The Willy Way is over :(

Hey all!

Ok... so, enjoy these pictures, but please excuse the quality and lack of cropping as I don't have a photo editing program...

So, first things first... (ps... for those of you who leave comments... THANK YOU! I love them... they won't show up until the next time I log in so, be patient and check for them next time!)

Paul...
yes, it was amazing to walk around and see those 3 all week! Yes, Sioban plays a cheapie, but MANY people here play the plastic topped stints. Actually, I got myself a Tony Dixon tunable and LOVE it... actually, it sounds beautiful. Paul... I almost picked up gavin's CD... there are several around here. When I was talking to him he said he would be re-releasing more because they sold out so fast. Fantastic man and, well, you know how he freakin' plays...

Matt... try getting a tony dixon tunable instead of a susato... this whistle is absolutely amazing and i totally love it.
Rick M... Thanks for the Kudos and I'm so glad you are enjoying.
Ma... thanks for all your help and glad you are likin' the blogs.
Deb... enjoy that place man and thank for your help with the car payment!
Jen... you're a blast to chat with and I get so excited when you are on. Thanks for the moments.
Shannon... miss you.
Denise... miss you.
Mark... welcome and of course, smiles.
Michael... the text was wonderful. thank you.
Pam... thanks for the myspace note!
John O.H.... your comments are so funny :)

Ok... so Willy Week is over and the turn of events was just wonderful. On Wednesday we met a group of fantastic people from Limerick... Emmet, John and Mark... what wonderful people. They left us, after hanging out at Crosses that night, and returned home, but were smart enough to come back on Friday so I was able to hang more with them. Thursday night at Crosses I saw the best music in my life. Kathy Jordan from Dervish was there with her crew and the entire freakin' place was jumping and screaming and yelping and dancing and smiling. Honestly, I've never seen anything like it. While I was there, this guy danny had just lost his necklace... well, it broke and he found the pendant. It was on him for 4-5 years. He gave it to me. I will string it and wear it... just beautiful and the conversation we had following was wonderful.

So, yesterday it started to POUR and I mean pour. It was windy and cold so doing much of anything was kinda out of the question. There is a girl here that I met last weekend when I arrived... from LA and her name is Kira... Mark and I were sitting in Fahy's and she walked in looking slighty tired... I asked if she wanted to come to Tobercurry with me and she made a pretty quick decision of yes... soon, we figured she should pack up her wet tent and move into the B&B to get sorted out. When she returned to her tent (via a helpful lift from a friend) the rain fly had blown off and soaked everything inside. Had I mentioned her tent was robbed earlier in the week? Yeah... she's had a rough one, but lovely Patricia (B&B lady) took her right in, dried her clothes, fed her tea, beans and toast to warm her up and was just wonderful. So, Kira and I took a taxi into Ennis today where we are catching up on internet stuff, buying groceries and doing laundry and then her friend, Tim, will be bringing us to Tobercurry where we will set up our tents and start classes tomorrow morning. All over again!

I'm exhausted, but, for the first time last night, didn't go out... so, I feel much better and rested.

Milltown was crazy, but absolutely amazing and I'm thrilled to have been there. There are so many of you at home who would have loved it. Yes, Matt, you're coming next year and Paul, no more empty "I have too's"... you're here too.

So, thanks to everyone for keeping in touch. It means a lot and I miss you all!

Smiles, Jess

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