Friday, May 27, 2011

Sail Me Away....part 20

Jane sleeps on the way back to her place, and instead of waking her, Liam takes her in his arms, while Claire follows close behind.  "Lee-em, is Momma gonna be alright?"

"She'll be okay sweetie. Right now your Mommy needs to sleep, so its up to the two of us to be as quiet as we can while she does, okay?"

Claire nods. "Otay Lee-em."

"What do you say to drawing your Mom some pictures, or having a tea party or something?"

"Would you come to the party?" Claire looks up at Liam with her big blue eyes.

Liam swallows and nods. Why not? He'd done it with his nieces before. Why would this be any different? "You bet, Princess." He tucks Jane into bed, and then proceeds to head to Claire's room.

Before too long Claire has her little tea party set up, and gets Liam to sit on one of the little chairs. She pretends to pour the tea, and when she's done, Liam goes to pick up his cup to pretend to drink out of it. "No silly, you do it like dis!"

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Kiddie names for Liam and Jane's kids

I figured they're going to have 4 kids, 2 of each. Suggestions for names welcome!

Sail Me Away....part 19

(Sorry for the long pause. Now, here we go again!)

Liam is a bundle of nerves as he, Jane, and Claire make their way to the Doctor's office for Jane's first prenatal appointment. The first of many, he hopes. But probably the only one that would take place in Montreal. He and Jane had talked about it last night, and had both decided that the easiest way for them to make this work was for her to move to St. John's with him. It was so far from her home, yet Jane was willing to move. What a woman.

As he drives, Liam thinks upon what he had been reading. Frequent nausea. The inability to keep food down. She hadn't even been able to keep those crackers down earlier. Fluids were staying down, thankfully, but that would not be enough to nourish their growing baby. Maybe there was more to it. Maybe it wasn't extreme morning sickness. Maybe it was multiples. There were multiples in his family. He'd have to ask Jane if there were any multiples in her family. If there were, that could be yet another explanation as to what was making her so sick.

He glances over at her briefly, leaning against the car door, the window slightly open. Motion sickness on top of nausea? Oh dear sweet jesus, the poor thing really did have it bad. Did she suffer this much when she was pregnant with Claire? He doesn't know, but that's another thing that he's going to have to ask about.

* * * * *
At the doctor's office, after explaining her symptoms to her OB, Jane's doctor agrees that its a good idea to have some tests done to determine if she does indeed have extreme morning sickness. "But first, an ultrasound," her doctor says.

 "What for?" Jane asks. "I never needed one this early before."

"Well, sometimes extreme morning sickness can be brought on by carrying multiples, but we won't know if there are multiples until an ultrasound is performed."

Jane nods nervously. Multiples? Dear Lord. How would they handle multiples if she was indeed carrying them?

* * * * *

But luckily, the ultrasound reveals only one baby. When Jane's OB sees the images, she nods. "I'll schedule an  exam, for you, see if we can't figure out what is going on."

* * * * *

The exam is worrisome. Jane's blood pressure is a little low. Her pulse is high. Furthermore, the other tests reveal bad news as well. Some signs of slight dehydration. And Jane weighed less than she had then when she'd had her physical before the trip. She'd actually lost weight since getting pregnant.

But its when the final bloodwork comes in that they finally have a diagnosis. And its what Liam had feared all along. Hyperemisis Gravidarum-extreme morning sickness. Oh God, poor Jane. This was going to be hell for her to go through.

He turns to her doctor. "Is there anything we can do for her?"



Monday, May 23, 2011

Lyrics to "Two Ships"- Barry Canning

Love how you move, dancing to the groove
In your short black dress, you don't try to impress
You've got nothing to prove
I've been trying to...reach into you
Slip through your cracks, but you hold me back
Like you've got nothing to lose


Two ships sail on one ocean but one will soon be gone


Into the light of a setting sun
And the day is nearly done
I watch you slip away
To save your love for another day
You turn and run


You never wake,  when the day breaks
You like to stay in bed, and make love instead
You like to give and take
When it gets real, you're quick to conceal
That place in your heart,  when things fall apart
But you can't reveal


Two ships sail on one ocean, but one will soon be gone


Into the light of a setting sun
And the day is nearly done
I watch you slip away
To save your love for another day
You turn and run


Without a doubt, you turn me inside out
With your wanderin' eyes, and those long goodbyes
I'll have to do without


Two ships sailed on one ocean and now one of them is gone


Into the light of a setting sun
And the day is nearly done
I watch you slip away
To save your love for another day
You turn and run

Into the "Light of a Setting Sun": Barry Canning releases his 4th studio album

On Saturday night, the 21st of May, the Rock House on George Street was crowded. The reason? Barry Canning, a native of Bishop's Falls, Newfoundland, now living in Toronto, ON, was in town to have a release party for his new album, "Light of a Setting Sun".

At 10 pm even that night, the doors for the show opened. I made my way in, got my bracelet (which I need to take off) and then took a look around the Rock House. Very nice venue, and I love the way it was set up.

Around 10:30, the opening act, Brothers In Stereo, came on. They only did a three or four songs, but I was impressed. If you're at all interested, you should definitely check out their music.

At 11:30, Barry Canning and his band- Cory Tetford, Paul Kinsman, Paul "Boomer" Stamp, Glenn Parsons, and Chris LeDrew- hit the stage. And did they ever rock it.

The First Set: Light of a Setting Sun

1. Haven't Learned A Thing 

This song is very catchy, and was a great way to kick off the show, and is the perfect choice for the lead track on this album. The lyrics really do lead you to wonder why we don't learn from our mistakes, and consequently, learn about love. Barry hits the nail right on the head with this song.

2. Broken Boy

Barry said that this song was inspired by a text conversation that he had with a friend. Makes one wonder what was said. This song was/is a little harder to get into, but I must confess that after listening to the album last night and today, the song has grown on me. Still not as much as the others, but its getting there, without a doubt. 

3. Don't Write Me Off

The idea for this song came from an e-mail Barry received from Chris LeDrew, and the subject header was "Don't Write Me Off". From those words alone, Barry managed to write a very catchy tune, one that I love the more that I hear it. 

4. Killing Me

One of Barry's favourite songs on the album. In listening to it last night and today, I can see why he feels that way. Definitely one of the better tracks on the album.

5. Time Turns Around

As the video says, it is one of two songs co-written by Alan Doyle, who most of you who read my blog know, is of Great Big Sea fame, and he also produced Barry's last album "Last Man Standing". Word of note on this track: I think it might have replaced LMS as my favourite Canning/Doyle co-write. Listen to it yourself, and you'll see why I think so. Video is mine, by the way.

6. Two Ships

I first heard Barry perform this tune back in December when he opened for Great Big Sea. From the first time I heard the tune, I fell in love with it. And last night I fell in love with it all over again. With the full backing of his band, Barry's voice and guitar work made this song even more lovely, if that's possible.

7. Sweet Surrender

I think that this song might be my new favourite Barry song, EVER. It is so romantic, and I think that the amazing Mr. Canning writes the best love and breakup songs. You have to get the album and hear this song for yourself. It will be worth your money!

8. Big Mistake

Really enjoyed this tune last night, and its one of those ones that will also grow on you the more that you listen to it. Honestly.

9. Ruins of Love

Love this one too, enough said.

10. Secret Love

I think that this song contains some of my favourite lyrics on the album in

"Is blood thicker than wine, is love stronger than time?
From Adam and Eve came the fall
Is a secret love better than no love at all?"

11. Get Over You

<3 <3 <3 That's all I have to say about this song.

12. The Other Side


The video explains it all. Second of two co-writes by Alan Doyle on this album. I'm beginning to love the Canning/Doyle songwriting relationship. Anyone else with me?

The Second Set

The second set contained a lot of fan favourites: Last Man Standing, When You Were Young, Beautiful Life, and The One, among others.

Here's some videos of my favourite songs from the second set.

Beautiful Life


I was late in switching my camera to video mode for this song, but still got the majority of this song. For those of you who like the song, its available on "Soul Parade" and Barry's compilation album, which features his best songs from "Soul Parade" and "Last Man Standing".

The One <3


I have loved this song for as long as I can remember. Still do. And last night, getting to hear it and dance along with it was so much fun!

King For A Day




Lemme explain this one. Barry gave the stage to Cory Tetford (producer of the record) for a little while. Before Barry came back up, a fan requested this song, and Cory was more than glad to oblige. Barry came back up, Cory whispered to him about this song, Barry nodded, and then left the stage again. Cory is joined on this song by Chris LeDrew. You'll see him on the centre microphone. The crowd went nuts during this song!

Some Pictures From The Show

Cory Tetford, Paul Kinsman, Barry Canning, Paul "Boomer"
Stamp, Sandy Morris, and Bob Strome.

See above caption.

Me and Cory Tetford

Barry Canning

Cory and Barry

Me and Barry. I love this picture. <3

My autographed CD. Love it, even if he forgot the "s" in my name.


Overall Impressions

1. I really like the Rockhouse. Nice place, great atmosphere, and a wonderful layout. Friendly staff as well.
2. Lighting on stage was excellent. Made it easy to take pictures a videos. A definite plus.
3. I  really enjoyed Brothers In Stereo. I need a CD of theirs, and quick.
4. Barry Canning knows how to draw a crowd to George Street on a Saturday night.
5. Light of a Setting Sun is better than Last Man Standing, and it takes a lot for me to admit that.

Your thoughts?

If you are reading this, and have the album, I would love to hear your thoughts. Also, if you get this album because of the review, let me know. I think great music deserves to be shared.

Monday, May 16, 2011

A birthday poem for Alan Doyle

just wrote this poem, and I'm going to share it here first, but then its going on the blog run by me and my friends Sara and Karina.

I remember that day, almost nine years ago
I was feeling lost,  my life moving in slow mo
Then by chance, one morning at school
I saw a poster, and on it was you.

An evening with Alan Doyle, and his guitar
I'd heard the name, I knew you were a star
The price for the evening, a scant ten bucks
But it was more than worth it, just my luck

From the very first time I heard from you sing
I knew exactly what it was I had to do
Become a fan of you and Great Big Sea
It was as simple as two plus two

You were only in your 30s then,
Not married, and no kids at that point
But over the years you have been blessed
You now have a son, and your beautiful wife

The years have been kind to you
And although you're older its true
You're getting better with age Alan,
Happy Birthday number forty-two!

Sunday, May 15, 2011

its been a while

Hey there readers,

Sorry for my long absence. For the last couple of weeks, my laptop has been out of commission. It got knocked to the floor and the pixels in the screen started to go.

The mother of a friend of mine helped me out in that respect, loaned me a screen. But then my power cord stopped working, so  I couldn't use my laptop at all. My only means of communication was via text through my cell phone.

So, on Friday, my computer monitor from Sara arrived. Its a beauty too, but I still needed a power cord. Mom spoke to Easyhome, who said they could lend me one, and I was thrilled. But when I returned home with said cord, it would not power up my laptop.

So, I called Easyhome back, and they said to bring my computer in, and they would try to match it up with another cord in the store. So I walked another 2+ km back to the shop, where it was found that there is something more going on with my computer than just a non-working power cord. It's now been sent for repairs, and I have a loaner from Easyhome. Same model too, only the colour of the cover is different. God it is good to be back :)