Monthly Archives: December 2013

So how did I do?

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‘To Do’ list for 2013!

Try something new. 

I needed to find a new hairstylist. It took two efforts. The first girl I tried, asked what I wanted, then went and did her own thing, she was a FRINGE person. A no eyebrows fringe person. That should have been a clue, so I changed again in August and so far so good.

Take an unplanned, spur-of-the-moment trip.

I combined this with: ‘Document “A Day In My Life” in photos’, see below.

Visit a cultural icon.

I did visit Elly several times this year, does she count? 😉 Back in April, while staying with Elly & George, I found The Wonderful Barn, a corkscrew-shaped barn built in 1743 on the edge of Castletown House Estate, which borders Leixlip and Celbridge, Ireland. The stairs ascends around the exterior of the building and it is flanked by two smaller dovecote towers.

Wonder if I can count the Shandon Bells here?

Give a sincere compliment every day for a month.

It was November before I got round to this one. Although I was not outdoors every day I managed to compliment at least one person everyday. If it was not face to face, then it happened by phone, Skype, Facebook or, twitter.

Clear out 12 cupboards of clothes and household items that I am un-lightly to use again – one a month.

I did manage a good clear out this year, passing many items to charity. I may begin again come the new year and reduce things a little more – sure it will make Elly’s job easier when I cock my toes! 😉

Make three renovations.

On target, two outdoors and one inside completed.

Try to arrange for a coffee shop to begin ‘A Coffee for the Wall’ idea. 

This was a failure, but you cannot win every time.

See a play in a theatre every other month.

I only managed a few – ‘ground kissing’ kinda got in the way! Mind you, one was part of the Dublin Fringe, in which I had some input.

Attending Classical concerts.

Only three at the Ulster Hall, blame the ground kissing again. 🙁

Visit at least 3 museums or stately homes that I haven’t been to before.

Two museums visited, one in Dublin and the other in Cork.

Pamper myself with a manicure.

In my clear out I discovered a battery operated manicure/pedicure set. All it took was a newly recharged couple of batteries and it made easy work of achieving this aim. Atrixo hand cream (green tub) worn over night under cotton gloves, has really helped to improve my hands! It works wonders on cleanly lifting any dry scabs from cuts or scrapes. Make sure the wound is not open.

Take a picture for each letter of the alphabet.

I managed to complete this task and blog about each photo.

Get up and go for a walk as the sun rises.

My aim was to go for a walk and catch the scene as the sun rose. I didn’t manage this one. We had a very cloudy year in my neck of the woods alas the bright mornings were when I was off my feet following falls.

Take a moonlit walk on a beach.

This sounded like a good idea way back last January, but I never managed to be near a beach in the moonlight.

Write a letter to someone I admire.

I finally managed to complete this on yesterday!

Enter a writing contest. Anyone know of a contest that calls for no more than 100 wurds?

I found one calling for one hundred words, and entered! 😀

Kiss at midnight on New Year’s Eve – Come on, I might as well dream…. that there is still some life in the old girl yet!

I still have time ….. a chance ….. a very slim outside chance…..

Document “A Day In My Life” in photos.

In July while staying with Elly, I decided to let the train take the strain and went to Cork via Portlaoise. Again I photographed my day and posted about it here.

Pamper myself with a foot massage. 

I do this myself and now make a regular habit of it. When finished, I feel like I could dance all night. 😀 Again, I use the Atrixo hand cream liberally on my feet after my daily shower and just before I put my socks on. Wonderful!

Be a movie extra.

Planet Korda Pictures in association with RTÉ made a documentary film, about all aspects of the cinema-going experience from people of all ages within the island of Ireland. I could not resist adding my tuppenceworth to the stories already gathered. I made the final cut, but you would need to be quick to catch me! The programme was aired on RTÉ on 1st April 2013. I was invited to join the director, producer and other contributors for the showing.

Talk to a stranger everyday. 

Those I counted so far: 443. Back in January I kept a rough count after each outing to see how I was doing and kept this going month by month. During a three week stay in Dublin in July, I did some travelling within Ireland and had a great opportunity to meet new people, fellow passengers on buses and trains, I heard so wonderful life stories and this made the journeys shorter and all the more interesting.The breakdown for the first ten and a half months were 47 – 36 – 51 – 53 – 21 – 44 – 123(July) – 32 – 15 – 11 – 10. My outings were curtailed last September after I was told not to drive for the foreseeable future. I may have left out a few in the latter part of the year but I gave up counting in early November. With the colder weather I stayed closer to home, thus having fewer opportunities to meet new people.

Tame my garden.

Partly done, but may need help to subdue the remaining wilderness.

Grow some vegetables. 

Fail. 🙁 This one will have to wait until next year!

Live until the end of the year. One breath at a time! 

Nearly there! 😉

♥+♥+♥+♥+♥

PS: I have with the help of a team of my Toyboys, brought my old blog up to date. It now has the Twenty Eleven Theme (same as here), It is all bright and cheerful with a header picture and a different coloured background to this one. Over the next couple of weeks we hope to finish moving the latest posts and comments. When the task is completed, I hope to to move back to https://grannymar.com full time, but don’t worry, I will will give you notice. At this stage there are 2,669 Posts produced over the past seven years.

To all my precious Toyboys who played any part in this mammoth task, I pay special tribute and offer heartfelt thanks and a hand-full of virtual hugs! 😀

Dear Mary,

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‘Write a letter to someone I admire’ was one of the aims on my ‘To Do’ list for 2013. It was only yesterday, when checking to see how many items I actually managed to complete, that I discovered this one almost slipped through the net. With a last flourish, I plan to right that situation now.

Dear Mary,

It was a privilege to have known you, even if it was just a few short years. Well into your 80s when our paths crossed for the first time. I well remember the day. A tiny effervescent bundle with snow white hair framing an open smiling face and eyes that sparkled like diamonds.

The stories of your young days and wartime working in the drawing office at Shorts Aircraft factory, in Belfast, were fascinating. Water Polo, your favourite sport is one I am only familiar with, from your tales. You made it sound like so much fun. The tricks you played on dancing partners, the guys you liked and those you did not.

You were always contented with your lot in life, yet never married, despite being so admired and had many suitors through the years. – Your sister Madge, confided that to me. You were so proud and generous with you time for your niece and nephew and later their children: your grandnieces and grandnephew. They all loved you dearly.

You loved to hear Jack sing, and on mornings that we were collecting you, he gave the front passenger seat an extra dusting for our treasured passenger.

Having stopped driving years earlier, you were never afraid to walk the busy road to the corner, no matter what the weather, on the off chance you might catch a bus to Belfast. If none materialised, you had no problem accepting lifts from total strangers, who often went out of their way to take you to the destination you were headed for. I have the feeling those sparkling eyes won them over! Following these adventures you always came back with amazing life stories that they shared with you along the journey.

The hours we spent together thinking, talking and working on craft ideas were so rewarding. You had so many items at hand to solve an intricate or difficult project problem, and always made it fun. I loved the set of tiny real glass buttons that you gave me. I used two of them on Elly’s wedding outfit to attach the tiny hand made bag, for her items ‘old, new, borrowed and blue’. I know you would smile at the idea of me sitting up in bed, in the hotel on the morning of the wedding, making the bag by hand – beading included! The buttons did their work well and brought you close to our hearts on the day.

Your house was a treasure trove of furniture and well loved items from your late mother and grandmother’s homes. With each visit I found a new treasure that I had not noticed before, each had a story and your eyes danced as you lovingly recalled the memories. Nowadays young people must have ‘new’ and all modern conveniences that ping, sing or are touch control. Nothing these days is made to last, no stories or history to pass on, yet on many occasions, such as in our recent power cuts, it is the old reliable items from a previous age that see us through.

I must tell you about a wonderful young girl, Catherine or Kate as we called her, that I had the great pleasure of working with, after I was widowed. Kate, met the man of her dreams and often shared her tales of her romance and the fun that she shared with Peter and his sister Lois. The names were familiar, but I did not think any more about them.

Eventually Kate & Peter became engaged and a wedding was organised. I was privileged with some fellow work mates to be invited to the evening do! Chatting over morning coffee break at work, we ‘girls’ decided we would like to go to the church and see our friend actually get married, then meet up again in the evening to join the fun.

I arrived at the church early and sat into the back row. I noticed a woman moving about in the chancel and realised, even at that distance, that I knew her. Mary, it was Mildred, your niece! It was only than that I put two and two together and realised that Peter the groom, was your grandnephew! What a small world. Lois too played her part, she was a bridesmaid.

Peter & Cate are well settled into married life and now have three young children. Mary, you would be so pleased with Peter’s choice, they are well matched, a steady couple with many shared interests.

While Elly was here a couple of weekends ago, she was driving past where you lived, The house has been totally rebuild, but as Elly said “I am glad Mary’s house was built in the style of the old one!” It looks well and you would not be displeased.

As this year draws to a close, I spent some time thinking about and reliving memories of friends, alas no longer with us, who made an impact on my life. Mary, you left a mark on my heart in the nicest possible way.

For that I thank you,

Your forever friend,

Marie.

Tomorrow, I will run through the list to see where I fell down!

Thursday Special ~ Portrait sitting

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A woman decided to have her portrait painted.

She told the artist, ”Paint me with diamond earrings, a diamond necklace, emerald bracelets, a ruby brooch, and gold Rolex.”

“But you’re not wearing any of those things,” replied the artist.

“I know,” she said. “It’s in case I should die before my husband. I am sure he will remarry right away, and I want his new wife to go crazy looking for the jewellery.”

♥

Thanks to Tilly for this sparkly number.

Brrrr!

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Our local weather department are warning us of a cold snap over the next few days:

Could be pretty Major storm on the way for Monday which could last well into Christmas eve. Warnings will be issued tomorrow, advice is to stay tuned to forecasts and warnings especially if you have travel plans. This looks to be quite an exceptional storm, which is likely hit not just us here in NI but the whole of the UK. It is currently affecting parts of Canada causing disruption to travel and power supplies. It will quickly move across the Atlantic to affect us over the Christmas period. Keep an eye out for warnings folks.

The snow has already started in Ballyboughal, just north of Dublin, and many other places north of that. Time to light the fire and bunker down for the duration.

I hope it does not end up as cold as in the header, a photo through one of my windows a couple of years ago.

I

Thursday Special ~ Housework

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Housework was a woman’s job, but one evening, Jenny arrived

home from work to find the children bathed, one load of laundry in
the washer and another in the dryer. Dinner was on the stove, and the
table set. She was astonished!

It turns out that Ralph had read an
article that said, ‘Wives who work full-time and who had to do their own
housework were too tired to have sex’.

The night went off very well. The next day, she told her office
friends all about it. ‘We had a great dinner. Ralph even cleaned up
the kitchen. He helped the kids do their homework, folded all the
laundry and put it away. I really enjoyed the evening.’

‘But what about sex afterwards?’ asked her friends.

‘Oh, that?’ said Jenny …

‘Ralph was too tired…’

No, it was not Mayo this time, but his sidekick – Ramana, who passed on this little giggle today.

Our Children

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As the mother of a 35 year old daughter, I am proud to admit that I devoted my attentions to the first eighteen years of her life. I did not go out to work, but gave time when she was at school, to charity volunteering. We had none of the modern gadgets that are considered compulsory in the world of today, yet she was helped to progress at every level. If research was needed for a project, we took her to the library. We fed her books, as did her teachers, she loved school and made plenty of friends. When my husband died following a six year illness, I went back to work, but often felt resentment from working mothers. Being a parent is a privilege, and we need to remember that time given to children is like paying forward to the future.

Where did that come from? It was a comment I made on an interesting blog post this morning. Well worth a read, I think:

Your Attention Matters

As you all know

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I live in Northern Ireland, a part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. An area of great beauty, heritage and some wonderful people. It is variously described as a country, province or region of the UK.

At last count we had a Population count of 1.811 million. The majority of whom wish to go about their daily business and earn an honest crust. Unfortunately there are a few………….

The Northern Ireland Assembly, sitting at Stormont, is the devolved legislature for Northern Ireland. Don’t be going interrupting them with any little problems at the moment, 😉 they are in recess (14 December 2013 to 5 January 2014).

The NI Assembly is responsible for making laws on transferred matters in Northern Ireland. In recent weeks (maybe months), the members of the five main Stormont parties have been examining a draft document on the way forward on flags, parades and the past, drawn up by US diplomat Richard Haass.

Early in December 2012, the organisers of a ‘Fleg’ protest (that is how these folk pronounce the word Flag), caused major disruption to the hard grafting folk of Belfast and many other towns across the province. Marches and protests were often followed by violence, which discouraged people from shopping or planning meals out with friends etc. In times of recession, every sale is important, some establishments and stores were depending on pre-Christmas business to make quotas after poor sales earlier in the year. Many of these businesses did not survive past the end of the year.*

The organisers of the ‘Fleg’ protest, following the decision of Belfast City Council to limit the days that the Union Flag (the flag of the United Kingdom) was flown from Belfast City Hall, are the same people who decorate every highway and byway street light and telegraph pole with a flag every year for the marching season. Some of these specimens are attached to the pole at the furthest reach of the person attaching it. Many looked like the country was in mourning with the flags looking like they were at half mast.

The enthusiasm ran out, as it does every year during the marching season.  The flags are crudely hung, on occasions upside down, and left there until they rot. No sign or thought of having respect for a flag, as we see in other countries. Today I managed to take a few photos of one such rag that was pristine (but cheap poor fabric, probably made in China) when it first graced a light pole in my neck of the woods, last May. Not alone is it an insult to Queen and country, it is now no longer suitable to be used to wipe your shoes.


Not wanting to be left out in the cold, ‘theotheruns’ wanted some of the action…..

On Monday 25 November 2013, masked men in boiler suits hijacked a car and forced the driver to take a beer keg packed with 60 kg (132 lbs) of home made explosives to the city centre and leave it at an underground car park entrance to Victoria Street Centre, the prime shopping location in Belfast close to one of the city’s main police stations and the court complex.

The centre was evacuated and surrounding streets closed during the alert, with dozens spending the night in the Ulster Hall concert venue. The bomb detonated at 11.15pm as army bomb disposal experts prepared to examine it. Car owners who had parked their vehicles in the underground car park, were unable to return and retrieve them until 7am the next morning.

Last Friday night dissident republicans claimed responsibility for a small bomb explosion in Belfast Cathedral Quarter. The weekend was one of the busiest for staff outings in the run-up to Christmas. Dozens of those forced to pile out onto the streets had just sat down to food, when the police began evacuating the area.

Just think of the wasted long hours spent in growing, shipping and purchasing the food. This is before the costs to purchasing premises, running costs, hiring staff and paying wages and preparing, cooking & serving the meals. One nights disruption alone, cost restaurants £60,000′.

* This three part interview with Paul Rankin and Michael Deane, made in April this year, gives a picture of the mountain that businesses have to negotiate here in this tiny corner of the globe.
Part 1, Part 2 & Part 3

If we, in this tiny speck on the globe cannot work together, what hope is there for the rest of the world? Peace how are you!