Gail... thinking of you today.  What you did was so full of love and strength.

I'm afraid the closest I came to the porch thing was that I spent several hours painting our new porch doors with several coats of blue paint before they are to be hung.  Had to work against the clock today, with more to paint on them tomorrow... the paint (primer plus two coats) has to all be totally dry by Monday morning early when the guy comes to put the doors on.

I played my baritone ukulele in Gail Weber's living room....that's as close as I came.  Tomorrow afternoon we'll be joined by Karen Smith Gratto and we'll play whatever comes to mind.

I packed-up Mom, Dad, and a mountain dulcimer and we met my favorite guitar player about a 50-minutes drive from here at my folks'.  We really wanted to participate. :) 

Strumelia, I'm sure you'll enjoy your porch every bit as much as we do. We forget we have a living room or dining room altogether! Except when it's rainin' sideways.

Yup! Just came in from the screened porch; played with my guitar-playing buddy. Started with Shady Grove,ended with Dona Nobis Pacem (Give us Peace), which we sang, too. Anybody out there want to be the third part? As it was we sounded pretty good, and for once drowned out the neighbours' dogs and kids on the trampoline! ;-) 

Peace to all, Annie

Lots of heavy rain with Harvey down in TX, the pond behind me came up really quickly this morning but I did play the dulcimer today. I hope you all had a nice day and had time to play, on your porch or inside. It has been a comfort having my music help drown out the rain & emergency alerts.

Are you smoking Sutliff Buttered Rum?

I love coffee & drink my fair share but not 3 cups at night but hope you enjoy yourself, sounds like a grand evening.

(Today we are getting all the screens )

    How lovely, many enjoyable times to come.

I think we are in for maybe a lot of rain Saturday but I will step out on the patio no matter what for a few strums than continue back inside.

I'm glad to get the update on your porch, Lisa.  I was wondering about it.  I contacted a couple people about coming over to play but no one can make it.  So it will be only me.  But I told my dulcimer group today (50 miles away from here) about playing on the porch on Saturday, so I expect some of them will. 

During the eclipse I played You Are My Sunshine on the porch. Dulcinina  (thinking of changing my handle to Dulcinerd)

Sandi, I just luuuuv that plan you made, especially the table and tea on the sidewalk to pull folks in.  

Lisa, you're going to have a great Saturday out there with your instrument(s)!  

I was hoping to get a line-up by time on my porch, but I haven't.  I'm just putting out a call to anyone who might come now.  We live in the city and plan to put a table out on the sidewalk with some sweet tea and cups, a homemade sign, and an extra chair or two.  Our porch is smallish, but we are excited for whatever happens!  ~even if it's just us~

You'll be all set for porch-playing, Strumelia!  

Today we are getting all the screens and the two screen doors installed on our brand new wonderful back porch!

I've been waiting over 15 years for this back kitchen porch to become a reality instead of just a wishful daydream.  

 jan,

Thanks, sitting out front reminds me of front porches when I was growing up - neighbors slowing down or stopping to say hi. Out back is like playing to 'heaven' just me, my pup & nature most of the time.

You were very welcome to come when you were in town with your brother & I am sorry I missed meeting up with you when I visited Louisville a year ago. One day we will meet, until then happy strumming.

Marg, your place is so lovely, and looks like a great place to sit and trade tunes!  It was so gracious of you to invite me over to stay at your home 3 years ago when I was at MD Anderson with my brother, and I was sorry it didn't work out.   I hope your neighbors enjoy your music!

I have a really nice patio out back overlooking a small lake but sometimes it is very sunny in the afternoons so I put in a small paved sitting area at my entrance up front for a shady afternoon. Now I can play outside anytime, just sometimes in the back & sometimes in the front.

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 What a great eclipse site-loved the animations, thx.

Thx, we love our deck!  Jan, come on down!!  Some of us here in Morehead just spent an intense, but very fun 3 days with Sarah Morgan & Stephen Seifert at Ky Center for Trad Music w/jamming on Bill & Patty Mains' porch 1 nite & jamming at Sarah's camp the next-the final nite concert included Raymond McLain on fiddle-it was awesome!

Lovely deck--thanks for the photo!  Let me know if you need jamming company someday!

Type your zip code into the box here and it will give you lots of info on what the eclipse will look like from your location.  This is a really cool site. https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/7/25/16019892/solar-eclipse-2017-interactive-map

DulcimerJones, that's a beautiful place to sit!  

I will try to do this also.  We just built deck vol.2 this year & its a pleasure to sit looking out over paradise in E. Ky.  Too bad this does not coincide w/the eclipse-that would be cool! Attaching pic, hope this works! 

Paducah, Kentucky

The solar eclipse starts at 11:54 a.m. CDT and totality begins at 1:22 p.m. CDT, lasting for a little over two minutes. 

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Work?  Yikes!!!!!!!   

I'll be sittin' on the dock of the bay --  just off the bow of my retirement boat/home.  Playing Sittin' On The Dock Of The Bay with a couple other folks at the marina.

we will be playing in Ohio, but we might be camping, so it might be the step on the camper.

It's actually all day--wherever you are around the globe on Aug. 26, 2017!

4 am ???   I can't even.        lolol

Google just told me this:

Play Music on the Porch Day 2017 will be at 4:00 AM on
Saturday, August 26
All times are in Central Time.
4 am !?  The neighbors will kill me!  Better make lots of coffee.  

My monthly dulcimer group will be meeting on August 26, so I'll definitely be playing, though we'll be in a music shop, not a porch.

I am planning to have a line-up of people on my porch the 26th.  I hope scheduling fills up and makes for a FUN day!  ~my poor neighbors~

Yes, Uke and Dulcimer.

Friends, get your Public Domain or original tune or song ready!  August 26 is the day.  And if you don't have a porch, just go outside someplace.  :)

@marg It would be neat to start a thread on 26 August to share our porch (deck, patio, sidewalk, yard. . .)  playing adventures! 

 Dulcinina, that's sounds heavenly.  

We had a screened in porch built on the back of our house in February.  Our back yard is long and narrow and completely private.  I have 2 wicker rockers, a bistro set and a small table-desk out there.  I have old timey perennials that bloom at different times, bird feeders and a bird bath.  I play my dulcimer out there a lot.  It's a dream come true. Dulcinina

(playing on August 26 )

Wouldn't it be something if after taking a count, we ourselves could break/or set a record of FOTMD playing on our porches. I think I will invite my dulcimer group to come join me on the patio (hope that counts as a porch ;-)

The back porch on my childhood home was very small. Our front porch, on the other hand, was expansive. I remember lazy summer days sitting on that porch and reading books such as Tom Swift Jr. and the Hardy boys. Unfortunately, in those days I did not pay an instrument. It was also fun to listen to the storms come down the Hudson River with the thunder echoing around the mountains. Now we have a very nice back porch and I'll be playing there on August 26 if we are at home then.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Jan that sounds so nice.  :)

Funny how much everyone has in common in various ways...  In new york city as a child on Bleecker street, we had no fans or AC so as little kids in the sweltering heat of Summer we would secretly take our pillows and a towel and sleep outside on the iron fire escape.  That was our 'back porch'.  This was six flights up (no elevator btw).. so you can imagine how startling that was to wake up in the morning all sleepy and look down.      lolol  krazy kid stuff...

When I was a kid growing up in NC, we practically lived in the small back porch half the year--ate all our meals out there in the summer and the rest of the year my mom would enjoy a cup of coffee (or iced coffee) out there on sunny days.  We had a handy window over the kitchen sink that opened up onto the porch and it was great for passing food out and dirty dishes back in!  I remember snapping a lot of beans on that porch, as well as helping get peaches and other foods ready to can or freeze.  Lots of good memories!

Strumelia,

I feel my dinning room is outside. My table inside is pushed up against the wall & my dulcimers, music & all the misc have taken over the rest of the room. Thanksgiving 2 years ago, we had 16 of us around the table outside with 5 little children 4 yrs & under. It was so nice with enough room for everyone to feel very comfy. I hope you too will be very happy with your new porch.

*THANK YOU, ROBIN!*  ~that's one of the few things I actually do miss about fb~

Lisa, your porch plans make me so happy!

I downloaded the image from the Play Music On The Porch folks on Facebook. 

Yeah the new porch is going to change things a lot for about 8 months of the year.  Our house is pretty small- we have no dining room and only a small table for 4 in the kitchen to eat.  So when we have family or friends over we have to move the living room coffee table to the side and open up a folding table there to eat.  And our existing porch is only 7 feet wide so again, you can barely jam 4 people around a little table to eat.  It'll be so nice to fit our 3 grown children and their spouses and us all (8) together on the porch when they visit!- at least between April and October or so.

Quote: Well, fast forward to Spring and yes , we've got the new 14 foot square back kitchen screened porch lined up, in the works!  The workmen are set to start tearing down the old porch in a couple of weeks, and once they start it shouldn't take more than 3 weeks to finish up.  I can't WAIT!!!    

 This is going to be a major upgrade to our at home lifestyle.  I am envisioning sitting out there enjoying Summer salads, playing music, sipping ice tea in the shade while overlooking the beehives and the veggie garden, lanterns and crickets in the evenings (and screened, so no mosquitoes!)... 

That's nice Lisa. 14' x 14' is a good size. You'll enjoy it!

That's WONDERFUL, Lisa!!!  Anyone know when Play Music on the Porch Day is this year?

You will love the porch. I have a patio & feel it is an addition of my home, except in winter and spend very much time out on it.

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Well, fast forward to Spring and yes , we've got the new 14 foot square back kitchen screened porch lined up, in the works!  The workmen are set to start tearing down the old porch in a couple of weeks, and once they start it shouldn't take more than 3 weeks to finish up.  I can't WAIT!!!    

This is going to be a major upgrade to our at home lifestyle.  I am envisioning sitting out there enjoying Summer salads, playing music, sipping ice tea in the shade while overlooking the beehives and the veggie garden, lanterns and crickets in the evenings (and screened, so no mosquitoes!)... 

For play music on the porch day?  Hazel (10) is out there now with her violin, and I plan to go out a bit later with my dulcimer.  Frances (6) wants to do a set fiddling around on the keyboard...  <3