AN earlier than usual guitar student at the house then I get some work done.
Lots of admin-y kinda shit to catch up on…then we head into Glasgow. I’ve a meeting with musician pals Fraser Speirs and Dave Pringle and Margaret’s got some stuff to post and some makeup to take back tot he shop for a refund.
We’re back home just in time for my 4pm guitar student. We work On a Nirvana song – Smells lIke Teen Spirit – then once we’re done I get on with some prep work on remote mixer control for the upcoming garden show.
The X-Air app for controlling the stage box-style digital mixer has been flaky the last few times we used it and I can’t be arsed with the headache – I consider getting a small hardware mixer but eventually realise that spending money on something sonically inferior to that we already have is a bit nuts. nbBetter if I can fin either a more reliable remote…or a hard-wired way to control the mix.
Eventually I discover Mixing Station – a £5 app that’ll work on both iPhone and iPad and can be hard wired via a lightning to ethernet adaptor if push comes to shove. Let’s see if it’s a viable fix….
New beams and roof boards on…too wet to get the felt down tho’…
AFTER my first Zoom guitar lesson of the day I head back to the house and get on with the smoker shelter roof.
It’s grey, wet and windy but I need to get the final two roof boards cut to size and nailed down.
That in itself isn’t too onerous, but trying to get some cover on the bare boards is a pain as there’s not much room to spare. Get there eventually and then it’s time for lunch.
Just as we sit down to eat we get a wood delivery. I guide the driver to dump the bag as close to the woodshed door as possible.
We get the wood stacked just in time for my afternoon guitar student arriving. once we’re done it’s way too dark to do anything outside. I can’t do any more work ont he roof as it needs to be dry when I get the felt down/
There’s no sign of decent weather for the foreseeable, so I get own Amazon and order a big tarp so we can keep everything reasonably watertight until the time is right.
We’re having garden concert on Saturday 30 December (4-6pm) and I suspect we’ll still have a temporary cover!
FREYA has us awake around 7am…Aaron was up in the middle of the night and came through to us for a wee while before Margaret got him back to his own bed.
I manage a little work before we get the kids ready to head for the Santa train at Bo’ness. Catriona and Will are meeting us there.
En route we stop at James’ Coffee Bar – an airstream with a purpose built surround – for some breakfast. I go in to get a roll and sausage for Margaret, cake and drinks for the kids, a ‘posh porker’ bagel for myself and coffee. By coincidence Judy Murray’s in too!
We arrive at Bo’ness and Kinneil railway in plenty time to take the kids on a the miniature train and get them something in the cafe before Catriona and Will arrive then we jump on the Santa train. The kids love it all.
After a stop back in Doune to pick up our car we make for home and I get a bunch of work done….
A surprise to see Judy Murray when I stop into James’ coffee bar to get some breakfast.
CRAP weather but I need to get at least some work done on the smoker shelter roof.
Now the old roof is off, I need to do a fair bit of measuring and working out as there some structural additions before I can start putting on the roof boards.
I’m in and out the house with bits of paper and a tape measure ’til I have it all worked out.
I get the first board on before the rain gets too much and I retire to the office. There’s one final ‘free plus postage’ badge order that attracted another few hundred quid’s-worth of merch – most of which I have had to make especially to fulfil the order.
Once everything’s finished and put together to my satisfaction I pack it all up and print the postage and other documents. It’s going overseas and there’s a lot of individual weighing and identification of customs codes.
We wander along to Betty’s for dinner and have a lovely evening. Back home I get some stuff ready for tomorrow morning’s Santa paddle at Linlithgow …although tthe wind forecast isn’t looking good. I’ll make a judgement call in the morning.
AN EARLY start to get to Doune for Freya’s primary 1 nativity play.
We find a parking spot and arrive in good time. The short play is fantastic and all the kids do great…the production and organisation is really good too thanks to the teachers efforts and attention ion to detail.
Next stop the post office then into Stirling to pick up an angle grinder. Although he cordless Dremel is going through the nails as I remove the old roof form the smoker shelter it’s a bit slow and laborious and the cut off wheels need replaced every couple of cuts.
Back home I get some admin and stuff done then tackle the rest off the roof. The angle grinder makes short work and the roof is off in a decent time. Thirty quid well spent. The rain’s on how tho’, so work is if put on hold and I get some merch made up in the office.
MY guitar student arrives first thing..and just as she rolls up a delivery of materials for the new smoker shelter roof arrives. Typical!
Once the lesson is done I get busy with some orders for merch orders that have come in via the ‘free plus postage’ badge offer. I also need to get a bunch of personalised magnetic bookmarks finished that have been ordered via West Highland Way Gifts.
It’s a nice day and I postpone my planned paddle so I can get some work done trying to remove the old roof from the smoker shelter. Harder than I anticipated. The nails ain’t coming out! I resort to a Dremel and metal cut off discs but go through them at a rate of knots…then my battery runs out.
I decide to go for a paddle while it’s charging and do a couple of livestreams form the loch and film some footage that I might be able to edit into a wee video for (Looks like you’re) Walkin’ on Water.
Back home I have a quick shower and (a late) lunch then get back onto the shelter roof. I don’t get much done before dark and decide that an angle grinder might be quicker and easier…I can pick one up for about thirty quid tomorrow morning after we’ve been to see Freya in her primary one nativity play.
After dinner I print cChristmas card lists and labels and we manage to get the overseas cards done…probably too late for Christmas but hey, ho…the thought’s there!
UP early to get sourdough in the oven. it’s not windy, but it’s dark, cold and wet out there and I’m still feeling a. it under the weather so I give going for an early morning. paddle a miss this week.
Margaret’s off to meet some pals for lunch and I hit the studio for my first Zoom guitar student.
The ‘free plus postage’ badge offer has worked well and there’s a load of orders…most of which include other merch items. Interesting how this always seems to work. Much better than last week’s free CD with vinyl offer.
I have some other merch to make up in the office then start working out what materials I need to replace the roof on the smoker/pizza oven/bar shelter. This has become urgent.
It’s not gonna be cheap either, but I bite the bullet and order the stuff I need.
After lunch I work on the merch orders, do some work on a web plan for a musician pal then put the Christmas lights up along the front of the house. When I plug ’em in tho’….nada. The wires have come adrift from the wee USB plug. I put it aside in the hope that I can maybe solder it back together when I have time. Not today.
After. alit prep for tonight’s Wildcats’ livestream on Facebook I haver a good session with another Zoom student the go into the livestream which goes pretty smoothly.
After dinner I pack more merch orders and print postage labels so we can drop ’em at the post office in Glasgow tomorrow morning.
UP early and off to meet Martyn for a walk. We take wee Orla but she cries non-stop so Louise comes to take her home.
A couple of hours and about 9k later we get back and I head home.
The lurgy seems to have resurfaced and as well as being soaked through, I’m subbed. I fall asleep for two hours then heat up an extra pizza.I made last night for a late lunch. Air fryer is perfect for reheating pizza!
After working on a web proposal/plan for a music pal I start prepping a big lump of pork shoulder. I reserve some for carnitas then cut up the rest separating it into lean cubes for a prior, butter bean and chorizo casserole and the fattier bits to be used to make Andouille sausage.
The casserole takes a good few hours ands is ready just in time for us watching our pal Billy’s monthly livestream from Florida. There’s enough left over for another couple of meals 🙂
New package design for my signature strings from Newtone Strings…
UP EARLY, showered and car packed to take some of my West Highland Way Gifts‘ stuff – and a batch of newly baked brownies – along to Anna’s a couple of villages away. She’s having an open house/coffee and cake day with her Tropic stuff for sale and invited me to join her with my stuff 🙂
We have a grand few hours chatting with each other and a small but steady stream of visitors..and we both sell some our stuff. Job done.
I’m home soon after 4pm. Catriona and the kids are still here…they’ve been icing Christmas cakes, been to feed the ducks and dropped in to see Betty. We hang out for a while and Margaret gives the kids their tea before they head off.
I get a little work done then fire up the Ooni for pizza…we watch a little telly then head to bed….
