The Life of Glory

 Friday, March 4, 2011  It had been a few weeks since I watched my favorite dog, River Tam, get hit by a car. The dynamics of my household were all out of whack and too blue. So, while Emily was in school, I went to High Sierra Animal Rescue "just to look" at some dogs I had seen on their website. Of course, I fell in love with a funny looking, skinny dog I hadn't even considered, who had a cone on his head and tiny little dreadlocks. He was the only dog who didn't bark at me when I walked down the isle. He just stood there wagging his whole body and looking up at me. So that Friday I brought a 2 1/2 year old "Scampy" home and he hated his name. Seriously, this dog rolled his eyes at me when I said Scampy and proceeded to ignore me as much as possible for days. Emily and I tried name after name after name. I really wanted to name him Winston or Knightly, but neither he nor Emily liked those. So, on a chance, I called him "honey" when he w...

I was sent home early from work yesterday and immediately went to get some very important get-better-faster groceries on a small budget. Apples, Grapes, Bread, Soup, and chicken. Today I'll be bringing on the decongestants and pineapple juice! My head feels horrible and I have to sing tomorrow night! Here's a little staple of mine: My Get Well Chicken Salad Sandwhich one part shredded chicken         (or mashed chick peas for my vegan friends) one part chopped apples one part sliced grapes one part chopped celery a couple dashes of salt and pepper a spot of mustard just enough mayonnaise (or vegenaise) to coat everything two slices of bread (potato bread in this case) and VOILA! I will NOT end up in a hospital for this one!

 My Katie Lew is having baby #2:  I am one of those people who becomes Auntie to all of my friend's kids and I absolutely love it! This sleepy little girl was a bit less smiley and a lot bigger than the last time I saw her! I managed to capture a silly moment with Kaylee (who didn't want to smile for a picture) in a blurry, but adorable selfie. Her mom caught a great shot of us too! I do believe that was a baby Kaylee kiss I was getting there. Sweet girl! Love being her Aunt Kelly! Can't wait to meet Kenzie too!  Joyfully watching them grow up

  Saturday. May 11, 2013   #latergram   It's days like this that I love being single and living in Plumas County. I can just hit the trail and be undistracted from the beauty I see. Like this lovely fallen tree just offshore at Big Bear Lake. It was so peaceful sitting there; these gorgeous feminine lines and amazing sun bleached textures, with water lapping against its wood as I stared off at a snowcapped mountain view and listened to birds sing... It was one of those beautiful moments where you think of nothing but what is right in front of you and revel in its charm.  I should really do this more often  

 April 28, 2013  I couldn't wait to see Henry, but when we walked in he was more excited to see Abby than me. Even after she left he gave me the cold shoulder for a couple days. To top that off, after not seeing him for 2 months, his hair was shaved off and I hardly recognized him! (This probably didn't help the reunion). So before he warmed up to me, he warmed up to my clean laundry (as you can see below) and only then decided that he still loved me. Sadly, I had to leave him again that weekend to pick up my new (used) car in Auburn and play a gig in Reno. Poor dog.  I stayed a couple of nights with my friends in Auburn and played at an open mic night for fun.  T hen, to conclude the adventures of my tour, I drove off in my white 2002 VW Passat on May 9 .  Thank you Mike Zunich and Kelly Roberts for saving my music career! ...Or at least the gigs I have scheduled for the rest of this year. I now have cruise control for the first time EVER, plus a sunroo...

Here we go! One more long day of driving in a rental car and I made it to Monterey, CA on April 24 . I played in Santa Cruz on the gorgeous wharf at Vino Prima that Friday, the Mucky Duck downtown Monterey Saturday and was on the radio on Sunday morning in Watsonville, CA!  I was on the radio ! One of my facebook fans had hooked me up with this spot on KPIG radio's Please Stand By  and I must admit I got nervous on my way there that Sunday morning. Then when I arrived I discovered that I was the first of four bands/artists to be on the show and took a deep breath. They were all a bit tired and I didn't quite know what I was doing, but it seemed to go smoothly. I got applauses from the people in the studio after each of the three songs I performed. We laughed, we talked, I sang and if you listen closely you can hear a car alarm going off in the background during La La & Let it Go. Oh yes, you can listen to the whole thing (at least the whole part of the part I was on...

 The day the music almost died  I left Texas and made my way to Arizona to see the family I used to nanny in California. The kids didn't know I was coming, so when they saw me in the morning it was a pretty fun surprise! However, when I went to leave on April 18 my car didn't want to. So I pulled off and texted Trina, "I have a problem." She directed me to a mechanic and boy did that mechanic go above and beyond for me! Still, Vada wasn't worth saving. Her tires were ready to go, and things were falling apart (literally). I tried every avenue I could to get a new car and failed miserably, so I gave up. I went to bed ready to cancel all of my scheduled gigs, move to AZ and find a job to save till I could afford something. It was either be stranded there or at my parents' place and the job market seemed better in Prescott. Then a friend came to my rescue and told me her boyfriend was selling his car in Auburn CA and voila! I had a plan! I spent extra days wit...

 April 13: Miller Time  I spent the morning/afternoon in the studio with Kirk and Matt before heading to my next stop. It was an easier 6 hour drive to McKinney, TX and I got to spend some time with my dear friends, Tooti and Twinkie Miller. I had such an amazing couple of days with them and their beautiful mom, May. They showed me around town; we talked, we laughed, we ate gelato and yummy food. They introduced me to the joy of watching Arthur and gave me such an itch to see The Tourist that I bought it when I couldn't find it in any Red Box near my parent's place! (Good choice by the way) Extraordinary women! I look forward to seeing them when they visit California in a couple months! 

 April 12  Now, before we leave Tennessee on this exploration of my tour, I have to mention my show at the  Blind Bear Speakeasy . Unfortunately I have no pictures from this night, but it was the "cat's pajamas!"  I had never been there before but the owners and staff were amazing when I met them and I was feeling pretty good about it.  A couple of my friends had arrived and I was getting started on my first set. There was some sort of party going on with a steady flow of people. The table nearest my perch was talking to me and things seemed great. Then, as the first hour passed, I noticed the room get emptier. Then more and more groups of people were coming in, walking up to the bar and turning around and leaving.  "Oh no!" I thought, "I'm scaring people away! They're going to be so upset they paid me to play tonight! I should have gotten a full band," etc. I really started to panic inside, but kept playing through my repertoire.  In bet...

 Hello April!   (both the month and my beautiful friend April Green whose house I stayed at when I got back) I returned to Memphis the evening of April 1 st and the rest of my time in Tennessee was quickly filled with hours in the STUDIO! Kirk Smith was amazing to work with and all the pre-production help he gave me before this made our time in the studio a lot smoother than I had expected. See, I am NOT good at playing guitar in time and a producer who can get me to play in time is, seriously, the BIZ-NESS ! Not to mention the fact that his arrangement "suggestions" made my songs even better! Then we brought in my friend Matt Fritzler to play some percussion on some songs, as well as Chaz Mattison on the shaker. I couldn't have dreamt of better people to work with on this project! Now, I am looking forward to a day when I can play with people LIVE to re-create the magic we made in the studio (it's THAT awesome!) - Beyond excited! 

 March 26  After the wedding and another day of pre-production with producer/engineer Kirk Smith, I hit the road again to visit my Cole family in North Carolina. Another 12 hour day of driving and I was refreshed by family once again. I have known the Cole's for about 12 years now. They "adopted" me when I was in Jr High and I became a part of their family, spending much of my time with them. I used to babysit all five kids PLUS others (sometimes up to 9 kids at once!) and I absolutely LOVED it. My siblings are all grown up now! Three of them are out of high school and only one of them, I believe, is still shorter than me. It is so fun getting to know the amazing young men and women they have become! I spent a glorious week with them! With the impromptu concert, getting a little help from two of my brothers with a couple of my songs, and playing worship music with the fam, I enjoyed a beautiful Easter week! Even surviving yet another neuromuscular episode. That...

 Saturday, March 23  The Day of the Wedding: I was fine...and then I wasn't. " It was time to start lining up to walk down the isle. I was one of the bridesmaids and my back started having painful muscle spasms. I thought I could push through it at first, but when I stood up to go get in line my legs fell underneath me and forced me to sit back down. Tears began to fill my eyes as I realized that I was going to miss the ceremony. One of my best friends was getting married and I was going to miss it. I was happy beyond words for her as she stood arm in arm with her father ready to walk. She looked over her shoulder, giving me the okay to stay behind. I wept. I knew this was likely to happen when I woke up that morning, but it snuck up on me and caught me off guard at the worst possible time. The spasms increased as I listened to the processional from my little room. The bride's uncle and his wife stayed at my side and talked me through each painful set of spasms. The...

 Sunday, March 17  I watched the sun rise in New Mexico and set in Arkansas. I got pulled over and harassed in Texas with a stupid warning about my license plate border, and finally after 15 hours of driving (and one hour lost in time change) I made it to the Bride in TN. I hadn't seen my beloved Angela for THREE YEARS and I have got to say I miss her again! Going to the dog park with her and her, now, husband and dogs made me miss my dog, but he'll just have to come with me next time!  T uesday brought the start of pre-production on my new album and wedding festivities were underway. Then things got really exciting! ...   

A couple nights' stay in Burbank, CA with a good friend, one delicious venison spaghetti meal, and I was off to my next stop. After 12 hours of driving, and a gorgeous Arizona sunset, I made it to Albuquerque, NM on March 15 . The following night I had another house concert scheduled, and it was wonderful. I spent the day getting everything ready with my amazing hosts (she made some delicious food) and the evening brought a small crowd of invited guests and a beautiful lit up pond as my backdrop. I even had a school of fish to listen in on the music AND an impromptu banjo concert from one of the guests! It was magical. Such wonderful people! Definitely need to make good on their offer to raise money to get me back out there soon! Love them!    

I left San Jose and headed to Monterey to play at the Mucky Duck on March 10 . I gained some new fans and saw some friends. I even got to spend a couple of days in town and went kayaking for the first time. What a place to kayak! There were sea otters ! Smelly sea lions too, but otters are much cuter. It was so peaceful out on the water, especially in a small floating apparatus that allowed me to stick my feet in the water. Rowing through the ocean swells, my muscles happy to be used again, the sea air blowing in my face, it was wonderful.  Thankful for the friend who took me!   

 March 9, 2013  The tour kicked off with one whimsical backyard concert in San Jose, CA. My hosts had decorated their backyard charmingly and the abundance of food and good company made me especially happy! There is something about playing a house or backyard concert that I like better than other venues I have played. Of course, opening up for The Marshall Tucker Band on a big stage last August was exhilarating, but house concerts are a special breed. They have such a relaxed, family feel AND I get to talk to everyone. I'd take 30 people in a backyard on a sunny California afternoon any day over thousands of screaming fans! (Does anyone else find that pop culture tradition strange? Excluding the awesome cheering fans of course - big difference) I also got an unexpected surprise the next day when I went to leave for my next stop in Monterey. There was someone who had been working outside the day before that walked over as I was packing up my car to give me a tip and, more...

I am Kelly Ann Miller . A single, ambitious woman with some sort of undiagnosed neuromuscular degenerative disease who loves Jesus, her dog, adventure and sings for a living. Just to give you the gist. If you've been following my blog since its birth in 2009, you may be sitting at your computer wondering what just happened. Everything is gone! Well, I have decided to start over and get some focus. I wrote the title of this blog with a vision to document my adventurous life as it is lived within the glorious presence of God. And adventures I have certainly had! As well as many not so glorious moments. So, in the spirit of this do-over, I thought it appropriate to begin with a series of recaps. Starting with more details on the cross country tour I just finished and the album I recorded!  My aim is to keep this blog focused on sharing my disease-burdened life, the joy and adventure I discover as I live out my dreams and, of course, to express my various obsessions (espe...