About that chick...

About that chick, Cathy...

Coal has been hard at work practise-practise-practising this weekend and it has been really productive.
The gals have decided that we should each write about a day in the life of each of us, so as to get to know us better.
It's the perfect day for this kind of past time. It's raining non-stop, and I'm looking forward to snuggling on the couch with my Daschund, Oscar and watching loads of DVD's, but first things first.

I'm self employed, and do many different jobs. No two days are ever the same, thankfully.
This week I'm playing day-mother to my nephew, Connor. He's a six month old darling, who is so cute,
I want to squeeze him till he pops! No, seriously, I love him a lot!!!
He comes with me to work, which is a company myself and my friend, Lenka run.
We specialise in designer Corsets and wedding dresses. At the moment we are working on a dress for
a friend of ours, Kim Turner.
It's a really creative line of work which allows me to indulge my fantasies. Should anyone be curious about what these items may look like, look for the Secret Garden Group on Facebook.

I must just add, I admire any woman who manages to balance motherhood and work. The weeks when I go to work with the baby on my hip, are the ones where I wish I had an extra pair of arms and maybe a pair of eyes in my arse. I'm shattered at the end of the day!

I also do Shiatsu, a Japanese style of massage based on Traditional Chinese Medicine. Should you see me pressing the Acupuncture points of my fellow musicians at a gig....that's what I'm doing.
I love being able to help people out when they are in a bad way, and fortunately Shiatsu is a fabulous medium.
Funny that most of my clients are musicians...somehow this therapy suits the physical demands of the profession. It's fabulous for all the aches and pains which result from playing an instrument, and it also benefits vocalists, to improve vocal range and control.

I also teach Shiatsu twice a week at the Academy of Shiatsu in Green Point. My students are about to start their third module of training out of five.
The course that we teach takes about a year and a half to complete, and is very thorough.
We teach all the techniques one could need as a practitioner as well as Traditional Chinese Medicinal theory as it applies to Shiatsu Massage.
So all in, when I'm not playing the violin and singing with the girls, I'm quite a busy person.

Being in a band with these girls is a real privilege. I saw the ad which Helen posted in the LMG, at the beginning of the year (Hooray for Mike Smith!!), one sunny afternoon while sipping Margueritas at the Fat Cactus, and sooner than you can say:"Gringo!"I had called Helen and set up an audition.

Thankfully, I made the grade and so the journey began...
I've been playing Irish Traditional folk music with what's called a Session for the last 12 years, so Coal is a new departure for me, which I'm loving!!