What's next?

I'm glad to be back on Judy Branch after a solid week of going all over the place and trying to fit 36 hours into each day. A lot of my working trips have plenty of down time to play and sleep, but this trip was not one of those. It was nice to be in New Orleans and Memphis, but it took every drop of my will power to keep myself going. Why did this trip take so much more out of me than usual? I guess that drawn out bout of illness didn't really allow me to bank up some energy before I hit the road.

My trip was supposed to start last Monday with a day trip up to Morehead for the Women in Traditional Music symposium. I was so excited about finally getting to see Hazel Dickens, and even more excited to see her performing with some of my favorite women and friends. Those plans got trumped by the worst stomach bug I've ever experienced. So, my trip started off with me bedridden and missing yet another chance to meet Hazel! I had to be down in Knoxville Tuesday for a meeting, but I rescheduled for later in the day so I could move at my barely recovered state. Flew to New Orleans Wednesday morning, totally drained and on the third day of not eating. Then it was three days solid of meetings, watching a rainy New Orleans through the windows. My hotel mate came down with the stomach flu and I switched rooms to keep myself from getting sick again!

A 6am flight to Memphis on Saturday meant getting up at 4am to get to the airport. Then a presentation at Folk Alliance, delirious and really tired of being around far too many people. An unexpected highlight was that I finally did got to see Hazel Dickens - and a piano didn't fall on my head to prevent me! First, I sat in on a great interview session that John Lily did with her and got to hear her talk and also sing with Ginny Hawker and Tracy Schwartz (he played fiddle). Then, I got to go out to dinner with her! She is so witty and intelligent, and so incredibly funny. I didn't need to do anything else at Folk Alliance. That was all I needed. I was ready to sleep. And that would have been so wonderful, except that my hotel room was packed with squatters that my roommate gave floor space (before I got in from New Orleans). I was nice as I could be and tried to be coherent and talk with folks, but all I really wanted to do was take a long shower and go to bed. I mean, it was 10pm and I'd been up since 4am! Oh well, 6am and I was back to the airport and headed to the next step. Got to have lunch with Mom & Dad, pick up Bella from the kennel, take a nap and then hit the road to be in North Carolina for the last meeting of the trip.

And now, I am home and ready to get snowed in with my furball family and my own bed and peace and quiet.