Monday, July 07, 2008

4th of July - Escape the Heat

Alicia and I made the trek up the mountain to Pinetop last weekend. We decided to leave on Thursday, but go through Globe instead of Payson. Last year we went through Payson on a holiday weekend and it took us something ridiculous, like 3 to 4 hours just to get to Payson...which normally only takes 1.5 hours. The Globe route was definitely a good choice. The only thing that slowed us down was a thunderstorm in Globe...otherwise it was smooth sailin'.

Of course the weekend was full of golf for me and much needed R&R for Alicia. Jimmy had set me up with a tee time on Friday, Saturday morning, and Saturday afternoon. Alicia was going to join us Saturday afternoon for her annual golf experience, but we got rained out. She was so distraught (add sarcasm here).

We had a great time with Jimmy and Julie, but also with Jimmy's cousins Ron and Janice and her family. We mostly just talked, went for walks in the pines, and feasted on Julie's good cooking. We watched some Wimbledon and the US Olympic swimming trials. Saturday after getting rained out from golf we went to see "Get Smart" a movie that's a re-creation of the 70's TV Show.

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

A Grand Piano - My Dream Come True

Alicia and I got our Yamaha 5'7" G2 Grand Piano yesterday!!! Can you believe it? I am so excited...I absolutely love playing the piano!

The only thing I am bummed about is that I didn't get a piano sooner! :) My hands are so rusty...songs that I could just fly through before I can't even stagger or limp through now.

Last night I played until my fingers and lower back were sore, but it was a good soreness. If anyone has some ideas of some good piano books, please let me know in a comment. I just ordered "Dan Coates Complete / Advanced Piano Solos" and "Blues Piano: Hal Leonard Keyboard Style Series". I already have a couple of Dan Coates books and really love his arrangements. I figure that his complete book probably has a lot of the same songs that I have now, but there should be some additional ones in there.