Need a little love in your life? I must have because my sister Meghan gave me the best Christmas gift this year:

"The Recipe for Love".

INGREDIENTS

2 1/2 cups                   Tenderness

1 3/4 cup                     Purity

1 cup                            Kindness

1/4 cup                         Mercy

1/2 Tablespoon         Meekness

1 teaspoon                 Humbleness

Sprinkle of                  Submissiveness

2 Large Handfuls of Joy

DIRECTIONS

Mix together first five ingredients until they begin to soften. Quickly stir in Humbleness and Submissiveness to prevent from getting too soft. Add in Joy until evenly distributed. Bake until soft and tender and share with the whole world.

Serving Size: As many as you allow.

And the most wonderful thing about is is that the Calorie Count is 0.

"Put some stank on it, girl!" Kim Massie (a St. Louis Diva) said fervently. This woman knows how to sing with soul, which is what we’d wanted to learn to do, so we’d asked her for some help. At this point in the story we were sitting in the RV, faces twisted, struggling to figure out what "Stank" was.

"What- I’ve never told you about it?" Kim asked us. We shook our heads. "Like this," she said as she leaned in and belted a line of a song. She seemed to draw all the energy from her body and push it forward with such power that its ring filled the room. Whatever it was, we wanted to do it, too..

For the next couple of hours we practiced letting loose and singing from "the tips of our toes to the top of our head." By the end of the day we were starting to figure it out. The next step was to put what she taught us into practice for a week… or two.

Two weeks later we were ready for more – but we were in Nashville. Was it chance that on that day, we met the director of the Nashville Soul Choir, Julie Branham? We set up a date with her and soon were in her room, trying to explain to her that we wanted to learn how to "stank it". "Oh, you mean to sing with soul? I can show you how." Julie said. Yes! She gave us lesson #2 (so to speak) and this time, our voices rang throughout the room. Who’d have thought that we could sound so good – and all we had to do was Stank it!

"LaRae," my little brother, Joseph, whispered to me as we were headed inside for a Thanksgiving feast, "it’s 34 degrees. It might snow tonight!" I shivered in the cold and said, "You’re probably right, honey."

At that moment, the doors opened up and our friends, the Johnsons, welcomed us to their home. My mother passed Christi Johnson with a bowl of fruit salad, and then Kendra passed by with a homemade, banana cream pie. Alisa and Meghan came next, each holding a pumpkin pie, then Sean with a bowl of Salad Greens, and at last I made it in past the people- or the food- with a crock pot dish of Honeyed Root Vegetables (a family favorite).

Would you believe it? When we entered the kitchen, there was already almost no room for our dishes. Everyone was gathered round and after a pie slicing contest and a prayer, we dug in. I’d determined not to overeat, but to enjoy everyone’s company this Thanksgiving, so I did just that. We talked and joked and afterward, watched an amazingly gorgeous group perform acoustic music. Oh wait, that was us!

We’re not the only ones with talent, though, and soon we set our instruments down to listen to Trevor Johnson’s original music. What a gifted writer he is. He knows how to draw a picture with his words and leave one pondering. Afterward, Preston (The guy in the Yellow Shirt) sang an original tune, rap style, about his college. As soon as he’d finished, everyone erupted in a thunderous applause. The only one who didn’t perform was Devon, but he was the life of the party. He made everyone feel welcome and had us laughing all evening.

Friendship truly is a blessing and that is what I am grateful for on this Thanksgiving Day.

The wind whipped across my face as I ran. Straight ahead, the sun reached its arms out for one last sweep of the seashore, and then slipped behind the horizon. My calves ached from the effort, but if felt so good to have the sand pressed between my toes, "and I must not have have been running long yet," I thought. I kept going.

"Where are you digging to, Ammon?" I heard someone shout from up ahead of me. I Iooked around, then all of a sudden I passed right next to a hole with sand flying out of it. From out of that hole came the reply, "To Alaska!" Those are my little brothers.

A dark shadow just ahead of me grew and grew as I jogged. I saw it now; a person (or persons) huddled on the beach. A tiny light flickered in the middle of them. Who were they, I wondered… It wasn’t until I’d passed them that I saw it was Alisa and Meghan writing in their journals by candlelight.  "Hey, LaRae,"  they smiled at me.

A sanderling bird appeared out of nowhere and darted back and forth, keeping pace in front of me. My legs ached and I wanted to quit, but I wouldn’t let the little bird with short legs win. We both skipped over a crab which scurried under us to the water. Then as abruptly as the bird had come, it cried and flew over the waves. Just as it left, Cocoa (our chocolate lab) ran up, past me, into the water where the bird had left. He barked. (Why didn’t the sanderling want to play with him?)

"Time to go, LaRae!" Mom shouted to me as I came up to her. "How long have I been running, Mom?" I asked, breathless. "About 45 minutes."

Forty-five minutes on pavement is easy. However, I’d never thought that it took so much extra energy to run on sand, but I’d done it. Even when I’d wanted to quit, I’d kept going. Sometimes we think that only the smartest or strongest people can do hard things, but as Thomas Edison put it, "Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration."

With eyes alert and necks strained, the audience at Triple Creek watched the very first Solo Act by the Walker Boys band. Sean, 11 years-old on the banjo, rang the first chord on his banjo as they gathered around the mic and started out A Cappella on "Ruby". This is the same song that earned them second place as ‘Deer Creek’ in the Youth Band Contest of the world-renowned Galax Fiddle Fest. Here, at the Triple Creek Festival in the Pines, the crowd erupted into applause as the Boys kicked into their hard-driving, bluegrass song.

They performed several traditionals, some bluegrass gospel songs, and even an original instrumental called "Shorty’s Breakdown" (for a friend who runs Shorty’s Strickly Bluegrass Festival in Peoria, IL). Maybe next time you’ll hear them play "Bumpy Road". I think that was inspired by our trip down the long dirt road to Triple Creek.

Towards the end of their set, they turned around. When they faced the audience again, each was wearing a long beard and Ammon smiled a sparsely-toothed, bubba grin. "Last year," My mom announced from the stage, "these boys could hardly play an instrument so they danced and sang as the Soggy Bottom Walker Boys. Now they come back a professional band. They’re wearing the beards again, but this time, the Walker Boys are playing it for you." Joseph broke out singing "I am a maahaaaan of constant soroooww…"

When they’d ended their show the crowd almost jumped to their feet, shouting, "More! More!" As soon as they quieted down, the Boys sang an A Cappella Gospel number, "I’m Workin’ on a Building". Sean on lead, Joseph on high tenor, and Ammon singing bass (or as low as an eight year-old boy can go). They left the Festival buzzing with excitement, wanting the Walker Boys to perform again. Watch for the Walker Boys in your area! ; )

Can you imagine spending $50 for a pair of theater seats that have the worst view in the house? And in 1915? That’s $1,000 today!

That is how much Dr. J. J. Shuler spent for each set of Box Seats on opening night of the Shuler Auditorium on April 27, 1915. Opera Boxes are the elegant seats protruding from both sides of the stage, giving a strained view of the stage, but the perfect angle for the rest of the audience to see you and your lush garb. Regarded, Dr. Shuler was the mayor of Raton, New Mexico, and had the money for the tickets, as well as enough left over for a velvet gown he’d bought to show off his lovely wife.

I can imagine the Shuler home in disarray; preparing to go to the theater; Mrs. Shuler cinching up her corset, layering on her petticoates; and finally donning her elvet gown. Mr. Shuler, I assume, did likewise (aside from the corset and petticoats). He had his suit pressed and his hair greased back. All this so they could sit in those envied box seats and crane their necks to see the profiles of the entertainers on stage.

No matter the poor view, though; it was tradition for all turn-of-the-century Opera Theaters like this one to have Box Seats.

Last week as we played the Shuler Theater, two ladies sat in those very same Box Seats that Mr. and Mrs. Shuler sat in nearly 100 years ago. I wonder how much those coveted seats are today?

“Which one is the Monument?" We all asked as we looked back and forth from one incredible rock structure to the next. We had come to see the Colorado Independence Monument. It’s much easier to do that when you know which one it is.

Mom was sure that it was the larger structure which stood farther away from us, whereas the rest of the family was convinced it was the smaller one nearer us. Our opinion outnumbered mom’s so we all proceeded to marvel at what we had dubbed the Independence Monument. It stood alone (Independent, so to speak) of all the other mountains around it, jutting up from the ground like a giant, sandy pillar. My little brothers, dressed up in Scout Uniforms, informed us that a climb up to the top would be very dangerous because it was ‘very high’. We would need ‘proper climbing gear’.

It was beautiful, but we had errands to run, so we turned back down the path. A few seconds later our Cub Scout, Joseph, identified a plaque hidden between some bushes, and ran up to it.

"Mom," He shouted, "You were right! This says that the other mountain was the Independence Monument."

Now, just so you can sound smart when you go show your friends the Colorado National Monument, here’s two notes to remember:

1. The National Monument is actually leaning (It’s the Picture on the Right)
2. Mom Always Knows Best!

I just HAD to post a few more pics, as the colors are even more vibrant as we entered into northern Minnesota.  It’s just breathtaking!  Now these pictures are through the windshield of the RV as we are driving, so pardon if they are not perfect.  The lush colors are still there.  Enjoy…

"Get the Bone!" "Release!" "Go, Cocoa, Go!" yelled Ammon who was positioned on his scooter, which he’d attached to our chocolate Lab, Cocoa. Ammon thought the gymnasium where we were going to perform in was the coolest place in the world. Where else can you ride a scooter indoors- with your dog? His "dog sled" was pretty successful… until he realized that he didn’t know how to stop. He jumped off just before the sled skidded right through a curtain.

Cocoa loves everyone and everything and thinks everyone and everything loves him back. During the show that night at the Vermeer Pavilion, someone left the RV door open and Cocoa promenaded into the audience, grinning and wagging his tail. He was sure they had all come to see him. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case, and Mom quickly escorted back to the RV. Don’t worry, he made his debut after the show.

Excited about all of the attention, Cocoa shot passed Meghan’s bass which thudded to the ground. With tear stained eyes, Meghan picked up her bass and felt the crack in its neck. Not knowing he’d done anything wrong, but startled from the loud noise, Cocoa looked at her with those puppy eyes, begging her to tell him he was a good dog. I guess they made up because I saw her petting him later on. "Yes," I could almost hear him think, "Everybody loves Cocoa. He’s a good dog- SQUIRREL!"

NOTE: No animals were harmed in the making of this blog.

Have Bass Will Travel, but how? Imagine wedging a six foot bass into the trunk of your mini-van or free-styling it as the bass hangs out the back end of your convertible. If bystanders stare at you, then you’re riding in style, right?

Meghan and Ammon are running for first prize in a contest for the most creative way to transport their Upright Bass and they need your help.  There are 16 contending videos where only six finalists and the one winner receive the money. Your vote will make the difference. CLICK HERE to see Meghan’s and Ammon’s videos and

Vote Now, Tomorrow is your Last Chance!