Hella Stella

I'm alive!

I've done more painting and demolition in the past two weeks than I've ever attempted.... Ever. I also know the layout of Home Depot pretty much by heart, which is not a skill I hoped to master. But there you have it.

The next week will be spent putting down a wood floor. Then we actually start moving in. I honestly can't wait to see it come together.

But enough about the house! Surely other things have been going on... Right? Here's a rundown of my activities as of late:

- I played the Tulip Fest, but because they didn't have a CD tent, I missed out on the chance to actually sell anything. Thank goodness it was a paying gig.

- I don't think I'm going to play any gigs for the rest of the summer. My rationalization is that I want to give my brain some time to enjoy the new house, and maybe even have some quiet writing time. Also.... I'm just burned out.

- It's become clear to me in the past couple of weeks that I'm good at being bossy. Maybe I could make a career out of that...

- My little sister is graduating! I'll head up to Peterborough next week for the ceremony. My enjoyment of Peterborough is always tied to two things: how much I can drink while I'm there, and how many antique stores I can hit up. If I do neither of these things, I tend to dislike my visit. Sorry, town.

- The neighbours on my new street are lovely. This is good, because they have some tough competition from my current beloved street.

- Despite extensive planning, we've been eating like crap since the renos started. I don't really have a good excuse - I just need to make time to cook. No more take out. Say it with me now.

- My dogs? They are adorable. The other day, Frida got into a tube of toothpaste and was covered by the time we got home. Minty fresh puppy. Also.... Terribly mischievous.

Thanks for sticking with me, folks!

EDIT: Ooooh, I almost forgot.... There is a distinct possibility that we will have a swap box at the new house. More soon.

Remember the time I thought I could manage blogging and tearing up a house?

Remember that?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

More soon.

We get the house tomorrow. I pretty much can't focus on anything else, so here are some pictures in the meantime.

Birthday cake! This cake lasted all of two days in our kitchen. Maybe I shouldn't admit that out loud...


What I find on the camera when I ask my BH to take a picture of me. Yeah. Pretty much.

Hey! Remember when my BH took my inseam while I was brushing my teeth? And then I figured he was getting me pants for my birthday?

Guess what.



He did it to throw me off. He was actually ordering a fancy-pants tool belt.



Dang, it's nice. Morty is scared shitless of it, but Frida's cool with just about everything. I'll bet I could fit her in one of the pockets.

I'm also modeling a birthday gift from Shawna, who sends me excellent things every year. Thanks sugar! I love the shirt!

We get the house in three days. I'll be getting some use out of this belt, especially since we'll be tearing up carpets and installing floors mighty fast. I'm toying with the idea of not removing the baseboards completely, but we'll see if there's enough clearance. More talk about baseboards will pop up here.

I've got one more gig on May 23 at the Tulip Festival (7pm! Major's Hill!), and then I'm going to try and take the next few months off gigging. I'd like to recharge a bit before I book more shows.

I'm off to kiss a newborn. See y'all soon!

I'd like to sugarcoat the whole funeral thing, but it was so, so much harder than I expected.

When I walked into the funeral home, I was greeted by Matt's little nephew, who looks EXACTLY like he did as a kid.

Then I realized that there was an open casket, which was especially hard because Matt looked nothing like the happy, healthy guy I once knew. God knows how many years of drugs had made him almost unrecognizable. I said my goodbyes in my head from across the room, because I didn't want my memories of him to get morphed by how he looked in that strange state.

Hardly anyone from school came. Maybe five of us total. And only three of us stayed for the service.

And then my friend and I were asked to sing Amazing Grace.

Now, of course I was happy to sing at the service. Singing is one of the only things I know how to do well. It's a way I can contribute and pay tribute at the same time. It's a way to comfort the family when they most need it.

But holy shit, Matt, I never thought I'd be singing at your funeral. I never thought I'd be singing Amazing Grace beside your casket, trying to focus on the words so I didn't start sobbing in front of the family. I never thought it would happen this way.

I'm not even remotely religious, but I sure hope you find peace out there.

So today's a bit odd.

It's my birthday, but it's also Matt's funeral. Maybe a little more sombre a day than I expected, but I'm looking forward to seeing my old school friends at the wake. Tonight I'm going to a play my dad directed, and then I curling up on the couch with my BH.

I'm sure it will all be fine. There is a lot to look forward to this month, after all.

Last night I saw Iron Man II and it gave me the most insane migraine, I actually got a nosebleed. Weird, no? I'm not sure that speaks very highly of the film. I spent the last hour of it holding my head in my hands, grumbling to myself.

Frida's stitches are healing up nicely, and she's back to her old feisty self. Morty's not sure if that's a good thing or not - he was getting used to being top dog again. Oh, they are deliciously cute together.

My choir is performing our spring concert this Saturday! I'm looking forward to it..... And come to think of it, it will be the last time I sing with the choir for a while. The house will officially take over my schedule next week.

Bye for now, puppies!

Darlings, I may be a little absent over the next while. We get the house in a week and a half. INSANE.

My BH is already packing up our apartment, which is funny, since we don't actually move until the end of June. I think he's just excited. In the meantime, our house is a disaster.

I had a very fun gig on Saturday, except that is was snowing outside while I sang. What is it about snow in May? It's a bummer, that's what. Milan and Evey came, which was great. Milan took pictures. Evey drank alcoholic beverages.

Something weird and sad happened today. I can't think of a smooth way to transition into it, so I'm just going to write.

I noticed that my friend's Facebook status had an RIP in it, and then realized I knew the person who died. I've known him since kindergarten, actually. From then until high school, and then he was transferred somewhere else. He was a bit of a bully, but I know he had an awful home life. His dad was a mean man. He and I both liked to sing, so we always had that in common. We grew up in the same neighbourhood, and went to all the same schools. I haven't seen him in years, but I've been thinking about him recently. It's strange to think that he's gone. I have yet to hear how he died, but apparently he had a drug habit. It makes me kind of nauseous to think of my friend dying alone of an overdose. I hope it's not the case. He was only 28.

I know he often felt misunderstood. I wish I could have been a better friend when we were still in touch.

Here is my note to my friend:

Dear Matt,

You had a beautiful voice, a twisted sense of humour, and a cackle for a laugh. I heard you became a step father a few years ago, and I'll bet you were a very caring dad. I'll miss your skinny legs and your kind smile. You were a much better guy than you gave yourself credit for.

Love,
Me

So! The gig went very well! Let me tell you my secret!

Take a few long swigs of Buckley's before you hop on stage. Your head will be clear *just* long enough to sing. Then take three days off work to recover, because your cold will knock your ass down for staying up late to sing.

I should be in good vocal form for Saturday's gig at the Cajun Attic, or at least, that's the hope.

Other fun things happened at the show....

That famous dude I linked to earlier really liked my songs and told me so repeatedly in front of the audience. It took all my strength not to yell SQUEEEEEE right then and there.

I taped an interview with Ottawa Tonite that will go up at some point, featuring one of my favourite guys, Bob LeDrew.

Brandon, the charming cameradude, recorded one on my songs and will put it up on the Youtube soonish.

Excitement!

In other news, we ordered all our flooring for the house, which may be the final nail in the coffin for my credit card. Mostly because we are pretty much flooring the entire house, nearly every room, which is a lot of square footage. The flooring itself was a great deal.

Frida got fixed yesterday, which means her adoption is finalized! Can you believe it? Two bulldogs? I am a lucky girl. Morty is very worried about her and keeps sniffing her stitches. Then he licks her ears.

I think my BH is planning a strange gift for me, because this morning, as I was brushing my teeth, he measured my inseam and my waist. Pants, perhaps? He's a funny guy.

Guess what I've got?

An honest to goodness cold. A fairly bad one.

Guess where I'm singing tonight?

At the NAC. With famous people. People I look up to. People I'd like to impress, to the best of my ability.

Today sucks donkey balls.

In other news, I got a quote to build a soundproof closet in the new house, and I can afford it. I wonder if I can record a whole album in there....

Speaking of closets and affordability, can I share some advice with you? If you need someone to build you a bedroom closet, basic doors and shelves along a wall, don't go see a cabinetmaker whose clients are generally quite rich.

Anyone want to guess how much he quoted me?

Anyone?

$12,000.00

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Seriously.

I went to Ikea instead, and plan to purchase the exact same closet for $1600.

Anyway Internet, please send your healthy vibes my way, because tonight could be great, or it could be a flaming disaster.

xo