St. Laurence O'Toole Pipe Band Concert at Carnegie Music Hall in Pittsburgh, PA.

This is the finale for the concert with piper James Quirke singing an old Irish folk song, The Auld Triangle.

Bonnie and I had great seats in the balconey. Front row and next to the aisle. We had lot's of fun and had lunch AND dinner at the Union Grille, about a block from the Music Hall. They have the best Butternut Squash Soup. If you're in Pittsburgh, give the Union grill a try. It's near the Pitt campus and off of Forbes Avenue.

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Emily and Sue, I hope you don't get home sick when you see this. Our first snowfall this winter on 12-5-2007. Accumulation of about 3". You can see my neighbor Dave in the background, shoveling his driveway. I cleaned my car and drove to the toy store (for Big Will), not because I had to, but because I wanted to. Retirement is fun.

William Vaughn Mathews with his Great Grandpa, Clyde William Strother. There have been 16 Williams (either first or middle name) in the Strother family, since William Strother was born in 1298. Vaughn is Jesse's father's first name. William Vaughn has a nice regal ring to it, don't you think?

Fun Videos

Bonnie having fun with a Cape Breton reel on the practice chanter. Reels are tunes in cut common time or 2/2, and played pretty round. The reel has two accents (or pulses) to the bar. Check it out yourself. But, if you aren't tapping your foot, you better check your pulse to see if you're still alive. Follow along with Bonnie, she's very musical.

During a basketball timeout in the 14,000 seat WVU Coliseum, the cheerleaders dance to "That Good Ol' Mountain Dew". The Mountaineers were playing Winthrop and won the game, 70-53. WVU has an alumnus as the head coach in Bob Huggins. West Virginia's mens basketball team is now 7-1.

Scottish bell ringers at the Ligonier Highland Games in Pennsylvania. My first time experiencing this type of music and found it very enjoyable.

William Vaughn Mathews and Friends.

Big Will with his first big stick. He does a nice job of handling it.

Big Will, my grandson, doing what he does best.......playing and having fun.

Bonnie and I at "Swallow at the Hollow", a fantastic barbeque restaurant in Marietta, Georgia. A must visit if you're in the area. The BEST barbeque, period.

The wee laddie in his kilt with Grandpa. Maybe he'll play the pipes someday.

Stone Mountain Highland Games, Georgia

Getting words of wisdom from Winkie Taylor of Marietta, Georgia, my instructor. She has more musical knowledge about the pipes than anyone I know. Everything I know about piobaireachd, I learned from Winkie. Everything I know about competing, I learned from Winkie. Fantastic instructor.

Playing for Pipe Major Sandy Jones. A great place to compete. Perfect weather, the venue is wooded and shady, the stewards are knowledgeable, and all the information you need is at the competition table or result board. I was pleased to place fourth. I have 34 total points for the year in 3 competitions. That puts me at number 39 out of 776 pipers in Grade 4. I'm looking forward to next year and competing at several more Highland Games. Winkie has told me, one of her jobs as my instructor is to empower me with confidence. I feel much more confident with my playing and know what is expected of a competition piper.

Ligonier Highland Games, Pennsylvania

I've got a lot of catching up to do. Here's a start. That's me playing "Struan Robertson's Salute" for piping judge Ed Neigh of Canada, at the Ligonier Games in Pennsylvania. I got third (and a bronze medal) at Ligonier and a fifth at the McHenry Games in Garrett County, Maryland. Both were full piobaireachds.

Patience

I did not compete at Loch Norman due to my back injury. I canceled my room at the Holiday Inn, emailed the pipe competition director, and canceled attendance to the Piobaireachd Enclave. I went to an MD and got Vicodin (pain) and Flexoril (muscle relaxer). I have visited my chiropractor several times and I'm finally getting relief. I'm surprised how playing the pipes put a strain on the back muscles. The highland games at Bridgeport are next weekend, May 5. I had planned to play a full piobaireachd, but I must have patience with my recovery. I don't want to sacrifice a complete healing just to play at the games in Bridgeport. My next possible competition would be the McHenry Games in Garrett County, Maryland. We'll have to wait and see. I'm keeping an optimistic outlook.