Sometimes I get home from a long day and this face is waiting for me in the window. Next to my wife, this is the sweetest lil thang one could hope for upon arriving home.
Her name is Vespa and she is the krazy kitten! The Monkey!
I’ve been wanting to get a new guitar for some time. Even more since I’ve been playing along every other Thursday with a gang of guitar players at work. It’s been paying off since I’ve learned more songs than Puff the Magic Dragon and the incorrect way to play All I Want is You by U2. I even know a Green Day song now!
All of my guitars have been used or hand-me-downs. I don’t have much room to complain as many have been great guitars. Most notably my Martin Shenandoah. I think it was a D-2832. Modeled after the Martin D-28. I foolishly sold it for a song in High School and have regretted it ever since. Today, the guitar goes for around $1800 in good “used condition”.
Continue reading A New Fiddlestick
Sometimes things converge unevenly and create something new and beautiful.
A couple of Christmases ago my mom gave me some pencils in the hope I’d begin drawing again. Within weeks I had produced a picture of our cat. It’s hard to draw moving targets though and so the perspective was a bit off. My skills were still there, un-honed and a bit rusty. I’d always received As in art. Artistic talent in my family is not uncommon. Whether it be writing, drawing, photography or simply restoration of fine pieces of history–art runs strong on all sides of my family. From time to time I miss drawing. My aunt and uncle, Jan and George, both artists themselves, gifted me another set of Pencils, Paper along with a nice drawing bag last Christmas.
A couple of years ago I’d purchased a frame with the intent I would use the gift pencils I received from my mom to draw her a picture from a photo of my dad. Although I didn’t end up using her pencils I did sit down last Sunday for a couple of hours to draw. I used the pencils I received from my aunt and uncle and a photograph from a few Christmases ago and produced this:
Click to enlarge.
My mom stopped at my workplace mid week and I gave her the framed piece. It brought her to tears momentarily and then she stated, “You got his eyes just right.” There is a great satisfaction in giving my mom a drawing of my father. It’s the kind of gift that mom’s really appreciate. And though it probably won’t end up on her fridge, I’m proud to have given her something that reminds her of dad when he was happy. Then later this week I rediscovered this note Evan passed us shortly after my dad’s passing:
It was good to have all of these reminders this week.