Art and Music

Rick works in his workshop and only shows me his stuff because who else is there?

So when I read him some of your comments he was thrilled. Thank you all!

It's nice to hear these things from someone other than your wife who likes most things you do. I get that.  

He belongs to a group that makes these types of things. They bounce ideas. We see who is selling what and where. He gets a lot of help too. This community has been a real treat for him, he learns, he meets like-minded folks and he enjoys it. They all show off their wares and what they are working on. They share ideas, tips, and marketing ideas. Then there is his "wood porn" that he watches a great deal. 

There is an event happening soon in our community. 

It begins in May and runs to November. 

It is just like the Raleigh Night Market only this is based in our town/'burb. 

It's a monthly pop-up market. It is only locally made goods and an evening of music, artisans, food, and drinks. It is from 5-9p on designated Friday nights. Rick had to fill out some applications and show he lived here and that was that so far.

The first event is this month. Rick doesn't feel his work is ready and he doesn't have enough. So he signed up for fall. It should be interesting.  He so enjoys this. 

And of course, everyone asks me, "doesn't it bother you he is always in that workshop?"  Hell no, is the short answer.  I do hate that it stalls all work inside unless I bug him but otherwise no. I love him but dear me I don't need him underfoot 24/7. 😛

We have a friend not far from here who is a huge fly fisherman. 

He and Rick were talking about his favorite lure. (wooly mammoth lure) 

Rick and I went to Bass Pro Shop and he bought a couple of these fly fishing lures. Rick then made a wine stopper for Paul with a fly in it. I found it gross as hell. 

But when Rick and Paul were talking about lures that evening Rick mentioned it would be cool to do what he was thinking. Paul said that would be so cool if you could pull that off. That was all the incentive Rick needed to hear, "if you can pull it off" It was now something he wanted to prove he could do. One never tells Rick no because he will most certainly do it. Trust me. I had to learn that lesson early. 😊

Fast forward and Rick finds that others make these too. So he was convinced he could too.  I saw him picking up some gravel/stones one day out of our driveway. 

I asked what he was doing. He told me he needed some sand, some gravel, and then have the lure in that. What? He kept saying you'll see. Well, I saw. I think it's awful but I know that people who fly fish love it. How do I know? Because Rick posted it on his wood-turning "boards" and everyone went bat shit crazy. He sold so many of those. Then they wanted to know how to do it. So he shared how it went down, what to watch out for and what he did wrong. Who knew that this ugly thing would be so popular. Okay allow me to rephrase that - I never thought it would be that popular so I know nothing. I don't eat fish, I don't like to fish, I just like being on the water. So I used to go fishing with him all the time before Izzy. That beauty took my place. She got so excited when a fish was on the line. I didn't. 

So I get she was more fun than me. 

In the meantime, he packed up Paul's favorite lure as a wine stopper and sent it to him. He asked me not to post anything since he and Becky follow us he wants Paul to be surprised. If I got this in my mail I wouldn't be thrilled but then again, I don't like to fish either. Yes, this started as wood with an epoxy top. 

In other news. I caught a show of Ellen DeGeneres at 3am the other night. She had on the Indigo Girls. Boy that brought a flood of memories as only music can.

I discovered the Indigo Girls in the 90s when I lived in Seattle. Seattle grunge was hot then. I didn't like it but I have to say I discovered a lot of music I would never have heard if I had not lived there.

When growing up I could hear all kinds of music on the radio. Nothing was really segmented. Oh, sure there was country and what I used to call my parent's music. But on the radio in those days you heard everything. 

I would hear some Motown, some rock, some soft rock like Elton John, then Grand Funk.  I googled top 100 billboard singles of 1974 and it was rich with variety. 

John Denver, Gladys Knight, Steve Miller Band, Three Dog Night, Billy Preston, Joni Mitchell, etc.

I can attest that if John Denver came on I may change the station but overall we heard and experienced it all. Then suddenly everything was segmented. Pop. Rock/classic rock. Country. All that was left in my hometown was a college station I really liked but not on all days and a classic rock station. I wasn't hearing a lot of new music.

Then I moved to Seattle. I was on my horrific commute to work and found a station I believe called the Mountain. I was told the format is not the same anymore which saddens me. It was eclectic across-the-board music. I had never experienced a station like this since the 70s.  It was on I-5 stuck in traffic and not moving where I heard Keb Mo for the first time (blues!) I was hooked. Then the indigo girls, heavy rock like Guns /N Roses, Tracy Chapman, Bare naked ladies and Lyle Lovett who I thought was country but was finding out he was more than that. I recall a particular commute home where I told Rick I just discovered these 2 guys that we need to check out more of their music. That is how it all began.

I am not normally an Indigo Girls kind of gal. I've shared that I love ROCK and I like the Blues. (Country but not much of today's country.)

But for some reason I really liked them. Watching them on Ellen the other night, they didn't sound as sharp, they looked a lot older and I found that funny that it shocked me. I mean it was over 30 years ago, I don't look the same either. But it was one of their first hits and it just brought a warm happy memory fall over me.  Music does that so well, doesn't it?

I saw a man on television recently talking about this. The man was a comedian and they asked him how he got to love John Denver. He said my goodness when I was growing up the radio was all types of music and I knew and love it all. He said, "there is no such thing as black music. (he was a black) and when friends say that to me I shut them down!'  

He said, "you need to be open to everything, it's called music."

I agree but then again rap makes my ears bleed so there is that.

But I understood what he was trying to say. 

It was so much better when I could hear it all on one station and be introduced to more variety of music.