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.

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!

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!

]]> http://bytheriverbarrow.wordpress.com/2010/10/02/finding-mexico-africa-in-dublin-good-food-and-books/feed/ 4 aflowergal boojum used travel writing books galore! reading-in-bed http://bytheriverbarrow.wordpress.com/2010/09/25/rescue-dog-petal-is-getting-stronger-gaining-weight/ http://bytheriverbarrow.wordpress.com/2010/09/25/rescue-dog-petal-is-getting-stronger-gaining-weight/#comments Sat, 25 Sep 2010 12:02:32 +0000 aflowergal http://bytheriverbarrow.wordpress.com/?p=97 ]]>

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 Blogger’s Book Club will be reading her book for November.

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

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.

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

example: over the past 3 years the HB has traveled down the stream to the left of the lane, jumped over to the right hand side, & has made it’s way down to the river. (The HB is the plant that looks deceptively like a low-ish hedge with light pink flowers in this photo)

But you can have fun exploding your cake & eating it, too. The seeds are edible, and really quite tasty! They can be eaten at all stages of maturity, from green through to dark brown. They have a lightly nutty taste. It would be interesting to know what nutrients are found in them, but I’ve not found any info so far.

(NOTE: the green bits here are from the exploded seedpod itself- I don’t think this bit is edible)

The seeds can be eaten raw, or used in cooking. There is a curry recipe here from an interesting site called eat weeds. For best practice in harvesting the seeds, explode them into a bag to prevent strays- the seed came fling itself many feet away! It is also suggested that you pull up the plants, to help slow down the spread. Make sure the removed roots are not in contact with the ground, in case they re-root themselves. Enjoy your yummy seed harvest!

]]> http://bytheriverbarrow.wordpress.com/2010/08/29/41/feed/ 0 aflowergal himalayan balsam flower nature and echinaceas 019 exploded HB seedpod with seeds http://bytheriverbarrow.wordpress.com/2010/08/27/beside-the-barrow-in-new-ross-flowers-festivals/ http://bytheriverbarrow.wordpress.com/2010/08/27/beside-the-barrow-in-new-ross-flowers-festivals/#comments Fri, 27 Aug 2010 19:15:46 +0000 aflowergal http://bytheriverbarrow.wordpress.com/?p=29 ]]>

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!