Summer Note

Wow, it’s already mid-August. I can’t believe 2006 is already heading toward it’s end. Only one quarter of the year is left. The past eight months have gone by quickly, and as I think about it now, I really have no recollection of the spring. Summer has been busy with many events--a family reunion (my mother’s family) in my hometown of Tipton, two weddings (my niece Erin in Omaha, and our good friend Tim Behrens in KC), two birthdays (both Eliot and Kevin in July), and a literary conference (with Kevin) in Manhattan, Kansas. I have not given any performances over the summer, although Kevin has continued to play with his group THE PETROGLYPHS every third Saturday in Lawrence. My favorite venue at which to play in Emporia, a place called EUPHORIA, closed in May. I’ve been hoping someone would buy the place and re-open it, but now such luck yet. I’ve also started the process of making my next CD. Early in July I made a rough demo recording of about 10 songs that I will use as something to give to other musicians who are playing on the new CD to help them learn my songs. I’m planning to record in Kansas City again, which will be closer to the other musicians who are playing on the album. My friend, Laura Cossey, is going to be adding Mandolin to a few songs and we got together last weekend and worked on my song called “Ruby”, and I really LOVE how it sounded. It’s amazing how much fullness and beauty a second instrument can add to a song. Scheduling rehearsal and recording time still remains a challenge, but I’m plugging away. My goal is to get the album recorded by the end of the year with release sometime early in 2007. I’ll continue to post updates here in the coming months to let you know how the CD is progressing. On a more somber note, I must confess that I have been feeling a little blue for the past several months. Perhaps it’s just taking some time for me to adjust to our life in this new town, as well as adjusting to getting older. In addition, it seems our whole world is at war, and although I am not immediately affected by the conflicts, an underlying sense of grief and uncertainty stays with me most of the time. Every day the news block on the Yahoo home page lists the number killed in Iraq or Lebanon or elsewhere. Josh Ritter, one of my favorite singer-songwriters, has a song on his latest CD called “Girl in the War” that I think is a great bit of music for these times we’re living in. If you’re interested in checking out his music, just click on his name on my Links page and you’ll be connected to his web site. The name of his latest album is “The Animal Years”. It’s great stuff. I had hoped to write more on this entry, but alas it is now after midnight (I started to write this in the early afternoon but got pulled away with the duties of a Saturday at home with a 3-year-old) so I am going bring this to a close. I hope this note finds you well when you read it and enjoying the summer--even with all its relentless HEAT. I’ll try not to wait another eight months before writing again. Take care, and drop me a note anytime. I’d love to hear from you. Love and peace, Lisa

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