Apologies to Midge Ure - the title of this blog is the beginning lyrics to his song "Call of the Wild." But, autumn has begun in the Pacific Northwest, with some wild windy days and leaves turning all sorts of colors, then blowing 
off in that wild wind and whirling around like fragmented dervishes.And, my youngest brother, sister-in-law, and I went down to Seattle
at the end of August to a Midge Ure concert. We're all fans, Midge is wonderful on stage, and, well, 
why not?We had a wonderful time - Midge Ure sang with Ultravox back in the 1980s. (British/Scottish group.) This was
at a
club sort of setting - my brother had booked a booth for us, we were
right dead center, and I somehow was under a spotlight. So I swear Midge
and I were making eye contact half the concert!!! And in the words of my sister-in-law, he is HOT!!!
Really, a Scottish troubadour with a twinkle in his eye, a personality that engages the audience and shines from the stage, and a 
voice that caresses the music as his fingers dance on the guitar strings. So making eye contact with him across a room? Definitely worth every minute and every glance!!!My brother actually has met him - brother has been doing sound systems since about age 12, he's just a techie sound sort of guy. Ivan specializes in live sound, and works for some big fancy sound system company on product development, testing, and sound system installation and sales. (You can tell that I have only a vague understanding of the technical side of live music performances.) Anyway, so it's always interesting to go to a concert with him, because he'll notice things that most of us don't. For example, I told him I thought the instruments were miked too high and drowning out the vocals, he agreed and pointed out that one backup vocalist's mic was turned off!!! I mean, does everyone notice that some mics never got turned on??? I wouldn't be likely to notice such a thing. At one point, Ivan also tracked some of the sound on his phone, doing some graph of the mix or something.
So, it was a good show for the first half, only because Midge finally stopped asking the sound guy to fix something, and just sang over the instruments. The man has a set of lungs on him!!!
The three of us went to another Midge Ure concert back in 2014 - and of course, I blogged about it. (Richard isn't fond of his music, so he doesn't come along.) Here's the link for anyone who is interested:
http://rollingluggagers.blogspot.com/2014/09/a-modern-troubadour-with-guitar.html
Then, the second half
was Paul Young, who, well, might have been 
a little drunk, or just took a
while to get into being on stage. He just didn't have much stage
presence. And he's a bit more pop than old school rock, so not so much
to my personal taste. He livened up after a bit. He also had his own unique on-stage bit, where he'd pick up the entire mic stand and twirl it like a baton! Seriously, twirling out to the side, over his head, whatever! Teachers and parents in the audience all thinking "OMG, someone is going to get hurt!" Yeah, we're no longer in our 20s or 30s, so our thoughts aren't how cool this is - just the potential for injury!
But for us, Midge really was the highlight of the concert. (And the photos of him are all from the internet - I don't take photos during concerts, it's distracting.)
I found a couple of reviews of Midge Ure - from 2017: http://backbeatseattle.com/2017/02/13/show-review-photos-midge-ure-the-triple-door/
And from 2018: https://www.columbusunderground.com/concert-preview-interview-midge-ure-gw1
The other highlight was this past weekend, when we drove out to Yakima, in the center of the state. Yakima is surrounded by a ridge of hills, almost like an ancient volcanic 
caldera, providing the valley with protection from storms and rain, creating almost a micro-environment. The area is dry hills and sage brush, but the valley itself is fairly fertile, and grows something like 70% of the hops used for brewing beer worldwide. Really, Yakima hops were used for the beer served at Prince Harry and 
Megan Markle's wedding this year!My middle brother, Howard, is our person. He gets our mail, scans and emails anything important, deposits any checks, all that "business" stuff that happens in life. So we keep a storage unit in Yakima. This year, I was
determined to downsize a bit. Richard and I spent a couple of hours at the storage place, and I managed to empty out four boxes worth of stuff. Enough to fill a huge garbage bag with clothes, shoes, and a few other items that I no longer want to save. 
Fortunately, there were those big clothing donation boxes near the storage place, so it was easy to donate the items for people who need them. (Side note - I often include a bar of soap or two in boxes of clothing - it helps keep things smelling fresh. But I seem to have developed
an allergy to lavender soap, my favorite. So those went into the donation bag. If you make donations of clothing, consider adding bars of soap and other 
toiletries - they are very helpful for the recipients.) Anyway, readers and probably puzzled by the photos, and how this relates to our trip to Yakima.
My sister-in-law, Howard's wife, had planned a surprise party for his 60th birthday. Not exactly on the actual date, but close enough. Just a date when friends and family could be there.
And since her husband, my brother, was turning 60, well, it made perfect sense to have a 1960s theme for the party!!!
It was great! Tie-dye fabric for table cloths! Wine bottles filled with water and food dye, with a couple of strands of beads wrapped around, and of course fresh flowers in the bottles! Yummy food, some reminiscent of the 60s (Lipton onion soup mix chip dip, anyone?). And of course the music of the times, from the Beatles and the Stones to Jefferson Airplane and Jimi Hendrix (who is from Seattle, WA!).
Some of us just went into our closets or luggage and pulled out embroidered tops or tie dye tee shirts and jeans. Maybe found some pale pink lipstick, and some fake flowers for a garland.
But others went all out, complete with wigs and clothes from the time.
Yeah, Ivan and Lisa won the prize for the best costumes!!! They actually walked into the room, and I didn't recognize them for a moment! I mean, this is my youngest brother, I was 8 yrs old when he was born! I've known him all his life! And I officiated at Ivan and Lisa's wedding last summer! So you'd think I could recognize both of them, despite the wigs and granny glasses. Nope, it took a moment or two! It really was funny!
It was a wonderful weekend, with a lot of just hanging out with the family, including my now-adult nephew who lives in Yakima, and my niece and her husband (the ones who were married in Hawaii two years ago). Lots of talking and laughing, fueled by all kinds of drinks and way too much food. And the best mint brownies ever.
Then a long drive back through the mountain passes, where it was windy and rainy and dramatic. Couldn't even see the tops of the mountains as we drove by, nor from the rest area once we were through the passes. But hey, at least it wasn't snowy.
We're back in Bellingham, finishing up doctor visits and trying to decide where to next. This week is rainy and chilly, reminding us that we need to move on. By mid-October, this corner of the country will be in full autumn mode. That means daily temps in the 50-60 F (10-15 C), and wet. Rainy. Foggy. Drizzly. And grey. As much as I love this area in summer, once that cold wet grey weather moves in, I need to be gone. We both do.
We're mulling over possible places, and will come to a decision soon. We'll pack our bags, give Ivan the boxes with our cold weather clothes, and we'll be gone.
And that's about it for now. It's been fun, but it's getting time for moving on.
