The Fall Begins

I finally ordered my new harp. It's a totally new kind of harp, made to be an acoustic harp, but made of carbon fiber, so it only weighs 5 pounds! It's definitely not a wood harp and the sound is not as rich, but it also has flourocarbon strings, so it's quite boomy and the sound is pretty good across the whole range. I ordered it with a pickup, though I've never used any kind of an amplifier, and if I had to drag that around too, it would eliminate the benefit of the lighter harp. I'm very excited, but I won't get it until January 15, so I won't be able to use it for any Christmas gigs. Kinda cool-looking, isn't it?

In other news from the home front, we finally got the bathroom light fixed, but it's a really half-assed job and looks like it. After working for two hours, the handyman John hired stuck a part of a paint-stirring stick up there to make it fit. This is a true example of how some people in this family cannot deal with how much it costs to have a professional do something. The last time we had to have this job done (the switch on this light fixture is an after-market item, which is why it had to be replaced) I hired an electrician who did it in 20 minutes. And he didn't even get shocked (which the handyman did). I could have done it this well!!

I'm now working on getting an architect to draw a design for us for the windows in the back sunporch -- to get rid of the awful aluminum windows. Here's how they look now. We still have to rip out the crappy paneling, which is put on top of plywood.