On the Last Day of September...

Cora has a favorite nursery rhyme that ends, "...on the last day of September." So naturally, Kate and I planned Olive's birth accordingly (or perhaps not).

It's hard to believe that 1 year ago today we were going to bed with only 1 little girl; that we were a family of 3. It's hard to believe that we were planning to wake up and head in for the c-section from hell - or rather the 1/2 c-section from hell (Kate had a wild and painful ride). And it's hard to believe that 1 year ago tomorrow, we got to meet Olive Mae for the very first time!

Time really has flown bye...enjoy the pics (day 01 & 365).



And here's a song I wrote my little Olive:

Olive, May I
(c) 2009 Ross Christopher Donaldson

verse 1
we were two, three, now four
and we've made this love story;
a perfect story of who we are
and here we go...

CHORUS
olive, may i have this dance
to settle your tiny cries of midnight
let's dance till you smile
olive, may i have this dance tonight

verse 2
through many sleepless nights
i hold you tight, i hold you tight my love
and i see your smallest smile,
to know its a complete love

BRIDGE
so we dance
and we sing
and we love what we've become

Thanks for reading and Happy Birthday Olive Mae!
-Ross

Urgency (performed Live in Kansas City, MO)

Here's a recent live video from one of my shows in Kansas City, MO.



Enjoy!
Ross

Composing a Soundtrack

About 3 weeks ago I was asked if I'd compose a soundtrack for an upcoming short film. Its a steampunk genre film, and the music is coming along nicely. Its a very different process than writing my normal tour/CD/Ross Christopher music; but one I enjoy quite a lot.

Basically I'm working off of a storyboard, script, and some mood-boards to create a soundscape of imagery through instrumental tracks, to a film i've never seen. I really do love the process and the creativity that takes on an array of new shapes and sounds.

I'll be sure to keep you all posted!

Peace,
Ross

Take the Knife Out of Your Head Already!

2 posts in a row of violent/bloody subject matter...what's with me? Maybe its my inner being preparing myself for the Dexter season premier, maybe something else...nonetheless, this deserves a little attention.

Folks, if you have a knife in your head, don't put it off till tomorrow (much less 3 years).

[READ MORE HERE]

Have a dandy week!
-Ross

Hit & Run...

Yesterday, Kate called me upset, just before noon. She and the girls were leaving the History Museum at Forest Park and saw a gray Jeep Cherokee hit a biker (bicycle) and leave the scene. The biker was pretty jacked up; Kate was shook up, and Cora can't stop talking/worrying about him.

She's been praying for him and the doctors continually. She "needed" a bike helmet ASAP, so now she has a cute one with ladybugs on it.

The guy survived, but got pretty banged up.

{READ MORE HERE}

Here's my question...What kind of person leaves the scene; who can live with that?

At least, this story is front page in STL news and they're looking for the driver. Good luck!

For now, take care...and wear your helmet.

-Ross

Michigan RE:cap

As promised, here's the blog of our recent Michigan vacation...

It's non-peak season in Michigan, which means we were able to rent a house a block from Lake Michigan for very very cheap, which means we took full advantage of that and went on vacation!

We stayed at a great little Victorian house just a block off of the lake, and a 5 min walk from Silver Beach (an awesome beach). We stayed in St. Joseph, MI which has a cute little downtown, ample outdoor fun, and lame food (that's right, if you have culinary talent...they need you!)

We were also only 90 miles from downtown Chicago, so we spent 1 day at IKEA, Millennium Park, and Giordano's Pizza.

We found a great apple orchard, cider press, and apple donuts!

I give the trip all thumbs up (minus the food)!

Peace,

Ross

The Goodness of Your Heart

Remember that side-project I'm working on?...that's right, The Lost Narrative...the folksy, electro, alternative duo I'm working on with my sis, Lacy Adair.

Anyway, here's an early mix of one of the newer The Lost Narrative tunes, The Goodness of Your Heart.

The Goodness of Your Heart by rosschristopher

Please drop me a comment (all feedback is appreciated!)

Peace,
Ross

Watching Mystic River as a Dad

I know I promised posts about our Michigan trip - that will still come. But today, I woke up early with Olive (all snotty), and watched Mystic River. I saw it in the theaters back in 2003, and it was good, but not the sob-fest it was for me this morning.

This morning however (2010), I have 2 girls. And as I got to the scene where Sean Penn finds his girls dead body, I lost it. It was an incredibly acted scene. I bought it 100%.

And I'm not just saying that I got misty-eyed, I was a mess for about 5-10 minutes. Maybe I needed caffiene really bad, maybe it was the allergies, but wow, that scene messed me up. I cannot imagine the loss.

So on that note, have a great day :-)

Peace,
Ross

...we're back!

And we're back folks! This past week, we rented a cute little Victorian house on Lake Michigan. Here's a quick pic to tide you, but I promise much more detail each day this week.


Peace,
Ross

Bridge

Last night, Kate and I went out to a great place downtown, called Bridge. The tap house & wine bar is built around the theme of a violin bridge - so that hit pretty close to home.

It was a cool venue (very swank), and the beer selection was pretty impressive. I decided to try a lot of 4oz glasses. Here was my selection:

Founders - Cerise
Bells - Two Hearted Ale
Broweij Van Steenberge - Monk's Cafe
North Coast - Brother Thelonius
(Kate's choice) California Cider Company - Ace Perry

The winner goes to the Monk's Cafe!

That's it for now. I need some coffee.

Peace,
Ross

Cora's BIG Day!

This morning, Cora headed off to her first day of preschool. I know, I know...it's hard to believe that, that day could be here already. But alas, she came, went, and conquered - and no tears (by her anyway).

As you can see in the pics, she was extremely excited (and has been for weeks)! She's quite the social butterfly. Though, I rarely see butterfly's in groups; it's usually just the 1 butterfly doing his/her thing. And they don't really make any noise to conjure a "social" kind of buzz either. So really I take back the whole "social butterfly" comment, as I now realize the saying makes absolutely no sense.

Peace,

Ross

More Apple Pickin' Fun...

Here's a few more pics from our annual apple picking extravaganza out at Centennial Farms in Augusta, MO. I also added a fun little video of Cora performing her famous rendition of Zaccheus (added words and giggles are complimentary).

{SEE MORE FUN APPLE PICS HERE}

Peace,
Ross

Great (early Fall) Weekend!

The weather turned absolutely beautiful just in time for the holiday weekend and we've spent the majority of it outdoors. Friday night we enjoyed a 'winning' Cardinals game. It was 72 degrees at the first pitch, and by the 6th inning (when Olive decided she'd had enough) it was 64.
Yesterday I spent some time outside working on the yard and garage before Mizzou kicked Illinois' rear in our first football game of the year. Late yesterday day afternoon we BBQ'ed with some friends and enjoyed more time outside. Late last night, Kate and I read on the porch as the temp continued to drop. 'Twas a perfect night for a stogie!
Today after AWAKEN, we headed out to Centennial Farms to go apple picking. As you can see, we had great success!

Enjoy your day off tomorrow and spend as much time as you can outside...

Peace,
Ross

p.s. i'll post more (& vids) tomorrow of our weekend adventures

Transient Permanence

Here's a new piece I composed last week. Its title again is contradictive - that's done on purpose. The song has several parts, each conjure different emotions, pictures, scenes, etc.

I've played this one for a handful of people and everyone commented a specific scene or scenario. That's the true magic of music - especially something created sans-words. Its completely up to the listener to decipher the locale, the situation, the players, etc.

So close your eyes and enjoy, Transient Permanence.

Transient Permanence by rosschristopher

Peace,
Ross