04.13.06
Posted in Uncategorized, photos at 9:21 pm by Deb
We went on a hike on Sunday to celebrate the beautiful weather in upstate New York. We found a new trail with this beautiful creek running through at one of our favorite toddler friendly hiking spots. Grandsweetie actually hiked for between 1 1/2 - 2 miles. It’s amazing how far her little legs will take her. She loved eating the new onion grass, and so did I. There’s nothing like fresh greens straight from the woods in the early spring. I hope you enjoy these photos.
I loved this swirling water. 
It made me want to wade in it. But we knew it would still be really cold. Brrrr……
Here’s a random ponderance… 
Ever wonder what holds these trees up? Are their roots really that strong and deep? Man, we should be so lucky.
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04.10.06
Posted in Uncategorized, babble at 1:06 pm by Deb
I was just reading a post by a Mom who was feeling a little guilty about leaving her three kids to go out on a date with their dad. I commented to her mentioning babysitting co-ops and decided to leave a link here for that info. Unfortunately, it was a random blogmad hit and I lost it before I could figure out how to link to her. If you read this, Musical Mom, please send me your link. Anyway, babysitting co-ops are a great way to go. I’m always surprised that more people don’t do this. When my youngest son was a baby, I had a community of folks who had children all round his age. We never paid for sitters, and he had lots of families that he considered his own family. It really does take a village to raise a child, though we have forgotten how to live in villages. Young people want to be around other young people. They know what makes sense better than we do sometimes. The nuclear family is a recent development meant to separate us.
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04.09.06
Posted in Uncategorized, music news at 10:29 pm by Deb
Well, the good news is: I did figure out chords for Dick’s new tune. I not only figured them out, but am playing them in an alternate tuning. It’s in an open A with the B string tuned up one more fret to a D. I use a partial capo so I don’t have to do a lot of tuning, just that one fret. It’s a little tricky, but I’ll have it down by Friday night. One of the things that makes it so tricky is that I’m fingerpicking it as well. It’s a lot to think about, and it’s already a tricky tune to begin with. Dick always writes these very quirky tunes. We’ll be posting the midi files of some of our tunes on our website soon. They’ll just be midi taken from the sheet music with canned sound, not live performances, but still better than nothing.
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Posted in Uncategorized, News at 10:22 pm by Deb
I just came across a link to this article on Bezene in soft drinks on another blog, Spectral City. It was a random hit that I almost didn’t read, but I’m glad I did.
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04.08.06
Posted in Uncategorized, music news at 9:50 pm by Deb
We have two gigs coming up next weekend, Friday and Saturday nights. The Friday night gig is a regular monthly gig. I like to try to have new songs or tunes each month, but that requires enough time for practice. Whenever we have a free weekend, it’s nice to just hang out and do nothing or just play. Grandsweetie’s been away a lot this week, too, so we just want to hang out with her. Ever try to work out new music or even just practice with a 2-year old wanting your attention? Try it sometime just for laughs. By the time she’s in bed, who wants to practice? And now we’ve got this new blog to try to keep up with? Fyre suggested a blog - I must have been out of mind taking on another thing. I do love it, though. I’ve also started a new semester of classes for Music Together. That means I have to learn all the music myself first in order to teach it to the parents and children. Yikes! Thanks goodness Dick’s been working out a new tune. I suppose I’ll find time to figure out the chords to back it up, and we have the O’Carolan tune that will be new for both places next weekend. Like I always tell my music students, it’s okay to cheat in music because it’s not really cheating anyway - it’s just finding shortcuts.
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04.07.06
Posted in Uncategorized, music news at 7:45 pm by Dick
I have had a guitar repair shop in my basement for a long time, however I almost never get to use it, as I am tired when I come home from my regular work as an electrician. I studied guitar building for two years . I learned lots. Now I wish I could do more of that work. Doing shop work is my thinking about my later years when electrical will be not what I want to be doing. I bought the equipment to rewind electric guitar pickups, and I have not figured out how to wind pickups yet…it’s not as easy as it might appear. I wish someone who has experience doing this was available. Not too many folks do this sort of thing. I have tried to do one and everything goes wrong, then I get discouraged and put it aside. If anyone has experience here…Please help me out as to where I can get good information. I have found information, but it usually leaves lots to the imagination. I will post some pictures on our web site soon, so those of you that are interested can see the set up.
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04.06.06
Posted in Uncategorized, News at 4:16 pm by Deb
Here is a link to a safer anti-freeze. Thanks for the inquiries.
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Posted in poetry at 10:32 am by Dick
What follows is the result of a wonderful experience I had a week ago visiting with a girl friend who was an early romance. We were young. I saw her briefly 20 years ago, but for all practical purpose, I hadn’t really connected with her in 40 some odd years. We spent the afternoon together. It was a beautiful spring day, and we sat for several hours trading time telling our life stories. We had dinner together, and then said our good-byes. I was sad to leave her, but I must say, it was a wonderful time. This poem, which I leave unnamed here out of respect for her, does actually have a name. The poem came to me while sitting quietly in my living room. This meeting brought up tons of feelings for me, expecially feelings of loss. I cried. Joy and well-being returned and all the pleasant memories of so long ago. I can only thank her! Needless to say, it is a heavy look at what I believe were the tragedies of my friend’s life, and what appears to be the isolation that she now deals with. With love, I dedicate this poem to her.
I live in the valley of darkness.
I shroud myself
So freedom will never find me.
You can not see my eyes.
For to look into my soul
You will find Hell’s fire, my pain, my tormentor.
It is scary here, for I am alone.
What shall I do?
You say, “Remove your shroud, set yourself free”.
But I ask, “why”?
If I should remove my shroud
I will surely lose my life,
Dying of hurts buried so long ago
beneath my soul.
You could destroy me,
and I will be no more.
This I can not bear.
You ask, “Who are you”?
Saying, “Remove your shroud, live!
Your spirit is dimmed, never dead.
I will look, then listen. You shall live.
At last, freedom!
Remove your shroud.”
By Richard Kavanaugh
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04.05.06
Posted in Uncategorized at 11:40 pm by Deb
Our beloved cat, Punkin, died tonight from kidney failure. Two years ago she drank some anti-freeze and miraculously survived. We knew her life would be shortened, but were not expecting so sudden an end. Thankfully, she went peacefully without pain, nor did she linger and suffer. She was the best cat we have ever known and will be missed by all of us. There is an antifreeze on the market that is non-toxic to animals. It is a little more expensive, but well worth the extra cost. Regular anti-freeze has the same chemical that is used to make artificial banana flavoring and is very attractive to animals. Please safeguard our furry friends and consider using this alternative. Ask your mechanic or local auto parts store.
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04.04.06
Posted in Uncategorized, babble at 2:57 pm by Deb
Dick and I went to see the movie “Why We Fight” last night. It is a “must-see” for everyone as far as I’m concerned, though beware - it is a bit depressing. Not that I didn’t already know most of what was in the movie, but it certainly drove all of it home and still didn’t answer the question. So…I ask you, why do we fight? The answers are easier on a global scale, but when we take it down to our own lives, it takes on a different light. Why do we fight in our relationships with others? How much fighting do we do? People often don’t believe us when Dick and I tell them that we don’t fight. We certainly disagree and have had an occasional arguement. We also banter or bicker in a good natured playful way, but the real fights that I have had with others in the past just don’t exist between us. I guess it’s a matter of perspective, too. My 15 year old son often says that he and I fight a lot. I don’t see it that way and neither do his much older siblings who grew up in a dramatic and very loud, sometimes scary household. If anyone even slightly raises their voice to him, he says they’re yelling. Again, it’s all relative. I think it’s all based in fear and ego driven. If we let go of our egos and deal with our fears, we will have no pull to fight. We’ll just observe those “odd” behaviours with interest and maybe even amusement. Do you fight? Why do you fight? How do you think we can we stop all the fighting?
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Ever wonder what holds these trees up? Are their roots really that strong and deep? Man, we should be so lucky.