Here we are, another Wednesday has arrived. It amazes me, when I wake up and it's Wednesday again. I always have to think up something to write about, it's a task that I have chosen to do, to keep my words flowing, to keep on with writing. On Tuesday nights I start thinking about what to write and midway through the night, something strikes me, a title or an idea. But not this Tuesday. No ideas at all. Perhaps it is due to this cold I am battling, this cold that has filled me up with all sorts of things that need to come out... Words do not apply, however. Perhaps it is a case of "Writer's Block" - the condition of being unable to think of what to write or how to proceed with writing...

With so many things going on in the world, so much culture, food ideas, craft ideas, new songs, new battles, new babies; one would think it would be easy to come up with a neat interpretation of SOMEthing. Alas, there it is, a fuzzy, fogged up mind is all I can seem to muster up today, in between nose blows.... Strangely, last week, my husband was working closely with a friend who was pretty sick with a head cold, so we thought it would be a good idea to start taking Echinacea, in hopes to prevent any cold from trying to attack us. Well I guess that didn't work.

I am a suck when I am sick. Luckily this time around I have a helper who brings me herbal tea to sooth my sore throat. Usually when a cold strikes, there is always a glass by the sink filled with very salty water, for gargling. It helps out, for sleeping. I found a new thing though, thanks to my father in law. There are mints, basically filled with salt called "Emser Salz" -sorry the link is in German- but today they are my best friend! People say LOTS of fluids and vitamin C, so yeah, I am also doing that. What are YOUR favourite remedies?

To be honest, I WAS going to do a "Top Ten Best Albums of 2015" for this post. But honestly, as sad as it sounds, I don't think I bought ten albums in the last year. Luckily, while I was on tour across Canada, I was able to trade music with a few musical compadres with whom I shared the stage, but usually it's just songs that stand out over the course of the year, so perhaps a "Top Ten Favourite Songs of 2015" might be the better choice. But I CAN think of a couple favourite albums off the top of my head and here are THOSE links....

BROCK ZEMAN'S "Pulling Your Sword Out Of The Devil's Back"

XAVIER RUDD'S "Nanna"

Both albums are SO different from each other, but both contain some serious meaning. It takes a lot for music to get under my skin and make me FEEL, really FEEL, but these guys do it on these records, between vibe and lyrics, each record has "IT." Don't get me wrong, I really LOVE all types of music, but after having heard some of the best sounds out there (in my opinion) it is hard to listen to most music these days, without taking it apart and analyzing every note and or lyric. Surely I am not the only professional musician who does this. It's a shame, in some cases.... It would be nice to go to a show and not try to figure it all out, to just be present in the moment....It can happen, for sure, but it has to be superb stuff, and these two records are SUPERB!!!

So there it is. I just pulled out a few thoughts from this hazy head of mine. The sun is shining, and the snow has melted. Surely a walk out in the fresh air will clear my head a little. Until next time, be well and thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy the musical tastes I shared with you, and the silly photos too!! Keep smiling and head up!!!! Hugs from afar, but not too close ;)

I wrote an entire blog today. Well, I wrote one and a half blogs today, and at the end of this piece of writing it will actually be three, but i had to delete all the work I did on this last and third try because of a faulty I don't know what. So inputting this essay has nearly driven me BONKERS today. There have been swear words and a few tears even. I know, what am I like?? I lost the first try because of a mishap on my website program, and I hope that won't happen again! The second one I wrote over the course of the morning and when I came home from my afternoon hike in the forest, to edit it, I just wasn't feeling the vibe at all. Lately, I've been on about communication and interconnectedness. How people are literally entwined, I mean how many small world stories have you participated in? Where was the craziest place, the most random place you have ever met someone from another part of your life? Perhaps you run into many of these small world scenarios. You might even like to call them coincidences. I Love syncronicity or Déjà vu, even. It hits home in a way that says I'm in the right place at the right time.

How do you stifle stress? Sometimes I get thinking about the Hubble Telescope and just know that there is SO much more out there, that we are SO small in the grand scheme of things.

Does fear drive us to be who we are? Fear of what others say, how others might act, what others might think of us. Fear of not living true to ourselves, fear of not living our dreams, fear of not being able to pay the bills. My god, I am starting to ache all over just thinking about it. If I believe in the idea that we are all connected, then I must believe that we all have very similar traits and characteristics and are mostly not alone in all the ups and downs. I Love that about us, but I can't help but wonder what makes one person a naysayer and cynic and another an optimist? Is it in the genes, were we born the way we are or is our behaviour learned from our parents/how we were raised? I am sure there is a science to it, but still I am curious. Of course, I can't spend TOO much time on this stuff, there are so many things to do! Book, play, cook, write, create, live and learn. But oen thing for sure, something that I learned though music, a long time ago you just have to step out of the rush from time to time. Here is one of my favourite Fat Freddy's Drop songs... "ERNIE"... have a listen and let the music move you.

Until we meet again, I will prepare a few songs for my show in Thun next week, on November 5th at "Mundwerk." It is this really old cellar under the city and the acoustics are amazing! Also on the horizon is some new jewelry that I have been working on, crafted from some driftwood I collected in northern B.C this past Summer. It has been SUPER fun creating little pieces of art from nature's art. It is such a relief to break away from the computer/industry side of music, sometimes you just have to craft in other ways. But I DO have a new song in the works. It has been keeping me up in the middle of the night. Maybe once it is finished I will sleep again! Ha... Sorry Mum's out there. NOT complaining about sleep. Not doing that!!!

Driftwood_collected_at_Honeymoon_Point_Chilko_Lake

Anyway have a great rest of the week!

Hugs,

Lindsay, Crafter and Composer

Aimless Aim

Step Out of the Rush

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