HACK.gah.

the plague of phlegm has settled into my lungs.

thank you swine flu.

I sound a lot worse than I feel.

Saturday, we jump back into festival mode (already?... no. still.) with an all day debrief.... you know, before we start planning for next September. (I've got 1/3 of my workshops figured out already for the sustainable living village, and a few leads on ideas for the wellness village).

Ukes and Toques is ready to roll out this sunday, see you at the parade?

AND 10 sleeps till I get the keys to my house.

awesome.

more fuzz

all but 2 back nails are now trimmed. no casualties.

In other news....
NUke-O had an extra gathering tonight, getting ready for the big "Toques and Ukes" event. (We're in the 'Burg's chirstmas parade!)
A really fun night tonight... I love that some other people have stepped up to lead this... it's such a funny group of people... with more than 50 years between our oldest and youngest members. You never know what direction things are going to go in.

Plans are in the works for "the hobbit house concert series".... first guest to be announced soon!

fuzz butt

it came to a smack-down between myself and Sir Pontouff Pony this evening.
I've come to realize that the poor fuzz pot, as large and disproportionate as he is... has a difficult time getting at his own tail.
so.
tonight, armed with scissors and patience,
I was able to whittle it down to a third of it's size.
a more... natural looking size.

the giant tufts of fur, large matts nearly the size of my fist... reminded me of "the teddy bear" littlebits used to sport on the back of her head. For those of you who weren't around in those years, my little sister had dreadlocks.... with one strangely shaped clump hidden underneath. It had a name.

Naturally, since poor 'Touf was upside down and couldn't do too much about it, I worked my way around to one of his oddly shaped feet. His feet wouldn't be so oddly shaped if he'd bother to groom them too. He seems to like to drag around clumps of fur the size of FynnPants.

Fur Kankles. Fankles?

I managed to clear one leg before the squirming started. Squirming isn't a problem if you're holding a normal rabbit. If you're holding a Flemish Giant, it means the grooming session is nearly over. In the first giant kick, I was pulling on the last of a clump of fur, unfortunately it meant that it tore his skin! A tiny tear, but I imagine it hurt a heck of a lot. Enough that he flipped over unexpectedly... and managed to get a nail stuck in my sweater - one more kick and he tore the nail off.
Poor giant bunny.
Some forced cuddles and a quick check, no dripping blood *phew*, the Kangaroo was back in his mansion drinking water and hopping around.

Other than a few dirty looks (rabbits are disapproving after all) I think all is well.

Tomorrow I'll attack the other foot, and maybe get those nails trimmed!

Status lines...

this evening, I'm procrastinating.

there's about 3 large things that need to be done, one of them is sleeping. But instead... I'm giggling about my own status lines.

I should really get this other stuff done.

But there's a large rabbit thundering around the house. An open jar of home made tart applesauce (or maybe it's botulism?). A perfect temperature cup of tea. Fuzzy slippers. A Uke (or two) within arm's reach. And the score from the play beside me.

I woke up this morning at work (in the group home- NOT at my desk!) and realized, it's only 24 more sleeps till I get the hobbit house. Then I realized.... I'll have my little hobbit house, and I'll be starting into a row of sleep shifts at the group home...

I feel a little mixed over this.. getting my house and not being able to be there... but then again, it smells so bad right now (it's occupied by 3 cats and their owners), it's probably for the best that it has a few days to air out before I actually move in for real. Cleaning is the first priority.

Bucket and bleach please.

More Art

This is a post by the lovely Tanya Davis,

If you're interested in participating, you can send her your answers...

Sadness Survey needs you

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Thursday, October 22, 2009 at 11:29am

I think a lot about sadness.. the happy kind, the tragic kind, the vulnerable kind... I write about it, too. And sing about it. And I talk about it... sometimes. Because people don't always like to talk about sadness. Why not? I don't know. So, I'm exploring that and I;m exploring sadness in general - an alternative research project, so to speak. I'm going to include some of my findings in an audio piece I'm making as a participant in the Centre for Art Tapes Media Arts Scholarship Program. It's somewhat of a docupoem.

So, if you want to take the time to answer some of my questions, that would be quite wonderful. Any of your feedback that I end up including in my audio piece will be anonymous (although I don't know how to make your comments on my note anonymous on facebook and only for me to see.. if you want to answer the questions but don't want others to read your answers, please feel free to write to me in a provate message). And I will only be using bits and pieces of what I can collect here, in a sound mosaic.

Les questions:

1. What is sadness?

2. What does it feel like?

3. What makes you sad?

4. What do you do when you're sad? Where do you go? Who, if anyone, do you talk to?

5. Do you find sadness easy to talk about? Difficult? Why?

6. What does sadness sound like?

7. Do you cry? Do you cry easily? Do you cry often? What does that feel like?

8. When was the last time you cried? What did you cry about?

9. When were you the most sad? Why?

10. What are the different ways you experience sadness? Can you put a name to them (ex. tragic sad, tender sad, beautiful sad, depressed sad...)?

11. Do you enjoy sadness at all, ever? Why or why not?

12. Comments, extras: please feel free to include any extra points you want to make here about sadness. Or answers to questions I never asked. Or comments or little stories. I would love to hear it..

Thank you for taking the time to write about this. I very much appreciate it.

Sweeney

This might be repetitive if you have access to the Classrunner page...

Tonight was a rehearsal night (I still want to write reHAIRsal) for Sweeney Todd. I'm still feeling a disconnect- we don't all get together often (yet?) and I still don't know every one's names... and there's even three or four people I haven't spoken to yet. crazy.
I'm trying to make sure that I get to know some of the people who weren't in last year's show. But- I'm not good with that sort of thing.

um, thank you for putting up with my awkwardness.

Things feel like they are moving REALLY fast though. (and I don't mean the speed of the numbers... HOLY! those songs have lot of words... and too few bars to put them in!) We were blocked for a big chunk of the first act tonight... it feels weird not to be on the stage all the time (like with Hair) but I guess this is the new normal.

make sure you save some time to see the show! last week of Feb, first week of March (it only seems like it's far away now)

letter

dear slightly odd person.
I'm not sure if you're shy, or a serial killer. Please advise me as how to proceed.
thank you,
the bird blinder.

OCFF

I'm still sitting and trying to recover from this weekend... which, I might add... was a mighty fine weekend. One great experience after another.
seriously.
have I mentioned the term "best year ever" enough yet?

I was a lucky chosen delegate to OCFF in Ottawa this weekend. Now, it's definitely one of those "you're never gonna get it till you go there" type things- but just try to take my word when I say it was AWESOME.

OCFF is a conference of sorts- held to bring together the people who make folk festivals happen- for networking and information sharing (and a whole lot more). It's also the place you want to go if you're a musician who wants to be heard... and maybe hired.. by all those festival type people. There are panel discussions (I was a panelist!), board level stuff, training things, musician development, festival development, a gala dinner, awards, interviews... and showcases.

oh my... there are showcases.

I think if it wasn't for the generosity of JessPugs letting me stay at her house the first night- I might not have ever left the building on the weekend.

Showcases operate on two levels at OCFF- there are the sponsored ones- they run during the day and into the late evening... (think: awesome 25 minute concerts running all day long back to back) then... just before midnight.... the guerrilla showcases start... several floors in the hotel dedicated to showcase rooms... (think: hotel room with beds pushed around for seating for 20 people) each room hosting several musicians each night... till 4am.

did I mention there were about 900 people at this? most of them musicians?

there were so many "highlights" that I don't even know where to start.... every time I turned around I was excited to see someone I hadn't seen in awhile, or who's music I've been listening to on the radio this year... I tried my very best to sit in on showcases of people I'd never heard before (or at least who I hadn't heard live before) and found quite a few new (to me) musicians that I'm going to purchase music from.

ok, mini highlight list (big highlights in small form)

-played bartender for a few hours in the Ukulele Speakeasy Showcase
(super awesome... James Hill showed up) (I wasn't the barkeep at that point, but VERY VERY cool to have him there)
-got to sing WITH some musicians I look up to (ok, unsolicited singing... along with them during showcases)
-heard 24 hours of GOOD if not awesome music ... live in one weekend.
-sat in on 4 shows that received standing ovations
-cried from the beauty of music
-saw old friends I didn't expect to see
-rented an awesome car to drive to Ottawa in (with a working radio that happened to pick up a station relaying a radio program featuring an hour of Jake Shimabukuro)
-ate breakfast with Sharon Lois and Bram
-got to have dinner with one half of my favourite song writing duo
-sat with the other half of my favourite song writing duo at a showcase
-sat literally at the feet of James Hill and Anne while they played

yup, all in all... great weekend.

public service announcement.

ok.
a small thing really.
this isn't directed at anyone in particular, it's just something I've been noticing.
or maybe I've noticed it for a long time, but I just don't have the patience to deal with it anymore?
is it possible for people to lose the ability to please people all the time... or rather lose the need to please?.. to be kind? to pretend to care?
or maybe I'm getting old and cranky?
I'm becoming less gracious? perhaps.
or maybe I just expect some equality.

or... and this is likely what it is.. maybe I've reached a point where I know what brings me joy, and what takes it from me, and I'm becoming comfortable enough in my own skin to recognize that which steals my joy has no place in my life.

but, I digress...


if in fact you are an incredibly negative person, and the only topic of conversation you can think of ends up being a complaint about something... or someone... that's fine. but please allow others the same courtesy they've offered you in lending their ear. if they are frustrated with something and bother sharing their frustration, don't try to prove everything they say wrong or tell them they are wrong to think that way. eventually, those people listening to you ... are either going to lose their own joy, or they're going to stop talking to you altogether.


hey, remember when you used to write as though you were two different people on your blog?

yeah, I sure do

those were good times weren't they?

they were likely confusing times

yeah... I suppose so.

so pretty....

Why Do We Hunger for Beauty
Music and Lyric by Jim Croegaert

Dark are the branches
Reaching for light
High is the path of
The hawk in its flight
Turning and gliding
Greeting the night
Why do we hunger
For beauty so right
Why do we hunger for beauty

Moon hanging lonely
Up there in the sky
Looking so holy
Like a host held up high
And off in the distance
There’s a train going by
Why does it move us
And cause us to sigh
Why do we hunger for beauty

Frost on the window
Is never the same
So many patterns
Fit in the frame
Captured in motion
Frozen in flame
And in the patterns
Is there a name
Why do we hunger for beauty

-I'm a big fan of Steve Bell's version... always have been (live is always better). this guy can play- I'm sure I've written about him and the ways he's influenced me in the past... he's lovely.

yup.