Surprise, surprise,

Where is the time going, it seems that yesterday was the first of April, and here we are clean out of June, WOW.The day did start out very well, what with practicing at church for Saturday, and Sunday. It is funny that the first place that I played in front of anyone was at church, and will probably be the last. Practice went very well , and we got it down to 5 songs on Saturday and the same on Sunday. We are using a very small amplifier, and putting a mike in front of it, sounds pretty good. 

   After lunch the surprise reared it's head up out of the swamp. Mary was talking to the park manager, and said for me to stop by the office and I did. A couple of weeks ago, I helped him out when the fellow that locks everything up late at night had to be  away for a couple of weeks, and I said that I would take over for him, and John said hello,and handed me  an envelope with my name on it. What do ya think, it had a fairly large sum of cash. Just in time for a side trip to Harbor Freight store, need some supplies.

    I feel another picture coming on, so need to look for a new subject, maybe a picture from Mary's computer, that is always good for a new subject. We will have to see what comes up, more tomorrow.

   

Been a long day,

Wednesday started out very early, as the Parkinson's medication has a few side effects that aren't nice at all. Woke at about 4 AM in a reoccurring dream, more like hallucinations. This one took up just where it ended while still in the hospital, wasn't a fun thing, and has me bummed at times.
    But on to the rest of the day, Talked to friend Don about a project we have been working on for awhile. It is the modified guitar tuning changer, that allows a player to change the tuning on his guitar without touching the tuning pegs. Some of us, players that is, change the tuning for every song in a set, and it is very distracting. We may be on to something that is really different.
   I am learning how to cook without using meat, and today I tried chili, turned out pretty good, but no pasta.
Well enough of that stuff, it is getting late and must get to bed, more later.

The last of Monday

Ah, here we are at last, some of the pictures that I have finished in the last few months. The first pic is of a cathedral somewhere in Spain, I tried it in acrylic paint, pastels, and finally watercolor pencils. Although they are all very muted, you still get a feeling of the size of the building, and the vivid colors of the flowers. The second picture is of course, Venice, where we can get an idea of the diversity of the style of the buildings, but most are like the one on the left. The last picture is taken from an original oil, displayed in the home of my wife's brother-in-law in California. As soon as I can get some of the other works, I will post them from time to time. I will close out Monday on this note, and say see you in the morning.

More Monday

Just a little bit more, 
    Let's look a little bit into the art works that I have been working on. A lot of if not all of the material I have been working on is from the 3 month trip my wife and her twin sister took 2 years ago, covering France,Spain, Portugal, Italy, and England. They must have taken 5000 pictures or more, and that is a lot of  pictures to work on. Now I will try to upload some of them on to this blog. Well I will have to get Mary to email me some pics. The latest painting is of a wooden draw bridge in France, 

Projects

Monday June 27 2011
It seems that I have always had a project going on something or other. My most ambitious  has been building solid body lap steel guitars. The attached photo is of the first guitar I ever built.It is made out of 1" x2" hard maple lumber. It is very strong and stable, as it seldom needs to be tuned. This guitar was the first in a series of 6 instruments of which 5 incorporated a 4 tuning changer, that is the set up of the strings could be changed to suit the song being played. 
    For the sake of getting this blog up to date, here are a few of the projects undertaken.
I got reaquainted with art during a trip to Wisconsin4-5 years ago. My daughters mother-in-law is an accomplished artist, and gave me some supplies to get started. Snce that time I have been commissioned to paint a mural on the wall at church, and a wall at the home of a friend. 
   Without sounding bored, here we are at another Monday, and so it begins anew.

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Ah Sunday, just like any other day, woke up early and figured out what to eat for breakfast, then write it all down, and then take my medicine. Now for the meal, right now it consists of oatmeal, strawberries, and a cup of Cap, good start.
   Been working on a new idea for a tuning changer for a steel guitar. It is a new concept using cams to increase or relax the tension on the strings to change the tuning. Have already proven out the design, but needs to be refined, meeting a little resistance, but may work out yet.
   Back to Sunday, and it seems the days run together, I suppose that is just part of getting old.
    New at this blogging, it may take awhile to get into the swing of things, I have a long list of interests, and will share them with you all as time permits. A short list would have to include, the steel guitar, writing, painting, golf, and fishing, not in that order of course. I guess that is enough for now , signing off.