Celtic mayhem

This weekend, Mustang Man, Mustang Girl and I attended the Celtic Festival that is held every year at our local fair grounds. You may recall, we went last year, that's when we tried Canned Haggis, and MM gave my my 'big rock'. This year, we could not find the canned Haggis booth. (what a shame, right?).
One of the nice things about the Celtic Festival, usually, is the music. I love all kinds of music, but good Celtic music is one of my favorites. For example, The Chieftains. They've been performing together since the 1960's, and are known world wide for their musical talents. They are getting older, and their harp player, Derek Bell, has passed away already, and is missed. Looking over at my Treasurelicious account, you will also find the Wicked Tinkers.. They are a more recent band, with bagpipes and drums, but not the 'traditional' stuff you'd expect. They've actually come to our Celtic Festival, I've seen them live, they are fantastic.
This year, the big name draws were Solas and Cathie Ryan. While I like the music by both of these people/groups, both MM and I have not been feeling well, so it was a miracle we even made it to the Celtic Festival, we did not stay for the evening concerts.
What we DID get to hear, though, was some freak who decided he was a Celtic Rapper. He nearly drove me out of my gourd. And everyone else, too. I think his first song lasted for 10 minutes, and every other minute or so, he would announce "I'm a Celt". Over and over.
And he had this 'song', for lack of a better word, comparing Palestine and Israel to Ireland, when it was under the rule of Longshanks. Seriously? yes he did. And the 'song' that broke this camels back? The one he was singing about getting his first kilt. In 2004. We, at that point, were searching for the exit. Or a crossbow. Whichever I could find first....

Little (or no) Voice

Got no voice today. I feel better than I sound, however. Feelings of Saturday Blah became fully understood, Clancy spread the evil crud around, unknowingly Monday night. Or I got it from Bubblewench over the internets And my allergies are in full force right now. Double whack!. Either way, I feel ok, I'm upright. But I have no voice. So instead I will show you a picture of an Irish Wolfhound I took at the Celtic Festival this last weekend.

Short Story Saturday

I will miss this man and his fabulous movies. Thankfully, I can watch the old ones, again, and again, RIP Mr. Newman...

Once upon a time

there were (are?) three people living together in one house, with three cats, three dogs, and a fantastic backyard with their very own hammock.
All three of them like to write stories. Unfortunately, 2 of them are feeling kind of 'blah' today. And the other is a teenage girl who is in her bed, reading a story. So I doubt she will come here and tell you one, either.
So ends my story (my non-story). Next week something better and much more entertaining will appear here, because the adults who like to write stories will, perhaps, be over their feelings of blah.
Good weekend, everyone....

Friday Mieography

Meet Belva, this weeks choice.

Born Belva Ann Bennett in New York, she was the daughter of a farmer, and his wife. She graduated when she was 14 years old, and began to teach at the local elementary school. She was married at 18, but, tragically, her young husband died of tuberculosis 5 years later. They had one daughter. She was left, at 23, with nothing. She managed to get herself into a college prep school, and then managed to get a degree. She graduated with honors, and got a job, immediately as a headmistress, and teacher of school. She made half of what her male counterparts made. She had become interested in law while in college, but the school had no law department. So as she worked, she took private classes from a local law professor.
Eventually, she got a job in Oswego, NY, and met Susan B. Anthony. She agreed with many of Susan's ideas, especially related to educating young women. They were concerned that young girls were being taught courses that focused in on a 'domestic' role. They wanted to expand that. Belva made changes at her school, which included things like public speaking, and botany.
Despite the good changes she was making at her schools, Belva still wanted to study law. She took her daughter, Lura, and they moved to Washington DC in Feb. of 1866. She opened a coeducational private school, and began to pursue a legal career. She also remarried, to a man much older than her. Her husband was a practicing dentist, Baptist minister, and Civil War veteran. They had a daughter, who died at a very young age. The Rev. Lockwood supported his wife's desire to study law, and had a very progressive opinion about women's roles in society.
Belva applied to Colombian Law School, but they refused to admit her, as she would be a distraction to the male students. She was, however, finally admitted to the National University Law School (Now George Washington University Law School). She competed school, but they refused to grant her a diploma. Without a diploma, she could not gain admittance to the bar.
She wrote a letter to the President of the United States (Grant), and within a week, she had her diploma. She was 43 years old at this time. She was then admitted to the bar, with the caveat from several judges that they had no confidence in her. At one point, she tried to gain admission to the bar in Maryland, and the judge there told her that God Himself had determined that women were not equal to men, and never would be. When she attempted to defend herself, he had her tossed from the courtroom.
Belva began trying to build her practice, but her status as a married woman was as one who was strictly subordinate to her husband. She had no rights. And the judges used his, to keep her out of courtrooms. She was denied access to all of them, including the Supreme Court. Despite this, she had some cases, and she won them. She became known as an advocate for women's issues. She eventually drafted an anti-discrimination bill so that women would have the same access to the bar as their male colleagues, and spent a few years lobbying Congress to pass it. They did, eventually, pass it, and she was the first woman sworn into the US Supreme Court bar, in March of 1879. In 1880, she became the first woman to argue a case before the Supreme Court.
She then ran for President of the United States. Twice. She receive around 4,000 votes. She had to petition Congress to get her votes counted.
She also began to write essays about women's suffrage, and legal equality, and co-edited a journal called The Peacemaker, which promoted World Peace.
She died in 1917, and is buried in the Congressional Cemetary, in Washington, DC.

Time for another.... Thursday Thirteen

As always, go Here to enjoy the other people playing....

This one, however, is a real Eye Opener


13 Ways I like my Coffee
1. With lots of cream
2. Irish Coffee
3. With whipped cream on top, and chocolate shavings...
4. With my home made kahlua added in
5. Coffee Nips
6. Iced coffee
7. Dark chocolate dipped coffee beans
8. Coffee Ice Cream
9. Rarely- but a nice espresso
10. French Pressed
11. With Cardamom
12. Just the smell of it
13. Dipping biscotti in it

The irony is. I don't really drink coffee on a regular basis. Sometimes at work, and at home, if I am really cold, or if I've made some kahlua. Otherwise... not so much.
Happy Thursday!

wordless Wednesday

I love Fall

Leaves

by anonymous (at least as far as I could find)

How silently they tumble down
And come to rest upon the ground
To lay a carpet, rich and rare,
Beneath the trees without a care,
Content to sleep, their work well done,
Colors gleaming in the sun.
At other times, they wildly fly
Until they nearly reach the sky.
Twisting, turning through the air
Till all the trees stand stark and bare.
Exhausted, drop to earth below
To wait, like children, for the snow.