It’s me again. Still here. Been somewhat busy writing. Now, this writing I speak of is lyrical, musical and literary. While War-N and I as Hungry Lucy are still gathering songs together for our album, we still haven’t really begun the hardest task of finalizing everything. It’s so easy to write and get things to a solid state, but then, the harder work comes in. Making final decisions on where breaks go, what instruments work, how many harmonies and whether the song still sounds good after all that. Then, we have some other wonderful side things going on that we want to do, but that will unavoidably put a bit of a hold on more progress. Not enough to bother with, so no big deal there. Who knows. Maybe it will help us see more clearly when we return to it? It’s pointless to try and figure out why one weekend brings two complete songs and others bring nothing. It’s all in the moment and what those moments bring. You just can’t plan it. Believe me. We’ve tried!

Secondly, my literary writings are going very well. Up to a beefy (or soy based) 18 chapters now! I didn’t quit… woo hoo!! I don’t even want to think that my story wouldn’t get finished. It would hurt way too much. All I can say is that it has taken turns I never thought it would and I am thoroughly enjoying this writing business. I always wrote poetry in my youth… I think I can say that now since I no longer have true “youth” any longer. And ya know what? I don’t want it back. I’m very happy at 34 years old and wouldn’t have it any other way. Anyhoo, I never really wrote much in the way of stories in my teens and twenties. Poetry is very different and requires a different discipline. I’m liking the novel way of writing very much. I can really get into telling the story instead of making sure it fits into a rhyme scheme or something like that. I can just write and write and then go back and edit later. It’s not better than poetry, just very different. It’s wonderful! As of now, I’m well on my way into the heft of the story and I already know how this book will end. I do know that I believe it will require a series to get all of the story told that I want to tell. Awesomer still!! I’m already thinking on how I will release this monster of a book once it is finished. I think having released all of the music ourselves in the past, I can better deal with releasing a book independently as well. But, mayhaps I should just finish it first and then go from there, yeah? I’m always a step further in my head than I should be. Can you tell?

Thirdly, there is something I do want back. My natural hair color! I got a little crazy due to a wild hair up my ass recently and decided to go partially red on me head! I liked it at first and had grand visions of doing more colors and cutting more and more off to end with a final shave. Well, that plan quickly went right down the old crapper. I’m so sick of not seeing my true self in the mirror. I never thought in a million years that I’d miss seeing “me” so much. I thought about having less hair as well and realized that was no longer what I desired. I’ve done all that and don’t need to revisit it at this juncture. I found it rather refreshing and lovely that I didn’t want to not look like me. Mission accomplished in a weird way. So, I go back to black (or dark brown, really. I’m actually highly allergic to black hair dye! Oh, the horror!) this coming Wednesday and I can hardly wait. I see myself in the mirror this way and just don’t like it at all anymore. I keep waiting for the girl I know. She’ll be back very soon. This is what I looked like at the first day of the red phase:

Not bad, but just not me. Plus, I feel so bad for red heads now. Its incredibly hard to find anything to go with my hair in the clothing department! My trusty blue shirts that I love so much look so disgusting against that red. Ack! Plus, I can’t wear my fave red lipstick at the moment because it looks absolutely horrid with the red in my hair! My admiration goes out to redheads everywhere for looking as good as you do. I can’t pull it off. I’m a brunette. And for the first time in a long time, I’m realizing how special that is for me.

In more personal news, I have been happy to see so many people in the world embracing our new President. I am one of them. I think I’m just more quiet about it. I love that he’s president now. That’s about all I have to say about that. Yeah, I totally Forrest Gump’d it! Now, where’s my box of chocolates?? Oh yeah. It’s in California

In general, I feel happy but a tad nervous. I’m up at nearly Midnight (you see, this is late for me because I am getting old!) because I started thinking of all of these things War-N and I have, and need, to do. That made me wake up and not be sleepy any longer, as I tend to do. And, while I want to do these things, I am so nervous that I’ll screw something up. I just hope everything coming up turns out well. That’s all I want. Geez. We do get ourselves in quite a state worrying, don’t we? It doesn’t help anything and we know this. But, it’s hard to stop it happening, too.

So, that’s my ramble for the week. Still missing “Tea” and looking forward to it’s return.

Hope you all have a great February! I intend to in a major way!!

Good Night. Sleep Tight.

Much Love,

Christa Belle

If you are amongst the handful of Hungry Lucy fans out there, you know we have temporarily stopped our podcast in the hope to use that time on Sunday to work on, and finish, our 4th full length album. While this tactic is working, I just wanted to voice that I miss the hell out of our podcast and can’t wait to return to it! But, as War-N said to me not too long ago “You can’t have your puddin’ until you finish your firsts.” I was just in my iTunes, updating and such, and just really missed our podcast.

So, for those of you out there that may miss it as well, take comfort in the fact that I’m so longing to get back to Tea with you guys! I miss it just as much as you do. But, this deprivation has made me appreciate it even more. When we do return, we’ll have so much stuff to say!!

If you need to hear friendly voices in the meantime, I suggest the following Podcasters who have the skill to draw you in and make you feel good with their tunes, stories and lovely voices!

Three From Leith – The always lovely Grant Mason who has sent quite a few great new tunes my way!
This American Life podcast – The incomparable Ira Glass and his shared stories from people around the world.
Chillin’ with Lovespirals – Anji Bee and Ryan Lum out in La La land tellin’ everyone what they’re up to. Great music, good wine and fun tech toys!
Bloodwire – Fellow Electro-musicians, and dear friends, who do their semi-regular podcast about once a month.
The Smiths Occasional Podcast – Two crazy kids, nearly as crazy as us, and their occasional (it’s in the title!) podcast. Always a quirky, fun listen!
You Look Nice Today - An insanely eccentric podcast! Three guys, a rambling story and brilliantly odd things going on! Beware the Tang Tangs!!

Anyhoo, just letting you know, I miss Teatime with all of you. We’ll be back soon. I promise.

Much Love,

cb

Just a quick little post to mention a couple of things. First off, I just watched the somewhat recent documentary following David Lynch called Lynch (one). As some of you know, those of you that know me, he is my favorite director. Just in the few personal-type things I’ve watched, and read, I have learned so much. He never ceases to amaze me by what he says. War-N said “I wouldn’t like to work for him!”. I can certainly see why. I wouldn’t want to either. At least, not as a fellow director… someday. When someone has such a strong idea, drive and ideal of how things should be, nothing will do but what’s inside that person’s head. No room for company in there, and there shouldn’t have to be. One person’s vision is just that ONE person’s vision. I’d like to think I will have that kind of vision one day. The kind that makes everyone around me want to help me get that vision and do whatever it takes. No matter who is around me, I want to do the work and do whatever it takes. I have great support already. With that, I can go very far.

In other creative news, I’m very happy to report that I am now up to 14 chapters in my “Days with Indigo” novel/story. I don’t write everyday, as I should, but when I do it’s so easy and gentle in my mind. It isn’t hard at all. I do often wonder if that means anything… like if it’s easy, it’s not good. But, I’m choosing to ignore any such thoughts and just do what seems to be a very pleasant thing for me to do at this time. I’m so involved in the characters and the story and this world I’m creating seems so absolutely real to me. I see it happen as I type… like a movie. I have always seen the scenes as they come to me. No problem. it will translate very easily when that time comes! I can sense who is going to talk to me on each chapter and it’s so intriguing and lovely. I just visualize and type as fast as I can. Editing comes later It’s quite interesting. On certain days I’ll think “Well, I miss Indigo today, so I’ll write something to do with her.” and the story just comes so naturally. I’m really loving it! I often get so busy with tons of projects (as a LOT of you out there know!), and while I do have more than the novel/story going on right now, I feel I’m so involved, yet separated, with this idea. It comes back to me whenever I need it and doesn’t go away if I can’t get to it at the time. Not much else like that happens to me. Sure, I get ideas for pictures, videos, short films and music, but it often goes away as quickly as it came. Not with Indigo. There’s something magick in this new world for me. I can’t wait to see how it unfolds!

In closing, I just wanted to thank War-N for everything he does for me everyday. Also, thanks for helping me proofread “…Indigo” as it forms. It absolutely thrills me that you like it as much as I do!! Now that we’re thinking “logic-ally”, I think we’re both on a great path. The best part is, our pathways run side by side.

Much Love to Everyone!

cb

I don’t know where to start? I feel inspired, excited, alive and nauseated! It’s only half past midnight on a Friday night/Saturday morning. I’m the only one up, except for the cats, and they are looking at me like I’m crazy. Yeah. I’m the crazy one while Pullo chases an acorn around the house! The nausea has come from a bit too much red wine and not enough water. Urgh. And, my sleepiness has now gone away completely. Bummer.

So, I started the day at Panera with War-N. I already new I wanted to go out today. I needed to do something creative that wasn’t related to any of my other projects going on. So, I packed my camera bag and off I went. I drove around the back roads near my neighborhood and found a lovely old abandoned house (the above photo). In my younger, more adventurous days, I wouldn’t have hesitated to go on inside and make myself at home. But, with past experiences being my teacher, and more common sense creeping into my aging brain, I decided to stay at a safe distance. Believe me, I really, REALLY wanted to go inside. But, I didn’t. Plus I knew not what was lurking inside. It was like one of those Terry Gilliam movies (Tideland, for example) where the strangers within were looking out at me, wondering, just as I could have unknowingly been looking in at them. Someone had to win, and I didn’t want it to be them. So, I stayed out of psycho-maniac grabbing range! I took with me only my camera and a feeling of confidence. I did still have some photographic adventure left in my mid-30′s body, and mind. I miss the jolt of finding something I want to take a risk on to get a good photo. While this photo isn’t bad, I see a few things I’d want to go back and fix. The blown out sky, for example. It is nice, but featureless. That brings me to my next point.

As I gazed upon the old, falling apart house, I thought of the current state of Hungry Lucy. Before you get upset thinking I’m insulting my own music, I’m not. I found it beautiful and full of secrets. Sure, it’s getting a bit of age on it, but it’s that very same age that’s making it turn into something else entirely. Something mysterious that holds new surprises around every creaking board and broken window. I have all of this excitement and mystery in our music world to enjoy and bring to life at the moment. And, honestly, it’s nice to just have it to myself and War-N. It’s not ready to be seen, nor heard, for fear of sharing too much too soon. I think that has been a downfall of HL in the past. Not in a major way. But, enough for people to always rely on us to give it up to the public whenever there is something even slightly new to share. Well, not right now. You must wait, as we have waited. You must crave, as we have craved. And most of all you must long for completion, as we have longed. When it is ready, it will be well worth the wait. Plus, it will be so much more than you have ever expected from Hungry Lucy in the past. There are so many ideas swimming, it would be hard to explain. All I will say is that I have had so much visual inspiration and it will be fully utilized when the time comes. Plus, the music is a wonderful new experience as well. Oh, what fun we’ll have when The Standing Ones rise!

In my other projects, I am making some progress. I’m currently working on my “end of year” video project of family videos and events from this year. This is, by far, the most difficult one yet. It’s so difficult, I postponed the viewing until February. December is never easy to maneuver, so I figured why kill myself just to make a holiday deadline. So, I moved it up to be it’s own thing. Not related to the rush of mad December. It will bring our family together to share in the short film as a family. Nothing else surrounding it to take away from the love that it always provides. Well, except for some yummy food to go along with the show Our family is ever-growing and it’s nice to step back and watch them watch their progression. It always amazes me the reactions I get. It’s always something I can be proud of, and I didn’t want to compromise it by rushing it along. so, I think it’s going to be my best one yet. In fact, it may be the last one for a while as I have so, so many things in mind for 2009. But, I won’t go into that just yet. One must complete a thing before talking of another. I have learned that lesson again and again!!! It only leads to disappointment.

Today also held my getting film back from the lab. Yes. I still shoot film! Still one left to pick up next week (a color roll of 120), but I got my 2 B&W 120 rolls to scan and play with. My hope is to set up my wet darkroom again very soon. Just have to organize it and make it happen. But, I just didn’t want to wait for these negatives to be processed. I wanted to show them to my family soon, as one is a family pic. We don’t have many of those these days as we’re all so busy! So, it was nice to get one with the entire immediate family. Lovely!

I’ve been shooting mostly black and white with my old Yashica Mat 124G TLR. Basically, it’s an old waist-finder twin-lens camera that is so quirky it’s ridiculous. I love it! The beauty of this old baby is it was modified before I bought it used. An old doctor had it and, for whatever reason, gave it the capability to be a multiple exposure camera. So, it has this little silver loop that you pull to reset the shutter. Then, you can do as many exposures on one negative as you want. I have a multi-exposure I took recently that I can’t wait to scan and experiment with. From the looks of the neg, I think I done good! The color roll I’m waiting on is a little set of pics I shot of War-N out in the snow. It was such fun shooting War-N just as a subject. Not for Hungry Lucy. It does seem to turn into something else when you know what it will be for. I liked the randomness of it all and just playing outside in the snow with my husband. Thanks, War-N. I now we were both freezing by the end of it!!

So, I’m having fun, getting inspired daily by tons of outside influences and generally enjoying life here in Hamilton. The sky may be blown out, but that just means there’s no limit! I can’t wait to see what the next few months hold. Some very exciting things on my list. I also can’t wait to share them all.. when they’re ready

Until next time, I hope you are well, happy and where you want to be.

With Much Love,

Christa Belle

War-N and I recently (only a few days ago, Saturday November 29th) went to see Amanda Palmer in Pittsburgh, PA. Not only had I been blown away by her solo album “Who Killed Amanda Palmer” (released in September of this year) but this performance has overshadowed all other shows I’ve seen for the past 5 years. I can’t describe the energy, passion, beauty and overall pleasant feeling I got from this show! Along side Miss Palmer, performing beautifully as she sang and played the piano, were The Danger Ensemble. An incredible troop of performers that added just that much more emotion to an already powerful performance. It was well worth the trip! Despite me feeling old amongst the 18 year-old’s, and having a horrid backache from standing for over 4 hours at the show, I have no regrets! Plus, I had my first good Sex on the Beach (a cocktail) since Steve left Warehouse!! Pineapple juice, baby!

Amanda Fucking Palmer is one amazing lady. And, yes. I do mean lady. She shows more grace on stage, and in her blog, than anyone I’ve seen… ever. She is totally herself and isn’t after anything but making great art. She’s done that and, I’m sure, will continue to do so.

There was a big hub-bub about her so-called-belly (which she sets straight in her own blog) in the video for “Leeds United”. Well, I couldn’t see a damned thing wrong with her beautious belly. I’m on board with exposing more belly love! Go here if you want to share in The Rebellyon!!In fact, here’s my beloved belly as well!

Sure, I’m mean to it sometimes by constantly thinking it could be better. But, I always feed it To quote the incomparable Sophia Loren, “Everything you see, I owe to pasta!”. We should all embrace our individuality and not focus so much on what others expect us to look like. I can only be me. Why would I want to be anyone else? So, I shall give my belly, and body in general, more praise and love it for what it is. Beautiful.

When are people in the “industry” going to realize that people don’t fit into one mold that keeps performing for them without question or substance. It’s like getting a big chocolate bunny at easter and then biting into it only to find it hollow and tasteless. It looked good enough, but nothing was inside. Who wants that? Well, sirs and madams, NOT ME!

So, how does this little story relate to me and/or Hungry Lucy? Well, Miss Palmer has just become such a strong influence in my life now in just these short months of listening to Who Killed Amanda Palmer. I have watched, and greatly admired, all of the incredible videos and it has translated beautifully from music, to video to live performance. How she did it all in such a seamless way, I need to learn!!

The things I have taken from this experience is that I am on the right track for never settling to be someone I’m not. It makes my heart sing, and my voice, knowing that there are strong musicians out there that stand up for what they believe in and aren’t in it merely for financial gain. I admire the hell out of you, Amanda Palmer. Keep it up!!

If you haven’t checked out any of Amanda Palmer’s websites, please go! I don’t think you’ll be disappointed!

Much Love to all, and your bellies!

Christa Belle

Amanda Palmer – main site
Amanda Palmer – album mini-site

In these past few weeks, I’ve had a lot on my mind, and on my plate. The busy party planning days for my Halloween bash are now over. Though it was great, it wore me out! Now, I can relax a bit and enjoy my creativity with writing my book (which is going well, by the way!), my end of year video project and Hungry Lucy music. While my progress is great, I still have an antsy feeling I can’t shake. I think I know what it is, and I hope to remedy it soon. Being October, Halloween and the beginning of a lovely Autumn, I long for days walking about the cemetery crunching leaves beneath my feet and watching the sky.

The cemetery holds many, many dear memories for me. I had been exposed to the Lexington Cemetery since early childhood. My Mother would take me and my sisters to feed the ducks & geese and look at all of the lovely trees and beauty within this hallowed ground. So, I can fully blame my Mother for my love of cemeteries! I’m glad I was never afraid to be in one. That, to me, would just be so sad. And now, to be surrounded by many either way I venture out, I can’t help but crave an adventure in a cemetery a little less known to me. I went to one recently right in Hamilton that I had been wanting to go to for a while. The problem is, I go alone.

I miss the days of my friends and I wandering about, taking photos and chatting the day away. We were unaware of what distances would separate us in the future. Probably better that we didn’t know. Sadly, this separation was my own doing. I’m the one who moved away. Therefore, I feel I took away my chances to be with my dear friends. I know, we all have our own adult lives to lead now. But, I miss the days of carefree adventures with my three friends in Lexington. This time of year, especially, I miss it so much. There are also other friends I have made with a high regard for cemeteries. How I long to go and shoot pictures as I used to. I do go shooting now and I love it, don’t get me wrong. But, there was a magick in it before that seems to have gone away. Now, they simply seem like statues when I look at them. There’s no one to share the moment with as it happens. It’s just me, my camera and endless pictures with no soul. At least, that’s how it feels right now. I hope my mood will lighten and I can just enjoy the day of shooting at the cemetery. It is still a highly pleasurable experience just to be there.

Even though I miss those days, I love my present days, too. But, I never have quite made a close friend here in Cincinnati. I don’t make friends easily. But, when I do, it’s for life! But, I’m rambling and beginning to make no sense. It’s my site, though. So, I can if I wanna!!

I have never felt like I’ve really grown up. I kinda like that. I don’t feel that it’s silly for me to feel this way. Or any other way, for that matter. I always feel like “real” adults think you should push back certain feelings and concentrate on being an adult and all of the responsibilities that come with it. Well, pardon my french, but screw that!! I just want to follow my heart. How can that be bad? My Mother did always encourage me to be expressive. As did Mimi, my Grandmother. So have many others along the way. I will always thank them for that and for allowing me, though a bit reluctantly at times, to just be me. Now, I have a wonderfully supportive husband that does the same. He’s always encouraging me to “go for it” and be as creative as I possibly can be. I’m trying, sweets. I’m trying.

I guess the moral of this blabbering story is that with or without friends to share the moment with, you still have to make your own moments and cherish them. You can’t go back. Only forward. Make the best of it and don’t wish your life away. I know… easier said than done.

Much Love to Everyone,

cb

PS…this picture was taken at the glorious Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati, OH.

As most of you know, for those of you who visit my personal site, I am in the band Hungry Lucy. Yes, we’re still around! The band, as it were, consists of myself and my husband, War-N. When we do work together, we work very well together. But, as is the problem with a lot of musicians, we don’t always get to work when we want to. Or, the even more dreaded problem, we’re not inspired to work! But, lately, we have been so inspired to work on music. This all came about by stopping our bi-weekly podcast, Tea with Hungry Lucy, for a spell just to see what came about. Well, something clicked and we’ve been very productive just in the last couple of weeks! This was also due to a computer switch and, in turn, a music software switch as well. We now have our music on a Mac (about bloody time!!) and it’s so much more intuitive. War-N is loving it! So, the lapse in “tea” and a new system has really helped draw out the music. It’s lovely getting to work side by side with War-N again and make the music that we so love!

This has all made me think a lot about dedication to the Muse. I was watching an interview with the great Tori Amos this morning and she said a key statement roughly saying that if you were constantly waiting for the Muse to show up, maybe they didn’t want to perform when you needed them. You have to have the dedication and devotion to THEM. Sometimes one needs to summon the Muse rather than waiting for the Muse to summon them. For more inspiration from the Great Red Goddess, click here and here for the interviews I watched. I’m glad I took the time to sit and listen to her chat about this and that. I always find inspiration in her whether it’s an album or watching one of her live shows.

Another thing that has been bothering me lately is the amount of years that we’ve had between releases. This is the longest amount of time that HL hasn’t put something out to the world. Do people really forget an artist if they don’t put something out for a few years? What is the right amount of time between releases? Do the fans really care about quantity? Quality? These are the thoughts that have stopped us dead in our tracks at times. We’d think “Are we too late? Should we give up?” and the answer always came back “No!”. I was guilty of using a bit of reverse-psychology on War-N time or two. But, it made him realize he didn’t want to stop making music. We just needed some time to gather our thoughts, take some time for our own inner selves and time to re-group.

In taking this time, we discovered that “tea” wasn’t what it was originally intended to be. It became the “War-N and Christa” show and the music fell by the wayside. Tea with Hungry Lucy was becoming a huge chore and felt so forced and empty. The love for the fans is always there. But, when a podcast about music turns to gardening and cooking for topics of the day, it’s time to stop, take a breather and come back with some more, um, what’s the word… MUSIC!! We also discovered that we have no more mystery left in the world of Hungry Lucy. Everyone knows everything about us now and therefore it feels like they have no more drive to want to know more. Ya know? So, we’ll be a bit more absent for a while in order to do what we need to do as musicians.

These thoughts have made me see that without the perspiration of hard work, nothing will get done. It’s ok to think that “if it’s not fun anymore, it’s not worth doing.” But, where will that get you? I can speak about this from personal experience. If you give up because you’re waiting for something, or someone, else to make it happen, it just won’t happen! Without your own devotion to whatever it is, it will sit silent in the corner collecting dust. I, personally, have a lot of projects on my list that I want to do. I am doing half of them and trying to figure out how to go about the other half. I am stubborn, willful and moody. Therefore, I’m best when working on my own. But, there is one exception to this rule and that is with music. Without War-N, Hungry Lucy would not be the great thing that it often can be. I think he is my Muse and I am his. Since neither of us were sending out our summoning waves, neither of us felt inspired. But, now we’ve woken the sleeping Muses and they are singing once again. It’s soft at the moment. But, I feel them starting to find their voices more rapidly now. They are strong, different and amazing. Now, we just need the dedication to make it all happen! We have a plan, we have the music and, best of all, we have each other.

So, if you don’t hear from us for a while, think of it as a good thing. When we do come back, and we will, we’ll have so many new, interesting stories to tell. Plus, we’ll have new music!

Until next time, summon the Muse within you and see what happens!

Much Love,

Christa Belle

Summer is nearly at an end, thank goodness, and I am getting in that creative state of mind. With Autumn comes introspective thoughts, cozy days with endless pots of tea, kitties on the lap and a true sense of self. Though I love the garden in Summer, I also love it when it starts to fade and go to sleep. It speaks it’s last words in crimson, rust and golden hues abound. A gentle reminder that just because the leaves fall, the trees are not dead. They just need time to rest. We all do. So, with that last glorious, colorful display, my thoughts turn inward to writing and reading.

But, before the Autumn starts, the last bursts of bright summery colors make their way to the eye. Sometimes, they hold within their colorful sheath a surprise or two. I had cut a small bouquet of flowers a while back and I arranged it prettily on my kitchen windowsill. As I filled the kettle for an afternoon cuppa, I noticed a little fellow inside the flower gazing up at me. It was a tiny spider, holding onto the stamens of the Lily. Me being me, I quickly grabbed my trusty camera and took a picture of this interesting sight. Then, I released the flower, and spider within, back to the outdoors. Just because it made for a cool picture didn’t mean I wanted it to hang around right in front of me! Spiders do their best work outside, so that’s where he ended up. The flower stayed happily in a vase on the large wooden picnic table in the company of Rosemary pots in my back garden. Although I had put it outside, it was still quite charming and lovely to look at.

Recently, War-N and I had a wonderful surprise guest come to visit. Our dear friend Justin! In that brief visit, I got the chance to really sit down and chat with Justin as I never really had before. He is always a welcome visitor and we always enjoy his company. I felt I could truly be myself around him, as I am with War-N, and it just felt so nice to sit and talk to someone and not feel I had to do anything but be myself. It got me thinking that we (as a people) often try to do too much to be ourself around others. In doing that, we get nervous, bumble around and get all twisted in our own thoughts. Why do we feel such pressure to “entertain” and we feel we must apologize for just being our daily selves? I suppose part of it is upbringing and how we were raised to behave around others. I don’t know? But, I do know that as I get older I feel more and more like I know who I really am. I don’t make any apologies for that, or at least I’m trying not to any longer. I’m simply me and no one needs to know anything other than that. As I continue to dissolve my invisible wall of distrust and shame, I am walking more upright in my own skin. Thank you, Justin and War-N, for loving me for me… and enjoying my cooking! And thank you to all of my dear friends and family scattered all over the world for your kindness and understanding over the years. You never wanted me to be anything but me and I love you all for that! I’m catching up now and enjoying my newfound freedom.

So, I’ll withstand the last hot days of September and prepare for my retreat into my inner sanctum. I look forward to writing more of my “Days with Indigo” book (I’m up to 8 chapters now. Yay!), making skirts, writing music and just enjoying life in general. And on special mornings, I shall settle in, get all cozy and enjoy a few hours with my friend Victoria. I’m so glad she came back into production!!

Until next time, always be yourself.

Much Love,

Christa Belle