Readjusting an older pair to fit a friend better. Lots of tinking to get to this stage. Two more rows to tink then I need to find a good yarn for the heels and cuffs.
I think these will be mine. Another pair of crazy socks. The next row starts the heels, so the end is in sight.
Shooting the Curl is three/fourths done. I have to turn this upside down next as reaching up hurts.
I’m halfway through the new Sudoku book.
Hey, the part that is the hardest and happiest: I’m learning Imagine by John Lennon. I’m not very good but here’s how I’m learning it.
My fingers have developed calluses but that is bad for recorders because now it’s hard to tell if the little holes are closed tightly so I get more squeaky noises than I did before picking up the Uke. Ah, well, I’m having fun.
That’s not all but all I have energy to report.
Oh, my hair is growing and I’m adding messy bun hairpieces to my short ponytail.
Didn’t get enough time yesterday so Pictures will lend a weight.Almost finished with the bottom of what I’m calling, “Shooting the Curl.” Yes. Another beach diamond painting.My mixed slipper socks are at the increases for the Fleegle Heel. I like the arch ribbing I learned on the no-show sneaker sock.I seem obsessed with Sudoku. I’m already on 35 of the new book.Said new book.I’m finally on the decrease part of the Fleegle Heel of the cotton socks. These I’m testing the elastic thread to strengthen the heel. That thread is hard to work with.These are slower but turning out nice.My daughter is making a pair out of this yarn. It made me so excited I had to find this watermelon yarn. With seeds built in! I have to wait for the fine needles to be free. But I can’t wait to start!I found Kindle books for my Ukulele andFor my recorders. Just for something new to fiddle around with.
None of my music pursuits are quiet. But I need to get busy on them. So I have to quit writing.
I start my morning watching shows and knitting. I want to pay attention to the show and knitting is a busy hands pay attention hobby, mostly.
Both pairs of socks seem to have landed at the arch ribbing at the same time. I hate it when that happens. I like when each pair are on separate levels.
Just as I was trying to take pics for today’s blog, Dear Sweet Old Rosey jumped on my lap. One is never finished loving one’s pets.
I’m gonna blow my own horn here. After YEARS of trying to learn Sudoku, I think I’m finally learning. I found this book at Dollar General.
I have managed to get to the Medium level with very few peeks at the answer page and then only to check if I was right. Yay! Me!
This is the book I’m nearly finished with. Okay, I’m not a kid. But I like to work from the very beginning with recognizable songs.
I’ve been working with these two for a while. I’m getting smoother in the cord changes.
This one I don’t have to look at any more. I’m fact, I should erase my cheat G7.
This is what I’m starting next. Learning strum patterns. I never needed such animals in piano.😂
So excited to get to learn Imagine with Bernadette’s strumming instructions.
Look! Lyrics!
And I’m learning to play individual notes. Yay!
Yeah, I’m still learning most of these chords
Another note by note I’m learning.
Speaking of Ukulele… I’m trying to Tunisian Crochet a strap for my uke. The trouble with Tunisian Crochet is how it rolls up.
It stretches out to the length of the uke. I need to double that. This should be interesting.
I’m almost finished with 1/3 of the beach diamond painting.
And as of today… I should be there on the blog but seemed to have published a lot after midnight too often.
I’ve added Chinese to my Duolingo lineup. I highly recommend this show. Not a movie but a series. My husband and I couldn’t stop the binge.
I’m trying to find a way to put my biggest guilt trips here. The end of the month is looming. Two goals haven’t even been touched. I haven’t edited anything. Nor have I worked on my read-alouds or podcast. Finding privacy and time seems the biggest issue. Nor have I touched the real piano. Boo! Next month is Camp NaNo. I have no idea what I’m doing. And so I’m Muddling my mind.
Thanks for prompting me, Yvensong. This one is fun to hum if I don’t remember the words while moving my fingers on the frets and strumming.
I know, it’s for kids. But they have small hands. So I should be able to work through what they can.🤞
This one is fun. Like a REAL song! And look at the chord changes! Yay! Me!
This one has the wrong words. A great Kazoo song!
The book goes on and introduces scales of sorts. So my piano background is related not only by chords but note by note.
On the Bernadette Teaches Music I’m gradually moving from day 9, where we learned about ten chords, to day 10 and playing songs. But many chords don’t like me. They have the tone quality of a hammer. But but not by bit I’m getting better.
Ya know what? I’m beginning to have fun!
And my hubby is getting a guitar. We’re going to start jamming. Truly as a solo soprano singer and hidden piano accompanist, I don’t know how to jam. This should be interesting!
And now that everything is out, I might as well get to work.
Much looks the same as last time. But you want to know what I’m learning as I go? All attempts get me closer to not. Not a baby beginner. Not a total loser. And if I take a moment and look back I find more proficiency. Faster, not so lost. Progress. And it’s not linear. There are times I pick up the recorder and find that somehow God put holes in my fingers. Air is escaping, somewhere.
Sometimes I get the chord progression of these simple songs. But if I don’t, I only have to remember a month ago. I could tune my uke. Now I can sing little songs and not look as I move from F to G7 to C to C7 and more, and I know without looking at my hand that I did it.
I can remember being 12 and learning to crochet and knit. How I got so frustrated when I had to rip it out.
Now I look forward to trying again. The thing that makes these hobbies frustrating is placing time constraints or perfection goals.
I may not be producing the way society deems worthy, but I’m 74 and enjoying my life. Learning is my fun. Seeing changes in abilities, even as I’m told growth can’t happen anymore, THAT is the fun.
I am keeping my goal on the stationary bike and other exercises. And I see tiny improvements.
My only disappointment in me is trying to find my way to the reading aloud/editing goal. But I’ll figure it out.
Here’s the pics of progress.
I rarely finish a crossword puzzle book but I threw this full one away and am looking for another. The other thing I rarely finish is a bottle of hand lotion. It usually goes bad before I’ve used it all.
These balls are to crochet a strap for my uke. I’m following Bernadette’s YouTube
I’ve only added a couple rows since I posted these. But only 2 inches until the heel. I’m planning to try the Fishlip heel. I bought the pattern. You can Google where to get it. I’ll include it when I find out it works for me.
Only a couple more rows added here, too. I can’t get hyper-focused on the thinner yarns and needles. They can hurt my hands or eyes.
I’m loving this beautiful bird. Can you see how much more color lights up this picture with each section of drills?
Not as happy with this one. It is tiny and the colors are not so vibrant.
I feel good about developing discipline. Why is it only now growing?
Here’s that holey bendy bits and the rings bits. How do they fits?
Bendies at the top and bottom of the three chains. Ringies hook the top of the chains to the heart and another hooks the big gem at the bottom. Squeeze the hole parts onto the chain with pliers. Make sure they are on tight or you will be flustered and floundering and possibly throwing all the bits. Two suncatchers more to go. Enough frustration for this day!
Progress, mostly halfway finished
Real flounders entice sea turtles down to floor. The flounders are having a feast!
Another pair of slipper socks. I’m incorporating that nice stretchy arch I learned with the no-show socks.
I’m getting a little better with chording on the ukulele. I almost don’t have to look when changing from C to F to G7 and back to C all the while singing. Almost time for a new lesson. It’s supposed to be a 30 day course, but my soft, achy fingers needed more time. I’m still learning day 9 a couple weeks later.
The recorder comes and goes. Teaching myself and my fingers soprano, alto, and tenor. I can finally reach all notes on soprano and alto, though not consistently. I can barely get the top three holes of the tenor.
And. AND I CLEANED THE PIANO WELL SO IT WELCOMES ME! Maybe tomorrow I’ll actually play!!!!
A quick note. Door push-ups, floor to ceiling stretches, then more than 30 minutes or more than 5 miles on the stationary bike. All still happening. So some things are growing into habits. Others are still work. But a lot of flounder still happens. Ah, well, it’s February!
How is it already Sunday, almost Monday? The weekends seem to affect me now as much as they did when I was working. Back then, the time that was my own was filled with all the things to get ready for the work week and take care of the house. Now it’s just a rhythm change. Chris and I watch sci-fi, fantasy, or disaster movies. Just kind of like our date time. Today we watched Daybreak on, um, I think it was Hulu. It was pretty good to be so old.
Before we found a good show to settle on, we were watching vet shows and Sunday Morning and UU, where they celebrated Mardi Gras. 
I got a bit more of the Sea Turtle done. (Just the back leg and tail).
The backlighting seems to show all the wavering lines. Guess I need to hit it with the straight edge to straighten it out. What’s funny is that that little tail bit took longer than the sea parts. I think I am not used to the confetti coloring and need to get more efficient with my trays. I’ll share that later. I think this is going to be pretty when finished with all the colors.
Time to do the recorder. Then scales on the keyboard. I do think all this floundering is making progress. But it is slow, for sure. By the way, I took a few moments while the computer wi-fi loaded that sea turtle picture, to practice chord changes and You Are My Sunshine on the uke.
I finished these ages ago but never did the sealing or chaining them to the hooks and beads. So tonight I sealed side one. I think by Sunday I’ll have them ready to hang up.
I was able to last longer this time finishing the strip on the left side. This has a lot of color in it. Even the water is varied in its blues and greens.
I finally have a I, IV, and a V. Okay, I needed to do a quick note to myself as to how to do the G7 (V). But as I sing as I strum, I’m teaching myself to work with chords instead of each individual note (how I was taught all my life).Here is the next batch of chords I’m working on. Yes, I cheated by adding my own I and IV chords.On the recorder I’m playing with the G major scale and arpeggio, and that minuet. On piano both are easy but trying to be smooth with breath and fingers is the challenge.This song has memories. I was learning it in voice class when my grandmother was dying. I hadn’t memorized the lyrics but by her hospital bed as she was nearing the end, my cousin asked me to sing a song. Here I floundered, all I could hear was The Ash Grove. But I couldn’t. I didn’t know the words. It’s quite beautiful and fitting for the situation. So I sang nothing. I did get to sing In The Garden at her funeral.           My work on this is to get smooth enough to record them to sing to.I can play all the melody songs on my soprano recorder. But now I want to learn the harmonies and all the alto recorder parts. Again I hope to record and do duets with myself.I found this pair of socks I’d started and somehow forgot. So I’m farther along in my family gift than I thought.I’ve made a little progress here probably 3 more inches then start the heel.One more inch and the arch gets made. I’m really enjoying these sneaker no-show socks. I nearly have the pattern memorized.
Working on my series: Haven.
Doodler (zendoodle.com)
Music major: voice and piano
Mom of four great adults
Reiki II practitioner
I have been on disability/retired for 10 years now from depression, anxiety and fibromyalgia.
Welcome to my blog. I live, knit, crochet, spin and craft near the Northumbrian Coast (but not too near - the waves won't be splashing my yarn!).There's a story in every stitch, every grain of sand, every blade of grass. I thought I'd blog about it...
Darswords 
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