Anastasia's Blog

Victoria

2009-10-07T01:50:00.004-03:00

Wow, I have seen so many beautiful places over the last few days that it is hard to put this into words. We have been so lucky to know people in the places we have visited. Here in Victoria Véro's friends, Kim and Heather, gave us the royal treatment. We had some fabulous meals and we visited some great parks and lookout spots. I'll try to remember some names without looking back at photos: Craigdarroch Castle, Mount Douglas Park and Brentwood Bay (for some drinks). That was yesterday. Today we walked around the city all day, explored some of the places we missed yesterday.I thought this guy made of pizza pans was pretty cute so I included a picture of him too.

We visited a great Chinese tea shop and had supper in Chinatown too (Canada's oldest Chinatown). We visited Fisherman's Wharf and saw some really neat "houseboats". There were three seals in the harbour that were being hand fed salmon while we took pictures. We had a lovely evening walk downtown and saw the legislature building all lit up with white lights. Quite stunning at night as well as in the day.

Tomorrow we head to Kamloops! Watch out Jeff and Carma, here we come!!

Beautiful British Columbia

2009-10-03T12:24:00.003-03:00

It is a sunny Saturday morning and I am taking the time to write my first post from BC. It has been a whirlwind of shopping and tourist attractions thus far. The trip here was long but, thanks to technology, not too boring. I played the sims on my laptop, listened to an audiobook on my ipod and took advantage of the TV screen on the seat in front of me.

On our first day, Vero had some free time and we went to explore Gastown. We took the Skytrain to get downtown from our Richmond hotel. The Skytrain is easy to use and very efficient. We are here at the right time because the "Canada Line" from Richmond opened less than a month ago! Gastown is full of tiny shops mostly overflowing with Olympic merchandise. There were some neat trendy stores as well that reminded us of our friend Geneviève who is an interior designer. (You can see her blog here: http://genevieve-interiordesign.blogspot.com/)

From that point on Vero was pretty busy and I was on my own. I have family on both my mother's and father's side here in the city so I spent some time with them yesterday and the day before. Thursday night my cousin Heather and my uncle Don took me to a restaurant they frequent called "Sala Thai" They knew the menu and ordered some dishes for us to share. It was delicious and it was so wonderful to catch up with family I had not seen in years. Good beer, food and of course great conversation. It was a perfect night!

Yesterday I met up with aunt Trudy, aunt Andrea and cousin Andrew. I took the Skytrain to the Waterfront station where they picked me up. We drove to Whistler and I was in awe of the beauty of this province! I didn't know what to expect at Whistler, I had never been to any of the major Canadian ski resort towns. So cute and better shopping than any mall anywhere near PEI! There was snow in the mountains and we could see the construction going on where the medal podiums will be. The drive there and back was breathtaking and Trudy was kind enough to stop and show us some scenic places and let me take some photos. We went for supper in Chinatown and had a great meal. Trudy and Andrea brought me back to my hotel and I dropped! I am so tired at night with the time change and all. We will have supper with them and lots more of the family next Friday. Looking forward to that too!!

Today will involve a bit of shopping at the Richmond centre this morning and a walk (and maybe a bit more shopping) on Robson street with Vero. I better get started on that now! I'll leave you with a little picture where you can see the grass from some of the ski runs at Whistler.

The fall season is near!

2009-09-03T08:29:00.003-03:00

I didn't want to call the post the end of summer though that is what it feels like. The summer shows are now over and I will miss that but now I get some much needed vacation time! This week hasn't felt much like that though, there are too many things going on! Last week of vacation before school starts for my niece and nephews so we are trying to cram lots in there! The picture of my niece Grace with my friend and piano accompanist Mylène was taken at a little bonfire in my back yard! The fish has his own story. He was part of the landscaping at the new house that Mylène and Brent bought last year. Grace got to name him and I think she settled on fishy. Typical 6 year old naming tactic I think. Mylène brought the fish to my house as a little joke for Grace. Grace was HAPPY!

We did a series of shows at the Confederation Centre this summer (we being Mylène Ouellette, Christina Gallant-MacLean, Julie Arsenault and myself. Our sound and light guy James Carrier was one of the best we've worked with, always helpful and most importantly always in a good mood! Here is a little photo taken at our last show.

I'll be back soon with some fall photos!

Little trip to Halifax.

2009-08-13T09:10:00.003-03:00

I rarely have time off in the summer so when I happened to have three days in a row it was time for a little trip! We spent one night in Halifax and then drove around the south shore of Nova Scotia. Vero and I both love Halifax and it was a beautiful day. I got to shop at my favorite store "The Freak Lunch Box". If you have never been, it is a candy store and they sell lots of candy that you don't see anywhere else. The old fashioned candy like the pouches of bubble gum and real jawbreakers that last forever. I love the Jelly Belly jelly beans too!

Halifax is such a beautiful city that you can discover just by walking around. We walked along the harbour walkway (and saw Theodore Tugboat) then uptown for a bit. We discovered the Halifax Public Gardens. A lushious, tropical feeling park in the middle of town. The ducks were friendly in the park, you could walk right up to them! I am also throwing in a picture of the Keiths Brewery. It is house in a nice old buildong. We didn't do the tour this time but we have in the past! I'll add some pictures of the rest of the trip, the south shore part, in my next post.

Clack'Azingers Reunite!

2009-08-08T11:03:00.003-03:00

It was a wild time. Last Monday we had a reunion of sorts. We got out all the old photos, ate drank and laughed but best of all we had some good tunes, just like old times. For those who might not know, Clack'Azing was a group of young girls who played music together. The group started 10 or 11 years ago and most of the girls still play music now, some professionally. Stephanie even brought her vest that was part of one of the costumes that the girls wore. After supper, we sat out on my deck and got out the fiddles and played some tunes. here are a few pictures of the night.

2009-08-05T09:33:00.005-03:00

When we were little we used to hang out at what we called Clark's Pond. It now has an official name, Marchbank's Pond. I don't know if Clark's was really the name before or where it came from. We played and fished there in the summer, caught smelts swimming up the little waterfall and skated there in the winter. Here are a few pictures I took last Sunday. When I got home from the pond I noticed this tall ship passing in front of my house! I think it is the Pride of Baltimore 2. I stopped in the driveway and took a picture. It is quite a sight to see one of these ships going by.

In the garden.

2009-08-01T13:04:00.004-03:00

It has been a tough year for the garden so far. I must admit, Vero does most of the garden work. We planted tons of things and most of it didn't grow! So, we re-planted. Things are looking up now. Carrots are starting to come in nicely and here are some pictures of my pepper plants and cherry tomatoes. The flower beds seem to grow like crazy at this time of year. I always think the bed looks empty when I plant and I know that in a couple of weeks there won't be room enough for everything!

Thought you might like to see a little picture from our dinner theatre as well. Christina and Julie all dressed and ready to go! If you want more info about the show check out my website at www.anastasiadesroches.com. I have show dates, times and venues listed on there.

Random Tuesday night drive

2009-07-29T10:06:00.003-03:00

What to do on a beautiful evening? Go for a drive of course! We had no planned route, Vero wanted to drive on the Port Hill Station road, that was the only determined part of the drive. As we neared the Egmont Bay church, I decided to take a few pictures. The church is falling apart, it is a sad sight. The photo of the lobster traps comes from Higgins Wharf. The south side lobster season is starting soon! Yum, can't wait.

July 27th Fiddles

2009-07-27T11:48:00.004-03:00

The day after...
Two great fiddle weekends in a row! Rollo Bay Fiddle Festival last weekend. In true Rollo Bay style, the music was wonderful and you never know who might show up! This year we were treated to some tunes by Natalie MacMaster. I also met Kimberly Fraser for the first time though I had been a fan of her music. One of my favorite players Troy MacGillivray was also on the bill along with his sister Kendra and Andrea Beaton. Last Thursday I had the opportunity to have some tunes with Andrea at a house party, lost of fun! This past weekend it was closer to home with the Atlantic Fiddlers Jamboree. So many great players and dancers. We got to hear 88 year old Eddy Arsenault play. Here are a few pictures of the two weekends.

Animal Crossing Wii

2009-02-24T20:02:00.003-04:00

My new obsession... It is a silly, silly game and I can't get enough. I love all sorts of video games but generally, anything to do with Mario tops my list. On the PC, I adore the Sims games. As for the Wii, Super Mario Galaxy was everything I thought it would be, I loved it. I have never really managed to find other games series, or even games, that I liked as much.

Enter Animal Crossing, now I won't say that I like it as much as Mario Galaxy or anything, but what is it with this game? I can't stop playing!! I need to get all the fish for my museum, I need to get all the kinds of fruit, I want every bug and fossil!!! I am obsessed! Just wondering if anyone else is experiencing this? I think I have all the kinds of fruit, I am making an attempt to grow all the trees anyway. I visited someone today (for the first time) and they had all the fruit! I got to take some of each to plant!! Cherries, pears, apples, peaches galore! I already had oranges and coconut.

If you want to visit me, my friend code is:
1762-8140-1244 My name is Anna and I live in Mootown. Leave me your info, we'll be new neighbors!

Haha, silly name I know, but I had to think fast and who would have thought I'd be obsessed enough to blab it all over the internet??

Don't knock it until you've tried it. It looks like a silly little game, but I can't stop....

My poor neglected blog...

2009-02-02T10:47:00.003-04:00

It is hard to decide what to write about in a blog. Well, it is for me anyway. I think of all kinds of crafty, creative things I could write about, but never get around to actually doing it. Since I don't update often, I think it is safe to assume that I don't have a regular readership for my blog. That being said, I can pretty much write what I want eh?
I tried doing this before and I really am going to try to have a little more stick-to-itness this time. Yes, I know, I say this every time...
I want to share some sites that I find cool and stuff that I like from around the internet. I find the sites through various sources like: Digg, Stumble and CBC radio's Spark, with Nora Young.
I found these two sites after listening to Spark. I was driving at the time and made myself voice notes with my blackberry so I could remember what they were when I got in front of my computer. I have a horrible memory for these kinds of things.

First: Grooveshark. It is a website where you can listen to almost any music you can think of in streaming audio. Just type in the name of the artist you are looking for(or the song) and you get a list to choose from. Very fun.

Next: Seatguru. If you are taking a trip by plane, you will love this site. You go to the site, find the plane you will be traveling on and it tells you all kinds of things about the plane and your seat in particular. It tells you if you have a power port, a TV, what kind of legroom you get and all kinds of interesting information.

Hope you enjoy checking out these websites.

The Potato Blog

2008-09-30T18:43:00.003-03:00

I am NOT a happy camper. I live in PEI, land of the potatoes. I own 3 acres of land, I live on one and the other 2 are used for hay by a farmer friend. I am bordered on 2 sides by fields owned by a neighbor, guess what was planted in those fields this year? Hmmmmm POTATOES.

The problem is not with the potatoes themselves of course, I like potatoes. There are 2 problems, the pesticides and the harvesting methods.

Problem number one: Pesticides.
There is supposed to be a buffer zone between public property and where a farmer would spray pesticides. The farmer who farms this ignores this rule, spraying ON my property. He turns the sprayer on as he turns around on my land because he did not leave a buffer space.

Problem number two: The harvest.
Today was the last straw for me. I watched as someone in a truck drove and parked on my property while they went to work on a tractor in the field. I went and left a note on the windshield that said: "for future reference, this is private property, if you would agree not to spray pesticides so close to my house, I wouldn't mind if you drove on it." Perfectly within my rights I think, after all I own the property! After that, I watched (and took pictures) as countless potato trucks, tractors and harvesters drove over my property time and time again. They drove over my survey pin many times, burying it, they drove over and "stole?" another marker I had at the other end of my property. Can't find it, gone.

At the end of the day, I noticed the owner of the farm, out there looking for something (my marker that they "lost") so I seized the opportunity and went to chat with him. I said "you made quite a mess of my property". I told him about the note I left on the truck. He said he knew and fed me a bunch of excuses of why he HAD to drive on my property. When I brought up the pesticides issue, he had excuses for that too and told me that the fact that our well water here on the Island is mostly contaminated with nitrates has nothing to do with farming. fertilizer or pesticides. He said it's all made up by the government.

I tried to end the conversation there, I told him I understood that it had been a rough year for farmers. I asked him just to reassure me that it would be different next year. He said it would. Then he told me there are just a few people who are CRANKY about this and that it's only the English people that complain about the pesticides!!!!! As much as saying if I was a GOOD Acadian that I would not be saying this. I walked away feeling kind of sorry for him and feeling like I did something wrong. Now I am just boiling mad!!!

My biggest concern from this is that there is a spot where the water runs down the field and creates a ditch on my property. When it rains, water runs down the field to this area. Part of the reason I am letting grass and hay grow is to help stop some of this run off. The trucks drove over and over this area today, making it deeper than ever and destroying the grass that was on it.

I am adding some pictures of the days activities. Feel free to comment, am I just cranky? Or do I have a right to say what goes on on MY property.

March Break?

2008-03-15T09:17:00.002-03:00

March Break, is that a joke? No March Break for me, work, work, work! That's good though I guess. I am working on this project that I adore. Collecting contemporary Acadian fiddle tunes. Today I am going to Moncton to meet with Megan Bourgeois. I can't wait to hear her tunes and of course to see Megan because she is a good friend! The fiddlecase website is kind of on hold, but if you are reading this and need a tune transcribed, try me!

I am loving the http://www.stumbleupon.com/ website these days. What a fun way to waste time! And I am good at wasting time. I am also still trying to do updates for my own website, but that is a very slow process. I got a little bit of grant money to record a demo next month. I am looking forward to that. It helps to have such great musicians as Mylène Ouellete and Brent Chaisson to work with. I am going to try and get over myself and be brave enough to record a few of my own tunes. We'll see....

Guess I better update!

2007-09-18T10:40:00.000-03:00

I just read the site meter notice and I realized that people actually read my blog...so I guess it would only be fair to update! Lots of news on my end. I have a new job! Yay! Well, hahaha I'm not getting paid yet, but that is supposed to come...soon! I am working on a research project to collect, record and transcribe original fiddle tunes from contemporary Island Acadian composers. I, along with others (Big thanks to Tanya and Monic) have been trying to get this project going for a couple of years now. Finally I am starting! Today I am working on tunes from Marie Livingstone.

Also, it is my fall project to re-work my boring website, haha. I have been working on a totally new look with Microsoft Publisher. I am actually almost done, so expect a new look soon at www.anastasiadesroches.com

My other site, www.fiddlecase.com is also still on the go.

I will still be teaching fiddle lessons this fall, starting the first week of October and keeping up with a few bookings for gigs and workshops!

Send me a message or comment if you have thoughts about the new website or the new project I'm working on. I'll try to update more often...promise!

Easter Weekend

2007-04-10T07:50:00.000-03:00

I thought the snow was finished! We went to Halifax for the Easter weekend. We took my little Echo with all season tires and not the Matrix with four wheel drive and winter tires because it's supposed to be spring now! Wellllll, big mistake. The biggest snowstorm of the winter hits. Crappy drive home from Halifax, but the worst part was when we got to PEI. After almost getting stuck in a drift in a whiteout on the highway, not knowing which lane I was in or even if I was on on the road... We decided that we weren't going to make it home to Mont-Carmel. We aimed for my mom's and dad's place in Wilmot Valley. The Blueshank was fine, but on their road, 2 houses before their house, I got stuck in a drift so big I could hardly open my door. Luckily, the neighbor across the road works for John Deere and he got me out of there. He opened the road and I got my car into the driveway at my parents place. Pretty exciting.

We watched the game Saturday night at Boston Pizza, happy to see my leafs win, but short lived thanks to the Islanders. I'm posting a picture of the bridge before we left PEI (See, no snow) and a picture of the beginnings of the storm in Halifax, Nadine and Vero in front of the Halifax Public Gardens. All in all, a good trip.

What's New?

2007-04-03T12:53:00.000-03:00

I haven't posted in awhile, so I decided that it's time for some updates. I have been "youtubing" today. Lots of fun. I can't believe the stuff that's on there. Type in someone's name and voila! I am going to try to put some videos on there soon. Looks like fun.

I started a new website http://fiddlecase.com where I offer fiddle tune transcription services. How does it work? You send me a recording...or video of a tune, I write out the notes. This is a bit of a passion for me, It all started when I decided I want to transcribe all the tunes from my favorite albums and I realized that there are plenty of people who would love to have the notes for these tunes. So, I decided to start the website. So far, I have had a little interest and I have been introduced to some interesting music! My main challenge is to figure out how to get the word out. I did decide to do a bit of advertising on the fiddlefoum.com website. Anyone have ideas about where I should be spreading the word?

So, that's the rant of the day. Happy Tuesday.........

So it's been awhile...

2007-01-14T15:20:00.000-04:00

No links or pictures today, just a little update on my life. I da have intentions of posting more often, but I never seem to find the time! Well, I did a website update today, it's been awhile for that too. I am going to start selling my CD tracks on my website. I managed to figure out how to put a paypal button on my site, yay Anna!
The big news is that I quit my band, I am not a member of Chiquesa anymore. I am going to miss it very much, I guess it's just a timing thing. I am hoping to keep playing music with the girls on some other projects. So, I'm kind of sad about not being in the band anymore even though I know it was the right decision.
Uhhhh, what else, talk about the weather? Well, very strange for PEI, Jan 14th, hardly any snow, can see most of the grass and the strait is not frozen!!! Ok, enough rambling, tooddles

I TRIED to update my website...

2006-11-12T16:51:00.000-04:00

I was just trying (since it's been far too long) to update my website and I get this message " An error has occured. Management of websites is currently disabled until further notice as we resolve some remaining issues with this service." The Bravenet website, which hosts my webpage seems to have been revamped and I guess there are some issues. I hope it's back up soon.

I am just getting back from having spent a week in Ottawa! It was a really great time and I am happy that I got to spend time with my friends! I had a great time seeing friends! Here are a couple of pictures, Mylene, Robyn, Steff and I on our way out to supper and a picture of the Rideau Canal, in between the parliament buildings and the Chateau Laurier Hotel.

Last Friday, in Wakefield, we got to go see a Cape Breton live show, thanks Eddie and Brent for sober driving! :-) We saw some great music, Troy MacGillivray (Or Troy MacLiverly as Donald calls him), Andrea Beaton and Howie MacDonald just to name a few players!

And now for the link. I had seen this before in an email, but while in Ottawa, The girls and I watched a bunch of these videos. If you haven't seen "tete a claque" before, check this out: http://www.tetesaclaques.tv/video.php?vid=30 If you have a sense of humour like mine, you will find this pretty funny.

That's all for today, I hope to be able to update my website soon, Ciao Anastasia

My Space

2006-10-20T08:44:00.000-03:00

I have been working hard on my computer skills these days, figured out how to make my own little website, I record some music and transcribe some tunes. There is one thing that I find difficult. My Space. I'm not sre why I find it so complicated, everyone seems to use it. Everytime I try to change or add something, it takes me an hour to figure out how. I still have not even come close to figuring out how to move things around or change colors on the page. I added a few friends, but I don't even think any friends have added me :-| I don't even know how to figure that out. Am I the only one who finds this a bit of a challenge? If anyone wants to see where my page is at so far, this is the link: http://www.myspace.com/68770662
I hope that works because when I search my name, I get zero results! Anyone else have these kids of problems, or better yet, have easy solutions?

So, for a picture, how about some of my family members. This picture is of my youngest sister, Lisa and my nephew, Sam. My sister Joanna has 3 kids, Patrick, Sam and Grace. I try to hang out with them as much as I can. Grace, who is 3 is pretty funny. She tries to do everything her big brothers do. Anyhow, ciao for now, Anastasia

So Yeah....

2006-10-10T22:30:00.000-03:00

I was updating my website and somehow, I managed to delete all the tunes after the key of D. Not fun, not good. I had to go back and re-enter all the info and create new links for all the tunes. Still don't know how I did it. Of course I had saved all my canges before I realized what had happened. If anyone noices any missing tunes, please let me know.

I had a really fun trip to Québec for Thanksgiving. It was a beautiful weekend for traveling, on Sunday we went in the woods to Raymond and Phil's camp. They mostly use it in the winter for snowmobiling. It is pretty neat. The first picture is a picture of the cabin.The second picture in this post is of Yoko, the huge "Bouvier Bernois" (I have no idea what that is in English, maybe a Bernese mountain dog?) and Kiwi, the tiny Chihuahua. They are so funny together. They belong to Friends in Saguenay. Yoko is scared of Kiwi and when they are together, it's a pretty good show. Lots of good food and good company.

So for today's link. This one is only useful to the tune players. On a concertina website (concertina.net) they have this thing called a Tune-o-tron converter. The name makes me laugh, but it is a useful tool. You can copy/paste a tune in the box in abc format and it will convert it to standard notation. You can also use this page to hear a midi file of tunes. Kind of neat. Here is the link: http://www.concertina.net/tunes_convert.html

Enough blogging for tonight... Anastasia

Title? Why do I need a title?

2006-10-04T21:18:00.000-03:00

Wednesday, getting closer to the weekend... I am going on a little trip to Saguenay, Québec this weekend for Thanksgiving. I'm looking forward to that. I know what to expect on these trips, good food, good company and lots of fun, not necessarily in that order though the food is always particularly good. :-) I'm looking forward to the scenery on the trip up, always beautiful this time of year.

Todays picture is from our "Run for the Cure" show on Sunday. Christine who sings in the band, Tanya our new manager and Caroline who sings and plays piano...and guitar...and accordion.

And now for the link, I warn you, if you have an addictive personality like I do, DO NOT CLICK ON THIS LINK!! You won't be able to stop playing this game. Silly little game really, but lots of fun. My nephews got me hooked on this game site. Here is the link for Curveball . If you like this sort of thing, I also get a kick out of "bash your bank" and "boneless girl". Not super intellectual stuff, but definately good stress-busters. Now remember that you've been warned, the site is called addicting games, beware!

Run for the cure

2006-10-01T09:37:00.000-03:00

Today, some of us girls from Chiquésa are playing and singing at the run for the cure event in Charlottetown. Cancer is a disease that has deeply touched my family and this is a cause in which I truly believe. We are playing a few songs and tunes for the runners as they start to cross this finish line. Then, off to practice, we have a band practice and we are actually (believe it or not) starting to practice Christmas stuff.

Lots of fun last night, musiciand friends of mine, Monique and Andy got married in a beautiful ceremony in Palmer Road, PEI. Everything was perfect!! Todays picture is one of them leaving the church in a horse and carriage. The bride and all her attendants arrived in the same carriage. A great time was had by all.

Now a funny little story before I post my link for today. For those who aren't familiar with the band that I play with, (www.chiquesa.com) we are pretty silly sometimes. One of our running gags (and we have many, we love to laugh) is that whatever gig we do, we have to do publicity for the cottages owned by Caroline (singer/piano player)'s parents. They are called Les Chalets de la Grande Basse. Even though we make jokes, they are really nice cottages, so if you need a place to stay on PEI, close to the beach, relaxing, I could go on, but just go visit the website. http://chaletsgrandebasse.com/ Hahaha, So Jeannita, Marcel, you owe me now..... Or I guess you helped us out enough this summer that maybe we owe you still, plus you let us practice at "les chalets de la grande basse", and it's so relaxing at "les chalets de la grande basse" Oh, and inspiring, "les chalets de la grande basse"........

I want a fun blog too!

2006-09-29T08:24:00.000-03:00

I look at other people's blogs, such as my cousin's, http://www.meanwhilestudios.com/ and find them really well done. I know mine is pretty boring. So, I thought I'd try this: When I update my blog, I'm going to add a picture and a link each time . So the link for today was Troy's website (Meanwhile Studios).
Now for a picture, hmmmmm. Well, I had a look through some of my pictures (for those who don't know me very well, I take a lot of pictures) and I found one from early this summer. I went on a trip with Véro to her mom's place in Pointe-Aux-Outardes, near Baie Comeau in Québec. We went for a four wheeler ride on the beach right in front of her mom's house. She lives on the St. Laurent. This picture is of some little sticks in the ground that had been used by fisherman netting some kind of fish. I thought it was kind of neat.
So today, Friday, yay! I have a little get-together with the girls in my band "Chiquésa" and yes Caroline, the quotations are for you if you happen to read this, hahaha. We are having a supper meeting and then out for drinks. Looking forward to it! Have a great day everyone.

Back at it...

2006-09-27T09:04:00.000-03:00

Here I go again. I am going to start posting tunes on my site more often. I was in summer mode I guess. I had too much going on, then I just didn't feel like doing anything that resembled work.

Summer was great. Looking back I can say I had some great moments. I was a little busier than I would have liked. I had at least 5 or 6 gigs a week, sometimes more, sometimes many more. Then after the long weekend and the big high from the Acadian Festival, there was the big downer. You know, when you realize that all those gigs(as much as I complained about the places I had to work) and fun summer times are over. It took awhile, but I am starting to feel normal again.

Now, trying, TRYING to get organized for fiddle lessons. I am such a procrastinator. I have a zillion phone calls to return (if you're one of those people waiting for a call, I do apologize). I am anxious to teach, just too many students, I can't take everyone and I have to find a way to fit in as many as possible. Don't worry, if you're reading this, you're probably in, hahaha.

Now, my little gem for the day. I just stumbled across this tune this morning. It's Matt MacIsaac playing the guitar. I didn't even know he played the guitar. I'm pretty sure this is the guy who is the piper/flute player in Natalie MacMaster's band. I'm posting a link here, if it doesn't work, will someone let me know and I'll post the full site link. http://www.berzen.se/jimdorans/mattrick_matt_macisaac_wardsJig.mp3

Really worth a listen, one of those feelgood kind of tunes... Have a great day!

Technology baffles me...

2006-08-08T11:51:00.000-03:00

Well, sometimes, I can figure stuff out on my own and I find myself pretty smart, but other times, I wonder why I even try!

So I got my new laptop. I got it for recording music really and I haven't been able to do that yet. Dual core processors are supposed to be so fast and great, but appearantly that is not the case if you want to use Pro-tools. It doesn't seem to be compatible. But, on the other hand, I have a very nice computer shop guy (who happens to be my neighbor) who is trying to help me solve my problems. He had my computer for a few days, so no website updates during that time, sorry! It has been very busy here anyway. Also, I am trying, hoping and wishing for Eastlink to hook me up to their high speed internet. I think it is in the works, but I just can't wait!! My internet is so slow when it does work that updating the site can be a challenge.

Last weekend was the Fiddler's Jamboree and the special guest was Buddy MacMaster. he looked quite frail and I understand that he is recovering from sugery but he wanted to come anyway. His playing was amazing and I think everyone who saw him play was in awe.
There were also a couple of Chiquesa gigs and a Fricot show not to mention the parties.... lots of fun. The next few weeks will continue to be busy, but after that ... Finally some time off! September will be the time for getting some practice done and organizing my fall. I can't wait! Hope summer is lots of fun for everyone so far, take care, Anastasia