IN THE HARBOUR

I painted this a little while ago and finally got it framed just in time for summer!

GRRRRRR

I hate hate hate cleaning the oven - I am going to grill or steam everything from now on!

We came across this old man in Kilquade!

SUNNY DAYS

At last we are having some sunny days.  The winter was horrible and dragged on for so long.  Throughout the winter we have been feeding the birds and now our garden is full of birds and alive with birdsong.

When Adam was home for the weekend we went to the garden exhibition in Kilquade, it is really lovely there and there is also a great coffee shop!

CATCHING UP

At last I have caught up after being busy for Christmas and being away in Lanzarote.

Christmas in Sligo and Lanzarote in the New Year, can't beat it!
 

PEEP!

HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!

WINTER BLUES

Woke up this morning to a dark, dull wet day. Ping went my phone - another email coming in - opened it and saw lovely summer scenes beside a blue sparkling lake - sigh. The photos were of friends of ours who live in New Zealand and of course it is summer there - oh how I wish to have some sunshine.

Footwork

I bought myself a pair of shoes yesterday, they didn't cost me very much but I think they are lovely!

"Hoggy"

"Hoggy" will be for sale, along with my other craft items at The Glebe Craft Fair, Wicklow in The Grand Hotel tomorrow.

Calendar for 2013

This calendar has local scenes of Wicklow Town all from my original watercolours

The Mall, Wicklow Town

Return visitors

Its the start of the winter and we have started to feed the birds again. This year there are a lot more birds and this morning they were flitting to and fro across the garden. Its really lovely to watch them. A bluetit was having a ball burrowing into the ivy on the wall, feeding on grubs in there and having to scare off other birds. "Our" robin is back and of course trying to assert his presence!

April Showers

Driving down to Wicklow this morning my car was showered with leaves of many colours, like giant confetti! I love the autumn colours on the trees but with the wind today it looks like the leaves won't last much longer.

I'm bored

clumsy!

Geoffrey spent the day today on the lot of "Fair City". Today was wet and cold so he came in cold and wet and left his HUGE golf umbrella open in the hall and I keep forgetting that it is there - I must have tripped over at least three times - grrr

BLOOMING WICKLOW

MEET AND GREET

Spent yesterday afternoon doing my voluntary duty in the gallery and met lots of interesting people. My work is featured in the window this week and it is interesting (and revealing) to see what people make of my work. At home I have a very critical audience so it was nice to have some compliments for a change! The town is full of visitors and the weather is lovely - long may it last!

I WISH!

SNOOZY TIME!

SUMMER !!!!!!!!

Did somebody say it was summer !!!!!! It was so cold last night, we thought about putting the heating on, instead I was a good girl and just put an extra jumper on, I wonder what the winter will be like.

CHEEKY!

Adam gave me a belated birthday gift of an iphone. We went out shopping and I had forgotten I had the phone in the back pocket of my jeans. I mentioned this and his reply was "oh it won't come to any harm, it has elephant glass" I just looked at him and laughed, well what else could I do!

A LITTLE DRILL?!

Adam bought himself a drill yesterday but when we opened the box and looked at it, we found it was huge, so big that it weighed so much it was difficult to lift! We had a good laugh and brought it back to the shop and they exchanged it for a smaller one.

A GOOD SHOWER

Yesterday Adam and I went to Sligo via Galway! We stopped to visit a friend of Adam's and then as the Volvo Yacht Race was in full swing with all the sailors and yachts in harbour we thought we would like to see what was going on. Well, we had just got out of the car when the heavens opened so we sheltered under the canopy of a stall for a while,then thinking that it had eased we moved on but it startd to rain even heavier so we sheltered in a shopping centre but as it was after 6 the shops were closed, but along with a lot of other people we thought a coffee shop might be open where we could shelter. Suddenly the security guards came and started to shout and asked us to leave, they shut all the doors and we all had to leave. We wandered through some of the nearby streets and every coffee shop was closed - WELCOME TO GALWAY - WE ARE CLOSED! When I rang Geoffrey that night he said it was warm and sunny there - grrrrrrrr

MEMORIES

The house is full of the perfume of sweetpea from our garden. The perfume from the lovely flowers always reminds me of the home I grew up in. My father always planted a "wall" of sweetpea beside a path that led to the other side of the garden and I loved to walk over there at dusk when the perfume was at its strongest and stand and smell and listen to the sound of the night jars singing in the trees. Memories.

I LOVE SWEETPEA

EEEEEEEK!

Geoffrey opened the compost bin today to put some more organic material on it and found to his horror an ant colony. We just could not leave it and had to kill off the ants as it is right up against everything. I have never seen so many ants before and am still itchy thinking about it!

COMMUNICATION

Went out today and forgot my phone, I felt unsettled and out of touch, funny how you get used to some things. Came home and sat down at the computer and "chatted" to my sister in Lanzarote on line, then exchanged texts with Adam who is in Chicago on his way to Arizona, is'nt life interesting and all without moving out of my chair!

SUMMER IN WICKLOW HARBOUR

I love painting the harbour.

SUNSHINE!

The sun shone today for a short while! When the sun broke out I went out to the garden just to take the rays and enjoy the visitors to the garden. We let out herbs and some veg grown wild and flower as we found that the bees love them - so when the sun broke out today a lot of bees landed on our flowers and I went to have a look. I found that there were four types of bees buzzing on the flowers on the sage. There was one huge black bee, another two normal size bees, one with two stripes and another with one stripe but then I suddenly saw this tiny bee, I have never seen such a small bee before, when "he" came to a flower he disappeared completely into the petals!

ON THE COAT TAILS OF FAME!

Called into my local chemist today and was greeted by "saw Geoffrey on television last night"! by the staff, it made Geofffrey's day when I told him.

TASTE

What goes with a good red wine? Cold chicken, spuds and tinned beans of course! No! Well it does in our house!!

WICKLOW ARTS FESTIVAL

Spent Saturday on the railings in Wicklow surrounded by fellow artists. It was a lovely day. Bright warm sunshine and lots of people around. Wicklow town was buzzing with lots of events on, unfortunately I could not explore as I had to stay with my items. I had lots of interest and met a lot of very interesting people, it is great to get feedback from customers and this keeps me in touch. I came home at the end of a very tiring day, sunburnt and happy. Geoffrey came home later, dirty and tired from his day acting!

TOASTED

I have to admit - I miss my toaster. We are still without a toaster as we have not had the time to go to the shops and pick out one, preferably one that does not take 10 minutes to toast! Toast done under the griller is just not the same.

TOAST!

Woke up this morning and turned to look at the clock as usual - nothing - blank face - nuts, the electricity had gone during the night. We lay there for a while contemplating not getting up. Have you ever thought how much we rely on electricity - almost everything, it is times like that when I would have liked to have a gas cooker. Anyway Geoffrey finally got up and I followed more slowly. I wandered around upstairs while I cleaned my teeth and flicked the landing switch and lo and behold it worked! I flew down to Geoffrey (sitting in front of the blank tv) and told him about the lights working. He rang the electricity company (having previously rung them to say we had no electricity), they suggested that we unplug everything and then gradually plug them in, one at a time. I suggested that we start with the toaster as it had been taking a long time to toast. I got that look husbands give wives! Plugged it in and BANG it blew the fuse! I hated that toaster and am very glad that it can now be recycled!

SWEPT OFF MY FEET!

Today is very windy in Wicklow so I decided to go down to the harbour to take some photographs as I knew the waves would be very high. After taking some photos down at the harbour I went up over the town where you can see the whole bay but when I got out of the car I realised that it was just too windy. I was nearly swept off my feet and had great difficulty getting back into the car, I won't do that again!

A STORMY WICKLOW HARBOUR

HOMELESS

We had a pair very distressed blackbirds in our front garden.

During the recent stormy weather our lilac tree blew down. We knew that the blackbirds had a nest in that tree as there was a lot of activity around it, especially first thing in the morning.

Both birds have been calling to each other for the last few days but today when I looked out they had gone. I hope they have been able to find another suitable nest site and will raise a family in time.

MOTHER'S DAY PRESENT

Today is mother's Day - most mothers receive flowers, chocolates etc - I received the best present though!

Simon is home for the weekend and of course came bearing presents, gratefully received. Later he disappeared and when I went looking for him I found him outside washing my car and was told that this was my extra present, I think that this must be the best and most unusual present I have received - yet!

LITTLE ANGEL

IT'S A GIRL!

SNUGGLES!

Guess what I got for Valentine's Day! - To be fair I also got flowers and chocolates.

CUPY CAT

AHH

I loved stitching this, you will find it in the gallery window in Bridge Street

SPOTTED!

Geoffrey is chasing birds again! - am I worried? No! Because they are the feathered kind!

We have lots of different species of birds feeding in our garden but the starlings bully the smaller birds and Geoffrey can't stand watching the little ones sitting miserable and hungry so he rushes out to the garden to chase off the starlings!

VISITORS

The corner of our garden is full of birds again this year and its lovely to watch.

Geoffrey has festooned a large bush in the corner opposite the kitchen window with fat balls and a bird feeder and it has certainly attracted lots of birds. There are some birds there that I have never seen before and I must check my bird book to see what they are. "our" robin from last year does not seem to be there, there is another robin around but I am sure that it is a different one as "he" just hops around the bottom of the tree and darts in to feed when he can.

Some of the little birds love to sit on the circular line and swing around in the wind!

CHRISTMAS IS COMING!

Did my duty in the gallery yesterday and enjoyed my time there meeting lots of customers and friends.

I had not done duty for some time as I had been in hospital and then had to set to and get on with producing my stuff for Christmas. It was nice to catch up with everyone and the afternoon flew. The town was very busy in spite of the cold weather.


Now I had better do some housework!

MR. ROBIN

I just had to stitch a robin - you will find him on my stall at the Glebe Craft Fair on Sunday the 27th of November in the Grand Hotel

LOST AGAIN!

I did it again!

On our way back from Dublin on Friday we stopped off at a shopping centre on the outskirts and Geoffrey parked and I went into the shops. Some time afterwards when I came out I just could not find the car. I had done what I often do, come out of another door and completely lost my bearings. Thank goodness for mobile phones, I rang Geoffrey and he had to get out of the car and keep waving until I could spot him - I know - ejit!

CHEEKY!

The cheek of it! I went out to my car this morning and found a card under my wiper. It said "cash offered for old cars" well - my car is far from crash material. Alright I know it is over 10 years old but I love my little silver car.

CHEEK!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

What is it with spiders and our house?! There are cobwebs appearing all the time and as fast as I dust them away they appear. I have dusters all around the house, big one, little ones, flat one (to go behind things) and I am still not winning.

Their occupants are of course all over the house as well.

Last night I opened the door from the kitchen into the hall and there in front of me was this HUGE spider - you know the type that has knees. We stared at each other for a while - me like a rabbit in the headlights - and then I slammed the door and shouted for Geoffrey to come and catch it. Of course when he opened the door again it had gone to ground.

So I am nervously and slowly going down the hall now!

PIGS

I LOVE PIGS! THIS ONE HAD ME IN STITCHES!

ROAD HOG

PLAYING BALL

I grew up with two sisters and a father that had no interest in sport so the ins and outs of rugby, football, motor racing etc. leaves me cold!

As the World knows the Rugby World Cup is on at the moment so Geoffrey is sat in front of the television - ok. But I had not factored in the Grand Prix - bored bored bored!

TEMPTATION!

Our patio door has been sticking on its runners and it was very difficult to open and close it. Yesterday I got it fixed and it is now flying open. Geoffrey was out for the day doing his extra bit. I was sorely tempted to keep quiet and sit back and watch him discovering our "new" door but realised that if he tackled it as we have been doing it might get damaged - so I was a good girl and told him before he opened it!

Sense comes with age!

A FAIR RETURN?

Geoffrey went out for his usual walk yesterday and I settled down to draw. I suddenly became aware that it was raining heavily so rang Geoffrey and asked if he was able to shelter or if he wanted me to pick him up. He been caught on the road above our house where there is no shelter so I set off in my car as quickly as I could.

I picked him up, drove back and parked outside our house but when I got out of the car I noticed that I had a puncture in one of my tyres - so much for doing my good deed for the day - I know by just looking at it that I will need a new tyre - ho hum

A MUG FULL OF FUN

RELIEF!

You know that saying - "when you stop banging your head against the wall - its lovely when it stops!"

Well, I now know exactly what this means. I have had such a bad toothache all week and have been going nuts as even strong painkillers did not work. I have never had toothache before, a dislocated jaw, yes, but not toothache!

The relief when it stopped today is mighty!!!!

VISITING?

I spent HOURS yesterday waiting in hospital for an eye examination. Shortly after I arrived at the appointed time I had ointment put in my eyes which meant that I could not read. I always bring a book with me to my hospital appointments which means that I can sit and wait more or less happily but this time I could not read as I could not see! So - began to "people watch" - there were quite a few people waiting all around me, most on their own but a few with relations. I noticed two grown-up sons with their mothers which is nice to see. There was also a young mother with her son. From time to time a phone would ring and bored people around would prick up their ears and listen to the conversations!

The room I was in was a big waiting room with small rooms around it and every so often a patient's name would be called and it was easy to pick out the people who had been there before as they knew to sit outside the relevant door unlike the others who often had to climb over small children and bags on their way out of the waiting room.

When I was finally called, after just under TWO HOURS the examination only took about five minutes, although I was happy that I got a clean bill of health.

BACK TO NORMAL ?!

This last year has been a bit difficult for me and I have just not felt like painting but yesterday I finally put brush to paper. I thought when I sorted out my tubes of paint that they would all be dried up but found that they were fine, the only trouble now is that the room I paint in is in such a mess. I will have to tidy it up as I can't stand a mess around me apart from not being able to find anything!

OUT WEST

Have just come back after spending a week with Adam in Sligo. He had such a busy week, during the week I was there he had two weddings and one christening. So for most of the time it was just me and the cats for company!

We took a trip just over the border mid week, it is a long time since I visited Northern Ireland and I found it had changed a lot, for the better. The countryside around Enniskillen is lovely, with lots of lakes but unfortunately we did not have time for photographs.

KNASHERS

I am going to the dddddentist today - wish it was somehere/anywhere else.

MIRROR IMAGE

SUN, SEA AND SPADE!

OVER THE HEDGE

Sitting in the garden today - joy of joy sun at last! - I heard a blackbird making that noise that says "I don't like you being there" in the hedge just behind where I was sitting. I looked up and there "he" was checking me out, we eyed each other for a while and then he hopped further along onto the top of a loganberry bush growing beside me. He plucked off a big loganberry and I watched fascinated while he took three attempts to swallow it.

When I told Geoffrey about this he said "oh that's the blackbird that comes down to give out to me everytime I go into the garden"!

LODGERS

I don't know if other houses have the same problem with uninvited guests but our house is FULL of spiders.

I really do not like spiders but I just can't bring myself to kill them. Today I was hoovering downstairs and everywhere I went there were spiders - the ones with long thin legs, so I would stop hoovering and give them time to scurry away, now I am wondering if I should kill them as there really seems to be more and more of them each day.

THE PRICE OF GOLD

Losing weight is great and loose clothes are good too but when it comes to loose rings that is another matter altogether - especially when they fall off.

Some years ago Geoffrey bought me a small gold band when my Wedding ring no longer fitted me and now it is lost. I have searched high and low in the house, even the washing machine filter and hoover bag have been searched, with no luck. I have come to the conclusion that it must have dropped off my finger when I was out of the house.

HERE COMES SUMMER BUT WHEN!!

BUTTERFLY

ON A HIGH

I often stand and look out at our garden as this time of the year it is full of birds and watching the baby birds learning to fly is funny. But today when I looked out I saw something unexpected.

I noticed a movement on my neighbour's roof and when I looked closely I saw it was a grey squirrel. He was sitting on the "spine" of the roof, he went too and fro for a good while and then disappeared! I know they are great climbers but I have never seen one on a roof before.

WISHES

Be careful what you wish for!

I have been trying for a long time to loose weight and over the last 10 to 12 months I have lost most of the excess weight - great you would say and yes it is great, I have a whole new wardrobe to wear now.

But there is a cost to it as there is in everything. I have been very unwell for all of that time as I have been diagnosed with an auto immune disease which mostly gives me a lot of pain and makes it difficult for me to eat as I have to stick to a fairly bland diet. I love my food, but I miss chocolate SO MUCH!

IDLE FINGERS!

I decided instead of watching endless uninteresting television programmes that I would spend my time more usefully and have taken up cross stitching. It certainly concentrates the mind!

When I have completed more items I will put them into the gallery.

MUM AND BABY HEDGEHOGS

WASHING DAY

MELTING MOMENTS

Adam had a very busy week last week, being Holy Week. As part of the preparation for Easter he always likes to include the smallest members of his churches and usually has an Easter egg hunt.

This year is his first time in Ireland and having the egg hunt in a more rural setting so when he hid small foil wrapped chocolate eggs in the grounds of the local school he forgot to factor in the local wildlife.

There are now some very confused birds in Sligo sitting on chocolate eggs!

CRASH, BANG AND NO WALLOP

I had a bad fright last week when Adam rang to say he had had an accident. It seems he skidded on a patch of ice or oil. He skidded across the road and ended upside down six feet down in a field. He was so lucky, he walked away from the car (which is a right-off) with only whiplash and a sore back, as he was wearing his seatbelt - it kinda puts things into perspective.

His lovely parishioners have been so good to him, taking care of him that day, lending him a car/picking him up when needed and leaving presents into the Rectory.

He came home for a few days to have a rest and we went out and about, on one of our trips we saw a small notice in a charity shop window which said "now is the time to get down on your knees to thank God for being on your feet" and we both agreed that we could not have put it better!

KILMACURRAGH ESTATE

Adam was home for a few days last week so cameras in hand we went to Kilmacurragh, as a groundsman I had bumped into had told me that the spring flowers were out and the rhododendrons were beginning to bloom.

What a lovely sight! After such a harsh winter it was really great to see such a display of colour and seeing the flowers growing up through the grass reminded me of my parents home as we had a big garden and every Spring the spring flowers would bloom scattered over the lawns in a random pattern just like Kilmacurragh.

The gardens are being looked after beautifully and - even though I do not know one plant from another - I can recognise the old type flowers from my childhood planted throughout the beds.

A CARPET OF COLOUR

NEW BUDS

FATE?

I often think that our day to day happenings are meant to happen!

I have been thinking of trying to teach myself cross stitching recently and have been looking for a book that would teach me the basics and at the same time trying not to spend money.

Today I was a good girl and brought some books and empty ink cartridges down to the recycling centre. While I was there I had a look at the books (which are free to take away) and there sitting on the shelf was a detailed book on cross stitching with lots of instructions and patterns.

Great!

Fate?

LOST AGAIN!

I really surpassed myself last Sunday!

I have a habit of taking the wrong turning and getting lost, much to my family's amusement.

Last Sunday I went to Church and went up for Communion but when I came back down through the Church I could not remember what pew I was in and could not find it, going up and down the aisle until a helpful man pointed to the right pew!

I know I'm a ejit!

IMMUNITY?!

I have not been blogging much in the last few months as I have been struggling a bit what with one thing and another.

I was diagnosed recently with an auto immune disease which has really knocked me for six! I never know any day how I will be feeling and this affects what I do for that day. I have also, during the last six months had a short stay in hospital and since then have had one if not two hospital visits each week since then.

All of this has taken big chunks out of my time and really disrupted things but I should not complain as I have had the best medical treatment and best of all, I have lost a lot of weight, something which I have been trying to do for a long time.

So you see, fate is a fickle thing!

STAYING CONNECTED

Our handsfree phone in the hall has finally given up the ghost. For the last few days it decided to cut out after a few minutes which is very frustrating - especially to the caller!

Geoffrey dug out an old phone from our previous house. This phone is one of those "L" shaped cream phones with white square push buttons and not handsfree of course. It feels so clunky and of course you are stuck to the spot when talking on it. When we bought it we thought it was so modern, just shows how times change.

We just have to save up for a new one now!

SPIES!

Did you ever have the feeling you were being watched?!

This morning I went out to feed the birds as usual, filling the several dishes we have left out for them and the little bird house they particularly love. I took my time enjoying the cold air. Something made me look up and I could not believe my eyes. On top of all my neighbours roofs were birds and lots of birds all looking down at me (or so it seemed!) SPOOKY!!!!!!

SNOW ON THE ROOF!

Picture the scene ..........

I am fast asleep in the Rectory, its the middle of the night - I am a very light sleeper.....

WHOOOOOOOSE !!!

"What was that!!! I shot out of bed and ran out onto the landing, the Rectory is quite large and of course not being at home I am not used to the noises this house makes - WHOOOOOOOSE! - I happened to be in front of the big window on the landing and immediately saw what was making the noise - a huge sheet of snow had just falled off the roof - "so that was what it was" - relief - I thought we were in for a burst pipe. I went back to my bedroom to share the knowledge with Geoffrey that the thaw had begun as foretold by the weather forcasters and found him fast asleep and snoring! I crept around the house and found that neither Adam or Simon had woken.

Next morning Geoffrey announces, all excited - the thaw has set in - I know already!

SNOWED IN AT CHRISTMAS!

Christmas was interesting this year!!

I made the journey by train over to Adam (who of course was working all through Christmas) knowing that it was likely that Geoffrey and Simon might not be able to make the journey over on Christmas Eve. The train journey was long and cold and the view from the train windows was like a winter wonderland. As it was late in the day I watched a lovely glowing sunset gradually set behind the snow covered trees.

Geoffrey and Simon did manage to make the journey on Christmas Eve, getting stuck half way up the drive - sideway - but they made it for Christmas!

THE RECTORY AT CHRISTMAS!

SNOWED IN!

It has been snowing heavily here all day and the garden is covered in a thick layer of snow. We fed the birds as usual this morning but it has snowed so heavily since that the food is covered and they cannot find it.

There has been much more birds looking for food today and they have been flying to and fro but there is nothing we can do until it stops snowing. It is a long time since I have seen such deep snow, I hope it stops soon.

UNDER A BLANKET OF SNOW!

GARDEN ANTICS

There was great excitement in our garden this morning!

We had noticed that a large ginger cat had been stalking the birds and that they were not feeding from the dishes left out on the garden seat and that the little birds were getting chased off by the bigger birds. So this morning I hung a fat ball in the middle of a bush and a small wooden bird stand from the circular line and sat back and watched.

As soon as I had gone in small birds came from all directions. I discovered by watching that the wobble on the bird house was too much for the bigger birds and this left it free for the blue tits etc, one of whom was having a ball flying too and fro with seeds. The fat ball in the bush also attracted the small birds which left the dishes on the seat for the bigger birds - everyone happy - except the cat!

ROBIN

BLESSINGS

Adam rings me or sends me a text most days, keeping me in touch with his busy life. He is especially busy coming up to Christmas and he has been telling me about the carol services which he has planned amongst other things but the text I got last night I would hazard a guess most mothers do not get (except when your son is a rector!)

Text read "am off to bed now after blessing the Christmas lights and crib"! Well what do you say to that - except "Bless You" back!

ICY JOURNEY

Yesterday Geoffrey and I went up to Dublin. I had an appointment in a large hospital there. I have not seen Dublin in such freezing conditions since 1983 when we were snowed in.

Yesterday wherever we went there were huge piles of snow on the edge of the roads and footpaths and the footpaths had a layer of hard slippery ice, I do not know how people have been getting around. Some hardy walkers were out, all wrapped up with either sticks or ski poles to try to help them keep their balance.

On our way home we admired the snow on top of two well known mountains in Wicklow called the Big and Little Sugarloaf. At that time of day the sun was setting in a lovely orange glow behind the Large Sugarloaf, I wish I had had my camera with me.

SNOWY SCARECROW

WINTER FEASTS

The time has come again for us to feed the birds.

"our" robin has returned again and the pair of blackbirds and to our surprise we saw that they remembered where the food was left for them.

Yesterday I left out an extra treat of some pear pieces and the female blackbird immediately flew down and gobbled it up and then suddenly our robin swooped down all puffed up and chased the blackbird away. It is amazing to watch such a little bird bully a much bigger bird - and succeed - maybe there is a moral there somewhere?!

GLOBAL WARMING?!!

OUR NEW PREMISES

The members of the gallery are settling happily into our new premises and I must say it is lovely and bright. The small street we are on now, always has people passing to and fro and we are beside the Halpin Cafe which is always busy.

Here's hoping for a good Christmas for everybody