Category: Life

Life

Rain

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I’m sitting here waiting for the kettle to boil and outside it’s started to rain. I love the sound of rain – pitter patter pitter pitter patter pitter.

Rain at night needs a quiet and dark room – just to sit there and listen – feeling safe.

Rain in the day brings a choice of two things – stay in with a hot cuppa and watch the rain running down the windows looking at the distortions OR put on your coat and wellies and go out in it jump in puddles and just get thoroughly soaked.

Funnily going out in the rain reminds me of V For Vendetta –
God Is In The Rain:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9tbvQu6Iq8

Time for the quiet dark room 🙂

Holidays · Life

Home From Our Travels

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For the last few days we’ve been in Paris, France and it has been glorious!
Most of my annual leave for this year has been used for Doctor & Hospital visits so this holiday was very much overdue.
Alas now it is over and I must return to work tomorrow so it’s an early (ish) night with the end of my Ian Rankin book and a mug of hot chocolate – with a dash of cinnamon.

Tomorrow I will upload a few of the pictures – but be warned I’m not the greatest of photographers 😉

Holidays · Life

Packing Lists & Postcards

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Packing lists are always very handy and always used so why don’t I have a permanent one? I think it’s because I love making lists. It’s the making, the sitting down and deciding that I enjoy – it all adds to the build up of anticipation. Will I bring this? Will I bring that? Do I even need that? I haven’t used this is three months, will I bring it on holidays? Yes there are times, early on in the list making process when I’ve included everything (yes that does mean the kitchen sink – well it deserves a holiday too!)
Yesterday I bought a notebook specifically for making up this years packing list, I’m also going to write up addresses for Post Cards so I’m not ringing home looking for them. I don’t know what it is – I’m completely rubbish at letter writing but send me to a new city and everybody has to get a postcard sent to them. It must be a family thing – my parents send them when they go away and I send them too. I often wonder if it’s something that’s dying out (so to speak) I never hear of colleagues sending postcards either that or they’re just not mental enough to send them into work!!
Ah well – I can’t stay here typing all day I now have to go an decide which bags I’m bringing – ones to be packed and ones for walking around on holidays with – all very important decisions 🙂

Childhood Memories · Food · Life

Jam Sandwiches

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We were at a BBQ this afternoon and it was lovely!! Great to see folk, eat some really lovely food – there was one particular salad there that was just yummy and I could have taken the whole dish 🙂 so it’s a light tea this evening – I was thinking boiled eggs and soldiers and then I starting thinking about childhood foods – take that egg and make it egg in a cup – I never really did figure out what Nanny did to it that made it so special but I might just try – so while I’m figuring that out I’m after polishing of bread and jam!! Raspberry Jam – Love Love Love it followed closely by Rhubarb & Ginger – num-nums!
So my question is do children these days eat jam sandwiches?

Books · Life

A Visit To The Library

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On Thursday I went to weight watchers but didn’t stay for the meeting (yes naughty naughty!) Anyway instead of going straight home we dropped into the library. I hadn’t been there since it was all done up – actually I hadn’t been in there since I was 15 or so and therefore we are talking about a long time! I have to say I was very impressed – so impressed that I joined straight away. The last time I was a member they had a card/ticket system now it’s all electronic.
I didn’t take anything out at that visit but today we decided to drop into our local library (they are both run by the same county council and therefore one card fits all). I had never been in this one and it was even better then the one in Malahide (but it’s not as pretty as Malahide). It was so good himself wanted to join but he didn’t have proof of address on him 😛 However I had my card and with a limit of 10 items we were sorted. Himself picked out some graphic novels and I picked out a CD by Kate Rusby (which I’m listening to as I type) and we picked up 2 DVDs about a series that had once been on RTE called Hands – it’s all about hand crafts in Ireland – the ones we got were no.s 1&2 wool spinning and Patchwork. When we were at the counter I spotted a book at the quick pick stand and decided to take a chance – Requiem For A Wren by Nevil Shute.
When we were leaving the two of us got very giggly and himself said “I’d forgotten how exciting it was to get stuff out of the library” You know he’s right it was great fun and still is – I have a feeling that I’m going to expand my reading horizons with very little pain to my pocket. I’m so excited I think I’m going to have to go and read my book!

Books · Life

The Flâneur

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I have been longing to get away and my city of choice is generally Paris. I love it – I don’t know what it is or why and there are soo many french expressions to say that but I’m a bit rubbish at french. ANYWAY – as I’m stuck here for now looking out at the rain and the lightening and counting ’til the thunder I’m indulging in The Flâneur by Edmund White. Ok I really only started reading it today but I have decided that I need to have a map of the city to hand and a note book as I’m reading. I was very tempted to actually write on the book – just mark things as something to investigate later – when I did have that map and the internet near by.
I shall keep you updated as to how my stroll through Paris progresses.

Life

Soggy Saturday

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It is raining outside and I can hear the rain hitting the puddles. I love it!
On the other hand I’m surfing sites about Paris.

Life

That First Coffee

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Right now I’m after finishing my cereal and I’m having a coffee and it really has hit the spot. Not every cup of coffee (or mug) makes you think “you know, that was exactly what I needed” but the first one of the day tends to have a better hit rate – in every way 😉

Books · Christmas · Home · Life

Learning

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Yesterday my email account was hacked and everybody in my address book was sent something – not sure what as I didn’t open it. Anyway three cheers for Google! They decided that it was spam and blocked it so the mails didn’t go anywhere. My only problem after that was to think of a new password and make the change so I looked to my bookshelves for inspiration. Eventually I came up with something so all is well with the world – however as I was looking at my books I noticed that I have a few books about learning some different languages. It really was an Oh Yeah! I have those books – so now I’m going to use those books! As I type I realise there is one other text book somewhere in the house – I will have to dig that one out although I can start with what I have. I have to admit that I’m rather looking forward to getting stuck in but it will require me to make sure that my desk is cleared – I have to get some stuff shredded 😉

I wonder if I will do any better by myself compared to school & a brief stint in college? At least there won’t be any exams – eek and bane of my life – you would think that as a grown up I’d be beyond that kind of thinking – I guess old habits die hard.

Speaking of looking at my shelves – I wonder if it really is the wrong time of year to dip in to one of my Christmas books? Possibly maybe I’ll save them for night time reading.
I’ve just realised that it is I’m going to dip into next – I started reading Maya by Jostein Gaarder but have never managed to finish it – I’m only hoping to get a little bit further on in it – yes finish what I’m reading and then have a look at that.

Books · Cats · Husband · Life

S.O.F.A.

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Or Shankill Old Folks Association – have their regular book sale on the first Saturday of every month. We don’t normally get to go out to it too often as himself has to work – however since he is out sick we ventured out – mind you we don’t venture out for too long as himself doesn’t like to be out of his surrounding for too long. However today was slightly different – off we went and plunged into the books. I didn’t get too much ’cause I’m not really looking for books at the moment – I came away with:

Ngaio Marsh = Enter A Murderer – I can’t find an image of the book online but it does have a rather splendid cover illustrated by Philip Hood.

Rebecca Shaw = Omnibus edition of The New Rector & Talk Of The Village.
I haven’t read any of these but have seen them on occasion and thought for that price (€3-) why not give it a go?

Himself had a rather large haul but as this is about things that make me smile we won’t mention the boxes of magazines he got – nah I don’t really mind but sometimes it’s fun to pretend I disapprove 😉

Afterwards we went to visit one of the kittens we had to re-house. The new owner is an old friend of himself so it was interesting to sit there and listen to them swap stories. I have to say though it was really nice to sit out in the garden drinking orange with the sun shining and the cat & dogs picking people at random for rubs. I hope we get another chance to do that again.