Thursday, May 31, 2007

Thanks for your Support

Thanks so much for your support and prayers over these past few days as we helped my mom pass away. Michael and I have been blessed with good friends and many calls and emails and offers of support. We were touched to see the beautiful flowers that our bluegrass friends sent to the funeral home and felt the special love of friends while there. It's been a difficult time, for certain, but I have felt God's love particularly and I know everything is as it is meant to be, and that all will be ok.

I'm looking forward to seeing you next Monday, June 4th, and I'm grateful that we have good friends to help us keep living.

Monday, May 28, 2007

Concert Perceptions from the Bluegrass Widow

I just read Michael's blog about the concert. Hmmmm....yes, some of it I recollect as described. My perspective may have been a little different though. Here are some thoughts.

I had spent that morning in Fredericton with my mother, and when I got home with just about the right amount of time to get ready to go to Ed & Becky's (i.e. brush my teeth) so that we could all go together to the concert, Michael asked me "is that what you're wearing". I can't recall him ever having asked ME that question before. I have asked it of him on a few occasions, but not the other way around, and I wasn't quite sure how to react. "Yes", I said carefully. "Yes, this is what I'm wearing. Does it not look ok?" "Oh yes, yep, uh huh. Yep. It looks fine". Fine. What a nasty word. I'm not a rocket scientist, but neither am I a stupid woman, so I know that because the question had been asked, it was indicative that there was indeed an issue with my outfit. No problem - presto chango into pink leather.

May 19th is Ed & Becky's wedding anniversary, and I thought it was nice that they wanted to spend it with us. Well, not us entirely. Ricky Skaggs et al. Ed & Becky had supper at Ed's Subs (not our Ed, but an unknown Ed), and then later we all had a meal at the Truck Stop. The anniversary aspect of the evening rather reminded me of some of the wedding anniversaries that I have experienced in the past, but I won't go there. At least not right now.

We arrived at the high school with lots of time to spare, which in and of itself is remarkable. I'm fairly certain Michael will be late for his own funeral, but he does manage to get to music related events pretty much on time. Why is that? Another one of life's great mysteries. We snuck in through the back door where we were stopped by security guards, one of which was really, really, really big. After some explaining, we were allowed to enter, but not before a permanent marker was used on each of us. For some reason, Tom Mason and I got B.R. tattooed on our hands, and everyone else got M.B. on their hands. We did not figure out the significance of this but when I went out to the lobby to buy water, I was not allowed back in. This was very alarming until the really, really, really big security guard confirmed that I was acceptable. I was starting to wonder if I would have to start crying to get back into the auditorium as the pink leather was obviously having no effect whatsoever.

Lemme see...what else happened. Oh yes, I hollered JIMMIE!! three times, for Jim Mills, the Kentucky Thunder banjo player. The first time, Tom Mason said "who let her in here?". Each time I yelled, Michael elbowed me and said "stop it" which struck me as odd since he told me to do it the third time. Hard to figure these banjo players out.

After the concert a bunch of us stood in the auditorium guarding the new banjo while Michael was in the lobby stalking Jimmie. About 20 minutes passed and he came flying through the door and Ed said "he looks like he's on a mission". Ya think? We were told Jimmie was waiting for us so off we went.

We basically monopolized Jimmie for about half an hour down the hall and well away from the crowd. Michael was absolutely buzzing with energy and I really enjoyed watching him ask Jim questions and talk and be so excited. It was a great thing to behold. I recall seeing Michael like that one other time. It was the night our daughter was born - the three of us were in a room resting and waiting to be admitted, and the nurse brought us in a phone. Michael picked up the phone and said "who can I call?" and he telephoned everyone we knew to tell them about the miracle that had just occurred. Seeing him like that again was really nice.

All in all, I totally enjoyed the evening, and loved being with our new friends. That was really special to me, and I enjoyed the music too. I couldn't tell you the name of even one tune since they all sound the same to me, but I thought they sounded pretty good. Meeting Jim Mills was cool, but the absolute very best part for me was watching Michael's dream come true exactly as he had hoped it would. That was my favourite part of the whole night.

Talk soon....
Big hugs from Helen

Thursday, May 17, 2007

I just thought of something funny....

Actually, I thought of it earlier today and even said it out loud, but it just came back to me, so I thought I would do a bloggy thingy about it. And it's even about bluegrass, in a round-about sort of way. That will make you-know-who happy.

I've been a little distracted of late and things at home are not quite as caught up as normal. I realized some time yesterday that Michael's drivers license expired on his birthday, which was May 14th, and I had a fuzzy memory of the car registration about to expire too. Not good and I had a kind of "circling the drain" feeling.

This morning Michael, Ed, Kenny and Harvey left on the big road trip to pick up the new banjo. So, picture this: Michael will be arriving at the Canada / US border with an expired picture ID, and no passport. If by some stroke of luck they do let him across the border, and don't arrest him for being an illegal alien or something, when the group decides to come back across on the other side, and he has to pay the tax on the banjo to get IT into Canada, he may have difficulty in doing so as I also noticed this morning that I have not paid the VISA bill and it was due on April 30th. Yikes!

After I stopped cringing about the chaos I have created, I decided that it might be rather entertaining to let the license lapse to the point that he has to take another driver test. Michael is constantly crowing about how he can parellel park, and I can't, about how he stops fully at stop signs, and I roll through, and how superiour his reverse driving skills are compared to mine. Blah, blah, blah. Let's put all that boasting to the big test. Yeah...that's starting to sound reallllll good.

This blog is bluegrass related, right?

See below for the sum total of what I know about bluegrass...

ahhhhhhhh....nothing.

Friday, May 11, 2007

Am I really a bluegrass widow?

Michael and I were at supper tonight at the Irving Big Stop in Lincoln. We were going to eat at home but decided that we were just too hungry and that we could share one of their whopping meals.

As soon as our butts hit the chairs, he said he had something to tell me about my blogs. He said that he noticed my blogs have nothing to do with bluegrass, and that didn't seem right to him, since my title is Bluegrass Widow. (I didn't know that was a title, but whatever.) He said I should be posting blogs about my thoughts on bluegrass related topics; items of interest like how I won't let him practice, how I object to the purchase of the banjo, how I don't like going to the jam...stuff like that. Then he said "And you don't need to blog about this conversation". As soon as those words were out of his mouth I could tell by the look in his eyes that he knew he had committed a fatal error. Too bad, pal.

I'm thrilled that you're getting a new banjo. The only person more excited is Ed Betts. Even you, Michael, are not as thrilled as we are. As far as practicing goes: rock on, man. Practice makes improved. I will say that I'm really looking forward to having that deck built, but I'm a patient woman. Regarding the jams - I admit that I started out going to the jams only as a means of supporting you (Michael) and that in the beginning I didn't love them, but now, for a variety of reasons, I love being there.

How do I change my blog name? Any suggestions out there for something more appropriate?

See ya...and happy day !

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Nothing to do with Bluegrass at ALL...

Good day and Happy Thursday...
They say that stolen food has no calories...I'm not certain about that, but I just found half a bagel in the employee fridge upstairs (I'm at work) and I'm starving, so I stole it. In my defense I will say that the code date on the bagel bag is April 26, and this is May 10th. The bagel is rather beyond it's best and certainly not as fresh as this lovely spring day, however, it is doing the trick. And I'll replace it tomorrow. I left a note too saying that I had lifted it. Not much of a thief, am I?

I think it's kind of funny that Michael and I have our own blog sites - kind of like HIS and HER towels in the bathroom. This is an interesting way to spend a few minutes of my lunch break. Also, it's amazing to me how much mindless stuff I can think of to write about, and I know that Mike experiences that same wonderment when he blogs. His stuff all sounds absolutely mindless to me. Just my humble opinion. (Mike, don't be mad)

That reminds me of my last hair cut. I went to a hair dresser that I had not gone to before - she is a person that I had met a couple years ago and I knew she did hair, so I decided to give her a shot. My hair spray consumption with the other 'do' was reaching epic proportions and Mike was constantly blaming me for what is wrong with the ozone, yelling to me that I had "used enough of that stuff" and delivering to me the gloomy message that he was afraid I was causing myself severe damage in the form of lung cancer. Not to mention the fact that he has been calling me 'helmet head' for the past 15 years, and I would just about say I've had enough of that 'do'. Plus, once at the Monday jam I was giving my favourite Harvey a good-bye hug and his glasses got stuck in my hair. I ripped them right off his face. Hair with attitude is not good.

So, I called the new hairdresser person and made an appointment. I was distressed, to say the least. The conversation went like this: "hi, this is Helen. I would like to make an appointment with you". She said "oh Helen! I can help you!!" My mind raced back over the fact that I had already identified myself and it would be pointless to hang up. She continued rambling on about how harsh my hair looks, how she could soften it, how she could give me some suggestions about coloring it, (I don't remember asking for any), and how hair spray was going to be absolutely off limits for me. In between each statement she said "don't be mad". She knew she was about to unload something offensive and she really didn't give a fig. Fortunately, I'm difficult to offend.

When I went to the appointment she started out by saying "let's first wash this crud out of your hair". Then, as she was washing it, she was calling out to someone in the other room about how much hairspray I use, and how it's impossible to get a comb through my hair. Excuse me, I am in the room, and I CAN hear you. Sheesh. Anyway, long story a little bit shorter, she cut it, I stopped using hairspray, and the hole in the ozone will hopefully repair. I have since discovered the joys of hair glue, hair wax, and hair gel. The hair glue has the exact same consistency as wood glue, which my father lovingly calls 'dumbdumb". You know, to cover mistakes. I wonder if there is any correlation...oh well, best not to over analyze that one.

I gotta get back to work. Hope your day is lovely.
Big hugs,
Helen

Friday, May 4, 2007

Struggles with all things electronic and otherwise...

Hello friends...
I'm really struggling with figuring out how to post a bloggy thingy. The last time I did it, which was also the first time, Mike took care of it for me. I guess I'm on my own now.

I have the most nasty head cold I've ever had. Mike had a slight sniffle and decided he wanted a little kiss. I'm not opposed to a kiss under the most dire circumstances, so I discarded the little sniffle as insignificant and proceeded. Now I wish someone could cut my head off with a chain saw from just below the nose. Oh well, as a good friend pointed out, I could be lying in a bed on the oncology ward. That helps put my cold into perspective. Hey Mike, want a kiss???

I was joking on my last blog about not knowing about the new banjo until I read what Mike wrote about the Stanley Tone. Good grief!! Looks like we're going to have another banjo at the Floyd house. I need some more banjo joke material. Speaking of that...

What do you call it when you chuck a banjo into a lake from 500 yards without making a splash?

Perfect pitch :)

I'm going to start a 12 step program for bluegrass widows. Bluegrass Widows Anonymous. BGA. More on that later.

ok, now I'm going to cross my fingers and hit the PUBLISH button and hope this works. If not, I shall try, try again.

See you soon and big hugs....
Helen