You Can't Take It With You

Granddog Brio has more charming angles, but you’re missing the action of the wagging since swimming and fetching are his top two favourite things in life. (Oh wait, there’s eating too.) I’ve included the shot because the colours of the water make me want to paint it - and because….

Hiking with Julia, James & Brio is a major bonus in this chapter of life. I guess I’ve managed to keep the inevitable Mom Irritation down to a low enough threshold that they seem to still enjoy including me. And our pace is still aligned, so that’s good! Between the heart-stopping beauty of the trails of the North Shore mountains and the highly compelling and infections Dog Joy, (and of course, the human company) it’s just a great asset to life on the planet.

It is also a great antidote to the bad behaviour of humans gone crazy. I feel obligated to acknowledge the anxiety we all feel leading up the the November US election, to say nothing of those embroiled in warfare. My atheist self has been known to utter the odd prayer to the gods of sanity, wisdom, and the power of love over hate. I will leave it at that.

I turn 73 in a few days, which is an unfathomable number. Slight bonus in that the past year I’ve been thinking I’m 73, so I gained a year! Excellent. I truly am incredulous. I know “how the hell did this happen?” is a ludicrous question but but but…..At this age, a Costco purchase can be seen as “well, that’sgoing to last me the rest of my life!”

My recent (since June) crusade to “refresh” my home of 28 years has also meant some serious culling which has been “en-lightening” (see what I did there? 😜) The amount of Stuff is staggering. Sometime I think, with some shame, about how much of our time is spent procuring, organizing, storing, cleaning, moving, and ultimately getting rid of our Stuff. Aside from liberation of divesting, the spelunking into reams of letters and memorabilia has been quite an adventure. When my mother passed away 20 years ago I discovered she had saved every letter I’d written her right back to Camp Sugar Pine Girl Scout camp when I was 11! I thought I’d gone through them but I hadn’t. All those years of searching for my livelihood and obsequious attempts to convince my mother I had a plan: “I’ve decided I’m going to be a candle maker!” before I discovered music. Living in Boston & Berkeley, and the commune in Gibsons. And then the early years of finding my way to actually earning a living in music “And I’ll be paid $25!” Then there are the references to new boyfriends disguised in code as “he’s become a very good friend.” Hilarious!

I also have hundreds of letters my father wrote my mother while he was a Lieutenant Colonel in the US Army Air Corps serving in China and India in WW II. I inherited his love of words and photography - and his eyes.

It does occur to me that thanks to computers and e-mail, I have no such paper trail after 1990 or so, and Julia will have none. That is sad. I doubt if many of us considered saving strings of e-mails before moving on to the next computer.

Back to the trivial: in the meantime, the long-time dream of moving my grandfather’s Steinway Grand upstairs to the living room where I’m far more likely to graze by it every day is complete, and has led to many other “refreshments”. Almost done, I swear. And it’s not lost on me that the efforts are a bit like re-arranging the deck chairs on the titanic while providing me with a sense of - well, this is a world I can control and change! But it’s time to move on.

The Luckies (with Hilary Grist & Jeanne Tolmie have been carving out time to hang out and work on songs, which is very inspiring, and I’m feeling close to starting to plan the next solo album (a record three qualifier!)! Shows with Cindy and Kirby are coming up, and BTU is in Alberta in early March. (If you’d like us to come to your town, let me know!)

Craven Tenor Guitars has two new archtop versions of the Shari Ulrich Songbird and an octave mandolin in the works. Fred Nelson dropped off the latest model to me, “The Grande”, which has a wider neck and bigger body and sounds and plays beautifully! You can see it HERE. I’m lovingwriting on it.

The Songwriters Association of Canada has green lit SBN for 2025! YAY! SO the last show for 2024 is on Tuesday, Nov. 26,featuring Doug Cox, Linda McRae and Ryan McMahon. Tickets will be at songbirdnorth.tickit.ca by next week.

UPCOMING SHOWS - just go HERE for all the details!

The Shari Ulrich Trio rides again!

OCT 18 FRI - Grand Forks, BC - The Gem Theatre Tickets here!

OCT 19 SAT - Kimberly, BC - Tickets here!

Oct. 20 SUN - Castlegar, BC - Tickets Here! Ok, full disclosure, this one is with just Kirby since Cindy is teaching at Capilano University early Monday morning and has to fly home, so really - a duo show! But who’s counting?

I’ll sign off with this little treasure from a ferry line-up to Saltspring Island this summer. If you don’t get the song reference ask someone my age. Though it does beg the question, “what would be the middle ground between a clown and a joker”?

Thanks for being there my friend,

Smile at a stranger today….

Very Shari