dis'n'dat continued

So, the month of November is upon us. I used to really dread the onset of winter - but no longer. Firstly, we have been lucky this year: warm fall days seem to be stretching way past their mid-October point. There has been plenty of sunshine and beautiful days to take a walk in the park, leaves rustling underfoot. Also, with age I seemed to have mellowed and no longer wish for a perpetual summer. In fact, summers can seem pretty brutal with their unbreathable air and humidity. Therefore, no weather complaints so far though some will invariably arise once the the snow starts flying and the northerlies begin to howl.

As mentioned previously, October was a terrible month work-wise. It has had a detrimental effect on my mood. I find it very difficult to motivate myself. Strangely - perhaps not so strangely - when I'm really busy and my plate is full to overflowing, I can still squeeze in more work and have no difficulty in multitasking and planning further projects. When work dies off and I have nothing but oodles of time on my hands, I grow lethargic and completely neglect all the projects I have on the back burner (arranging, writing, practicing and mostly - hustling) Fortunately, some nice gigs are coming up this month and December looks fairly promising, too, so there may be an end to the ennui.

I've been thinking very seriously about spending a couple of months in Prague - perhaps mid-January to mid-March. I'd like to explore performing possibilities there, write and just soak up the atmosphere of the city, enjoy it while the tourist hordes are absent. I made a preliminary list of people I should contact while there and the list is already about 30 names long. I figure - one dinner with each of these people every other day and my schedule is pretty much taken care of. An agent was suggested by a friend, plus I know quite a few people there in the music business, so getting at least a few gigs should be a cinch. Additionally, I'd like to spend at least three hours a day writing.

I am SO excited about the upcoming birth of my grandson in January. I'm over the moon and can't wait to see my daughters and my grandkid when I go to Iceland next, probably in March. While there, I am planning also to do another concert at the International House Cafe, which by now is alm0st a tradition. I'm hoping to be joined by Thorir Johansson on bass and Dan Cassidy on violin (webpage in Icelandic only)

I will now indulge my tastebuds with the fish risotto leftovers from last night...