Compost Studios

Click Spirit on the Water to dance along...

Spirit on the water
Darkness on the face of the deep
I keep thinking about you baby
I can hardly sleep

I'm traveling by land
Traveling through the dawn of day
You're always on my mind
I can't stay away

I had forgotten about you
Then you turned up again
I always knew
We were meant to be more than friends

When you're near
It's just as plain as it can be
I'm wild about you, girl
You ought to be a fool about me

Can't explain
The sources of this hidden pain
You burned your way into my heart
You got the key to my brain

I've been trampling through mud
Praying to the powers above
I'm sweating blood
You got a face that begs for love

Life without you
Doesn't mean a thing to me
If I can't have you
I'll throw my love into the deep blue sea

Sometimes I wonder
Why you can't treat me right
You do good all day
And then you do wrong all night

When you're with me
I'm a thousand times happier than I could ever say
What does it matter
What price I pay?

They brag about your sugar
Brag about it all over town
Put some sugar in my bowl
I feel like laying down

I'm as pale as a ghost
Holding a blossom on a stem
You ever seen a ghost?
No, but you have heard of them

I see you there
I'm blinded by the colors I see
I'll take good care
Of what belongs to me

I hear your name
Ringing up and down the line
I'm saying it plain
These ties are strong enough to bind

Now your sweet voice
Calls out from some old familiar shrine
I've got no choice
Can't believe these things would ever fade from your mind

I could live forever
With you perfectly
You don't ever
Have to make a fuss over me

From East to West
Ever since the world began
I only mean it for the best
I want to be with you in any way that I can

I've been in a brawl
Now I'm feeling the wall
I'm going away baby
I won't be back until fall

High on the hill
You can carry all my thoughts with you
You've numbed my will
This love could tear me in two

I want be with you in paradise
And it seems so unfair
I can't go to paradise no more
I killed a man back there

You think I'm over the hill
You think I'm past my prime
Let me see what you got
We can have a whoppin good time

--From the album Modern Times

A gift from the lovely Granola Grrrl and now the official tea mug of Compost Studios.  Thanks G-Grrrl! I've loved you since you were a sprout. XO

Let it Grow

Standing at the crossroads, trying to read the signs
To tell me which way I should go to find the answer,
And all the time I know,
Plant your love and let it grow.

[Chorus:]
Let it grow, let it grow,
Let it blossom, let it flow.
In the sun, the rain, the snow,
Love is lovely, let it grow.

Looking for a reason to check out of my mind,
Trying hard to get a friend that I can count on,
But there's nothing left to show,
Plant your love and let it grow.

[Chorus]

Time is getting shorter and there's much for you to do.
Only ask and you will get what you are needing,
The rest is up to you.
Plant your love and let it grow.

[Chorus]

--Eric Clapton

May 24, 2008

She said something about going home
She said something about needing to spend some time alone
And she wondered out loud what it was she had to find
But she's already made up her mind

All my friends told me she was too young
Well I knew that myself and I tried to run
But the faster I ran the more I fell behind
Because she'd already made up her mind

She's already made up her mind

Now there is nothing so deep as the ocean
And there is nothing so high as the sky
And there is nothing so unwavering as a woman
When she's already made up her mind

So now she's sitting at one end of the kitchen table
And she is staring without an expression
And she is talking to me without moving her eyes
Because she's already made up her mind

She's already made up her mind
She's already made up her mind

And she said something about going home
And she said something about needing to spend some time alone
And she wondered out loud what it was she had to find
But she'd already made up her mind

So my friend carry me down to the water's edge
And then sail with me out to that ocean deep
And let me go easy down over the side
And remember me to her

She's already made up her mind
She's already made up her mind
She's already made up her mind

--Lyle Lovett

Possibly the most hauntingly beautiful video ever. So Southern in its scenes and sensibility. 

See it here-- or here if you're in Europe.

May 2, 2008

Copyright 2008 Compost Studios and Veronica McCabe Deschambault. All rights reserved.

Be on my side, I'll be on your side, baby
There is no reason for you to hide
It's so hard for me staying here all alone
When you could be taking me for a ride.

Neil Young--Down by the River

April 16, 2008

Portsmouth, England. Copyright 2008 Veronica McCabe Deschambault.

I loved Once, a quiet movie about ordinary people that charms and enchants with its simplicity. It is set in Dublin and tells the story of two musicians, a young man who plays guitar on the streets as a busker and an even younger classically trained Czech pianist who cleans houses, sells flowers, and only gets to play music on a store piano.

Boy meets girl and what follows is less a typical movie romance and more like real life--a relationship that's layered and complex and slowly unfolding, with each character carrying a bit of baggage from the past and hopes for the future. Together these two make music together, forging a creative partnership that deepens into something more.

I'm always fascinated with learning about people's creative processes--how an artist,writer, performer, or musician translates inspiration into a finished product. Part of this movie's appeal to me was witnessing how these two worked, how their ideas, emotions, and talents came together. 

The movie was made by an Irish filmmaker with an extremely limited budget. The lead roles were played by musicians, not actors. They wrote and performed the alternative folk songs that are integral to the story line and mood. The music is stunning, and the acting is refreshingly understated and real. I loved the way the movie was filmed using natural lighting and camera angles. The street scenes and indoor settings felt authentic, and I especially loved how the cameraman filmed the cafe scene through a window.

Without drama or sentimentality, Once tells the story of two people looking for love and artistic expression and finding it in unexpected places. In the end, it was the music that made me cry. Falling Slowly, which won an Oscar, has a haunting melody and a chorus I could not forget, words that cut to the very heart of me:

Take this sinking boat and point it home
We've still got time
Raise your hopeful voice you have a choice
You've made it now

Glen Hasard--Falling Slowly

April 13, 2008

Come up to meet you, tell you I'm sorry
You don't know how lovely you are.
I had to find you, tell you I need you,
Tell you I set you apart.

Tell me your secrets and ask me your questions,
Oh lets go back to the start.
Running in circles, Comin' up Tails
Heads on a science apart.

Nobody said it was easy,
It's such a shame for us to part.
Nobody said it was easy,
No one ever said it would be this hard.

Oh take me back to the start.

--Coldplay

"So the girl I was

Turned into someone else

Keeping to myself

And from the light

I wasn't odd or strange

Just quietly rearranged

Sometimes the biggest change

Stays out of sight"

---Mary Chapin Carpenter, The Dreaming Road

Welcome to Compost Studios, the latest phase in the evolution of this blog and the rearrangement of my life.  This is the culmination of changes that have been unfolding over the three years I've lived here in Belgium. Being an expat meant tossing my old life onto a compost heap, letting it break down, and waiting patiently for new growth to emerge.

After writing hundreds of pages, sharing my stories and experiences, and opening my life to judgement, I'm ready to step back and express myself and my creativity in a way that is both more and less personal. The future will bring more art, poetry, music, reviews, photography, and links, but far fewer personal stories.

Some of you have followed my story for a long time and have been loyal friends and supporters. Let's not lose touch. If you wish to be put on a mailing list and receive occasional e-mail updates from me, send a message to veronica@v-grrrl.com .  Then you'll receive my V-Grrrl in America posts via e-mail. : )  And no, I won't send you anything else, no matter how cute/funny/informative it  is. I promise!

Because I have the habit of looking back while moving forward, I've carried a bit of content over from the old site.  Now it's time to turn over the rest, plow the field, plant again. I'm looking forward to seeing what sprouts this spring. I hope you are too. 

February 17, 2008

A million miles goes by in the blink of an eye
And so I cannot try to slow time down
And years are made of sand slipping through my hands
Even faster than the speed of sound
The stars are out tonight, the breeze is soft and light
As I'm walking right back to you
With nothing left to hide, the tears have all been cried
And the girl who died is walking too
Down the dreaming road, where the light is always gold
The air is never cold and always fine
And north is always true and you are always you
And I'm that girl you knew once upon a time

From The Dreaming Road by Mary Chapin Carpenter, Time*Sex*Love CD

They descend and then they climb, feathers falling through the night

Four Days

All I want is something good
It gets harder every time
She is leaving here tonight
Take a breath
Take your time
Spread your wings and rise

Make a mark upon the wall
Paint your face and pass the time
Close your eyes and she ascends
Hold your breath
Ease your mind
Forty thousand times

Time fade into the night

They descend and then they climb
Feathers falling through the night
Have you seen Ohio rise
It has been four days and nights

All I want is something fine
It gets harder every time
She is sleeping far away
Take a breath
Take your time
Spread your wings and rise

Rise through the black Ohio sky

They descend and then they climb
Feathers falling through the night
Have you seen Ohio rise
It has been four days and nights

Lyrics by Adam Duritz of Counting Crows

January 30, 2008

Art journal entry #23. Collage images.  "Show yourself some love."

This song by Mary J. Blige arrived on my desktop this morning like a divine message. The timing was perfect.  MJB pulled me right out of my chair and had me going with my hands in the air.  She's so fierce and her message rings true:

Don’t be mean to yourself, remember who you are, and “work your thing out.”

My favorite lyrics:

"Doesn't matter if you go along with their plan

They'll never be happy because they're not happy with themselves

I'm talking about things that I know

It's ok, show yourself some love

Don't worry about who’s saying what

It's gonna be fine

Work what you got."

Don't let anyone or anything take your best self  away from you.

December 19, 2007