The Week That Was

I'm joining in again for Cynthia Lee's Scattered Life Collective, to reflect on my week gone by.   Check out the link to see some of the other people who are playing along there.


I've been very tired this week and struggling to get into any sort of a routine.   But we've still made good progress with the new CD, recording guide tracks - this is the first time, in 7 CDs, that I'm recording the guides myself .... this is where we decide on the key, the tempo, where the breaks will come for instrumentals - basically the arrangement.   Then I put down a guitar part to a click track, like a metronome, so that the players who follow me will have a perfectly synced track to work to.  And then a guide vocal is done too at this stage.   It's been a really enjoyable process so far and we have some tracks ready for the next stage.   Our hope is that we'll have a good few done in the next week or 10 days and then after the Festival we'll come back to it and decide what goes on next and whether or not we have an album in the making.

But then I look at the state of the house, and the garden, and the laundry, and the unanswered emails .... and just want to lie down and sleep.  Better not look says you .... lol

Out the window: I can actually see out my windows today :)   Spent all morning cleaning them ... The hedges need trimmed ... but my little solar powered flower on the windowsill is cheerfully dancing away - he always makes me smile.

On the menu:  Lamb Tagine and Pomegranate Couscous taken from a separate recipe. ...  I've been wanting to try this recipe for a long time - probably because I really want to buy one of those cute Moroccan tagines and there's be no excuse if I can't cook the meal.  It was yummy by the way... worth trying and very simple to do.

Watching:  It's been all about Wimbledon this week - it hasn't been rained off too much - what a feat of co-ordination watching them covering the courts in less than 30 seconds ...

The men's matches have been great to watch - huge pressure on Andy Murray with Federer, Nadal, Djokovich and half a dozen others queuing up to put him out.    The women's games aren't as enjoyable - they make so much noise - although when both players have sounds, it's almost like a very annoying song.   But it was a shame to see Serena and Venus Williams both being put out - making way for a new generation.



Reading:
The Carriage House by Louisa Hall - it was not a bad story - perfect summer reading - not too taxing and the characters were engaging enough ...


Good things:

A spin in a boat - we were out in a little rib boat during the week - my picture at the top of the blog was taken from that angle - it's a total change of view and I love it.

The launch of Fiddlers Green Festival on Friday night - so much to look forward to - a week of local and international music, art, sports  and mountain walks.  I"ll be doing a blog about it early in the week.

My brother home from Australia - looking forward to catching up with him later this week and taking in a session - he plays fiddle and sings too ...

Started working on another song -  it nearly counts as prolific now!!!  This is another co-write with the same lyricist that I finished a song with a couple of weeks back.   I'm hoping to have 5 originals on this new CD, plus one from hubby... but 3 of them need tweaking at the moment and then have to be learnt!   It's a good feeling seeing them come together.

Listening:
Here's a song from one of the Festival guests - Luka Bloom - Luka was based for a long time in New York - he has a famous brother - Christy Moore - one of Ireland's best known and best loved folk singers - he changed his name when Christy started to become famous.



So that's been my week - how's your's been?

The Scattered Life Collective

Sunset tonight - Summer is here for another few days

In the spirit of Cynthia Lee's Scattered Collective, I thought I'd play along this week to reflect on my week gone by.

Out the window:  It's been overcast all day but beautifully warm and outside my window the rhododendron is finally going out of bloom and the cotoneaster that I cut back this morning is allowing a bit more light in.   I have basil plants growing on the windowsill and an orchid that has been blooming constantly for nearly a year now .... It delights me to see it's lovely elegance when I drive in.

On the menu: The remains of last night's summer solstice picnic is needing to be finished - so I'm going to try out a new recipe for one of my favourite foods - Avocado Hummus.  And some roasted rhubarb to finish up.

Listening:
Mary Gauthier has been turning up on lots of lists this week - her new album, Trouble and Love, is on my list to buy in the coming weeks ... Here's one of her songs from an earlier album, that I think every songwriter wishes they'd written.


Reading:
I've been doing very little reading this last while - too much going on and too many distractions.   But last weekend I picked up a few new novels and just finished one of them - Jennifer Johnston's "A Sixpenny Song".   A girl coming back to the home she had left many years before, after her father died and left her the mansion and finding out the real truth about her mother's death ... I like Johnston's writing - beautiful descriptions of scenery and feelings, but nothing so heavy that I have to think too hard about it.

Good things:

Tom admiring my sports car at the vintage car show yesterday!!!  
I wish ... wouldn't it be lovely?

The vintage car rally in the park yesterday - 1400 cars, bikes, vans and tractors on display and a beautiful day for it.

Summer staying with us for another while - it makes you feel so good having warm weather for a sustained period.

Saying goodbye to my students for the summer :)

The Summer Solstice Picnic - we have a new women's group in the village - a lot of young women hvintage car rally in the park yesterday - 1400 cars, bikes, vans and tractors on display and a beautiful day for it.

Finishing a song with a new co-writer - I'll write about it in a future post.

Out and about this week:

This video made me laugh out loud

And this blog made me cry


So that's been my week - how's your's been?
I've been slow at answering comments these past couple of weeks, but I promise I'll do better this week.