In the bleak midwinter

I've been a fan of Corrine May ever since I saw her play her songs live in Gloria Jeans cafe in Holland Village in 2002. You might be over Christmas but this song is so intimately expressed, it puts you right in that coffeeshop where she's playing. There is something very comforting about being in a toasty cafe on a cold wet winter's day. While the cars buzz outside, inside - its calm and peaceful.

Watch her perform live at her neighbourhood Peets Coffee where she sips tea and writes song daily.

year end concert

During my wedding, I didn't even have a someone style my hair professionally.

But Shane got his hair done for the year end concert. Like Dragonball.

I kind of think, that preschool concerts are too elaborate these days with their costumes and choreography and many hours spent practicing. Last year, Alix experienced stage anxiety and burst into tears when the performance started...I wondered if she was better off not having to get up to do this all over again.

I decided that I would stand near the stage ready to whisk her away if she started to cry.

What I wasn't prepared for was this.

Waving to me when she entered the stage.

Doing her own thing.

Watching her on that stage, was like seeing her take those first steps again. That burst of pride and also wanting to burst into tears because your two year old has overcome bursting into tears.

I guess that's why they hold year end concerts.

Once

In the plane, I hooked up the crayolas to Dora the Explorer and started surfing the inflight entertainment channels for something to watch. I nearly fell off the seat when I found the movie 'Once'.

L told me about Once. She makes films so she's clued into the really good stuff. Interest piqued, I watched a few You Tube clips and started falling-rapidly-in-love with the pairing of Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova in the movie.




Glen Hansard is the sort of guy that my father never approved of but I always had a tendency to fall for. Scruffy. Lonely. Grungy street musician with zero real career inclinations. With nothing to offer except sad songs and a hunger to create something.

Marketa sings and plays the piano really well but downplays her talent so that Hansard takes the spotlight. In a troubled marriage, she starts to fall slowly. In the end, she chooses family unity before gratifying her own desires. She looks 18 (is about that age actually) but has gigantic adult sized responsiblities.

They are both poor and struggle to make a living. He busks in the streets. She cleans houses and sells flowers. Their first meeting is ackward. Their romance implausible. They never kiss and in the end they don't end up together. But what happens between them making music for that fragment in time, is better than xxx, better than kissing or having a relationship.