MARGARET has a meeting in the village first thing…and I have a guitar student.
I’d promised Dawn I’d change her guitar strings so we chat while I do that before her lesson.
Then it’s into the studio for a session with one of my Zoom students. They second of three guitar students today. I don’t normally do lessons/sessions on a Friday but our last minute mid-week trip to Wales meant I had to do some shuffling.
After lunch I deal with some personal matters before my 3pm guitar student rocks up.
I’d hoped to get out for a walk (way to windy for a paddle or even a bike ride) but instead opt to create some video content to promote the the upcoming Finland shows. I also send out a targeted email to folks in Finland saying I’ll be there next week.
Back in the house I get some Italian sausage sugo on the go for tonight’s pasta then shirt out some issues with Margaret’s laptop…
AFTER coffee and toast at Dai and Liza’s we hit the road.
Margaret drives the first half of the journey and get all the traffic jams and roadworks out the way then I take over ’til we hit Glasgow where we stop at Costco and Tesco for supplies.
It’s well after 9pm when we get home, unload the shopping, have a quick dinner and chill.
WE HAVE coffee and croissants at Dai and Liza’s then make our way to the crematorium for Margaret’s Uncle Cliff’s funeral.
The sun’s out and it’s roasting hot. It’s cool in the crematorium and a short but very fitting tribute to Uncle Cliff.
Next stop is the golf club where there’s drinks and a buffet. I have to disappear for an hour for a Zoom meeting – the only thing in the diary I hadn’t been able to shift.
We take Auntie Glo home and sit and chat with her for a few hours then head back to Dai and Liza’s for dinner and chat. Nice to see everyone despite the sad circumstances.
I MANAGE to get the online chat with my web hosting folks going.
The problem was (partly) popup blockers etc on all our machines and phones.
Sorting that didn’t seem to help – mainly because it was either nighttime or weekend and although not indicated anywhere, the online chat support is only available during business hours.
Anyway, I get on the chat and we finally figure out the issue with the one domain that wasn’t playing ball with my email.
Then it’s time to go into town to meet a bunch of rellies. Cousin Fred has arranged afternoon tea for Ginny who’s over from New York with her niece Caroline and invited us to join.
Great to see everyone then we hit the road to South Wales – Margaret’s uncle Cliff died recently and the funeral is tomorrow morning.
We share the drive and get to Dai and Liza’s just before 11pm….
AFTER a Zoom guitar sessions with my regular Monday morning student I get busy trying to sort the email nightmare.
I manage to get it all sorted apart from one domain – which typically happens to be the one running may main email address!
There’s a whole load of pension paperwork to be sorted – seems I have to make some decisions about various wee pension pockets I have kicking about. Sadly none amount to much, but every mikkle makes a muckle as they say, and I’m not gonna miss out on a future monthly payment even isn’t very much.
I’m on the phone trying to work it all out right up until lunch…then other Zoom student.
Some more unsuccessful email/server messing until my 4pm guitar student arrives with her mum…then I hit the studio and work out what I’m gonna do on this evening’s Wildcats’ livestream on Facebook. I’m gonna change the format for a few weeks and focus on a specific instrument each week…tonight, the ResoLectric Jnr.
There’s time for a quick walk up the lochside but I get accosted by ‘an acquaintance’ on the way back and end up being really pushed for time to get ready for the livestream. It all kind works out tho’… 😉
A top up order of trekking flasks for In2 The WIld
A MESSAGE from one of my ongoing West Highland Way Gifts’ customers In2 The WIld is enquiring about availability of some more trekking flasks…I get them done and put ’em aside for collection.
There’s also some orders in for the exclusive limited edition Wildcats’ pins. I’m making them to order so start casting them before Ruth – AKA ‘the mistress of pain’ – arrives to give my back and shoulders a good seeing too.
After lunch I sort the pizza dough for tonight then finish off the Wildcats’ pins.
Then I need a nap. I’m over the lurgy but still a bit tired, so no harm in having some chill time.
All our email address are gubbed. I tried resetting/changing passwords and server stuff earlier but it didn’t work. I spend some time trying to sort things out until it’s time to fire up the pizza oven….
I’M feeling a lot better today – but Margaret’s feeling awful and has to cancel her meetings for the day. I reckon she’s a day behind me in ‘the lurgy’.
I get to the school in Balloch in good time for my morning session with the kids. One has brought in her electric guitar that isn’t working. I open up the jack socket and see a wire astray…my colleague – another Dave – has a soldering iron and fixes it in a jiffy 🙂
There’s some shopping to pick up on the way home then lunch.
In the kitchen I make pizza dough with the poolish mixed earlier int he week and make a batch of blue cheese burgers. The pizza dough won’t be ready ’til tomorrow, so I’ll grill some burgers tonight 🙂
I mess with some guitar ‘bits’ in the studio then find all our email addresses are down. There’s been some server migration recently and I think some DNS records and/or passwords have been fucked up. Tomorrow.
Margaret’s feeling a little better and enjoys her burger then we chill for a while and have an early night.
MY REGULAR Wednesday morning guitar student arrives bang on time and we have a good session. She’s recommended me to someone else who, by co-incidence, is coming for their first session this afternoon.
Margaret drives me to the village for a haircut then I nip into the coffee shop next door and bump into Anna and Louise and enjoy a coffee and blether.
It’s a good hour-and-a-bit walk home and time for lunch.
The new guitar student arrives – he’s keen to get into electric blues so we get things rolling and arrange a follow up session for next week.
The sun’s shining and there’s enough of a breeze to keep the midges at bay which means I can pot up some more stuff that’s been waiting for a few days. The weedkiller’s gonna have to wait til the wind dies down tho’.
In the house I make some poolish for a batch of pizza dough then hit the studio to do a little work on the mix for Diana. The computer’s playing funny buggers tho’, so I run some updates and stuff which ends us using all the time…back to the mix tomorrow!
With the local church closing we hope to be able to but the building for community use…
ONCE I’ve got the day’s admin stuff out the way we nip over to the school in Balloch for a family BBQ event with the kids, parents and staff.
We spend an hour or so chatting then go and pick up some shopping, also stopping at a garden centre on the way home to get some tomato plant food and other odds and sods for the garden.
Back home I manage to get out for a paddle for an hour or so before my afternoon guitar student arrives.
In the evening there’s an update meeting at the local church. It’s closing soon and there’s a desire for the community to get hold of the building for community use….
