Ending is Beginning

Today is the 23rd of September and therefore the day that downhere's new album releases! It's called "Ending is Beginning" and I must say, is quite superb! I've been following these guys since 2001, before they even released their first album, and boy have they come a long way! Their music has progressed in quality and maturity over the years, yet still has a defining style to it. I had the honor of hosting a "listening party" for this album several months ago. This band truly cares about what their fans think... insomuch that they solicit individual feedback from fans about which songs should be selected for the final album track list!

For those who have not heard downhere's music before, the classic definition has always been: Freddie Mercury (of Queen) meets Kevin Max (of dc Talk) meets Bono (of U2). For this album I venture to throw in the name of Brit pop sensation Robbie Williams ("Millennium")... Listen to "My Last Amen" and tell me if you don't agree! "Something Heavenly" is definitely the biggest departure from their past musical styles, but the more I've listened to it, the more I really like it! My listening party's initial reaction was that it sounds "X-Files-ish," but you can judge that for yourself and let me know. "The Problem" has a slight bit more of a country twang to it than anything I've ever heard from these guys before. My early favorite was "Don't Miss Now," a nostalgic ballad about not missing the moment you're living in now. A great reminder for me as a new mom!

Check out the album and see if you agree that it's their best one yet. (Isn't that such a cliché statement about every artist's latest album?) Only you can decide for yourself if it's their best! You can find the album at iTunes, Amazon, or your local Christian bookstore (i.e. Family or Lifeway). Grab an autographed copy over at MusiChristian or directly from the band's website. There was some goof up with the distribution company going out of business and therefore the album won't be available in mainstream retailers like Wal-mart & Best Buy until January.

Also, if you're in the central North Carolina area, downhere will be in concert for FREE this coming Saturday night (9/27) in Smithfield, NC. Read more about it here and see details here.

Papa Spuds

So about a week ago, I stumbled upon a local farm co-op website that lets you order their produce by the week! Most co-ops that I have ever heard of require you to join at the beginning of the season and stay committed for the entire spring and summer. But Papa Spuds works a little differently as it's an "online farmer's market," so we decided to give it a try. Tonight we received our first "crop" share and it sure looks yummy! There were a few variances between what I ordered and what I received, which I guess is part of the game due to supply, demand and availability. I ordered Slicing Cucumbers, but unless those aren't all zucchini (which I also ordered), I think they substituted Sweet Baby Lettuce instead. I also learned that ~1 lb. of grapes is actually more like 11 oz., but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt this time. The grapes looked so good that we ate them all up as soon as I could wash them! The Acorn Squash is something I'm pretty excited about trying. I've never cooked one of those before. The two best parts about this whole Papa Spud's deal is that most of the order is organic produce (and the order is completely customizable each week) and also they DELIVER it to your front porch! That's worth QUITE a bit extra in my book. I don't have to drive to 3 grocery stores and then the Farmer's Market looking for organic acorn squash! Hopefully this will force us to "eat our veggies" a little more each week. I guess we'll see!