Well now, there've been 2 double-header weekends in my sphere of late, all the best worlds,

can't think of any better: a party w/ bands, jam, friends; a family party w/ about 40 relatives

on the river; a studio session; and High Mass!

Lola's B-Day Bash ~ St. Paul side of the River ~ Oct 11, 2009

My beautiful cousin Patrice Glendenning, and myself

Ginger Glendenning, my beautiful cousin, and I. In the backround is Ginger's nephew Brian

Glendenning holding niece Anna. Competition for which Auntie, Uncle or Cousin would next hold that great baby.

Ooh, this is good, the venerable olde guarde: Front: Cousin Peggy, Mom, Auntie Lola. Back: Cousin Mert, Cousin Ted.

~ Mert and Peggy found love together late in life - they are 1st cousins of Mom & Lola recently married to each other, but

from totally opposite sides of the family and unrelated. I have cousins that are both seniors and babies

~ Me and Mom ~

Anna Glendenning (4th generation) being held by her 1st cousin twice removed; on the Mississippi River (St. Paul side).

+ + +

This weekend Dan Coffeen and Scott Monitor had me over to their studio again. I'd asked Tom

Harkness of The Swamp Kings to play on this song, and esp. interested that he sing. Jack Diehl

(bass) also came - and I think it's very good to be in a group with the names Jack and Tom. They

go very well together, those names.

(we shall "all" be returning to the studio to hopefully realize my little song) At this point, that

doesn't matter so much to me as what happened and the bigger view of life/art/writing/

friends/musicians which came to me via that session.

Hard to explain - the sound (scratch recording) turned out totally different from what I'd conceived, it was

almost an opposite. At first this confused me...I took a break and suddenly realized that in this inception

w/ these players at that moment, a simplicity was required...and I'd a long road back! Traveled it some

that day...listened to the scratch later and became enthralled. Now I can't quit, I like it more and more.

I think mainly due to Tom's guitar lines - of which I'd been ignorant that a guitar could effect so much

the song-ness of a song, the melodicity.

So there's something beautiful which got tapped...and I never wanted to sing a beautiful line in falsetto

but that's what this is - and may be for the real tracks. How can it be, that I's set on a very heavy slow

funk w/ toms...and end up playing woodblock? I walked away from the session going what the heck

HAPPENED in there yet I felt so good and excited, like part of an unknown treasure was discovered.

I literally saw the gold glinting, the cave where it lay, I think there's more in there once past the entrance.

Being w/ Dan and Tom who've known me from long ago and esp. that neighborhood connection (w/Tom)

made things very comfortable for me. I'd not done this before.

Dan still has a horror of stepping on my individuality. We are getting together to probably re-write some

of it, or strengthen transitions (4 song sections at this point). Which will mean editing.

It's The Bar Chord Song we're fiddling with.

+ + +

Then this morn was High Mass...how can it be, over and over again, as years go by - YEARS - and

situations of life mundane, gorgeous or horrific...that I can stumble into that choir loft and be

struck that a pauper off the street somehow landed at Beauty Itself? Everyone else in the choir

tends to business and I do, too...but sometimes I don't know how I can sing.

The melodies of the Latin Propers...sigh/swoon.

There's hallowed things going on I thought at my very first Latin Mass - stunned at the existence of such

a thing, much less having the good fortune to behold it. It's overwhelming at times, this sense of a love for and

knowing of my person that is not of this world. Yet so familiar. My whole musical life and children, family, friends,

all the great characters of my little world I think of, especially in that choir loft. Nothing is separate. That's

why I hate the "religious" category of music. I don't believe in that. (besides, if it's a hit, it's a hit).

Anyway, a great, slow warm up singing for 70 minutes or whatever it was. And the smile on Dr. K's face!