Fiddle Head

Eighteen years ago, while listening to CBC radio, my friend Karla Ann and I discovered a fiddle phenom from Cape Breton. We were intrigued by this celtic infused music and ventured out to "Festival By The Bay" in Sarnia to see what it was all about.

Immediately we were spellbound by Ashley MacIsaac. This young prodigy jumped around the stage attacking his fiddle and coaxing out the most amazing music. After the show, we bought a CD and had it signed. It was fun to chat with Ashley, who was just a few years older than us.

In the months that followed, we hit every show in our area that Mr. MacIsaac was performing. We, along with our friend April, became "fiddle heads". We were slightly ahead of a major trend in Canadian music in the mid 90s. Ashley MacIsaac became a bona fide superstar (in Canada, anyways!) And...we KNEW him. Ha ha. When I look back on those days, I laugh at how crazy we were, but it makes for some fun memories!

This weekend, I took a trip back in time when I saw Ashley again at Sarnia's Imperial Theatre. My cousin Josh had emailed me a while ago to ask if I'd be interested. It was actually a lot of fun and brought back a lot of memories.

MacGyver & co.

This week my Uncle Doug and Aunt Carmelle will move to Nova Scotia. I must say, this makes me sad.

I did not see a lot of them when I was growing up, just at the Murray Christmas once a year and perhaps a sprinkling of times in between. However, as an adult, I've loved connecting with them.

When I bumped into them at an Ashley MacIsaac concert, back in the day, I knew we were kindred spirits!

Uncle Doug is like a hairy MacGyver. I swear, he can jerry-rig just about anything. This was clearly demonstrated when I used his outdoor shower last summer or when Carol Ann called from Kuwait to ask for help with her sink. With the help of Skype, he talked her through it!

Carmelle is the epitome of chillax. She's a home body that loves her garden, cooking some amazing meals and keeping the home fires burning. OK, I don't even know what that last statement means but it seems appropriate! LOL

In addition, they are the parents of one of my favourite cousins :)

I know they have been looking forward to retirement and moving to the east coast. I'm so happy they are making this dream a reality. Although, I must say we are going to miss you guys!!!

xoxo

Small Boy, Good Taste

I recently had my nephew Liam over for dinner. He's five and loves music. He's constantly bee-bopping to the music in his head and has a great sense of rhythm.

goofing with iPad's PhotoBooth

While we were eating, I had my favourite playlist on Songza. Everything was fine until Bob Dylan came on. He asked me to please change it because he didn't like that one. I hit next and it was another Dylan song. He scrunched up his nose and shook his head. I agreed and told him that Dylan was an acquired taste. Maybe someday he would enjoy the classic.

The next song that came on was Simon & Garfunkel's Cecelia. His face lit up and he started groovin' right away. "I like this one, Auntie Janice!"

Ahhh, good boy Liam. A kindred spirit indeed!