haircuts, Danish invasion, blogger rendezvous, and Emmylou Harris

Now how, you are wondering, will she fit these seemingly incongruous topics into one post? I don't know either, but I'll try!
Do you recognize these boys? If you do, let me know. And, if you see two boys with big brown eyes, but you wouldn't see the eyes because they are covered with hair, let me know. I'm missing them, and meanwhile these two intruders have invaded my house. I can't believe they consented to such extreme ear exposure. But, they are excited because now they look like (Minnesota Twin) Joe Mauer. Or have the same haircut anyway. and Madcap, if you happen to see this, that's your pillow on Starflower's bed. She has claimed it!

Askov, the second nearest town, has a very Danish heritage. The street signs still even have an excess of letters, with names like Jernbanegade. Apparently a songwriter/storyteller from Denmark heard about the town and was so fascinated with the idea of Danish immigrants settling in Minnesota that he wanted to write about it. But first he wanted to visit the town, so tonight we were treated to a free concert by Esben Langkniv. I was amazed as I pulled into the parking lot of the community center; it was full. Starflower and I (girls' night out) got to see and hear a wonderful evening of music and storytelling. Sometimes I think storytelling is a lost art, what with TV and the Internet and all that, and how could someone pull off a show with stories in English interspersed with songs in Danish? Esben Langkniv did it perfectly, engaging the audience with his true life humor.

The audience was predominantly elder Askovites, maybe even some who had grown up in a Danish speaking household. But as I entered the community center, I scanned the audience, looking for a particular woman and her family. In the back row I saw some children who looked vaguely familiar, and as the mother and I made eye contact she said "I know you!" It was Heidi, my blogging neighbor, and this was our first real life meeting. It was a pleasure! Although, meeting a blogger is kind of an awkward thing. I mean, you practically know each other already, what is there to converse about? :) For us introverts that poses a problem. But we had fun and enjoyed the show, and it was nice to meet Heidi and her beautiful family. Hope to meet up again soon!

So how, you may be asking yourself, does Emmylou fit in with all of this? She doesn't. But I had to drive Starflower home from piano lessons today, and I happened to be listening to a Steve Earle CD in the car. He did a duet with Emmylou Harris on one number, and towards the end of the song Starflower turned to me and asked, in all honesty and innocence, "Mom, is that you singing?" I, suddenly grinning from ear to ear, said no. "But she sure sounds like you!"

Am I dreaming? Do I really have a singing voice so angelic, like Emmylou's, that a recording of her could fool my own daughter? I could only hope as much. But I'll take this for all it's worth. Starflower, you have given me the biggest ego boost in a long time! :)