The dog days of summer are upon us, and I’ve been feeling the yen for a little frivolity in my universe. I started by donning this Toucan riot of a dress and swilling Topo Chico, my favorite new fizzy water. I took my sideshow to the playground, where the boys of summer didn’t once look up from their game of pick-up. If there’s one thing I respect more and more as I grow older, it’s an attention span.
I caught the sun and spun helicopter seeds. This vintage beaded necklace is my favorite piece of jewelry I own, besides my wedding ring. My mother brought it back from Borneo in the 1970s, and it has yet to lose a bead.
A lens flare off green bottle glass? You can’t plan for that. I take it as it comes, much like this year. In the past seven months I’ve been hospitalized for severe dengue fever, geographically separated from my husband, moved six times, written a half dozen new songs I’m truly proud of, and have been consumed by obsessive relationships with a 1938 Gibson, a Yamaha, and a Samick Greg Bennett Blackbird. I’ve experienced mortal artistic terror twice in the past week. The kind where your hands turn into Gummi Bears as you’re playing guitar in front of a largish festival crowd. Thankfully, my voice is unwavering.
The winged earrings, made of oxidized sterling silver, are inspired by the Owyhee wilderness of southern Idaho. I head for the Owyhees when I need to clear my head, and, no, I am not playing Pokémon Go. Melissa Osgood of Yellow M Studios in Boise is one inspired jewelry designer. Her tagline is “Jewelry for YOU — the curious — the innovator — the experimenter — the wanderer.” Sounds right on to me. Better yet, her feather-light rings are a guitar picker’s friend.
Speaking of friends, one of my favorite Lithuanians is working for a delectable food-delivered-to-your-doorstep company called Degustabox. Degustabox is already going gangbusters in Europe, but has recently launched in the U.S. I consider myself gastro-lucky to have received a sample shipment of their food swag, which includes 10 to 15 wholesome surprise products, shipped to your doorstep each month. As a lifelong fizzy water addict, my favorite grab from this month’s box was their Topo Chico Mineral Water. Topo Chico has been bottled at its source in Mexico since 1895, and their Twist of Lime is infused with lime essential oils, with narry a suspicious *natural* flavor. It’s the best fizzy I’ve ever tasted, and, again, those parrot-green lens flares!
True confession: I am no Imelda Marcos. I own six pairs of shoes, and half of them are cowboy boots. But these J.Crew leopard wedges were on sale for 25 bucks. When the sirens of summer are singing your name, why resist?
Photography is how I unwind, but sometimes it’s fun to play artistic director. All photos are by my husband and talented collaborator, Ned Evett, who indulges my penchant for juxtaposed patterns and textures–in songwriting and in life.
As soon as we were done playing hooky on the playground, we headed back to work. We walked across the street to the Boise Bomb Shelter, where I hit the subterranean bathroom to shimmy out of my dress and into a work t-shirt and leggings. It was time to plug into our Vox amp and run set lists for our Wednesday, July 20th, Music Box show at Highland Brewery in Boise. What do I like most about the dog days of summer? Probably this guy:
