One of Those Weekends

I've started out new posts a few times this week.

One was on parental rules and regulations. Not being a parent, I found myself sliding down a crevice into a dark and unpleasant place I decided not to go.

Then I started another entry on how we take our loved ones for granted. However, the soap box started getting a little high, and a little shaky, and rather than preaching, I decided to climb down and let it go. Quietly.

Then I was going to do a blog about our pets - but since I don't have pictures of all of them I decided to wait, because with the pets, you really have to see them. And I started thinking about our departed pets, which made me a little sad; and who wants THAT? Nobody.

So, this blog entry is about pretty much - nothing.

I worked this weekend. You may or may not know I work with the public at a large library. Libraries are not quiet. If you have ever been at a library in the middle of back-to-back toddler storytimes, or after a junior high assigned reading group discussion, you may have noticed the noise level. While perhaps not quite as loud as being at a concert by one of my favorite bands, Metallica, it can reach a truly mind-bending level of cacophony.

Most librarians are not so old, and some of them are even quite cute, young and perky. Computers have weeded out most of the old ones. However, not all of them.

Usually when I work the weekend I'm totally beat afterward, and today is no exception.

T.S. accomplished the only thing I asked him to do - finish his room so we can get the elliptical trainer out of the living room. Yay.

So, a blog entry about nothing. Perhaps tomorrow I will be inspired. Today; it's jammy time.

What Do You Want to Do Before You Die?

Since I am now "middle-aged", I've been thinking about this subject. It's a by-product of considering one's mortality.

Unfortunately, my money and time are not unlimited. It would be fabulous to visit the moon, or even just go into space, but without vast quantities of money, it's not going to happen. Also there is the aspect of choice. Yes, someone could choose to quit their job and take a tour of the world - but that wouldn't be my choice.

"Things To Do Before You Die" don't need to be large things.

Here are a few of mine, in no particular order. I am working on the ones in red.

Visit every State in the U.S. I am up to 14 so far. After our Alaska vacation it will be 15. Farthest East - Louisiana. Farthest West - Hawaii. In particular I would like to visit Niagara Falls, New York, Washington DC, South Carolina and Maine.

After I visit every state, visit the Canadian Provinces, and Mexico.

Other countries I would like to visit - England, Australia, Italy, Spain, France, Netherlands, Greenland, Egypt, New Zealand, Guam.

Visit Medicine Hat, the town in Alberta Canada where my mom's family lived after they emigrated from England.

Get back into shape; fitness, weight and every other way as well.

Visit the Historic Colonial cemetery in Massachusetts where my many-times great grandfather is buried.

Publish at least one of my novels or stories.

Learn how to play guitar.

Work part time instead of full-time.

Get the flower beds in shape, and landscape the yard.

Have a 50th Wedding anniversary - no party, just the anniversary. With today's life expectancies, who knows, we might even make 75. I'd only be 95, and TS would be 93.

There are, of course, many other experiences I'd like to have as well.

I just wish I'd started working on some of these things earlier. I wasted a lot of time when I was young.

What do you want to do before you die?

Guitar Reviews of Our Personal Guitars

In Order of Construction Year
TS did not read my reviews, I made him do his blind...we've been married a LONG TIME...can you tell?

1956 Gibson Southern Jumbo
VG: In my opinion, this is our best-sounding guitar. I am prejudiced, because it is a family heirloom of sorts. It's tones are very rich and deep; a lot of bass. While it can sound a little blurry, it's definitely got the Gibson sound. It is a big guitar, and somewhat difficult to play for a smaller or normal sized person. The neck can feel somewhat sticky after a while, because of the type of finish.
TS: Very deep broadcasting sound - body is a little big.

1978 Peavy T-60
VG: Has a very bright, clear sound, and a quick neck. Unfortunately, it weighs a ton.
TS: Easy to play, very fast, looks cool, has a great sound. Weighs a ton.

1984 Fender 12 String
VG: Great sound. Compared to other 12-strings I listened too it has a lot better projection and tone. The neck is not as difficult to play as some 12 strings.
TS: Love the sound, one of the easiest 12 strings I've played so far.

2005 Martin 000-M
VG: A nice, bright sound with balanced lower notes. Good sound for a smaller guitar.
TS: Like the smaller size, good sound, very comfortable to play.

2004 Fender Squire
VG:Narrow neck. Lots of buzz and pop from the pickups. Not a great guitar - I think a beginner would be better served to spend a little more money, or choose a different guitar.
TS:Felt like a cheap guitar, didn't like the feel of the neck, sound was very static-y, neither the amp or guitar were very high quality.
(We no longer own this guitar.)

2005 Epiphone SG-400
VG: Has a deeper tone than the Peavey. A versatile guitar.
TS: Very flat neck, if you like flat necks it feels nice, wider spacing on the strings for bigger fingers. The whole guitar looks and feels good, tuner quality seems not the best; hard to get it in tune and keep it in tune, but all in all very comfortable and easy to play.

2005 Art & Lutherie Cedar Acoustic 3/4 scale Cedar
VG: Has a very rich, deep tone for such a small guitar. I found the 3/4 size difficult to play.
TS: Nothing special, but because of its size it's really fun to play with, and has a good sound for such a small guitar.

2005 Samick JZ-2 (Jazzbox)
VG: Acoustic-electric, this has a very rich, deep sound, which I seem to prefer in my guitars. It sounds great unplugged, but has a little feedback problem when electrified. Fun to play, though.
TS: Sounds different from any of the others; looks cool; not my favorite to play - feel doesn't match my style.

2005 Taylor T-5 Custom Maple
VG: Great sound - nice balance between the acoustic sound and the electric. Not a replacement for either, but definitely a fun guitar to play.
TS: High quality, nice guitar, easy to play. Looks and sounds very nice.

2005 Luna Moth
VG: Very pretty guitar. Has a deep sound, but at the moment has a kind of stiff under tone.
TS: Surprisingly better than I was expecting; actually not a bad guitar to play with.

2005 Fender Mustang 1969 Reproduction
VG: Fast neck, easy to play, nice contour and size. I tried a lot of guitars before I chose this one, from cheap to spendy. The only guitar I liked better was a Fender American Stratocaster; and at my level I'm not ready to spend over a thousand bucks on an electric.
TS: Looks cool, easy to play; I am not the biggest fan of the Fender necks but it's a pretty cool guitar. Sound is a little 60's surfer-ish.

Guitars we currently have GAS (Guitar Aquisition Syndrome) for;

VG: Fender American Stratocaster, transparent Cherry Burst finish. My oh my did that guitar sound fine - great resonance and HOT!
Martin 028-EC (Eric Clapton Edition) has a deeper, richer sound than the standard 028, and also the neck feels a little more comfortable to me. When I am actually in the market for a "good" acoustic, I will definitely consider this one.
TS: Rainsong 12-string. Looks, sounds and feels awesome.

Guitar Lessons - Part 2

So, the guitar lessons are going well. For me.

Shhhh, don't tell, but T.S. is not doing so well at the moment. He is not pleased. I guess my 7 years of piano lessons count for something after all. Of course, I have a floating right hand problem, and I'm not hitting the right strings....but I have timing. Unfortunately, T.S. is a little shy, and doesn't know the teacher well enough to be comfortable around him. When he's not comfortable, he gets stressed out, and loses his confidence. So his timing is not so good at the moment, especially during class. I know he feels bad, and I don't know how to help.

That's not saying he won't get it; he will, it won't take long. Then he's going to be far beyond me - but right now he's not confidant about playing in front of anyone and it shows. Me, I'm confidant I suck; but know my playing will get better; I am also not embarrassed about playing in front of people, especially someone who already knows I suck.

I always did that playing the piano too, I still do. Not that I'm some great musician - I am not. I was an adequate but not gifted piano player. After only playing sporadically for 25 years, I am lame. I know I will get better again. You know, thinking about it, I would actually feel worse playing piano in front of people, because I am supposed to know what I'm doing. Hmmm, perhaps I can sympathize a bit more with T.S. now I have looked from a different perspective.

I think another difference is - practice. I practice a lot. My goal is 30 minutes, but sometimes it's only 20. I would also like to practice piano at least every other day for at least 20 minutes as well. I kind of like doing exercises - most people find them boring, but after I get them down, I like to play around with them. So, let's see what happens when I do this....


I just love playing music.

Speaking of which, I heard a great mew song "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" by KT Turnstull. This song has so much energy! I don't know her other stuff, but this song ROCKS. I am planning on buying her CD soon, just because this song has caught in my brain. I would link to it, but I can't find a good linkable song snip. But, check her out. She plays a Gibson Hummingbird when she plays this song live.

Another guitar? Ten Guitars?

In the past six months we have gone from 1 guitar to 10.

How is this possible, you wonder?

Well, here is the story.

First there was my dad's 1956 Gibson Southern Jumbo. My dad loved his guitar. I realize he played mostly two-chord songs, but we had a lot of fun. When he died, my mom gave it to T.S.; because she knew Dad would want it to go to someone who played. It sat, unplayed in it's case. Who knew it was also slowly increasing in value? Not us.

In October of 2005 while we were on vacation T.S. casually mentioned he was thinking about getting a guitar to fool around with. He played fairly well when we first got together, but sold his Peavey T-60 and amplifier after we got married. A week or so later he called me at work, "You need to talk me out of something, I'm at Guitar Center...." of course, I didn't talk him out of it. So he got a "Strat Pack", an inexpensive starter kit for beginners.

In December, after he'd played around with his Strat for awhile, he decided he wanted to get a cheap acoustic to play around on. The SJ is a little difficult to play. After we started shopping my ears couldn't take the cheap guitars, they sounded terrible. As we shopped I happened to see a guitar I really liked, the Luna Moth. Designed for women, by a woman. But, I didn't play, so why would I get a guitar?
Because he had a year-end bonus coming up, and because he liked the sound he chose his acoustic, a Martin 000 - 16.

After Christmas I decided I wanted to learn how to play guitar, but I couldn't justify spending 500 bucks for something I wasn't sure I would even like - at the same time I wanted something that sounded okay. T.S. suggested I get a small 3/4 scale guitar to try out. My plan was when I could play 10 songs, I would get a different guitar. Finally I decided on a Cedar Art of Lutherie guitar. It was a little more expensive, but it sounded better than most of the other cheap guitars.

In January, Ken couldn't take the buzzy, fuzzy inexpensive Strat anymore, so he traded it up for an Epiphone.
The Epi sounds much, much better, in my opinion.

Also in January, after two weeks of playing the Art of Lutherie guitar I decided it was too small. It wasn't comfortable for me to play. Back to the guitar stores we went, and after playing about 500 guitars, and not liking any of them, I found the Samick JZ-2. It's a candy apple red, hollow-body, acoustic-electric jazz guitar. It was easier to play than the A&L, although it was nearly as big as the SJ, it was also flatter.

Also during this time, Ken started looking on E-bay for a Peavey T-60. It was his first guitar, and he had always regretted selling it. In mid-February he found one. Oddly enough, it was from a guy who had had this T-60 since his teenage years, had sold it when he got married at 19, bought it back and had it ever since. The guy was thrilled it was going to someone who would appreciate it (and who had also married young, haha).
We also tried to get a Luna Moth on e-bay, but never won. I still wanted one, even though my guitar research showed Dean acoustics were not the best - but it was pretty!

In all our guitar travels the guitar we fell in love with the Taylor T-5. It is a hollow-body electric-acoustic. It was a LOT of money for a guitar. I started teasing T.S. about it - telling him the devil on my shoulder really wanted one. The angel thought it was far too much money, but the devil, well, we all know the devil is all about sex, drugs and rock and roll. Finally in late February the devil talked him into it - both the angel and I were surprised. We got a Custom Blue Flamed Maple.

After the T-5 T.S. and I decided we were finished buying guitars for awhile. There were expenses coming up for our vacation, and we were spending a lot of money on shelving and other home improvements. We had sufficient guitars. The Art & Lutherie went to visit T.S.'s dad. T.S. fell in love with a Rainsong 12-string graphite guitar, but because it was very espensive, started looking at other 12 strings. He found a used Fender 12 string. I told him he could cash out my change and get it, if he really wanted to. So, he got it - and my Luna Moth as well. We were guitar-full.

However, when we decided it was time to take lessons, our guitar teachers web site recommended beginners use an electric guitar. I didn't really want to haul the T-5 all over town. T.S.wanted to use his Epiphone of course, my only other option was use the massively heavy T-60, or get a cheap electric. After playing a lot of guitars I had narrowed it down to a Schector Custom, or an Ibanez thin-body. Due to my round and short body-type finding a guitar that fit me was a bit of a challenge. Then we went to Music 6000 in Olympia, and I found a Dean I liked (the baby Z) and a Fender I liked as well. After much debate, I ended up with the Fender Mustang '69 Reproduction. Baby Blue. It's cool. Kurt Cobain was a fan of Mustangs, which is not why I got one, but I like it. He even designed a Jag-Stang for Fender, which I considered.

So, now we have ten guitars. Which is more than enough. For now.

At some point the Samick will probably be traded in - probably when T.S. gets his Rainsong after our vacation. I will probably get a good acoustic next year. T.S. may want his own acoustic-electric (although the T-5 is both of ours). We both have our "special" guitars - he has his Peavey, I have my Luna, we both have the Gibson, because even though my mom gave it to him - it was my dad's. We may want better electrics someday. I actually fell in love with a Fender American Stratocaster, but I couldn't justify spending 1,500 bucks on an electric guitar to learn on.

I'll let you know how the lessons go. At this point we are only doing timing, which is NOT fabulously exciting, no matter how necessary it is.

Queen + Paul Rodgers Concert at Key Arena

It was my first concert since the Bangles - so probably around twenty years. I went with T.S.'s nephew thanks to the Christmas generosity of his brother's family.

It was amazing. From the first song to the last (We Are the Champions) I had a good time.

Queen was actually the first concert I ever went to, in 1977, with a friend of mine from High School. It was a great concert, but her car got towed, which I felt really terrible about. However, the concert itself was amazing, and a memory I will always treasure. I saw Queen again in the summer of 1980. This time with my best friend Marlene, her boyfriend, and a guy I knew from High School. Freddie Mercury was the master showman of rock. He loved the crowd, and he brought us along with him during the concert. I knew all the words to all the songs.

I had never seen Paul Rodgers live before, although he is one of my favorite male vocalists. He didn't disappoint; he put his own spin on the songs without taking away from them. He also performed several Bad Company Songs, "Bad Company" and "Feel Like Makin' Love".

While this show didn't have the energy of the Queen shows I saw when they were in the maximum level of popularity - we are all nearly 30 years older. The crowd was mixed - young and old, although more of us old rockers than the young ones.

I also liked the fact the band did some lesser known songs, like "Dragon Attack" and "I'm in Love with My Car", and the interspersion of film clips of Freddie - who was part of the show as well, especially during "Bohemian Rhapsody", when halfway through the film clip, Roger came in on drums, and Brian on guitar. Paul Rodgers took the last verse and chorus; it was very well done.

It was an excellent reminder of why I so loved both Queen and Bad Company - time to get those records out.

Spring Cleaning - Done

It's such a good feeling to be finished with the majority of my projects.
De-junking - Done.
Spring Cleaning - Done. Except for a few things I can't do. Like the Dog Area of the Utility room. We need a rubber mat. And T.S.'s room the last few things are his to deal with. His computer area and the kitchen counter - all Ken's stuff. Is there a pattern here? Yes. Am I going to nag? No. I don't believe in it.

So, what's next? Well, first, I'm going to work on finishing projects I can do.
Putting new handles on the utility room cabinets.
Washing Curtains & Blinds & windows.
Cleaning the carpet.
I don't consider them part of spring cleaning - because I don't.

Tomorrow I am going to the Queen & Paul Rogers concert with my nephew. It was my Christmas present from T.S.'s brother & family. My nephew and I both were very into Queen at points in our life. For me it was Junior High and High school. For him - about the same, but 20 years later. I am wondering what we are going to talk about. He is now a yellow-dog Republican, and I am a yellow-dog Democrat. So, politics is OUT. Music, out. The only country I like is EZ country - like Dixie Chicks and Big & Rich. I am more of a Metallica, Nirvana, Killers kind of girl. He feels Dixie Chicks are traitors to the U.S.A.


However, we can talk about dogs; we both have them.
T.S. - we both love him.
Chickens, he has them, I used to deal with them at my aunt and uncle's house.
Of course, I can talk about the pets. And work.
He can tell me about work, and what he's been up to lately. So maybe we will find things to talk about.

At the concert we will be too busy singing along to talk to each other.

Next weekend I am planning on doing - NOTHING!