On a positive note we had our children, their spouses, and our grandchildren here for the first three days of July. It was fun for all of us to be together. Before they arrived I was able to get some of the backlog out of my workshop. I replaced the bridge on a Sigma DM4, put strings on it, and set it up. There was an Alvarez RD8C that I refurbished and set up for one of our grandsons. One of our dulcimer group members has a Jack Ferguson dulcimer. She obtained a new saddle, nut, and strings from Jack to turn it in to a baritone dulcimer. I did that work before the family arrived. Now I have the time and space to work on a few projects I want to do.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

There is nothing better than fresh vegs right out of the field. Pick, cook (or eat raw), eat Hmmmm. Support your local farmers and farmer markets.

My grandfather used to say "about two in a hill," and it is indeed a farming reference.  The hill referred to is not a real hill, but a tiny mound of soil in which a farmer would plant a number of corn seeds (or presumably any other crop as well), hoping at least one of them would sprout.  I think ideally you would plant four or five seeds in a hill, so "two in a hill" would mean that while you were not doing great, you were OK and could probably get buy. 

I have never heard anyone other than my grandfather use that phrase.  He grew up on a farm in western Pennsylvania before running away at 14.

And I don't know how many corn seeds he would put in a hill, but the corn he grew was fantastic.  During the summer, my grandmother would tell me how many people were coming for dinner, and my job was to pick one ear per person.  But I always picked one extra one and ate it raw as I walked back to the house.  It was so sweet and delicious. I could never understand why we would cook the corn and then drench it in butter and salt. It was so much better raw.

Lisa, "About two in a hill" is, perhaps, a very localized colloquialism.  Though we haven't heard the phrase used in years, Mark and I heard it from older people and we take it they were casually downplaying health woes related to aging.  We both think the reference was to a hill of potatoes which didn't amount to much when dug.  

Thanks Richard.
I feel so badly for all farmers and ag workers lately. They face such terrible conditions-  climate-wise, weather disasters, plus they are facing awful economic burdens as well in their struggle to make a decent living while not going bankrupt.
Farmers and farm workers feed us all!

Robin... "About two in a hill."... sounds like a reference to potatoes, but i'm still not sure exactly what it means to convey.
Can you explain for us clueless 'city folk' please

Wondeful news about your husband, Lisa!  I had that surgery and it was ver helpful to me too.

I'm thankful for all the reports from pleasantly-surprised European soccer fans on Facebook.  They are shocked at how PLEASANT we Americans are, and how friendly and helpful, and what a paradise we live in compared to their home countries.  It makes Americans appreciate their 250-year-old republic that much more.

What a wonderful thread, Strumelia. Thanks for starting  this. What a blessing upon you and your husband with his successful eye surgery and improved vision. 

I have observed the farmers in our community diligently working in 100 degree heat and extreme drought conditions. They work diligently spending money on labor, diesel, and fertilizer demonstrating faith that they will have a marketable crop and make some profit in harvest season. Such faith they exhibit.

We have high hopes for our potato crop this year.  Last year's crop was poor-- way too wet a Spring here!   It'll be nice when time comes to dig the potatoes and find out how all has been growing underground.  

P.S.- I don't know whether anyone still uses the response I used to hear older folks give when asked how they were doing: "About two in a hill."      

Tell us about something positive lately in your life that you have experienced or observed.

As for me, there have been a few positive things lately. But one I'm very happy and grateful about is that my husband got cataract surgery in both eyes a couple months ago, and now his vision is healed and he goes to get new glasses today (waaaay less strong ones). He has been cleared to drive again, and what with all the various trips and appts we go to that sure makes my life a bit less hectic!  He can see so much better now, and I'm so happy for him!  

In answer to your question, in our home we celebrate Hanukah and New Year's.  For Hanukah, we light our menorah and make potato pancakes.  Our kids are adults so we no longer give gifts.  It's very Jewish to get Chinese food for Christmas, so we did.  We also called my wife's family (in Hawaii, where she's from) who do celebrate the holiday.

Because my wife is Japanese-American, New Year's is a big deal.  New Year's Eve, we make Japanese food.  This year, it was sushi and yakisoba, fried noodles.  It was a somewhat simpler spread than in years past, but we're not as young as we used to be.

I may have mentioned this before, but I started playing dulcimer (after decades of guitar, bass, and ukulele) when my wife composed a piece for her Japanese fusion ensemble (of which I was a member) and dulcimer was the closest thing we had to a particular Japanese instrument.  I've given concerts in China (even on tv) and South Korea and audiences (and composers) love it.

I have some health issues and I got to meet with a dietician yesterday, who was very positive about how careful I've been, especially in preventing diabetes.  Per her recommendation, my New Year's resolution is to drink 64 ounces of water a day.  I also plan to compose some songs on poetry of Emma Lazarus, who's best known for the inscription on the Statue of Liberty.  That seems timely.

Happy New Year to this wonderful community.

Here's to more peace, kindness, and compassion in this world of ours for 2026.
Wishing you all a joyful new year.  oxo

Happy New Year! May you live 2026 in reckless, musical abandon! Learning songs you never thought you could play, giving performances anywhere they will let you play and trying out new styles of playing! Fill 2026 with music it just might improve the year.

Thank you, @cindy-stammich-- wishing you and all at FOTMD lots of happy strumming in this new year! 

Wishing each of you and your families and friends a Very Happy New Year!

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Sadly, we do not have Thanksgiving or an equivalent in the UK. Nevertheless happy thanksgiving to all of you.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone here at FOTMD. And thank you, Strumelia, for linking to The Welcome Table. Gotta go and start peeling potatoes.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Happy Thanksgiving, yes!  To all friends here and their families.
Perhaps a good time for me to post a link to a dulcimer song and (free) tab on my blog, called The Welcome Table . 
If you like the simple tune and learn to play it, you can always have fun with it and invent some new verses that make it meaningful to you. You can tune to DAA and play the melody entirely on the melody string, in drone style.
I hope folks get to spend time with people they enjoy today!

Yes, indeed, Happy Thanksgiving to all of us here.  There is so much to be thankful for.  I think of the old hymn "We Gather Together" every Thanksgiving.  It's a good one to play on the dulcimer.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my dulcimer friends. Have a wonderful and thankful day.

Strumelia, so, he really could say he plays the banjo.  

Dusty, the fan has perfect pitch.  

I'm just trying to figure out how you tuned the fan to begin with.

I love when those cool coincidental things happen, Robin.

Sound vibrations are funny. My husband sometimes sneezes so loudly that the two banjos on our living room wall actually resonate and 'play' their open string chord in response.  

I had a funny thing happen.  The attic fan was left running while recording a tune-- the attic fan created a drone in tune with the mountain dulcimer.  

https://soundcloud.com/robin-thompson-5/awake-early-solo-mountain?si=794db22eec7d4e6d8154e6fff81875fe&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing  

@peter-harklau Hey, Re-Pete!  Good to see you.  I still have one of the t-shirts you designed.  

@strumelia We were happy she learned the little tune and made it a little cello tune.   (a very little cello emoji haha)  

@robin-thompson , that is so wonderful!

Thanks for this.  




Dusty Turtle"]

Kurt Vonnegut in a letter to high school students:

Practice any art, music, singing, dancing, acting, drawing, painting, sculpting, poetry, fiction, essays, reportage, no matter how well or badly, not to get money and fame, but to experience becoming, to find out what's inside you, to make your soul grow.

You can hear James Earl Jones read the entire letter here.   

@frank-dudgeon It'd be fun to try it as a trio yet our niece lives in another state and we don't often see her.  We're happy you love our little tune!  

Thanks for reposting the original That's a gorgeous melody. I can imagine a dulcimer-cello-guitar trio sounding wonderful swapping leads. 

@john-petry @dusty @macaodha @frank-dudgeon I'm happy y'all enjoyed the cello version of a mountain dulcimer & guitar tune!  I thought it would sound neat on cello, so the last time I saw my niece I talked to her about whether or not she'd be interested in learning the tune so I sent her our SoundCloud link.  

For anyone interested in comparing how the tune was translated from our duo tune to a cello tune, here's a link from here at FOTMD for comparison:

P.S.- @steve-c You may well know the location where the long-gone Peony farm was located-- roughly, behind old Unioto School just outside Chillicothe.   

That was marvelous. Thank you so much. You have a very talented niece!

That is beautiful Robin.

That's really beautiful, @robin-thompson.  Although I would not recognize the melody as one of yours, I can hear your delicate slides certainly.  Your niece is quite talented.  Hopefully you can forgive her for going to Indiana for school.  

Can't find the right words this morning......a few tears though. [in the good way]...Thank you.

@steve-c She grew up in SW OH!  (Music degrees, though, from Ohio and Butler universities.) 

Beautiful Robin! Just beautiful, your niece has mad cello skills!

One of our nieces is a cellist and, by my request, learned one of our mountain dulcimer/guitar duo tunes to play on cello.  

https://youtu.be/9jYjwBuUt3E?si=Vu3ZzkW_gsNDMgmV

Correction. Sorry, I meant the trigger finger was on my LEFT hand.Steve.

Had “trigger finger” three weeks ago.Right hand, ring finger. Don’t shoot with that hand. Dr. gave me three options, splint w/ an ointment (antiflammatory cream), steroid shot into the tendon sheath or surgery. Splint it for 20 days. Having a hard time bending it now. Can’t play guitar, banjo and ukulele . Don’t have to bend fingers as far for guitar playing to play Mountain dulcimer. So I guess I’m meant to play the dulcimer more. Recently bought a Songbird hammered dulcimer. Have finally got the books and DVD’s I wanted. Built my own adjustable stand and made a pair of a little larger hammers. If my finger doesn’t recover to where I can play my guitar I will be playing both the Mountain and Hammered dulcimers. Steve.

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@john-w-mckinstry , that is something I can really relate to-  I have not planted morning glories by the side of our sunny garage door in about five years. Have not seen hide nor hair of them in that time.  Then, just three mornings ago, Brian and I were surprised to see two giant Heavenly Blue blooms there near the ground, looking much like your picture. It surprised us as well!  Seems like an omen of some sort?  We could all use some good omens these days i think. If i see more blooms before the frost puts an end to our brave little survivor plant, i will think of you John.  

:"Heavenly Blue Moment"

The other day I walked up the upper deck stairs in search of small tomatoes. When I turned the corner, I was given a "Heavenly Blue Moment".  Just ahead of me was a beautiful six inch blossom of this morning glory.  We have been waiting for two years to see one.  One year there was too much shade. This year I chose a sunny location. All my others morning glories have been in blossom for over a couple of months now. I had just about given up when, in this first week of October, I was given this "Heavenly Blue Moment"!  I was worth the waiting.

!

Sibelius's Finlandia , beautifully sung. 

https://youtu.be/NC-NK21d2tg?si=AeTaJiu1Fvuh7kZj

You're most welcome, @steve-c !  I just watched again and sang along-- it's uplifting to do so.  

Thanks Robin!  It blessed me!

Kurt Vonnegut in a letter to high school students:

Practice any art, music, singing, dancing, acting, drawing, painting, sculpting, poetry, fiction, essays, reportage, no matter how well or badly, not to get money and fame, but to experience becoming, to find out what's inside you, to make your soul grow.

You can hear James Earl Jones read the entire letter here.   

You're most welcome, Dusty!  I've sung with it already this morning and it has lifted me.  Good for the spirit! 

That's quite moving, Robin.  Thanks so much for sharing.  Definitely worthy of good headphones.  And a kleenex.

Soul-stirring version of Bright Morning Star -- it's nice to sing along, too: 

https://youtu.be/ch-t8UaGMPA?si=LsXdobcdxqOk2bh3

I have always loved the bagpipes.   The sound of the drones called me as a little girl of 3 years old as I ran into the middle of the bagpipe band marching in a parade that my parents took me to.   So when I moved to Payson, Utah, there's quite a large bagpipe band there and loved that and their Scottish Festival that takes place yearly.  When we moved to Nauvoo, Illinois the summer has a big pageant and the Pipers come every year.   On this Friday last, that pipe band came to my round  house and it was such a joy to have them try my dulcimers, psalteries and other instruments.   Two of them brought their pipes and played for me two songs.   I LOVED IT and my log walls are still vibrating with those happy sounds.   I'm blessed to live here with such great music every summer.  aloha, irene

Oh please tell me they both marched away into the foggy dew............

Just had to relate a very cool thing in my little town today. I was at our knitting group at the local yarn shop on Main street, and suddenly the sound of Scottish Highland pipes drifted over the town. We rushed to look out the door and there was a fellow in full regalia and kilt just standing on the sidewalk in the middle of Main St playing the bagpipes. It wa almost 5pm, and there were few people on the street and the sun was low, which made it feel more profound in some way. After a couple of tunes, a young boy joined him, playing a traditional style drum hanging on his belt. After only 20 min or so they were gone. It was really lovely.

My guess is they were coming home after some event where they had performed, and decided to stop on our old fashioned village street and play for a bit, perhaps while picking up something to eat on the way.

John, I don't really do anything that special. I like to mix sweet fruits and berries with tart fruits and berries to balance it out to my own taste. I have a friend who collects wild honey so I use that whenever I get the chance, but usually I like brown sugar, and sometimes settle for white sugar. I leave all the pulp and skin in the mixture, then filter it out after fermentation. I use champagne yeast and a specific gravity gauge to measure the alcohol content and usually stop fermentation at 15% abv. I filter it with cheesecloth and allow the fine particulate pulp to remain, because I believe that a small amount of flesh and skin can decrease hangover symptoms.

So Nate......Care to share your small batch recipe???? I'm "re attempting" my elderberry blossom "cordial".....Last time it ended up like rocket fuel....

Ooh, that is exciting Nate, you are a winemaker now!
we have blueberries coming soon on our backyard bushes. We already put the netting over them to keep the birds from eating them. The blue jays and squirrels would eat them all otherwise. 🤷🏼

@nate That's just doggone cool.  

Very excited to see that the Oregon grape bush in front of my apartment is ripening! Oregon grape is the state flower of Oregon, but a lot of folks here don't know that it's edible and makes a delicious tart wine when fermented. The flavor is like a pomegranate flesh with a plum skin. I am stoked to be starting a gallon of wine today!

Thanks for the support, NATE

Really glad to hear you're recovering, John. I'll keep you in my prayers. Hope you're feeling well soon.

THANKS DUSTY

John, I'm so glad you're back home and healing. I hope you're feeling stronger every day and I look forward to hearing more of your music.

thanks GORDON.

John, thank goodness you are back home and on the mend please take good care of yourself and rest well. Pneumonia is nothing to sneeze at!😊

John, I hope you continue to feel better!  

Jan, that is so nice you got to meet Cynthia!  I always enjoyed her videos and her participation here. 

Jan, that is wonderful that you were able to visit Cynthia. On the way there and back you could have visited many more members of FOTMD who are not far off the route you traveled. I have not seen Cynthia participating here in a long time and must admit that I've been neglectful in contacting her.  Thank you for your report on your visit.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Thanks Ken

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'm happy to hear that you are back home. I pray that you recover fully and heal quickly.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

John I'm so glad you are on the mend. That sounds like it was no fun at all.
Big hugs to you...

Thanks John!

Glad to see you on the mend. Try and rest, seek some sunshine, and the opportunity you have to be "in the garden" where you're never alone....

Shalom

Hi Everyone,  A couple of days ago I just got back from a six day stay at the hospital with pneumonia.

I am glad to be in rehabilitation now at home. Thanks for your prayers and support. John McKinstry

We're proud to "have you on the bus", Nate!  You have some amazing ideas.  Thanks for sharing them with us.

With the loss of such a positive support beam in the dulcimer community, it reminds me to express my gratitude to y'all. I am very grateful to have found this community of kind, helpful, non-judgmental, encouraging, and inviting folks who I can share the dulcimer with. You have all had a tremendously positive impact on me, and I'm grateful to be able to interface with all you great folks.
I love you all,
God bless all,
Nate