Behind the scenes: Valina and Ross celebrated their 15th wedding anniversary with a lunch date to the Sauer Kraut Grill, followed by a road trip to Brenham to gorge themselves on Bluebell Ice Cream. They had their first date 16 years ago in July at the Bluebell 100th anniversary, so Bluebell is a tradition! Valina has been writing music again, and these original songs need a place where the duo can feel them out with a live audience, and what better place than The Sauer Kraut Grill: their favorite Imbiss (German quick service restaurant) in Richmond, Texas? The two newest songs are different from all the others she's written. One of them is quite the challenge to figure out instrumentation, because it has such a pop music feel. The second song that she wrote just last night has an Americana vibe to it. Possibly a good two stepper. We'll see how they evolve as the band works on arranging them. Ross has been doing odd jobs for people, making repairs here and there. Right now, he's aging some wood for an antique style German sleigh bed frame. With all the new arrangements and original songs, there is a lot of rehearsing and hashing going on in the studio. Valina spends a lot of time working on the band promotions, graphics for new merchandise (Do you need a new t-shirt? They're hot off the press, and pictured below), handling Oktoberfest paperwork, managing the band's travel logistics, and building the 2024 trip to Europe. *One of the biggest hurdles now that things are open for travel again, is getting pricing. Communication with the hotels began in January, but they are just now getting back with price ranges. Nailing the right hotel down in each region is important before the actual itinerary and pricing can be finalized. Logistics for the bus, the driver's (required by German law) days off, having a place to play live music, and maximizing the time to visit each region with free time for exploring on your own all effect the planning. Every tour is planned to allow time to have a drink, relax and take in the flavors and culture of the places we visit.
Valina's Mom was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer in early January. She's been taking her treatments like a champ, even though they are causing discomfort, and have totally robbed her of her love for chocolate, cheese, and many other foods. On March 22, she got great news that the tumor is getting smaller, and the cancer is responding to the treatments. The last treatment she received in late April was especially brutal, and she was down for about 2 weeks, zero appetite and strange reactions to even such basics as water. She started feeling much better a couple of days after Mother's Day, and has been back out partying as much as she can since. She even hung out at the Sauer Kraut Grill on May 27 for 6 hours! She's in a much better mood, but is becoming wary of the next step in treatment with a lumpectomy coming in June. She's looking forward to later this summer when the surgery should remove the remaining offending bits, and getting to heal. We're all continuing to pray for her, and for Wim as he navigates all the chaos around his wife of 59 years. Thank you for keeping them in your prayers! Some of you have been such wonderful support to her, and we're all very thankful!