D Day

He's gone now......gone home. If it's true that God is aware of everything,and I'm sure it is,then He is aware of this,and He will tell him. I got to tell you how I felt about you as my father,and how blessed I was to be your son,only months before you left us. There is not a day that goes by that I don't pray for you,and think of you. You were not my" good friend". You were not "my buddy". You were so much more, in your "old school"Irish way. As it usually goes, I came to understand this only later in my life, and am still growing each day, more aware of just what it was that you did for me and all ten of us. I would love to be able to slip into a wee pub somewhere and share a pint with you,but I"ll just have to wait,God willing, to share some of that fruit of the vine with you when we meet again in our Father's house. Remember what I told you in the den that night? Ditto Pop...and so much more. Love Will

Ella

The Sun is out and it's a brilliant, fair day indeed! The little wood creatures are happily about their business around the wee cottage. Jays, finches, nuthatches, and chickadees dart about the place like so many tiny fairies. And how fitting that they should, for today is the fourth birthday of the beautiful princess Ella "Queen of the Fairies". If you should happen to be about in the woods today, and the butterflies are more, and there's the quiet rustling of leaves on the forest floor........it's just the wood fairies celebrating the Queen's birthday. Whisper " happy birthday Ella" and be on your way. May she reign for many, many years to come, in God's good grace.

my buddy Art Rhitis

I've been in some pain(compared to a spike in the eye) for a couple years now. I've tried every kind of Doctor there is to find an answer. Turns out I've got Arthritis. Art didn't come alone. He brought his little friends rotated vertebrae, and bulging discs. When they really get goin the back muscle brothers get all spastic, and they all throw a huge party all across my back and shoulders. They get so crazy at times that they'll invite the upper chest cousins to join in. I'm muscle bound! But not in the traditional sense. I even tried acupuncture. She gave me a magnetic bracelet; not just any old bracelet,but one with holy images on it( Our lady,Our Lord,Saint Patrick,etc.etc.). I put in on and I could feel my arm draining. I mean I could feel the whole thing gettin heavy and weak. I yanked that thing off faster than I can run these days. I don't know if the bad was being sucked out or my arm was goin to salt for the sacrilage(holy images on a magnetic bracelet). I finally get to a Rheumatoid Arthritis specialist, and she tells me I've got DISH Arthritis. This is a form of Art that involves not only the spine, but the tendons and ligaments where they attach to the spine. He's a bad dude, and it explains why my Osteopathic Doctor can't get me straightened out. He talks a lot about beers and stout, especially Guinness. During one of our conversations I mentioned(or maybe I blurted it out with one of those deep breaths he likes me to take and release while he's seein how far forward he can bend my head) that I took a knitting class with one of my daughters-in-law. He thinks a good therapy would be knittin cozys for bottles of Guinness. I wondered if maybe somebody bent his head forward a little too far once. He had mentioned teaching brothers during one session.I didn't have the heart to tell him the Rhuemitoid Doc mentioned I might have the beginnings of Carpal Tunnel in both wrists and cozys would have to wait. I'm just a little worried about the tunnel thing because I'm Irish and I know I'm goin to make the quantum leap straight to Lincoln or Holland. Soooo I mention the R Doc's diagnosis and he tells me it's very rare and he only knew one guy that had it. An Irish professor he had in college. The guy was Irish. I'm thinkin.....sure why not!! He tells me there's an old wives tale type cure for Arthritis involving soakin raisins,and golden raisins at that,in gin,and eating them(nine a day according to some sources). I stopped drinkin a long time ago because I got bent outa shape once too often at gas shop Christmas parties. I recently took it up again because the pain drugs don't work and with Guinness I feel.....cozy. A pint before bed so I can sleep. Now I'm given some serious thought to Gin soaked raisins. Art's like that;he makes you do things you wouldn't do on your own,like when you're with a bunch of your buddies and you get a little braver than you really are. Well....I gotta go get ready. My daughter-in-law A.(name withheld to protect her sanity) just called and we're goin to a garden center this afternoon. I got about two and a half hours to get ready,and I should just make it. Art slows me down a little, and I have to check to make sure I'm walkin right. I check a few times,maybe a dozen or so times. Didn't I mention the O.C.D. Aw the heck with it,by the time I check this silly blog and get to the bathroom and dressed....I'll probably be late. Hope we can stop for raisins on the way.

Seamus

What a fine and glorious day it is indeed! Seamus is two years young today. The party started early; just after midnight,the skies lit up with blinding flashes of lightning for the wee president of the "Lightning McQueen"fan club,and the angels wept for joy all through the night and early morning. May God look kindly upon his fair wee head;may Mary embrace him,and may his guardian walk always close beside him for many years to come. Happy Birthday Seamus!! Granpa loves you! Pax tecum

St.Patrick's day thoughts

Today in honour of the good Saint; I will be hoisting a pint with one of my sons. I will be thinking of all the joy in my life; good sons, good daughters-in-law, and fine grandchildren. Brothers and sisters of the best kind. Nieces and nephews too numberless to count. Mom and Dad and little Sheila are gone home; and so is little Grace. I cannot stop thinking of wee Grace. Soooo.....I will lift my pint in thanksgiving, and high enough for wee Grace to see. Happy Saint Patrick's day to all of you. Pax tecum

Valentine's Day

Valentine's day. I went to confession today. I told God I was sorry I had messed up our relationship lately, but I really did love Him.......really. Busy about myself.........forgetting Him. He told me He understood; told me He loved me.........really; and then He forgave me. Valentine's day.......you gotta love it!!! Pax tecum

"Lend me your ears"

So.............I had to go to the audiologist to get my ears checked. I wore a hearing aid. I say I wore a hearing aid, because I don't wear one now. It broke. I took off my shirt one day, and it caught on my ear, and ripped the aid from my ear. The little devil saw it's chance for freedom, and flew off. It was a short flight; my ear to the floor; but I'm sure it really enjoyed the trip because, when I picked it up, it couldn't stop squealing. So.......I go to the audiologist. Everything went just fine. There was enough wax in my right ear to do my kitchen floor. We did the examination and test, and he tells me there's good news and bad news. The good news is I have the same level of hearing as a Redwood( could've been a hemlock). The bad news is everything is digital now, and a pair of hearing aids is a little more than what the Pentagon spends on screwdrivers. I don't know if I heard him right, but it's ok because I'm reading from a price list he handed me( I was wearing my seeing aids). I tell him I'm a pensioner, and he says he doesn't agree; he thinks the office is very calming.I started thinking he looked a little redwoody, and maybe I made a mistake coming here. I don't have the Pentagon's screwdriver budget handy, so I tell him so, and he says I'll need to take out a loan. I say "it's ok, I came in by myself and I'm sure I can find my way back out". I have a touch of OCD(obsessive compulsive disorder), so on the drive back home I keep lookin at the price list to be sure I'm seeing it right. I did this about twenty or so times(because I'm tryin cuttin back) when I notice the road's getting a little rough. Now I'm startin to get anxious, because I don't have the Pentagon's pencil budget to fix the front end, and I'm prone to panic attacks as well. I decided to put down the silly list and pay attention to the road, when I noticed it was on my left. Now I'm really startin to freak out because the steering's bad too!! "The heck with this!" I muttered to myself, or maybe screamed to myself and anyone within two miles. I don't know for sure.........my hearing aid was back on the dining table, still goin on about it's wonderful flight. It was just as I was about to turn back onto the road(steering permitting) when I noticed the beautiful Lupines growing along the edge of the field upon which my front right tire was resting. " I wonder what Amy's doing today; I could use some Lupines in my landscape back at the wee place". So........later; we're driving off to the nursery after stopping for coffee to calm my nerves, and from the back seat where the two wee ones are safely strapped in like tiny parachutists, Ella asks me a question. "Sure sweetheart, I got plenty of sleep"(boy! she notices everything). Amy's lookin at me kinda funny, and I'm startin to get anxious again because I didn't notice any bags under my eyes after rollin around on my aching rotor cuffs and bulging neck disc for five hours. Sure enough!! A mile farther and we see the sheep she was asking about. "Now I understand!!" I yelled; or maybe muttered, I don't know, because I started countin the sheep to be sure they were all there(OCD) and I got really sleepy. We get to the nursery and I'm taking Seamus out of the back seat when he yells " gaaarrrr!" I love my grandchildren and I wasted no time throwin him up on the roof of the car to save him from whatever was barrelin down on us, when I realized he was talking about the one going down the highway. Amy doesn't make eye contact as she gingerly removes her son from the aforementioned roof top. We looked at some Lupines and other plants, and as I happened to have enough money on me to purchase several gallons of gasoline; I bought some beautiful Coneflowers.I can't remember if I bought any Lupines, but there's a packet of seeds on my kitchen counter. Who would break into a home just to leave seeds? I gotta go check things out; make sure the place is ok and nothin's missing; it may take a while(OCD), but I'm gunna do it if I have to do it at least twenty times. So...........how was your day? Pax Tecum