“Coffee Conundrum” #Poem

I’ve had so many bad cups of coffee;
That would surely put most people off it.
I’m accepting the fact,
For I now drink it black.
And the up-side? That makes it less costly!

This Limerick makes up for the poem I didn’t write yesterday. Why didn’t I? Because I was trying to get a supermarket delivery time before the 14th! Yes, a time less than 2 weeks from now! This wasn’t possible, and the 14th it is. I thought one benefit of having delivery service was timeliness. Apparently not!

This is on top of the other restrictions. Two cases of water per customer. A third of the items I usually order (not extras, mind you, but my usual items in usual quantities) are out of stock. Item substitutions are suspended until further notice. I.e. if the brand you chose isn’t in stock, instead of receiving a price-equivalent item, you get nothing. But you don’t know that until the delivery day, and can’t modify the order to choose something else. There’s also holiday time in between when there are no deliveries at all.

Now add explaining all this several times to my husband, and hearing him complain for the next two weeks. So, this is my life now?

Anyway, if you have coffee, food, and other essentials, and/or you can get what you need in a reasonable and timely manner, please be grateful! And help someone else if you have the nerve. Because it still takes some of us several hours to accomplish (if you can call it that) a seemingly simple, everyday task.

And do I really have to say this? Please, please don’t buy in excess! I guarantee you at some future time, the news will be broadcasting how much food people threw away because, guess what? they hoarded more than they needed, when they could have been sharing it with someone less equipped than they are!

“I Dream of County Carolan” #Music #Mp3

Download Mp3

One last nod to St. Patrick’s Day and the theme of Irish music–at least, for now.

Here is a medley played on zither, alto recorder (called treble in the UK and elsewhere), and lyre. It contains “Star of the County Down,” which is a traditional Irish tune, and “Carolan’s Dream,” written by
Turlough O’Carolan.

I call this “I Dream of County Carolan,” as a way of bringing the titles together. There is really no such county in Ireland. 🙂

“Star of the County Down” is played on zither. “Carolan’s Dream” begins with recorder and is then played on lyre. This is great for relaxation, stress relief, and meditation.

I hope you enjoy this, and feel free to download and share the mp3 above!

“Friendship” #Music

I wrote this song in 2002 as part of my Senior Graduation Project, a CD of 12 songs in 4 languages. My original version had lyrics in German and English, with guitar, pennywhistle, and hand percussion accompaniment.

Here’s an instrumental version on zither. Look out, it goes by quickly!

Also, check out my dream of writing a round (a musical round, that is),
here.

Two Timeless Irish Tunes

Here are two Irish melodies that sound traditional I.e. old. Yet they are relatively new, and in fact, I haven’t recorded them because they are still under copyright. As beautiful as these songs are, I don’t have $70 each for a license to record and share them here!

So, I’m sharing two harp videos. The first is “Wild Mountain Thyme,” written in the 1950’s. The second is “Inisheer,” which was written in the 70’s. Yes, the 1970’s! Enjoy!

“Wild Mountain Thyme”

“Inisheer”

“Down by the Salley Gardens” #Music #Mp3

Download Mp3

This melody is the setting to
a poem
by William Butler Yeats, first published in 1889. It’s Irish title is “Gort na Saileán.”

In 1909 Herbert Hughes set the poem to the traditional tune “The Maids of Mourne Shore.” Though other composers have set it to different music, this is perhaps the best known melody, and “Down by the Salley Gardens” is still a popular song today.

I hope you enjoy hearing it on zither, arranged for 15 strings.

If you want to learn this tune, please feel free to
contact me
for a free tutorial, and don’t forget to download the performance mp3 above.