A new band member?

Would you look at the size of that stuffed frog!

The married couple!

Deb & Pat made it official! Congratulations to the newly married
couple.

Lookin' bright and cheerful

About to to on.

We're here . . . . .

They've already moved the pool table so we could set up. Now we're
just waiting for our bass player to show up.

Gigs, set lists, salmon and . . . . . .

It's hard to read, I know, but that's the set list for the band tonight. We're playing up in Powers Lake, Wisconsin at the Sit 'n' Bull bar. It's a nice, fun place and it should be a good time. ■ Tomorrow we're hosting the annual Bullfrog Family & Friends brunch. Still stuff to do to get prepared for that. I've got salmon in a brine and will smoke it tomorrow - followed by 2 hams. ■ I'll see if I can't do a post, or two tonight from the gig. ■ Oh, and happy new year to all!

Too long . . . . . .

Too long? Yes, way too long since my last post. I apologize. I always want to post a picture with every post, but sometimes I just don't have a good picture to post - including tonight. Geeze - and me with an iphone with a great camera built in. ■ I did get a great thank-you email today. It really made my day. And the thank-you included a picture. Well, thank-you, Billie. It made my day. ■ Tomorrow our son goes back to San Diego and the Navy. We'll miss him terribly. Heck, I'm already missing him and he's not even gone yet! ■ Tomorrow is new year's eve. Our band has a gig up in Power's Lake, Wisconsin. We played up there a few weeks ago and had a great time. We're looking forward to the gig. ■ It's time for bed. That's getting to be a familiar ending to a lot of my posts. Hmmm . . . . . maybe I should try to post earlier, or maybe do more posts. Hmmm . . . . . . . . . . . .

Two down - one to go . . .

Two drawings down and one to go. Not a very good picture of the drawing, but I thought I'd try it instead of scanning it. I will scan it before I frame it though. ■ Yesterday it was warm - somewhere around 60 degrees, or so. In fact it was warm when we were unloading for the gig, but by 2:00 am the temperature had dropped and it was snowing. At least we didn't get much snow - not even enough to shovel. ■ Holly and Aaron drove to Louisville, KY today to see Libby. It's the only chance he'll get to see his sister before he has to go back to San Diego and the Navy. They'll be home tomorrow, but I'll probably be at work by the time they get here. ■ Time for bed. I'm sure Zoe is warming up my spot. ■

Some of the BF&F at the gig

BF&F - Bullfrog Friends & Family. Always with us.

Getting set up

We've been loading in and getting set up. We start at 10:00pm.

Pen & Ink .... got to change it . . . . .. .

This is a scan of a pen and ink that I had intended for my boss. Bad. Poor. Yuch. Which ever way you put it - it's bad. Accurate - yes - good - No. More tomorrow.. . . . ... . . . ... . . . ..

Merry Christmas to all

A Merry Christmas to all.

All is well . . . . . . . .

It's Christmas Eve. We've watched one movie - Holly, Aaron and I, and now Holly and Aaron are watching another one. I'm tired and about ready for bed. ■ To the left are some of the houses, etc. that I've been drawing over the past few weeks. Some big houses, some small, but all have a place in their owner's hearts. I think we all love our homes. They're special places where we feel safe; where our friends visit us; where we have good times and sad times; where many of our memories reside. ■ Before I go off to bed I want to wish all of you a merry Christmas, happy new year, and the best to all of you and your families. Goodnight and sweet dreams . . . . . . .

Tracking Santa . . . . . . he's on his way!

NORAD is tracking Santa again this year. You can see him via Google Earth. Here's the website that can give you more info: www.noradsanta.org

I know I'll be following his progress. More later . . . . . . . .

When's it going to stop snowing?

We've had quite a bit of snow. And I'm ready for it to stop. We had a few inches today and it's still snowing. Our son shoveled our driveway and sidewalks - I think he may be ready to return to sunny San Diego. ■ The drawing - bottom right on the collage of photos - is a gift for my boss. I hope he likes it. It's a drawing of the front of his store. ■ Tomorrow - shopping. I haven't done any Christmas shopping yet. Nothing like waiting until the last minute! ■

More snow . . . oh, no!

Yes, we're getting more snow. Some of the neighbors are on top of it, (that's Jac in the picture on the far right) and some of us aren't. I'll have to get out and shovel and try and keep up with it. ■ And just to make shoveling interesting I've got another gout attack in my right ankle. Now I get to see if the new med I've got will get rid of it. It's really (the med) supposed to be a preventative thing. ■ I've got a couple of drawings I'm working on and need to get done. Off I go. . . . . .

These pics are getting boring . . . . . .

Boring . . . . . if not to you, then at least to me. I have too many pictures of our lovely dogs. And, I think, mostly in the same postitions --- lying on our couch. ■ I think I've got another gout attack (if that's what you call it???) My left ankle began hurting again last this afternoon. I just started on my "anti-gout" medication - but maybe too late to prevent this occurance. Ah, who knows? ■ The last 'out of state' Christmas drawing went out this morning. $27 odd was the cost for sending it. I only charge $15 for shipping. I don't intend to make money shipping, but I don't intend to lose it either. That's life. ■ Sold a bass guitar and bass amp today. That's good news. I wish I could sell 20 guitars and amps every day. ■ Just took my night-time meds. I don't think I can take any pain meds for my gout-infested-ankle yet, so I'll just have to live with it. I really detest having to take so many meds. ■ I still need to shop for Christmas . . . . . . stay with me . . . . . . . . .

Full circle . . . . .

We received a Christmas card from Alanna and Bill. As you can see Alanna is using the drawing of her home for her cards. And, as you can see, their home graces the cover of my book. ■ And speaking of my book, I've got to look and see how many new drawings I've done since I last published. Business has been slow this year - yes, my business reflects the slowdown in our economy too. ■ Made chili this afternoon. Turned out pretty good. I was going to smoke the meat, as I usually do, but it was -5° (minus 5 degrees!) out and I said, "Nope, I'm not going out in this cold." At any rate the chili turned out well despite not smoking the meat. ■ I've got a split in my right-hand index finger. It kind of hurts to hold anything using that finger. I wonder what causes those splits. Yet something else to wonder about . . . . . .

Snow what!

This is the start of a new drawing. I'm trying to sketch it in, but it's rather difficult. Wish me some luck. ■ So much to do before Christmas. Are you done with your Christmas shopping? I'm not. ■ It's snowing here in Chicagoland. I've heard/read that we're supposed to get between 6 and 9 inches. ■ Don't want to cut the post short, but it's way past time for bed. Goodnight.

On his way home . . . . . .

Our son is on his way home for a 2 week leave. It'll be great to see him. In fact I have to leave to pick him up in a few minutes. ■ Finished one drawing and onto the next. This new one will be the last before Christmas. Maybe more later. Got to leave for the airport.

Reflections . . . . .

This is a picture I took with my iPhone - at the patio door. You can see the snow we're received, but you can also see the reflection with our bear in the corner decorated with some white lights. Way over on the far right - about the middle of the photo - you can see the fire from the fireplace. Actually you can only see a couple of the small frames, but it is from our fireplace. ■ Our son flies home tomorrow. I can't wait to see him. It's been a long time. ■ New Year's Day: We're hosting brunch on New Year's Day. I've got to get the invitations out and the website built. I'm not lazy - just too much to do . .. . . . . . . . . . ... . . .

Pictures . . . yes, we've got pictures . . . . . .

Jac asked for some photos of the Rock U concert. The picture on the left is of one of the Rock U bands performing. I took about 160 pictures at the event and posted them at: www.shrandahl.com/drwoods

And our bandmate/photographer took around 130 pictures at our last gig. I'll have to get those up tomorrow - actually today since it's 12:40 am. ■ Sleep: I'm having a hard time getting to sleep. It used to be that I'd be able to close my eyes and 20 seconds later I'd be sleeping. Now I get tired, hop in bed and boom! - I'm awake - not sleepy. So I end up staring at the ceiling for an hour, give up and get up and on the pc - hoping that will get me sleepy. My sleep patterns have been changing. ■ Cold. Burrrrr. It's 8 degrees out. Way too cold for me. And we're going to have more of this cold along with some snow. Burrrr. ■

What fun! Bands galore!

Here's a quick picture I took with my iPhone this afternoon. That's one of the Rock-U bands performing. They were all very good. I took a number of pictures of the event, which I'll post on a web page for all to see. ■ Holly baked a full chicken in the oven tonight. Delicous. Mmmm . . . I want more, but I'll have to wait until tomorrow. ■ Into work early tomorrow. I've finished another drawing and need to matte, frame, and ship it. ■ Time for bed.

Band recital and backstage passes . . . . . .

The music store I work for has band classes for both kids and adults. These groups are put together as a band and they learn songs and how to play together as a band. It's really neat and I wish they'd have had a program like this when I was a kid. At any rate the band recitals are today. For the kids I've made "Backstage Passes." I think they'll get a big kick out of them.
■ More later, or perhaps a post, or two from the recital.

A long way to drive . . . . . .

Bullfrog has a gig tonight. It's up in Power's Lake, Wisconsin - a little bit of a drive. I wish it were a bit closer. It'll take at least 45 minutes to get there - longer if it snows as it was a bit ago. ■ I'm trying to finish a drawing. I'm almost done with it, but I'm not sure it looks "right" - I may have to do this one over. ■ Tomorrow I'm going to a recital for the student bands the store I work for teaches (man, that's a mouthful!). I've created "backstage passes" for the students. I think they'll get a kick out of them. ■ Gotta go load up for the gig. ■

Snow, fire, dogs, drawings . . . . . .

Lots of pictures tonight! It snowed today - made driving miserable. Luckily I only have to drive about a mile, or so to work. Holly has 25 miles each way. It took her 2½ hours to drive home tonight. ■ While we haven't had a ton of snow (see the grill), it's been a PITA for driving. We'd rather sit in the family room, watch tv, and watch the dogs take over the furniture. ■ The drawing on the bottom right is of a home in NC. I'm shipping it tomorrow. ■ I still have a couple a drawings left to do and ship to my customers before Christmas. Busy, busy, busy . . . . . .

Music . . . . .

Music - that's kind of what you're looking at in this picture. What? Yup. That's someone playing the iphone ocarina. Looks like they're from somewhere around the midwest. And you didn't know that the iphone was also a musical instrument. Yup, it is. ■ I know I owe my readers a recording. I'll try and do one either tomorrow, or Tuesday and see if I can't post it on this blog. Got to figure out how to do that. ■ Got to get to bed. Night. . . . . .

Sittin' Bull - our next gig . . . . . .

Our bass player called late this afternoon and asked if I wanted to ride with him up to Powers Lake, Wisconsin to deliver posters to the bar we're playing at next weekend. "Of course", I replied. Long-story-short --- we drove up there and dropped off the posters. They're supposed to have great burgers there, so I think we'll go up early and eat dinner before the gig. That's a quick picture of the outside of the bar. It's a nice place with friendly folks. It should be a fun gig. ■ It's cold here. 18º and dropping. Old man winter flipped the switch here on December 1st. ■ Our daughter is back in the Chicago area for a baby shower tomorrow. We'll get to see her them. Can't wait. ■ It's late and I'm ready to hit the hay. ■

Cold here . . . . . maybe a song in the making???

I think ol' man winter flipped the winter switch on December 1st. It's just been plain cold here. Right now it's 16 degrees - too cold for me. ■ The cold has made the streets very slick. We live on a corner lot that slopes downhill from the stop sign. Drivers stopping at the sign can't get enough traction to start forward again. I'll hear 'em spinning their wheels trying to make progress. Eventually they'll back down the hill a bit and try it again. ■ I've got to do some recording soon. I've got songs that I need to record before I lose them. ■ Maybe I should post some of them on this blog. That's an idea to ponder. What do you think? ■

Snow . . . . .

Here in Cary, Illinois and the environs - not in the picture. That's a drawing of a home in NC that's been finished for some time, but lost contact with the customer. ■ And, yes, snow. Not much, but enough to make driving for folks around here slippery. ■ Terry sent me pictures from the gig this past Saturday, but I haven't had time to get them put up on the Bullfrog site. Gotta get that done. ■ Bedtime . . . . . .

Dressed, but nowhere to go . . . .

Had to get a current picture of the bear into the blog. ■ December 1st came and with it came cold weather and snow. Burrr . . . . I'm not ready for this. ■ The gig this past Saturday was ok. Not a whole lot of people, but the folks there enjoyed the music. Lots of compliments on our playing. ■ The scanner I ordered came today. I've got to get that setup and running. Lots to do. ■