The only completely rainy day occurred on the day we visited Charles Fort, a star-shaped fortification opposite Kinsale Harbor. It dates from the 17th century and was used as a British Army barracks until 1921. The Brits left after the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921. It wasn't pouring when we left the hotel, but the heavens opened on the short ride to the village of Summer Cove. But we soldiered on (heh) and gathered around a... Read more →
Our second full day found us in Cobh (pronounced "Cove"), the harbor town where the Irish boarded ships to America. Just in front of the Cobh Heritage Center is this statue of Annie Moore and her brothers. Annie was the first immigrant to pass through US federal inspection at Ellis Island. Eileen played a haunting version of "Nearer My God to Thee" in front of Annie, which got us ready to learn more about the... Read more →
Monday was a travel day from Ennis to Kinsale, with a stop in Killarney National Park for a meal, a mansion, and music! Breakfast at the Old Ground Hotel was grand - lots of yummy scones, croissants, breads, cereals, juices, yogurts, you name it. Not only that, there were hot breakfast choices too! I grabbed some goodies and ordered some porridge for good measure. The coffee was good and strong; I immediately poured a big... Read more →
My pal Linda K. posted this list on The Facebook, and I saw it, and I thought "Cool! I'm gonna make a blog post out of this!" Feel free to play along, on The Facebook, on a blog post, on a Twitter thread, or however you see fit. Here we go! 1. First concert - Ravi Shankar. It was also my first date! I was 15. The next night the same boy took me to... Read more →
Recovery from Covid Neither of us had bad symptoms; in fact, I tested negative almost immediately. Joe tested negative after a week, but he never got terribly ill. Some Delsym for the cough, ibuprophen for the body aches, NyQuil to sleep and he coped well. So we were both double-tested negative right after Christmas. Speaking of which... Christmas Even though we were all by ourselves, Christmas was still lovely. We gave each other great gifts... Read more →
You find the damnedest things when you open an old photo box. Y'know, like old ticket stubs. From the 90s. Those were some great shows, every single one of them. Let's start with the non-rock shows. Five Guys Named Moe celebrated the music of Louis Jordan, the great jump blues sax player and bandleader. We saw that show at Ford's Theater, home of the most uncomfortable theater seats ever. (If you go to a show... Read more →
Joe loves vinyl records. When we moved here to Pennsylvania, we found a couple of great record stores - one in Doylestown and one in Phoenixville - and boom. The store in Phoenixville closed, but apparently when God closes one record store, he opens another one. So we had to go and check it out. Now, Joe is the one who usually buys the records, but I do flip through the offerings and occasionally pick... Read more →
Wednesday night we saw a wonderful, terrific, fantastic concert by The Chieftains! I am really, really glad it was on Wednesday, because everything in Philly shut down in response to the corona virus on Thursday! This concert was part of The Chieftains 58th anniversary and Irish Goodbye tour. Both Joe and I have loved them for years, but neither of us had ever seen them live. So it was now or never, and we chose... Read more →
Back when we lived in the DC area about a million years ago, Washington National Cathedral held a free organ recital every Sunday afternoon. Joe went nearly every Sunday; I accompanied him every so often. I enjoyed the recitals, but Joe loved them. Recently we got a brochure in the mail from the arts program at Ursinus College in nearby Collegeville. Lo and behold, there was a free organ recital scheduled for Sunday afternoon! Joe... Read more →
For many years now, I've had this vision of how I want to die. It goes like this. I lie in a beautiful, white canopy bed in my lovely lace nightgown. I'm propped up by fluffy pillows. The bed is surrounded by friends and family, all crying quietly, knowing that my end is near. A choir sings Swing Low, Sweet Chariot. I gaze at my loved ones, occasionally whispering some words of love and wisdom.... Read more →