Man-Dan-olin

I can't wait til Dan comes home. He's been at home taking care of his mom. His other home misses him terribly. Watch out for big things when you start to see more of Dan, we've got some plans in the works...

On the Mandolin side of things, Sarah finally found hers. She's been on the hunt for over a year since her old Kentucky finally went caput. We finally made it to the Folkstore in the UD, and boy was Stu ready for us! He had no less than six turn of the century Mandolins for Sarah to wade through. I could hear the voice of the winner by it's liveliness, aliveness and fullness of sound. Just wait 'til you hear it tonight at music night!

Gaga for Gan Well Pro

Dearest GanWell Pro,
You had me at hello. Your frame has so much subtle beauty. I have slathered my camera all over you for over a month. I built an entirely new studio just to capture your illusive, elusive, pot o' gold holding rainbow. Too bad a Leprechaun (Glazer's) ran off with all the gold! Good thing I have a sweet studio and you to show for it.
Love and kisses, Niki

And that is what it's all about, having something to show for it. As I go along, I learn more and more about priorities. Money is about priorities. If your goal is to build a dependable, beautiful steed, budget will rarely get in your way, if it's truly a priority. Gary finally built himself his dream bike. After seven years of not quite so dreamy bikes, the Gan Well is his coup d'etat...the end all be all of bikes. I am more proud of this build than the ones that came before. I have put more out and on the line to build this gorgeous creature to her utmost desire. She begged for pink rims with that tiny tease...wish you could see the bottom bracket shell. Everywhere they could do a cutout, they did. That pink filled them all, and by hand I might add. The color changing clear coat, with the finest silver metal flake I've ever seen, finished an impeccable build. Thanks Euro-Asia for being bold and building a show bike most worthy of the best show on earth.

So close, no matter how far

So close, no matter how far, originally uploaded by sylverdevil.

by sylverdevil on flickr!

Sometimes the greatest triumph is finding something beautiful in someone else's work. Let me explain, sometimes folks leave me comments on my mobiuscycle flickr! Usually, it has to do with bike love (lust). Occasionally, however, it is another artist saying hi. The best part about the internet is this, the veil between this artist in Hungary and I in the US can be lifted so easily, simply because we saw a common thread between our work. Thankfully, we had this opportunity to say hi from across the globe.

Thanks for sharing sylverdevil, I love your work.

Christmas Past

Christmas was pretty magical at my Grandparents house. My Grandpa had a Christmas tree base that was a train set with all the cheer you could imagine. He also had a few walking (and talking) Santa robots. Mind you this was 1985 or so, they were Radio Shack specials. One had a bell he would ring while he walked. The tree in this photo reminds me more of what the tree my Gamma might've had as a little girl. Maybe I could pretend this is her tree, knowing some echo of her feels the thought. If the living keep the dead alive by remembering, doesn't that make it real?

Ginger Bread Hangover

Ever feel like January's sole purpose in life is recovery from the Holiday Hangover? Everyone's broke (except Christmas money) and returning a bunch of white elephant gifts, not to mention the family hangover. Don't get me wrong, I've had a few nice holidays in general. But, even when I don't participate (this year) I feel like I did anyway, *sigh*. By next year though, I'm ready to give it the old Hollerday try. I'm going to bake a large bird, maybe some fancy side dishes. It's gonna be GREAT! Probably because I took a year off!

Happy Holidays and may the stress wear off quickly.

The Vibrancy of Blue

The vibrancy of blue strikes a deep chord in me. Always my favorite color, blue evokes depth of emotion, intensity of feeling. When I look at this blue capture it stirs that place in my chest known as the heart string. During fetal development, our hearts and our brains are right next to one another. As we grow, the heart moves into it's permanent home in our breast. This may be why that pulling feeling happens between them known as heartstrings. They may be more real than we realize. Thank you blue for reuniting, for a moment, my heart and mind.