I haven't had much time to work on the guitar, but I have managed to get the spruce top looking like it should.  It takes many hours of carving and then too many hours of sanding to get it right.  You begin by using chisels and then a violin finger plane, and finally sandpaper.  I use a palm sander to speed things up, but you still have to do a lot by hand.  Eventually you get what you see in the pictures, and then I'll carve the inside until it is very thin.   I hope to get the outside of the top finished tomorrow and start on the back.  Maple is much harder to carve.  The first time I tried carving my hand looked like this.
        I've been playing a lot of music.  I subbed for Michael at a restaurant in Highlands, and got to play with a great sax player.  I learned that the only thing harder than taking a solo with only a bass player, is taking a solo by yourself.  It was fun.  Michael and I now have a professional live CD to sell.  Thanks to Dave Magill who recorded us at the Sunday afternoon concert series at the old Webster church.  It sounds great.  We are going in to his studio sometime next month to do a recording of Maggie and the Romantics.  By the way we (Maggie and the Romantics) are doing a show at Soul Infusion.  We also have a video someone took at City Lights Cafe the last time we were there.
       I'll close with my new favorite meditation passage.  I think this is profound.

The ancients who followed Tao:
Dark, wondrous, profound, penetrating,
Deep beyond knowing.

Because they cannot be known,
They can only be described.

Cautious, like crossing a winter stream.
Hesitant, like respecting one's neighbors.
Polite, like a guest.
Yielding, like ice about to melt.
Blank, like uncarved wood.
Open, like a valley.
Mixing freely, like muddy water.

Calm the muddy water, it becomes clear.
Move the inert, it comes to life.
Those who sustain Tao do not wish to be full.
Because they do not wish to be full,
They can fade away without further effort.