Pray for Grace

It's been ages. I am sorry for that. I've had an incredibly hectic and personal year, and just didn't feel it should be shared all over the internet.

I do have lots of exciting news to share (I opened a shop!) and I promise that I will be back soon to tell. In the meantime, if you are wondering what's going on with me your best bet is to either join the Soasa mailing list, sign up here or come find me on Facebook.

For now I leave you with this excellent song that is really worth a close listen.

I take a moment to myself
So I can hear myself
To feel myself
And be real myself
Life's addictions and afflictions
'Cause abrasions from their friction
Sometimes it's easier to live in fiction
I can run, but I can't hide
From the pains that reside down deep inside
There is no pill that can be swallowed
There is no guru that can be followed
There's no escapin' from my own history
Those that I hurt and those that hurt me
I was dead for a million years 'fore I was born and
I'll be dead for a million more after I'm gone
So I live to give somethin' that can live on
Like the way you hum a song when the music's gone
Like the warmth of the sand when the sun goes down
And I'm sittin' with myself, nobody else is around, but

Why must I feel like this today?
I'm a soldier, but afraid sometimes
To face the things that may
Block the sun from shining rays
And fill my life with shades of grey
And still I long to find a way
So today, I pray for grace

Soasa Summer Calendar 2011!

June 12
Beacon Strawberry Festival, Beacon, NY

June 18-19
Clearwater Music Festival, Croton-on-Hudson, NY

June 24-26
Oldsongs Festival of Music and Dance, Altamont, NY

July 2-3
Great American Weekend, Goshen, NY

July 9-10
Shaker Heritage Craft Fair, Albany, NY

July 21-24
GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance, Trumansburg, NY

July 30-31
Newport Folk Festival, Newport, RI

August 6-7
Newport Jazz Festival, Newport, RI

More events to come! Please feel free to contact me for more information, or join the mailing list to stay up to date!

We get by with a little help from our friends...

The tough job market is hitting close to home all around these days. Several of my friends are out of work and now one of them is faced with the need to move herself and her son out west in order to be closer to family, but they need help! We are mobilizing in force in an effort to help them move and to help raise the necessary funds to make it happen.

I am not a person of means, but I am in a position to help in the following manner:

50% of all orders placed between now and Friday, Feb 5th will be donated to their moving fund. As my way of thanking you for your support all purchases will come with a coupon for $5 off your next order.

Plan ahead! Will you need a Valentine's Day gift? A Mother's Day gift? A birthday present or just a midwinter treat Please consider shopping early and help me help my friend.

I think we all hoped that the effects of the recession would have passed by now, but many of us are still experiencing them every day. It is only by pulling together on a community level that we can really change our experience of this situation.

If you would like to read more about Michelle's story or make a donation directly please visit this link: Plea for Help:  Knitter & Child in Need

Devon, Becky, Tina, Me, Michelle, Little Man

I leave you with this picture and a song from one of my favorite community activists: