Today is Saturday April 25

TGIS - Thank Goodness It's Spring

I first typed Thank God It's Spring, but being that I‘m not religious that didn’t sit well so I changed it! I do believe that there is a greater benevolent force beyond our 3D material world, but I'm not a fan of the God-guy-looking-over-us paradigm. I have absolutely no issue with people of faith who actually live their faith, my issue is with using faith as an excuse for unspeakable violence, oppression and hate.

Wow, what a way to start a blog post. Perhaps one of the side effects of the diagnosis is going to be - no fucks to give… we'll see.

But yes, it's Spring here in New York and I can't tell you how good it has felt to have some warmth (albeit short lived, it's a bit brisk right now) and sunshine. My immediate reaction after the appointment with the specialist last week when I found out how serious all of this was, was that I just wanted to be outside. The last thing I wanted was to be indoors. I wanted to be out in nature. That must be the pixie in me.

I spent my formative years in England where the faeries run free and there is pixie mischief in the forests. One of my favorite things to do at lunch break in school was to sit at the base of a big oak tree. While the other kids ran around on the field, I loved to sit there by myself with my back against the trunk picking at the acorns and drawing into the earth with a twig. Maybe I should sit at the base of trees again, that's my god, that's my faith. Nature. Probably why Pagan philosophies resonate better with me than Christian ones.

(Photo of where I sit at my computer, newly purchased organic herbs to plant, newly gifted fairy communing with a frog and birthday bouquet from my family)

At the moment, Scott and I are getting ourselves organized, de-cluttering (although honestly we've been working on that for a few years now off and on between being on the road) and making sure we have a clear and clutter-free space to be in for what lies ahead. 

My studio was in absolute shambles when we got back. It always is just before leaving for tour as I will have just been working on so many different merch making projects and taking inventory and, then this time, also working on our taxes since this was an April tour. We wanted to get those done before we left. 

When we got back I needed to get into Marie Kondo mode. Yes, I read the book. It was given to me when we played in California at a festival around 10 years ago. We stayed at the organizer's house and he gave it to me for some reason without even knowing the state of my studio or our home! He is originally from Hawaii and I recently saw that he is part of a comedic TV series production about life on Hawaii. 

Medical Update: – Last week I had an MRI and a PetScan. My doctor is supposed to call when the results of the latter come in, probably on Monday. Then it's an appointment with the Oncologist to find out the details on treatment schedule . I finally called the insurance company, I was dreading that, but turns out that they cover most cancer treatments, though once I have the meeting with the oncologist, I'll know more. I have yet to find out if they cover the medication I will need to take for 5 years post surgery and post radiation. --

The outpouring of love and support continues to astound me. We are so incredibly lucky to have such sweet and caring family, friends and fans. It has eased the stress of the reality that we will be homebound for a while. We are accustomed to financial scarcity and Scott and I are very adept at juggling, but not being able to go out to play shows is a whole other ballgame. Big gratitude to all who have contributed and/or shared.

Au revoir et Merci.

Samantha aka Frenchy

x

ps… THANK YOU to those who have commented on my blog posts, I welcome that. It's nice to know you are out there x 
Unfortunately I'm not able to reply to comments, but I do see them :)