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‘All the other things you want to talk about without ruining someone else’s thread’ thread

This general discussion area says it’s for woodwind discussion and some other subjects are tolerated. Do we find out as we go.

I’m hoping that random chat is tolerated.

Anywhere here we go. The Maritimes are magical.

I’m very fond of organic reeds but am very curious to know what the hooplas all about.
Some musicians swear by them while others curse them. I should have picked some up at Cosmos while there. The guy in charge of band instruments at long & mcquade said that one company will continuously replace your reed and the strength go up by 1/4 increments instead of 1/2’s. They must be fairly pricey.

I’ve got to admit that variation makes for interesting sounds. I think I’d get bored of the same reed. Breaking them in is all part of the fun of playing.

You are wise not to have any pets with how often you entertain. They can be a handful. We have never left our pets with any type of pet sitter or kennel. Just the thought of it panics me. When you permanently retire maybe you’ll get a cat or something.

Our boat is just a small fishing boat but it’s sure fun to travel the coastline in it. We have kayaks & canoes as well. The dogs go in the canoe but not the kayaks. We need to get doggie life jackets like sax hound’s water dogs.

I’m surprised my husband has the patience for fishing. He isn’t generally a patient man but he is a good fisherman. He hates it when I swim around where he’s fishing. Lol.

You were saying before that you have visit most of the states and some of Canada and that you like traveling. We are really that into travelling. We’ve been on plenty of interior canoeing trips , have travelled to Newfoundland and gone along the Cabot trail twice. I love taking photos. It’s a hobby of mine. Sometimes I get carried away showing them. LMAO!!!

What type of singer is your wife. I have a 3 octave range but am an alto. I’ve noticed I’ve permanently lost a couple of top notes but it happens with age. Your wife play guitar? Guitar is a beautiful instrument. I wish I could play guitar but I do play keyboards.

What type is USB microphone do you use if you don’t mind me asking?

I’ll check your links out later.

Thanks Notes.
 
My first experience with the Martimes was in New Brunswick. I wanted to see the huge difference between low and high tides in the Bay of Fundy. We stopped at a little rustic motel, and there were a few Canadian guys next door. They told us if they were being too noisy for us to let them know, then they invited us to socialize with them. They were a few guys with a truck that went around crushing cars for recycling. We ended up seeing them here and there on our wanderings about New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, and they turned us on to Oat Cakes (yum) and Tim Horton's.

And yes, the Cabot trail is stunningly beautiful.

The next time we went, we did Newfoundland and Labrador. We wanted to get to PEI, but we had so much fun time ran out before our desire to see other things did. We saw whales, nesting gannetts, and so much more.

We were eating at a local cafe one morning in Newfoundland, and started conversing with a few locals. We like to get away from the beaten track and get to know the real places we visit. We told them the last time we were here, we wanted to go on a whale watching tour off Digby Neck but the tail end of tropical storm Eduardo came up and made the water too rough. If the captain of the boat isn't wanting to make some money, the water is definitely something I don't want to experience.

So a woman got off her phone and asked us if we knew where some beach was. I don't remember the name. We said "No" so she paid her tab, packed up her kids and said, "Follow Me" we twisted and turned down roads and got to a beach. Nothing there. She got on her phone and said, "They moved" and we followed her to another beach.

We got there and the Capelin were running (small fish). There were so many the seagulls were sitting on rocks saying something like "No more for me Ethyl, I'm stuffed". The Humpbacks were so close to shore that as they came up to gorge on the Capelins, we could smell their breath and got splashed by them. It was delightful.

She drew a little map to get is back to the highway, we thanked her and stayed there for a few hours. We met locals who scooped the Capelins out with dip nets and filled buckets to use as bait.

Cape St Mary's in Newfoundland was beautiful and the Gannett rookery was breathtaking. Zillions of squawking birds up close and whales surfacing offshore.

The Maritimes are beautiful, but the true high point for us was the Canadian people who were kind, friendly, great hosts, and simply nice folks.

My wife is an alto. She is incredibly versatile, able to sing cool standards, rock, blues, country, Latin American, Caribbean and do it all authentically. I wish I could sing that well, but I wasn't born with an instrument of that caliber. I'm OK, and sing about half the songs every gig, but she gets the hardest one.

She plays guitar and synth (actually a Buchla Tactile MIDI controller hooked up to a synth module).

We don't use a USB mic, as most of our needs are live in front of an audience, and not to a computer. We both use Sennheiser MD421 mics.

I bought a MD421 in the late 1970s on the recommendation of a local music store. It makes my sax sound like a sax. Mrs. Notes when through 2 Shure SM58 mics and an AT equivalent. One-nighters are very hard on gear. Finally, she bought an MD421 because they are very rugged microphones, and they sound good. Great mics.

My vocal range has compressed a bit, the low and the high end are a little less than they used to be, but not all that much. Personally, I think the key is to keep using it. I've heard famous singers in their advanced age who took some years off and went back to it, come back very weakly and never seem to get it all back. Others like Tony Bennett and Willie Nelson stay strong into their 90s.

I used to play harder reeds when I had a more closed tip mouthpiece. But I went the opposite direction from many other sax players, I started using an open tip, large chamber mouthpiece, and I've gone down to a clipped 1 1/2 or a shaved 2. I like that they give me more tonal colors than a harder reed. They aren't as loud, but a microphone takes care of that.

We both play Parker brand guitars. She bought the first one, and I was so impressed with the build, comfortable shape, balance, intonation and tone that I bought one too. Guitar is my 7th instrument, so I'll never be as good as Jeff Beck, but I get around rock and country leads OK. Any really difficult guitar leads I'll cover on my wind synth (Yamaha WX5 controller and for guitars a Yamaha VL70-m synth module with a Patchman brand voice chip installed).

The wind controller and my synth modules allow me to emulate soprano and alto saxes, a different sounding tenor, trumpets, trombones, guitars, and other lead instruments, and that gives our duo more of a variety of voices. I think it entertains the audience better to have a variety of lead voices from our duo.

It must be working, as we're still gigging.

Notes ♫
 
Oh yes! The Bay of Fundy is the highest tide in the world. Twice each day 160 billion tons of seawater flow in & out of the bay which is more flow than the worlds supply of fresh water. That’s really something to witness.

I’ve never had oatcakes but definitely have had Tim Hortons. McDonalds bought all of Tim Hortons coffee so now McDonalds has the best take out coffee; Timmies, not so much.

I’ve visited every province in Canada except for Labrador which is 1/2 a province. My in-laws live in Newfoundland so I’ve been there. It’s a lovely province and so is Prince Edward Island but I was a young child when I last went there. I’m hoping to go visit there this summer.

The scenery and things to see are fabulous.
I saw a few whales in Newfoundland and it’s exciting. Before winter came my husband and I came in close proximity to a mating pair of sea lions. One was sitting on a rock stretching out while the other seemed to be looking for fish to eat. The water was very cold but they like it that way.

Easterners are, by far, the friendliest Canadians. They will go out of their way to do things for you. It’s quite surprising at times. Your examples show how eager they are to be friendly and accommodating. That was very gracious of that woman to show you that beach. That’s spectacular.

Runs of different fish are popular here. I’ve never seen the Capelin run but have seen mackerel running. My husband was told exactly where to fish and caught 13 of them. He then BBQ’ed some in tinfoil and they were awesome.

That must have been exciting watching the seagulls buffet eating. During lobster season there’s a lobster boat that brings up their bait at a certain place and time. I’ve swam around the area and been able to watch this feast from a safe distance and it’s spectacular. The water is clear and buoyant. My only concern is the jelly fish but I haven’t been stung yet. I’m actually considering getting a wet suite since I swim so far and often.

Did you take lots of pictures? I love taking photos and have thousands of them. They make great Christmas cards or are perfect for references while painting.

Did your wife ever take singing lessons?
I do sing often. If I warm up I can certainly get better range but not those top notes I used to but I’m ok with it. I’ve decided to just sing with what I still have and just be grateful I can still sing. Is your wife around the same age as you? Has she noticed any changes to her vocal chords due to age?

I figured you must do some computer work since you said you and the Mrs. make fake edisks for band in a box. Doesn’t that involve using the computer?

We lucked out with getting a fishing boat. This guy said his 14 foot custom fishing boat including a fishing gps which shows the bottom terrain and depth of the water. It comes in really handy. It’s got a trolling motor for troll fishing and a power motor. It’s a Yamaha motor. There’s that Yamaha make again. Lol. What I appreciate about this boat is that it’s finished with outdoor carpeting and has individual compartments.
It’s much more comfortable than your average fishing boat. The main thing we have to remember is to rinse off the salt water from the motor and the metal boat so it doesn’t corrode.
 
I have pictures, but it was the pre-digital age, and they are on color slides. I have ambition to scan them, but it's a low priority task, and more important things to our business always come first. I have slides of China, UK, Alaska, Italy, Costa Rica, and a few other places too.

When on vacation, or when I am at any wildlife area, I take a lot of pictures, and I have submitted them to Adobe Stock and ShutterStock. Quite a few of them have been accepted and although none of them have sold (yet) I have a small portfolio here http://www.nortonmusic.com/stock_images.html

The earlier digital pictures weren't accepted because the pixel resolution isn't high enough anymore, so I have digital pictures of Spain, Mexico, Hungary, and a few other places that I can't submit. But they are still good for our memories.

I submitted the pictures to the stock image companies, after reading a teaser article on-line. I figured I had the pictures, what harm would it do? So I submitted a few dozen, most of them approved, and most of the ones that weren't were shot with an older camera with fewer megapixels. It was affirming that they chose them, though. There are zillions of pictures at Adobe and others, so the odds of anyone finding mine are slim.

My wife took informal bel-canto lessons and her range is about the same as it always has. But she uses it a lot. We usually gig for 3 or 4 hours straight (no break) 2 or more times a week. Pre COVID it was more frequent. Like any part of the body, it takes exercise to keep it in shape.

It's essential to keep doing it, and doing it a lot. For the voice, even more than other instruments, if you rest, you will rust.

Mrs. Notes and I make aftermarket styles and song collections for Band-in-a-Box, and yes they are on computer. I spend hours per day in front of the screen. I type on these forums when my ear needs a rest. Small breaks in silence are good for critical listening.

It's not like actual computer programming, though. For the aftermarket styles, I play the parts live into a MIDI sequencer, then import snippets of them into the StyleMaker app bundled in Band-in-a-Box and run through all the choices that app offers. Mrs. Notes enters the chords to our fake e-disks into BiaB, and we both collaborate from there.

I make our backing tracks similarly. I record the drum part first in a MIDI sequencer, then the bass, and layer the comp parts on top of that. I save the most fun parts for Mrs. Notes and I to play live. Sometimes I try to cover a famous recording as closely as possible, sometimes I do it similar to the recording but with our personal variations, and sometimes I do a complete reimagining of the tune. I watch how the audience reacts to things I do and constantly improve my skills and judgements.

The closest thing I do to actual computer code is the HTML that I use to create my websites. I bought a book called "HTML In Plain English", taught myself, and then as the Internet progressed, if I need to do something different, there is bound to be a teaching resource somewhere in the net.

I've had two 'day jobs' in my life while testing out what it is to be normal. For me, normal is so over-rated. A life lived independently doing music and nothing but music isn't going to make me rich, but I have everything I need, and I'm having a good time. To me, that's success.

Notes ♫
 
You are exceptionally talented. Its fantastic that you use your gifts and share them with the world.

Your photo collection is amazing. You have an eye for beauty, without a doubt and capture it well. My favourites are the spider webs, the birds, and that iguana photo. They are very good. Thanks for sharing.

I had to look up bel canto. It’s DIY singing lessons. I’ve found a few great videos on warming up the voice which I am going to start doing as well as salt water rinses for my throat. Singing 3 to 4 hours is very intensive but you are right about keeping well practised. I’ve found even when I’ve skied for long periods of time and pulled ligaments and such, the worst thing to do is nothing. The best thing is to keep moving. If you rest, you DO rust.

Yes live your dream. Everyone’s dream is different. There have been times in my life when I’ve seriously considered entering for a living but I don’t have the personality for it. Plus my creativity isn’t consistent. Maybe if I had to depend on it to make a living, it would be but it’s not. I go through phrases of being into music heavily but sometimes my painting or woodworking take priority. I very much enjoy painting pictures from my photographs or woodcarving. It’s a creative medium I can get lost in but in a different way than music.

Are those sax pictures , pics of ‘your’ saxophones? How many do you have?

I’ve visited Florida before and really liked it.
The amount of flamingos and dolphins I saw was shocking. I was in st. Petersburg but did see Disney World and that place with all those rollercoasters. It’s a beautiful state. You’d never survive here if you need at least 74 degrees. You’d hate it here in the winter.
For myself 74 degrees is far, far too hot. I’m good at 68 ‘ish. Lol

Very much agree, normal is over rated if we could ever agree on what normal is. I’m in the same philosophy as you, live to make yourself happy - do what makes you smile.
 
Those two saxophones are the same sax. It is a MacSax I had custom-built at the factory for me about a dozen years ago. The customization was to coat it with silver-colored nickel plating. It's a nice horn, made in Taiwan but MacSax doesn't make saxes anymore. Different lighting makes the sax appear to be a different color.

I only have 2 tenor saxes. The Mac and a Yamaha YTS-52. I gig for a living, so one horn and a backup is all I need. I'm not a collector, although there is nothing wrong with collecting. To me the instruments are tools and the backup is there in case the tool fails, 'the show must go on'.

I think the most important part about singing, is breath support. Fortunately, the breath support that my first school band teacher is the same as the one required for singing. Mrs. Notes is a great singer. We have different strengths and we use them to make the whole better than the sum of the parts. I got lucky.

Thanks for the kind words about my pictures. I think my favorites are the Ghost Crab, the Woodstock, and the Australian outback road, but I like them all.

I love your part of Canada, but I couldn't live there. Way too much cold. We're having a cold snap in Florida right now, and I dislike it. When a huge, extreme, winter storm hits the northeast, we get the tail end of it and the temperature dips down for a couple of days. This year it's colder than most, but it runs in cycles. Last year it was pleasant all winter.

The next time I visit Canada, I think I'll go to British Columbia. I peered at it across the river from Washington State, but that was as close as I got.

The last time I visited, it was Quebec, mostly Montreal and Quebec City. I found a lot of great music there, the people were tolerant of our difficulty with the French language, they were good hosts, and we had some great food too. We heard a symphony by the McGill university orchestra, and it was as good as any of the world-class orchestras we have heard. We love just about any kind of music, but not every song from any genre. Classical symphonies from the Romantic era to the present, especially if it is dark and brooding, are our favorites.

Yes, I'm living some people's dream. Others wouldn't like it at all. There are no paid vacations, sick leave, employer paid health insurance, and other extras. No guaranteed steady income either.

But then there is nobody telling me what to do, no time clock to punch, and I'm making a living doing what I like to do. I benefit from my good decisions and hopefully learn from my mistakes. I make enough money, but I don't buy luxury goods.

But then what does one spend their money on? Hopefully pleasure and fun. I have pleasure and fun in my profession, so I don't need a lot of extra money.

There is more than one right way to go through life. I found the right way for me. YMMV

So what do you and your husband do to make a living?

Notes ♫
 
This general discussion area says it’s for woodwind discussion and some other subjects are tolerated. Do we find out as we go.

I’m hoping that random chat is tolerated.
We (the WF staff -- punny!) are pretty OK until someone complains. Or if we see something that someone might complain about.

Personally, I think it'd be better to have one thread per topic, just in general. We'll occasionally split posts from a particular thread into its own new thread.

Allowing for Godwin's Law ("As an online discussion grows longer (regardless of topic or scope), the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Adolf Hitler approaches 1"), I'd posit another rule: the longer the thread, the more probable that it'll go off-topic.
 
Ok! So you only play the tenor saxophone. For some reason I thought you’d play alto and soprano but why would you want to or need to. I’d say tenor is probably the most popular type of saxophone. Having a back up is a must if your career relies on it. That’s understandable.
Some people are collectors, that’s for sure.

Breath control is very important in singing and playing. Consistent air flow creates sound. That’s good that you compliment each other’s singing. What are your favourite songs you two do together?

You definitely would not survive Canadian weather. Not a chance. It gets cold here. Surprisingly it’s colder where we lived before than it is here. The weather here isn’t too bad however there is often a cold wind coming off the ocean.

British Columbia is gorgeous. The mountains are so majestic and magical. The first time I went there was in 1972 on a school trip. It was awesome and something I will remember forever. Then I went there in 1979-1980. I like seeing mountain goats.
The Banff hots springs in Alberta is fabulously . If I recall correctly, you have been there before.

Quebec is a very beautiful and very interesting province. I went on a skiing there with western university and it was a lot of fun. As far as people are concerned, tolerant would not be the word I would use. I’d gone through Quebec many times and all times, its been a hassle.
No not everyone would like the type of work lifestyle that you have. My husband would not be able to stand the insecurity of not having paid vacations, sick days, health insurance or health benefits but especially not having a retirement fund. When I was younger I didn’t care much about it but now that we are retired, I’m tickled pink that we have an excellent one that comes with health benefits.

Personally I think it takes an incredibly disciplined, well organized person, not to mention talented , to pull off what you are doing. You’ve clearly got a really good attitude about life in general but I’d say that’s a big part of what’s gotten you through , talent aside of course. A great attitude is appreciated by most and it’s probably a great asset you’ve acquired over the years. Does your wife have an equally positive attitude? Was this her dream lifestyle also?

Making a living as an artist isn’t easy. Years ago we lived beside two artists who owned a barn house along with many horses. They confessed that being an artist can be very difficult. Natural creativity isn’t consistently flowing. I’m an artist who enjoys painting but as a hobby only and I suppose I’m not cut out to be a paid performer. It’s flattering to be asked to join a band though but even that doesn’t hold the excitement that it once had for me.

My husband and I are retired. His plan was to work for many more years and he would have had to , where we lived , however I came up with a plan so he could retire early. I wasn’t expecting him to agree however he loved the idea. That’s why we moved this year and it’s been the best decision we have ever made. We enjoy the outdoors a lot as well as the privacy it offers. The weather is actually nicer here and outdoor activities are plenty. We boat, canoe, kayak, hike, bike , skate, and swim. Well I swim. My husband, not so much.

My husband was a training co-ordinator / administrator who was VERY work oriented. He worked almost 30 years with the same company. A very good company . I honestly didn’t think he’d adapt to retirement as well as he has but he keeps himself busy in his workshop, cuts down trees for our firewood, goes fishing and enjoys learning to cook. He actually cooks more than I do now which I quite like. Our neighbours husband has just retired and is the same way. We walk together every morning.

I’m a retired nutritionist and gardener. I had my own baking and gardening businesses which I was successfully so retired early. Retirement isn’t something I thought of much but I’m so glad my husband did. It’s most enjoyable.

We spend a majority of time together and get along very well. Surprisingly so. Life is good.

Are you going to stay in Florida when you retire? Do you have any retirement plans?
Is your wife in the same age bracket? Does she have any retirement plans?
 
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We (the WF staff -- punny!) are pretty OK until someone complains. Or if we see something that someone might complain about.

Personally, I think it'd be better to have one thread per topic, just in general. We'll occasionally split posts from a particular thread into its own new thread.

Allowing for Godwin's Law ("As an online discussion grows longer (regardless of topic or scope), the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Adolf Hitler approaches 1"), I'd posit another rule: the longer the thread, the more probable that it'll go off-topic.
It’s a general topic that anyone is welcome to join. I’m not sure how we can go off topic when it’s a general topic section but I’m completely fine with the thread being moderated or the need to be edited if it bothers anyone. That’s fair enough.
 
We (the WF staff -- punny!) are pretty OK until someone complains. Or if we see something that someone might complain about.

Personally, I think it'd be better to have one thread per topic, just in general. We'll occasionally split posts from a particular thread into its own new thread.

Allowing for Godwin's Law ("As an online discussion grows longer (regardless of topic or scope), the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Adolf Hitler approaches 1"), I'd posit another rule: the longer the thread, the more probable that it'll go off-topic.
That Rules of the Internet was exceptionally funny but quite risqué too. I guess that’s why you deleted it. LOL! Check! I understand the sentiment though and appreciate it all the same.
 
I have an alto, a 1925 silver-plated King with the voice of an angel. I don't play it much anymore, I can cover the alto parts on my wind synthesizer (Yamaha WX5 controller and Yamaha VL70-m synth module). At one time I had a soprano, but I never really bonded with it. The soprano tone on the VL70-m is surprisingly good, so I play a little synth soprano. My cousin had a bari, and I liked playing it, but it's not a good instrument for a small pop music band/

My dream was to become a rock star, and at one time I almost made it. We were opening concerts for the stars of the day, but the record deal fell through over money (Motown didn't want to pay). After that fell through, my pay went down, and I was back in the bars from 9PM to 2PM. Got discouraged and tried a day job for a while, and realized being a musician was not what I do, it's what I am.

I didn't adjust to the day job. I was a field engineer for a manufacturer of Cable TV system products (I took electronics in school - to 'fall back on') and I traveled around the country for a few years as the solving problems guy. And as hard as I tried to help our customers, the home office would make it impossible for me to do so. They only cared about this quarter's profits, and they cut corners everywhere. They were the big supplier to Cable TV systems at the time, but the company got sold to bean counters who didn't know that every business is in the customer service business.

I was in the school band since 7th grade. Drums first, then when a sax became available for rent, I switched to tenor sax.

My first gig: After school, my friends and I were in a rock band. We were terrible, but everybody was back then. They hired us for a Jr. High school dance - probably 8th or 9th grade. There I was on the stage, with my best friends, having the time of my life, trying our best to cover the rock hits of the day, the people were dancing, and when I looked up, that cute girl who didn't even acknowledge my existence in English class was 'making eyes' at me!!! At the end of the night, they paid me money for having all that fun. That's when I decided this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

So now my dream is to live my life making a living doing what I would do for free if I didn't need the money. I'm happy, living life on my own terms, have very low stress, am not in debt at all, and I call that success even if I didn't become a rock star. But I got a little fame with the Band-in-a-Box business. I walked into a music store in Bermuda and got recognized. I got recognized by another musician when I went to a club in Ft. Lauderdale a couple of hours away from home, and I've sold my music to musicians in over 100 countries. They use my music to play along with and when they gig, they consider it to be their music.

I don't plan on retiring. Down here, a lot of people who had careers all their life retire and then live their dream of playing music. Why should I let them have all the fun?

If Tony Bennett and Willie Nelson can play into their 90s, I hope I can too. As long as there is an audience for me, and as long as I'm healthy enough to do it, I won't retire.

The mortgage is paid off, the house is in a nice area, and our duo has a fine reputation around here, so there is no need for me to relocate. Besides, anywhere else in the USA I can move to is too cold.

Actually, I'd like to relocate to Australia. But I'm too old and/or not wealthy enough for them to embrace me. And I don't know if I want to start the duo business from scratch again. The Aussies are as pleasant and polite as the Canadians and the northern part is tropical.

I truly enjoy what I do. When I'm playing on stage, I'm in that place where there is no space, no time, no me, no words, just the music flowing through me and the energy from the audience is flowing back to me.

Mrs. Notes was in another band when I met her. I don't know if it was her dream or not, but we found ourselves in the same band together, and we clicked. That was 44 years ago. She is also an accomplished artist (paint, pastels, etc.) but that's even a harder life to make a living at.

We have good work ethics, but when you are working for yourself, it's not really that much like work. It's more like just what you do. I suspect you would understand owning your own business.

I'm sure we work much more than 40 hours a week, but we'd rather do what we do than watch TV (we haven't watched it since about 1990 - zero - nada -zilch).

When we aren't learning new songs or gigging, we are working on aftermarket style e-disks and fake e-disks for the Band-in-a-Box auto-accompaniment app. The owner is from BC Canada (pgmusic.com). He actually likes the fact we make plug-ins for his creation, has helped me out, and refers his customers to me for additional add-ons.

Before this business, we had to leave Florida in the summer slow season to keep gigging. We usually gigged on cruise ships, but that gets old after a few seasons. Besides, I like Florida summers.

I don't know too many people who could face the insecurity of no steady income or would want to go without paid vacations and other benefits. It works for us. To me, the price of that security is too high.

We live modestly, have zero debt, and have a cushion in the bank. Until COVID, we've never been out of work, and we even had to block out vacation times in advance, our we would find ourselves too booked to have the time.

I was out 1.5 years when COVID hit, fortunately we didn't have to dip into our reserves. We're back to gigging at least twice a week now, outdoor events only. I'm not going to take indoor gigs until COVID settles down. Fortunately, in Florida, the outdoor gigs can be held all year long.

We're vaccinated and boosted, we are very careful of where we go and what we do, and we test ourselves. We love our audience and in case we get an asymptomatic case, we don't want to infect anyone, so we test.

We also do a sound check with a sound meter, and keep our volume to the audience at 85dba or lower. This is for the same reason, we don't want to inflict damage to their ears, and 85 is the maximum safe level. Our regular audience members are like extended family to us.

Nutrition is a good field. Good for you. It's a service to others. I'm lucky to have good health, 75, zero prescription meds, and according to a heart doc, a circulatory system of a healthy 50-year-old. I eat what works for me and watch my weight.

We eat organic when I can, the beef we eat is 100% grass-fed, and we avoid sugars and high-glycemic foods. I'm trying to avoid the early fate of my parents, so I'm doing what I think they should have done, if they only knew.

Gardening is good, too. I wish I could grow food here. I live on an ancient sand dune, 35 feet above sea level. Our dune drains to a lagoon which is in trouble to the east, and a protected wetland to the west. I can't grow any crops in this sterile sugar sand without tons of fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides. That would harm the wildlife in the wetlands and the fish in the lagoon. So I planted native species and "re-wilded" most of my 1/4 acre lot. The local RiverKeeper said more people should do this, and if we all did, it would save the estuaries.

I guess I should stop typing now, before it's a tome.

Notes ♫
 
So you do have an alto & soprano. I figured you would. King is a good make.

A rock star huh? Didn’t we all at one point in life? Lol That is too bad that your deal fell through. I think you’ve mentioned some things about this before.

The corporate world is heartless. They make it sound like the customer is the most important thing but we all know that’s not true. Like yourself, I gave regular employment a try and , like yourself, hated it. Not everyone fits into the standard employment desires & standards. Some of us need something different.

I look at this as a good thing. There’s a lot of wealthy, unhappy, dissatisfied people living a life of pretentiousness and regrets. You did good to follow your dreams.

You started music lessons in grade 7?
That’s 2 years sooner than our system. While I took music through grade school, learning band instruments wasn’t offered until grade 9 so the summer of grade 8 , I took summer school to learn the saxophone since I knew for certain that’s what I wanted to play.

Love your after school gig recap of what inspired you to entertain others for life.

It’s said that ‘serving others’ is the purpose of our existence. I personally think it’s to find happiness but you found both. You offer a good service to others as well as make yourself happy, so play away into your 90’s . Why not?

Florida is a lovely state . It’s gorgeous, with plenty to beautiful wildlife, nice weather and an audience who you are accustomed to. You have no need to move.

If you own your own home you can also put a reverse mortgage on your house and get a minimum of 60% of its value back so this is something you can always fall back on and should keep your spirits up.

There’s no doubt that making a living from music is much less difficult than making a living off doing artwork for most. Music can be played even if you aren’t in an artistic mood whereas artwork usually needs fresh creativity which isn’t something one can tap into at any time.

Dr. Wayne Dyer said that if you are doing what your heart yearns for and making money from doing it, it’s not really a job.
Absolutely.

You sound like you’ve got good health. I was actually shocked to discover your age. You are very active and your mental health seems equally good. Then again why wouldn’t it. You are doing what you love.

We have a garden and a cold room. We grow the vegetables without pesticides, use the produce to cook with, can the meals made and freeze other products. We recycle as much as we can, produce our our wood which subsidizes our heat and are perfectly prepared for when and if the power goes.

We also love our lifestyle and where we live. It’s everything I would have dreamed about if I knew that life could be this good.
 
I wanted to be a jazz star first (Stan Get and Stanley Turrentine were my favorites) but I knew that was very difficult, as jazz venues in Florida are few and far between. Then it changed to rock. But that turned out elusive. Part of me wishes the deal didn't fall through, but the rest of my life has worked out happily (so far) so I can't complain.

The corporate word is indeed heartless. The only thing that matters is this quarters' profits. And artists of all types have always been exploited. Art Galleries take 60% or more, dancers are underpaid, as are musicians, and so on. We do it because we love it, and the bean counters know how to take advantage of that.

They have the bargaining power, the artist does not.

I have read that if the first recording goes viral, you pay off your debt and the label makes a lot of money, you can get better terms on the next record, because the more you sell, the greater your bargaining power.

And like I said, I'm living a happy life. What more could a person want? Mrs. Notes and I are more experience oriented than possession oriented, so tons of money would only buy use more expensive experiences. But we do what we can and enjoy life. That's what counts.

I have a friend who said he had 'golden handcuffs' and waited until retirement to enjoy life, but at retirement he and his wife's health started failing. I never asked him if it was worth it. I think that would be cruel. It wouldn't have been worth it for me.

It sounds like you are living your bliss as well.

Mrs. Notes and I have been to 6 out of 7 continents, traveling while we are fit and able to do so. It's our other bliss. And we travel independently, we don't take tours, or cruises, but get there, butcher the language if needed, and find our way around using public transportation if possible, and a rental car if not.

I thought about a reverse mortgage, but I'm saving that for if and when I need it. If we don't need the money, the last one standing can sell the house for their nursing home care. The value of the house is increasing much faster than inflation, so the longer we wait, the more it's worth.

I noticed as a teenager the closer to the water, the more the house appreciates, so I bought a house on a double-lot with only one house between me and a 2-mile wide lagoon. To the east of that is a barrier island and then the Atlantic.

I've heard it as, "If you make your living what you would do for free, you will never work a day in your life." I read a book by Joseph Campbell a long time ago who said, "Follow your bliss." Both of these apply to us.

We tell our clients, "We work for free, and charge you to move and set up the gear."

I think doing what you love to do makes you age slower. Also, since "the show must go on" whether I'm sick or not, I think my body knows this and fights harder to keep me healthy. Of course, there is no scientific proof, but I started gigging full time in 1964 and have never missed a gig.

I'm glad you are prepared for when the power goes out. I read about the power going out during blizzards and people freezing. At least here, when the power goes out, it won't take our lives. I do have a small generator for hurricanes. It's enough to keep the refrigerator cold and to keep the water well pumping.

Do you go skiing or partake in other winter sports?

Notes ♫
 
That Rules of the Internet was exceptionally funny but quite risqué too. I guess that’s why you deleted it. LOL! Check! I understand the sentiment though and appreciate it all the same.
It was a little too far off topic of my post. However, I do encourage folks to take a look at them. Also, the website I link to is a great place to get lost in.

I don't think it's terribly risqué, unless you think just quoting Rules 34 ("If it exists there is porn of it. No exceptions.") through 37 and/or maybe one or two others is.
 
Sorry for the delay. We had an ice storm. Everything had a thick layer of ice over it and we have no power or internet for a while. Today the power was turned back on and the internet instantly got better.

There’s a saying ; ‘Things happen for a reason.’ Since you are happy as can be then maybe this rule applies to you. If you wouldn’t have taken the route you did, maybe all the rest wouldn’t have connected up.

Artists seem to be vulnerable to being taken advantage of. Someone seems to always want to represent them for x amount however I know nothing about recording.


I mentioned the reverse mortgage as a last resort. Real estate is increasing rapidly so it is best to hang onto it.

We considered being closer to the water but we also considered how much more exposed it was to the brutal wind, sea waves, rain, sleet, snow, boaters, skiers, swimmers, beach walkers etc and decided to get something a bit further away. Its higher up in the mountain and the breeze keeps bugs away. We can see the water from the house. Excess water goes down so it’s very dry.

The mind is very powerful and you have probably trained yours to stay healthy since the show must go on. Absolutely.

Oddly enough we talked about being prepared for if the power went and the power went. Luckily we have a generator so had hot water, fridge, heat pump, microwave and all the important things.
Except for not having tv or access to the internet it wasn’t so bad.

One wonderful thing that happened was that I finally started reading a book. I haven’t been able to concentrate on reading for years and recently have. It felt so great to get so absorbed in another world for a prolonged period of time. The joy of reading truly is a simple pleasure.

What winter activities do we do?
Walking, skating, tobogganing, biking, atv’ing. We haven’t actually been tobogganing in a long while.

I’ve been trying to get on this site for the past few days with no luck.

Yayyyy! I made it.
 
I'm glad you got through the ice storm OK.

We have to hunker down for the hurricanes that occasionally visit us.

Our generator is enough to pump water out of our well, keep the refrigerator cold and power a few appliances. We run it for a couple of hours, then turn it off for a few hours. Mostly we want to keep the food from thawing, and when the generator is running, we take showers and fill water jugs for drinking. Fortunately for us, when hurricanes come, the temperature isn't cold, so there is no survival problem.

We're up 32 feet, (a little less than 10 meters) above sea level. The highest point in the county. We can see the 2 mile wide lagoon and the barrier island from here, but not the ocean. The vegetation on the island is too tall for that. But it's high enough to capture the ocean breezes. We live without Air Conditioning by choice (we have an AC unit and only turn it on when guests come over to make them comfortable).

I grew up in Florida, and the Eastern Sand Ridge (which used to be the coast in prehistoric times) is the only place I'd buy a house. When hurricanes come, the biggest damage is from water, and much of where people live in now is reclaimed swamp land. When the storms come, this land reverts to swampland and the water destroys things.

We don't do many summer sports anymore. I like to skin-dive and prefer snorkel to scuba. Most of the color is in water around 35feet/10meters deep, and I can free dive to 65 feet. When we vacationed in Australia, we went out on a boat that only allowed snorkel divers. This policy got the boat into protected areas of the Great Barrier Reef that are closed to scuba divers. But I don't dive much around here anymore, the increased population/pollution and climate change has made the reefs a fraction of what they once were, so it's not as enjoyable anymore.

I used to own a sailboat, but it was more hours work than pleasure so I sold it, and we don't go to the beach that much anymore.

We do like to go to nature preserves, observe the flora and fauna, and take a few pictures. Before COVID, symphonies.

We love to listen to and play many genres of music, but we go to the Symphony to hear things we cannot play and because we really love the music.

I walk a mile or two a day when I'm not gigging, and Mrs. Notes does yoga. I can't imagine doing winter sports, way too cold. I'd rather sweat than need a sweater. :D

Spring is here, the trees are pushing out new growth, the honeysuckles and jasmines are flowering, and our outdoor gigs are a lot of fun. Life is good.

Notes ♫
 
Yes we got through our ice storm and then had another, but we also went away. My husband had an appointment on the other side of the province and it’s a long drive so we stayed a few days. It was a nice break and the hotel we stayed in was fabulous.

We are ready for power outs. We have flashlights, carrying l.e.d. Lights, candies etc., generator with plenty of gas. We always top up our vehicle when we know there’s going to be a storm. We bring in plenty of wood for the fire.

Our generator is hooked up to a pony panel which runs our hot water water tank, water pump, microwave, lights, heat pump, fridge, etc. Its so nice knowing we have alternate heat sources as well as the ability to shower. We only plug it in when needed.

We are up about 150 feet from sea level and are about 1 kilometre away from the ocean. We can see it from our front windows as well as the beautiful sunsets. We are so high up that we can see eagles, ravens and other big birds flying in front of us. At night we’ve seen the Big Dipper magnified and right in front of us. It’s so cool.

And it’s the first time I’ve been so aware of where the sun and moon are during the different seasons. I didn’t realize their position moves so much. We are positioned on the side of a small mountain. In the spring and summer you can see the sun come up over the mountain but not in the winter time. During most of the winter months, we don’t see the sun from our home. It’s only just starting to pop over the mountain top now and part of the reason is that the ice storm pulled so many birch treetops down. They aren’t very strong trees. Here are the birch trees and why they don’t make a good hardwood floor.
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The sun also sets in a completely different place. In the summer months, it sets almost directly in front of us but later on in the autumn months it sets much further west. In fact, in the winter we don’t see the sun set from where we live. Having seasonal affective disorder, this is significant stuff.

The wind and breezes we get up here are actually quite nice. Our house is made out of concrete so we don’t feel any of it in the least while inside. In the summer it’s extra nice since it blows all the bugs away. That part I love. In fact, I love the smell of the ocean.
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We have air conditioning since it’s part of our heat pump and love it. It automatically takes the humidity out of the air as well so we don’t need to run a dehumidifier. We used to have to run one throughout the 3 seasons where we used to live and it wasn’t hooked up meaning I emptied it a couple of times a day. This house also has an air exchanger which filters and cleans the air and surprisingly we have little dust here even with the wood stove. That part is practically magical.

At our last house we didn’t have central air either. We had a portable unit which my husband used for when he slept days.
We really do like the air conditioning in this house though. Maybe it’s the air exchanger that makes the difference.

I would have loved to have snorkelled and gone deep sea diving. Unfortunately I lost an eardrum and had one skin grafted from my scalp and it leaks. It’s a real nuisance cause I LOVE swimming. I probably could have swam professionally if this hadn’t happened but stuff happens. Now I mainly swim doing the breast stroke so I keep my head above the water.

Seeing those colourful fish must be so amazing. I’d love to swim with sharks and dolphins. I’ve swam with lake otters before many times. Now they are a blast. Do you take underwater photos too? What’s the most exciting deep sea dive you’ve ever done and why?

The sailing sounds wonderful. We pass so many when we are out on the water. They are so graceful. I’ve been on a few sailboat rides and do like it. How far have you sailed?
We have a fishing boat with a power motor and trolling motor, kayaks and canoes. One was left here and it’s nicer than ours. We like canoeing so we can take our dogs. They don’t fit in our kayaks. They really like going with us. One loves the trips but the other one is a bit nervous at times. We need to get them life jackets though.

The motorboat has one of those fish finders as well as a gps. It shows the depth of the water which is exceptionally useful. It also shows the underwater terrain so we can better navigate while we are out. It’s a great safety feature. I never thought I’d really enjoy motor boating but it’s quite fun.

When my sister in law came up, we took her out to the islands so they could pick mussels to cook for later which they did. She had a blast here and it was so nice watching them have such a good time together. I snuck some photos of them picking them and they are lovely. These are things they used to do when they were younger.
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Australia must have been awesome for snorkelling. That’s a country I would like to visit but I doubt we ever will. We don’t travel much. My husband did a bit of travelling while he was employed but he’s retired now. He does visit his parents often so does still fly on his own. I’ve got the dogs to look after.

I do yoga, ride an ebike and do light weight training. My husband does none of it however he does walk with me every morning. It’s one change I really had to adapt to since that’s something I used to do on my own before.

Winter sports are fun. I used to enjoy skiing but don’t do it any more. I’ve still got my cross country skis but my husband has lost all interest. He will ice skate and ice fish but that’s about it. He even has a sweat shirt that reads, “ I like fishing and about 3 people.” LOL! It suites him to a T.

Spring is far from here. In fact, yesterday we had a big snowstorm again. I spent a bit of time shoveling snow. I know you can’t relate. Lol. My husband does our long driveway with the snowblower while I shovel the decks and stairs.

We are currently ripping out our hardwood floor. It’s made from stained birch which is a hardwood but a soft hardwood. It doesn’t make a good hardwood floor but for some reason is really popular here. Whoever laid this hardwood floor did a horrible job. There are so many tiny pieces about 8 to 10 inches that only had one staple in them plus there’s no subfloor.

The floor squeaks badly which drives my husband crazy plus since our house frame is made from concrete, there’s a thick 1 foot wall surface to consider. The people who put this particular floor down put wood over this also so there are hills in our hardwood floor. Is that crazy or what? Instead of adding transitions at the entranceways they just carried on stapling hardwood down making our hardwood floor wavy. ‍♀️
Crazy right?‍♀️

Anyway today my husband is away and I want to get most of the floor taken up in this living room area and burn the wood out back.
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We wanted to save the hardwood to give to our neighbour but the staples don’t come out easily and we’ve got no place to store it due to that. It’s a shame cause it would have looked great in their cottage.

Well, I must go . Chat later. Have an awesome day.
 
Come to think of it we are probably less than a kilometre away. I was including the length of our driveway but it’s mostly uphill.
Here’s a picture of how high up we are minus our driveway. This is from today.
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Yes we got through our ice storm and then had another, but we also went away. My husband had an appointment on the other side of the province and it’s a long drive so we stayed a few days. It was a nice break and the hotel we stayed in was fabulous.
I experienced that once in Ishpeming Michigan. I was in a road band, and we were booked in a club halfway between Northern Michigan University and a huge Air Force Base. The folks from both would come here to party.

It was beautiful, as everything was covered with ice. Other than that, it snowed every day. I'm glad I experienced it, and the area was beautiful, but I wouldn't want to live there.

The band played mostly college towns, usually 2 weeks with options. We eventually outgrew that and started opening for headliners in concerts.
We are ready for power outs. We have flashlights, carrying l.e.d. Lights, candies etc., generator with plenty of gas. We always top up our vehicle when we know there’s going to be a storm. We bring in plenty of wood for the fire.

Our generator is hooked up to a pony panel which runs our hot water water tank, water pump, microwave, lights, heat pump, fridge, etc. Its so nice knowing we have alternate heat sources as well as the ability to shower. We only plug it in when needed.
Sounds similar to us always prepared for hurricanes.

We don't need the heat sources, and our generator can power the microwave, lights, fridge, and the water well pump, but the water heater is asking too much of it. Especially since we run for a few hours, then turn it off for a few more.

The 1hp well water pump requires the most electricity.
We are up about 150 feet from sea level and are about 1 kilometre away from the ocean. We can see it from our front windows as well as the beautiful sunsets. We are so high up that we can see eagles, ravens and other big birds flying in front of us. At night we’ve seen the Big Dipper magnified and right in front of us. It’s so cool.
We can see the Big Dipper from here, but not the little one, unless it is it position all above the North Star. We can see southern constellations not visible from "up north" though.

We have a pair of eagles that nest in the wetlands to our west, plenty of ospreys, gulls, terns, pelicans, and small songbirds. We don't get Ravens, but in the winter flocks of Fish Crows.

And it’s the first time I’ve been so aware of where the sun and moon are during the different seasons. I didn’t realize their position moves so much

Being on our sand dune, facing east, and we drink tea facing the French Doors and Picture windows, so we can follow the sunrise from north to south and back again. It's amazing how much it does move.

We don't watch TV at all, so our great room (it's small but that's what they call it) chairs face about 200' (66 meters) of our backyard that we have re-wilded with trees and mostly native vegetation. We have bird feeders and the squirrels are always entertaining.

I know we're weird, we don't use AC, and we don't watch TV.

We both grew up without AC and never got accustomed to it. We like the fresh air, and don't mind the humidity.

We gigged on cruise ships in the late 1980s for 3 years. Back then there was no TV on the ships, technology wasn't that advanced yet. When we got home we hooked the cable back up, but after a few months of paying for something we didn't use, we unhooked it. We had gotten used to doing things instead of watching actors pretend to do things.

I unhooked it, a year or so later I took down the antenna mast - I never put an antenna up on it - when I had the house painted. Where we live, without a tall and big antenna, you can't get TV at all.

Instead, I learned to play wind synth and guitar, learned how to write aftermarket products for Band-in-a-Box, make my own websites, and my wife and I enjoy making the aftermarket products for BiaB. We also have plenty of quality time together, and we read together. She reads aloud, and we comment on the book as we read. Sometimes it's a few paragraphs of reading and an hour of commenting and drifting off on tangents. Always non-fiction and often with science or nature themes.

How lucky I am, how many wives will enjoy a book about slime mold? (That was a very interesting book.)

<...snip...>

The wind and breezes we get up here are actually quite nice. Our house is made out of concrete so we don’t feel any of it in the least while inside. In the summer it’s extra nice since it blows all the bugs away. That part I love. In fact, I love the smell of the ocean.
View attachment 10376
Nice picture. There are deer in Florida, but we don't get them here, but in our yard I've seen bobcats, foxes, opossums, raccoons, coyotes, and although not in my yard, some of my neighbors have seen alligators crossing their yards from the wetlands on our west to the brackish lagoon to our east.

I've seen deer in the Everglades National Park, and in Key Largo, the Key Deer, which are about the size of a full-grown German Shepherd dog.

We have air conditioning since it’s part of our heat pump and love it. It automatically takes the humidity out of the air as well so we don’t need to run a dehumidifier. We used to have to run one throughout the 3 seasons where we used to live and it wasn’t hooked up meaning I emptied it a couple of times a day. This house also has an air exchanger which filters and cleans the air and surprisingly we have little dust here even with the wood stove. That part is practically magical.

We have AC, but seldom use it. We mostly turn it on when guests come over, so they can be comfortable.

On the other hand, when it gets under 70F, the heat pump part of it goes on.

<...snip...>

I would have loved to have snorkelled and gone deep sea diving. Unfortunately I lost an eardrum and had one skin grafted from my scalp and it leaks. It’s a real nuisance cause I LOVE swimming. I probably could have swam professionally if this hadn’t happened but stuff happens. Now I mainly swim doing the breast stroke so I keep my head above the water.

We have to live with whatever life deals us.

I prefer swimming on my back or under the water.

Seeing those colourful fish must be so amazing. I’d love to swim with sharks and dolphins. I’ve swam with lake otters before many times. Now they are a blast. Do you take underwater photos too? What’s the most exciting deep sea dive you’ve ever done and why?

I've been down with nurse sharks and sand sharks, fortunately not any hammerheads or great whites. We have plenty of dolphins, and they have played in the bow wave of my sailboat, but I've not seen them when diving.

I can't say what the most exciting dive I've been on was, because I grew up under the water. It was more exciting when I was a kid.

But the most usual was in the Cayman Islands in the Gulf of Mexico. There is a place called Sting Ray City. While gigging on a cruise ship, some crew/staff members told us about it, so a number of us got together and hired a boat to take us there.

Sting Ray City is an inlet to a bay, the fishermen used to clean their fish on the way in and throw the scraps over board, and the stingrays came to appreciate that. So we put a scuba take on, some extra weight, so we could sit on the bottom.

The rays were attracted to us, and would rub their soft undersides across our shoulders like a pet cat rubs against its owner's legs. A small one just plopped itself on the bottom near our feet. It seems that even though we didn't have anything to feed them, they just liked our company.

The most beautiful waters I've ever dived in were in the Bahama Islands.

The sailing sounds wonderful. We pass so many when we are out on the water. They are so graceful. I’ve been on a few sailboat rides and do like it. How far have you sailed?

I haven't taken any long trips in the sailboat, mostly just around the area. It was before GPS, I didn't have loran, sonar, or any other electronics on it, and didn't trust myself navigating without sight of shore. The sloop was 23' (7.6m) and capable of going to the Bahamas and back, but I know my limitations.

I've sailed in the Bahamas and Caribbean, it's easy to rent a bare boat.

We have a fishing boat with a power motor and trolling motor, kayaks and canoes. One was left here and it’s nicer than ours. We like canoeing so we can take our dogs. They don’t fit in our kayaks. They really like going with us. One loves the trips but the other one is a bit nervous at times. We need to get them life jackets though.

I've been on friends motorboats, but I've never owned one.

A fan of ours had a trawler, and he invited us on it many times. It had fish finder, GPS and a lot more, but we didn't fish off it, just partied. I got to drive it when the captain needed a break.

The motorboat has one of those fish finders as well as a gps. It shows the depth of the water which is exceptionally useful. It also shows the underwater terrain so we can better navigate while we are out. It’s a great safety feature. I never thought I’d really enjoy motor boating but it’s quite fun.

I've been on boats with all that gear, it's amazing.

How far have you motored? What's the biggest fish you ever caught?

When my sister in law came up, we took her out to the islands so they could pick mussels to cook for later which they did. She had a blast here and it was so nice watching them have such a good time together. I snuck some photos of them picking them and they are lovely. These are things they used to do when they were younger.

I don't do much diving anymore, and I sold the sailboat. I can't say I got tired of it, but as live changes, different adventures open up for me.

^^^ That is one great picture.
Australia must have been awesome for snorkelling. That’s a country I would like to visit but I doubt we ever will. We don’t travel much. My husband did a bit of travelling while he was employed but he’s retired now. He does visit his parents often so does still fly on his own. I’ve got the dogs to look after.
That's why we don't have pets. It would be unfair to them to leave them for weeks wondering what happened.

Australia was great. We did 5 weeks in a camper and traveled up the eastern coast to Darwin, down the middle of the country through the outback, and back to the eastern coast. Besides for the dive on the Great Barrier Reef we saw rain forest, desert, and quite a bit more. Some of the animals we saw were Kangaroos, Koalas, Wallabies, Dingo, Emus, Cassowaries, Platypus, Echidna, and hundreds of bird species.

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These are dangerous birds, they can slice you open with their toe in self-defense, but fortunately, we were in our camper when this one wandered by.

I do yoga, ride an ebike and do light weight training. My husband does none of it however he does walk with me every morning. It’s one change I really had to adapt to since that’s something I used to do on my own before.
I tried yoga, it isn't active enough for me (Iyengar style) and the flow types doing the same thing over and over bore me. But I can walk the same path over and over and not get bored -- go figure.
Winter sports are fun. I used to enjoy skiing but don’t do it any more. I’ve still got my cross country skis but my husband has lost all interest. He will ice skate and ice fish but that’s about it. He even has a sweat shirt that reads, “ I like fishing and about 3 people.” LOL! It suites him to a T.
I've done some skiing, but only in Florida. I have one question? How do you get the boat through the snow? :D
Spring is far from here. In fact, yesterday we had a big snowstorm again. I spent a bit of time shoveling snow. I know you can’t relate. Lol. My husband does our long driveway with the snowblower while I shovel the decks and stairs.
Spring is in full bloom here. Bright green is replacing the dark green on the Live Oaks, and today the Carolina Jasmine started blooming joining the ixora, downy jasmine, honeysuckle, shepherd's needle, and the orchids on our trees.

Like I said, I experienced snow when I was on the road in a band in the late 60s. I didn't do any shoveling though, but I had to learn how to drive in it. That was tricky at first.

We gigged in a beachside hotel, on a huge, covered patio extension of their restaurant yesterday afternoon. Our fanse packed the place so full, they had to call in more waitresses to handle the crowd (good for job security).

The wind off the water was 20 to 25 mph with gusts over 30 (32 to 40 to gust over 48 kph). Wind blown sand ended up everywhere. Still, it was a great day. We had fun, the crowd had fun, the hotel made money (job security) and the management was all grins.

We played at another similar venue for 12 1/2 years. COVID came, new owners bought it, and wanted a single guitarist/singer instead of us. No hard feelings, they are nice people, and it seems to be working for them.

We found this place, and our audience is just finding us in the new location. Our regulars are like extended family members to us, and it's great to see people we haven't seen for 2 years still happy and ready to party.


<...snip...>

Well, I must go . Chat later. Have an awesome day.
 
Icy weather- Beautiful it is and luckily we have snow tires on an ALL four wheel drive as it can be dangerous driving.

We were surprised we had hot water during our power outage but we decided to give it a try and both had showers with plenty of hot water. We were thrilled. I don’t mind sponge baths but I’d rather have a nice hot shower instead.

Just the fact that we are noticing the stars is amazing. We don’t usually notice the earth move that much but we do here. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the Big Dipper look so expansive before. It was huge but it didn’t stay there long.

Having the privilege of watching a mating pair of eagles is a true pleasure. They really are spectacular but Florida is very exciting for inhabiting some of the most beautiful birds ever. You have so many herons and pink flamingos , as well as the white ibis, purple gallinule, the swallow tailed kite, the anhinga, and roseate spoonbill ( what a beautiful, unique looking bird ) . The stork is quite an impressive looking bird as well as those egrets. When I was there I truly was fascinated by the wide selection of interesting birds you had. Very entertaining.

If you normally sit in one area of your house to watch the sun, then you would notice it move substantially. Where we lived before, we were in the midst of a huge forest so didn’t quite notice it as much as we do now and it really is a substantial shift.

We used to always feed the birds at our last house. In fact I used to make my own suet feeders and had all kinds of different bird and put it in special feeders. We had a niger seed one for the finches, black oiled sunflower seeds for the chickadees and most other birds, corn for the jays and nuts for woodpeckers and nuthatches. Here we hung feeders off our veranda and didn’t have any birds take to them however in the summer, we had so many hummingbirds that they were fighting for the sugar water we put out. We had about 4 feeders. They were VERY entertaining.

I could stop watching tv but my husband couldn’t . The only thing I ask him not to watch is the news while I’m around. I don’t want bad news shoved in my face everyday. These guys make mega bucks sensationalizing bad news.

You are lucky you got away from tv. It’s got to be one of the most time wasters on earth next to the internet. While being entertained we get bombarded with advertisers trying to brainwash us into thinking we are LESS THAN until we have x,y & z products and for today only you can get them at this extra special price. Lol.
You truly are blessed to not have it.

We enjoy reading too however over the last few years I find it very difficult to focus on reading. My mind gets too distracted. It wasn’t until our last power outage that I was able to truly get into a book but my man would NOT like me reading to him. He reads a lot but likes to keep his reading to himself.
Occasionally he tells me about the book he is currently reading, but not often. Instead he gives explicit detail about how something is made or put together. I’d probably get less detail on the ‘How’s it Made’ show.

That deer photo was taken while driving down our driveway one morning. There were 3 more behind her. We recently discovered that they love birch tree tips. Recently my husband has cut plenty of Birch trees down and it has attracted many deer.

A deer the size of a German Shepherd is quite small. The deer here are quite a bit smaller than where we came from.
Here we see a lot of deer, some fox but no raccoons. I’ve been here almost a year and have yet to see one. Hallelujah! Those things are a right nuisance. They are far too clever with killer dexterity which means they can open just about anything.

One thing we did see a few months back, up very close , was a bobcat. We were driving to a wonderful hiking spot and a bobcat crossed the gravel road we were on. I was so entranced that I forgot to pick up my camera to take a picture. I could have gotten a great photo of it crossing over a fallen tree. I didn’t realize how short they are but by golly, they ARE a very attractive cat.

The other day while riding my ebike, I came across a fox crossing the highway. It was crossing the road and had stopped to look at something. This little guy clearly wasn’t used to seeing people riding bikes in winter cause I was right behind him. I could see the whites of his eyes as he turned around to look at me. He then dashed off. It truly was an amazing experience. Watching nature in all its glory fascinates me however having an alligator cross my front yard would be another thing altogether.

We do have to deal with whatever life deals us. I found it best to make lemonade. I’ve no doubt you’ll understand that one.

Swimming with sharks must be so amazing.
That has to be so very thrilling. Did you take any pictures of them ? Did you see them on a guided swim? I’ve seen dolphins jumping at the front of a few boats I’ve been on including the ferries. That’s so fun to see.
I saw quite a few when I was in Florida.

When I was younger I did a lot of snorkelling. It was really exciting but I can’t imagine seeing those sting rays. That sounds magical and not something most people do.

What was so special about the Bahama islands ? Was the water extra crystal clear?
Were the tropical fish extra colourful?
Hey! Do turtles really swim in a pack like on Finding Nemo? Lol

I think if we could afford it, I’d prefer a sailboat. They are so quiet & graceful. They don’t pollute the water . There’s something extra super special about sailing but it’s a big responsibility.

We have travelled about 50 kilometres in our boat. For the record, I haven’t ever fished in the boat before. My husband does most of the fishing here. The biggest fish he caught here was a 15 1/2 years “ wild sea trout. The biggest fish he caught elsewhere has been a 14 1/2 lb catfish. He doesn’t fish for really big fish. He prefers the smaller feistier ones.
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The only fish I’ve ever caught were white fish, trout and sun fish. These are even smaller fish.

Having pets is a huge responsibility so you definitely are best off without them. You travel far too much to care for pets. It’s good that you don’t have any.

Your trip to Australia sounds wonderful and so adventurous.

Yoga isn’t an aerobic exercise. It’s for stretching and relaxing in between aerobic exercise and/ or strength training. Actually it’s fabulous for keeping the joints moving and the muscles stretched. It really helps keep my back aligned. I love yoga. I do namaste yoga and wouldn’t consider any other. These women make yoga routines fun and soothing.

I’m currently somewhat jealous of your springtime fresh natural scents of jasmine and honeysuckle. They sound heavenly. I didn’t even know orchids grow on trees.

It sounds like you are handling Covid and all that comes with it just fine.

We currently have our living room hardwood ripped up. We have 75 boxes of maple hardwood. My husband had to make two 8 hour round trips to get it. I honestly can’t wait to start putting it down. My favourite job is picking out the pieces to go down.

Talk later
 
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