A little update

Well I spent December 15-20 in Olivet.  My mother-in-law safely installed at home with my family, I loaded my Bug with a suitcase and guitar and headed for snowy, sleepy Olivet.  The students had left for winter break, so I only ever saw a few souls there (which was good, since I needed to write).  I stayed at Thorndyke Cabins on Pine Lake and spent quite a bit of time writing as a guest of the Upton Conservatory of Music.  Ramona, the piano professor, suggested that I meet a senior at the college who is a singer/songwriter and who is currently working on her second album.  This turned out to be Chara West.  Chara and I became fast friends and fans of one anothers' music.

I got rest during the week, I wrote quite a bit, and also met with my share of frustrations.  Writing is a painstakingly slow process lately, and I've struggled with finishing certain songs - the ones I consider to be my best work.  I think it was a bit of heavenly help that I crossed paths with Chara, because she listened to my frustrations and offered the kind of astute, sage and totally true observations that only an objective person could offer.  I listened to what she had to say and cried.  She really hit the nail on the head, and it helped.  I immediately finished a song after that, but that was at the end of the week so it was the only song that I finished during the writing retreat.  I did make a lot of progress on some of the existing songs and started a new one for my daughter.

I'll write more about all this later.  It's the middle of the night and I need to get back to bed.  I didn't have much Internet access while I was in Olivet, but I did journal quite a bit.  Now I need to get Finale for my mac and get to work.  I have been lazy since getting home!