1) Lots of gigs
2) Lots of fun
3) Lots of stress
4) A pilgrimage back to Washington

On most of my pilgrimages home I manage to bring unbelievably foul weather with me.  The last three years there have been snow, hail, and unbelievable windstorms that left the power out for a week.  Aw, thanks, Washington, you shouldn't have.

I've come to think of these storms as an annual event, part of the holiday season.  But to hear Seattlites talk, it's the storm of the century!  Every year!  This year there's a cold snap that looks to be a week long or more, with temperatures all the way down below freezing and fully an inch of snow.  Granted, it's not Anchorage, but this would still be a very chilly time to be living on our bus, the Millennium Tortoise, fireplace or no.

But we don't have to worry about living in the bus, because it's been in the shop for three weeks.  Oh boy!  It's not all that broken, it's just hard to find parts for such an old bus.  We've taken these three weeks as an opportunity to get in touch with friends and family members on a much deeper level -- in other words, we're couchsurfing.  It's really nice, actually, after the last several hit-and-run visits while touring.

But I had high hopes for December. December was my "month off" (read: 40-hour work week without gigs).  I have so much blogging, photo uploading, research, organization, promotions, cleaning, etc. to take care of, and the thought of a month to just focus on that & enjoy the holidays was delightful.  My month off has now evaporated in light of the couchsurfing.  No steady work days, no schedule, not even a single coffee shop I can commit to.

**[I have been known to make note of this out loud, to my husband, repeatedly over the last month.  And for that I ought to publicly apologize.  I would never complain on Twitter, for example, the way I have privately, and I really believe in positivity (in principle). so I think it's time to confess, be absolved, and quit it.  Our homelessness is temporary and surrounded with fun and friends; we have no shortage of couches & families, and we've really enjoyed getting to know their lives better.  And I'm more eager to see the bus again than I've ever been, which is good.  This is such, such, such a learning experience, and a really positive one at that.]**

It has thrown me off schedule, though.  So if I owe you some follow-up business after the TERRIFIC LA tour (which will be the subject of another blog), or you needed me to post photos, or I owe you money, or *gulp* Song of the Month CD's -- rest assured, I'm doing all I can to take care of those.  SOTM CD's have nearly all been mailed, and should arrive before the New Year.  My other "free time" grand plans have gone by the wayside for now, and I'm trying to just take things as they come until we go from homeless to homeful again.

When the list of things you intended to do outstrips the amount of time you have by several laps, it's time to
re-evaluate.  So I'm doing what I can, and then genuinely taking two weeks off starting on Christmas.  As in -- mostly internet-free.  I may Twitter during that time, but I won't do much else.  I love all my myspace/Facebook/Twitter/real life friends, though, and I look forward to more of you, and doing more for you.

What do I want for Christmas?  For you to watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVqqj1v-ZBU

And then make a donation of $1 or $2 here:  Living Water International
Or, if you prefer a non-religious organization, here: Water 1st International

I know you have a dollar.  But if you can't make a donation, then tell someone -- pass this along.

I think that if this message spreads around the country, it will become more acceptable for some of us to choose charitable alternatives to "stuff" consumption. I have done that in years past, and so have some of my family members, and I know that we wrestle with the guilt of feeling as if it's a cop-out to give to charity instead of doing all that work shopping and shipping.  It would be good if we transitioned to a place where we encouraged giving and spending time together doing things on a nationwide or global scale -- I think that's how we'll ultimately save Christmas, for those of us that celebrate it.  I really love Christmas (all the best choral music belongs to Christmas) and I am afraid of what it's become.

In fact, I think this snow/ice storm in Seattle is terrific.  Maybe we'll all have to stay home with our families and build a fire and bake things instead of running around.  Wouldn't that be something?

This year we're celebrating Chrannakuh for the first time (in honor of our newly-acquired Jewish family members).  And we're celebrating by spending time.  That's the goal, anyhow.

All my best to those of you celebrating, those of you alone, and those of you stranded by weather or alienated by your religion or lack thereof.  Peace & goodwill toward all y'all. And deliverance from pop covers of the same ten secular Christmas carols.

And, hey, if you feel great and you're celebrating -- put on some music.  And if you feel lonely and awful -- put on some music.  Music makes everything better.