The Day After

The day after Thanksgiving Day finds me picking up a different guitar and attempting to remember simple chords and country songs from long ago. I was never a "good" player, but spent enough hours being bad that I sure can appreciate the great guitarists of olden days and now. The ones who play like fast calm butter. the ones who simply become the music. I can't do that.

We also have a really good banjo. Garage sales can be mystical things...  So THAT beastie is waiting it's turn to be tortured by my hands.

I LOVE music. But am not good at making it. Brain, eyes, and hands do not cooperate. Begged to stop taking piano lessons at age thirteen. Permission granted. Tortured grand-school music teach during clarinet lessons. Mostly all I recall is never making it past squawking sounds AND breaking way too many reeds. Sorry, Mom, we need more reeds... That year's experience is usually shoved WAY BACK in brain's many dark drawers. When art career begin I drew a clarinet as greeting card. Text: She preferred Death to going on with the clarinet. (Sold it quite quickly - I have soul mates...)

In between I was spending a teen-aged week with Uncle Dave and Aunt Martha. Uncle Dave sort of "forced" me to learn a few chords on his 12-string guitar. I could do "Proud Mary." Later, from high school graduation money I bought myself a guitar as present. Sadly, it was not one that wanted to stay in tune, but it got me through many a James Taylor  and Bob Dylan tune, and us through some 4-H accompanying stints. ("Goodbye, Old Paint" is a song I may never sing or play again.) That guitar taught me that rum and cokes can "tune" a guitar, but only as long is under the influence of rum and cokes.

Years passed. I started watching YouTube videos of great guitarists - blues, classical, Mark Knopfler playing with Chet Atkins, etc etc.

It is time to return to learning. Just for fun. And me. I pity that new guitar; and yes, the old one will be a garage sale or flea-market offering (priced accordingly) so I pity it's new owner a little.

Time to move forward into this grey day. Re-learned chords to "The House of the Rising Sun" this morning. Life is slightly better.

Dare to Learn/DO something New today? On to the Adventure!

Fare-thee-well,
Sue

100 Dancing Bears

On to the Next Grand Adventure! On to one-hundred dancing bears - in whatever form they may appear.

The Modern Jazz Quartet is vibraphoning in the background and I must find a new excitement and discipline. What better than to hang around and be introduced to a huge crew of bears who dance? Or don't. (I don't think Larry's a dancer.)

So we will see who shows up and what gets documented. I will have to learn new basic computer skills.

The first 100 dancing bears were done in Sharpie Marker on papers 8 1/2" high by 3 1/2" wide. They were done long enough ago that I don't know when they were started or finished. They were something to do. The rules were: the image had to be done in a space of 5 1/2" by 3 1/2," one bear per space, and the background was filled in by what I call line crochet. It's amazing to see how many shapes, motions, emotions, and scales came about. Some are dull, some are personable. Some ya don't care about, some you'd want to chat with....

Now the skills have increased. There can be pastel bears, acrylic bears, sculpted bruins, collaged cubs. Maybe I'm getting excited. I'm almost afraid to peek into the studio. Yoo hoo - Bob, is that you?

Waltzin' in my mind-
Sue