So far...

...so good, a marvelous visit, and NOTHING going according to plan.
Had to give up the notion of Mass at one of the notable R2 parishes, must less the EF parish in one of the Oranges.
One of the pleasure of an enormous family - trips to the NJ/NY area are always filled with too much to do, and too many people to see to leave any time for individual concerns.
The session at Dempsey's was swell. And a first for me, I'm sporting swag from a promotion, a liquor promotion (yes, I drank plenty of swag last night...)
That's okay, I'm glad to be a walking billboard for the Big Fella.

So here, a little plug, or two -- try Dempsey's NYC, 2nd Ave between 4th and 3rd St, preferably when a session is in session.
And have a shot of Michael Collins.

Now that NYC is smoke free, the pubs are fantastic, and the smell of wood floors soaked with decades for ale and whisky is magical, Himself and I found ourselves transported to the cliffs of Moher, and that fantastic place with the bacon and cabbage and Guinness stew, and to Clonmacnoise and to the pub in Dublin where we saw Purgatory, and to any number sites of honeymoon memories. (Necessary pledge: we will get back there, H., we WILL. And I won't make you carry my luggage.)

I think P. has found quite a nice life for herself, really very nice indeed. You could do worse than spending all your free time fiddling and hanging with those people.
Just as I have found greater joy in my post-professional theatrical life, I wonder, if my involvement with liturgical music were along the same lines as hers with Irish Traditional, it would not be better, in the long run, for my spiritual life, not to mention, my blood pressure, and maybe, even, for my parish...
Something to think about.

And the next generation is going to be all right, Joe and Rose done good, and their offspring continue the tradition - one of the comrades last night, Himself and I were setting eyes on for the first time since she was a spoiled toddler jabbing the family's kindly and long-suffering hound with a pencil.
She is a charming, interesting, incredibly mature adult of eleven now.

The only downside of all this, I am going to return home having caught up on NONE of the sleep deficit incurred between Patent Leather Shoes and the Festival Chorus, (not to mention kitchen remodling, the Scelati, church schedule changes, and preparing for Christ the King,) and plunge right into extra Christmas rehearsals, two Christmas "shows" for small groups, granite countertops...