December in Clare!!

Life is good!  The pictures below were taken by my friend Bob who is a brilliant photographer.  Here is a link to his blog if you are interested.  He is an Aussie in Clare and has been documenting his musical adventures.

https://singersongblog.wordpress.com/2015/12/01/where-does-the-music-in-ireland-go-in-winter-answer-fitzs-bar-in-doolin-2/

I am getting ready for a New Year's Eve gig at a local pub.  I am getting two different set lists ready.  The first is for the cocktail hour, so it's going to be mostly airs and O'Carolan pieces plus a few tunes for interest.  The second set list is basically just tunes.  Two friends and I will be doing a trio after the cocktail hour, which will turn into a session (hopefully!) and take the pressure off of us.

I have a lot of repertoire to polish up and some to relearn.  I let things slide a bit in the past six weeks due to being crazy in love with someone....a long and involved and interesting story (Bridget Jones Diary / Eat Pray Love / Wuthering Heights / Sense and Sensibility haha!), at the moment he has broken my heart (as if I haven't had enough heartbreak in the past year).  But I shall say to be continued for now......

I spent a few hours this morning with my friend Fiana, who was a student of Janet Harbison, she is now a teacher herself.  We played a few tunes and I didn't have a lesson, per se but she had a couple recommendations for ornamentaion in one or two tunes I already play.  My version of Lucy Farr's Barndance was pretty bare bones but now it is spiced up a bit.  We could have spent an hour alone doing this for one or two tunes.  So it is always the decision of, 'Do I make this tune more amazing, (left hand and right) or go on to learn a new tune?'  Same with the fiddle.

Anyway, she left with my little Dusty FH 26 to lend out to one of her students and I will make some money for doing nothing, and the little guy needs to be played.