My McCafferty! Beautiful cherry with mother of pearl inlay that sounds as good as it looks! The fret markers are things like butterflies, flowers, and hummingbirds, etc.
Hey! Guess what?! After 4 1/2 years of talking on the phone nearly every day, Cynthia Wigington and I finally got to meet in person and spend a week together in her Vermont community of West Fairlee. My husband Craig and I drove up from Kentucky and got to enjoy the sights from Ohio to Mass. and up north from there. We stayed at a nice Airbnb about a mile from her house and enjoyed many meals at local restaurants (think lobster, clams, scallops...yum!) We even played a little music together! We thank FOTMD for introducing us to each other so we could become friends during COVID.
I'll be donating food and warm winter clothes to the homeless.
I just saw this post and was so sorry to hear that Dave had died, although I'm glad he's no longer in pain. I had a lot of respect for him, both as a luthier and being the all-around nice guy that he was. I own several of his instruments and was fortunate to be able to visit his workshop in Indiana. His instruments will be lovingly passed on for generations to come.
Well...this is new: After 2 months of physical therapy, my hand therapist just assigned me a practice schedule to strengthen my left hand after I wore it out this fall (in addition to the ongoing exercises and stretches). I'm to start with 20 minute sessions, 4 times a day and keep lengthening the time as I go through the next month or so. So I guess I'll be playing a lot of Christmas carols!
Ken, I'd be happy to make a tracing for you and send it by snail mail.
For those of you who were interested, here's a close-up of the North Country Dulcimer bridge. The strings lay in shallow grooves on the top edge.
Well, it took me a few days, but I finally logged on. I will contact Buzz and let him know I can assist him. Just in time, too. I was just coming to a decision about what to do with this dulcimer.
My husband was out mowing the lawn with a push mower (gas engine) while it was snowing. Definitely a sign of spring. He said the grass was growing so fast he could barely keep up between snows (we got about an inch of accumulation, so it wasn't just "snow-globe snow").
My husband was mowing the lawn when the snow started falling, but he wanted to finish, so he just kept going. We got about an inch here in Lexington, KY.
Two weeks after my second vaccine (Pfizer) and I'm happy to report that after getting sick for about 5 days with the first shot, I only had a sore arm after the second one. I've planned a music retreat for July and plan to go to a writing workshop in August and the Black Mountain Music Festival in October. My book group may actually meet in person this month, outside, of course. It's so nice to have activities on the calendar after a year of nothing but doctor appointments!
Your stories of having to constantly go back to the car reminds me of the husband who never left on a trip in the car with his wife without having to go back to the house so she could make sure the iron was off. He solved that by always taking the iron and putting it in the car before they went anywhere. Saved making a lot of trips back to the house!
Apparently my brain's starting to turn to mush. I had some in-person business to take care of with someone and went to their house and sat in the living room with 4 other family members and not one of us were masked, nor did anyone think about wearing a mask (I had one in my purse) the hour or so that I was there. The 4 year old went from person to person and we all loved some on their cat. I think I had been home an hour or so before I realized what I had done. I hadn't visited in anyone's home for most of the past year and wouldn't have gone on a social visit. I almost never leave the house except to use drive-thrus at the bank, library, etc. My husband does all the grocery shopping and other shopping. Anyway, I was glad I had already gotten my first shot 3 weeks ago...I will get the second one Saturday.
Pandemic fads: searching, sorting, cleaning and purging, all while trying to locate things that I know are around here somewhere...
Great news, Ken! So glad your heart is healing and you're able to return home.
So happy my husband got his first vaccination today. I asked him if he felt any different (since he rarely reacts to any kind of a shot) and he said, "Not even a sore arm"; that's good news!
I've just heard of 4 families where everyone has Covid-19. I am praying they will survive.
I found a 25.00 gift card from back in 2007 while cleaning and decluttering today--and it hadn't expired!
Well, I haven't been sewing or baking, but I was able to visit my dad for a month in sunny Arizona over Christmas and help him through a health crisis which began near the end of Dec. I'm happy to report is is already feeling better and is happy to be able to walk with a walker, even though he's not (yet!) ready to get back on the golf course. New meds for diabetes and heart issues was mostly what he needed, but it was certainly a very scary time. He'll be 95 in February.
My new activity this fall and winter has been working on foreign languages on the website Duolingo. I started with several months of Spanish and then switched over to French. It's giving my brain a real workout.
I don't play my dulcimers every day, but when I do, I tend to play for several hours. I want to get back to working with Tabledit, too. I was just starting to get somewhere with it when I had to set it aside for awhile.
Good health to you all! I hope your music makes the days merrier.
I feel fortunate to have met Ralph Lee Smith several times, most notably at Dulcimer U at Western Carolina University. What a kind, knowledgeable man! He was able to impart his knowledge about the mountain dulcimer in a way that communicated how pleased he was to answer your question or help you understand something better. He was never arrogant about what he knew--or how much, He just enjoyed sharing what he knew with others--and we were all richly blessed. Rest in peace, dear man.
Love all this Christmas talk--and photos, too!
Ariane, what's the deadline for getting our videos or audio clips to you?
Ken, I hope all goes well and that you have no trouble with the catheterization. Mine was painless, and once I understood that I could watch it on the screen if I wanted to, I opened my eyes. It was very interesting, so I thought you might want the heads up so you could watch yours, too.
Dusty, Great news about your wife's job from home! There was a time when people begged to be allowed to do their office jobs (mostly computer work) from home and bosses said No way! Looks like a way has been found for many after all. It's just too bad that it took a deadly pandemic to have that happen.
I'm working on learning how to make a score (TAB and standard notation) using Tabledit. I'm using it with an original composition, trying to see how possible it is for me to get some of the music in my head into written form. Of course, with my issues with reading tab, I probably won't be able to play my own tab once it's complete!
Yeah, John. I can just picture my mom looking in her cabinet and knowing there was no sake, saying "Well...sherry starts with an 'S' so we'll try that." 
In the early 60's, my dad brought home a recipe for sukiyaki from a friend who'd been working a while in Japan: fresh veggies sautéed with strips of steak put in at the last few minutes, served over rice. Some liked it a lot, some hated it. Of course, we had all eaten the vegetables and steak before. I think the objection was more about the liquid that the veggies simmered in. It contained both soy sauce and sherry--and I think it was the sherry which wasn't appreciated. I'm not sure if sherry was even in the friend's recipe--it might have been a special Japanese alcoholic drink or some other fermented liquid--but it was interpreted by mom as "sherry"--which she didn't even like!
People who didn't really like having this tasty dish served for supper referred to it as "sukiyukky". It's still a favorite dish of mine! But I'd never heard of the song by the same name before now!
I had a similar problem the other day and I just figured the site was offline for awhile. I came back later and got right on, so I don't know what the issue was. That's the ONLY time I've had a problem getting on in 2020.
Ken--Pretend you're playing it to a baby you want to fall asleep. Playing a song slowly is sometimes harder than playing it fast....kind of like riding a bike.
I'm working--and enjoying--Skye Boat Song
Thanks for the update Gail...I wondered how that was working out for y'all.
Our TP shortage was over by the end of March. In my area (Lexington, KY), people are pretty good about wearing masks in public. My husband (who does all the shopping) says MOST of the people in the grocery stores--and Wal-Mart and Lowes--are wearing masks, which is not required, but is strongly recommended.
Dusty, the jam with your friends sounds like a lot of fun and that's not something we're allowed to do, yet. ALL of our parks, playgrounds, state and national parks, arboretums, natural historic sites, etc. are closed. When you see people out of their houses, they tend to be in their own yard (no other people allowed) or walking down the street/sidewalk. The one big "park" they haven't closed is the city's cemetery--that's always been a go-to spot for walking, bird-watching, and nature observing in general. It's a couple hundred years old, so there's lots of history to enjoy there, too. For the most part, the majority of people are following the restrictions as best they can. I'm really hoping that we'll be able to open up more businesses in the next 2-4 weeks, so more people in certain jobs can get back to work.
After not leaving the house in the past 6 weeks, except for medical issues that couldn't wait, my "errands list" had really grown! My husband, Craig, does the runs to the grocery store and hardware store; most everything else is handled online. Today, with the sun shining and temps in the mid-50's, it was so great to take an hour, drive through streets with flowers and trees in bloom, take take of business at the bank and pharmacy, use curbside pick-ups at a store and a restaurant.
I went inside at the pharmacy and was glad to see there were only 3 people inside, so it was easy to practice social distancing. I was there to select a birthday card for someone I love very much who is very sick at home, totally dependent on the goodness of the few people she knows who have any extra funds to help her and her child survive this. This is someone who has fallen through the cracks of our society, been wrapped in miles of red tape, and left to fend for herself. She and her daughter have both tested negative for COVID-19, but are ill with other conditions. The mother, herself, is on-hold for 3 operations that are greatly needed, but cannot be done at this time. She's battling cancer--and not for the first time. She's had severe back injuries from both car accidents and other bodily trauma. She's working on her third appeal to be declared disabled; so far, she's gotten nowhere with that. No food stamps. No unemployment payments. No government help with rent or bills. The list of rejections goes on and on. And she's one of the nicest persons I know.
So how do you find a birthday card for that? Nothing sexy or off-color--or just plain wacky or stupid. Nothing for a "wonderful daughter" or niece or sister. No point in wishing her a day full of friends, family, food, and fun. She's not going to have a "fun day"...if she keeps down some food and gets some sleep it will be a "good day". There are no wonderful bright days in her immediate future; survival is about the best she can hope for; she has a deep faith that is helping her with that.
I was finally able to find a very pretty card that did not refer to any relational connection. A card that expressed love, asked God to bless her, and said how pleased I was with the person she had grown up to be--words that I echoed in my own handwriting along with the hearts, X's and O's I placed near the bottom where I signed my name. There will be no visitors, nothing special to mark her birthday on Sunday--unless my card gets there by Saturday! I have not been well enough to travel the 100 miles to her home, although I finally tested negative for COVID-19 this week, as well!
So this is my reality. And hers. And although neither of us is actively ill with the coronavirus, it has impacted our lives. I am grateful to not be needed on the front lines with healthcare providers, funeral directors, ambulance drivers, truckers, grocery store employees and all the many others who are working so hard to keep us healthy and alive. But my heart aches for a mother celebrating her 42nd birthday so close to death, knowing she can't provide for herself or her child, and wondering what these next few years will bring, if she manages to survive these present crises.
Irene--isn't that bum dulcimer worth something as a wall-hanger? I often see these as part of the decor at a home or business. Some don't have strings or tuners, but are still interesting as folk art.
Looking forward to your video, Dusty! Humor helps a lot!
I'm in week 9 of staying at home 99.99% of the time...and full time for the last month. I was tested for COVID19 last Wed., but don't have the results, yet. The governor said tonight that it might take 10 days or more if our test was sent to a private lab.
I'm happy to report that I was finally able to get tested today! I waited in a line of cars for 2.5 hours, but was able to talk to a friend on my cell phone for most of that time. Beautiful warm day, and the first time I've been out of the house in a week! They said to expect the test would come back negative, but they did document that I currently have bilateral lung involvement--8 weeks since I first got sick!
Over the past lotsofyears, I've been shifting books that I find here and there about the house, over to a bookshelf (several, actually) for "books I intend to read someday." I'm a retired LIBRARIAN, so I don't just willy-nilly go out and buy books. They seem to come to me anyway....For many years I have been unable to sit and concentrate on a book, so I practically wear out the pages by going back and reading and reading through, once again, what didn't "take hold" the first time. Or second. Or third. I don't listen to audio books for the same reason, and I find kindle, etc., aggrevating when I try to find my zoning out place. Over the last month, I've read 4 books, which is remarkable for me. I've read 2 memoirs, a novel, and a book on writing. Now I'm turning to "Fifty Things That Aren't My Fault", a book of essays by Cathy Guisewite, creator of the cartoon "Cathy." Time for a some much-needed humor.
Our bars and restaurants are only open for carry out (they bring it to your car usually) and home delivery; no inside seating. Churches closed, although that's somewhat voluntary, I think. Ours streams the service every Sunday anyway, but now they are trying to make a lot of classes and studies online and interactive. My husband's working on that project along with some other tech geeks. Many stores are doing online only and the grocery stores and Walmart, etc., have cut their hours back. Pharmacy drive-thru still open.
I'm pretty much a homebody, so I doubt I'll get cabin fever. Still, I was very disappointed to have to miss the Ohio Valley Gathering last weekend and the dulcimer retreat for this coming weekend was cancelled. We can't be in groups of more than 10 people, so all entertainment venues are shut down. I'm very very disappointed that the Road Scholar program had to cancel the spring Dulcimer Rendezvous in April in southern KY. That's always so much fun -- Susan Trump usually teaches the more advanced players, although Anne Lough did a great job filling in for her last year.
I'm disappointed, too, that the college basketball tournaments got cancelled since I usually watch most of the games...usually in my recliner with my dulcimer across the arms! Fortunately my playing softly doesn't annoy my husband!
We haven't stocked up on anything, yet, and that does concern me. I'm trying to cut back on the amount of toilet tissue I'm using, and that's good for the environment anyway!
Overall, we find these restrictions tolerable. Most of my energy is for healing up from the respiratory illness I got at the beginning of Feb. I don't want to be in germy situations anyway!
