Author: megdavisarts

Musician, singer, songwriter, famous for original songs like "Captain Jack and the Mermaid" and interpretations of traditional folk music. Creator of Art Quilts, Art Dolls, graphic design & far fetched tales.
Meg Music Posts, My Weird World

My First Guitar Was Cigar Box

megdavisarts

www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-50788871

Here’s a BBC article about a musician who taught himself keyboards by playing on paper keys.

How I learned :

I experimented with string sounds when I was little by wrapping rubber bands around a cigar box. In my household my brother had the main musical instrument, a beautiful electric organ with 3 keyboards and full sets of pedals, he became a very accomplished church organist.

I started out experimenting with anything that made a sound then I borrowed a little guitar from a friend who bought it with green “saving stamps” (that was a grocery thing, you got “stamps” as you bought groceries and saved them in booklets you could trade for inexpensive items).

When I’d taught myself 3 songs on the cheap guitar my parents were so impressed that they took me down to a pawn shop and got me my first real guitar. I was in 12 year old heaven and it was a really nice Guild acoustic.

My Mom took me out to a pro shop to see about guitar lessons. The owner turned me away because he said my hands were too small. So, I went home and taught myself, playing with different string tunings and fingering patterns. I made up my own style and played six and twelve string guitars throughout my career.

The moral of this story ? NEVER LET ANYONE TELL YOU YOU CAN’T DO SOMETHING !

Holidays, World Cultures

Happy St. Nicholas Day !

megdavisarts

In the days leading up to 5 or 6 December (starting when Saint Nicholas has arrived by steamboat around mid-November), young children put their shoes in front of the chimneys and sing Sinterklaas songs. Often they put a carrot or some hay in their shoes, as a gift to St. Nicholas’ horse. In recent years the horse has been named Schimmel or Amerigo in the Netherlands and Slecht Weer Vandaag (bad weather today) in Flanders. The next morning they find a small present in their shoes, ranging from sweets to marbles or some other small toy. 

When I was little we celebrated Saint Nicholas Day, I think it was a bit more simple but the idea was to remember the real Saint who started the Christmas gifting tradition.

We’d put our shoes out in front of our bedroom doors when we went to bed and found a little candy, a wind-up toy and a St. Nicholas card in the morning.

One year, I got greedy. I figured that, if I had bigger shoes, I’d get more goodies so I borrowed a pair of my Dad’s shoes and set those out. The next morning there was coal inside them. I was sad all day and went to visit my grandpa where I told how I’d been naughty. He comforted me and I forgot about the whole thing.

As if by magic, when we got home that night there were my little shoes by my door with an orange, a chocolate bear and a little toy inside. I was mystified by the whole thing because I couldn’t figure out who had put the goodies there.

This is the wonder and joy of giving. May you find your own magic today and all season long.

🎄🎁🦌🎁🎄

Tech News

Buyer Beware : Avoid Some Ring Products

megdavisarts

At the moment, the “Ring” company has serious security flaws. Advice right now is to not buy some Ring products because Ring doorbells exposed users’ home wi-fi passwords to hackers and that Ring employees spy on unwitting users.

apple.news/ApID32KBDR5mx3S4ugS4Pcg

Holidays, Multiple Sclerosis, My Weird World, What Do You Think ?

Too Pooped To Celebrate The Holiday

megdavisarts

So, yesterday was our Thanksgiving Holiday. I managed to make my cranberry compote and bake a pumpkin pie but that’s as far as I got.

My husband was kind and said it was ok, we could do the big meal today. I could tell he was bummed though.

Before we got married, I told him I had MS and I was a lot more active then.. he didn’t really believe it because (like a lot of people) he thought I’d be in a wheelchair if I had MS.

I was sorry I couldn’t get our holiday meal together this year but my PPMS got a lot worse in the last 12 months. I’ve even simplified cooking as much as possible. Today, my hubby helped prep some foods and I think that helped him a bit. The turkey’s in the oven, we’re watching football and all the dinner things will be ready in an hour or so.

Unfortunately, I’m so fatigued I’ll get everything heated and ready and then I’ll go to bed. I hate leaving my companion to eat alone but there’s no other choice.

How about you ? Does this happen to you too for whatever reason ? A lot of people work more than one job and have these same issues. Let’s give each other a big hug… And then another piece of pie.

Good Eating, Holidays

You Need Pie

megdavisarts

So, while we’re all cooking away in our little kitchens, I thought I’d give you some inspiration from the amazing pie Sculptress Jessica Clark-Bojin of Pies Are Awesome.

Chew on these ! 😄

Holidays, Migraines, Multiple Sclerosis, Trigeminal Neuralgia

Tight Isobars = Headaches and Increased Pain

megdavisarts

www.weather.com/storms/winter/video/strong-storm-bringing-snow-rain-and-strong-winds-from-west-to-central-us-into

Keep an eye on the isobars as this storm moves across the country and over your area. I can see that it’s going to be low pressure and high winds over me, in Arkansas, building from Wednesday and staying into Saturday. What does this tell me ? How tight the isobars are to each other indicates how strong winds will be so I know right now to get as much done as possible before Thanksgiving because I’m going to have bad sinus and head pain.

Watching wind and pressure changes can give you advance warnings of increased pain. Get weather smart and you’ll be prepared for possible pain that could affect your social life 😊

Favorite Things, Good Eating, Holidays

Thanksgiving for Two

megdavisarts

It always takes lot of extra thought to make my holiday meal because I eat high fiber, low carb, low sugar foods and my husband likes just the opposite.

I work through each item to find a compromise and luckily, I’ve been able to change my husband over to healthier options through the years. As an example : the traditional green bean casserole is something I’d only use to mortar Adobe bricks with. It starts out innocently enough with green beans but then quickly goes downhill as you add condensed cream of mushroom soup, French fried onions etc. It ends up being very high in sodium, little fiber and not much nutrition.

Instead, I serve up steamed French cut green beans with a little whipped butter and sliced almonds. It’s also much easier ! Buy bags of frozen pre-cut beans, raw or roasted almonds and Land o Lakes whipped butter and you’re all set.

As I go through my preparation tonight I’ll put a post together with everything I get for this meal. It’s all centered around my lack of energy and food prep & cooking that won’t get me overheated or frustrated. Stay tuned for what I hope will be some helpful ideas.

And, please post your ideas to me here too. I’m always keen to learn new tricks !

🍗🥧🦃🍮🍇

Life in Arkansas

Nov. 21 Meteor Storm

megdavisarts

Aw, geez. An actual meteor storm on Nov. 21 and my sky will be full of rain. If you’re going to watch it could I give you a few of my wishes to throw at the “falling stars” ?

www.10tv.com/article/unicorn-meteor-storm-be-triggered-mysterious-comet-thursday-night-2019-nov

Favorite Things, Toys and Games

My PocketCamp Gala

megdavisarts

#ACPCAnniversary

Did someone say there’s a party ? Yes, and a classical concert with pastries and high class treats galore ! AC PocketCamp is two years old, let’s celebrate !