Maureen Singing an Aria

Maureen Singing an Aria
Originally uploaded by swanksalot

on board the Amsterdam

Kerry talk

OK - Here goes. I miss her.

She was my little sister and I loved her. I feel that I failed her. I was supposed to take care of her. I tried to inspire her to restart her life and I thought it was happening but she died anyway.

We had a lot of fun while she was on Guam - and I am so grateful to Mom and Dad for bringing her here so we could spend those weeks together. But now I miss her. And I can't stop crying.

Here is a photo of her from Leo and Eva's wedding. We had a great time as the wedding was at the Catholic church in Santa Rita and it brought back a lot of memories of years of going to Mass in Agat. The priest was really funny too, making jokes about marriage and such. Kerry, in her typical active style, kept getting up and taking photos.

I wish she were still here! But as Pat said today, she lived her whole life in great style but quickly. She was a teenager before she was a teen, married young, and retired young. And as Maureen said, she always wanted to be first at something. I guess this is it. 

Shannon

Guam is relevant?!

We found this in the New York Times today. Let us know who you are voting for in the primaries...

Political cartoon by Mike Keefe

We're back from Italy

We spent three weeks in Italy and saw great art, ate good food and drank lots of wine. Here is a photo of us at the Coliseum and another of the outside of the Murphy's Pub in Siena.

Ice Floe Alaska

Ice Floe Alaska
Originally uploaded by swanksalot

probably near Tracy Arm, from the deck of the ship

Basketball Jones

Basketball Jones
Originally uploaded by swanksalot

Photos and video from Grandma's birthday

The beautiful birthday girl and her fella.







More photos here (click to open album): Grandma's 79th Birthday album.

And here's a video:

Grandma's 79th birthday party

Hi. Leo finally showed me how to do this!!!
It's Grandma's party at my house. Everyone is here. Lots of kids and lots of food. Pictures will be coming soon, Leo says.

Speaking of birthdays and anniversaries...

During this week:
Patrick and I celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary on the 11th.
Andrew and Grandma have a birthday on the 12th.
George turns 65 on March 15th.

What a busy week for celebrations!

Running a 21-miler this morning

In preparation for a marathon at the end of this month, I'm running 21 miles this morning.

It's 2:28 a.m. and I've had 2 hrs sleep ... I'm about to bandage my nipples and put Vaseline all over my crotch ... it's so early the crickets are sleeping ... I'm seriously questioning my sanity.

Should be fun.

Wish me luck!

Leo

Austen birthday

Austen is celebrating his 19th birthday tomorrow. March 9th

Megan's real estate quest

OK, I like real estate. We have bought three times and sold two times in the past 4 years. Just made an offer on a beautiful foreclosure in the south hills of Eugene. If any of you believe in The Secret, send some good vibes our way! Two years ago, the market was red hot, and the story is very different today. Lots of buying opportunities. John is scratching his head and is dreading the possible move. But it gives us a chance to clean out spice drawers and toy closets (As Leo says- simplifiy!) I'll let you know if our offer is accepted! Megan

Time to weigh in on elections

Anybody care to predict the elections? I like both the Democrats but would like to see Hillary win. Obama is good too. What do you guys think? Tell

Real scare. Just heard a rumor from Madison that Brett Favre was retiring. Turns out to apparently be an urban myth but my heart was beating quickly for awhile.

Also last night was perusing Real Simple. The docs get magazines at my office as publishers thinks these docs have waiting rooms (haha, no waiting rooms for Pathologists...just morgues) And there was an article on best blogs. And there was zenhabits.net. Didn't mention Leo or Guam or anything but mighty impressive. I know it's won many things but seeing it in print....wow. I still think the Murphy family needs a MD but a famous blogger is pretty cool too. Speaking of famous bloggers, Seth why is Chicago the Big Potato? Alice is now in Boise if you really want to talk potatoes.....

Love this, Leo. Thanks. AP

Instructions for the Blog

For those who need instructions for reading the blog and posting updates, here they are:

READING THE BLOG
1. Point your browser to murphyhood.blogspot.com and you can read the blog to see everyone's updates. The most recent posts are at the top ... scroll down to see earlier ones.
2. At the top of each post is the date and title, then the text of the post, and at the bottom of each post is the author's name.
3. Also at the bottom is a link that says how many comments ... if you click on that, you can read the comments for that particular post. You can even add your own comment -- if you're logged in. See below for logging in and registering.

REGISTERING
If you want to write comments or a post, you need to be registered and logged in.
1. If you haven't registered yet, you have to do that first. You should have received an invitation to sign up ... if so, just click on the link to sign up. If you already have a google account (for Gmail, Google Calendar, Reader, etc) then you can just enter your password. If you don't have a google account, you'll have to create one (there should be a link on the sign-up page). To create an account you'll have to enter your email address and desired password.
2. Once you have an account and you've signed up for the blog, you can log in each time you visit the blog and want to write a post or comment. Just go to the blog (at the adress above) and then click on the "sign in" link in the top right corner. Then enter your email address and password.

WRITING A POST
1. To write a post, you must first be signed in (see above). Once you sign in, it should take you to your "dashboard". Under "The Murphy Hood" should be a plus symbol with a link that says "New Post". Click on that link.
2. That will take you to the page where you write your post. At the top is a blank field where you can enter the title of the post (like a headline). Enter a title first, then move to the second (and larger) field where you can enter the text of your post. This is where you write whatever you want to say in your update or message to the family.
3. When you're done writing your post, click on "Publish Post". That will take you to a page that says that your post is successfully published. If you click on "View Blog" you should see the blog with your new post at the top.
4. If for some reason you need to edit your post, there is a pencil icon at the bottom of your post where you can click on it to edit. Just make your changes and then click publish.

Let me know if you have further questions!

Yea for Kerry and Bobby! and yea for Dad turning 81. Such a nice party that Mom gave. Wish you were all here. We tried to take photos but I'm not sure they turned out as it was rather dark and the flash wouldn't work.

Robert and I are home with Samantha, Lennon and Bella tonight. Katrina and Ana went out to a girlfriend's birthday party. Yesterday we had baby Noelle while Leo and Eva and the other kids went to the movie. Lots of kids around here! We love 'um.

Kerry's new home

Kerry just called to tell me that they have rented a very affordable small home in Santa Rosa. She will be in by the first and will contact every one when she gets her computer hooked up. She was also happy to say that she (with Bob's help) have a job cleaning homes or apts. We all know how good she is at that. I guess her new title would be maintenance engineer.(wrong wording?) They sounded very realistic when they laid out their plans to live within their budget. I hope that their health holds up and that things start looking up! Mom

Hi: I'm learning to blog. It is not going well. Can't teach an old dog new computer tricks. Joe

81 years

All of the Guam relatives showed up for grandpas birthday. They all loved his favorite "beef stew" except for the vegetarians so we had lots of other choices. I'll try to post a picture after Leo shows me how. Grandpa is doing surprisingly well after the rough summer he had. We love this blogging and hope we hear lots from everyone.

Happy 81st Birthday Grandpa!

Granpda is the oldest person I know.

We're at his house right now celebrating his birthday. Grandma cooked a big dinner and we're all drooling. She cooked Grandpa's favorite, beef stew, plus casserole, squash and salad for us veggies.

The Guam branch of our clan is trickling in now, and Grandma has asked me to show her how to do this blog thing.

Leo