More financial deadlines have forced the sale of the last of my working instruments. I simply cannot find enough paying gigs in my area, and the venues I can find are just too far away in terms of fuel cost and extra miles on the one car we own.

I've even been forced to sell instruments that were gifts and instruments that held some sentimental value.

All that said, here's the list of what's for sale. I will gladly ship these items; we can discuss overseas shipping (I'm in the US) by private message or email.

1) Yamaha FG400A acoustic guitar. Nice tone, medium-low action, new Martin SP strings. No cracks, breaks or warping, plays well. No case, but I pack my shipments like they're Waterford crystal. $125 shipped.

2) A non-labeled Japanese five-string banjo from the early to mid 1970s. Low action, good tone, LIGHT weight, even with its resonator. Fully-bound neck and resonator. Grover tuners on headstock, original geared 5th peg still in place. This is a nice banjo and would serve a beginner very well to learn on or provide a working player with a solid, well-made instrument. $150 shipped.

3) A set of handmade playing spoons, hand carved by Steve-somebody (His name is on the spoons, but they are in a box right now and I can't remember his last name). These are two hand-carved wooden spoons that are connected. They measure almost a foot long, are solidly made and give a good, loud tone. $15 shipped.

Again, there are no cases or bags with these instruments, but I pack extremely well (I once had a guitar collector tell me that he'd never seen an instrument packed more securely than the one I sent him, and that included ones sent from professional shops).

I'm doing everything I can to look for work, having been unemployed for 19 months now. Family members paying our mortgage represent the only reason we can keep our home. We simply would not be able to make it, even if both my wife and I could work, on the kind of money we'd make, not with three kids to feed.

According to our Social Services caseworker, if I kept any of the remaining gear I have, it would impact the amount of government assistance we receive (food stamps) because those things would be considered "assets of value".

Thanks for reading.