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

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. :)

Hangin' in There...

Today is my busy teaching day. Kiddies with violins, guitars, and mandolins all wiggly and giggly after school. A good day, but a hectic one. So I'm makin' like Mr. Catapiller up there and hangin' with the best of them. It is a daunting perspective when sitting in my quiet music room.

Music will be made and kiddos will sing and laugh and the teacher, well the teacher will smile and sing and play along. And laugh, too. They make me laugh - the little ones. So often I find it so much easier to talk to a five year old than their parent. What does that say about me??

Have a good day, folks, and remember to find some quiet time. No TV - no radio - no music even. Just sit and let the quiet help you think. Note: if you go outside in the country, the quiet is deafening!!

Laughs,
Malinda