A touch of frost

Let's talk about the weather for a change.

That's a joke - anyone who has spent any amount of time in Ireland will know this; talking about the weather is something of a national pastime here. Well, perhaps not so much talking as moaning about it. It's either too cold, too wet, or occasionally (once every 7 years or so) too hot.
Although it should be noted that I, personally, have never complained about this place being too hot.

But it's winter now, and last Saturday Hubby and I went out around midday to do some shopping. 30 Metres down the road I made him turn back so I could get my camera. You just don't see frost and fog like this in South Africa.

So these are for you folks who are complaining about the heat back home...

The first clue: Frozen flowers outside my front door

The not-so-green grass of home

Some of you may recognize Malahide Castle

Ducks getting themselves in a row... I'm guessing they've figured out the time has come to head South!

A cold and lonely crow

I didn't get any photos of the fog around our place; there wouldn't have been much to see in a photo except white noise, after all. But here is the midday sun:


So, which hemisphere would you rather be in right now...?

off (with) the top of my head

It's finally happened. They said it would but I had my doubts. I mean, there was no proof that it could, and after all this time who could blame me for not believing that it ever would?
But it did.
Yes, folks: we have had two full days of actual Summer weather (despite the fact that we're well into Autumn!).

And I'm not just talking two days without rain, or two days of sunshine where it looks all warm out there but it's actually too cold to leave the house without a coat.
No, this is the genuine thing. Bright sunshine, blue skies and temperatures over 20 degrees - I have worn a T-shirt and open shoes, for goodness' sake!!!

I actually had plans to pack my summer clothes away and haul out all the heavy woollens again this weekend. I had given up all hope of needing short sleeves until next year again. But now that will wait for at least another week.
It was bewildering, really - we've been waiting for weather like this for what, two years now? What to do, what to do, when it finally arrives? Do we BBQ? Go to the beach? Go ride our bikes? Go walking? So many choices...!

So I did what any practical person would do: I sat in it.

It seemed a waste to dash around like a mad person so instead I simply sat out in the back yard and gathered all the photons I could until my headache drove me inside and into a comatose sleep... because of course the Universe would conspire for me to be hit with the worst migraine I've had in months on the best weather weekend of the last two years.

Which explains why my first post in two weeks is about the weather: I haven't the mental energy to be any more creative.
And also why the title has absolutely nothing to do with the post: I'm on some serious painkillers here, Dudes, so my train of thought is somewhat derailed, hehe!

Tellya what, though; the garden is loving the sunshine too.



Long may it last ....

'tis the season

I'm pleased to announce that Winter finally appears to have relinquished its grip on us. Yep, true to form the May bank holiday weekend brought us good weather. Yesterday I even sat outside in shorts for about half an hour, trying to get a little colour on my pins before I frighten all the locals away with blinding whiteness in Greece next week.

Speaking of long weekends... did everyone enjoy theirs? You did? Fantastic :-)

On Saturday I took Cinderella shopping in town, to find something for her to wear to her high school Graduation in a few weeks. It was a long and tiring process but successful. We found a striking little red number that I'm sure Hubby thinks is waaay too hot for a Graduation. Mind you, he always has that one-eyebrow-raised-questioningly look when he sees her in something sexy. I guess he has trouble seeing his little girl looking all grown up, hehehe..!

By the time we got home from the shopping I had developed a headache that then morphed into migraine that finally went away some time while I was asleep last night. So although I know the weather was fine for the long weekend, I didn't exactly get to enjoy it too much. Apart from the half hour in the sun yesterday (which I knew I shouldn't do but it was the first hot day of the year and who knows when, or if, we'll get another???!) I pretty much slept for the rest of Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
So much for the weekend of writing that I was looking forward to...

But I'm sure there will be other good-weather weekends. The seasons changed... and just when I thought it would never be warm again!
But of course with the warmer weather come other things. There's a certain, erm, shall we say 'mobile' community in this country who migrate to the seaside towns in the Summertime. Stuff tends to go missing around this time. You may remember that poor Cinderella had not one, but Two motorcycles stolen from her last year..?
Well it's that time of year again.
This morning we awoke to find her brother's motorcycle gone from where it had been chained up with the rest of them, outside our front door. My poor stepson has only had the thing for maybe a month, if that.
I don't want to dwell on this too much because I don't want to get all worked up; it's no way to start the day. Let's just say the temptation to lay in wait overnight with a loaded shotgun is REALLY strong.

I think I have had enough of this now.

winter wonderland

I'd forgotten how cold it gets in this place in Winter. It was probably around 3 degrees outside when I rode to work this morning; in fact I would guess that would be optimistic. I only started riding a motorcycle last winter and because I was still learning, I was only going as far as the train station and back. The full trips into the City only started in about April, when the days were longer and the weather relatively warmer. I have been loving the freedom of having my own transport, being able to come and go as is convenient to me and not being a slave to train timetables.
This morning, though, I began to seriously consider returning to my old ways of driving just the kilometer or so to the train station instead. It could've been my imagination but I thought the road felt just a tad more slippery this morning than it should have. Could it be the days of black ice are almost upon us? I just don't know if I feel up to facing 25km each way on roads that could turn into a skating rink without warning. It's been pretty tough the last few weeks anyway as it's now always dark on both journeys, to and from work. It has been aggravated by stupidly strong winds and lashing rain, at times; not exactly optimal driving conditions, to say the least.
All credit to my biking gear, though, I can honestly say the cold has not been a problem... except for the hands. I bought thicker gloves a while back but this morning I may as well have been bare handed and by the time I got into town and finally came to a stop at a red light where I could drop my hands down to warm up next to the engine, they were completely numb from the cold. Not fun.
So as much as I don't want to, I think the time may have arrived for me to choose discretion over valor and return to the trains for a while.
Yet another reason for me to hate winter in this place!

I think that's why people go so overboard with Christmas decorations. It can be so bloody miserable here, but the pretty lights and various baubles do go a long way in brightening things up. Even young Cinderella has twigged on this now - yesterday morning she and Hubby took it upon themselves to dig out all our Christmas decorations from their hidey-holes in the attic and haul the whole lot downstairs. She then proceded to find our "Christmas Greats" double CD and enthusiastically took the lead in decorating the tree while singing along to all the Christmas hits that are currently playing non-stop in shopping malls and on radio stations everywhere. I was unfortunately under the influence of some serious painkillers in an attempt to rid myself of a migraine (not induced by coffee this time - where will it end?!) so I had a hard time keeping up. It was like sharing a house with two Tazmanian devils... Hubby even had the hammer and nails out and we are the first house in our cul-de-sac to have icicle-lights strung from our little porch. Not only that, our front door is now also sporting a pretty and festive-looking Christmas wreath.


It's a far cry from last Christmas, where Miss Muffett wanted to cringe at the very thought of anything other than just a Christmas tree, using words like 'kitsch' and such like with a look akin to horror on her face.
Yep, someone has discovered the joys of Christmas spirit.
I wonder if that will extend to helping out with Christmas dinner..?

older and wiser

I was chatting with a couple of colleagues this morning - the conversation went something like this:

[Terri] "Hey, L, can you give me the name of the people who did your attic conversion? They did a great job and we're thinking of getting ours done."
[L] "Sure, it was (xyz) - they have a website so you can look them up. They're very professional."
[W] "You know, ladies, this is a very middle-aged conversation you're having, hahaha!"
And we all laughed.
And then I asked (still chuckling), "OK so what is middle-aged, officially?"
[W] "Well I suppose mid- to late thirties."

Uh, back up here. Are you trying to tell me I am officially Middle Aged???! When da hell did dat happen?!
I suppose the fact that young Cinderella turns 17 tomorrow should have given me a hint. That and the fresh crop of grey hairs over my right temple (why only the right?!) which I've been steadfastly convincing myself are actually blonde, not grey. Ahem.

However, I cannot really complain about growing older, as my wisdom apparently has no bounds... [insert raucous laughter here]...

Hubby and I decided that since this past weekend was a long weekend we would take a drive down to County Cork. You may recall we have made numerous trips to Cork to visit our good friends in the past. Well those good friends went back to SA a couple of months back, but as if on a relay system, Hubby's sister and her family have taken the plunge and moved over to Ireland - County Cork, to be precise.

Welcome to Ireland, guys!!!

So on Friday evening we packed the car and after several false starts ("Forgot the camera!", "Forgot my phone!","Forgot the directions to their place!") we hit the long and winding road to Cork.
Some of you may also recall that last summer, on our famous (though as yet un-written-about - sorry 'bout that!) bike trip around Europe, we occasionally took a wrong turn. This prompted Hubby to declare that life was not complete without a handy little Sat-Nav / GPS thingy. Having bugger-all imagination when it comes to gift-giving, I bought him one for Christmas. My position as Family Navigator had been usurped but who am I to argue? Even I must admit defeat; after all, Paris and Brussels are indeed nowhere near each other.

So there we were, happily driving along on the big N8 road down to Cork, and Mr SatNav in all his wisdom decided that we should take a left. Personally, I would've elected to go straight but sure, it's a clever little piece of equipment, right? Perhaps it knows something we don't. Besides, we weren't heading for Cork City, but for a (much) smaller town on the coast, east of the city.
The roads narrowed, then twisted. We didn't mind - it was really pretty and we had made good time so far. We were happy to take the road less travelled. It began to rain, but we weren't too concerned, after all, life is an adventure, right?

And then as the road steepened and narrowed even more as it climbed a mountain I confess I had no idea existed, the windscreen wipers sort of ground to a halt.

We stopped at a lay-by to see if there was anything obvious like a loose wire and of course while we were staring blankly at the Audi's engine compartment a Local in a van pulled up and with a smirk at our smart car and blank faces, asked if we needed a lift. You could see he was thinking, "Eejit Townies, stuck out here in the back o' beyond and not a clue how to fix their fancy car."

THIS IS WHAT THE BACK-OF-BEYOND LOOKS LIKE
FROM THE TOP OF A MOUNTAIN
IN THE RAIN

We smiled and said no-thanks, shut the hood, smoked a cigarette and continued along our not-so-merry way. The road continued to worsen, as did the rain. I left the radio off - somehow in the gloomy, misty half-light in what can only be described as Deliverance country, music seemed out of place.
I was making like the co-pilots in the rally cars... "Sharp left in 5-4-3-2-1... Mind the sheep!"

Eventually we neared civilisation again, I turned on the radio and the rain lightened up. And the car screamed at us in it's peculiar electronic voice, causing me to almost dive for cover. Hubby grinned and pulled into another lay-by, confidently telling me that he'd been expecting this.
"This" turned out to be a low-on-coolant situation but being the boy-scout that he is, he had a jerry-can of water in the back. Apparently the water-pump has a minor (?) leak.
So we topped up and set off... and about 2km down the road the windscreen wipers suddenly creaked back to life. By the time we reached our destination they were working as if nothing had ever been wrong.
El-GPS, however, had been well and truly abandoned for a good old-fashioned paper road map, which yours-truly used to ensure we stayed on main roads for the rest of the trip.

Pah! to these new-fangled electronic gadgets, I say!

And on the subject of weather - this is what our Irish summer looks like from the side-mirror of our trusty (?!) Audi...


Sunscreen, anyone?

Heading South for the Summer

Now, I know most would head South for the Winter but anyone who's been in Ireland this Summer will probably agree that right now I have the right idea. It's been pretty cold in SA this week, in fact it snowed. Just before that, though it was 30 degrees. Gotta love that South African winter! And we're flying there tomorrow WOOHOO!!!
So now the question is... What to pack? Ah, right, I'll pack for an Irish Summer - should be about right.
I've had a week from hell so the break is just what I need. I'm hoping to get a chance to catch up on my blogging while I'm away - I feel like I haven't visited my blog buddies in months!
But there is Internet in Africa so I'll be making up for it.
Seeya from the other side of the world!!

I agree...

A week is more than enough for one post to decorate this place. It's time for a new one.
Tomorrow (I think) is the Summer Solstice. The longest day of the year. Midsummer.
It's been raining and storming for about 10 days now. I have been wearing a fleece top under my bike jacket (still with the removable 'Winter' lining zipped in) to get to and from work. Summer, my ass! I don't remember the last time I saw blue skies...
Oh wait, that's not entirely true. It was two Saturdays ago when we went to visit our friends in Cork, and the four of us went for a stroll around Fota Wildlife Park. The weather was stunning that day - a perfect 23 degrees and cloudless skies.
It started raining the next day and it hasn't stopped since.

So since my mood is about the same as the heavy grey stormclouds outside, let's remember sunnier times with some photo's I took that day...

GIRAFFE AND ZEBRA IN IRELAND???!

'TIS NOT EVERY DAY YOU SEE A KANGAROO THIS FAR NORTH, EITHER!

SLEEPING FLAMINGOS

CHEETAH STARING AT TERRI STARING AT CHEETAH.
WE HAD A MOMENT :-)

Tuesday morn and all is well

It astounds me how different Ireland is when the sun shines. After months and months (and months!) of dreary Winter weather, we had four glorious days and today promises to stay that way... and they fell over a long weekend! Now, I realise that my South African readers will think I'm nuts when I tell you that temperature was around 13 degrees C on Saturday and it was so lovely out that we rushed off to get meat and invited friends around for a Braai (BBQ), because in SA 13 degrees is the dead of winter. Somehow it's different here.
I had a really good long weekend, beginning with Hubby and I going on a breakfast run on the Blackbird on Friday that took us into the Wicklow Mountains to the South of Dublin and lasted pretty much most of the day. Nothing beats an exhilerating ride on the bike on a beautiful day. Then we had our Braai with friends on Saturday, and on Sunday morning we went to the beach. Yes, the beach! OK I admit there was no swimming and we were fully clothed at all times but the sand was warm between my toes and the sun was warm on my face. Warm face and warm toes makes for warm soul, so I was happy :)
Yesterday was a model of decadence, involving apple pie and whipped cream, lots of chocolate, crisps, fizzy cooldrinks and lounging around watching TV*.
Heaven!
Yep, for now, all is well in Terriland :)

~

*By the way, I rather enjoyed "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" - by far the most enjoyable of the poor boy's adventures yet - for me, if not for him.

catastrophic hardware failure

Not the words any I.T. person wants to hear first thing in the morning. It's been a helluva day. But it's not over yet, and because of it I'll be missing the last of this semester's Salsa classes. Bah-bloody-humbug. Especially when I went shopping this weekend and bought the cutest skirt that would be perfect for dancing in, too.

For the last few days I've felt like doing exactly what said hardware did last night - in layman's terms, "ka-plfft". I, too, feel like simply shutting down. Perhaps if I rebooted I'd come back all re-synced, with all my services in perfect running order. Or perhaps, as more often happens, I would simply fail to restart without any good reason. I fear, right now, it might be the latter.

Gosh, aren't I just a little ray of sunshine today?!
Hm... sunshine... not too much of that around here these days. I got caught in a hail/snow/sleet/rain storm on Sunday that skrikked* for nothing. Our Daffodils were showing serious regret at ever having popped their heads out so early in the year. Two of them hanged themselves on the thorny stem of their neighbouring rose bush; can't say I blame them.
But before you all go demanding photographs I gotta tellya: the snow in this place doesn't settle. It falls, it melts. All we end up with is cold wetness - not the makings of picturesque postcard-scene photographs.

So how's the weather where you are?





~



* Literal translation from Afrikaans: got a fright. It loses something in translation.

~

It'SnoWonder

February is officially Springtime in Ireland.
The grass is beginning to shoot up, thick and green, and the daffodils in my garden are promising to flower any time now. Our trees, which for months have resembled nothing but dead sticks, are showing signs of life and there is evidence of new growth on the rose bushes.
So of course it's only natural that we're getting the first Snow of the season now. Not even pretend-snow, mind you, but the proper big white fluffy flakey kind. The kind that turns into brown slushy stuff in no time. What on earth posessed me to choose today, of all days, to wear a skirt to work??! It's bloody freezing outside!
I'll tell you a secret, though - I actually don't really mind. I love the snow. It's so pretty! I'm quite captivated watching it waft down silently outside the windows. Ja, not getting too much work done at the moment, hehe... If I were a poet, I'd be inspired to write something, I'm sure.
I do hope it settles a bit and stays around before melting today - at least long enough for me to go out and take a photograph or two. I'm a real girl-scout, me* - I brought my camera with me today, just in case.


* "Be prepared", and all that

~

challenging

I never thought I'd say this but thank heavens our proper winter weather has finally arrived - the wind is coming down from the North Pole, as it should be at this time of year; there is frost on the ground and the air bites at my face during my walk to the train station to go home at night.
Why does this please me?
Well, it means that the storms that have been hurling themselves at us from the Atlantic have finally gone away, taking with them some of the strongest winds I've ever experienced. I do so hate the wind! There were nights, over the last few weeks, when I honestly expected to wake up and find half the roof missing in the morning. We were fortunate, though, our home is still intact. More fortunate than many other people across Europe were.

It didn't help, I suppose, that it was so strong that it kept me from riding my new bike. Learning to ride a motorcycle is challenging enough without the added worry of trying NOT to get literally blown off the thing.
Yep, I'll take the cold any day over that wind!
* Bike Update *
I've been put-putting to and from the train station on my bike happily this week and I'm pleased to say it's getting easier every time, as I become a little less scared every time. It helps that I seem do be able to pull away without stalling every time now, too. Yay me!

Now, I have a challenge for you all. Feedback is mandatory, in fact.
It's like this: If I don't go somewhere soon (away from Ireland, I mean), I fear I may just pop. So for various reasons, I'm planning a trip for the weekend of 23rd February, which I am turning into a long weekend. I'm taking my sister and young Cinderella and we're going away. The trouble is, I don't know where yet.
That's where you come in.
Are there any suggestions on a good place to go in February?
Somewhere in Europe would be good since the less flying time is involved, the better.
Somewhere that offers good shopping would be good, since one of us is 16 and not so much into the ol' museums and stuff, probably.
The only stipulation is that the weather should be milder than it is here, even if it's not actually warm - temperatures in the double figures (celcius, not farenheit!) will do.

I was thinking Barcelona - any advice?
I humbly (if somewhat impatiently because let's face it, time is running short) await the pearls of your wisdom.

***

a beach of a day

My sister was here for the weekend from London; we took her to the beach yesterday.


I suspect she'll enjoy going to the beach a bit more when she goes home to SA for Christmas in a few weeks.


It was about 6 degrees outside. But if we thought we were cold, I can only imagine the eejits who were kiteboarding in that weather!

It may be only mad dogs and Englishmen who go out in the midday sun, but who, other than Irishmen, would be out doing water sports in the middle of Winter?!