Back in the Real World

Wow.  I can't believe I haven't posted since last Wednesday.  As you probably guessed, I was able to get up to Farmers Branch (between Dallas and Ft. Worth) for the bluegrass festival I mentioned in my last post.  I got back to Houston on Sunday morning where the real world was waiting for me with open arms.

My 88-year-old father fell and broke his hip a few days ago and is in a rehab facility about ten miles north of where I live, so I stopped off there on the way home.  Today was a day of desperation at the office as several of us struggled mightily to get our 4th Quarter forecasts and 2011 production budgets done by noon (second pass).  I expect that after we see the numbers tomorrow there will be a third pass.  Then it was back to the rehab facility to bring my dad some things he requested yesterday - a drive of almost an hour in rush hour traffic.

I have managed to squeeze in some reading but I'm falling behind my self-imposed schedule on reviewing the books I've finished.  I have two to write already and I'm finishing up on three other books in the next two or three days.  My main concern is the review of Washington: A Life I need to post on Monday as part of the official blog tour for that one.

Because of all that, I'm going to skip more book talk today in favor of posting one of my favorite performances from the "Bloomin' Bluegrass Festival."  This video features Adam Steffey & The Boxcars on October 16, 2010, doing one of the songs Adam originally recorded with Alison Krauss & Union Station.  The weather was great, the music was even greater, and I'm totally exhausted.  Isn't that the way a good vacation always works?



The Boxcars: Adam Steffey (mandolin), Ron Stewart (banjo), John Bowman (fiddle), Keith Garrett (guitar) , Harold Nixon (bass)