“Love means never having to say you’re sorry.” -Love Story (that was a movie, for you younger readers). Well, it’s a ridiculous quote if you ask me. A person you love should be the first in line to receive your mea culpa if one is merited. Nevertheless, what is unworthy of true love may actually make sense to blogging. So here is my non-apology for radio silence. Good lord, has it really been over 7 months?
The joy of my life since January has been… my new dog. Sunny is a nine year old Border Collie whose former owner passed away. A dear friend, who owns Sunny’s sister, introduced us and worked diligently to arrange the adoption. Running buddy, house protector, cat wrangler, and affectionate companion… these roles scarcely begin to represent how much he does for me and how deeply I adore him.
This adoption was a perfect example of that bumper sticker that reads “Who rescued who?” (Don’t you just want to get out a marker and add that “m”? Arg!) What a smart, sensitive, and helpful dog he is. It was only after he had settled into my home and heart before my friend gave me his papers, and we discovered that Sunny is the grandson of a champion Border Collie named Stetson! We have no sheep in our HOA-controlled neighborhood, but Sunny’s smarts and intuition are daily proof of his heritage. It is as if he can read my mind sometimes.
Sunny watching over Pilot, Pilot stealing Sunny’s bed.
And now that I have a dog (drum roll please), I feel safe enough to run trails! So much fun. The peace and beauty of trails, and their strengthening effect on my legs have been such pleasure. In spite of TWO bear encounters in the past month, I am as enthusiastic as ever. It is therapy. It is the anti-treadmill.
My greatest accomplishment of my life, the raising and homeschooling of my daughter, is nearly finished. This past school year (her junior year) has been busy and fulfilling. If you do not know much about homeschooling, let me just mention that nowadays there are so many people doing it, so much curriculum to choose from, and so many opportunities for educational experiences, that only a part of the business gets done at home. It really should be called “home-based instruction,” which is in fact what the state of Washington calls it. Yes, we do let our kids out of the house! (I know that is the number one misconception of homeschooling, the S word.) Anyway, we have one more year to teach, facilitate, guide and support her at home. What a privilege.
And in the world of harp… oh my, yes – it is a harp blog. OK. For some reason, I always think this is the least interesting topic that I talk about. I practice, I perform. I teach a bit. Not much to say about it all. I don’t talk about the zen mind required for plucking a perfect harmonic or the best way to make string ties because I can just see my non-harpist audience surfing away. I don’t blog about my clients or the people I meet, in case it violates their privacy. But perhaps I should make more of an effort to include musical topics. We’ll see.
Nevertheless, since my last foray into Blog Land there has been one important development. A new harp.
Pilgrim Clarsach
I long to avoid a lot of blah-blah-blah about the how and the why of getting this new instrument, so I will just say that this is a replacement for my Thormahlen Swan, which is now for sale. Details upon request. 😉 The new harp, a “Clarsach” made by Pilgrim Harps in England, has a lovely, very Celtic tone, perfect for the Scottish music I play. This model was originally designed for Derek Bell of the Chieftains, though it has undergone a few minor revisions.
I will be playing this new harp at the Skagit Valley Highland Games on July 12 at 10:25 AM.
I still play at the Black Dog in Snoqualmie every Second Sunday (mostly on my pedal harp, but occasionally on the Celtic harp). That is a brunch performance, 10:30 to noon, and all proceeds still go to Pasado’s Safe Haven Animal Rescue and Sanctuary. I will continue to appear through October, then I plan to take a break from this gig until next spring.
Music I have been working on lately: Medley of tunes from the film Titanic, When You Wish Upon a Star, Glenlivet, Flowers of the Forest, and Beauty and the Beast (for a wedding client).
My great, mysterious challenge and goal for the remainder of 2014: make more YouTube videos of my music! Great, because it would be so helpful for my clients, and mysterious because I cannot figure out why I’m stuck and not doing it!
For now, cheers!
We love those trails!
Harp My Day 