The "It's Easter" Sunday Thread

[OldStrummer]

In years past I might have woken up this early and said, "Good God, it's morning!" These days I wake up and say, "Good morning, God." I don't know what's going on with my biological clock these days, but I've been waking up before five a.m. the past few mornings. It may have something to do with all the traveling I've been doing, but it just seems I open my eyes, glance at the clock, and even though it's reading 4:35 or some such, I can't go back to sleep.

So, last night I played myself to sleep (not really, but playing was the last thing I did before hitting the sack) and got up this morning and started the day playing. That's a good way to start the day! It's Easter Sunday, but I wasn't playing Christian music, just the stuff I've been working on.

My teacher has me using heavy picks for the studies he's got me doing, but I've been experimenting with different gauges of pick for my own stuff. I find a very thin pick works nicely for some of the staccato rhythms with alternate picking on the KLŌS guitar I've been using a lot. I also pulled out my old 1957 Gibson ES-225 and fell in love with it all over again. Egads! The thing is lighter by far than my ES-335 and is a sheer delight to play. Once again.

Wishing everyone a Happy Easter, whether you celebrate it or not. This is the day that defines what Christianity is all about.

[Don]

Happy Easter! We're having guests over so I won't be playing guitar much.

Your post reminds me that I need to spend more time with my ES-225! Have you shared pics of yours?

[gibsonjunkie]

Happy Easter y'all! I was hoping we'd coast through today without drama by not inviting family here for Easter dinner, but my daughter (who only tolerates my wife for my sake) blurted stupidly, "What are we dong for Easter?". That meant people are no coming here. She was so drunk yesterday that when I asked her to count down from 10 to 1 she went, "10, 8, 6, 21, 24, 25, 21, 6, ... etc.. I got it on video and hoping that showing it to her when she finally sobers up might wake her up, but probably not... Maybe America's funniest videos will buy it...

[DanTheBluesMan]

we're having a low key easter this year. We will not be taking my mom out anywhere but the facility is having an easter dinner that two of us siblings can attend. I will be going and so will my youngest brother. My other brother is having health issues with himself and his family members so they passed on hosting anything this year. My sister's son and his girlfriend are taking her out to dinner.

[dirtdog]

Same here - low key Easter. Right now I'm sitting in my "I give up" clothes (track pants, hoodie), sipping on my second flat white and contemplating the world. Been a quiet weekend so far and the weathers has been - surprise, surprise - cold (5C/40F) and wet. Did a few things outside/in the garage, but the rain kept me from doing too much. It's going to get warm (18C/64F) and sunny at around the same time our guests arrive in a couple of hours.

It'll be a quick lunch and then I'm hopping on the motorcycle and heading to the cottage overnight and tomorrow. Gotta remove a fallen birch tree that hit my deck and broke one of the 2x6 railings, get the water supply/pump hooked up, pull the patio furniture out of storage and maybe relax for a minute, put on a fire in the woodstove. I'm just ecstatic that I can ride the bike up there - it's been hit and miss all of April so far. There's a 50% chance that the road in from the highway will be completely free of snow and ice. I've got knobbies on my F800GS, so I should be able to power through. Gonna wear my Goretex boots in the event I have to push through an icy puddle or two.

[Old Ranger]

Oddly enough, been waking up early last week as well. 0330 to 0430. And its the same too. Can't go back to sleep either. Very odd.

I don't get invited to any gatherings. No one wants a semi-deaf old man hanging around. So today I'll shoot my centerfire rifle and irritate the neighborhood! Neighbors across the road burned grass, leaves, and multiple chunks of timber all day yesterday. Predominant winds are outta the East. And my place is west of theirs! Feel like I'm a piece of beef jerky! So as they gather to feast on whatever, I'm going to blast away and drive their idiot dogs nuts! After all, fairs fare right? And then I'll bombard em with bagpipes!

Happy Easter!

[OldStrummer]

Happy Easter! We're having guests over so I won't be playing guitar much.

Your post reminds me that I need to spend more time with my ES-225! Have you shared pics of yours?

It's probably time to re-post a photo.

[Don]

That's a beauty!

[OldStrummer]

That's a beauty!

Thanks! It's truly "road worn," as you can see from worn spots on the headstock. About 30 years ago I had to replace the tuners as the original material used started to crumble! I also replaced the pots at the same time for pretty much the same reason. The pickguard is slightly warped, too. The OHSC was beginning to fall apart, so last year I bought a high-quality case from Sweetwater that fits it like a glove.

I had a luthier check it out a couple of years ago, and other than filing the nut a tad, he pronounced it healthy and playable. Which it is!

[Don]

We might've discussed this before, but mine's a '59 ES-225TD. The original pickguard is long gone but I found a decent repro. Believe it or not the tuners are original on mine- with the original tips. It was in a '60s Ess & Ess case when I got it but it was beat and musty so I bought an Epiphone case for it. It's a perfect fit.

[dirtdog]

Nice Gibbys lads! I miss my ES-137.

[dirtdog]

Well, since its a long weekend, here's my Sunday Part II reprise.

After Easter lunch on Sunday, I hopped on the bike and headed up to cottage country. Still a little snow on the ground and made for some interesting traction once I got off the highways. Now that's its finally getting warmer, man oh man, the flood waters are high this year!

Here's a shot just down the road from my cottage - the river, well small stream actually, has overflowed its banks, knocked out a good part of the bridge and is flowing over the road. River is a good 6 to 8' above its normal summer levels and flows UNDER the bridge in the distance. The flow moving pretty quick across the road!

I turned around at this point.

[DanTheBluesMan]

that was a wise decision

[dirtdog]

that was a wise decision

I was so tempted - the road beyond that washout is a tasty one - lots of fast, gravel-covered dips and twisties! About 5 1/2 miles worth non-stop and little to no traffic.