a) re-learning how to play the mandolin after many years of not playing it b) learning new tunes and songs again, esp. Voodoo Queen Marie and other Holy Modal Rounders songs that I hadn't known before
wow! Ted, I can't believe that there is somebody else out there who knows When the King enjoys his own again! You can play it straight or you can put a banjo into gCGCD (double-C tuning) and play it clawhammer style. I played it that way once without realizing what I was doing and didn't recognize it till the third time through-- worked it up & used it in banjo contests for years.
courting song-- how about the Shelor Family's "Billy Grimes, the Rover"-- only modern recording I know is New Lost City Ramblers, volume 4.