A Day To Catch Up

Heat as become an oppressive reality of life as of late. As the week ended yesterday, people in my office and out on the street we chattering about a "cool-down" this weekend, but mid-day temperatures are still in the mid-90s. The temperature has turned this into a lazy Saturday, as I have no inclination to get up and do anything outdoors, at least until this evening, when the sunlight will not be so harsh and winds off the mountains will make things very pleasant.

So I figured I'd take advantage of this hot, lazy Saturday to catch up on a few housekeeping matters on the ol' blog and publish a few pictures I've been meaning to put out there. The picture on the upper left was sent to me by my Dad. He and my brother Daniel just got back from Ireland; they were hoping to reestablish ties with family members of my Great-Grandfather, who was born Patrick Joseph O'Sullivan in Kilgarvan, a small town near Kenmare in County Kerry, on the southwest tip of Ireland. My Great-Grandfather came to New York in 1910 or 1911 and dropped the "O" from his last name. In the photo above, my Dad is standing in the back row in the red shirt, and Daniel is also in the back row on the far right.

Dad also sent me the picture to the right of the stone buildings, but unhelpfully he did not label it. I'm thinking they are monastic stone houses from Ireland's early Christian period, but I could be wildly off. Hopefully someone can help clear this up. I also wanted to be sure to post the picture below, a gorgeous shot of the Irish coastline in (probably) County Kerry [UPDATE: Reliable sources, i.e. my Dad, now indicate that these cliffs are in County Claire].

I haven't really gotten the full download on the trip from my Dad and my brother yet, but I can definitely say one thing; I'm insanely jealous, and I really hope I get to visit there myself someday.

While we're on the subject of family comings and goings, I figured I'd take this time to post a little bit of information about what's going on in the lives of my two sisters. Maureen is (I think) 33 weeks along and will soon be giving birth to her second daughter, Avery. One thing she's very happy about is the fact that next month she and her husband Michael will be closing on their new home in Atlanta. Maureen sent me a nice picture of the house, but I seem to have accidentally erased it; I'll post a new copy of it if she'll send me one. To me, the most startingly thing about the picture she sent is how huge the trees are. I've lived in the desert a long time now, and I sometimes forget how lush and green it is back east.

Also, I just wanted to mention that my littlest sister Katy is still at it in LA, trying to make it in the Show Biz. Here's a recent headshot she had done:

C'mon, somebody do themselves a big favor and put my sister in a movie!