Gigs, yoga and a Gala Day

The album is complete! Cookie Baker's debut album 'Gala Day' is finally recorded, mixed, mastered and in shops ready for you to purchase! How awesome is that?? Well, I'm quite excited, as this little baby has been a little while coming - a year to be more precise. There was a very joyous handing out of the finished products by Holly herself at the wonderful Grace Emily, and if nothing else, the artwork looks bloody amazing! So, if you're wandering past a JB-HiFi, may as well pop your head in and see if you can get a squizz at it. ;)

So now that the album is all finished, there's not a whole lot of Cookie Baker going on for the rest of this year, which I for one am quite happy about. We had a couple of gigs last weekend which were amazing, even if i got completely ruined by the late night shenanigans they led to. On Friday the 7th we supported Epicure at the Adelaide UniBar, a place that I hadn't been to in a number of years, but seemed as though it was stuck in the early naughties - it was LOUD, raucous, and the place was filled with smoke. Not by smokers, like it would have a few years ago, but by a smoke machine, which pretty much had the same affect on me as a room filled with cigarette puffing maniacs would. But never fear - the gig was fantastic, even if I did manage to break a string after the first song, by, get this, putting my capo on! It didn't even have the decency to snap while doing a totally awesome rock 'n roll strum. Ugh... And then I had to change it by mobile phone light on the side of the stage. But even still, I think I managed it in under 3 mins, which I was quite chuffed with. Didn't get home until around 4 the next morning however, so that pretty much killed me for the rest of the weekend. Then we had another gig on the Sunday arvo at the Wheatsheaf which was FANTASTIC, even though I felt like I had drunk copious amounts of alcohol the whole day. I couldn't focus on anything and felt so bloody vague. But the place was packed, and it was great to see so many friends there, some whom I hadn't seen for ages. So I've spent the last week or so trying to recover from that weekend.

Had clinic today, and to my surprise, my lung function is back up to 65%, after being around 60% only a couple weeks ago. I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that I did my first yoga session last night in about 4 months. Man was it hard... it wasn't until afterwards that I realised that I had been in an intermediate class, but that's cool - I figure if I can (almost) keep up with it from now on, it'll be a great thing to aspire to. But it felt so good to feel my body working like that again, and to feel my lungs really get a good work out. Still a ways to go before I start to feel really healthy again, but for now, it's going great. I've got another clinic at the end of December to see how I am and whether I'll need another admission before we go on tour in Jan. The last thing I want is to get sick halfway through that. That would be shite... But for now, things are awesome, and I intend to keep them that way.

We have a best friend's wedding on Saturday which we are playing at, and then our last planned gig for the year on Sunday afternoon, so I'm really looking forward to that. For those who are looking for something to do, we're playing at the Whitmore Sq Arts Fair with a couple of other AWESOME Rads bands (The Sea Thieves and Brillig) so come on down and say 'Hi'. It would make me smile anyway...

Rating: 8.3

What I'm listening to: Cookie Baker - Gala Day

Clinic, Yorkes and Spring!

A few things to get through, so let's not dilly-dally with pleasantries.

The biggest thing I should mention is that last weekend we went over to the Yorke Peninsula to Holly's parent's farm. Step (Holly's mum) was having a bit of a shin-dig for her 50th that she also decided to make a fundraiser for the Women's and Children's Hospital, and thought it would be a good idea to book the band to play down there. We had an absolute ball! I had dad's car, which makes the drive a hell of a lot easier when you have power steering. It especially made it easier since I had injured myself the week before. Oh yes, I fell off my bike and fractured my elbow. Good times... But anyhoo, the weekend was awesome, with picture perfect weather, lots of friends and a bit of relaxing as well. Was just a pity we couldn't stay longer than a couple of days.




On the day we came back, I was a bit slack and didn't do any of my nebs or physio, which led to me feeling a little bit poorly. I had clinic the next day, which proved that my lack of discipline caused a bit of a drop in lung function. A bit annoying... I still haven't really gotten any better, so I'm hoping that will turn around this week.

I'm loving the weather at the moment. True Adelaide spring weather. low to mid 20's, clear skies, and daylight savings started about a month early, which is wreaking havoc with my mobile, but I'm determined to stick it out and hopefully my calendar will sync up again. We did our first beach dinner on Saturday night, which was a blinding success. Definitely something we will have to keep doing regularly. We had our first bbq of the season last week as well. It's the type of weather where you just want to be out doing stuff, even if it's nothing exciting.

Things on the Cookie front are getting a bit exciting. Album is coming out on 1st of November, but for the eager beavers, you can actually pre-order a copy of the cd from https://www.just-secure.com/mixmastersrecords/order_GC.html (and that includes anywhere overseas). She is also the featured artist on the MusicSA site, which you can have a gander at http://www.musicsa.com.au/. Not too many gigs coming up as we really want to relax before the madness starts in Dec, however we are supporting Epicure at the UniBar on November the 7th, which should be a blast! Haven't seen those guys before, and I'm really liking their stuff. AND I think tix are only $15, so no real excuses not to come along. :)

I'm pretty sure that's it. Oh, the boys (cats) had their first experience in catching a bird today. I was sitting in the lounge room and heard this really awful shriek, and first thought something was wrong with one of the boys. Then i realised that they were chasing a disabled bird that couldn't fly throughout the house. I picked it up, took it outside and threw it in the air to see if it was actually broken (which it was), and then watched the boys run up to it thinking that it would be destroyed in the next 10 seconds. I was wrong... the boys just kept going up to it, sniffing it, giving it the occasional wack on the noggin, and then just watched it. When the bird realised that it was pretty safe and not going to be eaten, it went under a fence into the next door neighbours back yard. Stupid cats...

Rating: 6.0

What I'm listening to: Cookie Baker - Gala Day

Long overdue...

Yes, it's been over a month since I last wrote, and because of that, iCal has deleted everything that was written in it before August 30th (which is what I use to tell me what I've been doing to write here), so we'll see how I go...

As I wrote last time, the cf ball was coming up, and I'm glad to say it was bloody amazing. SO much fun! As usual, I drank my year's worth of alcohol in the one night, but happily and strangely enough, didn't get too drunk (as in passing out or throwing up drunk). Got a bit tired towards the end, but that's about it. There were around 500 people that went this year, so it's definitely getting to be quite a big affair. Next year I'm determined to get on top of things early so I can book more than one table and get a whole bunch of us there. We didn't do a whole lot afterwards - hung around the bay for a little bit, and then went back to Joelie's where we all pretty much flaked out and went to bed. Such a good night though, and I'm so happy for all my friends that came along. It means a lot to me.

As planned, after the ball I got myself admitted into hospital for a couple of weeks of iv's. Warning: major bitch sesh coming up. This had to have been one of the worst admissions I've had in a long time. Due to a code white (no free beds in the hospital) my admission day was pushed back from Monday to Thursday. I had my drip put in at 11am, and then had to wait around for my bed to become available. Come 7pm and finally I could move into my room. However, the doctor that was on the ward hadn't written me up for any antibiotics, so they didn't start my treatment until the Friday afternoon. Brilliant... then I had to move rooms. And then after a week they made me do the rest of my treatment at home, which I really don't like doing. But due to the shortage of beds and their new program of sending patients no longer in an 'acute' state, I was made to leave. By the time my iv's had finished, I didn't feel that great still, but I had had enough of the whole thing, so I didn't really care. Luckily though things picked up once I finished my treatment and as of right now things are going really well.

While I was in hospital there were a couple of really awesome gigs on. The TinPan Orange kids from Melbourne popped through Rads for a couple of shows, so Cookie and I supported them at the Grace, which was such a pleasure. Only problem was that I had pretty much had no stamina whatsoever, so after we finished playing, I was sitting on the ground completely ruined and not much company. But TinPan Orange were brilliant, so it was all worth it. :) The next weekend the Grace was having it's 10th birthday, which was an invite only event, and formal dress. Even though I was still in hospital, and didn't want to overdo anything like I had done the week before, I knew I would regret it if I didn't go. We played a small set of around 4 or 5 songs, and I sat down the whole time, just to reserve as much energy as I could. I didn't stay too long this time though, and was back in my dingy hospital room by around half 10.

I have a new job! Believe it or not, Jaan has managed to get another pretty cruisy job that fits in quite well with his continuously-needing-time-off lifestyle. It's at a post office, and quite a lot of fun. Only problem is that it's really not enough hours, so I still have to stay at Alpha, and I'm not sure if I need to still look for something else. But for now, it's a bit of extra cash, so we'll see how I go with that.

Last weekend we also went down to Victor Harbor for a few days to relax. Poor Alice was feeling very poorly for a day, so we didn't really do a whole lot, which still suited me fine. A couple of friends popped down as well for a day, and we went to Port Elliott for some lunch at the bakery there (which is the best!) and did a whole lot of walking around. It's really nice to be in touristy areas on the coast during the cooler months where you get to really enjoy the beauty of a place and see why it became a tourist spot, without stupid people everywhere.

On Saturday night just gone, Alice's brothers held a dinner party at their house. The theme was 'Paris in Spring', and there were around 30 people invited. It was bloody amazing! Everyone dressed up awesomely, and there was tonnes of wine and magnificent food. There were dining tables strewn throughout the kitchen and lounge room, candles, dim lighting, it really was something special. And the food... man o man. Peter is one helluva cook. Starters was bread, olives, pâté, and some veggies. For main course, we had potatoes, chicken in this wine sauce thing, and the meat was falling off the bones and melting in your mouth. And for dessert we had pear and almond pie. To think every single bit of this was home made, just blew me away. I hope they'll be doing another one soon...

Next weekend we're going over to Yorkes to Cookie's parent's farm for her mum's 50th. She booked us to play there with a couple of other people, so we're really looking forward to that. I'm especially excited to go as I've only been there during summer where everything is dead and brown, and I've been promised that all the fields at this time of year are green. It'll be quite lovely me thinks. Just to get away again for a couple of days will be all I need. To play some music while we're there is icing on the cake.

I think that's enough. Oh, one last point - Cookie's cd is finally finished! Mixed, mastered, everything. It sounds pretty good I must say... For those interested, release date is Nov 1st, but I think pre-orders are from Oct 1st if you're super keen. I'll post details when I get them. But yes, good times ahead!

Rating: 8.9

What I'm listening to: Cookie Baker - Gala Day

Winter hibernation

So with the whirlwind of interstate beauties visiting Rads over, life has returned to normal. I'm back to being a housewife while I try to find a job, Alice is working her 4 jobs trying to support me, and I'm spending many more nights at home while it's freezing and wet outside. Brilliant. No, seriously, as bad as our summer was this year, I am absolutely LOVING this winter. It's cold, it's been SO wet, it's just amazing. Our front and back lawn now resembles something like the Amazon forest, but I don't care. Better than the dust bowl we'll have once summer comes around again. But enough on the state of our flora.

As I said, not a whole lot has been going on of late. Been to a few friends' exhibitions, which have all been successful and awesome. Adelaide has some serious talent. We have had quite a few dinners with friends, which have been lovely. It was Alice's birthday, so we made sure we could just hang out together since she's so busy with her work. Unfortunately she woke up feeling quite crook, so the majority of the day was spent with us lying on the couch watching bad/awesome crime shows on Fox. Not a bad way to spend the day really. And then we went up to Coriole for a family dinner.

On the Cookie front mixing for the album is going great. 4 tracks done so far, and they sound AMAZING. This is gonna be one corker of an album. We also had the pleasure of recording a little interview and song on 'The Adelaide Show' on Nova, which was tonnes of fun. I think you can actually find it on itunes as a podcast. And a couple of shows have been booked for WA in November, so it'll be great to get out there. I've never been, so I'm quite excited.

As for health, it's not going that great. As I said last time, clinic went well, but since I wasn't feeling tops I went on some oral antibiotics for a couple of weeks. They seemed to work, but as soon as I finished them, I noticed my health declined a bit straight away, so I'm pretty sure I'll be going into hospital after the cf ball, which is next weekend. That's cool though. Especially with the shows in WA later in the year, I want to make sure things are all under control before I head off.

Rating: 6.7

What I'm listening to: Sam Buckingham - My Own Horse