studiotek

been much too long

2011-05-01T17:53:00.001-04:00

Ive been on FB and kind of lost the desire to rite longer posts, but I have been working on one for a while and Ill get it up this week, just needed to look and see if I was still here.

almost august

2010-07-29T22:44:00.002-04:00

I seem to have fallen off the face of the earth, Ive been camping and working and playing guitar and in general not spending as much time on the computer, I cant say it is a good thing but it is different, Ill be the co -chair of the production committee for the Philadelphia folk festival this year and for as many as I can muster till Im too old or dead. I like that idea of being a part of something bigger. Ive worked at the fest since I was 16 but I never thought I would be part of running a major committee for the fest it is kind of nice that they thought that well of me. Have a good rest of your summer I know Ill be busy till the end of November at this point!

up for air

2010-06-18T17:35:00.002-04:00

Well Ive been out running like someone is trying to kill me for the past few months, and now it is time for me! I bought a camper and will be trying to get away for the weekends when I can. I have also gotten my old motorcycle out and had a few very nice rides. Seems like the world is running on the fast spin cycle and the load is a bit off balance. I hope that all of you are doing well.

the first motherless mothers day

2010-05-09T22:39:00.002-04:00

Well Its almost over the 1st year of not having my mom for mothers day. It seems so strange and my heart is so heavy. No joy many tears even when the memory was a good one it was just too hard to deal with. It will get better "they" say I just dont see it now. Ask me in a few years I tell"them" Im just going to bed I need the break from the sadness.

When you are young

2010-02-13T21:18:00.003-05:00

When you are young there are people who change your life, I have had 2 in my life, No I'm not talking about my folks, I love them and they made me who I am, but other people, One was my friend and teacher Phil Preston, The other was the man who taught me to play guitar, Taught me the idea that you don't need to blow your own horn it works better when others do and made me believe that if you care about what you do you will do it well. George Britton was that man. Yesterday at the age of 94 he passed away. His kids tell me that he was failing and that it may have been a bit of a blessing. I understand this after losing my mom. George loved music and teaching it to kids, he loved learning and he was always advancing his knowledge of recording and technology. He was a fine wood worker. He taught me that learning how to do something well was worth the time and that if it didn't matter to you then don't even bother starting. I still live by these words and I will miss him. One of the hardest things I ever have to do is to say goodbye to someone who I have loved, no matter if the person is just out of my life or dead it is a loss in my heart. I think that George made enough difference in my life that he is a part of me and so it will not be goodbye but till I see you on the other side.

Tim Hart dies

2009-12-30T21:16:00.003-05:00

We have lost a great source in the world of music. Tim Hart was one of the founding memebers of Steeleye span. Irish trad rock has lost a great man. RIP

Speaking up

2009-12-29T18:33:00.002-05:00

I dont like to speak on this because my view is not popular but here I go. I am tired of hearing about Israel returning land it won during the war for peace with the Arabs, Jews were not allowed to be at their most holy sites when the Arabs held them and now that the Israelites hold their holy sites they have access. It is unreasonable for the world to think that the Jews will hand over these sites to the Arabs again with the history that is not in dispute about access. I do not have a solution but I do believe that when a country is attacked the land gained or lost is a spoil of war and to the victor goes the spoils, I do not think that the property stolen from the Jews in Germany have been returned, there is are in collections thruout the world from cultures taken after war are they to be returned to their country's of origin. Peace is good but only if it is not forced in a framework that will not either end the attacks by those who wish the destruction of Israel or the ability of all religions to worship at their holy sites, at this moment Jews and gentile, Muslims and non believers can visit all the holy and historic sites this is true and good. I wish I had a solution but I don't but the status as it is seems to be a situation that everyone needs to back up and think more about, because just yelling about the 67 borders is not going to be productive.

amost Christmas

2009-12-17T08:16:00.002-05:00

Well, It is almost here and my kids just cant wait. I can. The rush of work and shopping and running from inlaws to parent and back is exhausting. Who said we need to do it all and now just didn't get the idea of having a life and a family. Ok I know that it is this way for everyone and I am just being a Grinch, but hey ITS MY BIRTHDAY and I don't get a minute of time to enjoy it!

Have a great Christmas and a happy new years

Mom died

2009-11-16T13:22:00.003-05:00

It was at 4 am on sat the 7th that I got the call, mom passed, even after the long bout with dimentia it was a hard thing to hear. We all gathered at dads and in a few moments we mad all the choices we had to make. She would be burried on sunday the 8th in the family plot and all that was left was the task of calling all the family. She had been sick for so long, we all seemed to be ok at first but we all have our cracks now. Dad is not sleeping well I seem to be like him and getting up alot. It is better this way she is nolonger in torment without the language she loved so much. I miss her alot. She is now reasting not far from max and ester and alex hatty and max too. It was a long drive back knowing I would not see her again.

report from sick bay

2009-10-09T17:17:00.002-04:00

I have been coughing for the past 5 weeks and now they finally think they know what to do. Put me on steroids for 2 weeks and let the cough be quieted because the anti-inflammatory action of the steroid. I just hope it works.

on to the news, I don't get it Obama for the Peace Prize? what has he done, what does this do to the value of the prize, I always found merit in who ever they picked even Arafat had worked to negotiate a peace. I just don't understand could someone explain it to me. you can use big words I just don't think you ll find any. Oh well

My right foot

2009-09-02T19:59:00.002-04:00

Monday was not a good day, I started it by leaving some of the things I needed on the job site at home. Then less then a few hours later I stepped off a wall and into a world of pain, I thought I tore a tendon or ligament, I have only tone a muscle and will need only rest which is one thing I wont be able to find much of with the job schedule I have. I cant find the words to explain it but I was enjoying the number of jobs I have and even thought the schedule was a bit grueling it was the first time I have felt so confident that I was in the growth phase of the business. Life is not always easy, and I never expect anything to be given if I don't give first but after working thru bronchitis and a job in a room that was 90 degrees and 90% humidity, I was looking to this job with the weather forecast and location to be a nice change now all I can think about is the ladders and the stairs and long distance to the bathroom.... I guess it is going to be a long 2 weeks.
I wish every one a good labor day and a great beginning of the school year.

home from fest

2009-08-23T00:06:00.004-04:00

suzi at the video truck

me and hope in the video truck

Well I am home, stiff sore and muddy, it was a good time and the girls had a great time. Here are a few photos of fest for the record. it was a mud fest for the first few days then very hot and sticky. The music was nice and the after concert playing made the nights for me.

getting ready for the PFF

2009-08-04T09:51:00.002-04:00

It is always good to get ready for fest, I have fond memories of the past fests to draw on and the joy of watching my daughters grow up with fest in their lives. Suzi and I will head to site on Tuesday and get our site up and ready Wednesday morning we start working and by Thursday we have the first of 4 days of shows. I cant wait to sit by the fire and play. Hope to see some of my friends there, Ill post pics from fest when we get home.

Frank Malley

2009-07-25T17:47:00.002-04:00

It was about 9 years ago that frank was diagnosed with cancer and for many years we knew that it would kill him, but he just kept on going, a surgery a round of chemo and he looked great, after the last surgery we thought he even might beat the cancer. It came back a few months ago, there was nothing that they could do for him and today he died. The world is a bit poorer without him his voice and knowledge of ballads. His guidance of the Irish center and his just do it ways. I will miss him. I do already. We were not together often but I always felt like we liked each other.

onward and upward

2009-07-09T20:52:00.002-04:00

I don't understand quite why but I am very very busy, and I am feeling more like my old self then I have in a long time. I want to play guitar and sing. I want to see old friends and I want to go for bike rides. Summer has been good to me so far. Mom and Dad will be back from Florida next week and I am looking forward to seeing them and spending some time with them so they get to see their grandchildren. it has been too long.

Have a great weekend Ill write more later about the work and nice things that have been happening to me

what if

2009-06-11T22:38:00.003-04:00

What if you do get to work at what you like to do, and So what if others think that you should do more with your life. Should you care? I guess I don't, I like the world the way I have it set up I don't mind that I will be working hard for the rest of my days, I am happy. I just got the chance to play at a bar and sing, and tomorrow Ill be finishing a installation of a system for a nice person who wants a sound stage in his house. I don't know exactly what the next job will be but boy do I like the fact that what ever it is it will be different then what I did yesterday.

Ill get to go to a few festivals this year and see some old friends in Chicago maybe, Ill find time to build a few guitars this summer and if I am really lucky Ill get some nice weather days and ride my motorcycle. I wish you all a great summer. My kids get out of school the 18th so let the fun begin.

sad times

2009-06-01T14:01:00.003-04:00

Well on the Sunday before memorial day we lost aunt dot, She was the best that we had and we will miss her a lot. Dot never had a bad thing to say about any one and even if she did we never knew it. At 89 years of age she just didn't want to deal with the pain or the tubes or the watching other people watch her die so after Marty told her she didn't have to stay for him she just let go. I will miss her I know that uncle Marty does as so the cousins.

On Wednesday night I spent most of the night at the pet hospital with our pet myrtle the turtle. She was very sick ad we tried some high powered antibiotics for her but it was not enough. This past Sunday we put her down and the family is feeling very empty, Turtles don't come and lick your face but it sure is sweet when you walk in a room and they put their head up out of the water to say hi. Or when they fall asleep in you shirt pocket. We all miss myrtle.

Needless to say I am not sorry to see may gone and June here. I hope that all of you are having a better spring the I am

a great loss

2009-04-27T11:18:00.004-04:00

I am sad to report the loss of Howard Bell. He is now with so many of my other folk friends. Much of the folk community in Philadelphia knew Howard I first met him thru the first Friday sing and that was many years ago. I guess I was about 14. I wish that I was more eloquent but I will miss him. I just hope he is up there now playing "THE CAT CAME BACK" for god right now.

Easter

2009-04-11T13:57:00.002-04:00

Well it is Easter again and Ill be off to my In laws soon. I'm still working on pulling all the tax info together for this year. If I'm lucky Ill have it done before the 15th or Ill still be working on it but come hell or high water it will be in the mail by midnight. I normally don't wait like this but my laptop died on April 2nd and because of that I have had to work real hard to recover all the data I need for the business. I will never have all my data in one place again. It used to be that I had it on the desktop at work and that unit has 2 HDs so I always had copies but I haven't been in the shop as much so I have been working with the laptop more.

The girls are always happy to see Easter come, Yes it is the candy but it is also the coming of spring. Suzi has just about had enough of the cold and wants to go for walks in the park with her friends. Hope is learning to roller blade, and I want to go out and ride the motorcycle. It is raining today but yesterday was quite nice as was Thursday and it has made us all itch to just get out and do something. Ill open up the chimnea and have a fir on Monday evening if it is nice and sit and play guitar for a while before getting back to the tax garbage.

I wish all my friends a happy Easter and a good passover.

Tommy and taxes

2009-04-05T12:54:00.002-04:00

Ah well the show is over we did a week of rehearsals and a hard 3 shows and now it is done. So I will start the taxes today and see if I can get them, all done by wed or Thursday. Today is Moms birthday so I want to get home from work and call so we can all say happy birthday to her. I'm at work now and hope that Ill be able to pull all of the tax stuff together in the next few hours. Wednesday night we will all go to my sisters for passover and then my youngest will have a sleep over with one of her school friends as they are off all next week. I have been thinking a lot about summer. I have much work to do around the house to get the yard in shape. I want this summer to be more about having friends over to play music and sit and talk. The kids have been our main focus for so long that we have lost the knack for setting up a get together for our adult friends except when it is in conjunction with a PLAY DATE. Why is that and why cant kids just go out and play the way we did when we were young. (don't answer that I know things have changed) I just never figured that I would lose the chance to sit and play with friends because I had kids.

On a more serious note please keep my friend Mary in your prayers. Jane and my daughter Suzi came from china on the same adoption trip and now her mom Mary has cancer. She is responding to treatment but any and all prayers would be helpful. Thank you all.

going down the road

2009-03-20T11:48:00.003-04:00

Well it is almost April and tax time is here, I know that the next 2 week will be very stressful so I thought I would update now. We had a wonderful vacation skiing and to top it off Hope who turned 8 yesterday, went to the top of killington in the gondola and then skied all the way down with her instructor and class. She skis very well and you can see it in her face just how much she loves it and the personal sense of accomplishment in her face is wonderful. On the down side vacation is that we all came home with some kind of cold and it is not going away. I have been working a lot and will just finish the bulk of what I need to do before I start taxes next week. I have been blessed with a lot of new work so I will be busy thru the next few months.

Enough about the family and me, Now on to the garbage at hand. Many of my friends are out of work right now and having a ruff time of it I would ask that we try to help one another along as much as we can. I know that things will be better when the concert and fest season comes and I hope that we all can find a way to make it till then. Yes frank I know that if we don't all spend a bit then we don't help out the economy and I have done my part. The question is have you. When you go out to dinner leave a little more and remember that if you pass it on it will come back to you.

Ill see you on the other side of tax day. a few thousand lighter but still here.

love and loss

2009-02-13T18:21:00.003-05:00

I have always liked the practice of giving cards on valentines day it gives me the chance to tell the people I love just why I love them. It is harder now as I get older and so do my folks to give mom her card. she doesn't know what to do with them any more and so I have just stopped because it brings me sadness to know she cant understand what it is for.

Other people who I would give cards to are no longer in my life but I still remember the love and friendship we had. It would be so wonderful to just express to them that they still have a place in my heart. Remember to tell those you love that you do before it is not possible. Reach into the memories of life you hold dear and remind all of those that matter that you still do love and care for them.

as for me I love you mom have a good day. and Vicki Ill see you in the morning.

Almost 21 years

2009-02-12T15:52:00.003-05:00

I have been married for almost 21 year I can look back and remember a time when I thought that 21 years was an eternity. In a lot of ways it is. Much has changed and much remains as it was and I think now will always be. I know that for the past 25 years I have gone to Vermont and gone skiing on the lat weekend of February. I got married that weekend and we still went skiing. The difference now is that we all go the kids ski and we spend the day on the mountain and the evenings in front of the fire place. I hope to as I become too old to ski sit and watch the kids as they bring their friends to the family vacation.

Many things I remember about being with my parents center around the family vacations. Every year we went to fox hollow and then camping after, then it was old songs and camping. with all of the changes in the world right now I have been looking at the things that I want to do with my kids and the family and I realize that it was not any of the expensive trips or holidays like Hanuka and the birthdays that I feel so misty for. It is the time spent camping and skiing that I want to be thinking about.

I know why my dad and mom felt this need to be out in the world now. I cant explain it but I know.

snow day

2009-01-28T10:22:00.003-05:00

I'm home with the kids today due to the weather. I like spending time home with the kids it makes me feel more like my life is whole. I miss spending time at home when we are not doing homework or house work and can just sit and watch a movie. Hope is now on Ritalin to help with her ADHD and it has made life better. I cant imagine how hard it must have been for her. I was only ADD I didn't have the hyperactivity to go with it. It is nice to see her doing so well in school now and having fun. Today Ill get some work done when the kids have their friends here I think Ill make some sugar cookie dough and let them bake and decorate cookies. I do like being a dad.

I hope that all of you keep warm and enjoy the snow if you got some today.

twas the week before christmas

2008-12-22T10:06:00.003-05:00

T'was the week before Christmas and all thru the house everybody was grousing even my spouse. Just too much to do and not enough time, And you'll have to excuse me for my poor attempt at rhyme. The kids were all ramie the cat she was too she climbed up the tree it was there wouldn't you. So I set out to go shopping and finish the list but in my mind I was thinking I'm not too thrilled about this. The mall it was packed and the salespeople gruff I know its a recession but no need to be brusk. So I went on with my chore and decided to me merry, me I just bought a box of chocolate covered cherries. Ill go home to my family and we can light Hanuka candles happy Hanuka to all and merry Christmas too. With love and happy thoughts to all!

almost a half century

2008-12-14T12:57:00.004-05:00

Well it will happen soon on Christmas Ill be 50 years old! It has been the hardest year I have ever had this one almost gone. I have lost more friends then I care to list and I still have yet another funeral to go to next week. I know that we are all getting old and I know that this is the way things go when you reach my age. I just didn't know that it would make me feel so old and that I would forget and want to call people that are gone. I never realized that someday I might not have the people who I look to for information and advice, no I don't mean the older generation. I knew they would pass I mean my friends from high school and my friends from grade school the ones who's birthdays come around mine and are 49 or 50 now, or should be.
I'm going to try and do something about how I feel, old I mean, I just bought a fiddle and I'm going to try to learn to play. I need to move forward and not sit as much Ive been going out to play at open mics and I think it is time to find a way to feel more a part of the world again.this is the goal for the next 25 years to find a way to make it to 75.

happy turkey day

2008-11-27T08:44:00.002-05:00

I feel bad for not being here more often. Life had been a bit hectic since my last post much work with the CO that hangs mall Christmas and a lot of other shows and installs in the sound and video world. I reconnected with my old friend Kevin from camp hamp and look forward to seeing him in Fla. it is a nice change from seeing old friends after they have died. I hope that this holiday finds you all well and with family or friends. with much love to all.

lost and found

2008-10-12T13:59:00.002-04:00

I just got a letter from a old friend, Ill get to writing an answer this week but it is still hard to find the time. lost all my free time to school homework and a whole lot of projects. I hope that when the winter sets in Ill find the time to blog more and finish the instruments I have started to build this summer. I have rediscovered how much all of my old life really was me. more on that later. have a great fall and Ill check back in later.

back to school night

2008-09-18T12:12:00.004-04:00

I just love walking back into the school to meet the new teacher, Hope seems to love her already and I can see why. She seems to be very happy teaching and said to the group of parents that she has always taught 1st grade and loves it very much. Hope has her issues and that always will worry me as she moves from teacher to teacher and they have to learn about her.I have never been good at pushing the system and up to this point I have not had to, That might change as the school psychologist seems to be holding up the next round of testing for Hope. I will know more tonight but at this point I think that I might have to go and find a gorilla outfit soon.

I missed the open mic this week and I was not happy about it. I guess that I now know just how much it means to me to go.

My father in law turned 84 on the 17th so we will be going out there to have a small party for him. At his age each year is a gift, especially since he is in such good shape and still has a lot of energy.

be well and have a great weekend

Music

2008-09-10T10:07:00.003-04:00

I didn't realize how much I missed playing in front of people. I never was a great artist I just play others music but I like having people there to listen. It makes all the time I spend playing for myself seem more worthwhile. I love the way the L-4 sounds with the pickup I built for it. There is just a bigness to that guitar that transferred well. I still need to find the feeling I remember from years ago of being happy to be on stage instead of being full of butterflies. At some point I need to thank Bill for asking me to play and encouraging me. All the new music I need to learn, some more current and less depressing music, as well as some up beat or at least more topical so I can keep peoples attention. I am not as dynamic as many of the others there so I need to play better not louder. All in good time. I hope that maybe some of you in the Philly area will ask and stop in on a Tuesday to hear me. OK I know it is a long shot but I thought I would ask.

a bad day

2008-09-05T12:49:00.002-04:00

I don't quite know what is going on but this morning I found out that 2 people I know have died. that makes 3 since fest. I know I'm getting old and I know that some of my friends are older then I am but we as a group are not old enough to start the great die off yet. So here is to Jarvis, Kurt, and Robert. All folk fest people all part of the larger fest family I have known for better the 30 years. I hope that they are now in a better place and playing music together.

week 2

2008-09-04T13:41:00.002-04:00

I said I would go back and I did. this weeks open mic was a bit more fun and less of the butterflies came on stage with me this time. I played a few old favorites and a few I haven't played in a long time. I love the Paul Stukie song about base ball and George Gritback's sweeper. I haven't had the nerve to play either of these outside my house in a long time, and Roseville fair. the song Vick and I played at our wedding, and Mr Bojangles I always have had a soft spot for that song. it was a lot of fun to show a different side I need to find more blues and pop songs to play. Oh well enough blabbering

Getting back on the horse

2008-08-27T01:09:00.002-04:00

I played at the first open mic I have gone to in about 20 years tonight. I had a blast, I was nervous as all get out but I still had a blast. Ill be going back often and learning a few new songs to take with me. I cant just play loved and lost ballads and sad stuff. I got a real kick out of opening with the song from the wizard of oz "if I only had a brain". so did a few of the people listening. One of the folks who played earlier in the evening was from the band June Rich, Boy I wish I could present the way she did. It was nice to have the chance to play out and have people know some of what I played. I need to go to bed it is way past my bed time. Good night all.

on with the show

2008-08-20T21:12:00.003-04:00

I go in for oral surgery tomorrow. I have a small growth on my cheek and I need to have it removed and checked. yes I am worried, I never smoked except for a tobacco pipe in college and not that much but I am still worried. I have had this lump for a while and all of my dentists have looked at it on and off and said not to worry till now. so I will let you all know as soon as I do. I could use all the good thoughts and prayers you have for me.

on a different subject well maybe not so different my long time friend Jarvis Wilshier died today after a 12 year battle with cancer. he kept going long enough to talk to his friends at folk fest but died just after the fest ended. He was a real open and wonderful person in the 28 or so years that I knew him he always was willing to be there even when he was sick he still wanted to help if he could I will miss him and another ghost will be walking on the old pool farm

PFF

2008-08-07T11:05:00.006-04:00

As it has been so shall it be! I am getting ready to do what I have for all of my life, Go to the Phila. Folk Festival. This year as I have for the past 2 or 3 my daughter Suzi will be camping with me. Suzi is now 12 and has a job at fest and will be working back stage with me. I will as in the last few years be dealing with back line gear during the day and color balancing cameras for the evening concerts. I will be camping in a different spot this year down with Canada and the Mermaids. I hope that this will be a good thing. I will miss the oasis and the folks from club ned but the stress that camping there would cause for my friend Ann is not worth the trouble. Summer is almost over and I have started to work on Christmas displays for the malls. good god it is only august 7th and I have placed bids for lighting and have many hours of repair work in the coming weeks. I will be going to fest with a friend in my heart who is no longer with us. Many years ago I was lucky enough to work with Robert Hazard, I was saddened to hear of his passing on Tuesday. He had no reason to be nice to the sound people he just was and the few times I did see him he seemed to remember the shows we did together. May his wife and family find some happiness in the way his music touched those of us that knew him.

I made it

2008-07-17T17:10:00.003-04:00

Saturday was quite a day, First Hope had her party, the little ones were quite well behaved and played well together. to my wife's dismay none of the kids wanted cake just ice cream except of course Hope who wanted all the sugar we would let her get her hands on. By the time they left I was ready for bed but I had to go and find a new TV and cook dinner. at 7:00 we had the big girls show up. By 9:30 they were bored with the movie and changed into PJ's and went out into the tent. For then next 8 hours I tended the fire and stayed awake to the best of my ability and watched over the pre-teens as the giggled and had a great time out in the tent. I was not doing as well getting bitten and chewed by the bugs of my back yard. by 5am I went in and got Vicki to take the next shift and make breakfast. it was a very long day. Note to self DON'T DO IT AGAIN!

girls gone wild

2008-07-12T07:44:00.003-04:00

It is early on July 12th and soon my house will be invaded. First by 7 to 10 6and 7 year old girls and then later by the same number of 12 year old girls for a sleep over. I don't know if it was a good idea or a laps in judgment to let both girls have their birthday parties on the same day or not. Suzi is very excited to have a camp out in the back yard with all her friends I am just waiting to deal with the staying up all night to watch over them. Hope is also excited to have her friends here but I think that she is going to be less trouble with her friends then it will be to control the teen and pre teen girls at night. Ill be the one sitting in the lawn chair with my guitar near the fire place waiting for them to try and do something I think (7) 12 and 13 year old girls shouldn't do. I cant wait for Sunday to come. Have a great weekend.

hospital visit

2008-07-02T19:12:00.002-04:00

We arrived home on Sunday night from oldsongs and had a great time up there. I will post later on the festival and all the goings on and whistle making while we were there later. Today however was much more of a heart stopper. I came down stairs this morning and found my daughter having dry heaves. I got to the sink just in time to help stop her from collapsing on the floor because she passed out. In short order she was awake and off we went to the hospital. after an EKG and some other tests it was determined that they really didn't know what caused it but thought it was just a fainting spell brought on by the heaves and sent us home. she has seemed fine all day and so I am a bit less concerned. My girls are my life and I worry often about what we don't know of their family history. Keep them in your prayers Suzi is still a bit shaken by the whole thing as am I.

Old Songs 2008

2008-06-22T14:06:00.002-04:00

I am looking forward to one of the most enjoyable things I do all year. My family makes the six hour trip to the old songs festival in Altamont NY. It is a time for me to hear music of the kind that I might want to learn and play, a place where my kids can run around and I don't have to worry about where or what they are doing and most of all it is a chance for me to play music with others who love the ballad and the loved and lost songs the way that I do. There are 2 open sings in the barn there, yeah it is late and I'm tired but I go anyway I get to sing one or 2 myself and join in with the other on the chorus for the songs I'm not leading. I hope that all of you are having a good start to your summer, I know that Ill start mine the way I always do in a tent on a field and playing my guitar. Ill make you all a deal you have a beer for me sometime this weekend and Ill try to sing one for you.

lost

2008-06-19T10:43:00.002-04:00

Ok a friend just told me that " you cant end a friendship if you can it never was". I see that to be true but if you were friends then even if you have changed direction in life it should be possible to see the other for what once was right? I am not good at goodbyes and I have never given up on anyone. At almost 50 I cant see the point in starting over so here is my thought, I'll just say I am here if you need me, if not I will go on as I always have, I must do that. I hope that by saying this you will know I still am here.

when someone is hurting

2008-06-09T09:03:00.003-04:00

I have a friend who is going thru hell right now. And there is nothing that I can do or say that will make the situation better. Even a good hug thought it seems like the right thing to do wont help. When you feel this unable to help and all you can do is wish your friend well, what do you do? I turn to my music and try to find a song that I can have running thru my thoughts kind of a prayer to offer to god in hopes that he will give some comfort. I need to do and I cant I want to help but this is all I have.

Having friends

2008-06-08T19:34:00.002-04:00

I have been out of touch with so many people in my life and this is not how I want things to be. I am very happy that My old and dear friend Ellen got back in touch with me and I have been remiss in getting back to her with pictures and a history of the past years. I am looking for others now who I would also like to hear from, Becca, if you are out there, and also Gail.

The importance of friends cannot be understated. I think about you all of you and miss the conversation

loss and sadness

2008-05-25T08:36:00.003-04:00

I found out that U Utah Phillips died yesterday. If you don't know who he was you don't know what you missed. A story teller and fine folk singer and song writer and a wonderful man. I remember when I was young at fox hollow 2 things he did. He wrote a song because he was playing on children's day one year called the child liberation song, I don't think he ever sang it except for at fox hollow, but I have made it part of my folk song list that I play from. the other thing he did that is forever in my mind is when from the stage at fox hollow folk fest he announced the resignation of Nixon as president. " this is the first time I have seen a sinking ship deserts the rat. I have the comment on tape if you don't believe me. I had the chance to hire him for the Hampshire college folk fest in the late 70's and have fond memories of him at other shows I did sound for. 73 is too young to die and we have lost so many of our great folk voices too young. If you remember their songs they can go on forever. The golden voice of the great southwest may be silent but in my heart he will live with me.

May how did it get to be May

2008-05-05T17:59:00.003-04:00

Wow I cant believe that it is may already, Suzi just turned 12, and is quite the young lady, Hope is finally going to get into 1st grade next year and there are a lot of other changes too. With the Price of gas as it is I have decided not to go to Hampshire for the retirement party for my adviser, I am also going to skip the alumni function later this month. I miss going up there but the gas it would take in my truck is more then I am willing to spend now. I have been riding the motorcycle as much as I can and not going out if I don't have a few things I can do while I'm out.

My folks will be coming back from Florida and I am afraid that it might be the last trip home from there for my mother. Dad says her physical condition is getting worse and he doesn't know if she will be with us next Fall.I think that I am ready for that now too. Dad seems to have been ready for a while. Keep my mom in your prayers if you do that sort of thing, it is sad to see her as a shell of what she once was.

keep in touch

I has been too long

2008-04-12T13:07:00.002-04:00

Well taxes are upon us and so are the spring time allergies. I don't quite know where to start. Oh and to make things even better I have much to much work to get done by the 19th and then start an auditorium for a local hospital. The time after vacation was spent working to get the house ready for spring. I replaced the carpet runner took out the carpet in the basement and found time to cut up wood for the fireplace. The honey do jar is now empty for a while and I'm going to find the time to paint the motorcycle and clean the switches for the headlight and turn signals. I guess that with the price of gas these days I should be thanking the gods that the old bike is running as well as it does. Anyone who knows bikes will tell you that anything the Brit's made is a chore to keep on the road. Any way the world round here seems to be in order and I can say for the first time in a while that I am feeling like my old self. I have played my guitar a lot and for the first time in a long time am looking to learn some new music. What could be the last Phila. Folk Fest is coming and so is old songs fest in Albany NY. I plan to be at both of these and maybe a few smaller fests in the new england area. Maybe we will bump into someone who reads this. I'm going out for a walk before I sit down to pin a 40 pair snake for work. Have a great day.

Vacation

2008-02-19T11:21:00.002-05:00

Im planning to take the girls skiing and we will make a slow drive up the east coast seeing friends and old haunts as we go. I am looking foward to some time off however short while I get to see the places I loved in school and just after. Hope is excited about getting on the chair lifts again and I cant wait to have a few runs with Suzi. Vick is talking about stopping to shop at the antiques center in sanford ct. I know that she would love to bring back some more glass on this vacation. For me I just want to get some time playing my guitar and a chance to ski. I cant belive that almost 20 years have gone by since my honeymoon. The summit lodge is not the same as it was then but I do hope that we get to have a nice dinner somewhere in honnor of that event. Ill try and post a picture from the mountain as well as pictures from the Fla trip in a few days.

return from Florida

2008-01-24T20:04:00.000-05:00

I went down to Florida to see my parents with my family over the past weekend. It was sort of a requested visit from my Dad. He was upset that we didn't make it down last year and that mom is not doing too well and this may be the last year I could go down with the kids and see mom there. When I got there I realized how isolated he is taking care of my mother there and how much he needed to get visits there. I am already planning to go down there again without the kids in the next 8 weeks. I just don't understand the family that lives in Florida and could come in and visit but don't. I am very proud of how my dad is dealing with the decline of my mother and I don't know if I could be as strong and giving as he is right now. I am seeing a different side of my father one that he did not show before. to all of my blog mates Please keep my mom and dad in your prayers I know he needs them now.

All is well here work is great and the kids are doing well, I promise Ill post a happier post about the trip later.

Christmas 2007

2007-12-22T12:13:00.000-05:00

This is the time I tend to look back and see what the year has done to me. All in all it has been a good year, The house is paid for now and I have real health insurance that I am not paying for the kids are doing great and for the first time in 8 years my wife Vicki is not in school. We seem to be getting our lives back and the issues that make us all nuts are getting better. I am looking at the many trying things in the past year and can say that most of them will not return to bother me in the new year.

In the past year I have seen my life change, getting older, I see that my kids will have a much different world to live in then I did. I have adapted to the computer world they are growing up with it. It will make the world much smaller for them and their choices in life for better or worse will be controlled by the was we leave the world to them. I hope and pray that the level of violence we see today is not what we leave them with. I also hope that the way we treat the environment will improve in the next few years so we leave them a world that is not balanced on the edge of global warming and energy shortages.

Ill miss having the good council of my mother now more then ever as my children grow. While she is still with us in body her mind is gone and I miss her. Others are in failing health and I know that this coming year will be a hard one in that way.

I cant close the year without saying that I am happy and that things are going to get better I know that it is just the way of the world to go thru life and death you cant change that. So here is to the new year to my friends and to better things to come. may 2008 bring you good health and good cheer. Thank you for your friendship and love.

I do love you all

Happy Turkey day

2007-11-22T11:45:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving, I hope that all of you are enjoying the time with your family or friends and getting ready to sit down to a great dinner. My turkey is in the oven and I am enjoying the smell all thru the house. My girls are out in the yard raking leaves in a futile effort to clear the yard as the leaves are still falling. My best wishes to all.

Nov. 1

2007-11-01T18:50:00.000-04:00

Well the great candy day is over and now comes the fight to not have the kids end up on a sugar high that continues till the bucket of candy is empty. Suzi will try to sneak candy into her room and hope will tell me that her tummy is starving for candy. I know it is what kids do but I cant let them or Ill be in big trouble when I try to wake them up for school in the morning. There are about three weeks till thanksgiving and I will be in DC for maybe 6 days between now and then. Yes my friends it is time again to DECK THE MALLS, Oh god here we go again it gets earlier each year and I just cant seem to get the Xmas mood going till thanksgiving passes. This year it looks like 2 malls for me Tyson's 1 and 2. I don't think Ill go to Ma. with the crew that would just be too much. But next year it sounds like we will do the Court at King of Prussia as well. Ah at last a job closer to home. I cant believe that Xmas is just 8 weeks away. My birthday too, 49 the last year before the big 50. Have a good weekend and enjoy the fall while you still can.

Fall

2007-09-27T20:36:00.000-04:00

the Jewish holidays are over and fall is here! My yard is covered with leaves and twigs, at least the lawn isn't growing much any more so I can think about putting the mower away. I had the bike out for a spin tonight that sure feels good now that the weather is not so hot. I have been thinking a lot about family these past few days. my dad goes in for eye surgery on the 4th and Ill be staying over there on Thursday night. Mom will be back in the nursing home for a few days so we can let dad recover. Everybody I talk to is having problems with their parents either health or personal problems. Is it something about the end of summer and the end of another year that makes everyone so cranky? I hope that all of you are doing well and that you'll let me know if your not.

09/11/07

2007-09-11T11:47:00.000-04:00

I cant believe it is here again that day that I remember just turning on the TV and seeing a plane hit the world trade center. The second plane. I was dumbfounded I couldn't think I couldn't move I just stood there and watched the news for a long time. I felt too alone at the moment so I went to work hearing on the way about the plane that hit the pentagon then the one that crashed in western pa. My kid was at school and safe for the moment I knew my wife was at work. And now so was I. The next few hours were spent figuring out what I should do go home, stay, watch the news, it all is still a blur. All I know is that from then on the sound of a low flying plane or a big bang have me a little on edge. It was 6 years ago and it still feels much closer then that. I can only pray that the world wont have to go thru that again and that we have all learned that we have to enjoy what we have because it can be gone in a flash. I didn't know anyone who died on 9/11 and I did know people who for what ever reason lived thru it I am thankful for that. This year 9/12 starts Jewish New Years and the time where Jews give thanks and pray for forgiveness and a good new year. I wish that for the world and my friends. Happy new year
may this be a better one then the last.

With love to you all
jeremy

Hopes first day back in kindergarden

2007-09-05T13:27:00.000-04:00

Well today my daughter hope starts her 2nd trip thru kindergarten. I know that she needs the academic side of it. She was still a bit behind all of the rest of her class and her speech was still a problem. All of this leftover from the abuse and neglect she suffered thru in china. But today I think I finally broke when she was crying and telling me she just wanted her old friends and to go into 1st grade with them. I couldn't stay there I had to come to work and pull my self back together. I know that this is the best thing for her but it is so hard to watch. I am hoping that when I go to pick her up at aftercare she is feeling better and that she has found some new friends to make her heart feel better and not so empty. Yes she will see he old friends on the playground but I don't know if that is a curse or a blessing.

when all else fails

2007-08-27T18:11:00.000-04:00

I just spent a few hours taking apart a bay I just built, I cant say why but I had the whole thing wired one space off. I guess the new workbench is making it hard for me to see. I need to install some more lighting I guess. Oh well I'm sure that when I get back in the morning I will get the whole thing back together and all will be fine. I'm going to go home and make dinner and light a fire in the fireplace and sit and play for a while have a great night and I know that in the morning Ill be ready to get back to this. I want to say a thank you to all my friends at fest, I cant tell you how nice it was to sit and talk this year and I look forward to taking BEFORE next year.

fest review

2007-08-23T12:59:00.001-04:00

I got home on Monday after pulling much of my stuff thru the mud left by 2 days of rain. I had both of my girls with me on Sunday night and felt real bad when I woke up in the morning to my 6 year old in a very wet sleeping bag. I got her dressed and off with my sister so I could break down camp it was not a whole lot of fun. The music this year was good even though the list of performers was only so so. Doc Watson and Mavis staples were great so were some of the lesser known performers but with no other big names the fest didn't have the zing it has had in the past. I had a great time watching my 11 year old Suzi find her wings and make new friends up there and how well she did with the adults at my sight. She is going to be a tough customer for any boy that wants to date her in a few years. The usual friends were there and I have found that many of them have much to deal with after fest. I hope that all the prayers and thoughts I am sending out will help. I will go back to the fest if they hold it next year but I will have many more ghosts to deal with on site. we will see if it is just too much to deal with and if I need to find another fest to work at and to make the summer feel right again.

leaving for the folk fest

2007-08-13T09:46:00.000-04:00

My daughter and I leave today for the folk fest. this will be the 2nd year that she has come with me to camp for the week. I am looking forward to the time with her and the time up at feat with the people I have come to call my extended family. there is nothing more wonderful then the greetings between the people I have known all of my life. I have worked at this fest since I was 16 and have been to almost all the fests before that. I wish that you all could see the happiness that surrounds the camp and all of the friends who get back together each and every year to enjoy the music work and play this most wonderful week in august. Have fun and be well.

folk fest 3 weeks and counting

2007-07-26T09:48:00.001-04:00

It is just 3 weeks till the campgrounds open for the Phila folk fest and I cant wait. My daughter Suzi will be camping with me again this year and Ill have a bit larger tent to make us both comfortable. I am hoping that we have good weather again and that the fest is well attended.
Work until then will be hectic but I will have the time to stay at fest because of the extra work I have been doing. we will be leaving on the 13th of august for fest and back the following Monday. Be well and enjoy the end of July.

dog days

2007-07-12T15:56:00.000-04:00

well I just hate it when it gets hot, the bike is not fun when it is hot the kids whine when it is hot and I get cranky when I'm hot. Mom is going to come home from the nursing home some time this coming week and we hope that the change in location helps with her recovery. Dad seems ready to have her home too. On the work front I condensed the shop into about 1/2 the space so that the building owner could put in an elevator. It is not too bad but it is small and Ill have to keep it much neater if I want to live and work here. All else is about the same. I did get to ride the bike to long beach island NJ and back last weekend it was very nice to be out on the open road alone for a while. More later I need to go and pick up some equipment from the music store. Have a good weekend

Summer fun

2007-06-27T13:25:00.000-04:00

We got home at 1am on Monday from old songs and did not miss a beat. the kids went to camp on Monday and I went to look at a nursing home for my mother. Tuesday was a studio appointment and today I was at the rehab with my mom as she was evaluated for a course of therapy. I have a few things to finish up today before I go and pick the kids up from camp and then try to get the air conditioners in so we don't die in the 94degree heat and the 99% humidity. I was going to ride the motorcycle today but after I went for my morning walk I was convinced that it would be foolish to try in the heat. Life seems to be running in low gear and I just cant find a way to make the jump to hi gear and get a lot done in a short time but I am learning that if I just let things run their course I will get it all done in time. Hope that all of you have things going well and that you have a good rest of your week

old songs fest

2007-06-19T11:34:00.000-04:00

My Family and I have been going to this folk fest in up state new york for many years now. In fact I asked my wife to marry me at old songs. That was 20 years ago now and we still find a way each year to make the drive up there and camp for the weekend. This will be the first year that my family (parents and sister) will not be there due to health issues and I will feel a bit strange up there without them. I cant seem to get moving on packing and the work of pulling out all the gear I guess it is the realization that things are changing. too many things are changing My kids are ready to go they cant wait to see their fest friends and run around without worries. They enjoy the size of the place and the fact that it is safe there to wander the midway and see all the music or play when they want to and all they have to do is go back to the blanket to find one of us and tell us where they are going next. It reminds me of when I was young and could do that in the town I grew up in. Have a great week and remember school is out watch out for the kids on bikes and remember they don't think so we have to.

bike news

2007-06-11T15:49:00.000-04:00

Well I got the '71 650 up and running new battery and new kick start spring, a few hours cleaning the carbs and it started right up. I cant tell you how nice it was this morning to get out on the bike to go to work. Of course any good has to have equal bad so I'm here at work and of course the weather changed and now it is raining. Oh well I guess Ill just get wet. Ive got enough work to keep me going for a bit and then Ill see what happens. I hope that everyone had a nice weekend and is ready for fathers day. I will be working all week trying to get ready for the end of school when my kids will be with me for the next week so Ill have a lot to deal with and not much time for work.

show time

2007-06-02T21:39:00.000-04:00

It is the night before a small arts fest that I provide sound for and as always it is down to the last minute getting my sound equipment up to the task. I have a nice system it just does not go out much since I had my heart attack. loading and lifting all that stuff 4 times in one day just seems daunting. Especially if I think about doing that more then a few times a year. it is different when I work for the big sound co and have a full crew. I do less of the lifting and more of the wire and tech. Im looking forward to it even if I get a bit wet doing it. I like this fest and I like the people I work with there.

in other work I have been working on a system for the state of Delaware and I have a picture of the hanging rig I just installed.

I hope that you all are having a good weekend and that your plans don't get washed away

NRC

2007-05-10T12:46:00.000-04:00

I just got thru the new news center for Exelon (the local power generation co) and the NRC is going to be there today. I get to go back for then next few days to do some clean up and add a few new functions to the system. work has been nuts and I have been missing the chance to sit and write. we have a few days to go till mothers day and I need to go and get cards. I don't know if it is worth getting one for my mother anymore she has dementia and I don't even know if she knows me. Yeah Ill get one anyway because if she does know I want her to know I still love her too. I hope that everyone gets to remember their mother on her day some how. Be well

end of the tunnel

2007-04-23T18:14:00.000-04:00

well I have a lot on my mind these days and work has not been helping to let me forget the other stuff that is going on. Still I feel like I can see the light at the end of the tunnel even thought the past few times I had this feeling it was just a train getting ready to flatten me. I just finished one big job and now hope that the next job is not quite so unwilling to get done. Spring has sprung here and i really want to spend more time outside and not in the dungeon I call a shop. I'm going for a walk you all have a good day

long day

2007-04-21T21:39:00.000-04:00

well I went to a viewing for a friends daughter yesterday then worked till after midnight and here I sit again working at 9:45pm and don't see getting out of here till after midnight again. I cant say I would rather be my friend right now. I don't know how I would go on if I lost one of my kids. My little ones are the most wonderful things in my life. I could feel the pain in the room and just wish that there was something, anything I could do to make it better. Hug your kids tell them how much they mean to you. I know that I did today many times.

My thoughts and prayers to all

taxing and the big pay off

2007-04-14T09:27:00.000-04:00

Well it is time to do the taxes, I have waited as long as I can and now I just have to do it. so I will be in the shop and at home dragging out all the stuff I need to get the taxes done. I'm also going to write one last check to the bank that holds my mortgage on my house. That's right I get to pay off my house this week and I'm also going to be getting rid of one of the worst banks in the world soon Bank of America. I just cant believe that I have a chance to start digging out of all the crap they have caused me over the years. Have a great weekend and Ill see you all on the other side of April 17 the last day of taxes.

april 26th

2007-04-07T13:17:00.000-04:00

Good gravy that is a long time to be without my truck, They say it will take that long till they get all the parts and can have it back on the road. The stupid little car I have is only big enough to hold 1 tool box if I want to have room for my girls too.

My mother in law is in rehab now and we will see how she does with the recovery. It will be a long month if I have to keep on going out there with my wife and a longer month if she goes and leaves the kids home with me as I work over the weekend. I hope that life is also getting better for all of you out there. with the warm weather comes the motorcycle season so I will start to get the old monster out and cleaned up again. Here is wishing that you all have something fun to do today and tomm. I'm working till 4 then Ill be heading to NJ to see the in laws.

one hell of a week

2007-04-02T16:01:00.000-04:00

I'm glad that last week is over! I lost a friend to suicide and my mother in law fell and broke her hip pelvis and arm. then in the rush to get to my mother in law I had a car accident. I'm fine my poor truck is in the shop and Ill need a infusion of cash to deal with all the bills but life goes on. The show at Clearview HS went very well I cant seem to get the songs to go away yet but I start another show in 2 weeks so I will at least have something to replace them with soon.
I cant remember why I like life so much right now as I see people suffer die and have hard times with their health. I'm looking at the world as a glass half empty right now I know but I sure wish that someone would push the big easy button and let us all recover a bit before the next "spin cycle" starts. Passover starts tonight and Easter is Sunday it is time to gather family and pray for better times and that out friends the ones we see often and those we only see in our hearts are well. I don't really know why this year has started so hard for all of my friends and me but with the spring coming I have to hope that it will get better

with love and wishes for a happy passover and Easter

I finaly got back on

2007-03-22T10:10:00.000-04:00

Well I have been trying to get on for better then a week and now it just lets me in? oh well. this week has been very busy and having my oldest home sick made it a very stressful one as well. I will be the tech for a musical all next week I am not sure I'm happy to be doing it but I need the cash flow right now. All I can say is that Ill be tire of the show tunes from carousel by the end of the show I'm sure. Have a great week and Ill see you all soon.

I dont know why

2007-03-12T23:03:00.000-04:00

It is really hard to get my computer to go to blogger I haven't had any problems till I switched to the new blogger! Bleah I don't like it and I want my old blogger back. I spent much time and effort to get this post up and I hope someone out there can tell me does blogger not like AOL or is it something in the new blogger and everyone is having some problems. I wish someone would just tell me how to fix it. I build studios and not computers and I don't write code that is why my blog is the way it is PLEASE HELP.

new blogger

2007-03-05T12:50:00.000-05:00

well Im not sure how this is all working out but I have changed to the new blogger. Im back in the office more and have reconnected the broadband here so I can get on line without the phone line being tied up. I would like to say Ill be better about posting but I know how I am. I wish you all a happy early spring.

Dashing out the door.

2006-12-22T15:21:00.000-05:00

With and arm load full of gifts. I wish the rain would stop. Its making quite a mess. ... Well it is the final rush and as always the last few gifts are the hardest to get. Ill make one last run up to new hope in the morning and then Ill be all set. I have bought both of the gifts that will be given to me as well as a good # of the kids gifts. I know that Ill be happy with what I get on my BIRTHDAY and that the kids will love their stuff too as for my wife that is the gift I need to go to new hope for and I just hope that it came out well. It is going to rain tonight and Saturday but should clear for Christmas eve and MY BIRTHDAY. Oh well I know It will be a nice morning for the kids. My youngest daughter Hope is real excited and I know that she wont get too much sleep on Sunday I cant wait to see how she likes her gifts from Santa! Merry Christmas to all and to all a happy new year too.

It's coming on Christmas

2006-12-05T19:36:00.000-05:00

Ill be 48 in 20 days that's right Ill be 48 on Christmas. I Might as well say it now because in a few more days Christmas insanity will be upon the earth and nothing else will matter to most of the world but shopping. I may sound a bit jaded about this but I have just come to know that this is the way the world is. Ill be ok in a few more weeks once it is all over the adds the music and even the lights will be back in the boxes and the world will return to normal. Then someone will ask me how was your birthday and Ill go postal on them! What Birthday did I have a birthday. Oh well I guess that's about all I have to say on that subject. Happy birthday to all and to all a good night!

Happy thanksgiving

2006-11-22T21:02:00.000-05:00

Hey it is the night before thanksgiving. I hope that all is well in your world it has been a hard few weeks in my world. I wish all a good and happy thanksgiving and that where ever you might be spending it you have a great time

Candy day

2006-10-31T09:55:00.000-05:00

Well that is what my oldest thinks it is. I cant believe that I have been away so long and that the year is almost over. Yes we are still building the new studio4 and yes I am still working many too many hours but we will be done by Christmas and we seem to have a good # of bookings here. I spend much time here in the shop alone and am learning to enjoy the quiet here as I get none at home. Hope is now 5 and has found that she likes to hear her voice so she talks all the time. Suzi my older daughter is always asking for duct tape to cover her sisters mouth. I cant blame her! It is just wonderful to see my girls growing up and learning. Suzi is playing my old flute now and also is learning piano. Hope wont leave my guitars alone so I will teach her to play soon. Life has had its ups and downs but I am still here to enjoy the good and endure the bad. The pumpkin is out and the door will be open at my house and I cant wait to see the kids as they come to get the treats I bought and my girls will both be out with their friends sampling the goods that others have to offer. I wish all of my friends a happy candy day and a good thanksgiving if I don't get back here before that. With best wishes BOO!

I remember

2006-09-08T12:51:00.000-04:00

I remember when we thought we were safe and that our families were safe. I remember when you could get on a plane with a SMALL SET of tools and not have to ship them home or put them in your checked bags. I remember when I didn't worry if I had a cell phone or a camera or a computer on the plane with me. I remember when I didn't care much about who thought what about the U.S. or me for that matter. They couldn't really hurt me or my family and who would be stupid enough to attack the U.S. We found out on 9/11. I remember watching the towers go down and the fire at the pentagon. I will never forget. I will never feel the same again and I only wish that I could feel safe. Not so much for me but for my kids. I will stop and remember on 9/11 I only hope that you will too and you will find the strength to be part of the solution. To be part of the solution is to care what others think of us and to try and change the perceptions that they have about us. REMEMBER!

Back on the horse

2006-09-03T16:00:00.000-04:00

I am ready to get my life back on track! I started to replace the book keeping system in the shop and spent about 6 hrs finding all of the billing I have been ignoring while I have been rebuilding studio 4. The girls start school next week and I am going to try to use that as a fresh start on having a good outlook on life. I wish I had been in a better frame of mind for the last 1/2 year but with the big rebuild after loosing our grand space for the studio I guess that the depression should have been expected. The rebuild is almost done now and I have dug out of the hole I was in so things should be looking better. My friends have been great and I thank you all for the things that you have done for me. So here is to the new start and the beginning of fall. I will be doing great things and finding the time to go for a ride and watch the leaves change. I miss spending time out in the world so that is going to change. I am not a mushroom.

Getting ready

2006-08-25T00:18:00.000-04:00

Well my youngest daughter will start public school in a week and I just am having a hard time with the idea that she is 5 already. My life seems to be running in a high gear and I cant find the brakes. It has been a short summer and not much time off at that. I plan to take the motorcycle to NJ this weekend and maybe Ill even get a chance to replace some of the parts I have been wanting to get to. I wish that I could find a way to be happier in the life I have I am still struggling to make sense of the losses in the past years and I am looking for help in dealing with these feelings. I know that my friends out there have been with me and I want to thank you all for your support. I know that with the cooler weather I will find more time to walk and ride and that always lifts my view of the world and how I fit in. Good Night and sleep well!

folk fest

2006-08-13T09:45:00.000-04:00

well summer is almost over and I have alot to finish before school starts and the kids are out of the house or have homework. The studio is still not finished and I have had to cut back on working there to make money to pay the bills. I have alot of paying work right now and I am balancing about as many as I can keep on one plate. I hope that you all have had a good summer. Ill try to get back to the normal writing schedual as soon as the work will let me. I do miss writing and getting my thoughts out on paper? see you all soon

80 hour weeks

2006-06-23T11:17:00.000-04:00

Well the new studio is almost done and yesterday I got the console up and running. It is hard to believe I have been working on this since February and that I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I hope that I will still have other clients to work for when I am done with this. Im off on vacation soon I am looking forward to having a break and spending some time with my kids. I need some time off or I will just go nuts. I hope that you all have a good start to your summer and Ill try to up date more then once every 2 months

Wow it has been a long time

2006-04-23T16:22:00.000-04:00

I have been working the long days and nights to build a new Studio 4 so that my life can continue as I know it. We lost our lease on the up stairs of the building we used to own so now we will have only the basement for studio space. The construction and demolishing have been hell. We are going to be moving our neve 8048 to the basement all 14' and 2000#s of it. The move happens on Friday and Phil and I have a good bit to do before we are done. Im looking forward to the end of this so I can go back to spending time with my kids and working only one 40hr a WEEK JOB. I hope that you all have had a nice spring and Ill try to update this move after we get the console into the basement.

Anniversary

2006-02-28T17:44:00.000-05:00

Well tonight I will be married 18 years. It is hard to believe and I don't know if it is all for the good as we start our 19th year I am happy to say I have 2 great kids my folks are still alive and I seem to have enought work to make ends meet. I wish I could say more but I have been working 16 hour days for the past 4 weeks and am quite spent. More later

love and prayers
jeremy

Update

2006-02-18T12:23:00.000-05:00

Its been a long time and I have been feeling like I am not keeping up my end of the bargain. I have been very busy and this is the first moment I have been able to write. Where to begin, I was snowed in last week at the end of a business trip to Syracuse NY. I was up there to record a conference for AA. When I got back home I found out that one of my clients had moved the date for him to get rid of his old mixing board and install the new one from next week to this week. So I have been working till 2am each night to finish his wire so he will be able to keep to his recording schedule next week. We have also started to move the A room here at studio 4 from upstairs to the basement. This will be a 2 month project but we must be out of our old space by may 1st. Life is just moving way too fast. I hope to update this post with some pictured tonight or tomm. I also hope that all of my friends out there will forgive me for not being more reliable in regards to my posting habits. I miss reading all of your blogs as well. It was the way I relaxed and so I am wound like a spring right now. Love and prayers,

For what it is worth

2006-01-24T13:59:00.000-05:00

I am starting to feel that there is something wrong in the way we as a people deal with the rest of the world. A new intern at the studio where I have my shop bowed to me the other day. YES bowed, she is from Japan and felt I was due that respect. I also notices that she was very put off by foul language and some of the conversation in the studio. I couldn't help but feel sorry for her because outward expressions of admiration for a person in a supervisory position or being submissive in our society are not understood. They are seen as being weak, and it is so internal for her to be this way that I fear that she will not understand when I try to explain this. What bothers me more I think it that I am not more like her. I would like to be more able to control the situation and offend less. I don't think Im ready to bow politely as I leave the room but ....

Just a thought.

Dark side of the mall

2006-01-05T14:27:00.000-05:00

Well I guess that 47 is a point in life that you should know better but I still don't, So I was working overnights for the past 2 days taking the decor down at the Tysons Corners mall. I don't know what it is about that kind of work that I still like. I know that part of it is working with folks I have known for 20 years but the other part is the odd happenings that make it fun. Like standing atop a platform lift 25' up reaching out to pull a piece of rigging out of the ceiling it is not your home Christmas decor when a wreath weighs 200 lbs. I got home on wed. Evening and thought I would get a chance to get myself back on schedule for today but that was not to be. I found that it was much harder to go to sleep when I should as opposed to staying up past bedtime to work. It is now as I sit at my desk needing to work that my head seems to want to lay on the keyboard. I hope that everyone out there had a good newyear. On a sad note I wish to mark the passing of a blog I used to read often "words" by Sara sugurga(I think I got that right) is going off line and I will miss it and her wit.

More later when I am awake
love and prayers
Jeremy

Wow it has been a long time

2005-12-22T15:02:00.000-05:00

Well I wish I could say I had a good reason for being away for so long but I don't. Work has been just nuts and the Christmas rush for getting jobs done before the end of the year always makes for long days. I was at the Oyster creek nuclear power station for 2 days putting in a conference room system and for 3 days before that building the rack for the system. Ill be at the local med school after Christmas putting in a new lab system for them which has to be done before newyears. I cant say that I am sorry to see this year go. Much of the world as I knew it is gone many of my friends and family have died this year. As I reflect on their passing I am glad to know that they are in heaven and I will be with them again. Being Jewish we don't believe in hell really and so all go to heaven. I wish you all a safe and happy newyear and a wonderful Christmas or Hannuka. I will be holding all of my dear friends close in my heart. Thankyou all for being a part of my life.

with love and prayers
Jeremy

More snow

2005-12-09T22:46:00.000-05:00

It snowed overnight last night and we had about 4 " of very wet snow. My girls helped clear the cars and then I went off to work while they got to go sledding. If I sound a bit mad about this I am. I don't get snow days and I feel a bit cheated, Im going to get up early tomm and make a nice breakfast for the family then go out with the girls to see what I missed today. I hope that there will still be some good sledding on sat and that my girls are still excited about going. Be safe and have a good weekend.

love and prayers
Jeremy

Be careful what you wish for!

2005-12-05T14:08:00.000-05:00

Well it is Monday at about 2:00 and the weather report says we should get between 2 and 6 " overnight and into the morning. Im looking forward to taking the kids out sledding and to build a snowman. Im not looking forward to shoveling the drive and clearing the sidewalk after the plows go by.

time is just speeding by and in a few weeks Ill be 47. shoveling is no fun after you have had a heart attack. Youth is wasted on the young I wish someone had told me how much I was missing by not getting my life in gear when I was a bit younger.

Now I live for and by watching my girls. Im so glad that I can teach them to ski and spend time in the snow with them. Remember that the greatest gift you can give your kids is your time.

Im going to get home early so I can watch the snow fall with my family.

love and prayers
Jeremy

Results

2005-11-30T12:29:00.000-05:00

Well I have some sleep apnia but I guess it isn't too bad because they didn't come running to wake me up and stick a CPAP mask on my face I was glad to hear that and otherwise there was nothing about my sleep that was not right so on to the next step. Oh well. I have a lot of work this month (Dec). And that is going to keep the house payments up to date and the insurance paid. I cant seem to find that one little extra job that would give me a bit of breathing space though. On the family front all seems to be as it was Suzi is doing great in school and her teachers seem to love her. Hope is finally out of diapers and Talking much better these days. Her sentence structure is coming along and most people understand what she is saying.

I am looking forward to the winter. It seems to agree with me and the slower pace that comes with the cold might give me a chance to pick up my guitar again and learn some new songs and tunes. I miss spending time making music and might start a winter sing group to get together on the weekends and trade songs. I haven't gotten to see jess and Jonathan in a while and sure could use a good dose of Gordon bok music. I remember times when I spent as much time playing my guitar as I spent out working. I sure do miss having the time to make music.

I guess it is time to get back to work. I hope that you all have a good week or what is left of it. Remember that Christmas and Channuka are not only about the gifts.

Sleep study

2005-11-22T14:19:00.000-05:00

Well it is almost thanksgiving and as promised I am in a better mood. I have a show on Friday at the Merriam theater here in Philly and will be in NJ for thanksgiving. Before I go to NJ for thanksgiving I have a sleep study scheduled to see if I am sleeping ok. I sure hope so I cant afford to have much else wrong with me. Im looking forward to the weekend I have nothing on the books and a chance to go out and rake the leaves and work on the house. I cant believe that the year is almost over. The Christmas sing in a few weeks and a chance for me to take the whole family out and play music makes me happy, I cant wait to see the snow fall and get out skiing again. Im a winter and fall person when it starts to get hot I go inside where it is cold. I wish all of you a great thanksgiving and a safe weekend as well. Ill be back soon.

love and prayers

Jeremy

Sick and tired

2005-11-17T08:16:00.000-05:00

I came home from DC with a sore throat and minor temp, sad to say it is still hanging on. I had a good time in DC and was able to see some old friends as well as work with some folks I like to spend time with. As thanksgiving approaches I am aware of the folks around me who are in decline now. My mother and my wife's uncle are not doing so well and we just went thru a few other deaths and funerals. My wish as we get closer to thanksgiving and xmas is that we can enjoy the time with these family members and hold on to the memories of the ones who have gone so my children can get an appreciation for how much our families have given to us. I know that the time off in the next week will do a lot to make me feel better and I hope for all of you the chance to recharge and find the things that are important to you. Ill be back in a better mood in the next few days you'll see.

with love and prayers for a good thanksgiving
Jeremy

Deck the mall

2005-11-06T09:55:00.000-05:00

Well it is that time again, Early I know but it is time to put up xmas decor in the largest mall in the DC area. I leave today to get the new set of decorations up at tysons corners. I hope that I can get my part done in about 3 days but it may be 4. I will be working overnight for the next few days and trying to sleep during the day. I hope that you all have a good week. Ill post from down there if I get the chance but I will sign on for e-mail each morning before I go to bed. Wish me luck. At 46 years old I don't think Ill be doing this for many more years!

One damp weekend

2005-10-25T11:34:00.000-04:00

I was supposed to be doing a 2 day pumpkin fest but with all the rain we had I only had one day at the fest with the sound co this weekend. I feel like we skipped a season with all the rain and it being so warm and now it is just wet and cold. I don't know why but the last few weeks have seemed to just drag on and I just cant seem to get the energy to do much of anything I know that I need to get moving on a few projects or when the bills come in Ill have nothing to pay them with. On the bright side I have made a new contact with Sears and it seems that they like the way I can fix their in store systems and make the most of what they already have on site. I look forward to doing more work for them.

It is a week till the kids all go trick or treating and Hope is all excited to go with Suzi. I guess that Vick will talk them out and Ill be the one at our house giving out the candy. I really like the fact that we can still go door to door in our area. Many of my friends just take their kids to a local party in a school or church but I think that takes a bit of the fun out of the night and it would put a stop to us meeting the folks that live next door. I hope that you all get a chance to take your kids out or to go out yourself. Have a good week and stay dry if you can.

new pics

2005-10-12T11:37:00.000-04:00

Suzi and Hope

It's been too long

2005-10-10T12:16:00.000-04:00

Well I haven't had much to say and I still don't. I did want to check in and let you all know that I am still here. My work and temple schedule have been hectic with the Jewish holidays and jobs that needed to finish. This week I will miss another 2 days at work due to yom kippur and my daughter suzi will be out of school as well. Im working on getting a few jobs put out of the way this afternoon so I can take a bit of time with suzi as I go down to fort Delaware for the day on Friday. If my high speed access is working again Ill post pictures today of the show in DC and a new picture of suzi and hope. I wish that this post finds you all well, Sue have a quick recovery from your MI and Ill talk to you soon.

with love and prayers

On the road

2005-09-24T14:07:00.000-04:00

Well I just found out that Im going to be in DC for 3 days Ill be working with Blind Boys from Alabama and doing sound for a mall opening down there. I hope to see any of my friends from the DC area at the shows or the mall opening. I hope that you all are having a great weekend and if your in Texas I hope that you didn't get too wet. Ill be gone Wed. thru Friday but I hope to be able to check in via my lap top.

Jeremy

2005-09-21T11:38:00.000-04:00

my girls on the bike

This is the picture I like the best of my girls right now. suzi was 8 and hope 3 when this was taken. Hope loves to sit on the bike and Suzi just got her first ride a few weeks ago. Suzi is now 9 and hope is now 4 and 1/2. I cant seem to get my other computer to alow me to post pictures so untill I can transfer more of my album to the desk top computer this will have to do.

me at folk fest

2005-09-12T18:35:00.000-04:00

Thats me with the guitar, Kind of a nice place to pass the day in the oasis in camping.

School time

2005-09-12T14:51:00.000-04:00

Well the girls are back in school and in a few weeks I might be back on schedule with all the projects I have on the books. Im working on the idea that if I just keep on getting the kids to school and then have a chance to uncluttered my head Ill be able to get the work done faster. I have little choice but to try and get back on track or Ill never get out to walk or more important sleep without nightmares of the work coming and attacking me in my bed. I can see the large spools of wire holding me down and wire ties wrapping themselves about my hands and feet. I just cant let the work get me so down. Don't get me wrong I love what I do but it has been a long hard summer and I need a break. If I can get my laptop to sign on to the wireless tonight Ill post a pic or 2 from folk fest and summer vacation. Don't hold your breath.

Exhausted

2005-08-30T11:14:00.000-04:00

Well I had a great folk fest full of friends music both on stage and in song circles and a chance to remember why I love the music so much. I hope that I get the chance to take my kids there to camp in the next few years. Camping at the oasis with my fest family is a gift, I don't know why I have been given this gift but I will continue to cherish it. it rained on sat night and sun morning and afternoon but cleared for load out and on Monday it stayed dry till I got home. I do hope that every one else at the oasis got home safe and dry. Today Ill spend drying out the rest of my gear and putting most of it back where it belongs. As I close this short post to get a cat nap in before I go to pick up some misplaced rental equipment I want to just say thank you to all of my friends who have stayed with me thru the last year and a couple of months and made me see that I was important to them.

I LOVE YOU ALL