Ah, summer

Since the schools mostly shut down in the summer, this is the quiet time of year for me. Shannon and I just got back from a month in Italy where we did a lot of hiking together; separately, she rode horses and I took cooking lessons. In Italian. I spoke no Italian at the beginning of the month, but now I can say many useful things in Italian, such as: What is that strange smell? That is some burn you have there. Please put the knife down. This biscotti is very, very different. I dare you to put that in your mouth. Who will clean this mess?

I did get the hang of a few things: I received two marriage proposals for my biscotti, and Shannon has promised she will love me forever if I will make her the slow-simmerred pomodoro sauce with home-made spaghetti every week.

Meanwhile, I’ve been doing some more writing. Watch the “Uncollected” music section for new demo recordings over the next few months. I’m already booking shows for the coming school year, so go ahead and contact me now if you want to get in my calendar. I’ve also been polishing the writing workshop, roughing out plans for expanding GriffinEd into some other arts (that may be a year or two down the road), and getting set to record the fourth album this fall. So yeah, my plate is pretty full but all with good stuff right now so I have a great deal to be thankful for.

Oh, and another cool thing: The La Canada Valley Sun just did a cover story on GriffinEd!