Category: Music



Not so finished as midway or just getting started.

I still had enough of this yarn to make one more pair of socks. Besides I can’t stand to see naked needles. Size 2 40″ Chiaogoo needles TwoAtATime socks, Turkish cast-on done now on increasing section. I’m at 20 stitches per side and foot. I need 32 so 12 more rows to the arch.
My last pair of Yoga socks. These seem so pretty and soft. These are the size 1 Hiya-Hiya Flyers. They take some getting used to, but I’m liking the process more and more.
Watermelon socks are coming along. Size 2 40″ Chiaogoo needles TwoAtATime socks. I’m working on the arches now.
I never quite know what to call these. They are acrylic. Still, the yarn is soft and warm. Thick socks or slipper socks. Size 7 40″ Chiaogoo needles TwoAtATime socks. I need 2 more inches of arch ribbing before the start of the Fleegle Heel.
Bottom third of balloon diamond painting picture is done. I have some Halloween DPs waiting that I am anxious to start.
Well, look at that. I still enjoy Duo. I am sick of ads but I can’t afford the super or max. Still, I’m learning as much as I was way back when everything was free.
I’m still sight reading my way through this book. I am highlighting the ones I really want to work on. Those I will print out and tape together so I won’t have pages to turn.
I’ve made it through the ‘S’s. So much fun!

What I still need to do is NaNo characters and nearly two weeks of Inktober prompts. I tried today but couldn’t seem to get myself together enough. Maybe tomorrow.


Yay! Finished! I need to seal it but I’m starting another balloon diamond painting tomorrow.

I finished a Kindle book, an actual visually read book. I’ll post the review Sunday.

I love socks!

Up to the arches in this pair of Yoga socks.
Ribbing the arch on my watermelon socks.1
Almost to the arch on these slipper socks.
Future scrappy socks. Or should I frog and make yoga slipper socks? I don’t have much of my favorite yarn leftover.
Reawakening an old project. Convertible fingerless glove mittens. They are completely knitted, I just need to sew up the finger bits and attach the mitten part. I sewed one index finger. Nine more to go. Have I mentioned, I don’t like the sewing parts of knitting or crocheting? Ugh. But I feel it’s a good project for a gift or because it’s getting cold.

Look what I found in my piano bench! I’m sight-reading through the book figuring out what songs to concentrate on. Eleanor Rigby I can sing while playing. Most songs are too hard for me to do both.

I’ve skimmed through about a fourth of the book so far.
Up, Up and away!

Finishing Friday


Here is where I keep myself accountable to me for progress on projects of my passions. But yesterday I got behind and then ahead on this episode.

Sometimes I feel I make other people feel inferior through my checklist. Please don’t. I feel inferior to everyone else in that I’m sure they’re getting other stuff done that they don’t even need to report because they are so good at getting their adulting jobs done that I feel guilty not getting done or just overlook, like dishes and shampooing. The same 24 hours is all we get and we make choices of what we can do. What we need to do. And what we can’t wait to do, leaving other necessities hanging with futile hopes.

And since this blog is attached to ‘Warts and All’ I’ll start with what hasn’t gotten done. My husband asked me today why I haven’t been playing the uke, recorder, or violin. Well, I thank Mrs. Skinner for this sidetrack path straightener.

When I got sick of practicing piano and ready to quit lessons, she came up with this  bait and switch. Forced practice came from Mom. But I adore my teacher. She sent me home with her ukulele. It helped so much in bringing me back to the piano.

So in hopes of keeping my music alive I tried the recorders and strings. And sure enough it worked.

When my dad was in the rest home over a decade ago, the lady in the room next to his played her piano all the time. I decided I wanted to grow up to be her, or Huge Lauri of House fame. He would sit down and just play, no sheet music just music.

I’ve been stuck with eye music since I was 5 years old. My goal this time is to learn to improvise and play. Still, there is so much to learn to get to that stage of free-playing. The other instruments help with learning chords and meandering melodies. And a change of positions. So I need to get back to them sometimes.

Shiloh sleeps waiting for me.
Shiloh makes it hard to skip piano. So I’ll need to plug in other musical play elsewhere in my day.
Scrap socks 1 Milo refuses to look.
Scrap socks 2
Watermelon socks
Blue boho socks. Not much progress for research booklets.

Duo still rides my stationary bike managing a few lessons for the half-hour 4-5 miles on #3 grade. So… There’s that.


Should be Finishing Friday, but hey, ADHD.

Found on Facebook. Hehe.

Okay, progress has been slow, but for the record:

About 2/3s finished. Lots of black and dark colors make this a tough one.
Two more inches until the heel.
Scrappy Socks. About an inch until the heel. I have more scraps below.
Should I use this for the heel and ankle?
Two more inches until arch ribbing.

Piano is harder to show progress. Has anyone noticed that once the usual mistakes are eliminated almost regularly, that brand new mistakes pop up? Even still, I think I’m ready to tape another Warts and All. While polishing up old challenges, I have new ones I’m learning bit by bit. I’ll list them later. I’m running out of energy and words.

Yeah.


My newest sea turtle diamond painting is nearly 1/3 done.
I haven’t done but a row or two on my watermelon socks. Still not up to the arch ribbing.
See the yellow marker? I was ribbing along while chatting and oopsed. So now I have to tink back a couple rows. Darn!
My hands were longing for larger needles. So I started on scrappy socks. See how much faster the larger needles and yarn move along? Already to the arch ribbing. Turkish cast-on, 8, increase toe to 16. Then knit until arch. Then knit, purl until time for Fleegle Heel.
My son told me I would love the Skyrim Theme. He’s right. There are a lot of YouTubes to hear it for now. Soon I’ll do a Warts and All with all I’m working on.
My favorite song, played often on Grey’s Anatomy, Chasing Cars. Every time I hear it I cry. I don’t know why exactly. Now I’m enjoying learning how to play and sing it. Next to that song, is God Bless The Child. The closest to ready of all. It is so much fun to play.
I’m starting to relent and do scales and exercises, hence Hanon’s 1st exercise. Almost polished Ash Grove. Still working Con Te Partiro, another favorite.
And for my constant audience member in my Dabbling Den, Shilo for Shiloh. It’s coming along. I seem to be learning more about improv on this one. Daylight is HARD so I’m taking a measure or two at a time. And I’m still loving Succession.
And Italian is my favorite on Duolingo keeping me going.

Just following my passions. Book reviews coming soon.


Working the bottom fourth of my new Sea Turtle Diamond Painting. I’m listening to “Learn Faster, Perform Better” by Molly Gebrian during the painting. It’s very interesting.
Only because I knew I needed to report progress on my Two-At-A-Time socks on Chiaogoo needles, I put a couple rows in on each pair.  I finally got new glasses for these up-close WIP. So my only excuse is arthritis and not even that so much as, um, life?
Some of the fun songs I’m learning. Shiloh, loves and comes running when I play or sing that song to her. My son wants me to learn Skyrim. It is cool. And Succession needs to be relearned. Too much time between plays.

My rebinge of Grey’s Anatomy is a part of ‘Life’ made it to S13E12 out of, what? 22? What’s funny is how the guys join up with me. Sometimes all four of us are watching.

I have finished three books and now need to write reviews.

My newest addiction. Another part of ‘life.’

The furry three take up the rest of my time. They keep us on our toes, laughing, caring, cuddling. Nothing gets finished when hugging or walking these balls of fun energy.

Yeah, don’t let that innocent look fool you.

Sunset Diamond Painting still needs to be straightened and sealed. I’ll do that tomorrow morning.

I immediately got out this sea turtle. I love sea turtles. Well, anything to do with the ocean.

As you can see I’ve started at the bottom of the picture.
Aren’t Shiloh (the black cat on the left) and Milo (the cute doggie on the right) the cutest, cuddly couple of furry people ever? They groom each other and cuddle and wrestle and play. Poor tiger, Sammie is just trying to get used to them. And the three take all my attention.❤️
Two pairs of Two at a time, toe-up socks. The ones on the left are at the arch ribbing. But under them are the homework I’ve assigned myself. The manuscript on the right is chords and scales needed for the basis of jazz or other improvisation. My goal for this year. Progress seems slow. But I trust the process.


Milo volunteered to be the socks background. I finally knitted to the arch ribbing.
Only managed one row on the watermelon socks. Milo shows off the colors.😉

I have to admit that three furry babies take a lot of time and energy. Even when they are the best audience and supportive friends. I’m surprised at my slow progress on everything.

Nothin’ but blue sky…
Shiloh loves music, especially keyboard and piano. This is her before I started my session.

See what I mean?

Sammie is already asleep under the diamond painting table.
Shiloh finally secumbs
Sammie prodding his bed.

So here is the best of my Warts and All. Please don’t feel obligated to listen. I know it’s still way slow and bumpy. I am enjoying learning bluesy songs. Classical is predictable; key signatures make sense, rhythms aren’t wonky. Sure, I still make mistakes but I understand why. Modern, blues, jazz I understand in theory but my hands don’t get it sometimes. It doesn’t flow. Modes instead of major and minor throw me off. The one and three beats of classical are now the second and fourth as main beats. Sorry. A lot of excuses for why I’m not perfect. My purpose of this blog and YouTube is to veer away from perfection that is in our faces everyday. So here is God Bless The Child.

Bless you!


Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “sing.” Use it any way you’d like. Have fun!

One of my favorite things to do in life is to sing. All my life!

When I was a kid on the swing I was singing. My favorite swinging songs was To Dream the Impossible Dream.

I set up classmates to reinact the Wizard of Oz. Somewhere Over the Rainbow is still a favorite. I’m teaching myself a new version to play so I can sing with it later. In fact, Ash Grove, Beau Soir, Shilo, Just the Way You Are, God Bless the Child and Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man of Mine, among others are piano accomplishments I’m learning while I’m trying get my voice back. I’m doing the vocal warmups I learned in voice classes and lessons I took for a couple years.

Allergies are messing with my throat but I’m doing my best. I miss singing. I used to do solos in churches. I was terrified when I first started but I grew to love every minute of it. Whereas the piano playing with any audience made me feel I was going to die. But the singing would take me to another world.


What a busy but good week.

Sunset beach diamond painting is nearly finished. Just a little piece of sky. (Why did I suddenly hear Yentl in my head?) And I sealed the smiling turtle. As soon as I can I will hang it in my bathroom.
My fingering weight socks are coming along. Not very fast as thin needles and skinny yarn take more caution, time, eye-strain, nimble fingers.
Guess who got a new watch? I’m still learning my way around it. I haven’t figured out how to capture my stationary bike time, distance, or levels. But the work should get reflected in other health numbers.

My new air plants found pinecones for homes.

Some things like the bike are hard to show progress. But my feelings about the tasks should be the quantifiable attainment. The gold star sticker is the happy accomplished feeling.

I’ve been working on “Shilo” on the piano in honor of

Shiloh. She and Sammie find their places in Dar’s Dabbling Den at practice time. I like their company as I stumble through 4 or 5 pieces a day. Once I’m bored with a song it goes by the wayside. But sometimes a song challenges me to the point of playing itself in my sleep.

I keep a practice journal and some pieces shine with my own praise of how well it went, others I actually draw faces sticking out the tongue in raspberries. I keep promising another ‘warts and all’ session. Stagefright keeps stopping me. Soon.

Duolingo is still fun for me. I do it while on the bike as the 11AM local news plays. I think movement while learning helps.

Well here’s to the weekend!😁

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