Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Music: Practice
Let's see ... today I practiced banjo for an hour, fiddle for 30 minutes and whistle for 20 minutes. I also played whistle and made one of my students accompany me on guitar as part of their lesson. So, I DID get to play music with one person today!!!
Hannibal Session, Music: Let's see ...
What about Monday's jam session?
That would be 143 hours, 55 minutes and 50 seconds!!!
That would be 143 hours, 55 minutes and 50 seconds!!!
Music: How much longer?
It is now exaclty 48 hours, 4 minutes and 45 seconds until my next jam session. :)
Quincy Session, Music: Hmmm ...
Hmmmm ...
According to my current calculations it is 49 hours, 15 minutes and 15 seconds until the next music session on Thursday. That's assuming we start on time at 7:00pm.
Music, Ava: What's that?
What? Is someone here to play music?
No, it's just the wind blowing. (Sigh)
Music, Ava: I'm Sad
Music: Music Withdrawal
Well, here it is only Tuesday, the day after the Hannibal music session, and I'm already experiencing music withdrawal!!!! It's just not the same sitting here playing solo with the dog. I wish I had a music group who lived in the basement and just kind of hung out and played music at my every whim. They would be there everytime I caught five to ten minutes to play ... and for those long two hour practice sessions. They would play me to sleep at night and serenade me at breakfast. They would be my alarm clock and be the first thing I heard every day. They would, of course, play all of my favorite songs ... when ever I wanted to hear them AND as many times as I wanted. They would have to find something else to entertain themselves while I'm teaching lessons and catching my tv shows in the evening. Wouldn't that be the life? Two more days until Thursday is here and it's session time again. What will I do until then? (Sigh)
Monday, January 30, 2006
Sites: Golden Wind Mill
This is the Wind Mill located in Golden, IL. I haven't been on the tour inside, but it's worth the trip just to get to see the outside. It's really pretty and very interesting. Anyone been on the inside?
Buildings: Black and White
I love this black and white photo. I think this is in Golden, IL. It was on one of my photo trips around the area.
Businesses: Prairie Farms
This is the Prairie Farms building on North 24th street. It's located at 24th and Broadway. I just thought it was an interesting looking building.
Businesses, Music: This is the Building I Want
This is the building that I want. It's located on North 24th street and would make the perfect location for a music academy. Maybe some day ...
My Dog: Nash and the Mysterious Sock
Hey, where'd that sock come from and how did it get that hole in it? I didn't do it! Really! I don't know where it came from or how it got there! Hey, who did that?
Hannibal Session, Music: Monday night music session
Tonight was the Monday night music session in Hannibal. We had a great time. Tonight was one of those magical nights where all the musicians meshed together. We played later than usual, ending around 9:40 rather than the normal 9:00. I still have tunes floating around in my head. That always happens. It's hard to sleep when you have Morrison's Jig flying around in your head!!!
Barns: Barns and Sheds
Barns: Up on the Hill
The lighting was not good on this ... or I failed to make the proper adjustments. This was taken three years ago.
Barns: An Old Red Barn
Barns:
Okay, here is something about me that you might not know. I collect photographs of barns. Yes! I just think that barns are really cool. The older they are, the better. I always wonder what stories they would tell if they could. Anyway, I will be posting some of my barn pictures once in a while.
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Trips: The beginning of the story ...
If you're reading this and getting ready to scroll "down" to the next post, please know that it is part of a picture story and you need to scroll down to the picture of the dog. That is the beginning of the story ... then scroll "up" from there to read the story from beginning to end.
Thanks!!
Thanks!!
Trips: My husband at Krispy Kreme
And there he is going into Krispy Kreme ...
From Krispy Kreme we headed home. We got a little bit down the road when he said that he wasn't feeling well. Then he got a head ache. Then he felt sick. For those of you who know he's diabetic ... no, he did not eat donuts. All he had there was some milk. This was something else.
He got to feeling worse. About an hour from home he decided to pull over and let Jason drive. Jason didn't get very far when he had to pull over and my poor little hubby got sick on the side of the road. He told us that he hadn't thrown up since he was a senior in high school.
We made it home and went to bed. I was worn out and slept right through the night until morning, which is unusual for me. We didn't get home until 11:45pm.
So, that was our trip. I'm sure we won't eat Thia food for a little while. He said it wasn't as good the second time around.
Oh, I know ... that's gross. Too much information!!! Sorry!
Trips: Krispy Kreme
Here we are at Krispy Kreme.
Before we got this far ... we had dinner at a Thia restaurant down near the university. I had duck, I don't remember what everyone else had.
After dinner we went to Vintage Vinyl to buy some cds. My husband had a list of what he needed. I found some blue grass and old time music. I got "Ultimate Pickin'", "Flatt and Scruggs 16 Biggest Hits", "Raven Moon" and "Bill Monroe, I Saw the Light". I have a lot of listening to do!!!
Then, on the way home, we stopped at Krispy Kreme and at some fresh donuts right off the rack. Mmmm ... they were so good. Melt in your mouth kind of good!!!
The evening would not end so well for my husband ...
Trips: Global Foods Market
Here we are at Global Foods Market ... or as we like to call it ... the Food Zoo!!!
This is a grocery store with foods from all over the world. Each isle represents a different county and the foods and spices that come from that country are there. It's a very interesting place and it's amazing what you can find in there.
My husband likes to cook and this place has certain foods and spices that he can't find anywhere else.
Trips: Best Buy
Here we are at Best Buy. We looked at everything on every isle!!! So many things ... so little money!!
Trips: World Market
The next stop was at World Market. They had funrnishings, decorative objects, dishes, organizers and some dining room furniture.
I did find some little crocheted flowers. I was able to get a couple to take home to use to figure out how to make some of my own. That should be fun!!
Trips: Pet Smart
Here we are at Petsmart in St. Louis. Jason and Jonelle bought a dog bed for their dog, Cia. (I'm not sure if that is spelled correctly). Cia is a retired racer ... a grey hound.
We got to pet a beagle puppy, there was a dog training session going on right in the middle of the store. We saw one dog pee in the floor! Who did that?
This wasn't our first stop on the trip. The very first stop was in Hannibal to get snacks and a drink. I bought a bag of beef jerky, a bag of corn nuts and a Coke. That kept me busy for a while!!! Yes, I ate the whole bag ... both of them!!!
Trip: Cup Collection
These are my cups from the Hannibal and Quincy jam sessions that I drank on the way home.
Trips: The Dash
Trip: The van
Here's the van. I'm getting ready to go throw the trash away. It's raining, but we're going to go anyway. It wasn't a hard rain ... just a steady light rain.
My Dog: I Want to Go!!!!
Nash says ... you have the keys! You're going somewhere ... I know you are! Please let me go too! I'm not going to let you out of my sight! Let's go!!
This and the next few pictures are about our trip to St. Louis on Saturday. We had plans to go eat Thia food with our friends Jason and Jonelle. I was getting ready to go clean out the van, when I picked up the keys and Nash came right over. He loves to ride in the van and he knew what the keys were for!!! Look at that face!!!
Saturday, January 28, 2006
Sites: Quincy Stone Arch Bridge
This is a picture of the Quincy Stone Arch Bridge.
This bridge is located on South 8th street. Here's a quote from the encyclopedia. This Stone Arch bridge " was built in the 1800's as a bridge over Curtis Creek. The bridge has survived that long and still survives the hardships of traffic each day".
I'll go back again when I have more time and get some detailed up close pictures for you. It's really pretty.
Sites: Quincy Lock and Dam
This is the Lock and Dam on the Mississippi river, just outside of Quincy. During the winter months, when the river freezes over, eagles congregate here and it's fun to come out and watch them. Since we're having such nice warm weather, the eagles are all out on their own. There were no eagles to see today.
Quincy: Quincy in the Distance
This is out by the Lock and Dam. You can see Quincy up on the hill, in the middle of the picture, looking over the Mississippi river.
Sites: Flag and Light House
Here are the flag and the light house together as they appear in the bay.
Sites: Light House
It is a little difficult to see, but right in the middle of the picture is the light house at the entrance of the Quincy Bay.
Sites: Blowing in the wind
This is the flag that over looks the Quincy Bay. It was very pretty as it swayed in the wind. It was almost hypnotic to watch it.
Sites: Quincy Bays Bridge out of town
Here is the other Quincy Bay bridge. This one leads you out of town over the Mississippi River.
Birds: Eagles
Ever watched for eagles down at the Lock and Dam or at the Quincy Bay?
I saw on the news about five years ago when they announced that the eagles were down at the Lock and Dam. I went down to check it out and there were eagles there! Some were across the river and impossible to see without binoculars. Others were flying and fishing near the dam and still others were in trees over looking the parking area and you could see them just fine. You could right up close and personal with your binoculars.
That was the start of my bird watching hobby. I now own five pair of binoculars. I have one pair that is my favorite and I tend to use them most of the time. My husband also bought me a BinoCam last year. This is a pair of binoculars with a digital camera. What ever you see in the binoculars, you can take a digital picture of. How cool is that. I am embarrassed to say that he bought it for me last year and I've yet to use it. :( I will be getting it out soon. I think it just needs some batteries and a media card.
This got me started bird watching. I spent that whole winter at the Lock and Dam watching the bald eagles. They were beautiful!!! I would also drive down along the river front and look at the eagles there. I was almost always able to spot at least four or five down along the river front. It got to where I knew where they liked to hang out and they were easy for me to find.
This evolved into watching birds of all kinds. I think it's fun!
I saw on the news about five years ago when they announced that the eagles were down at the Lock and Dam. I went down to check it out and there were eagles there! Some were across the river and impossible to see without binoculars. Others were flying and fishing near the dam and still others were in trees over looking the parking area and you could see them just fine. You could right up close and personal with your binoculars.
That was the start of my bird watching hobby. I now own five pair of binoculars. I have one pair that is my favorite and I tend to use them most of the time. My husband also bought me a BinoCam last year. This is a pair of binoculars with a digital camera. What ever you see in the binoculars, you can take a digital picture of. How cool is that. I am embarrassed to say that he bought it for me last year and I've yet to use it. :( I will be getting it out soon. I think it just needs some batteries and a media card.
This got me started bird watching. I spent that whole winter at the Lock and Dam watching the bald eagles. They were beautiful!!! I would also drive down along the river front and look at the eagles there. I was almost always able to spot at least four or five down along the river front. It got to where I knew where they liked to hang out and they were easy for me to find.
This evolved into watching birds of all kinds. I think it's fun!
Sites: Quincy Bay Bridge
Here is a shot of the Quincy Bay Bridge coming into town. Again, I like the blue on blue affect of the blue water, the blue bridge and the blue sky.
I didn't see any bald eagles this trip.
Friday, January 27, 2006
Water, View: Quincy Bay
Here is a shot of the Mississippi river coming into the Quincy Bay. I like the variations of blue in this picture.
Birds, Water: Solitary Gull
Here's on gull out in the middle of the Mississippi river all by himself. You can see some of his friends in the backgroud.
Birds, Water: A Flock of Gulls
Here's a flock of gulls on the Mississippi. They're always a flourish of activity.
Birds, Nature: Geese on the pond
I wouldn't eat one of these geese for dinner. They may not know it, but they're swimming in a pond right next to the water treatment plant. I'm not sure if this pond is related to the treatment plant or not!!
Businesses, Unusual: Fish Market
You can't see it very well, but back behind this white house is an old fish market. We've always wondered if they catch their own fish? The Mississippi it right behind their property.
Horses: Horse Friends
These are some of my horse friends from across the street. They let me pet them and I also give them treats. Some only come to visit if you have treats, but most of them enjoy a good neck rub!!! This isn't all of the horses, they're just beginning to head down into the pasture. They usually cross the creek to the other pasture and that is where I visit with them. I think there are 24 horses over there. There were about ten new colts this last spring. It's been fun to watch them as they grow. They really enjoy a good frolic and I love to watch them run, buck, kick and chase eachother around.
Memories: That Red Ink
I remember the ink pen that I wrote that signature with. It was one of those wide round ink pens. It was orange on the bottom half and white on the top half. Instead of only having one clicker, it had four and four choices of ink color. If you were "cool", you just had to have one of those ink pens!!!! You had the choice of using black ink, blue ink, red ink or green ink.
Green is my favorite color, so I used a lot of that. You weren't allowed to use green ink at school though. I did, however, write to my best friend, April, in green!!! She and I also used to have a secret code we used so no one could read our letters.
When writing letters to freinds, you also had the ability to alternate colors on each line. I wrote a lot of letters that way too.
What fun!
I think I'll run out and buy another one!!!! I'm still "cool"!!
I think ... :)
Green is my favorite color, so I used a lot of that. You weren't allowed to use green ink at school though. I did, however, write to my best friend, April, in green!!! She and I also used to have a secret code we used so no one could read our letters.
When writing letters to freinds, you also had the ability to alternate colors on each line. I wrote a lot of letters that way too.
What fun!
I think I'll run out and buy another one!!!! I'm still "cool"!!
I think ... :)
Memories: The Ugly Ducklin inside cover
There's my signautre in red on the inside of the cover. For some reason, Baby is written in pencil, but I don't remember why.
It's a great book!!!
Memories, Collectible: The Ugly Duckling
Okay, this picture didn't turn out as good as I had hoped it would.
This was my favorite book as a youngster. This is THE book that I read. I've saved it all this time.
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Family: It's the Ghost from Halloween Past
This is my brother Tony and a friend of his. This was when he was still in highschool, I think. I did the face painting.
To completely face paint someone, you have to get pretty up close and personal. This was fine when it's your brother. He just sits there and hurls insults at you while you're working.
However, when it was his friends turn ... I'll never for it. The poor guy was so nervous to have me so close that his little lip just trembled the whole time I was working on him. He must have been shy ... I don't think I was that scarey!!!!
You have to click and enlarge the picture to appreciate the face paint and the blood dripping down their necks!!
My Dog: Nash
Here's Nash in the van. We went to cash a check today. He loves to go to the bank because they give him a dog treat every time we are there. He never waits patiently ... he leans as far out the window as he possibly can ... stares at them ... and barks if he doesn't think they're moving quick enough! Sometimes they let him have an extra treat! He really likes that.
It took me five shots to get his head in the picture. He doesn't sit still for long.
Instruments: Wilson ...
This is Wilson, my ever faithful guitar! I've spent many hours play this guitar! It's also the one I use for teaching. We're very close. :)
Music: If you aren't shown here ...
I didn't post pictures of everyone else who was there tonight, because we're all in the pictures from the Coontz Armory. I'll catch everyone else another time. I promise!!!
Music, Quincy Session: Here's Dave
This is Dave on guitar! He joins us regularly for our jam sesison at La Gondola. He's a lot of fun.
Music, Ava, Quincy Session: Ava on the Drum
Here I am at La Gondola playing the drum this evening.
Tom also plays this drum when he is there. He is our official drummer when he isn't working.
I bought this drum at the Ren Fest in Kansas City last October. I've been having a lot of fun with it. I plan to be good enough to play in the drum circle next year, at the Ren Fest. They have a drummers tent and it's a lot of fun!!!
Quincy Session, Buildings: La Gondola
Here is a picture of La Gondola, the restaurant where we host our open jam night in Quincy, IL. As you can see, it sits right on the corner of 8th and State.
Quincy Session: Thursday Night at La Gondola
Well, tonight was a great session at La Gondola. The Thursday night session is hosted by "The River's Edge", which is the group I started here in Quincy. We host our own jam night open to musicians who would like to come on out and play along with us. We play celtic and old time music. It's very catchy, happy and addictive. You always have several feet tapping along with you. Some nights we have an audience and some nights we only have a few. We always enjoy playing no matter how many are there to listen.
Right now the band consists of five members. Me, Larry, Joann, Sondra and Tom are the five band members who perform as The River's Edge. We have several musicians who join us for the jam session and it's a lot of fun. When we officially perform it's me on fiddle and whistle, Joann on whistle and tambourine, Larry on fiddle and mandolin, Sondra on mandolin and banjo, Tom on drum and we usually have a guest guitarist accompany us for the gig. We have a lot of fun.
Right now the band consists of five members. Me, Larry, Joann, Sondra and Tom are the five band members who perform as The River's Edge. We have several musicians who join us for the jam session and it's a lot of fun. When we officially perform it's me on fiddle and whistle, Joann on whistle and tambourine, Larry on fiddle and mandolin, Sondra on mandolin and banjo, Tom on drum and we usually have a guest guitarist accompany us for the gig. We have a lot of fun.
Music, The River's Edge: What page are those chords on???
Sondra on banjo and Andrew on bouzouki ... looking for those elusive chords!!!!
Isn't his hat great?
Music, The River's Edge: The Whole Group
Here we are in the middle of a tune.
From your left: Larry on fiddle, Ava on fiddle, Joann on Irish Whistle, Sondra on Banjo and I think Andrew is on bouzouki for this one.
Music, The River's Edge: Now Playing at an Armory near you ...
Here we are up on stage preparing to play.
From your left: Me on fiddle, Joann on Irish Whistle, Sondra on banjo and Andrew on Bouzouki.
Music, The River's Edge: The Coontz Armory Archery Shoot and Music Session
Well, we played Wednesday night at the Coontz Armory in Hannibal, Missouri. Our audience were the archery shooters. It was a busy night with lots of people coming and going. We were up on a stage off to your right. We were up high, in the opposite direction of the archers ... safe and sound. I did see a few "dancing" archers. I wonder if this affected their aim?
Music, The River's Edge: Music at the Armory
Last night we played a music session at the Armory in Hannibal, Missouri. It was fun. We were up on what I would consider a very tall stage. We had a lot of fun. It was me, Sondra, Joann, Larry and Andrew. We played from 7:00 to 8:30. It was a good experience and we should do it again some time.
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Instruments: Benny!!
This is Benny, the tenor banjo. Right now, he's on loan from my friend Larry. But ... as soon as he's paid for ... he's all mine!!!!!!
Benny and I have a lot of fun together. You can't hear or play the banjo and not be happy!!
General: A Tree In the Road
Well, yesterday afternoon my dog was barking his mean "I'm going to eat you" bark that alerted me there was someone outside. Isn't it amazing how dogs have different barks that mean different things? When I looked out the window, I saw a bunch of cars lined up in the road, some were turning around in my drive way and leaving ... others were just sitting there.
I walked outside and saw that a tree had fallen across the road. This is serious because this road is the only way in or out of this neighborhood. When I came out, me, another woman and a man pushed and pulled on the tree until we got it moved to the side of the road. I fell once, getting my feet tangled up in the branches, but was okay.
Even with the tree over to the side of the road, there were still limbs blocking the road. Three other guys got out of their vehicles and we ganged up on the tree again. This time, it was pulling the branches back until they broke ... at which time they would lie very obediently next to the rest of the tree by the side of the road. I then got out my big wide broom and swept off the road so no one would get a tire puncture. I've had that happen to me before with limbs and twigs.
This morning, the road crew was here to cut it up and take it away. I went out to thank them. He said, "What did you do?" I told him that I got really mad and came out here and pushed this tree down!! He wanted to know how we got it out of the road since it's not a little tree. I told him what we did and he thought that was pretty amazing that we were able to pull it off. Well, it is amazing what you can pull off when you have team work ... and hungry people wanting to get home for lunch!!!!!
I didn't even think to get a picture of it. I wasn't in "blog" mode. I'll try to do better. I guess I'll have to start thinking of myself as a musician and photographer and start carrying that darn camera with me!!!!!
I walked outside and saw that a tree had fallen across the road. This is serious because this road is the only way in or out of this neighborhood. When I came out, me, another woman and a man pushed and pulled on the tree until we got it moved to the side of the road. I fell once, getting my feet tangled up in the branches, but was okay.
Even with the tree over to the side of the road, there were still limbs blocking the road. Three other guys got out of their vehicles and we ganged up on the tree again. This time, it was pulling the branches back until they broke ... at which time they would lie very obediently next to the rest of the tree by the side of the road. I then got out my big wide broom and swept off the road so no one would get a tire puncture. I've had that happen to me before with limbs and twigs.
This morning, the road crew was here to cut it up and take it away. I went out to thank them. He said, "What did you do?" I told him that I got really mad and came out here and pushed this tree down!! He wanted to know how we got it out of the road since it's not a little tree. I told him what we did and he thought that was pretty amazing that we were able to pull it off. Well, it is amazing what you can pull off when you have team work ... and hungry people wanting to get home for lunch!!!!!
I didn't even think to get a picture of it. I wasn't in "blog" mode. I'll try to do better. I guess I'll have to start thinking of myself as a musician and photographer and start carrying that darn camera with me!!!!!
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Ava, Memories, Horses: Pocahontis
Instruments: Old Ivory Piano Keys
