A slight change in your perspective can change your day for the better. If the day has become less than ideal, remember to stop, take a deep breath, think about standing at the beach, waves are crashing, fishing boats are off shore, they're hauling in a fresh catch of Dungeness, and you are enjoying a craft beer while awaiting your fresh crab dinner at a fine restaurant in Nye Beach, Oregon.Buying a home and relocating to Newport Oregon is easier than you think! Call or email me for more details about property in Lincoln County.These photos are my newest "peep box", easy to make, using a cardbord box, a photo from junk mail, curve it around the back of the box, cut a hole in the front, and you get a 3D effect if you get the lighting just right.  04/19/2017

Thinking outside of the box too!.... All you need is an empty tea box, a full cuppa tea, a stapler, plastic bag and some junk mail.This is one of the smallest boxes in my collection. Yes, there's more! Although my daily passion is real estate, this fun craft activity is perfect to fill a blustery April evening in Newport, on the beautiful Oregon Coast!  04/19/2017

 To make a wall hanging, all you need is a collection of plastic bags, rinse clean of debris, cut them open and use the colors you find appealing. My translucent window hanging was made of various bags and netting used to hold onions and potatoes. Use a stapler to attach the loose pieces to one main bag.  At the top of the bag I made some hanging tabs for a dowl stick. The twine is made of plastic bags twisted in to a "yarn" which can also be used for making crocheted items.Newport Oregon is a unique area which values artists, musicians, poets, writers, quilters, photographers, thespians and the like. In December 2017, I plan to enter one of my recycled art projects to be featured in the "Pushpin Show" at the Newport Visual Arts Center.  03/17/2017

 Welcome to the orchestra pit! This weekend, I will be your percussionist for the stage production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang! at Newport Perfoming Arts Center in Nye Beach, Oregon.  I am delighted by the musical score, which includes numerous parts for the xylophone and glockenspiel. My favorite dance number is a song called "The Bombie Samba" which employs a drum called a "Cuica" or talking drum. The drum head has a thin stick attached to it which is played by pinching the stick between the fingers and pressing the drum head simultaneously. I bought the Cuica especially for this show and learned how to play it by watching youtube instructional videos on the subject. Gotta love the internet!The 'Cuica' is the metal drum laying sideways, to the right of the bongos, with the towel in it ... 01/19/2017

This is a view of my percussion station inside the orchestra pit. Shrek, The Musical,  had a very successful 3 weekend run at the Newport Performing Arts Center in Newport, Oregon, in Nye Beach on the Central Oregon Coast. Shrek had sellout crowds and was well received. My job was to play all written xylophone, glockenspiel, tympani, bongo, conga, bell tree, mark tree, cowbell, tamborine and assorted special effects. I was able to transact plenty of real estate business on my phone during intermission and rehearsals. I gave away numerous slide whistles with my card attached, (I used a slide whistle sound each time Pinocchio's nose grew!) and have made valuable social connections with members of my community. As I bask in the memories, I feel thankful, lucky and blessed today.  Please t... 01/26/2015

    Rehearsals have begun for another exciting off-Broadway show at the Newport Performing Arts Center! I will be joining the pit orchestra for the live theater performance of the wildly successful and funny Mel Brooks musical, "Young Frankenstien!" I will have all of my favorite xylophones along with a number of various percussion instruments, such as triangle, ratchet, suspended cymbal, thunder machine, cabasa, and other fun toys! The show runs from late November to early December, more info to come after I learn all of the sheet music, it's a whopper of a show! Contact me if you find yourself in the Newport, Oregon area around Thanksgiving! I will be located to the right hand side of the stage, 7 feet under in the dark and always interesting orchestra pit. The Newport Performing Art... 09/10/2014

 View from the percussion section!  A glimpse of my exciting world in the pit! There is nothing I like more than spending time playing music, especially when it is a live stage show at the Newport Performing Arts Center in Newport, Oregon.  These photos were taken in the orchestra pit of "The Black Tulip," a show that was based on the story by Alexandre Dumas, author of "The Count of Monte Cristo."  Our conductor, 18 year old Jacob Hanna, and his father, Brian Hanna, wrote an original screenplay and Broadway style musical score. The Black Tulip is classic Dumas literature based in the 17th century. There is great music and plenty of action: political intrigue, an angry mob, a sinister jailer, an execution, a love story, a bad guy who wears disguises and of course, the theft of an actual... 06/24/2014