Picnic Time Ukulele Face

vinyl

So as I've been practicing my ukulele more, and taking some lessons from a co-worker's 16 year old son after work, I needed to go to a real music store to buy a CD or 2 to practice songs with. I got fed up with iTunes this year, as I can't transfer the music where I want to go easy enough and I can't share it, and I sort of just missed the cover art. I watched Love Jones recently, and was inspired by the record store scenes, and just missed the record store.

So on a lunch break last month, I rediscovered Soundsations, the record store Christine and I used to frequent in college. Well, it's even better than I remember, and I've been buying more used CDs and vinyl ever since. It's so great to ponder the album art on a large scale, and put on a record on a saturday in the front room, leave the front door open and sit on the porch, relaxing and soaking up music, which I realized had been pretty absent from my life somehow.

Here's what I've been listening to from my new used record collection :)

uku-lulu

I've been practicing more, and really enjoying it. I found a great site called ukulelehunt.com which has been so great for finding the easy chords for songs I know and like. I have been trying to learn 3 or 4 songs, and subjecting David to it endlessly, and he's pretty patient with me, I know it's got to be annoying... but I can't believe how much joy it gives me to feel musical, even if it's not sounding real good yet. I am trying to use music to lull my pet-friends into harmony with one another.

Last Saturday, Agata, David & I met Mark & Tiffy at the California Cactus Center in Pasadena, off a reccomendation from Amanda Siggyfoos. It was incredible, a garden of magic succulent delights!




Then on Sunday, we took Pig-Pig to a dog beach. Guess what, the Dog Beach is the happiest place in the world, it's impossible to be unhappy there among all the dog friends.

Reyes Creek

So I finally got up some pics from our Ojai camping weekend at Reyes Creek. Luckily, I go camping with the best photographer EVER, Miss Bernie Mac. It was Piggy's first camping trip, and (as usual) THE BEST OF OF HIS LIFE, for 2 days in a row!
But it really was the best day of his life, he got to play in a shaded woodland creek all day with his 2 boys and a tennis ball, and go on a fun 5 mile hike/run. He got to sit by a fire while we cooked sweet potatoes, chili and sausage, and roll in the dirt and pant in the hot hot sun. He got a free prime rib bone at The Deer Lodge, an awesome biker-y restraunt/bar on the drive home along the 33. It was the most fun ever, I think I had the best day of my life too.

Soccer Pig

This Saturday, like every day, Sweet Pig had the best day of his life. His grandma gave him a SOCCER BALL.

SATC2

Guess what, I had really low expections for this movie and they were far exceeded. Bernie, Tiny, Lindsay and I went to see Sex And The City 2, and we danced, laughed, shrieked and thrilled in the back row with red vines and wine coolers. It's so much better than the first one, we LOVED it.

Tomorrow morning David, The Sweet Pig and I are Ojai bound for a camping weekend in nature.
The Sweet Pig is especially excited. But, he kind of always is.