Betsy

So a few days ago, I was truly a sad and dejected cellist. For many months, I'd been planning to attend PhilCon to perform with Sooj, but when it came right down to it, the con just didn't have the budget to get me there. And, when I checked the airfares to see if I could afford the tickets myself, I saw why: airline tickets within 2 weeks of Thanksgiving are freakin' EXPENSIVE. So, no PhilCon for me, I thought. And no more performing with Sooj for almost half a year.  *sniff*  [Sad, heartfelt cello music commences in background.]

But then our brilliant s00j had a brilliant idea: ask the Internet for help, offering a private concert and/or monthly goodies to contributors -- and the magic would happen.

And it DID. With amazing alacrity.

...And I am absolutely GOBsmacked. Not only because of the generous contributions (and the fact that suddenly I DO get to go to PhilCon OMGOMG) -- but because of the concurrent outpouring of love and support.

Thank you all so much -- to everyone who contributed, and to everyone who'd meant to, but didn't get the chance because our amazing Internet community moves FASTER THAN THE SPEED OF LOVE.  

I love you all.

[Bouncy cello music commences in foreground.]

Two people. Two consummate musicians.

Corbin Keep: cello and vocals. Cello will be played sideways, backwards, occasionally upside-down. This by a man who loves the cello. Really.

Mel Watson: formerly of the Australian sensation “Fruit”. Mel is accomplished on several instruments, including trumpet, soprano sax, flute, guitar, and percussion, the favorite being her 4 & 1/2 octave voice, with which she "reaches tones that would giv...e Mariah Carey and Celine Dion hernias."

Elements of folk, classical, rock, blues, jazz and more are combined, to create a cello and horn-driven sound which is all their own. Together, Corbin & Mel are "fun, totally engaging, moving, time stopping, improvisatory, as genuine as it gets - and their songs are terrific."

We're hosting a house concert for Mel and the Wild Cellist at Pinecoon House in Redmond.  Concert is on Sunday, April 10. Doors open at 3:30 PM; music starts at 4 PM.

Mel & Corbin's website: http://melandthewildcellist.com/

Directions to the concert: http://www.stealthcello.com/Stealthcello/Directions.html

If you're planning to attend, please comment on this post or send me email (at betsy at stealthcello dot com) so we know how many folks are coming.

Note: If you're allergic to cats, you might want to take an antihistamine before you arrive. (The cats will be shut upstairs during the concert, and the place will be thoroughly vacuumed and sprayed with anti-cat-dander stuff, but better safe than sneezy).

Boosting the signal re an auction currently being held on LiveJournal to help save Fae Hollow... it's being held at http://community.livejournal.com/save_fae_hollow/ .

Items for bid are listed on that page; for photos, scroll down. To bid, just comment with your bid after the item you want. There are some beautiful items being offered, including custom cloaks, jewelry, and some great services as well, including the intriguing "Dancing Photographers" and the tasty "Vegan Treats". (Note: I am not involved with the auction, which is being run by some of Alec's Indiana-area fans; I'm just boosting the signal.)

Bidding closes on June 30, and there aren't very many bids yet -- so hop on over and bid to help save Fae Hollow (and get some cool stuff)!

If you'd like to make a simple donation (as opposed to, or in addition to, an auction bid) to help save Fae Hollow, go here: http://faerietaleminstrel.com/inside/

For more info about what's up with Fae Hollow, see the AlexanderFans Livejournal at http://community.livejournal.com/alexanderfans .

We are holding two work parties (on Sunday, June 28 & Sunday, July 5) to get our place ready for elocinnuala & jormundgan 's wedding. (We here at Chez Pinecoon have been hard at work on the grounds for over a month, but it's a big place, so we have finally realized that we need some help. The cats have been absolutely useless -- they are talented that way -- so we are finally asking for help, starting with you. (*Please* feel free to invite other folks whom you think would be willing to help -- we have plenty to do, plenty of food, and plenty of ice cream :-)

Work Party #1: Sunday, June 28 -- we will be starting at about 11 AM and will quit when it's dinnertime (at about 7:30 PM). You can arrive & depart whenever you like (we'll take you whenever we can get you!). We will also provide lunch at about 1 PM. (There won't be any special entertainment, but we can promise tasty food and plenty of it. And ice cream. And, possibly, newborn kittens, if we're lucky.

Work Party #2 (with bonus FIRE SHOW): Sunday, July 5 -- we will be working in the yard starting at noon and going till dinnertime (about 7:30 PM). We will provide lunch at about 1 PM and dinner-of-doom at about 7:30 PM. Once it gets dark enough (9ish), we'll have a fire show featuring hammerdancer andshivana (and possibly one or two other folks). (If you can't make it earlier to help with the yardwork, you are still welcome to come by later for the fire show; I know they would appreciate the audience!)

On both days, we'll be working on a variety of things, so there should be something for just about everyone's preferences & abilities. The tasks on our list include raking leaves out of the landscaping, laying down mulch, weeding, weed-whacking, washing the glass deck railings, trimming hedges, planting new bushes, sanding & painting, power-washing, pouring new gravel between the pavers on the patio, teasing the cats, and (of course) eating lots of tasty food. (Not simultaneously, of course.)

Oh -- and please RSVP so that we know how many folks to expect -- you can comment below, or send email to me at betsy at stealthcello dot com.

My guitar is a vampire.

It is seductive and evil and beautiful and sneaky, and once it gets its little carbon-fiber teeth into me, it doesn't let go. Ten hours, today. Seriously. Ow.

...Hey, if playing the guitar really burns 118 calories per hour, as some of the "calorie websites" claim, then I expended 1,180 calories today on the guitar alone. (Does that mean I get to eat a humongous ice cream sundae with mountains of java chip ice cream, dark chocolate sauce and whipped cream without feeling guilty or gaining weight?)

On the bright side, there is a new song, partly as a result of today's muse-a-thon. I hope to gods it's really mine, and not accidentally someone else's that crept into my head when I wasn't looking. (I have a similar concern about my kids: I was there when they were born, and I'm nearly certain they are mine, because I saw where they came from and I worked damned hard to get them out of there... but sometimes I look at them and wonder.)

On the down side, my arms and hands need to be plunged into ice until the pain stops.

Tramadol is good, too. And warmer.

So when you name a kitten... is it because that's the right name for that kitten -- or does the name shape its personality?

We named one of our "Pixie" kittens Alligator -- and it's uncanny how well the name fits him.

He bites toes. He really, really likes toes -- anyone's toes.

He lies in wait, body and chest and chin flat on the floor as if he were lurking in a swamp, and then ambushes your ankles. With sharp teeth.

I have threatened to make him into a handbag.

Lately, the huge water dish in our kitten room keeps turning up empty, with water all over the floor, and Suspicious Tracks leading away from it. And Alligator always seems to be wet -- especially his belly and feet. (Our other kittens manage to stay dry.) Hmmm...

Today we caught him at it: Alligator has been literally swimming in the water dish.

Well, at least he doesn't eat the other cats...

Arggh... enough already with the Major Technical Failures... Last week it was my Mac's hard drive; now both of our land lines are now dead, along with our DSL service. (I'm posting this from my cell, which is currently still functioning.)

On the bright side, we do still have electricity (though I hesitate to say that too loudly...)

Anyway, until our service is fixed, the most reliable way to reach us is to call our cell phones. (Without DSL service, I probably won't be on email, though Dave can get to his email at work.)

(Verizon is supposedly sending a technician out tomorrow. But, last time our phone died, it took them 5 days to fix it. At least that time, we still had DSL...)

[edit] Well, email on my cell phone works better than I'd expected. It's a bit slow and ungainly, and typing on the thumb-board is a pain in the -- well, in the thumb joints; but at least it works...

I am seriously bummed: my MacBook's hard disk has died. Although we have tried many things to revive it and/or retrieve my data, the drive is just not responding to *anything*. We are talking severe hardware failure here. Dead dead dead. (Deader, in fact, than the unlucky mouse that was recently caught by our momma cat and used as an educational tool for her four kittens, who proved to be apt and enthusiastic students of both hunting and anatomy.)

And I am an idiot: I did not have a backup. I have no excuse for this; I suppose I thought that, at less than 6 months old, my MacBook was just too young to die. (I should have learned from the experiences of the unfortunate solcita, whom I believe has had her MacBook hard disk die on her not once, but twice.)

Some of my lost data does at least exist somewhere else (photos of which I have copies on my PC, about 200 CDs that I laboriously ripped into iTunes, etc). About 1500 songs of my 2500-song iTunes collection is currently on my iPod, so at least those aren't totally lost. (Although iTunes won't let you copy songs from your iPod to a new computer/drive, I believe there is some third-party software that will.)

The only irreplaceable losses were a couple of compositions-in-progress (in Finale and/or GarageBand), and about fifteen rough recordings (essentially audible note-taking). Unfortunately, my memory for tune ideas is terrible, which is why I record them whenever possible; so, it's likely that those are now gone forever... sigh.

Since the Mac has me stymied (I'm going to have to send it back to Apple for a replacement drive), I'm redirecting my frustrated energies into backing up both my PC laptop and PC desktop. Doing so won't bring back the lost data from my poor dead Mac, but at least I can say I've learned from my stupid mistake...

Happy birthday to my darling siouxiequeue, treasured friend (by the greatest good fortune) and beloved sister (by choice) -- I love, admire, and appreciate you so much.

And I hope your birthday rocks like a great big rocking thing. With chocolate.

...to my wonderful measurethrice -- gardener, book lover, much-appreciated Scooper Of The Kitty Litter, creator of extraordinary meals, and keeper of my heart.

I love you.