Do you sing?

I have been singing this lullaby to Rowan since he was wee:

It is a beautiful but sad song, he requests it often, although I can't sing it with the dreamy harmonics. Time was that I sang it every night to him in the rocking chair, now I sing it to him only when he asks. I know the time will come when he will ask for it no longer and I'll say things like "I used to sing this beautiful lullaby to you" and he'll tell me to be quiet. Or maybe not; the point is to cherish these moments. Sometimes he will get upset if I don't feel like singing him a lullaby and he'll say, plaintively, " but Dad! if you don't sing me a lullaby, I wont have any dreams!". 

How is a person to refuse?

We were swimming last Sunday at the hot springs in Ouray, (pronounced you-ray) Kathleen too! her first major outing since the meningitis debacle. The wee lad has become a fish, like this one:

Apparently there is an Elephant motif today. 

It is a constant wonderment to watch this boy grow up and become an entirely new being on a regular basis. It is clear to me that there are so many things about him that are fundamentally different then even 6 months ago. Does this happen to us too? Or are we stuck? All the cliches that I remember of Grown Ups not seeing the things that the children see, the Faeries, the Magic, have become true. I feel that it is important to strive to take the things that seem frivolous to us but are very important to our children as seriously as we can. Daddy's bank account just doesn't really mean anything to a six year old.

Really, I just wanted to show off my knowledge of ancient Disney musicals...

 Kathleen seems to be close to 100% better, she has been taking care of herself, not working too hard, (imagine!) and letting me do most of the housework, which I do, grumbly sometimes (imagine!). She is back up on her feet & back at School part time, much to the relief of her co-workers and students. Teaching however, is tiring for the post-fevered brain and she has still been spending a lot of time in bed. 

Resting.

Playing Scrabble. 

And Boggle. 

On the Computer.

Please don't leave without taking part in our scientific survey which you will find in the right-hand column of this venerable page.

Thank you.

Those were the days...

When I was a kid they didn't even have helmets.

My Dad (the older guy)

Not only did we not wear them, but much to my Dad's horror, (and I'm sure to my Mum's as well, I just never remember her telling me that my bicycle was a "death trap") the bikes we rode had no brakes. This was somewhat understandable, at least to us young lads anyway. The bicycles we had were a mish mash of banged-up old frames & parts that we'd salvage from the dump, the "tip" we called it for no reason that is clear to me at this stage of life, other than that is what it was called in Dublin.

The lack of brakes was not much of an issue for us, it kept our Mothers wondering why the middle part of the left sneaker was always the first thing to go. Sticking one's foot between the back wheel & the frame, while not the quickest way to stop your bike was certainly effective and made for a wicked skid...  

In fact the only time I remember injuring my head was a time in Blackrock Park, a lovely place a wee bit south of where I lived. There was a playground, see, and they were putting new playground equipment in, one item of which was a long, skinny metal slide that had not been installed to completion, which meant that the end had a nice rise, just enough to kick you up & out for a perfect landing in the pond. Let me tell you right here that the idea that kids see people like Evel Kinevel and try to do what he does....  it's true. 

Don't let your children watch television, any of it...

So, the story ends with me reaching the end of the slide with not quite enough speed, and falling off with the inevitable  bicycle following me through the air and landing on my head. I had to get a stitch. It was quite traumatic.

So, the moral of the story folks, is: never let your kids out of your sight while in Dublin.

First Bike Ride Of The Season!

I asked himself if he wanted to go skiing yesterday, no says he, let's ride our bikes into Town.
A Man after my own heart. So we took some footage, here's how it turned out:

Try tuning in to the only Irish music show on our local Radio Station KOTO fm

hosted by meself & to be found from 2:00 to 4:00 Mountain Time every other Sunday. 

Today is the first time in years that I'll be spinning tunes this close to St. Patricks day and contrary to popular belief, I'll neither be drunk, nor will I be eating Corned Beef & Cabbage, or drinking green beer. 

A Happy St. Patrick's Day to you all.

Spring?

The snow is rapidly turning back to water & buds are appearing on the trees. It's almost enough to fool us into believing that Spring has sprong. Other signs: there are neighborhood kids playing in our cul-de-sac, bicycles are being brought out, tires pumped, and off season vacation plans are being traded like Baseball cards. Utah? Mexico? Cost Rica for some surfing?
Us, we are heading off to a wee Island in the Dutch Antillies called Statia
to climb volcanoes, bask in the sunshine, swim with the young lad and spend some good time with Tom & Erna.
Kathleen is feeling much better, walking around the 'hood, not spending quite so much time in bed. It is good to have her back, it felt like she left for a little while. Hopefully that is the last we'll see of the demon Meningitis for good. We have hired a Ninja Squirrel Soldier to protect her & are confident in his ablity to at least scare off anymore invading viruses....


Here's a Haiku:
Spring has not quite come
Snow competes, and wind banishes
Thoughts of summer

Rowan's quote of the day

R: "Hey Dad!, when you're in space and you're on the Sun, it's really hot"
C: "That's right"
R: "So, you might want to have a t-shirt on....."

Rowan 'shreds' the West Drain

This has been a good winter for Rowan's skiing, he has improved greatly, even following his Dad down some wicked Black Diamond runs such as this one:

The West Drain is now one of our favourite runs to do together.

Hear hear

Here we are, trying a new thang. How many times have we, (I) said that I was going to start something like this? Many. Well, here it is. This will be a weekly, or thereabouts, update on our lives, with photos, film, music etc. Please excuse any bumps or blems, I am an amateur so far.

Starting here, most of you know that Kathleen has been ill with Viral Meningitis for nigh on 8 weeks now. The good news is that she is on the mend, the exorcism that we performed seems to have worked, and as always the wonderful people of this community have come to our aid. Teachers have kept us fed with dinners of wonderful variety for some time now,

 our deepest thanks for all the help & good thoughts, good vibes & good food.

We've had a big winter, 315 inches of snow measured so far. The epic winter that all the ski bums have been living for. Some are tired of it, the snow has taken its toll, broken decks from ice falling off roofs, broken roofs, leaks, my goodness, life is hard...