Oakland Manor Gig

Amanda had a gig Wednesday afternoon at Oakland manor, another assisted living center. June and I tagged along and sang our three songs. Our favorite audience member was a black man with a deep voice who knew exactly where to add the "uh-hums" as he sang along.

The audience was great, but the staff so grumpy that we probably won't go back. You'd think the staff would make you feel more welcome when you give such high quality entertainment for free!

Pearl Strings

We had band practice this morning. Amanda was kind enough to take our new publicity shots. We have our first gig December 15th! We have a lot of wood-shedding to do before then!

From left to right, we are June, Alisa, Judy, Helen and Barb. We decided to pick a unique name, since I am the only original member of the Black Eyed Susans. We're going to call our new band Pearl Strings! I guess I'll use the top picture for our flyer. If Helen and I weren't out of focus, I'd definitely go with the jumping one!

S'more S'mores

Amanda fired up the firepit again Sunday night, and we enjoyed some more s'mores. It's just like camping in your own backyard, complete with going to bed with the smell of smoke in your hair! We loved it. There's nothing like sitting around a campfire to make a person feel convivial!

Not Caching In

Amanda and I went geocaching with the Stephens and their friend Brad. It is a fun concept and a great excuse to get outside on a beautiful fall day. Unfortunately, we didn't find either of two caches we were looking for. I guess we'll have to go back and try again sometime. With all the leaves on the ground it seemed like looking for a needle in a haystack!

Duncan, the Stephens' sweet little pug dog, got to go with us. Coda, unfortunately had to stay home. This was because she tried to kill Duncan! She normally gets along great with other dogs. We can only guess that Duncan's unfortunate habit of snorting when he breaths might have seemed aggressive to Coda. Whatever the reason, I'm afraid Duncan is going to have nightmares tonight.

Joan and Emallie

Amanda and I went over to June's house yesterday to hear Joan play a little mini-concert. Amanda got to see all the great progress Joan has made since she last taught her a year ago. It was fun hearing her play with vibrato! Her mother, Mary, also did well, acting as the music stand.

In the evening Amanda's new friend, Emallie, came over for s'mores and a Harry Potter movie (the last one ever)! They built such a cozy fire that I had to join them around the pit to roast a marshmellow or two! This is the perfect picture for Amanda's "mishication," the term her friend Zach uses to refer to her mission medical release.

Later I picked up Ed at the airport. I'm happy he's now safely home from down under!

Singing and Playing at Fairhaven

Amanda had a gig at the solarium at Fairhaven today, so we talked her into letting June and myself tag along and sing a few songs of our own. We also took Miss Carol along, as she is very popular with the staff at Fairhaven, and she enjoys going back and showing off her walking skills.

We did music from the 30s and 40s, which was just great. The audience knew all the songs and hummed or sang along with us.

Here are June and I doing Bye, Bye, Blackbird:





Here is Amanda (the real star of the show) doing Till There Was You.






Then, to finish it off June (who knows a few thousand songs) led the residents in a few requests. As you can imagine, they didn't want us to leave! At a different time and place we might even have garnered a standing ovation!

A Dog's Life

Coda spends about half her waking hours on "deer watch." She sits on the arm of the couch and waits for deer to emerge from the woods behind our house. Then, she barks maniacally, till we let her out to chase them off her property. She's learned that it's more fun to not bark till she gets right up next to them. If she barks too soon she misses the thrill of watching them bound over the fence and off into the forest.

When she's not watching for deer she's trying to keep me from practicing. She gets in a very playful mood when she sees me pick up the guitar. It's irresistible. Although, I have to admit there are times I think she's just trying to stop the music!