It is us. We are headed abroad, with tickets booked on Aer Lingus, shoulder straps tight and bad nineties music playing for no good reason. We just hope the clouds of angry Eyjafiallajoekull have dissipated by the time we leave.
But we are ready! Bill's drum is already a suitcase and Dinty just needs to slip 'em an extra fifty and maybe the pump organ is on board. I sure hope they don't break the banjo again (Oh that never happened).
  But of course we are worrying about how to pack clothes for twelve days with eight of us in one van, you must imagine. Ry says we can only bring one carry-on. Whoa ho ho? Woman's underwear takes up so much less space, maybe that's an option we muse as Kimon can't believe that Bill only needs three t-shirts for the trip. Or so he claims...
Yes Kimon is back for the ride and Laura Cortese will be carrying a violin or two as part of the crew. Matt Malikowski will be keeping the sound on the right side of the road. Who's driving?
Who knows, but we will be zooming all over Ireland to visit Ry and family, up to Donegal, down to Limerick. And if we don't see you there maybe you have a cousin in Cork, or then again you can just raise a pint down at your local and wish us luck.
In the meantime old pal Hadestown came back around from Vermont to visit Thursday night at Passim. It was a slice of heaven, Anais Mitchell's mythic dream. Michael Chorney's orchestra with guitar came out beautiful on stage with Gearan and Child, Delmhorst and Mulvey and the three fates too. Wow my head is still spinning like the CD in the player on the counter back home 'cuz I can't get enough of that Orpheus and Eurydice stuff.
We'll let you know how it goes when we get back...