Tag: music

This Path (FAWM 2011 #02)

Sometimes I have chords and a melody but the words, the subject of the song, won’t surface. I usually ask Sue to listen and tell me what she feels. I’m still surprised when, five seconds in, she turns and tells me exactly what I was thinking but couldn’t put into words.

One of the best parts of traveling is the peaceful time after dark but before you arrive, when it’s just the quiet and the moon and the ones you love most.

Listen to ‘This Path’

peace can be a fleeting thing
reach out
and it flies away

having you here with me
this peace
as we end our day

moon through our windows
shining in our eyes
paints a peaceful path to light our way

something on the radio
we sing
the harmony is sweet

doesn’t matter where we are
you have me
and you make me complete

light in our life
shining in our hearts
paints a peaceful path down any street

peace is such a precious thing
this night
of still serenity

a warm bed and peaceful dreams
smiling friends
awaiting you and me

moon through our windows
shining in our eyes
paints a peaceful path we’ll always see

peace can be a fleeting thing
reach out
and hold it here with me

The Map (FAWM 2011 #01)

It’s February, which means February Album Writing Month. During the next 27 days I’ll be writing (and almost certainly recording) 14 brand new songs. (FAWM lasts 28 days, but we’re traveling on the 28th.)

I haven’t been feeling well, so I certainly wasn’t planning on staying up ’til the official kickoff at midnight. Sue, on the other hand, knew all along she’d be going to bed without me tonight. She is much smart, methinks.

You can read more about this whole FAWM thing at the website; right here, you can listen to a demo of the song I started at one minute past midnight and finished at 3am, despite spending nearly an hour researching the recording problem on Sue’s new laptop (short version: Microsoft’s ‘helpful’ software strikes again.)

As (nearly) always, I started February with a love song for my Best Beloved. It’s called The Map, and since the FAWM website doesn’t take uploads for another 20 minutes, you heard it here first.

Listen to ‘The Map’

Lyrics:

where do we go
and how do we get there?
what do we know?
and why do we care?
I look in your eyes
see right inside you
and I know you know
this is where we belong

we’re out on the road
together forever
the sun in our eyes
we’re never alone
wherever we are tonight
wherever we lay our heads
as long as my hand finds yours
I know that I’m home

it isn’t four walls
that makes us a place to live
a mailing address
tree in the yard
home is a state of heart
knowing the one you’re with
is happy as you
just having enough

we’re out on the road
together forever
the sun in our eyes
we’re never alone
wherever we are tonight
wherever we lay our heads
as long as my hand finds yours
I know that I’m home

a nomad can never be homeless
as long as I have a hand to hold
a pair of wild rovers, this wandering life
will never get old

I know where to go
just how to find my way
the light in your eyes
will show me the way
I’ve got all the map I need
to get where I’m going
straight into the sunrise
the rest of our days

we’re out on the road
together forever
the sun in our eyes
we’re never alone
wherever we are tonight
wherever we lay our heads
as long as my hand finds yours
I know that I’m home

Seven Weeks in Arizona

We’re settling in at the Wilson’s here in Arizona. We’ve been here a week now and have six more to go. And we’re loving it! Right now I’m sitting outside listening to the waterfall running into the pool and Fiona’s enjoying some outdoor time in the sun.

We’ve known the Wilson’s for seven year. We met when they still lived in Roseville California. Terry and Joel both play bass and enjoy music – a lot! It’s like being with family here. Fiona has her own room and she loves Virgie. Joel has his musical instruments in Terry’s music room. I’m loving the sunshine. Fiona was able to check out books from the local library and we’ve located a nearby park where Fiona played last night.

And business continues. Joel’s working with Terry on his second children’s book and he just placed the order for Jessi Lohman’s proof copy of her upcoming book. Other prospects are contacting Joel as well to help get their book out of their ‘someday’ box.

I’ve also contacted some local virtual assistants and am planning an informal meetup soon. And we were just contacted by another community college in Illinois about possibly using our materials in a class for virtual workers.

So things are moving forward and we’re excited to be in a  great home with great friends and in a routine for a bit. Knowing that we’ll get itchy feet to move on in a couple of weeks, we’re planning a long day’s drive to deal with that. But it will be nice for Joel to be in one place with his music stuff all set up since February is FAWM.

Ideally we hope for a similar situation in April. Some place we can park for anywhere from two to eight weeks house sitting. Maybe somewhere in the south.

Anyone need a  house sitter in April? We’ve got references!

A Song to Start the Trips

Every time we get in the car to drive, we have to pick out CDs to play. Listening to music while we drive is one of our favorite things to do as a family. Fiona even sings along quietly and sometimes requests specific songs or asks us to replay a particular song.

It’s become our tradition to start each new leg of our trip with “Mario Takes a Walk” by Jesse Cook. It’s a lively instrumental that gets us into the right frame of mind for the long haul.

What’s your favorite music CD to play in the car while driving?

House Sitting Job Needed

We’d love to spend the month of April house sitting somewhere in the south. For us, that means the Virginias or Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky. We’re flexible, so other states aren’t out of the question, and the end of March is possible, and the April thing is pretty open-ended too.

We also have this dream of spending May in Slovenia so if you just happen to know someone there who needs a house sitter for the month of May (or at least a few weeks) we’d love to talk.

And wherever you are, if you’d like to schedule a house concert in your living room for yourself and all your music-loving friends, I’d love to put you on my schedule. I’m proud of the music I write and enjoy sharing it with others.

Fun in Phoenix

We had a great stay with the Wilson’s in Phoenix over the weekend. Joel was able to play music Sunday evening with Terry and his friends. Fiona helped Terry’s wife make cookies for the road on Monday. When we left early Monday morning we saw a beautiful sunrise. At a rest area, we found a ‘home on wheels’. Cool but not quite what we’re looking for.

I Want to Live at the Edge of a Lake

After an event we drove around Lac Davignon. The causeway across the lake, the trees along the shore, the houses reflecting in the rippled surface . . . it’s a memory I wanted to keep.

We weren’t talking about anything of consequence so I dropped in three of my songs which almost fit within the 10 minutes of the video. Since I didn’t bother listing them in the video . . .

  1. You In My Arms
  2. Pax Aurora
  3. In a Midnight Sky

Have I Always Had the Travel Bug?

Looking back over my 46 years of life (I’m not afraid of my age), I think now perhaps there’s always been a part of me that wanted to get up and go – travel.

As I child the only vacation I remember our family taking was driving to the Grand Canyon. Many times dad just took mom and us four kids for a drive on a Saturday afternoon. That was our entertainment (we weren’t big TV watchers). My favorite thing about going camping when my older kids were growing up was the journey of getting there more than the camping itself.

Yet as an adult I didn’t like the idea of not having a home and stability. I wanted to feel rooted and safe. However as the years passed there were many times when I just wanted to get in the car and drive – and drive and drive and drive. I wanted to pack up and go with no real reason, destination or plan. Yet I never did until I started my life with Joel.

Joel and I started our life together with a 25-hour road trip from Phoenix Arizona to San Francisco California. And then we took several road trips from Sacramento to San Diego during the next year. Our honeymoon was a road trip from our home in Roseville California to Oak Creek Canyon Arizona. We both love to drive, listen to our favorite music and talk during our trips. Since we’ve been taking road trips since before Fiona was born, I think she was born with the travel bug. Even as a baby she was an excellent traveler.

Now we often take off for a day and just drive. The idea now of living in one place (so-called stability) no longer appeals to me. Why does staying in once place equal stability? If my quality of life and enjoyment of life is actually improved by traveling, isn’t that more stable than being in one physical place – feeling stifled?

Yes, I think I’ve always had the travel bug and now have someone to share it with who is even more adventurous than me! And I feel safer than ever.

Here’s to our happy travels!

Another Guest Post: Dorothy Shapland Shares a Poem of Invitation

Dorothy sent this in an email, and when I asked, was gracious enough to allow us to share it here.

Come on over and join us anytime you like.
If you need to take off we can lend you a bike.
You can walk to the train and go for a ride,
It’s in our backyard, and we’re on the wrong side.
It’s always a mess, but it’s a fun place to be.
There are dishes in the sink, but the food is always free.
Collections of books, and stuff, and things,
Litter every surface. That’s where the dust clings.
Just ignore the papers and the laundry piled up.
Expect to deal with dander from one of the pups.
You can find a clear path almost any time of day.
You’ll pass people on laptops somewhere along the way.

We’ll help you escape from all you “should” do.
It’s easy for us, cause we do it too.
We don’t deal in guilt cause we do what we please.
And the door is never locked cause we all lose keys.

If you want to come play, you are welcome here.
There is only one rule, no drugs, booze or fear.

A Song for Caitlyn and Ian: Like This Forever

Caitlyn and Ian are kindred spirits, and though I wrote this for my own Best Beloved, they inspired it. So this is for Caitlyn and Ian.

Like This Forever

You want your first love to last forever
You know this is right where they belong
But they don’t seem to see
The inevitability
And you’re left wond’ring what went wrong

Once your heart’s been split right down the middle
Feels like you could never love again
But hearts are pretty tough
Made of stronger stuff
They heal and hope to hope for love again

You’re all I need when we’re together
Might sound sentimental, but it’s true
I could go on like this forever
And I think that’s exactly what I’ll do

So sail the sea of life a little longer
Get to know your heart a little more
Like a fine old wine
Takes a little time
Love can bring you right back in to shore

You’re all I need when we’re together
Might sound sentimental, but it’s true
I could go on like this forever
And I think that’s exactly what I’ll do

Maybe love is better when you’re older
Maybe love was waiting all along
Maybe love needs time to find another
Maybe love is more than just a song

My back was stiff when I woke up this morning
There didn’t seem to be a reason why
My brain and heart
Refuse to have a part
In winding slowly down to die

You’re all I need when we’re together
Might sound sentimental, but it’s true
I could go on like this forever
And I think that’s exactly what I’ll do
And I think that’s exactly what I’ll do

(No hippopotamuses were harmed in the making of this post)