epcot.

We love JR – John Ross also known to me and my sistahs as Dad. We were goofin’ off in Epcot. The result? Here ya go!

swiss chess.

I’m home in the good old U.S.of A. now. Our tour ended April 7, but since then i’ve only been home a week. It’s so sweet to be home though. 

This day in Velsebroek was sweet and sour – we had all walked to the lake and realized it was probably the last time all of our new friends would be able to hang out with us.. The sunset was lovely, a cotton candy sky. 

I honestly wasn’t sure I was ever going to get home, but here i am. Safe and sound. And completely disconnected. I guess that will pass in time. 

Here’s an excerpt from some of my tour writing, from one of the good days. 

 

“So the first show in Bern was at a tiny club called Gaskassel – When we pulled up to it, I laughed out loud. No one, not even Trevor Sarver can ever say ‘you’re not legitimate you have no street cred” ever again.

The whole building looked like a spaceship, halfway in the ground.. Two gray half domes on each side were connected with a straight piece in the middle. There was graffiti everywhere, Tyler and I were like kids in a candy store with our cameras. Well, actually at first, the sound guy, Sascha, came out to greet us and to say ‘you’re an hour early, the city center is two minutes away, come back in an hour.’..

I found downtown Bern to be quite sweet.. It always helps when there’s a street vendor fair in the middle of any city.. Most of the time they’re all selling the same things.. Leather bracelets, antiques, flowers, doner kababs.. and crepes. I literally had the best crepe of my life at a crepe stand in Bern.

Life really isn’t what you expect sometimes, mostly in the small things. The preconceived things. Paris was where I thought I’d have the best crepe.. But the two guys running this stand proved me wrong. Perfectly cooked, a little crisp around the edge, filled with Nutella (Europe loves their nutella) and thin slices of banana topped with a dusting of powdered sugar… Jeremy and I split one, but I could have had a hundred of those.Delectable.

We watched a moment at the small crowd standing next to the crepe stand..Some standing, some sitting on benches, but all facing inward.. Tyler got closer and realized they were a bunch of old men playing a lifesize chess game.. Swiss Chess.

Fabulous…

 

 

This guy upstairs in the venue cooked us a great meal (and afterwards invited Julia and I to a ‘psychadellic drug party’ in the mountains on Saturday, but as she said, unfortunately we won’t be in the country. but thank you.’)

And as the time for the opener rolled around to play, the promoter came to inform us, no one came. We could cancel, but of course we said we’re contracted, we’ll perform for no one.. They were great, they apologized profusely about booking us on a Thursday night when there was a huge battle of the bands going on nearby.. It was a little strange, because all of us didn’t even seem upset or jolted in any way. We just packed back up, said our goodbyes and went back to rest at the hotel.

That hasn’t happened to us in the twelve years we’ve been on the road, never have we soundchecked and then packed up and left. But we were all smiles since we hadn’t slept in days.. I was giddy thinking of having a full night to rest…” 

gypsies.

Today is my first ‘day off’ in two weeks. And also my first real internet access. We’re still in Europe, and have had an action-packed twelve days in the UK.. and are now have 17 days left of our 50 day tour. My brain hurts just assembling the sentences i’m typing here. I tried all day to start editing my photos and writing my thoughts, to no avail. I’ll fill in the details soon, but for now, I’ll sum up by country.

France – different. England – charming. Scotland – love. 24 hour drive back to Holland, ugh. Back to our friend’s home in Velsebroek on the blow up mattress – priceless. Thank you Jesus for small favors. 

We are minstrels – we are gypsies. 

Until so very soon – A♥

water with bubbles.

…it seems to be the trend here in Europe. I’m not used to paying an extra 40 cents for a pack of ketchup or 1.25 for a cup of water at our meals.. but one difference I love is the bubbly mineral water that seems to be everywhere. Here was some from our dressing room in Eindhoven. 

I don’t know, I just think God at some point went “Water with bubbles?! Awesome! Amber’s going to love this!”

Maybe not.

-A.

sugarfactory.

Just thought this was cool. We had a moment, and our friend Martijn captured it

love.

it’s the hardest thing in the world. to really love the way Love is meant to be had. i’m not sure if we ever can love someone the way we were created to, but i’m going to keep trying.

my love and I in Haarlem, Netherlands in front of St. Bavo Church. We hope to see the inside of that wonderful structure tomorrow..

Clementines.

 

Clementines. I didn’t know how lovely they were.. Just these tiny little vitamin-C packed delectable baby oranges. I can’t believe I’ve never had one before now.. We were at our show in Eindhoven at this little church that our friend Deborah put on.. They had some stuff for us backstage, tea coffee and the like. And these ‘baby oranges’..

I was nervous before the show and saw Julia eating one, so I started peeling away and was delighted at how sweet they are.. I don’t know why it was such a delight, or why I feel the need to write that thought down. But I do..

I went to the market the next day and bought a bag of clementines and have been enjoying them with each meal here in the Netherlands. Tea, clementines and the Word.. Doesn’t get any better than this. 

-A♥

Hallo, Netherlands.

I am on week two of our tour through Europe. We are in the Netherlands all seven of us staying with a friend in the little town of Velserbroek..  This country is so small, but so full of life. I can’t quite place the feeling I get when I’m here. I want to know more and more of the history, but want to know the people here and now as well. It’s been nice for us, doing this whole tour on our own, to stay with our friend Peter.. This home has become our constant in the midst of strange venues and jet-lag. I think this was a good plan, so when we start to travel out to Germany, France, Italy, Austria, Great Britain and Scotland, we will be a little more prepared..

 

The first day off we had, we took our band straight to Amsterdam.. We all wanted to see Anne Frank’s House, and after two hours of searching, we found it! It was heart-breaking and inspiring in the same moment. We did spend some time in the Square in front of the Palace and I was laughing at the pigeons – they kept scavenging for food, but were so easily distracted and spooked. I tried to capture them in midflight, but I captured this moment instead. I didn’t see it until later that night.. This little guy seems so content, there in the cold with the pigeons.. I think he was as fascinated with them as I was…

I’m off to start another day, another adventure. I’m trying not to look too far ahead, and not to forget what’s happening now.

Until soon – A♥

where my mind goes.

if i could picture a peaceful place where my mind goes on rainy days, well, this would be it. at least, part of it. it’s much prettier from where i’m sitting.

sketchy..

I love trees. Always have.

And a long time ago I had dreams about floating trees..I sketch them from time to time.. and this is a prelim sketch for a tee design I did.. Not sure if it will make it to a tshirt ever, but I thought I’d share. The parasol has no significance really, i just love them as well. I hope they make a comeback!

So think about it, if fantasy could be reality, what elements would you love to see? I’d love floating trees, well, floating trees, cities, homes, vehicles.. anything that would hover or float would be wonderful. I really need to take a hot air balloon ride one of these days.. I think that will be pretty close to this. 

Until soon – A