Moments With My Dulcimer

Moments are spent with my mountain dulcimer, both playing and enjoying it's beauty. For my birthday, my husband bought me a wonderful display stand for my lovely instrument from Ray Lynn Woods. Each morning I sit in a chair where I can see my lovely girl in her stand, looking pretty. Before work I have to have my quiet time, when I sit and have my first cup of coffee and write my morning pages in my journal. It's become a daily ritual for me that I rarely ever miss. My cats join me in the room and we have a good time, them gazing out the window or dozing in a chair, and me with my coffee, journal, and view of my mountain dulcimer. She really is a work of art in and of herself, and having a hand crafted stand is the best option for her as well. As I get to know her voice, I am reminded of all the other dulcimer players out there, who love their lovely fretted friends as much as I do. They bring us so much joy in their quiet sweet way. It's like the first time I lived with cats, I knew that I never wanted to live without them. Both came to me later in life, and both have taught me many lessons about patience, kindness, and being able to just relax once in a while.

Relaxing is the key to happiness I think. I get so caught up in things emotionally, that I need to find a place within myself to rest. That place is full of sleepy kitties and the sweet sound of the mountain dulcimer. Autumn has arrived here in Minnesota, and it's my favorite season. The leaves are decorating the lawns and dancing in the streets. In just over a week, I'll be taking a Stay-cation and loving every minute of it. Finally I get a chance to slow down and spend entire days like my precious mornings. No goals or ambitions, other than to get the house ready for my music party. Tonight's practice went a little better than last night's, and I worked on fingerpicking while singing "Red is the Rose". I've known the song for many years, so learning it on the dulcimer makes a lot of sense to me, and I'm so happy to do it.

I'm feeling very peaceful, but still excited about the party. My hope is to play my songs without my music stand and book in front of me, that means memorizing quite a bit, but it makes me quite joyful too. That way it's just me and my mountain dulcimer, as I play music learned by heart. Finding moments with my dulcimer brings a lot of happiness into my life.