September 12, 2006
Hola, Nields fans, and happy fall! Ok. yes, still summer, technically, until the Equiox on the 22nd (yes, astrology fans, it's late this year!). And speaking of astrology: I want to hear from the Scorpios out there (and the Scorpios Rising): is Pluto still your ruler now that it's been demoted to a mere dwarf planet? Are you going back to Mars, that petulant Bad Boy of the solar system, that Brad Pitt/Sean Penn of the galaxy? Amelia say Pluto should be called neither planet nor dwarf planet, but "pluton" or "Plutette."
Just wondering.
Lila and Tom and I hiked our first moutain as a family. To read more about our slightly insane venture, check out the blog.
Speaking of blogs, I got me a new gig: blogger for a new online parenting mag which will "open" sometime in Nov. More to come, but for now I'll say that I am supposed to be writing about music and eco friendly products. So, if you have some favorite family music and or eco-friendly kid products, please let me know! And I'll tell the masses!!!
Good film: One Bright Shining Moment (about the McGovern campaign in '72)
Boring film: Silver City. Rats.
Tom and I are running our new Jetta on soybean oil, by the way, and it does indeed smell like french fries on occasion. Lila loves it. Diesels, it turns out, have this delightful hum, as the country and western truck song singers have been informing us for years, so naturally, we have dubbed Olivia "the baby car."
See you around– code for "at a show, we hope."
Love, Nerissa
Hello Friends!
Patty just called me and asked if I had the news that I wrote for the September newsletter. I do. I am quite a gifted procrasitinator though. Even though I had already written it, I had not sent it. Last Christmas, I packed up presents for Dave's godson and his family by Christmas Eve. I sent the package in May. Hmmm.... I am not sure what this says about me. Some very kind friends blame it on perfectionism. I somehow doubt that. Anyway, here is my news. Make sure you get all the way to the part about this weekend's shows. We are playing at a cool arts center in New Britain, CT called Trinity on Main. Being a graduate of Hartford's Trinity College, the idea of this gig is making me all nostalgic for my former stomping grounds. Though I think there is absolutely NO connection between the two institutions except that they both are home to people who will have a choice of THREE Senatorial candidates in November. We will also be at a VERY cool sounding festival on Saturday at about noon. See you all soon!
....................So it's September 2. Today we had the most wonderful cd release party at the Cup and Top Cafe in Florence, MA. So many kids and parents and friends showed up for a Saturday morning of music. It made me really happy. It made me feel like I was doing just the right thing at that moment. I looked out at my son, William kicking his little legs along to Going to the Zoo. Parents with their kids on their laps were beaming and singing along to Hi Ho the Rattlin' Bog. I thought, this is what Saturday mornings are supposed to be and how often are they actually like that? We have such a weird life. I work on the weekends most of the time and often during the week too. Being self employed means you have an incredibly flexible life, but it also means that you are never off the clock. If I were more like my organized sisters, I would know what days I should be doing the laundry, the mopping, the bill paying and when I should be painting, learning songs, taking pictures. But, alas, I am me and that means that I always feel like I should be doing everything at once! Inevitably I collapse on the couch, paralyzed by the options and watch Andre Agassi play tennis on tv. I always think, if I had a weekend, I would spend one day with my kids, doing something exciting like going to a fair or a concert and one day fixing up the house in some way. I take the fact that I do not have weekends as an excuse to have two big planters in front of my house filled entirely with weeds.
Today I took my kids to a concert, albeit one that I played, and then bought mums on the way home. (Amelia said, "Such an ugly name for such BEAUTIFUL flowers." She was much more satisfied when I told her that Mums were short for Chrysanthmums.) While William took his nap, Amelia and I pulled all the weeds out of the planters and replaced the weeds with dark red chrysanthemums. It was a good day.
So come to a show and maybe you too will have flowers more beautiful than their name in your front yard.
We don't have very many shows this month due to some important family goings on, but we are really looking forward to the ones we do have.
Friday September 15 we will be at Trinity on Main in New Britain CT. It is located in a 19th century church building which has been turned into an arts center. Nerissa and I will be doing a bunch of songs from the album we are currently working on. It is our first indoor show of the season and I am looking forward to the intimacy of a beautiful listening room.
Saturday September 16 we will be at the Strawberry Park Festival in Preston, CT. This will be our last outdoor festival of the "summer." The line up is really amazing. Kris Delmhorst, Rani Arbo and Daisy Mayhem, Crooked Still, the Kennedys, Janis Ian, Ritchie Havens, Eliza Gilkyson, Tracy Grammer, Eddie from Ohio, Jonathan Edwards, Lucy Kaplansky and more!!! It's like a nouveau Falcon Ridge! We are playing Saturday around noon.
Tuesday September 19 we are playing a kids show at the Center for the Arts in Northampton MA at 10 am. This will be fun fun fun.
Nerissa and I are also starting music classes for parents and young children on Thursday mornings at 9 and 10am. The class is called HooteNanny and will feature great music, fun movement and some playing of instruments.
I also run a family folk chorus on Wednesday evenings in Sunderland, MA. It is equal parts sing along, movement with music aimed at getting the kids involved and harmony parts singing using sheet music. For more info email me at Katryna@Nields.com.
Happy back to school!
See you on the road,
Katryna
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