I will taking another break from blogging in December . . .

Well . . . I just got the word.  I'm getting not one, but two new knees for Christmas.  

It's time.  The latest x-rays confirmed the right knee is now as bad as the left knee.  Too many years of dealing with old sports injuries, arthritis, and just plain being too tall and too big.  Bone on bone.  The pain is getting worse.  I can't run, and my knees affect my sleep.  I've lost my balance a few times. Too many people, who watch me walk, have started asking me if I am OK or if they can help me to a chair.  I've began using a cane a few weeks ago.  So far, every place I have left it has called me to let me know to come get it.

And . . . it's become painful to carry my guitar and equipment into the venues where I sing.

The truth is, I can't walk a straight line sober . . . let alone in any other condition.  All because of my painful wobbly knees.

So, in the middle of December, I will enter the hospital and have the left knee replaced, and the right  knee replaced a couple of days later.

Prayers appreciated!  The healing and rehab time will be about 3 months.  I'm grateful for my regular gig venues understanding my need to do this.  I'm also grateful for my family, and their encouragement to get this done, even if it is during the holidays.  The church will be taken care of on an interim basis by a retired pastor.

I will post a few more times before the big day, then probably not at all through the rest of December and part of January.  My focus nee\ds to be on healing, rehab, and then engaging life once again with a lot more enthusiasm, energy, and physical ability!

It's all going to work out

God's graces still amazes me . . . ><>

How to set up a small space for singing . . .

Here is another photo of how the room and space were set up for my recent performance for the Golden Eagles Senior Adult Fellowship.

Thanks to Donna Barton for taking the pictures!

God's grace, and my getting to sing, still amaze me . . . ><>

This is a good crowd . . .

I posted this picture as a way of sharing the size of the "audience" I usually sing to.

I think there were about 12 -15 people in attendance.  Because of bad knees, I try to sing on a stool or raised up chair of some sort.  The smaller the audience, the closer you can get.  The closer you get, the less important it is to use a sound sytem, PA or amp.

The guitar I am playing is my Guild F-512 12-string.  The guitar in the stand is my every faithful Martin J-40.  Both are genuinely loud guitars, which means they can be played softly as well, or really dug into as needed.

This is the audience size I am most comfortable with, although I have sung for several hundred people while standing on a stage with amp and PA.  The therapeutic nature of what I do "works" best with a smaller group.  It's a time of "singing together" rather than a performance.  However, my guitar playing and singing both need to be at a contant performance standard from start to finish.

Thank you Donna Barton, for taking and sending me the pictures!

God's grace, and people who want to hear me sing, still amaze me . . . ><>

Thank you Golden Eagles of Crowley FUMC . . ..

I'm not sure what word or sound I was making, or what song I was singing . . . but I had the wonderful privilege to perform for the Golden Eagles Senior Adult Fellowship on Thursday, November 22nd.  Once a year I provide "Pastor Rick's Musical Review!"  I personally had a blast.

I will be performing for the residents at our Crowley Nursing Home on Thursday, November 16th.  On Friday, November 17th, I will be the entertainment for the Annual Thanksgiving Lunch at the Crowley Senior Center.

I will be out-of-pocket the middle of December through March recovering from long-overdo surgery on both knees.  Hope to be back singing regularly by April.  Looking forward to as well to adding a couple of new venues where I hope to be performing once-a-month.  More to come.

God's grace, and funny faces, still amaze me . . . ><>