the letter

Hi sis,

I’m at the house in the Hts sitting on one of the rocking chairs I built for your outdoor table and chair set, writing this letter. They are all completed and I have to admit, they look pretty darn good and comfy.

I’m glad that you’re finally beginning to live a little rather than hiding in the house. There’s a whole world of amazing sites out there yet to be discovered. Not only that but it’s great for the soul. We all need something to do, places to go and things to look forwards to, otherwise we just sit there waiting to die.

My hive situation was over once I figured out what caused it. The culprit was cranberry juice. I noticed the hives come on again immediately after drinking some. I guess I’m allergic to the stuff…bummer. I prefer drinking it rather than other sugary drinks or even pop. Beer or wine is okay but one needs something else every so often. For the last few years, especially during the winter months, when I was drinking more cranberry juice, I began noticing a rash in several locations but never associated them with the juice, perhaps even with cranberries themselves. I love cranberries, especially home made cranberry sauce. It reminds me so much of lingon berries.

The plumbing situation although a bit difficult to muster, was resolved within two days of hard work. I never did dig yet due to all of this rain and heat. I don’t know if my arthritis could have handled it either but there will be a day in the fall where I’m going to have to just do it.

Creativity, whether artistic, musical or other supposedly comes within however, some of us need a kick in the ass every so often to trigger some sort of emotion to get the juices flowing. I find this true for myself especially in the past. For the last couple of years coming to the house here in the Hts and after creating my special area in the basement with natural cedar, colors of red, beige and browns, I find that I tend to feed off the positive energy. I have discovered talents in me I never knew even existed. I’m even contemplating on doing something on canvas. I’ve never done that or even tried but who knows how it’ll turn out. It will be fun to see. It’s hard to believe that I’m pushing 66 and I’m just now discovering new things about myself. I suppose it’s all because of this house.

I have a prospective buyer which I’ve been going around and around with all week. We’re in the process of negotiating the price. I am not looking forwards to selling, because I will not only lose my creative energy flow I absorb from this house, but a place to discover my potential and a place to create. I can’t do any of that at home. Unless I find another creative energy force to draw from, I suppose I will not find my full potential. That being said, I can definitely relate to your situation with art and having the lack of inspiration to do much in that respect. I’ve been lacking the same all week, knowing that everything will be lost, for now. Perhaps you too need a quiet place like mine to draw energy and the creative force to inspire from. Maybe even learn new things about yourself along with talents you never knew existed.

Simple color changes with different wood like cedar may be just what’s needed for that special place. It’s not expensive and the paint can be changed easily enough until you find the combo that works for you. I painted this basement twice to get the feel I wanted. Putting in the wood on the walls in a small area wasn’t rocket science and everything compliments each other, especially with the dark brown trim. For me, I could sit here for hours and the creative juices begin to flow. Not only that but the hassles and everyday B.S. just disappear. I think that as artists we need those natural tones of wood and colors in our every day lives to make us tick better. I know that you have wood in your kitchen and living room area and a new floor. But you have to say to yourself do you really draw energy from those rooms to the point where your creative juices flow daily? If the answer is no, maybe you need to create a place or change the colors in your existing one where you will and even at 68 can discover the hidden talent(s) that are hidden inside. Perhaps looking deep inside and asking yourself, what would make my creative juices flowing? What is it that I really want to see and then going with it is in order! 

a quick study

Learning to play a new musical instrument or even learning how to improve on an existing one isn't such a big deal and can be a lot of fun if you know how to do it. Unfortunately, music teachers using the traditional methods can become extremely boring and often times the student becomes discouraged and quits. I recently (Jan. 2015) began learning a new instrument, the flugelhorn, a cousin of the trumpet.

me holding a flugelhorn

Playing the trumpet wasn't really totally new to me since 40+ years ago I was introduced to it in music college and had to pass a proficiency test on it along with all of the other band and orchestral instruments before receiving my teaching and performance degree. But....that was 40+ years ago and about the only things I could remember were how to hold it, some fingerings and how to form the embouchure. Between the time I decided to begin the task of learning to play or should I say re-learning (Nov. 2014) and the point where I finally got a playable horn 2 months later (January 2015) all I did was buzz into a mouthpiece I had from the college days.

It really was like starting from the beginning but I decided that I wasn't going to go thru the traditional method of learning. Back in 2005, I started learning to play the guitar which took me about 9 months. I used a different method than what was taught to me which was similar to the Suzuki method. I tweaked it for myself and used a program called Band In A Box. I created a melody and solo using BB along with the accompaniment tracks, listened to it over and over and then began learning it. Fortunately, I read music and was able to follow the notes. For most part, I had to look up the fingering but once I got them it was a piece of cake, well kinda. I learned the parts by playing phrases. First by myself to get acquainted with the notes and then to the music which got me used to playing with a band right away.

I also added scales to my practice sessions using an accompaniment which made it more fun. For endurance and breath control I would hold the note of a scale at first 4 beats and worked my way up to 16 measures (64 beats). This also helped for tone development. Using this method helped me learn to play much quicker and made me sound like I've been playing the horn for years. More to come in the future on my quick learning.

I'm sure you're interested in finding out how this all sounds so below is a player and you can check it out yourself.

lefty

Back in the beginning of March, I almost cut my right index finger off using a table saw. I'm not new to power tools and have used them since the early 1980's. I simply got overconfident and as I took my eyes off the project at hand for just a second or two, things could have been much worse. I suppose that my age had something to do with it as well and the concentration is just not there any longer.


Here's what I wrote on a music site blog after it happened: I had a run in with a brute yesterday. In his defense for 30+ yrs I've been manipulating him for my own selfish goals. Ever since the brute started getting older and older like myself and as my old friend also started breaking down with age and use, many a strong word had been said. Yesterday was no exception, I was using my friend, again for personal gain as I had been for so many years and when things just didn't go my way, out came some very harsh negative words and apparently my old friend just got pissed off and gave me an upper cut where it mattered.

Well, I have to say that there was a lot of blood involved and I had to seek medical attention, not that I'm that weak or frail. I'm sure that eventually the bleeding would have stopped. Perhaps had I not have taunted my old friend and push it to it's limits, things may have been a little different.

Unfortunately, picking a fight with a power tool such as a table saw while it was running as in my case, was a poor choice. I'm in no pain and seem to feel okay after the incident but came to a conclusion that wiping my ass now is going to be quite challenging.

The finger is healed up and the nail has regrown back to about 99%. There are no scars on the finger even tho I lost most of the skin and some meat from the finger. Half of the nail had been ripped out. Oddly, I was never in any pain until I bumped my finger or used it for anything. I had a feeling that there might be some damage to the nerves since two years earlier I had a situation where I almost cut my middle finger of my left hand off using a hack saw. There is definitely some nerve damage in that finger and playing guitar or keys has been a bit challenging in that respect.

In using the index finger of my right hand, I'm having the same problems as with my middle finger of my left hand so I can assume that it too has some definite nerve damage. There is a very strong pricking feeling at the tip of the fingers as I touch anything so even tho they are healed the severe pain has begun.

But you know me, it won't stop me from trying to play nor will it stop me from my woodworking projects. I try to work around it and move ahead. As a matter of fact the flugelhorn/trumpet's coming along nicely and another woodworking project has been completed.