Monthly Archives: June 2007

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On your marks, get set… Raspberries!

by Leslie Abbott on June 19, 2007 in Blog and Photo. 0 Comments

OK, I lost. Kyle and I had a raspberry picking contest. Like the boy’s last contest, the goal was to pick the most berries in 20 minutes. I enjoy picking raspberries in the evening, snacking as I go, even if I get scratches on my arms. Racing is not relaxing. It was fun though. I wouldn’t want to do it every time.

Because I lost, I have to write four posts in three days. I have never been a blogger, thinking I really don’t have much to say that anyone would want to read. That may be the case but a bet is a bet. We picked nearly six pounds of berries. That’s one big pie.

Our family’s first stab at dancing

by Kyle Abbott on June 17, 2007 in Music and Photo. 0 Comments

Papa’s been wanting to incorporate dancing into the Abbott Family Band’s performance. The only problem is, none of us know how. Another problem is that we want a non-partner old-time dance and most of the old-time dances (contra dances, square dances, etc.) we’ve seen require partners.

Personally, I’ve never been on the dancing wagon. Bouncing around like an idiot just never really appealed to me—although I know it did in my younger days. However, if I don’t loosen up, then like the drop-out who’s forced to go to military school, eventually I’m gonna have to go to dancing class or improv class so today, I shook my feet out a bit as Papa and Mama were trying a few dance steps while Luke was fiddling. That’s a good start.

Pa’s Jig

I think for most dances, like fiddle tunes, you have to be actually doing it to enjoy it. (And even then, I still don’t like it.) Watching a dance has never been particularly barrels of fun for the eyes. That said, the only dance I’ve really enjoyed watching is Bharatanatyam. Now if there was a way to do that without being a woman and spending a bakers dozen+ years doing it, that would be up my alley! (From there, it’d be a piece of cake incorporating it into bluegrass or mountain music.)

Anyhow, we took our first stab at clogging/square-dancing, as you can see above. Dancing With the Stars, here we come!

Whodunnit?

by Kyle Abbott on June 15, 2007 in Brief. 5 Comments

HolmesSherlock Holmes as we know, is the master detective. Well, as I was washing the dishes, I was thinking, “if he went to the bathroom and he saw there was no more toilet paper, how would he know who was the last one in there? Mrs. Hudson and Dr. Watson are the only two who could’ve done it. Who to blame?”

Then I thought, elementary! If there was pee on the seat, he’d know it’s Watson!

Well, what else should I think about when I’m washing dishes?!

A miracle! Buddha on a rock!

by Kyle Abbott on June 14, 2007 in Blog. 3 Comments

As we were on one of our recent morning beach excursions to do yoga and t’ai chi, Papa stumbled upon a miracle of nature! The idol of the Buddha! See? You can see his big belly and part of his face!

Rock Buddha

The Virgin Mary on a piece of toast . . . *pphhtt* Buddha in a rock is a real epic! All we need to do now is mount it on a velvet pedestal encased in bullet-proof glass and display it to tourists and believers for $20/ticket!

“Yellow Special” BBQ chicken recipie

by Kyle Abbott on June 12, 2007 in Blog. 5 Comments

If you have ever wined and dined with the Abbotts on specific holidays, special occasions, or times-we’ve-had-lots-of-extra-wood, you must have experienced some of our BBQ. ‘Queing (as the hip people say) chicken has been a staple of the grill (meaning if the grill could eat, chicken would be the most common meat to lay on it’s palette). We make our own marinade and the most common marinade we’ve made is a spicy, soy-sauce–laden liquid. Very salty and spicy but very tasty. There’s no real constant recipe. The proportions vary every time but it’s somewhere along the lines of:
Yellow Chicken.

  • lots o’ soy sauce
  • pepper
  • salt
  • brown sugar
  • rice wine vinegar
  • garlic
  • ginger
  • sprinkle of pepper flakes
  • etc,

Well, this year,we’ve decided to do something different. Since Papa got this pulverizer in which he blends green tea and whole lemons to drink, he suggested making a lemony sweet ‘n sour marinade. So we pulverized four lemons and a whole onion. It tasted. . . … Continue reading ‘“Yellow Special” BBQ chicken recipie’

Raspberry-picking race results

by Kyle Abbott on June 9, 2007 in Blog. 1 Comment

Luke, Mama, and I often go out and harvest berries from our row of raspberries—which, for some odd reason, aren’t spelled the way you say it: razzberries.

Luke brought up the idea of having a bit of a wager. Being the betting man that I am, I readily accepted, even though have never done very well in my gambling escapades. Our bets have generally been tied to food; i.e., the loser has to make the winner a little muffin or cake. Well, on Wednesday it was radically different. The loser would have to write eight blog posts (good blog posts, mind you) in two days, two of which had to be on the long side. Even though Luke’s always been able to pick berries faster than I, no matter how thorough or fast I am, I accepted the wager ’cause I ain’t one to turn down a bet!

raspberry-bet-results

So, we were picking up a storm. During the frenzy, Luke told me he was eating some of his produce. That gave me extra hope ’cause I’m usually the one who eats while I’m pickin’. (Too bad I was half-joking… I only ate four. —Luke) After ten minutes, Mama started a slow 30-second countdown, and then we stepped away from the raspberry bushes. It looked pretty close except for the fact that Luke’s pile was slightly larger. But there was only one way to know, and it’s just like Fruit Loops: by weight, not volume.

We got out the ol’ kitchen scale and weighed our gatherings. Luke came in at 2 pounds, 4 ounces. I came in at… just under two. Augh! So close!

I wrote my eight articles that evening to get ‘em over with. We’ll be posting them in intervals… and this one counts as the first one!

Another productive meeting, donuts and all

by Luke Abbott on June 5, 2007 in Blog. 0 Comments

Abbott Family Music, as you may know, is currently nothing more than us four Abbotts. Still, we are a business… and as we all know, businesses must have meetings. (Somehow we managed to get by the first half-a-dozen years without monthly conferences, but thankfully we began holding regular business meetings before true mass chaos set in.)

Here’s another interesting fact: Not only must businesses have meetings, but you must have donuts for a meeting to be official… and yes, the box must be pink. It’s tradition!

Well, today we had a meeting, and we decided, among other things, that we should strive for more transparency in our business; let people get to know the real Abbotts behind it all. Here, in our first step of the new Transparency Initiative (as I started calling it… about 7 seconds ago), you can catch a rare glimpse into the decision-making process at Abbott Family Music meetings:

Carl, Luke, and Kyle hashing out the urgent business.

(We unfolded the box for better access to the goods, but it is pink… trust me.)

Thinking outside the box

by Luke Abbott on June 4, 2007 in Brief. 1 Comment
  • Kyle: When I started making my shamisen I made a vow to myself that I wouldn’t floss until I finished it.
  • Luke: So you haven’t flossed in months.
  • Kyle: Yup!
  • Luke: I guess that’s thinking outside the box”¦

Party boat

by Luke Abbott on June 3, 2007 in Brief. 0 Comments

While on the wharf a few days ago, we noticed that there was a party on one of the boats anchored in the bay. Boy, will the owner be surprised when he gets back”¦

Sea lions on the boat