Just enjoy this.
14 Oct 2010 Leave a Comment
in art, Blog Action Day, music, water
Not even 5 minutes. Less than that to have a look at something so familiar, & experience it in a new way. Enjoy, relax a little. Sound, music, colour; all made from frozen water. Just enjoy, a small moment of enjoyment & wonder.
May we all find moments of peace & wonder everyday. May we all realize the preciousness of everyday things. May we all have equal , sustainable, access to clean, plentiful water. May we appreciate and honor all the gifts and living things of this world, and all of our sisters and brothers upon it. May we all be wise, compassionate, well, and at peace.
WordPress vs Blogger
12 Oct 2010 4 Comments
What to do? What to do? Everywhere I turn, I hear more experienced bloggers singing the praises of WordPress- dot org, that is, mainly. As a happy shiny newbie (& complete non-techie!) I started off using Blogger in July, and managed to make using it a struggle even though it’s meant to be easy-peasy! After much ranting & begging, I mostly got the hang of it, but then I heard the siren call of ” come to WordPress, WordPress; it’s so wonderful!” Hmmmm…so here I am, I’ve tried it…and I don’t think I like it. Yes, I know it’s the .com & not the .org, but I didn’t want to pay for something that would be difficult for me to set up & that I’d not be able to easily customise. I want to be able to tweek my colour scheme in tune with the seasons or topics written about – girly, perhaps, but I am a colour fanatic! And, oh god, I do need something for idiot bloggers because somehow, even tho’ I’ve inserted pictures before, this time I can’t seem to write below the photo & the text is all up here.… I’m sure it is something simple- but what?? You see how hard it would be for me to try to do something that needed any computer skills! I still need a bit of instruction; anyone have a 10-year-old they could lend?
Part of my dilemma is that I’ve just made my old Blogger blog all lovely & purple: http://joyousflowers.blogspot.com/ and even tho’ I’ve tried just about all the free WP themes on this site, they just aren’t colour happy enough! And I can’t seem to add a few of the plug-ins that I’d like- the Blog Action Day or the Christmas (yes, I’m an overgrown child) Countdown. So- what to do, what to do?? I had better make a choice, and stick to it, if I want to have any followers at all one day! So- any comments on the pros & cons of WordPress.com vs Blogger are VERY welcome!
Whew! And I’ve still got to figure out where I’ll set up the business blog (again, must be easy & free!) for the Blooming Brilliant Garden Centre!
- colour!!
Finding Mexico & Africa in Dublin! good food and books
02 Oct 2010 4 Comments
in Africa, books, food, Mexican, travel writing Tags: books, Chapters bookstore, Mexican food
What €7 meal is worth a 2 hour car trip? A tasty & inexpensive Mexican one at Boojum, ( we are Mexican food lovers & were quite happy to find this place!)
boojum tasty lunch deal!
especially when combined with-HOORAY!- a several hour shop in Chapters bookstore! I didn’t take a photo of my 3 yummy vegetarian soft tacos (rice, and/or black and/or pinto beans) with choice of cheeses, guacamole, sour cream, mild to very hot salsa, & more. (I went for the pico on the salsa front.) But I DID take a photo of my fabulous used book finds!
Well, 2 of them- Congo Journey by Redmond O’Hanlon & Facing the Congo by Jeffery Taylor- I got a few weeks ago, but I wanted to group them all together & roll in them they way movie folks do with cash after they’ve robbed a bank or whatnot.
For only €47, I got 7 books, most of them hardback. That’s kinda nice, because I usually donate my books to our little local library after I’m done, & hardbacks will be sturdier. (Our library’s book buying fund got badly hit by the recession) On another library note, inter-library book requesting is brilliant, & a great way to get a hold of books not on the local shelf.
Anyway, I went whole hog for books on Africa. One of the ones I got was by Facing the Congo’s Jeffery Taylor: The Lost Kingdoms of Africa. This book got a 4 star rating at Amazon, & his other a 5, so I’m quite looking forward to them. I also got some books in which the travelers carry on despite what seem to be quite limiting physical factors. A Sense of the World is the true story of a man traveling from the beginning of the 1800s (excerpt from the book’s jacket:) ”known simply as the Blind Traveler—a solitary, sightless adventurer who fought the slave trade in Africa, survived a frozen captivity in Siberia, hunted rogue elephants in Ceylon and helped chart the Australian outback.” Click the book title above to go to the author’s site & find out more. I also got Far Horizons, written by Frank Gardner, who was paralyzed from the waist down when he was shot 6 times in Riyadh. He did not let that stop his adventurous spirit, & is still travelling to & reporting from rather extreme places!
None of these books were the ones I actually hoped to find- I was looking for Blood River by Tim Butcher, and perhaps his new one Chasing the Devil. I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to get those on inter-library loan, though. There’s a review of Chasing here, & if you click the Blood River title, you’ll find a review from Catherine, who also met him after he read a mixed review she wrote!
So now, this
ahh, reading in bed!
will be me for the next while- even lazier than an armchair traveler!
rescue dog Petal is getting stronger & gaining weight!
25 Sep 2010 2 Comments
in dogs, Petal, Pinenut Tags: Petal, Pinenut, rescue dogs
Petal is nearly 6kg now!
The lovely, gentle, Petal is with us just over 3 weeks now, and she is really doing well. She’s put on about 2kg- that’s 50% of her original body weight when found! Here’s a photo of poor thin Petal, below. (She’s not really keen on the camera, as you can see from her expression!)
Petal when found- about 4kg 
You can read the first post about her here, and a 2nd snippet here. Her hip is not bothering her, and the horrible abscess she had healed up well with lots of cleaning (by our other dog Pinenut- we nearly had to put a big head collar/satellite dish on HIM as well as on her in order to control excessive licking,) & antibiotics. Now, God love her, she’s in heat! I wonder if it may have been the returning health/weight gain that may have brought that on. Our other 2 are fixed, so a female in heat is new to us. She would like Pinenut to be her man, but he’s not really up to the job 
Spaying is certainly on the cards for her after this is over.
Pinenut is not so interested in girls!
Petal
She loves going for a stroll, but even in places when we can let the others loose to run, we now have to keep her on lead like this- no puppies are wanted! We want her to fatten up, but not that way! Note: if you are in the south Kilkenny area & would like to adopt a pet, check out the Inistioge Puppy Rescue- we got our wonderful Rottweiler, Jessie, there.
‘The Room’ reading/ Blogger’s Book Club note
21 Sep 2010 1 Comment
Just a quick note that Emma Donoghue will be reading from ROOM at Trinity College, 1pm Sat 9th October: bookings to dublinpubliclibraries@dublincity.ie
The Blogger’s Book Club will be reading her book for November.
Town of Books & Michaelmas Festival
19 Sep 2010 4 Comments
in books, craft, festivals, food, Ireland, the river Barrow, traditions Tags: Guinness, local craft, local traditions, Michealmas Festival, tasty food, town of books
The Town of Books is on this weekend in Graiguenamanagh, Co. Kilkenny, along with the traditional music festival. After looking forward to this all year, wouldn’t you know it, both my husband & I are too unwell to go enjoy them! I did manage to sniffle along to a few book stalls in the drizzle of yesterday afternoon & found 2 Michael Connelly mysteries for my (considerably sicker than me,) better half. Today (Sunday) I’ve got to work, so will miss Micheal Kelly of Grow It Yourself Ireland speaking at 3pm. The plan was to send The Hubby to listen & report back, so if anyone reading this went- let me know what you thought!
Next weekend is another favorite- the Michaelmas Festival ( their website is quite good, with interesting history & photos as well as the current events listing & such.) Last year we really enjoyed the lovely weather, beautiful breeds of farmyard animals & old fashioned farming items & skills on display, and some VERY tasty duck pie & steak & Guinness pie from one of the stands.
There’s lots more on offer, too, & we bought this lovely pitcher from a stall featuring local New Ross potters Lavery Pottery.
Not to forget the tasty pint or two on offer from the local pubs!
We didn’t win in the duck race (payback for eating a relative?) but it was great fun to watch, especially when the swans crashed the party!
I recommend this charming festival, & we’ll be taking our immune booster to be sure we don’t miss it!
PS: I’LL HAVE A NEW UPDATE ON OUR LITTLE RESCUE DOG PETAL (WITH NEW PHOTOS) IN A FEW DAYS 
our new dog Petal is doing well!
13 Sep 2010 2 Comments
Here’s Petal on the far right, waiting while doggie dinners are being prepped. She started out at 4kg when we found her, & now she is closing in on 5. The vet says we should aim for about 8. She’s a quick learner; watching our other dogs & picking up that the canine toilet is outdoors only, and that begging while human alpha male & female are eating is not allowed. Petal learned even more quickly that snuggling on the couch & sleeping in the bed with us IS allowed! Our little family feels complete again!
Petal- a starving stray dog no longer!
07 Sep 2010 5 Comments
in dogs Tags: dogs, Petal, rescue dogs, Shep
Petal
Here is the lovely little Petal; found by The Hubby as she was running around scavenging for food by the N7 a few days ago. She is skin & bone, & has a hairline fracture of one hip & a slight hip dysplasia on the other, but she is a loving, friendly, trusting little girl. She is about 3 yrs old, looks like a Parson Jack Russell mixed with a King Charles. We love her.
Hubby took her to the local vet to check her for a microchip & get her looked over. He registered her as found with the local vet & the ISPCA, (as well as calling to the local houses- tho ‘ if she was owned by someone there and let to run & starve like that, they don’t deserve a pet!) I’ve checked local and national lost & found websites, but she is not listed as lost. If she was, she’d have been lost a while to be in the extremely thin state she’s in now, so I checked to over 6 months back. That was heartbreaking- so many pets lost or stolen; most not resolved.
If she is someone’s genuinely lost pet, of course we will return her, but as you can imagine, we love her & want very much to keep her. About a month ago , our very 1st dog, Shep, died. We, and our other 2 dogs, were heartbroken. Now Petal is here, and she fits in wonderfully. We even know how to care for her while her hip mends, as Shep had broken his not long after we adopted him, too. (We think it was sheep dog vs vehicle. He got out one morning at our old house, and being a dyed in the wool car chaser before we adopted him, that is what he must have done. Thankfully, with time, neutering, & better fencing that activity ceased.) He was a true gentleman, and his loss is keenly felt.
Shep on a snowy walk
So now Petal is with us, and she is a true lady. She knows we are trying to help, & never growls or snaps, even when we unknowingly jostled her sore hip, or when the vet had to position her on the xray table and it was a bit painful for her. When The Hubby found her a song with the refrain ”you are my angel” was playing on the radio. And she really is.
I hope to post photos and updates as she fattens up and recovers.
Eat those weeds!
29 Aug 2010 Leave a Comment
in flowers/plants, food, wild food, wild plants Tags: curry, edible seeds, foraging, Himalayan Balsam, invasive species, wild food, wild plants
A few days ago I sampled a new delicacy that grows like a weed in our part of the country; in fact it is a weed. Himalayan Balsam has a pretty flower that is loved by bees.
It also has copious seedheads that are incredibly fun to pop-they EXPLODE!! Technically you shouldn’t, as this is a
VERY invasive non-native species that can completely take over to the detriment of native plants and the myriad insects that depend on them. In fact, its one of the 10 most invasive species worldwide! Here is a local
beside the Barrow in New Ross~ flowers & festivals!
27 Aug 2010 Leave a Comment
in festivals, flowers/plants, Ireland, music, New Ross, The Blooming Brilliant Garden Centre, the river Barrow Tags: Festivals, flowers, garden centre, music, New Ross
Beautiful flowers for the beautifully sunny day along the Barrow in New Ross. Who says approaching the Septembers of life need be bittersweet~ look at all the joyful colours! (my link didn’t work! but click on the garden center link & then from there click on the post called September Beauties) My local New Ross garden centre was abundant with butterflies, hoverflies & bumblebees today, all buzzing their merry way about the place. And in a few weeks time, all of Ross will be buzzing with festivals! One, running from 23rd -26th September is billed as New Ross’s own ’boutique festival’ ~ the New Ross Piano Festival. Before that, though, the Celtic River Festival will be taking place on the weekend of 11-12 September with lots of boating events, street events & more great music with Kila and Altan, amongst others. (They also have a Facebook page.) I’ve seen them both play live before, and they’re worth the trip if you’re a bit father away. We’re looking forward to a (celtic) Indian Summer!
