August 17, 2008

10:06 a.m.

Quiet Sunday

Another gorgeous morning, sun beaming through jasmine leaves and the breeze making the kitchen air heady. Our gig at the big yoga center last night was lovely -- in spite of the constant changes there making each booking confusing and, in some ways, inconvenient. Omega continues to pour millions of dollars into the facility, building a new annex, putting gravel and gardens where the front parking spaces used to be so that there's even LESS chance of getting a spot anywhere near the front door. I loaded in, parked in West Bumf*ck and walked back.

We've been through about four Events Coordinators since Omega took the place over a couple of years ago, and the most recent one -- with whom we'd had our Special Arrangement of deferring our allowed 2 nights' stay to another time so that we can bundle them with those from another gig and have a longer stay -- left a week ago. I think it'll still be okay, but it made things a little fuzzy checking in. They'd booked us rooms which we'd already declined as per this agreement. There is no official E.C. right now. The happy news is that our sound guy, who loves us, is "assisting" the fill-in person, so if we jump on it we can probably get several bookings for 2009 before someone else comes in and says they only want us to play once or twice. Fingers crossed.

I put the books out on the CD table, sold one journal. Also the Celebrancy brochures, and several were taken. Good. We played pretty well -- I blanked on a few bass notes, must go over those parts -- but they use the Bose tower PA system which is deep and glowy and we can hear ourselves well. It reminds me that I need a little PA for Celebrancy work, so must think about affording that later this Fall.

I ate pristinely yesterday and still had some gastric hoohah last night. Where does it come from? By morning I feel better, and in general the GI function has been better this week. I hope it's a trend; I hope the supplement is working.

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Wes's new kids' CD came out finally, on which Carol and I did an angelic wash of background vocals and Chris much of the instrumentation and all the recording. I had fun listening to it last night and this morning. We did all the harmonies on the fly, in a couple of sessions, and it was many months ago so I barely remembered doing any of them. It sounded all new. He's done some great covers like "House at Pooh Corner" and "Punky's Dilemma," and about half the songs are original by him. We're selling a few for him at our gigs. I wonder when our kids' cd will be done...

We're feeling somewhat revitalized by the reinstatement of a traditional Irish song that Carol and I used to do way back in our first band, around 1985. I've come up with some cool, dissonant/modal harmonies and Chris is adding his voice in a few choice places, and voila -- it'll be a great add for the upcoming tour. It's nice to get back into the creative arrangement mode. I forget how good we are at this.

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Today is the day Marc and Pearl go to NYC to pick up a mattress and, along the way, pick up my new CELLO which is being gifted to me by the cellist I met at MacDowell (hereafter to be referred to as Egg). I just got confirmation from him about the pickup location and have forwarded that to Marc... so I hope everything is in place. Egg is giving me a case as well so they won't have to wrap it in moving blankets. It will need a bridge, pegs and strings. Someone will be looking at my Avalon guitar on Tuesday and I am keeping my fingers crossed that it'll be the perfect guitar for him. I restrung it this week and played it a bit -- it's beautiful; I still love it and wish there were a reason for me to keep it and tour with it. But I need the money more and I'm not giving up either of my other two. My beloved, Koa Franklin that has been with me for 20 years (and suffered knocks just like me), and my all-important Lowden with the cutaway body so I can get up on the higher frets. The Avalon's a steal for what I'm asking; I paid cost so I'm only losing about $1,000, which, if I had never bought it, I'd have spent by now anyway.

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I think I've deemed this a Day Off. Two Netflix arrived which, if I watch them both today and send back tomorrow, should enable me to get one more pair before leaving for England. No errands press me. It might behoove me to go to Marc and Rose's later to investigate the cello, but then, I might do that later in the week instead, one evening. I called my dentist to investigate a little aching that has recurred somewhere among my upper right teeth. I had it x-rayed a few months ago and there was nothing apparently wrong at that time. But since I'll be away for so long I thought it might be important to have it looked at again. Sigh. All that money, and they'll probably find nothing again. This era brings all sorts of mysterious ailments that have no readily discernible cause; things appear on the skin and take up residence, things ache, things click. Gums recede. Skin goes its own way. Eyesight goes one way, then the other. Even toenails take up new identities, obtain false passports. What can we do but look for the juice of life in other places? Deeper within, farther out.

In spite of the drought my jasmine endured while I was away, there is one new bloom almost ready to open.