A shower has never felt so good.

You know, it felt even better than when I was camping for like a week with no plumbing in site and my dog peed on me on Day 1. I have taken my first (and second, equally as great) shower since my surgery. Absolute fabulousness.

Not as fabulous as the wonderful blogging friends who have been posting here at small ages for the last two and a half weeks. Zak, Deb and Phil rocked it. They entertained me, informed me and made my insides dance, if not my outsides. So much so, that I've asked them to stay on as regulars. I honestly think that this space is better served by divergent points of view. I inadvertantly chose three people who I think represent totally different musical backgrounds and desires and yet three people who complement each other excceptionally well. I wish I could say I did that on purpose, part of a bigger plan, but I didn't. I just chose people I like. Just lucky, I guess.

So, here I am today, but tomorrow it may be one of the small ages friends. I hope you all enjoy and appreciate and dig right into the positive change.

Now, I love Halloween. In the next couple of weeks I will try and bring you the best of my Halloween collection that way you can make party tapes for your little ones Hallow's Eve celebrations. My kid and I made a CD for the holiday and have made 12 copies, one for each of her classmates.

But I'm getting ahead of myself, because I'm not posting all that music today. Today I am starting with a children's CD made by Jad and David Fair of Half Japanese. In case you're unfamiliar with Jad, he and his brother play their instruments, um differently than most and are considered to play "primitive rock," i.e. with no schooled talent. Jad has played with Kramer, Daniel Johnston and Yo La Tengo and his music is sort of an acquired taste, I suspect. But he has flashes of true charm, for sure. And he's freaking prolific. It makes sense that the guy sat down to do a children's record, his own work definitely has a childlike flair.

This CD, 26 Monster Songs for Children A-Z, is exactly what it says it is. A song for each letter of the alphabet about a monster. You know the Abominable Snowman, Bigfoot, Creature, etc... A child's voice announces the monster of choice with a short explanation of who they are and then the song. This is real fun, I suggest this whole CD and it is available for download on eMusic. And of course, the songs are terrific for Halloween.

Jad and David Fair, "Dracula"
Jad and David Fair, "Headless Horseman"
Jad and David Fair, "Zombie"

More info on: Jad Fair, Jad on eMusic

FYI - Clea's Craft Corner! You can make your own CD case for your classes' CDs on the cheap. Take a brown lunch bag. Don't open it up. Cut about an inch and a half off the top. Slip the disc in, again, without opening the bag up to standing position and then fold over the top and tuck it into the fold that is the bottom of the bag. It will just magically stay put. Get your kid to decorate the front with drawings or stickers or paint and voila, you have a cheap little project and a cute gift. Hope that makes sense. I do write craft books for a living and yet, that explanation seems to be missing something. Perhaps I'll put up a picture with my next post.

Good to be back...