Very cold.

 Off to work soon but having a little bit of time in front of the heat-him.

Today is going to be a busy day. Fitting in my practice is always a bit tricky on a Tuesday, but I'll do my best. Where there's a will there's a way.

888 it's cold!

I'm off to get my morning 'jobs' done.

Hey, this post is as short as some of Peter's posts!

"It's cold! I'm glad I 
brought my hat to Thorndon!"

Ciao.

God the Father, God the Son and Karen.

 

I don't think the Holy Spirit (formerly the Holy Ghost) is a bird, I think it is more likely to be God the Mother. Catholics tell us that there are three entities in one god. Supposedly they have always been there, so the labels father, son and mother are a bit silly. This god has existed forever. Imagine just a little bit of this eternity, before man was created and God the Father sent his 'only begotten' son down to Earth.

Here is just a little bit of this pre JC time...

1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 years.

Hey, eternity is a very long time!

I suspect that the whole mum and dad thing only came along when '888' was sent down to Earth to die on a cross. 

* * *

Rob's blog has gone again.

Hey, it's just like old times!

* * *

Well, the good news is that my left hand is feeling better this morning. That means more violin practice today. I've kept my practice up to date during the worrying time of an injured hand. I got some cream from our chemist shop and it seems that has done the trick. Thank you, young lady in the chemist shop who served me!

I guess I'll wrap it up there for today.

Ciao Peter (he's the only known post reader left).

Apologies to my violin.

 

It was my guitar that hurt my left hand and not my violin.

I found out the truth while I was doing some guitar practice yesterday. I'll get my poor old violin out today and I'll apologise to it.

* * *

"You cannot be the slave of 888 and swearing...do and say what you have to." Jim 6

When people bump their toe on something or hurt one of their fingers, two common phrases you'll hear are, "Jesus Christ!" and "God Almighty!" To understand why this is we need to read Jim 7.

"Alimana had two sons, Manoah and Bumcover. Both boys were keen carpenters and, for some reason, refused to wear shoes. One day 888 visited their workshop. Bumcover said, "Hey 888, what's a good phrase to use when I accidentally bump my toe on a piece of wood or something?" 888 told him that he was often called Jesus when he preferred 888. He suggested that Bumcover use Jesus Christ, but he should say it with emphasis - "Jesus Christ!" Manoah asked if there were any alternatives. 888 replied, "When I'm angry with dad, I say "God Almighty!" Notice that I've built emphasis into that statement too." 

When Alimana heard her sons using these two statements she was happy because she assumed they were praising two members of the Holy Trinity."

* * *

It's another cold day in the Nui. I heard it said that this is the warmest June we've ever had.

Che stronzata!

Oops, sorry about the Italian. That's bullshit!

Hey, Peter is wearing a jacket everywhere!

I've got to say that this is one of the better photos of Peter I've seen. It's almost up with this one.

Yep, Peter knows how to pose for a photo!

Rob, on the other hand, would have us all wearing barrels!

Weird!

I think this guy looks better in pants.

Hey, but I've already told you that.

* * *

Well, I guess that's enough for today. 

Rob has a new closing statement, "Embrace your cross."

I think he's telling a lady named Embrace that she is angry.

I know, I know, he should have said, "Embrace, you're cross."

He could have even put a question mark at the end of that statement.

Oh, well, there you go, I'm just trying to help.

Ciao tutti.

Keep your pants on!

 

Now, isn't that better?

I'm sure that Peter will be happier now! Yes, it's all tucked away.

* * *

It's nice to be sitting by the heater. It reminds me of a thing I read in the Bible.

Ronald 17:3 Two men were standing out in the cold. 888 came along. "Why are you shivering? Go stand by a fire. You'll need to get used to heat for when you go to Hell." The two men were not amused, but they did go and stand by a fire.

I hurt my left hand yesterday while doing a little bit of relaxed violin practice. It's sort just where the hand touches the violin. I wasn't putting any pressure on it when it happened. I'm going to a physiotherapist today because he's checking out my left elbow. He thinks I have Tennis Elbow. That's weird because I don't play tennis. Bloody old hands and arms! I wonder if Peter will get Violinist's Elbow?

[Bathroom time}

[I'm back}

I went to a guitar clinic in Wellington last night. The guy is a well known guitarist. He played a bit and talked a lot about blues. He played quite loudly and played through some pedals. He said that he wasn't keen on the more natural sound of a guitar in jazz, at least I think that's what he meant. Personally, I'm not into pedals and play my guitar acoustically - not that I claim to be a guitar expert. Ah well, I'll push on with what I'm doing, hand permitting.

I guess that's a long enough post for a Thursday. 

Ciao tutti.

166

 

Today is the 166th. day of the year and I have already done 166 hours of practice! My violin gets most of the practice. I'll spend some time on the double bass later today. 

Yesterday's jam was a bit of a waste of time but at least there were nice people there. I have absolutely no gigs coming, so why do I practise so much? Well, as a jazz bassist said once, "Funk is its own reward." I don't know why he used the word funk and not jazz but, never mind, the intended message is the same.

Rob is back to regular posting but nothing is really happening over on Peter's site. No big surprise there. Rob's latest effort is really short. Four short sentences, actually.

"Thank you God for this wonderful world and all you give me. I haven't done anything to deserve your generosity. Your world is beyond comprehension. Your intellect beyond limit. I pray you forgive those who treat you with contempt." There you go. You won't have to visit his site now. Peter left a message, "At least horseshit is good for the roses." He left a comment on my last post about roses too.  "I guess that your roses are doing ok." I don't know why he is suddenly so interested in roses. 

I thought he was more interested in meat pies.

Well, I've got some school reports to write, so I'd better move on. Peter might write a post some time over the next week or so. Robert's posts will no doubt be giving advice on the Christian god. Yawn.

Oh yes, and here's Peter's favourite picture.

You can thank Rob for that one. Evidently, in the Philippines, Catholics like things like that.

Ciao tutti.

Unusual, to say the least!

Good morning.

Here's a very unusual thing that Rob evidently bought in that very Catholic country called the Philippines.

It appears on his latest post. He also wrote a warning to brothers.

""Anyone who is angry with his brother will answer for it in the court, if a man calls his brother "fool" he will answer for it in the Sanhedrin; and if a man calls him "Renegade" he will answer for it in hell fire"....Jesus the Christ Mat 5:20-26"

For those of you who were wondering, like me, the Sanhedrin was a big Jewish council thing. 

Well, Rob is a bit of a renegade (a person who deserts or betrays a set of principles) for buying a little wooden man with a huge wooden cock! Oops, I'll be answering for that in Hellfire! At least I'll be warm. It's freezing in the Nui this morning. 

Day number 161 of 2026. I only got half an hour's practice done yesterday. That means that I need to practise for at least one and a half hours today. I'd better get about half an hour done on the bass. I've been a bit slack on bass practice over the last few days. I wonder if you can practise musical instruments in Hell? The fire would be a bit of a danger for wooden instruments. Also, you wouldn't want to be caught playing the tritone. That interval belongs to Satan. 

I hope that Peter is being careful to keep his car locked now and is not leaving keys in it. Maybe he should have left his racoon hat in the car?

Anyway, it's good that he got his locks sorted out. 

I'll leave you there for this morning.

Ciao tutti e ci rivedremo in molti all'inferno.

Oh, and thanks to Peter for returning this. *

Yes, I'm in front of the heater again.

 

I've received a message from Rob saying that his flight to Wellington will now be much later. He says he'll get a taxi. He doesn't say what time he's arriving. I can't find arrival times online.

It was nice to have Peter pop around yesterday. However, I don't think he'll be interested in the latest diminished thing I'm working on. I'm talking about the violin here. If I get this thing working, it could be quite spectacular. It's really an extension on something I've been doing for a while. Okay, okay, I'll keep it to myself.

I also had my younger grandson pop in yesterday. What a cute little chap! Obviously, he came with daddy because he's not driving yet. Nor is he up to walking from his place. His name is Henry and he is not quire 14 months old. He reaches that milestone on June 15th. He can stand up and crawl very fast. What a guy!

I really have nothing else to tell you.

I guess I should go and take my meds.

At least it seems that the rain has stopped in the Nui. Maybe I'll be able to go for a walk today. I'll certainly be working on those diminished ideas too. Yes Rob, I'll try not to sin. Actually, all that sinning stuff is a pile of nonsense!

Oggi sarò felice se riuscirò a stare al caldo.

Ciao tutti.