Smithville Part 2

There are David and Adam... There is Billy Jean in the overalls playin' the fiddle. See the three guys all the way to the right behind the bass player? They are the people we met and ended up jammin' with for such a long time. They were really fun guys and girl. Their bass player friend, not pictured, was an awesome lady. Very friendly and she kindly hollered out chord changes now and then for me since it was fairly (well, REALLY) obvious that I knew not what they were playing most of the time. We'll see them again on Saturday at Uncle Dave Days.

This kid cracked me up. He had to be 7 or 8 if he's a day and he jammed on the guitar. Actually, he was his dad's accompanist...

I know NOT these people, but I love how the dude with the hat playing the guitar is gettin' down! The man in the blue shirt had a beautiful fiddle. It was carved on the back and dark and sooooo pretty...

There is Billy Jean again. We'll also see him and his friends at Uncle Dave Days...

The boy on the right was seven and rocked out on his mandolin...

Don't know her, but she was cute and played her fiddle very well.

This guy's guitar was a limited edition Martin. It says WSM Grand Ole Opry. I thought it was neat lookin'.

The boy in his element.

And me in mine... see Adam taking my picture?

have a great day!!!

Love,

Malinda

Smithville

We had fun. To say the least. Our friend, David - there on the left, went along and had so much fun with us!! I ended up with a blister on my thumb from playing. We met some really cool new musician friends and are looking forward to seeing them at Uncle Dave Macon Days on Saturday. I knew maybe 10 of the songs that we played along with all day. I played a fiddle song on the fiddle that I only know on the guitar and played in the key of F when everyone thought I'd quit playing along because I was a "fiddle player". Adam and David really got to have some good jammin' fun and enjoyed all of the new songs, as well. The weather was so nice... hot, but mild for July 3rd in Tennessee!!

g'night (or morning, depending on when you read this)

:)

M

Time for Fun...

This is our friend Billy Jean. We'll jam with him and his friends tomorrow at the Smithville Jamboree. I snapped this picture last year on the 4th.

Please be safe this weekend, my American friends and family!!

Love,

Malinda

Huck Finn

So we went to visit Eli, Adam's guitar student. He keeps busy, this one. He raises chickens, goats, rabbits and I'm sure other animals that I am forgetting and breeds them. Ha! This little rabbit will be around 30 to 40 pounds when it is full grown...

And if you know me at all, you'll know that I was REEEAAAALLLLLLY happy to visit the goats.

Here are the banty chickens. They are tiny. and full grown...

I think this is Ruby the mule. She was very pretty and TALLLLL.
The white horse is Wayne and I think the brown one is Roany (I didn't ask him how he spelled his name...).

That is Paul. I rode him and he was very nice to me. Didn't try to knock me off by riding under trees (like Roany did to Adam... just had to throw that in there) and was very understanding of my lack in riding ability. I like Paul. (Really, Cheryl, his name was Paul. I giggled a lot to myself about that during the ride.)

That is my husband swinging from a rope thirty feet above solid ground. Nough said.

Spring fed trough for horses...

and boys... (he's making it clean to drink out of...) :)

Hence the smiles. That is Kelly there with Adam. This woman deserves some sort of medal. She is an awesome mom.

drinking...

Thank you, Paul, for letting me ride you. You were a very nice horse...

And thanks to our new friend. We had fun, Eli!! Thanks for showing us your world. We really liked it.

Stiff, Sore, and Happy

The new coop. I told him we should just call it a chicken BARN. That is what it looks like to me. My Lovin' Husband does nothing in half measures. He just doesn't always measure... :) I don't encourage him to, either. Then we'd NEVER get done... Things like this amuse me. A bee in the beebalm. That makes me happy. Do you think that when beebalm was first called beebalm it was for this reason? I mean, bees like other flowers, too, right? So why was this plant INPARTICULAR called beebalm? Maybe they liked these flowers more than any other. I don't know. I'll have to look it up.

Peas for next year.

I am going to put a weathervane on the roof and hang a metal windchime from the "predator perch" as Adam calls it. I don't know why. I mean it's not like there is a cat climbing on the new coop as I type or anything... ;)

Squash, corn, sunflowers... and BoJangles. Let us not forget him... The garden is coming along nicely. We have been weeding like fools and have clean beds to show for it. Not pictures, though, because my backside was right next to Adam's and we weeded and weeded. We weeded so much that when I close my eyes I can see them!

We're off to a town far away to teach a boy who is learning to tear up the guitar. It takes both of us and that kid can flat play.. He is going to be a very versatile musician (already is) when he finishes growing up. I've never been so happy to have to leave and go teach. The weeds can just sit there and wait on us til tomorrow while we have fun with the kid and his guitar.

Family Reunion Fun...

A friend from church asked if we would come and play at his family reunion this past Saturday. Of course I said of course and we ended up having a great time. Danny and Marlene's son, Mark, played with us and we jammed for quite a while. Of course I am not actually IN any of these pictures, but I was there. See? My chair is there by Adam's. There is Mark with his guitar slung over his shoulder. He usually does not play traditional music and followed along like a champ. Even sang along once he got the choruses down.

See? There is my empty seat again!

And a good time was had by all!

I Spent All Day Trying to Upload This...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXwdFit9HV0

Please click on the link above if you want to hear some music...

Happy day.

Pickin' Jesus

About a year ago my mom asked me if I would lead a music group that would do music one Sunday a month. I said yes and Pickin' Jesus was formed. There is Noah on the left. Adam and I share him as a guitar student and he is really doing well. You can tell that he LIKES the guitar. Samantha is next. She is telling me to be quiet because right before I took this picture, I dropped my camera on the floor. I was shushed by an almost ninth grader. I can handle that. She is an awesome young lady and so fun to have in the group. She keeps us guessing. And laughing. She also helps lead the singing and does a wonderful job. Adam is next. He helps so much I cannot even begin to explain. So I won't. I will just be thankful that he comes and plays with us. Thanks, honey!! And there are my feet. Let us not look at those...

There is my sweet Mama. See? Told you you'd see her today! She rocks the guitar and sings. It makes me really happy when she sings harmony parts. :) Ray is next, there, with the mandolin and Julie, whom you can barely see, is our violin player extraodinaire. They both sing as well. Add me on the guitar and singing and you have an overall idea

There is my seat. And my flip flops. I wish I could claim the awesome guitar, but that is Noah's. :) His parents made sure that he would keep up with playing and then got him a guitar that he could really learn on and wouldn't need to replace unless he wanted to. It really made me happy when he walked into his lesson with that guitar. Happy for him, I mean. He is a really cool kid. Ahem... young man.

And here is the mugshot minus me. I sit next to Noah on the end in front of Ma. Fun times. :)

Bell Buckle Concert

I recently had the opportunity to go to Bell Buckle, Tennessee to visit some wonderful and newly-made friends. I was a little early so I did what I always do in situations like that and drove around town. I had been through once with Adam and we both really thought the town seemed neat. Upon second inspection, it IS neat. First off, there is an embroidery shop. I MUST visit again and actually go in. There are junk stores, craft stores, and the "world famous Bell Buckle Cafe". I also found some music. Let me take a minute here, people. I truly believe that when you believe in the music that you are making, you give it life. You say MORE than what is being said. This guy BELIEVED what he was singing and playing. He had a tambourine down by his feet and played that, too! I listend from my car with the windows down and heard the best, most beautiful version of Will the Circle Be Unbroken. This guy sang and played with every ounce of himself and I think he deserves a gig at the Ryman, myself.

I snapped a couple more pics while I listened to the concert.

Then some other folks stopped to listen while waiting for their table at the cafe.

Happy me at my concert...

You never know when you're going to find beauty. Or who is going to show it to you. Always listen for the unexpected music. It is always the best.

Guitar Heroes

This one has been strumming on my guitar for years now. I sit in front of her and play chords and she strums and sings. She isn't content to just sing Jesus Loves Me over and over anymore. She writes her own songs. Unicorns, flowers, butterflies, zoo animals, you name it and she sings about it. And is becoming quite a good little strummer. She matches every syllable with a strum. It is terribly adorable... This one started strumming just a few months ago. That is her, "Not too hard?" face. She is learning to *try* (cringe) not to scratch the guitar when she plays. Totally worth the scratches, but still trying to teach her that the pick stops at the last string!! She IS content to sing "Jesus" and "Rosies" over and over.

What I like about the time we get to spend together is that as they grow up, they'll remember this. Playing the guitar with Boo (that's my family's nickname for me) and singing and laughing and making up songs or just singing "Jesus" over and over. I like that it is free and not TV or a video game. It's just us chickens havin' a big ole time. And they smile. And they think so hard. I love watching their minds work as they try to figure out the "ga-tar" as Anndee Kate calls it.

They even hand the pick back and forth. One plays and we all sing - then the other plays and we all sing (if we know the words to her newest "song"). My one concern is this...

When they're old enough to hold their own "ga-tar", will they be able to strum from the other direction? :)