Summer cometh...yippy!

Greetings Nodblog readers (both of you - and you know who you are).
Since last post, its been a crazy month.
School year is coming with its inherent marking piles, parent phone calls for kids who are failing (but Dalton doesn't want any of them to fail), meetings, retirement gatherings, and writing the exams the students will write.
Speaking of Dalton, next year there are no late penalties to be awarded. No student can recieve a zero if they don't hand in assignments, and he expects all medians to magically go up 10%. That's one way to keep everyone in high school and have more get their diplomas - lower your standards! Big picture societal impact? Not a consideration. Small picture - some good looking statistics for the fall election.
Been doing a good bit of fiction writing - short story and a novel I'm hoping to work on in the summer. Might go to a writers' conference/retreat as well.
Mysterious happenings around the house.
Lots of Music - 3 gigs in 6 days, two of them on weekdays - I thought I was going to avoid weeks like that without the Elvis band - but it was fun, busy but fun. Kevin Coates and I played Molly's Waterloo. We keep waiting to show up and it will be dead because it is summer (no students), but it was packed and crazy again. We also played a lovely little corperate cocktail party thing on Thursday. Alysha Brooke and band played "ladies night" at the Coral in Oshawa. A bit of a rough town, but lots of ladies!
Exams start next week - and their marking and the resulting report card writing. Kevin and I play the DUKE of WELLINGTON in Waterloo and Alysha Brooke plays Elmira, Friday and Saturday, respectively. Come on out if you're in the area! My buddy Ray Smith's band Led Zep or something plays the Ivy on Canada Day Weekend's Saturday. Another highly recommended experience.
My folks are off on a retirement trip, a cruise to Alaska! And a well earned one at that....CONGRATULATIONS. I may stay over there in Milton a couple of nights this week while I'm bogged in work at school and to look after the place a bit.
There's the update from the Isle of Nod. Come for the food, stay for the shite!
Nod

Music Stuff

Time I updated this thing.
Been spending some time writing these days - relaxed schedule and all. I'm thinking of going to some writers' conferences and workshops this summer.
Speaking of travel, Ma and Pa Featherstone are off to cruise up to Alaska in June - cool! And a well deserved holiday for them!
Also, I have managed to visit some live music recently - mostly local Kitchener stuff. Saw my old buddy Fernando playing drums the other weekend. The blues jam at The Still is quite a cool scene in the summer. The Boathouse also has some nearby live tunes - lovely!
The Alysha Brooke project continues to work in the studio. We have a sub drummer for an upcoming gig who played on the old hit "Hang On Sloopy". He's 70, spry, full of energy, great on grooves and loves playing music still - something to aspire to...
One more (hard) month of school - June is tough, but the end-of-tunnel light is there. Had a wonderfully successful Coffee House last week, full of student writing and music. Cool...
Ah, sun and summer is here. Gotta love it.
Nod