> Christmas just keep presenting one challenge after another. Last night, we had a little pre-Christmas at our daughter's house and my wife and I were presented with a new, custom-made dulcimer, crafted from sassafras wood. It's a beautiful thing, but neither of us can read music. We can't play any instruments or, for that matter, sing a note. So now we are challenged to learn to play a dulcimer. Heck, I'm not even sure I can spell it right. Stay tuned.
> Howard

I know a guy who plays a really good hammer dulcimer. He taught me everything I know about music, and I went from nothing to reading sheet music and performing in public on my alto recorder in about 3 months. The performance was at my wedding, and my faithful music teacher/close friend/usher played his recorder and my brother/best man played his guitar.

If you're ever in Montreal, maybe he could give you some lessons. I wouldn't mind meeting you either.

Even if you never play a note, it's a beautiful instrument to have on display.

I'm not sure if you need to be told this, but don't travel with the dulcy. If you take it to a room with a different temperature, you'll need to spend the next couple hours tuning it.

^v^:)^v^
F"Stay tuned."B