The Last Gift For Real This Time

 The last Christmas gift for real arrived today, and this is it:

When I was a kid, my mother always asked for new house shoes -- for Christmas, her birthday, Mother's Day, etc.  I hated buying her house shoes, because I thought it was a boring present, but it's what she asked for, so I did.  

I totally get it now.  

These are some I ordered with the money my older brother and his family sent me.  I'd waited until after opening all my gifts, just to make sure I didn't get any, which is why they are late.  My sister sent me some new slipper socks, which I do like, but I needed something a bit heavier for those days that are a bit colder.  These also have hard soles, which I need as well, because I tend to wear them out into the yard.  

They arrived just in time, too, because we're supposed to go from a high of 75' on Saturday, to a low of 28' on Sunday. 

In the meantime, I'm still playing with my needle felting.  This is my next project:

Yes, I know Texas is backwards.  There is a reason for that.  And the reason is this:  you need to felt both sides of the project.  I just happened to be working on the wrong side when I took the photo.  The plan is, when I get the Texas felted the way I want, I'm going to felt a little pink heart where my home town is.  

Speaking of, Cody, Brennan, and I will be traveling to Texas for Beverly's funeral.  We're going to take my car, even though it is smaller and will be more cramped, because his needs an oil change and he doesn't want to get one.  I don't know why.  It's not that big a deal.  He'd suggested we rent a car, but then found out how much it was going to cost (Hint:  a whole lot more than an oil change), so we decided to take mine.  He's still going to be doing the driving, though.  But he says they're probably not going to leave Memphis until 9:00 AM, so it'll be late when we get to Texas.  

On the bright side, the vet said they can go ahead and do Jesse's teeth cleaning while he's there being boarded, so two birds one stone, kind of thing.  

In other news, I was planning on starting my piano lessons again today.  Well, doing the videos from Mr. Let's Play Piano Methods, I mean.  I'm already practicing the songs a bit, but I decided to just wait until we get back to get into watching the instructional videos.  Also, in an attempt to avoid the disaster that was my Christmas concert, I've already picked out some songs for next year.  I'm going to practice them all year in hopes that by next Christmas, they'll be all ready to record. 

And finally, That Awesome Hunk Of Pure Awesomeness Who Used To Be My Imaginary Boyfriend Until He Married Someone Who Is Not Me Bill Whittle and his wife have both come down with the COVID.  They have it pretty bad, from what he says on his website.  He's running a 104' fever, suffering from a fatigue that is almost supernatural in intensity," and is laying in bed like a carrot.  His words, not mine.  If you've a mind, offer up a prayer for a speedy recovery for both of them.  

The Last Gift

Well, the second to last, I guess.  I did order one more thing with the rest of the money my older brother's family sent me, so technically that will be the last gift.  It's supposed to get here tomorrow, and I'll tell you all about it then.

But the last one I'm going to tell you about today is this:

It's a needle felting kit from my sister's family!  I was very excited to get this one, because I'd planned on taking a needle felting class at Fiber Fun In The 'Sip last year.  That one was cancelled because of the pandemic, and the one this year ... I guess they cancelled it because of the pandemic, as well, even though what few restrictions we had (mostly capacity limitations) were completely lifted in March. 

I hope they have one next year.  I miss hanging out with Amy, and Christi, and Leann.  And other knitters and spending too much money, and staying in a hotel, and just all of it. 

But I digress...I seem to do that a lot, don't I?

What was I talking about?  Oh yes, my needle felting kit.  This was my gift from my sister's family, and it's got everything I need to get started.  It's got different colors of wool, different sizes of needles, finger protectors, felting templates...all the tools you need to do needle felting.  It's even got little eyes for when you want to make things with faces, and key ring parts and stuff.  The only thing it didn't have was instructions. 

But no matter.  There are plenty of instructional videos on YouTube to teach me all I need to know.   One of the ones I've been looking at is Felts By Philippa.  She's got all sorts of tutorials and beginner videos.  Yes, there is a learning curve, but fortunately, I've got lots and lots of fiber, some of it already dyed, from when I went through my spinning phase.  

I dug it all out of the closet to practice with, and found myself to be a little hesitant to use it.  I kept thinking, "But what if I decide I want to spin all this up later on?" Then I told myself, "You've had this fiber for at least 10 years, and have never done anything with it.  Use it to felt with.  If you want to get back into spinning, you still have all the stuff Suzie sent you." And that's exactly what I did.   I pulled off a little blob of yellow, and made a ...blob. 

The next thing I tried to make was a tree, but it didn't turn out so well.  Learning curve and all...

Even though my kit came with these little templates, 

one of the videos I watched suggested using cookie cutters as templates as well.  I got into my boxes of cookie cutters I'd had stored in my cabinet for forever, and dug these out:  

and I picked up a few more on clearance when I went into town.  

I was hoping to find some non Christmassy cookie cutters, but it looks like I'm going to have to either order some, or go to a kitchen specialty store.  There used to be one in Batesville, but I'm pretty sure they've closed.  The last time I went up there, I drove by that outlet mall, and there was nothing left in it.  I mean, nothing.  

In the meantime, I used one of my cookie cutters to make this tree.  I think it looks pretty good. 

I tidied it up a bit more, and what is a Christmas tree without a star?  

I'm wanting to figure out how to put little decorations on it, and maybe make the trunk over-laid with brown fiber.  

Since then, I've just been going to town making little felted things.

One day, I hope to work up to making the little animals I see other felters make.  I think I'm going to start collecting Jesse's fur when I brush him and make a little felted Jesse.  

That ought to be cute, eh?  

Doofus

I am such a doofus. 

Why do you say that? 

Because I did a very doofusy thing.  

Oh, boy, what have you done now, Becky?  

I'll tell you....remember this scarf I've been working on for ages?  This one:

Yeah, this scarf was nearly 4 feet long.  That's a lot of knitting time I put into it.  And me, because I'm a doofus, I ripped the whole thing out and started over. 

Why on earth would you do such a doofusy thing?

Because, wayyy down almost to the very beginning, I found a mistake. It was barely noticeable.  In fact, if I didn't point it out to you, you wouldn't even know it was there.  But I knew.  I knew that mistake was there. 

I tried to ignore it and go on knitting, but said mistake simply would not be ignored.  "I'm here!" it seemed to say.   The more I tried to ignore it, the louder it got, so off to the frog pond we went.  As soon as I ripped it, I said, "Why did I do that?  I'm such a doofus!"  

But, doofusy or not, the deed is done, and we must go on.  And since I'm a process knitter anyway, I have the fun of knitting it all over again.  

OK, moving right along...

Here are the photos I was going to show you yesterday, before I was overcome with emotion.  By the way, thank you for all the kind words and prayers.  Beverly was like a second mom to me, and she practically raised Cody while I was wasting my life away at the factory.  I can't imagine a world without her in it, but that is the world I live in now.  

Anyway, here are a few of the pictures I took.  Brennan and her set of Harry Potter House glasses.  She seemed to really like them. 

I got them one together gift -- a battery operated lantern.  It's for power outages, but Cody was talking about taking Brennan camping.  Better her than me.  I got my fill of camping when he was in Cub Scouts. 

This was Cody's big gift -- a record cleaner.  I wish they could have stayed a little longer, as I've got some records that really need cleaning.  Maybe I can talk him into bringing it down one weekend. 

Once we'd finished opening gifts, I had them lay everything out for a photo. 

Brennan was especially taken with the Pioneer Woman mug on the far right.  Funny, when I saw it in the store, it just called out to me and said her name.  

I also received some presents. 

Cody gave me the Muppet Christmas Carol soundtrack on vinyl, and the two wax stamps were from Brennan.  She got me this set with the wax, melting spoons, and candles, 

plus a second stamp.  

It didn't take me long to break them out and play with them:

My older brother and his family sent me some money, so I used part of it to order this cute little treasure chest to store my Christmas stamps and washi tape in. 

They fit perfectly.

They fit so well, I'm thinking about ordering another one for the rest of my stamps and washi tape...and stickers...

And lastly, my younger brother sent me a Texas flag blanket and Cajun French phrase book.  

Funny, yet not funny, two years ago, Cody got me a blanket for Christmas, and it was so hot, it was a week before I could even use it.  This year, my brother got me a blanket, and it's so hot, it'll be a week before I can use it.   So, the secret to getting Christmassy weather at Christmas -- stop buying me blankets.  

Also, I've been studying French on my DuoLingo app, but it's France French, not Cajun French, so my brother got me a Cajun French book.  Alas, the print is so tiny, I think I'm going to have to buy a magnifying glass to read it.  

Other than that, I love it.  I grew up in Cajun country, so if I'm going to learn French, this is the dialect I need to learn. 

That's it for tonight...wait, what about my sister?  Yes, she and her family sent me gifts, but this post is already long enough, so I'll wait until tomorrow to talk about those.  

For now, I'm going to go watch Tiny Food Fight on Food Network.  It's a show where grown folks cook miniature food in a doll house kitchen, and the judge tastes it with a tiny fork.  

It's hilarious.   

Our Christmas

I'm sitting here, not quite sure how to begin this post.  I was going to tell you all about our Christmas, but I'm having a hard time, because I just don't have it in me.  

There was kind of a damper over our Christmas, because my cousin Beverly -- of whom I've written much about on this blog -- she went home to be with our Lord the morning of Christmas Eve, after a year of battling cancer.  

We knew her cancer was terminal, but as I told Cody, knowing it's coming doesn't make it any easier.  

My mind these last few days has been filled with memories of happier days, when we were all together.  I can't imagine going home and her not being there.   

Even with the pall her passing cast, we still had a nice Christmas.  Cody and Brennan came down Christmas Eve to open their gifts here, watch movies, and eat Christmas Eve snacks.  They asked me to come up to Memphis for Christmas Day, but when Cody said they would actually be at one of Brennan's cousin's house, I felt like a whole house full of strangers would be just a bit too much for me.  So, I stayed home, and enjoyed a quiet Christmas.

The cat and I watched the Queen's address, 

and it really resonated when she spoke of a "familiar laugh missing", because she'd lost her husband this year, too. 

So, if it's all right with you, I'll tell you all about our gifts some other time.  But for now, we will remember that, even though we grieve, we do not grieve as those who have no hope, because we know that those we've lost here on Earth are celebrating Jesus' birth with him.  

And we will rejoice, because long ago, in a stable in Bethlehem,  hope was born. 

And this hope anchors our souls, firm and secure. 

Hebrews 16 : 9

Unto Us

 

For unto you is born this day 

in the City of David a savior, 

which is Christ the Lord.  

Luke 2: 11

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Concert

 

Before we get to this year's Christmas concert, I had to share some more surprise mail I got.  

My friend  Jennifer works in the library at the college we both attended -- back in the last millennium.  I worked there too, until I graduated and moved on. 

Well, the library was culling some old books, and she found some she thought I'd like, and set them aside for me.  

She knows me so well.  The red one is entitled History Sings, in case you can't see because of the label.  I haven't had much time to look into them too much, but I will. 

Then she went to the public library, which was having a book sale, and this one screamed "Becky" at her. 

I used to read Franklin Habit's blog eons ago, when he was still writing it.  I just went and checked.  The blog is still there, but he hasn't made an entry since 2015.  

And now, here is your Christmas Concert for 2021.  It's not as long as I would have liked, but that one song...I just couldn't get a good recording of it.  But I hope you enjoy it anyway. 

You want to hear a funny story?  I used to hate this song.  I mean, I didn't just hate it, I hated it with the fire of a thousand volcanoes.  But sometimes all it takes is one outstanding version of a song to change a person's mind.  With me, it was Dolly Parton's.  Now, it's one of my favorites. 

And finally, no Christmas concert would be complete without Mammaw's favorite carol:

If this one sounds familiar, it's because it is.  This is the one I played for you year before last.  There are other arrangements in my level 2 books, but I just didn't like any of them.  This one is simple, and beautiful, and quiet -- the way it was meant to be. 

Disaster Averted

 I had a mini crisis here in the Fine Martial household this evening.  But thanks to good old fashioned American ingenuity and a little luck, said crisis was averted.  And the way that happened is as follows.

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve.  I'm sure you already know that.  Cody and Brennan are coming here to open presents, then we are going to Brennan's parents house for Christmas Day.  I'm not too sure about that part of it, but that's what Cody wants to do.  

They weren't going to come down here at all, but I asked Cody when he wanted to come get his gifts then.  I felt it would be pretty awkward for he and I to exchange gifts at Brennan's family's house.  After a bit of discussion, they decided to come here for the day, which is fine with me, because Christmas Eve has always been the big gathering time in my family anyway.

When I was a kid, every Christmas Eve, we'd go to my dad's parents' house first and get together with all the family on his side.  Then when we got home, my mother's parents would come to our house, and we'd open presents there, to make room for the stuff Santa would bring, my mother said.

Oh, the carefree days of childhood...

Funny thing, I'd written a letter to my sister a couple of weeks ago, and mentioned how badly I wanted us all to be together for Christmas one year.  Being all together in May was so much fun, and I truly felt "at home" for the first time in a long, long time.  Then, a day or two after mailing that letter, my older brother's wife messaged me and said the same thing -- how she wanted us to be all together for Christmas.  

But I digress...

All that to say, Cody and Brennan are coming down tomorrow for Christmas Eve, so I spent the last two days making cookies and candy.  Once the last batch of cookies came out of the oven, I decided to go ahead and mix up my sausage balls, so all I'd have to do tomorrow is roll them into balls and bake them.  Alas, when I went to get my box of Jiffy mix out of the pantry, the weevils had already found it.  Bummer!

I had to toss the whole box.  Unfortunately, that was the only box of Jiffy Mix I had.  No Bisquick, either.  The first thing I did was to google home made Bisquick mix...shortening?  Nah, I'm already tired.  I don't want to have to cut any shortening into anything...

I briefly thought that we'd have to skip the sausage balls this year, but instead of giving in to despair, I did what any red blooded American would do.  I dug through my cabinet, found a box of pancake mix, and substituted that instead.  They're basically the same thing, right?  Crisis averted, and we shall have sausage balls after all.  

Now comes the hard part -- cleaning up the kitchen.  Not looking forward to that!

In the midst of all that, I had a little surprise come in the mail today.  It was a box from my friend Kristine.  I debated on whether to open it now or wait until Christmas, but the temptation was too great.  I just had to open it.  The first thing I pulled out was some peppermint candies:

This is a brand I've never heard of, so I'm anxious to try them.  The second thing in the box was a pair of Christmas socks.  And I mean real Christmas socks, with a Nativity scene and wise men.

And the other side had a line from my very favorite Christmas carol.

It was perfect timing too, as I had to toss my last pair of Christmas socks last week after blowing out a toe.  Also in the box was a chocolate bar, and she even included a catnip toy for the cat.  How thoughtful!

The last thing in the box was this giant blob of plastic.  What on earth?  

I had to channel Indiana Jones a bit before I finally made it through all that plastic to find ...

this turtle mug!

She makes pottery along with her candles to sell at cons and conventions and things.  I've bought several of her candles, but never any pottery.  She posted this one a while back, and I don't remember if I mentioned how much I loved it, but apparently she did and so she sent it to me!  I squeed so loud I scared the dog.  And to top it all off, she added a Christmas card.

Thank you so much, Kristine!    You made my day.  Cutie says thank you for my toy, too!

And Merry Christmas, to you, too! 

I Suppose I Ought To Blog

I suppose I ought to blog, though for the life of me, I can't think of anything to talk about. I'm sitting here trying to think of what I accomplished today, and I got nothin'.  Absolutely nothing.  

Except washing dishes, but you don't want to hear about that, do you?  

I mostly just sat, played games on my Kindle, and knit a bit. I should probably tell you, after getting my Garden Party shawl out, I knit four rows on it, then decided I needed something a bit more mindless to work on while watching football and Christmas shows.  So, I got out this scarf I've been working on for forever.

I don't think the pattern even has a name.  It's in this booklet I bought from Walmart years and years ago. 

It's also got a matching hat, and I've knit the set before -- for my oldest nephew when he was about 6 or 7.  He's 21 now, so that tells you how long I've had the booklet.  Anyway, it's a pretty simple pattern, good for mindless knitting. 

Other than that, I spent a good deal of the day debating back and forth on whether I wanted to start my Christmas baking today, or wait until tomorrow.  I'm not going to make as much as I usually do, since it'll just be me and ...well, me.  I don't even know if Cody is coming, much less if he's bringing Brennan with him.  He did tell me he's got Christmas Eve off of work, but I don't know what he plans on doing with his time off. 

He keeps taking about us going to spend Christmas with Brennan's family, but I don't know...

I'm just having a hard time getting into the Christmas spirit this year.  Maybe getting my baking on will get it going.  I made out my list of what I'm going to make.  Tomorrow, I'll get started making it. 

And finally, this is wild.

I guess that's it for today.  

Oh, except for your Christmas song of the day:  

Jesse

It was that time again.  Time for Jesse to go get his checkup.  I know he was thrilled, but it's something that has to be done, so I called the up vet this morning and made him an appointment.  They were able to get us in today, so I loaded him up in the car, and off to the vet we went. 

He's still camera shy, by the way.  As long as I've had him, that's something I've never been able to get him over-- that, and a fear of belts. 

For those of you who may be new to the blog, I adopted Jesse from the local animal shelter some 10 years ago.  They estimated him to be about 2 years old.  He was skinny as a rail, and scared of everything.  He's doing much better now, but I still haven't cured him of his fear of lights and noise.  In fact, he's so afraid of noise, I have to be careful I don't put his food into his bowl too loudly, or he's ducking and running for cover. 

Anyway, he got a clean bill of health from the vet-- as much as a 12 year old dog can have a clean bill of health. The vet did come in and sat down and discussed some non urgent age related issued we would need to look at soon, like getting his teeth cleaned, and we talked about the heart murmur they found a year or so ago.  There really isn't much to do about that, but it can be concerning if he ever needs anesthesia for anything.  

On the bright side, I was commended because Jesse is a good, healthy weight.  Overweightness in dogs is just as bad as overweightness in humans.  It affects their heart and joints and other organs, just like it does to people. 

Once we got home from Jesse's doctor visit, I said to myself, "Self, you really ought to run to the store while you're dressed."  

I needed to go back to the store, because I'd forgotten some vitally important ingredients for one of my Christmas Eve dishes I always make.  Not because I was waiting until the last minute.  

I went back and forth for a minute::  I need to go, but I don't want to go, but I need to go, but I don't want to go, maybe I'll go tomorrow -- you know, the usual.  I finally convinced myself to go ahead and go, so I won't have that trip hanging over my head for the rest of the week.  I got the things I'd forgotten, and that's it for me.  If I've forgotten anything else, we'll just have to do without this year.

We're going to have to do without the gumdrop cookies as it is, because I have not been able to find gumdrops this year.  They may have had some earlier, but when I tried to find them, I couldn't.  I haven't been able to find the Pearson's mint patties either.  So, thank you for that, Brandon.  

While I was at the store, I ran in to Edna Who Loves To See Her Name In My Blog.  She used to work out at the plant until she retired a couple of years ago.  We chatted for a good bit, blocking the aisles and catching up on all the gossip.  She asked about work, asked about my Stalker, asked about the plumber, and mentioned my piano concert.

Edna told me she'd taken piano lessons as a child, and was so bad, her teacher taught her to crochet instead. I told her I'd taken lessons as a child, too, until my mother made me quit because I kept forgetting what day my lessons were on, and I'd walk home after school, instead of going and getting in the car for my mother to drive my to the piano teacher's house.  

Then I told her about this morning...Yes, I got a second song recorded this morning.  "You know, I'm not very good, because I'm trying to teach myself, and I don't have a lot of time to practice, because, well, you know where I work,"  I told her.  

Anyway, I've been working up a few songs, and I've gotten to where I can play them through pretty well, provided I slow myself down.  I can play them 100 times perfectly, but as soon as I turn on the camera, it's like I've never seen this music before.  I don't understand it, because it's not like there's anyone standing over me putting pressure on me.  

Even so, it took me five tries -- five tries-- to get a recording that I felt was acceptable.  

Edna thought that was hysterical.  You know what I think is hysterical?  This:

But I digress.  

Where was I?  Oh yes...it took me five tries to successfully record the song, but I finally got it done, so now you will have two songs in your Christmas concert.  At least.  I'm going to try to get a couple more songs recorded.  Even though I'm getting short on time. 

One thing I've noticed, though, is when I first start recording, the sound is really low, then it increases after a few seconds.  It's not me doing it.  

It's the camera, so don't hold that one against me. 

The flubs and sour notes you can, but not the wonky volume issues. 

Progress

It took only three tries.  Yes, only three tries to figure out how many stitches to cast on for my widened Irish Hiking Scarf.

I knit one pattern repeat, but then my little voice got more insistent that I finish some of my other projects first.  I really, really need to finish my Garden Party shawl, so I dug it back out to work on.

Only, I couldn't find the pattern anywhere.  No, I take that back.  I found the pattern -- just not the pattern page I needed.  The whole pattern takes 9 pages, and I found every other pattern page...just not the page I was on.  Sigh...OK, I'll just pull up the pattern and reprint that one single page.  Only, I couldn't find the pattern, on my computer.  

It wasn't in my documents.  It wasn't in my saved emails.  It wasn't anywhere.  Hmmm, maybe it was on my external hard drive.  Yeah, that's where it is!  OK, now where is my external hard drive???

After much searching, and a few unwholesome words for which I had to repent, I found the external hard drive.  Now, where on this thing is the pattern?  I must have opened a hundred folders -- eh, not really, but it sure felt like it-- before I found the elusive Garden party pattern, but find it I did.  Finally.  

I printed off the page I need, and we're off to the races.  But all this really emphasized how badly I need to get my junk room organized, and less...well, junky.  Since I'm done mailing all my Christmas gifts, the first thing I did was to take all the empty cardboard boxes out to the carport.  Then I turned my desk chair around and pushed it in up under the desk.

It's amazing how such a small thing makes the room look so much better. 

Kindly ignore the unswept floor.  I'll get to it.  Eventually.  

But for now, I'm going to knit.  

Laters. 

Finished Object

Yes, the hat is finished!  

 It turned out pretty good, even if I do say so myself.  I haven't cast on the matching scarf yet.  I'll do that here in a little bit.  I'll probably have to do some experimenting to see how I can make it wider, but we'll get there eventually. 

And yet, in the back of my mind, there is a little voice whispering, "You need to finish all the projects you already have on the needles.  Or at least some of them...OK, just one.  Just finish one project before casting on another one..." 

"Hush!"  I tell my little voice, as I pick up my needles and yarn.  "Just hush..."

In other news, I really need to come up with some different segues, but for now, you'll just have to deal with the same old same old...so, carrying on...

In other news, I got a box from my sister today, which contained the rest of our Christmas presents.  She'd told me that nothing was wrapped, so I hadn't planned on opening it until Christmas day, but she also included a pattern my grandma had been working on, and my sister said if anyone in the family could figure it out, it would be me.  I tried to resist, but I wanted to see what Grandma had been doing, so I opened the box early.  

Here is the pattern my sister included, 

if you can see it.  I haven't really looked too hard at it, as crochet isn't my thing.  But Grandma had started what appears to be a sampler, as if she were trying to see how the pattern was working up. 

It's only about 12" wide, not counting the fringe, but I imagine if you add a few more repeats, you can make it as wide as you wanted. 

My grandma died when I was 14, and I don't have a lot that was hers, so this is a real treasure to me. 

I spent the rest of the day watching Christmas shows, trying to get into the Christmas spirit.  It's been hard, because it's been so warm and sticky these last couple of days.  The good news is, a cold front passed through today, and it's cooled off significantly.  I'm so glad, because it's been plumb miserable here.  It's supposed to get down into the low 30s tonight, and it's not supposed to get out of the 40s or low 50s tomorrow, so I lugged up a bunch of firewood.  That little wood heater sure makes things cozy in the house. 

More good news, even though the plumber didn't come back, whatever they did to my sink seemed to help some.  It isn't fixed, but it is draining now, albeit super slowly.   At least when Cody and Brennan come down, they'll be able to wash their hands without overflowing my sink -- until I can get it fixed completely.  If I can ever find a plumber who will show up and do the job, that is.  

More good news, you will have a Christmas concert this year, even if it is only one song.  I recorded the first one last night on my phone, just to see if I could do it.  I mean, I don't have a phone stand or anything, so the big thing was figuring out how to prop it so that it would be stable, and I could still reach the record button.  So, it was meant to be a dry run, but since I made it through the song with no mistakes, I decided to upload it anyway.  

That's the funny thing.  I can play these songs over and over again, with no problem, but the minute I turn the camera on, it's like I've never seen them before.  My biggest problem is I tend to play too fast.  When I slow down, I do fine.  Anyway, you will get at least A song this year.  Which is more than you got last year, because I just wasn't into it last year. 

Meanwhile, I was poking around on YouTube and found this....well, just watch it for yourself: 

Then I found this one:

They look like they're having so much fun -- which is what I aspire to.  I have no desire to perform.  I just want to play for fun.  

That being said, I think I will go have fun playing some now.  

Laters.