Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Germ-y on Gabriola

Sorry guys, falling behind... no more driving, and I needed to nap in our only spare time today.  (They keep us busy, with three 3-hour sessions a day.)

So... back to Sunday.

Woke up with less of a tennis ball in my throat, but the cold had definitely moved to my sinuses. :-(  As I said to Don later in the day, it's probably no coincidence that my body decided to not be able to talk the day before our workshop which I'm hoping will break me out of my rut...   Stupid body tricks.

Breakfast was more yummy bread with blackberry jam, plus a quarter melon.  Mmm...mmm.

Landon suggested I try their steam shower.  He showed me how to work it, then left me to my own devices.  As the steam started out of the tap, I looked at the time -- 30 minutes?  They expected me to sit still for thirty whole minutes?!?  How stupid is that?  I can't sit still for... oh... maybe... whaddayamean there's only ten minutes left?  Four?  Waaahhhh, I want another steam shower!  I should really have one of these just before I have to sing.  Clear the sinuses, moisten the throat and lungs.  Feels good!

A light lunch of crab salad, and then it was time for us to frappe la rue, with a promise to come back and Amber-sit on Saturday.

The drive up to the ferry was another beautiful day of beautiful vistas.  The downtown ferry terminal in Nanaimo was working again, so all was well.  We caught the 5:00 ferry and arrived at The Haven shortly thereafter.

Our room is in a different building this time -- I think their "bargain" rooms must have all been filled up, because it seems we got upgraded to a slightly bigger model.  Not that we spend much time there, but it's nice to be able to have a place for all the instruments without tripping over them.

We headed down to the main lodge for dinner, and ate with Rick, who's taking the Phase II course (a 25-day long one!).  We forgot how yummy the meals here are!

After that, it was up to our first session for the Spirit In The Song workshop.  Eric Bibb and his wife Sari are leading it, and there are only six of us in the class -- three males, three females, so it's a nice balance.  Khamed is a guitar player singer-songwriter, sort of in the gospel-blues vein.  Louise is a writer, who thought taking a songwriting course could help her reduce her word count, while still getting a strong message across.  Sylvie is no longer able to play an instrument, because of an injury to her hand, but sings and writes.  Cameron introduced himself as someone who doesn't sing in public -- but HOLY CRAP, this guy can sing!!!  We found out today that his birth name is Bray, and he and Don actually share a great-grandfather (and perhaps a grandfather?).  And then there's Don and myself, who you people know already. :-)

We started out with introductions, getting to know each other, what sort of things we want to get out of this course, etc..  We each shared one of our songs, to help introduce our music -- I was so sick, I actually managed to mess up "Not Enough Whiskey".  OY!  And it was the freakin' refrain, of all things...   Well, they liked it, anyhow.  We talked a bit about songwriting and were sent home with the assignment to pick our favourite song (of someone else's) to present to the class the next morning.

We went back to the lounge for a tasty beverage, to upload yesterday's blog, and to visit with a few more people.  Then it was time to crash.  We slept like babies.

Sorry, guys, there's probably much I missed, but I'm about to crash tonight, too.  Maybe I'll stay awake during our break tomorrow and tell you all about today.  Or maybe I won't. :-)

Musically, and still with a friggin' cold,
Alyssa

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