Birth Playlist

So, for all of those who don't already know this about me, I kind of like music.  Although my loved ones would say that this is a giant understatement, I know that there are others out there who are way bigger enthusiasts and could teach me a thing or two about the complex world of melodic art.

However, I know that there have been times in my life where music was my lifeline. I have had days where it felt as though the only thing that could get me through that tough time was that one song, that one album, that one chord, that one beat.

And the intensity of my love is not reserved only for those bad days.  Some of my best of times have been accompanied by extraordinary soundtracks as well.  One of which I will talk about in this entry.

I breathe music, feed on music, I live on music.  It has been a lifeline of mine since as long as I can remember.  I believe that this part of me comes from both the nature and nurture of my family, which is full of musicians and geeks like me.

If there was ever anything that I can get really "geeked" out about, it's the latest and the greatest of the indie, alt-country, bluegrass, or folk scene. (Although I do use these genre terms to describe different bands, I will be the first to tell you that I don't like to "categorize" or "label" an artist.  Mostly because their styles can change and surprise overnight.)

That being said, it was no surprise to my husband when I began to compile a list of songs to accompany us over the tiny speakers of our iPod player during one of the biggest days of our lives; the birth of our son, Dylan.

Oh, and while I'm talking about Dylan, have I ever mentioned that he is named after one of the greatest?  Yes, that Dylan.  Bob.

Neither Dave, nor I can remember what song was playing when our sweet baby came into this world but we do recall really enjoying having the music in the background while I labored and he coached.  For me, it was soothing and comforting in the way a warm bath can be.  For him, it was relaxing and a good distraction during some of the more intense parts of a contraction when he couldn't (even though he wanted to) take the pain away.

While I was pushing, I listened to the music and tried to list the name of each song and artist in my head, along with some random trivia that I knew about that particular artist.  This was my own form of "visualization" and it began to trickle out of my mouth and into some of the funnier conversations that were being whispered in the delivery room.

After pushing for nearly two hours, I was exhausted and began to either fall asleep or go into a crazy state of delirium in between contractions.  During one impending contraction, my eyes popped open after a three second state of unconsciousness and I blurted out, "Whoa.  I just had a dream that Nick Drake and Thom Yorke were friends."  The room was quiet.  Dave chuckled and shook his head.  And everyone else looked at me inquisitively, as though I had worms crawling out of my skull.

For any other music geeks out there you know that it is nearly impossible that Thom Yorke and Nick Drake would have ever even crossed paths as Drake had given all the music he could to this world before tragically passing away in 1974, when Thom Yorke (lead singer of Radiohead) was only six.

This random fact helped me push my way through that contraction, getting us one step closer to seeing our baby boy.  All the while, Nick Drake's beautiful and haunting "Pink Moon" hummed in the background.

And now that we are expecting our second baby, I, of course, updated and added to our birth playlist.  It is now a list of 92 songs that I have personally selected because it evokes some sort of emotion in me that I believe will help me survive the labor.  And it will help Dave stay relaxed enough so that he can be my rock, just like he was last time.

I am sharing all of this with you because, just as I know many of you are also avid music fans, I have also received the heartwarming news this month that four of my loved ones are pregnant.  And while this playlist can serve as a simple guide to some good artists and relaxing background tunes, I also wanted to share it with fellow expectant mothers who may be looking for some tracks to help them through their own deliveries. So here it is, a list for all of those who could use some relaxing playlist ideas, be they for a good day, a hard day, a chill day, a work day, or for the beautiful day you finally get to meet your new tiny human.... I hope you enjoy.

1. "January Wedding"-The Avett Brothers
2. "Momsong"-The Be Good Tanyas
3. "Here Comes the Sun"- The Beatles
4. "Beautiful World"- Colin Hay
5. "I Just Don't Think I'll Ever Get Over You"- Colin Hay
6. "Landslide"- Fleetwood Mac
7. "Horsey"- Hem
8. "Half Acre"- Hem
9. "Great High Mountain"- Jack White
10. "Wayfaring Stranger"- Jack White
11. "Sitting on Top of the World"- Jack White
12. "Never Far Away"- Jack White
13. "Hallelujah"- Jeff Buckley
14. "Going California"- Led Zeppelin
15. "Pink Moon"- Nick Drake
16. "Time has Told Me"- Nick Drake
17. "I Will"- Alison Krauss
18. "This Place is Haunted"- DeVotchka
19. "Sweet Pea"- Bearfoot Bluegrass
20. "The Blackest Crow"- Bearfoot Bluegrass
21. "Roslyn"- Bon Iver & St. Vincent
22. "Skinny Love"- Bon Iver
23. "Blindsided"- Bon Iver
24. "Flume"- Bon Iver
25. "The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades"- Sufjan Stevens
26. "Troubled Mind"- Yonder Mountain String Band
27. "Wind's On Fire"- Yonder Mountain String Band
28. "Solitaire"- Wilco
29. "Please Be Patient With Me"- Wilco
30. "Radio Cure"- Wilco
31. "Georgia On My Mind"- Ray Charles
32. "Stolen Car"- Patty Griffin
33. "Place to Be"- Nick Drake
34. "Horn"- Nick Drake
35. "Saturday Sun"- Nick Drake
36. "When they Ring the Golden Bells"- Natalie Merchant
37. "New Hampshire"- Matt Pond PA
38. "Godspeed (sweet dreams)"- Dixie Chicks
39. "Dogsong AKA Sleep Dog Lullaby"- The Be Good Tanyas
40. "Oh Susanna"- The Be Good Tanyas
41. "Angel Standing By"- Jewel
42. "Playing Dead"- Breathe Owl Breathe
43. "Boat"- Breathe Owl Breathe
44. "Sea of Love"- Cat Power
45. "Down in the Willow Garden"- Bon Iver (Tribute to the Chieftains)
46. "My Father's Father"- The Civil Wars
47. "Northward Bound"- Cold Country
48. "Om Nashi Me"- Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros
49. "Simplest Love"- Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros
50. "Hard Times"- Gillian Welch
51. "Black Star"- Gillian Welch
52. "Canned Goods"- Greg Brown
53. "Calling All Angels"- Jane Siberry
54. "Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)- John Lennon
55. "Hideaway"- Karen O and the Kids
56. "Worried Shoes"- Karen O and the Kids
57. "Clean Getaway"- Maria Taylor
58. "Ruth Marie"- Mark Kozelek
59. "Dreaming"- Melody Walker
60. "Harvest Moon"- Neil Young
61. "Across the Universe"- Fiona Apple
62. "I Wish My Baby Was Born"- Riley Baugus/Tim Erickson/Tim O'Brien
63. "Bookends"- Simon and Garfunkel
64. "Pancho & Lefty"- Townes Van Zandt
65. "All my days"- Alexi Murdoch
66. "Song for You"- Alexi Murdoch
67. "Orange Sky"- Alexi Murdoch
68. "The Long Road"- Eddie Vedder
69. "One Sunday Morning"- Wilco
70. "Comptine d'un autre été- l'après-midi"- Yann Tiersen
71. "La valse d'Amelie (piano version)- Yann Tiersen
72. "Ohio"- Patty Griffin
73. "Holocene"- Bon Iver
74. "Perth"- Bon Iver
75. "Selah"- Lauryn Hill
76. "The Face of Love"- Eddie Vedder
77. "Everest"- Ani DiFranco
78. "All my Mistakes"- The Avett Brothers
79. "Let it Be"- The Beatles
80. "Within you Without You"- the Beatles
81. "May this Be Love"- Jimi Hendrix
82. "32 Flavors"- Ani DiFranco
83. "Redemption Song"- Bob Marley
84. "Fake Plastic Trees"- Radiohead
85. "This Years Love"- David Gray
86. "Ice Cream"- Sarah McLachlan
87. "Rainy Night in Georgia"- Hem
88. "Betting on Trains"- Hem
89. "First Day of My Life"- Bright Eyes
90. "Pretty Fair Maid"- Emma Beaton & Celtic Chaos
91. "Calling Cards"- Neko Case
92. "Section 8 City"- Andrew Bird

Bittersweet Break: Dempsey Mining 2013

When in Mineral Creek, we Dempsey's often comment on all the work we put into the gold operation.  We like to whine and complain, sometimes in a joking manner, sometimes not, that all the planning and effort that we put forth better be payed off with some serious gold.  And while we are half-serious, we also know that there is a very good chance that our hopes and dreams may not come to fruition.  But I think that knowing that and continuing to dig in the dirt, is what makes someone a miner.... or totally off their rocker, either one.

It is a gamble really.  There are definite geological signs that can give away gold's hiding place.  Things like quartz veins in bedrock can signify that some nuggets and dust are inconspicuously laying inside it's cracks.  But these signs don't always 'pan' out.  There is probably more searching and not finding than there is searching and hitting the jackpot.  There are a lot of ups and downs in mining.  It is very bi-polar and can make you feel as though you are too.

This year was no exception.  In fact, our outcome was exactly the same as last year (minus the flood drama)... right down to the decimal place... right down to the hundredth of an ounce.  It was eerie really.

And so, as I left Valdez's backcountry this summer, I couldn't help but wonder if that was going to be the last time I sat in that valley and watched the sun rise above the mountains from that angle.  Or the last time I drove through the trickling waters of Brevier Creek.  I left in the middle of the season.  I returned home with Dave so that he could go back to the slope and Dylan and I could nest and get ready for the new baby's arrival.

The rest of the Dempsey crew stayed and worked relentlessly for the remaining 36 days of the season.  My brother-in-law, Kevin, made the 2400 mile trek from Eugene, Oregon to help with the operation.  Dave returned for his final week in mid-August.  And I collected text messages and quick phone calls from them as I stayed home in Anchorage.  Their last few weeks at camp were pretty straight forward with only minor breakdowns and repairs, but nothing as alarming as last year's crazy rainfall.  They operated a little bit differently this year and did clean up's every few days as opposed to once a week.  Our fuel usage was down this year and the weather was so nice that it was almost off-putting.

When Dave left on his last unceremonious day, he said it was the same as every other time.  Bittersweet.  He was tired, burnt out and a little homesick.  But he was still not sure if we would be returning to that particular claim next year or not, which made him nostalgic and sad.  And every time he drives away from camp, he is always very uneasy about leaving his co-workers.  He worries about their well-being and the unrelenting Valdez rain that can flash-flood that valley overnight.  So he returned home with mixed feelings and told me about the crew's collective thoughts about Mineral Creek.

We all had been thinking the same thing... perhaps that Mineral Creek is mined out.  Or, perhaps, it is simply too small for our operation.  Or too far away.  Or perhaps it wasn't the claim at all.  Perhaps it was us.  The Dempsey crew might need a change.  We all hold a special place in our hearts for Mineral Creek and, boy, does it skip a beat when we think of all of it's hidden treasure.  But with the recent realization that we had pulled out the exact same amount of gold as last year, we couldn't help but think that maybe it was mother nature's way of telling us to move on.  We Dempsey's are very superstitious and looked at the numbers on the scale... being the exact same.... right down to the hundredth of the ounce... as a telltale sign that there was nothing beyond those numbers in that valley for us.

Needless to say, the discussion has moved on to other claims.  And, although our second season just ended, we are all leaning towards the possibility that a different claim, in a different location, might very well be in our future.  Dave and Doctor Dan are scouring the internet for available claims and are keeping their minds open as far as which direction we wish to go; north, south, east, west... the possibilities are endless.

We have all mentioned that we could use next summer as a "scouting" summer and take some time out for our families and for some good old Alaska summer fun... Like fishing.  I haven't been fishing in two years.  I like to point that little factoid out to Dave when he talks about how much he wishes there was less mining and more play.  "I agree!"  I eagerly say.  "I mean I haven't been fishing in, like, two years!  Or camping with my friends!  Or to Seward for Fourth of July."  Not that I'm bitter about it or anything.  Poor Dave.  Sometimes when I hear myself whine, I think, My God, he's patient.  I married a good one.

For now, Dempsey Mining is on it's winter hiatus, and season 2014 is underworks.  Some major changes are taking place.  Doctor Dan is now retired and he and Rita will be wintering in Saint George, Utah.  Dave and I will be welcoming our second baby into the world any day now.  And Mineral Creek may very well be in our rearview.  Oh, and we are selling the FreeSpirit this spring and upgrading to something a little nicer.  So if you know anyone that wants a camper....

In all seriousness though, it does feel like the end of an era in a way.  I am going to miss that majestic, coastal valley.  And I will always cherish the precious family memories that we made on that beautiful piece of Alaskan soil.  I want to shout to that valley.  You were great!  It's not you... it's me!  There is still the chance that Mineral Creek may still lure us back in... it does have it's tantalizing ways.  But, for now, we have grown apart.  We are on a break, and Dempsey Mining is single and back on the market.  I will try to keep you posted on our "relationship status."

Dear friends, thanks for reading and being patient with me in between my blog entries.  I hope to post some videos and a slideshow soon.