So today began with a random obsession with 1. identifying and 2. downloading the music from the latest country life butter advertisement. I know: how random can I be? Yet Others have suffered recently from similar preoccupations, and thanks to their postings I not only identified the piece in question as Jack Strachey’s In The Party Mood, but also found A great place to download it from. You have to register with a user name and password but this is a teensy weensy price to pay for entrance into this Kingdom of Retro-tastical Audio Joy.

Music seems to be back on my agenda after a long period away from it; yesterday in Weymouth I found myself giving some informal flute tuition to Mark’s neice and my Dad has been in touch with a ridiculous plan to co-opt me into his dream to be part of a German Oompah band, playing accordion. Lara also asked me about some informal accordion lessons as well and I have the itch to play things again. It’s frustrating to not be as good now as I was when younger, living with a piano in the house always and arthritis-free, but like anything it is a habit you get into. Like knitting, or sewing, or dieting or baking, you just clear out a corner of your life to make room for it and then you do it.

So the Oompah band plans look set for a debut on my birthday this Sunday; I’ve been instructed to select some kind of outfit from The Bavarian Superstore and I believe I am the only person whose Dad conversationally announced that he ‘googled Lederhosen and found an Oktoberfest costume’ this Father’s day. Dear Old Pops.

I’ve been looking at my Myspace recently, too, and wanting to make works like starfish again, but from a revised perspective and with more relevant themes… I loved making Audicle and haven’t been back in a musical workflow like that since, really. I want to get back in the habit. Oh yes.

I’ve been sent a few mp3s from various sound-recordists who are happy to contribute to my framework domestic field-recordings show and now I have a few things to compile. Just waiting on some CDRs from The Lucky Kitchen and then I will have plenty of material for Framework Domestica.

In other news the flip flop socks are finished!

…and the walking-stick cover that I began this weekend in self-patterning sock yarn is 80% completed.