Hopefully you have all been wondering where I've been for the last while.  Perhaps you had images of me helping out the flood victims of Cork, or Clonmel or Galway.  Well in a sense I have been dealing with floods.  Basically I've been snowed under with events and work and activities and blogging is one of those things that when you get out of the habit for a few days it can be hard to get back into.  Like dieting or praying or painting the damn stairs.

Today was Michael's tenth birthday.  Mic...

Back to school tomorrow for the boys.  And first day in Junior Infants at Scoil Mhuire Fatima for Mary Teresa.  Sigh:

WEE HUGHIE
Elizabeth Shane

He's gone to school, wee Hughie,
An' him not four,
Sure I saw the fright was in him
When he left the door.
But he took a hand o' Denny,
An' a hand o' Dan,
Wi' Joe's owld coat upon him—
Och, the poor wee man!

He cut the quarest figure,
More stout nor thin;
An' trottin' right an' steady
Wi' his toes turned in.
I watched him to the corner
O' the big turf stack,
An...

Can't do pictures for some reason at the moment.

It really was too hot to be sitting in front of a computer the last few days.  Saturday was glorious with football with Patrick in the morning and hurling with Michael in the afternoon.  Sunday was spent in the garden.  The one cloud was when I lay back in the lounger and, because of metal fatigue, I went flying backwards and thought for a few moments I was paralysed from the neck down.  A source of great amusement for everyone else.  I regrette...

Well clearly my taunting of Liverpool has had unexpected results, prompting them to raise their game against Manchester United.  Good news for the neutrals, I suppose, keeping things going for another few weeks.

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I had Patrick at his football training this morning;  he plays for East Meath United - the EMUs.  I was helping train the under fives today and it showed how difficult a child protection policy can be.  Four and five year olds find it very difficult to put football bibs on ...

Sunday was out buying paint – a job that takes a long time, particularly when you are trying to find a particular colour.  I had  little plastic toy bath (pink with blue/green legs) with me – the colour I wanted was the bluey/green as it’s the colour of our box room, one of which walls was moved last week to allow a staircase to be installed for our attic conversion.  I was wandering up and down Homebase lost in Crown and Dulux and heritage paints and own brands and nothing looked remot...