I think, by most conventional measures, I lead a quiet life: I'm happiest in my house, tending to manuscripts and spreadsheets and correspondence, interlaced with spurts of housework and sneaking glances at tennis scoreboards and petting/mocking the other two residents here.

And yet within the sedate routines there is so much going on that I don't even know where to start. So in no particular order, some recent pleasures and joys:

Finally picked up John Hiatt's The Open Road. First heard the title song a year and a half ago during John's first public performance of it, and it's a keeper: it goes on maybe a minute too long for my taste, but up until then, it's perfect in every way, orchestration and lyrics and all.

Also used the gift card on Pierce Pettis's That Kind of Love. I've been thinking a lot lately about how connections are made and sustained, both friendship-wise and in terms of what clicks with us musically: I discovered Pierce's music via Dar Williams's rendition of "Family," and through Pierce, I've since sought out the music of Mark Heard (Pierce opens every album with a Mark Heard song).

I think Pierce was also the reason I was at the Bluebird some four or five years ago when he was in the round with (I think) Tom Kimmel, Peter Cooper, and Marshall Chapman, which came up in a conversation last week about Marshall (she has a book coming out this fall, which includes an interview with Hiatt, if I heard right), which made me realize it had been way too long since I'd been to the 'Bird. So I went last night, with a friend, to hear Marshall, Peter Cooper, Tommy Womack, Shannon Wright, and John Bird (sp? - older session guitarist, from what I gather, who came in at the last minute because Shannon's husband double-booked himself elsewhere by accident), along with Peter being spelled for a ballad by Eric Brace. Good stuff, and Tommy's Alpha Male and the Canine Mystery Blood had the crowd howling.

More reasons I love Nashville: Sunday, after church, I headed to Lazziz, a Persian restaurant and market. In addition to lunch, I also picked up some goodies:

From photoblogging

From photoblogging

On my way to/from Lazziz, I passed a store devoted to African fabrics, which was near a shop advertising "Latino tires."

Taiwanese and Taiwanese-American players are having a great run at Wimbledon: Rendy Lu upset Andy Roddick to reach the quarterfinals, and Vania King (with Yaroslava Shvedova) won her doubles QF match this morning.

I'll do a separate entry in a day or three on the videos shown at church from General Assembly. If my day stays more or less on its rails, I'm planning to go to a presentation tonight on daily life in Palestine (by a Lutheran pastor).

And speaking of keeping my day on its rails, I'd best get on with it. Hope this finds all y'all well.