Vacation

 

We got a lot of work done on our vacation.

Well, some of us did.

I need a vacation from my vacation.

Wishing you a great week!

Love,

T

VEGAS BABY!

So....

I can't even remember the start of the week. I do know that last week I decided to "do Vegas" - five year old style. WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN???

It means water slide hopping, water park hopping and David Copperfield. It means lazy river rides, frozen banana dipped in chocolate and fruity pebbles, Dippin' Dots, pizza, corn dogs and funnel cake. It means crazy fun memories and it also means I need another vacation.

:)

Wait a minute. I just remembered the beginning of the week. It was before Vegas... a water park in Connecticut. It started this way:

 

I have to post highlights.

Here's wishing you a fun week!

Love,

T

Crazy Good

 WHOOOOOOEEEEEE!

By now you probably know the awesome news! I'm honored beyond words to be in the Buffalo Music Hall of Fame's Class of 2022! There have been so many comments and congratulatory posts... I'm so grateful and glad to hear from everyone. It's going to take me a while to get through replying back to you all. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. 

Also this week - we had Russ home and the boy's last week of school. There were parties and bittersweet farewells to the school and the wonderful staff that saw us through his earliest years, first friends and the pandemic. There was excitement to see Daddy and transitions through more travel gigs, new school scheduling and supplies, and goodbye to our first apartment together (sold). We worked so hard that we decided a mini vacation was in order. 

We are about to embark on a new chapter. This week is all about taking a deep breath and appreciating all the good. 

Enjoy your week!

Love,

T

Vacation from the Vacation

I wanted to do so much more than this.

After packing up for Zach, Bentley and myself, driving hundreds of miles, cleaning, power washing, grocery shopping, cooking, fixing things, executing events & day trips, kayaking, biking, cleaning again, clearing trails through the woods, repacking, hitching up the trailer, driving hundreds of miles again (while learning songs for a show), unhitching and unloading, watering the plants, walking the dog and TRYING to catch up on social media a little bit... that's really all I got. I'm fried.

I took a nap.

Gentle reminder for everyone that sometimes we need a day off. 

I don't really get days off. Anyone know this commercial?

Maybe I can manage that much - a calming bath.

LOL and cry... mom life does not stop. 

Love you all! Please take some time to recharge when you need. The world will keep turning and you will be stronger for it.

The sun setting on my "vacation"

xo,

T

Vacation Blog?

Here's the thing...

I remembered the blog this Tuesday morning and there was nothing I could do about it. Russ was going to post FOR me, but then he could not either.

You KNOW things must be REALLY hectic and crazy around here when neither one of us can manage to make it to a computer to get the blog done.

Sigh...

Can we just call this a vacation week? (If you can call over 1700 miles of driving a vacation - and RUSS... who knows how many miles he's traveled by air this week)

Alright. I have to sleep now. I've got 400 miles to go tomorrow.

Love you all! Have a beautiful and safe Fourth of July!

xoxo,
T

The Happy Way

That's it. I'm on vacation.

S'mores time

A friend of mine recently quoted Thich Nhat Hanh:

"There is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way."

I'm down with that. So when I'm wondering which way to go and teetering on the edge of chaos...

I'm choosing happiness, peace, and serenity.

My view from the winery this afternoon

Ahhh...

Have a great holiday everyone! Happy Fourth! Next stop: the beach!

xoxo

Namaste,

T

Take Two...

I need a vacation from my vacation. I worked my butt off during my time “off.” What is THAT all about? Can I not stop? LOL

We put about a thousand miles on the car (thank God Russ drove!); pulled out the patio furniture and power washed it; mowed acres of grass; hauled trailer loads of mulch; steam cleaned the fridge, the floors and all the windows; took the tractor in for repair; finished up video editing (can’t WAIT for you to see the video of Only Way Home!); worked out with a personal trainer; connected studio speakers; groomed the dogs; practiced a whole bunch of songs and learned some new ones; and played a gig – in addition to regular tasks of cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, laundry, dog walking, etc. I AM EXHAUSTED!  I DID enjoy myself as I went along though – that’s important.

Mulch run...

Video editing with Russ and Vincent

On the gig with Bobby and Trevor

Alright – take two. I am going to settle down (at least a little) this week. I can do it. I know I can. I will work (apparently I can not stop), and pace myself. I’d like to spend some time reading and writing, do some things to inspire my spirit. I did some of that last week, but not enough.

Fun with hats - LOL

Life is a grand journey. I’ll work hard AND take some time out to enjoy it!

Xoxo

Namaste,

T

Peace Flowing Like a River

There was much debate this past week about whether or not to vacation, but eventually the decision was made and the opportunity was seized.

"We can never make peace in the outer world 

until we make peace with ourselves."

- Dalai Lama

"Never be in a hurry; 

do everything quietly and in a calm spirit.  

Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, 

even if your whole world seems upset."

- Saint Francis de Sales

"Each one has to find his peace from within.  

And peace to be real must be 

unaffected by outside circumstances."

- Mahatma Gandhi

I hope that even in the midst of all the holiday chaos and with all the stresses of the world, each one of us finds a way to carve out just a little time for self replenishment and peace of spirit.

Namaste,

T

St. Maarten...

I thought I would have a quiet week, just me and the dogs…  Then Russ called and said that Ms. Roberta Flack would like me to call her that evening...  The next thing you know, I am flying around the house packing, making lists, checking the stove, driving off to airport, learning songs, rushing through NYC traffic to rehearsal, packing again, flying off to St. Maarten, trying to stuff more songs into my head, FREAKING OUT like a groupie over Maxi Priest, taking video on my hotel balcony at 5:37AM, hopping back on a plane, packing again, back in the car and finally collapsing right back where I was a week ago… Maybe I can sit still for a while THIS week (probably not - LOL). 

People have told me that I am “so lucky” when they see this video of my hotel balcony view.  I am indeed very Blessed, but not in exactly the way they probably think.  Although the Island was beautiful and it was definitely a privilege to be there and to see it, I was not on vacation in St. Maarten (at least not the way most people think of vacation).

View from my hotel balcony

When other people (there on vacation) were enjoying the sun and relaxing, I was worrying myself to death about remembering my harmony parts.  I trotted through a sea of tanned sunbathers, who were playing BINGO and drinking fruity cocktails by the pool bar, in a mad dash to eat quickly and gather my electronics from the room in time for the bus that would take us to soundcheck.  While tourists cooled themselves in the ocean, we baked in the hot sun checking microphones and running through songs on stage – and finally, while most of the Island slept, I jumped in the pool at 3:30AM, because it was the only time that I could, and took pictures off the balcony at 5:30AM.  Some band members never slept at all.  But you wouldn't hear any of us complain - this is what we do, and we all LOVE it.

Soundcheck

Soundcheck

Soundcheck

While my schedule and activities might have been different than what most people think of doing when they go to a Caribbean Island for the weekend, I had an absolute BLAST just the same.  The lucky (or Blessed, rather) part for me is that I LOVE working on music and being part of the band of musicians.  Oftentimes, we work while others are “playing” (although it’s funny how we say that we are “playing” music).  We are incredibly fortunate in that we are able to work at something we truly enjoy. 

Dinner with some band and crew members before the show...

At dinner... I was still reviewing my parts on headphones

St. Maarten is beautiful.  It was rainy and windy when we first arrived (Friday) – Tropical Storm Ernesto was responsible for cancelled flights and we worried for a little while if some band members flying from Barbados and NYC would make it.  They did, and the weather cleared up nicely for the day of the show (Saturday). 

From the bus window en route to soundcheck

I was so excited about singing behind Maxi Priest!  (For those of you who don’t know, my first professional music experiences were when I joined a reggae band in Buffalo, NY.  We used to cover some Maxi Priest songs and I felt like I journeyed back to my musical roots when I heard those familiar rhythms and melodies.)  Although I was there as a singer with Ms. Roberta Flack’s band, she once recorded a very successful duet with Maxi Priest and they would be singing it in this show.  Maxi performed with his own band as well as for the duet with us.  I danced around on the side of the stage during his set – AND OH!  I forgot to tell you… I knew Maxi’s guitar player!  I sang in a band in Brooklyn when I first moved to New York and J.J. was a part of that band.  I hadn’t seen him in years and it was so nice to see him and reminisce.

Russell Graham, me, J.J. Sansaverino

Our set followed Maxi’s.  Ms. Roberta Flack is one classy lady.  I’m quite sure I would like to be her when I grow up.  It is an absolute privilege and honor to be a part of her band and performance.  She has a love and passion for music that shines through in everything she does and it just makes you smile.  She performed some of her classics as well as some from her new album of Beatles material that recently came out.  Her band consists of INCREDIBLE musicians who are also beautiful people and it's just a pleasure to be a part of her family of musicians – and staff and crew.

Click here to preview "Let It Be Roberta" - in iTunes

It was a late show – our set started after midnight and we didn’t end until sometime close to 2AM.  I got a picture with Maxi Priest! J.J. (guitar player) introduced me.  Maxi was so nice – and didn’t mind our taking pictures at all.

Me and Maxi Priest!

Russell Graham, Maxi Priest

After we got back to the hotel, I knew it was my only chance to get into the pool.  So despite the fact that I had to be in the lobby and ready to go back to the airport at 9:45AM, and it was already 3:30AM, I changed, went back downstairs, eased into the cooler, night water and swam up to the pool bar (then closed).  The sun was just coming up when I finally got all packed up and went to bed.  The last pictures I took were of the moon still high in the sky as the whole horizon was illuminated by the sun.

Can you believe this is the MOON!?

Easier to tell here...

After we arrived back in NYC and were saying our goodbyes, Ms. Flack told us to go on and write some songs now… vocalize, music music music… there’s no time to waste…

OK Ms. Flack.  Thank you.

Xoxo!