What We Do

I woke up thinking about this video after a particularly sleepless night.  It’s interactive and absolutely amazing.  My favorite part is the guy modeling the different DEVO designs.  Enjoy.

What We Do

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All You Need is Love (And Cookies)

Baking these cookies.

Listening to the Beatles.

Because all you need is love (and cookies).

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Lucy

We’ve been listening to The Beatles lately. (Mainly the new album “Love” put together by George Martin.  It’s phenomenal.)  I asked Sam why their sound changed so dramatically from the early albums.  His reply… LSD.  Yup.  That explains a lot.  So, I give you Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds as portrayed in the movie Yellow Submarine.

You gotta admit that the artwork/music combo is pretty awesome.  I bet Walter totally loves this movie.

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Shiny Happy People

I woke up a little grumpy this morning after the cat did a flying leap onto my bladder.  An ex-coworker posted this on Facebook and it was just what I needed.  Hoping your frosty (or snowy) morning is brightened a little.

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Concert in the Park

Wow… I got back from vacation and kind of fell off the grid.  Between sewing at the shop and stuff at home, I’ve been busy!  We did take time out yesterday to go to the first concert in the park of the season.  The featured band: Cherry Poppin’ Daddies!  One of my favorite bands, they put on a great live show.  (Not to mention it was a *free* concert!  Gotta love Parks & Rec.)

I, of course, spent the show with yarn in hand.  I got four more flowers finished on my Ella scarf.  There’s a lot of ends to weave in on this project…

The few pictures I snapped didn’t turn out very well, but I did capture a few seconds of video so you can experience it all the same.  Enjoy.

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Dad’s Birthday

Almost a month ago was Dad’s birthday.  (I just now got the pictures uploaded…)  We got together as a family and decided to get him a big present this year.  But this requires some family history.  Dad moved up with his family in the ’60s.  He moved in down the street from Mom.   They played in the school band together.  Dad played trumpet, Mom played flute.  To this day, Dad still plays.  And to this day, he’s still playing his trumpet from high school.  While it’s in fairly good shape for being 40 years old, the valves stick and it’s really not a nice instrument.  This year, we were finally able to remedy that.

Wrapped in Dad’s favorite wrapping paper (newspaper), the box was a mystery to him.  He thought he knew what it was, but he was wrong.

You don’t often see that look of touched surprise on Dad’s face.  He was truly shocked.

Dad gives  a quick check to the valves.

After trying it out himself, Dad let Tyler have a try.  Another trumpet player in the family?  I think so.

This turned out to be a fun party for both Dad and Tyler.  One gift for Tyler’s birthday had shipped late, so he got to open a present too.

A magic drum, just like Diego from this movie.  Hopefully this will save my sister’s trash can from future wild drum sessions.

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Code Monkey

Sitting through a very early morning meeting today, this began playing in my head.  It is now stuck there permanently and I may become a crazy woman (oh wait… too late…).

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Family History

My great-grandfather died when I was very little.  I remember that he was a large quiet man in a wheelchair who gave us $5 at Christmas and on our birthday.  He died when I was probably 4 (I’m not exactly sure).  I remember the funeral, but didn’t really understand it.  My grandfather passed away when I was in college.  I understood this one and, of course, was very sad.

Since then, my grandmother has set about making her life a happier one.  Among other things, she took up bowling again, bought a hot tub, and put new floors in the kitchen and bathroom.  She also began cleaning out closets that held stuff from my grandfather and great-grandfather.  One day she called my dad up and told him she had a pile of instruments from great-grandpa and if he didn’t want them, she was going to take them to the thrift store.  Needless to say, we rushed down there and took them off her hands.

In that pile of instruments, was a locked guitar case.  Since my husband plays, two of the guitars came home with us.  We broke open the lock and lo’ and behold, this is what greeted us.

That, my friends, is a 1960′s (either ’63 or ’64) Gretsch Chet Atkins Signature solid-body electric guitar.

The reason I am telling you all this leads up to yesterday…

One of the perks of working where I do, is sometimes, I get to meet neat people.  My work puts on a series called “Industry Legends” where they have the owners of big companies come and talk to us about the history of their company.  This one was Fred Gretsch of Gretsch Guitars and Drums.

It was started in the 1880′s by his great-grandfather (also named Fred) and now he owns it.  The history of the company is fascinating if you ever get a chance to visit their museum in Georgia, do it.  They had rare video footage and lots of neat things to say.  I learned a lot that I never knew I didn’t know.

The best part of the event came at the end, though.  I’d brought in the family  Gretsch (I call it the “Old Man”) for him to see.  It was displayed on stage during the presentation (squee!).

Then, at the end, he signed it.

Talk about a nice guy!  He not only posed for a picture, but he signed the family guitar!

It was the coolest day I’ve had in a long time.  I can’t wait to tell this story to my nephew when he’s a little older, and then someday to my kids.  It will certainly be one to pass down for many generations.

(Side note: Hauling a solid-body guitar around in an antique wooden case in heels is very tiring.  That sucker is heavy!)

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Traveling Hobo Band

Check out what the Traveling Hobo Band did from their last Acoustic Musician’s Jam performance. This is a company sponsored event that is put on every few months or so. They rotate with the electric jams and are held at local venues.

So, for your listening pleasure, my personal favorite from this set, Monkey Rag.

Be sure to check out their other songs from this performance:
Drink
Jerry the Junker
Ghost of Stephen Foster
Hula Girl

I work with these people, how awesome is that?

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