Lazy days

b responded to the dogs' barking this morning and this meant that I didn't go downstairs until after 10am. This is unheard of! I'm reading a very good book called "The Northern Clemency", and I was immersed in it once b had brought up a cup of coffee to me. The book was shortlisted for the 2008 Booker prize. I've gradually worked my way through all of the shortlist, with only one left to read after this, and I've enjoyed them all. There is something of substance in them all, though it is hard to describe why they should appeal beyond other novels or writers.

The last few days have been very lazy. Monday and Tuesday were a bit depressing. I had to force myself to do things I had on my list. Today, however, I seem to have a bit more energy. It is also slightly warmer outside, which helps when one of the things I wanted to do was to prune all the raspberry canes.

I had my first failure in the ice cream making stakes today. I tried to make caramel ice cream, but it turned out to be disgusting. I think the cream curdled as I was adding it to the caramelised sugar, and may be sour, but I may also have burnt the sugar too much. Anyway, I ended up throwing it out. I should have used all the cream sooner. I've been trying to make one kind of ice cream each day, to try different flavours. Yesterday's was pear.

There looks as if there may be good news on the Dell front. Nicky Hartery, who managed Dell until a few months ago, seems to be putting together a package designed to buy the plant and continue running it as a going concern. Let's hope this works, as Limerick will have a bleak year ahead if it doesn't.

Happy new year to everyone.

Home

Everyone is home now - so, Happy Christmas all!

Nearly there

Well, the weekend is over and I don't have to go to work tomorrow. What joy!

The dogs think they are in heaven as they are getting lots of attention from Ian. He actually strokes them where they like to be stroked, and sits on the couch with them while they spread themselves over him. This hasn't happened to them since he left to go to UWE.

Tony and Isolde spent the weekend here so it has been busy enough. We've eaten well, and consumed alcohol in a slightly larger quantity than normal. I dressed the Christmas tree (it's quite small!) and had some decorations left over to make some of the rest of the room a bit festive with tinsel and baubles.

Tomorrow I intend to go into town to do some shopping, and will visit Dunnes to see whether they need help packing bags in aid of Adapt House. They may be OK, which gets me off the hook.

Ian and I have just watched Ian's new Dara O'Briain DVD. Dara really knows how to get the best out of an audience.

Ian tells me he was in the front row of a Colin Murphy show recently and had questions fired at him - he seems to have been able to bamboozle Colin with his answers.

Pippa is making jealous growls at Leavy as Leavy is very comfortable on Ian's knee and Pippa wants it all for herself. Leavy is cool about it, though.

It's our new engine

See - this is what will power Knocknagow in the future. It's very small, but I'm assured it will work. We'll have so much space in the engine room, particularly now that we have taken out the huge diesel tanks, that we will be able to put extra beds in there (...or something...)

The capital

I'm just back from a couple of days in the big smoke. On the way up on Sunday I drove through snow, and I think there has been just about every kind of weather since then.

I visited Dundrum shopping centre twice. It is a tiring place, and I didn't find much there. However, I did find a Little Red Riding Hood coat at half price. I've been looking for something to replace my frayed grey short coat, and this red one was just sitting on the rail waiting for me to buy it.

Only 3 more working days until Christmas holidays.....

Lists

It's very easy to write lists, and even easier to ignore them. I have a short list of things I must do today, so why is it that I am allowing myself to do everything except what I really have to do? The list stares at me and makes me feel guilty. On the other hand, I did try to deliver to St V de P and they weren't open, and I have looked at the front room and decided to procrastinate. The hardest item on the list is getting prepared for the meeting I have tomorrow with the selection board for the new Principal. If I didn't know how to do selection I might have an excuse, but I've made a career out of a profession involving it, so I just have to get down to it.

Ian got his new phone. It's very exciting! And, I got the Ryanair reminder that he is due to fly on Friday, so he must be coming home soon. Carolan and Andy have a very long journey, and sea voyage, the following Tuesday, but they'll eventually get here. Does anyone have any ideas on what they'd like for dinner that day? Sam has already told me they don't want (or, is it, deserve?) presents for Christmas, but I suppose we ought to feed them.

Anyway, I need to stop this procrastination and get to my tasks. Oh, and by the way, they just said on the wireless that Liz Nolan had a baby boy this week so that must be why she hasn't been heard on Lunchtime Choice for a while.

Don't tell the kids

Don't breathe a word to Carolan and Ian, as they won't believe you anyway, but we have a Christmas tree. It is only 10th December and we have had it for 2 days already. Do you think this Christmas thing is getting too much for us??

and it's only Monday

Having had a sleepless night due to a bad earache, I arrived in to work and logged on. Within minutes a person arrived who had had a row with her boss on Friday and was still apopleptic with rage, and stressed out. This was the start of a day I'd rather forget, and a week that I hope will get better. During the course of the day I got angry with a person who was complaining that the €300 worth of Christmas vouchers he had received were useless to him; had to suss out what looks like a case of bullying; kept trying to stave off my earache and sensitive head; and had to listen to a manager who was offering all sorts of bonuses to his staff while everyone else is tightening their belts. Anyway, tomorrow has to be better.

Warwick and Queens', Cambridge are competing against each other on University Challenge currently. This provides a nice diversion.

What am I going to do for Christmas presents? Help!!!

Up and running

Well, I'm up and running on my new Toshiba laptop after a false start on Thursday evening. The first laptop they gave me had no wireless card in it so I had a frustrating few hours trying to follow the instructions the man in the shop said I needed to follow before bringing it back. b brought it back yesterday and got a replacement. I've been installing things this afternoon. b came home from a seminar he was at in Ennis and has been working on transferring my e-mails to the new system. It's all very cool, and it is great to be able to work away with no wires, and a good battery.

I spent this morning tidying rooms upstairs. It's amazing how dust manages to get into unused rooms. I dusted C's and I's shelves and the bits and pieces they have on them. It wouldn't be good for them to return home at Christmas to neglect! There are clean sheets and duvets on the beds, and the rooms are cosy. The trouble is that it may be too early, and I may have to do it all over again before they return.

The same applies to the dogs. They were groomed this week and look very well. Goldie looks very different. Chunks of hair had been coming out of him for the last few weeks and I think the groomer has done a great job of removing the rest. He looks a lot neater, and is shedding less than he was. Leavy looks all shiny, but it won't last as she doesn't seem to know how to keep herself clean.

I was at the office party last night. One of the advantages of being the oldest there is that I'm allowed to slip away early. It was enjoyable, held in Patrick Punches, but it is good to cut while the going is good.

This evening we're going out for a meal with Janet and Jerry. We haven't been to see them, or vice versa, for a few years, and I'm looking forward to their company. It is freezing out already so we'll have to be careful with driving. There was a spectacular red sky this morning, which is always a warning. I've seen red evening skies before, but it is rare to see such a morning sky.

What will I buy for Christmas presents? I don't like shops so had better get on-line tomorrow or I'll be too late for Christmas.

From "tired" in Castleconnell

Hmm, it was the third dog that done it, you know. The other two were in their cages and there was a liquid offering in front of the dishwasher, so Goldie was guilty. However, other than this once it has been a pee-free week at nights.

It was -3 degrees C as I was driving to Waterford yesterday, though luckily it was dry. It was a long, but calm, day at committees. I'm glad it is over as now I can concentrate on the selection of a new Principal.

I really am too tired to think... Sorry. I'll be back another day.

It's all go!

Well, it's all go at the moment. I'm just back from Dublin. Tomorrow evening I share myself between 2 committee meetings, Tuesday I will be in Dublin on a work excursion, Wednesday is Brussels, Thursday is a night out with Avocent friends, and then I'm free on Friday evening before Newtown Committee on Saturday. Last week wasn't much better, and I had to leave poor ol' b with his nasty cold and no nursing. I managed to walk the dogs on a few occasions, but was otherwise useless. He seems to be surviving, though, and is gradually getting better. I'm not a good nurse anyway, so he was probably as well off without me being there.

I stayed last night with my parents. My father was a host spectacular, feeling he had to fill in for the fact that my mother was running a prison workshop by cooking a meal for me and insisting on doing washing up. I just about managed to wangle my way to carrying a couple of things to and from the dining room table, and doing drying up.

This morning I made an appeal to Leinster QM to help Munster QM through its difficulties. This was purely a personal request, but it was nice to be taken very seriously, and a couple of wise Friends were asked to see what they could do.

Yesterday morning b and I called in to Harvey Norman (I still have difficulty with a shop with such a name, but don't know why it is any worse than, say, B&Q). The Toshiba laptop I had my eye on was no longer there, but they agreed to order it for me. I now get a 10% Vistakon discount, so it was worth waiting a couple of weeks as this has only just been offered. I'm glad I brought b with me as we had difficulty establishing the wireless network offering on other alternatives, with the assistant claiming we would have to buy an HP laptop to get 802.11n. However, we knew it was available on the Toshiba, and it is, so there is no need to for us to spend 400 euro extra.

Both Pippa and Leavy have had to be banished to cages at night as they are both producing offerings on the floor on a regular basis. Hopefully nights spent in their cages will put manners on them. They are happy once they are in them, and unlikely to soil their own beds.

Anyway, gotta go now. Chiz!

A funeral

Yesterday we went to the funeral of Dan Gleeson. You may have met him during the summer when he spent some time on our boat in Dromineer and invited b to his tin house nearby. He had been ringing b with lengthy calls in recent weeks as he was interested in getting together some kayaks for the Nenagh kayaking club, a club of 35 members and only 4 kayaks that has been getting together in Dromineer recently. He felt that they needed help as a good activity for people who otherwise would not have access to water-based fun.

He fell in to the water in Shannon Harbour from the end of his boat, and drowned. A friend who was with him tried to get him out, but Dan may have hit his head as he fell and it wasn't possible to save him.

We also went to look at cars. Car dealers are a fairly homogenous lot, and I find them hard to work with. The main message they are giving at the moment is that they don't want to sell me a car if they have to take a trade-in. This means that they have no orders for new cars. At this time of year they would normally expect to have lots of orders ready for the new year. I may try to sell my car privately as I probably have nothing to lose by trying, and plenty to gain if I succeed. I'm in no hurry so may wait until after Christmas to try.

b went to the AGM of the Heritage Boat Association in Tullamore yesterday evening. It doesn't sound as if it was particularly exciting, which is a relief, as the controversies in NS continue. School Committee is in 2 weeks so it is sub-committee time prior to that. Finance Committee meets on Thursday or Friday, and I'm attending Leinster QM on Sunday to present the annual report.

Winter darkness is closing in, making for very short daylight time. I could do with some warm, sunny days!

Cold and miserable

It's just like summer here - wet and miserable! It was very sunny when I woke up yesterday morning so I jumped out of bed and headed out into the garden as it was clear the good weather wasn't going to last. I dug out the sweet corn plants, cleared weeds from the bottom half (and some of the top half) of the veg garden, cleaned the glass on the greenhouse and did other bits and pieces. This was all before 10.15am as I had to go off and get my hair cut then.

Boy, I was glad I had taken that opportunity as the day turned very wet by late morning and neither of us felt like venturing outside. Instead I did the ironing (last week's!) and some tidying. B brought the dogs out for their daily walk and I managed to wash the floor behind the TV while they were out. That's a nasty job as hairs and all sorts of dirt and muck manage to get in behind the table it sits on.

I also cleaned the oven, another job that isn't exactly my favourite. There must be some way of cooking things in the oven without having them spatter all over the place.

We go through phases of baking, and not baking. We haven't done any for a while. B looked at some flour and discovered little things running around in it with gay abandon. We then looked at all the other types of flour, baking soda and such like in the same cupboard and found similar. It seems that the use-by date is there for some reason and that being 2 or 3 years out of date does matter sometimes! Today I went to Homeware and got some of those plastic click-shut jars for putting future purchases of flour in, and we have resolved to buy it in lower quantities in future. If we run out mid-recipe there is a Centra nearby that can sort us.

Oh, and I bought one of those things Ian says is great for holding spoons on saucepans. I had a choice of pink, pink, pink, .... and then I found baby blue, so bought that.

Anyway, we are all full of hope as the American people have spoken wisely. Other political news here is that the Progressive Democrats have decided to disband.

Back again

OK, it's time to get back to blogging again after a break of a month. That month has been busy. In the last 2 weeks I have been at home for dinner twice, and one of those dinners was yesterday. It has been a mix of business and pleasure, with the highlight being my trip to London to visit Carolan, Ian and Andy.

Merton Abbey Mills area is lovely, and the market near their flat is nice and peaceful for a wander. Everything you need is nearby, and there is still some green space. I was very impressed by the cycle lanes and facilities in London and hope C and Andy get good use from them. This time of year isn't the best for getting started, but then summer may be too hot. Cycling in the dark is the hardest part, though London is lit by street lights in most places.

I should be out cleaning up the garden today as it is dry. However, it is very cold and I'm feeling like doing very little. I've got washing done, and shopping, and some cleaning, but now it is time to just curl up with newspapers and a book. The guy who cuts the hedge is finishing off the work he started last week and has lopped a very large amount off the hedge between ourselves and the Murphys, at our request. This should allow my greenhouse to get more sun.

Next week will be an exciting one. Will Obama win? I hope so as the alternative is too awful to contemplate. Everything ends up being a double-edged sword, though, as he is likely to find some way of stopping American companies making tax-efficient profits from their overseas operations. Most multinationals are in Ireland due to the tax deal, and my employers are no exception.

The dogs weren't very happy last night. There were less fireworks than in previous years but they still cause distress. Leavy is particularly hyper about them. I'm not sure whether she just gets excited, but I think some of it is distress. We were grumpy old so-and-so's yesterday evening and turned off all lights in the front of the house so that we didn't get trick-or-treat visitors. Nobody even rang the door bell, so it worked!

The cold weather seems to have caused a small stone-spot in my windscreen to extend all across the windscreen so I have to get a new windscreen. The car insurance company organises it, and pays for it, so it is easy to get done. This is the first claim I've had on my car insurance in over 30 years of driving, and I hope it is the last.

On Wednesday evening we went out with Joe and Nicki. It was Nicki's 50th birthday. She wasn't expecting us to be at the restaurant so I hope it was a pleasant surprise for her. Then, being the really sociable people we are(n't) we went out with Pat and Jackie to the new restaurant in town, The Hamptons, on Thursday. The Hamptons is full every day, not showing any signs of the recession. It is a middle of the road restaurant in terms of pricing and seems to have become the cool place to be in a very short space of time.

Yesterday was Dell's end of quarter. They let about 500 temporary employees go, and one of their suppliers is making 150 permanent employees redundant. While they always let temporary people go at the end of the quarter it isn't normally in such numbers. We're all expecting further announcements from them, though some point out that we have been expecting their closure for the last 15 years.

Right, back to my book ("Portrait in Sepia" by Isabel Allende).

Autumn sailing

We had a lovely, peaceful outing on Knocknagow yesterday. The sun was shining and the lake was calm. It was probably the last one of the season, which is sad. We headed further south on Lough Derg than we have been in her, rounding Parker's Point and heading in the direction of Killaloe. We turned back about half way down the stretch southwards. Boats were dotted around the lake - fishing boats, sailing boats, hire and private cruisers, speed-boats, and us.

Today we have been doing spring cleaning. b has cleaned out a couple of kitchen cupboards while I cleaned up the front room and put away some of the stuff we brought back from the boat yesterday. We're both exhausted now and feel we deserve a rest. A lamb had been cooking slowly in the oven since this morning. It's smelling good so I'm looking forward to dinner.

Last week was a particularly busy one. I had to be at work until late 3 evenings, presenting some changes in policies to various groups. It is stressful to do this kind of thing. On Friday evening I went out with some Avocent friends and "chilled". Before I knew it my watch told me it was 1 a.m. This is considerably beyond my bed-time!

All the activity has helped to avoid brooding on the empty nest here. We've been so used to having Ian around that it is very strange to find that he isn't here. The trip to Bristol last weekend was a bit sad for me. However, the campus is very impressive and I think his room is so nice that he won't want to come home. It sounds like he is enjoying himself. It is hard to be sad at his absence when he is doing something good.

Carolan is about to start her new job and is making a final visit home to us this week beforehand. She met her new boss last week so is all set for the start-up, having even got her hair ready!

In other news, the families at Rockspring are all doing what they said they'd be doing. Rebecca has gone to Manchester, Phelie has gone to Brussels, and the rest are around Rockspring. Phelie got accepted for the observations he wants to do in Palestine next spring, so he is excited about that. Granny and Grandpa had a nice holiday so are feeling refreshed.

That's all for now. I have to go and get some beetroot from the garden for our dinner.

Carolan is coming home tomorrow

Carolan is coming home tomorrow, Carolan is coming home tomorrow, Carolan is coming home tomorrow. Did I tell you that Carolan is coming home tomorrow?

That means it is close to the time when we bring Ian to Bristol. He is packing, and I'm hoping the mess everywhere will all disappear. b has a menu ready for Thursday evening, and champagne, so we'll have a good send-off for him. Pity Andy has to work, but we can always celebrate again when everyone returns! I'm going to suffer badly from empty nest syndrome next week so have arranged to work almost every evening.

Oh, and there is sweet corn ready for us all to eat as starters. I can't pick it until 5 minutes before we want to eat it as that is when it is supposed to taste its best. And 100 yellow tomatoes to eat as well, all grown in my greenhouse along with cucumbers and red and brown tomatoes. It's all very exciting.

It's all go!

About 3,000 euro later, our shower is now nearly fixed. The sealant between the wall and the shower tray came off after about 2 uses, so there is duct tape there while we wait for that part to be re-done. However, we can use it, so we are clean again.

I woke up this morning with a feeling that my face was sun-burnt. A look in the mirror tells me that I am. Yesterday b and I went out on Knocknagow to explore Youghal Bay, the bay to the east of Garrykennedy. We have had no particular reason why we would go into it as it has no place to land, and it isn't on the way to anywhere, but it is deep. b was keen to explore it. It was lovely and peaceful, with some beautiful houses looking out on it. There is a landing stage, with a diving board, and there seems to be a couple of small harbours for sailing boats attached to particular houses.

Of course, I didn't have much time to see the view as I was cleaning the decks! Ian and b are bringing lots of people out on the boat tomorrow as part of a radio programme that is being recorded on board. They seem to think that the state of the boat doesn't matter on a radio programme, but they don't understand.... Anyway, the green slime on the decks could prove to be slippy. Imagine, also, if Eanna Ni Lamhna (she is one of the panel on board) decided that mould or cobwebs were good topics to discuss because she was seeing them all around her. How embarrassing!

Ian is gradually packing for the big journey to Bristol. I must pull out the big suitcase today and help him sort clothes and bed-clothes. The house will be very empty when he is gone, with not even a bicycle in the hall.

The Newtown season is starting. I was down visitng HPC on Wednesday, and today I need to complete my annual report to Patron. Schools are in full flight, so I also spent Friday evening at a meeting on the problems in the local national school, trying to come to some agreement on how to tackle the complaints in a manner that won't bring legal injunctions.

We opened a J&J products "shop" at work this week, so the products will now be easier to acquire and I have a few for C to bring back. I've been helping out at the check-out as we don't yet have a scanning system in place. Yesterday morning I had to be in for 7.30 - 8.30am, and I have to go in again this evening at 7.30 - 8.30pm. All shifts will then have been covered so the person who is running the shop can do the rest on her own, I hope. I've done my bit, anyway.

Now I'm going to do the ironing.

Ian's home, and there are no walls on our shower

Weekends are supposed to be restful. This has not been a restful weekend. As I type I hear bangings upstairs. b has spent most of the weekend working on the shower, with me helping out every now and again. I had a good session of removing plaster off the wall earlier, using a hammer and scraper, and my fingers and wrists are not feeling too good as a result. I think they will be swollen by tomorrow.

I should probably take a photo of what the area looks like, but it is too depressing. However, the good news is that the shower is the source of the musty smell we have been putting up with for some time. We're wearing masks while we work in there as we've released a lot of little microbes from behind the walls so the smell is much worse at the moment. It looks as if it will be a few days before we get back to normal following this. It will all look very different when complete.

I went to Aldi today to get a bargain. It is a leather chair to replace the one I have that is broken. Of course, it came in a box so I had to make it up. I think I've done it OK, though, and it is very comfortable to sit on. It is higher than the last one, and has cushioned arms.



Ian arrived home this afternoon, looking a bit on the tired side. He was the youngest of the group in Norway, but this doesn't seem to have phased him. I've learnt a bit about the week so far, but will learn more over time. I'll try to persuade him to blog about it.

Happy 30th to us

Today is our 30th wedding anniversary. We celebrated it by having breakfast in the Wild Onion after our trip to the market. We also bought a pair of shoes each. None of these things had anything to do with our anniversary!

b is currently de-constructing our shower. There is a musty smell in our bedroom and we have concluded that the tiles in the shower are leaking somewhere. The only solution is to remove them all and start again. We've bought all the stuff, and the fun part is currently trying to get the current ones off the wall. They are taking the inside wall with them as they come off, so much cursing and swearing is happening. My job will be to do all the "delicate" stuff once the hacking is finished, to get the walls ready for re-applying tiles. In fact we will be applying a tiling substitue in the form of a large sheet that looks like tiles.

The rain has continued on and off for most of the day. I got wet bringing the dogs for their walk, but had anticipated the shower so wasn't too far away when it happened. It seems like it has been a lot worse in Dublin and places east and the N7 (Dublin to Limerick road) was blocked by floods for a while. Cars were asked to leave the road on the Naas to Dublin stretch. I've also heard that a train was knocked slightly off its rails at Portarlington due to a landslide. This may mean Ian will have problems getting home from Norway tomorrow by train.

I spoke briefly to Ian last night, having loaded his phone with money so he could receive the call. He was in the middle of an epistle-writing session, so I left him to it. The trolls don't appear to have taken him away, though

The rain, it raineth

Just on schedule for the weekend, the rain has started. It would have been lovely to have a peaceful weekend on the boat, but I don't have the appetite for a wet one. If it clears up well tomorrow, we may go to it, but the forecast is not good.

Even though my working week was short this week, having returned to work on Tuesday, it felt long. Holidays already seem to have been a long time ago. However, we might yet get a sunny spell in September and we'll make the best of that.

The exciting prospect for us, if we don't go to the boat, is to deconstruct the tiling in our shower. There is a damp and musty smell in our bedroom and we feel it may be that the shower is producing damp somewhere, beyond the normal steam the working of a shower emits. If we do it, we need to complete the job as we like using the shower.

Goldie is bouncing around the place. He had an anabolic steroid injection and it seems to have given him a newish lease of life. The Olympics are out for this year, though. b has been bringing him for walks on grass so that he doesn't hurt his paw, which he drags so that his nails have worn back to the nerve. The vet has ordered a bootie for him and we'll use that for walks once we get it.

Ian is in Norway and seems to have been swallowed by trolls. I managed to talk to him for a couple of seconds before his phone went dead. It is out of credit, but the credit doesn't seem to be loading up so that we can ring him again. Hopefully the trolls will let him go by Sunday, when he is due to get the plane home.

That's all for now.

Holidays over for another year

I have a reader! Hi, Sam - I hope you are having a good rest and are recuperating from the two years of hectic SU work and a year of living with C and Andy.

They say it has been raining over the last couple of weeks, but don't believe them. That rumour is put about by people who have been sitting inside looking out, and they ignored the sun they saw. We used our gazebo while on the boat, but only used it to keep rain off a couple of times. We all got a bit of colour, though we're a bit ashamed of C's half-arm tan....

Ian has gone off to Norway and should have arrived there about now. I drove him to Dublin this morning, encountering major floods in small regions of Dublin. Maybe it did rain yesterday up there, or overnight, or something.

Poor Goldie has a very sore paw so we have to bring him to a vet tomorrow. C and Andy have bandaged up the paw and he hasn't even tried to take the bandage off, so it must be very sore. He has been dragging his paw and this has resulted in him wearing away the ends of his nails. I'm not sure what can be done to ensure it doesn't happen again, but no doubt the vet will have ideas.

We'll have to find recipes for using up tomatoes soon. Lots of red ones greeted us on our return from holidays. I've a feeling we'll never want to see another tomato again in a while. There are even some yellow ones, which are slightly sharper in taste. I'm not going back to work until Tuesday and I'm going to have to do some gardening tomorrow. Weeds have grown ten times as fast as everything else while we've been away and I'd hate the neighbours to think that we are messy!

Anyway, the change has been good over the last couple of weeks. It was also lovely to have all the family on the holiday, and the boat working well. Let's hope we get a few more weekends on it before the season ends.

Worried about tomatoes

My tomoatoes are producing lots of little round (and, in some cases, oval) things and I'm looking forward to the day when they start to go red. I've spent a lot of time this weekend tying the vines to stakes so that the heavy tomatoes are held up and don't make the main stem collapse. I'm worried, though, that the leaves of some tomatoes are not as green as they ought to be and some have shrivelled and dried up. From my reading that means:
1. They have been watered too much and have too few nutrients, or
2. They have been watered too little and have too many nutrients.
Hmm - I really am not sure which it is. I have watered them a lot, but when I don't they can shrivel within a day, so I need to keep doing it. I have now rigged up some shelter on the greenhouse so that they aren't getting direct sunlight all day. I'll keep on talking to them and hope they respond. I'm encourage, though, by the fact that you are supposed to reduce the watering once the fruit is well set, and this coincides with holidays when I won't be able to water them anyway.

You should see my cucumbers, though - they just keep on coming!

I spent the rest of today getting ready for holidays. The front room has bedding, cutlery, plates and all sorts of things that we need for the boat. All we need now is for the boat to be ready, but that is looking reasonably good. B went up to visit yesterday and witnessed the engine starting on the first attempt - mind you, they were about to service it and that could cause problems that weren't there before!

Only 5 working days to holidays......

It's been a while

It's been a while since I blogged, and I probably won't get back to it properly until the autumn. With C at home last week, and due to come home again in 2 weeks, she will probably be fed up with news. It would be scary if Ian needed to read a blog to get the news, though he'll claim we never tell him anything!

The exciting news is that the new barbecue arrived on Thursday. We used it yesterday evening and enjoyed its products. It is definitely a superior barbie to any we have used before and I can see us getting great use out of it over many years. Its portability is great to use. b is going to see if he can get more items to "match" it as he will be near Woodies today.

I'm a bit scared about what is going to happen to my tomatoes and cucumbers while we're on holidays as there is no obvious person who could water them. Maybe we'll drop home and pick a few veggies while we're here every few days. The weather still isn't looking great for our holidays, but we'll still enjoy them.

I'd better go and do all the things I have to get done today - holidays take a lot of organising, you know!

Ian in hospital

I'm off to Dublin tomorrow to extract Ian from his hospital tests. So far he seems to have had lots of visits from consultants and dieticians and the main aim now is to get him to gain 1 pound a week in weight. To do that he has to consume 1,000 extra calories per day. These will be given to him by a liquid that is more digestable than the milk-shake like substance he was trying to us in the last few weeks. The general concensus is that he will gradually get better. If he isn't considerably improved by September the main consultant will do something further.

So, another week is nearly gone by. Summer has gone away and I'm tempted to put on the central heating. With any luck it will come back by the time we go on holidays as I really need to have a bit of warmth as well as relaxation.

I've just eaten a lovely mixed salad - lettuces of various kinds, rocket, nasturtium flowers, eggs, onions, walnuts, salami, tomatoes (not mine yet), anchovies, wild garlic dressing. Now I am going to head to watch Wimbledon on TV and read the Limerick Leader and Irish Times.

Saturday

Woke up 7.20am; got myself a cup of coffee while letting dogs out; went back up to bed and read "Which?"; dressed; dug up potato plants that have planted themselves and replaced them with seedling broccoli plants; talked to tomatoes (they're doing well, but they do need some talking to every day!); opened windows in greenhouse; ate some muesli; did bits and pieces.

10am-ish went shopping; first bought Grauniad in Lees; then disposed of bottles in nearby bottle-bank in new housing estate; Lidl was next, to buy air pumps they had on special offer; Superquinn and health food shop were fairly quick to get through; realised I'd forgotten to buy tickets for The Panel in University Concert Hall so went back there, to find that the ticket office wasn't open; then home at about 11.45. No sign of Szymon, who had promised to be there to sand and varnish the front door at 10am, but he turned up at about 1 o'clock, just as we were about to ring him to give out.

Ian and I walked the dogs at some stage. I had spent some time cutting Goldie's hair beforehand so he looked very neat as he walked along. I picked elderflowers and have made some cordial with them. It has to sit for 24 hours so I don't know how it will turn out yet.

It's been a very warm day, making me feel nice and lazy. Ian is heading into town soon to have a meal with Clare and Rion in Luigi Malones. Clare is off to Oz next week so it is her au revoir meal. b is preparing a salady meal for us with salad freshly picked from the garden. I'm managing to get something out of it every day, even though some days it is just a bit of parsley.

Rhododendrons

Photos

If you click on the flowers to the right it should bring you to the rest of the house and garden photos, but you may have to endure other photos as well as I can't work how to link only to the ones I want to show yet.

Watch this space

Later in the day I intend to put up photos of my greenhouse and my growing garden. We have a salad glut at the moment so I'm trying to persuade b that we should eat salads every day. I still have very high hopes for my tomatoes. I've had to move some of them out of the greenhouse as there isn't enough space for them all, and some prefer to grow outdoors.

Yesterday b and I went to Youghal and took a boat trip up the River Blackwater. The trip normally only goes about 45 minutes up the river and then returns. b, however, persuaded him to go the full navigable length so we were on the boat for over 4 hours. He wanted to take photos of quaysides and anything that would be useful for his book. It's an unusual waterway as there are quite a number of huge old houses and castles along it, mostly still actively occupied. The finest is at the end, Lismore Castle, but we couldn't quite reach it in the boat. The houses are currently occupied by either multi-millionaire Irish people, or foreigners who have invested in a pad in Ireland. The river is very wide and ideal for occupations such as waterskiing - there were some people doing this, though generally it was deserted.

The day had started beautifully sunny and we enjoyed the journey to Youghal via the Vee Gap. Rhododendrons were in flower everywhere, with great purple swathes. I'll post a photo of them too.

Ian stayed at home as he was due to go to see a film, but Clare wasn't able to go as she had to feed her siblings. He walked the dogs, and it was strange to have a day where we didn't have to mind the dogs at every turn.

Talking of dogs, Goldie has got very stiff. He finds it hard to get up the steps on the way back home via the Castle Oaks and has to take it very slowly. He still loves his walks, though, and barks crazily to remind us to bring him.

More, in photos, later....

Toronto and environs

I've spent the last 2 days being brought around Toronto and surrounding areas. I started to say that I had been exploring the area but that wouldn't be correct. Exploring would imply that I was in control and doing what I wanted to do, but this wasn't the case. However, it was good to see what I was shown.

On Sunday a colleague who lives in Toronto brought 2 of us to see around the city. It is a clean place, and there is an unusual mix of high buildings and ordinary-sized ones. Our hotel is located near the university. It has buildings that seem to be modelled on Oxford and Cambridge, which makes the area look very English. Opposite our hotel is a museum that has what Prince Charles would call a carbuncle sticking out of it. The building is old and this sticky-out metallic structure has been built onto it. It is actually quite nice, though it wouldn't have got planning permission in Ireland.

We also saw:
- the CNN tower, from below
- the Distillery area, which is an area that presumably used to be a distillery and is now occupied by craft type enterprises, but has retained cobbled streets around the red brick buildings
- an area called Beach, which is near the Lake Ontario waterfront and has nice lake walks. One woman was walking 6 well-behaved dogs there, and they weren't getting mixed up in their leads. She said that 3 were her dogs, and she was "dog-sitting" for the other three.
- the harbour-front in Toronto city, seeing some nice boats, though not as many as I would have expected to see. A short visit to the Tilley shop was nice, but my colleagues weren't too interested so I felt I couldn't explore it fully.
- China town. This is an amazing area of small shops and there were loads of hippy type people as well as Chinese buying from fruit and other stalls.
- and, we finished at a jazz session in a small pub, with a pleasant jazz group playing Django Reinhardt music.
On return to the hotel at about 6pm we were too tired to go out to eat a meal, so stayed in for one. I was asleep by about 8.30pm.

Yesterday I went with a UK colleague to Niagara Falls. We went on a tour bus. A lot of time was spent travelling, though it was the first time I had done the touristy type of things when visiting Niagara, so was quite interesting. The highlight was the trip on a boat right up to the base of the falls. We were kitted out in plastic macs as it was very wet! The power of the water is amazing, and it wasn't possible to see all of the top of the falls due to the amount of misty spray.

Today meetings start so I don't think I'll get to do the shopping in Tilley's that I would like to have done. However, you never know - maybe if I can escape this evening.....

Since then...

We've been to Wales and had a lovely weekend, C has been offered a job in the Civil Service fast stream, and now I'm off to Toronto tomorrow. I'm sad to be missing a nice long weekend at home but will make the most of it by using the free day before business starts to explore Toronto. We might even get to Niagara Falls on Monday as one of my HR colleagues is keen to go there.

I know it is hard to believe but this week I have been home every evening - no committees or other commitments, just a nice trip home to b and I. The weather hasn't been superb so I haven't made great use of the evenings, except for watching Heroes yesterday! I came home promptly today and did some gardening. The men of the house are under instruction to water plants and to pick up the dogs' unmentionables while I'm away. I must take photos of the greenhouse and post them here. I've managed to grow lots of seeds successfully and hope to have almost too many plants to set out. Today I planted out runner beans that had grown nicely in the warmth. Tomatoes are doing well, though I'll keep them in the greenhouse to ensure a good crop.

Other seeds that are growing in the greenhouse include leeks, broccoli (there is a great crop of purple sprouting broccoli to eat from last year's sowing at the moment), lettuce, peas, sweet corn, courgettes, herbs.

b is off exploring canals with various people who have travelled down in their barges to Limerick today. We'll probably go out for a meal when he gets home.

That's it for now.

First Limerick Monthly Meeting since 1957

Today approximately 30 people attended Limerick Meeting and we reinstated Limerick Monthly Meeting, which last met in 1957. Most of the people there today are closely involved with Limerick, though there was 1 person from Clifden, 1 from Dublin and 2 from Waterford. When we moved to Limerick nearly 21 years ago a small group used to meet once a month in someone's house. It's great to see the interest come back gradually since then. We are now in our new Meeting House for 11 years - doesn't time fly?

C is on her way to Londinium to visit the Cabinet Office. It's very exciting. Even if she doesn't get selected to a position she'll get a chance to see inside buildings she may never get a chance to see otherwise. I hope they realise that this is their one and only chance to get a superb employee, a chance they would be crazy to miss.

Wales here we come....

This time next week we'll be in Wales. We're going there to buy towels. Well, that is what Ian and I decided this morning when we couldn't get any decent ones in Limerick. Incidentally, while we are there, we'll visit C and friends.

Ian has decided that his soft skin doesn't like the hard towels his parents insist on having in the house. He apparently had some nice ones once, but someone living in Wales took them with her. Hmm, maybe that means there aren't nice ones to be bought in Wales.

Broad beans, scarlet runners, lettuce, spinach and beetroot are all planted out in the cold garden now. The cold weather may mean that some never get out of their seeds, and those planted as seedlings will have to struggle to survive. My back-up plan, though, is to continue to grow seedlings in the greenhouse. At the moment I'm struggling to find enough pots in which to grow my tomato plants. Just wait until the ones that are still too small to re-pot need something big. Then I'll have a trifid house. It's all very exciting.

Still no boating - but there is some progress on getting people to do the work that was due to be done over the winter period. It is possible that we will be able to use it by the end of May. We might even manage to get a holiday on it in June, if we are very lucky.

A busy week over

It is a nice peaceful Sunday and so far I have bumbled about in the garden sowing seeds, cutting the neighbour's tree and doing my favourite weekly "dog" task. I also brought the dogs for a walk down to the river before it got too busy with Sunday walkers. It's sunny still, but every now and again a cloud looms up and I suspect that we will have rain later in the day.

Yesterday's School Committee went well, and was finished by 4.15pm. b drove down, and Ian came too, so it was an outing for all. I had been to Waterford twice already this week so it was nice to be driven. On the way home we stopped to eat in "The Thatch" at Grannagh. The owner chatted to us and it transpires that he is a Newtown parent. They're all over the place!

The next few weekends will be busy too. Next Sunday is the first meeting of Limerick Monthly Meeting for over 50 years so that will mean a shared lunch and such like. The following week we head to Wales (yippee, at last) and then the weekend after that I have to go to Toronto. On my return home there is the Special Olympics weekend hosted by Vistakon so I will help at that on the Sunday. Hopefully our boat will be ready in time for the following weekend so that we can relax and enjoy it.

Happy birthday to b

Well, it's really exciting to know that it is b's birthday. He hasn't received any presents from any of us (well, Ian has just come back with some jelly babies from the shop for him), but we all told him to have a happy day and then sent him off in the hailstones to walk the dogs. We're kind like that.

I've been cleaning the house today. Ian picked up all the stuff from the floor of his bedroom and I thus managed to hoover the floor. I also went around with a cloth to surfaces that didn't know what a cloth looks like until today. Poor cloth - it is a bit on the black side.

We didn't get the threatened bad weather, except for a couple of small hail showers, but it may be cold tonight and tomorrow. I'm hoping my greenhouse will look after my seeds, and have covered some of them with the green cloth thing that wrapped our
Easter eggs, for extra protection. I planted a blueberry bush yesterday but think it might be hardy enough to endure a cold spell.

The Polish painter came, as promised. He rang to say it would be 6pm before he came, and so it was. He will get back to me with a quotation later in the week. He has a day job, it seems, so this would be done in the evenings and at weekends.

I'll sign off now until next Sunday at the earliest. Committee meetings will dominate this week, but they'll be over by Saturday evening so I'll be able to relax.

John is a window cleaner

I was obviously in optimistic mood last night. John doesn't cut grass or clean ovens, but he lives up the road in Letty's house and has a van that says he cleans windows. He is going to clean our windows on Wednesday.

Also, the man who made our gate is going to make another one, this time for the side entrance to replace the wooden one that Goldie has attempted to chew apart. He broke his foot 2 months ago, but is now better, so can do his nixers again.

I also got a recommendation on a Polish painter who I rang today to ask for a quotation for painting the outside of the house. He said he'd call at 4pm tomorrow. That makes a change from the normal guys, who promise to turn up if they get a chance 4 weeks later, and then have to be reminded and may never come. I have a feeling this guy will keep his promise.

Ian and I went up to Kilgarvan and cut lots of grass this morning. It was nice and sunny, though the grass was wet. The daffodils are lovely there at the moment. We didn't bring any home, though, as they are fully out so wouldn't last more than a day if we picked them. Ian used the new ride-on mower, and was a dab hand at it. He managed to get pretty close to trees and edges so that I didn't have too much to do with the push mower. We finished at about the same time and were home for a late lunch.

I also cleaned the oven this morning. That means the two tasks I had set myself for the weekend are complete. Now all I have to do are the routine ones, in theory. However, I've done a big chopping of the vegetation on the pergola and then planted lots of things in the greenhouse. I don't think these things are routine, but they do need doing. I suppose I'd better do things like washing and ironing and hoovering and yucky stuff tomorrow.

Of course, tomorrow is b's birthday. I suspect we'll celebrate it in the normal way that we celebrate....

There is a job vacancy...

... on RecruitIreland at http://www.recruitireland.com/job/?jobID=10012942. It could be of interest to the nation.

Apart from that, life is as normal. Next week is committee week, so numerous trips to Newtown are called for. However, this weekend is free. I may need to cut the grass as Kilgarvan, but a note on the fridge saying "John will do them next week" may suggest that whoever John is may do one of the tasks I have listed for the weekend. This could be:
a) Clean oven
or
b) Grass at Kilgarvan.
I must ask b what he means by the message.

Tootle pip.

Easter Monday

It's just after 4pm and the rain has set in for the afternoon. I managed to finish the gardening I was doing out the front before it started and was glad of an excuse to come in and rest my weary bones. It's amazing how much work there can be to do in a small garden. Both front and back gardens are now fairly tidy. The veg garden is ready for seeds once the better weather comes, but the front garden could do with some plants that keep the weeds in check, and I'm not sure what to put there. I'm not really interested in the front garden so don't pay it much attention. That means it is harder work when I do decide it needs tidying.

I've done the ironing too, so I'm going to spend the rest of the day relaxing. b has gone off to join Neil Arlidge and gang on their journey in to Dublin. He will leave the car at Hazelhatch and meet them before they go on an early morning start tomorrow.

Right - off to relax...

Nearly a week later

Happy Easter to all. I'm afraid that Easter to me means a nice long weekend, enabling a bit more catch-up time for the tired body.

My greenhouse arrived on Tuesday, and Ian and Brian helped a French guy to put it up. It is situated between the boiler shed and the oil tank, with the door facing in towards the back door of the house. This means that it is easy to get to from the house and gets remarkably good sun most of the day. It is quite large for the size of our garden - 6 x 10ft. It will enable me to grow things and to use it for drying washing on a rack on rainy days.

Yesterday I put together the remaining parts of the climbing frame for use as shelving in the greenhouse, making it colourful inside. The poles of the climbing frame are red and the flat parts are yellow, blue and black.

I spent most of yesterday afternoon in the garden, and felt the better for it. I had cut down a lot of vegetation the previous weekend and it was lying in heaps all over the place. It has been dry for the last week so I had a good bonfire. All that remains of the vegetation is ashes and a few sticks that missed the middle of the fire.

Today I will sow some seeds prepared by my mother and labelled by Carolan (I recognise the writing!). The tomato plants are already looking happy in the greenhouse, so these will join them. I'm hoping to acquire more goodies to plant at Yearly Meeting next week, as there are always good things available there.

Ian came into town with me yesterday briefly. He wasn't in good shape, but survived sitting in the car while it was jacked up and had all its tyres changed. Rob had done some work for a tyre place and they couldn't afford to pay him, so he negotiated a set of tyres for my car. That was nice, so my car looks very posh and safe now. The guy seemed to be very grateful to Rob for what he had done for him.

Ian bought a book on designing web pages. It is a serious book, so he is being ambitious about learning how to do it properly from a technical perspective.

It was great to see Carolan during the week, even if only briefly. She met my colleagues from the other J&J companies during a meal at Fitzers. I bet she is currently exhausted as she helps to run JYM.

b is off to Killaloe market this morning. The dogs are currently resting in anticipation of the good run they will have once he has been to the market! Leavy has learnt to stop pulling very quickly with her new lead, but yesteray managed to break it, so I'll try to mend it today.

Happy St Patrick's Day

It's nearly a month since I last blogged and I probably have lots to catch up on. However, since Ian is now at home and Carolan has visited twice in that time, they should be well up to date so I'll stick with current happenings.

It's great to have a day off today, and another one next Monday. As it is too early in the year to go to the boat I'm taking the opportunity to tidy up the garden. The exciting news is that my greenhouse arrives tomorrow. Ian and Brian will have to spend the day helping "the man" to put it up, so I'm hoping to come home to something very fancy.

Last night B and I attended a Slow Food meal in Country Choice and one of our friends there gave me some tomato plants. That will be the first thing to go in the greenhouse, even though these ones have to go outside later in the year.

As usual, the Slow Food event was very enjoyable. We were seated opposite an American couple who have lived in Spain since the 1970s. They were celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary and her 60th birthday. He is a food writer, and friend of the American food writer who helps to organise the event, so had his notebook out for the evening. They were good company.

The main meat dish of the day was burgers from Ladybird. It does seem strange to be eating burgers at an event like this, but these were definetly special, as we have experienced many times before when we have bought them. The pavlova for dessert had the most perfectly soft base I've ever come across, with the tiny hint of crispiness on the outside. It was made by Anne Byrne of Brocka-on-the-Water, and we need to find our her secret!

I'm off to do some gardening now, but may blog again later.

A weird week

Work has been very busy, with update meetings for shifts and others going on all week, a fairly stressful process. On Wednesday Ian made the decision to come home, and he is currently trying to get a flight out of Ghana. This is a protracted process.

The death of a long-term attender of Limerick Meeting, Aidan Power, happened this week. The funeral was today at the Meeting House. What a sad occasion. His large family has had a string of misfortunes and deaths in recent years, and this adds to the pattern. We will miss his quiet presence in Meeting.

C is home for the weekend and she and b went to the market this morning. Our fridge and freezer are now full!

Lovely day

What a lovely day. I've been outside, gardening. By gardening, I mean having a bonfire and turning the compost heap. The vegetable garden is looking quite neat and ready for the new season. I've also moved some of our garden "furniture" (the big shelf contraption) that was on the tarmac to make space for a greenhouse. I've still to buy a greenhouse, but I think that is the best place to put it when I do.

Daffodils and an anchor

It must be nearly March as there are daffodils in the market. We bought some bunches and will keep them in a cold place so that they are just right when C comes home next weekend. I love daffodils. Yellow flowers really make me feel summer must be around the corner. Gorse bushes flower soon too, and they are a lovely sight.

I've no plans for this weekend. That's odd, as I normally know what I want to achieve, even if it is only some cleaning or work at home. I think, though, that it must be because I feel particularly tired and need to do nothing. Eek, how do I do that??

Yesterday evening I went to Pauline's house to get a massage. My left shoulder has been very tensed up for some time and I thought it would be a good idea to go to her as she does massages on an occasional basis. I feel good after it and probably need to go again as my muscles are very tensed up and need a couple of sessions to fix them. She uses a lovely combination of oils as she massages so my skin feels lovely.

This is the salary and bonus time of the year. For me that means a lot of work. We also did a review of pay and I have to feed the information back to everyone. This means I have to attend lots of meetings, some of them in the late evening. I'll be glad when March comes as it has to be over by then.

I've nearly finished knitting the slipover I got wool for a few weeks ago. It is nice to have something to knit when in front of the television, but it hasn't been very fast to knit as I'm rarely sitting in front of the tv.

Ian will be home on 29th March, the weekend of Yearly Meeting. He's at the half way stage now, and it has passed quite quickly, though his illness is upsetting. I've been looking up the information on Mole park, where he will be visiting the first week of March. It looks as if it will be a fascinating trip. Remember to bring covered shoes, though, as they make you wear rubber boots if you only have sandals with you - and that sounds awful in that climate!

b had an exciting find during the week. He was chatting with a person in O'Brien's Bridge about the contents of his book and discovered that a diver had recently brought up what looked like an anchor. b suspects that it was part of a marker used during navigable times, and finds that the top is made of wood that is very old. The National Museum has expressed an interest in it and said to put it back in the water to preserve the wood until a further examination is made



The anchor isn't of any value other than as a piece of waterways history, so it isn't of great interest to a museum, but it is exciting to seem to have found something b had just been researching.

80 years a-growing

We're back from the Gran 80th birthday party, held in Finsstown Country House Hotel. Finsstown House is very impressive to drive up to, and is everything the word "country" evokes in this context - old but well furnished, lots of carpets, warm fires, big rooms. The food was mediocre, though, and the room we were in was less impressive than the main public areas. However, it went off well and all the rellies were happy. It is amazing, though, how people age differently. The room was a study in that.

We also visited Rockspring and found everyone reasonably content. My father switches off every now and again as conversations must be difficult to follow when you can't follow the people. He can see shapes all around him so was able to see that a black moving object, for instance, was at the patio door and wanted to come in. At a wild guess, of course, that was Leavy! The dogs had a great run around the garden, overwhelming Maxie somewhat.

The broccoli is going purple!

We now have purple flowering broccoli in the garden. It's very exciting. We might even have enough to eat a meal soon!

I decided to get rid of bottles this morning, at the same time as buying muesli in the health food shop. I headed off to do this and disposed of the bottles. However, it appears that most shops don't open until 9.30 or 10am in the Castletroy shopping centre. Having finished my shopping in Superquinn before 9.30am I sat on a bench and read the newspaper until the health food shop opened. I had been thinking of looking for a "frock" in the clothes shops there, but none were open by 9.45 so I decided to head home. I still owe money to Letty for the injections given to Ian so headed that direction to pay her. But, you've guessed it, she wasn't open either!

Anyway, later this morning we will head to Dublin and visit Rockspring prior to Gran's 80th birthday bash. b wants to visit the grave of Arthur Guinness as well - let's hope it is a good place to give the dogs a run.

Labour law and TV cables

I've just returned from a CIPD meeting on employment law. There was a good attendance and all went well. Last year was one of much new stuff (could this be something to do with the fact that there was an election?), but this year looks like it will be a lot quieter.

Yesterday a dog who shall remain nameless (as I have no absolute proof that it was her) chewed through the cable connecting the TV to the satellite box. I didn't think any dog could get in behind the table, but I was obviously wrong. Now I don't have any free-to-view TV and will have to think about how to mend the cable. I can probably just reduce its length, but a new end thingy will have to be put onto it. Seems like something to be done at the weekend.

Today is the big birthday day. Rob is a bit depressed at reaching the half century. Kate is thrilled to reach 15. When you add the two figures in Grandpa's birthday together and subtract 1, you reach Kate's age. Grandpa is 88. He spent most of the day having his eye checked. It is apparently in good shape for having the cataract operation done. They have to measure it for a new lens before the operation, but the swelling hasn't yet gone down enough since his last operation.

Tomorrow I go to Cork for the day for a meeting. B will head to Shannon airport to collect Kayla and friend, and may bring them to the Cliffs of Moher for the day. He is a saint!

View to church roof in snow

View to church roof in snow,
originally uploaded by Anne's amateur efforts.

It's a bit snowy today, and this is a view of the back garden. There was a heavy snowfall that lasted about half an hour, but the snow will probably melt soon as it is 4 degrees outside.

It's been a busy week

All of us seem to have been busy this week - why does everything happen at the same time? If it was just work that was busy, or just one of my other interests - but no, all together.

Yesterday was Newtown committee day. It was an interesting meeting, with us still trying to come to terms with the need to decide on the planned size of the school. Do we remain with 350 pupils, or try to cater for all demand by moving to 450 pupils? This would allow for 3 streams of classes instead of the current two.

Lots of people were asking after C and I. If I'd know Ian was lying low and not having a friendly relationship with the inside of his stomach I might have been less enthusiastic about how he is getting on. However, I know he'll get over it, but also that it will take the best part of a week before he is back to full energy levels.

Next week I have to chair a CIPD meeting on Tuesday evening, on the subject of employment law. On Wednesday I'll be in Cork all day for a J&J meeting, returning home to Kayla and friend, who B will have had to entertain for the day. On Saturday there is a dinner for Gran for her 80th, so we'll drop in to see Granny and Grandpa.

New kitchen units are being put into Kilgarvan this week, so it will be more comfortable on on the cooking and washing up front. 5th February (Tuesday) is 3-generation birthdays day, with Rob reaching 50.

Grandpa's good news

It seems that the operation on Grandpa's eye accelerated the development of his cataract in that eye and that is why he can't see. He'll have to wait until the end of next month, but they will then remove the cataract and he will then have his sight back again. He is in good form and willing to wait if it means such a good result.

We had a lovely walk along the banks of the Park canal and the river Shannon leading up to University of Limerick on Sunday. It was sunny and ideal for taking photos. Large numbers of Sunday walkers were out, with no sign of any students at the university end. I think they may have been on holidays still.

Yesterday I managed to get through my talk to Newtown Association, and it seems to have been well received. It is a great reminder of the need to communicate. Things I have been intimately involved with have not been shared at all with parents. I assumed that parent representatives were communicating some of it, and that committee members would discuss the developments we are discussing with those near to them, and that the news would spread. It was scary to find the lack of knowledge, and encouraging to find openness to it all.

This evening I am very tired. Tomorrow I have to go into work early to hand out iPod Nanos to everyone on shift. What fun!

Vegetable gardening

My veg garden is now empty except for broccoli plants, which will eventually produce the broccoli florets that we eat. A large heap of raspberry canes and other stuff for a bonfire sits in the middle of the garden awaiting a dry spell so that it can actually catch fire if I light it. The compost heap is working away at the end of the garden and probably needs to be turned over into its sister pen for further decomposing. Then I need to consider what to plant for next year.

Rocket was great last year, though it was difficult to grow. It seems to come into its own in the autumn and winter. Raspberries provided a great crop in the autumn, in just the right portion sizes to be able to enjoy them fresh. I planted lots of beetroot last year, and enjoyed the output, but I'll plant less this year. I didn't get best value from the spinach as it arrived at the wrong time for eating it. There wasn't enough of beans and peas, so I'll plant more of them this year. I always like the small number of sweet corn we get out of the space I allocate for them. I can't justify growing more, as they take up a lot of space, but I will grow the same amount again. Runner beans were good too, but planted a bit late. Leeks were mainly used for soup and came at a time when they are fairly easy to get, so I'll consider their value. I grew potatoes in small quantities as I was given them by Seed Savers, but they aren't worth it in the space I have, and they tend to keep on spreading. Courgettes grew in great quantity and so I used them when they were small, which is the best way to taste them.

Virtuous

It's 6.30pm and this is the first moment today when I've relaxed. It's Saturday, folks, so I should have been having a day of relaxation, in case you don't remember. This morning I went into work for our recruitment open day. 230 people visited, up considerably on the number who came to see us for a similar event in the autumn. The economy isn't as good as it was, and we are one of the few companies expanding, so maybe we are beginning to be recognised for that.

I took on the task of talking to everyone about Vistakon, the products we make, how we make them, and the jobs they could come to, as well as the benefits available when working for us. I think I convinced myself to work there! I had to do this talk about 6 times so was pretty tired by the time I was finished. After that, I did a bit of work before heading home at about 3.30pm.

I was, of course, trying to put off the inevitable. I have to put together my script for talking to parents on Monday night at Newtown. I discovered newspapers and all sorts of goodies to distract me at home but decided that I wouldn't reward myself until I had forced myself to make good headway into what I am going to say. Hallelujah - it worked, and I now have something that even b thinks is reasonably respectable. I'll work further on it tomorrow, but it doesn't require a huge deal of further thinking. So, I'm now going to relax for the remaining hours of the day.

It would, of course, be nice to read family blogs, but noone has blogged. I am on my own as a lonesome blogger responding to a non-blogging family. That is my fate, I can see! However, hope springs eternal.

Tomorrow b and I are going to go on a walk up the Park Canal and towing path to the University of Limerick, having left one car at each end. This should be invigorating and energising, and all sorts of good things. The dogs will love it too. b wants to measure some kind of harbour for his research so we have to bring a length of string to do this. He also tells me we have to bring the good camera. Let's hope the weather remains dry, as it is today.

Kayla and a friend are coming to visit us the week after next for a couple of days. She is daughter of Leslie, who in turn is sister of Patty. Kayla is attending Colby College in Maine, but is spending a semester in London so is taking the opportunity to visit various parts of Europe, including us. I won't be around much as the visit is mid-week, so b is having to do the honours. They will leave us to go to Cork, and then on to Dublin to stay with someone in Rockspring direction.

There are great cooking smells here. I wonder will they produce today's meal or are they for putting into the freezer. I'm going to get myself a glass of wine to ready myself for whatever comes my way.

Grandpa's progress

I spoke to my father this evening. He sounds cheerful, though frustrated. His sight is no better than it was. He says there seems to be liquid on his eye - if he moves his head to the side he sees a line moving, and if he shakes his head he sees a wave. It is as if the line is the top of a layer of liquid. He was hoping to see the consultant again tomorrow, but the appointment is now for Monday so he has the weekend to get through before he asks about the liquid.

On Saturday he has been invited to a lunchtime birthday party of a school-friend whose company he enjoys, so that will give him and Granny a focus for the day.

Committees all around

I've just come home from a CIPD committee meeting. It might be the last one this year as we've arranged everything that needs to be done for all the talks we are having for the rest of the year, so hopefully all I have to do is to turn up at them.

Yesterday evening I was at a meeting of Monaleen National School Board of Management. I was asked to be a community representative on this, and am doing my Vistakon duty on this one. It is likely to be quite interesting, but at least I don't have any responsibility other than to attend meetings.

Next week is Newtown week. On Monday I have to speak to Newtown Association. On Tuesday I have a Finance Committee meeting. (and, on Wednesday, I have to attend a quick meeting of Monaleen NS). On Saturday there is the main committee meeting. The following week I have to attend a Planning Committee meeting. Then that is out of the way for a while, I hope.

Work is busy too, and I may have to do a few rounds of meetings in the evening and weekends to communicate on some changes. Luckily, most weekends are fairly clear, so I'll rest up at them. Having said that, this weekend we have an open day for recruitment on Saturday morning. So, it's all GO!

Castleconnell in flood

I've put a link to photos of Castleconnell, showing both the village and the current high level of the river. I hope it works. I can't work out how Ian did his link to Flickr showing a small number of his photos, but I'll keep working on it.

Leavy isn't very good at knitting

Leavy doesn't seem to understand that you have to use the needles to knit. She thought that the idea was to take the stitches off the needles and unravel the wool. I'm not sure that she will ever learn, but I have learnt that it is best not to leave the knitting lying around for even a minute, as she has her eye on it! I spent a couple of hours last night just re-doing what she had undone.

CAO

In spite of Ian's definite decision to go to Bristol, I have put in a "just in case" application to the CAO. It's fun choosing courses when you know it doesn't matter! I chose:
1. International Development and Food Policy in UCC
2. International Relations in DCU
3. Management Science and Information Systems Studies in TCD.
The choice of courses doesn't matter, even if Ian did decide he wants to study in Ireland, as he can change his mind with the CAO form until July now that he has an application in.

I bought some wool in town today as my on-line purchase still hasn't arrived. I think I'll try to cancel it as there is no further update from them, and it was ordered on 6th January.

b is writing an article for Afloat, who gave him 2 days of notice that they want an article. He reckons he doesn't have news in the winter, so is using some of the research he has been doing to put together a historical news article.

The Saturday market still hasn't really woken up since Christmas, but stalls are gradually reappearing. There is a French guy from Tralee who is selling yummy patisseries, and there is a stall selling very nice pies. We bought from both today. The rain is contant, though, so town is very empty. There is a big rugby match later today and I don't think many are expected to attend as it is so miserable. This is unusual for Limerick

I took out all my minutes and other stuff about Newtown today, hoping that it will give me inspiration for my talk on a vision for the school. If anybody out there has ideas, let me know. Once I get started I'll probably be OK, but having to think about it isn't working for me at the moment.

Grandpa

Grandpa is now recovering from the eye operation. The doctor is happy that it went as well as could be expected, so now it is a matter of time until we know how successful it has been. The outcome is painful, so his eye is covered to ensure that he doesn't agitate it. I suppose you can't put a collar on a man, like you can on our dogs!! The general anaesthetic has laid him a bit low, and he was sick this morning, but he has now started to eat again and so Granny is optimistic that this will make all the difference. He will get out of hospital on Sunday, so I'll ring him on Sunday evening. Granny suggested leaving him to rest tomorrow, rather than visiting him.

The weekend has finally arrived. It's due to continue raining, which will encourage me to stay in and invent what I want to say to Newtown Association at their agm on Monday week. What is my "vision for Newtown", I wonder? I'll probably de-personalise it and talk about what School Committee has been doing to determine their vision.

I had my car serviced today. This was the first service in over a year, which is a great service interval. Next time it needs one may be when I'm selling it.

The rain this week means that the river level is exceptionally high, and everywhere is mucky. Even the non-carpeted living room and kitchen floors get very dirty every day from the fun the dogs have in the muck. Today Pippa's little cosy bed was retrieved from the flower bed and was extremely mucky. Goldie or Leavy must have decided it needed burying yesterday, as it went missing during the day. I must take photos of the river tomorrow, and insert them here.

Mid week missive

I can't believe it is only Wednesday as a lifetime seems to have past this week already. The FDA auditor has been in and kept everyone busy at work, and there has been a state of high alert all round. This evening he decided he had seen enough and would finish a day early, so he gave us a clean bill of health and went away. Much celebrations are going on everywhere!

Grandpa went into hospital for his op on his eye today, but I have no news yet as to how it has gone. My mother must be visiting him, and Rob and Jenny aren't answering their phones either. We probably won't know for a few days whether it has brought his sight back. He has to sit upright, and as still as possible, following the operation, so will be very tired by it.

Various negotiations are going on about what to do for Gran's 80th birthday. A meal is being organised, and hotels discussed. We await further instructions from b's sisters.

b is starting to work on seeing whether a location can be found for a barge harbour. I think about 10 people have expressed interest in finding somewhere, so he has started to coordinate explorations. I'll keep you posted on any developments.

The trouble with electricity

is that we rely on it when we are supposed to have it. We've just had a third power cut this evening. Two happened before I came home, and one just now. The first lasted about an hour, the second a few minutes, and the latest about 10 minutes. I was just starting to blog when it happened.

Goldie was the one trying to bite his way out of the garden today. b's defences worked, and he didn't succeed. Maybe he was the ringleader all along. Leavy explored leaping over into the veg garden again, but the rope holding the wire fence tight seems to have done the trick.

The FDA auditor arrived at work today. The place looks immaculate, and everyone is on high alert. So far, so good. He has got stuck into the work, though, and isn't missing anything.

Leavy just alerted us to the fact that there seemed to be someone at the door. I went out to it, not expecting anyone to be there, and locked it. b told me he was expecting the "gate" man to call so I went and looked again. And there he was, being very polite about the fact that I had just ignored him and left him out in the rain. I think he is going to give us a quote for a new side gate.

Shannon Sailing has made a hole under Ian's bed to look at our water tanks and has found huge tanks under there. When they emptied them the boat rose up about 8 inches (15 cms!). It looks like it will be impossible to line them with plastic at the front, though, so they are going to look at the back ones.

No news has come yet re Grandpa. I'll keep you posted as soon as I know any more.

Grandpa and Leavy

Grandpa's good eye bled on Tuesday evening, leaving him unable to see except with peripheral vision. He has an appointment on Monday at 4.30pm with someone who will try to remove the blood at the back of his eye. This is the only hope of getting his vision to return. Meanwhile, he can't read, watch TV, or do normal things like pour tea into a cup, as he can only see at the sides. The specialist put her hand out in front of his face and asked him how many fingers he could see. He could only see 3, being unable to see the middle 2.

When I spoke to Granny at lunchtime today she was much happier, having fought to get the appointment for Monday. It has to be done within a week of the bleed. They were about to head out into the garden to do a few things together as it was sunny and it gave something to keep Grandpa occupied. Ian - if you read this, please send him a postcard or letter as soon as possible.

Leavy is excelling herself. Today she managed to escape a few times, and it seems she has worked out a way of getting over the fence into the veg garden. From there she gets into the graveyard, and away. Guess what we'll be doing tomorrow.

Lush - my favourite

I finished the day yesterday with a bath with an "I've been mangoed" bath melt from Lush. It has to be my favourite! I felt really ready for a good sleep afterwards, and beautifully warm and smelling of mangoes.

The fire brigade arrived at work today. I think they were trying to remove the huge lake that had formed overnight in the car park. There must have been a lot of rain, or alternatively the car park sank. Anyway, cars could barely drive through the patch of it in front of the canteen.

It's nearly the end of the week. I'll be glad of the weekend!

Leavy

...has had one of those days. The floor was wet this morning, my leather chair has been chewed, the blue basin has been taken down from on high and chewed, curtains have been pulled down, the wind-up torch that was too high for her to reach has been damaged, and there are paw marks on the kitchen table. While she may not have been the culprit who actually did these things I suspect that she had a large role!

More rain happens

It is very stormy and miserable out - again. It felt good to be inside at work today as it was cold and wet. The people who insist on continuing to smoke now have to walk up the roadway and out onto the path, but the addiction is so strong that there are still quite a few doing that in spite of the weather. What amazes me is the fact that they don't bother with coats, umbrellas, or any protective clothing. Pneumonia will be the result.

New machines were put in for swiping into the company and went live yesterday. Within half an hour someone had managed to hurt themselves by bashing into the doors and ended up going for an x-ray. You can imagine what fun that was. Now there is huge hype about the unsafe doors. What happened is that the person swiped her card and then didn't walk into the opening. After it had started to close she decided to swipe again and walk in, at which stage the doors had started to close. They reopened, but she panicked and hurt herself. I tried to recreate what she had done, with no success. Anyway, lots of people have been working on it today and it has the full brains of the company working on fixing it.

b and Ian are speaking on Skpe. I've had to re-load money onto it as they are speaking for such a long time. It's very exciting to hear what Ian is up to. His blog was great, and he has promised to bring us beyond day 1 as soon as he can.

That's it for now.

The cooker is mended

The bloke came to fix the cooker element today and, this time, actually fixed it. That means we can grill waffles again...

I was in work at 7.45am today and suddenly it was 6pm. What did I do that was useful in between those two times? Hmm, maybe it's best not to ask questions like that in case I don't have a happy answer. Anyway, I'm home now (7.06pm) and ready for a nice meal, which smells like it is on its way.

I ordered some wool for knitting yesterday evening. That was a strange thing to do as I haven't done knitting for years. However, I decided I needed something to keep me occupied while I watch awful TV programmes, and also I need a slipover thingy to go over blouses as part of my work gear. I have no idea whether the wool will be good when I get it, or even if I have ordered the right amount. It is possible to buy a pattern on-line, but for some reason they don't let you see details such as how much wool you need to knit it, so I've had to guess. It will end up being sleeveless because I don't have wool, rather than because that is what I intended anyway. Or, it will end up having sleeves because I want to use up the wool.

Barack Obama wins Iowa

I forgot to say how exciting it is that Barack Obama won the Iowa primary so decisively. I'm listening to his victory speech on youtube and he is very impressive. It would be great to see such change in leadership.

Maybe Ian would like to go and help him in the US next summer?!!

A cold and miserable Sunday

It's cold and wet and I've turned the heating on for the afternoon. Even the dogs don't want to go out.

I went to Meeting this morning. There was Eoin, Hiram, Terry & Marian & kids, Joan, John G, Aidan, and various others - the speaking was on the topic of the epiphany, today being the feast of the Epiphany. I had a good chat with Eoin, and remembered to give him the voucher for Clare, so she is now trying to contact Ian. We still have to find an open post office for Andres's parcel, but it is wrapped, addressed and ready to go.

After Meeting I headed to work, the kind of saddo thing a parent does when there are no children in the house. I got some useful things done there in preparation for our FDA audit. b went to Killaloe market and got some goodies, as well as walking the dogs. I'm drinking some very nice soup he bought there, made by Mrs Rudd.

Gaybo has just started his Sunday afternoon programme on the radio. That makes it 4pm. I must go and do the ironing and then I will be finished with duties for the day.

They've all gone away

We said goodbye to Carolan today. She flew off to Liverpool, courtesy of Ryanair. The airport in Shannon was very busy when we got there, mainly due to Ryanair flights coming and going. Destinations on the outbound side that were checking in included Liverpool, London Gatwick and Paris.

We started the day with an early morning visit to the market to search for Indian herbs for C before she went. The market was pretty empty, so no joy on that one. We thought we'd go to The Wild Onion to have breakfast but discovered it was closed too, opening again on 8th January. Instead we went to Relish on Thomas Street. We met up with Karen (by arrangement) so enjoyed her company. b then returned to the car to read papers and mind the dogs while C, Karen and I went around shops looking for a coat for C. No joy on that one either, so we headed on to the airport at about 11am.

Having left C to go to her flight we headed to Cratloe Woods to walk the dogs. It was pouring when we got there so we waited a few minutes until the rain/sleet died down. We then went for a shortish walk as it looked like it was going to pour again. It did, immediately after we reached the car, so our judegment was good.

On the way home we called in to PCWorld to buy a flat screen for b. It looks nice, and will save a lot of space on his desk. I haven't yet seen it in action.

I've spent most of the afternoon tidying up the house. I chopped up the Christmas tree so that I can burn the bits on the fire I will eventually have in the vegetable garden. That made a great mess, following which the hoover came into action to clean up the floor and surrounding areas. I cleaned up the fire as well, so the big room now looks neat. Next I gave the sofa in the living room a good clean (I'm sure the dogs appreciate that!), as well as the room itself. Finally, I went upstairs and changed sheets on C's bed. The washing machine is running as I type. The final task will be to empty the dishwasher, which has just finished running.

So, it's been a busy day so far, and it's only 6pm. I must see if there is something worth watching on TV tonight as I think I deserve some relaxation.

Skype is great

We've just had a lovely call with Ian via Skype. It worked out at 2.30 euro for about 16 minutes, which seems like a good deal, considering it was to cost over 50c per minute via the normal phone line. We'll do that again.

It was great to hear Ian, who seems to be settling in. Getting up at 5am doesn't seem like an Ian kind of thing to do, but you never know what is possible!

Kenya news

This is a letter that has come from FWCC re the Kenyan situation:

Dear Friends,

You may be aware of the deteriorating situation in Kenya following last month’s elections. At the FWCC World Office, we have been receiving emails from Friends in Kenya. This email is a summary of what we know so far.

First, some background from David Zarembka, Coordinator of the African Great Lakes Initiative/ Friends Peace Teams who lives in Western Province, Kenya. He writes:

“Since independence the Kikuyu [the tribe to which President Mwai Kibaki belongs; Raila Odinga, the opposition leader, is a Luo] have directly or indirectly controlled the Government and Kenyan business. Through this time, they continued and promoted the centralized system of Government given to them by the British. The 2007 election campaign revolved around “devolvement” meaning decentralizing. Naturally Kibaki and the Kikuyu opposed this since this meant giving up their power to the periphery.

“So it is payback time. It is amazing how only Kikuyu shops and homes were burned and everyone else left intact. Those at the bottom are taking it out on those whom they feel are on top. They have no contact with the Kikuyu tycoons and politicians and so they are taking the pent-up rage of forty-four years of independence out on the average Kikuyu in their community. The Kikuyu are then retaliating by killing the other ethnic groups that happen to live in their communities.

“With the large population increase in the past, there are many youth. Many of these have been educated to the secondary level or even above and then they are left with nothing to do, alienated from Kenyan society. They see no future so they can easily be turned to violence. This is the tinder and the spark was the announcement that Kibaki won what everyone in western Kenya considers was a rigged election.”

David’s most recent email, sent on the morning of 3 January, anticipated a violent clash at a rally being planned by the opposition in Nairobi.

“Today looks like the decisive day, and things don't look good. Kibaki has told the head of the African Union not to come to mediate because this is an internal Kenyan problem. In the doublespeak of the day, this means that Kibaki is not going to negotiate and will enforce his presidency with the police and military. The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) plans a massive inauguration of Raila Odinga today in downtown Nairobi at Uhuru Park. One million people are expected to attend. The Government has banned the gathering. BBC reports that riot police have encircled the park standing a meter apart. In other words, this looks like its going to be a major confrontation. Kikuyu from hard-hit Eldoret have been evacuated under police escort to Nakuru and Nairobi.”

Bainito Wamalwa, head of a young Friends organisation and employed by a Swedish NGO, described the current situation in Eldoret: “The Friends church in Eldoret has 62 families who are displaced by some of them having their houses burnt. They have no shelter, food and other basics. There is no way to enter or exit Eldoret now. The food prices have gone more than treble high. Things are not right here.”

In the face of the catastrophe befalling Kenya, John Muhanji, the Director of the Friends United Meeting Africa Ministries Office, tried to focus on the future. He wrote:

“Happy New Year!! At least I can manage to say to you happy new year. It is true that those who are alive can say such words but in reality I would have said sad and bloody new year for Kenya 2008’. What a bad ending and beginning of the year. Friends when you see yourselves enjoying the peace you have now wherever you are praise God for everything. Because that can be taken from you in a twinkling of an eye as it happened here in Kenya. Peace is something that needs to be guarded with a lot of care from everybody in the world.

“I am experiencing a situation where people we have lived with for many years are being chased a way and their houses being burned not by their neighbours but by people from nowhere in a mob.”

John continued, “Tension is all over the country and especially in towns. In my village, Kivagala, I have occupied the young people in football games during this sad period. Many idle young people have not been involved in any activity of any nature but busy participating in the games that will reach its climax on Saturday January 5th. I am very much encouraged with the response… Yesterday after visiting Kisumu in the evening and seeing how tense the place was and the tension along the road, I arrived at home and found a different atmosphere where the playground in the school was filled with young people playing. The older generation was playing against the younger generation. It was such an interesting game… This may be an example to other parts of the country… I have also introduced an open air film show to the community to intensify peace in the community.”

But for now, the violence continues, and in some areas it is escalating. Transportation is also severely disrupted, as the Matatus that are the primary form of transportation country-wide most use are mainly operated by Kikuyus, and they are too afraid to work. David Zarembka writes:

“The death toll since the election is supposed to be 284, but I suspect it is much higher… There is a report that 10,000 armed Kalejin youth from the Eldoret area (there were 2000 people who burned down the church) are marching on Burnt Forest, an area with many Kikuyu where there have been clashes in the past. If this kind of thing is true, then we may be in for a real bloodbath on the scale of the Rwandan genocide. It is possible that the violence has gotten out of control so that the political leaders, the police, and army may not be able to control it even if there is a political settlement.”

From what we know as of this writing, US Friends living and working in Kenya Eden and James Grace and their children are safe in Kisumu and Jody Richmond is also in a safe place. We have heard nothing about the safety of Friends in Nakuru, Nairobi or other parts of Kenya. People are about to run out of time on their mobile/cell phone cards and internet access, so communication may be more of a problem shortly. The same is true of food for many people.

John Muhanji asks for financial support for prizes for his sports participants and we are sure there are other needs as well. Donations can be made via the FUM website www.fum.org or via the FWCC World Office www.fwccworld.org earmarked for this purpose.

In terms of the more general financial and other material support that Friends can offer, discussions are taking place both at AFSC and amongst Friends in Britain to determine the best and safest way to ensure that help reaches those who need it. We should be in a position to tell you more about this early next week.

Most of all, Friends in Kenya need our prayers along with prayers for peace and justice to prevail in their country. This is the season of the Prince of Peace and we must seek God's assistance and guidance amidst this turmoil.

With hope and faith,

Nancy Irving, General Secretary
Friends World Committee for Consultation

Harry Albright, Communications Director
Friends World Committee for Consultation