Ukulele

I picked up this instrument in August of last year. Outside of my bicycles it's one of the best investments I've made. Learning to play has been a lot of fun. Experimenting with different picking patterns has shown me how to bring some songs to life. I played during Street Music Week last June and it was a blast.

My ukulele with a home made shoe string strap.

Evening Bike Ride

Kathy has been riding a lot more this year. Getting two new bikes, one road and one touring, can cause that. All the smoke in the air makes for a pretty sunset but it sure is hard on the eyes and lungs.

Looks Like Spokane Could Easily Have More Bike Commuters

In yesterdays' Spokesman Review an article stated the median commute was 20 minutes in Spokane.

If true, even though it includes cyclists there aren't that many of us so a lot of people driving could improve their lives and have more fun if they rode a bike to work.

Cigar Box Guitar Version 1.0

While I was visiting Kathy's side of the family in Illinois I got the idea to make a cigar box guitar. This is my first attempt. I went with a cardboard box and nylon strings. There are no frets so I use a slide to play. Nylon strings take a while to stop stretching but as long as the strings are in tune it sounds surprisingly good. There are only two strings right now because I broke one. Those eye-hook bolt tuners don't work nearly as well as regular tuners.

Next, I'm going to try a wooden cigar box and bronze wound guitar strings. And real tuners.