Here Comes The Sun...

                  Here is a Christmas story...that sort of missed Christmas and has now become a New Years story!  A very dear friend of mine has a brother undergoing agressive treatment for neuroendocrine cancer.   She decided that for Christmas she wanted to have the guitar that he loves painted with things that are important to him in his life; music, Beatles, his "I love my oncologist" baseball hat, to name just a few things.  I was honored and delighted that she asked me and I set to work painting.  I was finally able to finish it up on Friday and it is on it's way to her now.

The Guitar - Before



                  Now...that is the story that my friend knows about, here is the back story...

                  In order to paint the guitar, I removed the screws for the "pick guard" - which is the plastic plate that is under the strings.  When the time came to put them back in, they were nowhere to be found!  Like many families, Christmas time at my house is the typical crazy fun with a touch of holiday stress mixed in. Trust me, I am very careful with parts, but somehow these little babies were either thrown out with the wrapping paper or possibly mailed with one of my packages, I have no idea.

                  I was frantic, and as I tried to unscrew one of the other screws, thinking it matched the missing ones and I could take it to Home Depot, I inadvertently released the "set screw" for the "pick up" - now I can't tell you what the "set screw" does for the "pick up", but please take my word for it that it does NOT like to be released!  It's a little spring held in place with the screw I removed.

                  My husband and I took off to Guitar Center to see if we could get the spring put back in place.  We went in and met "Dave" at the front desk.  After telling Dave my friend's story, he not only took the guitar apart to fix the set screw and replaced all of the strings, but also told us that if we couldn't find the correct sized screws to replace the lost ones, we could FOLLOW HIM HOME so he could give us some from his own guitar!  Anything to help us out, he said.  He was wonderful and so was his co-worker, Breanna.  They could not be nicer or more gracious to us and I thank them so much.      



Dave working on the guitar.



                 Our next stop was at Home Depot to find the correct sized screws.  Ladies, if you are ever in the market for a do-it-yourselfer type of guy - carry a guitar into Home Depot, it's a bit like having bacon in your pocket at the pound and we were noticed by alot of would-be musicians that apparently shop at Home Depot on the weekends...who knew?  By the time we found the screws, there were two HD employees helping us on our mission, tearing open packages and offering up their screwdrivers to test if we had the right size.  Again, I am warmed by the willingness of others to help out.

                  I wanted to head over to deliver the guitar right away, but my husband insisted he take it home, tune it and polish it to make sure it was perfect for her brother when he received it.  I love that man!

                  And so, with my heart full of admiration for the fighter (her brother), a loving sister (my lovely friend) and the kindness of strangers and my husband, I wish you all a Happy New Year filled with hope and miracles and love and I thank you for allowing me to share these stories with you all!                  

 

"Here Comes the Sun" by the Beatles was the inspiration...



His hat and homage to his lovely oncologist whom he calls Dr. Hottie.

The symbol in the tree has a meaning for him.

The Yellow Submarine towing his license plate..

Ringo hanging out at the train tracks in Harpers Ferry where he and his sister have some fun memories.



Um, let's just call this one "Medicinal Purposes Beneath the Magic Tree"...the poster on the tree is from a concert he and his sister attended.



                                        

Here is  

H