My friend Kate..

Today is a very special day in that it is a very important birthday of a very good friend of mine..my friend Kate.

Kate is, well.. it is kind of hard to know where to start as there are just so many facets to her. But I guess the easiest way to put it would be to simply say that Kate is the person that I consider to be my best friend. And she is definitely that. She is the one I can talk to about anything, she is a great listener, a wonderful shoulder to cry on and funny as hell. She has an amazing sense of humour, a gentle soul, a good heart and a beautiful smile. When I talk to her, I know that she isn't just listening but is actually hearing what I am saying and I know, without a doubt, that if I ever needed her, she would be (and has been) right there for me, just as I would be for her. And above all of this, I know that we share a connection with each other that is precious and so very rare...we just *get* each other and throughout the years I have come to realize that this sort of friendship doesn't come along very often.

I can't count the number of nights where we have passed the hours by just talking, talking about anything and everything. And the laughter...oh the laughter. Right from the start of our friendship, it became very apparent that not only did we share many of the same interests and experiences in our lives, but we also shared the same sense of humour. An overheard comment or a shared look is often more than enough to just set us off laughing and there have been more times than I can count that my stomach has actually *ached* from laughing so hard with her at something that I'm sure no one else would find nearly as funny.

Looking back, Kate and I actually met a few times before we really started to become friends and it wasn't really until one night after a get-together at the new home of her and her husband that we really clicked. And from there, it just seemed to snowball. We have so much in common and we share so many similarities that to me, it feels like I have known her forever. And if that isn't the sign of a good friendship, I'm not sure what is.

I guess to me, the most amazing thing is that every time we are together, another memory is made. There are so many times when I find myself saying to her.."Remember when we did..." or "Remember that time when we...". And most often, all that is needed is just a word or a phrase to set us off, like "You be Kid Rock" or "I'll take that one" or "I need a beverage, stat!" or...god, I could go on forever.

I think I have always been aware that Kate and I shared a friendship that was unique and rare but it became even more apparent on the day that the two of us had the opportunity to spend some time with my sister and her husband when they came to visit. I am pretty sure that my sister was actually frightened of how alike we are and that same reaction was shared by my mom the first time she had the pleasure of the full on "Kate and Heather" experience..lol. I'm sure they were wondering if it were possible that there were *two* of me in the world and just how that managed to come to pass.

But regardless of how we got here, the simple fact of the matter is that I can't imagine my life without her in it and I am so very grateful for the gift of her friendship. So if you are reading this Kate (and I hope you are..lol), thank you for this once in a lifetime friendship. Love you.

But what does it all mean..?

Now isn't that the question of the day...what does it all mean? I had thought that with my second-ever blog post, I would take a few minutes to explain just what the title of my blog means, for anyone who is not familiar with my love of all things celtic. But of course, as life would have it, the dawn of the day today brought a few twists and turns with it and now, I find myself with a few other things on my mind as well.

But first things first. As I mentioned in my last post, I have been pondering the creation of this blog for a few weeks now and in fact, there had been many times when I was more than ready to jump right in but as a certain person who sits across from me at work can attest, there was always one thing stopping me. I didn't have a name for my blog. Now at first glance, I will be the first to admit that this doesn't seem to be that big of a stumbling block. I mean, what difference does it make, really? "Just pick something," I would say to myself..and over the course of the few weeks that I thought about this, I came up with quite a few potential names, only to discard them just as quickly because they weren't 'right'. I think the whole root of this problem lay buried in the fact that I *really* wanted an Elvish name for my blog. Oh yes, I am a Lord of the Rings freak and pround of it (and for the record...we are called Ringers, not geeks!!) and as such, I thought it would be very cool if the title of my blog could actually be written in elvish. But again, that is much easier than it sounds.

So I hmmmed and hawwwed over it, racking my brains for what elvish words I knew that would make sense but still to no avail. It just wasn't coming to me. Now again, why is this so important, you ask? Trust me when I say that...I have absolutely *no* idea!! Most people who know me will be able to tell you that, for whatever reason, I am what one might call obsessed with naming things. I'm pretty sure that virtually every stuff animal that I have ever owned has had a name, my pet fishies had names (Pugsley and Sludge..hehe), my cars have all had names...and I won't even go into the internal debate that was waged when we got our Beagle, Jasper! But anyway, names have always been very important to me and so I knew that I needed to find just the right one if I was going to make a serious stab at this whole blogging thing.

So fast forward then to Friday night and there you find me gearing up for a Girls Night Out to celebrate the birthday of a friend. We went out to dinner and drinks and then some of us moved on to this bar to continue with the festivities. The bar we went to was called Slainte (pronounced Slawn-cha) and it was as I was sitting there on my barstool at the bar, discussing the many attractive attributes of the bartender with my friend, that it occurred to me....I love this bar! Slainte is a great place to be and...wait for it...OMG, wouldn't that just be the *best* name for a blog??

So yes, there you have it, yet another brilliant observation aided by the warming (aka:mind-numbing) effects of my good friend, Rye and 7. And so on Monday, when I *finally* got around to creating this blog I had thought so much about, I eagerly typed in Slainte as the title but at the last minute added Mhath (together, it is pronounced Slawn-cha Vah) because it still just didn't look right.

So after all that, am I going to tell you what it means? Yes, I am. Slainte Mhath is a gaelic phrase meaning 'good health to you', which seemed pretty fitting for here. And on an interesting side-note, Slainte Mhath is also the name of an amazing band from Cape Bretton that I had the pleasure of seeing when they opened for Great Big Sea one memorable night in Ottawa. What can I say...just one more reason for me to love the name! So there you have it...the long and convoluted story of how I named my blog.

Now, with that out of the way, I can concentrate on what has really been on my mind today. My mom called early this morning with some bad news..my uncle had passed away during the night from cancer. And isn't it kind of strange how even though you know it is coming, it still gets you like a blow to the solar plexus when it finally comes to pass. I have been pretty much a mix of emotions all day, each one vying for it's own turn in the spotlight and so tonight, I find myself just plain worn out. I guess if there is one good thing that has come of this along with the pain that is undoubtedly sure to come over the next few days, it is this: when something like this happens, it really has the power to make you sit back on your heels and take a deep breath of fresh air. Life passes us by so quickly that it is even more of a shock when something like this happens, simply because it literally makes you stop. You have no choice. And for a few days, a week, a month, whatever...everything becomes real again and you rediscover just how important things like your family, your friends, and your health really are. I guess that is where I am tonight. My family will be together this weekend for the funeral arrangements and to celebrate Easter and to me, that is more important than ever.

I also had an interesting experience at lunch when I was driving in my car that seemed perfectly fitting with the day that it has been. Driving home at lunch, I was flipping through the radio stations in search of something half decent to listen to when I came across "Time of Your Life" by Greenday, which has always been a very poignant song for me, and truthfully the song that I would want played for me should something ever happen to me (god forbid..sorry, not meant to be morbid). And then when I was driving back to work, I was flipping through the stations again and came across a song that was playing that I just knew couldn't be a coincidence. It was "Country Roads" by John Denver and that song is perhaps the one that I will always associate with going to visit my aunt and uncle when I was much younger. My cousin used to sit with me for hours and play that song on the guitar while we sang it together..and so hearing it today just seemed to be a fitting tribute to all that has passed. I'm not real sure what else to even say about this so I will end by simply saying this...Uncle Norm, you will be missed.

And away we go...

Hello everyone,

Well, against the advice of some (who shall remain nameless!) and probably against my better judgement, I thought I would give this blogging thing a go. Actually, it seems lately that everybody who is anybody has caught on to the blogging craze and as per usual, I'm a little bit behind the times but I'm getting there in the end. Maybe it is just me but it seems that almost everyone that I have talked to as of late is blogging, has blogged in the past or is at least thinking of blogging at some time in the near future so...why not me? After all, I like to talk (no, really..!) and I think that I can be at least semi-witty at times so this might wind up being a great outlet for me.

Also, it is just a little like my journals (aka: diaries) of old where I could write down my most private thoughts for perusal at a later day. Although...I suppose that it isn't quite the same as my most private thoughts could potentially be viewed by, well, an untold number of people and I used to keep my journal between the mattress of my bed but...I digress. So right..not quite the same and not such a good idea to include my most private thoughts. Blogging Lesson Number One learned and duly recorded.

But seriously. Ever since one of my co-workers told me a couple weeks ago that she was creating a blog of her own, I have been somewhat fascinated with the concept. There have even been a few times when I have been driving along in my automobile and a thought has occurred to me that has caused me to think to myself..."That would be a very cool thing to write a blog about..". Okay, truthfully most of those thoughts have been generated by a song that I happen to be listening to at that particular moment that has unearthed an old memory somewhere in my mind but still...that has to be interesting to someone, right? And really, if not, at least it is interesting to me and that counts for something!

So that brings me to here. Hopefully you shall be seeing many more of my posts and I look forward to finally having a place to trap the various musings that seem to dance around in my head at any given time. I can't promise not to rant and rave as I'm wont to do both at times but hopefully it will be enlightening at best and entertaining at worst. Oh yeah..and I'll see what I can do about working on the semi-witty part.