Interesting Cathy fact: Jewel thinks Cathy is really a pixie.
Interesting Cathy fact two: Both her cats are named Sasha.
Final interesting Cathy fact (although there are a million more): Cathy can run 400 miles without stopping for a water break. And she's not even a camel.

milwaukee seems like a pretty nice place. it was great that the venue was so close to the lakeshore. the water person in me was very happy as i jogged along the pathway circling part of the lake.

i sure feel like we've started to experience fall. in the past few days, the weather's been very cool and wet. i have a feeling that we saw the last of the hot days in pittsburgh.

completely by accident i caught sarah playing guitar on one song with the wild straw's today. talk about being in the right place at the right time. i wish someone would tell us about stuff that's happening. when they don't they always ask, "did you film it?" not realizing that we can't be everywhere all the time shooting. in an ideal world, we would just shoot stuff all day. but, no, we have to process our stuff on the same day, so that means we're on the bus working a lot and miss things. sigh. maybe they should hire a videographer next year to catch absolutely everything. but even then, based on my experience, that would be impossible.

pat benatar cause quite the stir today. all the crew and many of the bands were at the village stage to catch her set. it was a who's who of lilith fair. i think that's the first time that has happened. i stood by amy and some of her band. she was getting recognized and approached by people in the crowd. i thought, oh oh, it's gonna start, she's gonna get swamped. but she didn't. she was very cool and told people who wanted her to sign stuff that she'd rather not do it then and detract from pat's set. it was not the time nor the place for an autograph session. good on her--i was impressed how well she handled it.

i met up with a few people i've met at sarah shows over the years. julie and jill mccarrier were there and so was judy fabjance. they were all watching the wild strawberries, so they were lucky to see sarah play.

it didn't rain today! yay! finally, a day without having to slog around in the pouring rain. everyone was in very good moods today. well, everyone that is, besides the lighting crew. they had difficulty getting the rigging up and secured. they didn't feel good about the situation, so they called in an engineer to assess it's safety/security. he approved it, so the show went on, but the main stage wasn't ready until after the doors opened. for awhile there, the lighting crew's faces were very long and they didn't appreciate anyone speaking to them. i'm glad it turned out well for them.

i had the best surprise of the tour so far. i was walking through the village with jana on my way to meet some fte list folks (fumbler, as they're referred to), when someone grabbed me from behind and engulfed me in a huge bear hug. what the...?! who the..?!!? it was my friend kevin komoda who i haven't seen for over 2 years or thereabouts. kevin!! yay! it was so good to see him. he looks great and seems to be very happy. that made my day, that's for sure.

it was good to hook up with the many fumblers who were waiting for me. corey, oliver (or was it olivier?) and whitney are the only 3 names i recall at this time. i managed to get them all to squish in so i could get them all in the frame as i took their photo. i hope they enjoyed the remainder of the day.

i hardly saw any performances today. a little of the indigos, a little of julia, the wild straw's, and some of sarah's. at least i got out and about a fair amount. it was a beautiful day here: sunny and breezy, kinda like a fall day. i almost felt like i missed the heat, but i've been acclimatized over the past week to this kind of weather. i'm gonna lose my tan!

i'm feeling strangely ambivalent about these past 2 toronto shows and i'm not sure why. i thought i would be totally pumped and excited and frothing at the mouth (so to speak) to write everything down. but that's not the case.

as i think about it, i figure there are a few reasons why. i think maybe i'm running out of gas and the long tour is becoming just that: a long tour. i think it takes a lot now after 6 weeks to make a day special and outstanding. at first it was all new and exciting, but as time's gone on and then as the lineup stays the same for awhile, i start to lose my enthusiasm. but, hey, at least the lineup changes. if it didn't, i sure don't think i'd last the entire time.

granted, some days are better than others and all kinds of variables play a part in that: weather, the venue, catering, how well i slept, access to the stages and the pit, how much our toilet smells, the people, etc.

of course, as i say that, i'm thinking, "but cathy, there are so many great moments. what are ya complaining about?!" yeah, i know. there are a lot of highlights: the music, the musicians, the special moments in performances, the awesome crew i work with, my new friends, all the great sarah fans who've been so kind to me, seeing the tears of joy as sarah presents cheques to local charities, and all the wonderful friends i've hooked up with as i've travelled.

i guess i was just expecting to be overwhelmed by toronto and by being home in canada again. i wasn't, but i won't dwell on it, cause mostly when i'm on tour i could be just about anywhere.

i hooked up with julie, duey, kellye, judy, and paul over the past 2 days. i even hung with julie on my day off for shopping (she obliged me) and dinner. it's always great to see them and they are so nice to me. julie, the sweetheart, gave me a mango, cause she knows i love them so much. paul, another sweetie, gave me 2 candles. i already started burning one of them on the bus to help ward off the yucky diesel fumes we contended with all day yesterday. i also saw natalie robertson (another sweetie) and met her mom; met greg keelor and denise donlon (finally after all these years of sarah and terry respectively talking about them); saw steve herman and rob bennett again; saw jennifer again; and it was nice to see all the nettwerk folk.

jay left today and so did adam. it was fun having them along. now it's just down to me, jana, and angelique until lane joins us in calgary. i hope we can keep up with everything. we'll just have to pace ourselves smartly.