Strings

This is all about the mandos and ukes.

Above, two of my dad's mandolins. The smaller one was his first mando, bought in 1929 when he was 4 yrs old, from a pawn shop, I believe. It is a little Holdrio Piccolo, like a 'pocket mandolin'. It has a serious crack in the top and a missing tuning peg, but it can still be tuned with pliers! The other one is his Martin, from around '64, per my research. I can't remember exactly when he got it, but I'm pretty sure it was sometime in the '70s. I always thought of its sound as golden honey, whatever that means. It's a bit smaller, with a bit smaller frets than 'regular' mandolins. After he got this one we could play mandolin duets for the first time. Prior to this it was always one on the mando and the other on the guitar. There should be a mandolin in the middle - my dad's 2nd mando and the one I learned to play on. It is being cherished by another family member.

My two bowlback, or taterbug mandolins. The one on the left was my very first mandolin, given to me by my dad when I was in high school. I remember my uncle trying to trade it out of my hands; he really wanted it for some reason. The back is beautiful, the front just so-so. Playability and tone lack some excitement. I never played it much because it is so darned  difficult to hold. The mando on the right is a student-grade Martin, made specifically for some music store back east in the early 1900s. I have forgotten the rest, but could always look it up again. It is missing its tailpiece cover, but otherwise is a sweet little mandolin. I bought it a few years ago at an auction, where I was really trying to get a nice fancy f-style. I won the bid at $600, but they withdrew it because they wanted more money for it. I can't remember what brand, but it was easy to play with great tone. They did announce before the auction that if it didn't fetch enough they would withdraw it. They should have told me what was 'enough', because maybe I would have paid it!

These are my and my brother's mandolins, given to us by our parents in our young adulthood. On the left is mine, a nice little Harmony. I played this exclusively from 1980, when I got it for my birthday, until just a couple of years ago. And by exclusively I mean it is the only one I played whenever I did play, which wasn't regular by any means. I would go through spurts of playing for a few months, then maybe wouldn't play for a year or two. The one on the right was my brother's - a Bently, which is worth nothing more than wall hanging decor. I will say, however, that it is L-O-U-D!

These are my mandolins, bought by me for me. On the left is my Collings MT I bought at the Mandolin Store in Wickenburg AZ in Oct '09. I was visiting my cousin in Glendale AZ and we stopped there on a little side trip. She sat in an Italian restaurant down the road reading for about 2 1/2 hours while I tried out every single A style the store had. I quickly narrowed them down to 3: the Collings, a Weber Gallatin, and a Gibson JamMaster. Every test I did the Collings came out on top. You can see it has a tonegard on it. The one on the right is my Eastman 515 I  got in Jan '09. I had the scroll-envy for many years, and after missing the one at the auction I finally caved. On day 3 of ownership of my Eastman I was over the scroll, and knew I would get a hand-carved American-made A-style. There is nothing wrong with the Eastman. Compared to my Harmony it is luscious. But it can't hold a candle to the Collings. I still play it quite a bit, though. I'm saving it for a grandchild.

My two ukuleles. My little Roy Smeck Harmony soprano uke on the left. My parents gave it to my in 5th grade, and it was my first very own stringed instrument. It has a screwed-on plastic fretboard with plastic frets, but is made from mahogany. I loved it. On the right is my Harmony baritone ukulele I got for my birthday in the 8th grade. Also mahogany, it has a really nice tone and is easy and fun to play. I tried to string it up about 11 years ago to start playing, and the store (a big, well-known store here in Tulsa) did not know what kind of strings to sell me, and it is all wrong. I'll be getting new, appropriate strings this week and starting it up. Unfortunately it has one tuning peg that slips now, so I'll have to get that fixed.

My 2nd vid post

I didn't post the title to the tune, because if someone was actually searching for the tune, this could pop up as a search result.


The Road to Lisdoonvarna

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How Do Potatoes Lose Weight?

I went gluten-free 6 days ago.  That has nothing to do with the rest of my entry, other than if I had NOT turned gluten-free I would not have been having a baked potato tonight. I would have had a sandwich, like I really wanted.

Obviously I forgot how long to have it in the microwave. Oops. The house still stinks, my plate is ruined, and by the time daughter Beth and I had everything under control and I "baked" another potato, I could have baked it in the oven. The potato now weighs 16 grams. A hatchling box turtle weighs between 7 and 9 grams. The original weight of the potato was 192 grams. Please do not ask me how I now all these things.


On a good note, she managed to teach me how to purchase and download mp3 albums from Amazon. I am listening to old-timey fiddle/mandolin music right now!


Update on 12-20-10: I found this little tune on a website a few days ago and thought it would be appropriate to include here. It is called "Little Burnt Potato", no, really, it really is!

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I tend to play with a lighter touch than a lot of folks, so I used my loudest pick and sat in my little back foyer area that leads to the garage and outside. It isn't carpeted and closeness of the walls make the tune seem a little louder. I vided it over and over trying to play it faster. but because of my little finger reach on the top string I always messed up. I must exercise that finger! I must! Even slowed down I can hear the chopiness between notes. I am either fretting the little finger or thinking about fretting it, and it keeps me nervous. After 532 attempts, I decided to keep this one. I found a different version where there is no reaching with the little finger, but it just doesn't sound as good as this one.

The Tail of the Diving Duck

The last time I bought groceries I took a short-cut down the pet aisle, I'm sure to avoid those nasties who stand with their carts in the middle of the aisle, you know, "owning" the aisle? The pet aisle happened to be the nearest, empty aisle, so I took it. As I was scurrying along I glanced to the right and noticed the toys, had to stop, and a little skinny orange duck caught my eye. After handling it and picturing Ed enjoying it, I tossed it in my cart.

Once home, I introduced the duck to Ed, who cautiously took it then dropped it. After I convinced him it was his he was ready to go out and play. Its weight is light enough, and it is soft enough that Ed can easily catch it when I throw it high for him. He loved playing with it. While retrieving it one time, he (and I) discovered it had a little squeaker in it. 

Eddie hasn't had a squeak toy for a long time and was very intrigued by it. In fact, he was so pleased with it that I went back to the store right then and bought...

another diving duck! But since I have a habit of buying several of items I Iike, including shoes and clothing, I didn't buy just one diving duck...

I bought all the little diving ducks they had! If there had been 7, I would have bought all 7, because when you find a good thing and want more later, you usually can't find them.


Later in the evening Ed was carrying around his duck, squeaking it now and then. Eventually I got busy and the next time I noticed the duck, a wad of its stuffing was sitting by my foot and the duck had a gaping whole in its stomach. The squeaker was gone. After searching, I finally gave up and again became busy. Soon enough I heard "squeaky-sqeak-squeak" and saw Ed with his head under an upholstered chair that forms a little enclosed cave underneath.


I called, "Ed, come" and he backed out of the chair, turned his back to me, and responded "squeaky-squeak-squeak-squeakity-squeaky-squeak". I said, "Ed, bring it here" and heard "squeaky...     squeak...      squeak?" Again I said, "ED" then step-by-step he reluctantly brought it to me and dropped it. I promptly put it up high. Why didn't I throw it away? Maybe because I'm trying to become a hoarder so I can star in my own show!

Two days ago I restuffed the duck and stitched its tummy back up:

I let him play with it a little more, but only with supervision, per the instructions:

Last night Beth was spending time with Ed while I was in class. When I arrived home I found this:

Even though the tag clearly states:

Although I haven't done it yet, I've decided to stitch up the duck's hole without the rugged rope tail.


I graciously submit the following as proof of my multiple-buying:

About 3 years ago I bought a little Scooby-Doo ball for Eddie at the Hell Hole (Wal-mart Super Center.) He loved it, and over the course of a week I went to 4 Hell Holes, ending up with 52 balls. Some were Barbie and Spiderman, and a few where shaped like footballs. We play ball every single day it is not raining, sometimes 4 or 5 times a day. We are now down to fewer than a dozen balls, and each time I have entered a Hell Hole I have looked for more but have never found them again.

Ed, enjoying his current Scooby-Doo ball

When I found the frisbees for 94 cents each, I bought a couple of dozen.

Ed loves all his toys

No Need for a Camera on a Hot Day, Unless...

It's my last day of vacation, and as I lay in bed last night I mentally hiked the full yellow loop with Eddie. So we set out with no camera, went up the craggy way to the top to take the ridge trail to the end and loop around on a lower trail. I didn't plan on it being so hot, and once again I forgot my sweat rag. We ended up turning into the mountaintop and moseying around, eventually finding ourselves at the yoshi pond. We sat on the snacking rock, I had my 1/2 sandwich, Ed had a bowl of water, and we saw 3 folks go by on the other side of the pond.


The only critter things we saw were loads of grasshoppers, so I was glad I didn't have my camera dangling. We took the blue back down, and cut to the parking lot through the back way, thus avoiding the trailhead area. But we didn't avoid everything! Me without my camera, and we apparently interrupted a couple of BBs. They obviously heard us coming first (at least I wasn't singing) and we came upon them, rather suddenly, standing several yards apart and acting all casual. Ha! And another Ha! to the do-gooders who think they are making the area nicer.


I read a post recently on the TM site asking for suggestions on how to handle the crowded paths and keep peace among the bikers, horsers, hikers, and no one said it, but screaming kids with screaming parents. Did you not see this coming, folks? As for me and my dog, we prefer the BBs.


Total hike was 1 hr, 3 miles.

Osage Hills State Park

Yesterday we decided to visit Osage Hills State Park sans Eddie. I forgot my Garmin and hiking pole, but I made up for it by taking about 45 minutes to decide which other gear to take, and another 15 deciding which lens/lenses to take. I finally decided on my DAJO waist pack so I could carry an extra lens without having to use a backpack, and my walk-around lens.  For what it's worth, I didn't actually use the extra lens (ultra wide zoom), but it was comforting to know I had it with me. Plus I had another lens (macro) in the car, just in case.


The park is lovely in October, and the temperature and breeze were perfect. We came across very few other folks which is always a bonus. After parking past the swimming pool we headed down the trail to the falls area, and almost immediately took a little side path down to the creek. We poked our way along the creek bank on the rocks, seeing a plethora of itty bitty tiny buggy things. I took some pics, but w/o my macro lens on I just couldn't get any decent shots. Damselflies were all over the place, a few large hopping spiders, and many small leaping frogs.

The trail leading to the falls area

We took a little side path that went down to the creek

Hundreds of little mussel shells dotted the rocks along the bank

We followed the stepping stones along the creek for a while, hoping we could make it all the way around to the falls area without having to climb back up to the main trail; it didn't work out that way, so up we came

 We were duly warned!

We found this one mistflower, or mist flower, blooming, otherwise there were mostly the little asters

A view up the creek to the falls area; when we arrived my cousin looked around, a bit puzzled, and asked/stated, "This is the waterfall?" Initially disappointed, she did find them lovely and relaxing

The view up the creek, including the rope swing on the left

View down the creek; if you enlarge this you may see a little blue speck, which is my cousin relaxing and enjoying the falls

Little pastel moth

Pearl crescent on the asters (just like Turkey Mountain)

Reakirt's blue, I believe

Fiery skippers on asters; they were a good number of them, and they were all playful

Lookout Lake, where we watched a man load the middle row boat, then take it out with his trolling motor to do a little fishing

As we were leaving the park we encountered this tarantula crossing the road; of course I hopped out for my snippity-snap routine, looked up and saw a car coming our way; luckily they were older folks who slowed down, so I continued snapping until the tarantula made it safely to the other side; when the car pulled up the man drawled, "That thar's a TAR-ANCH-chula" and his wife piped in, "Dijoo git a PITcher?" Well, yes I did, thank you for waiting.

We had a lovely day, and stopped to eat BBQ at Dinks in Bartlesville. 

Ed Gets to Hike

When Eddie realized he was going hiking he turned into a lunatic. I finally had to harness him into the back while we finished getting ready, and when we realized there would be a little delay before leaving I had to bring Ed back in. At first he refused to get out of the car - he knew he was being cheated.


We finally left with a joyous dog and arrived at noon. We took the craggy way to the top again, went on to the 2nd meadow before heading west. We didn't go up the tadpole, but poked around the upper enough to see there were indeed other flowers blooming on the mountain. We continued west (NW, to be exact) and headed toward Rock City. We decided to have a snack and a rest at the boy scout rocks, then took the full loop around and back to the gate.


I didn't take my camera because 1) I was tired of the dangling 2) it was windy today 3) Ed. On the big loop we saw a huge beetle of the bess family, a horned passalus (or something like that), but that was really the only thing for which I wished I had my camera. The hairstreaks, really all the butterflies, were not as thick on the asters today.


We were out about 2 1/2 hours but made it only a little over 3 miles. We're like the speed of grandmas! And my cousin is a grandma!

Butterfly Hike

My cousin and I were at TM for about 3 hrs early this afternoon, and had a wonderful, though tiring, hike with great weather. I chose my camera over Ed, poor boy. We took the craggy way to the top, spending lots of time in all the meadowy areas. 


Little asters are about the only flower blooming, and they were all over the place and teeming with butterflies. We saw lots of gray hairstreaks, skippers, pearl crescents, and a few tiny blues.

 I thought I saw an ant, but its butt says assassin bug, so I don't know

 On the trailhead we found this harvestman feasting on a dead grasshopper

 Some kind of bee on the little white asters

 Two gray hairstreaks

 Hairstreak bouquet, with a pennsylvania leatherwing in the middle!

 Katydid on asters

Dragonfly skimmer on wheat-looking grass

 Wasp on aster

 Skipper on asters; I tried to ID it but there are just too many

 Colorful poison oak

 While my cousin was on the phone conducting AZ business, I looked around and this exclamation point in the tree was the most interesting thing I found

 While returning on the ridge trail we noticed a dark area of the sky; forecast said chance of rain, and it finally did barely sprinkle as we were nearing the end

 Question mark

Monarch