Thanks...

I was all ready to write a bitter post about how there is nothing to be thankful for this year. That with 2011 being the awful year that it's been, there is really not much for me to be thanking the Thanksgiving Turkey Gods for this year.

But I don't want to do that.

Because, as I said a couple of posts ago, there have been a few positive moments this year. Maybe this is the post to look back and remember that sometimes things are good.

1. London and Paris

I went to London and Paris this year. How crazy is that? I always dreamed of going but never thought I would actually ever do it. But it happened. And I am so grateful that I did it. The husband and I just decided to say fuck it and go for it. We booked the tickets and worried about the rest later. The trip is proof that if you really want something, you will make it happen.

Just hanging around outside Abbey Road Studios

2. Shows, Shows, Shows

I played a lot of shows this year at some really cool venues: Turf Club, 331 Club, Amsterdam Bar and Hall...I played at the Stone Arch Festival! I traveled to Michigan to play a show there...I feel fairly comfortable on stage now. I have a good set of songs to perform. It's been a good year for shows.

Stone Arch Festival

3. Musical Meetings

I had two wonderful moments with two of my favorite musicians this year.

When I saw that Dan Bern was coming to town, I thought it would be so very cool to open for him. So I found a way to get a hold of him. Unfortunately an opener was already booked, but he gave me a challenge: Learn a song written before 1950 and he'd let me sing it on stage. So I did. I learned "Johnny B. Goode" and he held up his end of the bargain and let me perform it. He was so kind with his introduction, the audience was so warm and welcoming and encouraging and then he joined me and we tried to sing "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" as a duet, but I was in such a state of shock and euphoria that I couldn't get the words out. It's a moment I will never forget.

I was thrilled to see that Erin McKeown was coming to town and playing a really cool intimate venue. I got my tickets the minute it was announced. It also just so happened that she was playing the same day that I was playing at Stone Arch - and right across the street. I tweeted that I was excited to play Stone Arch and also for her show later that night. She retweeted my post. Then, at her show, I introduced myself to her and we chatted for quite a while. She's a super cool person who treated me like someone she'd know forever. Later, we gave her a ride back to her hotel, swapped merch, and hugged it out. Then, a week or so later, she tweeted that she was listening to my album and really liked my voice. And I just about burst.

3. Eddie Vedder

Along with Erin and Dan, I saw some incredible shows this year: Ani Difranco & Anais Mitchell, Lykke Li...but none stand out more than the Eddie Vedder show I went to back in June. I've never witnessed a show like that. He needed no fancy light show...no crazy on stage antics. In fact, he sat for most of the show, effortlessly engaging with the audience and keeping us all totally engrossed in everything he did. And that voice....I could listen to it all day long.

4. Recording

I started recording my second album this fall. I'm very excited about it. I've been working closer with Shawn on the arrangements and it's really making the songs flesh out and they have so much more body to them. I can't wait for people to hear it. I've very proud of what's come out of the sessions so far. It's all sounding just like I imagined it would.

5. Matt

I don't know how I would have made it through this year without my husband. It's so comforting to know that I always have someone by my side. We hold each other up as best we can. Even though at times we both have a hard time holding ourselves up, we always come through for each other. Thanks for always trying to make me laugh.

Hello! We are in Paris!

And that's really about it. Those are the ups that have happened this year. 2011 started with a lot of promise but the moment that pipe burst in our front yard in February, the floodgates opened and we've been trying to stop the leak ever since. I really hope 2012 changes all that.

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone. Here's hoping I get a heaping mound of mashed potatoes and some warm dinner rolls with butter. That's really all I ever want on Thanksgiving.