Sometimes, in moments of self-reflection, I wonder if I am a dilettante by nature. It seems like I learn a little about a lot, never spending the time it takes to become an expert in anything. Now it's true that I have stuck with things to finish them, but sometimes it seems my mind flits from flower to flower, taking momentary nourishment in some area of human thought, and then flies on to the next flower. I have always known that I have a restless mind, unlikely to stay on a topic after I have grasped some essence of it, often missing the details.

Yet this morning I read what cosmologist Beatrice Tinsley wrote on her deathbed:

"Let me be like Bach, creating fugues,
Till suddenly the pen will move no more.
Let all my themes within - of ancient light,
Of origins and change and human worth -
Let all their melodies still intertwine,
Evolve and merge with ever growing unity,
Ever without fading,
Ever without a final chord...
Till suddenly my mind can hear no more."

I find this a much nicer way to think of myself. Perhaps someday "all their melodies will intertwine" and I will there is no final chord beyond the restless mind, the need to know about everything that my mind flits to in fits and starts...

What a great tour it was. Definitely worth the drive. Got there about 1 pm and left about 3:30 pm. What was amazing is that we actually walked around the factory as the guys were busy building banjos. Carol, who led our tour, was a wonderful English woman who would go right up to all of the craftsman and ask to see some of what they were assembling, so we got a chance to see all kinds of banjos in various states of being assembled and made. I was going to write "being manufactured", but it's clear that each fellow putting these banjos together or making their parts is a craftsman, very unlike any manufacturing plant I've ever been in. It's clear each takes pride in his work!

I also realized for the first time (DUH!!) that a banjo is an interesting marriage of wood and metal. It became clear when I saw a John Hartford banjo being built. I played the Hartford and it is a really sweet, mellow tone. Unlike most banjos that come with tone rings (the piece of a banjo that sits under the head and gives it a ringing tone), the Hartford has a wooden tone ring rather than a bell brass or steel ring. Now I love the usual banjo with its bell brass tone ring sound. I love the brightness of it's tone. It's a big reason why it's hard to be sad when playing a banjo. But sometimes I'll pick up the guitar (shhhh...don't tell anyone) when I want to just noodle in a quiet and reflective way.

The Hartford, though, with its wood tone ring has a mellow, warm, sustaining tone...still brighter than a guitar, but to my ears more akin. And the wooden tone ring is downright beautiful. One thing the tour made me readily aware of is the marriage of wood and metal in a banjo. Just hadn't occurred to me before. Not sure why. We actually saw the wooden tone ring on top of the rim on a pot (the round part of the banjo) which had just been made. Its a work of art, a beautiful marriage of wood to wood rather than metal to wood. Anyone who loves wood would love this banjo for the beauty of the marriage of wood to wood.

Anway, here are a few photos I took...

What a wonderful Christmas this has been for me, though I miss being with Jaemon and Tana. This Christmas, though, has been about relaxing, playing the banjo, reading, doing long-put-off jobs, and spending time with friends. Before Christmas I had a wonderful time with Mark. Then Christmas Eve I had my traditional (when I'm in town) Christmas Eve dinner with John and some of his friends. This year, in addition to Dawn, who is also a Christmas Eve regular, John brought his niece. We went to Houston's, where I had a wonderful barbequed artichoke which no one else liked. Go figure! After dinner we went to All Saints for their Mass. All Saints recently won their case against the IRS, so it was good to be there to help them celebrate taking on the IRS and winning the battle against government censorship of dissent!

Christmas morning Claire and I hiked up to the Eaton Canyon waterfall. It was a great hike on a crystal clear Christmas morning.

Then I came home, practiced the banjo for an hour, talked by phone with Margaretjean in Iowa and Zack in Sacramento, took a luxurious bath and then went over to Jane and Michael's for a prime rib dinner! Also there were David and his wife, Betty, and their daughter, Alicia, so it was a nice small group.

After dinner I came home just in time to get a video call from Tana, Jaemon and Jennalise. LAter, Liz was also in on the call. I got a chance to thank her for her wonderful painting of the Madonna with Dog, a lovely piece that now sits in my living room.

Today I am going down to San Diego to the Deering Banjo Factory to tour the place. What a treat! I may stop on the way home to see John and his family. tomorrow night is dinner with David, and then New Year's Eve with Maggie!

So this has truly been a wonderful Christmas at home with Monster and Friends!

It's amazing how much a teacher can put off doing until Winter, or Spring, or Summer break. For the last three days I've been trying to relax a little, but also trying to catch-up on some of the tasks that have been accumulating since last vacation. I've upgraded two important pieces of software, wiped out a disk that was screwed up by my failing USB card, replaced the windshield wipers on my truck (just in time), and spent time practicing the banjo. My teacher and I have picked a song for me to play at the Topanga Banjo and Fiddle contest (Topanga Banjo and Fiddle Contest) next May. I promised myself I would try to play there when I attended for the first time a year ago. In one month I will have been taking lessons for a year. Hardly seems possible!

I have also spent time with friends. On Tuesday I visited with John Pixley, a friend in Claremont, who was also being visited by two friends of ours from Vermont, John Calvi and his husband, Marshall Brewer. We got together for lunch, a lunch which lasted 4 hours and which also gave me an excuse to see the Folk Music Museum and store. Yesterday I had dinner with my friend, Mark Holley, in Pasadena. After dinner we walked up Christmas Tree Lane in Pasadena. It's been years since I've seen it lit up. I had a great time with Mark and came home and worked some more on my upgraded music practice program Band in a Box.

Today I'm gonna try to catch up on some email. I have about 400 pieces of email still sitting in my email box waiting to either be deleted, filed, or answered. Obviously, hopefully, none of it essential! In about a week I will hopefully have a piece of really big news to share, big at least for me!