Thank you, WYSIWYG -- I kinda thought I should start my own thread, sort of as a rite of passage, but I'll take your advice and start here.

So, hello 'Catters! It is I, ClaireBear, introducing myself as a member at last. Below is some personal information, most of which I have posted before in one place or another, but here it all is in one place:

Musically speaking, I am a longtime folkie, performing on and off since the mid-seventies. I come from a musical family, and when my folks were alive we spent every holiday singing and playing together. Thanks to them, I sing rather well. In addition, I play dulcimer adequately, barely squeeze by on McCann duet concertina, hope to get pretty good at Crane duet when I have time to practice, used to play harp (maybe will again someday, when I can afford to restring it) and guitar, and am just getting my feet wet on tenor uke.

But mostly I sing, and most of what I sing is English folk music.

I am between bands at present. I sing in two choirs (regular and gospel) at church, though, and I play for a morris team. I have a fiddle- and melodeon-playing occasional singing partner who used to perform with me in a trio called Cyderman's Fancy, and he and I still do occasional concerts as a duet -- okay, one concert in the recent past, but we hope to repeat this annually or so. I show up at chantey sings in San Francisco far too rarely these days, but I hope to amend that as well.

Professionally, I am a technical editor. The less said about that here, the better!

I live in central California (Santa Cruzish) with my hugsband and my wonderful, very energetic six-year-old son. I am far too old, really, to be the mother of a six-year-old (and you should see how old my hugsband is, if you think I'm old!) -- but I get by, and he is the joy of my declining years.

I live for music and for travel. I would be at Sidmouth every year if I could scrape together the fare. Road trips are my solace in the meantime, and next week I'm taking my son on a camping trip up Montana way, or however far we get in 11 days.

I'm trying to save up money and time to come to the Getaway this fall, if you'll have me.

I have some friends who are 'Catters: Chanteyranger and Dave Swan are old pals. I'm acquainted with a few others, I and hope to get to know more of you now that I''ve leapt into the pond.

It's a pleasure to meet you!

Claire