Mum had a whole slew of reservations for today so she left Dad and me at 9:15 just after Dad got his second consignment of meds. He rattles a bit these days!
The tike was tossed in with the bro as soon as we got back from our walk so I loved up real close with Dad. He so appreciates my tenderness.
Ma is serving up some new seasonal treats at the tearoom that I’ve approved. There’s a lot of cranberries and pumpkin involved!
They are good but not nearly as yummy as those nomnom my Dad eats. I will keep a very careful eye on him so I know exactly when to beg!
It’s world animal day so I was expecting extra special treatment and some TREATS too.
I thought we were off to a good start last night.
Call the Midwife season 10 started. So the tike was sent to the bro’s room and I was given a huge rawhide bone so Ma could have her « complete peace and quiet »
This morning while herself was on the phone sorting out Dads meds I had a go at the demonic darkness who was kissy kissying up to my Dad.
Ma lost it! Took me by the scruff of the neck and threw me out.
I had to stay in the screened porch for twenty minutes all by myself. It’s like solitary confinement!
You can still smell whats going on in the kitchen though. The mother was trying an experiment for the tearoom and I could smell all this yumminess.
When I got back in my mouth was watering so much I created a slip hazard!
Not a morsel did I get. Not a single crumb!
Until that is the bro surfaced and was directed by our fearless leader to try the production.
He put one of us on either side of him and tucked in. He learned about sharing snacks from Dad!
I am now on best behavior hoping for a munchie all of my own. Ma says you just « Dream on Sunshine ». So much for a special day!
All around the city of Marion huge birds are popping up.
This is part of the city beautification program. All the birds are cardinals, the state bird of Ohio, but they all have different colors and patterns.
The awesome avians are located at important spots all around the city like the famous theatre and the courtroom.
They now also feature on the downtown tourist trail and guess what is also on that map?
What else but Ma’s little tearoom! I’ll zoom in on that in case you miss that it’s officially part of the cultural corridor and so is my Auntie Paula’s Posh Picks!
She got talking to one of the ladies who comes to her tearooom earlier this week about The Emerald Isle!
The ladies name is Colleen which might give you a clue where we are going.
This lady was born in Marion Ohio but her Mum and Dad both came from Belfast.
Her auntie married an American GI and moved here so following the war she sponsored her brother and his wife to come over. They had a child soon after arriving Miss Colleen!
Not so weird until you hear that Colleen’s Dad came from the Donegall Road and her Mom from Frenchpark Street both literally around the corner from my Moms home!
To make matters even better Colleen arrived back at the tearoom the next day with some souvenirs her Mom had brought on visits back home.
One of these was a linen tea towel made in the very factory where my Moms own Father worked for many years. It’s now in pride of place behind the all important kettle!
Now here is the thing today is the anniversary of my Grandpa passing the rainbow bridge seems he might have had a hand in this timely tale!
Ma is beginning to appreciate all the work Dad does on our paperwork.
She hates doing bills and that sort of stuff and always says Dad collects too much junk.
Now shes having to eat her words.
I helped her so much with the humble pie she took me out in the car to post the bills and get some shopping for the tearoom. I hadn’t had a jaunt in such a long time. It was so great to escape my demonic niece.
She buys her Bourbon Cream biscuits (aka cookies) at the Indian grocers. So she got Dad his favorite Indian sweets and snacks too. I’m so looking forward to sharing them.
As for the tike I was so pleased to see her that I gave her a great big smacker when we got back.
We’d only been gone an hour but a little absence really does make the heart grow fonder
Dad had his blood drawn on Monday and the good news is his haemoglobin is going in the right direction. The bad news is his potassium has gone from the depths to epic high levels so the blood had to be sucked again just now.
Poor soul is perforated like a pin cushion and he is all colors of blues and greens and yellows. If he wasn’t ancient he might look trendy.
Add to all this the Ma has started this repetitive singing. One of her friends had been to St. Patrick’s Cathedral Dublin at the weekend and had posted about the beauty of the choirs performance of Benjamin Brittons version of the Te Deum Laudamus.
My Ma ain’t no singer but she’s now got the Te Deum in her head like a gift and, like any good Church of Ireland girl knows, the familiarity of morning prayer canticles is proving most helpful in this time of stress.
Keep calm Ma! Sing away!!! Just don’t teach the tike or she might take off
Yesterday I was subjected to four hours of torture.
Ma discovered that PBS was running a full afternoon of programs on Ireland.
There were so many ohs and ahs and I want to go homes that I was bored to tears. She nearly raveled out when they played  »The Black Velvet Band »
I looked after Dad as she mopped!
This morning she was recounting all this to Auntie Carol whose in Belfast including a bit about a bar she’d never heard of before. That was a big surprise for her as she knows her drinking establishments my Ma!
Seems its the oldest thatched bar in Ireland and is only twenty miles from Belfast.
They are  »definitely going next time ». Wonder do they do long distance doggy bags?
Booming Banter 