Category: Blog

A full day planned, starting with 90 minutes of guitar. Working on “Everybody Hurts” along with some exercises and a little blues practice. It was a nice time, and I’m thinking that most of this sabbatical is going to be about guitar, with a few other things thrown in.

Afterwards, I went outside to get a little work done. I started with the winch. After machining new holes and ensuring I had hardware, I mounted it on the building.

It’s in a good spot, but I discovered a few other issues, which I wasn’t sure how to solve. First, the cable up there is 1/4” cable. The winch has 3/16”, which isn’t a lot different, but it is different. I removed the electric winch cable and found a 1/4” hole, or close to it, but it’s too narrow to get the old cable in.

I tried a few ways, including using the Dremel to saw off a clean edge. I could try to widen the hole, but I have a different issue, which is the drum is really small on the electric winch for 1/4” cable. That likely would be an issue. Perhaps the better solution is to connect to two cables together, but I need to do that up high, likely somewhere in the 22’ range, which means renting a hoist. It’s an interesting problem, and one for another day.

My wife has other issues with repairs, so I moved on to work with the tack room. The old lights are dying, likely with blown ballasts, but rewiring those is a hassle. It’s also likely not as efficient as getting something else. I did find a nice fixture on Amazon for $25, which is less than a new ballast for these lights.

I replaced one today and my wife liked it, so I’ll order another and replace the second one next week.

Then I went to do some feeder fixing. I cut new wood, but had some issues because some of the screws in this feeder are phillips, some are square, and I didn’t have the right bit. I decided to leave things along and just redrill some holes for a temp fix. Again, this seems like a next week project.

I have a few to fix, so I’ll measure some items while I’m out there, and then fix them better when the weather clears up. Today was cold, frigid really, with 10-20mph winds and a 25F temp. I retreated indoors.

I’m publishing early, with the intent to play a little more guitar and ride the indoor cycle today for exercise. Then it’s time to get on a plane.

Yes, I’m traveling on sabbatical, but not for work. My wife wants to celebrate this birthday in Las Vegas, so we’re heading out tonight. I got practice covered, and her sisters and our sons are meeting us out there for the weekend, so this will be a fun, relaxing weekend.

We’ll see what I can pick back up with on Monday. Halfway done, and it’s been fun and relaxing. Not getting as much done as I’d like, but I’m working through things.

A work day, trying to get a few things done around a busy life. I got up early to practice guitar and get in a few lessons before a massage. I know, life is hard, but normally I wouldn’t be getting in guitar or massages this often without a sabbatical.

Today was a easy day, and a short one with volleyball practice. I slept in a little. I’ve been a bit worn out with all the physical activity, especially after some hard runs yesterday. I got up in time for about 30 minutes of guitar, then it was off to:

A hot stone massage. I haven’t had one in awhile, but it felt good. A really relaxing massage from the therapist my wife really likes and recommends. I came out of there feeling good and immediately hit the gym for a little weight lifting. It must have felt good as I upped a few weights in the bench press and lat pulldowns.

Afterwards, I had to hit the grocery and hardware store for a couple things, then home.

It was cold and a little windy, so I stayed inside, getting the wire rope disconnected from the winch and then trying to decide how to proceed. I need to go remount it, which is the plan for tomorrow. Since it was only a couple hours from practice, I decided to skip that today and watch film.

It’s not really film, but one of the parents for my team records the games, so I re-watched a loss from last weekend. It’s hard to fit this in and I sometimes feel like I’m rushing things when I watch, so I took time today, made some notes, and then built a practice plan.

With a little more time, I hit the guitar again, doing a run through of a few songs, just to keep moving.

Then it was practice and dinner. An easy night.

Snow day. A break from things, and this makes my third snowboarding day in three weeks. Good, but not great. Still, nice to be on the slopes. I was up early, driving alone. My wife’s toe is better, but not enough. Hopefully she’ll go with me next week.

It was chilly, 15F, but no wind, not not a bad day. At first it was overcast, but the day cleared up and eventually I could see Breckenridge from Keystone.

I spent about 3.5 hours on the slopes, warming up a bit on blues, and then working through some moguls. I love the Oh, Bob! run, but I tackled a new one today: Wolverine.

It’s a steep, tough, in the trees, all mogul run. I had a few minor spills, and had to rest a couple times, but made it down. According to my watch, in about 14 minutes, which was the longest run of the day. A good day overall, wandering a bit around the mountains.

Then it was time for home. No happy hour, but I did stop for more Beau Jo’s on the way home.

On the way back, I’d been looking a cheap, used, electric guitars. I wanted something else in the office to practice with, and a cheap electric seemed like fun. I found one locally on Facebook marketplace for just over $100. It’s not great, a cheap Dean, and a small amp, but it gives me something to keep in the office and play with. I tuned it and messed around a touch before calling it a day.

A good day 12.