We had a great group of friends at our August session and we were especially excited to see Frank, a superb musician (flute and tin whistle) who I haven’t played music with in over five years.  Also in attendance were Dave (fiddle and Irish flute), Dennis (concertina), Robin (fiddle), Keith (guitar, vocals), Kevin (harmonica), Abram (fiddle and Irish flute), Arianne (fiddle), and Guy (fiddle).

In honor of the wonderful fiddle workshop taught by April Verch that several of us had attended the day before, we started our session with the Métis fiddle tune Jonah’s First Change.  The sheet music can be found in April’s book co-written with Brian Wicklund entitled American Fiddle Methods: Canadian Fiddle Styles.  From Jonah’s First Change, we went right into Blarney Pilgrim.

I wasn’t as successful at recording the names of all the tunes at this session but I did my best.

Eels in the Sink/The Spindle Shank
Silver Spire/Rolling in the Ryegrass/Tripping Up the Stairs
Celluloid Mouse/The Bent Willow (original tunes by Dave Hicks)
The Golden Keyboard
I Was Born For Sport/Kesh/Give Us a Drink of Water
Mountain  Road/Humours of Tulla/Merry Blacksmith
Glen Cottage/Leg of a Duck (in D instead of the usual G)/
Tam Lin
The Banshee
Congress
Gravel Walk
Maids of Mitchelstown/Julia Delaney’s

There are two session in September because we’ll have our usual session on the first Saturday of the month at 4:30 at Uptown Bill’s and there will be another session on Labor Day (yep, two days later) at the annual Ralston Creek Fair and Flea Market from 1 to 3 pm.

In other news, today is my very last day teaching in my home studio.  Since 2005, I have taught approximately 5,000 lessons within these walls, just steps away from my increasingly exuberant children as they’ve navigated infancy, toddlerhood, potty training, and, most recently, epic LEGO battles, along with their string of awesome babysitters who keep graduating and leaving us (the shadow side of college towns) but who will always be part of our family.

My commute will increase but only slightly because I’ll be teaching just down the block at the conservatory in the West Music store in Coralville.  I’m very excited to be teaching at West but it’s bittersweet because it marks yet another end to the boys’ babyhood, only in this case it’s the mama that’s leaving the nest.

Another big change is that Liam will be starting part-time kindy on Monday at our neighborhood school.  He’s dual enrolled in the school district’s homeschool assistance program and the neighborhood school so we’ll be doing most of our academics here at home and Liam will be at school three afternoons a week.

Atticus, never one to be overlooked if he has anything to say about it, is bouncing out of his skin with excitement to be starting both dance classes and also cello lessons within the next two weeks.

Where did my babies go?