I work from home now, thanks to COVID. I feel really lucky. All this time at home made me start looking at my furniture. I follow Third Man Upholstery on Instagram and thought, I could do some of that. So, I started stripping my furniture and re-staining it. I found a chair in the alley. Now, I’m on my first reupholster challenge. I would have never tried it without COVID. My grandmother died (not of COVID, but due to the challenges/changes to rehab facilities) and losing her was awful. But, I have reconnected with my family in a new way and am trying to pull together a cook book of all of her favorite recipes with pictures and some family history. I knew I missed live music, but on Saturday, watching Jack, Daru, and Dominic perform, I totally cried. I miss screaming guitars and truth and music. Fingers crossed for a better tomorrow, a successful election…I am grateful for my health and the ability to help others. I’ve taken the time to learn more about my community, local government, and donated food, clothes, and other items to support. This is rambling and feels a lot like in person interactions feel now – awkward and out of practice. But, again, hopefully this hardship, heartbreak, and incredible collapse of systems will lead to a better world on the other side of this.

Also, I gained 20 pounds – good lord, lol – and am learning how to play guitar. As a younger woman, I never tried b’c it felt like a ’guy’s instrument’ – after listening to Olivia Jean, Lillie Mae, Margo Price, I realized that was obviously ridiculous. Anyways – thanks for a place to vent my rambling thoughts! You rock, Third Man is awesome, and I really appreciate everything you do for music, your employees, and the fans. Love ya’ll!

I just want to say: don’t pick me to win. I won a contest recently, and I really liked the song so I just bought the disc from their Bandcamp (https://thesugarrecords.bandcamp.com/). Thanks for the music recommendation, as always!

Our new puppy has encouraged us to go on more hikes, go kayaking and be an all around outdoors loving family. This time in our world really sucks but we’ve been trying to use it to motivated us to be better people towards each other and others around us.

Covid has actually done wonders for my marriage. My wife and I have never been a stronger more cohesive unit. We have a 9 year old son and we all decided to get a new puppy “

I have been a Vault Member since Vault Package #1, and have gotten every Vault Package that has been released since ! Embarassingly up until Spring of 2020 I have never listened to a single one of them. You heard that right folks, I would sometimes open the vault lp’s to look at them and then store them away for a time when I would own a record player. After Covid hit in March, I was off from work in the spring for a few weeks and in April 2020 I decided to clean up the unfinished side of my basement. All the stuff was put there the day were moved in over 10 years ago. Well I cleaned it up and found all my old stereo components, and I set them up, and I was proud that I was able to play iPhone through a 20 year old Onkyo receiver by using some old cables and a lightning connector plug i found in the iPhone box. Well after 11 years of buying vinyl and storing it safely away, and I amassed a nice collection, I decided to take the plunge and buy record player. The experience is much different from what I remember as a kid in the late 70’s and early 80’s. The whole preamp even though the Onkyo receiver had a Phono in, and not knowing that i shouldn’t be connecting it to the phono in, and needing to hook it to the CD or Tape instead. Was all a fun learning experience. I am still learning, but best of all if Covid didn’t happen I know I wouldn’t have a record player and be spinning some great vinyl as I wait this pandemic out at home as much as possible. Not sure if that is the winning story, but that is my story. My favorite Third Man related lp that I have listened to since my 1985 hiatus from using a turn table, is the Raconteurs Help Us Stranger, I just love listening to that lp. My favorite non-Third Man related Lp i have spun since getting my turntable up and running is Ozzy Osbourne Randy Rhodes Tribute. But i am just glad to be enjoying music like I did when I was a kid! Im just upset I missed out for 35 years. I hope all are well and healthy, here is to a better year next year. :)

Being stuck inside from the pandemic makes me appreciate live music so much more. I just miss going to concerts and going places just for fun, but at least I don’t have to commute 50 miles a day because I’m now working from home and I have more time to listen to records on my TMR turntable.

I guess the only thing that has changed is our stress level.Going to see live music is now online in our living room. I still work doing the mailman thing and my wife is a nurse on the covid floor in our hospital. So yeah our stress level is higher. I spin records to relax and my wife chills with a glass of wine and listens to whatever I play. So a new record to the collection is always a good thing. Stay safe and wear a mask when you go and vote.

COVID has allowed me to get into smoking meats while teaching virtually. I have a radio walkie-talkie-like device for grill and meat temps I can monitor while I am in Google Meet with my high school students. It’s a great mixture of public service and deliciousness.

Side note – I have also gotten to become friends with my neighbors (bought a house a year ago). One conversation with them, my mentioning of my Jack White fanhood, led them to mention meeting Mattiel at a family gathering a few years back. Small world!

Covid rocked my work life. I work in a nursing home as the maintenance assistant. Smallest nursing home you ever saw, it’s in the shape of an “H” and those 4 halls are all I and about 70 residents know each day. I’ve been there about a year, and the first half of it, some of these residents had visitors every single day. Now for the all the covid months, they’ve had nobody. Not until a few weeks ago did they start doing infrequent visits through a window in the common area. It’s very disheartening, to know that these people are in the last of their days and they’re stuck in our small building alone. So, this is how my boss and I have tried to help. He’s an old country guitarist himself, and I’ll play any type of music I can. He bought an old $100 acoustic at the pawn shop for our building, and every few days we walk around the building and play different songs for the residents as they request. Usually take me home country roads, amazing grace, some Johnny cash if we’re getting spunky. We’ve also had every resident sign the guitar. Particularly in memory of Spencer Jeffries, written huge on the side, as he was a drummer in his younger days and he talked to us about music every day while he was around, Rest In Peace good sir. He claimed to have drummed with Link Wray for a short time, though I could never confirm it. It’s fun to believe and it was a great way to be introduced to link Wray through his stories. A week and a half ago, we went in and sang Whitney Houston’s “Greatest Love of All” with a lady I’ll just call “Darling” here. She’d been requesting it for a week or so but neither of us knew it. So I pulled it up on YouTube and played it and she sang her heart out to it while we tried to accompany and harmonize. She just went in to hospice 2 days ago, probably won’t see her again. I like to think that moment helped to bring her some needed peace. But these memories made and these moments music has provided during covid in this nursing home, I believe, has kept peoples spirits going. It’s helped mine, my bleeding heart empathetic ass can’t handle these people having next to nothing to keep them going. So thank you, music. Sorry for the length but thanks for the outlet, as this covid really is something that’s putting a lot of people through unprecedented heartaches.

Continued working (Neurosurgery PA at a trauma hospital), lost 25 lbs, paddle boarded for the first time, sold a bunch of old furniture, bought a grill, learned the lyrics to WAP, finished decorating my deck, grew then killed a tomato plant, completed my 100th pilates class…and will be watching JW on SNL tomorrow :-D