We spent July 4th up in Blacksburg again, a very relaxing break. Jeff and Hayley ran a 5k with Jeff’s parents over in Shawsville. I helped set up their new iMac (another convert to Apple). Jeff and I went back home after the holiday and Hayley stayed longer to hang out with her grandparents and Uncle Jay.
Co-pilot
Post-race
Jay is excited to have won a gift certificate in a raffle despite not running, lol
We brought Annabelle with us, she and Clayton enjoyed pinning Hayley down
A friend of mine (in fact my former HS Brit Lit teacher) has been in Ireland the past few weeks and I was stunned to see she ended up in the town some of my family was from, Doolin in County Clare. Doolin is a lovely small town on the western coast of Ireland and she was kind enough to take some photos for me. There in/on Fisherstreet, my third great grandmother Mary O’Connor met and married Peter Donahue (O’Donaghue). Around the same time she married, someone in her family started the pub in town, Gus O’Connors. Not long after, Mary and Peter took off for the USA with their brood of three and settled in Boston. Three Peters later, along came my dad Thomas.
The pub has long since been sold outside of the family but it is still a working pub, renowned for it’s traditional Irish music, . We still have family in the county too, we’ve emailed some in our genealogy research.
We drove down to Charlotte to see Fleetwood Mac, one of my favorite bands. I’ve been waiting for Stevie Nicks to tour with them again and once she agreed, I knew we had to go. Initially we were going to have to go to Atlanta to see them but they added more shows and luckily Charlotte was one of them!
Weird night in terms of the protestors out front and the drunk girls in front of us but it was still a great show! My 70s super group list is almost done – Eagles, Steely Dan, Fleetwood Mac, Doobie Brothers.
Jen from next door and I went to see Barry Manilow Friday night. Now please stop laughing and compose yourself.
I’m not a ‘Fanilow’ but I can’t help loving his music. Like Jen says, it’s basically the soundtrack of our childhood. You know you know all the damn songs too. It was a perfect setup – we had an awesome parking pass that let us literally pull up out front the PNC Arena and walk in, club level seats and then the show was just under two hours with no opening act.
Oh and free glowsticks! People you haven’t lived until you’ve held up a glowstick and sung I Write The Songs with Barry Manilow and 10,000 new friends. Or danced to Manilow singing Copacabana live. I’m telling you, BUCKET LIST stuff right there people.
It really was an amazing concert and he puts on one helluva show. We laughed, we got choked up, we sung all night. It was fantastic and bit hysterical too. We laughed so much a woman moved away from us. I prefer to think it was our laughter and not our singing but it could have been both that drove them away.
Manilow is about to turn 70 and holy mackerel, he still can sing and dance up a storm. He paces himself and changes to conserve energy when he can but he worked his rump off on stage. I can’t tell you how impressed and charmed we both were with him live. The man is one helluva showman and entertainer.
I was going to tape more but I was too busy having fun but I snagged one video at least, This One’s For You. The video screen was playing clips of him as a child with his grandfather.
Next up – Fleetwood Mac this summer in Charlotte with Jeff & Hayley. I’ve been waiting for Stevie Nicks to agree to tour again with Fleetwood Mac so I’m just over the moon for this show too.
We had a great lowkey Easter at home. Hayley said she figured she was too old for an Easter basket but she’ll never be took old in my book.
Then we headed to the beach with my Mom, Stepdad and Aunt Cathie. It really was a wonderful trip. we got a fantastic beach house and just relaxed! Hayley spend an afternoon as an aquarium assistant down at the NC Aquarium, helping with feeding.
To round out our welcome to spring, we hit the UNC spring football game, a post-game party called The Bash and then back to campus for the 35th anniversary show of the Clef Hangers. We had our neighbors with us and for most of the day, the two kids Hayley babysits. Long but great day!
Hayley with Mason and one of the kids she babysits Alex:
Hayley with Coach Fedora at The Bash:
The Clef Hangers – 35 years of gorgeous acapella music!
We went to Boston for a week a couple of months ago and had a great time. It had been years since we had been back and my cousin Nicole’s wedding was the perfect excuse to catch a plane headed north. While I was raised in Chapel Hill, I was actually born in Boston where my father Tommy is from. I still have a lot of family there and this trip back was a really special time. The wedding was gorgeous and it was wonderful to spend time with everyone. I’m such a sucker for the city of Boston and its suburbs. It’s packed with history and great stuff to do. My family has such a long history with the area. With my obsession with genealogy, it made it extra fun to see some of the buildings that my family’s construction business built as early as 1895 that are still being used today. Oh and real italian food, thank goodness for that!
There were so many photos I’m going to do this in batches.
First pile, some of the aquarium photos and video clips. Hayley did a special program where you learn about the Harbor Seals and then get to work with a trainer and the seals in their enclosure. It was really amazing. Marine animals have such a special place in her heart so we were thrilled she got this chance. Of course no trip to an aquarium is complete without more photos from Hayley of whatever animals she loves – this time jellyfish and penguins.
This is a wonderful old article about my grandmother Jeannette from the 1962 Chapel Hill Weekly. She and my granddad Jim were really remarkable people. I love the last quote in the story, “If there are two patients at the hospital needing extra care at night, Jim may be with one and Jeannette with the other. There just isn’t anyone else like this couple.”
I’m catching up on photos slowly but surely! As some of you know, I don’t like being in photos but the fabulous photographer Graham Morrison came up from Charlotte so I couldn’t resist.
We had low-key New Years but we always do. Between the holiday and football, it’s definitely a time to relax and enjoy friends. This year we had a murder mystery at the house for Hayley and her friends who were sleeping over again this year. We’d never done one of those murder mystery kits, thank goodness for a patient group of teens and some goofy adults – oh and a box of silly stuff to wear especially mustaches. But everyone was a good sport and it was a fun way to pass a lot of the evening.
Jen from next door and I went to see Barry Manilow Friday night. Now please stop laughing and compose yourself. 
It really was an amazing concert and he puts on one helluva show. We laughed, we got choked up, we sung all night. It was fantastic and bit hysterical too. We laughed so much a woman moved away from us. I prefer to think it was our laughter and not our singing but it could have been both that drove them away. 
