Spring 2012 Newsletter

Dear Hug Bug Friends,

Springtime has arrived in the Hug Bug Club! The white snowdrops poked up their heads in February and now my garden has purple and yellow crocuses, pink hyacinths and blue periwinkles starting to bloom. Nature is waking up and the cold of winter will soon change to warm, sunny days. We always have some rainy days here in Vancouver!

It’s a Rainy Day, the sky is crying,
A Rainy Day, falling all around,
It’s a Rainy Day, the sky is crying,
Teardrops making puddles on the ground.

It’s a Windy Day, the wind is whispering
A Windy Day, whispering through the trees,
It’s a Windy Day, the wind is whispering
Telling stories to the birds and the bees.

From It’s a Rainy Day” on My Bear Gruff

I have a New Yellow Hug Bug, for 2012 called “Soleil” (Sunshine in French), who will help warm you up with her sunshine!

This has been a busy year so far with a new CD, 24 Carrot Diamond – The Best of Charlotte Diamond, featuring 24 of my best-known songs, like “Four Hugs a Day”, “Hug Bug”, “Dicky Dinosaur”, “Each of Us Is a Flower”, “I am a Pizza” and “Octopus (Slippery Fish). I have been performing concerts and touring to California, Washington, Alberta, and British Columbia, as well as singing closer to home. In May, I will be in Ontario, Canada. Visit my Concerts & Events page on my web site to see where I am performing.

Drawings of “Octopus (Slippery Fish)” by the children of Fremont, California, who are taught music by Music for Minors II docents

I love to sing but I also love to whistle. Can you whistle a tune? This morning, I heard a chickadee (Chicka-dee-dee-dee) and when I whistled to him, he answered back! My grandson, William, loves to whistle too.

It will soon be time to plant flowers and vegetables, adding more colours to the garden… pink roses, orange marigolds, green lettuce, red tomatoes, yellow squash and white potatoes.

The Garden Song
Inch by inch, row by row, I’m gonna make my garden grow;
Gonna mulch it deep and low, gonna make it fertile ground.

Inch by inch, row by row, please bless these seeds I sow;
Please keep them safe below, ‘til the rains come tumbling down.

From “The Garden Song” on “10 Carrot Diamond“

Listen to a sample of “The Garden Song.”

Another song that I love to sing in the spring is “Each of Us Is a Flower”. On Youtube, you can find lots of ideas of Flower Hats that children have made to perform this song.

Each of us is a flower, growing in life’s garden
Each of us is a flower, we need the sun and rain.

Sun, shine your warmth on me, Moon, cool me with your night,
Wind, bring the gentle rain, Earth, take my roots down deep.

By Charlotte Diamond recorded on 10 Carrot Diamond.

Listen to a sample of “Each of Us is a Flower”

Sometimes it is hard to keep up with the housework while I am away, such as chasing the Laundry Monster, doing dishes and tidying up. In the spring, it is a good idea to de-clutter and make space for something new.

“The Clutter Bug” has been making a mess all winter! Toys, books and clothes all over the place! It is time to tidy up and pass on the things that we don’t need any more to another child or family. You may have already heard me sing about “The Clutterbug”, to the tune of “Hug Bug”. Now you can download this song from my web site and sing along.

The Clutter Bug

It’s the Clutter Bug, the Clutter Bug, the Clutter Bug,
Never know where she’s hiding,
It’s the Clutter Bug, the Clutter Bug,
Watch out she’ll clutter on you!

If your room is filled with toys
and you don’t have any space,
Pack some in a box and give them away.
Put a smile on somebody’s face.

Chorus

If your closet is filled with clothes,
that you don’t wear anymore,
Wash them up nice and give them away,
to the second-hand store.

Chorus

If your shelves are filled with books,
that you no longer read,
Give them to the library or a friend;
it might be just what they need.

Listen to a sample of “The Clutter Bug”

Write new verses for my song, suggesting ways we can “Reduce, Recycle and Reuse to chase away the Clutter Bug Blues”. Send your ideas to me by email or visit my Charlotte Diamond Fan Page on Facebook. I always write back!

I hope that you enjoy spring cleaning your house and chasing the Clutter Bugs away. Then go outside for a walk in the fresh air, listen for the birds and …jump in the puddles … with your boots on, of course! Watch my web site for the latest news and concerts.

Charlotte in her Banana Hat!