Join us in the Del Ray neighborhood of Alexandria, Virginia for the “First Thursday” this coming, um, Thursday August 2nd. We will be singing at 6:30, 7:30 and 8:30pm at the corner of Mt. Vernon Ave and Oxford Street. For you insiders, that’s the small parking lot where the Del Ray Farmers Market is held each Saturday morning. Join us for song and buy our new CD!
When she’s not practicing law or vocal music, long time Venus member Betsy Erickson finds she has become a professional driver of teens. Here’s a recent view from the road:
Having just returned from two trips with my teenaged daughter (to attend sports tournaments in Pennsylvania and Florida), I was reflecting on the difference between traveling with the kids now and when they were younger. Before, we used to listen to lots of tapes (remember cassette tapes?) or, later, CDs – mostly songs, storytellers, or even recorded books. (Harry Potter was a favorite.) My oldest son (now 21) fondly recalls many of those silly songs and stories that we listened to over and over. The kids managed to stay interested most of the time, we sang together and talked, and even survived the drive to North Dakota one summer. But now, it’s a whole new world. We might as well be on separate trips. The teenagers are completely absorbed with their electronic devices, and any interruption by a parent is viewed as a HUGE irritation. If Eye-Rolling and Exasperated Sighing were Olympic sports, my daughter would be a champion! -Betsy
Venus d Minor Altos Robin Sloan Kristin Bass
A summer wine review from Venus member Robin Sloan (on the left in blue in this lovely photo).
We’ve all heard about 2 Buck Chuck and given the state of the economy, we thought we’d try some. Well it cost a little over 3 Bucks and it wasn’t very good and we had to cross the river to buy it. However, during our discussion with the Trader Joe’s wine guy – he may have thought it was flirting, but it was merely a discussion about wine – we (I) discovered several tasty and very inexpensive wines. Given that I prefer sauvignon blanc from the Marlboro region of New Zealand or some place in Chile, I focused my attention on sauvignon blanc. The wine guy’s favorite is Bay Moon, 2011 from Monterey, California. Go figure! At a mere $5.99 a bottle, I decided to take one for a test drive. It passed with flying colors. Very smooth and light, not too citrusy – although, I do enjoy the citrusy stuff. He also suggested Vinas Chilenas Reserve, 2011 from Chile. Very crisp, lots of citrus, and WAIT . . . is that $3.99 price tag for real???? The only thing that would make this wine better is a twist off top. So there you have it, two great, inexpensive wines from Trader Joe’s. Cheers! -Robin
As many of our fans know, we write the odd bit of poetry when we’re not singing close harmony tunes. Here’s a haiku from Venus member Patti Gaston (pictured here, on the right; that’s Dolores on the left), in honor of the recent storm and massive power loss in our Washington, D.C. area:
Felled by Derecho
Where’s the power company?
Am I their last house?
But Venus sings on
We can rehearse in the dark
Our songs needs no light
You bought the CD, you came to the launch concert, and you still want More Venus! Now you can hear us live on the streets of Alexandria at Del Ray First Thursday on August 2nd, between 6 and 9PM. More details will be posted here and on our “Events” tab.
Venus d Minor 