Tuesday, September 27, 2011

HAPPY 10th BIRTHDAY, CYNTHIA!
And today is Mom's 90th Birthday. So HAPPY BIRTHDAY to her.
Never thought we'd be together (or anywhere) on her 90th, but we are.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Ireland # 2








There really are 40 shades of green in Ireland. Last Friday, we found the farm where Maureen's Dad was born and grew up. I was 40 acres that had been in their family for several hundred years. At the local library, we found a book of property valuations that listed the farm in 1850 as being worth 25 pounds-a substantial sum for that time period. We also found a map that helped me find the farm about 12 miles north of Mullingar. Maureen's grandmother lived in the farm until she passed in 1983. The house has been empty since then. Her Dad sold the farm to a neighbor in 1991. The house had fallen into disrepair since it has been empty for almost 30 years. We met the neighbor who bought the farm, and he took us inside the house.





Ireland







For some reason, I can only upload 3 pictures. We had a great time this past week touring southern Ireland. I got used to driving on the left side of the road and only came close to killing us twice when I ended up in the wrong lane approaching oncoming traffic. We were both amazed at the landscape in southwest Ireland. The Ring of Kerry is a 175 km drive around the peninsula south of Killarney. Mountains up to 3,000-5,000 ft. rise from sea level. Totally amazing scenery. I'll post several more pictures.






Friday, September 2, 2011

Sorry I mada a mistake on the link. Try this one:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bor44-RK44U
Here's another song I like to play when I get back from being with Mom. Joe Cocker isn't Frank Sinatra, voicewise, but he gets the idea across in a way I like. I remember seeing him do the song on TV - with Jennifer Warren, I think it was.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=for44-RK44V