Moonshine Junkyard

The journey begins tonight! Joey, Emily, Darin and I leave for our big Southwest jaunt at 3 a.m. Right now I am dusty, dirty, tired, and shaky. I have made 5 mixed tapes (yes, cassette tapes) and cleaned and decorated and repaired our van Isis, and cleaned our house, and listed new items on Etsy, and talked on the phone and made plans and packed every fun item we could think of, and watered my plants and baked tofu and waltzed with my cats around my house because I will sorely miss them. And now the crucial moment is here...go to sleep (be still my anxious heart) for a few hours before TAKE OFF! Tomorrow we will be driving the old Highway 50 all the way to a ghost town in southern Utah where we plan to film a short horror movie in an abandoned building. That's the plan at least. I am not able to upload photos because I ran out of space. Did you guys know that could happen?!! I bought more space so that should kick in soon. I'll show you guys our ragtag group if I have a...

The Smith Flat House has a long and wonderfully rich history. It was built in 1853 over a canyon where gold was discovered known as the Deep Blue Channel. Back then it was called the "3 Mile House" due to its distance from downtown Placerville. A blogging buddy of mine, Tina from Gold Country Girls , has written an eloquent and extensive history here . She tells all about how it was a general store and a stage stop, over the years also housing a post office, saloon, dancehall and brothel! My own sister used to live up at the end of Smith Flat Road in a tiny apartment next to the Copper Rail Bar. She was only 19 and I was 18 and we would hang out there all the time and invite all our friends over. Then I'd walk home the three miles along the pretty little creek full of falling white blossoms, exploring the old cemetery and ruined buildings along the way. I have always been intrigued by the Smith Flat House. For years (in my lifetime) it was a hote...

Hello all! I have so much news but this terrible nasty cold had the audacity to try and tackle me so I've been sort of under the weather. But I'm back! Incidentally, now that my nose is suddenly and resolutely clear I can smell things so well it stings. Meanwhile two exciting things happened: 1. We met our goal and Darin's film project, Epic Dust , is officially kickstarted ! 2. I made my 100th sale in my Etsy shop ! Okay three really, because also my mama had a birthday. To celebrate, and I don't really know why this counts as a celebration but it just sounded fun to me, I decided to show you my vintage apron collection.  But first I have to show you this pretty ruffled concoction that I wore to bake my mom a very special birthday cake that she requested. This apron is thrifted but not vintage. It brings out the girliest of my girliness, and I love it. Layers upon layers of frilly pink patterned floral ruffles!  And here is the ...

first official Dark River music video! featuring darin, joey, emily, jorden and jamie...and some camera work by yours truly. enjoy. i am loving it on this first autumn eve. Fancy Ghost by DARK RIVER from Cinema Caldera on Vimeo . happy full moon and equinox to you all!

darin's kickstarter project has only eight days left! if you have $5 or 10 to donate, oh how happy we'd be! at this point we are thrilled with the generosity the project has already received, but if we don't meet the $1500 goal, we don't get any of the pledged donations. if at all possible, please help us meet our goal! we are excited to be researching and telling stories through film based on the complex mythology and dreamscape of the Old West. read more about the whole project here . i am proud to say i am currently writing episode 4 based on the true story of gambler Charles Cora and his mistress Madame Belle Cora. i will be directing that episode as well. if you have questions about any of that junk please email me at moonshinejunkyard@gmail.com incidentally, there are also just 8 days left until we take off on our big southwest journey! i will definitely keep you posted on those plans. and here is a wee little video darin and i made of a certain vaud...

the other day we went out to a field in the woods at becky's dad's property to make a good old-fashioned music video. darin directs. i run around being a dork. it's a tough job but someone's gotta do it. and the musicians are as follows: DARK RIVER BAND joey, songwriter, guitar, vocs. emily, vocs: darin, bass (didn't get a pic of him playing though) jamie, trumpet. and jorden, drums. darin is working on editing the video and i hope to be able to post it tomorrow, cross my fingers! it is so beautiful and cool, the previews i've seen are KILLING me! my hub is a talented director and the song, called "fancy ghost" is so haunting. it was fun being out in the country with the dogs. jorden and becky's dogs, tilly and dakota. good pals. it was also the day we got to see the first ultrasound pics of baby mingle! proud parents jorden and becky share a sweet moment: my legs got al...