February 20, 2003
Sperryville, Virginia

Greetings from the sweet and snowy Shenandoahs where I've been held up in delicious hibernation for the past week. It's just a short drive from Washington D.C. up into the hills but you would hardly know it as it is SO beautiful and ancient here its like another land altogether. Had a seriously out of control festival of snow this week and we got snowed in UP TO OUR EYEBALLS. Took us days to shovel ourselves out (well Jenny did most of the shovelling, while I baked us biscuits and honey apple bread on the wood stove) And Jenny made a wicked Snow Witch with the carrot nose and the big pointy hat and how sad, today she melted and her head fell off. We got to play Little House on the Frozen Prairie and I got to be Ma of the cooking and cleaning while Jenny was Pa of the shovelling out of the carriages. We were totally stuck in the beautiful nowheres with no way out for days... Ahhhhhhhhh... Finally had a chance to catch up on some much needed rest after a truly insane couple of months. Worked so hard all January to the point of serious exhaustion from acute stress monkey syndrome. Managed to get myself totally ill just in time to hop in the car and drive myself to Nashville for the Folk Alliance conference. Regardless of the sniffles, I made it through and had a truly amazing time... mostly thanks to my dearest friends the Little Red Hen darlings without whom I would surely perish. Now I'm putting myself back together at Chez-Jenny and her converted hunting lodge/sleazeball motel/country home of goodness by the river in Sperryville, Virginia. I am discovering that being truly happy in this life for me must include much more sleeping, breathing, baking, wood stacking and fire tending... Mmmmmmnnnnnnn....

In other news, last night I got to have my second glass blowing lesson in Eric the neighbour's glorious glass studio. SO MUCH FUN. But wow, it's really hard work. Concentrated so intensely for hours on creating my masterpiece which in the end tragically fell off the big flamey poker and back into the fire of its creation. I almost cried. 

So, I will be leaving this lovely land soon (hopefully before the predicted coming rains and possible flood... yikes) and back to Toronto for a gig that's SO gonna rock the world. Will be performing with my most favouritest ladies, Serena Ryder and the Road Dog Divas at Hugh's Room on February 27th. So all y'all Torontonians/Ontarians won't wanna miss it. Believe me. We's gonna take down the house. Hope to see you out there.

xoxox
K