in Brooklyn, New York. If you're a Jack fan, I suggest you check out the Director's Cut of "Orion's Light" which is only up on You Tube, next to its softer sister version. The original version was a little too racy for broadcast because of the heavy S&M vibe. I'm a fan of Jack's clothes; he's a fan of Telling on Trixie, so he was kind enough to offer our fans a personal design for Band with a Plan. But since no one donated $10,000, he didn't design the article. Of course, if someone would still like to donate that money, I'm sure we could still work something out.

ATLAS PLUGGED: From what states & countries have you received most of your donations?

TELLING ON TRIXIE: Almost 100 from five continents participated. We personally know about sixty percent of the people who took part.

ATLAS PLUGGED: Is your ultimate goal to sign to a label?

TELLING ON TRIXIE: Our ultimate goal is to be a self-sustaining musical project.

ATLAS PLUGGED: Will you do something like this again?

TELLING ON TRIXIE: Only time will tell, but we've just begun to ride the "Ugly, Broke & Sober" wave, so it will be a while.

ATLAS PLUGGED: Do you see this as something more bands could/should easily do?

TELLING ON TRIXIE: There's nothing easy about it. If you want easy, this is not the way to go. Frankly, if you want easy, you're probably in the wrong business anyway.

ATLAS PLUGGED: What is your advice for artists who are reading this and are thinking of launching their own fund-raising rather than joining companies like Sellaband?

TELLING ON TRIXIE: It really depends on what the artist wants out of the program. Sellaband serves a purpose, but was not for us. Many bands, such as Comandante Zero and Diablo Royale have contacted us and now have programs somewhat similar to ours in effect. If bands like our program I suggest they look at abandwithaplan.com and study its structure. My advice is to tailor any program to your fans, though. What worked for Jill Sobule would not work for us, and vice versa.

ATLAS PLUGGED: "Ugly, Broke & Sober" is now playing on 168 college stations and and "Crash Me Up" on few hundred more Internet, HOT AC, AAA and Underground stations. Did you hire a radio promotions company or have band members taken on the task?

TELLING ON TRIXIE: We have professionals who bring our music to radio, but we have also built personal relationships with many individual terrestrial or internet stations worldwide.

ATLAS PLUGGED: You teamed up with the American Cancer Society as a charity partner… How does this work?

TELLING ON TRIXIE: Two years ago, we approached the American Cancer Society about becoming our charitable partner after some personal experiences with cancer. The ACS had us to their offices in NYC. We shared our stories with them; they shared their mission with us. As a result, this year we performed for a second year in a row at the NYU fundraiser. We dedicated our song, "The Deepest Dive" to the Luminaria March. In April, for every download of that song, we pledged $1. We will be donating several hundred dollars to the ACS at the end of this month as a result of the download program.

TELL ALL YOUR FRIENDS: Check out the band atwww.myspace.com/tellingontrixie

Joelle Batelli spends her days at Music Resource Group editing for
The Musician’s Atlas and coordinating sponsorships for The Independent Music Awards. As music naturally consumes her life, she spends her “downtime” producing/hosting a Web-TV show, On the Verge, for Ambush.tv. You can watch her interview Butch Walker, Hanson, the Matches, Sohodolls and more at www.planetverge.com.

Not sure we want to know this haha

40404 (11:22 AM):
phillipmoffat: In longmont, on way to estes park

Fan not going round... I am so HOT... now kiddos.. I know I am COOL, but not that cool... haha... but I am HOT!!!

Another Stillwater, OK artist and friend sent me this photo.. apparently catfish in Lake Carl Blackwell like sasuages... haha..

Chad Sullins and his CATCH OF THE DAY!!!

My good friend and Oklahoma Artist TJ MacFarland in Nashville last night caught

Tommy Tutone performing live acoustic... show.. in the Listening Room... in Nashville, what a treat he said!

House passing by this am.....