Pot Luck Dinner

Let's have a Pot Luck! Or whatever you call gathering together in your country to share a meal, where everyone brings a dish of some delicious simple food they've made with their own hand.

Pot Lucks are a time of sharing, giving and receiving. Where we are on equaled ground giving and taking. Sharing company, thoughts, love and community.

What is simpler than a Pot Luck?

Spread the word, The world needs to have more Pot Lucks!

Thinking Outside Our Finite Box

I enjoyed reading this ancient oriental poem;

The Tao is empty
but inexhaustible,
bottomless,
the ancestor of it all.

Within it, the sharp edges become smooth;
the twisted knots loosen;
the sun is softened by a cloud;
the dust settles into place.

It is hidden but always present.
I do not know who gave birth to it.
It seems to be the common ancestor of all, the father of things.

I remember early thoughts as a child lying under the star filled sky at night, "How far does the universe go? If we came to a wall what would be beyond that wall and the next and the next?"

As I became a bit older and read more deeply into the scriptures I found myself trying to make the connection of a God that lives off somewhere in heaven yet lives inside me. Is so far away and untouchable, yet so intimately close. How One could be without mother or father and never be born, yet always to have existed.

A Native American saying made sense to me at that point in my life, "You become a man (grown person) when you realize how much there is that you do not know."

The ancient poem above was written 5,000 years BC. I guess it doesn’t matter so much when eternity is forever.

Acoustic Six String on the Way

After much thought and research I have decided it’s time to build myself a 6-string acoustic cigar box guitar.

I found a nice all wood cigar box with brass hinges and clasp. It has some nice artwork right in the middle of the lid that I think will look good. The wood is lighter in color with a decent grain pattern on the top and bottom with a darker mocha colored wood for the sides and end.

I spent quite a bit of time just sanding it and getting it ready for the golden oak stain. I was going to use tung oil but plan on using a several coats of polyurethane and didn’t know how well it would hang onto the oil.

I found a couple of dings in the wood on the bottom and decided to try a technique I found on utube for “pulling them out”. I put a few drops of water in each one until it beaded up. Just short of the running stage so it would still hold its form. I came down the next morning and the water had done its trick. The dings were gone and the wood was perfectly level.

I got a really good start on the neck for my CBG. I used a 2 inch wide piece of red oak and beautiful piece of African padauk for the fret board. I finally got to try out my Stewart MacDonald fret miterbox and saw along with my new fret template guide. All I can say is, "Nice!"

There will be a tail piece that extends out of the opposite end of the cigar box to anchor the strings to. With 6-strings there will be a lot of tension on the neck and by having the neck extending clear through the body will cut down on any tendency to warp the neck.

Retire when the work is done; this is the way of heaven

Let Go, Let God

For several years now I have have had the thought in my mind, "Let go and Let God". I came across this information and thought I would share it.

The sage who grasps the everlasting nature of the Tao has gone beyond false identification with the ego, and instead has a living connection to the Tao. This person puts others first, asks nothing in return, and wholeheartedly serves. In this way, the sage lives the ultimate paradox of the Tao – by giving without asking, the sage attracts everything that he or she is capable of handling or needing. By putting others before themself, the sage endures just like the Tao. The sage emulates the natural philanthropy of the Tao, and all of his or her needs are fulfilled in the process.

The more you pursue desires, the more they’ll elude you. Try letting life come to you and begin to notice the clues that what you crave is on its way. You’re in a constant state of receiving because of the ceaseless generosity of the eternal Tao. The air you breathe, the water you drink, the food you eat, the sunshine that warms you, the nutrients that keep your body alive, and even the thoughts that fill your mind are all gifts from the eternal Tao. Stay appreciative of all that you receive, knowing that it flows from an all – providing Source. Stop the chase and become a witness – soothe your demanding habits by refusing to continue running after more. By letting go, you let God; and even more significantly, you become more like God and less like the ego; with its lifetime practice of edging God out.
Qouted from Dr. Wayne Dyer's Change Your Mind Change Your Life (excellent read!)

The Universe Provides if We Step Aside!

We had what I fondly call a "Barbe moment" on Sunday. I went to dinner with my wife Sally and the German Miner’s Band (http://www.lock3live.com/winterMarket.aspx) at the Radisson Inn in Akron. After that the plans were to take them over to EJ Thomas Performing Arts Hall on the campus of the University of Akron for the second performance of Tuba Christmas. While at dinner one of the band members, Norman Wolfgang (not sure of his last name) said, "It's one thing to see it but really another to be able to play in it!" A couple minutes later Sally’s cell phone rings and she gets a call saying Tucker Jolly, the conductor and professor of Low Brass instruction at U of A, has invited the Miner's Band to play in Tuba Christmas and is waiving the registration fee. So we rush through dinner while Norman and Uri rush off to get their instruments and put on their Miner's Band shirts.

Sally decides that “duh” elf (me) needs to take the two band guys in and get them registered if needed and get the rest of the band seated while she parks the 15 passenger van. I go in and get our tickets and I ask an usher where the band guys can check in. He says stage door follow me and TAKES OFF OUT THE DOOR WITH THEM IN TOW!!! I have to follow them! I glance over my shoulder at the rest of the band and happen to hear, "Take the elevator to the second level." We were supposed to have seats saved in the first row! YIKES!!!

I get down to the stage area (lucky I went) and search for someone in charge. Norman Wolfgang speaks English well but doesn’t “speak between the cracks” so to speak. Uri speaks a couple of phrases. The guy in charge wants to know how many people are playing which prompts Uri to start naming all the instruments played in the Miner's Band. I explained to guy in charge briefly as to what was up and asked if he could make sure they got hooked up. No problem. I bolt back out the door and back inside knowing the rest of the band is lost in the huge crowd by now. I spot Sally inside asking people something like, “Where are my Germans?” I explained as best “duh” elf could the situation and said I think I heard, “Elevator go to second level” So we head up and start looking out over the sea of people and see way in the distance some arms waving that look like our people. Thank goodness they have found seats in the nose bleed section.

We get settled in the two seats they have saved for us and spot Norman and Uri looking good amongst the 400 other tuba players.

Here comes the Barbe moment…

Halfway through the performance Tucker Jolly talks about who comes from where, so I’m kind of nudging Sally in the ribs by now as Tucker Jolly says, “We are honored and privileged to have all the way from Chemnitz Germany two members of the Miner’s Band performing with us tonight.” The guys stood up and were thrilled and I could see Sally was doing the proud momma thing. So I said, “You know Barbe would say this is the universe putting things together!” It was a great evening, everything just fell into place!

Barbe by the way is my good friend from soulyyours on Etsy. You can view her blog link on the right side of my blog if you like!

One Sun, One Ocean, One Sky, One Planet

How did we all become so divided? If we think about it for a moment we all live under the same sun, breath the same air, are surrounded by the same ocean and live on the same planet.

That in itself is an amazing thing, if we just take a moment to think about it that is.

Winter Wonder (why I'm here) Land

Well winter is officially here in Northeast Ohio! 9 inches of snow fell on our house last night. The snow shovel is out and working overtime. I’m not a particular fan of winter in this part of the country, coming from Oregon I’m used to rain, not frozen white stuff, oh well after 22 years you would think I’d be over it.

It does tend to bring us all a bit closer together, which is a good thing, the holidays, family and friends gathering and such. These days I tend to look for ways to draw closer to the ones I love and cherish as well as build new bonds with people that share similar ideals and thoughts; like you. If all of us looked at our similarities a little more instead of completely focusing our attention on our differences maybe we wouldn't find we were so different after all.

I once watched a series of utube clips about a guy that traveled around the world showing how we all had similar daily things we did. He would start his day and find a coffee shop or stand. He couldn't speak the language of the vendors but one thing they could do was share a cup of coffee or espresso together and a pastry of some sort. The point being we can get along over a cup of coffee because we have something in common.

So as we head into winter in the northern part of the world keep your snow shovels sharp and your cocoa hot and watch the mail for those spring seed catalogs and don't be afraid to shovel the elderly couple’s sidewalk next door and reach out to your neighbors!

Don't Over Think It

I read this qoute the other day and I find it really rings home for me:

Let me throw every image away and say the simplest things that are true: I exist, I am aware, I create. These are the three qualities of essence that permeate the universe.

I think I feel this most when I'm lost in my thoughts in my wood studio:

I'm existing in the moment, I'm aware of the present and I'm creating something beautiful from wood.