On the way to our Easter celebration with out friends and family, Claire asked what the Easter Bunny looked like. I had received a Twit Pic earlier in the day from Jason Avant that he’d shown to his son; I had the photo still open on my phone so I yanked it out. She took one look at the picture, held my phone for a while, handed it back to me, and then simply said, “Oh”.

Later I heard her telling Donna that the Easter Bunny is black and has long ears. Haha!!!

We’d been attempting to come up with a cool place to have Claire’s birthday party, and we also wanted a place where we’ve not really been to a party. When Claire joined Karate recently, they offered her a free birthday party and we jumped on it. They have a two hour block on a weekend, and we chose today since my schedule isn’t great on Saturday’s this month. Donna set everything up from the cake and balloons to being in charge of RSVPs for Claire’s friends. This morning I ran around to get everything Donna had ordered and we got to Sandoval’s Freestyle Karate at around 1:30PM.

Her friends came at 2PM and Mr Garrett, her regular teacher, had cool activities for the kids while the parents were able to just sit and enjoy ourselves. I ran around shooting photos while they had a mini-lesson including board breaking. Later we all ate pizza and birthday cake before Claire opened her presents (with the help of Raegan!)

While her actual birthday isn’t until Wednesday, she had a wonderful day with her friends today. Next up is making cupcakes for her school party Wednesday, opening family presents Wednesday night, and playing with everything all week with Mimi.

Recently I needed to get out of the desert, and it’s always great to have friends who have a cool cabin in the woods 90 minutes north in Payson, AZ. We don’t get there as often as we should, but recently we were invited. My wife is in grad school and needed to be online to finish and post her final paper was worried about this project. I contacted my friend Alan Levine who lived in the area, and he mentioned a coffeehouse called Fireside Espresso at the corner of Forest Road and the Beeline Highway. The wife agreed to check it out, and off we went.

Now, I’ve been to some pretty cool coffeehouses in places like Pittsburgh, San Francisco, New York City, London, etc… until last week there were no coffeehouses in Arizona that lived up to my expectations. FIreside Espresso changed all of this.

Sure this coffeehouse is in Payson and isn’t actually in Phoenix, but it’s a helluva cool drive up the Beeline and I can be sitting in Fireside Espresso in 90 minutes. The red and white building is on a corner near a gas station with a large logo of a man drinking coffee over a campfire. The cozy “partner-up” atmosphere continued inside. The sage walls jutted up from wood floors surrounded by a large space sectioned off into smaller rooms. One large section had a fireplace and welcoming leather couch where a man was sleeping when I first went in. Across the entire front of the building were windows and large sitting areas. I saw a local group of folks playing Scrabble one time I went and the other time I went there was a single’s Bible study at the long wooden, polished table. This is the perfect place to have informal meet-ups in this area.

My wife grabbed a table in an area that is used for Open Mic Night and booted her computer; she was quickly online while I ordered several things. The barista explained all food is made from scratch right there on site, and I quickly ordered various scones and quiche. It felt like most people were locals or at least treated like locals. The barrister turned out to the be the owner, Amy Anderson. Amy made several recommendations for drinks and deserts before we grabbed some seats. We had three children between ages 2-5 with us; Amy and every customer there didn’t even raise an eyebrow when they ran across the stage or shouted through the coffeehouse.

The quiche was phenomenal and the Americano was the perfect wake me up. On the menu I saw a drink called a “London Fog”, so I asked Amy what it was. I’d never heard of it and later realized it’s more popular than I knew. I told her that i wanted one the next time I came in, which just happened to be three hours later. She turned back to make one of the best drinks I had, which I later discovered was steamed milk, Torani vanilla, and earl grey tea bags (the secret is to steep for only 2 minutes!) Amy mentioned that she had been in the business for four years and ran Fireside Espresso for two of them.

I’ve been searching for a coffeehouse that felt like family — a Cheers for the caffeine set, I suppose. Fireside Espresso is this place. Drive up, go see Amy, tell her I said hello and to have my London Fog ready the next time I head north for some weather.

The other day a couple students asked me who my favorite band is. I had to think about it for a few minutes, and then I needed to filter my thoughts. I wasn’t filtering who I listened to as much as I was trying to figure out why they were asking, what they wanted to get out of my answer, and how I should respond. Did they want to hear about my nostalgia towards 80s Pop or were they looking for cool me from the 90s Grunge Scene (I was not some poseur! I actually liked the music and didn’t wear flannel… not too much, anyway). Did they want to know about time follwing my little brother into a Phish loving life? My years listening only to Oldiers (I am talking late 50s-late 60s)? Did they want to know about my strange propensity for Christian Rock from my early teens years? How about when I figured out that 1970s rocked and my Dad was cool? What did they really want to know?

So I am not sure how to answer this question, so I will break down several of my favorites and give you an idea. These are in absolutely no specific order.

THE PIXIES: I remember Michael Amato in high school being obsessed with this band, and I wasn’t really sure what the hype was all about. One CD cover had a topless model on it, so that was cool but beyond that there wasn’t much for me then. I remember the movie Pump Up the Volume had an awesome soundtrack, and on that soundtrack was a stripped down version of “Wave of Mutilation”. I think that song was my segue into the Pixies, and other than “Here Comes the Man”, the only Pixies I heard of for several years. I, like most of the kids graduating high school in the early ’90s, went through an odd music movement that was part grunge (Alice in Chains or STP) and part wacked out alternative (think Ned’s Atomic Dustbin or Information Society). One of my staples of this period was The Breeders who were these two twin women on guitar and bass. The guitarist had drug problems and learned to play a few chords so she could tour with her sister. Her sister, on bass, was Kim Deal, the guitarist for the Pixies. Kelley Deal went on the other projects even though the Breeders still record from time to time. As for Kim, there’s just something about female musicians (and I still adore L7). Honestly, I didn’t really begin to listen to The Pixies until about 5 or 6 years ago, and since then I’ve devoured several albumns and watched a few full length albums. My sister’s boyfriend got me hooked on The Pixies Red Rock show recordings and I’ve not looked back. I’d say the live version of “Wave of Mutilation” and “Allison” are my two favorites by them, but I can listen to anything by them anytime. Especially in Paradise Bakery on a Saturday morning. I just crank it up and go! My Recommendation: The Pixies Perform at Red Rocks.

PRINCE: Some people won’t admit to listening to Price, but you know what? For someone who’s been in this industry for so long, knows how to play several different instruments, and has not compromised his values, you can’t complain too much. Price turned 50 this year, and he’s still rocking out. I’ve been listening to him for 24 years now, and I think my coolest memory was spending New Year’s Eve 1998 in an Australian bar at the base of the French Alps in Chamonix, France. I brought a copy of Prince’s “1999″ with me, and the DJ played it at midnight. My other awesome Prince memory was the night I got to know my best friend, Dan. He played an acoustic version of “7″. I’d never heard anything quite like it. My Recommendation: 1999.

FLEETWOOD MAC: I remember back in the late 70s my dad listened to Fleetwood Mac and Stevie Nicks all of the time, but I wouldn’t bother with Stevie because I thought she was some scary witch. I don’t really remember when I began to listen to them but I know I first fell in love with “Go Your Own Way” and “Rhiannon”. I think somewhere early I fell in love with Stevie Nick’s voice. The live versions of “Rhiannon” are beautiful, and I even sing the live versions to the studio versions. Early on, I read Mick Fleetwood’s biography about the band, and I loved the whole love quadrangles, etc… I’ve since collected over a hundred different songs and versions of songs by the band. I actually had a chance to see Lindsay Buckingham in concert last year, but it was just him and a work night, so I skipped it. This spring Fleetwood Mac is playing here in Phoenix but tickets are $120! My Recommendation: Rumors.

PINK FLOYD: Who can’t love Pink Floyd? There’s so much history there. I remember the time I saw Pink Floyd during The Division Bell tour.This was in the Spring of 1994. A friend and I drove to Cleveland (I was in Pittsburgh at the time) for the concert. We ended up at the wrong stadium and had to walk several blocks to the other stadium. The closer I got the louder the music became. That album and the song “Stop Talking” still holds a special place in my heart. I love how Gilmour released “Learning to Fly” after Roger Waters left the band, and how popular Momentary Lapse of Reason became after everyone was worried Floyd was done when Waters left. I remember Waters playing on the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the first time I showed The Wall to a classroom of high school kids (believe me, we do NOT do that anymore!). And yes, like everyone else, my cousin and I sat down and watched the entire Wizard of Oz synced to Dark Side of the Moon, and yes, it works! My Recommendation: A Momentary Lapse of Reason.

LIVE: My best friend got me hooked on LIVE years ago. Did you know they were originally called Public Affection? Do you also know how hard it is to talk to people about a band called LIVE? Haha. In college Dan and I saw LIVE as often as possible. I sat out in the freezing snow for 12 hours one day for tickets to see them at the Crowbar in State College, PA because Dan was out of town and couldn’t tag team the waiting with me. The band is from York, PA, and even though I never actually met them, I came close so many times. I believe the last time we saw them Claire was not yet 1; they played at what was then Bank One Ball Park in Phoenix. I have pictures of Claire at the concert. My Recommendation: The Distance to Here.

RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS: I’ve listened to the Chili Peppers for as long as I remember, but there are a few highlights I need to point out here. I bought Mother’s Milk at National Record Mart in Century III Mall. A beautiful cassette. Loved everything about it, including the cover art. When I began getting tattoos I looked to the art in that band. Later when I met my best friend, Dan, he adored the Chili Peppers and I immediately began to get more into them Frusciante was gone and Dave Navarro was playing guitar. I loved the band. I loved everything about them, and I still tell the story of when Dan and I drove to Philly with a friend to see them at the Tower Theatre. Before that I’d seen them at Lollapalooza, and Blood Sugar Sex Magik is still one of their best albums ever. My Chili Peppers experience culminated a few years ago with the Stadium Arcadium tour. Frusciante was back with the band, and Dan asked me to come along. I remember hesitating, but then I went. Oh my god, this is one of the best shows I’ve ever seen. I can’t believe Frusciante’s guitar. His playing and my need to hear it that night was as important to me as breathing that night. I’ve never know anything like this before or after. My Recommendation: Stadium Arcadium.

Now I could probably think of another few bands to detail and discuss here for you, but I will let you just choose for yourself. I know there’s music today I miss because I simply don’t listen to much new music, and I am sure there are bands you’ve passed by years ago that I will find in the future. We’ll see, and I will enjoy that experience as much as you hopefully will by revisiting some of mine above.

It seems that every Christmas someone ends up at Urgent Care. Claire went last year and again this year for coughing, but this year they thought she developed a cough because it was cold and snowy and then got really warm really quickly. They said she wasn’t contagious and to have a nice day.

The next morning I woke up congested. That was 3 1/2 days ago. By this morning I thought I was going to die. I was completely congested, my head throbbed, and my nose wouldn’t stop running. I grabbed my clothes and headed straight to urgent care. The doctor took one look at me and told me she hoped I had no where to be. My temperature was 103.6 and my blood pressure was 140/90. She did a strep throat culture and x-rayed my chest, before she had the nurse come in and put an IV in. She said she’d prefer me to go nowhere until they brought down both my fever and my blood pressure. They ran an IV of Toridol and I laid there and slept for an hour.

Later she came back in and told me I had pneumonia and a sinus infection. Well, no crap. Anyone could tell me that I had a sinus infection. But the pneumonia was news to me. Damnit. I feel terrible, but Toridol sure helped. I headed to Walgreen’s to buy like 20 different drugs before driving to my parent’s house. Now I sit here on their couch waiting for Penn State to kill USC in the Rose Bowl.

Sometime in the early 1990s during high school I began hanging out at the Beehive Coffeehouse on East Carson Street in the Southside of Pittsburgh. Some of my earlier memories were when it was only one store front wide (now it’s three), and we’d play Galaga in the back room by the leather couch. The female manager had blonde and pink hair, and she’d sleep back there. This must’ve been about later 1990 or early 1991. I know this because I could drive then, and I had my blue Dodge Colt. I remember several months where I’d make sure I came down here once a day even if it was just to grab a coffee and play some video games. In the summer, the doors would be open and it’d be muggy as hell here.

After high school I went away to Penn State , but none of the State College coffee houses could do this place justice. I would return on weekends and summers, and always be here. I knew the people from the locals who hung out here to the baristas (some of whom are still here!). I remember in 1992 seeing Jason Szalla hang work he did at Baldwin High School from the ceiling in the Beehive. I remember the different people who’d flirt with each other, and some of the girls who flirted with me. One of whom, in the late 1990s, I still know. Alicia talked to me one night for hours. She was a Fordham student who loved iguanas and worked at VH1. We still know her, and she is still here.

I remember playing cards here through the mid-1990s. Spades was the game, and each night we’d have several tables going all at once. Elliot was a character, and we can to really enjoy his company. One guy we played with had to run off to not go to jail. I think his name was Fruit. An odd fellow. Another guy was just wild. Donna and I ruled the table by this time.

Occasionally famous people would walk in. I saw Patrick Stewart near the front one night, and another night I met Robert Downey Jr buying coffee. He suggested I read Wonderboys which they were filming nearby. I read it that night at a front table. The whole thing.

I remember grad school. The Beehive was the place to study. I’d walk across the 10th street bridge from Duquesne University, and it didn’t matter if it was -10 with the wind chill factor. I’d still do it. I would sit here and write, read, study. I remember bringing my first laptop down here for the first time.

By this time my mother was hanging out here too. Everyone called her Mum. Even the old people. She was everyone’s mother. The funny thing was when we, her biological children, called her “mum” no one knew we were really the children. Jaime got in with Scott and Z the owners, and he followed them from project to project. I buried myself in books when I had to study and cards when I had some time off.

In the summer of 1998, I was in the Beehive when Donna returned from school for the summer. We were just friends then and nothing was going on. I told her to meet me at the Beehive. I still remember sitting in a large red booth ten feet from where I sit when she came in the door. That was May. By July we were back together, and we spent much of that summer in the Beehive.

By fall I was student teaching at Mt Lebanon High School and Donna was back at Lockhaven for her senior year. One night we went out to Dee’s, and I got drunk. I decided to head to the Beehive to sit it off and get some coffee. One of my students walked in! Not the best idea (although I was of age).

By summer of 1999 Donna and I were engaged and moved to Arizona. Alicia came to the wedding; she framed shots of the Beehive for us. Black and whites of some things we will never forget.

Since then, the first few years we’d try to come in. Slowly, it was shifting. We knew less people. The building expanded to a second nonsmoking room (perfect since it was always smokey in here!). My Mum stopped coming and Meghan moved to Colorado.

Until today now I could not tell you the last time I was here. 2005? 2004? People grow and change, but this place. This place stays the same. It’s always for those memories. Today I sit here. Christmas 2008 wondering when I will be back here. Maybe next Christmas (have no trips planned to PA until then), or maybe it won’t be until Claire is older and I can tell her the stories. We will see.

We flew home last week, and the grandparents sure did spoil Claire this Christmas. For the past several years we’ve stayed at my parent’s house for Christmas Eve, so Claire could wake up and open gifts there. This year Donna wanted a bit of a change, and since now my sister and brother both (including my sister’s boyfriend) were all at my parent’s house, we really didn’t have a place to sleep there. On Christmas Eve we hung out around my in-laws house before heading to my parent’s house for dinner. It was me, Donna, Claire, Dad, Mum, Jaime, Meghan, Jon and Johann (not to mention the ancient mutt under foot and Cheyenne, the orange cow (as Claire calls my dad’s golden retriever who is way TOO Fat!), my mum’s cat, and my sister’s twin black cats. All crammed into a cape cod style house is enough to make my mother demand a new house before Christmas 2009.

After dinner, we three headed to our annual Christmas party at Tom and Paula’s house in West Mifflin where we’d meet up with the in-laws and brother-in-law, Danny. Claire had a great time playing with the little girl who is a year older than her; they only see each other every Christmas Eve and the last two years they’ve been old enough to care about playing with each other. After the group photo and some well wishes, we headed back to my in-laws around midnight.

When Donna and Danny were younger the family supposedly opened presents later, but now that Claire’s here, she was up and at ‘em relatively early (not as early as I liked to open when I was young!). She got some outfits, several toys (mostly educational type things), and some other gear. I bought her a blue and pink Timbuk2 customized tote, which she always told everyone were her favorite colors (until this week, when she says she now likes purple and green! Ugh). Her old swim bag was falling apart, and these bags are so well made that she can use it for years to come.

As for the wife, she’d been asking for a new digital camera. Her old one was a few years old and really sluggish. I’d been searching for the perfect one for a few months, and I finally got a great deal at CostCo. Personally, I’d been drooling over the MinoHD Flip video cameras. Donna had shown interest in one on Black Friday, but I knew for a little more I could get the nice HD model. This gift had been near the front of the pile of gifts since I’d been eager to give her one for weeks! She loved both gifts and the other little things. My in-laws got me Ebay gift cards, which’ll work well for a new sleeping bag. Danny got Donna a gift card for Sprint to buy the new purple Lotus that she keeps drooling over (she’s not gotten a new phone since 2004!). I can’t wait to get him to take her to Sprint.

Later after lunchtime, we went to my parent’s. Claire fell asleep in the car so we all opened “big people” gifts for awhile until she woke up. Donna bought me the Charlaine Harris’ (TrueBlood) vampire books; I didn’t know they came in a box set so I was totally stoked when I opened them. I got her a Timbuk2 gift card so she could order herself a bag, since she really wanted to pick her own. My parents got both of us Apple gift cards (Donna towards a new MacBook and me towards maybe Bose earphones). Claire got dolls, some clothes, etc… She got the blue cat (from Mama) and the pink doggie (from Auntie Meghan via Santa), and she was totally stoked.

Meghan and Jon made out with Wii and Rock Band 2. We hooked up the Wii and played Rock Band late into the night, but we have no idea how to unlock the codes. (Comment below if you do know. We have to cheat codes, but can’t figure out HOW to input them.)

Christmas was a blessed day with thoughtfulness, happiness and family.

Merry Christmas. Here’s my father singing O Holy Night in Karaoke. LOL.

Untitled from Devon Adams on Vimeo.

Took Claire skiing on the 23rd, and you know, I thought it was going to be terribly tedious but I didn’t mind it. It had it’s glitches, but that just added to the panache. The day before I kept calling Tiny Tots ski school to get her an early morning private lesson, but I kept getting their voice mail. I left multiple messages, but nothing.

When we got to 7Springs yesterday morning, the lady at Tiny Tots said she had no availability until 1pm. My response was “My family’s been coming here since 1962. My dad worked here for several years. I learned to ski here 32 years ago and both of my siblings learned here, too. My father would like to get my 3 1/2 year old a private lesson. Now what can we do about this?” The lady’s jaw about fell to the floor.

Needless to say, after she spoke with her supervisor, Claire had a lesson 20 minutes later. Miss Kelsey, her teacher, and I dressed her, and then the Tiny Tot’s ladies told me to leave her backpack and boots. They’d be ok right where they were, they said.

Miss Kelsey did the best she could with Claire, but sometimes Claire doesn’t like to listen. She pulls the same stunt with her swim teacher, Miss Maribel. My dad, brother, and I skiied elsewhere so Claire wouldn’t get distracted. And after an hour I went to pick up Claire at the Tiny Tot’s area. Miss Kelsey gave us her report card and told us her strengths. We took a photo of the two of them, and then Miss Kelsey went off for her next lesson. I began dressing Claire, but then went to grab her boots. No boots. Looked around. Checked in her bag. Checked in my bag. No boots. Asked the lady who didn’t remember the boots. Miss Kelsey was asked. She definitely remember the boots since she took them off Claire to put on her ski boots. Still no boots. Finally the manager gave us a smaller pair of rubber boots someone left, so Claire could go to up to lunch with the three of us (who also needed a break). She said to stop by later and check; in the meantime, they’d keep looking.

I dropped Claire off with Uncle Jaime, and I walked over to the lodge where there’s a Willis Ski Shop. Gina, the clerk, said that they in deed sold children’s boots. I found a nice pair in Claire’s size, and Gina offered to hold them for me.

After lunch we tried to the skiing bit again with Claire, but she didn’t want anything to do with it. I finally got her down the mountain and into the lodge. Jaime was changing her clothes, and I ran down to Tiny Tot’s. They did indeed NOT find her boots. The manager Pam apologized profusely and proceeded to refund me the money from her lesson, so I could go upstairs and get “free” $50.00 EMU boots for my kid. Not a bad Christmas from 7Springs. Ho ho ho.