Happy Christmas.........Seriously Like.....

Pussies Galore

For some time we have been negotiating with a colony of feral cats in our neighbourhood.The plan is to get them used to us over time and once we gain their trust have them all spayed and neutered.It's sort of funny to see the fur explosion when we approach the house.Feline shrapnel sprayed in all directions.

At this stage they are quite used to us (and our food) and the lads have given them all names.Here are a few of my favourites

Doopta!
Fishing Cat
Pancake
Colourish
Johnny Junglesman
Tank
Waffle
Pumpkinhead
Huggy Buddy
Soopateeta

Now we've had a little success in placing some of them in good homes with good people but that's a lot of cats to house.The thing is I'm not a cat person and it was with a certain weary resignation I stepped out into the cold today (-8C) to feed them.(We have a cosy,blanket lined box for them out of the wind and rain).They are tiny but healthy and hardy and they seemed a tad impatient with my dallying.

Then I saw the small wan.A wee grey and white bag of bones who didn't look too well.She didn't pounce on the food like the other kittens and seemed perished with the cold.The Little Match Girl of the cat world.Fuck it anyway! I couldn't just leave the kitten to her fate.Not after the week I've had. Could I? There was a time I could have.Not now though.

You see I was on the receiving end of some extraordinary kindness this week.I won't embarass you by naming names.You know who you are.So now we have a kitten fattening up,fed,found,littered and toweled in our downstairs bathtub until we have something more permanent for her.Her name is Prickly Thornbush and she is a BIG hit with the lads.

Thank YOU folks.You were good to me this week.The least I could do is be a bit kinder.

Merry Christmas.

Bear Of A Commute This Morning

I cross this road twice a day. Fair dues to Montgomery County Fire and Rescue,Swift Water Rescue,Maryland State Police and the U.S. Park Police.

Minor Threat?

Someone really needs to put ol' Papaltine to bed.

It's waaaaay past his bedtime.

Then again it's kind of nice to know that people like me are causing him some sleepless nights.

Take your creepy old fairytale and shove it, you despicable Nazi bastard.

And now for something completely different.Take it away Malky............

The Big Lop Offski VII

During the night it rained.It made me very happy.Having Cynthia tell me this news made me happier.

Friday is my second last wake-up in the hospital and I reward the lovely Cynthia's loyalty by putting her to work.

As my toe-scratcher.OK..I wasn't proud of that and I felt terrible asking her but true to form she laughed at my silliness and jumped right on it.Toe scratched and breakfast secured we did a quick scan of the news and happened upon some madness involving inner-city teens from Philadelphia standing around a field in Ireland being shouted at by some culchie waving a hurley.

We looked at each other and did a quick check to see if the morphine IV really was disconnected.They ought to know better than loosing "cultural exchange' documentaries like that on the recently de-bollocked.I honestly thought I was hallucinating for a moment.

The rest of the day followed a by now familiar course and passed pretty slowly.I was getting a little restless so the bold Dr M. ordered me up and about.As I had not done so well the night before and the plan was to discharge me on Saturday I had some catching up to do in the mobility stakes.I was ready for some walking.What I wasn't ready for was the walker. I thought I was going to have 30 or 40 more years before worrying about cutting tennis balls in half but after the previous evenings poor showing I welcomed it's four-legged support.

One of my nurse chums cracked " I bet you never thought you'd have an entourage" as she and a colleague guided me out of my berth.Cynthia played traffic cop and guided me out with lighted wands and "Beep Beep Beep" sounds.Once upright I stabilized for a moment,made full use of the walker (Fuck pride!) and for the first time since Tuesday left the room.I felt about a thousand times better than the previous evening and marvelled again at the novelty of being upright again.I wasn't exactly Ms.Agility 2008 with being catheterized and packed like a Christmas turkey but it felt great to be moving. I also came away with a whole new perspective on walkers and the people that use them.

So a few turns around the wing with ma posse and it was back to bed with me for my last night in the hospital.

I was being sprung in less that 24hrs.

An Unexpected Upswing

I'm cold.
I'm hungry.
I'm exhausted from the nights.
I haven't been paid for some time.
I'm a banana peel or some cross words away from being homeless.
I haven't a drop of petrol in my car.
I have $15.60 to my name until the back pay thing gets sorted.
I'm late with everything because of same (at least I can't get pregnant or I would be...It would have to be a Demonic Conception at that)

I'm incredibly happy and grateful that these are the only problems I have to worry about now.Ordinary,normal,run of the mill,common or garden woes that everyone deals with at some time.

The novelty of not having that other problem anymore has not worn off leading me to think that this buoyancy is permanent.Trust but verify though.I find myself ,for the first time ever,not bothered about being here for Christmas.

Could it be I'm actually content? Could it be the surgery has cured me of more than one ailment? It sure seems that way.

Booooo Hisssssssss

From AOPA ePilot.

*Nerdy pilot stuff warning*

D.C. ADIZ becomes federal regulation
The FAA has announced that the new Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Area Special Flight Rules Area (SFRA) will go into effect in February. The SFRA replaces the D.C. ADIZ and will be published under 14 CFR Part 93.
The government issued the rule despite overwhelming opposition from general aviation pilots. More than 22,000 pilots wrote to the FAA opposing the rule.
“It’s extremely disappointing that the ADIZ—something that was hastily implemented as a temporary measure—has become federal regulation,” said Andy Cebula, AOPA executive vice president of government affairs. “We never gave up trying to eliminate the ADIZ, working with security officials, members of Congress, the White House, and the FAA.”
Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Area Special Flight Rules AreaSize: 30-nautical-mile radius, extending from the surface up to 18,000 feet mslLocation: Centered on the DCA VORTAC
The ADIZ notam will go away, but pilots flying through the area will need to comply with the same rules as they have for years. See AOPA’s ADIZ Operations Checklist. Incorporating current policy, anyone who willfully violates the SFRA will be subject to criminal penalties.
Special procedures at Leesburg Executive Airport in Leesburg, Va., are not included in the rule and will continue to be controlled by notam.
As mandated earlier by the FAA, pilots who will be flying in or within 60 miles of the SFRA must complete the agency’s online course, Navigating the New DC ADIZ, by Feb. 9.
“Operationally, nothing changes for pilots,” Cebula said. “But issuing an ADIZ final rule is a concern because a temporary flight restriction was imposed, without consulting airspace users, and later made ‘permanent’ with no documented justification.”
For more information, see AOPA Online.
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association • 421 Aviation Way • Frederick, MD 21701-4798 • 800/USA-AOPA

So much for 'Due Process'.

Now Hear This

The last time I was at Cork International Airport.

The Irish Blog Awards 2009 are filling up fast.


If you're planning on attending you'd best get over here and register.

All other details can he had in the biscuit tin that's holding the door open in Records.

Home For The Holidays

Homepages is a unique collection of stories and photographs, the first of its kind in Ireland. The nation’s best bloggers hold forth on the theme of “home”, covering everything from pets and expat life to parenting and the Kellogg’s Variety Pack. By turns hilarious, heartbreaking and thought-provoking, it promises a captivating read and showcases some of Ireland’s best undiscovered writing talent.
All proceeds from the sale of this book, compiled on an entirely voluntary basis from submissions made via this website, go directly to Focus Ireland, who provide services and support for people who are homeless across Ireland.
The book is now on sale for €14 via Lulu.com on a print-on-demand basis. Click here to order your copy!

Mad thanks to Catherine for lighting the fire under the necessary arses.My own humble contribution was making the tea and sweeping the floor when the real bloggers were finished for the day.When I grow up I'm going to be just like them.

Last Exit For Little Pinch

No one should leave America from a inadequate shopping mall that happens to have runways attached.It really should be a scene in black and white.The beam of the airfield beacon cutting though the night,rain and mist.It's sweep illuminating a piston engine airliner sitting on rain slicked tarmac.There should be trench coated officials stamping papers and everyone should have hats.Some cinematic orchestral accompaniment is de rigeur.


A trek like Annie's has no business ending in the banality of Washington Dulles International.Yet end it did tonight and in a very few minutes an Aer Lingus A330 will be lifting off into the cold,cold Virginia night to carry her back to Ireland.


We are all the poorer for her leaving.


But I (and my family) are all the richer for having her with us for the past two days.We look forward to waking her up with a dinosaur attack when she comes back.


So much more to say about the last few days but I'm too sad to do it tonight.

Slán Abhaile Annie Rhiannon! We Love You! x

Art

Eolaí has opened for business at last.

Get cracking folks. This won't last long.

LOVE this.

Three Friends

Lauren rescued me from the tedium of waiting around for my car to be serviced.It was a joy to see her and she was (as she so often is ) exactly the right person to extract from me from the doldrums of dealership half sleep.

She needed breakfast (eating for two now doncha know) and soon we were established in The Haunt.After omelettes and coffee I read aloud to her passages from St.Ex. and fed,I fancied,one friend with the poetry of another.Wind,Sand and Stars is one of two books that I have bought no fewer than a dozen times.Always to replace impromptu gifts I have made of their predecessors.

I don't lend books.I give them.

Volkswagen eventually are placated with gold (or promises thereof) and I take my leave of Lauren.It's hard not to be affected by her enthusiasm.Lord knows I've tried to be an implacable grouch but she shows it up for the ridiculous posturing it is.We're better friends for it.

On to the Free State and my friend Diana.I crawl into a borrowed coffin to await nightfall and when I rise I am set to chopping onions.I am delighted at the honour.There is food,laughter and much pacing in the kitchen as more book stuff is tended to.I'm a peripatetic sort and ideas free themselves from the inert matrix as I pace and wave my arms around.I wonder if I'm part Italian?

Then I try to cook and the answer comes back.A resounding "No!"

All Irish.I'll stick to words.A familiar cuisine.And friends, a familiar,comforting joy.

Thank you for today.