WE’RE still in bed drinking coffee and dealing with emails when the doorbell goes…it’s my guitar student, Dawn.
Normally she’s not here ’til 10am, but she did ask to come early when we were arranging this week’s lesson. Jeez, it’s even in the diary! I get sorted, put lint he tea and coffee and a few minutes later we’re in business.
After the session I continue Betty’s batch of custom mugs and sort out the fans and venting in the office to accommodate the new machine.
Once the mugs are finished I deliver them and get back home for lunch.
In the studio I prepare a 3D file in the hope I can get some wee sleeves to reduce the bolt holes in the Acoustasonic to take the slimmer carbon fibre neck bolts 3D printed. I upload the file to a 3D printing service but get an error saying the walls are too thin…the sleeves are just under .4mm and the thinnest walls the recommend printing are .5mm. I email for help.
Suddenly it’s time to head into Glasgow. We have some stuff top drop off then a Christmas social/networking event at the Scottish Music Centre.
I’ve booked a table at Celino’s in Partick for dinner. We’re a little early so enjoy a drink in the Lismore across the road before enjoying a lovely meal courtesy, in no small part, of some vouchers my cousin Fred gave me for my birthday back in August.
UP AT the crack of dawn to get into Glasgow for an appointment at the eye hospital.
All’s good, although the consultant recommends I get a cataract op on my right eye. I’d been to the optician a few weeks ago thinking I needed a prescription for long distance sight but as it turns out it’s cataract.
Next stop Costco, then the supemarket and home.
A load of wood was delivered earlier in the week so we stack it in the woodshed then I start prepping some Italian sausage sugo for dinner – Betty’s coming round later.
There’s a big order of custom mugs to be started. I get them going in the office and start sorting the venting and extractor system so I can add in the new machine.
I go and pick up Betty and we have a grand evening – first time she’s been for dinner since breaking her hip…
STRAIGHT into the studio for a run of online guitar sessions with some of myself students.
As well as sessions diaries for this morning I have some re-arranged to make way for yesterday’s physio appointment.
I go to the village hall with Margaret to take down some lights from Sunday’s event and enjoy a walk home in the crisp, frosty sunshine.
After lunch I get a message from Fiona to see if I want to go a walk up the hill with her and Nova. It’s still nice outside so I along and we have a good blether. Back home, Fiona stops for a coffee and chat with Margaret and I get on with some merch orders…
AN EARLY alarm to get the sourdough in the oven – then a shower and over to the studio to finish sorting the photos from yesterday’s Christmas lights switch-on and craft market.
I get the photos sorted before I have to leave for a physio appointment in Dumbarton. My shoulder symptoms leave the physio scratching his chin and reinforce my thoughts that it’s all to do with the nerve tumour on my upper left arm. Nevertheless, I get some exercises and a return appointment in January.
After some shopping I get him for lunch then into the guitar for a Zoom guitar session with one of my online students.
I do some work on thermal mugs for my Wildcats’ Facebook group members so I can show them in tonight’s livestream.
Next, a walk up the lochside then home to do some prep for the livestream….
I MAKE breakfast burritos and we have a long breakfast then chat and drink coffee until Tom and Helen head off around 2pm.
There’s some stuff to get done in the office then I bring various tubs and boxes of West Highland Way Gifts’ stuff into the house to sort out and price for tomorrow’s Christmas craft market at the lights switch on.
I also manage to finish off a brass plaque I’ve made with an embossed nativity scene.
We take a walk along to Betty’s and have an aperitif with her and Liz then back home for dinner and. relaxing rest of the night.
AFTER breakfast Margaret goes off to the village hall to sort some Christmas decorations in advance of Sunday’s light switch on and Christmas craft market. Alister and I go for a short walk.
Alister drops me off at the village hall and heads back up to Aberdeen and I help out with some stuff at the hall before we go to the local pub to be part of a crowd in some TV filming for New Year.
Our pals Tom and Helen are staying over tonight and – along with our neighbours Jess and Drake and another pal Joel –are gonna be part of our team (Wildcats!) at the local quiz tonight.
Have a grand night at the hall and we win the quiz! When we get home Jess and Drake join us for some snacks and a few drinks and we finish off the evening ion grand style.
ELAINE’S full of the lurgy so not coming to the studio this morning for our co-writing session.
I make use of the time to record a banjo song and mess around with the mix/production then go back to the house to do a little fact-finding on what we REALLY have to comply with to stay within the conditions of the Home Energy Scotland (HES)/Energy Savings Trust grant and loan. I’m not convinced we’re getting the choice/options from the heat pump installers.
I call HES and get the lowdown from a very helpful operator. However, she wants to double-check the facts so someone will call back asap.
My pal Alister’s coming to stay tonight. I do some more work in the studio until he arrives then we have a grand evening catching tip…
THE guys from the woodburner supplier arrive with the new glass hearth and get busy fitting the new woodburner and flue.
By good fortune the guy buying our old burner arrives to collect and the guys are not only able to help lift it into his van, but also chat about fitting and stuff.
They’re done by lunchtime and we’re delighted – amazing job 🙂
Some more minor tweaking on the Black Bull website then I do some work on a poster template for the venue’s live events.
I come up with two ideas – one stylised based on a guitar headstock and another cleaner, simpler version. I share both templates with the Black Bull folks. They like the stylised one…I prefer the cleaner, simpler one!
My pal Elaine is coming tomorrow so in the studio I run through some ideas for the co-write we’ve been working on.
Then sort the tangle of cables in the control room and set up a couple off mics ready for the morning and test my setup by recording one of my banjo songs.
Stainless steel engraving with the new machine seems to work pretty good…aside from my grubby fingerprints!
IN THE office I do a little more tidying – although until I can get rid of some the stuff that’s to get thrown out it’s like one of these puzzles with the wee square tiles and one empty space so you can shuffle the numbered tiles around to get them in the right order.
At the same time I do some more material tests on the new machine and, to avoid waste, make a dog tag for Nova on a stainless steel round. Works pretty good 🙂
Back in the house the app to control the heat source air pump is coming up with a blank ‘no connection’ screen. Mmm…I do. bit of research and can’t see any reason/problem. I decide to leave it for a few hours and see if it sorts itself out.
I should be clearing/tidying the studio but I need to finish off the Black Bull website. It’s not difficult, but it is time-consuming as the old website was hosted and built on Wix which makes out awkward to download the media files etc used for the old site.
The afternoon is constantly interrupted by phone calls but I eventually get things finished apart form a few wee things that I’m awaiting clarification on.
The air pump app is still down, Margaret calls the installers – Greener Energy Group, who co-incidentally had been on the phone to me earlier to ask when we’ll pay the balance now install is complete (it’s not!). The girl tells us to callthe air pump supplier – Grant’s – technical support.
I call and wait in a queue for half an hour to be told it’s likely a wiring fault and not they won;t speak to me about it – they need the installer to call from the site! Margaret call Greener Energy back. It’s around 4pm and all the operators ‘are busy right now’ so she leaves a message…
With so much rubbish in the office and our bins full I go online and manage to book a 7.30pm slot (the last one available) at the Balfron dump. I can’t get my head round the necessity to book – or why they’re so strict about who can use which dump.
I brave the pouring rain and full the car before my 6pm guitar student arrives.
UP EARLY to get my weekly sourdough in the oven. While it cooks – and cools – I drink coffee in bed and deal with emails, socials and stuff.
After breakfast I have two online guitar students. In between I put out a reminder that there’s no Wildcats’ livestream this evening.
I do a few more material tests using the new machine in the office and things look promising.
After lunch I spend some time on the initial development phase of the Black Bull website then go for a quick walk before my late afternoon guitar student arrives.
Margaret’s away to get some wood trim for the space the new stove is going in.She’s still got one stone veneer tile to cut but doesn’t want to burn out my wee re-chargeable Dremel. I have another mains powered Dremel that is stuck one high speed – and even at it’s slowest speed was still to aggressive for the jobs I needed it for – and the collet lock doesn’t engage so it’s pretty much useless. I dig it out a box, take it to bits and manage to fix the collet lock/release button.
When Margaret comes back we try it on the tile and bingo. Hot knife through butter 🙂
We go to pick up Betty and go along to the village hall AGM then back home for dinner.
