Monthly Archives: May 2008

Sunsets

We all know the phrase ‘Walking off into the sunset’. Mostly it brings to mind the idea of walking off into the never, never land of eternity, or as I like to think of it, walking into a new life, a new beginning. I was reminded of it last night while watching the sun set.

View from my back door at sunset

The sky at night on several occasions this month reminded me of another new beginning thirty years ago. Elly arrived in our lives in the early days of May and with her the beginning of a glorious summer. She was outdoors from 7.30am until it was time to bed her down for the night. The good weather lasted until October that year. Many a night Jack and I sat until well after the sun went down, I can still hear his remark ‘I suppose we better go in!’

May was a beginning for Elly and now it is also a time of endings. Last year it saw the official end of her single status as she prepared to marry her true love, George. This year May marks the ending of the time they spent is their temporary home and the new beginning of the move to their first step on the property ladder. Making a move like that is not easy nowadays. The current climate in the financial world has not made it any easier. They are to be admired for sticking in there and seeing it through.

I wish them well in their new home and look forward to sharing many visits. I hear ‘Mammy’s bed’ is on order so it won’t be very long before I have an excuse to travel south more often.

I only hope my visits are not like this:

The Dabbler

Wednesday was a very unusual day and it is no wonder I was all of a fluster when the phone went that evening. That is where you joined the day. It had something to do with lights!

Earlier I was being stalked by a Toyboy. He was very persistent and would not take no for an answer. My mother warned me about guys like that. 🙄 He won in the end when he said ‘But you’re a photoblogger now, there’s no going back!’ I suppose that is the price I have to pay for chasing Toyboys ❗ So now I am a groupie!

Will, one of my long-time Toyboys said:

‘There is more than one way to do it’ He was talking about taking Photographs! 😉

So when presented with something that has appeared on countless postcards, look around it for other angles of approach. Even buildings have personalities, and personal quirks. See if you can find them? Look carefully and you might find an angle where the dour faced statue looks like its smiling.

With this in mind I headed out, no dour statues on this journey so I had a go like this

Grannymar is an ‘older’ Blogger, Photoblogger, sometimes Podcaster and owner of an O2 N95, proving that technology, like sex is not the prerogative of the under 30 something’s! Gwan give it a go! You know you want to.

Thursday Special ~ Be careful what you ask for…

Be careful what you ask for…

A man was sitting on the edge of the bed, observing his wife, looking at herself in the mirror. Since her birthday was not far off he asked what she’d like to have for her Birthday.

‘I’d like to be six again’, she replied, still looking in the mirror.

On the morning of her Birthday, he arose early, made her a nice big bowl of Lucky Charms, and then took her to Six Flags theme park. What a day!

He put her on every ride in the park; the Death Slide, the Wall of Fear, the Screaming Monster Roller Coaster, everything there was. Five hours later they staggered out of the theme park. Her head was reeling and her stomach felt upside down.

He then took her to a McDonald’s where he ordered her a Happy Meal with extra fries and a chocolate shake. Then it was off to a movie, popcorn, a soda pop, and her favourite candy, M&M’s. What a fabulous adventure!

Finally she wobbled home with her husband and collapsed into bed exhausted. He leaned over his wife with a big smile and lovingly asked, ‘Well dear, what was it like being six again??’

Her eyes slowly opened and her expression suddenly changed. ‘I meant my dress size, you idiot!’

The moral of the story:

Even when a man is listening, he’s going get it wrong.

This one you have to read:

Archives:
2007: My Visitor

THE LIGHTS ARE ON AGAIN

My heart is pounding and I am in shock, I was literally finished dinner and sitting in the loo when the phone rang… well doesn’t it always ring at the most inappropriate time. Pulling up my pants I ran to answer it, I was waiting for a call, this is the time of day when Elly & I normally catch up on our news.

“Hi Mum” said the voice at the other end. I am not really concentrating because my trousers are at half mast and I am trying frantically to fix them!

“You won! You won!” the voice is shouting.

“What are you talking about, Elly” I say.

“The Award”! “THE FIRST EVER BLOG OF THE MONTH AWARD!”

I am totally lost for words.  I also have a prize of a fab new O2 N95 Mobile phone (are you jealous George?)

Thank you once again to King Damien for the idea behind the Blog of the Month Award, and to all those who nominated me.

I have said it before and I say it again; Commenter’s are the life blood of blogging. You are the people who inspire me on a daily basis and feed my thoughts with topics and subjects to blog about.

OK MS Elly, you proved that ‘Grannymar could Blog, Podcast and a zillion other things’, now can I go back and sit in the corner? No way! As somebody said to me today on another matter, I have taken the steps and there is no return. I really do not want to return to my pre blogging world, but I am well ready to take a back seat and let others have a chance to share in the glory of winning awards.

THANK YOU EVERYONE

There are days…

There are days when I find myself surfing. No, not that kind of surfing.

I never liked swimming, because after one minute immersion I would start to shiver and my teeth would chatter louder than a Reggae Band. The air might not be blue but my body certainly would be. Opening the freezer door in my house requires more preparation than a polar expedition! So surfing the ocean waves is not my kettle of fish.

My surfing takes place in warm surroundings while sitting comfortably, and the only extremities necessary are my fingers. You guessed it; I surf the Net!

Well it is better than golf! If I joined a Golf club in this country, I would be battered and soaked by the elements and only be allowed play on Lady’s day while listening to the latest gossip about who wore this, or how dreadful Flossie looked in that outfit. You know exactly what it would be like! The Bar always peopled by men, far too old and boring for membership of my Toyboy Club! Their only topics are about chips, slices, woods, irons and handicaps! Now I have enough handicaps of my own without taking on any others 🙄

My surfing on the Net opens doors to new subjects and areas for exploration. I find them from links in blogs, shared items, online newspapers & magazines, emails and dear old Auntie Google ❗

One of my latest forays brought me to:

Mike Moore B.A. M.ed who is a Humorist – Author – Cartoonist – Musician.

I thank him and agree wholeheartedly with this little snippet:

“What People Learn Laughing They Never Forget”

“It is impossible to worry while you’re laughing.”

All I would add is that a day without laughter is a day wasted!

There are days…

There are days when I find myself surfing. No, not that kind of surfing.

I never liked swimming, because after one minute immersion I would start to shiver and my teeth would chatter louder than a Reggae Band. The air might not be blue but my body certainly would be. Opening the freezer door in my house requires more preparation than a polar expedition! So surfing the ocean waves is not my kettle of fish.

My surfing takes place in warm surroundings while sitting comfortably, and the only extremities necessary are my fingers. You guessed it; I surf the Net!

Well it is better than golf! If I joined a Golf club in this country, I would be battered and soaked by the elements and only be allowed play on Lady’s day while listening to the latest gossip about who wore this, or how dreadful Flossie looked in that outfit. You know exactly what it would be like! The Bar always peopled by men, far too old and boring for membership of my Toyboy Club! Their only topics are about chips, slices, woods, irons and handicaps! Now I have enough handicaps of my own without taking on any others 🙄

My surfing on the Net opens doors to new subjects and areas for exploration. I find them from links in blogs, shared items, online newspapers & magazines, emails and dear old Auntie Google ❗

One of my latest forays brought me to:

Mike Moore B.A. M.ed who is a Humorist – Author – Cartoonist – Musician.

I thank him and agree wholeheartedly with this little snippet:

“What People Learn Laughing They Never Forget”

“It is impossible to worry while you’re laughing.”

All I would add is that a day without laughter is a day wasted!

I Did it!

On Saturday I did something new. A FIRST for me. I wormed my way into a Photo walk. I was aware of several going on in Dublin over the past few months, but unfortunately I was never able to attend. Then I heard of one in Belfast….

Following my attempts at photo walking on my own I was given plenty of encouragement to join the boys! So for the second day in a row I was to be found here

I was looking for Toyboys sporting cameras. I wore out the grass walking around the statue of Queen Victoria. Plenty of guys, all with bags but not a camera in sight. Not to be outdone I walked up to a group and said “Are you here for the photo walk”? They smiled politely and said yes. I told them who I was and the smiles grew and I was made very welcome. The group grew and I nearly lost count, now let me see… there was Adam, Andy, Phil, Scott and Stepbar. Oops! That makes five.. Grannymar is losing her touch because there were eight Toyboys. My apologies to those whose names I have missed.

The Continental Fair was in progress again on Saturday so we started there. When we satisfied ourselves with pictures and food the idea was to move on to the Botanic/Queen’s University area, alas the walk that far was outside my energy span so I said my farewells and headed home satisfied with my first effort to be a Flickerer!

If you are interested in seeing some more of my shots they are to be found at belfast flickr meetup

Food Monday ~ Lazy Nut Loaf

When a Toyboy asks, how can I refuse?

Conor asked for more vegetarian recipes so today I have a simple nut loaf. I do have another more elaborate one but will keep it until later in the year.

Lazy Nut Loaf
Preheat oven to 180°C

1 Small Onion
8ozs Mixed Nuts
1 Stick Celery
1½ lbs Potatoes (Cooked and Mashed)
¼ teaspoon Nutmeg
1 tablespoon Tomato Puree
Salt & Pepper
1 teaspoon Herbs of your choice
1 Beaten Egg
½ teaspoon Sesame Seeds

Chop onion and nuts finely. Chop celery finely. Work into mashed potato, adding nutmeg, tomato puree and seasoning and herbs. Bind with egg. Pour into greased lined 1lb loaf tin, sprinkle with Sesame Seeds and bake for 1 – 1½ hours.

Sauce:

1 Can Campbell’s celery soup
Pepper & Salt
½ teaspoon Paprika
Dash Soy Sauce
Dash Sherry

Mix all together and heat

Dear friends

Sunday morning sitting sipping coffee with a large slice of cake at The Park Cafe in Wiesbaden, Germany was a favourite pastime in the early 70’s for me. People watching at the outdoor tables in summer time, or inside enjoying the warmth and reading the days English newspapers that we picked up at the HaupBarnhof (Central Train Station) on our way.

The Character of the Park Cafe changed when the sun went down. Coffee and cake were still available but they usually followed Starters and Main Courses. The centre of the floor became a square for dancing, and the rhythm from the combo in the corner soon had you joining in the dancing. I have many memories of evenings spent there with friends, eating, drinking and dancing.

I was young then and every social occasion seemed to include alcohol. Now what brought that to mind I hear you ask?

A little tipple

One morning during the week while enjoying my coffee and the last slice of cake from my cake tins, my mind drifted back over the years… Shaking myself from my daydreams I sorted through the bundle of papers on a side table. My eye was drawn to something I had missed earlier, it was an article on the dangers of heavy drinking….

It went into great detail and to be truthful it scared the life out of me.

So that’s it! I have decided!

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There is no easy solution so after today; there will be no more

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READING!

I went to Town

Yesterday I went to town. No, not my town but all the way to Belfast. It was a nice day and there were plenty of people about.

It started off like this:

Then this:

But I got restless and went in search of

Then I found a nice one and hi-jacked him into buying me a coffee. After some sweet talking I  took him for a ride drive. We nearly got lost because I took the wrong way went the picturesque route and we ended up here

But I couldn’t resist so I made him

After that there was only one thing for it…

But we got

Jefferson Davis it was an honour to meet you and I thoroughly enjoyed my time with you. Enjoy the remainder of your holiday and safe journey home to South Carolina.

With thanks to the man from Peru who offered to take this picture.