| |
|
I LOVE MUSIC,
ESPECIALLY OLD TIME BANJO AND OTHER TRADITIONAL MUSIC STYLES
|
 |
My
favorite piano tuner. He's been tuning and repairing pianos since
1983, is a member of the Piano Technician's Guild and can fix your
piano right up so you won't embarrass yourself at your next
sing-a-long. You can phone him at (301) 887-1983 or email him at
Jonah
Blaustein. In case you were wondering, his favorite soap is Green
Man Bliss Bar!
|
 |
Klezmos
plays an eclectic blend of Klezmer and other folk musics -- hire
them for your next party or reception!
|
|
|
 |
Andrea
Hoag is a fabulous fiddle player, of all styles. Her CD, Fire &
Water, is gorgeous. I listen to it over and over again -- so
passionate. She teaches, too! Mandatory soap content -- she loves
Tangerine Dream. . .
|
 |
Yes, it's
true, I love them! Banjos, banjos, banjos....
Turtle
Hill Banjo Company is where to find them. Whether you play old
time or bluegrass, Dave Schenkman has a banjo for you.
|
|
|
 |
Ok --
now you've bought your new banjo from Turtlehill so whatayagonna do?!
Take clawhammer banjo lessons from
Brooke
Parkhurst, of course. She's great with beginners and she can help
spruce up a pro's technique, too. Email her about lessons or her solo
gigs or see her perform with her group
Tinsmith. Oh
yeah, she likes Greenman Bliss Bar, too, and anything with a hint of
vetivert. . .
|
 |
And . . .
you can start a banjo practice group. Read all about our banjo
adventures at
www.oldtimebanjo.com
|
|
|
 |
And when you get a chance go take a listen to my
favorite old time band, the
Reed Island Rounders. Banjo player Diane
Jones is an awesome banjo teacher. The band's fiddler Betty Vornbrock
teaches fiddle, as well. You can find them playing and teaching
at many old time music workshops, such as Augusta in Elkins, WV and
festivals.. |
|
|
 |
One of
my favorite banjo cds is Banjo Haiku by the DC area's own Cathy
Fink. Cathy is also part of the duo Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer. They
just won a Grammy for their children's cd
Bon Appétit!. Check out their
website for
news of performances and recordings.
|
 |
Hober is
one of my favorite internet radio stations. And it's really
commercial-free. Really! You download RealOne Player, also for free
(instructions are on Hober) and then you can run
Hober in the
background while you work. A minute ago they were playing high,
lonesome, old time singer/banjo player Roscoe Holcomb but from there
they may go right on to didgeridoo or the blues or to throat singing
or heck, right now they're playing Cheryl Crow singing Stormy Weather
-- you get the picture. . . Just an extraordinary eclectic mix of
music straight from Takoma Park, MD.
|
DOGS AND OTHER FOUR FOOTED FRIENDS
|
| |
|
 |
If you
had known Petey S. Beagle you would be a beagle fan, too. He was 18
when he crossed over the Rainbow Bridge. We miss him. There is
absolutely nothing more "happy producing" then the wagging tail of a
cheerful little beagle.
BREW BEAGLES
will tell you how to rescue your very own Snoopy dog.
|
| |
|
 |
We lost our beautiful cat
Izzy, today. He was 16 but we had hoped he'd be
with us much longer. He was a tiny kitten when we found him; so
tiny he had to be bottle-fed. Petey, our beagle, took over
mothering him and they were fast friends until Petey passed.
They are together now over the bridge. We miss both of them.
|
| |
|
 |
Here's
my new four-footed companion. He joined the family on Jan. 4, 2003.
His name is Tru and, yeah I know, I know, he's not a beagle. We love
him anyway. He is a Plott Hound mix. (The Plott Hound is the State Dog
of North Carolina). Tru learned his manners at
The
Coventry Dog Training School using positive training methods
rather then "choke collar" methods. It's fun and effective and you can
find out more about it at
Peaceable
Paws and at
Flying Dog
Press, the site of Suzanne Clothier, author of BONES WOULD RAIN
FROM THE SKY: Deepening Our Relationships With Dogs.
He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog.
You are his life, his love, his leader.
He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart.
You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.
~Unknown~ |
| |
|
 |
Tru has epilepsy. He
has seizures and needs strong medications to control them.
Because of the meds, he has to have regular blood work to monitor the
medication levels and make sure his liver is ok. There is a lot
to learn when your canine companion is epileptic but luckily there are
some informative sites concerning canine epilepsy on the internet.
Please click on these links for more information:
Canine
Epilepsy Resources and
Epi-Guardian Angels. |
| |
|
 |
I once
saw a special on Public TV about this amazing
Elephant
Sanctuary. The story of the joyous reunion of two old circus
elephants brought tears to my eyes. Remember, elephants never
forget...
|
 |
The
Great
Ape Project is an international group founded to work for the
removal of the non-human great apes from the category of property, and
for their immediate inclusion within the category of persons.
|
THE GREEN NATION
|
| |
|
 |
The
Northeast Herbal Association is an exciting organization dedicated
to merging the ancient tradition of Herbalism with the needs and
developments of the modern day Herbalist.
|
| |
|
 |
As more and more of our
woodlands and meadows are turned over to developers, our precious
native plants are endangered.
United
Plant Savers is working hard to protect native plants.
|
| |
OTHER PEOPLE, PLACES AND ORGANIZATIONS I BELEIVE IN
|
| |
|
 |
Riverdale
Park is the town I live in. It's a great place to live! We have a
little train station, a bookstore that has live music on Saturdays, a
farmer's market and an historic mansion.
|
| |
|
 |
The
Riverdale Book Shop & Coffee Depot We were sad to see our town's
wonderful bookstore go out of business because it was one of our town
treasures for many years. But don't despair, you can still
browse through Simon's and Audrey's wonderful selection of books
on-line.
|
 |
The
Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless provides legal services
to our neighbors without homes or at risk of loosing their homes. If
you read John Grisham's "Street Lawyer" then you've read about the
work they do. You won't go wrong if you remember them when you do your
annual giving.
|
 |
Byrdcall
Studio I met Melinda Byrd at the Maryland Wine Festival while I
was vending my soap and she was helping a friend at his brewer's
supplies booth. She browsed through my "How to Make Soap At Home"
scrapbook and mentioned that some of the techniques reminded her of
beer-making. Intrigued, I purchased a beer-making set-up and
thus began my adventures into the brewer's art and my acquaintanceship
with Melinda. Over the years of running into Melinda at craft shows,
where she vends her beautiful floormats and rugs, I found that we
share a deep love of nature and dogs. I hope you'll click on her link
and discover her lovely nature-inspired art.
|
