Ruby Shoes...all happy and everything

Nothing new to report today...in fact, I'm gonna be busy for the next week with family in town visiting.

I had told you in an earlier post that I should have some images of our band's first gig to show. So far, whoever took the photos has not shared them yet. Maybe they forgot to take off the lens cover or something. So...stay tuned. In the mean time...here's another image of our happy band.

I had said something juvenile to try to make everybody smile for the camera. Being the most immature of our bunch...I laughed the hardest at my own stupid joke. Truth is...we laugh like this all the time during practice...love hanging out with these folks!!

SKETCHBOOK - Big Sharp Teeth and Bones!

I just spent an enjoyable afternoon at the Natural History Museum on the campus of KU in Lawrence, KS. I had planned on going camping for the weekend, but got rained out. So...if you're gonna get stuck playing indoors, what's better than SKETCHIN' DINOSAUR BONES?!! The museum also has a pretty fair collection of pre-historic mammal skeletons, and some decent dioramas of indigenous wildlife. (Caution...if you're not fond of seeing displays of stuffed animals, you might not care for it.)

Before I took the drive this morning, I went and purchased a nifty little stool that folds up when you pull the shoulder strap. It was lightweight enough to comfortably carry around for sketching.

On the way out, I had to get a shot with my cell-phone camera of the wonderful MOSASAUR on display over the lobby door.
"The tail bone's connected to"... pretty much everything.
And this is...dare I say it..."the end".

BREAKING NEWS! (Sunday, March 20)

On the subject of SHARP TEETH...I caught that dang squirrel that's been trapped up in my attic for the last couple of weeks!!! Waaaa-Hoooo!!

That vicious little bugger was not happy...I didn't know that squirrels could GROWL!!!

(And thanks, Brad, for the headlamp you gave me for Christmas...came in handy in the attic. Sorry...I was so excited about my big catch, that I put it on a bit lop-sided.)

This is the nice park I took him too...catch and release. I couldn't get a photo of the moment, 'cause he sprinted off lickety split into the woods. This is the basic route he took. Happy Ending for all!

SKETCHBOOK - Road Construction

Went out sketching twice today. Been ages since I've taken some time to just sit and draw. Seems like the stretch of highway near my house is always under construction. One of the exits is getting a make-over...which means on the weekends, I have some fun stuff to look at. I went out early in the morning to catch the sketch above...it's a gigantic asphalt loader, with some little bobcat loaders nearby. The drawing I did later this evening, below, is of the muddy dozer that is barely showing in the first drawing (on the far right). Nice to get outside...Spring is nearly here!!!

Ruby Shoes and a Squirrel

What the...? You waited almost three weeks for THIS? Stay with me here...the goofy photo above will make a little sense in a minute.

Since my last post, I've been quite busy with some NON-ART activities. A few months ago, I was invited to join up with some friends of mine to play in a NEW DANCE BAND! It's called "Ruby Shoes", and I've been having a blast!

Last Saturday (Feb. 26), we played our first gig at the Sheraton Hotel Convention Center in Overland Park, KS. When it was done, the events manager liked us so much, she placed us on the hotel's "preferred vendors" list for folks to call if they want live entertainment!! So we're pretty dang excited!!

Below is a group photo. I've never been in a "real" band before (though I do play in church worship bands), so this whole thing is new to me. From left to right RUBY SHOES are: Rick Thaemert (Drums and Vocals), Warren Ludwig (Percussion and Vocals), Ken Sawatzky (Guitar), Wendy Godfrey (Lead Vocals), Wendy's brother Tim Godfrey (Keyboards), and Eric Rivadeneira (Bass and Vocals).

Below are the only photos from the gig that I have for now...more will be coming. You can see my nice red congas, and the stage set-up before we played (Thanks, Tim, for the photo from your phone). If you are on FACEBOOK, a brand new page was loaded today that let's you follow our adventures...just search for "Ruby Shoes Band".

Which brings me to the stupid part about the squirrel...

I've got one in my attic, and it's driving me crazy. I had some gutter repairs done last Thursday, and evidently the little bugger got caught upstairs. Yesterday, I set traps, so that I can try to relocate him (or her...it's one of a pair, I'm afraid.) I'm hoping the tasty little peanut butter-birdseed balls that I trailed up to the traps will entice it in. A couple have been eaten so far, so I know the squirrel has found them. Hopefully this will be resolved soon, or I'll have to call the Pest Control Guy. Sigh.