How is it?...

How is it?...

Here we are living a few weeks shy of 2010 and my airplane seat today was 14D, which was right behind 12D.

Get your boogie man on.

In other news, a hardshell f-style mando case fits crossways in an overhead luggage rack on a 727. It is kind of amazing what traveling with a mando case does to your status in an airport. Banjo players make eye contact and smile at you.

I'm in Sarasota for a 4 day training class in Appreciative Inquiry. The GoM is lapping about 50 yards from my hotel window making the cool December weather more or less irrelevant.

Cedar Creek Luthiers...

Cedar Creek Luthiers...

Check out my cousin in this news story, or read the transcript here.

Actually Charlie has been building guitars for 33 years. I know because he and I built the first one together in my basement at 15 Hilda Place in the winter of 1975. He's gone on and actually gotten quite good at it.

New baby...

New baby...

Last night when I picked up the pizza at Rachel's, Jim asked me come by his shop today. I figured he had another question about finishing my new mandolin; he had told me it wouldn't be done for another week. So I was surprised today when I stopped in, and there it was lying in the case like a new baby in a bassinette, all strung up and ready to cry or sing, wimper or scream. I swear it cooed at me. It is gorgeous!

Jim matched the color to my violin, which is a beautiful butterscotch, and the maple flame on the neck and back are like tiger stripes. With gold trim and a tiny orchid inlayed in the head stock (Encyclia Colombia) it is a stunning piece.

It sounds fantastic already, and will, like all string instruments, improve with age. Sometime soon I'll borrow a camera and post some images. In the meantime I gotta get to work teaching this baby all those new sounds!