A Gift of a Day

Today I spent at the beach. After the rotten summer that was in it, the last thing we expected at the back end of October was the sort of long mild sunny day which demanded a winter picnic on the beach. But there it was.

After a good walk at low tide, some friends and their little people arrived. We had hours of poking about in rock pools, wading in the waves, digging up dead crabs, trying to push limpets off their perches, hunting for fossils and comparing all the different sorts we found, climbing rocks and just generally doing beach 'stuff'. Afterwards we sat on the rug with mugs of hot chocolate, apples and crackers watching the tide creep in and the waves grow higher. Surfers arrived and we watched them too.

It was nearly 4pm by the time we all got back to the cottage for a rather late lunch but such a day just wasn't to be wasted indoors!

I know I enjoyed my children when they were little and they remember some of the fun outings. But now that I get to occasionally borrow friends' little people I am enjoying the 'footling' times and inquisitive minds all over again. Little people are such good company, whether they are inadvertently knee deep in a rock pool or emptying the mantelpiece of all the wooden elephants...

Yes, a day like today is simply a heart-warming gift, there's no other way to describe it.

Of Triffids, Sand and Rhododendrons

It is an indication of the long, light evenings that I never noticed this triffid growing since it has obviously been growing for some time! Actually it is jasmine and has been flowering since late November on the inside window ledge. Considering it sulked for about two years I do think I am getting the value from it now!

Triffid- aargh!

On Streedagh during the week the wind was so strong that the sand was in constant motion. It is difficult to see but all those white streaks are lines of moving sand. It doesn't always happen in the wind but when it does it feels like walking in a snowstorm, or how I imagine shifting snow might look, bit warmer though! We are still getting ground frosts at night here, and that is very rare.

Travelling Sand

The rhododendrons are coming into flower, along with the May and the end of the bluebells. Everything is so out of sync as the May and bluebells ought have been over weeks ago. Today we are enjoying gale force winds and pouring rain so no flowers would stay still for photo ops! The cuckoo has been here for the last fortnight, to me the sound is so old world rural, seasons have always turned at the sound of the cuckoo. It is quite rare to hear the cuckoo now, I believe, but perhaps people do not always have the time to listen.

 

I have said it before and I will say it again, I am so lucky to live where I do. It is a privilege to have the opportunity and the time to watch the seasons and scenery. Of course there are down sides, rural living is not all dreams and daisies, and some of the frustrations are more 1890s than 2015 but for me it is worth it...preferable to living over a pub in the centre of town, although at the time that too was ok in its way.

P.S. Have you ever realised how loud a snail's chewing sounds in the middle of the night? I'm telling you I thought I had a cow in the room and it was only a snail which had managed to find its way on to the spathyphillum on the bookcase.

Grrrrr....

Sunshine!

The sun was shining today so we went for a bit of a walk down the Point. The sun was actually so bright that I could not see the image on my camera properly to adjust it, which is why the photos look dark instead of bright- what a complaint to have!!
So, not great photos but such a lovely afternoon.

Looking toward Coney Island.

Rosses Point beach with Benbulben.

Oyster Island and across the estuary to Strandhill.

Lighthouse on Oyster Island with Knocknarea to left.

Benbulben across part of the golf course.

'Waiting on the Shore' in memory of those lost at sea.

Rosses Point used to be a fishing village, then a holiday spot for those from the town. But now it is a ten minute drive and most of us locals have grown up spending summers swimming off the beach and winters walking on the beach. During the long grey winters we forget how lucky we are having such beauty on our doorstep, and then the sun shines and we wonder how we overlooked it.

Another Sunny Day at the Beach, and Mail-yippee!!

March's Barter/Swap- BOOKS!

Another glorious day; although very cold there was hardly a breath of wind. On the News it said this is the most prolonged spell of good weather Ireland has had in two years- so don't laugh at me going on about it!

After School Assembly Mom collected me and we went to Rosses Point beach just so it didn't feel left out of the blog-world.

I made Mom jump this stream, she wasn't sure if she'd make it 'in' or 'over', but there's life in the old girl yet! (She'll hit me if she reads this!)

If you walk the second beach you have to tip the rocks at the end, but if you're the bro you have to crawl into the cave and tip the back wall...

Almost 11 o'clock in full sun and there was still frost on the sand.

Benbulben from Rosses Point this time! Its rather a landmark, as you'll have guessed.

Mussels for tea anyone ?
Now isn't this a quilt waiting to be made? Silk, perhaps, embellishment and lace?

And look what was waiting for me when I got home:

A parcel from UpTownDesign containing lavender, 2 skeins of beautiful red wool, and some lovely fabric as well as some extra goodies! The post took ages as I ordered it in January I think...before the credit card ban!

I'm delighted, and I can tell you now that you're lucky there was any posting done at all today because I'm itching to find a pattern for these fabrics and start sewing!!!

Anyhow, check out her yarns in particular as they are absolutely wonderful colours!

A Walk on the Beach

Yesterday tea-time Mom and I walked on Strandhill beach. The tide was going out, the sun was sunny, the breeze was gentle and it was just glorious!

...wet pebbles...
...looking towards the village with Benbulben behind...

...sand dunes, a few weeks back Sos and friends were out for a walk between lectures and had fun rolling down these dunes. When they returned to College for Dance Class the tutor couldn't understand how there got to be so much sand on the gym floor!

...a loose cannon?...

...Strandhill village which consists of a Surf School, a pizza place, and several pubs...

We were so refreshed after this, not just by the sun and sea air, but also by the wide space of the beach and the beauty.

Today I intend to haul out an old not-working sewing machine someone gave me years ago...

to see whether I can repair it. If the feed-dogs can be lowered on it I might be able to use it for machine quilting which would speed up the quilt finishing, and I might manage to actually sell some. On my usual machine the feed-dogs can't be lowered and quilting is so disastrous I invariably rip it out and re-do it by hand...slow stuff...

However at present the sewing table is a mess...

...as is the house...

...the ironing is beginning to overflow its basket...

...and I have already got two quilts partly quilted which would benefit from BEING FINISHED!

So of course I'm going to do something else entirely!

And in case you are interested Amanda won the spot prize yesterday, the answer being Mary Poppins, of course! So little goodie on the way soon! And keep your eyes peeled for future spot-the-spot-prize! Tee hee!

I'm Back!

Ladies and Gentlemen, Umbrellas and walking sticks...I'd like to inform you that its back to business as usual!
The past week went grand, and I think that one's Ma-in-law had a good time. After her and the Hub's safari round all the relations in UK it was a fairly quiet week. They had one long day out to the Ceide Fields in Mayo, but mostly just went for scenic drives and long walks locally.

The first evening she arrived B and her friend went to the School Hallowe'en Disco, which is rather a highlight of the term. All the school discos are great fun and all three girls have enjoyed them over the years- they are so strictly 'policed' by the teachers that I've always reckoned it to be a controlled exposure to 'going out'. B and her friend dressed as 'Good Conscience' and 'Bad Influence', and here they are with Ma!
Another morning we took the dogs with us and had a lovely long walk on Streedagh Beach.

On Friday it was School Prize Day, and since Dilly had come down to see Ma, Dilly, Sos and Ma went to Prize Day. B was singing in the Choir. They all enjoyed it, and then Dilly took them all out to lunch in town, and around the French Market, which is here for the October Bank Holiday Weekend each year.

Saturday morning the Hub took Ma to Dublin Airport to return to East Africa, and Dilly to collect the trunks we'd lent to the theater in August. Dilly remained in Dublin as she had work on Sunday.

After that I ground to a complete halt and it has taken me until today to catch up on cleaning, laundry, tidying up and replenishing the pantry! This afternoon Sos got the bus to Dublin to stay with Dilly and see what her work entails, as well as going to two plays. B has just returned from a day in town with a friend wherein they went to the cinema.

And so it goes. This week is half-term for B and Reading Week for the other two so I plan to take it easy and do lots of quilting! Early start tomorrow morning though as my car is finally in the garage and the Hub leaves for work at 5.15am, and guess who is driving???