Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Fish and Drumsticks

I love the show Tanked on A&E. It showcases unusual fishtank builds by a popular company in Nevada. One of the shows recently showed a mix of my two favorite things, music and fish. The company had to create a fishtank out of a drum set. That's right, a full drum set that was turned into a bunch of individual fishtanks, set up like a regulation drum set and actually played too. They even had fish that looked like the Drumsticks Bass at Musicians Friend.

Of course it was purely for display. No one could do something like that for a practical set of drums. My grandson wants to take up the drums. My daughter kind of rolls her eyes, but I think it's a great idea. He can keep the beat while my granddaughter plays the guitar. No fish, of course.

Done with Winter

Winter may have just started, technically, but I'm over it already. I can't wait for spring so I can go kayaking and fishing again. Here's to memories from last spring.


Tuesday, December 03, 2013

Favorite Instruments

I've mentioned more than a few times that I played guitar as a teen. It was my main instrument, but it wasn't the only one. I also played flute in junior and senior high school band. I had wanted to play saxaphone, that just seemed like such a sexy instrument, but there were no seats for sax so I had to settle for the flute. Well, settling wasn't an issue once I learned how wonderful the delicious sounds of the flute were. I still enjoy listening to the flute.

Perhaps I should get Alexis to try the flute when she starts junior high next year. As a band instrument it is one of my favorites.
We could take a look at some of the opportunities to buy yamaha flute accessories and get her set up, maybe even get her a starter flute to begin learning on before school starts next year. I also played piano. That's how I met my husband, but of all the instruments I've played, in order it would be guitar, flute and then piano and organ as favorites.

That Dog

I love my dog. Before getting her, I did a lot of research on Papillons, the breed she is. The information all pointed to these dogs being very intelligent. In fact, they are ranked #2 right behind poodles as the most intelligent dog breed. I've never owned poodles, but I've been around quite a few and knew they as a whole seemed very easy to train, so I expected that my new Papillon puppy would be as well.

She was. I can only remember once that she went potty in the house even as a small puppy, and she learns quickly when I attempt to teach her anything. What surprised me most was that quick learning isn't the only hallmark of an extremely intelligent dog. This dog doesn't wait to be taught, she teaches herself new behaviors all the time. It never ceases to amaze me. Not only does she learn to do things on her own, she also learns from other animals in the house. She has picked up some hilarious movements and behaviors from the cat.

Batty, the papillon is a never-ending source of joy.