Which Direction Do I Go?

Today was filled with so many choices and possibilities...I had no idea which way to turn. I woke up late because I didn't get home until 3:00 a.m. I guess it serves me right for deciding to go to Woodham's, my old hangout place I rarely go to these days. The ukulele has pretty much taken over my life, and definitely will continue to. But today I took a break from the ukulele. Last night, I have to admit there was a ukulele involved. The evening began innocently enough -- with an office party at one of our attorney's homes...it was a lovely party where people serve you drinks at the door, totally catered. We all felt so pampered -- It was like being in one of those surreal TV shows with cocktail parties. A band of four guys who looked kinda of bored played "soft jazz" music out in the yard on the grass behind the "open bar." It wasn't even the good, exciting type of jazz but it almost reminded me of "elevator music." Of course the music added to the ambience -- a little bit. The bartender was much more interesting. He made me a drink he called a "Daisy." He talked about how margaritas back in the day were not like the ones you see now, those huge blended drinks in giant glasses with decorations on them. No, they used to be "light," a shot of good tequila (Petron) with a dash of sweet and sour and grenadine and I think there was something else too, but I don't remember what it was. 

So I sipped on the drinks and socialized, attempting to "mingle" with my coworkers. I love my coworkers, don't get me wrong but mingling with them at parties isn't always easy -- except for my closer friends. I felt "happy" for a while...we ate lovely food and I sat at a table with my friends and ended up having a good time in spite of the band. Then I attended a singalong jam that apparently has been happening for many years at this one guy's house. I had to find the house on a very dark street in Los Altos but the steps were all lit up...walking up the steps was like walking through a light tunnel, but the house and everyone in it was warm and inviting...most people just sang songs reading the lyrics from these songbooks...my friend Bruce played keyboard and guitar...he was the best musician in the room. I met him because he runs a new meetup group called Eat, Drink and Sing -- he had just moved to San Francisco and wanted to start a new group. I played my ukulele! we sang Beatles songs and other cool songs that I liked and then I headed off to my old hangout place I hadn't been to in ages, Woodham's, where I ran into my friends Larry and his band After Sunset...the minute I walked in, Larry and the band started playing Twist and Shout...SOOO COOL!!! I saw people I hadn't seen in ages and at 1am we were all still dancing and singing... 

So yeah I slept in Saturday -- but there was soo much to do and no way to figure out what. I felt almost immobilized as I dragged myself into the shower at noon and attempted to sort it all out in my head... Okay, there's the Beatles "Sing" at the Chit Chat Cafe in Pacifica right by the ocean. That starts at 2pm... I could possibly zip over there, but what about the Los Altos Art & Wine Festival where two of my favorite local bands were playing, Blue House and the Megatones??? that also began at 2pm... 

Not to mention the evening where things really got sticky...the KihnCert at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View promised a good time with the likes of Pat Benetar and Steve Miller Band!! and I could've probably gotten a relatively cheap ticket. An awesome ukulele player, Brittini Paiva, was playing at my beloved strum shop all the way up in Roseville, CA where I won my Nalu ukulele... do I make the trek? THEN, to top everything off, my friends invited me to the Corn Festival in Brentwood to hang out and AC/D-SHE and Pablo Cruise, among others...! I'd never been to the Corn Festival, yet I'd been to plenty of Art & Wine Festivals and knew what they were like. 

the day progressed yet I still sat at home...dealing with daughter Megan who was visiting for a "short time" between her crazy, mixed up dramatic life as an almost 20-year-old... I hung out with Baby Jeremiah for a while thinking, okay if I don't do something, I won't do ANYTHING>..

by 5pm, I knew my choices were becoming more limited -- the Corn Festival it is! So I got in my car and headed towards Brentwood, a town I'd never even been to before driving on a 2 lane road for about 16 miles right past those weird, windmill looking things you only see in the distance from the freeway, but now they were practically right in front of me as I drove over the hill...it was dry and dusty out there, not damp like the coastal drive. I listened to my GPS and also tried to read the piece of paper I'd printed out since I had no idea where the heck I was going and Brentwood seemed like a small town. When I finally found the Corn Fest parking area, I couldn't believe it cost money to park  -- what can you do. It was so dusty and dry out there that at first I wondered if I'd even made the right decision to go out there...reminded me too much of Porterville, that weird, dusty town in the middle of nowhere I'd lived at for one year ten months and five days.

But here I was, and it was a little after 6pm. The AC/D-SHE band probably just started and I'd already missed the Groove Kings. It was hot, but not humid...got my ticket to get into what looked like a giant carnival having to do with corn and walked into the dusty area...had to get tokens just to get cold water, heard a country western band sing a Ringo Starr song..."They're gonna put me in the movies...they're gonna make a big star out of me!" I felt bad because hardly anyone stood in front of the stage...I knew that wasn't the stage I was supposed to meet my friends at -- it was, I was told, on the other end of the festival. I had to walk through a carnival area, almost getting run over by exciting kids a couple of times, and then I could hear the unmistakable AC/DC music played by the all female band, AC-D-she...and wow, they rocked! Found the stage...filled with people all over the place and there were even bleachers filled with more people...how does one find anyone here, I thought? I started rocking to the music with people I didn't know and then my good friend Michael tapped me on the shoulder and pointed up to the very top of one of the bleachers where his wife MoJo waved with her one good hand...she broke her other hand. they were my friends who told me about this event or I'd never have any idea...so I followed Michael up to the very top of the bleachers where it was shady and much cooler...and we had a perfect view of the band playing and the sound was fabulous because we sat right in between the massive speakers on each side of the stage...the dude on the equalizer machine or whatever it's called just a little to the left of us... and we could stand as much as wanted because no one was behind us...it was perfect!

When the band broke into Highway to Hell, the three of us, me, Michael and Mojo, stood up and sang along at the tops of our lungs, soo much fun. Mojo was right...this band was fabulous...playing all of our fave rock AC/DC hits from the earlier days of Bon Scott. In fact, the lead singer introduced herself as "Bonnie Scott!"

It became darker and cooler and the entire festival was alive with lights, so beautiful! Pablo Cruise was cool...ended with their most popular hit. We stood at the top of the bleachers with smells of cotton candy and roasted corn wafting through the air...kids screaming on the rides and all the lights...reminding me of days from the past when my kids would have been the ones running around the carnival...Mojo's 9-year-old grandson Adam was having a blast with their friend's son... some day baby Jeremiah will be that age and everything will happen all over again...

we trudged through the carnival at 10pm and I picked up a huge bag of fresh corn for $2.00...and a band on the other side still played "With a Little Help From My Friends" and a few people milled about... hmm...they didn't sound too bad either.

So I missed the KihnCert, sadly, and I missed some of my bands play...but at least I got to experience the Corn Festival!

Baby Jeremiah Turns a Year Old...

Are we really all grandparents? I thought as I stood in a circle in a lovely shaded area of Lake Elizabeth with my exhusband Steve, father of my three older kids, Jen's Mom Sue and her Dad Tom, whom I had just met in real life for the first time today. He surprised us all by showing up at Baby Jeremiah's birthday party -- traveling all the way from Nashville, Tennessee!! I mean, there we were singing Beatles songs while I played my ukulele, all four of us -- while the younger generation, all of my kids and their friends, and baby Jeremiah and all the other babies watched with wonder... We were definitely the lives of the party!  No way, how did it happen? Just yesterday I was chasing my own babies around the park.

Me, Tom, Steve & Sue (the GRANDPARENTS), and singing and dancing with baby Jenna...
she danced and sang along

The party preparation actually began last night and then at 5:00am this morning -- Jeremy had to drive to Lake Elizabeth to claim a spot. Then what ensued was similar to a sitcom on a TV show when everyone runs around like crazy people. The preparation involved in this party was incredible. My exhusband brought large tables and chairs -- Jen and Liezl chopped food items and prepared beans in the kitchen until late in the night...balloons needed to be picked up, the cake...and all of our cars were filled with "stuff." I watched Baby Jeremiah while everyone ran around and was quite thankful for that, actually, realizing that at one time in my life *I* was the mom with that crazed look on my face -- the one that Jen had when she finally returned from all of her chaotic errands...still forgetting the charcoal needed for the barbecue after all that. Something is always forgotten. That's just the way it is.

So while this was going on, I sat on the couch downstairs with the ceiling fan going watching Yellow Submarine on Jeremy and Jen's big screen TV. It was perfect timing because today, after all, is Ringo Starr's 70th birthday. We were so comfortable on the couch that we actually dozed off for a little while, and there's nothing better than awakening to a lovely Beatles song -- I believe it was Nowhere Man... Apparently Jen's Mom was already out at the picnic site -- there were so many people spending the night at our house last night that she rented a hotel room at Best Western. Not that I blame her, why not? I heard there was a heated pool there.

I showed up a little later because I couldn't get ready until Jen was finally ready to pick up the guest of honor himself, Baby Jeremiah. And, even after we were sure she had everything in the car, including the baby, she still called me frantically to remind me to bring the signs -- the ones that were supposed to be hung up so people could find us at the lake! So I managed to get out the door with my car loaded with the rest of the needed stuff...and drove down to the lake, about four miles away from our house in Union City. I had not forgotten my ukulele or some music, of course. The ukulele goes everywhere, and there's always a time and place...always. Today would prove to be no different. The ukulele is officially immersed into our daily lives, right alongside the Beatles. It's just one of those things.

I was happy to see that they had found a spot in the shade...as it was a warm, sunny day. I could see the lake stretched out not too far away, Canada geese and ducks...and there were a group of my kids' friends and my boys, Jeremy and Stevie. Stevie and his Dad Steve barbecued chicken, hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill, and there was loads of food...

And what a surprise to meet Jen's Dad, Tom! None of us had any idea he would show up at baby Jeremiah's first birthday party! He had visited right after Baby Jeremiah was born - he came all the way from Nashville, Tennessee! Jen cried because she was so happy to see him, and that was really cool. Then we found out that Tom was staying in the same hotel that Jen's Mom, Susie, was staying at! What a coincidence. Susie also had no idea he was going to be there.

Here we all are -- the Grandparents!!! EPIC! Uber! Baby Jeremiah wasn't sure what to make of all this!!!

Hanging out with the other grandparents, especially my ex, was truly EPIC. (By the way, I was informed my son Jeremy that I was not allowed to ever say the word "epic" again, nor am I allowed to say "uber" and there's one other word I'm not allowed to say as well, but I'll be darned if I can remember it! I was also teased mercilessly by the boys for the yellow shorts I wore. One of their long-time friends Nikki smiled and said, "Did you expect anything else? Of course the boys will do that. They always do!"

Some more of the kids friends showed up -- I was amazed (well not too surprised) that some of Jeremy's friends, Chandel and her boyfriend and Nikki and her boyfriend, now have a bunch of tattoos -- which I was actually relieved about because of my youngest daughter Megan and her tattoos...is this what people do nowadays? Oh yes, and Megan arrived with her sort of boyfriend (who knows???) and her dog, and then Auntie Melissa finally made it as well! I didn't even recognize her because she dyed her hair blonde. I was only sorry that I did NOT get three-generation pictures. No one was as excited about doing these pictures as I was, darn...

Baby Jeremiah got to do all the fun stuff a one-year-old gets to do on his birthday, eat the cake and make a mess and open gifts! And of course Baby Jeremiah did it all in the most adorable way imaginable. And I was thrilled that he LOVED what I got him -- I had fretted over whether to get it for him just yesterday -- a cool combination of guitar, piano and drum...all rolled into one instrument, with songs or the ability to create your own songs...the box said "Ages 3 to 6" and I wondered if it was still okay for baby J to have it, but he LOVED it!!!

Baby Jeremiah with Mommy & Daddy -- his "first" cake...PREDCIOUS! No UBER

It won't be long now before Baby Jeremiah and me will rock out together -- me on uke (and soon enough he will have a ukulele and so will baby Jenna!)...

See, he already wants to make music!!!

My friends Phoenix & Steve joined us for a while...Phoenix and I have been friends for many years. We met in Mike Sult's guitar class back in the 1990s. And, then I got my ukulele out and started to play and sing a Beatles song, "She Loves you." First, tom joined in and next thing I knew, Susie and Steve had joined too! So I played several Beatles songs, the ones I knew off the top of my head...Eight Days a Week, Can't Buy Me Love, Hard Day's Night, Things We Said Today. Some of my kids' friends actually came over and took pictures! Baby Jenna and Baby Jeremiah loved it and Jenna even hummed along...we were dancing and having a great time... 

Is that what Grandparents do?

As the sun slipped into the lake, we all reluctantly knew we had to leave, which involved a huge amount of packing of cars, cleaning up, etc...the hardest part of any party or gathering, the exhausting art where "the party's over." Sue and Tom went back to their respective hotel rooms and we never saw them again this evening. Megan left with her boyfriend and so did everyone out -- leaving me, Jeremy, Jen and my exhusband Steve to pack it all in (including the baby) and head back to the house...but somehow it was okay. It had been a good day after all. I just wish I'd gotten some group family pictures, but Alex, one of the "long time friends," said, "Oh just take the pictures and photoshop everyone together!"

My Musical Adventures!

Me with Daniel Ho who's playing my 8-string Ukulele!
(and he just randomly sang and played Beatles songs -- how cool is that?)

I dashed out of work at quarter to six last Wednesday night to head for Japan Town in San Jose because my friend Steve said Daniel Ho was doing a workshop. "You should go!" my 6-string ukulele playing friend informed me -- okay, sure I will go! Daniel Ho is an awesome ukulele player and songwriter from Hawaii who present lives in Los Angeles. I met him at the Reno Ukulele Festival -- the one I attended in 2010 that I got to super late because of a major snow storm. Now I finally got to attend a workshop by him.

I managed to get a ticket on my way to San Jose for driving in the carpool lane -- what the heck? It was a trap, I'm telling you! But I wouldn't let that deter from this upcoming workshop. I was determined to have a good time, as usual. I parked a few blocks away and walked back down towards the store sponsoring Daniel Ho's workshop, "Ukulele Source." I had called Steve and he said he was there, but when I got to the store, it was already closed. Where was this workshop? The website hadn't said the workshop wouldn't be anyplace else besides the store!

I was lost and confused, looking around for ukulele players or my friend Steve -- or SOMEONE! Finally, I managed to get a hold of Steve on his cell. He informed me that he was at an Asian store down the street and didn't I see Daniel Ho's website that stated the workshop would be held above a Japanese restaurant down the street and around the corner? No, I had not been informed of this! As a matter of fact, I had no idea. I found myself wondering if it had been a good idea to drive through horrible traffic and get a ticket just for this workshop, but what the heck? I was already here. I wandered down the street trying to find Steve, and a nice lady wearing a Hawaiian shirt saw me with my ukulele and asked if I was looking for Daniel Ho's workshop. I breathed a sigh of relief, smiled and said, "Why yes, I am."

She pointed down the street and told me to make a right and then go into this Japanese restaurant and up the stairs.  Finally, I had some idea as to where I was going -- I found Steve on a street corner with his double-ukulele bag looking all concerned -- about me, about life, I wasn't sure which.  I pointed down the street and we found the correct restaurant and walked upstairs to a long room filled with chairs and a few people with ukuleles already there.

Steve and I sat near the front and met the people who were there -- an older Asian man and a younger chick with ukuleles. Before long the room filled up with ukulele players and then Daniel Ho came in and set up! Yes! It didn't take me long to realize that this workshop really was worthwhile -- the drive from work, the ticket and yes the $25! Daniel talked about his life and about songwriting -- he talked a lot about chords -- I already knew about the I-IV-V thing and how to figure out basic chords in songs -- but now I'm thinking more about the minor chords, like the minor third of G which is A minor and stuff like that. He used Beatles songs as examples too -- like Hey Jude and Let It Be.

We even wrote a song as a class, which was sooo cool -- trying to figure out what note would "fit" and then in the end, he asked if we had any questions, and I raised my hands. "What about writing the lyrics?" The workshop had already gone an hour and a half, but when Daniel Ho asked if people minded staying longer, everyone said that was fine! We wanted to hear about writing the words, and so he shared one of his original songs with us...and went through the process.

After the workshop, I showed Daniel Ho my awesome 8-string ukulele I'd gotten and Daniel Ho played it and then began to randomly play Beatles songs -- soo cool. I sang along! I bought his songbook with the CD that went with it -- and I look forward to tackling the book. I also understand the need for a low G ukulele as well as a high G uke.

Daniel Ho was sooo cool!

May Day Play Day and BEYOND!

it was a magical full moon night in Stockton at Albert's place when we jammed on ukuleles for  SEVERAL HOURS!

So, each year the Fun Strummers in Modesto host this very awesome "May Day Play Day" -- and even though it's in Modesto, it is definitely worth the drive to the Central Valley for this. $20 for an entire day of Ukulele Playing FUN and even workshops! I left early in the morning and picked up Steve along the way -- we got there right on time, around 9am ish. People were there from all different ukulele groups -- a few from our Silicon Valley Group, including Dave Fitchner, a bunch from the Grass Valley Strum Bums run by Dan Scanlon who was doing a workshop (and whom I will forever be grateful to because of his amazing rendition of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds on ukulele that I've now learned and play all the time!)...michelle Kilba was there and she taught a workshop. So was Brooke Adams (who had done a ukulele rendition of Abbey Rd!) -- we're talking $20 for the whole day -- oh yes, we also come away with a May Day Play Day songbook as well and we are fed lunch. It does not get any better than that.

Albert joined us -- he just had to drive from Stockton where apparently his "other" house was -- I had always known Albert to live over in Santa Clara -- south bay -- and I kept forgetting that he also had a place in Stockton.

Anyway, we had an amazing day and played ukuleles ALL DAY long...people commented at the end of the day that their fingers hurt from playing so much -- especially that big long jam at the end! You'd think we would have had enough right?

Wrong!

Albert invited Steve and me to his house in Stockton and we said sure -- since Stockton is not very far from Modesto apparently. He has this lovely yard that's a perfect place for jamming and the weather could not have been more perfect, not too hot or too cold, that is until evening came...I had heard that we were supposed to have the biggest full moon that night (or it would appear the largest) in many years...so I was excited to see the moon rise in the distance since we were in the valley and it was a crystal clear night!

And, ohhh man did we ever JAM! we jammed and we jammed some more...Albert played ukulele, guitar, bass, you name it and Steve and I mostly played ukuleles. I'm trying to remember which ukuleles we played that night... Albert has this huge binder with loads of cool songs -- and we just went on and on...

the song I remember the most from that night was Freebird! It never even occurred to me that people could jam on Freebird on ukuleles and later I realized the song is even in the Santa Cruz Ukulele songbook, although I'd never heard anyone play it and no one ever picked it to play down on the beach...

We had sooo much fun jamming on that song -- at least for 30 minutes, on and on...Steve and Albert taking turns on solos while I kept playing those chords over and over again (because that's what I do and that's okay). I even remembered how I had listened to Freebird on the radio at that 7 Eleven parking lot the night before my mother passed away back in early 1997...when we still lived in Oregon...this is for you, Mom, I found myself thinking on that beautiful full moon night! But I didn't say anything to Albert and Steve about that, or did I?

Albert's parents had showed up -- they often stayed in the back house...and they LOVED listening to us jam! what cool people Albert's Mom and Dad were! I loved them right away! they even made food for us and everything...

Sadly, not too long after that, Albert's Mother passed away suddenly... that's why we didn't hear from him for a while after that night...I had wondered what happened to him.

But what a special night that was. I'm glad we got to play all that music for Albert's Mom and Dad that night... and I hope one day we can play music for his Dad too...

Earth Day Adventures in Sac'to!

Today is Earth Day and someplace I read -- perhaps it was on the "harmony" email list I'm on for the San Francisco Folk Music Group, that people all around the world were singing This Land Is Your Land! And I thought that was cool. I've always loved that Woody Guthrie song...!

I had already made plans to head up to Sacramento because my friend Sharon was visiting Sacramento -- and she lives in Moscow, Idaho and I don't get to see her often. We were supposed to meet for dinner there at the Old Spaghetti Factory, so I thought, why not post to the good ukulele folks of Sacramento that I'd like to have an "impromptu ukulele jam" in that park we loved so much -- Fair Oaks Park. The Strum Shop was just getting started...

I was running super late, so I pulled into the park area just a few moments late -- a whole group of people waited for me. It was a hot day, not unusual for Sacramento, but still -- it was only April!

I had song packets prepared and everyone who joined me -- around 15 people, most with ukuleles, was thrilled to receive a packet of songs! Some of them even gave me money -- I tried to tell them they didn't need to, but they did anyway. A guy named Budd was there and he was pretty good -- and so was Dave (who calls himself DRW) and they helped me lead the Beatles songs which was so cool. Gary didn't show up, nor did Stu or my friend Sue because apparently there was a Hawaiian ukulele event happening that day as well. So I was just glad for the people who showed up -- we of course sang this Land Is Your Land and I told everyone it was Earth Day -- and they seemed happy about that!

Some of the people who jammed with me on Earth Day at Fair Oaks Park! (too bad I was too busy playing music to think of getting a picture when everyone was still there!) -- but there's Budd and Dave and the gang!

And, in the spirit of Fair Oaks Park, the roosters wandered about freely and crowed...it was a good day, even with the warmer weather! and you can never go wrong playing ukes and singing Beatles songs! and I had my wonderful 8-string ukulele with me!

After I parted ways with the ukulele gang, I headed for the Old Spaghetti Factory located in downtown Sacramento to meet with Sharon and her grandsons and her friends for dinner! I looked forward to seeing her and finally meeting the grandsons she had talked about for so many years. It was fabulous to meet everyone and hang out...! I talked about my ukulele gathering that I'd just come from and my 8-string ukulele. Then I mentioned that we'd sung this Land Is Your Land in honor of Earth Day. It was Sharon's grandsons Nik and Elliott who said we should definitely sing that song again -- outside!!! So I ran all the way back to my car which was parked a couple of blocks away because the parking lot had been full at Old Spaghetti Factory downtown, and got my 8-string ukulele.

And after dinner, we went into the parking lot and sang "This Land is Your Land" at the tops of our lungs! It was so much fun!

It was a good thing Elaine got a video of us singing the song on her iPad because her niece had attempted to video it on my camera, but somehow it didn't work. She shared the link with me through youtube a couple of days later and I sent the link to the Harmony list because I remembered that people were singing This Land Is Your Land.

I had NO idea that Hali Hammer would ask for a copy of the video so that she could include it in her MAJOR 15-minute documentary on youtube of people all over the world singing This Land Is Your Land! I was thrilled about it and so was my friend Sharon, and Heather, and her grandkids as well!

Actually, Elaine took the video for "Grandpa Josh," Nik and Elliott's Grandpa who couldn't make it to Sacramento!

Here's the video of us singing This Land Is Your Land in the parking lot of Old Spaghetti Factory in Sacramento, CA!

The only quirky thing was, apparently, everyone was "supposed" to play This Land Is Your Land in the key of D -- and I had NO idea! I wasn't even sure what the heck was going on!

So here is the amazing 15-minute video put together by the lovely Hali Hammer...and we ARE in it! (along with many, many others -- I LOVE IT!

and there are other people playing ukuleles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HAPPY EARTH DAY!

Santa Cruz Ukulele Club Open Mic!

Not too long after returning from the Reno Ukulele Festival, still basking in the newness of the ukuleles, Steve and I went to the Santa Cruz Ukulele Club open mic night at Bocci's Cellar! He had never been to the Santa Cruz Uke Club meeting before, but he had been to the beach to play ukuleles on Saturday mornings...which is always a really cool, special experience.

We signed up for open mic and happened to be one of the last people to perform, but it's always great fun to watch and hear everyone! Always lots of entertainment with cool people.

It was my suggestion to do "Devil in the Deep Blue Sea" an old song that George Harrison had also done...because we had played it at the Reno Uke Festival...and to this DAY, whenever I hear this song, I always think of Steve!

Here I am with my friends Jeanie and Suzette -- good times at the Santa Cruz Uke Club meeting!

it was fun to play and sing this with Steve -- who is an INCREDIBLE musician!

I am reminded of who I am here as we play the ukuleles we obtained at the Reno Ukulele Festival just a couple of weeks prior to this -- I am a chick with a ukulele after all...and that's okay with me! I dig it... I'm playing music and having a great time...in such a way I never in a million years thought possible!

Check it out -- Santa Cruz Ukulele Club Open Mic Night -- Mary and Steve, Devil in the Deep Blue Sea

these are experiences I will not forget...

Reno Ukulele Festival Adventures!

me with my good friend Sue (from the Sac'to Uke Group) Kris F. and Steve with his stellar new banjo ukulele
Reno Ukulele Festival - March 31, 2012

This year I was determined to get to the Reno Ukulele Festival on time for all the workshops and event -- no getting stuck in the snow this time 'round! Steve said he would make sure I made it. I had to get up at 5am on Friday morning (something I normally would not do) because Steve said we should be there when the whole thing starts at noon time Friday and the roads were clear so we needed to go! So yes, I got up and met Steve at his family's house in Dublin and we made fabulous time and got to the Ukulele Festival when the vendors were still setting up ukuleles! It was a miracle as I rarely if ever get to anything this early! So it was cool that I got there right from the start -- and we got our room situated and everything...and brought in all the stuff we had in the car, luggage, ukuleles, what not... after all, once you get into Johnny Ascuaga's Nugget, you don't have to leave at all! You get a room there and you just go to the lobby where the ukulele festival is happening.

I saw friends from various ukulele groups -- even from Silicon Valley and Santa Cruz, so that was cool. I had a HUGE desire to get an 8-string ukulele, or what Steve called a "taropatch" ukulele. Last November, I got to play Linda's 8-string ukulele at one of our jams and I immediately fell in love with the beautiful sound -- so full and unique! I wanted one so bad, but with the big move and everything, I really didn't have the money to invest in one. But that didn't mean I didn't lust after one! Steve showed me a hand-made 8-string ukulele that was so beautiful -- it cost around $1,500 which of course I couldn't afford, but at least I could admire it and strum it a little.

I had left a note on Stu's website that if anyone knew of a reasonably priced 8-string ukulele to let me know -- I figured I'd put that out in the universe and that at least maybe someone in the Sacramento Uke group or beyond might know of something... Since I hadn't heard back, I didn't think much of it.

Steve bought this cool banjo ukulele! I'd never seen one quite like it and I had thought about a banjo ukulele, but it wasn't really what I wanted -- I had my beautiful Kala uke which Steve helped me put new strings on with me -- and also my tie-dye fluke ukulele, my fun little ukulele I had bought on a whim..but which sounded amazingly good for what it was. That fluke ukulele came in super handy at Burning Uke 9 where we had loads of damp weather -- they are made of plastic and you can play them in the rain or inclement weather and they won't get messed up!

I obtained a wrist band so that I could attend workshops and we were ready to go...

I showed up at a couple of workshops with my tie-dye fluke ukulele and had loads of fun playing three chord songs with Jim Deville and then the Dominator let me come up and help demonstrate how easy it is to "jam" on ukulele! Kris Fumigucho (I can't spell his name correctly to save my life) taught us how to play "Crazy G" but let me tell you, it was PRETTY CRAZY!

then I ran into Stu and the Sacramento gang and that's when Stu shouted, "Hey I brought an 8-string ukulele for you to check out! It's used but I got it all set out and I saw your note, so I thought you'd want to try it!"

I became very excited...really? An 8-string ukulele. Cool! He went over to where his stuff was and pulled it out. "Here," he said, "Try it out! I took the beautiful Lanikai 8-string ukulele and felt like an excited little kid as I strummed it -- it was already tuned and sounded FABULOUS!

"Ohhh I love it!" I said.

"Go ahead and try it out," Stu told me. I ran off with the 8-string ukulele, not even thinking about it -- I showed Steve who took it from me and played it for about an hour. He wouldn't even let me have it back right away -- what the heck? I even took the elevator upstairs to put my own ukulele away and devote all my time to this 8-string WONDER that I'd fallen for already!

I attended jams and workshops and played the 8-string ukulele...and then I ran back to where I thought Stu would be -- in the open mic/jam room -- and he was GONE! I wanted to tell him that I'd buy the coveted 8-string ukulele, that I'd just write him a check that he could put through within a week when I got paid and...

but where was Stu? Steve and Albert who had also showed up for the Reno Ukulele Festival thought it was pretty funny that we couldn't find the guy who owned the ukulele I was playing! we even signed up for an open mic and played some songs and I carried that 8-string ukulele with me EVERYWHERE throughout Johnny Ascuaga's Nugget! Even when we all went out for dinner and to the Saturday night show! We ran into Stu's wife and daughter Dani and Gary who is an awesome bass uke and uke player and who loves the Beatles just about as mucha s I do (and can play any and all Beatles songs as the drop of a hat as well as Steve)...

"I told Stu I can't believe you let that lady run off with the 8-string ukulele!" Stu's wife said to us, while we stood in line to go into the show, laughing...Stu had said, "Oh it'll be okay."

She said that Stu was "around," and that we'd catch up with him eventually! I carried the 8-string ukulele into the show with me and as we walked out of the show a live band across the way just HAPPENED to be playing, "If you're going to San Francisco be sure to wear a flower in your hair!!!!" and there I was wearing my tie-dye, flower in my hair garnishing the 8-string ukulele...I just started strumming and playing along walking up towards the band while everyone applauded and cheered. They thought I was like part of the act or something, but REALLY I wasn't! the timing could not have been better! GOOD TIMES! I felt like a hero or something!

So me and Steve and Sue's boyfriend Ed hung out where this cool live band played -- Ed said he had no idea where Sue had run off to so it was all good...we danced and had a fabulous time! Steve was very seriously dealing with his banjo ukulele!

with our NEW UKULELES right after the band played "If you're going to San Francisco, be sure to wear a flower in your hair!!!!"

Me and Steve hangin' out with NEW ukuleles -- me with the 8-string uke I would never give up and Steve with his banjo ukulele (Kala I believe)

We stayed until well after the band stopped playing -- and played ukuleles for a while before finally crashing...! And the next morning, I did finally find Stu and I wrote him a check for the 8-string ukulele because I already felt as if it was mine. He said that "technically" this was his very first sale for his brand new store "The Strum Shop" in Roseville and I said that was super exciting and that I could hardly wait to visit "The Strum Shop!"

Things began to wind down on Sunday, and I realized I had made a whole bunch of copies of a group of Beatles songs for a jam we hadn't had yet. "Umm...aren't we going to jam?" I said, and Steve said I should do it right now -- so I said, "Who wants to jam?" and a whole bunch of people showed up in that main lobby area -- and we sat around in a big circle and jammed on ukuleles for a long time...

Me and Stu (UKE FACE!) and Dani and Gary AND MY 8-STRING UKULELE!!!!

Good times!

and you'd think that would be the end of the story, but not quite because Steve and I actually ended up staying longer, another night -- and it was ALL because I forgot to pick up the gig bag that came with my 8-string ukulele and those Canadian ukulele players we ran into! Luckily I had taken that Monday off work (always take the Monday after off -- good thing I had taken Monday AND Tuesday off after the weekend the year before when we all got stuck in the snow!).

I was so excited about the 8-string that I forgot Stu did bring a gig bag for it and every ukulele needs a case of some kind or something not so great can happen to it. I actually got a call on my cell phone that a lady from another ukulele group had picked up my gig bag and that she would hold on to it for me... this was after me and Steve had left to drive up to Virginia City to the Bucket of Blood Saloon. I just HAD to show him this really cool, special place that I love. I'd been to Virginia City a few times -- I told Steve about how me and my friend Emily had gone for the "Hippie Days" parade one weekend the summer before when I was just learning to play the ukulele. I thought it was a whole weekend of events -- and had even booked a room at the Gold Hill Hotel -- the haunted hotel I had stayed at with my daughter down the road. Turned out there was only a 20-minute hippie parade -- but Jefferson Starfish had performed the night before (yeah I know, Starship but I like Starfish better) and we got to see them for free because we stood right outside...and we met the band and danced with all the locals in a saloon down the street.

so we went...because we had to wait for this lady to come bag with my gig bag -- to Johnny Ascuaga's Nugget.

Here we are with David Johns and his band THE COMSTOCK COWBOYS...I had met the fiddler dude (on the left) the year before  and he invited me to see the band...meet us at the Bucket of Blood Saloon, he said!!! I LOVE IT!

When we returned to Sparks to pick up the gig bag, night had already fallen...and as we were contemplating what to do, we ran into a lovely lady and her mother who were playing ukuleles in a lounge by Starbucks -- holdouts with ukuleles, yaaayy! So we got caught up playing ukes with them and it got late and we decided we'd have to crash one more night before heading back to the SF Bay Area the next day, but not before we stopped at a music store called Bizarre Guitar and Steve asked the dude there to show us "The Vault!" That's where we saw all these expensive, rare guitars from back in the day...

and then we went home and back to our lives...but the memories of the weekend will always remain and of course I still have the 8-string ukulele!!!