The view from here....

Jann Arden's Journal....

Today was one of those unique days where most of the 'have to do' list had been tended to, and the 'wanna do' list had a chance to get looked at. Gosh, there are just not enough of those days I'm afraid!!! Anyhow, I had the chance today to spend a little time catching up on what Jann Arden has been doing lately though her journal on her website, and I have to tell you, it turned into one of those days where you end up thanking God for unanswered prayers...I love her, more like I idolize her..but I don't think I could ever have kept up with her life. By the time I'd finished reading the last several posts that Jann had made, I had a knot in my stomach the size of a fist, and so I can only imagine what the knot in hers must feel like.  She is so strong to deal with all she does.

The road I've travelled has contained a lot of twists and turns, and all those detours have lead me to where I am today. So no, I'm not touring the country, opening for any big name acts. And no, I'm not wooing audiences throughout North America, sleeping in a different hotel, in a different town everynight...but you know...that's just fine, because my heart tells me I am where I'm meant to be..as different as this life is from the dreams of a young girl with a song in her heart!

At the end of my kinda boring, quiet day today, I spent some time filling up my bird feeders and watering the flowers on the deck. While doing that I sang "Won't say goodbye" at the top of my lungs to my dogs and the wild cats that would listen. I realized that that song, written to sing at the funeral of a family friend who passed away a couple of weeks ago (Olive Tunski), will not touch the hearts of millions of faceless, adoring fans around the world. But it deeply touched the hearts of a few dear friends who needed to hear their pain expressed in words that meant something to them, and with that it did exactly what it was meant to do.

After I got things settled for Shane, I took my daily walk, albeit later than usual. I headed up to the escarpment, and stood, drinking in the beauty of that wonderful place for moment. As it was my stage, I had 3/4s of a harvest moon shining in a hazy cloud to my left, and the most amazing sunset (the mixture of tangerine, violet, fusia and pinks cannot be adequately described I'm afraid) illuminated the sky to my right. The stage that I get to perform on cannot be topped, I don't care who's doing the lighting! It's days like this that remind me not to even venture into the land of what might have been, or what I'm not experiencing, but rather to immerse myself in the beauty of the life that is, and I realize that I do have it all, right here, right now....I truly am one of the lucky ones, and it's nice to have a chance to slow down enough to know that!
Take care you all!
Later,
Lynda
www.musicwriter.ca

Hot days in the summertime...

Sunny Manitoba is supposed to reach 35 Celsius today...then 37 for the next three days. We are certainly a province of extremes, that's for sure! The past several weeks have found me too, too busy with work to find time to journal here, but the positive side of that is that the busyness has allowed us to install central air, and what a good year to do it! It makes all the extra hours not only more tolerable, but certainly more worthwhile....
Music has once again been slid back onto the back burner on me. It seems to be the cycles of my life. My subconscious must be struggling to remind me of the joy I'm setting aside right now, because the past several weeks have given me the most amazing series of dreams to enjoy! Gotta tell you...I love my dream world!
I think it started with Jann Arden and I putting on this really great concert together at the Rossendale Country Store....we were amazing! A couple of nights later Randy Bachman was giving me a personal tour of this amazing, ocean side house he'd just finished renovating on Salt Spring Island and I was feeling so great knowing that we were going to be next door neighbors. Then came my tour of the UK with Paul McCartney, after he'd asked me to sing backup for him on his latest album. It was a pretty cool world of swanky parties and big lights. Two nights ago I had the chance to sit and talk with Martina McBride before she preformed at a fundraiser I was attending, and we were having this great discussion about writing, and the power of lyrics. Then there was the evening I spent hanging out with Elvis, but I gotta tell you, that one left me a little disturbed, because if he and I were hanging out...one of us was in the wrong dimension! ....Yep, I love it when I go to sleep! I really do believe that our dreams are trying to tell us something....not likely that I'll be singing with Paul McCartney any time soon, but I think they do work at telling me that I need to be more actively involved in my music, because it's really calling to me these days. I just have to take the time to listen and heed the call. That's been a struggle with all of life's commitments, but that's all part of the journey.
We attended the wedding of a couple of dear friends last night, and were once again reminded of the power of love...to heal hearts, to revive dreams, to renew hope. Those reminders are so great to have, because sometimes I think we truly do forget what's most important in the hustle and bustle of it all. IT was great to be invited to witness and participate the birth of a new family, and see the old hurts washed away. Congratulations Heather and Mark, and thank you for sharing your day.
Time to run again. It's one of those days where the opportunities are endless, the commitments are minimal, and the world is our oyster. It's time to go see what it all has to offer!
Later,
Lynda
www.musicwriter.ca

Hey it's good to be back home again....

May allowed us to take a little break from the routine and the hussle that we've been experiencing for the past several months, so we used some of our accumulated airmiles and flew out to the coast for five days. There were a few reasons for out breakaway. One was that we sit on the network of a gentleman with an intellectual disability who now lives in the community, but spent the majority of his childhood and adult years living in an institution. He had been saving for his dream vacation of seeing the west coast for almost five years. We had planned to go out with him last year to support him in fulfilling this dream, but three days before we were to leave, my Dad has his stroke, and our lives changed forever. Our friend was very understanding of the situation that we'd been put in and we postponed the trip. It was decided that this year we had to make his dream happen, so we arranged a staff person to go with him so that he could drive out and take in all the sights he'd been envisioning. In helping him to plan the trip, we realized that we really had been looking forward to being with him when he experienced so many new things, and he'd made it clear that he'd been looking forward to sharing the adventure with us last year, so we decided to do what we could, and flew out to meet him for the whale watching, the first taste of crab, the Victoria wax museum and harbor. It was a small part of his journey, but it was wonderful to be able to share that and fulfill the commitment that we'd made to him. It was also really heartwarming to watch the eyes of a 52 year old man light up like a child's soaking it all in and savoring the reality of his dream.
The second phase of our getaway was to have an early anniversary seafood dinner. My brother made the mistake of telling my husband about this great buffet they had been to in Washington state, where there was the biggest, most succulent pile of king crab legs you'd ever seen! You don't tell my husband about things like that without causing some sort of stir! So we justified it by piggybacking it on the trip with our friend and a visit with my brother. Thank goodness for the airmiles is all I can say!
The little breakaway was great, but for some reason, this time I just couldn't wait to get home to my little corner of the world. There seemed to be more noise, more people, and more traffic than I ever recall...or maybe nothing's changed except that I now realize where I'm meant to be and what it is that soothes my spirit. Regardless, no matter how much we enjoyed the events that drew us out there, returning home was sweeter than I ever recall it being. In fact as I sit here writing, I have my office window open. There's a slight drizzle of rain, and a chorus of birds singing their hearts out. In amongst thier symphony, I just heard the first vehicle drive down our road that I've heard so far today, excluding the bus that picks Shane up for school. Now that's my kind of traffic jam! Mybe it's just that everyday I'm just reminded a little more about how blessed I am with where I live and what I do have right here. John Denver said it best...it is good to be back home again!
Later,
Lynda
www.musicwriter.ca

Femme Fix!

"It's a femme fix, it's a night on the town,
A chance to kick my heels up, a chance to let my hair down,
A chance to hang with my lady friends, the ones that let me be....
Who I was before the mrs. and the mamma, who I was when I was simply me!" (LDT)

And what a hoot of a night it was! Friday night I performed at the ACL Brandon Femme Fix. So much fun and such a great reminder of the great circle that I'm a part of! I had the opportunity to spend the evening with over 150 other ladies from the Westman area, among them some of my oldest dearest friends, my daughters and some wonderful new friends I've been blessed by lately!

This was the 7th year that ACL Brandon has put this event on as a fundraiser. I had the opportunity to introduce some of my material to a new audience, but I also had the chance to have some fun with Lisa Koch's "Middle Aged Woman". It was so much fun to perform and so well received...what a blast! There's definitely going to be a Lynda Dobbin-Turner Table there again next year whether I'm performing or not!

Nice quiet rainy day today. We've been looking forward to this first spring rain. As you stare out the window, you can almost see the colors turning ever greener before your eyes, and realize that you made it through another one! Whew!! Actually, except for the occasional really, really cold day, I can't really complain about the winters we've had the past couple of years, even though I do. They have a beauty all their own, and with each season we're able to appreciate that I think.

Things have slowed down a little...purposefully. I'm glad for that. I'm glad for the opportunity to sit by the fire and not feel guilty that I'm not doing more of something every single minute. It's hard to give yourself permission to do that, but I think your body just finally says to you, one way or another, just sit and be still for a while now! I'm finally ready to listen again, and to put it all in perspective. I feel better all ready.

I'm looking forward to the next few weeks. There's some neat stuff going that I'm a part of. I'll make time to fill in the blanks as the days go by, no more posting once a month!! There's too much to say and share!

For now, I have a young man waiting for his Mom to come and hang with him for a while. Today is the perfect day to do that.
L
www.musicwriter.ca

Feeding your spirit

I think it happened at about 9:30 am last Saturday morning when I felt something just snap. The pace of the last 3 months had been starting to overwhelm me, but it was that day I realized that it really all had become just too much. I felt myself panicking internally over things that didn't merit panic, and I realized I'd lost my balance, I was toppling badly, and at risk of crashing. Something had to give.

I've been reorganizing my days in my mind in the hours since then, and am finally getting to the place where the plan can be put into action. Sometimes it takes a little space and time to make the changes that you need to see in your life. I got through my commitments that were scheduled up until Tuesday night. Celebrated the end of the chaos by melting into the concert, then went back to the hotel and reaffirmed for myself what really matters.

I love to walk, so today I reinstated my morning walks into what needs to happen for my spirit to feel honored. It was a great, great walk. I started out by walking through the cattle pens where two new calves had been born in the night. As much as I claim I've had my fill of cattle, I know deep down I still have the passion that was passed down through my generations of doing a job well raising them, and the satisfaction of seeing them awakening to the first hours of their new lives.

After the check was done, I headed south to the edge of what we all call the escarpment. I doubt that's the right name, but who cares. It's a high ridge that overlooks the Assiniboine River. My neighbors are cottagers from Winnipeg, the Kowalchuk family. Years ago they took to mowing a trail along that ridge that runs from their quarter along mine. I'd forgotten what a great place that was to be until this morning.

I headed up to what I call Winston's Point (my next album will have a song that explains that). The picture I've inserted today shows you the beautiful view that we enjoy from up there. I spent a little time leaning on the inukshuk that we have up there in memory of my first husband, Greg Dobbin. I read the plaque and remembered once again how deeply those that are ingrained in our hearts are still loved. It struck me once again how brief this ride on the big wheel is.

I followed the trail all the way back to the Kowalchuks yard site then headed for home. I remembered how blessed I am. I reminded myself how much of my life is spent running from point "a" to point "b", and how often the important things get shelved. I'm going to have to start working to make sure that stops happening.

It was a great walk. The grass was greener. The leaves are all opening. The songbirds have returned and were singing their hearts out. My spirit and I were reconnected. I have to consciously find ways to ensure that we stay that way.

I've been realizing a lot lately. Like how how many of the things I long for and dream of I already possess. I just need to open my eyes and realize that more often.

Lynda

www.musicwriter.ca

Jann Arden, JP Hoe

What a great night last night was! Last night I had the chance to sit back, wind down and enjoy an awesome concert at the Westman Auditorium in Brandon. I needed that night so badly...and I needed the reminder of balance that it gave me as well. Jann Arden was incredible as always as she delivered 2 1/2 hours of her best tunes, new and old. Her band and her humor always take you to the place your heart longs for. It was wonderful.
JP Hoe was also a wonderful surprise! I'd heard him breifly as part of one of the sessions at last years WCMA awards, and was suitably impressed then, but last night he gained a whole new following of fans in the westman area! His terrific voice and his mastery of the accoustic guitar made for a wonderful opening act. Good sense of humor too! All in all, the night just made me want to go home and write, and play, and remember what it is that feeds my soul.

Balance continues to be a struggle for me these days...I keep promising myself change, but I don't seem to be able to deliver! The hours of work are overwhelming, my guitar sits untouched in the corner of my room, my sense that something is missing continues to grow, but change is in the wind. Spring brings a renewal of spirit, hope, promise, and dreams.....I feel the rejuvenation within.

I had a great girls night out last night. Thanks Janis! It's amazing how connecting with someone whose appreciation of an art lifts you up! It was great.

I'm looking forward to this weekend as well. Friday, May 4th, I'll be performing at the Femme Fix in Brandon. It's an ACL Brandon fundraiser that promises to be a hoot! Ladies only...sorry guys! I've been busy squeezing in rehearsal time enroute to my various destinations, singing my heart out behind the wheel. It garners a lot of strange looks, but it centers you to what you love at the same time.

Life is amazing as always! The business is a little overwhelming from time to time, but I know that it's starting to wind down, so that makes it manageable. The bathroom turned out amazing! I can spend hours just sitting in the tub enjoying my new surroundings...and I don't even need to be having a bath to do it!! The yard is greening up, and a new season is upon us. I'm also really excited about a call I received the other night from Home Routes, with the hope being that over the next year or so I'll have the opportunity to host some house concerts at the farm. What a cool concept! What a neat way to keep a finger on the pulse of the dream! What a life!

Later,
Lynda
www.musicwriter.ca