She Plays with Me!

Mid-November, 2016

     I suppose one of the points of this blog is to share music with my daughter.  I mean, I did title it Daddy Plays Bass and all, so this shouldn't come as any surprise to anyone, but then this happened:

     You have to understand, she's playing a dog guitar (look close).  She can press on any of 8 buttons that run C to C (and the C chords are identical sounding, so it's not high to low or anything special -- it's just chords).  But she does a pretty damn good job of playing along, even though I'm too loud to let her be heard.  So I got quieter:

     So there she is, playing along with me, asking questions, and becoming a musical creature.  I'd say this is a parenting win at this point.  Life is fun, and kids keep you honest.  Be good out there world.

Halloween!

     I feel I'm on the cusp of something.  In a very literal sense, tomorrow is November 1st, and November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo).  Last year, I wrote The Rapscallions during my first NaNo.  (And incidentally, I learned that it is going to be the featured book this December at a book club in Missouri!)  I feel compelled to participate again, but not at all in the same way.  Last year, I had an infant who slept about 20 hours a day.  She's down to about 12 now, most of which (usually) occur between 8 PM and 6 AM, with a two hour nap sometime during the day.  So instead of stopping what I'm doing to feed her, change her, and put her back to bed, the times are reversed.  Most of my time is spent directly interacting with her --

taking her places, 

 playing games, 

exploring bookshelves,

feeding her a dazzling array of foods, 

making funny faces, 

going to the library,

taking walks -- 

and the time I get to do 'my stuff' is limited to that two hour nap.  [I have to admit, I relish that time, and I wonder how parents of more than one kid do it.  (I've yet to hear of someone whose kids both take naps at the same time consistently.)]
     As I said, I'm on the cusp of something.  For the past two months, the first two months of the school year, when I'm back to being alone with Esme every weekday, I've been insanely busy.  To pull in some extra income, I've been designing elementary-level project based unit plans for a local consortium of schools.  I've written nine of them, which, ask any teacher, is many hours of work.  I've also been writing post-session reports for Growing Hope to comply with grant funding requirements, so you can imagine the detail -- or maybe you can't.  I certainly didn't.  But I'm almost finished with both projects, so I have a sense of my time being mine again.  Which coincides nicely with NaNo.
     I've already decided on my NaNo writing for this year -- I'm going to continue working on Ride Collector, my book about hitchhiking from Maine to Mississippi in late summer of 1993.  Unfortunately, that violates two NaNo rules:  1)  you have to start a new work in November (I already have almost 7,000 words) and 2) it has to be fiction, a novel.  Now there may be fictionalized sections, as I can't remember every one of those 25 rides, but it's still a memoir, not a novel.  I decided that didn't matter, since I'm not going to write 50,000 words this month, either.  I simply won't have the time.  Instead, I'm going to use NaNo to reawaken my muse.  With all the focus on getting work done in the time I have to do it, I haven't done much else.  No new songs written for Bowling Green.  No new writing on any of my book ideas.  No new writing on my blog.  That all changes starting right now!

     Which brings me to the point of this post.  (Ha!  You thought I'd forgotten the title, hadn't you?)  Tonight was Esme's first Halloween in a costume.  (Tinkerbell, if you must know.  Pictures may follow if they turned out on Zoey's phone.)  She was definitely super excited to see what all these kids were doing coming up to our door.  She wanted to go outside and cavort with them, but it being only about 35 or 40 out, we didn't let her stay out long (and you could barely see her little wings sticking out the neck of her coat).  I think the big story of this Halloween, though, was our pumpkins.  On a sunny afternoon last week, when it was in the 70's, we all sat outside and carved our pumpkins -- one small one I grew in the garden, and one big one we bought.  Unfortunately, this turned out to be a bit too premature.

Mmmm, pumpkin guts!

Should've taken a picture on day 1, but this is the next morning,

Which is when I decided to document this process.

The carnage continues...

Notice that you can see through the left eye.

They still looked pretty good at night, though.

When I looked outside a couple of days ago...

I saw one of the culprits.  Stupid squirrels...

They'll steal your face...

right off your head.

Esme didn't seem bothered by it, so we put them out on the front porch tonight anyway!

     Happy Halloween everyone!  And a big welcoming hello to the inspirational month of November!

What do we do all day?

November 17, 2011

      I tried to shoot a couple of videos of one of Esme and my favorite activities -- singing along with my iTunes collection, but I didn't do a very good job of capturing what it usually looks like.  (She normally opens her mouth and 'sings' along.  And, in case you're curious, her singing is noticeably different from her speaking.  I'll try to capture the difference at some point, but that may take some doing.)  What I did capture will, I'm sure, satisfy some of you with some great close-up video of her beautiful eyes.  I hope you can put aside your musical appreciation for a moment (as this is me singing along with me, and forgetting the words to my own song).

Forgive the three minute length, if you can, and just appreciate the baby joy -- I'm pretty sure you can see her looking at her image on the iPod at certain points.  (You can also hear Apple, Zoey's cat, asking to go out a couple of times -- must be trying to get away from my singing.)

And finally, this is the first time I've tried uploading video directly to blogger rather than going through YouTube.  If you have comments on which you prefer, I'd love to know...

It All Started with ABC

October 17, 2011

     It was several years back now, but Tina's and my first date was at Arbor Brewing Company.  Some call it 'the pub', but we've always called it ABC.  And it's a very good place to start.  I actually wrote a song about our first kiss -- and it starts out in that crowded pub.  Perhaps I'll perform that at Woodruff's some night and post it here...

     But this isn't about our first visit to ABC, it's about Esme's.  (Yes, the first two outings we had with our daughter were both to bars.  Think what you will, they're both very family friendly places filled with our family friends.)  Esme didn't have anything to drink in either establishment, but I won't hold that against her.  I would hold it against her if she develops a taste for Bud Light, though.  I hope I'm able to teach her to be a responsible drinker -- meaning that she drinks locally produced beverages brewed with environmentally sustainable practices.  (Did I mention ABC is working on setting up solar power for their brewing operation?)  Oh, and beer that has flavor -- friends don't let friends drink crappy beer.

     In any case, I think you can see that she wasn't exactly excited about the trip -- she was her normal, mellow, sleepy self.  She does look just a little gangsta in the last picture, though...

   So if you're in town, and you'd like to have a beer, hopefully you'll let me guide us to ABC to share in the joy and bliss that is their stock in trade.

PS.  Sorry I haven't kept up so well over the past few weeks.  I'm getting back to it, but also participating in NaNoWriMo, so we'll see how I do this month...

Esme at Woodruff's Open Mic!

October 11, 2011

     We had our first family trip to Woodruff's this week!  We visited what we believe was the first open mic at Woodruff's in Ypsilanti back in January.  We were at first excited to find such a great place for me to play and for us to hang out and listen to great music every week, but then we found out that Tina was pregnant, and, as just about any pregnant woman can probably tell you, hanging out in a bar while you're pregnant isn't as fun.  So I've been going alone most weeks since then.  After about a month or so, I started writing the Woodruff's Acoustic Open Mic Song (which you will soon hear, if you read on), which was and continues to be well received by the audience, staff, and other musicians.

Is 19 too young for the bar?  (19 days, I mean.)

     This week, we decided to see if it would work out.  "We can always leave if Esme's fussy," we said to ourselves, so we gave it a shot.  And what a great time we had.  Esme was a hit from the time we arrived.  Literally -- Nina, the bartender, saw us coming and opened the side door to let us in.  By the time she had stepped away, there were two other regulars greeting us and asking about Esme.  I can't tell you how joyous it was to be so warmly greeted as a family at a place that Tina had only been to twice before.  I've been playing almost every week as a part of the current incarnation of Bowling Green.  This evening's setlist included the typical open mic fare of three songs.

  We started off with "39 Weeks," the song I hastily wrote and performed three weeks ago, though I still couldn't remember all the words.  Oh well.

  

     From there we launched into a re-pronouned version of "When You Dream" by the Barenaked Ladies.  Amazingly enough, the concept of this song feels like it came out of a conversation Tina and I had in the past ten days.  (Truly, we can see Esme's rapid eye movement and body responses, so we are almost certain she's dreaming, but aren't dreams supposedly the mind's way of processing the days emotions and events?  So what IS she dreaming about?)

     And we ended, as we almost always do, with "The Woodruff's Song."  (In it's current version.  Verses for Jo, Eric, and Erik are in the works...)

     The night was fabulous all around with Esme getting loving from many of our friends, though it was pretty clear that those who held her received at least as much as they gave.  Just look at Sid's face....

Sid sayz, "I believe that Esme is... the child destined to bring balance to the Force!"

     Thanks, Woodruff's, for creating a family-friendly evening of music, love, good spirits, and joy.  If you're ever around Ypsi on a Tuesday night, you gotta stop by and check it out.

39 Weeks

On Monday night my mind was racing with thoughts of... well, waiting.  So I put my energy in a creative direction in this song, 39 Weeks.  I've included the full text below, because not only can you not hear me singing clearly a lot of the time in the YouTube clip, but I also messed up the words -- just about all of them, quite honestly.  (I may have nailed the chorus once, but whatever; the song was less than 24 hours old as of this recording.)  P.S.  St. Joe's is the hospital.

39 Weeks

C - / F - / C - / GFC- / GFC-

My wife’s been pregnant for 39 weeks

I love to kiss her on her ruby red cheeks

My phone’s in my pocket and the ringer’s turned on

Cause if she calls me I got to go

We’ve got a date with St. Joe’s

It’s been 39 weeks and just one day

If she calls now, I’ll be on my way

I hate to leave you when my song’s underway

            But if she calls me...

It’s 39 weeks and we’re on to day two

Though it might look like I’m singing to you

My mind is full and I’m preoccupied

            If she calls me...

39 weeks and three days out

Of one thing there can be no doubt

If my phone rings, then I’m headed out

            If she calls me...

39 weeks and we’re on to day four

She says she’s ready so she’s moppin’ the floor

If she calls I’ll be late for the door

            If she calls me...

39 weeks and day number five

We’ve been waiting 9 months for this day to arrive

If I’m late then I might not survive

            If she calls me...

Two years ago, I made her my bride

I oughta be home, oughta be by her side

Oughta be there so I can give her a ride

      If she calls me I got to go

      We’ve got a date with St. Joe’s

      If she calls me I got to go

I really ought to just go

I am just gonna go