Pro Harmonica Case by Harmo

 

Well the wife has been on my butt to find a better way to stow all this new harmonica gear. I was starting to get afraid it was going to start disappearing so I went looking for a new bag. I found this

Pro Harmonica Case by Harmo on Amazon and gave it a try. So far I love it. It holds everything I have so far, most things are adjustable, seems to be built of good quality, and isn’t as huge and some of the other cases that hold the same number of harmonicas.

 

The case is made by HARMO and holds 14 diatonic harmonicas and one chromatic harmonica or microphone in the bottom part. Come with a shoulder strap and has an outside pocket for cables or tools. All in all it’s a pretty great bag, and I would definitely recommend it. It is also available at Harmonica Land if you prefer to buy it there, as the guys there are fantastic to work with.

Mini Harmonica and Key Label Stickers

So I bought this little harmonica off of Amazon as a novelty because I thought it would be a cool keychain. I was very surprised that it is actually a tiny working harmonica! You can see the tiny little reeds and everything! It’s so neat!

Now I have my doubts that you are going to play your next gig with it, but it’s still cool as all get out! The keychain itself is heavy duty a well, and has a nice clip that does not feel like it’s going to fall apart in my hands if I use it (Big guy problems). I am pretty sure I am going to have to buy my kid one now for his backpack, or rather buy me another one as I’m sure he is going to take this one! I am sure his preschool teacher will love that. Either her or the poor bus driver. Anyway a great item, that I would recommend.

I also bought these stickers and they are just awesome. I have made my own for a while by cutting up address labels, but this is sooo much better. They come off easy and stick really well. There are plenty of everything so they should last for a while and can handle a large collection. For the price and how many I got, I am very happy. Also would definitely recommend.

Both products are made by  Harmo, and can be found on their site here Mini-mo and here Key Label Stickers. They can also be purchased from Harmonica Land, and can be found on their site HERE.

New Harmo Polar Harmonica!!

So I have been wanting a harmonica for a while now, but never could decide on what to buy. I finally decided to buy a Harmo Polar Harmonica from Amazon. So far I absolutely love it! The harmonica comes with a nice fitting case with a zipper, which is great for carrying it around. The harmonica itself is gorgeous, and could be used as a display piece. It seems to be very well built. It seems good and sturdy, and has a good weight in the hands. The best feature though is the sound! It has an amazingly rich sound, that I wasn’t expecting just from hearing my friends play. It is also quite loud, and the sound fills the whole room. It sounds fantastic when you play it in the woods at night; It reminds me of a rich bluegrass band sound.

 

The harmonica also comes with a very detailed instruction sheet showing you the basics of how to play and care for the harmonica, which was handy since I had no idea. It also comes with a two year warranty which is awsome as well. Learning to okay is going to be an experience, but when I can pull out my harmonica and play during out next group camping trip it will be well worth it!

 

Check out my unboxing video here: https://youtu.be/lF4bSiyp_gE

 

Here is the harmonica I bought on Amazon Harmo Polar Harmonica

 

Here is their website Harmo.com Polar Harmonica

 

Here is the link to Harmonica Land as well Harmonica Land

Need some extra cash? Advertise with a decal on your car and get paid monthly. Easiest side job ever

So, I found this really cool company.

Since you already drive (to work, to school, to run errands) here is a company that I’ve found that actually pays you to drive with a small ad on your rear window.

I’ve already signed up and I really like the program. You should check it out. Passive income is great and so is getting paid to do something you already do!

Check Them Out Here Referral Cars

Women Who Choose Their Own Path

http://stevehensleyphotography.com/2018/03/08/women-who-choose-their-own-path/

Dog Park Etiquette

 

Everyone loves taking their dog to the dog park. Watching the dogs run and play really brings out the joy that we have for our animals. The exercise and socialization impacts the dogs as well, improving the behavior and their general attitudes. However, so many dogs and owners coming together in this public forum requires a certain form or etiquette. A set of do’s and don’ts that everyone needs to go by so that everyone can have a fun and safe time.

First and foremost, never bring your dog to the dog park if they are sick or have not been vaccinated.

Any communal area is a hot spot for illness to spread, and that goes for our K9 counterparts as well. All sorts of bodily fluids get mixed and tossed around as the dogs play. It is up to you to make sure your dog is protected and up to date on his shots. It is also up to you to make sure you don’t take a chance on getting other dogs sick if your pupper is under the weather. It is good practice to bring your dog a bowl and water, and prevent them from drinking from the public bowls and fountains, to help lower the chance of illness.

Clean up after your dog.

This should be common sense, but I have seen so many dog owners just watch their dogs drop trowel and sprint off and never move a muscle. Noone wants to be covered in poo because their dog ran through your dogs poop and then jumped on them. Please clean up behind your dog. If you don’t have a poop bag, I am sure everyone else there does, just ask.

Leave other people’s dogs be

Very few instances I can think of where I would call down someone else’s dog, and that is pretty much to prevent escape or injury. If another dog is not playing nice or is behaving badly, leave it to their owners to deal with. If needed, call your dog to you and get them out of the situation. If further attention is required, tell the owner about the issue and ask them to correct it. It is not your place to correct someone else’s dog.

Don’t bring treats to a dog park

You know how in school, your teacher would always say “Well did you bring enough for everybody?” One of the most common causes for aggression in dogs is food. They may not have an issue on a normal basis, but when you pull out a treat and all the other dogs come running, your pooch may behave differently towards his new competition.

Know the difference between play and aggression, especially in large dogs

This is a big one for me. My dog is rather large and when she is playing with a group of other large dogs it sounds like they are killing a gazelle. But of course, it is normal play behavior. I have seen many dog owners who get frustrated either at their own dog, or someone else’s, for displaying signs they took as aggressive, when it was completely benign.

The end result for everyone to have a safe and enjoyable time. Follow these rules and enjoy your K9 friend to the fullest. Don’t forget to be social and talk to the other owners if they are sitting in a group. I have learned so much from sitting at a table at the park talking with other owners. Dog people always seem to be talkers in my opinion, so jump in there and have a good time as well.

Have any other etiquette tips or pet peeves from the dog park? Comment below and let us know!

One Pot Garlic Parmesan Fettuccini

Had to share this recipe. This stuff is fantastic. The sauce is thick and rich, and  is perfectly seasoned. We usually serve it with grilled chicken and cheesy breadsticks. You can use any pasta you like, but we prefer fettuccini. Enjoy.

 

Garlic Parmesan One Pot Pasta

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 cloves of garlic

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup milk plus a little more

2 tablespoons of butter

8 oz fettuccine

¼ cup parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Add olive oil to pot with garlic cloves. Brown garlic. Add chicken broth, milk, butter, and pasta to pot. Go ahead and add salt and pepper also. Bring to boil, then lower heat until pasta is done. Stir often. You can add more milk if you need to. Keep covered with lid unless stirring. Takes about 18 to 20 minutes to cook pasta. Once pasta is done, remove from heat and mix in parmesan cheese until well combined. Can garnish with grilled chicken, broccoli or even more parmesan cheese. Enjoy.

 

Healthy Homemade Doggie Ice Cream

Ice cream for dogs can be bought from retail stores, but have you ever looked at the ingredients in that stuff? Here are the ingredients for a popular brand sold in the big box stores:

water, whey, soy flour, coconut oil, polydextrose, peanut butter syrup (peanuts, corn oil, salt), maltodextrin, sorbitol, monoglycerides, microcrystalline cellulose, dicalcium phosphate, sodium carboxymethylcellulose, dipotassium phosphate, ascorbic acid (vitamin c), ferrous fumarate, natural flavor, salt, pyridoxine hydrochloride, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin

Now we are the kind of dog parents that like to try and watch what our girl eats, just like we do for ourselves. This wasn’t going to work for us, so we went looking for a healthy homemade alternative, and found one we love that I wanted to share. Our ingredients:

Banana, plain yogurt, peanut butter

Better?

This super simple and easy recipe took about 5 minutes to make, and is like crack for our dog. We poured ours into a big bowl to freeze, and just scoop out what we want her to have and put it into her food bowl, but you can freeze it in individual cups, or even ice cube trays. You can also put it into a bag and “pipe” it onto a tray covered in parchment paper or baking mats, and freeze into little frozen doggo treats.

The recipe would be 1 ¼ cup of plain yogurt, ⅓ cup of peanut butter, and 1 ripe banana (very ripe, needs to be mushy). Mix all together in a food processor (we used a SELRES_884d2dd8-f321-48d8-b816-2ab64da3e479SELRES_5555e124-4139-4c69-857e-b3976b597d0cSELRES_be971b44-589b-4702-baef-d81e714c108eSELRES_0062358c-bea8-43a5-a3e4-fb2f88e47984SELRES_c9c1c0e3-cca4-4200-b94d-961f7c3587f7Magic BulletSELRES_c9c1c0e3-cca4-4200-b94d-961f7c3587f7SELRES_0062358c-bea8-43a5-a3e4-fb2f88e47984SELRES_be971b44-589b-4702-baef-d81e714c108eSELRES_5555e124-4139-4c69-857e-b3976b597d0cSELRES_884d2dd8-f321-48d8-b816-2ab64da3e479) and pop into the freezer to freeze. Done. Serve as desired.

Instant Pot Lives Up To The Hype

 There has been so many kitchen gadgets come and go that were promised to revolutionize the way we cook, that I don’t even pay attention anymore. Sadly, I couldn’t even tell you what is on the market now a days.

This is why when my wife started talking about an Instant Pot , I had no clue what the thing was. I did a search and of course, same old hype. I filed the thought under the “whatever” tab and that was that.

Well we got one for Christmas this year, and decided to try it out. It worked. OK, so we tried it again, and it worked again. Holy crap, does this thing really cook the same food in half the time? Yep. Does it let you throw a bunch of ingredients in a pot and somehow create dinner? Yep. Everything we threw at it seemed to work great. Now, it has a permanent home on the counter top and we use it 3-4 times a week.

So why is this different? Well people have been cooking for a long damn time. We have pretty much figured out how to do most things. So trying to come up with a new gadget to do this totally awesome new thing, probably ain’t gonna work. The Instant Pot however, is not a new thing. It is a vast improvement on an old thing.

Pressure cooking has been around since 1679 when  French physicist Denis Papin, better known for his studies on steam, invented the steam digester in an attempt to reduce the cooking time of food. In 1939 at the New York’s Work Fair, the National Pressure Cooker Company (now Presto) introduced the modern age pressure cooker with the “jiggler” valve. So, nothing new there. What it does do, it take the often finicky pressure cooker, and slip it into a nice digital sleeve, and add a rather automatic and worry free (read idiot proof) valve. This means you press the button, and the machine worry about pressure and timing. It also builds in a ton of safety features which means you can mess around with pressure cooking and not blow up your kitchen.

I am not going to go out on a limb and say that this is going to do everything they claim it will and change your life forever, but I will tell you we have spent a month cranking out different recipes and it has performed flawlessly. It is definitely work checking out.

Graffiti Bridge

So in the middle of no where Madison Co we came across a very interesting bridge. The bridge, known to locals as “Graffiti Bridge” is covered 100% in multiple layers of graffiti. Names, symbols, phrases, etc.

The bridge crosses Silver Creek on Hagan Mill Rd. This tiny country road is a really nice drive, and exploring the bridge is completely worth the trip. Silver Creek itself is gorgeous and we found a large crane hanging out fishing.

It’s readily obvious that it’s not some rowdy gang marking their territory, but kids taking part in a tradition. Names and Greek symbols make it appear that a lot of sorority and fraternity kids from the local colleges make the trip to paint something onto the already well covered bridge.

If your out for a drive around the county this is definitely something neat to check out.