Silver has a new favorite thing.

I play my dulcimer with a bright yellow pick. He loves to come over and steal it from me. He grabs it, looks very pleased with himself, and sometimes flies away with it. It's very cute!

They're very naughty little things. My tiels always act so proud when they swipe something from me too.

You play Dulcimer? That's awesome!! I play cello and guitar, though I would imagine the Dulcimer is a bit more complicated.

Cockatiels can be so naughty. I was doing some college homework last night, and I had to listen to a recording of an ensemble performance. I was using earbuds, because I didn't want the audio to startle Lucy, and so she kept trying to chew on cord. I guess I shouldn't be surprised though, since a rubbery cord is so tempting.

Just make sure Silver doesn't eat the dulcimer! I know you've had that problem before.

I can't do cross stitch with Shodu in the room because she keeps stealing the needle. She grabs it right out of my hand.

Naughty little bird!



I want to learn how to cross stitch. It looks so fun. Is it hard? I tried looking at YouTube and it looks complicated. I don't even know how to sew.

I don't think it's hard, but I think it would be hard for some people. You have to be good at reading a chart and paying attention to details, and not everyone is like that. One way to explore it is to buy a small kit that comes with everything you need and see how it works out for you.

I found a free pattern online that I think you'll love. It only uses a few colors and it's a simple pattern so there wouldn't be a lot to buy. Get the pattern here: http://www.craftsy.com/pattern/other/su ... -5x7/39862

You are so right, Carolyn! I do keep him away from the instrument itself, and put it away in another room when I have finished.

Sometimes I have to chase him off the body of the instrument again and again while I am playing. I pick him up and say "no chewing on the dulcimer!" and put him back on my shoulder. Meanwhile, he looks very satisfied with himself. It's like keeping him from stealing the keys from my laptop while I am working.

In some ways, the mountain dulcimer is an easier instrument to play. It is diatonic--mostly like the white keys from the piano, so you don't hit too many wrong notes. However, playing in different keys can require retuning or playing with a capo. The mountain dulcimer is played on the lap. It has three strings and is usually tuned DAD. I find it much easier than the guitar, but it is also more limited.

The hammered dulcimer, which I don't play, is a whole different instrument played with hammers. It has many, many strings, like a harp.

Cross stitching isn't hard at all. The hardest part is threading the needle.

Cross stitching looks to me like pixel art, on a piece of cloth. I do 8-bit pixel art, and to an extant, 16-bit pixel art. I've never actually done cross stitch, but I think I could probably pick up on it.

One thing I noticed about the dulcimer, are the frets. On a guitar, the frets are evenly spaced for the most part, then they get smaller the further they go up the body. The Dulcimer however, has frets completely uneven. It's so strange to me, yet so cool!

Lucy steals my seashells. By steal, I mean pick up, walk a few steps away from me, then put it down and ignore it for the rest of our session. Maybe she thinks she's cleverly stashing it.

Jessi, you play the cello? I play the violin!! And piano, but mostly violin. I've tried playing for the tiels to see if they catch something and sing it later, but they just shake their heads!! I didn't know there were other musicians here on the forum. That is awesome.