A Complete Waste of Time

FMM: 2.2 mi

Hi, peopleputtingofftheinevitable,

I know you're just stopping by the Blog from the Bog on your way to doing something meaningful like clean out your garage or reset the mousetraps, so I won't keep you nor will I bore you with anything worthwhile to read. For the past several weeks, we have gotten into the habit of watching reruns of a popular show called "Ballykissangel" which is set in a village in the Wicklow Mountains outside Dublin. We have become that old couple that if it weren't for the DVR (yes, we know how to use it) we would have to rush home to watch our "program" which begins promptly at 6:50 PM. What we've discovered is that the series is merciless and that our favorite characters get killed off with impunity. Last night we were shocked to learn that another one of our favorites - Ambrose Egan, the policeman, whose wife was about to do him wrong - truly did die when he fell down the cliff. We both teared up at his funeral. So, in case you are wondering if we have truly gone over the edge, now you have your proof. Of course, we will have to tune in Monday to see if his faithless wife Niamh gets her comeuppance or her true love. Any bets on that?

Sobbing at Soaps,
I remain
Tizzie/Tiz/Tizmom/Mom/Liz/Elizabeth

Friday Follies

FMM: 2 mi

Hi, Friday fans,

What's new here? Well, on television news shows here they show you all the newspaper front pages and read you the headlines. One caught my eye. It was the story of a priest in Galway who says Mass in 15 minutes! He is packing them in. This could be the answer to the priest shortage. I am sending the details along to Monsignor Flanagan in Columbia immediately...Mercifully, Bob is on the last chapter of Joyce's _Ulysses_. He admits that he hasn't understood any of it, but he has enjoyed the great guide book that explains line by line what he has read. I think a Harlan Coben or perhaps a James Patterson is needed to clear his mind...It's cold, damp, and overcast here. I hope to alight from my fourth floor tower eventually. In the meantime, I am engaging in my favorite pastime: making travel arrangements, or at least talking and thinking about making travel arrangements...

Happy Friday!

Keepin' it real,
I remain
Tizzie/Tiz/Tizmom/Mom/Liz/Elizabeth

Music & Musings

FMM: 1/2 mi

Hi, Folks,

Our guest room was filed last night! I feel like the old crone in the fairy tale who finally got an unsuspecting child to enter her cottage in the woods. It was a nice young composer Tim's age who was here to listen to a choir try out his new work. We went and listened, too, in a small, ancient church downtown. Afterward, we came back and he satisfied my motherly instincts by enthusiastically eating a hearty plate of leftovers and a piece of toffee cake. He was so nice that I fixed him a little "snack" to take on his train ride home. His wife is a Fulbrighter studying the use of the cello in traditional Irish music...I'm off to the brick and mortar bank to see if the transaction I thought I made last night truly occurred. Readers over 50 won't ask me to explain...

Mothering and hovering,
I remain
Tizzie/Tiz/Tizmom/Mom/Liz/Elizabeth

Good News and a Celebrity Sighting!

FMM: 2 mi

Hi,People,

Nancy is much better. She has enjoyed lavish personalized TLC since I issued an all-points freaked-out mother bulletin on her behalf. She has been awash in milkshakes, popsicles, smoothies, carry-in dinners, visits, and phonecalls, from her friends, my friends, and her family. It worked. Thanks, everyone, from the bottom of my heart....Did I mention that we saw yet another celebrity on Sunday while we were lurking about the Burlington Hotel lobby pretending to read the free newspapers? He is in Harry Potter. Calm down, Megan, I know your pulse rate is racing...We saw none other than Professor Mad-Eye Moody (aka Brendan Gleeson)! He was taking pictures with fans, but I wasn't astute enough to realize who he was in time to join in... We have a young visitor from the U.S. coming to spend the night. His wife is a Fulbrighter; he's a composer. He is coming to hear his compositions performed. I will pull out my last contraband bag of Nestle's semi-sweet chocolate chips and bake some cookies. (They don't have those here, only milk chocolate ones.) I'll also be performing my usual unofficial travel agent duties...

Happy, sappy, and yappy,
I remain
Tizzie/Tiz/Tizmom/Mom/Liz/Elizabeth

Nancy

FMM: 2mi

Hi, Everybody,

Now two of us are under the weather. Nancy's tonsillitis has returned with a vengeance and she made a trip to the ER and the doctor yesterday to get some relief. Molly and the neighbors have been great to help her. We've all shed a few tears and are hoping for improvement today.4,000 miles can seem awfully far away at times...Nothing much blog-worthy happening here since I lay on the couch most of yesterday...

Fretting away,

I remain
Tizzie/Tiz/Tizmom/Mom/Liz/Elizabeth

Sick Day

Sorry, Folks,

I'm a bit under the weather today, so no blog. Hope to be blogging by tomorrow.

Shaky & achy,
I remain
Tizzie/Tiz/Tizmom/Mom/Liz/Elizabeth

Celebrities and Cysts

Welcome back, Saturday Slackers,

You'll be happy to know that the de-cysting was a success. My cheek is swollen, but it doesn't hurt a bit. The hospital's business model was strictly Ryanair: no frills. I couldn't have taken home a souvenir if I'd wanted one as there were no boxes of kleenex, plastic water pitchers/cups/"convenience bowls", soap, shampoo, or even hand towels in the bathroom. Nonetheless, I had fine doctors, nurses, and plenty of attention. I enjoyed working on the very first New York Times crossword; do you know when it appeared? (Answer at the end)..While I was recuperating, where was Bob? You guessed it! At O'Brien's Pub. He sat down next to an Irish celebrity and had a long conversation. Okay, since you must know, it was one of the judges on our favorite Irish TV show: An Jig Gig! That's right. He sat with Breandán de Gallaí and even got his autograph "for his daughters". I miss all the fun!...The first NY Times crossword appeared Feb. 15, 1942...Off on the bus to Bob's barber in Stillorgan...

Swelling and telling,
I remain
Tizzie/Tiz/Tizmom/Mom/Liz/Elizabeth

Heading to Hospital

Hi, Whoever you are,

I am off to catch a taxi to the other side of town to have my gum cyst removed. Of course, I'm starving and dying of thirst, but never mind about that. It's only a few more hours of this and it IS Lent, so I am due for some additional suffering. I have another Limerick for you from Donna Y:

There was an ol' pair from MISSOURI,
Who fled their homeland in a hurry.
When FULBRIGHT did call,
They left kids and all!
Should we try them by judge or by jury???


Truly desisting this time, (pun intended)
I remain
Tizzie/Tiz/Tizmom/Mom/Liz/Elizabeth

Another Limerick & A Load

FMM: 2.5 mi

Hi, 13 official followers & the rest of you cowards,

This limerick was submitted by my old, but perpetually young-at-heart friend, Carol M.:

Bob married a gal named Tiz.
He took her away for his biz.
The tap water went dry
They all wanted to cry
But it's back on and they finally can whizz.

Yesterday I met Bob at the bank to help him through his "bank phobia". He tends to break out in a cold sweat when he enters a bank for fear that he will be asked a password, account number, or other piece of information he can't provide. Hopefully, he never unwittingly does that while wearing a hooded sweatshirt, sunglasses, and carrying a suspicious paper bag... Anyway, all numbers and passwords were remembered and we withdrew a load of money to pay for my surgery tomorrow...There was a survey done here and guess who is the most reviled profesional in Ireland? The politician?
The journalist? No, the banker! Sorry, George (my cousin), the world hates you now...I am heading out to walk 2 miles to my book club. Since I am having surgery tomorrow on the cyst on my gum and even staying overnight in the hospital, I probably won't blog until next Monday...Wish me luck!

Pedding and dreading,
I remain
Tizzie/Tiz/Tizmom/Mom/Liz/Elizabeth

More Miscellaneous

FMM: 7 mi

Howdy, Blog Partners,

I had an invigorating walk along the sea yesterday, at least that's how my fellow walkers described it. Generally, "invigorated" is not how I feel after I get home. The ladies are all older than I, so perhaps I am suffering from living on flat land much of my life...I have been keeping busy with the details of life, but we're looking forward to going to a play with a friend tonight...I'm a great aunt (they call them "grand aunts" over here; however, Mom thinks that sounds like "Granddad" and would confuse people if I adopted it) once again. Tom's daughter Emily gave birth to Grace Lauren on Valentine's Day!

Still at it,
I remain
Tizzie/Tiz/Tizmom/Mom/Liz/Elizabeth

A Limerick that Rhymes!

FMM: 3 mi

Greetings, girls & boys,

I'm pleased to present a superb limerick submitted by my old, but youthful friend, Donna Y:

There once was a gal named TIZ,
Who wrote English words like a wiz.
She blogged every day,
From a place far away,
So friends could be up on her biz.

If you have a limerick inside you that you need to get out, send it to me or post it below.

We saw "Eamon" at the Irish Film Institute. It's like a huge RagTag, the Columbia art house movie theater. It has a restaurant, wine bar, movie store, and 3 screens. The cost of a ticket is about $14. Teresa F, I'm afraid you would just move into the place if you lived here.

I'm off to walk with the Seashore Ladies. Hope you have a happy Monday.

Off on the trek from heck,

I remain
Tizzie/Tiz/Tizmom/Mom/Liz/Elizabeth

A Limerick at Last

FMM: 1 mi

Slainte (Irish word for "Cheers"; pronounced: slan' cha),

Woke up early and composed a limerick while still in bed. The quality of it suggests that I needed a few more hours of sleep. However, since you are obviously hard up for ways to spend your time, here it is:


There once was a Yank in Dublin
who went there to be with her hublin.
She wheeled through the streets,
looking for treats.
Found none, so she just went a pubbin'


Send me a limerick you wrote. If it is up to my high standards, I'll put it on the Blog from the Bog...Insurance companies and hotels continue to torment me. I must get the proper pre-certification number for my gum surgery or suffer a $500 penalty! Do they really think a person would have her gum cut open and her sinus stitched up just for fun?? The hotels are keeping up the old bait and switch. Every time I try to make a reservation, somehow the cheap rate is not available...Nonetheless, I did get us tickets to the Aran Islands...I ran into a nice young man at the grocery store while looking at valentines. He told me "I have to get my f****** girlfriend a valentine or she'll f****** kill me!" Some day when I see you in person I'll have Bob (as I wouldn't do it) demonstrate the unique Dublin pronunciations of the F word...

Still wacky and yakky,
I remain
Tizzie/Tiz/Tizmom/Liz/Elizabeth

Friday Musings

FMM: 3.5 mi

Hi, Peopletryingtogetthroughtheweek,

It is Friday for those of you who hold real jobs. You'll be happy to know that our water has not been turned off at night for 4 days in a row. We are sinking back into our old habits of flushing the toilet regularly and taking real showers. I will have to stop calling Bob by the name of his favorite cartoon character: Spongebob...I enjoyed lunch with the American Women in Dublin group. The women do know how to have a good time. If I want to, next week I can go to margarita night, an afternoon movie, a book club, or on a hill walk. I need to read Audrey Niffenegger's _Her Fearful Symmetry_ by Wed. I'm on page 2....Nancy is making good progress from her wisdom teeth surgery. She has had the strength to send me several e-mails detailing gifts I should send her to assuage my motherly guilt at not being there for her..I'll be home playing travel agent today..

Deranged and arranging,
I remain
Tizzie/Tiz/Tizmom/Mom/Liz/Elizabeth

Nothin' Much

FMM: 1 mi

Hi, Blogophiles,

Guess nothin' much is happening with you either, huh? Nancy's wisdom teeth are out and she is being nursed back to pre-chipmunk status by Dawn (aka "Mother Earth") and Molly (aka "Guess I can't get out of this").I'm inching closer to my own gum surgery.. I'm off this morning to an American Women in Dublin meeting/lecture/lunch. Should take most of the day, but never fear, I'll be back home by the time many of you wake up. It really is 6 hours later over here, although Mom reacts with disbelief every time I tell her what time it is in Dublin..None of you old St. Mary's Falcons wrote me yesterday. Guess I'll tell you that my letter was from none other than Sister Johnella. Now are you curious??? You can e-mail me if you are.

Almost keepin' busy,
I remain
Tizzie/Tiz/Tizmom/Mom/Liz/Elizabeth

Limerick

FMM: 2 mi

Hi, Pals,

No, I don't have a limerick for your today, although I have spent a few minutes attempting to compose one. Maybe tomorrow...Actually, we just returned from three days in Limerick City. Bob's dad was born near there. It's about he size of Columbia, MO, and the University of Limerick - a very modern large campus - is located there. We had dinner with a professor and his wife who send their children to an Irish language immersion boarding school for one year when they are in 7th grade. I didn't know such a school existed, but some people are willing to do what it takes to see that the Irish (Gaelic) language survives. All Irish students are required to take Irish, but few adults claim to be able to actually speak it. I met a new Fulbright scholar at UL and guess where she is from? Indiana State. I had fun talking with her about Terre Haute and Paris, IL. She has biked through Twin Lakes Park..While Bob was off professorizing, I went on the _Angela's Ashes_ tour. The tour guide was a childhood friend of author Frank McCourt, so he he had lots of tales to tell. Ask me anything...Nancy's wisdom teeth surgery truly is today. Hooray! She is being nursed by Molly and Dawn...I've discovered that there's not a big tradition of sending valentines to anyone but your husband/girlfriend/boyfriend, so if you're planning to get a valentine from me, forget it! I can't find any...Big news: we have a date to meet Bob's long lost cousins later this month...FYI: Cleveland is NOT where _Family Guy_ takes place. You'll have to check the last blog's comments to see the correct answer...Also, if you went to St. Mary's School, you might be interested in a letter I received yesterday from a very prominent person from our past...e-mail me and ask me.

Tricking and schticking,

I remain
Tizzie/Tiz/Tizmom/Mom/Liz/Elizabeth

Another SATurday

FMM: 1.5 mi

Hi, Everybody,

You finally got up, huh? Why, Bob and I have already watched an old black and white World War II movie. See what we've accomplished...We had fun at Quiz Night with our 2 neighbors. Since we had all met due to the water crisis, we called our team The Drips. We surprised ourselves with our knowledge and our ignorance. Do YOU know where _Family Guy_ takes place (Cleveland) or the westernmost European capital (Lisbon)? Neither did we...Bob is hiking the Wicklow Mountains this afternoon. We'll head to Limerick City tomorrow.

Sitting and witting (is that a word?),
I remain
Tizzie/Tiz/Tizmom/Mom/Liz/Elizabeth

Short and Sweet

FMM: 2 mi

Good day, Fans and Foes,

No, I'm not talking about myself...Here's the latest: Nancy is much better. I saw _Precious_ yesterday - a big thumbs up. Discovered I wasn't the only weirdo to go to the movie alone in the afternoon--there were lots of us. Bob and I are going to Quiz Night tonight. Wish us luck. We have 2 Irish and 2 Americans on our team, so that should help us, right? We are headed to Limerick City Sunday through Tuesday. Bob has meetings and I'll do my usual lurking about the streets and museums. Not sure if I'll be able to blog, so steel yourself. I am off in search of valentines. Perhaps I'll stop by Whitefriars Church where the REAL St. Valentine's remains are kept. Really...I hope that's a trivia question tonight.

Still relating when I should be abating,

I remain
Tizzie/Tiz/Tizmom/Mom/Liz/Elizabeth

Tonsils, Teeth, Tudors, and Toyota

FMM: 1.2 mi

Good morning, people with even less to do than I,

The teeth problems go on in our family...If Nancy's wisdom teeth don't get taken out soon (next scheduled date: Wed, 2/10), I'm going to send my brother Tom to Columbia with a razor blade, a string, and a pair of pliers. On second thought, he would actually love the job; I'd better not give him any ideas...Turns out her latest problem isn't her teeth, but is tonsillitis. She is recuperating at home with Molly as her nurse. Since we left town, Molly has gotten lots of on-the-job training in the health care field taking care of her sister. She's learning what it takes to deliver first rate health care AND beefing up her resume simultaneously, right? I'm not sure she sees it that way. I'm reminded of my Aunt Rose's ploy to her children, "I'm going to let you help me set the table."....Meanwhile, I am still waiting for pre-approval for my gum surgery..Guess what MY IRA has stock in? That's right. Toyota! Aren't you jealous? And I thought things couldn't get any worse. Retirement is overrated anyway, right, folks?...Bob has given up on _The Tudors_, but I have been trying to get Season 1 watched before it has to go back to the library. It's a tough job, but somebody has to do it, right?..I'll bet you didn't know 6 people from Ireland are nominated for Oscars, did you?...

In a tizzy,

I remain
Tizzie/Tiz/Tizmom/Mom/Liz/Elizabeth

Chicks & Tip(s)

FMM: 3 mi

Hi, Loyal and even Un-loyal Readers,

I hiked and pushed my purple wheelie cart to 2 groceries, a "hardware" store (please note that when I use quotation marks they really do mean "something akin to a hardware store"; I do deplore the over- and misuse of quotation marks, don't you??), a convenience store, and a hotel yesterday. No need to fear that we will go hungry or thumbtackless. However, we must do without a lint roller for a bit longer as no one really seems to know what one is. I'm beginning to wonder myself... I had the usual number of frustrations..Question: "Do you carry pretzels?" Answer: "Are those those long brown things? No, we don't carry them."...However, I am thrilled to have a thumbtack. Soon I will hang up the 2010 calendar and I will know once and for all what month this is and even the day. ...I do keep up on the news around the world here in my little turret. I am excited to learn that when we return to Columbia, MO we will be able to LEGALLY keep chickens in our backyard! Hooray! I will be excited to get ours out of the basement. And this will surely provide much entertainment for our cat Tip as well as for a few neighbors whose names I won't mention...Today I plan to play travel agent for my upcoming guests. Maybe there really is an American King-sized bed in a hotel somewhere in Ireland. If not, you can add king-sized beds to your water fountain franchise and make a mint here. (Note: they do have king-sized beds here, but they are what we call queen-sized, so you'll have to come up with another name.)..

Raving like a madwoman,
I remain
Tizzie/Tiz/Tizmom/Mom/Liz/Elizabeth

Hidden Talents

Hi, Everybody,

Only Nancy wrote to tell me anything interesting so I'll share it. It seems that she went to the Japanese Steak House Kobe with her friends and managed to catch 9 shrimp in her mouth in a row! Can YOU do that? What has YOUR child done lately? What have YOU done? I will even report your talent anonymously if you wish. You know you can trust me...I thought that all my talents had been revealed by now, but I have learned from Molly that I have one more: I snore when I'm awake. That's right! Not everyone can do that...I am off hunt and gather. Wish me luck finding tacks and a lint roller.

Storing and maybe snoring,
I remain
Tizzie/Tiz/Tizmom/Mom/Liz/Elizabeth

Music & Musings

FMM: 7 mi

Hi, Blokes & Babes,

I am back from walking at the seashore. The group hasn't thrown me out yet, although they have asked when I am leaving the country for good...Saturday we went hear Finbar Furey sing and play the uillean pipe. I didn't know what a uillean pipe was, but I learned that you don't blow it...Nothing else fun or interesting going on here; watch out or I'll compose another poem! Why not send me something new or interesting to read about you?

I did get a few responses to my "Why I Read the Blog from the Bog". They include:

1. Because I live in Oblong.
2. Because I was bored in my geology class


If you have more to add, send them to me.

Musing and nearly snoozing,
I remain

Tizzie/Tiz/Tizmom/Mom/Liz/Elizabeth

Catch ya later

Slept in (7:10!). Off to walk at seashore. Will blog later.

T/T/T-M/M/L/E