Gaaaagh I need to go Hiking

We've been so dang hot! Here is a one-take version of Ka Pua U'i. During verse one I felt really weird looking into the screen and watching my hands with a fraction delay, it kind of threw me off. Then on verse 3 I had to look at the words because I don't have them down, and even with reading them, I goofed them up!!

The little ending I decided to tag on at the last moment, and do not have it quick and smooth yet.

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The Hot State

For my friends in Portland... damn you!  Raw and uncut, my first 'original' at  bambiloo's suggestion. "I did my best, I have no regrets. I have no professional training in singing or dancing." -- that dorky guy William Hung and ME!

Temporary Post

This is the family quick version of Rabbit in the Pea Patch. It was the first tune I picked out when I began playing the mandolin. I heard my dad play it, who probably heard his older family members play it. He started playing when he was 4. My cafe avatar is the back side of his little Holdrio Piccolo mandolin his folks got him at a pawn shop.

I shot this quickly in iPhoto, so I'm mirrored -- I'm really right-handed!

Loretta, I looked through some SAW threads and Marcelyn had some suggested tunes for future polls, including Rabbit in the Pea Patch. I PMd her about it, she sent me the ABC of a version she had found plus a couple of youtube links. They are different from my little ditty tune, which I play just one time through here.

First Audio Post

Today is Sunday, May 15, and I just had my Apple lesson where I learned what to do with my GarageBand and Zoom H2 audio files to put them in email or in the blog. Now I have to hone my GarageBand skills, after I improve my playing skills. The link below was put here during my lesson at the Apple store this morning.

This link takes you out of here and to a whole different site

My recent lesson

Here is one of my renditions, so Loretta, let me know when you have seen it so I can preserve a bit of dignity and take it down. Thank you.

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Robin Babies

The robins are growing, and their parents are a a bit more protective. Today one of them chased me to the patio and came closer to my head.

 Filling out the nest just a little more

 The fly was the only other interesting thing I saw

The prince himself

Beak-A-Poo!

I last took pics of the robin babies on Saturday. It rained and rained most of yesterday and a great deal of today, but was not raining when I got home from work. I trotted out and nabbed a few more shots, much to the dismay of the parents. Wow, they can get LOUD!

Due to the overwhelming demand from my legions of readers, I've decided to take pics every chance I get and document their growth here.

Mama Sentry is chasing me back further with each passing day. She now follows and 'fake dives' at me about half-way across the yard 

 Beak-A-Poo! (Yes, I know I'm quite clever. Thank you.)

Eyes closed on Saturday, two days ago 

Bright eyed and bushy tailed today!

Robin and a Battle

A couple of weeks ago I noted a new bird nest on the top of fence pickets leaning against the side of the house just inside the turtle compound. Last Sunday I stretched my arm up and pointed the lens downward and snapped, to the best of my ability, the inside of the nest. I did it again 3 days later, then 3 days later again which is today.

Each time I go near the area the robin parents begin a frenzy, so I try to avoid disturbing them. When I do, they get in a low branch of my neighbor's tree or on the fence and yell at me.

 A few inches above the wood you can just see the mama's head and beak peaking out

 On Sunday the camera didn't find anything apparent in the nest. I couldn't see what I was doing, I just stuck my arm straight up and pointed down

 Poor mama doesn't like me, and I can't blame her

 Obviously there were eggs in the nest the camera didn't see, because 3 days later there are new hatchlings in there. I had no precise control over the focus

And today, 3 days later again, the babies have really grown! There are 3 turtles living at the foot of the posts, so if a baby makes one little mistake...

The next part is for my mandolin-playing friend. I did manage to record and make a little video, with tips, of last week's SAW tune. I don't know if I will get it posted there, because that just seems like too much work. This is my first "movie" after having my onetoone Apple lesson a week ago. The trainer was fantastic.

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Most Memorable Moment

During my most recent mandolin lesson, 2 of my instructor's sons (young adults)  were there and at the end of my lesson he called them in the room to play Django's Mangos with me. My instructor composed DM, and his son's were obviously familiar with it. They are all professional musicians and I couldn't believe they took time to play with me. Instructor played guitar, son 1 played an acoustic/electric bass, I think he called it a stick bass, and it was the coolest thing I've ever seen, and son 3 played mandolin.

I started the melody, then each took an improvised, rehearsed most likely, solo on their turns, then he called out, "Take the melody" to me on the last time through. I will have to say that this experience ranks up there with birthing babies, really. I still can't believe it happened to ME!

As cool as that bass fiddle was, and it makes me want one, I was focused on the mandolin. The kid is phenomenal. I describe his playing as fresh honey flowing over river stones. Ann, who takes lessons from a pro fiddler in the OKC area who also happens to play with son 3 sometimes, listened to a recording of them the last time she was there for her lesson. She had never heard son 3 play, and she described it as sounding like a magical instrument of the gods.

At the end of the tune, the boys complimented me and thanked ME for playing with THEM! Such gentlemen!

Here I am, playing it solo. Instructor had me omit most of the chording when I played the melody with them. He said when there are other players to fill in, one instrument doesn't have to try to do it all. I'm quite sure that it was his polite way of telling me that I'm crowding the music and need to tone it down until I am better able to handle the chord fills.

All I have is my imac to video with, and my back is already practically against the wall. I tilted the monitor and positioned it best I could to get the full mando, but it didn't work. I would have preferred to cut off at the neck and eliminate my head, like so many posters do.

Both pets came and flopped around on the floor while I was recording, so I decided they also wanted to be in the blog:

The Big Shave

After a few years of cat hairball vomit on every surface of the house: dryer, sofa, chair, table, carpet, box, inside my shoe, etc, and after using the furminator and laxatone for 1 1/2 years, I finally took charge and had Johnny shaved! I bought the "calming" pill from his vet and my friend C brought her industrial duty shaver to my house yesterday. She's a registered vet tech and knows what she is doing.

I gave Johnny one pill, and after an hour he was still not showing signs of being a lazy carcass. I have him 1/2 pill and in about 20 - 30 minutes he was carefree and ready. C was extremely fast with the shaving, and got off the bulk of his hair. When she was ready to go back and clean up the shave marks, etc., Johnny was becoming irritable so we stopped.

I am ecstatic to say that Johnny can get on furniture and I can hold him without having to use the vacuum afterward. The hope is that he will stop the hairball biley vomiting. I do expect possibly one more, due to hair he may have ingested prior to the big shave.

A common occurrence at home: a hair log surrounded by gooey wet biley vomit. This was my gift Thursday morning, and I think it resembles South America, complete with the Andes Mountains.

These are all the splats from the Thursday morning Christmas. Leave only one measly gift for me? Not my Johnny! The big one is always followed by several more lesser ones splatted about.

C begins the shave!

This looks bad but it wasn't at all; I was there. In fact, I did most of the 'scruffing'.

This is Johnny today

He is still a handsome boy!

Me + 3 81s = FUN

I've had my ukulele for exactly 2 months today, and today was my first meeting of the fledgling ukulele club that a fellow has been trying to get off the ground for a couple of years. I didn't know what to expect, but I was prepared with a rhythm song to sing, Sweet Georgia Brown, and a fingering/plucking solo of Las Mananitas, plus copies to share.

It was in a glass-enclosed small dining area of a local Braum's - a place folks can reserve for little parties and such. In other words, it was a fishbowl in plain view of all customers and staff. My don't-want-to-be-a-spectacle issues began rearing before I even arrived, but I forced myself to go, nerves and all.

I left my uke and gear in the car to first check it out and make sure someone else was there. There was one uke case and bag'o'gear in the fishbowl, but no people. I went back to my car and fetched my stuff, and still no people. I set my stuff up on a small table then proceeded to act all casual and breezy in the fishbowl while I waited. After several minutes the 'head' guy, 'president', 'founder' came into the bowl with a drink and some ice cream. We introduced and chatted while he finished his ice cream, until he finally pronounced us ready to begin.

We got out our stuff and each did some independent, light warm-up strumming, as if we were preparing for a concert! After a moment he held his tenor uke out and said, "Here, try it!' and began to take my new, virginal, delicate Collings out of my hands. I gripped its neck and did not let go until I looked his tenor over for scratches/chips. Seeing none I released my pristine, 2-month-old baby to unknown hands. I loved his tenor, a Pono, which I had seriously considered, and he loved my Collings (but of course!) I can feel it now, I WILL end up with a tenor some day. Dang it.

We played a couple of strumming tunes, then in came a lady and a gentleman carrying a uke, no case, just swinging it to and fro. We all introduced. None of us had met the others before, and our founder knew us only through email. Somebody said something about way back when they were 57. I piped up, "I'm 57" and found out they are all 81 years old. Well, founder guy is almost 81, so I'm calling them all 81.

The two 81 fellows each had something taped to the backs of their ukes. Founder guy had a cheat-sheet of main chords used in each key, pretty cool. 81 #2 had a jar gripper, you know, one of those thin flappy rubber things with little bumpies all over to help you open stubborn pickle jars and such? He had one of those taped to the back of his uke. I didn't ask, but I'm sure it was to keep his uke from slipping as much while he held it and played.

81 #2 performs regularly between sets at a local, long-running melodrama, and at retirement and nursing homes. He is a fun performer and such a nice guy, and his wife, too. Next time they come she will bring her bongos, I hope!

We played quite a few songs together and I was much less nervous than I had predicted... no hives at all! Really I only get hives from pistachios and heat, but when I'm experiencing my performance anxiety I feel like I should be getting hives.

I had so much fun that I will attend every meet-up Founder Guy holds, if I can. I love the 81s and hope they are all there next time!

Starting Over (more snow)

Home again, 7th day off work. We had more snow during the night and morning. Why do cities have one official place of measurement? Like the airport? I'm miles from the airport, and snow and rainfall recorded there is usually not what I get here. It seems like a city would have 3 or more official locations, then average those.


It first snowed, excuse me, blizzarded, on Tues, Feb 1st. That day I began shoveling the drive, and think I shoveled 5 different times. Again on Wed, Thurs and Fri. Below is what I had accomplished by Friday afternoon, and when I went out again about 6 pm the street on my side had been plowed, and the plow scooped the snow from around the entry to my drive. On Saturday I could get out! Wait a minute... these pics may be mixed up, but I don't want to take the time to figure it out.

I'm kind of mixed up, but I think it snowed again Friday, covering up 3 days of work. This snow was only 4.5 inches and very easy to remove, but I still had to shovel.

So I got it all shoveled off again. Then the street plow came.

After the 3rd snow today, I had to start all over. This is only 6 inches deep, dry and light, and is very easy. In fact, I don't even have to put my boots on which is great, because toes are just a bit tired of the tight boots. I used the Shadow/Highlight adjustment so you could see the level of the fresh snow. I'll go out in a little bit and shovel some more. It is the only exercise I'm getting during all this, so I don't mind too much.

Most of each day has been spent at my command post: a chair in front of my tiny computer desk, about 8 ft from the TV, music stand and instruments almost at my side. With my curtains opened to the back I can watch the snow and birds. One early day in the snow in I noticed how this viney thing resembled a leaping man with no head. The no head business doesn't bother me, because the whole thing is so fun to look at.

 I here I used some PS filtering to make the vine man stand out. Below is the non-adjusted image

I Sing... YIKES!

This is my new ukulele - picked up today from FedEx. Not only did it arrive unbroken, it was also actually almost in tune! I'm not giving up the mandolin. With my tendonitis I just can't play it enough to feel satisfied, musically speaking. I figured the open-hand non-pick strumming on a uke would be much easier for my right arm. And it is; I can't even feel the tendon area AT ALL while playing the uke.


I learned this little tune tonight from themusicteacher on youtube. I don't claim to be a singer, and I don't know any special strumming techniques yet, but here is my first song:

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Eddie and Johnny were initially quite curious about the uke, but now they are already used to it. Johnny, though, is LOVING the crinkly shipping paper that came in the box.