I'm Back

Keep in mind that this blog is named Eddie's RAMBLING blog. First, in November I went to Gulf Shores for their Songwriter Festival. I was there for the kickoff ceremonies and signed up to play. The Emcee that night said I was the only performer people got up and danced to. Following me was a guy named Buzz Kieferand I'm glad I played first because I'd hate to follow him. I couldn't remember his last name so I kept calling him Buzz Lightyear. He sant the most outlandish funny and bawdy song I've heard with lines like "I want to be a Christmas tree, with that angel on top of me." That same night I also heard Sam Anderson and Later Marc-Alan Barnette, both great performers. Look any of those names up on MySpace.com. No one mentioned providing me a place to stay and I didn't want to be pushy so I spent that first night in my car in the parking lot behind the Silver Moon. It was a pretty cold night plus the parking lot was well lit and I sleep better when it's dark. Next morning breakfast and lunch was provided at the Silver Moon. The Newcomers (that's me) had a block of time in the afternoon plus there was an open mic directly across the street at the FloraBama Lounge. I signed up for both and was running back and forth to play at my assigned time slot. These events are not always perfect so the old-timers signed up and performed during the Newcomers performance time but there was a time gap before the next scheduled performance so we did finally get to play. Late that night they had a picking party at the Silver Moon and I stayed up till I guess 2am. I had inquired about a room and they said even though I was invited down I wasn't scheduled to play any of the venues therefore I didn't get a room. So I got a room at the Holiday Inn Express and since I was with the songwriters they gave me a discount. The next day was a repeat of the last with me running back and forth to play in as many open mics as possible and playing at the newcomers time slot. That night I stayed up playing till 3am and it was so late I spent another night in my car. Well I only slept 3 hours and woke up at 6am and drove back to Marietta. I spent a couple of nights at home and the wife and I both went back to Gulf Shores. We booked a couple of nights at the Holiday Express as there's no way my wife was going to sleep in the car. Though it was cold, the next morning we got coffee and got in the hot tub outside. It was nice and relaxing. I fixed me a drink about 10 am because, what the hell, I'm on permanent vacation. On my last performance at the Silver Moon my brother Robert was there and besides doing his own songs he sang backup for me and played conga drums on a couple of fast numbers. I got a big response with my new humorous song "Toss It" and many people came up to me afterwards to tell me how much they enjoyed all my songs. All in all I had a ball and look forward to doing it again next year.
In December my 87 year old mother began having health problems. She went to the emergency room in Covington and they said she had a mild heart attack. From there she went to a Therapy/ Nursing Home. When released from there she came to my sister's house in Marietta where the one daughter and two brothers and some grandchildren could rotate staying with her. As her condition deteriorated she went to ICU at Kennestone Hospital for about a week and a half. From there she went to Hospice and passed away eleven days later. Mother was both good and bad but that doesn't matter, she was still our mother and all her five children and many grandchildren miss her.
The garden is stark and cold this time (January) of the year and it fits my mood. I don't want to do anything. I don't want to clean up or exercize or shave, I just want to lie in the bed and stare at the ceiling. But I make myself get up and get involved in things and stay busy to keep my mind off my grief. I don't want to end this post on a sad note.
Winter is short here in Georgia and when those first warm days come I will get Spring fever just like everyone else. I hope to do more grafting of persimmons and a few maples and maybe one jujube this year. I need to take down a few more trees and replace them with fruit or nut trees and I might add a few more blueberries. You can't have too many blueberries.
On the music side, my brother Robert and I keep writing better and better songs. I've gotten standing ovations for some of my performances and Robert has been asked to sing other peoples songs for their demo recordings. He has a great voice. Got to run, I think I will try to catch Jimbo Hinson at the Swallow at the Hollow in Roswell, Georgia.

Trivia and Severe Water Shortage

Trivia questions:
1 What is the world's largest commode?
2 How many chinese do we need?
3 Does Georgia have a water shortage?
4 Can you name one animal that is becoming extinct?

Trivia answers:
1 The ocean
2 Evidently billions
3 No, we have plenty of water, we just have too many people
4 Me neither, I can't think of a single animal on the verge of extinction but if there are any I'm sure the government is handling the problem.

About The Drought -
It's funny how I can be out in the garden and think of lots of things I want to say but later when I get back inside I can't remember them. I may hop and skip around a bit here but that's why we named it Eddie's RAMBLING Blog. We are in what is classified as an extreme drought and it was all I could do this summer to keep my valuable plants alive. Reduced to its lowest common denominator I could say we have plenty of water, problem is we have too many people. Not only are people suffering but plants and other animals as well. Be sure to keep birdbaths and other water sources clean and filled during this critical time. You and I can walk inside and have a drink of water but plants are rooted to one spot, they can't do that. You might try digging in some crystal polymers like Water Grabber or other brands. Pike nursery has this product mixed with fertilizer. You don't want that. The fertilizer would only increase water needs. Be sure to presoak the crystals before you dig them in. Also, you can add more mulch to keep moisture from evaporating from the soil surface. I have greatly reduced the size of my lawn and you can do the same. A side benifit of a smaller lawn means less mowing naturally, but it also means more growing space for flowers, shrubs and trees. Me, I'm installing two rain barrels. Every little bit makes a difference.

Water Woes

It has been a while since I posted here. It's funny how I can be out in the garden and think of lots of things I want to say but later when I get back inside I can't remember them. I may hop and skip around a bit here but that's why we named it Eddie's Rambling Blog. We are in what is classified as an extreme drought. Reduced to its lowest common denominator I could say we have plenty of water, problem is we have too many people. Not only are people suffering but plants and animals as well. Be sure to keep birdbaths and other water sources filled during this critical time. You and I can walk inside and have a drink of water but plants are rooted to one spot. You might try digging in some crystal polymers like water grabber or other brands. Pike nursery has this product mixed with fertilizer. You don't want that, the fertilizer would only increase water needs. Be sure to presoak the crystals before you dig them in. Also, you can add more mulch to keep moisture from evaporating from the soil surface. Me, I'm installing two rain barrels. Every little bit makes a difference.