All Souls……

I don’t get a chance to read much but when I do, I like it to be a book that is real. My friend Mary who is Irish, gave me this book recently and thought I would like it. it came highly recommended. I am only into the second chapter, but far enough to know I LOVE it and that it is fabulous!  Here’s a quick review someone wrote about it:

Michael Patrick MacDonald grew up in "the best place in the world"--the Old Colony projects of South Boston--where 85% of the residents collect welfare in an area with the highest concentration of impoverished whites in the U.S. In All Souls, MacDonald takes us deep into the secret heart of Southie. With radiant insight, he opens up a contradictory world, where residents are besieged by gangs and crime but refuse to admit any problems, remaining fiercely loyal to their community. MacDonald also introduces us to the unforgettable people who inhabit this proud neighborhood. We meet his mother, Ma MacDonald, an accordion-playing, spiked-heel-wearing, indomitable mother to all; Whitey Bulger, the lord of Southie, gangster and father figure, protector and punisher; and Michael's beloved siblings, nearly half of whom were lost forever to drugs, murder, or suicide. By turns explosive and touching, All Souls ultimately shares a powerful message of hope, renewal, and redemption.

My mother and father in law are Irish as well and I immediately called them to tell them of this book. They both downloaded it onto their touchpad and I pad. It was purchased through Amazon I believe for just over a dollar….good deal! it was written a few years ago and they are talking about a movie. Michael has also written another book that follows this called Easter Rising. His stories are riveting and all true. A bit like Angela's Ashes if you’ve ever read that….but more up to date. Great story!!!….thought I’d share……

That Crooked House….

My friend Jane and I were emailing each other recently and discussing this and that when I mentioned something about the Crooked House in Raymond, Maine. She had no idea what I was talking about and why would she???…she lives in England!! There is a company in that town that makes Crooked play houses for kids and more. Here’s an example of one….They made this one for the television show Extreme Makeover Home Edition. And this one is a double sized…..

Aren’t they just adorable? Here is a link to their website and to their story of why they started building them………….. Crooked Houses ……………

I am lucky enough to live close by the original place where all this started. Out front is a long crooked house by the road painted in bright colors. It always catches my eye. Next time I go by I will grab a photo of it. Did any of you know about the crooked houses in Maine?I wish I could afford a Crooked House potting shed! Now that would just be a dream come true. I also have a fascination with golf carts. Ever since my cousin Margaret, who lives on Peaks Island, picked me up at the ferry boat on one. Here’s a photo of it…. on the fourth of July a few years ago. It’s called the Slow Poke….that’s on the license plate. Usually it’s dressed up much nicer with a lovely colorful canopy on the roof. Everyone on the island has one or two and they drive them legally all over….especially during the fourth of July parade….they dress them up like this…and this….. Oh God it’s a lot of fun being over there on the fourth! So….my dream is to have a Crooked House Potting Shed that is also big enough to house my Golf Cart, that I would name Slow Poke 2 in memory of my cousin. Hey….a girl can dream can’t she?

My Blurry Dad…….

   Just recently we had something very exciting happen in our family. Most all of you know, that my dad was a musician, especially if you follow this blog. I know how hard it has become following me, since I am NEVER here lately!! Sorry about that…. But I digress….

My nephew Adam Landry is a music producer in Nashville. He produces a lot of cool bands. Somewhere in his studio he has a picture of my dad and another man from the 1940’s playing music together. A band that Adam was producing recently fell in love with that old photograph, taken while my dad was stationed in Rapid City, South Dakota, during WWII. My dad had not yet headed overseas. I have some similar photos of the two of them. The man with my dad is unknown to us, but is playing an accordion in all the photos. In each of them, they are fully engaged in song and instrument and appear to be having a ball. ~..~

The band Adam was producing asked our family for permission to use that old 1940’s photograph for the cover of their new album and we said yes. Because of copyright infringements and not knowing the existence of the “other man in the photo” they had a bit of a problem at first. Then it came to them….The name of the band is The Rouge and the name of the album is Blurry….. so what did they do???? They blurred out the cover and both of their faces. But we know, the guy on the right is my dad and he is now on every cover of that album all over the country!!! He would have LOVED that!! Here’s the album…..

  and here’s a link to a review of it….The Rouge Blurry Review  .

How cool is that???????????????????????????????????????