This dulcimer was built by Elizabeth Ann Westover in 1974. She made it for my birthday and inscribed, "killing me softly with his songs, singing my life with his words" on the label. I proposed to her on the day she gave it to me -- December 7.  Over these years, we've created a marriage as lovely and enduring as the dulcimer. Liz built over 200 Medieval, Renaissance and American Folk musical instruments, many of which are still played around the world. Her parents, Harold ("Wes") and Allene were brilliant artist-builders and two great lights in our lives (with quite the afterglow). (As you can see, I made the graphic image below from Liz's sound hole designs.)