I had a little cold last week, and woke up yesterday without a voice. All I can do is croak or whisper. It hasn't cramped my style at all--I feel fine, lots of energy--but gosh, it's annoying. Between my impaired volume and Arturo's impaired hearing, we're spending a lot of time saying "What?" to each other!
We went to Rick & Erin's annual joint birthday party on Saturday evening and watched a rather spectacular rainstorm from the safety of their home. I've never quite seen the sky look so ominous--and the thunder--and lightning--yikes, it was awful, and impressive. Fortunately by the time we drove home most of the spectacular stuff was over. There were a lot of branches down in the yard this morning; I guess storms like that are nature's way of pruning.
I've been working a lot in the garden, weeding the iris bed & laying down new mulch. Also fixing all the bricks in the edge. It's good work because the results are immediate and obvious; however, all the time I am working outside, all I see is more stuff that needs to be done. I could put in 2-3 hours per day for a year, I think, and still have stuff to do. There are so many demands on my free time, between the house and the yard and the kids and rehearsing, and book club, and crosswords, and all the things I want to read, and all the movies I want to see, and updating my website, and seeing friends, and EVERYTHING! It's all good stuff and I am so very blessed to have these things in my life but they can be overwhelming.
Another project that has been taking up my time is working on my CD. The editing is finished and I have a master copy. Now I am working on the cover & artwork. This is more of a headache than I had anticipated, not because my designer friend is unhelpful, but mostly because I am having trouble articulating what I want from him. When you get right down to it, I'm not even sure I know what I want! It's easier to say what I don't want, but that's not very useful. In reality, probably none of this agonizing matters very much, since--let's face it--we are talking about maybe 200 copies that will ever be "out there". But still, I'd like it to be something I'm proud to distribute in every way. I'm so happy with the audio quality and I'd like the packaging to be wonderful too.
That's it for now. I'm going to drink another cup of tea in the hope that it soothes my vocal cords, and go to bed. Love to all!
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Working Girl
It's been a busy time, what with shows to sing, holidays to celebrate, websites to update, etc. Obviously this blog has gotten shunted aside big time. But since I have a few extra minutes, I thought I'd jot down a few thoughts.
Here's thought #1: I wish I were rich. I'd do all the right things with money, like give some away, help my family, be philanthropic with my favorite causes, etc. And I'd travel! But the thing that would give me the most pleasure would be hiring people to do all the things that have to be done, that I hate doing. Like, cleaning the house. Tending the yard. Sorting through the "to do" list that never seems to get shorter. Actually, I don't mind cleaning, gardening is fun and relaxing, and there's a certain satisfaction in crossing chores off a list. But it all gets so tedious. Having these things done for me, so that if I WANTED to do some of them I could and wouldn't feel overwhelmed, would be sheer heaven.
Thought #2: I have three friends/relatives who have lost their dogs in the past year. Whether through old age or accident, they each spent many sad hours mourning their much-loved pooches. And yet each one has acquired a new pet. I don't understand; but then again, I've never been a pet owner. (Goldfish don't count, and the bunny we had was not exactly an interactive family member.) It's like saying, my 12 year old child died, so I'm going to acquire another child to make up for the loss. I'm not condemning--I get it that this is clearly my inability to empathize. But I just don't get it.
Thought #3: Creativity has to be nurtured. It needs time & space, encouragement, support, feedback, and critical interaction. Gosh, it's hard to be an artist when doing it is another thing on the "list of things to do".....see thought #1 above.
Thought #4: Anything that makes you laugh is good!! I've been listening to old George Carlin routines and I am falling out laughing. The one that really got me going was about things that pissed him off. One was "people who put bumper stickers about their child's school on their cars", which is something that makes me crazy, too. He proposed a bumper sticker that I wish I could have made, because I would put it on my old van in a heartbeat: "Proud parent of a child who has enough self-esteem that he doesn't need his parents trumpeting his minor educational achievements on their car's bumper"!!
Thought #5: It's time to go to bed. Enough computer time for one night!
Here's thought #1: I wish I were rich. I'd do all the right things with money, like give some away, help my family, be philanthropic with my favorite causes, etc. And I'd travel! But the thing that would give me the most pleasure would be hiring people to do all the things that have to be done, that I hate doing. Like, cleaning the house. Tending the yard. Sorting through the "to do" list that never seems to get shorter. Actually, I don't mind cleaning, gardening is fun and relaxing, and there's a certain satisfaction in crossing chores off a list. But it all gets so tedious. Having these things done for me, so that if I WANTED to do some of them I could and wouldn't feel overwhelmed, would be sheer heaven.
Thought #2: I have three friends/relatives who have lost their dogs in the past year. Whether through old age or accident, they each spent many sad hours mourning their much-loved pooches. And yet each one has acquired a new pet. I don't understand; but then again, I've never been a pet owner. (Goldfish don't count, and the bunny we had was not exactly an interactive family member.) It's like saying, my 12 year old child died, so I'm going to acquire another child to make up for the loss. I'm not condemning--I get it that this is clearly my inability to empathize. But I just don't get it.
Thought #3: Creativity has to be nurtured. It needs time & space, encouragement, support, feedback, and critical interaction. Gosh, it's hard to be an artist when doing it is another thing on the "list of things to do".....see thought #1 above.
Thought #4: Anything that makes you laugh is good!! I've been listening to old George Carlin routines and I am falling out laughing. The one that really got me going was about things that pissed him off. One was "people who put bumper stickers about their child's school on their cars", which is something that makes me crazy, too. He proposed a bumper sticker that I wish I could have made, because I would put it on my old van in a heartbeat: "Proud parent of a child who has enough self-esteem that he doesn't need his parents trumpeting his minor educational achievements on their car's bumper"!!
Thought #5: It's time to go to bed. Enough computer time for one night!
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