MARGARET’S off to Edinburgh to see Les and get her hair done.
I have breakfast then cast up some more prototypes of the commissioned pendant I’m working on and get two useable pieces.
Next job is to cut off the sprues and do dome rough sanding before they go in the ultrasonic cleaner to get rid of any delft clay. Once done, I mix some epoxy and pour the inlays.
While the inlay cures I start work on news release for the community hydro society with information on this year’s grants. Before I can knock it up I need to contact all the award recipients for a quote and also set up a photo. This could be like herding cats…
Another news release to be done – my own this time – for my upcoming appearance at the Great British R&B Festival in Colne.
Back on the pendants I start the laborious sanding and polishing – this time, tho, I get the result I want 🙂
It’s after 8pm when Margaret gets back from Edinburgh – she’s picked up some shopping which we put away then dinner….
I have an online guitar student after breakfast then head back to the office to finish off my prototype custom creations. A lot of sanding and polishing to be done.
Margaret takes Freya swimming and isn’t back ’til after lunchtime.
In the studio I welcome a new in-person guitar student then finish off the protype pendants/pins and get the smoker fired up for some pork belly slices that have been sitting in the freezer for too long.
The pin is good – but I’m not happy with the finish on the pendant. I send off a pic of the pin to see if the customer likes the way it’s working out. he does, so I’ll start work on a better pendant tomorrow.
Will comes to pick up Freya then I go for a walk up the lochside.
I’ve decided to make tacos with the smoked pork, It’s nearly done when I get home – while it’s I. it’s final hour I make some pickled red onion, defrost some homemade salsa and knock up a batch of tortilla dough.
The pork works really well – the last belly pork slices we had were’t great hence my idea to try them low and slow on the smoker.
We’re mid-way through eating when Betty drops by – we finish our grub and enjoy a chat for a while…
Blast from the past – I unearth this old video from 1999 to spin into my livestream…
A BUSY day with online guitar lessons. After the first one I start to think about content for this evening’s Wildcats’ live-stream on Facebook.
I’ve had a request for a metal/enamel pendant that I wanna prototype…it’s a difficult design but I think I might be able to make it work. I manage to get a master made up before lunch and will try a cast later on.
Another guitar session then back to the prototype stuff. My third guitar session of the day has been cancelled a pretty late notice…starting to think I should charge full fee if less than 24 hours notice…
Will drops Frey off – we’re babysitting tonight and tomorrow – and we have a blether an a coffee before I go back to the studio for my Wildcats’ Facebook live-stream…
I get some leather charms finished in time for today’s pop-up…
I’M up before everyone to get a bunch of wee leather rucksack/bag charms/hangers/whatever you call them dyed…I wanna have ’em ready for today’s West Highland Way Gifts’ pop-up in Balmaha car park.
After breakfast burritos all round Margaret and I head to the car park and leave Mikey cutting a new sill for our living room window.
We spend a pleasant couple of hours chatting to passers-by and sell a few odds and sods…not much, but better than yesterday’s bogey!
Mikey has the sill finished, comes to say cheerio and heads off – we give it another wee while and then pack up before the rain comes.
Betty’s coming for pizza later so I ball up he pizza dough I made yesterday and get some prep done before hitting the studio for a wee while.
It’s dank, grey and pouring with rain so I decide it’s better for me to make the pizzas outside and then bring them indoors. Rather than eating them one by one I put the oven on low and we’re able to eat together…which is the whole point!
I sent the projector up in the living room and we watch our pal Bill’s livestream form Florida…he’s my special guest at the upcoming garden concert on 17 August.
I’m trying to sell the old PA system that’s surplus to requirements but no bites yet so I decide to do a West Highland Way Gifts’ pop up in the car park at Balmaha.
We gather up some merch, table, gazebo, banner stand and stuff and head to the car park.
We set up for a coupla hours but despite it being busy and nice weather we sell sweet fuck all. It’s nice to be outside and chat to folks tho’.
Back home I make up some souvenir tags and hangers then Mikey arrives for the night…
MAJOR job after breakfast – the studio door wouldn’t lock last night so an attempt to fix it has become priority. And, of course, it happens when there’s a personal financial crisis kicking off…so the dilemma is fix the door or scramble about desperately to try bring in some cash. Fast.
I have some ideas about the door so I decide to tackle it first.
Of course I know nothing about doors and locks but a few online searches and a lot of screwing/unscrewing I not only manage to fix it, but learn quite a lot about locks too…albeit that it takes me all morning.
After lunch I get the bit between my teeth and spend the afternoon finishing the prototype replacement website for the local community hydro scheme. Kind ironic that when the cards are not he table financially I end up spending my time on a. voluntary (ie: unpaid!) project.
When I finish it’s wet and kinda dreich outside and I’m knackered so I have half an hour’s nap then hit the office and work on one ideas for a more efficient display of West Highland Way Gifts‘ stuff for when we do our pop up stalls….
A LITTLE more work on the community hydro website then I select, download and install my free plugin for the Quad Cortex. Archetype: Plini X.
The plugin needs authorised via my iLok account and seems to be taking a while so I get busy in the office finishing off the first batch of my new ultra-lightweight hand-painted wooden ‘feather’ earrings.
Once they’re done I pass them on to Margaret to put the hooks on. I’m too impatient for fiddly wee jobs like that…and Margaret’s good at it.
I have the first of today’s two guitar students arrives mid-afternoon. Electric blues in the studio. He’;s getting good!
The Plini plugin has been activated and I immediately discover a great octave effect that sees me twiddling around for good couple hours until my other guitar student rocks up. Acoustic blues this time and we sit in the house for the session.
When I finish the session Margaret goes along to watch Andy Murray’s Olympic doubles match at Betty’s.
I get some chciojken breasts in the sous vide (nothing fancy, just the Instant Pot function!) then go back tothe studio and this time try out one of the delays that comes with the Plini plugin. It’s pretty cool and an improvement over the slapback I’d been using on my Telecaster/rockabilly patch.
I make a peppercorn sauce and we enjoy the sous vide chicken with broccoli and mash…
AFTER clearing the decks of the routine stuff I take a break to go out for a paddle.
Then, a busy afternoon – a load of prototype wooden ‘feather’ earrings to be coloured and finished for West Highland Way Gifts.
In the studio I do a little work on the community hydro website while the latest software updates for the Quad Cortex (guitar gear!) download – Neural DSP has just launched plug-in compatibility after along period of anticipation amongst Cortex users.
It’s a major update and needs the companion computer control software updated too.
Suddenly it’s time to press the tofu for tonight’s dinner – lemongrass, lime and basil tofu….
I SPEND some time in the studio then go to the village with Margaret – she has some stuff to drop off and I take a walk back. It’s a nice morning.
When I get back the postie’s been and dropped off the cable for my guitar radio pack. It gave up the ghost mid-set at the Kymi Kantri festival in Finland – no fault of the cable….my own stupid fault.
When I upgraded my wireless system form Line6 to Shure, the belt pack transmitter had a different ‘orientation’ form the old with the cable socket and antenna on the top rather than the bottom. That meant my trusty cable was over-stretched and kinked which eventually led to the failure.
The cable was custom made (and gifted to me) by my pal Dave at the Music Cable Company whose cables are pretty bombproof…unless abused by my ignorance! I mentioned to him and he asked me to send it back to see where it had failed and remedial action.
Meantime, idiot Dave here examined the transmitter pack and realised the spring clip could be removed and re-oriented so it could be ‘the right way up’ after all! The repaired cable works a treat and has some additional ‘Dave proof’ measures!
I haven’t cleaned out the gutters oil the front and back of the studio building for a year or two and it’s badly needing done. It’s dry and there’s enough of a breeze to keep the flying biting things at bay so I grab a set of ladders and do the necessary.
There’s two ‘trees’ growing midway up the roof that I can’t reach form the outside but a venture out one of the skylight allows me close enough to grab and remove them.
A courier drops of the non-slip decking inserts I ordered…but Margaret isn’t best pleased..they’re silver rather than the grey she expected so we have a bit of a disagreement. Mmm…we’ll work out a resolution!
There’s a couple of orders for the ‘buy-one-get-one-free-to-give-to-a-friend’ CD offer. I get them packed, labelled and down the postbox.
Grand feature in the latest issue of Finland’s Blues News magazine – check it out in my press cuttings section
UP early for the usual Monday morning sourdough baking. While the bread’s cooling I get on nwioth some emails and social media stuff.
After breakfast I hit the studio for the first of two online guitar lessons. It’s closely followed by the second, re-scheduled from its usual afternoon slot as I’ve a hospital appointment in Glasgow early afternoon.
We drive into Glasgow and get to the former sick kids’ hospital a good half hour early…I’m seen pretty quick by consultant Umberto Fazzi who is friendly, good-natured and very thorough. He checks through my scans, x-rays and asks a load of questions and examines both my shoulder and ‘suspected tumour’ on my left arm.
He doesn’t think the two are connected and makes two referrals – one for physio for my shoulder…and one for my arm which he reckons is a peripheral nerve sheath tumour. Bidding us farewell he – a little sarcastically – adds ‘don’t hold your breath for these appointments’. I optimistically interpret the lack of urgency as ‘no need to worry’. To be honest, I’m not particularly worried anyway – what happens, happens…nae point in stressing over it.
Next stop Costco for a snack and some shopping followed by the supermarket then home.
Amongst the mail waiting when we get home is the latest issue of FinIand’s Blues News magazine with a nice feature on yours truly. You can see it in the press cuttings section of my website here (although it’s all in Finish!). I get some work done then nip out for a quick walk before my livestream.
When I get back the computer in the studio is playing funny buggers and gets caught in an endless reboot cycle so I end up doing the livestream using my phone…
