Off to the sun (I hope)

We're off for a weekend on Knocknagow, hoping to meet up with other Heritage Boat Association folks and visit a castle we haven't yet reached on Lough Derg, near to Mountshannon. I also hope to get a second layer of paint onto the areas I painted last week.

Yesterday was an emotional day at Newtown. It is the end of an era with Henry Collins leaving, and for me it is the end of my major involvement with the school. Here are a few pictures of the day. The picture was commissioned from a past pupil, Sarah Richards, whose brief was to depict Newtown and Henry's influence. She wrote a description with it and I'll publish that when I receive it.

Sun and gardening

I really did allow myself to get badly burnt on my face yesterday. It's uncomfortable, and my eyes are watery and sore. I went to the University of Limerick sports arena at 8am yesterday, bringing with me extra clothes and lots of layers to wear as it was both wet and cold. By 9am the rain had stopped, and the day gradually got better, though there was a cold wind all day. As I was wrapped up in a coat and lots of layers I didn't really realise the implications of the sun that appeared from about 11am onwards. Silly me!

Anyway, the day was fun. It was the Munster Special Olympics soccer tournament that Vistakon hosts each year. The Special Olympians are great fun - their joy is unlimited, and the occasional tears or tantrums don't last long. I think we volunteers get more out of the event than they do as the cares of the world just don't surface while they are around.

Today was "catch-up-on-gardening-and-ironing" day. I went to Meeting this morning and didn't get home until about 2pm (too much chatting!), but then set to planting out seedlings that are ready for the outdoors and generally organising bits and pieces. The forecast tells me it's going to be cold tonight, though, which could kill everything. However, there's nothing I can do so I'll hope for the best.

This week is Newtown week - committees to attend for the final time as Chair.

All this exploring....

Now that I'm getting to grips with Facebook I can see that sometimes I'll have to return here if I'm to give my views to the world in more than a sentence or two.

Explorations of a different kind, though, this weekend. We went out on Knocknagow and had a good weekend of really fresh air. My cheeks are burning from the wind. Unfortunately sun was in short supply, and cold wind was in great supply, but we enjoyed it all the same.

The boat is now as tidy as it has ever been, with a good clear-out done of both the main room and the forecastle. Large books and folders have found a new shelf underneath the seat in the living room. There are lots of hooks to hang large kitchen utensils from and a plentiful hanging supply of red plastic tray thingies to put away small bits. I moved the mattress of the double bed near the forecastle to the other end of the bed, with pillows up against the radiator, and I think that will make it easier to store luggage at the front end. I'm going to look for plastic boxes that will fit into the small area between the mattress and the wall.

B sorted the junk out of the engine room, which now has enough space to have a party in it. At one stage about 5 men were down there, and it wouldn't surprise me if there were empty bottles left behind! There are spotlights illuminating the room. These make the foam insulation look like Ailwee Cave, with rough surfaces that look as if they could have stalactites and stalacmites.

We went to Rossmore and stayed there on Saturday night. The wind was strong, and getting stronger, yesterday, and was extremely cold. As a result we headed back to Dromineer in the evening "calm", having decided not to join Gerry Burke and gang mooring along the bank of the river nearby. Our berth in Dromineer was very calm and peaceful. I lay in bed this morning trying to count the number of different kinds of bird-song I could hear. The birds were very busy, and I reckon I could distinguish at least 10 different songs. I'm going to have to learn how to identify birds from their song as it was fascinating to listen to them.

We had a very peaceful morning sorting out things on the boat and headed home at about lunch-time. It has been drizzling rain, very lightly, most of the afternoon, but I decided to take the opporunity to plant out broad beans, runner beans and cabbages, as well as replanting some tomatoes in the greenhouse. I now have 46 tomato plants in pots, and could plant out more if I had more pots. Floor space is at a premium and I'm going to have fun sorting them all out as they get larger.

It was sad about Munster's loss!

Le weekend

The forecast is good for the weekend so let's hope that we have a nice day tomorrow as we start the clean-up of Knocknagow. We visited her last weekend and admired the new JCB engine, but I couldn't help look at all the activity of spiders and the accumulation of dust and dirt from the winter. The paint is coming off the deck so I'm going to have to do a cleaning job so that I can re-paint it. I might try the jet-spray implement I used to clean our patio.

Ian has headed to Dublin to go to his first Quaker committee meeting. He has done a huge amount of work in preparation for it as he is on a mission to make the Irish Quaker web-site more user-friendly.

I know have 3 friends on Facebook! The number is growing rapidly. Paddy McKee rang out of the blue yesterday and he has a presence on Facebook. It was great to hear from him.

I'm half-listening to the evening news on RTE. It is very depressing, with new legislation being suggested to tackle gang-land crime, and discussion on the government's attempts to tax us out of house and home. Christy Moore is due to be on the Late Late Show, so I may watch it for once.

Brian was in Dublin meeting someone today and came across an Italian shop so has stocked up on essential supplies. Loads of pasta and rice, an interesting lemon liqueur (I'm sure it would make ice cream tasty), and some nice bikkies were included in the spoils of his shopping.

Rows and rows

I have had a planting weekend. There is now a row of beetroot beside the parsnips, and spinach beside the beetroots. In the greenhouse I've planted seeds of leeks, cabbage, sweet corn and marigolds. And somewhere else in the garden I put some lettuce seeds. Not all of these will grow, but I'm ever hopeful.

I'm fed up of the junk in front of the shed at the front of the house, but I'm not sure what to do with it. However, I got around to tidying it and have now planted the old shower tray with bits and pieces that may product some colour and deflect from the rubble around it.

Nobody will notice it, so I have to explain here all the cleaning I did this morning. I took down pictures and cleaned around all of the living room. You'd be amazed at the places that dirt gathers. Even the couch is now clean so that guests might actually be able to sit on it if we remove the dog cover.

Ian is livening up the house and is putting a lot of work into the Irish Quaker web site. I'm looking forward to seeing the results of his efforts go live.

No hope for the kids

Ian and Carolan haven't a hope... Their parents both get themselves into trouble by acting on causes or paths that aren't necessarily the most popular. b has just been accused of being a "journalist looking backward" in an article to be published in Afloat. I'm not sure what to make of that description. Is he a journalist? Does he know how to look backward? Hmm.

Anyway, he is currently doing something unheard of in the history of Brian-kind. He is hoovering the floor in our bedroom. The house must be very dirty! I'll have to do some cleaning this weekend or we'll let ourselves down when the rest of the family returns home for Easter. Ian comes home on Friday, but hopefully he won't notice too much, and will be too polite to comment if he does (for fear that he might be asked to help with the cleaning).

On Monday evening I optimistically planted some parnsip seeds, fully believing the weather forecast that said the next few days were going to be warm. I also put in a row of sugar peas, though they will survive as they are already a couple of inches tall because I grew them first in the greenhouse.

The range of birds visiting our garden is amazing at the moment. They are of all colours, shapes and sizes, though mainly small and of the tit family. None have yet nested in Ian's nest-box, and I'm wondering whether I ought to be putting something in it to encourage them.

Poor old Ian is struggling through the last day of his assignments. Spare a thought for him, as we should all remember what it is like. The last one I did was about 25 years ago, and I still remember it with dread.

Tired today

It's Sunday again. The dogs are lying down stretched out on floors and chairs. Leavy occasionally opens her eye just to check that I'm not doing anything untoward, or that she isn't missing out on anything. I wish I had that ability to nap. I'm feeling very tired after yesterday's committee meetings, in addition to "losing" one hour overnight due to the change to summer time.

It looks as if I'll be able to offer both broccoli and leeks from the garden to any family member that comes here over Easter. The broccoli tastes very good even in an uncooked state. I still need to learn how to have food in the garden all year. Mind you, one of the strawberry plants I have in the greenhouse is in flower, and others look close to it, so I might have strawberries available well in advance of the strawberry season (well, 2 or 3 maybe).

The birds are very active on the bird tables this afternoon. There is a robin sitting on one of the posts nearby, surveying all around, and lots of other little twitterers. It's drizzling, and a generally uninspiring day.