Grand Slam Champions 2009

I wasn't sure I would ever see this day after the near misses of recent years of arguably the best rugby players at our disposal in generations - Ireland being crowned six nations rugby grand slam champions in 2009. A proud day to be Irish.

Of course the team made us go through a nerve wrecking 80 minutes against Wales in the last game, going close to losing it in the dying seconds. But this team deserves it and the coach Declan Kidney is being called by many a 'legend'.

This even gives me hope that Limerick will manage to win an All Ireland hurling championship in my lifetime.

32 Week Update

I went to the Dr. today for the 32 week update. My belly is measuiring 32cm so I'm right on track. The Dr. told me I was having a boring pregnancy and we both agreed that was a good thing! I'm feeling good and staying active. I'm running 2-3 miles a few times a week and doing some other work outs. Overall I feel I have the pregnancy thing down. I just can't believe the next step is baby! Only 2 more months and we'll get to meet our little guy.

St Patty's Day

Thats what they call it here in Chicago - Patty's day. Seems to be the Amercian translation of Paddy. They do know how to celebrate it though - the last two Paddy's days in Chicago have been among the best - forget about dyeing the river green and the parade and all that, its the enthusiasm of Chicagoan's to get out in green and be 'Irish' (or 'Chirish' - the Chicago Irish - as they were pushing this year) for the day that is impressive.

We started the day with about a dozen people over for a traditional irish breakfast and we watched the Ireland v Scotland rugby match with the first beers of the day. The game was a lot closer than expected but the victory put us all in a postivie mood. We headed to O'Brien's, a neighbourhood bar, and enjoyed the craic agus ceol (i.e. fun, beer and music) and joined up with plenty of our Chirish friends. About 9pm (see the pictures of our merry state) myself and Biz had enough celebration - Paddy's day starts early but finishes early too which is different from back in Eire but no harm - my hangover kicked in about midnight but at least I was functioning the next morning.

Hope you enjoyed yours!

Belle Belly

Following some queries on how Biz is shaping up these days we took this picture today to show her current state of pregnancy - polite comments only please : - )

Snippets of Spring - a poem!

Temperatures have increased dramatically in Chicago over the past week or so - it even got into the 60's (that's about 15 degrees celsius) one day. So in honour of this event the following jumped into my mind:

The temperatures are a rising,
My heart is all a flutter,
The snow and ice is melting,
And flowing down the gutter!

Francis : - )

Granny Murphy

I got a couple of photos from home this week one of which was a picture of my dad's mother - the often referred to matriarch of the Murphy clan 'Granny Murphy'. She was an amazing woman - twelve kids, scores of grandchildren and great grandchildren but more than that she was an epicentre for almost all the family. She only learned to drive when she was about 65 but took to it enthusiasitically and I can remember sitting into her car one day as a kid and she 'floored' it in an effort to race my dad to her house - as they say in Limerick she was a 'gas card' at times.

She was strong willed (stubborn to some) and not afraid to speak her mind while also wanting the best for her own. It's a testimont to her that over ten years after she left this world that she regularly comes up in conversation and more often than not in a reverential way. I have heard it said that my dad and three of his brothers are referred to as the 'sopranos' in one of the local bars they frequent- the 'heavy gang' that roll in to their local! If that's true then 'Granny Murphy' was definitely the 'god mother', the one they all looked up to, the one that kept them in line.

It's easy to realise that you miss her, she was such a dominant character and had such an influence on us.
Francis

Bonjour de Montreal

To get away from the cold of Chicago we headed to Montreal for the weekend! Well actually I was working in Canada the following week and so Biz and I decided to go early. It did warm our hearts though as, despite being even colder than Chicago, old town Montreal is beautiful and very reminiscient of some of the European towns that we have been to and have fond memories of. Indeed I have since heard that for those Americans who don't have the time or money to visit Europe, a trip to Montreal is considered the next best thing.

It was bitterly cold (Igloofest, an ice themed outdoor music festival, was in full swing) so possibly not the best time to sightsee the city - we walked outside for 20 minutes or so at a time and then ducked in somewhere to thaw out before going outside again. It provided plenty of opportunity to drinks lots of hot chocolate and beer which wasn't so bad! We managed to visit the local Notre Dame Basilica - it has an amazing interior. It turns out the cathedral was designed by an Irish architect - James O'Donnell (an Irish protestant from New York who converted to Catholicism)- back around 1824.

The food was great, a strong french influence of course, and generally Montreal was a nice change of scenery - speaking the 'cupla focal' of french was a challenge but well worth the effort.