Izzy is very helpful...

A rainy day in the Tropical Tip.  While Joan was running some errands, I set up to change strings on one of the guitars...

Overdue - that's a Taylor 522ce 12-fret, all mahogany... it has been getting a lot of playing time, and the strings were beginning to sound a bit dead.  My "guitar workshop" is the island in the kitchen - it is the right height to stand and work on the guitar.  The blanket the guitar is on is Izzy's favorite - if Joan puts that on her lap, it is a guarantee that Izzy will be right there.

I barely got the guitar down and... Izzy was right there...

She likes when I play guitar; the guitar and the blanket together - more than she could resist.

Before restringing, I checked the neck and cleaned it thoroughly...

Off with the old strings, on with the new...

Izzy made her way on to the counter.  No, we don't let her do that... but, it was just Iz and me.  And, I wasn't going to tell.  About that time, Joan came back in the door.  Iz looked at me... "You're fine.  You can stay there if you want."  Five of the six strings done - Izzy really wanted to check out that high E-string...

In spite of all "the help," the string changing went relatively fast and easy.  I tuned it up and sat down to check the results... goodness, like a brand new guitar!

No, I didn't tell Izzy that before 1900 or so, guitar strings were made from catgut.  These are steel strings (with a bronze wrap)... and they sound great.  And, for a bit of clarification, catgut strings were not made from the intestines of cats... it was a shortened version of cattle-gut... they were made from goat, sheep, and cattle intestines.  Yeah, probably more than you wanted to know.