Thing are usually pretty hectic in WsQland.  We have the farm (5 chickens, 3 cows, a pig, a dog, a useless cat and several mice in the attic that like to party at 4 AM), the full-time day jobs and of course the 100+ gig a year music schedule.
Well this week we decided to step it up a bit by scheduling an 85th birthday party for Nancy's Ma.  Nancy wanted it to be special and had been haunted by the the memory of the waterfront  home of our friend Louise (we were lucky enough to play a party there a couple of years ago) so she attempted to book the Captain's Room at the Westbrook Elks which has a pretty spectacular view of the sound.  Well, it turns out the Elks aren't very good at returning phone calls.  Nancy was relating this very thing to Louise one afternoon at the Blue Crab while Louise was bemoaning the fact that she would like to have WsQ back for another party but that the economy was not cooperating. 
Suddenly the little light bulbs went off over their heads:  What if we had Ma's party at Louise's house and then played a party for Louise there at a later date?  Y'know-that could work. 
So Nancy sends out her invitations and plans her menu and we spend a frenzied week  running around and doing food prep.  The party is scheduled for Saturday and we have a gig Friday night at CJ Sparrow's in Cheshire.  Not a big deal--we can play the gig, go home, get 5 or so hours of sleep, milk the cow, feed the critters, shovel some shit, cruise to Westbrook, (stopping at the store to get ice, balloons and a few last-minute items) decorate Louise's house, pick up Ma in Middlefield and get back to Westbrook by 2:15 where a slew of people are waiting to yell "SURPRISE!"
Then comes the curveball.  On the way to Sparrow's (an hour and a half away) We notice the unmistakable smell of brakes burning.  Braden of course blames the car in front of us. "The WsCruiser is only 2 years old--It can't be us!"  The miles go by and the cars in front of us turn off in different directions but the smell persists.  Braden stays in denial.  Finally, while surmounting a steep hill the WsCruiser begins to shudder and lose power.  Braden pull over and discovers one of the brake rotors is glowing CHERRY RED!  This isn't good.
Nancy reminds Braden that we're only a mile away from ma's house so why don't we head there and figure something out.  We limp that last mile thinking we're gonna have to cancel the gig and eventually park the WsCruiser safely.  We relate our tale of galloping woe to Ma and she graciously allows us to use her car to get to the gig.  We transfer our gear, pour cold water on the afflicted area of the car (so nobody get curious as to why it's smoking) and make it to Sparrows with 20 minutes to spare.
We play the gig (which was a load of fun since we got to play with Fiddlin' Bob from the Fret Notz).  And go home around 2AM.  The next morning we're up bright and early to do farm chores and  load the car with goodies and decorations so we can drive to Westbrook to set up.  Interspersed with this we have to arrange to get the WsCruiser repaired and towed to the garage (did we mention the rotor was locked up now?)
After setting up we zip back to Middlefield where the tow truck is waiting.  Braden follows the truck to the garage to make final repair arrangements.  Then it's back to Middlefield to pick up MA (we told her we're taking her out to dinner for her birthday-remember, it's supposed to be a surprise) and then back to Westbrook.  When we finally get there we're only 15 minutes late. 
Needless to say, the party is a success (thanks, Louise).  Ma suspected nothing.  Everyone had a great time (we hope).

This gig was exactly what we needed.  FennAgains is a fun little family-type neighborhood place with a good mix of clientele.  We were a little apprehensive (as we always are the first time we go into a new venue) but they made use feel welcome.  Took a little while for the crowd (and there was a crowd---the place was packed) to warm up but once they did....
Of course there was a HUGE turnout of blowhards and this was just the kind of place where all that audience participation works.  No complaints from anybody about food or service (which is cool 'cuz we see a lot of that) AND we made the staff happy.  I would say we're gonna be back--our first available date isn't 'til November. :(

Here's some of the blowhards--they appear to be having a good time!

Well, it looks like we may have played our last show here after 9 years.  Although it was a pretty good night, we left without anything scheduled.  Things have been changing there so we're not sure what the future holds.  Rest assured we are pursuing our options in the Norwich area.  We've made a lot of friends in Norwich and we'd like to stay local. We'll miss the staff and the incredible acoustics...
The evening started off a little unnervingly.  It seems we had acquired a 'friend' who thought he could 'help' us by standing in front of us and screaming off key at the top of his lungs.  We spent an hour or so trying to pick songs that would entertain the audience without getting the attention of this one drunk asshole.  Eventually he lost interest and wandered off.

One of the highlights of the evening was the presentation of co-FotY 2011Sean Ryan's 'official' shirt.

Actually we kinda liked the originals--Hand made by FotY 2007 Sharon Quackenbush.  Hey! we even like the unique spelling ;)

Well, we played our first of three scheduled bi-weekly gigs at Bill's last night.  It was as if some of the regulars were scared of us at first (I believe they usually get some kind of dixieland thing in there on Thursdays) but as the evening progressed, we started to win them over.  We did a lot of drunken singalongs and as the alcohol kicked in they kinda got used to us. 
We had a pretty good turnout of regular friends as well and we were surprised to see Jim and Betty who drove ALL THE WAY FROM NORWICH!!  FotY '07 forgot her kazoo and Trish had to play solos all night--she did an excellent job.
By the end of the night we had a bunch of people dancing so I think we did allright.
We'll see how the next two gigs go...

Had a marvelous time last night playing 'Stump the Drummer' with Jeff.  Only fooled him partially a coupla times.  It was slow 'cuz of the rain (people are wimps) so we practiced a few of the songs we're playing at the Pope's wedding today.  Jeff totally kicked ass on 'Mama I'm Comin' Home'--it actually came out pretty good considering we haven't done it in three years.  Too bad there was nobody there to hear it....
Off to #1227 with Jeff, Dan and Brian today.  it's a wedding outdoors at a winery.  Hope the weather holds...

This is new for us.  We're thinking that maybe we'll be able to keep the news up to date now.  
Last week we played at Canterbury's (our home town) Old Home Days.  We got a cherry pie in lieu of pay.