It would be so nice

Do you think that there is any chance that this weekend will be a nice one? I'm just asking for one nice Bank Holiday weekend this year. Is that too much to ask for? It seems like it might be. However, we'll head off on Knocknagow anyway and try to find a sheltered place to relax.

I'm surrounded by sleeping dogs. They've apparently spent the day barking, so they must now be tired. I'm trying to work out a way of channeling their daytime energy into doing gardening tasks. Do you think they could be taught how to dig out weeds from between the patio slabs, and to clear all the moss and weeds from the front garden? I like gardening when it produces food, but don't like those persistent weeds and can't persuade myself to imagine them as pretty. Perhaps if the evenings were warm and dry I'd wander outside and make a start on the work.

Here is the O'Briensbridge anchor:

That elderflower champagne

I've just tasted the first batch of elderflower champagne. It has a gentle fizz to it, and is nice and elderflowery. It isn't alcoholic, or rather I don't know how it could be with the ingredients in such a short time period, so I assume it isn't. It's very refreshing.

We've stayed at home this weekend, with b going up to the boat to do woodwork yesterday and today, and me going up today. The mornings have started up beautifully sunny but by lunch-time there have been heavy showers, so I didn't feel it was the best weekend for outdoor painting. As a result I tackled the huge pile of ironing that has built up over the last couple of weeks, and I've done a bit of gardening. I also cleaned the oven, always a horrible job.

At the boat today I took a jig-saw to the three middle cubby-holes opposite the sink, and increased their size for access. I then painted the whole area with a clean coat of white paint. We now have much better storage in that area. I took down the hanging bread bin and there are now three layers of plastic drawers for putting all sorts of things in, leaving a smaller tiled area for chopping on, but sufficient for what is needed.

Goldie is deteriorating. b is intending to bring him to the vet to ask for advice this week as we don't like seeing him uncomfortable. He still enjoys his walk, or at least enjoys it on the way out, but has difficulty returning, and collapses when he arrives home.

Elderflower season

I thought you might like to know that elderflowers are coming out and so it is the time of year to make elderflower cordial. I picked some flowers this evening and then realised that I didn't have any citric acid, needed to make the cordial. However, you don't need it for elderflower champagne, so I've made some of that. This is a new idea, so I hope it works.

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.