Peanut butter, you can eat it in the gutter.

 That's something we used to say when I was a kid. I don't know why. Probably because it rhymed.

On toast. Nice.

I've also got the heater on and I'm having a coffee.

No post from Robert because he has his lady staying. It's good to see other bloggers (like Angry Jesus and Evil Doctor Richard) getting involved in the comments. We even got something from The Wine Guy. It's a cold morning, which is one of the reasons why I'm posting. The heater by our computer is nice and warm. It has to be the warmest spot in our house on a cold morning.

I did quite a bit of practice yesterday, but my hands are playing up. The 3rd and 4th fingers on my left hand are cramping up a bit. Not good. That probably rules out doing any long solo gigs at the moment. But, hey, I've got to play. Softly, softly catchee monkey, as my dad used to say.

I'm trying to do lots of hand exercises. I also went for a walk up the steep path (Harry Todd Reserve) behind our house yesterday. I don't know how that's supposed to help my hands, but it will help with my fitness. I did a quarter of the walk that I used to do. Softly, softly... I plan to do it again today. I'll slowly build up the distance.

[No bathroom trip yet.]

I'll try to do some very gentle practice today. I've been doing a lot of work on violin chords lately. There are three types of chords that are very handy.

1) 3rd & 7th voicings. These give a nice jazzy effect. They take a bit of practice because there is no root to help find them quickly.

2) Major and minor double stops. These sound good when they are shifted up and down the fingerboard. You can also slip in notes, like 6ths and 7ths.

3) Major and minor chords. There are only 6 shapes here (3 major and 3 minor). It sounds good when you roll your bow over these chords.

[Bathroom time. Back soon.]

[Back.]

Well, I'm running out of things to tell you. Maybe one or two of the other bloggers on our LINKS service might write a post? Have a look.

Ciao tutti.