worldwide Play Music on the Porch Day
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Here's my little video from Play Music on the Porch Day down under.
Forum Activity for @carla-maxwell
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
worldwide Play Music on the Porch Day
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
ocean-daughter:
We have more of a front stoop than a porch, but I'll figure out a way to be out there.
That's the spirit of it! Good on ya! It's been cold and raining here in Daylesford, AU, for weeks and my fingers are crossed that the weather is good enough to be outside that day.
Rest in Peace, Larkin Bryant
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Robin Thompson:
My apologies for the odd spacing on the posting! I have tried to compact things yet have not been entirely successful. I hope you like reading the tribute to Larkin!
That was lovely. I didn't know her very well but appreciated Larkin's talent and kindness. Larkin was my first dulcimer teacher. Her beginner dulcimer workshop at the Memphis Dulcimer Festival was perfect for me, and I learned from her beginner book and accompanying cassette tape after that. I was very sorry to hear the sad news.
worldwide Play Music on the Porch Day
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Robin Thompson:
Friends, the international day event called Play Music On The Porch Day is always the last Saturday in August-- not far away. Do you have your tune chosen yet? If not, you have plenty of time and can even decide on a tune at the last minute. :)
I don't have a tune picked out, but I'm looking forward to international Play Music on the Porch Day. PMOTPD was a beautiful day last year and a lot of fun to be a part of the worldwide event.
How is the COVID-19 coronavirus affecting you?
OFF TOPIC discussions
Dusty Turtle:
Here's a little tongue-in-cheek silliness. I put new lyrics to the old blues tune "She Caught the Katy and Left Me a Mule to Ride" and came up with "She Caught the 'Rona and Left Me in Quarantine."
@dusty-turtle Very nice! Adrian and I enjoyed listening to your song. I liked that it made you laugh while you sang it.
Adrian and I were just talking about our 6-9-month plan and how to move forward. Our group accommodation business is probably on the way out. We are discussing our options of renting to long-term tenants and happy to have options in that regard.
We are following the safer-at-home rules and only getting out in the world for groceries - using sanitisers and gloves trying to wash or remove packaging before we put groceries away. The Victorian government has limited gatherings to two people except for work or members of the same household.
On a more positive note.....I have been knitting for our grandchild and just had a safe-distance-visit in the garden to deliver a knitted gift. It's autumn here and currently raining, so the visit was awkward, not inviting family members in to our home, yet still exciting because we got to see our son and grandson.
Also, we normally spend 3 months here and 3 months in the U.S.A., so we don't normally keep a big pantry of groceries in either place. We actually have more food on hand than we normally do and that feels good.
I hope everyone stays safe and well!
How is the COVID-19 coronavirus affecting you?
OFF TOPIC discussions
@Mary-z-cox Your lemon tree reminded me of the four or five quinces that the cockatoos have not eaten. I need to go grab them and make quince paste! I'm not usually here when they are ripe, but this year is different.
How is the COVID-19 coronavirus affecting you?
OFF TOPIC discussions
HI Folks, I hope you're well. I don't usually get into the forum discussions, and I apologise for that. I am thankful this website is here, especially for times like this. Thank you for creating the conversation @dusty-turtle.
I'm in Australia and staying here for the next few months, after canceling a planned 3 month stay in the U.S.A. and canceling my daughter's trip back to Australia with me in June.
My husband (Adrian) and I are not sick but we are in the high-risk category, so we have chosen to self-isolate. Our business of group-accommodation here could be shutting down, partly because the customers have canceled through their booking agencies and partly because we canceled -- not wanting to bring extra people into our small town and, more importantly, our home. There are two grocery stores in our town here, and Monday morning they were chaotic environments with half-empty shelves. Yesterday, Adrian had to visit a medical clinic for a prescription, and its computer system was down. The doctor said he could not retrieve Adrian's medical information to make a hand-written prescription. We went back home and returned to the clinic with the medicine so the doctor could write a refill prescription. I stayed in the car during the doctor visit and we were diligent with hand-sanitiser before and after visiting the chemist and another shop.
Adrian and I are watching the world-wide news and seeing changes that are occurring hourly and trying to make the right choices. Yesterday we were asked to play at a pub this coming Thursday, and we declined. Our dulcimer event in April has been rescheduled to November. We were hoping to get out and attend dulcimer activities in the U.S.A. during April, May, and June this year, because we haven't been able to for the past 10 years. It looks like that will be postponed until later in the year or for 2021.
The First Australian Dulcimer Retreat
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
@ken-hulme You're on the right track! Anne and Richard are friends and we are excited that they are planning to be here for the first Australian Dulcimer Retreat.
The First Australian Dulcimer Retreat
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Would you travel to Australia for a dulcimer retreat?
You might have noticed the Australian Dulcimer Retreat listed on this website's list of festivals. Adrian Kosky and I are hosting this dulcimer retreat at our place in Daylesford, Victoria, Australia. Our "day job" is to run our group accommodation business at Tasma House and Gardens . We aren't normally involved with the groups who stay on the property....we just prepare it for them and clean up after them.....we appreciate the business, but we don't have much fun doing that. We live in a small cottage on the property and come-and-go separately from "the main house." So, we have decided to create our own event and reserve the whole property for our own use: the first Australian Dulcimer Retreat! We have the wonderful Australian musician/dulcimer player, Lucy Wise, lined-up to be the main instructor for the event, August 28-30, 2020. (September 1st is the beginning of Springtime in Australia....it should be beautiful!)
I know a lot of people might want to and think they could never travel all the way to Australia. I'm just wondering if our hosting (in our home, basically), the focus on the dulcimer, and a reasonable cost for our event, would make the idea more doable. Adrian and I live half the year here in Australia and the other half in Clarksdale, Mississippi; we do the long travel a couple of times each year. It IS a long commute, but we are physically able (and thankful for that) to do it!
We don't travel with our dulcimers, to protect them. We have quite a few dulcimers here at Tasma, and we would be happy for participants to borrow one for the Australian Dulcimer Retreat. Especially, if they're flying in from overseas!
And...if you don't mind....I am going to be building an event page and/or website to provide details about our first Australian dulcimer retreat, and I would appreciate input as to what information you would like or need to know before booking your ticket(s). Questions about accommodation can be answered by looking at Tasma House on Airbnb.com, disregarding the cost shown there, as there will be a minimal per-person accommodation charge for participants for this retreat. (Normally, we rent to one person who books the property for many guests, so the price might look odd.) The cost for the retreat will be shown on the website and/or Facebook event page that I create. Although it's not confirmed yet, I think the cost will be between $300-$400 and accommodation would be included on a first-come-first-serve basis, according to registrations.
It would be great to hear what your ideas are.
Here are a few photos to get you thinking....
Cozy Playing Corners
OFF TOPIC discussions
My husband and I live in an old masonic temple building. We have our desks side-by-side in the dining room. It's not a cozy corner, but we are pretty comfortable here. 
Geckostar97:
Hi everyone. This is my first post here in FOTMD but I sure am having fun so far. I have recently seen some photos of some beautiful dulcimers built by Bob McGowan. Is anyone familiar with his work or even own one of his instruments? I think he lived in the Memphis, TN area somewhat recently. Does anyone know if he is stilling building dulcimers?
Hi Geckostar97, I have two Bob Magowan mountain dulcimers that I play regularly (a baritone chromatic dulcimer and a non-chromatic standard style), and my husband has a Magowan "jocimer" (banjo/dulcimer). We love these instruments! If you get a chance, get yourself a Magowan instrument and enjoy!
