Isn't she pretty? Her name's Colette, and this past week I drove to Hattonfield, New Jersey to pick her up. For those who don't know their East Coast geography (which would include the author of this blog entry), Hattonfield is just across the river (I forget which one) from Philadelphia. Since I have friends who live less than an hour from Philadelphia, I turned this trip into a play opportunity. It was also helpful that my friends have a van, because if we'd gone over in my VW Bug, which was the original plan, somebody would have had to walk home from Jersey.
Here's me in the store, pretending I know how to play the harp:
Six weeks of lessons over three years ago definitely doesn't make me a harpist. Tracy: I apologize publicly if your children now beg you for harp lessons after my harp was sitting in your living room for a couple of days.
Note to self: always be sure the tuner key is on the string you actually pluck before tuning. Otherwise, you might overtighten and break a string.
So back to the harp purchasing adventure. As we were driving across the river whose name I don't remember (Delaware, perhaps?), I commented that I'd never been in New Jersey before. Here's how the conversation went:
Tracy: Well, this part of New Jersey's the armpit of the state.
Me, as we drove through an industrial district: Yup.
Then we turned a corner and found this cute, Norman Rockwell-esque neighborhood. Tree-lined streets, nicely maintained yards, kids with a lemonade stand at the end of the driveway. So fun! This was the neighborhood where the harp store was. Nice!
I know what many readers are thinking: how did you get the harp in your VW? Answer: strategically. I folded down all seats besides mine and laid the harp as flat as I could. So if you want me to play a gig sometime, anyone else who comes along has to drive separately. Or Colette the harp needs to drive herself, which somehow I don't think is possible.
So here's the scary part: this is a SMALL harp. If I had a spare $15 K hanging around, I could get one of the big concert harps, but then I'd have to also buy a minivan. And probably a new house.
In other random news, here are my piano keyboard toes, courtesy of Niki:
Maybe next time she can paint harps.
6 comments:
My friend's family has a harp van. The benches are removed and they have a piece of plywood covered in carpet in the back. There are two rope handles on each side of the plywood. They (the teen harpist and her mother) pull it out of the van, lean the harp on it, and then hoist the whole thing back inside. It was a big deal the year the sister went along to a music camp. Her violin fit fine, but they had to really rearrange things to make room for the violinist.
Enjoy your new friend!
Had so much fun with you this weekend! Can't wait to plan a trip to see you and Colette. Practice a song to ply for us when we come, okay? Love ya!
How goes the superhero cape sewing, Tracy? Document and send pictures!
Lovely! Now you need to video-record yourself playing a song and then post it.
I'll have to learn to play it first . . .
NO WAY. I am TOTALLY doing that to my toes this week. (Thanks for the idea, Niki!) A very late congrats on Colette.
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