December 2009 ⁰

Time has been flying. The past 3 months have been amazing. September was incredibly warm (the summer Manitoba didn’t have) and saw me cleaning out my office (on the lawn. What better place!) We made a trip to Alberta for a fundraiser and a couple of nifty little concerts. Late Sept/early Oct was time to prepare for my first tour of Germany. All I can say is WOW. We had such an amazing time. The food was kšstlich, the people gastfreundlich and begrŸ§end, the scenery spektakulŠr… We arrived home in November and I was soon ensconced in a nano-van for my Home Routes tour zigzagging across southern Manitoba. Vistas and clear roads — I discovered Manitoba has hills!!! December started with a couple of concerts and a songwriting workshop, and now I am looking forward to being home. I’ve been touring steadily since Easter!

Highlights of the past few months:

– performing at Mt Engadine Lodge in Kananaskis country and watching moose hang out in the mud… oddly beautiful…
– being with the Prince George and Vanderhoof folks… great music and great people
– canning for the first time with my dear friends the Wheelhouses (peaches and Bourbon Peach Butter…. yum)
– soaking up the heat in Saskatchewan with the Yankos
– banjo lessons with Mitch Podolak
– driving the autobahn (where 140 km/hr keeps you in the slow lane)
– yogurt salad dressing (found everywhere in Germany!)
– spaetzle (a very up-scale yummy macaroni and cheese German style)
– pretzels… more yum
– Thomas and his family in Neidlingen, Germany (thank you for taking such good care of us!)
– seeing old friends Lee and Jan in Augsburg, Germany after 17 years!
– walking into the venue near Hannover and seeing a new friend from London, UK sitting there… VERY COOL! Thank you Andrew! – South Tirol… wow… God’s country… We were fortunate to play a festival in Steinegg, Italy. The drive there was stunning (through the Austrian Alps into Italy and up crazy switchbacks). Thank you to the family running the Steinegg Hotel for welcoming us so warmly!
– performing at a 24 hour Beer Salon in Berlin just days before the 20th anniversary of the wall coming down…
– buying hand-made clogs in Preetz (“Schusterstadt”) – eating mustard soup in Holland
– the Manitoba Home Routes tour… such amazing cool communities in this province! And it was rather warm and sunny all of November… how perfect!
– Riding Mountain National Park. Stunning.
– visiting with sheep outside of Carman, MB… one actually came and nuzzled with me, I was in heaven!

My heart is full of gratitude, 2009 has been such a memorable year. I have been blessed with amazing friends and fans, agents, presenters, distributors, fellow touring musicians and venues… I wish you all a restful December, wherever you find yourself, that you will be surrounded by those you love…

Peace, light and hope –

Cara