fleece and hammocks

LOTR update




Graeme Hammon was kind enough to give me permission to reprint the article about my LOTR project, for those interested. Thanks again to Julie Clark for sending me the text!


Back at the cottage. -1 degree Celsius according to the thermometer this morning. :-) The temperature difference between here and the city is amazing; I was in shorts and a t-shirt yesterday. Now I'm in fleece pants, a t-shirt, sweatshirt, sweater, and fleece vest.


Really nice sunrise this morning. I sat outside with a steaming mug of banana hot chocolate (an office-warming gift from my sister when we opened up the Inkspot office on Mowat...does THAT ever seem like a long time ago!) and watched the rising sun gradually burn the mist off the lake as a single loon drifted slowly past, eyeing me curiously.









Doing the final proofreading of my article today and sending it off to Writer's Digest. Each day, I get more of a hankering to get back to my own creative writing.


Yesterday morning, I decided to surprise Ruth on Mother's Day with a visit. 'Twas an impulse decision; Jeff was still sleeping and I figured I could get back before he woke up (I was right). Picked up a bouquet of flowers along the way.


Annie and Sara were still in their pajamas when I arrived. Delighted, they jumped on me and both snuggled in my lap (this is a rare thing for Sara these days...she must have been -really- glad to see me :)). Both were immensely disappointed when I had to leave after about 20 minutes; Sara wanted me to help her plant her garden. Giggling, they both wrapped themselves around my legs as I tried to get to the front hall to put on my shoes. Ruth finally had to use her "serious" voice to ask them to let me go.









Last time, I had brought a suet cake for the birds, tied to a tree with a mesh bag. By the next morning, some animal had torn it down, leaving only a fragment of mesh behind.


This time, I brought a steel frame to hold the suet, and used three nails to secure it to the tree (see picture below). Jeff says the animals are going to take it down anyway, so I've taken this project on as a challenge. Let them try now! I will report on my progress in upcoming Blatherings.


I brought up our 4-track recorder so I could try out the two part harmonies in my new Harry Potter song and see if they work. I hate how my voice sounds (especially since I have to sing out of my range when working on Jodi's part), so I always tell Allison and Jodi to destroy my scratch tapes after they've gotten what they need from them.


Unfortunately the 4-track seems to be going a bit flakey...not surprising since Jeff's had it for quite a few years. Sometimes it will record, sometimes it won't. Jeff and I are starting to research simple home recording equipment and software (Jeff's starting to play guitar again...yay!). Does anyone have any advice about hardware and/or software? Software must be Mac-compatible. I was thinking of Cubase, but am open to other suggestions.


I'm also working on a new Technonerdboy-type of song (face it...the old one is pretty outdated now :)) and a song collaboration with Andrea (hey Andrea, I'm experimenting with an alternate tuning!).









Today's Blatherpics:


- Sunrise this morning.


- With Sara and Annie yesterday morning, when I gave Ruth a surprise Mother's Day visit. Jeff was still asleep by the time I got back to the apartment. :-)


- Jeff, only minutes after arriving at the cottage.


- My suet set-up.


Today's Poll:

Are both your parents still living?