Sunday, Feb 5. This was a quiet day as I remember because I was still recovering from a busy week, and having some fluid in my lower legs. Finally, I gave myself a Bumex (diuretic) late this night. It worked and I was doing better Monday morning. Monday, Feb 6. Went to town today to pick up my old computer that died and the external drive with all the data files rescued from the hard drive. They charged me $35 for the work, which I could not have accomplished myself. This computer was a dual processor MacBook, and they had to go through the Mac side to get to the Windows side. I had never used the Mac side at all. I had intended to learn it for the graphics capability and the nicety of no viruses entering from the web through email or surfing, but sadly I never had time while teaching full time. All the courses I taught in the past 20 years used only Windows. Once I did teach a GIS course with Mac software, but that was LONG ago.
On to exercise class where I led the last 20 minutes because our teacher had to be at a doctor’s appointment; boy, do I understand that! Then on to visit the hospital for a blood draw for checking my INR. It was down lower than it should be (1.6) so my Coumadin dosage was adjusted.
Tuesday, Feb 7. John went with me to town and shopped while I went for a massage. He was able to get my meds and buy a lot of grocery stuff on sale. Turns out we were both in town and could have easily picked up John’s Subaru, but the message was left on the home phone while we were in town. We’ll get it tomorrow. Tonight I had to go back in for music at Hearthstone.
Wednesday, Feb 8. Food bank music and exercise and dropped off my new Toshiba at CWU for some software to be added that I need to be able to help students with their masters theses. This new machine has enough memory not to bog down as the old one, but when one transfers files from a hard drive, the previously loaded software does not come along; nothing on the desk-top does. That is a good reason not to keep folders or files on the desktop, plus your profile becomes very large that way, and it takes longer to start your machine. I managed to work on music transcription off the computer while John used his tonight, because I was able to download a second copy of my Finale SongWriter software to the new laptop. I still have to move files using a jump drive to the home computer to print anything out, but what a pleasure. This laptop is 2.1 pounds lighter than my last laptop; amazing!
Thursday, Feb 9. Sadly, a morning message brought news that my 77 yr old third cousin once removed (on my dad’s side) in GA died of cancer. I’m happy I got to visit her last May while in Atlanta for my high school reunion. This morning I was up early to work on music to take to my group today. I only succeeded in getting one song in, and the other was too simple and had a strange timing, for Sweet Betsy from Pike, which I got from a new campfire book I bought with 100 songs. Another lady in the group brought me her copy of the music today, so I will check that out to replace what I gave out today. I never had time, but will make it soon, I hope. Also I tried to put in I’m An Old Cowhand, but I could not get the timing correct. I need to work with it some more.
Today was otherwise fruitful. Got to the Rehab (where I was in 2010 for 7 weeks), and we had a good bunch of musicians there–10 ! We enjoyed ourselves and the few people there to watch and sing along, did too. After that, I went to the University to retrieve my new computer. Then I stopped by our computer gurus place (who provide our link to WordPress for the blog) and who had copied my old stuff from the hard drive to the external drive, so they could help me pull in (import) my old email files from nancyh@ellensburg.com that go back to 2007 when I first transferred to that machine. I use software for email handling on that account that is Thunderbird by Mozilla. It took over an hour but Jason finally figured out how to change and transfer the old profiles for messages and address book to the new machine. He did not charge me, so we need to pay them off with Choc/Nut Cookies made with our own walnuts.
Friday, Feb. 10. I did not go to town today. Figured it was not worth burning a gallon of gas for 45 minutes of SAIL exercise. I helped lead the class both days this week (M & W) so I figured I would stay home and work on getting more software loaded on my new laptop. It’s getting all fixed up nicely, but it all is so time-consuming and I need to get to tax preparation. Talked to a bunch of people by phone about health problems of our two neighbors.
I finally finished I’m An Old Cowhand. I just have to make some adjustments in the lyrics on the first line. They are too close to the notes and obscure them. Got that fixed, and then transposed for our clarinet player. Oh, I don’t think I said, I also changed the key for the whole band to play in C because I could sing the melody better. That’s easier to do with the software than the transposition from the band’s key to the one for a B-flat clarinet. I still have to do that manually.
Saturday, Feb 11. Normally we try to post this blog on Saturday, especially early when we are headed to an evening function. We did not make it because we had two functions yesterday, and I’m just finishing this today on Sunday. We went to town, and John went shopping, and then he came by for the last part of our music and the food. They didn’t put on quite as much of a spread today as usual. There were chips and French onion dip, salsa, guacamole, and deviled eggs, of which I had 3 halves. The rest was desserts, muffins, cookies, and cake and breads. I only had a peanut butter cookie and some other neat cookie also with peanuts–it’s good not to be allergic to nuts. Three other spouses of band members came along and we had nice visits, plus with several of the newer members of the group in audience. On the agenda in the evening was a trip to George, WA
. . . to hear a 5-piece band called Custer’s Grass Band from 7 to 9:00 p.m. We drove my Subaru because John’s car’s new paint job is too overpowering to my nose. I knew I would be miserable for 45 minutes over and 45 minutes back. I was in bad shape, even with the window open and the AC on, going 12 miles to town in the afternoon.
Okay, here is the neat recount of tonight’s show. Nice cold and clear driving over to George, WA, out of the Kittitas Valley, over Ryegrass hill, and down across the Columbia River, and up to the Quincy Basin.
http://quincyvalleytourism.org/
We made it there fine (after missing the turn on the only boulevard in the small town),
Copy and past this : “montmorency blvd, George, Wa” . . . .
. . . . into Google Earth and zoom in (note names of streets and the tree lined Blvd.) and zoom out (note the surrounding irrigated agriculture). We parked in front of the George Community Hall. Paid our $3/each entry fee (to help with the utilities of the center). We were entertained by a group that has been playing since the early 1970s, with members from the Spokane area, mostly. A Dobro (or electric resonator) “guitar” player is from Montana. All the players have day jobs. We sat on the front row with the girlfriend of the mandolin player and she gave us some history. She and he are from Cheney. She said the band first started playing under the name of Custer’s Last Stand. We bought their oldest CD, which was previously put out on a long-playing vinyl record, in 1972, and they are playing with a 17-yr old Marc O’Connor fiddle player. They originally met him when he was 11. Now of course, he is quite well known around the world.
The group does not have a fiddler, but they are composed of a bass player, dobro, guitarist, mandolin, and banjo. The banjo player also plays the mandolin, and the mandolin player plays the guitar, and the guitar player (lead singer) plays the banjo as well. All members of the group join in singing along at certain places in the songs.
They did some Flatt & Scruggs songs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8wZ8U5wQi0
Dobro player at 43 seconds in the above;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_XAPku7SgE
They are really good and I hope to hear them again someday. They do not do a lot of presentations now. I plan to keep in touch with the gal I was visiting with, and I just found her connection through her job at Eastern WA Univ. We made it back home by 10:00 p.m. leaving in fog, which cleared in just a few miles. The total trip was 99 miles. I will close now and send this to John to post.
Hope your week was great and this one will be even better. From Nancy & John
on the cool, sunny, with no snow,
Naneum Fan