I haven't done a harp gig in a long time.  This is because I'd mostly stopped playing professionally.  I realized one day that I didn't have any hobbies that weren't business-related--both writing and harping were geared toward earning money.  Whenver I sat down to play Corey, I was thinking, "I need to practice ______ because it would be good at a wedding," or "I should learn more ______ music for parties."  It wasn't =fun.=  So I stopped playing professionally in order to have something that was mine.

 

But recently I got an e-mail from a member of local fandom (a friend of a friend) asking for a harpist to appear at a party.  I decided, what the heck and agreed to it.  I quoted her my friends and fandom rate, which is much lower than my usual rate, and she was quite amenable.

 

The only snag was the the party was on the Saturday when Kala would be out of town.  However, Sasha could handle babysitting for a couple of hours.  Saturday evening I packed up my stuff and drove across town.  Found the place with minimal searching and was greeted by several friends.

 

It was an Easter Toga Party With Kids.  Most of the children were Mackie's age or younger.  They clustered around Corey with questions and wanting to try playing him.  I got used to this at ren faires.  As long as they don't touch the sounding board, I let them explore.  I'm there as entertainment for them, too, after all.

 

Also there were a couple friends from around Ann Arbor, including Tammy.  (Hi, Tammy!)  She'd brought HOME-MADE CHOCOLATES from her home business Tammy's Tastings (http://tammystastings.com/default.aspx) and she gave me a sample plate with one of each of her new creations.  She was a bit critical of the way they'd come out, but they tasted fine to me!

 

I played for something over an hour, and it went very well.  When the time was up, I socialized a bit, then packed up and left.  I couldn't stay longer because I didn't want the house to be a smoking hole when I got home.  It wasn't.  :)