Tag Archives: BruceCockburn

Going to Michigan Again

I am getting ready to go back to Michigan and visit Dad. This time flying alone, Russel needs to stay here and work while school is still on. Not having Russel to power me through the airports will be very different.. I haven’t flown alone in over 20 years. Funny how dependent we get on one another.

Dad is done with treatments, and getting weaker all the time. He still is eating and walking slowly, but having a hard time getting up from a chair. He is clear headed and we talk every couple of days. But how long he will stay in this place is anyone’s guess.

They don’t know if the last round of radiation helped shrink the brain tumors, and won’t even do a scan for another month. Meanwhile the spots on his lungs have grown. The writing is on the wall I guess.

Home Health are coming in now 4x a week for a few hours
in the morning to help with bathing and such. Sue is handling most everything else.

My being there will mostly help me I think.. they are fine and family is abundant, but I only have one Dad, and I would like to see him at least one more time while he still can laugh and be with me.

So I leave April 25 – May 9 unless I need to stay longer. Sue keeps saying he isn’t dying yet, but I am not so sure.

I wanted to book this general time in February, but at that point Dad was improving fast and really thought he would be out planting his garden and mowing the lawn this year.

So I wish I had (booked then) as I wanted to catch a Bruce Cockburn show in Ann Arbor at the Ark on the 20th. But trying to book so late I couldn’t get a flight that met my needs until the 25..oh well. I do hope he makes it to California sometime this year.

Full Moon May

The garden is mostly in. The poppys are popping.. the sage is blooming and the wild lilac. We have had a dry spring with mild temps until the last several days of HIGH HEAT (100’s). Watching the clover yard dry up. The deer coming around less as there is less to eat. Haven’t seen the bambies yet, although we had a pregnant doe here for weeks.

Russel’s Aikido teacher from the bay area is here this weekend for a retreat. The potluck was last night and good food was had by all.
He is wrapping up the schools classes. In 3 weeks he will go to Aikido summer camp in the south bay for a week. I hope to have a lot of energy and maybe some money to do some interior work on this house.

The Michigan trip is booked for June 25 -July 11. Dad does have even more cancer. The melanoma keeps spreading, there are spots on his lungs which nothing can be done about, and a lump in his neck that is some kind of squamous, but not skin cancer kind. There is at least one more surgery ahead, if he chooses to do it. Probably just before we get there.

I have started to speak it out loud, that he may die soon… or not .. as he is a tough old guy (86) going on 60. But I need to prepare myself. This one will be hard to let go of.

My friends T and Ter from Florida are actually saying they may come visit this way this summer. I am so hoping that they do. I need them too. I need to see T… just feels like it must happen.

Not a lot of photos to brag about. Haven’t been using my camera much. Got this one in april through the hazy kitchen window:

I have been working a lot.

And Bruce Cockburn, www.cockburnproject.net is out on a short tour which is being recorded and filmed for a new LIVE-Solo CD and DVD. Wish he was doing some shows on the west coast for this, but he’s not.

There is also a lot going on locally. Too much to really go into here, but here is a link to a local blog who keeps everyone informed at least to what is going on with code enforcement, diesel concerns, 2nd district elections and Reggae wars, to name a few. I use it only as a means to being alerted and seeing what some (few) people are thinking about these issues. I do not generally agree with a lot that is posted over there as opinion.

Spring into Summer

The weather has been great.. a bit too hot a few days and then just right. Garden is evolving, put – off chores and projects are getting done.

Went to a healing circle for Carolyn last Sunday. It was an awesome empowering and powerful circle of women. I am so glad to have been invited.

KMUD has a new website, built with Joomla. I was talking with Simon, the station tech manager about all things web and actually felt some excitment in that area again. Perhaps I will get more into it as time allows this summer.

Tickets are purchased for a trip to Michigan to visit Dad and Sue and see the family. I am really hoping the Kelly and Laurie (my nieces) make the trip down from Alpena to visit. Going end of June till July 10 or so. Going to be hot, we were there the same time last trip.

Seems like my life is mostly the same, when I look back through archives, it’s mostly the same old same old, perhaps with just a few new things here and there. I am looking forward (again) to seeing Bruce Cockburn at Solfest in August.

Usually I would be looking forward to Reggae, but this is the year of Reggae hell. Too many long stories about why, if you really want to know, read from the beginning (meaning scroll down and start reading up) here and from links there to the other blogs. It’s such a fucking mess. I really really don’t plan on going. It hurts my heart the way this is. Reggae is what brought me to Humboldt to begin with, and I am a 21 year vet of Reggae on the River.

I also started a myspace space, I had so many people who wanted to communicate that way. I find it a bit cumbersome to use, I can hand code the page I want faster than I can use the ‘myspace’ method, but I am learning 🙂

I haven’t tied it to my sites or this blog yet. I really want to redo all my sites (been saying that for years now!) before I do that. Time will tell. I want to be able to blog again and have and control comments, with out the spam. If I get a different blogging tool, and transfer this site, maybe I will tie it all together.

Health wise I am good enough, the tendonitis in my right elbow is back hard, started a few months ago when I was moving tubs of stuff around. And my back and left hip are painful most of the time, but I have also weaned myself almost off the advils, down from 2400mg a day to maybe 800mg. Hope I can get those things under control.

Fall in the air

Well September went by in a blur. First off there was bunion surgery on the 7th.. this wasn’t too bad as far as surgeries go. I was off my foot entirely for a week or more, then I used a huge boot type support to hobble around.. unfortunately a blister was created that I didn’t know about until the bandages were changed a week later.. dealing with the blister has been just as painful as dealing with the surgical site! Any way, I am into Uggs type foot gear now and can drive and move about. Good thing as tons of to do stuff is piling up.

My birthday was September 11, and we lost a good friend on that day this year. Bob Wansick died from a heart attack, he went quick, and it was sudden. He will be sorely missed. There was a memorial on the 23rd.. a wonderful celebration of his life. His wife Diana, and his son and family are neighbors here on the creek road. I hope that all the ‘lets get togethers’ are actually gotten together. Time is short and you never know when the last time might be.

The laundry room is finally enclosed. What an ordeal. The storm door from Home Depot was more than a p-i-t-a to install/frame. But we like it.. it has 3/4 light and storm and roll-away screen. We’ll see how well it does keeping the rain out. The machines will be delivered on Tuesday… gonna be great although will take some getting used to. Having to do laundry daily and not all at once will be very different. Also, with the light and sun getting shorter, I guess I will have to run the generator for each load.

The water system hasn’t been switched to the new system yet. Russel will be working on that all winter I believe. He does have wood for this year bucked, split and stacked, and almost everything for next year. We try to stay a year ahead so we have really dry wood to burn. We had our first light rain this week so we could actually start a fire in the wood stove. Felt just wonderful!

I called my best friend Tom in Florida too. He just went through an agonizing month of rehab with several more to go, following a shoulder surgery to reattach some muscle and ligaments. Seems a full recovery is possible, but painful getting there. I am hoping that he and his woman Terry can make it out our way next year. It has been well over 20 years since Tom and I have seen each other.. funny how some relationships survive the time and distance with almost no effort. He writes just wonderful letters, when he writes. And we have a connection like no other. It gives me something to look forward too.. something outside the paradise I live in and the sweet life I have compared to so many others.

Bruce Cockburn is coming back my way again! I have tickets for the show at the Mystic Theater in Petaluma on November 9. I am taking 3 girlfriends to this one!! It should be lots of fun. It is something to look forward too!!

As the year rolls on, and all the holidays spring up, time will get even more short. I have lots of plans to work more on the computer, learn more programs, do more with what I already know and all that. I also need to still unpack, sort and decorate this house. Lots of stuff still in storage and infrastructure not in place to house everything I want to have out. So I figure that will be an ongoing project of mine.. a little every day or week depending on the other stuff that has to be done.

If you have bothered to read to here: Happy Fall !! Everyone. Enjoy the change of the seasons, slow down and hug the ones you love. Take time to enjoy the life you have and the ones you love, you never know what’s around the bend!

Michael Franti at Reggae on the River

6 August 2006

Reggae on the River…is in a new location. I had bought tickets for Reggae and Bruce knowing I would miss one or the other. Reggae lost, I was there briefly on Friday before going to the city to see Bruce Cockburn. I didn’t really like the new layout or space, more on that at a later time.

I was fried from the week end and drive home on Sunday, but determined to go see Michael Franti at Reggae. I got to the site about 45 minutes before he came on and stood about 20 feet back from the stage (in the pit) waiting. Although I have been at shows where he has performed in the past, I have never actually ‘seen’ him in daylight… what a treat.

Michael Franti at Reggae on the River 2006

(this photo from newspaper so not too good)

The pit filled up with thousands of people, but I still had a good view. Michael is a power-house of energy, jumping, jumping jumping.. and engaging the audience constantly. Spearhead, his backup band is awesome as well. His new cd, Yell Fire has many great songs on it and he performed most of them. I was jumping and grooving and dancing and singing and was surprised I could keep going. But it was so good to see him so close.

And to see my 2 favorite music-poet men in the same weekend was just superb 🙂

Bruce Cockburn at Kate Wolf Festival-2006

I wrote a review of the Kate Wolf festival for the CockburnProject.net Most of what I had to say is printed there. (scroll down for the Kate Wolf show report at the bottom of the page).

Pushing Bruce’s set back by an hour or more didn’t help things. I feel he was put off by that, but maybe I am wrong.. who knows? I didn’t get to ask him. I wish he had talked to us more, the crowd was also more subdued… or just wasted from 3 days in the 110 + degrees! I couldn’t holler as usual either as my throat was taking a beating from the heat, dust and talking.
[I found out much much later that the reason the set was pushed back was because Bruce’s tour bus was having problems, probably overheating as it was just too hot.]

It was great seeing Doug Stacey and meeting his friends. Talking to others sitting around us at the site.

I took pictures during sound check:

Bruce Cockburn at Kate Wolf 2006 soundcheck

Unfortunately Bruce is trying to be incognito. And succeeded for awhile. My camera was soo hot in my hands that I stopped.. the battery doesn’t want to be over 86 degrees!

Bruce Cockburn at Kate Wolf 2006 soundcheck-Photo Margriet Seinen

Bruce at Kate Wolf photo by Margriet Seinen.

I did manage to give to Leslie, Bruce’s stage manager (don’t know what title to give him?!), a cd I had created with pictures going back to the 80’s of him and me and of shots from some more recent shows.

I always want to give him something, and it gets harder and harder to know what he would appreciate. I just want to give back to him.

His words and music have been a constant soundtrack in my heart and mind since the first time I heard him. No matter what was going on in my life, Bruce has been there with me. From the way some of the songs on the new album, Life Short Call Now, sound, it seems as if we, as fans, really need to be with him now. And I don’t know how to do that, short of just telling him that he is in my heart.

The night shots weren’t very good. I really need to learn how to take better night shots, and well a better zoom would help too!

Bruce Cockburn at Kate Wolf — tomorrow

HOT!!
Right now it is 102.9 and rising in the shade!! (make that 103.3 !!!)
Yikes.. and it’s been like this for a few days with more to come..
yea right – there is no global warming. It is quite scarey though..fire danger just from walking on the parched earth!!

The heat will keep me from going to Kate Wolf Memorial Music Festival early in the day… just won’t be able to handle the heat.

We will get there later in the day… it still will be hot, but coming down.. Bruce doesn’t come on until 8:30.

Bruce Cockburn ticket for Kate Wolf festival

CockburnProject in anticipation of the new cd release to happen in a couple of weeks. The tour has already started, I will be writing a review of the show, if I get it together. I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of the new CD –
Life Short Call Now, which should be here any day, to write a review and well just to hear it!!

Still not operating at 100%, but getting better, the tonsillectomy kicked my ass for sure.

Russel went to the bay area for a few days for Aikido, he really needed to do that, as he missed his annual Aikido retreat here with his teacher Frank Doran Sensei, while I was recovering from the surgery.

We have full week ahead of different projects to do here. And I need to focus back in on www.seinensilk.com.

Tonsillectomy May 9

I am finally going to do this. Months of sore throat and pain and tonsil stones and I believe toxins entering my body. Wish me well and a fast recovery. I won’t be able to talk for awhile, and the pain I hear is just dreadful.

Nothing like having a full plate, I am in the middle of a website build, with at least many hours to go. We are in the last phases of moving from the little town house to here… Russel may have to do the rest by himself, as I may be down for anywhere from 10 days to a month (yikes!).

Russel is at the end of the school year with spring fever kids and lots of demonstrations to get together. His Aikido teacher, Frank Doran Sensei will be here for a weekend training May 20-21, which is always fun, but lots to prepare for as well.

And it went from rain rain rain 2 weeks ago, to 90’s last week…mud to dust just like that. We haven’t got the garden in, but the beds are mostly ready.

We took some big trees that were dying out and the back yard is full of timber and debris. Russel has started the firewood cutting, but there is a ton to do. And so many other things here, boxes are starting to pile up, water system needs work.. the list is endless.

So for the few of you who come here, that’s what I have been up too. I hope when I recover from this surgery and Russel is done with school and we are out of the town house, that all our energy and time will be here, either on the homestead or for me, on the web doing all the things I said i wanted to do last year.

Oh, and my camera is in the shop..in New Jersey of all places, at MackCamera, who i had an extended warranty with. It had developed dead pixels in the center of the ccd and it was very hard to even photoshop them out.

Oh, and Bruce Cockburn has a new cd [Life Short Call Now ] coming out in July and he starts touring in June…we have tickets for the Kate Wolf Festival June 25, more on that later.

On My Beat

Living in the hills of southern Humboldt