I went to the Badlands last weekend for a music festival. It was a fundraiser for an old school house that is now a museum and it is situated in the hamlet of East Coulee along the Red Deer River. The Badlands and the valley are very cool with formations in the hills that look like dinosaur feet, old coal mines, hoodoos and this gorgeous river that runs along the river bottom. New views and new perspectives. The music festival called the East Coulee SpringFest takes place in the school museum along with the town’s community center. There is magic continue reading…
Awakening
Spring has Sprung
We have gone from winter to very warm spring in one weekhere in Saskatchewan. It is lovely to have no snow and it is also a jarring transition. I keep thinking about transitions, both in my music life and in my nursing and home life. They can be jarring. How can I smooth out the edges? In performing how do I transition easily from one song to another, giving myself and the audience time. I am so aware of any silent spaces, as I allow myself to really prepare for the next song, to let go of some of the continue reading…
Unforeseen Circumstances
I have been reminded this weekend about life having unforeseen circumstances. We were driving home and my mother called me and said your Dad is being sent to Regina because his nose won’t stop bleeding. Wow, I was not expecting that as we were only a half hour from town and we were expecting to be celebrating my Dad’s ninetieth birthday the next day. Okay change direction for the weekend and focus on my Dad in a different way. My family has spent some time together this weekend as many of us were already gathering when Dad needed to go continue reading…
A Week of No Social Media
I have been doing the Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron these past few weeks and during one of the week’s activities she strongly suggests not reading. The book was written 25 years ago so social media wasn’t a thing and I figured a break from that would be very beneficial and it was. I immediately had more space in my brain and way more time then I would have anticipated. The other thing I have noticed now that the week is over is that I am back to a lot of my old habits. Checking Facebook especially when I am continue reading…
Time is What we Need
Growing up folks had a difficult time with my last name so they opted for groundhog. Well, as a child growing up this wasn’t very complimentary. I realize now that they do tell us if spring is coming fast or slow which seems to me to be a helpful skill. And here we are in Saskatchewan in the middle of a not so nice winter, extreme cold, rain and ice. This is a rare combination for us. We usually deal with extreme cold but don’t have it mixed in with ice or rain. I have been very grumpy about continue reading…
Putting the Pieces Together
The New Year has begun and I have been slow in getting back to my music. My work as a Home Care Nurse has kept me busier then usual. However, I find that when I do get back to my music, I am happy no matter what I have to do, whether sending out Cds to radio stations or practicing for my next piano lesson. I am surprised to find that I enjoy the every day tasks of both the business and the creative side. I am finding this time quiet after the hoopla of 2017. I am finishing some continue reading…
Wrapping up one Year and Jumping into the Next
2017 is quickly coming to a close. It is my intention to write a blog post on the 1st and 15th of every month. I see that last year I had 19 blog posts so not quite 24 but I am getting there. I am going to send out my Newsletter once a month on the 1st and I will include links to the new blog post and to the one from two weeks earlier. My blog posts do appear on my website as well so they are always there. I am not sure how to talk about this past continue reading…
Where are you Going?
In the plane going to Montreal last month I started to seriously think about 2018 plans. Now for those of you who know me on a personal level you know that I love to plan. I think it helps me to feel more secure. Even when the plans might change. I noticed that I had a lot I wanted to accomplish in 2018 and it helped me think about the realism of my plans. Balance these past six months has been a challenge. Family, nursing work, music biz. I hope next year to be a bit more balanced, however as continue reading…
Mountains, Churches and Galleries
Five days after my CD release party I headed out for a ten day trip/short tour. I had no idea how it would really go but I was counting on friends and family to help as I moved through a couple provinces. I had a second CD release party in Shaunavon at a local gallery. A group of twenty fit into the small gallery and it was lovely. I felt grounded in this space and I could feel my songs being absorbed by the audience. One person said she felt like she had heard an evening of poetry put to continue reading…
Creativity Continues
This creative road is an interesting one. I spent some time at our cabin off and on over the last few weeks and found that business concerns really disappeared and art and songs wanted to reign supreme. I had no real desire to write any new songs but a couple wanted to be born so I now have a song about one of my first boyfriends and one about an ex-girlfriend. Then I did a few water colors for myself that expressed some of what I was feeling about the songs on the CD. Creativity is so often surprising and continue reading…
