I agree with fotostat. I live in a condo complex and have an idiot neighbor with no common sense who decided getting a full drum set for his son would be a good idea (we have a common wall). I can't compare it to a piano/flute/clarinet, but all I can say is even for an hour a day during the daytime, the noise from the drums was unbearable. We had quite a few arguments about it, but eventually he came to his senses and at least put some muting pads on his drums. It's still loud and annoying (mostly because his son is pretty horrible at drums), but at least the noise is tolerable. The thing is, if he had actually come talked to me BEFORE he bought the drums, I'm sure we could have resolved the issue about the mute pads then, instead of having to argue with each other and be in a situation where two next-door neighbors hate each other. I would strongly advise just going to each of your neighbors and seeing if you won't be causing too much of a problem.

Oh my gosh, Casey! What amazing pipe/pump organs! (I hope I'm using the correct terms.) They're all gorgeous, but the one in the top photo kinda made me go all slack-jawed there for a second or two! WOW! Does it weigh an absolute ton? Do you play them regularly? Fantastic! rmkitchen and chicagoans - thank you both for posting your wonderful photos as well! I'm fascinated with the very idea of playing a stringed instrument, but so far haven't worked up the courage to give it a try. I love how you all have incorporated instruments into your home, or grew up in music-loving homes where the instruments were just a part of your everyday life. I think that is so very cool. I grew up with musician parents and we were never without pianos, organs, and drums. One of my sweetest memories is listening to my great-grandparents play duets on their harmonicas, even well into their 90s. They were actually quite good at it! I also love how the eclectic feel of the rooms featured here in photo as well as in very descriptive words just draw you in and make you just want to sink right down into the comfy-cozy vibe of the space. My style is definitely eclectic ... a mix of vintage, cottage, southwest, Mexican, craftsman - all thrown together in a 1940 Tudor-style. You have all given me terrific encouragement and inspiration, and when I bring my new drums homes this evening I am definitely just going to scoot the Stickley mission china cabinet down on one wall and set the drums up in the corner of the room. The thing about drums is that they really need to be set up on their stand in order to entice me to actually use them regularly, so I'm just gonna go for it. Thanks for the encouragement! :-)

Alrighty! *S* The card was made using a sheet from a wallpaper sample book (neat idea,huh?) and this is the front of it. This is the inside with the page from a Hymnal. In all honesty, I think I could have done better, but it DID give me some ideas!*S* Funny think is, I don't have a clue who the person is that sent it! lol She signed her name and initals under it! Took me a bit to figure THAT out..but it's the Church where Ronnie and I got married. Uh...I haven't attended that Church in over 40yrs!

Interesting thread - Martin - we are about to start on Grace Notes when we have finished reading The Dubliners - just now getting in touch with 'The Dead '. James Joyce, a gifted musician himself introduces so many musical allusions in the series of stories particularly 'The Dead' I have very little musical knowledge - apart from muusical appreciation - and I would love to understand fully David Mosley's essay ' Music and Allusion in 'The Dead' - maybe a musician amongst us would care to comment. '..although she sang very rapidly she did not miss even the smallest grace notes (from The Dead) "If he had not become a writer, there is a very good chance that James Joyce would still have made a name for himself by pursuing a career as a vocal performer. In 1904 he even shared the stage with the great opera singer and recital artist, John McCormack; and later on in life, after he had established himself as an author, he tirelessly promoted the singing career of his fellow Irishman and tenor, John Sullivan. The close relationship between James Joyce and music has long been recognized by his readers, critics, and biographers. Joyce, like his father, was both an excellent singer (with a sweet tenor voice) and an accomplished pianist with an encyclopedic mastery of music of every type and genre, rivaling his vast knowledge of world literature. As a writer, he nevertheless incorporated music into all his works in increasingly complex ways, especially in Chamber Music, Dubliners, A Portrait of the Artist, Ulysses, and Finnegans Wake." Jan