Bad wendi. I got a worried call from mom today cuz i've missed blogging two mornings in a row. Yes, i'm fine, no worries here. I've been busy with last minute house guests who have left again on their merry way. An old roommate of mine and dear friend who i hadn't seen in 5 years blew into town with her fiance on Thursday. They beat me home and had dinner cooking when i arrived. Yesterday was her fiance's birthday which involved homemade chocolate cake for breakfast and a last minute potluck gathering sandwiching my attempt to get some work done. So, add to that another friend coming through town this weekend (who actually lives her, but is on tour right now) and i've been too busy talking to do much typing. So, i just wanted to let anyone else out there who was wondering know that i'm just dandy and will be blogging again starting tomorrow morning as scheduled.~w

Whee, i just finished doing two shows for th 6-8th graders at Piedmont Open Middle school in Charlotte, NC. While it wasn't Halloween dress up and play, it certainly was a lot of fun. I forgot how fun it is to do a show when it's not just part of the daily routine to get through. And students are so much more lively than adults. Their sense of play is still alive and well and amazing things happen when they become part of the show. The teachers were impressed with how well they paid attention. I was impressed with how well they followed the flow of the goofiness and seriousness of the show. We go back after school to play with the teachers and show them how we do what we do. It should be interesting. The drama teacher has an excellent program going on there already and the plan is to incorporate the whole school in opening a new park that will have 12 student poems from their school set in bronze around the park. Nothing like a room full of 500 students to wake you up in the morning.~w

Buses around rolling out below to pick up children and deliver them to school. I'm sitting typing in a hotel room tower thinking about the poems i have to do today. My connection is fickle today. It's the first and i'm trying to upload the new poems of the month to Poetry Alive! but it's not working. Urg. I'm sure if i was at home it would work for me. I think the line is too noisy. Still i'm trying one more time.

My brain is fuzzy this morning. Kinda like the phone line. I must drink more coffee and move around to wake up.~w

I found a flute! I was becoming a bit obsessive about needing one. I've been thinking i hear flute music everywhere i go. However, the flutes i have couldn't make the sounds i was hearing. Fortunately i learned about Jessica who owns Touchstone Gallery in Hendersonville. She had lots of flutes for me to try. Funny thing, i said i wanted a western red cedar flute in G and after playing almost every flute she had (i must have tried about 20) i came back to one of the first ones she handed me. A lovely affordable western red cedar flute in G with a rich smokey tone that matches the sound i've been hearing in my head. (i'd been drooling over the flutes made by Scott Loomis -- and no, not just because he shares my last name -- but the prices were high and i felt weird about ordering a flute without playing it first.) As a bonus she also gave me a CD to play along with to learn some new tricks. Yipppee! I found it hard to go to sleep though. I just wanted to play the flute all night long. My cat didn't even seem to mind too much. Usually when i play my silver flute she goes in the other room, but with this flute she actually came over and curled up on top of me while i was playing.

Now i must pack to go to Charlotte. ~w

So as everyone around me prepares for their big Halloween plans, what am i doing? Rehearsing today. You see, i get to spend Halloween once again in a hotel room in a town where i don't know anyone. Bob overbooked the end of this week and so Rodney and i have to go do a show in Charlotte Thursday morning. It wouldn't be so bad if it didn't screw up my plans to enjoy the Halloween antics here in Asheville. It would have been the first time in 5 years i'd have been able to play for Halloween. Bitter, whiney me? Nah.

It's the kind of cold where even with the heat on my cat wants to do nothing but curl up on top of me. The thing that's warming me right now though is that my friend Sara is coming to visit. She and her beau have decided to drive the Blue Ridge Parkway and on Thursday they'll arrive to visit and hang out for a day or two. Yipppee! Sara makes me happy.

Now i must go shuffle paper before rehearsing today.~w

My buddy Simon turned 5 this weekend and yesterday was his Halloween-Birthday Bash. I think i consumed more sugar there than i have in the past several months. Chocolate cake, homemade ice cream, s'mores...it was sticking gooey fun. It was amazing to watch Simon and his friends rush around the yard and play pirate ship or whatever. He is so much more social now that he was a couple of years ago. I guess that's what kids do, they grow up. My favorite part though was sitting around the bonfire with the last few people as Simon created ghost and goblin stories for us.

Most of yesterday i puttered around home. I made my lunch stock for the week and played my flute and such things. Oh, and talked to friends. All in all a good day of rest and recuperation to put me on track for the rest of the week. Of course, i'm already running pokey getting to work though. Better leave now.~w

So i went and saw the Wailers last night. Wow...and boy did i dance. Then i went and listened to and jammed a bit with some new friends till the wee hours. Now i feel tired, worn out, and a bit of a babbling idiot. "Why babbling idiot?" you may ask. Especially since my friends would agree with my dear old friend Pat who told me yesterday "you babble all the time." But being around friends who know you, and know you babble is much easier than being around new people who have a hard time figuring out where you're coming from with this avalanche of words that keep pouring out. Plus there's a tendency to say too much or mix stuff up in a way that puts people off. Or maybe i'm just being overly cautious. I felt like i took a huge leap last night in attempting to be social with large group of new people and while i didn't totally crash and burn, i'm a little bruised today.~w