Josiah got a new Yamaha for his birthday. Check out his tunes at myspace (Jillsfrills link at right)

I have reason to believe this violin is the original instrument used in the photograph of my grandfather and his friend as kids. It has two original catgut strings. I made a shadowbox of the picture– including Herman’s banjo picks found in his effects at his death and some violin pieces found in the violin case (the bow frog matches the one in the photo).

Goofing Off

A young Herman Hutton and his friend Blake Litton goofing off with their dad’s instruments.

Link to Family Bluegrass Gospel Site

Check out my new blog for our famiy singing group. It will feature articles about our group, profiles of members, and a calendar of events.

www.leggettfamilygospel.blogspot.com

Math through guitar

http://www.musemath.com/flash/contents.swf

Check out this neat website with working guitar strings.

Though I’d just write a little about what we’ve been up to.
Tuesday we sang and played at a community jam session in the hometown of the famous Jessica Lynch. Everyone sat in a circle and played together, taking turns passing the mike around. Josiah was too busy talking to his friend to sit the whole time, so one lady rounded him up every time it was his turn. She didn’t want to miss his singing. She said we livened the place up.

I’ve been reading some good parenting books. I guess it’s not entirely too late to learn more about parenting. Josiah’s only 13, even though he’s taller than me now.
You should check out Hold on to Your Kids–Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers, and How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk. I also read a historical fiction Weedflower about a Japanese girl who was forced to live on an Indian Reservation after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, written by the daughter of a man who actually lived through the experience.

I’ve been practicing the violin. But Josiah keeps packing it away for some reason.

The Leggett Family appeared at a benefit concert in the park pavilion Saturday. Granddaughter Kylie played various accompanying instruments.

Luke the Drummer Boy

Granny and Pap added musical instruments to

the barrage of noisy toys the kids received for

Christmas. Luke went to work adding decibels.

Journal and Pictures for May 20, 2005

It’s a beautiful day. I got up to pack Virgil’s salad and get him off. He’s volunteering with a Construction Club from Hocking College to do some work near Lancaster. I think it has to do with Habitat for Humanity. He’ll be back by noon, but I have to go to the Farmer’s Market to pick up some lettuce. We called Ed yesterday, and he’ll have it all boxed up and ready to go–including 14 head of lettuce, a large bag of spinach, and 4 pounds of chard–all for only $20!

I made chili yesterday. I had the tomatoes thawed out and the beans soaking overnight, so I then ran the tomatoes through a colander, pressure cooked the beans for 10 minutes, added onions sauteed in olive oil, fresh pressed garlic, and chili powder, and heated it in the crock pot.

Yesterday, Megan came for her tutoring session. I had a page of her Banned Book project typed up for her, and had the corrections done on her report on the Civil Rights Movement. Then I typed up a presentation she had written, and we worked on her Banned Book project folder some more. She is a Senior and just has 3 days left. Good Luck, Megan!

While Megan was here, Virgil and Josi were out delivering a couple loads of gravel to a couple neighbors. Virgil got stuck up in a driveway because he made the turn too sharp, and it took them and several neighbors 4 hours to get it out. I guess the driveshaft broke or came loose, so they had to take the other (old) dump truck to pull it out. The local towing company wouldn’t even touch it.

When they came in, they were starved and ready for the chili. We had to cancel our singing engagement at the nursing home–it was too late. So Josiah watched Sandlot 2 for the third time, while he ate grilled cheese. I helped Virgil with his Technical Writing–a report on driveway construction. We snacked on some watermelon, and I read Josiah a Bible story before sacking out.

My leg looks much better today, though it still aches some from the accident. It’s not as purple. We’ll go to my mom’s this evening. Josiah and Eric, my brother, like to play music together. I’ve got to finish typing an outline for Virgil, and email his Driveway report to his online teacher.