Hey all,Wow, it's been a loooong time since I checked in. What a crazy few months this has been, but a great time nonetheless. We've covered some serious ground with much time spent in the U.S., another trip to the mother country and her neighbour Scotland, and a whirlwind cross-Canada tour. Once again, we weren't able to make it to the Maritimes, much to our disappointment, so we tried to make up for it by having the lovely Rose Cousins from PEI open for us at a couple of Ontario shows. Those of you who were there were, I'm sure, blown away by her beautiful voice, heartbreaking songs and hilarious stage presence. We love her. In any case, my childhood infatuation with Anne of Green Gables remains hungry by our lack of presence in the eastern provinces and I know someday we'll make it out there and I'll run along the red roads and treacherous beaches of Cavendish and refuse to get back in the "caaahr".Heather, our lovely Mainiac sometimes sounds like a Maritimer which makes sense, and we had the chance to finally hear the Maine accent for ourselves when we played very close to her hometown of Lovell. That girl is adored by her community, let me tell you. It was a beautiful thing to witness and I believe that I met almost every elementary school teacher she ever had there. I got a strong sense of what a small community is all about and everyone couldn't have been more welcoming and wonderful. Heather's parents were sweet enough to make us an amazing Thanksgiving dinner as we weren't able to make it home for the holidays - delicious!!!I have been taking in some incredible music in our rare down time - I finally fulfilled a lifelong dream to see Lloyd Cole live in concert on my birthday! in London, England! courtesy of Grant! at a venue we were supposed to play that very night but which we lost because Lloyd Cole is a bigger draw! I didn't hold it against him. I did however find myself in a typically British audience (extremely respectful, quiet until the end) who were probably growing irate with the Canadian chick screaming at the start of every song and singing along too loudly all the way through. But I couldn't help myself. My eyes were practically rolling into the back of my head throughout his show. Wow, what a sight. And if that weren't enough, I was home in Winnipeg when Crowded House decided to touch down during their world tour. What a SHOW!!!! There are no words. I could start to get all slobbery about Neil Finn but then I would inevitably be reminded of Jane Siberry's final words to me after I blathered on to her about how much I love her: "that's fine".Finally, (and I have seen more than these three acts but need to get packing for the next tour) I was given primo tickets to see Heart in Winnipeg. Now, I don't need to tell anyone that "These Dreams" was like, the deepest song EVER and that Nancy and Ann Wilson rocked the world in a way that two sisters with 35 inch bangs had never before done. But I will tell you that Ann Wilson STILL has the best pipes in rock/pop/smoke-machine laced music and Nancy, who must be close to 50 can still do scissor kicks like she's a teenaged cheerleader. Didn't she just give birth to twins???? Anyway, though they sang one too many Zeppelin covers and yes, Ann, I know no other woman can sing a Who song like you can, but can't you please play "Never" for me or at least "Nothin At All", I still enjoyed myself. Our friend Rachel and I spent a good two weeks watching Heart videos on Youtube and we laughed about the hairstyles while I secretly winced inside at the fact that there exist photos of me from high school that make me look like I had an exclusive endorsement deal with Final Net and a strong desire to provide birthing grounds for finches.Okay, must run and start getting ready for the Carolinas, Tennessee, Virginia and Kentucky. We are very excited to be visiting many of these spots for the first time and we can't wait to see you all!Nicky