Rain, rain go away...

Even though its raining hard and no tidying is being done in the garden ,I could not resist going outside this morning with camera in hand to capture the beauty...also in this post , there are photos of "weeds" but they are my ingrediants...the nettles are used for tea and for speeding up the composting process in our bin , the dandelion flowers are for tea and the leaves I used today to make an infusion for myself to drink as I suffer from water retention and my ankles were all puffy...also I`m using a very expensive teeth whitener...orange peel ! A big orange will last you a week , cut an eight of the orange in a wedge shape , eat the flesh and then bite into the white of the peel, leave in your mouth for 5 minutes and honest , it works...dont mind the laughter...even Daisy laughs at me when I`m walking around trying to "talk" with an orange wedge in my gob !!! Today Nora brought over some darling chairs she had left from when she used to childmind...perfect for Miss Daisy in the homeschool room, I`d forgotten from my time in Montessori how tiny these chairs really are ! Wonderful memories :)

Homeschool...boring ???

WHAT a fun day we had yesterday , Nora and her girls , Sadhbh and Caoimhe (or "princess" and "rapunzel" as they are know in our house) , came over for a joint art lesson...fun was had by all , and as you can see the HS classroom is never boring , just look at Nora and Sean trying to look like serious ,mature adults in the art lesson , while I`m balanced on the kitchen sink takeing pics!!!! When the girls finished their art they played ,and played and played , while Nora and myself 9Sean snook off to his computer) , drank tea and talked, and talked and talked (well we were waiting for the paintings to dry !). Our next planned joint lesson is actually a project the 3 girls are going to do on the vikings...Nora took the kids to the shop for ice cream at one point during the day and now Daisy has started calling Nora "Ceam-Ceam" !!!!!! (Ice-cream!). Also Nora , the creams and oils witch tried looking into the future using Seans newly shaved head as a crystal ball....don`t ask !!!!

Also pictured is one of the last roses in from the garden , it had just stopped raining and the droplets on the petels took my breath away...and finally in this posting a photo of some hand-knit items that I`ve given to Nora to donate to the HEN (Homeschool Eduation Network) raffle...must do our bit :0)

The big four - O

Happy birthday my darling Sean !!!! Yes, my other half was 4oth today, and how did this darling spend his birthday ? At a family fun day in the local shopping center ,saying hello to Daisy`s hero`s "Dora the Explorer "and "Diego" !!!! Also we met "upsy Daisy" and the panda ,I think from some movie (?), it was a simple but fun day out for us and the sun held...also Sean got a gorgeous logan berry and cream cake from one of the stallholders at the organic market as a gift...and he LOVED my painting, I was worried as its far from my usual style ,but he found a space on the wall for it immediatley ! We couldnt find our "zero" candle for his cake (banana) so we stuck a gingernut biscuit in it instead :) And while in the shopping centre ,Sean and Aideen spotted a GORGEOUS red dress in a boutique window , might as well have cost a million , but they asked me to go in and try it on anyway ! So , for the birthday boy I did, and the really nice girl instore even found some high-heels for me to put on , and told Sean to take some pics...don`t spread it around, but I actually felt really good in that dress...maybe I should get out of the leggings more often ?

A trip to the charity shop

Well, this morning after our smoothies (Seans birthday gift from me and the girls was a smoothie maker...he has always wanted one...) Sean ,myself and Daisy set off for the chartity shop up the town, and boy did we get some bargains...in true "Lucy`s Lounge" style ,we tried on everything , and Aideen wanted us to put a picture on the blog...JUST look at her is`nt she a beautiful girl ??? Me, I`m very happy with my old-fashioned, very comfy "Mammy dress"...even if they all said I looked pregnant in it, nice huh ! also as Aideen and myself love musicals ,we got "Guys and Dolls " , a steal at 50cent , and this adorable angel with pink roses tea-light holder for the grave...don`t worry Dee , we`re just "practising" ...I can`t wait ,nor can Aideen to get into your "forest of clothes"...to see photos of the pumpkin planting we did today ,do visit our other blog: Scoil Dai :0)

and other angels in my life...

Today , Aideen recieved her certificate from Grainne Gorman in the Starz Stage School (yeah Aideen !!!) she was SO proud, and the girls all did a dance routine to end the term...also a parcel arrived from our clothing angel Dee (Lucys Lounge), that made our day...Aideen and myself fell on the letters Dee wrote and had to decide between us what gift to take each !!! In the end Aideen opted for the gold and very glitzy bag while I took the t-bar bracelet...but we`ve promised each other we`ll swap if need to...as you do with your 11 year old you swap clothes,etc with them , well you do if you`re me and your 11 year old is taller !!!!! anyway ,thanks Dee, can`t wait to see ya xx

Angels in my hair

Today , I met Lorna Byrne in Easons here in Maynooth (after queing for 2 hours...and we were only 12th in the queue!)...she was everything I thought and more...so quite , so "normal", so special...as you can see from the photos , (thanks Sean honey)...we went straight into old pals chat-mode !!!! Sean said all we were short of doing was asking the staff for a cuppa ... Lorna has set me straight about SO many things...now my healing work begins in earnest...I am still nervous , but so excited , this has been going on a LONG time and I`ve been waiting years , it just seemed SO far away...by the way if you have`nt read Lornas book "Angels in my hair"...please do , even if youre not "into" all that , its a touching tale...

Homemade with love

if there is anything that touches my heart its a simple homemade gift...heres just a taste of some of Daisys gifts...a "Fairy" (her nickname) pillow made by the ever so talented Annah , some food fresh from Michaels allotment and a cardigan hand-knit by her aunty Nellie...there was also homecooked cake and bread and butter pudding, handmade wrapping paper and handmade cards...wonderful stuff !