Ye Olde Lobelia Blog

A Song for Donna

2011-02-10T17:52:00.002-05:00

Hi there! It's been a long long long long time since I posted on this blog. There's lots of reasons I could give...one being the little man that I gave birth to in Nov. 09, another was me thinking that I could could stop taking my meeds and still function. I started to wonder when I could no longer focus my eyes or think straight though a very very foggy brain. I hadn't realized over the last 14 months how affected I was until I started feeling better. So now that I am, it's time to get onto more important things! Let's talk about my lovely friend Donna DeLorme!

Donna was diagnosed with MS in 1996, after a few bouts with optic neuritis. She was told that her MS was relapsing-remitting and that she would not likely have many problems. This wasn't to be so, and just two years later she started having tingling and numbness in her right hand, a foot that dragged when she was tired, and blurred vision. As with anyone with a busy life, (I've been guilty of this for the entirety of my life so far) she ignored her body and symptoms and continued to work, even taking a very stressful job '99. Within two weeks, she was blind in one eye, could barely walk and could not move the right side of her body.

Donna is one of the bravest people I know. She managed to keep her independence for many years by setting up a business and working from home. She eschewed the MS injections as they were not helping and making her feel horribly ill. She's managed all this time with supplements and exercises, diet modifications and lots and lots of water...but unfortunately MS has her firmly in it's grip and last year after quite a long stint in a care facility, she truly thought that she wouldn't be able to come home again and would have to give up her beloved kittehs, Pita and Pepper. I'm sure it was through sheer force of will that Donna did come home, she managed to get things sorted with the help of friends and family and move into an apartment better suited to her needs and arrange just enough home care to get by.

Last July Donna went to Costa Rica to undergo Angioplasty treatment (read about CCSVI here) but was under-treated according to her latest diagnostics. Angioplasty for CCSVI is a hot topic, and is quite controversial, and many countries, including Canada do not allow the procedure. Here in Britain, the first treatments were done at a private clinic in Ediburgh in October of last year. So though you can have the procedure in the UK, it is not something available under the NHS.

We all had such great hopes for her treatment in Costa Rica, and to anyone who knows Donna, just the dramatic change in the way she looked after treatment was enough to make us believers. Unfortunately, her symptoms didn't improve enough to give her the life-changing results that we were all hoping for. She needs further treatment and perhaps stents to keep the veins open and the blood flowing and that means a second treatment in America. Family and a few friends paid for the last procedure, and cannot afford to do so a second time.

Here's where you come in! This is your chance to make a real change in the life of someone wonderful....someone who is a huge supporter of great music, a fighter, a lover, a loyal friend, someone who doesn't take life for granted. So many of us never think about getting out of bed in the morning, being able to take ourselves to the bathroom, or make ourselves and our loved ones a meal. I can't imagine not being able to reach out an pick up my son, to throw him up in the air while he squeals with delight...so many things

that I do without thinking on a day to day basis that are a struggle or just plain impossible for Donna. we're putting together a wonderful compilation of great music...songs donated by some of the best musicians that can be found. All proceeds will go to help pay for Donna's procedure. In the meantime please give a little something to help her out. Just a quid if you've not got much...believe me, it'll help. We'll let you know when we get the comp underway! Thanks for listening and for your help! Much love, Lo.

Squidoo

2008-03-02T23:53:00.002-05:00

Hi lovelies! I've been working on a few new pages at squidoo. The revenue from these pages goes to benefit the Aids Research Alliance so I'd really apprecited it if you'd visit! The first is called....

Wheat Allergy, Grain Intolerance and My Struggle to Stop Fearing Food
and the second is..
Lobelia is Afraid of the Dark

The first one is a page about my latest obsession (not by choice mind you) and there's a nice long blog post there about the struggles I've been having lately due to a severe wheat allergy and some pretty nasty food intolerances.

The second page is just a fun page about me with links and videos and nonsense (my favourite) and again...all revenue generated from the page goes to charity. So visit often, contribute, join, bookmark, stumble and give yourself a great big hug and a little snog from me. Why? Because I love you.

xo

Nizlopi...JCB Song and Video

2007-12-08T08:30:00.000-05:00

I'd forgotten how much I loved this song til I heard it last night on the way home on the ipod. Enjoy!!!!

New Steve Lawson and Lobelia Limited Edition EP

2007-12-06T18:43:00.001-05:00

Right, with no advance notice at all, Steve and I have a new live EP available. It's a pre-release of some of the tracks that will be on our live album, coming out towards the middle of next year, and features three bass 'n' voice duo tunes and two solo tunes of Steve's. We weren't planning on making any of these tunes available to the public but had so many requests for it that we decided to make the promo copies available at a discounted price. These went on sale to the street team a few days ago and then to you today and they're almost 1/3 gone...so don't wait around! Track list is -

Happy (7:34)
MMFSOG (4:09)
I'm Lost (5:11)
Rain (9:14)
Jimmy James (6:51)

If you haven't seen us live before....all these tracks are just one bass and vocal...looping and layering to created a lush soundscape and a completely unique and beautiful sound.

Steve says the version of MMFSOG is by far the best take of that tune he's ever recorded, and the version of Jimmy James is an all-fretless one. The tracks were all recorded live at Power Base Studio in Nebraska earlier in the year.

"So how do we get one of these lovely very limited edition discs?" I hear you cry... All you have to do is send £5 via paypal or nochex, which includes WORLDWIDE POSTAGE AND PACKING. (send it to steve[at]steve[dash]lawson[dot]co[dot]uk please)

What's more, if you buy this disc now, it'll save you £2 when the album comes out.

The CD itself is a CDR with all the info printed on the disc, and comes in a pretty plastic clam-shell case, like these -

To make it easy, here's a paypal button which goes straight to the 'pay Steve £5 for our delicious new CD' page -

and in the player below, you can listen to the first track from it - 'Happy'. It's fab! :o)

Enjoy...

New Steve Lawson and Lobelia Limited Edition EP

2007-12-06T18:43:00.000-05:00

Enjoy...

Won't You Come Out to Play...(the random musings of an infrequent blogger)

2007-11-26T18:53:00.000-05:00

Hi there Peeps!

It's been a while I know but I've been busy busy! We've just returned from another lovely time in continental Europe where we played some great gigs in Kent, Geneva and Amsterdam. Good times with fantastic lovelies! We drove this time (so much for carbon offsetting)...taking the ferry from Dover to Dunkirk and then trust the satnavlady (SNL) to direct us (avoiding toll roads) through France, Belgium and on to Holland. The trip from Amsterdam to Geneva was a little less smooth and included one of most hideous cities I've ever seen in Belgium (can't remember the name, I think I've blocked it from my memory)...a wild with hunger goose-chase for veggie food in France....and SNL directing us through the ice covered roads of the Jura where we almost died a dozen times. Having avoided death we returned to the UK, finally giving in and allowing SNL to use the toll roads for part of the trip home.

So, I'm not spending much time on myspace these days...and am not updating my shows on there due to the clunky interface that only works half of the time. So I hope that you'll come and join me elsewhere! Here are some links to the places I'm spending time these days.

Ning.com (create your own social networking site for almost anything)
The Lobelia Page of Sugary Goodness
I've just started a page here but it seems pretty cool. I heard about it from the lovely Pete Yorn so go visit him and become a member of his network too.

Lobelia on Reverb Nation.
if you are a musician and not a member of RN yet....fill yer boots man! The widgets alone are worth it! I use them from my regular site now and love love love them.

For facebook users.
Lobelia Facebook Band Page
This is clunky so far...but I'm sure it will be improved in the near future. You can become a fan and be privy to new info about tour dates, new songs and releases ect.

Lastly...Steve Lawson and I are working on a new site together for our combined project and in anticipation of the release of our new live CD which is....
www.steveandlobelia.net
There's nothing there quite yet...but look for it in the near future.

Well, I guess we've come to the end of another blog posting but due to the fact that I almost never blog anymore...I feel I should leave you with a little something extra. Hmmmmm. Words of wisdom? Nah, I'd have to wake Steve up for that. Recipes that utilize bits of old shoelaces? Nah, that's so in these days. How about crazy photos that one should be embarrassed to show around? YEAH! Enjoy.

Lo. does Babs

Steve impersonating a gnome

Pudding!!!!

I am controlling your mind!! Put down the computer and draw me a picture of kittens in drag!!!

My Lovely Parents Strike Again

2007-09-19T18:34:00.001-04:00

I probably don't speak often enough about how lovely and wonderful my parents are....and since they live in Belize I don't get to spend nearly as much time with them as I would like to but it makes the times I do so so special. I got an email from my Mum the other day with pictures of their new Humane Society/Veterinary Clinic that they were able to open on their property. So so amazing. With the help of some visiting veterinarians (my father is also a vet) they have been able to offer care and education to local pets and their owners! Belize is a developing country and many pet owners cannot afford care as it takes around $150 BZ dollars ($75USD) just to spay a dog! That pays for 4 semesters of school for a Belizian child! How can one afford that? So through donations and lovely volunteers...they have been able to offer these services! Here's some pics of the clinic!

Love, Greenbelt, London, and Evasion of the Inevitable

2007-09-04T06:13:00.001-04:00

Hi Everyone. It's been a while since I posted a proper blog! Despite having loads of time to sit and write, my thoughts aren't that cohesive of late....and dealing with lots of personal upheaval has cut down on my ranting about nutrition, music, and the narrow minded.

It's been a great year. Really fab. I've done much! Left Montreal, fallen in love, fnished 3 tours in Europe and the US with a fourth in Europe scheduled for November, and gotten to know my family all over again. Having lived so far away for so long, we've all changed so much. I thank them so much for this time to spend with them and giving me my own space to heal and develop a new plan for my new life.

I'm absolutely loving London. It's so huge and that's a bit overwhelming; if I was doing it on my own like my experience when I first moved to Montreal I think that I'd be freaking out. However, with Steve and all the the amazing people that I've met here...it makes things so much easier. I'm sure it'll get a bit scary when I finally move here for good and am trying to get places on my own every day. :) Different than my experience in Montreal when I first moved there and didn't speak the language and was basically on my own and even after learning French I still felt as if I'd missed most of the deeper meaning in conversation.

So, we've done some great gigs while I've been here in London. The Darbuka gig was small...but a fantastic atmosphere and I can't wait to play there again! Here's a pic from that gig taken by Wulf.

Shortly after some visitors arrived from the US.....Ric Hordinski and Josh Seurkamp from Cincinatti. I'd met Ric briefly when we stayed at his amazing studio while on tour. Such amazingly talented guys and so much fun to hang out with. No pretension whatsoever, as a matter of fact the reverse. They rolled with the punches the entire time, through equipment issues...transportation issues, being treated slightly crap at Greenbelt by some of the workers and sleeping in a room at our flat that is akin to Harry Potter's "closet" in the first book. Take some time to check out their work....gorgeous stuff. These guys are that rare mix of serious talent, serious fun and the seriously sweet.

We all headed off to Greenbelt in our various coaches....Steve and I left slightly late after chasing down our tent from the delivery service due to it arriving a day later than expected and other issues. By the time we arrived in Cheltenham it was after dark and we still had to set up the tent. To any of you who have set up a tent by car headlights....you know this can be a very stressful operation and I was definitely wearing my pissy hat. (more than anything due to the fact that I was anticipating 4 days of having to be extremely social and anyone who knows me also knows that that is a scary-ass thought for me) For those of you who don't know anything about Greenbelt.....it's a Christian festival attended by around 20,000. I didn't really know what to expect, being that my experience with Christian functions are that normally they are extreme in their conservatism and tend to be a vehicle for finger pointing and proselytization. (I'm speaking only from my experiences of attending functions in the Eastern US which might not be the best example) Greenbelt turned out to be the opposite of what I'd expected. A lefty festival with lots and lots of lovely people interested in being challenged with new ideas and opinions. The people were so nice in fact, that I didn't even mind the social aspect for the next four days.

Our first official day there...we had a big gig on mainstage with Sarah Masen. We had a few rehearsals with Sarah beforehand but I didn't feel very prepared and therefore was slightly nervous during the gig. However, I find it so much easier to play to thousands of people than I do to a crowd of 30 or 40. The show went very well and everyone played beautifully. The band lineup was Sarah on vocals and acoustic, Josh on drums, Steve on bass, Ric on guitar, Evil Harv and guitar, and Kari, Jude, Me, Cathy Burton, and Cary on backing vocals. Here's a lovely shot taken by Sarda...

Our next gig was The Recycle Collective at the Cabaret. This is a show of all improvisational music starring some of the best of the best in jazz, classical, and contemporary music in London and around the world. Of course me being a part of this was fantastic and probably more do to the fact that this concept was invented and implemented by Steve. He's taught me well over the months of touring though and I loves me some on the spot improvisation. I was up first so I threw out some lyrics and harmonies on the fly which was really really great fun. Other artists on stage that night were the Amazing Andrea Hazell, Patrick Wood. Andrea is a mezzo-soprano with the Royal Opera here in London (amazing amazing amazing and super sweet) and Patrick is an an amazing multi-instrumentalist equally at home in jazz, funk, fusion and pop (and one of the sweetest people I've ever met). I was in heaven surrounded by so much talent.

What I thought would be my last gig at Greenbelt was Monday evening at the performance cafe. It was very well attended and Steve and I played one of the best sets that we've ever played together. :) It really felt fantastic to be in such a great listening environment. Later at the organic beer tent where we spent a lot of time most evenings...(yay) we received a phone call that they needed someone to replace Duke Special at Last Orders and we were off again (slightly drunken) to play for several thousand people and ended up closing Greenbelt for the year. We played one of my tunes from the first album...I'm Lost and my new favourite cover....Tea in the Sahara.

In between playing lots of gigs we also saw some great ones and met and hung out with some lovelies as well. My faves we're Iain Archer(especially his set at the cabaret with the lovely Miriam who sings for Snow Patrol) sharing a veggie lunch the very gentle and down to earth Dennison Witmer, Billy Bragg, and Duke Special. Badly Drawn Boyo was a highlight of the fest for me due to his hilarious commentary on his own festival experiences at Liquid Lunch....plus he's just brilliant and I like to listen to him talk. :) Was also lovely hanging out with Steve's family. Getting hugs from his nieces and nephew that weren't because they felt they had to made me feel really great.

Here's a pic from the performance cafe gig. (the hat is due to me getting a really terrible case of sun poisoning and my forehead swelling up so that I looked like a Klingon. So forget all you've heard about the English getting burned to a crisp....the token American mentalist strikes again)

Needless to say I was very very happy to get back to the flat and have a proper shower and rest and to see our lovely lovely flatmate Catster again whom I've come to adore this last month. (she's fab and she's a GREAT GREAT cook and loves Scrabble and Skipbo and makes a mean G&T....we're just scratching the surface here) Plus I tend to enjoy being able to walk 20 feet with Steve and not have it take an hour (he's much loved at Greenbelt and seems to know everyone!) ;)

This is becoming the longest blog in herstory....so I'll just close with a word about the freedom of expression gig from the other night. It was my third one....(shows made possible by the lovely Tim Eveleigh) and at a new venue (though I'm quite attached to the Green Dragon in Croydon...and it's mega close now!) We had quite a few lovely friends come out to the FOE in Marylebone but a few minutes into setup...we realised that Steve had forgotten to bring ALL his pedals. That meant trying to control everything by hand which had to be a bloody nightmare, and....the show was being webcast! HA! It was great fun though...we compensated by trying to be funny and it turned out to be a very very entertaining gig for us...hopefully for other's as well. You can watch it here.

Thanks to everyone for all your help on my journey this year and the latter part of the last...you all know who you are, cause not everyone finds the kind of love you read about fairy tales and so many of you helped nurture and encourage this in the face of my disbelief...or just cause you loved me and wanted it to be true. It doesn't really matter either way....as Celie says in the Color Purple..."Dear God, I'm here....I'm here."

A special thanks to Kari who is going through a bout of homesickness....I so know that feeling where you just long for something familiar, and just facing shopping at a grocery where nothing is where it seems it should be is daunting; thanks for being a friend and for coming to so many of the shows...it's always a comfort to me to see your smiling face in the audience and you and James have become my something familiar in a space of unfamiliarity.

I travel back to the US on the 10th....2 days after my birthday and though I've had many thoughts of just staying...I know I have to go back. At least for a while. You can't evade the inevitable forever; but I'm happy for now, for all I've experienced, for love, for you.

xoxoLo.

Flickr

2007-03-28T03:25:00.000-04:00

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Beautiful Belize

2006-12-19T12:30:00.000-05:00

So, I haven't had much time for writing since I've been here in Belize....the weather has been so beautiful that I've spent all my time in the water, getting drunk with my parents...(just once..but jeez...they're crazy!) travelling around by car (it takes forever to get anywhere out here as most all the roads are dirt ones) playing my guitar (I brought Walter), wearing the same clothes over and over again borrowed from my Mother and Father (they lost our luggage and we didn't get it for 3 days together) which in my tall buxom stature and the new short haircut made onlookers question my sexuality, and protecting my overly white complection against the evil rays of the hot hot sun. :-) It's a constant battle I tell you....but worth it. (the sun protection...not the sexuality issue)

Anyway, it's a bit rainy today so I'm inside waiting for Mr. Sun so I can join the marine life and frolic happily in the sky blue water. I've never felt so relxed as when I'm out there letting the waves lift and toss me...I love feeling so small...a tiny speck in the great blue ocean. Falling asleep with the sound of the waves crashing and the birds and frogs..there's nothing like it. I can totally understand the reason why my parents took the huge risk to come here. It's not easy to leave everything you know, with what little money you have and risk it all on a dream. They're so amazing. They make a great addition to Belize and the people here love them.

The view from the porch of my parent's house

The neighbor's Palapa

Driftood

Downtown Dangriga

The Dangriga Market....(Marvin)

Katee the Hunter with Mr. Crab

My Mum and Me drunk on Carribean rum!

So my lovelies, I miss you all very much but will return very soon and hopefully in a much better mood than I have been of late. :-) It looks like Mr. Sun has reappeared and I'm off to frolic in the great sea. Wish I could share it with everyone...it'd be much more fun with all those I love here, smiling and happy...relaxing with me. Till soon!

xoxoxoLo.

France, Nantes and Underpants.

2006-07-19T23:46:00.000-04:00

Hi there! I've been back from Europe for quite a while now and trying to get this post going...but I just haven't felt that inpired. It may have had something to do with the 600 emails waiting for me when I got back...or about a billion other little excuses I could make to mask the fact that I'm feeling lazy and uninspired.

Sooooooooooooo. My first trip to Paris was pretty amazing. Besides the temperature being akin to the fires of hell, it was an overwhelmingly big city filled with an amazing amount of culture. Yep. Culture out the wazoo, yin-yang, and other synonymic orifices. Being a skeptic myself...I figured all this hype about French food was, well.....hype. I couldn't have been more wrong! The food was superb! The desserts even better! The one thing I'd have to complain about was the lack of vegetarian choices to be found....especially in Nantes. You ask for a vegetable plate and they bring you asparagus wrapped in bacon. (I'm already hearing the choruses of "mmmmmmmmm bacon!") But I guess that's something you've gotta expect when you travel to France. That's when you break out the granola that no self respecting, tree huggin' vegetarian freak leaves home without. I personally had 14 of those suckers in my backpack. Almond or Peanut Butter?

We left Paris after only a few days. During our time there we did some touristy things....climbed the 236 steps to the top of the Arc de Triomphe in 42 degree temps, the Louvre (my favorite), The Notre Dame Basilica where I lit another candle for Corey, le Chateau de Versailles and spent the last day hanging out at the Luxembourg Gardens at my request for a break from touristy shite. Eyes burning and red from all the smog......we were happy to be going somewhere with slightly fresher air. On the train back from Versailles....a Hispanic man with mic and amp in hand stepped onto our train and began to serenade us with his rendition of Feelings.

Off to Nantes we were. We waited for around an hour for a cab at the train station. I made a joke about it there only being 3 cabs in the whole town. Turns out I was right. It was Sunday explained the driver and 3 cabs for 400,00 people was ample, no?

Nantes is a great city. Mostly because all the touristy shit was under construction! Yippeee! Liberated from that...I was free to wander around at my leisure. I found this really cool covered passage called the Passage Pommeraye with a bunch of cool shops. Seems though...there was a man standing slightly underneath the steps looking at panties as all the girls in skirts...(myself included) climbed the passage stairs. When I caught him looking...he ran away. Too bad....I was going to run back down the stairs just to give him an extra thrill. ;-) (audible gasp from conservative blog readers) Oh hush! Like y'all don't like to show your panties to complete strangers! Actually, didn't Brittney Spears utter that exact same phrase during her last interview?

All in all it was a really great trip. World Cup madness made it even more interesting. There was glass breaking and Allez les Bleus! everywhere. Fireworks ablaze and some question if the abandoned building next to our hotel had caught fire. The fire trucks came and went with no hose to be seen....so I guess it was finally safe to sleep. I'll shut up now and post some pics. Hope you enjoy!

Arc de Triomphe (random useless factoid: On July 2, 1998, the flame at the tomb of the unknown soldier was extinguished when a drunk mexican national soccer fan urinated on it.)

Artsy photo of dizzying steps on the way down.

Basilica de Notre Dame

From the inside.

Ouch. I'll leave this one to Tim.

Aww. Who knew. Nice Parisian signage. Much kinder than Stay off the fucking grass you North American imbecile.

The Eiffel Tower

The Louvre

Man soon to be aflame and the blurry crowd who loved him.

Chateau Versailles mystery photo.

Passage de Pommeraye. Underpants central.

Nantes Botanical Gardens

Within minutes, thousands had arrived in front of Theatre Gaumont to celebrate France's victory over Portugal. A few minutes later the fire trucks came. Wheeeeeeeeeeee!

Swiss Pics and Nonsensical Ramblings for Thursday

2006-04-27T18:43:00.000-04:00

Swiss Pics and Nonsensical Ramblings for Thursday
Current mood: anxious

Hi there. This particular blog post may be cursed...as this is now the 3rd time I've attempted to post it. For such an insignificant piece of drivel...I can't imagine that the universe is conspiring against me so I must chalk it up to microsuck. I even saved the last version in a gmail draft only to find it too had mysteriously disappeared after my mozilla crashola. Wheeeeeeeeee! Anyhoo, I'm trying again. Apparently, I am determined to share my mindless meandering today.

The pics from Switzerland and France this year are merely lovely. Not interesting like last year's silhouettes of cows and castles. It seems as if I am bored of beautiful spaces. This isn't true of course but I didn't feel the need for constant snapping this time 'round....but really enjoyed the scenery like an old friend.

Giselle and Pierre Vorpe....Cris's Swiss cousins. We were on a hike to see the Saut Du Doubs. You start in Switzerland and hike about an hour in....(very easy hike...not very steep at all) and at some point cross over into France. The water was very high..as we had seen a lot of flooding this time in Switzerland. They had so much snow this year that when it melted it caused lots of high water.

Ha! I've taken this path many times. However, the sign wasn't so obvious.

Beautiful Locarno in the Italian part of Switzerland. Very laid back...great food, great merlot. The least expensive area in Switzerland...the hotels and food are reasonable although the service is substandard in comparison. I had a risotto in Bellinzona the first night that was so good it almost made me cry. Considering my propensity to cry at restuarants....I can see you're not surprised, shocked, stunned, or even slightly amazed. FINE! I'm moving on. (and ending a sentence with a preposition...SO THERE! That'll teach you!)

Madonna Del Sasso. This was my favorite place we visited on this trip. Read more about it here. It was quite a steep hike to get to it...but so worth it. I'm not usually that impressed by churches but there is something really special about this place. I felt really calm for the first time in months here. After the last 6 months of tragedy and worry...this was a welcome respite from my troubles. I lit a candle for Corey here. I'm not Catholic or even especially religious...but it made me feel happy to think of a candle burning for him in one of the most beautiful spaces on earth.

The Madonna Del Sasso overlooking gorgeous Locarno and Lake Maggiore.

We took the 12sf garish Nestle's Ice Cream boat to Evian for some free water. Go figure. Next to us on the boat was a really over the top French guy with the largest digital camera I'd ever seen and an equally large ash on the end of his cigarette. This is the guy the host is chasing around at the part with an ashtray under his chin. Additionally, he kept phoning up all his friends and saying..."Guess where I am?" His 2nd favorite phrase was "C'est pas vrai!" We saw him later in Evian getting beat up by 12 elderly ladies in purple overcoats. Not really. Just seeing if you were still paying attention.

This is the famous Evian fountain where everyone comes to get free water. I was being scowled at the entire time by an old lady with hot pink hair. Did you ever notice that people with pink hair tend to scowl a lot? I would think having such a festive color on your head would carry over into mood and disposition. Instead it seems to have the opposite effect. I feel an inane research project on the horizon!

Ouchy...near Lausanne. My favorite town in Switzerland. I've affectionately renamed it Oucheee. It's as if they named these towns just to make me laugh. On the train from Bern to Lausanne there are some really great names. My favorite being....Palezeuix. (Pas les yeux).

Ouchy.

After I fell in from the evil Eurovirus....Cris did a lot of exploring on his own. As he was out taking pics one day...he nearly stumbled over this guy. I love the look on Mr. Swan's face. He maintains a look of curiosity while also seeming to imply that he's about 2 seconds away from take a large bite out of Cris's dangly bits. Ahhhhhhhhh....swans. White......Majestic........Evil.

This is Geneva at sunset. You can see the famous Mont Blanc lighted in pink behind the nearer mountains. Oh, BTW. You can walk now.

I had better try to post this now. Hope you enjoyed it!

XOXO

Lo.

Prayers and Warm Wishes for Corey

2006-01-27T11:33:00.000-05:00

I know I'm always asking you guys for your prayers and warm wishes...it seems that a lot of tragedy and illness have darkened our days these past 6 months or so. So I'm asking you again...to pray for Corey. He was in a really terrible car accident and is in a coma. He's very very dear to me and so many others. Even if you don't know him personally, please take the time to add him to your list, to think warm thoughts about a tall, animated, intellegent, caring, crazy guy. We want him back.

OXOXOX

Lo.

Concert for the Gulf Coast DVD

2006-01-18T23:23:00.000-05:00

Concert for the Gulf Coast DVD.....$20
(Lobelia's toes not included)

Noelle has only 9 of these left! A live performance of 'Make Me Feel' from our new album is the first song on the DVD and the money goes to aid the vitims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita so I know that you wanna help right? I can feel you shaking your heads yes in unison! The following is from her myspace page...

The dvd features performances from all 9 bands that took part in this great benefit in Montreal in November. If you or anyone you know would like to purchase the commemorative dvd, they are available for only $20 CAD. You can conveniently order via email or fax. Simply send me a message with your email address and I will forward you the order form. You will receive an email confirming your order. The shipping options are included on the order form. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me. And thank you so very much for your continued support.
Click to Order

Remission...Such a Sweet Word!

2005-12-09T23:51:00.000-05:00

Hi All!

Well, I just got off the phone with my Mum and her cancer is in remission! They are going to do two more chemo treatments just to be sure, but then she won't have to come back for 3-6 months. This will enable them to move to Belize like they planned.

Thanks so much to everyone for all your warm wishes, thoughts and prayers.

XOXOXO

Lo.

Currently listening:
Dog Eared
By Cerveris
Release date: By 24 February, 2004

Calexico and Iron and Wine

2005-12-09T23:48:00.000-05:00

Went to a great show last night with Hugues at the Spectrum! For those of you who haven't heard of Calexico....please visit them here --------->Calexico on myspace.com A great mix of many styles of music making them as per their website- "a band that defies categories".

Anyway, it was amazing....Iron and Wine were very good too...although the crowd at that kind of show annoys the shit outta me. We got yelled at by a lesbian couple for talking! If you want quiet....go see a movie or a tennis match. We were slightly drunken so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and venture to say that we might have been slightly obnoxious. Still I felt slightly embarrassed and annoyed for being chastised for talking at a show. I felt a little like my 4th grade teacher had just caught me passing notes.

Actually, the drunkenness really kicked in as I was about to leave...Hugues was the intelligent one who took a cab....but I decided to stagger the 3km to my house. It was bloody cold so there was no one out...and I guess I was snapping pictures all the way cause I had a bunch of weird photos on my camera today. Here's one of my looking slightly ornery...I looked around today to make sure I didn't steal any lawn ornaments on the way home cause I woke up with a headache and a vague memory of plastic geese...

Currently listening:
Cure for Pain
By Morphine
Release date: By 14 September, 1993

Rob Szabo and Only Forward at the Yellow Door

2005-11-05T01:11:00.000-05:00

What a great show at the Yellow Door Cafe tonight! There were so many people there in such a small space...it was a little difficult for me....being socially awkward and all...but it was a great time. Rob Szabo is a new favorite...his music is so honest and quirky and cool that I got tears in my eyes a few times while he was playing. It was just so great to see an artist have such a bloody good time playing and to beat all he is super nice with a smile that is completely disarming. Smiling and teary I was...(Yes, I know I'm a weirdo)

Only Forward had some great sounds. A very marketable band and I expect they will do very well if they can keep it up. I can see many a screaming teenage girl in their future. I mean this in a very positive way....their songs were very melodic and memorable..and their talent seemed to match their good looks.

To top all this I finally got to meet Emma (Folk You!) and she's an amazing girl. She's so damn cute! Please add her and check out her music page. There's so much great music there it might keep you busy forever.

Ok. enough of my nightly rambling. Talk soon!

xoxox

Lo.

Raptor Cookies and Falling Trees

2005-10-26T19:31:00.000-04:00

The title says it all and I don't care to expound at this point. I may be on my way back to Montreal in a week. My Mum is doing really well. Thanks for all your warm wishes and prayers.

My Beautiful Mother

2005-10-09T23:06:00.000-04:00

We learned a few days ago that my beautiful Mother, who is one of the kindest souls on the planet, has lymphoma. Whether you are a friend, a fan, or just someone who wound up here by accident....please pray that she gets better. All religions and warm wishes welcome...we need all the positivity we can get. I have moved back to the US to help as much as I can.

xoxoxo
Lo.

Lindy

2005-10-02T18:35:00.000-04:00

Thanks to Trevor for turning me on to Lindy....a singer/songwriter from Toronto. I saw him live on Friday night at the Club Soda here in Montreal. He has the most amazing voice....like honey dripping off of a razor blade. Sweet enough to melt you right to your soul then splintering into tiny metal shards that make your stomach flutter and your skin react. I was completely mesmerized. Coupled with the addition of solid bass lines and harmonies from Sally, this is an act made in heaven. If all this isn't enough....the guy writes amazing songs that go strait to your head. My single complaint about the show was that he should have been headlining. I suppose that it is better to sparkle brilliantly at the beginning and leave others to fail to shine at the end.

Here's a pic Lindy and Sally were nice enough to pose for before packing up for the night.

Sick of Myself

2005-09-30T00:21:00.000-04:00

I think the reason I'm in a songwriting slump is that I'm really sick of myself. I need a vacation away from the spoils of being me. It's unfortunate that the only way to really do this is through the use of drugs and copious amounts of alcohol...although a good out of body experience might work. If you have any ideas please let me know. In the meantime...here's a pic of Don Alan and I at a Halloween party in the mid 90's. He looked hot in my clothes!

Blog By Phone

2005-09-19T22:27:00.000-04:00

Top Monthly Search Words for Lobelia.Net

2005-09-17T12:35:00.000-04:00

I don't know why I find search terms....Especially the weird ones, so bloody fascinating. It's interesting to see what brings people to visit me. I'm now up to over 650,000 hits on my site in the last 5 years. That's a lot for a small time songwriter from the hills of West Virginia!

lobelia sabo
man with one testicle
lobÃ©lia
tapazole and nightmares
solitary world lobelia
eyes
pictures of stripper poles
heather keechel (my cousin who works at Disney)
graves disease
wv songs

It was a disappointing day otherwise, some things fell through and however hard my spirit wants to rally and move forward....these kind of things can really steal your momentum. I have to admit that a long phone chat with an old friend made the day worthwhile...just hearing his voice after so long was so comforting and cool. I almost forgot that I have a cold and feel like hell! XOXOX to you darlin' for making me feel better! Merci.

that's all for now...nite nite

Tour Talk

2005-09-13T23:38:00.000-04:00

Hey there!

Today was productive with a lot of Springtime '06 tour talk going down! We're in the planning stages of a very scaled down but ambitious tour from East to West in the U.S. and West to East in Canada featuring the best guitar player ever (Don Alan Evosirch)...although I've been informed by my manager that the earth is flat so I need to be careful...

We would like to book shows with a band from each city so if any of you are interested in doing a show with us...please shoot us an email.

Another Birthday, Oy Veg.

2005-09-08T17:04:00.000-04:00

Soooooooo.........here it is.....another birthday! Woke up to some really nice ecards from Elle and GB, as well as some virtual roses from Tyson. Elle cancelled all her morning clients at the salon to come and spend the first part of the day with me! Fun times were attained as we had breakfast and went shopping for this year's Birthday hat. Elle got me lots of presents....including a gorgeous necklace, a hot looking shirt, and my new desk friend Penelope Pen. (shown below). I am a great lover of unusual flowers....(the stranger the better) so Cris had the local florist make me an arrangement of unusual delights.

Penelope the Bird Pen

The Birthday Bitch

Elle and I

Birthday Chapeau

Stange and Beautiful Flowers

Hi-Yah!

2005-08-25T15:16:00.000-04:00

Portneuf, Charlie, et Mes Parents

2005-08-23T13:45:00.000-04:00

Hello there!

It's been a while since my last update. I've been really busy with visitors and everything in between. Last week my parents and I traveled to the Northeast of Montreal to the Reserve Faunique de Portneuf. It was so beautiful there! We stayed in a little cabin with non-potable cold water, no electric and an outhouse! I haven't done anything like that in a long time. We did have a woodburning stove and propane lighting and a propane cook stove.

We met a little pine squirrel who Papa named Charlie. Charlie was in and out of our cabin 20 times a day begging for food. He dined on pistachios, wheat crackers, and soy chips. As you can see from the photo...Charlie has carved a niche for himself in the country cottage market....and does not go hungry! Here are some of the sights!

Charlie

Mr. Frog

Papa's Giant Fish

Lac Bellevue

The Cabin

The Bear Scratching Post

Du Repos Cabin

My Parents

The River

We had such a great time! Hopefully they will return again soon!

FOKM, Hotel Morgan and a Broken Ankle.

2005-08-01T15:03:00.000-04:00

Hi there People!

Ahhhhhhhhh. Back in Montreal to stay for a while. I've missed it here although I've been having some exciting adventures in the world. Dan and I worked really hard at the studio trying to finish up some songs and then I flew home for a day before leaving to go to my hometown....Morgantown, WV.

My first Demo with my band as well as my first solo Demo were recorded by Kim Monday. Kim has been a fixture in the Morgantown music scene for many years. He ran his own studio, repaired instruments for Fawley's Music as well as playing in a myriad of great bands around town. He's a terrific guy who has dedicated his whole life to music, friends and family and so the foundation (FOKM pronounced "FOCKEM") was set up to try and give a little back to someone who has done so much for others. The foundation was able to raise enough money to help Kim live out one of his lifelong desires....to retrace the roots of the beatles. This goal was kept secret for over a year and Kim was asked to play a show at the Rosewood Theatre, where he was presented with the tickets to London for he and his wife, and over $2000 to help with expenses! I'm sure he had to wonder what was going on since there were so many of us in town that he hadn't seen for a long time....but in the end I hope he was surprised.

Here are some pics from the show....

I stayed at the famous Hotel Morgan...often when the letters would "mysteriously" burn out in the right sequence....this is what you would see. Additionally there is a place in town where you can stand for this view...

Songbird Deb Sbarra and Singer/Songwriter Shannon Brown

Owen Davis

Kim Monday, Owen Davis, Mark Poole..and a drummer I don't know...(sorry)

Kitty says..."Damn! That's one good margarita!"

Owen Davis and the Free Hummus All Stars

Corey Bicanich...that's a cool shirt BTW

Robert and Paula

Mark Poole

Kevin Ford and Bob Williams

Brian Porterfield

I had such a great time seeing everyone. I had fallen and hurt my ankle in a restaurant the night the Elle picked me up from the airport. I thought at first it was just a bad sprain and so I went ahead and drove the 12.5 hours to Morgantown. After the swelling started going down I notices an annoying and painful clicking that had begun, as well as the pain increasing. I was able to see my old orthopedist in Morgantown and he did some x-rays and told me that I had separated the same bone that I broke last time as well as tearing a ligament. Fun fun fun. Now I am in an aircast for 6 weeks. I'm just glad that I got to go home...and everything worked out. I drove on to my brother's place before finally driving home on Thusday......Happy Birthday to Elle....it was Friday last. XOXOXO

Back at the Studio

2005-07-18T10:55:00.000-04:00

So I was surprised to be called back out to the studio after having spent 3 weeks here so recently....but when duty calls.... We've been getting in some serious hours which is great although some of our work is evolving very slowly.

Back to Montreal on Wednesday and then on to Motown on Friday! I need a rest! Miss you all and see you soon.

XOXOXO

Ron Show, Happy 4th. or I May be a Schmuck Cause I Still Don't Know How Many Licks it Takes to Get to the Center of a Tootsie Roll Tootsie Pop

2005-07-04T23:34:00.000-04:00

Hi there. Happy 4th to all my American Comrades. Went to a 4th of July cookout at Noelle and Sebastien's place and it was very fun. Thanks for the invite guys!

On Saturday, Brad and I attended the Ron Sexsmith show at the Spectrum. It was as usual, completely awesome. The opener was a band called the Alex Cuba Duo. Check them out they are so great! I won't bore you guys with my banter on the Ron show as I've been recently told that I talk way toooo much about Ron shows on my blog and that I should branch out and see some other bands. Point well taken and I will take that into consideration. Thanks for your concern....now piss off. (only kidding)

I've always known that I was a bit of a schmuck....but I may have blamed someone for something that they didn't do. See, I blamed a friend whom I hadn't seen in 10 years for bashing me incognito for some silly comments about George Bush that I posted on my blog. I have come to believe that this person may not have been the perpetrator...although he may have turned into a bit of a fiscal republican in the last 10 years....:-) The old ass outta you and me thing still holds true these days. Remind me to remember not to assume anything....OK? I have a habit of thinking I'm more clever than I really am. So B., if you are not the Downtown troll that I though you were...I am sorry! Forgive me. If I was right all along, this might be a good chance for you to deny making me feel like an idiot. :-)
A one, a twwwwwwwwoooooo, a thhhhhhhhhhhreeeeeeeeeee. The world may never know.

Working, playing, and bug reporting for the bug reporter

2005-06-29T00:13:00.000-04:00

It's been a while since I posted....I've been so busy. It seems strange to say that I have been doing nothing but writing and playing music and I have absolutely no time left in the day for anything else. Everything seems to be happening at once and it's great! I'm getting some terrific hits on my stuff from some television producers in NYC and was asked to submit for a crime drama and a comedy that will air next season. Alternately, I've been asked to try and write some stuff for a great talent...Bahia Check her out...you won't believe your ears. She has one of the most gorgeous voices I've ever heard. (and she's beautiful too~)

Blah, blah, blah. Moi, moi, moi. What's going on in your universe?

I'll leave you with the Microsoft error to end all errors. You know when a program craps out in windows and good 'ol microshaft asks you if you want to do their job for them and send an error report? Well, this is the message that you get when the ERROR REPORTING SOFTWARE GETS AN ERROR. Then they have the balls to ask if you want to report the error for the debugger. If the computer hadn't locked up I would have been curoius what the next message would have been. Maybe something like this...

The Dr.Watson Postmortem Debugger Debugger is Buggered. We're sure that you have lost time and important information and that this is not the first time. Still we are sorry for the inconvenience. (Bill makes us say that)

Please report this error to Bill. WE are tired of dealing with this shit.
We have created an error report that will help us determine how we can improve Dr.Watson's Postmortem Debugger Debugger. Please be advised that we will will consider this report an attack on our programming skills and will retaliate with lots of Cialis and Penile Enlargement spam. Have a great day and don't forget to buy the next version of Windows.

XOXOXOXO Lo.

Fender Rhodes!

2005-06-14T22:57:00.000-04:00

wow! check out this cool vintage keyboard that Dan aquired for the studio. the piano tuner came today and worked on it a bit and it sounds great through the Marshall!

A bit more recording tomorrow and then home James!

Dale Williams, Gin and Tonics and Dancin' the Two Step with a Dude Named EJ

2005-06-12T15:46:00.000-04:00

It's not all work here at the studio....we try to have as much fun as possible.
We went to Omaha on Friday night to go out with some friends...it was a blast and I have to say I overindulged in alchoholic delights. I won't be doing that again anytime soon. :-P

Last night we went to a bar in West Point to see Dale Williams...he's a great singer/songwriter that records here quite a bit. He's one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet and very talented!

Dale Williams Website

So, during Dale's first set I was verbally accosted by some dude named EJ who proceeded to drag me out onto the dance floor to do the two step. There was a slight problem with this as I have NO bloody IDEA how to two-step! He proceeded to tell me then that he was horny, and not to worry he was a nice guy and wouldn't grab my boob. (much to my relief and so glad he was thoughtful enough to specify which part) Later he asked me to dance again but I declined telling him that we were about to head out. He then told me that "IN AMERICA WE SAY "OWT" AND NOT "OOT" YOU DUMB CANADIAN LOSER" Needless to say, this was the sure sign for me that the night was over and that I should leave before the boob grabbing American English lessons began. (I'm from WV for fooks sake, I think I have that American English thing covered) It made for an interesting evening anyway. :-)
Back on Thursday! Have a great week!

Whoohooo! Bring on the Recording Contract!

2005-06-02T22:33:00.000-04:00

Haven't signed anything yet but spent the afternoon going over some details. Looks like an exciting week all the way 'round. Emma-Lee met 50 Cent and I'm sure that something equally exciting happened to Elle. It's in the stars dahling.

Vicky Day 2005! Or Breakfast w/ the Star, Stuffed Roosters, Ron Sexsmith, the Uncool and a Tall French Bee

2005-05-25T23:03:00.000-04:00

Hi there! How's everyone....or rather the 5 of you who read this blog on a regular basis? Had lots of fun on Vicky Day this year! Went to Ottawa, (I was an Ottawa vierge)with my favorite star Elle. We saw Ron Sexsmith with band at the Tulip Fest and although it was a dreary day it was brightened by a great crowd, company and great music!

Here's a short film on the subject...

Vicky Day 2005

Take care of Montreal while I'm gone. Off to the studio tomorrow. See you on the 9th!
XOXOX

Some Days Are Just Made for Puddin'

2005-05-17T19:26:00.000-04:00

....be nice if I had some.

What brings people to your site? (If someone asks me to define people again I just might kill.)

2005-05-14T23:21:00.000-04:00

I was just going through my monthly stats and got a good laugh out of some of the search words that brought visitors to my site. Here are some of my favorites.

testicle man
the blue and the grey
granny planet
little grave
lobÃ©lia
lobelia is god
above photo topless

Have a good weekend!

Friday the 13th! Mwahaahaaahaa

2005-05-13T21:07:00.000-04:00

Anything interesting going on in the world of people? I didn't leave the house today so the likelihood of something bad happening to was cut down considerably.

Tell me stories. I miss you all. Where are my people? I used to have people. Now all I have is toadboy and Mr. X.

Advance Fee Fraud ( Musicians Beware)

2005-05-10T23:00:00.000-04:00

Scams are constantly getting more innovative...this one targeting musicians is one that I have never seen before until I received this e-mail a few days ago. You'd think with all this trouble that people go to that they would learn to spell. (alright downtown, no comments from the penis gallery...) I thought that I would e-mail the chick back even though I thought it had to be some kind of scam...I mean when the e-mail is from Deborah Jones, starts out with "Good Day", is full of mistakes and bad grammar, and is signed Lateefah....light bulbs should be going off... right?

The emails:

On 5/9/05, Deborah Jones
wrote:

Good day,

I read all your , discovery with past events and I
was pleased with it.Love your muziq very well.There
will be a Get Together @ Helotes Lions Club, 14690
State Hwy 16 N, Helotes, Texas 78023-0424 in the month
of JUNE which we have'nt really choosen a date.To
plan ahead and print our IV , i want to know which day
and date you will be free to play on the event so we
can talk about duration,charges & deposit needed.

Your urgent responce is needed.
Lateefah.

Find local movie times and trailers on Yahoo!
Movies.
http://au.movies.yahoo.com

Find local movie times and trailers on Yahoo! Movies.
http://au.movies.yahoo.com

--- Lobelia Sabo wrote:

Hi Lateefah,

I thank you for your mail and the kind words on my music. You do know that I am located in Montreal, Quebec? My out of the country fees for shows must include airfare and accommodation. Please let me know if you are still interested.

Warm regards,

Lobelia

From: Deborah Jones
Date: May 10, 2005 6:26 PM
Subject: Re: booking
To: Lobelia Sabo

Thanks for the responce which was higly appreciated
when recieved.I and fellow organisers voted and you
stand a great chance to perform at the Get Together
coming up on Saturday 25th June which is 11days after
Flag Day [USA].

The sum of $6,000 will be issued and sent by one of
our volunteers who also happens to me one of our guest
of honor at the occasion.Payment will be in cashier's
cheque and immediately you recieve the cheque and you
acknowledge the reciept,i will give you information &
instructions on how the excess money can be sent over
to a traveling agency in UK who will be in charge of
getting tickets for our MC & few guests who are
students.

To send the money,i will forward to you the
information and instructions on how the money can be
sent over to the travelling agent through western
union money transfer.

Kindly send me your full name and address so the
payment can be issued and sent to you asap while IV
arrangements commence immediately.

Lastly,let me know how much you will be deducting from
the $6,000 so i can have my collegues know the balance

Lateefah.

So what I did was log in to my spamcop account (sign up it's free) and searched for only the email address. I was then provided with the abuse addresses to whom forwarded the correspondence with "Advance Fee Fraud" in the subject. This should get "Debbie Jones" shut down at that address pretty quickly. It's important to do this because she has probably sent a lot of other people the same mail. They emailed me back almost immediately to tell me that they are investigating the matter and to give me the tracking number. It's so great that they are so on the ball!

But I just couldn't resist and had to send Lateefah another e-mail...

Hi Lateefah,

Thank you for your response. I visited the Lions Club of Helotes'
website today but did not find your name in the list of club
officers/contacts. The address was listed as 14690 Bandera Rd....has
that changed since you sent me the email?

My fee for US shows is indeed $6000. This leaves nothing for the
travel agents in the UK I afraid. Can you tell me the theme of your
get together at the Lions Club? I could find nothing about it on the
web.

Thanks,

Lobelia

I'll keep you posted!
XOXOX

Website Wonky, Email Wonky, This Day is Possessed

2005-05-04T16:08:00.000-04:00

OK, so I finally discovered that somehow my webspace was limiting itself to 50mb, which threw it into total chaos mode...thinking it was 512% over capacity. With that fixed it will now take 2 hours before I can re FTP the files so the front page of my site looks a little funny. Funny haha not funny queer. mmmhmmm. Also my email is being selective about who it decides to deliver and who it decides to send off into dead email office somewhere off of information highway 62. So if you want to contact me....please use.... "myfirstname"."mylastname"@gmail.com

You can insert the Lobelia Sabo right?

Great. Hope your day is going better than mine.

SWAK.

My Giant Head and I Say Help Fix CanCon! (Don't make me come over there!)

2005-05-03T17:49:00.000-04:00

Help get great indie artists onto Canadian radio!

Read about it and sign the petition!!!!

Quicken 2005 Sucks

2005-04-29T12:12:00.000-04:00

The following is a scathing email that I sent to intuit today in regards to Quicken 2005...
I wasted my money by buying the 2005 version. I'm sure I'm not the first to complain that not allowing us to import qif files to checking and savings accounts is an absurd addition to the new version of quicken. Users are complaining about this all over the net. I have a small bank in a rural area of the US and have no intentions of changing my account to someone who is Quicken compliant as per your suggestions. Sounds like you are trying to force customers as well as financial institutions to comply with your software design or be locked out. Don't you think this is an unfair trade practice? Why not offer both qif downloads and OFX and QFX formats? Eventually technology will catch up with our financial institutions and they will comply with the new format. Until then it seems we are stuck with software that is useless to us. I'm very unhappy and will make sure to express my displeasure to anyone else who might be thinking of buying your product. Kudos on getting my money for a product that will sit on the shelf unused. I wish I had read the 93 amazon.com reviews before I purchased as 68 people gave you 1 star out of 5. (Don't get too excited, the worst is 1)

The idea in updating products is to make software better and more usable for the clients. In a perfect world, everyone would move a bit faster in updating technologically speaking....However does anyone really expect my little TINY bank in WV to change the whole format of their online banking....(which by the way hasn't existed for that long) because Quicken says so? That's a bunch of crap if you ask me! (to use the technical vernacular)

additionally, they have stopped updating prior versions of the product in order to try and coerce (force) their customers to buy the new version. Can you imagine the pistivity of those customer who bought the new version only to realize that they can't use it?????

Bad Intuit, BAD! You deserve a serious spanking! Often and from someone who knows how!

I'm not alone!
Amazon Customer Reviews

Grave's Disease

2005-04-29T08:45:00.000-04:00

According to my web stats....I had over 300 hits on my site this month from people looking for information on Grave's Disease. Search phrases like:
sadness graves disease
financial help with children who have graves disease
will my anxiety go when I have rai treatment

It really makes me sad to think of all the people out there dealing with this highly misunderstood disorder. I was told for years by doctors that I was a hypochondriac and that there was nothing the matter with me. When I found the National Grave's Disease Foundation I was so relieved to know that I was not the only one going through all these feelings and problems and it really helped me make a decision to have surgery instead of RAI. I had to fight hard for that choice because surgery is not the standard treatment in the US.

The first thing to know is that Grave's Disease is NOT a thyroid disorder. It is an autoimmune disease that can cause a thyroid disorder. The following is an explanation from the Mayo Clinic Website
Graves' disease is the most common form of hyperthyroidism.(This is a rare disease that tends to affect women over the age of 20. The incidence is about 5 in 10,000 people) Normally, the immune system protects the body against viruses, bacteria, and foreign substances. In Graves' disease, the immune system mistakenly attacks the thyroid gland, causing it to overproduce the thyroid hormone, thyroxine, which causes a number of symptoms. This autoimmune response can also affect the tissue behind the eyes (Graves' ophthalmopathy) and the skin on the lower legs and feet (Graves' dermopathy).

The best advice that I can give all of you is to find a good doctor who LISTENS to you. I don't care how long it took you to get an appointment with the endocrinologist; If he doesn't listen to you and your concerns and fears then find another. It will make all the difference in your life and in the outcome of treatment. Take control and do not let anyone tell you no. Here are some other things that you can do to help.

1. Stop eating processed food if you can. Cook fresh healthy choices that stay away from preservatives and too much salt.(extra protein can help but stay away from too much fat)

2. Watch your milk intake as well as your consumption of anything with red dyes.

3. Stop Smoking

4. Do whatever you need to do to cut back on your stress levels until treatment. I cut my work down to part-time and eventually quit until I got the disease under control. I realize that most of you will not have this luxury but there are always little things you can do. Your partner, family, or roommates can really help by taking some of your at home tasks for a while.

5. Try Yoga! You will sleep and feel better. I use a set of DVD's from Yoga Zone. They offer box sets for different workouts that will really leave you feeling relaxed and strong!
Yoga Zone Box Set at Amazon.com

5. Get at least 8 hours of rest per night. I realize that some of you probably aren't sleeping well. Even if you are not sleeping...force yourself to go to bed and let your body relax.
I stayed on Beta Blockers for almost 3 years and that was too long! I had to wean myself off the things.

I'll remind all of you that I am not a medical professional so all the thoughts and advice contained herein are derived solely from personal experience. Lastly, I will post the narrative that I wrote a few days after my surgery. It's pretty dramatic as all the experiences and feelings were so fresh. Also it was honestly the first time since I was a child that I had really felt good. I take that for granted now...that I can run up 4 flights of stairs and not feel like I'm going to have a heart attack. I still have recurrences when I get stressed...it's nothing compared to before. Please feel free to email me if you have comments or concerns.

My Choice

I have had Grave's disease since I was about nine years old. It became active after a period of stress in my life at that time and has gone into remission twice. In 1998, after a remission of eight years, my Grave's returned with a vengeance. Keep in mind that when Grave's returned I didn't see it. Although I had already had the disease for 16 years, it was still undiagnosed.

It makes people angry when I tell them that I felt relieved when I found out about my Grave's. I don't mean to imply that Grave's is nothing to worry about. I'm the first to admit that it can be scary as hell. Every person living with Grave's has his or her own story. I just mean that the moment I knew I had the disease, I also knew that I was not crazy, manic depressive, sexually dysfunctional, a hypochondriac, and hosting a myriad of psychotic eating disorders that prompted comments from unfeeling individuals like "She must really overeat" and "She's probably got AIDS…nobody loses weight that fast." At that moment I began to chip away at the layers of my life and find the real me beneath the rubble.

So what do you do after diagnosing yourself with Grave's disease? Yes that's right, we diagnosed my Grave's via Internet research after my boyfriend commented on the ever-increasing mass of my lower neck. I was ignoring the goiter although I had noticed it months ago…. I concluded that it must be cancer and if it was cancer it was better that I not know for sure. At 25, I was a mess. I mean, I already had high blood pressure, osteoporosis, a weak left kidney, and a heart that rattled away like the little drummer boy on crack. Cancer really didn't seem so far-fetched at that point you know? After reasoning with me that it was an awfully uniform swelling in my neck and probably not cancer, we began to think about the thyroid. It was something I knew a little about already, two of my Aunt's already had problems, and one had Grave's and the other nodules. I don't know why until that night it really never dawned on me that it was Grave's…but after staring at the computer screen in awe for about an hour, we realized that I had fourteen out of the listed fifteen symptoms. I felt relieved. (I'm not crazy) I started to cry. (Why is this happening?) I got scared. (Am I going to die from this?) I got angry. (After all the money I spent, weeks in the hospital, why haven't I been diagnosed before now?) I made doctors appointment. (I've got to be sure)

You know that feeling when you are sitting across from a new doctor and telling him or her your whole medical history (or a brief summary thereof that can be squeezed into the ultra tight space that is darting eyes, watched clocks and intermittent sighs?) Or what about the moment when you explain that you have this disease and you and your boyfriend diagnosed it on the internet and your whole life makes sense now and you've stopped taking the antidepressants and …wait…uh-oh…. You've lost him…he's not listening…you've been discredited now…. You mentioned self-diagnosis…the Internet…. He's drifting…the fact that red cool-aid and milk make you have an anxiety attack…he's now concluded that your either crazy, manic depressive, sexually dysfunctional, a hypochondriac, or hosting a myriad of psychotic eating disorders that will certainly prompt rude comments from copious outsiders. Or perhaps you get lucky; this is a student doctor. Still learning, this person does a lot of research on the Internet…not afraid of computers…knows about nutrition…(Hmm…. yes, milk contains iodine, people with thyroid disorders are often sensitive to food or drinks with red dyes) Maybe after 5,10,15,or even 20 blood tests or years or suggestions, your tests come back. "This is consistent with Grave's", your doctor says. Surprise, surprise.

Ok, this is you. This is you with Graves. This is you on propylthiouricyl, tapazole, methiamazole, atenolol, valerian, yarrow, bugleweed and open to suggestion. This is you with nightmares, sweats, shakes, heart palpitations, muscle weakness, fits of rage, seas of sadness, depths of depression. This is you when your skin darkens and peels and you just spent a whole day just trying to get out of bed. This is you when none of the medications work. "Radioactive iodine", says the endocrinologist that it took you five months to get an appointment with. "Don't worry", he says. "It's not invasive. Nuclear medicine will prepare a dose of RAI and come out in protective suits and you'll have to flush three times after you go to the bathroom, and stay away from children and women, and eat with plastic picnic ware, and then if we have administered the right dose your thyroid will eventually die, could be a year, could be three months, we could give you to much or to little, may have to dose you up to three times, you will probably end up hypothyroid and have to be on medication for the rest of your life, there have been studies done that claim that RAI worsens Grave's eye disease, but it's non-invasive. We highly recommend it. We've dosed hundreds, thousands, even millions of patients with RAI. I suggest we administer treatment right now", my doctor says. I scream inside. No one is here with me. I feel cold suddenly. I don't want to make this decision right now. But he has told me that I am in the last stage of Grave's. That it could take my life at any time. God help me, I don't know what to do. Back to the Internet. My old friend. If you can help me diagnose, surely you can help me treat. I make an appointment for the RAI in the meantime. I drive home thinking about glowing in the dark and feeling like I already do.

Weeks pass and I am still undecided. My appointment for the RAI treatment is just around the corner but I don't feel good about it. I read on the Internet that the U.S. is one of the only countries that uses RAI as the preferred method of treatment after medication. This scares me. Amazing as the U.S. medical system is in my mind I just keep thinking about Fen fen. I read more letters from others that have had RAI. 75% are negative reviews. Common phase usages like trial and error, started to feel better after 6 months, and having trouble getting my levels adjusted are a common vein in all these letters. I call my Endo and tell him nogo. I want to have the surgery.

Blood tests, blood tests blood tests. Mom's are pulling their children out of my path at the grocery store and staring at my arms in disgust. I feel like a human pincushion. "We have to get your thyroxin levels down in order to administer the anesthetic", says my surgeon. It's another month of waiting and taking one of those medications that my body rejects. I've taken to not sleeping much. I think that I'm afraid that I won't wake up again. I stay up all night and redesign my website with a blue water droplet background that reminds me of tears.

I am in a clean white room with people talking softly to me. At least that’s what the "Guide to Surgery at Somememorialhospital says. Instead I am in a clean white room about to go under fighting with the assistant surgeon whom I have never met about whether this is a total or subtotal thyroidectomy. " Dr Soandso told me you were going to leave part of my thyroid if it is undamaged I say…. To increase my chances of having a normal level and staying off the medication!" I'm going to start crying soon and my boyfriend almost passes out. Who is this guy? Who are the 27 other people in the room? What am I doing here?(yawn) Why didn't they make Barbie's ankles bendable like her knees so you could let her wear flats as well as heels?(eyes close) Oh, she had tennis shoes but (going)…you know(going)…..they..never fit quite…r..i..g..h..t*.(gone)

I wake up feeling cold….I must have said so because nurses surround me from every side wrapping hot towels around me until I must look like a little mummy in new bandages. My throat hurts…not at the incision site but like I have strep throat or something. "It's from the oxygen tube", the nurse says and I go back to sleep listening to my family whispering to one another about how beautiful I look although I just had surgery and my boyfriend is commenting on the ringlets of my hair spilling across the pillow and I'm reminding myself to thank God for them the moment I'm a little more coherent.

I left the hospital the following day. They gave me a prescription for Percaset but I never filled it. My senses were so sharp and I wanted to keep them that way. I felt as if I had been wearing a veil my entire life and now that veil had been lifted. I felt rational and happy and energetic, and blessed. It's been over a week and I still feel that way. Perhaps it's a miracle, perhaps it's luck, and perhaps it's a psychosomatic reaction because I made my own choice as to the treatment I wanted and am too stubborn to feel anything but good. Perhaps it doesn't even matter. Knowing that I made the right decision for me has made all the difference.

I wish you all happiness, love, faith, guidance and above all, health!

Update: 2002 Well here I am, feeling great, almost back to my normal weight and although I have to take the replacement meds, I've had no side effects. I realize now how much Grave's controlled my life, and also how much I let it. I hope that I always feel this good. :-) Be well.

Did you know...
13 million Americans have a thyroid disorder and more than half of them are not aware of it. Only one-fourth of 1% of the population of the US has Graves' Disease!
for more information on grave's disease click here------------> >National Grave's Disease Foundation

XOXOXOXOX

Lobelia

Swiss Trip Part One. Raindrops on Murren and Whiskers on Stewardesses

2005-04-24T22:03:00.000-04:00

We had a direct flight from Montreal to Zurich. The gate was in a part of the Montreal airport which I have never seen and which reminded me of an old school. It looked as if it was built in the 60's or 70's and never updated.

(Bitchy rant #1)
Coach class was being handled by several very tall, very dramatic "women" with over the top hairstyles and man hands. I found this very interesting and intriguing until we encountered some somewhat violent turbulence during the flight. The "stewardesses" then yelled over the intercom in quavering falsetto for everyone to return to their seats immediately. I thought the idea was to CALM the masses during a flight. The plane was squeaking and rocking and yet there was no one to soothe us with the speech that tells everyone "we are just experiencing some turbulence" and not to worry. The lack of this one deed caused people on the plane to scream during the next dip. They screamed! Any kind of screaming from adults during a flight causes a certain amount of panic....even in the very calm. KUDOS to SwissAir for equal opportunity employment.....but for Christ's sake can you train your employees to tone down the DRAMA just a few decibels????

1. Zurich
We arrived in Zurich on the 30th of March. We had a reservation at the Hotel Otter which turned out to be a "raver" hotel. Zurich is touted as being the new Berlin soo.........there was a party till all hours at the Wuste bar downstairs. Incidentally we had jet lag and woke up starving at 1am with no food or hope for any food till morning.. so it didn't really matter anyway. All the rooms at this hotel had a theme and we were in the Pur Pur room. It was all in pink satin. Quite a sight. The included breakfast was amazing though. they made us up little plates of food....3 different cheeses and croissant, French bread and rolls covered in pumpkin seeds, 2 different types of jam, coffee and orange juice. Delicious!

we visited the Zurich Zoo during our short stay....I'm not usually a fan of Zoos as I fell that the animals never truly have enough room and often inadequate environments, but the Lonely Planet guide assured me that the zoo was roomy. All in all it wasn't bad...however the camel and the rhino seemed particularly pissed.

Pacing Rhino Video
Pissed-Off Camel Video
(BTW, these files are a few megs each..so be patient)

We also ran across a crazy bird that was singing in the Zurich streets long after dark.
Nightbird Video

Tiger in the midst of eating the remains of an American tourist

Little Leopard in a hollow tree

2. Bern (Mittelhausern) with Mark and Susanna Riese and Vita and Johannes

We were then off to stay with some friends that Chris had met and been roommates with during his 5 years in Switzerland. We enjoyed a terrific fondue (my first true Swiss fondue) and hung out with Johannes and Vita. The company and food were both amazing (Mark and Susanna are vegetarian yipppppppppppppeeeeeeeeeee) and we really enjoyed the community where they live. Such a quaint little train station and community with a great view of the mountains. We went on a little hike out behind their house. It really made me want to move there! Johannes is really into pirates and knights and he and his friend Andrew had Piratenfests out in the back yard toting wooden swords and drinking water as if it were rum!

The Riese Family...Bern

In the gardens of the PDC..Bern

silhouette at the top of the hill in Mittelhausern

3. St. Imier valley with Pierre and Giselle Vorpe

This turned out to be one of my favorite parts of the trip. Not only because Pierre and Giselle were so nice...but also because the area was so beautiful. Giselle was also a wonderful cook and hostess and we had some terrific food as well as a raclette...which was my first. Pierre is an engineer and we all really had some terrific conversations.

The Inner Cloister at the St. Ursanne monastery

Giselle and I at St. Ursanne

Cris, Giselle and Pierre

4. Mürren (Gimmelwald and Lauterbrunnen)

Although Murren has some of the best landscapes in Switzerland..it was my least favorite place that we visited on the trip. Partially because I didn't like our room at the Eiger Guesthouse, and partially because the weather did not cooperate during our stay. The first day was absolutely beautiful...but then we had rain on the 2nd day and lots of snow (20cm) on the 3rd and 4th days. We walked around 15k on the second day but couldn't traverse some of the trails due to mud slides and such. We walked down to Gimmelwald and then took the Funi back to Murren. After lunch we made our way to Lauterbrunen which was a very nice little town. A redeeming quality about our stay at the EG was that the food was really great. The price of the room included breakfast and dinner which were skillfully and deliciously prepared...and they accommodated my vegetariansm which was great. The rooms and the bathroom were just not clean by Swiss standards and the place itself seemed to be in some need of repair.

Eiger(elevation 3970 m = 13025 ft), Mönch(4099 m = 13448 ft) and Jungfrau(4158 m = 13642 ft)

Picture of the snowy tain station from our room window

Lovely waterfall taken from Lauterbrunen

Still to come!

5. Bern
6. Annecy, France with Pierre and Fabienne Castori and children
7. Lausanne (Ouchy, Montreux, Chillion)
8. Geneva
9. Lucerne
10. Zoug

Congratulations to Ron Sexsmith

2005-04-09T15:12:00.000-04:00

Hi Everyone. I am staying at this cool hotel in Bern tonight and they have free internet! However it is a German keyboard and it just took me 20 minutes to find the exclamation point!

So to those of you who are not aware, my fave rave Ron sexsmith won Songwriter of the Year at the Juno Awards.....http://www.ronsexsmith.com/home.html Congrats Ron! I cannot think of anyone who deserves it more.

We spent the last 3 days in Murren and it was very beautiful but I am nursing very sore muscles after a 15km hike. So we are off tomorrow to Mesigny, France and then back to Lausanne for 4 nights then we will make our way back to Zürich and then home on the 18th! We have experienced all types of weather in the last few days....Sun, rain and lots of snow! I thought we had left all that behind in Montréal.

Well that is all for now..not sure I will have another chance to write before I come home but I will try! I am getting desperate for a musical instrument to play.

nite....xoxoxo

Just in case you weren't aware....Your bag of peanuts may contain.....

2005-03-28T23:11:00.000-05:00

...traces of peanuts or other nuts. :-)
This bag o' salted nuts was delivered to us by a Montréal IGA.
I'm off....no updates for a while. Sniff* Sniff*. See ya next month! Quick it's 11:11 make a wish!
XOXOXO

DVD's, Switzerland and the not so hot disappearance of a Brad(sus)

2005-03-26T20:41:00.000-05:00

Sooooooooo, I'm back in Montreal. I'm starting to feel a little better now. I hope to be all better by the time I leave for Switzerland on Tuesday. The DVD shoot was amazing....26 piece orchestra, two guitarists, two keyboard players (one was me), a bassist extraordinaire, three backup singers, James Marlin of course and another pianist who was just signed to the AMI Entertainment label. Check the photo....I'm the singing keyboardist all the way to the right on the platform....

Elle came over for a visit but I have yet to see Brad. Rumor has it he has been in the company of a beautiful girl these last few days. You go boy. More soon. XOXOXOXO

DVD Shoot

2005-03-21T21:44:00.000-05:00

Well, just got back to the studio after meeting at venue for the DVD shoot. Was VERY VERY cool setup....the stage and lighting are beautifully done. The background is made to look like stars in the night sky with trees on the sides. Back tomorrow to shoot all day. My segment is first so I will be happy to get it all over with so I can sit back and watch the rest. Should be fun. I am finally getting over the cold that has plagued me since I arrived. We will try to get as much as possible done on the new tune at the studio on Wednesday before I fly out Thursday! I'll be glad to get back home and see everyone!

I've Arrived~

2005-03-13T13:24:00.000-05:00

Hi There. I arrived yesterday at the studio in one or two pieces.....Had a nice ride from the airport with my five rave Kraig. Dale Williams was here recording and we had some laughs and then we went out to dinner at the Indian Trails where they were having live music. People we going crazy singing and dancing..the room was bouncing like mad! Played the new song assignment for Dan and he liked it a lot so I am happy. Nose to the grindstone tomorrow!

I forgot my camera so no pics while I am here unless I can borrow one from someone. I still need to get a dress for the DVD shoot.....brought one along but it has green in it and we are against a green screen.....so it will not work. Not that I am weeping about having to get a new dress. :-) More soon~

XOXOXOXO

Rebecca Zellar and Chris Riter

2005-03-07T11:21:00.000-05:00

Wow. I found a photo of my friend Chris Riter today. His partner Rebecca Zellar directed a steller cast in the GreyZelda prodution of Kafka's Metamorphasis at the Stage Left Theatre in Chicago. I'm very glad to know that they are doing well and still acting/directing!

http://www.greyzelda.com/members.html

Earthquake at 1:20 AM!

2005-03-06T11:24:00.000-05:00

So Cris and I were hanging out playing a network RPG game together late late night and early this morning. We had just closed down when bwam! The floor of my studio in the basement started shaking and my desk was moving back and forth. It lasted about 15 seconds. Very scary. This is the 2nd eathquake we've felt since living here in Montreal. The last one hit upstate NY....this one was thankfully out in the Quebec boonies...so there have been no reports of damage or injuries. Was a 5.4 magnitude.

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Quakes/usvhan.htm

The Frames!!!!!

2005-03-04T23:03:00.000-05:00

Elle and I went to see the Frames last night at La Tulipe. She is friends with Glen Hansard as they used to Busk together when she lived in Dublin. I was lucky enough to accompany her to the show at the Outremont Theatre last year as well when they opened for Damien Rice. This year they were headliners...playing to a packed house with guys and girls alike screaming out confessions of true love. They did not disappoint with old and new favorites ....as well as a surprise Black Sabbath song on the 1st. encore. I have a feeling that next year will be even bigger for them as the buzz seems to be growing exponentially. The only disappointment this year was the absence of violinist Colm Mac Con Iomaire who has taken a few weeks off to be with his new baby. Congrats Colm!

Montreal Gazette Article

photo by N. Hannibal
Glen at the Outremont Theatre last year

L. and Elle, Partners in Crime!

I'm the Geek of the Week

2005-02-23T15:02:00.000-05:00

Check me out on this PodCast Slashdot Review. (those of you who are not geeky enough will never hold on long enough to hear the song if you make it to the "5 dual-core Opterons" I will be impressed)

Wake Up and Lose You on PodCast Slashdot Review

Stardust

2005-02-23T14:40:00.000-05:00

Any fan of Tolkien's novels from The Hobbit to the The Return of the King...will tell you that there is some kind of sadness involved in reading his work because Tolkien is no longer with us to write. I finished a Neil Gaiman book today called Stardust. This novel gives me that same feeling yet also a joy that Neil Gaiman is still very much alive and writing. What a brilliant novel! It continually impresses me how he can pack a whole new world into so few pages. As one of my English professors once said..."Your essay should be as the length of a lady's skirt; Long enough to cover the subject, yet short enough to hold interest. Well, Neil Gaiman can hold my interest (or my skirt) anytime.

BlueBird North Tour

2005-02-19T22:20:00.000-05:00

Thursday evening my friend Bradsus and I (aka Brad, Brad-Lee, or Rad or BadBrad , Bradster, BigBrad-but not Drab....these are his words mind you) went to see the Bluebird North Tour at the Cabaret. It was positively magical. It was one of the best shows I've seen....please check out the performers websites and order some CD's damn it! Great music needs your support. Elle....we missed you at the show! Please get well soon!

Blair Packham
Ron Sexsmith
Marc Dery
Joel Plaskett
Ginette

Past Monday

2005-02-15T23:56:00.000-05:00

The Physical, Dishes, Kids and a Vial of Urine

2005-02-15T01:00:00.000-05:00

I spent the first part of the morning getting a yearly physical which consisted of some poking and prodding and then standing around waiting for a nurse for 45 minutes with a vial of urine in my pocket.

I took off from there to go exchange some broken dishes from Sears which they had reordered for me (45 mins by bus and metro). When I got there of course the dishes had mistakenly been sent to Ottawa...because Ottawa is where all bad broken dishes from Sears go to die. I bought a new blue fuzzy hat and wore it home to make myself feel better.

I was thinking when I was waiting at the clinic this morning and there were all these children running around screaming, yelling and rolling around on the floor, how non-maternal I am. My sister looks at this kind of child behavior and thinks it's cute...she would be laughing along with the children. It makes my uncomfortable and I start wondering why the parents don't seem to care that Johnny has just bashed his sister's head into the wall and is now shoving pebbles up his nose. As I was waiting in the corridor this same little boy started climbing on some boxes that were precariously stacked. I told him not to climb them because he would get hurt and he started crying and ran to tell him mother that the giant mean lady holding the vial of pee-pee told him no. The mother did one of those too-close brush by maneuvers on her way past and gave me a dirty look. I guess the next time I should just let Darwinism have its way?

I've heard all the child-bearing propaganda over the years....phrases such as "It's different when they are your own" and "You'll understand once you have children" blah blah blah. It's just not for me. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a child hater and I don't eat babies...but whatever that instinct that people have that tells them having children is the next logical step in their lives didn't happen to me. That window never opened. Perhaps it's like some of the other windows in my brain; painted shut.

Happy Lunar New Year!

2005-02-08T23:58:00.000-05:00

Where it all Began

2005-01-28T10:07:00.000-05:00

Kevin Quickle had this picture on his website. Ah.....the old days of the band Lobelia!

C'etait Corey Bicanich (guitar), Takashi Chiba Matsuhashi (bass), Moi (guitar and vocals), et Kevin Quickle (drummer extraordinaire)

Wow, we had so much fun in those days. Playing in dives where the floor was sticky and drinking bad beer out of plastic cups.....my Yum, yum, Yum that I used to play through my pickup....the vibrator that we used on the strings of our guitars to make noise during "I'm"....all the lore attached to the name Lobelia that people would share with us after shows and to all the great bands that we played with.....Sandra Black, Lester James and the White Flames, The Frampton Brothers, Granny's 12 Gauge, Sugarrush, Moon.....and so many others...I miss you guys!!!!!

Chris Quickle

2005-01-27T16:35:00.000-05:00

A few days ago was the 2nd anniversary of my friend Chris Quickle's passing from cancer. I thought it was important to share his story with you all. He was such a truly kind and gentle person...it's very sad that he had to endure so much suffering in his life. However, because of the sacrifices that he made we were all able to spend a little more time with him.

I met Chris as he was the younger brother to my friend and drummer Kevin. I was quite a bit older than Chris but he was such a cool guy. He was a Chef and a musician. He played guitar in a band called Moon Root. The band was pretty ahead of it's time actually. They wrote songs about the mystery machine, and Chewbacca, and even a little ditty about Kevin called "Vacuum Cleaner Salesman" in which they set a vacuum on stage and let it run throughout the song. Kevin designed and maintains a site you can visit here---------------->www.moonroot.com

Chris and I went to the prom together. I was 3 years older than him so you can imagine the rumours about Chris's "older" date. :-) We looked a very handsome pair. I wish I could find the photo as I haven't seen it since I moved last.

Anyway, his best friend from High School has asked his asked the school to set up a Memorial Scholorship in his name and I wanted to post his narrative here along with a recipe that Chris's Mom sent to us all for his special Potato Soup. Sleep well Christopher Quickle...we all miss you so.

CHRISTOPHER BRIAN QUICKLE
MEMORIAL TRIBUTE

WE THE FAMILY, CLASSMATES AND FRIENDS OF CHRISTOPHER BRIAN QUICKLE WISH TO DEDICATE THIS SCHOLARSHIP IN MEMORY OF A WONDERFUL YOUNG MAN WHOM WE ALL LOVED AND CHERISHED.
CHRIS WAS A 1993 GRADUATE OF NOTRE DAME HIGH SCHOOL WHO LOST A FIVE YEAR BATTLE WITH CANCER AT THE AGE OF 27. IN THE SHORT SPAN OF HIS LIFETIME, HE TOUCHED THE LIVES OF SO MANY YOUNG PEOPLE AND IS TRULY AN INSPIRATION FOR ALL WHO KNEW
HIM.

CHRISTOPHER WAS NOT THE TYPICAL TEENAGE BOY. HE WAS A VERY LARGE ROBUST INDIVIDUAL WHO FACED A LOT OF CRITICISM AND CHALLENGES BECAUSE OF HIS SIZE; HOWEVER, HE TOOK IT ALL IN STRIDE AND WAS A VERY FUN-LOVING, HELPFUL PERSON WHO WENT OUT OF HIS WAY FOR OTHERS.

IN HIGH SCHOOL, CHRIS WAS ALWAYS SILENTLY IN THE BACKGROUND READY TO DO WHATEVER IT TOOK TO GET THE JOB DONE. HE WAS AN ABOVE-AVERAGE STUDENT IN THE SPANISH CLUB, KEY CLUB, HONOR ROLL, NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY AND REPRESENTATIVE TO BOYS STATE. HE WAS HONORED BY GOVERNOR GASTON CAPERTON AT AN AWARDS CEREMONY FOR WRITING THE STATE’S WINNING ESSAY FOR THE CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS QUINCENTENARY CELEBRATION. HIS LOVE FOR MUSIC FOUND HIM IN THE BAND AND PLAYING GUITAR WITH FELLOW STUDENTS IN THEIR OWN PRIVATE BAND WHICH CONTINUED EVEN AFTER HIGH
SCHOOL.

CHRIS’ ZEST FOR LIFE AND MOVING FOREWARD IN HIS CAREER WAS UNQUENCHABLE. HE CHOSE TO RELINQUISH HIS LAST FREE SUMMER VACATION AND IMMEDIATELY AFTER GRADUATION,
STARTED AS A FULL TIME STUDENT AT THE PENNSYLVANIA INSTITUTE OF CULINARY ARTS IN PITTSBURGH, PA AT THE TENDER AGE OF 17. HE DEMONSTRATED EXTREME COURAGE TO GO IT ALONE IN A LARGE CONGESTED CITY, STARTING CLASSES AT 6 AM AND OBTAINING AN ASSOCIATE DEGREE IN CULINARY SKILLS WITHIN A 2 YEAR PERIOD. DURING THE COURSE OF HIS STUDIES, HE ENDURED MANY HARDSHIPS. THE TWO STUDENTS THAT HE SHARED AN APARTMENT WITH DESTROYED A LOT OF HIS POSSESSIONS AND FINALLY DROPPED OUT LEAVING HIM THE BURDEN OF ALL EXPENSES . LIKEWISE, HE CONTRACTED INFECTIOUS MONONUCLEOSIS AND WAS FORCED TO
DELAY HIS GRADUATION BY THREE MONTHS.

UPON GRADUATION, CHRIS ACCEPTED A JOB AT NEMACOLIN WOODLANDS RESORT IN THE MOUNTAINS OF PENNSYLVANIA NEAR UNIONTOWN. HE COOKED IN THREE OF THE RESORT’S FIVE
RESTAURANTS BUT HIS GREATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT WAS BECOMING A CHEF AT THE FAMOUS “GOLDEN TROUT” RESTAURANT AT THE RESORT. IT WAS NOT AS GLORIOUS AS IT SOUNDED BECAUSE THE WORK WAS EXTREMELY INTENSE. IT WAS A GREAT CHALLENGE FOR
SOMEONE AS LARGE AS CHRIS TO BE ON HIS FEET CONSTANTLY IN A HOT ENVIRONMENT WORKING EVERY WEEKEND, HOLIDAY AND SUMMER VACATION SINCE THESE ARE PEAK HOURS CATERING TO THE PUBLIC.

TWO YEARS AFTER CHRIS BEGAN WORKING AS A CHEF, HE WAS DIAGNOSED WITH HODGKINS LYMPHOMA AND UNDERWENT CHEMOTHERAPHY FOR WHAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN A CURE FROM HIS CANCER. HE WAS IN REMISSION FOR 13 MONTHS WHEN IT RETURNED AND HE
RECEIVED A SECOND ROUND OF TREATMENT. AGAIN, CHRIS WAS HOPEFUL THAT HE HAD BEATEN THE ODDS AND HE WOULD HAVE A CURE. THE ENTIRE TIME THAT HE WAS UNDERGOING CHEMO, CHRIS WORKED PART TIME AND WAS DEPENDANT ON HIS FAMILY AND FRIENDS TO HELP HIM THROUGH THIS HORRIFIC ORDEAL. HE TRAVELED FROM UNIONTOWN TO PITTSBURGH TWICE A WEEK TO ACCOMPLISH THIS GOAL AND WAS VERY ILL DURING ALL OF THIS. HE RARELY COMPLAINED.

CHRIS AGAIN WAS NOT CURED AND ALTOGETHER RECEIVED THREE MORE ROUNDS OF TREATMENT CONSISTING OF CHEMO, HIS OWN STEM CELL TRANSPLANT AND RADIATION. HE DID ALL THIS BECAUSE HIS FRIENDS AND FAMILY DIDN’T WANT HIM TO GIVE UP. WHEN HE COULD
NO LONGERWORK AS A CHEF, HE RECORDED VIDEOS, BURNED CD’S AND TRADED THEM WITH DOZENS OF INTERNET FRIENDS ALL OVERT HE COUNTRY. HE GAVE OF HIS TIME AND TALENTS TO ANYONE WHO NEEDED HELP ; NEVER EXPECTING ANYTHING IN RETURN.

CHRISTOPHER PASSED AWAY ACCEPTING GOD’S WILL AND HIS ONLY REQUEST WAS THAT WE NOT MOURN FOR HIM. HE WAS SO ORGANIZED AND WELL LIKED THAT HE HAD FRIENDS, CLASSMATES AND CO-WORKERS AS FAR AWAY AS NEW JERSEY COME TO HIS FUNERAL.

IT IS WITH MUCH PRIDE THAT WE HONOR CHRIS’ LIFE BY HELPING ANOTHER YOUNG PERSON TO DEMONSTRATE THE TRUE MEANING OF CHRISTIAN CHARITY. WE ARE HOPEFUL THAT THE RECIPIENT OF THIS SCHOLARSHIP WILL FULLFILL SOME OF THEIR OWN ASPIRATIONS AND GOALS JUST AS CHRISTOPHER HAD ACCOMPLISHED IN THE SHORT TIME HE WAS WITH US.

Chris’ Potato Soup
Chop finely one onion and 4 or 5 stalks of celery. Place them in a stock pot with a small amount of cooking oil and sauté the celery and onions. Then put in a generous dash ( 2 or 3 0z. ) of bourbon, cooking sherry or white wine and evaporate the alcohol off.
Next you cut up 5 or 6 peeled large potatoes ( make them potato salad size) and place in the stock pot with the celery and onions. Add one large can ( 32 oz.) of chicken broth and finish covering veggies with water. Place 2 or 3 bay leaves in the mixture, salt and pepper to taste and cook until the potatoes are done.
When potatoes are cooked and done, strain off or remove the bay leaves from the broth and take half of the cooked potatoes and place them in a blender. While you are blending half the potatoes, take the stock pot off the fire so that the mixture can cool down a bit. Once you have blended half the potatoes, place them back into the stock pot with the other cooked potatoes and add either a pint of heavy cream or a half quart of half and half milk to the mixture. If the broth is on the fire at a raging boil it will cause the broth to chunk up. That is why it needs to be hot but not scalding when adding the cream.
Once this is done, bring the soup back up to a full boil and season again to taste. ( ie; salt and pepper if needed).
Chop up fresh dill and add to broth as you serve each bowl. Some people do not like dill so only add to each bowl as needed. SOUP IS DONE ENJOY!

Here You Go Brad

2005-01-27T00:02:00.000-05:00

Consider this blog updated. Now leave me alone! :-)

To Vegas and Beyond

2004-12-29T08:31:00.000-05:00

Just got back from Las Vegas. Kind of a kitschy kind of place to spend a holiday season according to some....but I go there every year and find it to be great fun! Stayed at the Orleans and Cris went with me this time....really good food at the hotel and we had a great room. Brad asked me to gamble $5 for him on slots and we won $130 on his $5...pretty exciting stuff. My parents are great, as fun as ever and my mum made me all these new scarves and hats for the cold Canadian winters. I'll add in some pics later.

Went to Hoover Dam and experienced the entire spectrum of human personality. We had a tour guide that must have come from the Billy Shatner School of Tour Guidism, a old disgruntled ex-military guy who told us to take our pictures and get the hell out before we became a security problem....ands lastly a cool guy who told jokes about having to walk through two states on the tour. While the damn dam was impressive; I found the first glimpse you get of Lake Mead to be the most beautiful. All that gorgeous water amidst the backdrop of the desert mountains was amazing.

The trip back was difficult. I'm sure some of you heard about Comair having a computer foul-up that cancelled/delayed a bunch of flights. Ours was delayed and did not allow us enough time to make our connection. We had to stay in Cincinnati which I have dubbed The Customer Service Capitol of the World. We were treated like a total inconvenience by practically every service person there. My first truly bad experience in Ohio. DELTA AIRLINES!!! YOU SUCK!!!!! Oh yeah, and Cris almost got beat up by some rednecks that accused him of stealing 35 cents out of their bin at the security checkpoint.

The earthquake/tsunamis that took place in Asia on Sunday are just so hard to believe. Please donate some money to aid the people affected by this terrible tradgedy. click here to choose and organization and donate Also you can donate to the red cross through Amazon.com....if you already have an account with them it's as easy as 123. Amazon.com American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund It's up to us to help bring this world together. The disaster in Asia is everyone's responsibility so please give as much as you can.
All the best in 2005 and beyond.

XOXOXOX

The Power of a Plastic Ring~

2004-12-11T23:46:00.000-05:00

Check out this ad for plastic rings. It's silly and weird and I like it.

The Carrotbox

Can it be????? It's Smuly T!

2004-12-10T16:29:00.000-05:00

Check out Shmuly's birthday pic...

Shmuly is looking for a new leading lady in his life since the bitter breakup with Elisha. His wit and vivacity (not to mention good looks) are legendary. Act now! (Elle, I can hear you singing showtunes from here) :-)

Head, and shoulders, knees and toes....knees and toes. Head, and shoulders, knees and toes....knees and toe wo wo wo woes. Eyes and ears, a mouth and a nossssssssse, Head, and shoulders, knees and toes....knees and tooooooooooooowes.

Pantera Guitarist Shot and Killed at Show

2004-12-10T04:49:00.000-05:00

Fuckin' guns. GRRRRRRRR....I get so angry that people can just walk into a gig and shoot someone....in Columbus Ohio of all places. People run around shooting other people like they're playing Quake or Doom or something. It makes me sick to my stomach. If you want to go out and shoot a deer for something to eat more power to you...but HANDGUNS should be ILLEGAL. These days it seems people buy handguns specifically to protect themselves from other people with handguns. It's a never ending cycle of violence. Darrell Abbot was only 38 years old. What a waste.

Yahoo News Article

Why Not Taze Myself a Little Before Breakfast?? Here's why....

2004-12-08T17:46:00.000-05:00

This was posted anonymously on "A la Gauche: Political News and Commentary from the Far Left" (which you should read..Fiscal Republicans who tend to alienate everyone with badly timed angry flames and who furthermore use excuses like "I was only joking but no one truly understands my sense of humor"....need not go any further)

Okay, so I was home alone with this new toy, thinking to myself that it couldn't be all that bad with only two AAA batteries, etc., etc. There I sat in my recliner, my cat Gracie looking on intently (trusting little soul), reading the directions (that would be me, not Gracie) and thinking that I really needed to try this thing out on a flesh and blood target. I must admit I thought about zapping Gracie for a fraction of a second and thought better of it. She is such a sweet kitty, after all. But, if I was going to give this thing to Toni to protect herself against a mugger, I did want some assurance that it would work as advertised.

Am I wrong? Was I wrong to think that? Seemed reasonable to me at the time.

So, there I sat in a pair of shorts and a tank top with my reading glasses perched delicately on the bridge of my nose, directions in one hand, Tazer in another. The directions said that a one-second burst would shock and disorient your assailant a two-second burst was supposed to cause muscle spasms and a loss of bodily control a three-second burst would purportedly make your assailant flop on the ground like a fish out of water. All the while I'm looking at this little device (measuring about 5" long, less than 3/4 inch in circumference, pretty cute really, and loaded with two itsy, bitsy triple-a batteries) thinking to myself, "no friggin' way!"

Friggin' way - trust me, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

What happened next is almost beyond description, but I'll do my best. Those of you who know me well have got a pretty good idea of what followed. I'm sitting there alone, Gracie looking on with her head cocked to one side as to say, "don't do it buddy," reasoning that a one-second burst from such a tiny lil' ole thing couldn't hurt all that bad (sound, rational thinking under the circumstances, wouldn't you agree?). I decided to give myself a one-second burst just for the hell of it. (Note: You know, a bad decision is like hindsight-always twenty-twenty. It is so obvious that it was a bad decision after the fact, even though it seemed so right at the time. Don't ya hate that?)

I touched the prongs to my naked thigh, pushed the button, and HOLY DAAAAAMMMMN!!! I'm pretty sure that Jessie Ventura ran in through the front door, picked me up out of that recliner, then body slammed me on the carpet over and over again. I vaguely recall waking up on my side in the fetal position, nipples on fire, testicles nowhere to be found, soaking wet, with my left arm tucked under my body in the oddest position.

Gracie was standing over me making meowing sounds I had never heard before, licking my face, undoubtedly thinking to herself, "do it again, do it again!" (Note: If you ever feel compelled to mug yourself with a Tazer, one note of caution. There is no such thing as a one-second burst when you zap yourself. You're not going to let go of that thing until it is dislodged from your hand by a violent thrashing about on the floor. Then, if you're lucky, you won't dislodge one of the prongs
1/4" deep in your thigh like yours truly.) SON-OF-A-BITCH that hurt!

A minute or so later (I can't be sure, as time was a relative thing at this point), I collected my wits (what little I had left), sat up and surveyed the landscape. My reading glasses were on the mantel of the fireplace. How did they get there??? My triceps, right thigh and both titties were still twitching. My face felt like it had been shot up with Novocain, as my bottom lip weighed 88 lbs. give or take an ounce or two, I'm pretty sure. By the way, has anyone seen my testicles? I think they ran away. I'm offering a reward.

Tweedle Dees

2004-12-06T23:11:00.000-05:00

Interesting day today. I don't usually record other people but there is a band in town that does Children's music and I spent today recording a new CD for them. It's amazing how you can record a 20 song CD in 2 hours when you have talented one-take wonders in the room. (they were amazing) Been working on the mixdown and mastering this evening...I think it's sounding great.

Finished all the painting and off to get the furniture tomorrow. Soon I will have a lot more room for making music! Yippeee.

Night sweet world. Sleep tight.

New and Found Photos

2004-12-02T23:06:00.000-05:00

Didn't seem to get much done today...I did take some new shots not only for my site but for the SOTY contest. Checked out Found Photos and saw this shot which is just amazing.....

He/she looks so deep in thought.

Found photos is getting quite a bit of press these days, they had an article on the NY Times. Tomorrow I MUST paint! No more procrastination.

Snowy sleety rainy stuff for your enjoyment.

2004-12-02T03:28:00.000-05:00

It was a blah day. I felt it all over. I tried to make myself feel better by wearing my pink star sunglasses given to me by some guy at the Bureau en Gros. Do you believe someone would just give these away? He must have loved them because they were all scratched up. Hmmm.......maybe he took them from a child and was looking to dispose of the evidence.

Do you believe that it's December 2nd already? That's insane. It goes so quickly and yet we still continue to act like we have all the time in the world.

Yeah, yeah. Tito, give me a fuckin' tissue.

Ron Sexsmith Show

2004-11-27T17:00:00.000-05:00

Wow. It was a great show last night at the Cabaret. The opening act was Sarah Slean http://www.sarahslean.com/main.html She had a great hour long set despite some equipment troubles. Go to her site and check her out!

Ron was as always great. I think I like him so much because his songwriting is always surprising to me, it's not predictable and there is a sincerity in his demeanor that just blows me away. He was having a bout with laryngitis but still managed to give a great performance. The guys in his band are amazing and they really seem to all feed off one another. I came away from the show feeling great....went to bed singing "Not About to Lose" and work up singing "Cheap Hotel". I was hoping to hear that song last night but didn't. They played it on last years tour so I figured they would not play it this time 'round.

Here are some photos from last night....hard to get a decent pic not using a flash and without a tripod.

Enjoy! Thanks to Elle for being such great company.

Darkstone Eyes are Shining

2004-11-21T01:13:00.000-05:00

There's only so many video games one can play in a day or you start to look like this.....

This fine looking male head is courtesy of Kevin Ford.

Today was my brother's birthday. Happy Birthday Jim! I tried to call but he was out. I wore giant round olive colored earrings today. Whooopeeee yaaaaaahaaaa. Whoooooohoooo. Excitement like this almost never happens. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ...

NEWSFLASH! W NOT IN MONTREAL...TWAS ANOTHER OFFENDER

2004-11-20T01:05:00.000-05:00

Your replies to this blog are still visible. Actually, we were all fighting over nothing as I was misinformed. W was not even in Montreal...my blame was placed on the wrong person although it was meant more for the amusement of my close friends. I got a new title out of it at the very least. :-)

XOXOXOXO
The Not Very Smart Misinformed Charlatan Blame Placer

Poached Eggs and Salad Brain

2004-11-19T20:27:00.000-05:00

This is my new blog. I visited Emma-Lee and noticed she had this wonderful new blogging service. So please visit her at http://www.emma-lee.com She's very talented. Buy her album if you are able. It's well worth your money.

I was supposed to record some music for two very nice ladies today.....and my condenser microphone would not work. I recently dismantled my studio for a recording project with my drummer in the US and some settings were changed. I have two words to say about this.....PHANTOM POWER. I feel pretty stupid for making them reschedule when the fault was all mine. Bad....bad Lobelia. (smack)

So, with the problem solved....I hung out with Mr. Earl.

Went to a wedding on the weekend...The former Ida Paterno.....I'm the freakishly tall one with four eyes.

Noelle is now here and I'm off to make Benedict Florentine to go with my salad brain.