Well, it ‘s  been another long gap between newsletters. It seems to be the norm these days - and we wish it weren’t. But as with our previous “missing in action” missives,  it all comes down to a myriad of distractions -  a family reunion in Rhode Island as well as a visit with Russ’ 90 year old Aunt Lois the next day, an all too short stay with our daughter and her family in Massachusetts,  a few days in Maine with friends, and too many other activities to list here - most good - some not so much. But, Herself has promised that whatever shape it’s in, we will get something out to you before September gives way to the witching season! To quote Bridget’s Dublin mother: Half done is better than none. 

 

Here in our Ohio Valley, the frost isn’t on the pumpkin yet, so we can’t really say the warm spell  is due to Indian Summer which usually follows a cold snap. That said, the leaves are beginning to fall and as always happens in our area, the trees began changing color on the first official day of Autumn in the northern hemisphere - September 22nd.  And while we’re not looking forward to the cold weather ahead, the festive season is right around the corner - and to help get in the spirit of gift-giving, here’s exciting news:

 

From Cindy Thomson, author of the hugely popular Brigid of Ireland novel  comes Grace’s Picture - the first in the Ellis Island series and “an eye-opening story about what life might have been like for a young Irish immigrant to America in the early 1900's.”* If you’re a fan of historical fiction with an Irish theme or know someone who is, we encourage you to enter our drawing  for one of five copies generously provided by Cindy and her publisher. To enter the giveaway please send Bridget an email with Book Drawing in the subject line. Bridget s email address is:

bhaggerty@irishcultureandcustoms.com

“Excerpted from a Good Reads.com review. 

 

 

We really like this Fall 2013 membership campaign by our good friends over at The Wild Geese. The basic idea is that you join their community and then invite all of your family and friends to do the same. The person who gets the most people to join wins a pair of round trip tickets to Ireland. For more details, please click 

http://thenewwildgeese.com/group/bring-a-pal-home

 

Do you shop on line for products made in Ireland? That’s our question on the current home page.  To answer directly, just click Map Your Vote here:

http://www.mapyourvote.com/Poll/Products-made-in-Ireland/

ED. NOTE: Map Your Vote is the brainchild of our nephew Ian. We are very proud of what he’s accomplished with this web site - it’s fun, easy to navigate, and fascinating to find out what people all over the globe think about certain issues - from serious to silly. 

We find it incredibly hard to believe that on October 5th this year, we will have been married to the same person for half a century. Herself still feels like the wide-eyed teenager she was when she stepped off the plane on June 1st, 1963 at was then Idlewild in NYC . Himself met her at Immigration and just a few months later, we began The Voyage. We were hoping to dance to that sentimental Christy Moore ballad at a huge party for family and friends, but alas, circumstances have intervened to postpone that for another time. However, if you are in the vicinity of our son’s bar - the B List in Bellevue, KY next Saturday night, we’ll be there around six or seven toasting these many years together and we’re inviting people to join us. And if you’d like to hear Christy sing the song, here’s the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lddIakxyDMc.

Herself can’t help it - she’s listening as we write and bawling like a baby. 

 

Many thanks for joining us and if you like our musings and meanderings, please feel free to share them with your family & Friends.

 

If, for whatever reason, you think you might not have received one of our previous newsletters, they are all archived beginning with the newest one first. Here’s the link:

https://ymlp.com/archive_geejhqgjgm.php