MND Family Blog

NYC in Miniature: An amazing tilt-shift video by Sam O’Hare. Sam O’Hare uses the technique pioneered by Keith Loutit where a tilt-shift/time-lapse technique creates an illusion of miniaturization in film. “..In his scaled down and sped up realities, real world subjects become their miniature counterparts”. This video is best viewed full screen by clicking on the 4 little arrows next to the word “Vimeo”.

Kitchen Safety: Important advice on how to extinguish a kitchen fire (From bookofjoe.com).

Blistered Fingers Fiddler: This kid is 13 years old, and has been fiddlin’ for 6 years. He learned this Bill Monroe song from fiddle camp, and said that the Bill Monroe tunes are his favorite to play. There was Open Stage time from 1:00-2:15, and he was one of several individuals to perform. One of the bands is then chosen to perform at the next festival. I hope it is him, because he did a great job! Unfortunately, I didn’t catch his name.

My apologies for the angle of view and the wind interference. I  was not at an optimum place to shoot video (last second decision) as I didn’t want to stand in front of the audience and obstruct any views. (Again, let the video pre-load, and click on the four arrows that make a little square next to the word “vimeo” to view the video full-screen.)

This young fiddler brings back memories of another kid who, back in 1990, won the Florida Fiddling Championship at age 16. His name is Aubrey Haynie. We saw Aubrey play at the Withlacoochee Bluegrass Festival in 1990, and then visited with him and the Bluegrass Parlor Band, at the Bluegrass Parlor in Tampa, for a Thursday evening jam session. They were awesome! Aubrey is now one of the most sought after session musicians for many bands in Nashville because he is fabulous on the fiddle and the mandolin. He has recorded three albums to date.

Memories and Dedication to My Dad on Father’s Day: Gee…this brings back more memories of the 1990 Withlacoochee Bluegrass Jamboree (where we saw Aubrey) that we attended with my parents. We were fortunate to also see Bill Monroe as one of the featured performers. My parents were true bluegrass lovers and introduced me to the music that I love more than any other form.  Mom bought a dulcimer from Kentucky while Dad played one that he and my sister built from a kit. Good times! Mom is a dancer from way back, and she convinced Dad to learn to clog so that when they went to festivals they could dance to the music. I loved watching them make music together.

Blistered Fingers Bluegrass Festival: The Blistered Fingers Bluegrass Festival has moved to a new venue, the Litchfield Fairgrounds, which is only about 7.5 miles from our house…YeeHaw! I am in music heaven because Bluegrass is the most down-home music there is.

My friends Nicole and Gabi joined me for this special musical day. When Gabi got out of the car, she immediately picked a piece of grass that had a flower head on it, and proclaimed, “Mama, this grass is green…where is the Blue Grass?”

We were able to listen to the following bands: Wilf Clark & The Misty Mountaineers (Maine), Blue Around The Edges (Rhode Island), The Bluegrass Diamonds (New Brunswick), White Mountain Bluegrass (New Hampshire), Alecia Nugent (Louisiana), and LIttle Roy & Lizzy (Georgia / Tennessee).

My favorite performers were Wilf Clark & the Misty Mountaineers, while Nicole’s was Alecia Nugent. Three year old Gabi liked it all and was in constant motion as she danced and did somersaults all day long. Unfortunately, she needed a partner for some of her dances, so she and I spun around, and around, and around…I’m still dizzy! She is one of the cutest little girls I’ve ever met, and she was in great spirits all day long. You can’t help but fall in love with her, and I really enjoyed photographing her face as her smile really shone. Pure bliss!

Kasha resting between Frisbee throws

Snoozing: As Kasha has aged, she tends to snore more often. This clip represents the last 50 seconds of a long and loud snoring session.