13 O’Thursday
1. Between early Day Light Savings and just the thought of St. Patrick’s day, I have to say, I’ve been feeling a little hung over.
2. My blog is wearing green because I’m Irish.
3. This blog was born on St. Patrick’s Day. See HERE.
4. I can’t decide if blarney is a bunch of baloney or the gift of eloquence. While in County Cork ten years ago, I decided not to make the trip to kiss the famous Blarney Stone, which is said to bestow all who kiss it with the gift of blarney. Besides the fact that I wasn’t sure whether blarney was something I wanted or not, I didn’t like the idea that you had to hang upside down while someone holds onto your legs to reach it. See HERE.
5. Ireland is a green kite … let go by the fairies … Landed in the ocean … and anchored by rock … is part of a poem I wrote while in Glendalough, Ireland, on the very day my blog photo (to the right was taken). The rest of the poem is HERE.
6. Writing is like making yogurt. I can work at home for several days in row, but then eventually the words won’t gel and I have to go out and find some live culture to stir into the mix.
7. Olive Riley (a good old Irish name) is writing her life story. She’s 107 and has a blog called The Life of Riley, which begins like this: The story so far. Olive Riley, half way through her 107th year, started her blog, or blob as she calls it, in late Feb. 2007 with help from Mike. Olive does not see well and so Mike records her stories and types them out. Go say Hello HERE.
8. At what point in life do we start telling more stories than we spend living the new ones?
9. Does “The Luck of the Irish” cancel out “Murphy’s Law (if something can go wrong it will?), or is it the other way around?
10. I try to look for the opportunity in life’s adversity. If I can’t, I figure the consolation is that at least it will make a good story.
11. My husband, Joe, came home from his martial arts class this past Saturday carrying a bag full of farm eggs that he picked up from our local supplier, the Gralla-Shwartz family. “Oh, you brought home the bacon! And to me bacon is eggs!” I said.
12. Ireland is a small country. My husband comes from a long line of Mooney’s, a family name that originated in Offaly County. My grandfather’s mother’s surname was Dineen. The Dineen’s were also originally from Offaly, which means that at one time his and my ancestors most likely knew each other.
13. THIS is our favorite Irish singer. The song he sings so well tells a chilling Irish tale and can bring me to tears in a soulful way. I love it!
Thursday headquarters is here. My other 13’s are here. View more 13 Thursday’s here.
March 15th, 2007 8:12 am
colleen- there’s so much good stuff here, i don’t know where to start. funny thing is, i was in ireland 10 year ago, too! i backpacked through ireland for 3 weeks and then went and stayed with my uncle in scotland.
“ireland is a green kite…let go by the fairies”….i believe it! everything about ireland spoke to me of leprechauns, magic, and fairies. i wrote in my journal that i understood why there are so many legends and fairytales that originated there…..the mist, the green, the ocean all have an almost palpable, mystical feel. my favorite village was doolin…… i loved walking the paths along the ocean and hiking up to the “cliffs of mohr”.
and i loved your writing/yogurt analogy. my mom always made homemade yogurt and i really want to start doing it soon.
great 13!
March 15th, 2007 8:20 am
#9 – my best friend is a Murphy, and she’s Irish (obviously) and she’ll tell you Murphy’s law is the stronger of the 2. 🙂
March 15th, 2007 8:35 am
I do believe Doolin was my favorite town too! I thought it was like an Irish version of Floyd. I ate stew in the pub and Joe and I walked on the beach. O’Brians castle is there. My Grandmother from the old sod was from Youghal in County Cork and I visited the town and street she was born on. I am from the Bergins, Murrays, and Dineens. Carmen’s 13 is about Ireland too and she mentions many of those places. The cliffs of Mohr and Brigets Well were also my favorite places.
March 15th, 2007 8:47 am
I saw two little fairies (ok, maybe they were just kids) flying a kite at the beach last Sunday and it landed in the water…wonder what it will become!
March 15th, 2007 8:56 am
So much neat stuff in today’s post!
‘Tis a Pot-of-Gold at the end of the rainbow to be sure!
Colleen must be a common Irish name for isn’t it also used to mean a girl?
My husband’s family were “Lowe’s” who may have fled Irelnad for stealing potatoes during the famine! Yikes!
Going to check the 107 year-old’s blog! And your poem.
Top of the mornin’ to ya!
March 15th, 2007 9:10 am
I don’t think many Irish girls are named Colleen because, you’re right, it means “girl.” It’s spelled Cailin and is pronounced sort of like calean, but being from Boston we drawl out the o and say Cawl-een.
March 15th, 2007 9:11 am
Glendalough is one of my favorite places. We lived in Dublin when I was a kid and once took a weekend trip out into the countryside, stopping at Glendalough on the way home. It was magical, with the ruins and graveyard and especially the tower. I thought I’d stumbled into a fairy tale.
March 15th, 2007 9:36 am
I am irish too!
I enjoyed your post it was fabulous. I recently posted on my music monday The Corrs. I am sure you are familiar but a vid that is on you tube is awesome if you have a chance to go check.
Terrific Thursday Thirteen!
My TT is posted.
Have a wonderful day!
Happy TT’ing!
*^_^
(=’:’=)
(“)_ (“)Š
Raggedy
March 15th, 2007 9:57 am
Oh Colleen, now you have my Irish Wanderlust completely stirred up! If I travel alone, any suggestions on whether to go with a tour group or if single, where to go? I wanna go!!!!!!!!
Number 8 is quite profound and a question I’ll ponder today.
Susan
March 15th, 2007 10:01 am
I always feel hung over after the change to daylight savings time… and the fact that it was earlier this year has made my hangover worse. It’s been nearly a week and my sleep patterns are still a mess!
March 15th, 2007 10:03 am
Oh, I really like #6!
March 15th, 2007 10:06 am
Happy St. Patricks to you.
I love that this women is doing a blog or blob. I can’t wait to read it.
Whenever I hear Blarney I think bologna. 😉
March 15th, 2007 10:20 am
Susan, If you can drive on the other side of the road, anywhere you go in Ireland is wonderful. Many of the sacred wells, castles, ancient ruins, and burial dolmens are on the side of the road. Every other house is a bed and breakfast. The Cliffs of Mohr, Newgrange, and Glendalough would have to be on your list. Joe and I have a fantasy of living there for a year, so maybe that’s when we can invite you over for a pint and a Scrabble game.
Yes, Deirdre, Glendalough was the most magical place I’ve been to in my life thus far. How could you not write a poem there?
March 15th, 2007 10:58 am
Perfectly lovely 13!
#5 — beautiful imagery.
#8 — there was a time when I processed life as stories on my blog. Then I realized I was thinking about the stories and telling the stories more than I was living the life that created them. So, I appreciate the reminder!!
March 15th, 2007 11:11 am
~~ When I was ready to deliver my middle son, The Husband asked what countries my family was from ~~ I told him I’m Irish, English an’ German ~~ Without batting an eye, he looked at me an’ said, “Well, that explains why you like Beer…”
The Irish tho, always wins out in any “discussion” with him…an’ Ohh how I’d love to travel to Ireland!! Saving up pennies may be a start..sigh…
March 15th, 2007 11:33 am
Lauri, I love your latest collage. I would title it “Alchemy.” I can’t comment on your site. It says “This blog doesn’t allow anonymous comments.” You know you can change that setting?
March 15th, 2007 1:09 pm
That is soooo cool! Yay, Happy Love the Irish Day!!!! 🙂 Great list today.
Take care.
March 15th, 2007 1:15 pm
Happy St Patrick’s Day to you. I love green and I would love to visit Ireland some time. Enjoyed reading your TT as always, will visit the lady! 107…!
March 15th, 2007 1:45 pm
It’s funny you bring up how the blarney stone is kissed. I just watched a PBS special on travelling to Ireland, happily planning a trip for us in the not too distant future, I hope, and there was a visit to the blarney stone. I had no idea that is how it is kissed! There was a man there helping the tourists out by holding their legs.
I just don’t think I could do it.
March 15th, 2007 2:45 pm
Love your Irish 13…happy blogaversy! Loved your #10. Thanks for the breath of irish spring. I will go visit your 107 year old blogger.
Hope you caught a floating clover!
March 15th, 2007 2:51 pm
Great Thursday Thirteen. I’m Irish, also. Lots of SWVA folks are, I know.
March 15th, 2007 2:56 pm
I too am Irish.
I too look for opportunity in every adversity.
And I genuinely love your poem about Ireland, most esp. the lines you quoted.
I too played today.
~S
March 15th, 2007 7:39 pm
Writing like yogurt? Hmmmm….
March 15th, 2007 8:26 pm
When you make yogurt you add live culture to milk and keep at a warm temperature. After that you can keep making it by saving a little culture from each batch, but after a while you have to add some new “live culture.” Does that make sense? The analogy being that I can only stay home writing for few days and then I need to go out to get some new “live culture”e experiences to make the work gel anew.
March 15th, 2007 10:22 pm
#8: I think it starts in the 60’s….LOL, at least it did for mr. kenju.
March 16th, 2007 4:12 am
Of all your comments here, the one about getting out in the world to add yeast to the mix rings most true. I have a solitary nature, but without mixing, nothing would ever come of it.
A fun post to read!
Tom
March 16th, 2007 6:45 am
Was Murphy Irish?
If both your family and your husband’s family were from the same county, it is not only likely that they knew each other, but perhaps they were related by marriage… what a coincidence that would be.
March 16th, 2007 7:50 am
Well our first meeting was like “recognition at first sight.”
March 16th, 2007 8:43 am
On my first trip to Ireland, now 21 years and literally half-a-lifetime ago, I wasn’t really into touristy things but I was somehow drawn to the Blarney stone. I did kiss it and for a couple punt had a souvenir certificate. Suitable for framing, yes. Framed and still on my wall, of course!
March 28th, 2007 10:58 am
Great post and thanks for the link to Olive. I only glanced at her blog but enough to know she’s amazing and I’ve bookmarked her to go back when time permits for a more in-depth look.