Local Musicians Playing the Live Oak Listening Room...

 I guess it's been awhile since I played a guitar gig. When I finish something like that the amps are usually turned over, the strings are half off the thing, any kind of stand on stage has been stepped on and I didn't even play any of the songs I had intended to. This was not the case Sunday afternoon at local musicians played a Salute to Texas themed show at the Live Oak Listening room. My wife Cathy and her old college friend Anne played and instead of the usual potluck dinner before shows there everyone brought sweet treats.  

Cathy and Anne have been singing together since they met 45 or so years ago. They performed Willie Nelson's Hands on the Wheel and Shake Russel's Deep in the West. 

The Old Time Gospel Project

Dale performed two songs as a tribute to one of the more colorful local musical characters, Mike Nix who recently passed away. RIP Mike. You always wanted to be a gruff old blues man and you did what it took to get there. One of the tunes Dal sang was the Mike Nix Boogie. If he ever plays it for you, sing along. The words are, "Mike Nix, Mike Nix." 

Chris Edwards. 

Vicki is married to Dale and they often play together but here she is backed by Rodney on guitar. 

Karon Cook 

Girls with Guitars

Charlie Jones and Jon. 

Paul 

Cindy

Rodney and John

Lyndia K, Jay and the Hartz. 

Steve is the sound guy and I once worked with his wife Kerri. Steve is a wonderful musician. 

All in all a very nice afternoon of music where nothing got broke except the dew berry pie I made. Next show at the Oak includes the Mighty Orq on May 17th. 

   

Very Fruitful Day...

 We made a real good Saturday this weekend. 

It started with the grandkids soccer games. They played well and soccer is something I've never watched or participated in but I think it's a great sport. The boys play well and it's a joy to see them giving their all. They have big hearts and that will help them do great things in their life. 

After that we headed to church and played for a Quinceanera. The family was very appreciative and many of the older folks told us how much they liked the music. We played many of the old favorites. 

After that we headed down to the Spring Vintage Vibes Flea market held twice a year downtown. I used to participate selling my cigar box guitars here and they were good to me and understood my art. Some of the few. We picked up a 1970 Jerry Lee Lewis album, a cassette of the John Lennon recording sometime in New York City and a dinosaur hand puppet.  These are all things that will come in handy.

While down town we got a call through the St. Vincent de Paul group we are in to help a guy with a bus ticket. He was stuck in Lufkin and needed to be with family in a northern city. His friend brought him to our meeting at the bus station. They were two very nice young men and I didn't ask what ethnic group they might have belonged to but bought the ticket on my phone, texted it to him and then provided a $50 gift card to a local grocery for food and water for the two day trip. They could not believe it was so easy to get help. All monies for St. Vincent de Paul provided by the donations of the parishioners at St. Patrick Catholic Church. 

Next we hit up Napoli's for a late lunch in the basement of the old Perry Building and went to 5pm Mass afterwards working the sign up booth so people could get remembrances for the Mothers posted in the bulleting and newspaper.   

Later we attended Angelina Benefit Rodeo with Miguel and grandkids on reserved tickets his work had comped. First rodeo in some time and next year I'm signing grandkids up for mutton busting.

To top it off it was Morgan and Ali's 11th anniversary. They sent me this photo from South Carolina. 

If you had a better day I'd like to hear about it. 

     

 

Chicago Visit...

I guess I am keeping stats on my travels this year. I may not keep the short range in state trips but for this trip to Chicago to see the PK family, meandering through Memphis and a lunch stop with cousin Carylon we totaled 20230.1 miles on our Prius Hybrid. That's 42.9 gallons of gas and the MPG was probably higher because I did not reset the meter but that's still considerably better than the closer trip to the beach towing the camper.   

It was a pretty low Key visit to see the Chicago grandkids, Wallace and Hamish. Our old friend Darwin accompanied us. Darwin has know Katie since she was a little girl so it makes good sense for him to get to know her kids. We left Darwin in Chicago with a reservation at a downtown hotel so he can cruise the city on his own a few days and then return to Texas by Amtrak. 

Here's Darwin at The Museum of Science and Industry. He kind of looks like a confused old man but he did manage to find his way out of the maze so I guess only the age related mental decline we all face. 

Spring is just springing in Chicago with night time temps dipping into the 40s and trees just budding. It makes it a bit cool for Texas folks who have already stowed winter clothes and some times as Peter shows here it's more comfortable to play indoors.  

We transported the fish me. Darwin and Milo caught the other day and Katie cooked us and friends Zac and Jen a fine Sam Rayburn catfish dinner.   

I know my blog fans enjoy travel photos and some call it "adventures" but I am mostly doing free stuff like looking at old spooky houses. We also hit a flea market and the used book store. I got a fine Mexican Belt but failed to find the last two books of a trilogy I am reading. Things like that keep you searching.  

When grandkids are present things go smooth if everyone gets to look at a train. Hey brother man, this pictures for you! 

The next Chicago visit is planned for July with a real Canadian adventure included. 

 

Big Blue Cats Moved but Plenty of Channel Cats....

I took a fishing trip with long time friend Darwin and my grandson Milo today. The big blue cats have moved out of my spot but the fillet size channels were there and after a bumpy ride across a windy lake we spent the rest of the morning trying to tell a bite from the wave movement of our slip corks. 

 Last fishing trip out Milo laughed at every fish brought in the boat. Today for some reason he laughed at Darwin's fish and recoiled in terror at every one I caught. The rest of the time if not assisting with the net he was in the picnic basket making sure it came home empty like it was his job.   

Darwin had a nice streak extending through our last couple of trips together of landing big fish. I think we had a couple of ties today. 

We kept 10 fish and probably threw back 5-10 more small but legal fish and missed that many bites because of the wind. These 10 fish made 3 pounds of fillets which are being frozen for an Easter weekend fry at the PK house in Chicago.  

Someone fished hard today. 

Next trip on the Calendar is the first weekend of May. We are calling it Grandma's Birthday Campout and Catfish Masacree.  

Preventive Maintenance Goes Back a Few Years...

Once when I was car shopping I stopped on the Ford lot (I like Ford) and they had a row of Mitsubishi autos. They were small cars in bright colors claiming good gas mileage and they were cheap. I was almost persuaded. Then one of the kids said, "but dad, you are so big you will tear this up just sitting in in." That objective view was just what I needed vs. the emotions I was feeling and I did not buy that car. Later I found a good deal on a used Ford Hybrid and it served me well for 10 years and many miles. 

Yesterday I saw a Suzuki car pass me on the road. It was brightly colored, small, probably cheap and gets good gas mileage. I don't really know anything about Suzuki but I I know they make motorcycles and I saw a Suzuki outboard motor on a junk pile somewhere the other day. There is a Suzuki violin teaching method and Suzuki musical instruments but I think that might be a different company than the internal combustion engine maker.

As I watched this car pass I thought about the news of tariffs on imported products including cars and a New York Times article I saw claiming tariffs would the price on a new car by $6400. I'm not sure that Suzuki would be such a good deal with that price increase and I would certainly shop outboards after that junkpile sighting.  

The past month or so saw me getting my mechanic of 35 years to check my two cars, late models I bought used and like to tell myself were good deals, one domestic, one imported, for preventative maintenance. With just a bit of work all is good and they are up for the miles I plan to put on them this summer. 

They get good mileage for what they are, especially pulling a camper or boat, they were cheap enough and the colors are acceptably good. 

 

        

Good luck with that Suzuki and those tariffs as well. 

 

Camping McKinney Falls and HonkTx!....

 For the third year in a row we camped at McKinney Falls State Park outside of Austin, Tx and used that as a base of operations for attending the HonkTx Street band Festival. HonkTx is one of those things I always yearned to attend when I was working and it seemed like that's what I was doing every time they scheduled it but now I'm free and the festival is like a band geek paradise if you want to dress up, dance around and fit in like you have never fitted in in your life because you were like this weird guy or girl that played a horn that no one else did. 

Water was a little cold but on hotter days Cathy and grandchildren have jumped off that rock she's standing on at the Lower Falls.      

One thing attending HonkTx re-enforces for me each year is that there is a place in the world for everyone.  

Our old friend Darwin, who lives in Austin stopped by our camp for a visit and some biking on the trails. 

Great park for bikes. Probably 40 years ago me and Darwin would have been scrambling down that cliff to get down and fish and swim in the creek below and would have done it carrying an ice chest full of beer. Now days I don't drink beer and while with the getting down part gravity would be your friend but getting back up might be a challenge as would taking the long way around looking for a short cut.   

HonkTx is a free festival. It's all kinds of music from everywhere and it's for everyone. If you were a band geek and never really quite fit in here is your chance to dress crazy, find a place for your music and dance wildly. It guess you could say it's woke and it feels good.     

I think I took some of the best photos of live music I have taken in some time and I was using an old kodak camera from several generations back after a couple of newer ones became causalities of rigorous outdoor use.   

I also met some internet friends, Dylan in purple on drums with Emperor Norton's Stationary Marching Band is in a Doom Brass Band I have been following called Eight Foot Manchild. It's distorted guitar and tuba with lots of effects pedals. ENSMB and Eight Foot Manchild share members and Dylan writes the music. I had on Eight Foot's tee shirt and I think I snapped this photo when Dylan saw my shirt.  

Looks like Alison, on tuba for both groups also saw my shirt and at the end of the day we all met and introduced ourselves.

The Kosmonauts from France. 

Many tubas. 

My friends think I have nice adventures and I tell them I just do free stuff like this festival. Of course they ask for donations to support it and the bands sell music and tee shirts which of course we bought but these are my people and it's good.