Miss you lots Gogady,
We all do.

Keep minding us,
and
Sleep well.
X
I am just home from The Kingdom where I had a fabulous begining to my new year and new decade!
Last moment I decided to, impossibly try catch the last train to Kerry on New Years Eve and risk being stranded in Tralee/Killarney as weather depended on my Rents collecting me! (Cheers Mom and Dad!) This was, shamefully, my first trip with Irish Rail since 2006 and what a pleasure it was! Train was on time! Reserved seats with two power sockets meant Twitter and The Princess Bride were my entertainment! Accompanied by some contraband red wine in a coke bottle and the last blue moon till 2028 and lunar eclipse all the way it was very pleasant! I shall do it again!
I made it home, thanks to Mom and Dad, in one piece, where we rang in the New Year in our local with one of my sisters and lots of friends! Fantastic, bar the impressive tumble I took at the end of the night! Sure wouldn’t be a night out with Amy without some bruising and a broken nail!
As great and all as spending New Years with the family was, the highlight of my weekend was my trip to Scandanavia on the Dingle Peninsula!
Sunday 3rd, a wee bit delicate, Jen (@jennylong89) and Ben (@dinglesurf) and I decided to walk up one side of the Conor Pass, the longest mountain pass in Ireland. Four kilometers, uphill, 400 metres high at top this was more exercise I had done than all the exercise of last decade combined .. that is me done so for the next ten
In just two hours we entered an unfamilar world in Ireland, let alone West Kerry! Ben even commented “Wow it looks so real!”, thats how unfamilar it seemed it must have been fake!
Here are some (amateur to say the least!) piccies as words cannot explain the peace, beauty and surreality we felt!






Happy New Year and Happy 2010!
X

Just a quick one to say congrats and well done to Long No 2 who last Friday was conferred in CIT with a Bachelor Degree in Visual Communications! To us mere mortals she is a fully qualified Graphic Designer! Yay! A great weekend was had by Muintir Uí Lúing in Cork City last weekend… thanks for having some nutters from the Kingdom
.
Also bualadh bós for the parents too, an achievement for them as much as Louise! They have now raised two ladies with Bachelor Degrees and another one on the way le cunamh Dé (Ladies is prob a bit of a stretch mind!)
So Hip hip hooray for Louise! Very proud of ya Sis
xxx

Harry
Just a quick one to acknowledge something brilliant, unselfish and admirable my Mom (Carole or @kala59) is doing! She has fostered the above puppy named Harry! She will have Harry who was only 6 weeks old when she got him for the next 12 months! Her job is to socialise and “manerise” him so he may be trained as a Guide Dog For The Blind and hopefully give someone who is visually impaired their independence back!
Having just spent the weekend with the adorable 8 week old Harry I really admire what she is doing! He is not like your regular puppy! He must accompany her almost everywhere! He needs to be familiarised with all social places including pubs (no problems there Mom!), buses and trains! Maybe even a plane if Mr O’Leary allows it! He already sits on command since 6 weeks! He has been in restaurants, supermarkets and even an old folks home with her and he quietly sits at her feet and has a little snooze! He sits before people pet him! And most impressive when ya bring him outside and say “Busy busy” (and feel like a lemon!) he does his wee wees! And remember he is only 8 weeks old!
He is a huge responsibility and she has taken to it very well! She knows how to balance caring and discipline very well and has three happy, well-balanced daughters to her credit!
The test will come next summer when its time for Harry to leave and go to Big Dog School for 8 months of Guide Dog Training! She says “Sure didn’t I get rid of my 3 children!”
He is a little heartbreaker and I know who’s heart will be broken the most when he goes!
Love you Mom!
PS Can we keep him?