Glad I'm a Man in My Family

Okay Lucy, let me 'splain. Nothing sexist here. Just read on. About two weeks ago my youngest sister Hazel was hit by a car. Yes. Hit.By.A.Car. She's okay. I think. The worse part of all is not one memebr of my family called us to tell us this. I think Herself was talking to my mom and the conversation was like this. I can only guess becasue I only heard the Lovely One's end of it. I'll do my best.

Herself : So how's the weather there? (My Family is in New England)
Mother O'Malley : oh it'll be the death of me for sure..I have arthur-itis and my bones..oh sweet Jaysus me bones..I think it has rained for thirty-seven days straight. I've lost count....
Herself: Well it's been beautiful here...sorry you haven't...
Mother O'Malley: Sure go on and gloat...
Herself: Work is going okay?
Mother O'Malley : Ahhh they're going to kill me. Workin' my fingers right off my hands. Mind you I have artur-itis..And to top it all off, none of me sisters will have lunch with me....the ungrateful, no good...I've got ot eat all alone. Or I eat with that weird aul fellar Frank. You know, the one who has the wooden eye..
Swiftly changing the subject is Herself : So how are the kids?
Mother O'Malley: Well Bernice is doing fine considering the man she's married to and those chidren of her's ahhh the poor poor chidren..tsk tsk...Sean is just a pleasure..wonderful boy..bowling four nights a week and still he finds time to have tea with me on Wednsday morning..such a wee cherub he is..
Herself:How about Hazel and Banshee (my little neice) Banshee is grand...going to make her First Communion this year, praise Jaysus..oh and Hazel was hit by a car...
Herself: WHAT???!!!!
Mother O'Malley: Oh sure enough. Did't you know that?
Herself: How would we ever know that??
Mother O'Malley: Well, I 'spose you wont. If that son of mine called me once a month 'twould be a small miracle.
Herself: How is Hazel??
Mother O'Malley: Ahh she's fine. A bit of a bruise on her arse but thank the Lord the car that hit her was made of Nerf. Rolled right up onto the hood and then off. The girl driving never stopped. (thus the being hit by said vehicle)
Herself: Did she go to the hospital??
Mother O'Malley: Yes the rescue took her. Scared us to death. Xrays are okay. She's expected to recover fully in a year or so..She'll be laid up I'm afraid the poor wee thing. Might get a fine settlement. Maybe get us a new automobile..or maybe a trip to...ahh anywhere but here..this weather is killing me love...

And just two days ago my oldest sister was run over by a car. Her own. And of course noone called to tell us. Nice huh? I told Herself that I'm hoping a piano or safe doesn't fall out of the sky onto my brother. Keeping my fingers crossed.

A Little Off the Toes and Could You Remove My Ear Jam Please

Today I took the DuffMeister to our local PetSmart. He did really well in the truck and didn't puke at all this time! Yeah Duff!
I think he actually enjoys the truck. He can see out the windows at what the heck is going on. And past. We got there around one and apparently everyone in Momouth county was shopping in this particular plaza. At the same exact fucking moment we were. I did get lucky and got a spot only about a mile away from the store. Duff has had problems with crowds and cars, so taking him to the store fills both of us with anxiety. Me more than him I think but I'm just a nervous Daddy I 'spose. After some coaxing and the promise of many cookies we got into the store. There were approximately ten other dogs in the store today. They all wanted to sniff my dog's ass but Duff was having none of it. We got into the salon and I requested the nails and a ear cleaning. I have to say 99% of the people who work in the grrrooming section are realy good. Only one woman seemed a bit impatient. But maybe she had been working on cats all day .
There was a BullMastiff behind the door that seperates the grooming area from the waiting area and I must say I have NEVER seen such a big head on a dog. This thing was the size of a golf cart. Gigantic. I mean I'd love to have that thing full of freakin' nickels. Enormous. The dog walked over to me and I thought she would eat Duff and I in one bite but she wanted only to lick my hand. A taste-test I'm sure.
So without much more ado we went to the parking lot and found the truck. Duff is good because now he'll stand at the dor and wait for me to lift him into the truck. Whereas before he would jump up and try to scratch his way directly through the door.
Once settled in the shotgun seat we enjoyed a nice ride home. The weather was spring-like so we had the windows down. He seemed to like that.

Tomorrow we will (hopefully) have a kitty door put into the door from our kitchen to our garage. The cat loves the garage. Don't ask me why. He's weird. And the good news is, his litter box will now reside in the garage. This cat has the stinkiest ass I swear. Anyone can stink, but he could knock a buzzard of a shit-wagon. It's torture.

After the door thing I'm going to wash my truck. Maybe.....we'll see. I don't wanna bust up this good weather because once I wash my truck it will rain. We'll see.

Work has been going pretty smoothly lately. Not alot going on but we're busy. Our senior man-on-the-floor Thom has been unofficially running the show. He's a great guy and knows his shit. Between the two of us. There have been no problems. Clockwork. Smooth as silk. As cool as the other side of the pillow...you get the point. Work is enjoyable. For the first time in a long time.
Another one of my co-workers who has proved, difficult, to say the very least was out for the last month tending to an ill parent. He isn't a bad guy but he likes to work at one thousand miles an hour and he tries to get the people around him to do the same. He has gone to my supervisor and the head of the site to complain that I'm too slow. Yes I have a bad back and there are days when I cannot work at full-tilt but I alwasy give a honest 8 hours. He pushed me to the point that I told my supervisor if he didn't remedy this, I would break my little Irish foot off in his arse. My supervisor looked at me and said "Fasir is a pacifist. He wouldn't even hit you back."
"Even better," replied Myself.
He looked shocked "You'd hit a pacifist knowing the guy wouldn't hit you back?"
I was in quite a state and replied "You're fuckin' right I would." Well cool heads ( mine actually) prevailed and I went about my biz.
Needless to say, nothing was done. I threatened to go to HR but I figured it would blow over, and it did. When he left a month ago. Now he's back. Its only been a day so we'll see what happens.
I came home tonight to a fantastic meal. A tasty piece of chicken parm, side of linguini and a salad. Serevd with a cold Sam Adams.
That wife of mine...She worked her butt off all day, went shopping and then came home and prepared me a killer meal. She's the best thing since bottled beer I tell ya'.
Im going to the Optomotrist tomorrow to have my eyeballs checked. I apparently have 'freckles' on the backs of my eyes ( Irish inside and out ) and they will take photos and make sure they are not growing or multiplying (as freckles are wont to do) so I don't go freakin' blind. That would blow.
The Devils are on a nice little tear winning 9 of their last 10.
Speaking of tears, our darts team is doing nicely, winning 16 of our last 28. A hair over 50% but that's really good for us.

Mondays Tales

This morning I had a dentist appointment. It wasn't awful. I, in genreal, hate going to the dentist. My dentist is a great guy, don't get me wrong. He's funny, has a great personality, and he's very good at what he does (eg. he gives me plenty of novacaine when I need work done) and he works fast. These two things have cemented him firmly as my second favorite dentist. So it's not that I don't like him...I am just not a fan of the 'dental procedure'.
My favorite dentist is in Rhode Island and he's great. If anyone living in the Warwick area actually reads this rag and would like his info, I'll be happy to provide it. Just don't tell him you found it on the internet, he's liable to whack me with a five-iron next time I see him.
The dentist I saw before I found him was not nice. At all. He had the personality of a dishrag and he was a shitty dentist. He never gave enough novacaine and got mad when I screamed in horrible pain. I even had a pet-name for him. It was Doctor Fuck-Face, or something along those lines.
So I have a loose tooth, or is it my crown? I'm not sure, but the good news is, I have no pain in it. I told the hygenist that it was loose and she took my word for it after she wiggled it for about two minutes. She then took four sets of xrays. Just to be sure..or something...
Bad news is I have a small cavity and have to go back. At which time they will decide what to do with my loose tooth. Cap. Crown. Whatever.
After my trip to the dentist, we took the Duffster to Jackson, which is almost an hour away, for a vet appointment. He was a brave little boy and got two shots and had blood drawn. Never flinched. Herself however, got woosy when they drew the Duffsters blood. Generally, Duff does not do well in the car. But he went almost the whole way without getting sick. He had a little pukey but I caught it with his puke-towel. Yeah me.
After lunch we tried to nap and only one of us was successful. We live in the noisiest neighborhood. Well, it's not the bazaar in Sri Lanka but still...
I skipped work today because of the above events. I did, however, take care of all the paperwork for the stuff that is shipping today. Why? Because I'm a good employee of course. I wrote it all up, logged it into our 'shipped' book and gave everyone who needed copies copies on Friday. Go me. So there should be no issues with me being out today.
Should there??

Sunday Edition

Happy Sunday
The weather here has been wonderful. I mean springlike. My kind of winter...temps in the high 40's and 50's. Yesterday was close to 60! Of course it has rained for three days but the warm weather has been wonderful. That is until last night.
With a gust of wind, a howling wind coming from fucking Canada ( where else?), the weather changed dramatically. It went from rain and 60 to snow and 20 in about an hours time. Not good. And it snowed. Not alot but still...it made the Lovely One happy but as you know, the Leprechaun hates snow.
We started yesterday at the market, stocking up on foodstuff. After we came home I made a big pot of French Onion soup for lunch. After the groceries were put away we relaxed. We are still being deprived of sleep by the pets. I surfed for a while and at about 2 I started dinner. I made a Pot Roast Provencal. I started by chopping the baby red tomotoes and onions and the one stick of celery. I then seared the roast. Once that's done I throw the veggies in the pan, then add the garlic, then the wine ( woo-hoo) and then the beef broth. Once thats all simmering I return the roast to the pan and then it's into the oven for 2 1/2 hours. It smelled sooo good.
We had Herself's parents and Grnadmother over for dinner and they enjoyed the meal quite a bit so that was nice.

Work is still slow but I have a feeling we will be picking up this week. My boss has been out all week with a bad dose of shingles. I'm considering called him Georgia-Pacific when he returns but I'm not sure how that will fly. He's a good guy so maybe I'll just not. He'll have enough to deal with upon his return.

Darts is going okay. I am still not at the form I was when I 'retired' fives years ago but hey...I'm also thinking this may be the last year I play. For this big reason. Everyone but me smokes and the smoke is killing me. Not only can I not breathe for half of the next day, but I stink to high heaven when I come home. It's terrible and I feel like hell for the next day. So it's time I 'spose.
I don't know if I would do anything esle for entertainment. Maybe start playing chess again. I really like chess but here's the biggest problem for me. In darts, you need only worry about your next turn at the line. You go up knowing exactly what you have to do and exactly what your opponent has to do. You're prepared.
In chess, you must be able to think far, far down the road. Your opponent can do anything at all and you have to be prepared. This requires concentration. I don't think I've got that much concentration. In my school days one of the comments most found on my report card was "easily distracted by others." Hey, I'm just a social guy. But when it comes to concentrating I'm like the monkeys at the zoo. I can be content to pick bugs off my brothers back or stare at the pool for hours in deep concentration, but once something shiny is thrown into the pen, I'm screwed...We'll see.

Today will be a day of relaxing. I've shoveled and filled the birdfeeders. I have a hot cup of tea in front of me so all is well.

Enjoy your Sunday

Five Weird Things....

Okay so I've been 'tagged'.
The Tagger wishes me to jot down five weird things people may not know about me. I pondered this and whilst lying in bed one evening I tunred to the Lovely One and said. "Are there five weird things about me??" It was said with all seriousness and the result was an eruption of laughter equal to the time one of the Bush wingo's told us "read my lips.." I mean, knick-knacks were shaking off the shelves like a bad day in Tokyo.
Once the crocodile tears were dryed, she looked at me and said "You only need five??" Yes I guess..
So here we go..

#1 I am a burrower. What is a burrower you might ask. I start the night at the top of the bed, head on pillow comforter around my neck...like any normal person would..and sometime during the night I burrow down to near the middle of the bed. Under the covers. I think I even take my pillows with me. Not sure as I'm asleep. It was so bad once, Herself said my feet were actually sticking off the end of the bed.

#2 I used to own ferretts. Three of them. Ringo, Theo and Kodo. I guess that's weird. I only named Ringo tho. After Ringo Starr. He rocks.

#3 I enjoy traveling by train. in this world of hurry-the-f*ck up and get there, get it done now, I enjoy the leisure of the train. The train travels mainly between 75-90 miles an hour. I enjoy watching all the little towns pass by. That's weird to most people.

#4 My spider-disposal system. I, like most of America, don't like the little buggers. Anything with eight legs and fifty eyes has got to be evil. I do however, feel it is one of Gods creatures and refuse to smash them with a spatula. What I used to do was to scoop the evil little bastard up in my cupped hands and shake him around. Thereby making him dizzy and confused. I would then run down the road and throw him from my hand, hoping to confuse him to the point he doesn't know where he is and make him want to forget about our house and just invade the closest house to him. That's what I used to do. Now I just flush.

#5 I watch movies alot. Let me rephrase that. I watch certain movies alot. Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Kill Bill 1 & 2, Pulp Fiction, The Shawshank Redemption. Almost to the point I know the script. I also enjoy reciting certain lines from these movies at work. It usually amuses my co-workers. But mostly they think I'm weird.

This n That

Hello all and Happy New Year...
It's been a rainy past few days here.I don't mind the rain in genreal except it aggravates my back. Well, the dampness that accompanies the rain does. Last night it was bucketing and the rain hitting the windows helps lull me to sleep. Unfortunately it does the opposite to Herself. When we have crap weather I always immediately am thankful to have a roof over my head, a nice warm bed to sleep in and a q.t. to wake up to. Unlike me, who is not so cute upon waking. And Im occasionally Grumpy dwarf until I've had my first full cup of tea.
I went back to work today after a much needed three days off. I spent most of my free time adding songs to my iTunes program. Why? you may ask..because the Lovely One bought me and iPod Shuffle for Christmas! If you don't know what it is, it is an Apple Ipod the size of a pack of Wrigleys gum and weighs like half an ounce.... Yes. It is supremely cool. I am a lover of music and my tastes range from Freddie Hubbard to the Kinks, to Miles to Buddy Guy to Pink Floyd to Little Feat. And between Meself and Herself we have quite the collection. Back to my Ipod. This little bugger will hold sevearal hours of music. I think so far I've got 10 hours of music on it and I'm still updating my listening list.
Itunes also offers an online music store where you can buy songs for .99 cents a peice. A super deal considering you don't have to waste 14 beans on acd for just one or two songs.
Work wasa calm today but we will be getting zany over the next week. I worked in the 'bindery' today with Thom cutting forms. Interseting stuff, but lots to pay attention too.
Darts night is coming up tomorrow night. I love the game and have resumed after a 5 year hiatus. It is true what they say, "If you don't use it, you lose it." I used to be good but, now, I'm struggling. I did have a good week last week so that's nice. Keeps my confidence up. I'm gettign ready to order some new flights. The bad thing about grouping your darts well is that if you hit one thta's in the board with an incoming dart, you shred the flight. Thankfully they are cheap.
I have started to ( try anyways) train the Duffster. I did one thing called 'touch' where he touches my hand with his nose and he got it in like twenty minutes! Too smart...and yesterday was his first birthday!! The time just flew.

Well, time to get ready for bed. Leprechaun out.......

Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone...
Another calendar in the trash and anw one on the wall.
The approach of the coming new year gives us all time to think about what we did the past year and what we want to do in the New. Or what we should do is the proper way to phrase that.
The past year was diificult if not interesting for us here at the Leprechaun Inn.
My Dad-in-Law had open heart surgerythis past year to replace a defective heart-valve. Ironically, the same exact valve Herself had replaced a year earlier. Being the tough old guy he is, he was released from the hospital in about a week and was actually riding his John Deere lawn mower two weeks after coming home! Mind you he is 83 years old. Amazing..Lately he has been abit under the weather and spent a few days in the hospital this past month. He says he feels he's starting to slow down. Geez, I hope I'm that slow at 83.

Herself had a wee bit of surgery again. Having a small growth removed. On the flip side, she isback in the workforce and going to school! She is doing well with her classes and she is learning alot at her new job. Her health is steadily improving and we're both happy about that. She is still pretty as a picture and the sweetest gal I know.

As for Meself I'm hanging in there. Aside form my two week bout with the hiccups and some back pain, I'm in good shape. At my job I gave up my Supervisor position and I'm now a regular employee. I've learned alot more new stuff but I do not have the daily aggravation and stress that comes freom being responsible for twelve people. Maybe this year will bring new opportunities for me in the way of a decent raise or maybe a new , better paying job. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

2005 was, sadly a bad year for our furry friends. In January we lost our beloved Sheltie Sandie. Sandie was a wonderful pooch who lived a nice long life of almost 16 years. It was very hard to let her go but we are thankful for the time we had with her and the love she gave us.

The Lovely One's Grandmother, Gang, lost her pet this year also. Tiffy also lived a nice long life, being almost 15 when she passed.
My in-laws lost their dog Wendy just two days ago. Wendy was also 15 years old.

My brother in-law lost his cat Timex, who is actually Chainsaws mother.

And finally, my wife's cousin lost her two shelties.

The long lives these pets lead are nothing but a tirbute to the love and care that was given to them by their owners. I have married into a family of true pet lovers.

On a happier note, we have a new member of Clan MacLoughlin. On a rainy, chilly day in March we brought a new puppy into our home. His AKC name is Bradach Solas MacRie. "Bradach" meaning wee one full of mischief ( you all will never know how appropriate that is) , "Solas" meaning comfort and joy. and "MacRie" meaning son of the King. His dad, a champion, is named 'Midnight in Memphis', relating to Elvis. So there you have it.
He is full of energy and keeps us evry busy. I only wish we could rent some sheep so we could see him in action.

Chainsaw will be turning four this year. He himself is a handful. Opening doors in the house and eating everything in sight.

In 2006 the only thing I really want is good health for the Lovely One. She's been down for too long and she deserves to feel good. If that were accomplished, than it will be a good year.