Bandi's Short Run

 

Song:  Forever Autumn

Artist:  Justin Hayward

Finally...

today I felt strong enough to go on a very short trike ride to view the sunset.

It had to be short, not only because of my present weakness...

but it has been many months since Bandi had gotten any extended exercise.

The temperature was just above freezing...

which is normally not even cold without any wind...

however...

there was a 5-10 MPH wind blowing...

and so...

as we stood at one of the sunset points as the sun set...

the cold was felt.

You can see the yellow cord running along the fence.

It is part of a 200' electrical power cord I had to run to 

a 1,600 gallon water cistern near the top of my property.

When I first moved here...

I didn't know that I had to run power out to the buried water cistern 

to power a heater all Winter long to keep my water from freezing.

The mountain water company had to come out and show me

what needed to be done as I had run out of water because

the cistern had frozen over

(even though it is buried 6 feet below the ground).

Bandi and I were ready for our first real extended exercise session in months.

The underground cistern is covered by this old mining bucket decorative piece.

There are actually two underground heaters I have to power all Winter long...

one for my cistern...

and one for the mountain water company's valve from their buried water supply pipe...

which then feeds water directly into my cistern...

where it is then pumped to my house.

So...

all of my utilities are publicly provided.

The reason for the cistern is that in many mountain homes...

they don't have public water directly pumped to their homes...

but have a large water cistern...

which is then periodically filled by large water trucks.

I can only surmise that when my house was originally built in the early 2000's...

that perhaps the water company hadn't yet run their public supply pipes...

and so the reason for the cistern.

But now...

my house is fully provided by water pipes from the mountain water company...

even though they just pump it directly into my cistern...

which is perfectly fine...

as I have an emergency 1,600 gallons (6,056 liters) on hand at any one time.

Anyway...

we continued on down to an alternate sunset point...

which was just over 1/4 a mile away from my home.

We just stood around as the sun set.

Bandi got excited every time she ran...

so I just peddled faster to keep up with her...

even though I ensured she wouldn't run too fast...

as she is also out of shape.

From all the sunset points...

and even from my third deck...

I may see a portion of the mountain range which comprises the Continental Divide. 

More photos of the mountains of the Continental Divide.

We waited until the sun had fully set before heading back home.

As soon as the sun set...

I could feel the wind starting to pick up...

and my hands began to get puffy from the freezing winds.

They actually still are...

as I didn't wear any gloves...

even though I have some packed on the back of the trike seat...

as well as a balaclava...

however...

I knew I would only be out for a bit...

so...

I just enjoyed feeling the cold.

It was just so refreshing.

---------

My legs started really feeling good on my trike back up the mountain road.

It has been so long since I have exercised properly...

and I just feel so much better now.

I am going to sit in the IR sauna for half an hour as I catch up on some reading...

and I will then take a nice long hot shower.

---------

I ordered various spices from Walmart for some recipes I am going to try

(I bought several pounds of various spices...

and they will be delivered to my door in a few days).

I want to be able to eat some Eastern European dishes...

many of which looked so good on YouTube.

I also bought some Cajun spices

(I want to try to make some Cajun Shrimp...

and perhaps Gumbo...

among other Cajun dishes).

------

I tell you...

nothing puts me into the flow of life so much as does 

a magnificent session of exercise.

I simply feel so wonderfully mellow.

I just know Bandi and I will sleep well tonight.

Book One - Page One / Great Expectations...Great Disappointments

Song:  New Horizons

Group:  Moody Blues

Vocalist:  Justin Hayward

I started on book one...page one...

of the same beginner's book with which I had taught myself the Bass Flute...

only this time...

I will be attempting to teach myself how to sing properly.

OMG...

this is going to be...

by far...

the most difficult musical endeavor I had ever tried.

I am but a musical infant in vocal training.

By looking at precise objective standards using a frequency meter

as I try to sustain a constant and pure tone...

I can see how truly awful my voice is.

But...

just as an infant is clumsy until he eventually masters physical tasks...

I will, with continual practice, eventually train myself to sing well.

Now...

again...

I know I will never be able to sing great...

but...

my goal is to sing well

(to be able to sustain a pure tone without offending the ears of others  :)

I had chosen this particular included song...

not only as it matched the theme of this article...

for I am on the cusp of a new horizon...

a musical journey which is exciting...

but also because the vocalist of this song most closely matches my natural vocal range...

and the softness of his voice most closely matches my natural tone and resonance.

And...

NO...

of course...

I am no where near his vocal quality by any measure.

----------

I have been discovering how truly difficult it is for me to sustain a pure tone.

The most difficult part is my inability to tell the difference audibly...

of how my voice waivers in frequency without my ears noticing the difference...

and so...

how I must teach myself through visual references...

 as to how to precisely control and sustain a simple note.

I am naturally tone deaf

(and further hampered by my partial deafness)...

and so...

I must teach myself to feel the tones as matched to the visual cues of the frequency meter...

and through pure muscle memory...

be able to replicate those tones by feel alone...

as I won't be able to use my hearing to monitor my voice as I sing.

And just as I had taught myself to do with the Bass Flute...

I must keep a certain posture to ensure total relaxation of my body...

which will allow for diaphragmatic expansion...

and in the case of singing...

it will allow my natural tonal range to resonate 

as my vocal cords and throat will also be relaxed.

-----------

Am I disappointed by my lack of natural singing abilities?

No 

(I've always known it).

However...

I am as excited as an infant who first begins his attempt to walk.

Yes...

I am very clumsy and awkward...

way out of tune and very inconsistent in application...

but the excitement I feel at learning something new...

of seeking new horizons to conquer...

of the new musical lands to visit beyond my present horizon...

is what drives me on.

-----------

On another note... :)

last night as I was practicing on my 12 string guitar...

I snapped a string...

and it was only then that I realized what I should have already prepared for...

replacement of the strings.

I couldn't even remove the old snapped string as the bridge pin wouldn't budge.

So...

I went on Amazon and ordered a triple set of top quality replacement strings...

a bridge pin remover...

string cutters...

and fretboard wax 

(the arid climate will eventually cause wood shrinkage and cracking without protection).

An example of one of my practice sessions...

and the great variance of one simple tone...

and the great difficulty I have in achieving...

never mind even sustaining...

one simple note.

I am still on page one of book one of a beginner's flute book.

My voice naturally falls in the first two octaves of the Bass Flute...

so...

at least I have that going for me  :)

My first note to practice is the low G (for the Bass Flute).

As you can see...

I first strayed to the low end of a G sharp.

As I attempted to lower my tone...

I went to the realm of a natural G...

but I was still sharp.

I then went too low and flated a natural G.

I then over corrected to a near perfect G sharp...

instead of a natural G.

I then lowered the tone some...but not enough.

Finally...

a near perfect G...

but it quickly went astray once again.

It is my inability to sustain any given note which presents me my greatest problem...

at least...

for now.

I already know that this musical journey is to be an ultra marathon.

But...

will I become discouraged?

No...

to be able to sing well is one of my bucket list items.

Climbing a new mountain is exciting to me.

It is stagnation in life that I find to be tortuous...

in anything.

To always have new horizons for which to strive is truly living life.

 Achieving new routes of exploration leads to new hopes...

new meanings of great happiness...

of the rewards of conquering new territories...

while always looking forwards to ever new horizons.

This is the meaning of life...

that which we give it.

---------------

Later this evening...

I had looked up a restaurant which (supposedly) specialized in Dim Sum.

The restaurant was highly rated...

and once I had arrived...

their decor was quite spectacular...

and the visible Dim Sum making station was a fascinating touch.

I was so excited...

as I love good Dim Sum.

My Dim Sum arrived.

While the Dim Sum was okay...

it simply wasn't nearly so good as some of the other Dim Sum places to where I have been.

The big disappointment was their Shrimp Lo Mein.  

I had asked specifically about the portion size.

My waitress had said it was large and that it was made for two people to share.

When it arrived...

it was barely an appetizer size for one.

I am a man...

and I eat like one.

To not even have a decent portion to eat...

well...

scratch off another place to which I will never return.

I had high expectations for this to be the place I would take my guests.

But...

besides the lack of portion size...

it simply lacked flavor.

This was not a specialty Dim Sum place...

but more of an Asian Fusion place.

I have never been to an Asian Fusion place I had liked.

All they do is tone down the flavor...

take the worst of East and West...

and then charge high prices.

This was a big disappointment for me

(but then again...

I have eaten at excellent Chinese restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area...

and in New York).

I departed still hungry...

so...

...on my way home...

I stopped in at a late night Mexican restaurant in hopes of salvaging my night...

and filling my belly.

It was not to be.

The food was something no Mexican food should ever be...

BLAND.

My first hint that it wasn't a quality place was the fact that it was empty

when I had first arrived.

I only ate half of the food...

and threw the rest away...

although I was still hungry.

This is something which had never before happened to me...

being disappointed with two successive meals.

But...

on the bright side...

it will cause me to appreciate the good restaurants all the more  :)

---------

Ah well...

an adventure is not always successful.

I still have a great many restaurants to try in the future.

I always love trying new restaurants in hopes of finding somewhere 

I may enjoy for the rest of my life.

And in that...

I have great expectations once again  :)

 

Peanut Butter Bandi / A Soft Sunset

 

Song:  Otterley

Artists:  Cocteau Twins

Today...

I had gotten this strange craving for Peanut Butter.

I had recently ordered this brand from Walmart online...

and they delivered it to my door in a couple of days time.

I love peanut butter...

but I don't want anything in it but peanuts.

Most of the store brands have all kinds of ingredients...

the worst of all are the fully hydrogenated oils...

besides having loads of sugar and sodium.

This brand has nothing in it but peanuts.

There is no salt...

sugar...

hydrogenated oils...

absolutely nothing...

but peanuts.

And it is delicious and very creamy.

I had ordered 10 lbs of it in 1 lb jars.

Anyway...

I was just lying in bed looking at my iPad...

and I just had to have some peanut butter.

I grabbed a large spoon...

and a plate for Bandi from which to lick the peanut butter.

I put dollop after dollop of peanut butter on her plate...

and she just went crazy licking it all up.

Bandi just loves peanut butter.

Between the dollops for Bandi...

I ate large spoonfuls of the peanut butter.

In a short period of time...

Bandi and I had finished off a whole pound of peanut butter...

about half a pound each.

There was just something in peanut butter that my body was craving.

I took Bandi out to her forest bathroom...

and I had seen the sun beginning to set...

so I went up to the loft to capture it.

The mountain in view is Rhyolite Mountain.

It is the next mountain over from my home...

just South and slightly East of me.

As the sun continued to set...

the clouds opposite it began to turn a pastel yellow and pink.

The soft pastel pink of the Southeastern clouds was a nice ending to the sunset.

----------------

This weekend I will be going to the Cripple Creek Ice Festival

(It is small as Ice Festivals go...

but there are going to be food vendors there :)

During the last town event...

they had this great taco truck there.

I am hoping to see it this time as well.

Their tacos were crunchy shelled...

with just the perfect ratio of meat to shredded lettuce and cheese...

and their verde was so good drizzled atop them.

I know I can eat a dozen of them...

they were just that delicious.