Just a quick recap of St. Patrick's Day. I had one rather unlucky thing happen but then I had two very lucky things happen. I think that means I came out positive in the luck department which is only right.
The positively luckiest thing was that Viv Campbell showed up at the pub tonight to jam with PJ. How cool is that?
I hope that you, Gentle Reader, had a wonderful and memorable St. Patrick's Day!
Showing posts with label Irish. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Irish. Show all posts
17 March 2009
11 March 2009
Dateline Dublin
I have decided to take my laptop with me to Ireland. A variety of reasons contributed to this decision. First - I will have Internet in my hotel room for 6 of the 8 nights of my trip. Second - Last time I was in Ireland, I filled up my 2GB card and had to switch to a film camera the day we were in Killarney State Park which also explains why there aren't any photos of that to post on Facebook. Third - and this is probably most important - I just got my tickets yesterday and I will have a three hour layover on the way to Ireland and a six hour layover on the way home. Both in Chicago. I figured, at the very least, I could entertain myself at O'Hare.
I can't promise to blog, Facebook, or tweet every single day. But I will do my best.
Adh mor!
I can't promise to blog, Facebook, or tweet every single day. But I will do my best.
Adh mor!
18 June 2008
June 13, 2008
I wanted to write about today's best thing, but I have put it off since what was really important to me today was the sudden passing of Tim Russert.
I have followed Tim on Meet The Press for many years. I really liked him as journalist. I liked him even before I knew he was an Irish Catholic boy from Buffalo who went to Canisius High. That just made me like him all the more.
So I have decided that today's best thing was really how reflecting on Tim made me think of another Irish Catholic boy from Buffalo who went to Canisius - my grandfather Joseph Bell.
I lift my glass of whisky to you both!
I have followed Tim on Meet The Press for many years. I really liked him as journalist. I liked him even before I knew he was an Irish Catholic boy from Buffalo who went to Canisius High. That just made me like him all the more.
So I have decided that today's best thing was really how reflecting on Tim made me think of another Irish Catholic boy from Buffalo who went to Canisius - my grandfather Joseph Bell.
I lift my glass of whisky to you both!
08 June 2008
May 30 - June 8, 2008
Another catch up posting today...
May 30 - Today's best thing was seeing Minibar again. I hadn't seen them since New Year's Eve and I had such a great time catching up with M & J as well as hearing all my faves again. Thanks for letting the Thursday Night girls help with the set lists!
May 31 - Finally got to see "Indiana Jones & The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull"! Yay!
June 1st - My softball team lost, but I had a very good game with two walks and one run scored!
June 2nd - I am drawing a complete blank. Guess I really do need to do this every day.
June 3rd - I was the first person to vote today in my precinct. I don't think that has ever happened to me before. Hopefully, I wasn't the last, though voter turnout was a disappointing 27% of eligible voters. I would just like to say "Shame on You" if you are registered to vote and couldn't be bothered. My pet peeve is people who don't think their vote makes any difference so they just don't bother. I have never missed an election in my entire life! I am very proud of that.
June 4th - Finally managed to connect with M & D to work out after work. Of course, M forgot to bring shoes so she bailed, but D & I had a nice chat and it was good to catch up!
June 5th - Another chance to see Minibar. This time at the Buffalo Club. I highly recommend this eatery if you are ever in Santa Monica. It is VERY pricey (dinner for two was $125) but well worth it! I just hope Minibar doesn't play there more than once every couple of months.
June 6th - Even though I only got three hours of sleep, I made it to work on time and got all of my work done!!
June 7th - My first time seeing Another Fine Mess which is a side project of most of the band members of The Fenians. We had a great meal at Gallagher's and I want to know where I can get the T shirt some of the servers were wearing that had the Guinness label re-worked for Gallagher's. That was cool!
June 8th - Softball team won!!! 10-4. I only had one at bat and I fouled out. Oh well...
May 30 - Today's best thing was seeing Minibar again. I hadn't seen them since New Year's Eve and I had such a great time catching up with M & J as well as hearing all my faves again. Thanks for letting the Thursday Night girls help with the set lists!
May 31 - Finally got to see "Indiana Jones & The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull"! Yay!
June 1st - My softball team lost, but I had a very good game with two walks and one run scored!
June 2nd - I am drawing a complete blank. Guess I really do need to do this every day.
June 3rd - I was the first person to vote today in my precinct. I don't think that has ever happened to me before. Hopefully, I wasn't the last, though voter turnout was a disappointing 27% of eligible voters. I would just like to say "Shame on You" if you are registered to vote and couldn't be bothered. My pet peeve is people who don't think their vote makes any difference so they just don't bother. I have never missed an election in my entire life! I am very proud of that.
June 4th - Finally managed to connect with M & D to work out after work. Of course, M forgot to bring shoes so she bailed, but D & I had a nice chat and it was good to catch up!
June 5th - Another chance to see Minibar. This time at the Buffalo Club. I highly recommend this eatery if you are ever in Santa Monica. It is VERY pricey (dinner for two was $125) but well worth it! I just hope Minibar doesn't play there more than once every couple of months.
June 6th - Even though I only got three hours of sleep, I made it to work on time and got all of my work done!!
June 7th - My first time seeing Another Fine Mess which is a side project of most of the band members of The Fenians. We had a great meal at Gallagher's and I want to know where I can get the T shirt some of the servers were wearing that had the Guinness label re-worked for Gallagher's. That was cool!
June 8th - Softball team won!!! 10-4. I only had one at bat and I fouled out. Oh well...
20 June 2007
Bloomsday
For the non-Irish or non-Joyce fans, Bloomsday is June 16th and is a celebration of James Joyce, his book "Ulysses" and the characters therein. Last year, for my own Bloomsday project, I decided to try and read "Ulysses". As a stream of consciousness novel, it can be quite difficult to get through.
I came across a really good audiobook of "Ulysses" on audible.com and decided to give it a try. It was great! It's much easier to listen to a stream of consciousness novel than to actually read it.
Still, it was no easy task. 22 CDs makes for one long listen. I listened on my summer vacation, I listened on my trip to Ireland last fall, I listened commuting to work when I started temping, I listened, and I listened.
Today, I finished it! Just a few days past Bloomsday this year! Woo Hoo!
Now I can concentrate on those other books I started when I couldn't take "Ulysses" any more!
I came across a really good audiobook of "Ulysses" on audible.com and decided to give it a try. It was great! It's much easier to listen to a stream of consciousness novel than to actually read it.
Still, it was no easy task. 22 CDs makes for one long listen. I listened on my summer vacation, I listened on my trip to Ireland last fall, I listened commuting to work when I started temping, I listened, and I listened.
Today, I finished it! Just a few days past Bloomsday this year! Woo Hoo!
Now I can concentrate on those other books I started when I couldn't take "Ulysses" any more!
13 June 2007
The Irish in America
My grandfather always said that there was a sister born after he and his twin Peg and before his brother George. During our sojourn at the Family History Center, I found a baby that could very well be her. An un-named female born in August 1889 in Cleveland.
We weren't so lucky with the rest of our travails in the Library. We didn't conclusively find anyone who could be my great-grandmother. The geneaologist was all hot for there being a relationship between the furrier who hired Aunt Lil and paid Uncle Andrew's tuition being a relative, but that didn't pan out (though we did track down a relative of his and my aunt had a nice chat with the furrier's grandson).
We found lots of families in the censi with the right Christian names and one of the accepted Anglicised spellings of the surname, but none of them had enough right for them to be my great-grandmother's family.
It seems like we ruled out a lot of dead-ends and that in itself could be a triumph, but it was quite deflating considering the high hopes we had at the start.
We definitely need to find a needle in a haystack and we just didn't have any luck in this go-round.
I tried to encourage my aunt to keep looking so that we could rule out further avenues. But with her daughter at home in the hospital and the progress not being what we had hoped, we called it a day.
After two solid days doing research, we headed back up the mountain prepared for a storm scheduled to keep us lodgebound the next day.
We weren't so lucky with the rest of our travails in the Library. We didn't conclusively find anyone who could be my great-grandmother. The geneaologist was all hot for there being a relationship between the furrier who hired Aunt Lil and paid Uncle Andrew's tuition being a relative, but that didn't pan out (though we did track down a relative of his and my aunt had a nice chat with the furrier's grandson).
We found lots of families in the censi with the right Christian names and one of the accepted Anglicised spellings of the surname, but none of them had enough right for them to be my great-grandmother's family.
It seems like we ruled out a lot of dead-ends and that in itself could be a triumph, but it was quite deflating considering the high hopes we had at the start.
We definitely need to find a needle in a haystack and we just didn't have any luck in this go-round.
I tried to encourage my aunt to keep looking so that we could rule out further avenues. But with her daughter at home in the hospital and the progress not being what we had hoped, we called it a day.
After two solid days doing research, we headed back up the mountain prepared for a storm scheduled to keep us lodgebound the next day.
07 June 2007
My Own Private Idaho
What does one do on a Sunday morning in the Salt Lake Valley? Why, one goes to see the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, naturally!
That's just what my aunt and I did. We went to see the live performance of "Music & The Spoken Word". I have seen the Mormon Tabernacle Choir many times on TV, but it was absolutely thrilling to see them live. They are so wonderful. And the Tabernacle is such a beautiful concert hall. If you are ever in Salt Lake City, I highly recommend it!
We finished there about 10:30am and it was supposed to be a very hot day plus my aunt was not quite adjusted to the altitude yet. We decided that it would be a good day to drive out to the Golden Spike Historic Site. I pointed out to my aunt that it was only 40 more miles to Idaho so...
Now there are only 8 states that I have never visited: Alaska, Wisconsin, Michigan, New Hampshire, Maine, West Virginia, and the Carolinas.
Unfortunately, there was no exit near the state line so we had to make an "emergency" u-turn.
Then we were off the to the Golden Spike site at Promontory Summit. We drove the auto tour and you should have seen us! I don't think the guy at the rental counter expected us to be driving on a historic railroad grade! But it was worth it to see the spot where 1500 men laid 10 miles of track in one single day.
We paused to remember all of the Chinese and Irish immigrants who gave their lives to build the trans-continental railroad.
By the time we got back to town, we had just enough energy to lay in provisions for our kitchen and head back up the mountain.
We have a fair bit of research to tackle before we meet with the genealogist on Tuesday.
That's just what my aunt and I did. We went to see the live performance of "Music & The Spoken Word". I have seen the Mormon Tabernacle Choir many times on TV, but it was absolutely thrilling to see them live. They are so wonderful. And the Tabernacle is such a beautiful concert hall. If you are ever in Salt Lake City, I highly recommend it!
We finished there about 10:30am and it was supposed to be a very hot day plus my aunt was not quite adjusted to the altitude yet. We decided that it would be a good day to drive out to the Golden Spike Historic Site. I pointed out to my aunt that it was only 40 more miles to Idaho so...
Now there are only 8 states that I have never visited: Alaska, Wisconsin, Michigan, New Hampshire, Maine, West Virginia, and the Carolinas.
Unfortunately, there was no exit near the state line so we had to make an "emergency" u-turn.
Then we were off the to the Golden Spike site at Promontory Summit. We drove the auto tour and you should have seen us! I don't think the guy at the rental counter expected us to be driving on a historic railroad grade! But it was worth it to see the spot where 1500 men laid 10 miles of track in one single day.
We paused to remember all of the Chinese and Irish immigrants who gave their lives to build the trans-continental railroad.By the time we got back to town, we had just enough energy to lay in provisions for our kitchen and head back up the mountain.
We have a fair bit of research to tackle before we meet with the genealogist on Tuesday.
05 June 2007
Travels With My Aunt
My aunt has always wanted to go to Salt Lake City to try and find more information about her Irish grandmother (my great-grandmother). This year when I banked my timeshare week, I was given a free week and one of the places I could go was Salt Lake City. So I phoned her and asked if she would like to go.
This quickly put me out in front for "Niece of the Year"!
Airlines being what they are these days, though, our flight schedules couldn't seem to quite match up. She landed first, got the rental car (she got a free upgrade to the exact make and model she drives at home) and then had about an hour and half to kill before I landed.
After locating a Starbucks and getting her bearings, it was time to swing back by the airport for me.
We were both hungry and we were sure we would find someplace on our way up the mountain to our resort, but alas and alack, there was nothing.
When we checked in, our rooms were not ready and they sent us over to the Center to get lunch. By this time it is after 2pm. We drive over and park and find a restaurant at 2:35 only to be told, they stop serving at 2:30.
Everyone directs us to the deli, but she can't eat bread so that is not an option, and we can't buy food and cook it either.
Finally, some nice young men paving the parking lot come to our aid and we are directed to the next hotel over. The valet there, when he hears our troubles, vows that if the restaurant is closed, he will get us something himself, but it is indeed open.
Our server Matt was super friendly and said we were welcome to sit there until our room was ready.
My aunt was really suffering form dehydration and the altitude so she just wanted to lie down. After our meal, she did just that on a banquette outside the restaurant while I went to a house phone to call about our rooms.
They were ready so we came back and checked in.
Our rooms are fabulous! We have a one bedroom apartment with two full bathrooms, fireplace and two balconies. Plenty of space so we aren't tripping over each other constantly and two tvs so we don't even have to watch the same movies!
I walked back over to the center to pick up something snacky for dinner and decided to try Polygamy Porter (why have just one?).
The name is better than the beer, but the label is great!
We pretty much went to bed right after dinner. We had been up very late, and we plan to be in Salt Lake City by 8:30 in the morning.
This quickly put me out in front for "Niece of the Year"!
Airlines being what they are these days, though, our flight schedules couldn't seem to quite match up. She landed first, got the rental car (she got a free upgrade to the exact make and model she drives at home) and then had about an hour and half to kill before I landed.
After locating a Starbucks and getting her bearings, it was time to swing back by the airport for me.
We were both hungry and we were sure we would find someplace on our way up the mountain to our resort, but alas and alack, there was nothing.
When we checked in, our rooms were not ready and they sent us over to the Center to get lunch. By this time it is after 2pm. We drive over and park and find a restaurant at 2:35 only to be told, they stop serving at 2:30.
Everyone directs us to the deli, but she can't eat bread so that is not an option, and we can't buy food and cook it either.
Finally, some nice young men paving the parking lot come to our aid and we are directed to the next hotel over. The valet there, when he hears our troubles, vows that if the restaurant is closed, he will get us something himself, but it is indeed open.
Our server Matt was super friendly and said we were welcome to sit there until our room was ready.
My aunt was really suffering form dehydration and the altitude so she just wanted to lie down. After our meal, she did just that on a banquette outside the restaurant while I went to a house phone to call about our rooms.
They were ready so we came back and checked in.
Our rooms are fabulous! We have a one bedroom apartment with two full bathrooms, fireplace and two balconies. Plenty of space so we aren't tripping over each other constantly and two tvs so we don't even have to watch the same movies!
I walked back over to the center to pick up something snacky for dinner and decided to try Polygamy Porter (why have just one?).
The name is better than the beer, but the label is great!
We pretty much went to bed right after dinner. We had been up very late, and we plan to be in Salt Lake City by 8:30 in the morning.
17 March 2007
Happy St. Patrick's Day!!
I went to one of my favourite Irish Pubs to celebrate St. Patrick's Day with the Celtic Lasses who are on a road trip for the High Hooley day throughout our lovely state. Unfortunately, we were not the only people who decided to celebrate at the same time and place! For the first time in my life, there was a line to get in to this particular establishment!
So, instead of seeing an Irish band while we ate brunch, we went to the mainstay of road trip cuisine, Denny's, and had plain old breakfast.
Then the two of us who were more local went shopping and the rest of the lasses continued on their hooley way.
And so I am celebrating instead in the comfort of my own home. A round of Jameson for the house!
And if you ever find yourself in want of good pint in the San Fernando Valley, and perhaps some good Irish music to wash it down, I still recommend Ireland's 32, but please, don't go on St. Patirck's Day!
So, instead of seeing an Irish band while we ate brunch, we went to the mainstay of road trip cuisine, Denny's, and had plain old breakfast.
Then the two of us who were more local went shopping and the rest of the lasses continued on their hooley way.
And so I am celebrating instead in the comfort of my own home. A round of Jameson for the house!
And if you ever find yourself in want of good pint in the San Fernando Valley, and perhaps some good Irish music to wash it down, I still recommend Ireland's 32, but please, don't go on St. Patirck's Day!
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