Grannymar

No! I am not writing a book or dishing the dirt on what happened on the couch with Twenty! We had witnesses and if I pay them enough they will say nuttin, right Conn? Steph?

I can report that there is an new addition to my family. The family of Toyboys that is. Another fine young man he is too. We met on that wonderful night of glitz & glam 1st March. He was so bowled over by me the enthusiasm of the bloggers that he raced home to take part in the fray. The result is AJ@Lecraic

Now Alan fell so deeply in love that night he wanted a permanent reminder, and the result of his labours can be found here:

http://www.lecraic.com/2008/04/27/irish-blog-awards-the-book/

It is an online book about the awards with a page for each of the winners. Alan wrote to all 21 of us, but you know how it is, people are busy and put things on the long finger. So this is called 1st edition and hopefully those winners unable to find their page can get in touch with Alan and the page will be added.

If you are feeling lazy Grandad has it on his site so you can flick through the pages quickly.

There is nothing better than friends coming to visit. Blogging friends are so much better. They come when you are ready to receive them, stay for as long as you wish and leave no mess behind for you to clear up.

Blogging friends won’t be aware of the six inches of dust everywhere, the fact you are still in your pyjamas with hair that looks like your fingers are stuck in the electric socket!

Now don’t start thinking that is how I am every day. I would hate to give you a fright, so I am titivated and elegant with not a hair out of place. Please don’t ask, I have no webcam. My beauty might blind you…

Now where were we…

Talking about my blogging friends. Once I have cleared up each morning, I like to pour a proper cup of coffee, pull up a chair and invite my virtual friends into my living room. I listen read what they have to say and then reply add my comments.

In a previous life (last year) Grannymar happily blogged away at Oldbones which was housed with Blogger.com. I we Elly suggested it was time to make a move to WordPress, so here I landed. Now you have to understand that my life is a series of “Mum try this!” or “Mum you need to install that!” It might be a verbal message by phone, a link by IM or an email. Don’t tell her I said it, but she is usually right!

So I use Firefox. Audacity, Levelator (thanks to Conn) and Windows Live Writer that I found myself and installed - I like it! The latest tekkie thing is something called Open ID. I was frustrated trying to leave comments on Blogs using Blogger. They seemed to want to control the world and insisted in giving the punters a Blogger ID.

Now this Open ID worked well to begin with, but now I find a problem with the first comment I leave in the day. I write my gem of literature, click on ID window and make sure my correct info is there, then hit publish and the whole thing explodes! Well to be correct I get a large blank page with a Google 400 Banner. It is a real slap on the knuckles to a little old lady like me. Anyone would think I was planting porn. I click on the back button and not alone is the comments box gone AWOL but the whole blog has gone as well. Now I have to remember to save that first nugget of wisdom until I am sure it has wound its way across the ether.

Am I the only one this happens to? What am I doing wrong?

~+~+~+~+~

Something rattled my cage this morning and poor Elly had to listen to me ranting on about it. I will share one quote I made, so you might understand how cross I was:

The F-ing Twenty Majors have only one round the houses number printed, and with all the 57 options there is nowhere to complain!

More strong coffee is called for…. on my way to the kitchen I discover a sideways flying bird has left a load of bird flu all down my dining room window! Ugh!

Should I go back to bed?

Nah!

I’ll go visit some Bloggers instead.

Chrisb from Ms Cellania had time on her hands at the weekend and succeeded in completing two memes. She saw her way to tagging me for the second one ‘7 things about me’. Alas several other folk got there before her. I did complete it the first time round and sidled away from then on.

The other one she did was to Post 5 links to 5 of your previously written posts. Now that seemed easy, all you need is a good memory! Now I wonder where I put my memory. O.K. Elly, I hear you! It’s not in the airing cupboard, pantry or the cutlery drawer!

The Rules:
Post 5 links to 5 of your previously written posts. The posts have to relate to the 5 key words given here (family, friend, yourself, your love, anything you like).
Tag 5 other friends to do this meme. Try to tag at least 2 new acquaintances (if not, your current blog buddies will do) so that you get to know them each a little bit better.
Don’t forget to read the archived post and leave comments.

I had a little drink…. and I had a little think…..I looked back through the pages through my old posts and tried to keep to the rules. Now with ‘Are You Cheerful?’ I could cheat and cover family, friend and Your Love with one post, but that is not really fair. I have to do this properly.

1. Family

This one is easy The Letter Box Clattered… and I have my friend Anne to thank for keeping a letter I sent to her nearly 30 years ago. It tells the story of the very beginning of my very special family.

2. Friend

This time I have chosen a Podcast Do you need a Hat, it tells the story of decorating a hat for a friend and it leads to a story from the past.

3. Yourself

The answers to Have you ever a quiz that Elly tagged me for, gives you some idea about me.

4. Your Love

Do you like Hallowe’en is the easiest to decide upon but it comes again as a Podcast it tells the story of how I met me sweetheart.

5. Anything you like

Who needs a Notebook is another Podcast telling a story from the heart of our kitchen about our kitchen table.

Right, there it is. Now how do I choose 5 people to pick this up?

Well the Irish Blog Awards are waiting for nominations so here is an opportunity for 5 Bloggers to remind us of their worth. Five names have a chance here, but I will pick only three to nominate. Come on sell yourself!

Coffee Helps

Conortje

Gingerpixel

K8 the Gr8

Primal Sneeze

Back last January in The Average Person I mentioned a radio programme on Radio Eireann.

‘I remember one school day as lunchtime approached and our thoughts turned to hot food and going home (mind you in those far off days we called it dinnertime) my chum asked me what day it was. She knew by the day of the week what was on the menu at home. I thought that this was crazy because we never knew until we reached the front door and a ‘Bisto Kid’ style aroma met us and made us drool! Friday was the only exception when we had fish. This varied with the season and it was still a surprise for us. The only things we knew for certain were that Terry Wogan graced the airways of RTE on a Wednesday with Hospitals Requests or that the Kennedys of Castle Ross had a twice weekly spot.

A gentleman called Ralph came across the post on 19^th September and asked if anyone could recall the name of the theme tune and also who performed it.

Being the gentle helpful lady ould biddy that I am, my request for help was answered yesterday!

Kieran Daly tells me that ‘The music is called The Fair Day. It is an excerpt from An Irish Symphony by the composer Hamilton Harty’. I do hope that Ralph is following the blog otherwise I have no way of letting him have the answer.’

The moral of the story is never give up! You never know when someone will come across a blog request and give a helpful answer.

Oh dear! How many times have I looked for a toyboy????

Will, my very own

invited all of us to take part in ‘Talking Shite‘ a project of donating a blog post ‘for inclusion in a book which would be sold in aid of bowel cancer?’

‘Would you be willing to donate time you already spent, to help give people more time to live? And would you buy the book? And get your friends to buy the book?’

I’m willing (excuse pun) to have a go, what about you?

Chrisb sent me a very special trick treat yesterday. She got it from Hootin-anni.

We are invited to pass it along to anyone you think is deserving of a special treat for the Hallowe’en season.

Kinda like “Pay it Forward” Y’know, one goodwill gesture deserves another?

But DON’T just choose your friends making this cliquish and ‘just groupies’…

Make NEW friends by choosing random visitors!!

It seems that ‘awards’ are floating around blogland and just “blog friends” get chosen all the time.

Make it RANDOM!!

Now let me think….

Nancy Leitz, yes certainly Nancy deserves a treat for her faithfulness and encouragement. She visits my Blog everyday and comments. Now Nancy does not, despite my encouragement, have her own Blog yet… I live in hope. In the meantime she has found a way to share her talents with the wider world and you will find her over at The Elder Storytelling Place from time to time. Her most recent post was about “Taking Dad Home to Pennsylvania”. If you have not found it already then toddle over today and have a read.

Hails over at Coffee helps who lives somewhere in the backwoods of County Antrim and seems to have a horse in near her office

Nonny at Anonymous, who brings many a smile to my face. I love the antics she gets up to with her mother.

And finally I break the rules, this one is for Baino who lives upside down in Oz-land. Baino gives me plenty of food for thought and fills me with green envy for her turn of phrase and use of the English language. I think you need all the treats possible right now Baino so with hugs from me, enjoy.

Now all you need to do is go visit the girls and say I sent you!

Do you really need TLC when you have a senior moment?

Podcamp Ireland took place on Saturday 29^th September 2007 in the Ormond Hotel, Kilkenny, Ireland.

Some of the people I met

Krishna De

Ellybabes

Clare

Martha

Now the Toyboys:

Conn

Martin ‘GD’

Dennis

Dean

Keith

Neville

Brian

Michele

Tom

Bernie

Will

Ken

Niall

Spudshow Music Podcast

There were more, (hugs & squeezes at the back of the room!) lunch and coffee friends, but my lips are sealed

The other day Hails over at Coffee Helps asked for inspiration for a blog post. My suggestion was ‘Stick a pin in your Blogroll. Open the one your pin has landed on, now take the fourth sentence from it and away you go!’

It gave me an idea and a challenge to all of you out there.

Now you know I am not into the ‘meme’ lark and that sort of thing, so here is my proposal:

Take one sentence from each of the people in your Blogroll. Then use this wonderful material to produce a post.

Simple!

Have fun.

I’ll be watching!

Back after PodCamp… well maybe not if I find a Toy boy…………!

While reading a post from Betty the other day called Sorry, wrong number, it reminded me of some calls I answered over the years. It gave me the idea to share some of them with you. Here I go stealing ideas again!

Back in the days when ‘The Telephone’ was a fixture like an immoveable feast, a time mentioned in a Podcast I made way back last February, I mentioned the fact that the phone was in the Hallway of our house near the foot of the stairs. No matter what hour it was or where you were when it started to ring, there was a charge of the Light Brigade to answer it. My mother was often heard to say “You sound like Guinness’s Horses!”

I actually remember the heavy rhythmic sound of the large Dray Horses from the Guinness’s Brewery as they pulled the heavy trailers over cobbled streets back to the Brewery at night. It was a comforting sound, heard as I lay in a great big bed at my (Dublin) Granny’s house on a summer’s night. Still daylight outside, the windows were open for air and the closed curtains with their large Cabbage Roses, billowed in the soft breeze.

Now back to my subject and the sample of calls to our house. We were taught to answer the phone with the number and not a name.

11.40p.m. Ring-ring, ring-ring…

Me: ****** (Number)
Caller: The Gardai are outside. Click.

11.41p.m. Ring-ring, ring-ring…

Me: ****** (Number)
Caller: Close the Bar, CLOSE THE BAR! Click.

11.42p.m. Ring-ring, ring-ring…

Me: ****** (Number)
Caller: Close the Bar the Gardai are outside. Click

We got calls for a Pub that was at least two miles away on a regular basis half an hour after the official closing time at night. Our phones numbers had the same digits but in a different order. There was no point in complaining, as the callers never stayed on the line long enough to find out their mistake.

Ring-ring, ring-ring…

Me: ****** (Number)
Caller: Is that **+**+?
Me: No, you have a wrong number.
Caller: Well if it is a wrong number, why did you answer it? Click.

Then there was the night…

Ring-ring, ring-ring…

Brother No.2: ****** (Number).
Caller: Blah-de-blah-de-blah. I only heard one side of this conversation!

Brother No.2: I’m fine, how are you?
Caller: Blah-de-blah-de-blah.

Brother No 2: When did that happen?
Caller: Blah-de-blah-de-blah.

Brother No.2: Were you very late?
Caller: Blah-de-blah-de-blah.

Brother No.2: How did it go?
Caller: Blah-de-blah-de-blah.

Brother No.2: You miss me. Really!
Caller: Blah-de-blah-de-blah.

Brother No.2: How much?
Caller: Blah-de-blah-de-blah.

Brother No.2: Mmmm! I think I better get my Brother before you tell me any more secrets. Nice talking to you!
Caller: I will NEVER phone that house again!

That call actually went on for 45 minutes without the young lady realising she was talking to the wrong brother. She and brother No.1 celebrated 40 years of marriage last week. Well done both of you and I wish you bliss and trouble free phone calls for the next forty years!

Nowadays when I get an incoming call for a number that is not my own, it might go something like this:

Ring-ring, ring-ring…

Me: Hello
Caller: Would Joe be there?
Me: I think you have the wrong number.
Caller: Oh! I am very sorry for disturbing you. Click.

Ring-ring, ring-ring…

Me: Hello
Caller: Would Joe be there?
Me: Well I hope not, or my husband might not be well pleased! (I never tell them my husband died)

Ring-ring, ring-ring…

Me: Hello
Caller: Can I speak to Joe?
Me: Hold on while I check, I set the receiver down and walk deliberately and noisily away……

Minutes later

Me: Are you still there?
Caller: Yes, is Joe there?
Me: I checked under the bed and there is no sign of him!
Caller: Click.

Ring-ring, ring-ring…

Me: Hello
Caller: Would Frank be there?
Me: Is he good-looking?
Caller: Why?
Me: Well if he is good-looking and a toy-boy he can stay!

I bet you are glad you don’t ring my number!