What to do on a Snow Day

1. Sleep in - you really don't need to get up.

2. Laundry

3. Make yourself a nutritious breakfast, like cinnamon rolls, right out of the can.

4. It's about time to fold the laundry, but make sure you have a good mix of music playing to pump you up (Florence and The Machine was my choice).

5. Check your e-mail.

6. Check your facebook account.

7. Get some exercise while you're cooped up with DDR on PS2.

8. Cool down with some Sufjan Stevens.

9. Get in some banjo practicing time.

Check out what's available for free through Amazon's Video on demand. You'd be surprised how many special features are available for FREE.

10. Make yourself some ringtones, research how to make your own text-tone sound effects.

11. Clear the driveway. Think about running errands, then remind yourself it is 10 degrees outside and change your mind. 

Lost: If Found...

Doing a favor for a friend, I volunteered to drive them 3 hours and drive myself home that night. They were responsible for getting directions...No problem right? Just reverse the directions to get home.

It's dark, I forgot about that. So nothing looks familiar, oh wait that did, but from the other way. I need to turn around. 30 minutes later...so I should be running into I70 soon ...I don't remember being on this road before.

Oh that looks like a toll booth! Wait, those are US military guys...in uniform. Yep 100% sure I am lost....
Mr. Military police #1 -ID please.
Me - I am 100% sure I am lost.

Mr. Military Police #2 - Wait so you see the P-O-L-I-C-E and you don't want to talk to me?
Me - Actually no, I just need to find I 70.
Military Police #2 -Well, then we just need to get you turned around here. So you need to turn around on the 6th street turn rt and you'll run into ___ and that will take you right to I70. 

Me -What's the name of the street? 

MP#2- I don't remember but it's the 6th street back.

Me- Oh, no. I'm gonna have to count. OK thanks.

Is this street number 6? Does that count as a street or is that an alley? OK so this should be #6, nope it's a dead end. OK, so let's go back one street, so it was an alley and it doesn't count. Now we're on Walnut. So I'm looking for I70, but this is Walnut!?

I should say that since this experience I now carry a card with me that reads: I'm lost. If found, please call: Pheffer.  Which will come in handy the next time this happens.

God bless the armed forces anyways.

Banjo Lessons 1 - 10

Lesson #1 My Teacher
My teacher wears suspenders and speaks in rhyme. Coolest factor is really high right now.

Lesson #2 Tuning a Banjo
Teacher-Let's check your banjo to see if the cold weather outside got to it.
Me-(after plucking acrossthe 5 strings) How's that?
Teacher - Well, close enough for country music.

Lesson #3 The Scale

I had a lot of trouble finding B Flat until I remembered that A Sharp and B Flat are the same note.

Lesson #4 Sheet Music
There is no sheet music for banjo. Real banjoist play by ear/what feels right...I'm in trouble.

Lesson #5 Wall of Frustration
We all experience the wall of frustration. It's like El Guapo, we all have our own. Mine just happens to be learning how to play the banjo.  As my teacher said, The only thing you learn from success is that it feels good.

Lesson #6 Mistaken Identity 
My teacher has me confused with someone else, that is good at playing the banjo.

 Lesson #7 Clapping 

It's really helpful to sing while you figure out how you want to play the song. -Teacher Sing AND play banjo? At the same time? I can't sing and clap at the same time.

Lesson #8 Costume
If I ever get serious about performing...I need to consider a costume. Every other banjoist has one..


Lesson #9 Sickness
If you are sick, do not go to banjo lessons.


Lesson #10 Blizzard
If there is a blizzard, banjo lessons will be canceled.

RimRock Farm

 

 I had heard a lot of great stories, so I had to check it out myself. It started out as acres of untamed land and through more than a decade of blood, sweat and tears became a beautiful cross country course that's also been used for weddings, retreats, etc. In fact, they even have their own graveyard. It 's uniqueness, makes it ... unique.

 

 This feature is of a covered bridge over one of the many ponds. As you can see, I was not the only visitor. It's a busy place.

This is a view from inside the covered bridge. Can you find a rhombus? Triangle?

Another cool feature would be all of the silhouettes of folks relating to KU track history and beyond.This is one of Jim Ryun, he broke a lot of distance running records, went to the Olympics and such. As if that wasn't challenging enough, he served as a U.S. Congressman for quite a while.

This one is of Coach Timmons, the man behind RimRock Farm and former coach to a lot of driven, successful athletes and adults. Thanks for the boost, Pheffer...The silhouettes are larger than life size.

A lot of runners have told me it is a challenging course to run, and I only walked part of it. I can say, it does take a lot out of you, but it was worth it all.

How to Do Themed Christmas wrapping

First you need to gather the necessary supplies: a couple creative friends, desperate for entertainment,...

some sharpie markers, tape, rocks, tissue paper, scissors, you get the idea. 

Also if you can multitask a classic Christmas film adds to the experience. 

 

Next you need to determine what your theme is going to be. 
 If everyday has felt like a battle. Why not have a theme that fits your feelings?

Thus the theme is laid. Give those you care about everything they would need to fight the daily battle against....whatever it is they are fighting.

Go big or go home.

Not even kidding.

Always be OVERprepared.

What better way to say Merry Christmas?

1 Fish, 2 Fish, Dead Fish, Undead Fish

So I'm not much of an animal person, but I have had fish for a few years. They are a unique kind from Asia, White Cloud Minnows. They are somewhat colorful small and difficult to kill. Not that I am trying to kill them on purpose, I just was less successful with other kinds of fish. I believe the words they used were resilient, to temperature changes and pH level changes, etc.  They were just the right kind of fish for me.
  However, since I have moved 3 times in the past 5 years, moving them has become less fun each time. After the last move, I decided that I would not maintain the typical number of minnows to 5-7, I would just let them die, naturally....In their own time. I started with 4, and one died a couple months ago. They strangest thing happened last week though. I had a fish come back to life. Seriously, he was stuck in the filter. I thought I would get him out the next day so I wouldn't smell fish on my hands since I was going to bed.

I tried to take pictures of my tank, but even with the underwater setting it just wasn't working, so I'll try my best to illustrate my point. Here you can see that one fish is stuck in the filter.

This is the next day. Two fish are again swimming in the water....

First I was shocked, doubting that he was ever really stuck in the filter. I quickly reminded myself that he really was stuck in there. Are there any life lessons I can learn from this? I would have put more that to that, except that that fish was on his side in the bottom of the tank that evening. I guess I can say that they are true to the advertisement: Die Hard minnows.
Here is his final resting place (between the rock and the leave plant you should be able to see his red tail attached to his silvery body).

If there were room in the label,  I would change this one to, "stranger than fiction."

How to Clean a Banjo

I wanted to learn how to play the banjo, because I thought it would be fun, but I don't have any money to buy one.  So, I got a loaner banjo from a friends' attic. It smelled horrible. I did not bring the chipboard case into the house and it needed some serious cleaning. Now you can benefit from my experience.

 

 First take it all outside, paper towels, window cleaner and a dust cloth. I used the dust cloth on everything first, then took the window cleaner and paper towels to the drum head (round plastic part of the banjo).

This banjo has had some abuse, probably some water damage on top of being old. Like original parts made in the 1950s and coming from KCMO - making it unofficially a ghetto banjo.

You can see where some wear is showing on the upper frets. I guess banjoist use that region a lot....

Well, the towels got black, not even kidding, it was disgusting. After wiping everything down, I realized it still looks like a ghetto banjo. Style points! 

So the next step would be, how to tune a banjo, or getting a strap or restringing a banjo or finding a case that isn't moldy... Never-mind, we need to name it, "Elliott."

Thus makes the beginning of yet another adventure....How to Play the banjo...