Dad jokes rule.

 My daughter has been away (Nelson) for work and said, regarding getting to work this morning, "I won't be rushin'."

I asked her if she would be Ukranian.

Robert laughs.

Our electricity is supposedly being turned off this morning and will be (could be) off until 5pm. Thank goodness that the three instruments I practise are all acoustic (trumpet, violin, double bass). Imagine if I was still practising bass guitar! 

Shelley and I intend to spend time in Wellington. They have coffee there, and heating. 

Robert's mate, whose name is similar to Tent Horn, tells us that il papa has fucked up again.

Evidently, he said something to the effect that there is only one god and that other religions sort of believe in the same entity. The guy whose name sounds like Tent was not impressed. Use the LINK on this blog (Tent Horn) to get to Rob's blog and check it out. Sounds like the Catholics might be squabbling among themselves.

I did two hours of practice yesterday - one hour on double bass and one on violin (which included half an hour on Project Violin 100). I also did about ten minutes on the trumpet. My goal is to do two hours (almost) every day. On both the string instruments I include practice on what I consider to be 12 vital things (especially for playing jazz). These 12 vital things include playing over m7b5 chords, a Coltrane diminished run, ways of using the rising form of the melodic minor scale over dominant 7th. chords and playing certain scales in all keys. 

I also do about ten minutes on the trumpet every day.

That's it from me for this morning.

Ciao tutti.

It's snowing in Wainuiomata!

 

Tennis was cancelled

And Peter sent home,

He did a quick blog post and

Went for a roam,

To somewhere up north

From elsewhere up north,

That was just a starter,

It's snowing in Wainuiomata.

You've got the heat pump on, right?

The rain's turning white.

All our hands turning cold,

It doesn't help that we're old.

Up north, where they dress in less

Old Pete's a bit restless.

He feels just like a martyr but

It's snowing in Wainuiomata.

Okay, okay, it's not really snowing in Wainuiomata, just heavy rain and hail and very cold.

Sorry to waste your time.

Jam time.

 

Four of the 5 musos present. Fran was also there, and the other muso doesn't like being in videos. Fair enough.

There were quite a few blues in E - the guitarists (2 of them) seemed to like that key. Blue Drag got played in A minor. We played Sweet Georgia Brown in G. Rob played drums. Fran sang. That's about it.

Oh yeah, and I didn't wear my hat, though we did do a few choruses of Get a Haircut, Pete.

Chorus

Going through clouds and sun,

Tramping through rain and sleet,

Keep that old boy on his feet.

Get a haircut Pete.

Silly hat competition.

 Contestant one:

Contestant two:

Notice the hair.

Hair's your chance to pick the winner.

Just leave a comment.

Silly Hat.

 In this world full of complexities one thing, one little thing, is clear.

Peter (aka The CurMUDgeon) does not like my new hat.

Well, he keeps mentioning his distaste for it.

Really, it's not the end of the world.

It looked like someone had pulled the plug on a huge hand basin. The water in Whangarei harbour was dropping in level rather quickly. Peter was standing on his deck. He'd gone out to inspect some wind damage.

Not the end of the world either?

A chair had been blown over by a sudden wind burst and now he could see that the harbour was draining. He also noticed that the sky was turning red and this redness was eclipsing the sun. There was a strange rumbling that seemed to be coming from the distant hills. Would the water come rushing back, like a tsunami, to wash his house off its foundations? This felt like THE END OF THE WORLD!

In the brief time that this assumption took to take over his thoughts, and the reality started to set in, there was no time to think, or be cynical, about Richard's hat. If Peter had had time to realize that, I'm sure he would have seen the pointlessness of his obsession, but no time for that now! A huge wave was forming. Big enough to block out the mountain range that was a distant part of his everyday view. 

No place to run, no place to hide. No time to wonder if Richard was wearing his new hat.

Sabato.

 I just read an article that says that 'il papa' is telling American Catholics how to vote. 

What he seems to be saying is vote to protect immigrants OR to stop abortions. In the end it sounds like he might see abortion as the biggest 'wrong'. 

Will Catholics follow his advice? Probably.

Trump is anti-migration, and Harris wants to change the abortion laws. 

Will the Catholics take it that they must go with Trump?

Holy Moses!

On a slightly brighter note, I played at a school concert last night. This expedition to play on one orchestral tune took up four hours. I was helping out the guys playing 4th. violin. There were three of us - two students and me. I couldn't see the music because my eyes aren't the best these days (I'm also finding it hard driving at night, especially in wet weather) and there was only one copy. What a waste of time that was! I'll have an excuse next time.

Tomorrow is Prowse Jam time. There have been emails going back and forth about a tune called Blue Drag. It has become a bit of a drag. Oops, that was a Peter style pun. Sorry. I don't know what else we're playing but it will be nice to catch up with everyone. 

Today, for me, is a day with no plans. Ah well, there's always a trip to the supermarket. 

I hope Rob's Sue is doing okay - she had a fall yesterday. I think I'll give him a ring.

"Ta ta for now." as people used to say in the old days.

I'd better do some violin practice so that I can keep up with the bros tomorrow. Maybe they'll put me on 4th. violin? Anyway, I can always wear Peter's favourite hat.

Richard's Bass Bag*, where you'll find the best jokes!

 Shelley said to me this morning, among other things, "They're expecting snow down south."

I replied, "That's like putting on a show."

She replied, "How come?"

I replied, "Snow business like show business."

Robert laughs.

Listen HERE.

Okay, okay, I'm not going to use up all my fabulous jokes at once. That'll have to do you for today.

It's a wet morning in Wainuiomata, where the girls are smarter.

Talking about girls, my daughter turns 40 in a couple of weeks. She's throwing a party and wants people to dress with a bit of style.

No problem for me.

After all, Style is my middle name!

The hat cost $6 at Pete's Emporium. It said on the label, "Size fits most."

At speech time I'm going to tell the story of the song I wrote called 'Nefanie'.

Nefanie was her first attempt, as a little one, to say her name, Stephanie.

HERE.

When she was a teenager, we were living in Tauranga. One morning I was doing some bass practice and she came out to sit in front of the heater. It was a cold morning. I was practising her tune. I said to her, "I wrote this tune for you."

She thought for a moment and then replied, "One of these mornings, if you don't shut up, someone's going to break that bass."

True story.

Well, I'll leave you there for today. I've heard that Peter intends to write a post this morning. I'll go and have a look.

Ciao.

* the original bass bagging site