I thought if they knew the tune I could sing harmony and play the guitar, I knew C, D, E, Em, G and that’s about it.

Next thing I know, we’re on deck for a concert. OK, I’d played the guitar a couple of months, self-taught. The concert was a disaster and we broke up afterwards.

We sang “500 Miles,” “Day is Done” and “Teach Your Children.” I apologize profusely to the authors and singers of the original works, but I was 12.

Now I’ve had six months of lessons and a very nice folk guitar but my fingers are shredded from lack of air and humidity.

I can say I’ll never take private guitar lessons from a drummer again. Most of these teachers look to rich parents in the area to make their kids a great singer or pianist.

And if I’m ever dumb enough 40 years later to get a band together, no-one who is tone-deaf will have a part in it. We were singing to one tune (the drummer professor) and I gravitated to harmony and he went with me. This is on a well-known song. Then he looked at me and said, “I get it, you have perfect pitch.” All I could say is “That’s what my music teachers have told me.”

End of lessons. Sad, I know. When I’m lower than 6.400 feet above sea level and stay out of dishwater without gloves, I may be able to learn again. Right now my right thumb and forefinger are bleeding.

Thanks to my mentors, my dad, PDX and my husband for keeping music in my head and heart. PDX I’m stale, way more than day-old but willing to learn. Cheers, Dee

It’s time for another change and it hurts our hearts to leave where we live and where we will retire.

But as we enter into our tenth year of marriage I actually prefer Peter, Paul and Mary’s version of the aforementioned song as well as this one by John Denver. It starts with “I’ll walk in the rain by your side.”

And the wind will whisper your name to me
Little birds will sing along in time
Leaves will bow down when you walk by
And morning bells will chime

I love my husband, he’s incredibly smart, honest and hard-working. Spending 24/7 with him for a few weeks we talk, discuss, argue then coalesce and make a better environment for change. The change we want is not to be together 24/7 and have money coming in the door rather than out. I want him to be happy with his work, because it means so much to him to be challenged and have a loose leash, so to speak.

Much as I hate to say it, these brief periods are good for us as a couple and family (with dog Zoe). We all get to know each other again. While our state’s unemployment office has denied coverage for all the time Jim was working instead of taking vacations, we’re OK.

This is gonna be a good week. I can feel it already. We even have snow! Cheers! Dee

I had a band at age 12 with two gals who couldn’t play or sing.  Now I’ve a lovely guitar, a Seagull Artist Folk and hydrate it twice a week.  I need to play again.  Not that I’ll ever be good.  But I know I haven’t played for a while because I don’t have calluses on my fingers.  Now’s probably a good time to take it in, as a veteran guitarist advised me, to a local shop for several weeks to have a little work done.

She’s beautiful, though.  Perhaps if I named her I’d give her a little more attention.  I rebelled at my private lessons.  They weren’t giving me what I wanted, or what I needed.  If I get back into it I need to choose my teacher very carefully.  Thanks, WordPress, for the question, Dee

My favorite moment on screen was in White Christmas with Bing Crosby, talking about liverwurst and buttermilk and singing about counting your blessings instead of sheep.

I didn’t know that 80′s pop icon Debbie Boone was married to her son until now, and as she and her father have wonderful voices I can’t wait to hear her tribute to her late mother-in-law. Rosemary Clooney, I met her once in Four Girls Four with Rose Marie and Helen O’Connell. When I think of her I’ll always see her at the piano with Bing singing White Christmas. So, get your decorations going, we expect a tree and a red velvet gown with white fur trim for caroling. Let’s get this holiday season rolling! I’ll start by counting my blessings instead of sheep, Dee

I stopped into Wal-Mart today and the checker knew I’d lost my voice (pharyngitis) and advised me to rest my voice so I can sing Christmas carols later on. What a sweet thought!

Dad still plays the violin. I’ve only made sure my beautiful guitar is hydrated, not played for nearly a year. Sorry Korky and Conservatory staff! Music is so important and to let it slide is a shame.

Especially when we have talents like Wylie Gustafson and Juni Fisher in the neighborhood. Yodeling Fool is a song I downloaded this past weekend for the kids to hear. Buffalo Gals is also a favorite. Also Juni’s new CD, all about the Pendelton Roundup. I need to get one of those for my bud PDX Knitterati.

There are snowflakes on my screen. Out here it’s too cold to snow. I’m about to light the fire. Right now I can’t speak much less yodel but I will get your yodeling book, Wylie. Some family traditions need to be maintained. Cheers, Dee

My first private instructor taught me basic chords mainly via childrens’ songs, Johnny Cash and others. My second was a rock & roll drummer and we were all over the place. For both, I brought in songs I wanted to learn, just to be able to strum with family and have a sing-along. I don’t think any song I chose to learn was written after the 70′s.

Then one day I was driving home from errands, turned on the radio and “Hey There, Delilah” was playing. I loved the tune. A few weeks later I was able to download the lyrics and vowed to figure out the chords for a beginner guitarist. I do that. But the best thing was being able to tell my teacher that I finally found a song from this decade, this century, that I want to learn to play!

Quit guitar for a while but bought a nice one and keep it in shape and hydrated. My husband told me weeks ago about a work function we have to attend and I kept it in the back of my mind, but tonight he told me it’s a concert. Plain White Tees! I jumped up and down (ask him!) and told him this story. I hear Delilah in my head but have to put it to paper before Friday and the private company concert. I’m going to do it without listening to it and make it work for beginner guitar. That’s my challenge. Aside from heating up my butternut squash and carrot soup, making sharp mac & cheese and a green salad, all I have to do is wash the dog and 12 other things. I’m best under the gun (figuratively, of course).

I hope you’re doing what you want in your life. It’s probably cooking. These days you may be one of the few to eat Concord grapes freshly picked. I ache for those days when I had them fresh off the vine. I need to find the site where they’re freezing the pulp and winnowing out the seeds. If I could get frozen Concord grape pulp, I’d learn how to make a great pie and use it for savory dishes as well. Cheers, Dee

It is a fact that I grew up listening to what is now classic rock, eating foods derived from Germanic and other local fare, and attending a plethora of ballet, piano and violin classes.

Years later, I’m listening to the soundtrack of Crazy Heart, trying to figure out the music on my new guitar (took up guitar at age 50), eating sushi and shopping whole foods with eco-friendly bag, with an educated palate from cooking school, and have a blog.

Yes, I stumbled a bit on guitar, wanted too much too soon (Eleanor Rigby, Horse With No Name) without knowing the basics then the lack of atmosphere here, literally, shredded my fingers and I had to take some time off.

Same with cooking. I just found out today that setting the oven at 275 means it will be 300 degrees according to the new oven thermometer. Setting at 300 initially resulted in a temperature on the gauge of 400 degrees, which would have burned my ribs. So, let’s just say our oven is a bit off. I made it work.

I can’t say I know anything about rap or other music that isn’t music or poetry to me. When it comes to rock or country or any variation, it’s inevitably about love and loss. We may hear a line about not being able to pay the rent, but that’s not the theme of the song. Or the wife leaving or dog dying. It’s all a part of a story.

If you like the story and melody, you like the song. If you like the ingredients and the way they were cooked, hopefully you’ll thank the cook and ask for the recipe. This is for you, Patsy Cline, Dee

A couple of months ago I contacted the living music teachers I’ve had who have inspired me to take up guitar at an advanced age. I played American Pie by sight, all the way through, at my lesson on Thursday and hope to expand my musical horizons with Cowboy Poets this weekend. Out of the blue, my grade-school music teacher (a true-blue relic of the days when public schools supported music as well as sports) called. Why? There’s a new book in Chautauqua County about cooking with grapes!!!

It’s in the mail and I look forward to reading it and sharing it with you, perhaps interviewing the authors. This is very special to me, because it’s my home, where I grew up, and I know the context and hope in mere words can convey it to you. It’s this blog, it’s magic!

If someone told me to write a 500-word paper I’d have balked in college. Now I write one nearly every day. It’s not a research paper but at my age I should be able to opine on writing, cooking, music, relationships and dogs. Oh, the cats said add them too. Yes, I speak cat.

So, we’re not car shopping tomorrow, I hope, and are going to enjoy a quiet day together listening to cowboy music. Yippee! Dee

We’ve a lovely gal staying with us this weekend, a cowgirl poet, songwriter, singer and guitar player who has changed our lives over the last year. I’ve even taken up guitar but by the time I’m 70 I won’t be as good as she. Luckily she likes good food so I’m able feed people and hang out.

Today, I did a minimalist meal of Jim’s favorite components. Spaghetti, meatballs and tomato sauce. He was very pleased and so was I because I cooked up a storm yesterday. We also bought both of us a few country shirts and jeans (for Jim) today. They’re mostly in the back of the car ready for the cleaner before being worn. I may send some photos after they’re cleaned and pressed.

Menu for tomorrow is TBD but I think I know. We’ll see. Jim and I had fun today downtown and he may have even found a car for the winter! That’s always good news as I can’t wait to stop talking about all-wheel-drive cars as he has one to drive in snow pretty soon.

We love our family and friends and already miss you over the holidays because we’re so far away. Making a meal is a treat for one and one’s guest. While we will miss Jim’s family over Thanksgiving, depending upon where we are (home) and anyone at work who is absent of family or friends or from another part of the country or who’s just started work we’ll invite them. That’s what we do.

Yes, I need a night off every now and then, and with minimal larders I can’t serve 20 with 2 hours notice. I could, perhaps, in an emergency but if it’s entertaining that’s a different story. No, I could in an emergency, especially if we had the Hurricane Kit Jim has assembled… and is in storage 1,600 miles away.

We’re thinking of snowstorms and perhaps a station wagon for Jim. It’s been impossible to find him the used car (better headroom and no loan) he wants so now he’s thinking station wagon which brings me back to the old days when my parents’ Olds Vista Cruiser was my college grad gift. Without kids, that may be tough for a real guy to handle. Luckily with Jim, it’s a matter of effectiveness, not grandeur, a piece of machinery that gets him up and down the hill safely. Did I say “safely?”

As Scarlett said, “tomorrow is another day.” Who knows what tomorrow will bring. Thank y’all for reading and please let me know what you think about food or anything else on your mind. Cheers! Dee

So now they won’t let me see the photos before I preview or post this, like it’s wasting paper.  OK, I’ll have to say that there’s a woodcock, which is not rare but rarely photographable as you can see from this shot.  Also two glossy ibis, which a birder emailed me to say never come to Utah.  They do.  The photos I saw were from Utah and these were taken outside our home.  The Bird Man confirmed it.  Otherwise we have the Greater Sandhill Cranes, two were here for a couple of days but I didn’t see or hear them today so they may have headed north.

What photos I take of area wildlife don’t compare in any way to looking at them in person, and for the birds in the preserve, using binoculars. What a beautiful country we live in.  I see the land here, look at my new guitar, and right now it’s telling me “This Land Is Your Land…” and if we protect it by saving our environment, it will be in the future.  Hey, I’ve yet to cook from my organic surprise package.  Too busy with emails etc.  Keep on cooking.  Dee

PS The middle photo is a fully-grown marmot (prairie dog) next door.