I returned home yesterday afternoon from a gorgeous 10-day Artist Residency on Orcas Island, WA. 

It was sooooo needed. 

I got to sit in a hot tub while staring out at this gorgeous view...

Are you kidding me?! Look at it!!! 

I went on some luscious walks. (You guys! The moss is at least 6 inches deep in some places!)

I got to do a couple ferry commutes to go teach cello in Seattle.

I got a visit from a friend from Texas on one of the days!

I ate some mint ice cream while staring out…

There is a framed poem sitting on a table in the house I'll stay for the next 10 days. Behind this poem is the above view of Orcas Island.

 I was welcomed here-clear gold

of late summer, of opening autumn

the dawn eagle sunning himself on the highest tree

the mountain revealing herself unclouded, her snow

tinted apricot as she looked west,

tolerant, in her steadfastness, of the restless sun

forever rising and setting.

                       Now I am given

a taste of the grey fore…

I am a mile above earth's surface and there is a well-dressed stranger sitting next to me. He’s attractive. He’s not wearing a wedding ring. He’s sleeping. If it weren't for that airplane window, he’d be leaving a trail of drool across the Midwest. It’s all very endearing.

So naturally, I'm furiously thumbing at my phone, typing as fast as I can, trying not to stare.

*DING! The seatbelt signs turns off.*

You are reading my attempt at fighting the hormonal urge to wake up this complete strange…

my attempt at an eye-roll inducing motivational poster... 

It's no secret. I make light of my OCD tendencies and social anxiety. Jokes soften the blow, but this one's gotten heavier over the last season. Now, there …

Every year I sit down and comb through my calendar, receipts, emails, and look at what went well and what didn't go well in the previous year. I use all that insight to get a better idea of what next year might be like and what I want to aim for. I call it my Annual Review. 

[Here's Part 1 and Part 2 of last year's Annual Review.]

I started doing this analytical ritual about 6 years ago. Some seasons, I've even done it on a quarterly basis, which I'm probably going to do in 2016. It's been…

So, I've been listening to Christmas music since October... 

and I can't tell you how excited I was to get an early start on all the Holiday bliss this year.

Getting ideas for Midwinter Midnight, Vol. 1's track list meant I was voraciously listening to a myriad of different versions of each song.  I've turned that research list into my final selections for 2015's favorite Christmas music. That Spotify playlist is here and below.

[Spotify users: If you don't follow me yet, why not?! I have o…

photo by Carlo Mirante 

If the last 29 years have accomplished anything, it's creating the list of Things Which Make Emily Ann Peterson Cry.

Here is a sample from that list...

• exhaustion
• hunger
• pain, emotional or physical (duh)
• kindness, in any amount
• loneliness, mine or someone else's
• the rollercoaster that is grief
• unrelenting hope
• unrelenting defeat
• baby animals

Someday I'll draw up a helpful venn diagram and hand it out on first dates. That should go over well.

But I digress…

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Merry Christmas!

It's out! It's here! And I couldn't be more proud of this little collection of Christmas gems.

Available Online! 

Some really wonderful people deserve my unending thanks...  

This group of people generously stand behind me by pledging a small amount ($1, $3, $5, or $10) for every original song, cover song, or video I release. This small but mighty group actually pay me to ke…

One of my songwriting mentors, Jan Krist, saw a post I made on Facebook earlier this week....

My original post...

Honesty - Sometimes it feels like I'm just pouring my heart into tiny glass bottles, sending them out into the Puget Sound with slim chances that it will reach someone who actually finds meaning in receiving it.

But that is not the case with concerts. Actual in-person concerts. Where we *all* wear something other than pajamas. Where we engage our whole being in something other t…

I've started losing the full ability of my right hand over the last 2 years due to a degenerative, neurological disease called Essential Tremor.

The grief I've experienced from this loss is like Chinese water torture.

Heaven help the person who thinks grieving happens in a linear fashion.

Oh hell no.

Grief is a helluva rollercoaster.

Proof: My last 2 hours...

DENIAL

I stayed up way too late this weekend in the studio. I’ll have another cup of coffee. It’ll be fine. No, it totally won’…