Fun For Me ... Music For You

I have one of those remote controls that locks and unlocks my blazer.

Here's how out of it I am today ...
Went to the house to let the appraiser in ...
went through the Dairy Queen drive through ...
came home ...
stood at the door to the house trying to open it with my remote control.
It took me about five times before I realized why it wasn't working and got my keys out!

How embarrassing!!!!

Dang!

I ate lunch just now.
I don't think I'm going to keep it down.

My eyes hurt so bad ...
head hurts!
I have one lesson and then I'm going to bed again for a little while.

I just figured out this morning how to set the alarm clock on my cell phone.
That will come in handy for several things!

See ya!

Well,
I'm on day six of a non stop migraine.
It's beginning to wear me down.
My eyes are all purple underneath them.
I'm pretty pale today.
My skin hurts too.
I guess I should eat something.
I'll run to Dairy Queen here in a minute or two.

It has two days to get all finished up and go away.
I leave for Kansas City on Friday morning for the weekend.
Going to visit family and go shopping at the big mall!!
And I'm doing it with or without the migraine!

It will be my Aunt Eva, Cousin Pat, my sister in law Tina, my mother Glenda, my son Chris, daughter in law Heather and my grandbaby Chandler!!!
We're adding a new person to the equation,
but I'll tell you all about that when I get back.

I'm excited about the shopping trip.
My parents sent me Christmas money and I get to buy a belly dancing outfit while I'm there.
When I was there a few months ago,
I picked out a gorgeous blue top and hip scarf.
If it is still there, I'm going to buy it.
Otherwise, I'll just pick from what's there this time.
It will still be beautiful.
They all were.

I'm in charge of cooking on Saturday.
Last shopping trip we were all too tired to move when we got back,
so I'm making a roast, potatoes, carrots and green beans in the crock pot.
Then whip up some gravy when we get back and it's ready!
That will work!
We'll use our energy to play music and do some singing!!!

I need to go to the grocery store today or tomorrow and get the food to take.
I'm just going to put it in a cooler.
The things that I didn't think would travel well I have Pat getting up there.
Like the salad and the cheese ...
stuff like that.

I'm so excited about the trip that I can't sleep.

I talked to my Dad today and told him that I'm coming home for Thanksgiving.
I asked him to get the band together on Friday night if he can.
He said he'd see what he could do.
I told him to be sure and call Kelly.
I've been missing Kelly.
He's one of my cousins and just a lot of fun.
He's new to the guitar this year and he's always showing me his guitar progress and checking up on my fiddle progress.

Oh, this will be the first time I've played my mandolin or banjo for them.
Yee-haw!!!!!
I'm excited.
We're a good spirited group ...
but a "little" competitive with one another.
You can't let anyone "one up" you.
It's a lot of work trying to keep up, but it's all done in fun.
Mostly. (wink wink)

So,
if I can just get rid of this stupid migraine
I will have a lot going on and having a lot of fun.
Otherwise,
I'll be very medicated and REALLY having a lot of fun!!!!!!

Wish me luck!

Well,
I wasn't going to tell this,
but I just told one of my friends on their blog ...
So ...
I guess I'll tell.

Went on my weekend trip to Hannibal this weekend.
It's always an ordeal to pack and make sure I have everything that I need for four days.

Anyway,
I laid out my clothes,
made sure I had pajamas and decided to include my slippers this time ...
makeup ...
drinks ...
zipped up the suitcase and headed out the door.

Got there,
unloaded the car ...
put stuff away ...
Opened the suit case and guess what?

My clothes had never made it into the suitcase!
Well,
It was a busy weekend of music three days in a row and no time to run back home for clothes,
so I had to go buy some new clothes.

I will have to pack better next time.
I always forget something,
but that's the first time I've ever forgotten to actually put the clothes into the suitcase!

Good grief!

While talking to my mother on the phone yesterday,
she asked if I wanted to hear the song that she is going to sing at church for special music.
Of course I did!!!

So she starts singing and it's a song that I know
so I started singing harmony with her.
She didn't even blink ...
just kept right on singing until the end of the song.

Then she turns to her company and says
"she's singing harmony with me!!"

My mother and I used to sing together all of the time.
Our voices really blended together beautifully.
It's been a long time since we sang together.
I've missed that.

I'm going to see her this weekend and she's supposed to bring the words to the song and we're going to sing it together. I'm looking forward to it.

Friday,
Doug came and helped me move some heavy stuff to storage.
I mainly needed help with my boat motor and battery.
I couldn't even lift that stupid battery.
I tried.
Nothing!
No steam!
Just a groan.
He just picked it up and put the car.
Then we took it to storage.

I still have just a few things to move, but they are light and I can do it by myself.
While we were driving past it, I stopped at South Park and showed him where I walk down by the creek.
It's one of my "happy places".
It's just somewhere to go to either walk and think about things,
or just sit and listen to the water and the birds,
or sketch ... there are lots of things to sketch there.
I haven't been going there much lately because I've been kind of uncomfortable to be there by myself. I'm prone to panick attacks in situations like that. Had one the last time I was there.
So, I don't get to go as often as I used to.

I played music with the Opry Friday night and had a ton of fun. That was the most fun I've ever had. Greg and Kyle got there around 11:30 I think it was and Kyle and I sang for a long time together. We made plans to sing together the next day.

You know who I enjoy hearing sing? Allan's wife, I think her name is Rita. She sings every once in a while but not real often, unless she did before I got there. I wasn't there until between 8:00 and 8:30 I think.

I think we played until around 1:30. And then I wasn't tired ... just looked at my watch and said "Oh my gosh! It's 1:15!!"

It was a good day!
My fingers were very sore ...
but it was a good day!

Happy Monday to ya'll!!!

(I'm practicing my accent for an upcoming visit back home to my family)

Seriously,
hope you're all having a good day.

How was your weekend?
Mine was fabulous!!!!
It really was!

Thursday was music night.
Went to LaGondola and had a very nice session there with everyone.
Then I left at 8:00 and headed over to North Ely Opry.
That was fun as always!

Kyle and I sang more that night than ever before.
I've been practicing again and my voice is getting stronger.
That allows me to sing longer.

Kyle has a wonderful voice and can sing harmony like crazy!!!
I think that he and I blend well together.
I'm looking forward to learning more songs that we can sing together.

Of course there were lots of fiddle tunes as well!
Both Doug and Kyle are doing so well with their fiddling.
I'm so proud of them!!
I gave Doug the music to Over the Waterfall that night and by Saturday he already had it down and memorized.
Hot dog!!!
That's pretty amazing.

Willy scooted up a chair and played guitar with us too!
I always thought Willy had always been playing guitar ...
but ...
I just found out from a little birdy that he's relatively new at it.
He's doing great!
I'm proud of him too!

That's one of the things that I like most about playing out there.
It's not about who has played forever and who is brand new ...
it's just about playing music and having fun and being with your friends.
It's about smiling and enjoying yourself.

I know ...
I'm always bragging on someone's new song or this or that ...
but when we're together ...
we just blend together and have fun.
That's the way it should be.

I'm supposed to have a copy of Liberty ready for Allan this week ... I've already got it in the computer for fiddle, just a few tweaks and it's ready for mandolin.

Anita is always there with her harmonicas. I haven't bragged on her lately, but she is fabulous and I really miss her when she's not there.

Bill is always there. He gets his fiddle out and plays too. And I heard him playing the mandolin on Sunday afternoon!

I'm always glad to see Dimple when she is there. She is a sweetheart. We played Greensleeves for her last week when she was there.

Dorothy is always there a smiling and patting her knee to the time of the music. I always get a kiss and a hug from here when I get there.

Bud and Carolyn are always smiling when they are there.

Dan plays up a storm on his mandolin when he is there. And he's always smiling too.

Danny is always smiling when he's playing that guitar ... especially when he plays a little Patsy Cline as a hint for me sing!

Del is getting braver on his banjo. I know that he can play ... I've heard him. :)

Evelyn was there with her date, I believe his name was David. They had quite a story to tell when they got there ... (got lost).

Greg was playing the string bass and the guitar and singing. He's awesome!

Jesse was playing his banjo. I'm enjoying getting to know Jesse better ... he's quite funny. I don't think he's known quite what to think of me all of this time ... he's always really quiet ... and I'm not. (I know ... it's hard to believe ... but true) Anyway, I'm finding out that he has quite the sense of humor and is very funny.

Jim was there playing his guitar. He's always smiling too!

Patty was playing her fiddle. I'm going to drag her out there one of these days to stand with us and play while I'm there!

Deann was there and she was smiling as usual.

John was there with his fiddle. He is fun to play fiddle with. I have fun, but I especially have fun when he and Doug are playing strong and I can break off and make up some harmony or just experiment around with the song. Sometimes I do something that sounds good and sometimes I don't. I can always tell by the way they look at me. Faded Love always sounds good though ... that is one of our best ones.

I always like it when Peggy is there because she nods encouragement to us when we're playing. I like that. Sometimes you just need that, you know?

Wes was on his banjo and guitar. And he sang "One Piece At a Time" for me while I played guitar for him. That is an awesome song! He also sings "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" with me. It's really pretty when we do it together. I hope that he and I can learn some more songs to sing together. He also does a really "rad" Folsom Prison.

Lorri was there, but didn't sing much that night. I'm always glad to see her. I'm supposed to give her a call sometime soon. She's a sweetheart.

I think Dick was there.

My weekend days have all run together.
I know there were other's there ... sorry if you're not mentioned here.
I'm always glad to see everyone.

Well, must go fold some laundry.
Monday is always laundry day!
Fun fun fun!
Must run.

Toodles!

Well,
I hope that you all had a good day yesterday.

I had been sore and cranky all day.

I was so excited to find my Sons of the Pioneers tapes ...
put one in ...
and ...
nothing.

I've lost the power chord to my jam box somewhere in the move.
My stereo is over at the studio in Hannibal.

I guess I can buy another chord ... haven't looked at them yet.
I have no idea where the other one would be.

Then I broke my toilet stool.
Just the little flusher thingy.

It's fixed now.
Only $9.00 for the parts and not too bad to put on.
And ...
now I don't have to reach in there and push the flapper down anymore.
Thank you to Paul for fixing it for me.

Horray!

I played my guitar and sang for half an hour.

Practiced fiddle for two hours.

Played all of my celtic memorized songs and then worked on my bluegrass songs.
Most of the bluegrass stuff I have to hear someone else start and then I can join right in.
But I want to be able to start them!!
Dang it!
It hurts my pride!
Oh well ...
pride ...
who needs it, right?
Right!
I just have fun playing!

Speaking of which,
tonight night is music night!
And yes,
this removeable cast is coming right off for music night ...
then going right back on!

Shhhhhh ...
do not tell on me.

After not practicing all month long because of the packing and moving and unpacking and blah, blah, blah ...

My fingers are really sore from playing.
I'm going to have to get my callouses all built back up again.

It's cold outside!
I went to Home Depot after work around 7:00pm and my feet took forever to warm back up.
Burr.
I drank a cold pepsi.
Just made myself colder!!!

Then I put my sweat pants on and went to bed at 9:30.
I was tired.

Well, must get some things done before work today.
It's my long work day and then music tonight.
I hope that all goes well at La Gondola.
And I hope it isn't raining to hard on my drive to and from Ely.

Adios!
Talk to you later.

Wonderful news for me!!!

I found my Wagon Wheels tapes of The Sons of the Pioneers!!!

I used to sing their songs with my Dad and the band back home.
It's been about 12 years though,
and I've only been able to sing one of the songs.

But now I can listen to these tapes and get brushed back up!
I'm thrilled!

Don't Fence Me In
Tumbling Tumbleweeds
Cool Water

There are several that I'll be singing again.

Anyone else out there like The Sons of the Pioneers?

So,
you thought this was a juicy story about one of the Opry guys?

Sorry.

It's actually about a feline cat.
You know ... the four legged kind ...
with fur ... that meows ...

Two weeks ago on Thursday
when I was out playing with the North Ely Opry
I was driving down 36 highway when I heard a strange noise.
I had music going and thought it was that.

Then I heard it again.
I thought, "hmmm ... that's strange".

Then a few minutes later I hear,
"meow".

Ohhhhhhhh ...

Yes,
I had company in the car.
I don't know what his name is,
but he's yellow and white and sweet as can be.

It became quite apparent that he was not accustomed to riding in a car.
His little voice got higher and higher ...
he was scared.

I thought about pulling over and putting him up front with me,
but then remembered an accident with my cousin and decided against it.

Panicked cats attack anything and everything, so I just left him back there.
I turned around and took him home.
We carried on an entire conversation the whole way back to his house ...
non stop ...
him letting me know that he was very unhappy ...
me letting him know that we were almost there and it was okay ...

he didn't believe me.

:)

Made it back to his house and drove him all the way up to the garage.

Then he wouldn't get out of the car.
So I sat in there with him for a few minutes petting him and talking to him until he decided to let me pick him up.

Then I gave him some lovin' while I had a hold of him.
That made him feel better and he purred.

Then I put him on the ground and off he went.
Didn't even say thank you ...
but it was implied by the previous purring.

I don't think anyone at the house even knew that I was there.

I got back into the car and drove on home.

Hi everyone!
I'm still alive and kicking!

Thank you all for all of your comments and concern for me.
I really appreciate you all so much.

The auction is over ...
the house sold ...
I am so thankful for that!!!

I have a few more things to get moved and a couple of them I need some help with.
No, I won't do it by myself ...
My brace is on!!!
I'm behaving!

I enjoyed my weekend in Hannibal.
It was a time of rest for me.
I needed it very much.
It made me feel better.

I will be visiting blogs this evening.
I've missed you all.

North, I haven't been to see the post you did for me,
but will tonight ...
I promise.

Went to the doctor yesterday ...
he said that my hand is healing up nicely.
I'm supposed to wear this brace for another week.
My elbow has strained muscles and tendons,
but he said it should be fine in a couple of weeks.

I got a flu shot while I was there and had some bloodwork done.
I had that all done in the arm that isn't injured.
Now I have two sore arms.
Oh well, that's life.

Must run,
but I'll be back to posting every day except on the weekends.

So ...
I will be talking to you soon!

Ava

Just wanted to pop in and say hello!
I'm doing okay.

Just finishing unpacking and trying to get caught up on my rest.

I visited all of your blogs last night but didn't have the energy to take the time to leave comments.
After this week,
life should start settling down.

I miss you blogger buddies
and I miss my blog!

I may be out taking pictures for you this weekend.
Depends on how much rain we get.

My auction is this Saturday and it's supposed to rain.
Drat!

Hopefully people will still come.

I won't be there.
I'm leaving town.

So far I don't have internet in Hannibal ... just here.

I'll keep you caught up, though ...
Don't worry about that!!!

I hurt myself carrying boxes in.
One was too heavy and I should never have even tried to carry it by myself.
I lost my balance and it smashed my left hand against the wall.
I also lost my balance with a box and fell off of the porch.
But I was only three steps up ... could have been worse.
It was more embarrassing than anything.

Doctor has my hand in a brace and I'm supposed to have my left arm in a sling so it can rest for a few days. I really can't do that until I'm finished unpacking though. The stuff is driving me crazy.

Well, I hope that you all are well.
I am checking comments and email, so keep on sending them!

I'll respond sometime soon!!!

Love you all!

I hope that your weekend is restful, peaceful and fun.

I'm going to a Contra Dance this evening in Hannibal with BHP.

I missed the last one ...
it was the first one I've ever missed.
I won't be there for all of this one,
but will be there long enough to wish Clayton a happy birthday.
His birthday was Wednesday.

I'm still tired.
But will be able to rest next week.
I thought I would rest this week ...
but not the case.
Too busy getting the house ready for open house on Monday.

I've got my dumpster half full.
Sent some stuff to Salvation Army this afternoon.

Now I'm going to take a shower ...
hopefully be revived.
Then head to Hannibal to the apartment.

I haven't unpacked anything there yet.
I need to do some rearranging and get stuff put together
at least a little bit.

Last night was music at Ely.
I enjoyed the night very much.
I laid out on the hood of the blazer and looked at stars for half an hour.
It was 40 degrees ...
but it wasn't too bad.
I had my coat, gloves and ear muffs on.
(I'm such a wimp)

Kyle saved me last night ...
he knows what that means and we'll just leave it at that!
Thank you, Kyle.

Kyle is doing so well on his fiddling.
And we sang a couple of songs together.

Doug played his mandolin and fiddle.

Willy was very quiet ...

Dorothy made cookies ... they were very good.

I had missed Anita last week but got to see her last night.

John, Wes, Jesse, Bill, Jim, Deann, Del, Patty, Connie, Kyle, Greg and the Martin family, Doug, Willy, Dorothy, Anita, Allan, Peggy and her mom, Wes Jr and others were all there and we had a good time ... as always.

I enjoyed seeing everyone.
And I enjoyed playing my fiddle, mandolin, guitar and singing.
Very fun!!

Well, must be off to other things and load the car with some Hannibal "stuff".
I'm so tired of loading and unloading that I could just vomit.

Vomit.

Blah!

Have a great weekend!!

Twenty Eight hours, 30 mintues and 25 seconds until La Gondola session

and

Thirty hours, 29 mintues and 55 seconds until Ely session.

Heaven knows ...
if I've ever needed a session to enjoy and relax ...
It's now.

It won't get here soon enough!!!!

Hello there!

If all goes well,
I'll have my computer over at the other place and back on line tomorrow.

That is ...
if I can figure out how to get everything all hooked back up the right way.
That's a challenge for me.
I look at it ...
lose the whole concept ...
mind goes blank ...

For some reason,
it doesn't just "magically" do it itself.

I think there should be a "pop up" computer in a box ...
you know ...
you open the box ...
and it pops out complete with monitor, keyboard, computer and printer ...
and it's all together, hooked up and ready to go.

Like one of those auto inflating mattresses.
You know?

I'm tired.
Exhausted, actually.
A little cranky.
Mainly just tired.

Working on getting the house ready to show on Monday.
Have a dumpster outside and am going to use it!
Holy cow!

I still have a few things here to take to storage,
but not too many.

The move went well.
I'm getting settled in.
Haven't put together my studio in Hannibal yet,
but the stuff is all in there.
I'll tend to it next week.
I have to focus on getting the house ready this week.

Just wanted to let you know I'm still alive and kicking over here!
I'll be back to blogging very soon.

My love to all!

Okay ...

You know you didn't get enough sleep the night before ...

When ...

You try to use your red lip liner as eye liner while putting your make up on.

Don't worry ...

It came off!!!!!

One more thing ...
a
HUGE
thank you
to all
who helped with my move.

Thank you!
Thank you!
Thank you!
Thank you!

It's 5:30 am right now.
I went to bed at midnight
and got up at 4:00am.

Just a few more hours until moving time.

Thank you to all of you who have left comments or sent emails letting me know you'll miss me on the blogs and emails..
Don't worry ... I'll be back as soon as I have internet set up.
Shouldn't be too long.

I'm a little stressed ...
all broken out in hives.
My hives usually stay localized on my forehead ...
but they've moved down onto my face.
Oh well,
they'll go away.
I just have to keep my hands away and not scratch them.
That's the hard part.

The move will be good.
I ...
along with all of my moving helpers I'm sure ...
and going to sleep good tonight!
I'm tired already!

Until I'm back next week ...
take care of yourselves ...
keep smiling ...
and stay happy!!!!

Love you all!!

Ava

There is going to be a short period of time that I don't have access to the blog from home.
Be patient ...
I will be back.
I just don't know exactly how quickly.

If I can gain access from the library to post ...
I will do that,
otherwise ...
Just know that I won't be on line for blogging or email for a little bit.

I will miss you all!
Be good while I'm gone. (wink wink)

Don't do anything that I wouldn't do!!!!

Ha!

Slept in.

Packed.

Went to lunch at Dairy Queen,

Went to the book sale at the library and bought another box of books.
I got five or six works of Shakespeare,
some westerns,
some mystery novels,
an astronomy book,
and a couple of native american history books.

I don't have time to list them for you,
but needless to say,
I now have endless hours of self entertainment ready and available.

:)

It's been an emotional roller coaster of a day.
Crying ... plenty of it.
But that's okay.
And it's expected.

Moving day is tomorrow at 9:00am.
I can do it.

Well,
I couldn't resist the thought of some good old Ragtime Music ...
So I got out my Scott Joplin book
and played The Peacherine Rag.
It's a good one.

Now I'm smiling again!

Hope you all have a good night.

Oh my gosh.

I just sat down to play "Could It Be Magic", by Barry Manilow on my piano.
It's a beautiful song.

Suddenly as I'm playing it just dawned on me this is the last time I'll play my piano.
Yes, the tears turned on like a faucet.

I know ...
It's just a thing ...
It's just a piano ...
I'll be fine without it.

I'll have to be sure to play some rag time on it sometime tomorrow and let that be the last piece that I play on it.

That will leave me smiling instead of crying.

:)

Well, I added my washer and dryer to my storage list.
I got everything measured,
ran over to storage and measured ...
it will fit!
So it's going in!
That's my moto!
If it fits ...
It's going in!

That's what the storage unit is for after all!


Well,
1 hour, 11 minutes and 25 seconds until La Gondola

and

2 hours 10 minutes and 45 seconds until Ely Opry.

I'm ready!

My fiddle is beaming at the thought of being out of her case.
Since I've had stuff to do,
She hasn't been out except at sessions.

You see,
I know myself too well ...
If I get her out ...
That's at least an hour of playing that I will do before I put her back in the case.

So ...
She's just had to stay in there.

How sad.
I'll treat her better once I get moved and have time to practice again.
And I plan on getting my cello repaired and investigate an idea I've had for a while concerning it.
Can you believe my cello has never recieved a name?
I can't believe it.
It's a boy ...
since it has that sweet deep voice.
So I must come up with a fitting boy name.
I'll have to think on it for a while after I'm playing again.
You must "feel it", you know.

All right ...
I'm stalling.
You caught me!
Back to work I go.

:)

I thought this was hillarious!!!

I used to watch The A-Team every week.
Never missed it!
Loved that show!

He definitely captured them here.

The Beauty Therein
Ava Jackson


God created the beauty that is this earth
With beautiful green and amber grasses
Trees so tall they reach the sky
Rivers of blue that give life to all that surrounds it.
The grandeur of the mountains
The frosty touch of the snow
The cool touch of the rain
The warm touch of the sun
The cool glow of the moon and stars
The contemplative blue of the sky
The whispiness of the clouds floating by
The cool touch of the shade on a hot day
The cool soft feel of the dirt on the ground
The taste of strawberries freshly picked
The footprints of animals that have passed by in the night
The birds gliding effortlessly in the sky
The wind as it sings a sweet lullaby in the tree tops
The birds that serenade us with their songs
Take the time to listen
Take the time to look
Take the time to feel it
Look at the shape of things
Look at the color of things
Feel the texture that life has to offer you
Take in the beauty that is around you
It will bring peace to your soul
It will bring peace to your heart

Just did my morning stretching

and Thai Chi.

Only got to dance for five minutes ...

Too much to do.

:(

Maybe I'll dance later today
after I have some things finished.

I took some pain medicine this morning.
My little muscles were speaking too me.
Between that and my exercises,
I'm feeling better now.

Back to work I go!

I took the day off today to work on the house.
I have Friday off as well,
so I should be able to wrap everything up
and probably go ahead and start moving what I can do by myself.

8 hours 28 minutes and 55 seconds until La Gondola session

and

10 hours 28 minutes and 35 seconds until Ely Opry tonight!

I am SO ready for friends and music!!

And I want some cookies.

Got any?

Just got back from picking up some boxes at Wal-Mart.

Was going to buy a camera battery while I was there, but they didn't have the one I needed.
I'll have to go to Walgreen's and get one sometime today.

Stopped by McDonald's and got a bacon egg and cheese bisquit and a coke.

Now I'm ready to pack some more.

Gee whiz!

Here's another one!!!!

Ohhhhhhh ...

Got my swords out of the closet today!!!!

Ohhhhhhhh ...

You should see them.

They're great.

I have a thing for swords.

I think they're awesome!!!!

I'm so lucky!!!!

I'll have to post some pictures when I get another camera battery.

19 hours and five minutes and 16 seconds until La Gondola session

and

22 hours and four minutes and 25 seconds until Ely Opry

and

116 hours and three minutes and 35 seconds until Hannibal session.

Yee-haw!!!!

One of my friends sent this to me ...

Have you read that moving is the 3rd most stressful job in life ...

the first is death,
second is divorce,
third is moving.


Great!
Just great!

Just got divorced,
Now I'm moving ...

Hopefully I'll stay away from that first one!!!

Ha ha!

Seriously!

I'm not feeling as "snarly" as the other day.
Last night I was so worn out from packing all day that I was asleep on the couch by 9:00.
I woke up around 10:30 and made out my sofa bed and went on to bed.
Watched the moon for a little bit and then was out for the rest of the night.

I don't have much gumption today,
but there's too much to do not to do it.

I'm getting there.
The basement will go quickly so I've left it alone.
I need to venture out to both garages and see about things out there.

Send some energy my way!
I need some more!

The move is this Saturday.
I had set a time of 10:00,
but some of us are going to start at 9:00 or so
and get done what we can.
I'm hoping it all fits in the truck and we just make one trip.
That would be great.

I'm going to see if someone will ride over with me to get the truck at 8:00am
so we can bring the blazer back and I can have it for over here.
I'm hoping one of the guys will drive the truck and I'll not have to park it.
Yuck!
I've done it before ...
but hated it ...
and it scared me!
Made me all tense
and grouchy.

I am proud to say that I can back up using my side mirrors!
That is a skill I'm proud of!

But ...
I hope to avoid tense and grouchy if at all possible!!

I have everything but some rope to tie stuff with.

I got the truck,
a two wheel dolly,
a dozen pads,
two piano dollies
(one for each end)
and the truck is supposed to have a ramp or something so we don't have to climb.
I don't remember if it's a ramp or a lift.
I should have paid more attention.

How much rope does a person get?
I don't know.

I was only planning to use it on my Great Grandmother's china hutch
and my glass salt and pepper display case.
But ...
since I have twelve pads ...
I may use it on some other stuff as well.

We'll see.
Don't ask me!
I'm clueless!

( yeah right ... that's me)

Seriously though,
I really don't know how much rope to get.

People keep telling me that I'm handling all of this well and keeping a great attitude about everything.

I'm trying.

My mother taught me to think of change as an adventure.
And I've always been able to see the positive side of things.
Life's too short to focus on the negative stuff.
It's too draining.
And I don't have that kind of time.
And it makes me sick ... Flares my lupus.
I've been focusing on the positive just for that.

I have lots of good friends.
I have lots of music.
If not for the music and my friends,
I probably would have lost it long before now.
Really.

And actually,
if not for my blogger friends
there's a lot of stuff I wouldn't have been able to vent about.
No, I've not vented too much on the blog ...
some ...
but we do email each other and vent!!

I've tried really hard to keep my blog up beat and happy ...
cry in private.

And I've done plenty of it!
Believe me!

But ...
I'm ready.
The move will alleviate a lot of stress ...
and add some new stress.

But you know what?
Life is good.
Life will be good.
And I can do it.

We all have an inner strength and faith to pull from ...
I've kicked mine into overtime!!!

Love you all!

Packing ...

If you ask me what my favorite drink is ...

It would be Pepsi.

I bought a case a few weeks ago and had been drinking it.
I keep it in the basement so it isn't easy to get to.
I'm supposed to drink lots of water too,
but if the Pepsi is close ...
well ...
you get the idea.

Anyway,
I shared with someone who noticed it was caffine free.
I hadn't even noticed.
Tasted the same to me and I'm pretty sensitive to things like that.

So ...
I went and bought some more!

Technically I'm not supposed to have caffine at all,
but pepsi's are a treat for myself on music nights.
Now ...
I can have it whenever I want!

If you haven't tried it ...
try it.
It's good.

Tonight was session in Hannibal. It was a great night. Everything was fast and furious, but fun. There were a few tunes that I was not able to keep up with and just sat and listened to them. That’s not all bad … when you’re playing you can’t hear everyone and it’s a totally different perspective to just sit and listen and hear all of the instruments blending together.

On a sad note, Chris announced that he and Melanie will be moving to Muscatine, Iowa after the first of the year. We are sure going to miss them both. It will be very sad for all of us.

The players tonight were Chris on tenor banjo … Ava on fiddle … Doug on mandolin and tenor banjo … Sondra on tenor banjo and mandolin … Joann on whistle … Beverly on whistle, percussion and mandolin … Dwain on guitar … Larry on fiddle and mandolin … Don on bass … Jeanie, I think she just listened tonight … Clayton on five string banjo … Kevin on percussion … Rob on percussion … Tony on whistle and fiddle … Lisa on fiddle … Robert on fiddle … Dave on guitar … Dale on guitar and percussion … Sarah on bass and whistle … Ian on guitar … Ned on guitar… John on guitar … Wade on percussion …

In the audience were Andrew … George … Harry … Ellen … Noel … Mary Jo … Lydia … Maddie … Gracie … Cindy and Thelma. There were others also, but I don’t know their names. I do know that some people with the last name of Morrison came, so we played Morrison’s Jig for them. That was pretty cool.

Now, I’m sure there were other people there, so please forgive me if I left anyone out. It’s never intentional.

I got to play the washboard tie tonight! It was pretty fun. Very different! It’s made like a washboard … only in the shape of a tie and it clips onto your shirt. You put metal thimbles on your fingers and that’s how you play it. It was fun! I may need one of those!!

John took Chicken Reel to work on this week. He always takes a new song every week to work on. He’s doing really well. I think he is having fun with it. J

Lisa brought me some moving boxes from work. I was very grateful! They’re really good boxes. With lids! That will be great for storage.

Sarah is going to rebind my old chord book. I hope that she still has some of the wider combs left. It would sure bring some life back onto the book. I use it for lessons, but it would still be nice to be able to flip through it easier than it is now. I’ve had it for a long time and just plain worn it out. Poor thing.

It was good to see Ned … it had been a while!

I gave Clayton his covered bridge sketch. I was very honored that he wanted it. That's the first time that anyone has ever wanted one of my sketches.

I missed Melanie, Betsy, Dale, Adam, Fred, Paul, Evelyn H, Evelyn D, Bob, Charlie … I missed my kiss from Charlie, Suzie … as well as anyone else who was missing. Everyone adds to the group and you’re all missed when you’re gone.

I ordered some bread sticks with garlic and cheese and a Pepsi. Mmmm … it was good, but I couldn’t eat it all.

We noticed that the restaurant changed their sign on the door from closing at 11:00 to closing at 10:00pm now. I think we left right at 10:00. Didn’t want to get kicked out!!! Been there! Done that!

It was a good night and I had fun. It’s good to spend an evening with friends. It’s good to play music and enjoy yourself doing it. It’s good just to sit and talk once in a while and listen.

Until next time …

May you live life

Like every minute counts!

Take time for the little things.

I know the feeling!!!!

Got my collection of Blue Willow Dishes packed.

I kept out a service for four for my apartment ...
Just in case I ever have company for dinner.

Or I'll just use them myself once in a while.

You can't use plain old dishes all of the time!
I like to eat by candle light once in a while too!
That's when I'll treat myself to Blue Willow.

Next I'm packing glasses
cookie jars
and
my collectibe dishes
and my mother's china set.

Then I'm going to get all of my knives and swords out of the closet and "oooh and ahhh" over them.
And touch them all.
Probably have a pretend sword fight or two.
The easiest one to handle is my Zoro sword.
Then I have one that's so heavy I can hardly lift it.

I'll have to take pictures to share with you.
I think you'd like them.

I survived the jungle that was my closet.

I took the clothes I'm keeping to Joanns ...
Kept a weeks worth here ...

and I'll take the rest to Salvation Army tomorrow morning.

I still have to go through shoes and stuff.

But ...

I survived and didn't get too lost.

:)

I'm venturing into the abyss that is my closet ...
to clean it out and pack it all up today.

If you don't hear from me soon,

send a search party ...

because I may have gotten lost!!!!!

I finished a new sketch last night.
It's my very first tractor.
It's not perfect ...
A little out of whack ...
but not bad for my first try at a tractor.

Laid it out this morning ...
Got the camera ...
Turned it on to take a picture for the blog ...
It came on ...
Turned back off ...
The battery is dead.

Drat!
I will post a picture as soon as I have a new battery.

Today I got all of my salt and pepper shakers wrapped,
packed
and taken over to my new place.

In this bedroom over there ...
I'm going to try to squeeze in a twin bed,
a couch,
my sewing table and sewing machine,
my tv,
my display cabinet and salt and pepper shakers ...

those for sure ...
plus whatever else I have room for.

We'll have to wait and see.



In the music room I'm going to have the piano,
my instruments,
two chairs,
and three bookshelves full of music.

It's a pretty ambitious plan,
but I think it will work.

Keep your fingers crossed!!!

This is the covered bridge sketch that I'm delivering to my friend Clayton tomorrow night at the Hannibal Session.

I just sprayed several coats of fixative on it to protect the sketch from smearing.
Wow!
It's been a few years since I've done that ...
I think I'm a little high on the fumes!

The only place I had to do it was in the basement.
Now I remember why it's supposed to be a ventilated area.
Whew!

One of my friends from across the street.
This paint stallion was my favorite ...
Until my little black two year old came along and became so affectionate to me.

This guy is still sweet though ...
He doesn't kiss,
but gives good hugs and snuggles.

:)

23 hours and 29 minutes until Hannibal session

and

95 hours and 28 minutes until La Gondola

and

97 hours and 28 minutes until Ely Opry.

:)

I miss my friends.

I just got back from spending a few moments at the creek.
I've really enjoyed being able to go there.

It's a great place to just get away,
have a moment of peace,
time to think about things,
listen to the birds,
watch the ducks,
watch the squirrels,
write,
or just sit.

I'm going to miss it.
That was probably the last time I'll be there before I move.

It's okay though.

I'll be close to a park that has two ponds and a creek of it's own.
I'll still have places to ponder.


**

I like to graze all day
I like to wander the pasture
I like to lick the salt block
I like to scratch my hip on the fence post
I like to poop anywhere, anytime I want
I like to swish my tail
I like to eat hay
I like to chew my cud
I like to push around the ones that are smaller than me
I like my wet nose

****

And now,
for a little insight into Ava's childhood ...

Grandpa Williams had cows ...
Grandpa Williams had two ponds ...
We all had hockey sticks ...
Ever play cow patty ice hockey?

You wait until the pond freezes over ...
Go collect some cow patties from the pasture ...
Get your hockey sticks ...
Get your teams together ...
Have one brave soul venture out first to be sure the ice holds ...
Then toss a cow patty and play ice hockey!

Some had skates ...
Most of us did not ...
There was lots of falling down ...
Lots of pushing ...
Some hurt feelings ...
Lots of bruised shins from flying hockey sticks ...
Some crying ...
Some name calling ...
Lots of fun ...
LOTS of flying cow poop ...
Everyonce in a while some wise guy would throw a fresher one in there
that when hit ...
flew everywhere!
If you were close enough ...
You got it big time.
You never knew when that was going to happen.

My friend Clayton,
after reading my whining about Saturday night ...

Quoted this song in the comments of Hmmm ....

"Another Saturday night and I ain't got nobody
I've got some money cause I just got paid
How I wish I had someone to talk to
I'm in an awful way"

Made me smile and cheered me right up!

Thank you, Clayton!

Last Wednesday
when the linoleum got laid,
I was trying to find the holes where the screws went to put the cover back on the air vent.
I stuck my finger down inside there ...
and yes ...
of course ...
Duh ...
Got cut on a piece of metal.

It's right on my pointer finger,
the finger I use to run my computer mouse
and scroll up and down.

I have a mouse injury!!!!

: (