Coveting banjos

Why is it that when I don't feel like I have time to *think* I can manage a few minutes to covet my neighbor's banjo? The wierd thing is the specific banjo is even the same type as my own - a Deering Goodtime. Yes, there are simply gorgeous banjos that I could drool over, including one inset with mother of pearl moon and stars, set into a swirling galaxy down the fretboard. There are antique banjos, some of which have simply gorgeous work in them.

But it's a little bit like when I was a very small child and went into a toy section with my Granny. I picked up a doll and started talking to it, but after a couple minutes, shook my head, said "too 'spensive," put it back, and got on with my life. (Leading my poor Granny to get it for my next Christmas, by which time I'd put it so completely out of my mind that I didn't even recognize it.) They're beautiful, but so far beyond my budget and skills that I can appreciate that beauty without any tinge of covetousness.

But to know that somewhere in the world, there is a bright pink banjo with a prism head (scroll down for the pictures), well... it looks like such a bright and happy banjo. I don't even usually *do* pink, but it's a pink *banjo* and that makes a lot of difference. And even more specifically, it's a pink banjo that is very similar to mine.

I find myself tempted to make a cardboard dulcimer and paint it sparkly green.