I'm sitting on my back porch strumming on the latest addition to my family and watching the McNeese tailgaters scurrying around to cover their stuff before it rains.

I'm about to head off to Wal-Mart to buy a new toilet seat. Sorry for gloating about it.

Be sure and get one that's in tune.

I'm off to a jam in a little while. Then tonight, someone wants me to welcome folks into a potluck with some accordion music. I tried to warn them, both of my ability, and it being an acquired taste, but....

Maybe they don't have enough food and want to spoil people's appetites.

Raking leaves.... I plan on playing for an hour or so later on.

I am climbing up on the roof to get the leaves out of the gutters.

But tonite...I will do some pick'en and grin'en...or sqeez'en and grin'en as the case may be.

Nice assortment, looks like you're ready for anything musical.

Enjoy

Cutting 150 blanks for signs..
hauled some firewood
Now working on some keyboards for 2 row Hohners..

Hey, I'm close to that, I working on new accordion keyboards, and taking breaks on my old remodeled Hohner h114.

I've never been so excited to build anything as I've been about an accordion.

True, nothing like messing about repairing or building instruments

When I am done with this project I am going to do some 114 keyboards..

HOW did you mod your 114 ?

I didnt get too carried away. I threw away that grill and puttied the flappers to smooth them then retaped them with some red prism covering, and redid the valve leathers and felt. Then I retaped the bellows black, and repainted the accordion black. Put some stencils on it. Changed out the straps. Fixed a bunch of air leaks. Got it air tight enough that the nails holding the bellows on were pushing out when playing, so I replaced them with screws. Then re tuned the reeds dry. Much better now. I had intended to build a new bass box and keyboard, but decided to leave it and save the time for new accordions. The hohner was a good primer.

How are you rebuilding the keyboards? Your own style?

Forgot to mention that today I wasnt hauling firewood, but was splitting some. It's about beer time.

Just got home from the jam at Marc Savoy,s. Good players this morning.

Refinishing an old Singer wrought iron sewing machine frame for a table project. Hmmm could a tit fer be born of it? No, I guess not!

David, Other than accordeons, what other instruments appear there??

The times I went, there were plenty of fiddles and guitars, the one or two tit fers, and maybe a base. Marc often plays piano. I've heard a Geogia banjo makes appearances occasionally, hein Bruce?

Heading to Syracuse to play a benefit for a Katrina recovery group assisting residents of St. Bernard Parish (link #1).

Just thinking about my next posting!!!!

Hey, can't you take a joke.........

Lighten uy, will ya!!!!!.

C.

Considering your age and atrophied mind, you are excused.

My guess is you are walking your studly dog,

And trying to remember what else you were supposed to do today

Merci very much Russ. St. Bernard was my pre Katrina address. Now living else where.

Brian is right. A bunch of guitars and fiddles, marc played a little piano, two steel guitar players, and a couple of harmonica's.

There is one guy that is usually there, and any other place that there is live music. He almost always gets called up to sing, he has a very high voice like Adam Hebert and usually plays the harmonica, but also plays the fiddle and accordion. Cant remember his name but he is a Fontenot. He huffs and puffs harder than anyone I've ever seen on the harmonica, but man he's good. He told me he learned the harmonica first, and when he first started playing the accordion he would get out of breath huffin and puffin while squeezin, kinda like foot tappin I guess.

that guy with the voice, is that coz fontenot?
kind of a big guy?
got to be mr coz..

wle.

Yup, that's him. For some reason those 3 letters just dont stick in my mind. I see him every I go that there is live music.

Electrified "steel guitar" no peadls ?

John,

I learned about the total destruction of St. Bernard at the benefit last night. Link #1 is a short youtube clip that lays out the bare facts. The benefit in Syracuse was packed (300 +), and some local businesses donated $1000 to $2000 apiece. Fifteen high school students came up, and told their stories with a slide show and then sang some powerful "hang in there" songs. They all lost all their worldly goods, but they've come through it with a perspective on what really matters in this life. They were an inspiration.

St. Bernard parish had many elderly people and they seem to be the ones having more problems, especially those without close families. However, the parish will come back but with a much smaller population. What many people don't know about or realize is the amount of davastation that remains. This is one of the reasons why we have setteled in the mountains of North Georgia where my wife can get clean air which helps with her lung problems.

Again; thank you and all who helped. May God bless you all.