Author Archives: tbavendam

I have had 4 lessons now and am making progress. I generally try to practice after meals for 15-20 minutes and then Craig and I will practice Me and Bobby Magee. He is VERY patient. I could actually keep up with the song better before I started trying to focus on better technique which wasContinue reading “My journey learning to play the bass guitar”

As we sat down to breakfast, I glanced at window and saw what I thought was a lizard peering in the window. I thought “how cute”. Then I changed angles and noticed it was a snake. Then I went outside and saw how “relatively”big the snake was. Craig looked at it and thought it wasContinue reading “A pit viper joined us for breakfast”

The Garden is on a slope adjacent to the cow pasture which is at the top of the slope. During heavy rains, the drainage of the pasture runs through the yard and north wooded area to the lowest point – the gravel driveway. After last week’s epic rain, we now have the driveway repaired againContinue reading “Living on a slope”

After contracting poison ivy over 2 weeks ago and not realizing what it was and repeatedly spreading it across my body, this is my new outfit for weeding around the bases of the trees. After discovering we had an enormous amount of PI and Virginia Creeper (VC) in the north wooden area where the burningContinue reading “Poison Ivy is NO JOKE!!”

Last Monday after the second day of compacting the gravel driveway, Craig decided it was time to try out the new metal hook he had gotten to put on the front end of Katie to help lift and move fallen tree branches. There was one in particular that came down last spring that was hugeContinue reading “Compacted Gravel versus Water – what wins?”

We have had busy week. At the end of every day, we have said “We killed it today”. I returned for Iowa late on Monday. We were up early on Tuesday for Tools for Schools on Tuesday followed by a Zoom call for “business”, a session with personal trainer and then to The Garden toContinue reading “We are “killing it”!!!”

Last night I had finished mowing the lawn and noted that the cows were coming into the west pasture. It was about a half hour before sunset and I had not tried to find #14 since she first approached me a few weeks ago. I walked up to the fence and started talking to theContinue reading “Am I a cow whisperer?”

I had my first bass guitar lesson on Wednesday. This is my practice chart. Miguel who was the lead guitar player in Natalie Stovall and The Drive has agreed to give me lessons. I am very comfortable with him as I embark on the journey. I am learning on an electric bass guitar which weContinue reading “I am a bass guitar student”

While I grew up helping in our vegetable garden and canning the produce, it was never my thing. In large part because I needed to avoid the sun AND I am a bug magnet with rather extreme reactions to bites. The fact that I have found real joy in pulling weeds around the trees andContinue reading “Spring Gardening”

Craig generally lets me know when he takes his hearing aids out at night so I know that he will not be able to hear whatever I may say unless I am very close to his ears. The other night he modified it a bit. “I am going to take my hearing aids out. WaitContinue reading “Life with laughter”