Blossom dearie

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IanIpRpSjo4

Jpr: from me uth.

THE BREASTPLATE OF SAINT PATRICK

Hills as green as emeralds
Cover the countryside
Lakes as blue as sapphires-
And Ireland’s special pride
And rivers that shine like silver
Make Ireland look so fair-
But the friendliness of her people
Is the richest treasure there.

really dumb jokes

Q: What is the ideal weight for a mother-in-law?
A: About 2.3lbs, including the urn.
______

A couple drove several miles down a country road, not saying a word. An earlier discussion had led to an argument, and neither wanted to concede their position. As they passed a barnyard of mules and pigs, the wife sarcastically asked, "relatives of yours?"
"Yep," the husband replied, "In-laws."
_____

A police detective was investigating a homicide. As he questioned the on-scene officer, he learned the body was that of a young woman.
The body was found with a bowl over her head and a spoon stuck in her back.
The on-scene officer asked what the detective thought had happened to the woman.
The detective responded, "I think it's obvious. A cereal killer got her!"

The answer to old Irish riddle

Riddle,
Washed my face in water
That was never rained or run
I dried it with a towel
That was neither wove nor spun.

Close guesses:

From Norm in Pigtale, Wy ….“Milkweed squeezing and cannabis’ smoke.”
JPR says….This is a bit seasonal, as well as illegal but probably quite popular.

From Junior in Wrinkle, Ala…. “Bovine urine and a good sit on the hands.”
JPR says…Logical but disgusting!

From Billy Sue in Skeet, Wva…”Drippings off the tractor’s exhaust then hold the cat.”
JPR says…The best guess. I tried it myself and it worked fine.”

correct answer: wash in the dew then dry in the sun!

Some George Carlin

If you take an Oriental person and spin him around several times, does he become disoriented?

If people from Poland are called Poles, why aren't people from Holland called Holes?

Why is a person who plays the piano called a pianist but a person who drives a race car not called a racist?

Why isn't the number 11 pronounced onety one?

If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen defrocked, doesn't it follow that electricians can be delighted, musicians denoted, cowboys deranged, models deposed, tree surgeons debarked, and dry cleaners depressed?

If Fed Ex and UPS were to merge, would they call it Fed UP?

From the magazine "High Existence"; IDIDNTDRAWTHIS

I'm not sure who the cartoonist is; it was a member of the Mag's staff that posted it.

Should we reverse our policy on the War On Drugs?
(They forgot to include the Penile System.)

The US has more men in prison than China, Russia, & North Korea combined.  The US has 25% of all those incarcerated worldwide; and only has 5% of the population.  Your odds of being in prison are 1 in a 100.  Your chance of being under some sort of legal management/restrictions, etc is 1 out of 31.  More than 50% of those in prisons are there because of drug violations; and the majority of those are related to Marijuana.  Check out the Exile Project.

George Carlin Quotes

“Frisbeetarianism is the belief that when you die, your soul goes up on the roof and gets stuck.”

” I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, "Where's the self-help section?" She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.”

“One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor.”

Determination

wish you had done this once?

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”
-- Winston Churchill

“Little by little one walks far”
-- Peruvian Proverb

“Do not, for one repulse, forego the purpose that you resolved to effect.”
-- Shakespeare

some political quotes

“There are three types of lies: lies, damn lies, and statistics"
-Mark Twain


“What is conservatism? Is it not the adherence to the old and tried against the new and untried?”
~Abraham Lincoln


“Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber.”
~Plato

“Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge even where they is no river. “
~Nikita Khrushchev

Dog facts

The five most common dog names: Duke, Brandy, Max, Sam, Shadow.

Like humans, dogs can be either left-handed or right-handed.

Dogs can naturally tell when a child has autism, and they can also be trained to predict epileptic seizures.

A German Shepherd guide dog led her blind companion the entire 2100 mile Appalachian Trail

The U.S. has the highest dog population in the world. France has the 2nd highest.

Three dogs survived the sinking of the Titanic; a Newfoundland, a Pomeranian, and a Pekingese

Oldest Gospel of Mark Found.

Scientists in Europe have discovered the earliest known text of Mark' gospel.  The single page is dated around 90 AD.  Previous versions are all later, written in the 2nd century.  Recent discoveries found that the mummy death masks of ordinary people were made of used papyrus contain all manner of writings, philosophical texts, lost poems of Homer, business records, and biblical material.  Thousand of such  masks are yet untouched but promise much for historians.  None of the material has yet been published. 

Romance

Husbands who kiss their wives before leaving home in the morning have been documented to live five years longer than those who do not

Research indicates just about 9,000 romantic couples each year take out marriage licenses, then fail to use them.

It's reported that more than 10,000 marriages a year now are directly traceable to romances which begin during coffee breaks

A wise man

“For every wise man there is one still wiser.”
~ Turkish Proverb
“There is not one wise man in twenty that will praise himself.”
~ William Shakespeare
“A fool despises good counsel, but a wise man takes it to heart.”
~ Confucius

More Holmes.

A long-lost Sherlock Holmes story has been rediscovered more than a hundred years after it was first published.  Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote the story, titled Sherlock Homes: Discovering the Border Burghs and, by deduction, the Brig Bazaar, in 1904 to raise money for a bridge in Selkirk, Scotland.It was unearthed by town resident Walter Elliot, 80, who discovered it under a pile of books in his attic.

JABBERWOCKY

`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"

He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought --
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.

And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.

"And, has thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!'
He chortled in his joy.

`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

~ Lewis Carroll

One of Mary Ann's favorites

'When I slept I dreamt of treasure.
When I woke I found duty my treasure.'
--??????

Tombstones

GOOD FREND FOR JESUS SAKE FORBEARE TO
DIGG THE DUST ENCLOASED HEARE.
BLEST BE YE MAN YT SPARES THES STONES AND
CURST BE HE YT MOVES MY BONES
--William Shakespeare

I had a lover's quarrel with the world.
-- Robert Frost

Joannes Paulus PP. II
May 1920 – 2 April 2005
--Pope John Paul II

Scary thought

Judge of your natural character by what you do in your dreams.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Flowers!

According to behavioral research conducted at Rutgers:

1. Nature provides us with a simple way to improve emotional health - flowers. The presence of flowers triggers happy emotions, heightens feelings of life satisfaction and affects social behavior in a positive manner far beyond what is normally believed.

2. Behavioral study on the health effects of flowers on senior citizens. The study demonstrates that flowers ease depression, inspire social networking and refresh memory as we age.

Participants of a behavioral study conducted by researchers at Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital confirmed that they feel least positive in the early hours but reported being happier and more energetic after looking at flowers first thing in the morning.


No one hates flowers!

Little words

The most used is I,
The best used is we,
The sweetest used is thee,
The hardest used is bye.


jpR

Advice on food

"To get the best results, you must talk to your vegetables."
- Charles, Prince of Wales

"Toots Shore's restaurant is so crowded nobody goes there anymore."
- Yogi Berra

"To a man with an empty stomach, food is god."
- Mahatma Gandhi

"A good meal ought to begin with hunger."
- French proverb

"A good meal will last till the butter melts."
- Mikey

Questions to Chef-Tail

A new feature offers professional advice on food. Answers to queries sent over the internet will be posted.

Q_1. This was sent by a sixth grade girl in Norma Okla. “Do I have to be hungry if I don’t eat?”

A_1. “Yes! All the sixth grade girls from last year are still eating now in seventh grade…even the ones who have boyfriends.”


Q_2. An inquiry was received from California. “Should I eat before or after I brush?”

A_1. “Great question! The dental association is still divided on this issue. However they unanimously recommend avoiding the use of tooth paste as a condiment.”


Q_3. A special request from Louseville, WVa. “Is it proper to add tobacco snuff in the making of a possum chutney?”

A_3. “It’s a matter of etiquette. It is acceptable only when you place wildlife chutney between your teeth and gum.”

Other side

Notes from the Other Side

by Jane Kenyon

I divested myself of despair
and fear when I came here.

Now there is no more catching
one's own eye in the mirror,

there are no bad books, no plastic,
no insurance premiums, and of course

no illness. Contrition
does not exist, nor gnashing

of teeth. No one howls as the first
clod of earth hits the casket.

The poor we no longer have with us.
Our calm hearts strike only the hour,

and God, as promised, proves
to be mercy clothed in light.

Martian mystery

The vast plume was initially spotted by amateur astronomers in 2012, and appeared twice before vanishing.

Jpr: Looks like volcanoes to moi.

Love is in a hurry

What is love? tis not hereafter;
Present mirth hath present laughter;
What´s to come is still unsure:
In delay there lies no plenty;
Then come kiss me, sweet and twenty,
Youth´s a stuff will not endure.

-- Shakespeare,Twelfth Night



Comment: By youth I take he means that which keeps breath!

Today's African Proverb

“When the great lord walks by, the wise peasant bows deeply and passes wind silently”

Paganism, Sill Alive.

It has been the dream of Iceland´s neo-pagan worshippers for four decades. Now construction of the first heathen temple or "hof" to be built in a Nordic country in almost 1,000 years is set to get under way. Work will start in March on a wooded hill near to the the capital Reykjavik's domestic airport. The temple will provide followers of Iceland's old Norse religion with a place to hold their communal "blot" - or feasts - as well as marriages, name-giving ceremonies, funerals and rite of passage ceremonies for teenagers. Until now, ceremonies have mostly been conducted outdoors during the summer.  the Asatru has close to 3,000 members and is one of the fastest growing religions in Iceland.

how deer survive extreme cold

1. their winter coats are 10 times dense as summer,
2. they become inactive with slowing of their metabolism,
3. they shelter under evergreens out of wind, less snow depth where temps can be 10 degrees warmer,
4. They can feed on evergreens.

How Irish Traditionally Name Their Children

1st son was named after the father's father.
2nd son was named after the mother's father.
3rd son was named after the father.
4th son was named after the father's eldest brother.
5th son was named after the mother's eldest brother.

1st daughter was named after the mother's mother.
2nd daughter was named after the father's mother.
3rd daughter was named after the mother.
4th daughter was named after the mother's eldest sister.
5th daughter was named after the father's eldest sister.

Morning Bible Study

"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."

Matthew 7:13-14

also known as "sheeps" gate . It was the only gate in old Jerusalem to be sanctified.

Actual Headlines:

Typhoon Rips through Cemetery; Hundreds Dead.
Safety Experts Say School Bus Passengers Should Be Belted.
Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant.
Hospitals are Sued by 7 Foot Doctors.
Include your Children When Baking Cookies.
Man Struck by Lightning Faces Battery Charge
Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers

dr ian murphy....my hero section

drianmurphy.com

jpr: a most remarkable and rarest of intellect!

Nicodema's presence

painting by Cortona

In our youth we are told (based on the Bible) to listen to the little voice of our guarding angel that tells us right from wrong. Recently I learned (from Mother Angelica) of the belief that if one asks this angel with God's permission, they may inform one of their name.

For three nights a while back I so asked. During the third night's sleep, I dreamt of my eight grade teacher at SAS, Sr Nicodema, PCJ. So my angel's name is had.

So I charge Nicodema with help getting me up on time as well.

We Irish hold much store with our good luck faiires.

Fairy Bushes

Throughout the Irish countryside there are single thorn bushes growing in the middle of otherwise open fields,  standing alone in the middle of golf courses, and in one case, on a small parcel of land where a highway had  to be constructed around one to avoid cutting it down.  People believe that the ' fairy  thorns ' are the homes of the fairies, and, if anyone tries to cut them down or damage them, it is likely they will die young, or become seriously ill. Golfers that hit them stop to apologize, while those who pass them offer a greeting and often make a wish.  The tradition is ages old, from the times when our ancestors worshiped the oak, ash, and thorn.  Legend holds that Christ's 'crown of thorns' came from the same bush. So be careful.

Name that Dog...

He who has no name...


Profile: 2yrs old. Black with brown trim. Lab-Shepard mix.

Personality: sweet, loving, well disciplined, spunky, good runner.

Direction: looking for something in the conservative, celtic, biblical range of names.

All thoughts and opinions are welcomed. However, any contribution by Mikey will be taxed.


Jpr: This pic is fom the kill-shelter from which the pup was rescued..

A Lot of Pupies

A mastiff in the United Kingdom gave birth to a litter of 24 puppies with 20 surviving.

a joke

"It is well documented that for every mile that you jog, you add one minute to your life. This enables you at 85 years old to spend an additional 5 months in a nursing home at $5000 per month."

-- anonymous

A Poem from the Past

All things bright and beautiful,

All creatures great and small,

All things wise and wonderful:

The Lord God made them all.

From Hymns for Little Children by Cecil F. Alexander 

written at Markree Castle, Collooney, Co. 

Sabrina ferilli

Italian actress....a beauty that will never age. Multi Bellissimo!

jpr: For me she owned tthe  film "la grande bellezza" (not for children under the age of 35). Take your blood pressure meds first.

Did Someone Say Snow?

Wooster Mass, where my daughter lives, has been recognized as the 'most snow' city in the US with 91 inches of snow already this year and two storms on there way.  Her cat Monty enjoys a stroll down the animal run dug in her driveway.  Some snow?

Irish Proverb

"If you want praise, die. If you want blame, marry."

An Irish Mother’s Letter

Dear Son,

 Just a few lines to let you know that I am still alive. I am writing this slowly because I know that you can’t read very fast. You won’t know the house when you come home. We’ve moved. About your father, he has got a lovely new job. He has 500 men under him. He cuts grass at the cemetery. Your sister Mary had a baby this morning. I haven’t found out yet if it’s a boy or a girl, so I don’t know if your an aunt or an uncle. I went to the doctors on Thursday and your father came with me. The doctor put a small tube in my mouth and told me not to talk for 10 minutes. Your father offered to buy it from him. Your uncle Patrick drowned last week in a vat of Irish whiskey at the Dublin brewery. Some of his workmates tried to save him but he fought them off bravely. They cremated him and it took 3 days to put the fire out. It only rained twice this week, first for 3 days and then for 4 days. We had a letter from the undertaker. He said if the last payment on your grandmother’s plot wasn’t paid in 7 days, up she comes.

Your loving Mother,

P.S. I was going to send you 5 pounds, but I have already sealed the envelope.

Fr Pierre 'Jalapeno' Pepper primed to pack a punch for charity.

Fr Pierre 'Jalapeno' Pepper of St Rynagh's Church in Banagher, County Offaly, will be packing a punch during a charity boxing match next month.   Fr Pepper taunts his opponent, saying "judgment time is clohand". White collar boxing has become popular way of raising money for charity but Fr Pepper hopes to succeed in a one-off dog-collar boxing spectacle. The event is being billed as the St Patrick's weekend punch-up when fiery Fr 'Jalapeno' Pepper will step into the ring in a pub with local man, Jared Madden, after eight weeks of intensive training.  In a pre-match message to his opponent, the fighting priest, flanked by his boxing brethren, tells Jared 'The Artful Dodger' Madden that he will be saying his prayers on fight night.

While on vacation

http://songstar.org/birds/home-ct/coha01.html

Walking my dog along a country lane a pair of these were busy above. very noisy birds

George Orwell Was So Right.

Samsung is warning customers to void discussing personal information in front of their smart TV sets. Such TV sets 'listen' to every conversation held in front of them and may share any details they hear with Samsung or third parties, it said.The policy explains that the TV set will be listening to people in the same room to try to spot when commands are issued. It goes on to warn: "If your spoken words include personal or other sensitive information, that information will be among the data captured and transmitted to a third party."

Country roads

http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/ingear/cars/Driving/article385297.ece

Jpr:  happens more often than one might imagine!

Large orchard

http://headlinesurfer.com/content/232360-red-tail-hawk-beautiful-raptor-prey-also-major-update-red-snapper-ban

NPR: the fruit orchard (my grandpa had himself one) is home to lots of critters what eat the fruit and each other. Red tails nest near by  and are seen carrying off a snake for the nest.

More Testimony

Pierce Brosnon, the 61-year-old Irish born actor, was left devastated when his first wife Cassandra Harris died from ovarian cancer in 1991 and his adopted daughter Charlotte succumbed to the same disease last year, and thinks his religious beliefs and upbringing have given him the strength he needed to carry on.He said: "It always helps to have a bit of prayer in your back pocket. At the end of the day, you have to have something and for me that is God, Jesus, my Catholic upbringing, my faith... God has been good to me. My faith has been good to me in the moments of deepTest suffering, doubt and fear. It is a constant, the language of prayer."

Irish Step Dacing to Beethoven.

The contemporary Irish dancers, The Fusion  Fighters, have just released an exceptional video.  They use the sounds of Irish dance to accompany Beethoven's 5Th symphony,  It’ll bring a smile to your face.

.http://www.irishcentral.com/culture/entertainment/Irish-dancers-Fusion-Fighters-make-music-with-their-feet-in-inventive-new-vide

Jupiter's moons

Three (3) of jupiters largest moons pass before the sun, casting their shadows upon the planet's surface. Photo taken by Hubble Telescope

Here's An Idea, Only the Irish.

Ever rent a ‘bouncy castle’ for a child’s party, an inflatable play room?  Caitriona Mulhern (40), of Milford, Ireland has taken the idea and brilliantly ‘one-upped’ it.  She rents an inflatable Irish pub for $360 a party.  Weddings, garden parties, funerals can use the ‘play room.’  It holds 80 people standing and 20 sitting, perfect for a  place with more than 300 days of rain per year.  The renters supply drink, bartenders, etc.

More Strange Festivals.

Noche de Rabanos, or Night of the Radishes, is A Mexican tradition stretching back more than a century. Merchants hoping to attract potential shoppers before and after Christmas church services carve intricate shapes into the radishes’ ruby skin forming little people or decorating the carving with other vegetables for sale. The main events occur on December 23.

The radishes used in the Noche de Rabanos carvings are  larger than normal (some as heavy as 3kg and as long as 50cm) and are not meant to be eaten.  Locals buy them for their Christmas decorations.  .

princess alessandra borghese ..my hero section

 Her family tree includes the pope who put the finishing touches on St. Peter's Basilica, a cardinal who amassed one of Europe's greatest art collections and one of Italy's two patron saints. Alessandra Borghese is a Roman princess  who lives in a princely palace in downtown Rome. She has returned to her Catholic heritage in 1999 and has since become a best-selling Catholic author in Italy and throughout Catholic Europe

dogs are great, ain't they!

My son's dog.  She loved licking the dog food can even more than eating the contents.  My favorite memory.

Penny

While on vacanes...hornets nest

http://riveredgenaturecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/hornet-nest12-1rz.jpg

Jpr: seen a big one hanging from the bottom of a porch light next to a front door while walking me dawg on a country lane. Couldn't alert the house but spoke to a neighbor.

THE OLDEST MAN WHO EVER LIVED

Bolivian indigenous farmer Carmelo Flores claims he has lived to the grand old age of

123, celebrating his most recent birthday on July 16 (1890).  And his baptismal certificate bears him out  (birth certificates were not issued in those days)

Mrs. Jesus?

Harvard divinity professor Karen King unveiled a 4th-Century Coptic script at a conference in Rome that contains the words "Jesus said to them (speaking to his disciple) my wife.” and declares that Mary Magdalene was worthy of being a disciple.  The fragment, the size of a business card, is believed to be a copy of a 2nd century Greek gospel.  The origins of the piece are unknown but its age has been scientifically validated.   It  is held by a private collector.  The particular Coptic word for ‘wife,’ according to experts, can also refer to a female domestic servant.  While certainly not proof that Jesus was married, the document adds to the debate.  Common sense, however, argues that  any unmarried Jewish male in his 30’s in the first century would be unusual even unnatural.

State taxes

http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=1230

Jpr : some interesting tax laws while shopping. some states tax social security. I wonder how often the traveler is ripped off?

Jet helicopter passed by

http://www.businessinsider.com/private-jet-helicopter-new-york-2011-2?op=1

Jpr:  some homes in New England have heliopads! sounds like an airport deep  in the country when one goes over. They follow the rich to and from NYC .

your looking near million$ to sstart

World's Most Pierced Man

The world's most pierced man, Rolf Buchholz, has been denied entry into Dubai after he was due to make an appearance at a hotel nightclub.The 53-year-old German computer expert has 453 piercings on his body and face, as well as two horn implants on his forehead.  It takes all kinds ........

Bí Thusa Mo Shúile

listen to some gorgeous Gaelic in song  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJ0aINUzMSU

ECCLESIA DEI

Fr Ladis Cizik celebrating traditional Latin mass

The old Tridentine rite was never actually abolished, but local bishops had to grant approval for a priest to say the Mass. Pope Benedict's ruling authorizes parish priests to celebrate the Tridentine rite if a "stable group of faithful" requests it, without needing their bishop's permission. It also permits the old rite for weddings, funerals and other liturgical proceedings.

There are new seminaries (packed with students) devoted to the traditional mass e.g.,
Most Holy Trinity Seminary
1000 Spring Lake Highway, Brooksville FL 34602
352.799.0541

Last Resting Places?

The first "Neolithic" burial barrow to be built in the UK for 5,500 years has been completed and already the first urn of human ashes has been placed inside.  The structure took almost nine months to build, using traditional materials and stone working techniques and cost about $350,000, It can hold about 1,000 urns and has now opened officially. The long barrow contains four large chambers, each housing 55 niches, which are each able to hold four or five urns.  A smaller "secret" chamber is able to house single urns in smaller niches. Clients are charged about £1,000 for use of a niche.