Winter is GOING...

So, it’s been quite a while for anything new to come bubbling up here. There’s good reason for that, as some of you who follow me on Facebook have gathered over the past months. A brief recap:

Album Release

I got sick
New job! (same company, got promoted, LOTS more work)
Eric got pneumonia (more on this later)
Complete block on songwriting
Eric finally got better
Birthday!
Spring arrived, not a moment too soon
Writing a Musical! (and by writing I mean the concept was that of Susan Weiner, I’m just doing the blocking and dialogue and stage plot)
New baby! (no, not mine)

….so yeah, it’s been a little busy in the wonderful world of Lizzie.

Album Release

Windycon was amazing. I got to see so many people that I haven’t seen in ages, and got to celebrate the marriage of two people who honestly could not be more perfect for one another. They’re ridiculously cute, and it brightens me up a little every time I think of them.

The CD release for “Crowes and Consequences” went off without a hitch, and out concert that Sunday was a whirlwind of Eric on many instruments, Andy’s puns of DOOM, Jason holding down the low end, Justin giving us one half of a serious heartbeat, Beth Kinderman -the other half of that killer beat- and I taking bets on how long we could survive this sausage fest, and me ducking to make sure that the careening maniacs around me didn’t take off my head in mid-verse!

Writing a Musical!

Susan Weiner is evil in all the best ways. She’s put together one doosey of a musical concept involving Cheshire moon songs telling the story of a fairytale princess turned baddass. I’ve gotten the stage plot and dialogue finished at long last, and it’s going to be EPIC. We’re hoping to feature this at WindyCon 2014, so stay tuned!

I got sick

I don’t get sick that often, but like so many things in my life, nothing is down by halfs. The epicness of my sickness was surpassed only by how badly I wanted to do laundry while I was at home. Eric, after making fun of me wildly, put the kibosh on that most soundly. It turned out that on top of it all I was mildly anemic, which further complicated things and left me exhausted.

New job!

I was approached several times over several weeks by 2 manages in my company regarding the work that I do because I’m the person who did it the most. They were worried about risk issues, which I illustrated. Then I got called down to the principal’s office. My first thought, of course, was that I was getting canned. So, sweating mortars, I sat down and was promptly told that not only was I not being fired, I was being promoted. YAY…. Until the job was put out in front of me and I realized just how screwed I was about to become.

Eric got pneumonia

Eric and I got bronchitis at about the same time. His expanded into full blown pneumonia, even though he was feeling a bit better. He actually went to his GP for an issue he was having with his hands. His doctor heard his breathing and immediately sent his off for a chest Xray. If Eric had waited even a couple of days, he likely would have been hospitalized. He came close more than once over the course of the next 6 weeks. That’s right, 1 ½ months of battle royale against lung infection. He had sleeping issues, coughing fits that left him in pain, and a wife who spent every waking moment and many sleeping hours in a perpetual state of worry/fear.

This is by far what wore me out the most this winter. Not the storms which dumped foot after foot of snow on us, not the new job that had my head cracking at the seams with new data, but knowing that my husband was out of my physical reach for hours every day and miserable as a man can get outside of a Vogan poetry reading. He missed a total of 3 weeks of work, sapping us both.

It’s difficult to put into words how scared I was. This is one of those time when knowing the statistics of how often people die of something was NOT helpful in the slightest. And of course my brain decided right then was the time to get mean about, well, EVERYTHING. Eric would rally and relapse, and I would be on the world’s most unforgiving rollercoaster. I’d just found my soulmate, and I had to cart him off to the ER not once by TWICE. And of course, it only stressed him out more to worry about me, which stretched out his recovery time. Yay, vicious cycle.

His lungs cleared, so I was able to breathe for about 2 days before the pneumonia came back. I didn’t cry until we got home. I was quite proud of myself. It felt very much like jumping from the frying pan into a boiling kettle. The relapse news hit me harder than the initial diagnosis, and even though the second round was not nearly as big a problem as the first, I had been so frayed for so long that I simply couldn’t avoid cracking, if only a little. I felt horrible for doing so, because this wasn't about me by any means, and I tried so hard to refocus and make sure Eric was taken care of, but the wonderment of my brain wouldn’t let it die. My brain kept dancing around singing “I’m going to think up the worst possible scenarios and play them out in your head one by one JUST BECAUSE!” Thanks, brain. Thanks a heap.

And, to be perfectly honest, I was reluctant to share any of this at the time because the people who responded to these posts most had more medical advice than the ER Nurses, and were MORE THAN HAPPY to share it regardless of their lack of medical training/experience. Instead of being supportive, people wanted to make themselves look smart and feel important. I simply didn’t have enough cope in stock to deal with them with any kind of tact, so I just stopped talking.

Complete block on songwriting

Which left me with nothing as far as songwriting. Eric kept throwing more and more and more bits of music at me, good pieces that deserved to be paired into songs, but I simply had nothing. Nothing in my brain would get past the worry over Eric’s barely stable health, the contact barrage of snow, and work stress, I simply had nothing left. We couldn’t keep the driveway OR the front walk clear to save our lives this year, it was awful. And all the worse for a man barely recovering enough blood oxygen to have equilibrium. I could almost hear things around the edges as exhausted sleep finally kicked in my door every night, but it never lasted long enough to become something other than a forgotten dream.

Eric finally got better

Eventually, through slow going and easy steps and antibiotics and steroids and everyone in my life trying to keep me from freaking out, Eric made the trek back. The cough still sounded like a huge dog with a frog in its throat, but there was less and less behind it. And as the cough subsided, as he slept easier, I slept a little easier, wasn’t quite as drawn. February came to a close, and so did much of my anxiety.

Birthday!

Is it that time already? Honestly, my birthday snuck up on me this year. And Eric, being the amazing husband he is and having seen me fray and resew and then refray and cauterize the seams of my existence in the previous months, decided to surprise me. BBC adaptations of Jane Austin books! Luckiest. Crowe. EVER. All the kids popped over for my birthday party, consisting of good pizza and ice cream cake and games and tons and tons of laughter. Works for me.

My birthday was capped off with a banger of a Cheshire Moon show in Chicago with our wandering fiddler, Susan! It was so nice to see her settled and happy, and she TORE IT UP at the show. We stayed an extra day in Chicago to see an equally fabulous show by three Fifths at Life Force Arts center. I knew then that spring had sunk in and taken hold of me as three paintings there poked at me for songs. They even gave me melody lines. We headed back home, and little by little….

Spring arrived, not a moment too soon

…finally. A handful of false starts and flurries and deceptive meteorologists later, spring finally arrived. And as the earth slowly woke, so did I. Ok, it felt like coming back from the dead more than simply waking, but as the birds came home, the geese started finding nests, and the rabbits started chasing each other around, I could feel my gears unlocking, creaking to life once more.

New babies! (no, not mine)

Two new additions to the extended family! One human, and one not. A pair of local filkers here in DSM welcomed a new foal just days ago. He’s not even 2 weeks old and he’s on his feet and wobbling around. He’s auburn with a white star on his forehead. The cute is lethal.

Another young man made his appearance at length. My older sister’s best friend, and one of my dearest friends in the world, gave birth to her first child just 2 days ago. He’s the most adorable little blueberry ever, and he could not be in more loving hands. Fairy Godmother Brigade, ASSEMBLE!!!

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So yeah, life’s been just a TINY bit off the rails, but back into the green and the black, the better pieces of conscienceless. Old projects are poking back out for new work; new works are sprouting up, getting ready to flower. Now, if only I could get my shoulder to stop hurting every time I try to lift my left arm, I’ll be set!

What a harvest!!

The last 3 months have been a whirlwind of challenge, projects, and gratitude. I’m sorry that I haven’t been able to post, but it’s been quite a ride.

Back in Late July/early august, we started the IndieGoGo crowd funding for the second album. We wanted to try and get it done before the kidlets started school. Right around the time of MuseCon, the first weekend in August, we were barely 1/3 of the way to our goal. With only about 10 days left, we realized that we likely wouldn’t make our goal, so we booked a half dozen or so shows for the month of September (when we originally wanted to record the album).

That’s when the magic happened. In the next 10 days, not only did we make our goal, thanks to the brilliant help of amazing friends and family, we actually exceeded our goal! But in so doing, that meant that we would have to perform at these shows along with recording the album by October 1^st if we wanted to get it off to print in time.

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We got together the song list, and each song had a list of needed parts to be done. We got together with the always amazing Donna Miller, and got this wagon rolling. 2 pagan prides, 1 long night of recording bass and drum tracks, 1 Water Dragon Festival, several nights of vocal and overdub acrobatics, 1 night at Stam, 1 frantic weekend of recording a fiddler, and two small shows later, we managed to get the album done JUST in time. All the while, I’m pumping out Daleks faster than I ever have before! I almost have the pattern memorized at this point.

Then along came the CRITTERS! Matt Hawk did such an amazing job putting our Critters on paper. We cannot thank him enough.

Then in flew Shawna Jaquez with her perfect interpretation of us in album art form. She’s roomed with us at a couple cons, seen us in action several times, and captured the madcap perfectly. All together, it made the perfect package for our music, and we are so grateful.

The first weekend of October brought Archon, and it was amazing. Between the incredible costuming, the amazing music and seeing so many faces that we’ve missed, it was stellar. Also a special thanks to Matthew for recording our show! He does amazing work, by the way. The new music was incredible, too1 Between the Unusual Suspects, Three Fifths, Toyboat, and Mark and Valerie’s new duo, it was fantastic. And congratulations to Mike Nixon and Cathy McManomon for winning the Songwriting contest! Both your songs still bounce through my head now and then.

After that, it was a mad dash to get everything recorded for the Bonus disc. We ended up cutting one song, much to my disappointment. But we’re still going to do that song, and it’ll go up on Bandcamp as the B-side to the version of Disenchanted that we recorded with the always effervescent Amy McNally. Once we get them both done, that track will be up on Bandcamp, and all proceeds for that will go to InterFilk.

Speaking of Interfilk! We got the bonus disc finished just in time for OVFF! All the hugs!! All the amazing music!! Congratulations to Cat Faber for writing the most amazing piece of music I have heard in a long while. The Tricky Pixie Concert was full of zombie conga lines, waltzing, tango, and of course the slaying of an alligator. Please tell me someone has pictures…

Betsy Tinney brought a roomful of people on a journey of musical watercolor bliss. Alexander James Adams, as always, was a Green Man with a fiddle on fire. I got to harmonize with the beautiful SJ Tucker on Cheshire Kitten, and then managed not to SOUND like I was shaking during the Songwriting contest. Once again, GO, CAT FABER!!!

We stayed for the Dead Dog, filled with Cello and until we were in fact dead. We headed home to find 2 boxes full of OUR NEW CD!! We spent the next 2 nights burning the Bonus discs, stuffing and addressing packages, and laughing at my inability keep the cats off the table (it’s a chronic condition. I would seek help, but this is so much more fun!). The first round of packages headed out the door, followed only a couple days later by round 2. Daleks were packaged with Critters, and soon everything was on its way, except was going to be delivered at WindyCon.

Then off to Windy we went! WindyCon holds a very special place in my heart. It was the con where I first sang in a filk circle, and it was the first time Eric heard me sing. And with the exception of a serious moment of drama, this weekend was amazing. Our CD release party featured some of my favorite faces, everyone got their packages, and thanks to a last-minute change in my office, we got to stay an extra day! Another wondrous Dead Dog, especially when we got to come together for “By My Side” from the musical Godspell. Thank you, Becca Leathers. You’re my favoritest Becca Leathers EVERS!!!

And congratulations to Heather and Raven! Seeing that goofy grin on Raven's face is one of the best things ever. May you always be as happy as you are right now.

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And now we are home for almost 2 months. I’m making my last Dalek for a Yule present, then I’m done for a while. The second and third harvests have gone, and now we settle in for the winter months, filled with evergreen boughs, spiced cider, and chosen family. Thank you all so much for your laughter, your smiles, and your unending support. Enjoy the holy days! Or even just the snow!

Holy Critter Crackers, Batgirl!

The Critters are coming! The Critters are coming!

Our second album, Crowes and Consequences, is coming right along. We've gotten all the base tracks done, and Susan's due in today to do her bits!

But now! Now, we have the first bits of our infamous Critters! Take a look!

Dust Bunny:
Dust bunny is our Captain
He keeps us all in line
And he always keeps his watch tight
As he is keeper of our Time

He runs us forward backward round
Til every deed is done
Then makes sure we all have a perfect
Seat to watch the fun

He makes us laugh, he makes us growl
He keeps us fit to stalk and howl
And he always keeps the sharpest eye
Beneath his heather cowl


Magdalen T. Shrout:
Back in the coat closet
You’ll find Magdalen T. Shrout
And whenever there’s a party
That’s when she’s about

She nicks the gloves folks leave behind
But not just on a whim
She unravels the woven ones
And knits them up again

For Magdalen makes all the clothes
For Dust Bunny and his band
So if you’re ever at these parties
Go ahead, give her a ‘hand’


Buttonhole:
Buttonhole is the shy one
Some doubt that she exists
But if you leave out lemon peel
She simply can't resist

She rearranges everything
From shells to spoons to stone
And where you'll find the shampoo next
Only Buttonhole knows

The spirit house upon the shelf
Is where she makes her home
and if any try to talk to her
She says,"I want to be alone."


Ferrigard, the Yule Critter
When the Christmas tree comes
Firrigard comes to life
He swings about like Tarzan
from the ornaments and lights

He reties all the ribbons
Into impossible bows
And he loves to play matchmaker
By moving the Mistletoe

He spices all the cider
whether you want it or not
And he nips just a spoonful
Just as long as its hot


Pickles:
Pickles got left in the fridge one day
He never did that again
But he earned his name and used it well
To our sweet lady’s ends

Though the scent of dill does follow him
To table, hall and toaster
Believe me when I tell you
What he does is never kosher

He sings the ice in cups to crack
He whistles cats to pounce
And he’s the one who makes the glasses
Not break, but bounce


Esler:
You're lucky if you see young Esler
More than once or twice
She's light of foot with foxie ears
And a nose for every spice

Whenever peppers are hung to dry
It always make her bolder
So never mind when you hear a rattling
In the wooden spoon holder

The frying pan is her pride and joy
Cast iron, perfect for eggs
But don't forget to wash it out
Or she'll throw beans at your head!

Taka:
Taka looks like an old librarian
From Victorian Hyde Park
But don’t let the bouffant fool you
Those fangs are razor sharp

She loves the wing chimes in the hall
And collects fresh water shells
And ourlady has stopped wondering
Why the books reshelve themselves

They all go back in order
Each volume in its place
But if you put one back wrong
She just might eat your face


Whizzer:
Whizzerlives in the bathroom sink
Not underit, in the drain
He moved in when she replaced the floor
And never moved out again

He blesses all the band-aids
He sleeps with his helmet lit
He tunnels through the garden
To make the seeds all fit

He’s brown with dirt and minty fresh
He’s quick with a pebble, too
So careful of the flowers
Or you’ll find one in your shoe

Masters of Library Science

So, Eric and out went out to Conflikt last January by train. On our way there, we came across a couple going to a Librarians convention. Before we finished our first full day on the train, I wrote a song that had these two library buffs crying with laughter. Here's why....


Masters of Library Science

When you walk into a con hotel
Or a comic book store
There’s art and plot and figurines
And geekery galore

You try to take it in
Cause there’s so much to see and do
But you better move aside
Cause there’s a geek girl coming through!

I know more about Dune than you
Sarcastic, almost crass
Walking ‘round con in a corset
Doesn’t mean that I won’t kick your ass

It means that I’m a geek girl
A brown coat, thru and thru
I’m a Whovian, a Trekie and a
Klezmer filker, too!

Our steampunk guns all started out
As phasers long ago
BA in Anthropology
And I’m good at saving throws

We hold ritual with sonic
screwdrivers instead of wands
Then afterward watch
Battlestar Galactica ‘til dawn

I collect stripey knee socks
And I’m a furrie, yes it’s true
But panda ears won’t save you
When I make things go BOOM!!

Because I’m a geek girl
and I don’t need to be saved
With my companion cube in hand
I aim to misbehave!

I’m as delicate and fragile
As a porcupine in heat
And if Magic is your game of choice,
Prepare for your defeat

I’ve got Life of Brian memorized
And every song from Buffy
And about the plush Cthulhu
Well...I can’t help it! He’s so FLUFFY!

So if you see me coming, ladies
Come join me in my quest
To show the geek boys that we’ve got
What it takes to pass the test

Because we’ve been here watching
Fangirls across the world
And when we do take over
You’ll be ruled by GEEK GIRLS!!


For all the girls out there who've ever had to show the boys how it's done.

Princessa Trifecta

Over the past few months, I've been rather obsessed with fractured faerie tales. Twisting and folding the old tales into new shapes, for better and for silly. And out of the snowball fight sprang three Disney Princesses who were VERY tired of being supporting cast members in their own stories.

Snow White: The witchling that walked away from the crown to find her own path of pretty poison.

Rapunzel: Gives up waiting to be rescued, cuts her hair, dyes it purple, hits the road to anywhere.

Sleeping Beauty: Maleficent kills the only family she's ever known. Armed with the power given her the three faeries that taught and protected her, she takes her vengeance.

As my lovely husband put it: Discordian Disney. So cometh the storm...

Depression, energy work, and dams

A very dear friend of mine, who shall remain nameless until he gives me permission to do wotherwise, asked a very pertinent question today. He has been dealing with the lovely effects of bi-polar disorder, and was looking for input on the eternal question: 'To medicate, or not to medicate?' This, I know from something.

'I have been living with the side effects and fun times of bi-polar disorder since the age of 11. Yes, the highs and lows do get worse as you age, but that has more to do with cellular degradation in the synaptic nerves than anything else, which is completely normal and happens to everyone. The only thing that I can say is that LIGHT meds are your friend. Heavy meds can lead eventually to the shakes of nervous system breakdown. And the shakes CAN be avoided if you keep to light meds and monitor your potassium intake.

Find what lets you quiet your head. The voices, all of whom are yours but run around like 'A Funny Thing Happen On The Way To The Forum on MUSHROOMS' most days and nights, can get overwhelming. Meds take the edge off, but YOU have to find what lets your grounded center spin and organize the flow of energy. Because it's your energy, keep in mind. People with these kinds of disorders tend to have a hole in their dam (the dam that lets you control the energy flow of your being). We get hit with waves. Some awesome, some drowning. You have to build your banks to withstand the flow, but not so much that the flow backs up into a stagnant quagmire. It IS manageable. and who knows, there may come a time when you CAN be off meds. I only went back on because of a series of additional long-term stressers in my life that pushed personal buttons. Before that, I was free of meds for several years and was perfectly comfortable. It CAN happen, but finding an equilibrium before weening off is a good plan, too.'

It's a fine line to walk, that much is certain. It's a rough road, that's certain, too. But then you get covered in a tidal wave of rainbow punch, and it feels better.

Earth

Earth is the great resting place. The place of peace, or tranquility, of balance, or focus, the culmination of the other elements, together forming the perfect framework for life itself.  The Earth is the element of stillness, of fertility, and of growth.

The Earth is looked upon my many cultures as not only a woman but a mother. The Great Mother to all, the mother earth. Often, the Mother Earth is accompanied by the Sky Father, the brother Fire, and the sister Water. The great Rocks of the earth is seen as the bones of our bodies, the water becomes the blood in our veins, the wind becomes breath in our lungs, and the fire in our hearts is our passion, our very life. The Earth is the beginning and the end of the circle. The Earth mother gives us life, and to her we return when we are buried. We return to her every if we are burned, for scattered ashes still break down into the earth and are recycled into nutrients needed for the growth of plant life.

Volcanoes bring the oldest of rock to the surface of the earth, rock and dust and pieces of stars that haven’t seen light since the dawn of our world. Volcanoes are unstoppable, and the only thing anyone can do is get out of the way, but afterward they bear the most fertile soil. Nutrients and minerals necessary for life, renewed and spread out so that life can continue. Mother Nature’s menstrual cycle. Pyroclastic clouds can travel near to 700 km/h, and they are just the heralds of the full eruption. And I thought MY PMS was bad!

Earth is the most tangible, visible part of our lives. It is our home, it is the essence of home, or shelter, and of strength. It is held as the element of Winter and of darkest night. The caves of our world hold no light from the outside. They hold a deeper darkness than the night sky. That is also why (according to the Northern European pagan traditions) this is the element of the North, the coldest, darkest of places during the winter.

Trees are used in nearly every form of divination and spiritual work. From the wood used for runes and ogham fews, to the paper used for tarot card. Wands and staves used in ritual, the wooden handles of swords, the oak branches on which are hung buckets for hauling water for the cauldron.

Earth is where things grow. But in order to grow, roots must run deep and take a strong hold. Not too strong, because if roots grip too tight, they can’t grow to new places. Branches must reach up high and wide to take in the sun. they should not grow beyond what is sustainable, but their strength can stand against the harshest wind, even flood.

Earth is represented by the pentagram, the 5 pointed star leading from the 4 main elements to the fifth. Life itself. Earth, being the stage for the play of life, is represented by one of the oldest, simplest symbols for balance, and leads directly into the next level of thinking: life itself. Its meaning, its complexity, its simplicity, its very existence.

But it’s not all tree hugging. To be stuck in earth is to be sedentary, to be unmoving, unyielding, a creature of circular logic resulting in inaction, the opposite of fire. But indeed the earth is not entirely motionless. In fact, the core of the earth is ever in motion, even if that motion is slow and steady. Sometimes, however, that motion is quick, and powerful. An earthquake can cause destruction like no other. When balance is tipped and the scale leans, the ground itself can split and crumble. If personal balance is upset, it can disturb every aspect of our lives.

Earth is a feminine element along with Water. The masculine elements are Air and Fire.