I'm generally not one for taking stock, but as 2018 comes to an end, I thought I would take a look back at what has been a pretty eventful year. Doing so also gives me an opportunity to resurrect this somewhat dormant blog.
The year has been somewhat eventful where Christopher is concerned. He got a job, lost a job, and has begun looking for a job once again. The process itself seemed to take forever and could possibly do so again.
On the music front, we played 27 shows in 2018, not counting our participation in parties or the monthly forum of the Idaho Songwriters Association. Perhaps our biggest and best performance came at the end of June when we took part in an ISA Songwriter Showcase at the Riverside Hotel's Sandbar Lounge. The crowd is probably the largest one we have played for, and it was a blast.
We have one performance scheduled so far for 2019, though I am hopeful of perhaps doing as many as 30. As has been the case the last couple of years, farmers' markets will likely make up the bulk of those shows. Hopefully we will see you out at one of the markets. If so, stop by and say hello.
One of the biggest events for me personally was my decision to take a class in podcasting. That led to my launching Measured Voices, a podcast featuring conversation and music with area songwriters. Now 23 episodes in, I can say I enjoy doing the podcast as much as I do
writing and singing my own songs. I am so thankful to everyone who has
guested on the podcast and also for all of the positive feedback the
podcast has received.
On the subject of music, it was a busy year on the writing front. I shared 92 original songs in 2018 on my songwriting blog, My Wordsmithing. Two of those were repeats of other songs shared in 2018, and two others were revisions of songs shared earlier in the year. In 2019, I hope to top the 300 post mark on the songwriting blog. (I have 33 posts to go.)
In 2018, I did something musically I had never done before - I played my guitar (badly) and performed one of my songs solo at a songwriting workshop. In 2019, I may try to play in front of an audience. I have a candidate or two in mind. Stay tuned.
We rounded out 2018 musically by doing some recording of acoustic guitar and vocals. The goal is to put together a new CD of original music in time for summer. It looks like we may also sign up for a subscription service so that we can sell downloads of individual songs.
This year was an eventful one on the relationship front. Teresa and I celebrated our 25th anniversary. We marked the occasion by opening our home for an anniversary party to both musician and non-musician friends and celebrated with food, drink, and, of course, music. We had such a good time, we are thinking about hosting a Second Annual 25th Anniversary party next year.
2018 saw us doing more music, less camping, and spending a lot more time with friends. Music has allowed up to connect with people and develop some meaningful friendships where we laugh and sing and share music, as well as sharing some good food and good wine and good conversation.
My 2019 wish is for more of the same for me and for you. Happy New Year!
