At Alaska Fiddle Camp last summer, I was pretty tired after several days of staying up late jamming and listening. On this particular day I had a free hour after dinner. I remember thinking that I wanted to practice, but I was also tempted to lie down and rest a bit. Then inspiration hit: I could do both – I had a WHISTLE! I stretched out on my back on my bunk and played my whistle. Bliss. 
Then life got really busy and I neglected the whistle, spending my limited music time on my hammered dulcimer. For the last few weeks, however, medical concerns have forced me to back off on the things that were limiting my music time, but have also made it difficult to play the dulcimer for long periods of time. I normally play hammered dulcimer standing up, and it feels virtually effortless – I happily stand and play for four hours at a time every week at jam sessions. Lately I get tired and have to rest a lot. The silver lining in this cloud is that I can recline on the couch and play the whistle when I’m too tired to hammer a tune, so I’ve been playing the whistle a little every day again.
Just so you all don’t get too worried about me, I’ll probably be back to normal soon. It’s a thyroid problem and will probably be easily fixed with medication. I’m having another test today, which I hope will pinpoint the problem so they can start treating it. For now I’m trying to enjoy the chance to focus on the essence of life (family, friends, and music). I would enjoy it more if I could play my dulcimer all day, though. 
Sarah