Photos from my stomach...

just another reason why you dont see Daisy in a dress...she likes to life it ,a bit too high !!!!

My ever so slightly insane, but wonderful husband !

Hee-hee, so lazy was a certain Mama yesterday when we went to the college grounds for our picnic, I stayed put on our picnic blanket and took the photos from there !!!! By the way in the photos that Sean took of Daisy sitting on my stomach I`m still not quite sure if I`m laughing or crying in pain...Kids, please note: Your Mama is NOT a seat :)

9/11 in Donadea

9/11 is never far from our minds, even here in Ireland... and in Donadea Forest Park we have a simple memorial to the fire-fighters who died that awful day, saving others... Why Donadea in Kildare, Ireland ? Well one of those brave souls was from there...the monument is simple...two "towers" inscribed with the names...but WHAT an affect it has on you...I found it hard to pick a photo ,Annah and myself found it hard to say anything...but this one of Daisy "holding up" the tower blocks had to be the one...to me it represents our children, our future and the hope that they will build a world where humans love and respect each other...NO MATTER WHAT...

Wonderful day...wonderful friends !

Oh , my back started playing up when we were about 2 miles into the walk...and Reuben found me a fantastic stick (see pic of me holding Daisy crossing the bridge)...so fantastic I brought it home, I`m going to strip it down, paint it and use it for long walks...I walked in our front door and what did Sean say ??? "Hiya Moses" !!!!!

Today, ah today...Annah called over with Reuben , Aubrey and Saul and a picnic and Aideen, Daisy and myself joined them for a wonderful few hours in Donadea Forest Park...which, although only a few minutes drive from our home may as well be a few million miles away (its times like these you do miss a car)...anyways, WHAT a day, it was simple glorious, simple as that ! We sat and ate, we walked, we sat and ate some more...I think the photos say it all...THANKYOU ANNAH xx

A rose by any other name...

the first bloom....there is a wonderful "history" to this rose...a neighbour was moving and didnt want to leave his mothers/grandmothers rose behind so asked me would I take it and put it in my garden...it was an honour...it was als literally a twig with a few leaves, but with loving care and plenty of banana skins and tea-bags its come back to life after 2 long years, and like all "old" roses the scent would make your heart glad ! I feel also that even though they passed long before I was born this flower connects me to my grandmothers as it is of their generation...

Homemade grub and sunshine

Oh bliss...the sun has at last decided to shime on us ...and even though we were feeling yuccky after the bug we caught we all pulled together and made a dinner of lasagne , salad, home-made ginger ale, and strawberries and brunch ice-cream to follow...the sun was a pure tonic as were the kids who luckily escaped the bug ! As you can see a good time was had by all ,even if Sean was caught napping while the table was being cleared :0)

The Other man...

Meet "Gordon" the other man in my life :0) Aideen got me this garden gnome, and bless his ceramic little heart he actually whistles everytime I walk by him (ok he has batteries...but hey he whistles at me!!!!!!)...another reason to feel good in the garden :0)

Just call me MOM

Today was the usual round of baking, knitting, cleaning (I dont know why its like shovelling snow ,but still we do it) ! Anyway , I decided to flick open Granny Marys cookbook and it opened on "Apple Sauce Cake" its 90 years old so it must be ok ! Everyone thought it was delicious, especially the middle bit were the chocolate oozes...OMG !

Also on the needles are another pair of socks each for the girls...

Garden delights

Our garden while it will never win a prize for best kept garden , is as much part of our home as any other room...everyone loves being out there, and with the sun not exactly shining down on us, every time a piece peeps through the clouds we all drop what we are doing and head outside ! Aideen even took her HS work outside today, I mean who would want to sit at a desk ??? As you can see, Daisy was "helping" !!!! The flowers are all opening up too...even Seans oriental poppy !

neary there...

Ive been knitting myself a jumper to wear to Seans 4oth this July, I wanted something old-fashioned and timeless...Im on the sleeves at the moment ,heres some details of the neck and waist...

May a month of birthdays...

This month is a busy month for me for card-making, here are two cards Ive made for my beautiful nieces laura and kerry...

Shaunas 10th Birthday...

Today and tomorrow are a sad/happy time for us...if she had lived Shauna would be celebrating her 10th birthday...so today we brought some helium balloons and I made a banana cake...then tomorroe we shall let the balloons off from her swing in the garden and watch them soar, and then blow out the candles on her cake and sing her happy birthday...

Some knits...

Apologies for pics, taken with my mobile ...a cardi for Izaballa, my Godchild, a "Jib", modelled by Aideen and one of the teddies I`ve made...click click go the needles...

A walk in Castletown house with best pal Maeve...we behaved like kids, jumping over streams, etc and that night we were both in agony...gettign OLD :0)

Opps forgot photo (silly me) !

HERE is the photo of the (to be) patch...sorry !

The quilt patch...

I apologise for the bad photo...but here is the very beginning of my patch for the community quilt...last Mondays craft meet saw grown women rummaging like squirrels through an Everest of samples and old material scraps all looking for the perfect colours...there was even some playground type squabbling :0)
Im still looking for grey for the "path" so can anyone out there help me ????
Mary showed me how to chain-stitch as the whole piece has to be sewn by hand as its celebrating 100 years of our town...I have a feeling this quilt will be a hit...and when its finished in October its going to be raffled !!!

That awful word ..."MINE" !!!!

Toddlerdom is well and truly here...she may not be 2 yet but this kid knows what she wants ! She is ACTUALLY GROWING (yippee)...and so yesterday we had to get Daisy new trainers and they have DORA (groan) on them...that little kid showed EVERYONE in town those shoes !!! She had her legs stuck out straight in the buggy and was shouting "look, look" to anyone who was passing by ,it raised a few smiles ! Anyway last night came, bedtime at 7pm and was little miss parting with her shoes??? Nope they had to go to bed...and first thing this morning we got "look, look...mine" !!!!

College walk

Today we went for a walk between the raindrops to the college...we explored the college graveyard..once used for the priests and now used for professors that wish to be buried there...its a beutiful place, very peaceful ! I LOVED the entrance, a cadidral of yew trees...truly spectacular ! The oldest burial we found was from 1817...

Hand-Knit socks

Aideen models her socks that I knitted her this week...she says they are SO comfy and she loves the fact that the self-pattern yarn gives such a unique look :)

I also managed to knit Daisy a small pair out of the left-over yarn, and have some for the darning thats sure to be needed...so great value for money (€7.95 a 100g ball)...I also have some green wool to knt up ,we`ve decide its hand-knit socks from now on for everyone...much more enviromentally friendly !

First ice-cream of the season !!!

OMG do the taste sensations get any better ? This evening we took a mad notion to walk down the town and get our first "99" of the season...memories of childhood trips to the seaside ,wet clothes , sand everywhere and the smell of fish and chips in the air...and happiness ! I think the pictures say it all...silence prevailed as we tucked in, but Daisy had the first and final word "Yum" !

Gonna see a musical (or 5)

Today Aideen and myself went with the Ffrench family to see Ella perform in her musical...gosh was Aideen ever proud of her BFF...

Ella played: a woodcutter ,a munchkin and the lion in the Wizard of Oz...and Aideen presented her leading lady friend with flowers and fruit afterwards (bless) !