Busy Weekend

I had a busy weekend, well actually, it was a busy Saturday. I already mentioned the Halfway celebration at Tir Na Nog. Unfortunately, the Marquise was under the weather, so she could not make it. The guys from Hercules Mulligan sounded great. I did, however, miss the bass. Zack was out visiting with family. We (the Marquise and I) had mentioned to them previously that we really wanted to hear them play on a weekend again. Don't get me wrong, they have a great set up at the Cary Hibernian, but there is a big difference between playing on a Wednesday and playing on a Saturday. Everyone is a little more relaxed on a weekend, since most won't have to be at work the next day. There was a good crowd at Tir Na Nog and everyone was in a festive mood (slightly drunk). We even got the band to perform "Alice". As good a participatory song as you are going to get. At least as far as a bar full of drunk people go.

I was, of course, the only one in kilt, which draws as much attention in a straight bar as it does in a gay bar. It's a little disconcerting for me to be hit on by a couple of women. I am definitely NOT used to it. Actually, it was disconcerting that I realized I was being hit on. Usually I am blissfully unaware of such things. But this time, the women were not particularly subtle.

Let me back up just a little and tell y'all what I did in the morning. I attended the Responsible Dog Ownership Day event that was sponsored by the American Kennel Club. It was held out at the Fairgrounds this year. It started at 10a and ended at 2p. I helped the dog rescue groups set up and did "crowd control"; I walked around and answered questions, greeted dogs and picked up poop. It was a really good crowd. Lots and lots of dogs. Just about everyone brought at least one dog. Surprisingly, there were very few problems with the dogs. A couple of them obviously did not like each other, but most were very well behaved. I found it interesting to note that dogs seem to make immediate decisions about other dogs. Sometimes dogs would pass each other without ever taking any notice, other times they would decide that they just had to meet this other dog. I tried to see if there was a male/female thing going on, thinking that might be the cause of the sudden attraction. I really couldn't tell if that was the case. It seemed like some dogs just immediately liked other dogs.

There were several demonstrations that went on throughout the day. The flyball and agility demos were amazing. Flyball looks exactly like it does on TV. The dogs are going crazy and barking and running like mad to get the tennis ball and then get back to their owners. The agility demos were fun. It was very evident that the competitions on TV are the very best of the sport. The folks on TV make it look so much easier than it is. Several of the dogs were just beginning their training and did not quite make it through the entire course. We all cheered any way. If you ever get a chance to see a flyball or an agility contest, you REALLY need to go. They are a lot of fun.

Road Trip!

Here we go again!!!! My ever willing travel buddy, The Marquise and I are heading out to the Williamsburg Scottish Festival in a couple of weeks. We have not yet had our fill of our favorite Scottish band Albannach. (Davey! Woof!) This will make three times this year. The festival is the 28th - 30th of September at the Jamestown Beach Campground in Williamsburg, VA. Now since this is a trip to my old stomping grounds (I grew up down the road in Yorktown) we'll be staying at moma's place, lovingly referred to as Camp Garrett. I am going to try to convince my brother and his family to come on out. I may even try to get my oldest nephew on out there also. I'll even bring a couple of extra kilts for them, just in case. Pictures will be courtesy of the Marquise. Hopefully, it'll be a big family affair. If nothing else, I'll get to eat and drink at the venerable watering hole, the Yorktown Pub. I'll let y'all know how it goes.

Halfway There!

Unbeknownst (is that really a word?) to me, this weekend marks the halfway point between St Patrick Day celebrations. I never realized that the halfway point was some milepost that deserved celebrating, but evidently, it is. My good buddies from Hercules Mulligan have informed me that they have quit a schedule set up and that everyone should strive to attend. They are performing their "normal" fortnight gig at the Cary Hibernian tonight. They are also playing at Tir Na Nog in downtown Raleigh this Saturday from 730p - 930p and again back at the Cary Hibernian on Sunday at 2p. Now, since I have been lacking in my irish responsibilities these past several years and have not celebrated any halfways, I will have to make up for lost time. Come on out and lend a helping hand!

Rugby

In yet another sign that my nearest and dearest friend is rubbing off on me, I took a little day trip yesterday. I went to Charlotte to see the Raleigh Kodiaks take on the Charlotte Royals. It was the first game of the season for each team and I thought my local team could use some support. I think there were three of us there that weren't directly related somehow to the team. The Royals, of course, had a much better turn out. We started out well, but we couldn't get the game going for us. The Royals had a really strong lead at the end of the first half. We made a good rally at the start of the second half, but again couldn't keep it going. If you hadn't guessed, the Royals won. Don't ask me the score, I'm still working out the basic ground rules. Hey, this is only my second game! Ever! Give me a break! I did notice one thing though. Even though rugby is predominately a running game, you cannot win without passing the ball. Kodiaks, y'all run well, y'all tackle well, y'all kick well. You don't pass very well.

You all played a game you love on an extremely hot day. You gave it your all. You are creating a fan. Thank you.

After the game, I went out looking for a bite to eat. I knew I was going to go out to the Eagle later that evening, so I started looking in that area. I found a really nice Irish pub called Murphy's Tavern. They have one of the best setups for a bar that I have ever seen. The main room is huge, with the bar off to one side and a stage up against one of the walls. You can see the stage from just about every place in the bar. I hope the management uses the facilities to their fullest. I had the shamrock calzone. (Yes, it is a little odd to have Italian food at an Irish tavern.) It was very good, but HUGE. It was large enough for two. They also have one heck of a good Hostess/Waitperson. Trina, you are the best.

After dinner, I had a couple of hours to kill before heading out to the Eagle, so I found a shady spot to park and snoozed in my truck. The Eagle was fun. Friendly men. Friendlier drunk men. Me in a kilt. You do the math. I knew I still had to drive home, so I limited my drinking considerably. But, oh, did the Blue Moon taste good. I left there at about 130 and drove about an hour and found a rest stop to catch a few zzzz's. After a good power nap, I was back on the road and home by 5.

Its Official

It is official, having a cold in the middle of summer sucks! Getting a cold period is not fun, however, it is especially annoying getting one when the weather is nice. One of the few saving graces of a winter cold is that you can wrap yourself up nice and cozy. You cannot "wrap up nice and cozy" when it is 90 or so degrees outside. No matter how low you turn the good old AC, it is just not the same. You either are to hot or to cold. Usually one right after the other. No coziness in sight. I am currently three days into my cold and should be on the downswing now. Since it started right after Labor Day (at least I had the holiday), I didn't start on any of my "stuff" I was going to work on. No Latin. No yoga. No reading. There is always next week.

I'm Back

I realize I haven't been blogging as much lately, but I decided to take most of August off. It was to hot to do much more than sit in front of a fan with the AC cranked. Luckily, the heat wave seems to have broken. We've had almost normal temps for the last couple of days. Hopefully, we will start getting some rain soon.

How bout an update on my list of things to do? My Latin is stalled out, mostly because of me taking a break in August (I know, nice rationale). I start back up again tomorrow. I'll see how much I remember. I managed to make an inroad on my list of books to read. Of course, I went to the library with a list of about 20 books and only managed to find 2 of them. They were Winnie-the-Pooh and Pillars of the Earth. I did find quite a few books on the deeper meaning of Pooh. I haven't read any of them, but I'll see if I can get hold of one or two of them. I am still working through Pillars of the Earth, but so far so good. I did get my bedroom cleaned and organized this weekend. I started Friday night and finished up on Saturday. I was surprised that it went as quickly as it did. Of course, its easy to clean/organize when you are throwing half the crap out!

One quick note on the rock tumbling. For something that sounds so cut-and-dried, it is amazingly frustrating! I left the tumbler on while I was on vacation and one of the parts melted on me. (I think it was designed to melt easily to avoid the motor burning up.) Of course, the parts are only sold by the manufacturer and the ONLY way to order them is through the mail. No Phone calls. No website. No emails. I have to get my order in the mail soon.