Something in the way chi moves...

Today I went to Mary Williams Center, thinking it was my day to come sing with the folks there. Well, it wasn't the right date but they fit me in anyway and I am glad I stayed. For, after lunch, I was treated to finally meet Hiromi, the Tai Chi teacher I have heard so much about for many years. I joined in her class and I was very impressed with her gentle, strong presence and skillful ways.  I loved how she made Tai Chi accessible for the elderly and people with limited mobility.   Many years ago I took a Tai Chi class and I never envisioned being able to do the same moves while sitting in a chair.  Hiromi guided us through some deep breaths and moves and at the end she came around to everyone to see where they had pain.  For some it was their shoulders, others their knees and she came around to each of us and put her hands on wherever we hurt. I had a small pain in my back and I was amazed with the heat I felt from her hands. Wow! What a powerful healer she is, I left pain free!  I felt very inspired by her and I realized that since I no longer have a 9-5 job where I have a supervisor to answer to and I am my own boss, I am lacking in daily personal reminders of doing the best job I can do.  It is good for me to have role models and Hiromi is definitely that for me. I hope I can take more classes with her soon.

Above is a picture from the class. All ages were welcome!

Here is a video I had done for my title song, "Choose the Sky"  featuring  beautiful photos of the sky submitted to me by friends. (and some of my own) Thanks to Rachel Chaikof for compiling this video for me!

Fun at Meadowcreek

Here are some of my friends I sing with at Meadowcreek each month. Today's highlight was making up our own words to songs.  It can sometimes get to be a bit chaotic in the room as sometimes attention wanes or other things are going on.  To remedy this, I just "go with the flow" and get spontaneous and make up new words. This gets us laughing and being in the moment. It is a lot of fun when that happens!

We sang, "Someone's crazy Lord, Kumbaya" (laughter) and "Someone's lazy my Lord, Kumbaya"
and made up new verses to "Will the Circle Be Unbroken".

I asked them what language the words, "Que Sera Sera" were in and everyone said English.   Interesting that when a song becomes so well known, you can pass over the words without thinking about the language or what they mean. I believe they are in Spanish (looked it up) although I always thought the language was French. What do you think?

Back at WTJU

I was a radio announcer at WTJU from 1990-2009 or so.  I stepped back from it to focus on other things and this past July I have returned to the Eclectic Woman Show.  It was given a new time slot which is Tues. 12-2pm. Tune in and have a listen! Rebecca Foster is the main host and I help out once a month or so. You can hear the live stream by going to the WTJU.net.

The picture above was taken by special guest and local Charlottesville songwriter Anne O'Brien.  That's Nathan Moore, the station manager setting up the mics and Liz plugging in her amp and me at the soundboard.

Just minutes before everything went dark....

These are photos my friend Norm Carter took of the concert at Rapunzels. Above, we were having a jam session just minutes before the power went out! Some folks are still without power from that storm 5 days ago!

4th of July at Heritage Inn

Here I am setting up to play some songs for the folks at the Heritage Inn. I wished I could have taken a photo of them all there with me with their flags on their wheelchairs, walkers and their red, white and blue clothes. We sang all kinds of songs but best ones were patriotic such as:

Battle Hymn Republic
My Country Tis of Thee
Star Spangled Banner
Yankee Doodle
Grand Old Flag

There was laughter and tears and I even got the goosebumps a few times during some of the songs. That is always a sign it is going right.

Galax Dulcimer book is out!

Remember when I told you about my being involved in the Folklife Apprenticeship program? I was an apprentice student of the Galax dulcimer to master player Phyllis Gaskins. Well, I am proud to show you her excellent book about the Galax dulcimer!   In it are 42 tunes and lots of photos and historic stories and facts about the regional style that she is the living master of. You can read more about it and purchase a copy of it Beatin' Path Publications here.
It is already a best seller!

Also, I am very proud and honored that she even put my picture in it and a told a little something about our studies together. I have made history!! It is on page 29, with the tune Katy Cline. See below: