Hello again!

Hello once more.  Just to let anyone that drops in know that I have not given up yet.

We as a family have had our ups and downs, but I'll only bore you with mine.    I have emphysema (did I spell that right?) which was diagnosed nearly 8 years ago when I was taken to Blanchardstown Hospital in Co Dublin because I was having severe breathing difficulties.

I was an in-patient there for about 10 days or so and I must pay tribute to the staff at that hospital.   They are very good at what they do..  well to me anyway...  and are spotlessly clean.

So eventually I was allowed home on meds, oh yeh and they had discovered that I have heart failure too, and type 2 diabetes.    Well if you're going to stay in hospital for a few days you may as well make it worthwhile, eh?

The time passed and I managed the conditions, until recently when the emphysema got worse.   I couldn't walk up a flight of stairs without getting breathless.    So on 27th this month, yesterday, I went to see the local nurse who gave me a breathing test and told me the bad news.  I have been moved to a new stage of emphysema and started today on new meds.   Soo far the new inhaler seems to be working.   I went out for awhile twice today and didn't get out of breath so severely.   Maybe when this new inhaler has been used for a few days there may be an even bigger improvement.   Fingers and everything else crossed.

So that's me more or less up to date.   I have nothing of great note to report as you can see.   I haven't won the lottery or anything.  I'm still poor oul Jim.

If you are reading this or any of my posts and like it, encourage me, drop me a line at jiml5@eircom.net and I'll be sure to get back to you.

Goodnight now.  I'm hoping that I can convince my two brothers and two sisters to get involved in the blog.  It would be nice if it was a family blog I think.  

Here's a photo of the three brothers.  That's me at the end laughing like a hyena, Tony is in the middle and Paul is nearest to the camera.     I'll introduce you to my two sisters and some more of the family as we go along.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog.   Please do drop in again.

Hello again

Hello visitors and family, and welcome back.

It's been awhile.  Lots of things been happening and memories to be remembered. I'll get cracking on those as soon as I can.

A quick visit for 2016

Hello all.   This is just a quick visit on 1st March 2016.   If anyone would like me to continue the blog or to add anything, please let me know HERE

Thank you.

And yet again

Lots of water has flown under the bridge since my last entry in this blog.   To tell the truth the passing my our dear sister Chris and our darling Brianna knocked the stuffing out of me and I just hadn't the heart to sit bhere and write.

But its about time the blog was worked on again.

So its time for me to continue to write so that family and those who come after us will know something of what life was like in Dublin from about 1950 onwards.

So its my intention, and I hope the rest of the family will join me, in describing my earliest memories, my first day at school, memories of childhood and teens, social life, good friends, school teachers who left an impression, our first television set, radio programs that interested us, our local shops and their owners, etc etc.....  in general a document that our grandchildren will read and learn from, and their children too.

Now to do some thinking.   Back soon I hope, and I hope that others of the Leonard Family will contribute too.

Thank you for visiting.

Back again

Well after such a long time here I am again to continue writing posts in the blog.

I stopped writing after our sister Chris passed as I lost interest in so much because of her passing.  People will say that time heals all pain.  I find that it doesn't, but what time does is teach you how to deal with the pain...  doesn't take it away though.

I'm hoping that my brothers and sisters will add to the blog as we go along, so as to not only share our memories, but to make this blog a historical doument for the whole family.

I also hope that this will mark a continuation of the blog from where we left off.

Here's a recent gathering of the family in the Goblet in Artane.  From left, Marie, Ellen, Paul, Tony and me.