Satisfaction at the library

Report from Hudson, Florida: Libraries have been one of my favorite spaces since I was a kid. All are welcome here. You are surrounded by books. They have free wifi. They have big tables where you can lay out all of your thinking materials. They have water fountains and recycling and donation boxes for animal shelters. This library goes above and beyond because they have knitted characters, grocery baskets for your books, and they even made a display about Appalachia and Folk Music in honor of our visit. I spent my childhood and college years in libraries, so it's very fitting that we play music here now. Some "music industry" people are funny about artists who play in libraries like it's not a "real" venue. That's just silly. After all, Mr Rock-n-roll himself, Keith Richards said our libraries are America's greatest asset. And who am I to disagree? I listened to a lot of Rolling Stones when I was a kid, too. Snuck it out of my Mom & Dad's record collection. See, this all just makes great sense! Humpty Dumpty, the Rolling Stones, libraries, and Jeni & Billy :) happiness!

Dino might

Report from Hudson, Florida: If only Cyrus were here!

Dancing on to new ground

We danced right out of Naples and now we are headed up to Hudson, Florida, where we'll play at the library tomorrow. (2pm, if you are in the neighborhood). Then we have a bit of a break until our last two Florida concerts next weekend in Gainesville at Chuck Levy's and New Port Richey -- Gerry & Fred Cload, hosts.

You know, we were a bit bewildered when we started this tour in a fully packed tomato car, but the joy of this  tour has utterly exceeded all of our expectations!

Thank you, friends, near and far who have brought a smile at our concerts or right here with your encouragement. Happy weekend to you!

Thanks to Joyce for this terrific photo from our last Naples concert for 2015. See you in 2016!

Making it personal

Report from Naples, FL: in two hours this sea of chairs will be a sea of people. Some will be friends, some will be strangers. By the end of our concert, we hope they will all be friends. I am still surprised that in an hour of telling stories and playing songs for people, people will come to the table and buy CDs, tell me a story about their grandfather, and even invite us to stay with them the next time we are in town. We've been coming to Naples for six years and every visit has its own shape and character. Sometimes, a husband or wife will come to the table alone and I will learn that one of our fans who I've hugged and laughed with has gone on up to the picnic on the sky. It's a very personal business, what we do and how we do it. I once talked with a record executive and fellow songwriter who said that Billy and I make a point of making it personal. And he was right. What matters most to me is whether we brought joy today, whether someone may have cried, whether they learned something new, did they have a change of heart, and did they feel they were celebrated by being here and being part of this temporary group of 200 people who will never all be in the same room at the same time with us again? I am so very grateful that this is my work and that you, the libraries, the folk clubs, the cafes, the volunteers, our families, the truck stops, and the mystery of life are with us. Thank you!

Travels with polka dots

Report from Camp JillyBenny, Naples, FL: I admit it. I gave in and bought a pair of delicious flannel polka dot pajamas at Marshalls for $15. It's not cold here compared to NYC, of course, but when the mercury drops below 50 at night in a tent I call that authentically chilly! And how is it that in all my moving from town to town as a kid, I never read Steinbeck's Travels With Charley? What a terrific book and only a dollar in mint condition from the library book sale! Thanks to Debbie Snider for knitting me this hat which I love so much. What is it about fab pajamas that makes me want to jump up and down with glee??

New red shoes!

Commercial break from Camp JillyBenny, Naples, Florida: Ok, frivolous report about online shoe victory for my girl friends anywhere in the world and savvy husbands, brothers, sons, dads, & true loves...as many of you may know, I LOVE red shoes. I've worn them since I was a kid beginning with red Keds. About four years ago, my fabulously fashionable Aunt Edith gave me a pair of red Mary Janes right out of her closet because she was appalled at the desperate state of my red Danskos. I wore Aunt Edith's shoes until they fell apart and were way past the date of shoe decency.

I've been looking a replacement pair for over a year to no avail. I've actually had no less than 10 people scouting for me as well. But it's actually really tricky to find an unfussy red Mary Jane shoe. My friend Ali, who is basically marvelous at everything and who I miss til my heart hurts because she lives all the way in LA, said, "If only we were in the Bali, they could make you shoes right there in the market." 

So I tentatively googled "Custom Made Shoes" thinking there was no way I could afford such a thing. 

That's when I found Shoes of Prey which, I admit, has a terrible name for a vegetarian customer, but you can go on their website and literally build your own shoe -- colors, materials, type of heel, embellishment, even vegan shoes. What does it cost? $115 including shipping from Australia! Now, I am not a person to casually spend $115 on anything. I just bought a $7 pair of slippers to take the chill off these tent-living evenings. That's more my speed. But considering I wore my last pair of red shoes almost every day, I did some math -- say 300 days x 4 years = 1200 days -- and decided about 10 cents a day for shoes was not asking too much.

Now, I don't know if I'll wear these shoes for four years, though they are made very well and can even be re-soled, which my old ones couldn't, but that price hardly seemed outrageous. 

What's more, I got a $10 coupon for signing up on their email list which I put toward my purchase. The shoes were finished in 3 weeks instead of the estimated 4 to six. They sent me another coupon with my order, plus two coupons for friends. They also sent very nice heel & toe inserts in case my shoes stretch over time, care instructions, a nice bag to keep them clean during travel, and a photo of them to put on their shoebox in my closet. 

AND, if they don't fit or you don't like then, YOU CAN RETURN THEM & they will remake them or refund you, no hassle, for free. What!?!?!

How's that for old fashioned good business sense.

And how do I like my new shoes? They are so gorgeous, so well made, fit perfectly, and I think they are worth every penny. I LOVE them. They are not fire engine red and have a bit more pink in them which I don't mind at all, but I think if I were looking for a very specific color, I would take them up on their swatch offer. But, as you can tell, I am THRILLED with my shoes and with Shoes of Prey. 

I get absolutely nothing from them for going on and on about my new shoes except the hope that, if I tell you about them, you'll buy shoes, too, and they'll be around when this pair wears out. 

End of commercial break, back to your regularly scheduled program...its Jeni & Billy singing, "If I ever get $10, gonna quit this railway car, hang up my walking SHOES and stay right where you are..."

https://www.shoesofprey.com

Queen of the Hollywood Shower, Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday to our dear friend, Anet Carlin. She is the Queen of the Hollywood Shower, the Creator of Harmonious Living Protocol, The Baker of Delectable Soda Bread, Mrs Claus, True Love of Charley Carlin, Theater Goddess Extraordinaire, Texas Soul, Bringer of Ecstatic Joy. We love you and We miss you, Anet, wish we could be across the USA for your 75th Birthday!!! We send you this quote, since you asked for a quote party for your birthday, "All you need is LOVE." Hugs and kisses and more and more love.