Last weekend was magical. I spent it in Sedro Woolley, Washington for the coronation of the new King and Queen of An Tir. I had many wonderful experiences with a lot of fabulous people, but for me, the highlight was when I found the tent of Master Aleyn Wyckington, whom I had commissioned to build my first harp.
The people who know me best know that I have wanted a harp since I was a very small girl. I am incredibly lucky to have found a harp maker in the SCA who makes gorgeous instruments at close to cost – for him, it’s a labour of love. When I handed him a stack of bills, he took them, said, “Thank you,” shrugged, and added, “Now I can make more.”
On the long way home from the event, my boyfriend Henry and I decided to take a different route – heading east before coming north again – to see more of Washington. The view from one rest stop was so gorgeous that I had to get the harp out and play to the mountains and the lake. It certainly is beautiful countryside, but the Trans Canada Highway has spoiled us rotten – we ran into a road closure that would have sent us more than 100 km out of our way to get around it. So we threw in the towel for the night and got a hotel room at Twisp River Suites in the bustling metropolis of Twisp, Washington (pop. 919). It’s a gorgeous hotel with a lot of character, and we found ourselves embroiled in an impromptu blues jam in the lobby. When I said I had a harp, someone asked, “Is it a blues harp?” I laughed and said, “No, definitely not.” That didn’t stop me from playing the blues on it, though, and I had an unforgettable evening drinking free red wine, rocking out on my beautiful new instrument, and belting out Leonard Cohen. I felt like an itinerant troubadour, and the whole experience gave me a wonderful sense that wherever I go, there will be a place for me where music is being played.
The harp is said to be sacred because it is a weapon of war restrung and repurposed to bring peace. Now I ache my way through the day waiting to go home and play, while the light of the day drains away, and with it, all my troubles.
