Category Archives: Ireland

Sep26

Unintentional hiatus…

Posted on September 26, 2012 by heretherebespiders

I had a very busy weekend last. Staying up until 3:30 am Saturday night helping iDJ with, well, being a DJ – for a double 21st in a pub, no less – was tiring, especially with all the raw fresh testosterone that was liberally flung about when the ‘never a bother, nice boys’ got into fight after fight.

Sunday was the All-Ireland GAA final, and my county was one of the runners. The underdog. I’ve linked to Peternal to show a bit of the support we had here, but it was MAD, MAD I TELL YOU. They painted the white stripes and words on the roads red and green for Mayo. Every business and home on the main street had something red and green or outright supporting our lads.

The Sam Maguire Cup at my workplace – but sadly won’t be back for a while…next year?

Not going to the pub to watch the match was not a choice… even with work on Monday looming large. We met up with Peternal and settled in, and – I know, this is hard to believe – I was the only one of age in the pub, and the only of our group of three, who held off on having a drink until after 5 pm. When the game was over. And Mayo had lost to Donegal. Well played, Donegal – at least it wasn’t Dublin or Kerry!

But after that? It was like Paddy’s Day. Imagine if Mayo had won!!! We drank in…1,2,3,4, FIVE pubs before heading to the takeout for dinner after midnight. And no, that’s never one drink per pub. Not even for our slow-drinking Canadian.

Monday = ouch.

Monday night = watching a movie and eating early and going to bed on time.

Tuesday = I don’t want to even look at the 60+ emails with blog updates, comments, etc that have piled up since Saturday eve.

Because I’m also reading Game of Thrones. Sorry, folks… I needed a break! Sorry if I’m only today getting around to reading your posts, and usually only hitting ‘like.’ I also am making an experimental dinner and we had an electrician call around to fix the hot water heater – which has been dead since my last shower – which was on the 16th.

Aren’t you glad blogs don’t have Smell-o-Vision?

Sep15

Growing Thing

Posted on September 15, 2012 by heretherebespiders

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I ran into the house few minutes ago. “Come see! Come see! Better put on shoes, it’s damp out.”

Fabulous hubby, iDJ, didn’t stop for shoes but did grab his iPhone.

“It’s over here, in the corner, you probably won’t get a picture,” says I.

I showed him a gourd I’ve managed to grow. As he was taking a pic, I was blathering away about how I didn’t know if it was a pumpkin or a courgette (zucchini). I lose track of these things, he knows well. I also was telling him how I figured out how to stop gourds from rotting on the vine – it’s called blossom-end rot and if you just manage to keep an eye out for baby fruit after the bloom has faded, you can scrape off the mushy flower with a fingernail and voila! it doesn’t get all icky and decide to die. Hey, I had to Google that one, it was killin me to have a fruit and then, suddenly, a ball of mush.

It’s still small and unidentifiable – I’m guessing it’s a courgette based on two things – I think that’s what I planted there, and pumpkin usually comes from the vine rather than right at the heart of the plant.

Look at all the other female flower ready to bloom! I might have more, yet – and there is another small one at the back that you can’t see.

Wish me luck!

Aug14

Random no. 3? 4? I’ve lost track…

Posted on August 14, 2012 by heretherebespiders

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I forgot about this last night. I knew I had something of real importance to talk about!

For some unknown godawful reason, the Irish think that having a bird shit on you is lucky. I learned this at a wedding we attended that was held in an ancient, re-consecrated church with no roof. It did have a lot of annoyed birds who wanted us to leave them alone, and they let us know this in the way birds do best.

I really hope the bride got the crap stains out of her dress, it was rather nice.

Anyhoo, this odd belief came to mind yesterday when I was sitting outside, reading or playing one of my ‘stupid games’, and a bird flew past and shit all over my iPad. It sounded like rocks landing on it from a height and looked like the bird had eaten something unpleasant.

I don’t feel very lucky, despite the fact none got in my hair.

Aug10

Revels in the Green

Posted on August 10, 2012 by heretherebespiders

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I HAVE SUNSHINE.

I’m over the moon – or should that be over the sun? about this. See, our summer is officially over. Over over over. Even though for me, having grown up in Florida, August is supposed to be the hottest month, and the best month to have a birthday (no school! no annoying classroom acknowledgements of said birthday! Sun and life verdant and nothing but books and the woods to play in). Mentally, I’m not ready for autumn at alllllll. So! Sunshine and heat today and tomorrow, back to rain on Sunday – total misnomer this week it seems.

Anyhoo! I’m in the sun, sports bra and shorts, and quite merry from all the beer I’ve imbibed since I got home at the ‘expected’ time: that is, if I only work until 5. iDJ had my favorite camp chair already set up in the sunny spot out back and a beer on the countertop ready to be cracked open. Aw, I’m easy to please! And I’m happy he knows it.

He’s also been busy taking brilliant photos of my flowers grown from seed. Which makes me think of something I saw this week on FB – some guy still trying to say that appreciation of flowers is not a masculine enough occupation, in his estimation. Um. Why would adoring the beautiful female form be any different than realising the majesty of a flower? What-ev-ah. *hand wave*

It could be that hubby only loves my flowers because I grew them, but he has his favorites for sure. He put this one up on FB and said ‘I love these!’

My cornflowers, this year in both blue and white.

I think I’ll have to grow these every year, just for him, as he adores them and is just amazed by their color and proliferation:

The California Poppy! They kind of collapsed at ground level, but are still blooming like mad. Not sure if was the horrible compost we bought that made a lot of plants rot at ground level, but I lost a good few plant-babies to that this year. Sad. But…there’s still life!

This is a planter I made up of larkspur and rudbeckia. It’s on our kitchen windowsill because the slugs killed about a dozen rudbeckia before I put it up so high. The larkspur is juuuust blooming, the rudbeckia is taking forever! I thought maybe they would open last weekend but nooooo, and they are still just thinking about it hard. I’m not really sure what they will be like, but if they are yellow or orange like they seem to be thinking of being, I bet hubby will love em. I tend toward purple myself, but I think he likes the warmer colours. I hope the blooms last for ages, since they are so slow to ‘cook.’
Lastly, our cosmos is finally starting to bloom! Last year our next-door neighbor told me that it made her sort of sad to see me growing them, in a good way, because she is from South Africa and they grow wild there. Last year I had ‘candystripe’ and this year I grew a mix. The photo he took today of one of the first blooms is just amazing, hope you like it as much as I do.

I have more photos… Oh yes. I’m trying not to overload here! But… I can’t exactly explain why I love plants so much. I always have, but never really got to try my hand (hand? It’s called green thumbs in the US, green fingers here in Ireland! I have green fingers and toes, it seems, yay!) until I was in my late 20’s. Perhaps it is so simple that I connect with the life, so visible, so joyous, revelling in sun and water like I do myself. I cannot imagine my life without plants any more than I could without cats.

Aug3

It’s my birthday!

Posted on August 3, 2012 by heretherebespiders

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But I’m not entirely sure about that exclamation point up there. Not that I feel or even look particularly decrepit – or even my actual age – its more that this one is a bit anti-climactic. Last year was a biggie, you see, and I won’t get another biggie for a while.

We are planning a BBQ at our place tomorrow, which is a little stressful as my house is a disaster since the dog started blowing her coat and hasn’t stopped quiiiiite yet. Tumbledogs everywhere. And that icky white dander that coats your fingers and anything she brushes up against. Ewww. Cats are so much easier.

I’m also being asked to work the weekend. Any and all days I can. Which suuuuucks. A: because it’s my birthday weekend B: because it is a bank holiday weekend and I’m meant to get THREE days off. Not one, or none, or two. Sigh. And why will I go in? Not for the money, which will be less than what is supposedly what I’m entitled to for working a national holiday. Because I feel responsible. Because I want to help. Because I know they are in a deep hole with things that need done and a deadline to do them in. Will I be given tasks that actually help achieve that end? Doubtful. Last time I lost a Saturday to work – I kid thee not – I ended up stuffing envelopes. Not a proper use of my time, and not a proper use of my skills.

But hey! I have a rainbow in Ireland on my birthday – gonna take this right now with the iPad so forgive the poor quality:

So that’s something, right?

Tonight hubby is making me Thai green curry and then we’ll go out to the pub to see some friends that are home from London. It’s their last night here and I missed them last weekend as the stress got to me and I wasn’t well enough to go out (or work). We also have a friend home from Manchester who will be coming to the BBQ tomorrow, just to even the numbers of Irish and not-Irish. Don’t let her Manchester accent fool you, she’s a classy Culchie through and through! She’s also seriously tall with gorgeous long straight blonde hair and is a lovely person inside and out. I’m glad she’s a new friend and glad she’ll be here. Will see if the group allows photos to be posted here. It will be the KIBIS crowd and their male hangers-on. Had to invite the guys as mine is doing the cooking!

Well, once again I think you all have cheered me up, even though I haven’t hit ‘post’ yet. Just talking things out, knowing you are there and will listen, helps enormously.

And I still have that rainbow up above!

Jul16

New Beer!

Posted on July 16, 2012 by heretherebespiders

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Here’s a really new beer! Not just new to me, but new new new – not sure if you have it in the States yet!

Guinness Black Lager? Why, what, how?

To me, it tastes like a home-brewed stout. Not as heavy as a bottled, carbonated, stout made by a big company, say, like Diageo. Not much head, and not much bitter after taste like a true stout, either. It was very smooth, and one definitely tasted like having another. If we’d had more than four on hand, it might have been a hard morning the next day!

Pretty. Even the packaging looks frosty cold and ready to drink.

See, not a stout’s creamy head at all. I’d have it again, when I’m off my low-carb diet again. It’s still pretty decent for you compared to most lager with 11 carbs and 135 calories a bottle, even if a bit mild in strength if you’re a good alky like me: 4.5 percent. A little stronger than Guinness stout, which the net tells me is 125 calories and 10 carbs but only 4%.

Try it if you can!

Jul15

What Did I do to Deserve This?!?

Posted on July 15, 2012 by heretherebespiders

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Ah, Sunday. I’m out back, reading and slowly doing garden stuff. Slowly so I don’t hurt myself again like I did yesterday. I’m in shorts and a tank top – ‘vest’ for my UK and Irish friends – and I’m freezing.

Why?

Because I have this behind me,

And this to my right,

And this to my left,

But I have this directly overhead and in front of me, blocking my precious sunshine.

I musta done something terrible to piss off the weather-gods today…

Jul6

Endless shades of Grey

Posted on July 6, 2012 by heretherebespiders

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This is too good not to share with you all:

If you get the reference, you’ll know why this is so very perfect! This is even more special to me because it was designed by my friend CanuckHound for the greyhound rescue she volunteers for here in Ireland, H.U.G.

Greys are treated terribly around the world, and Ireland has more than it’s share of unwanted greyhounds. Believe me, these dogs are just big, elegant cats. Sleep 99% of the time, run around like a crazy thing for a few minutes, and back to sleep again. Quiet, not big shedders, the worst you can say about a grey is that their teeth need a lot of maintenance and they need big, floofy pillows (or your couch!) to sleep on.

If ever a rescue dog is an option for you, please consider a retired or unwanted (sometimes they never have raced) greyhound!

And if you love the advertisement as much as I do, please share! H.U.G. will even email you a copy.

Jul4

Spinal flux, Irish BBQ, and the Fourth from a distance

Posted on July 4, 2012 by heretherebespiders

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Happy Fourth! I’m sitting outside, gagging on the smell of citronella-torch smoke, wiping rain off my iPad screen, but certainly enjoying the occasional wafts of heavenly scent coming from our Weber grill.

I’m beginning to wonder if I should have imported my husband to America, instead of exporting myself to Ireland. He goes craaazeee for American holidays. We don’t have a big US flag, just a tiny one onna stick, but we do have two flag bandannas. One of which is hanging in our front window:

With, of course, Neko the American Akita standing guard under it.

The Fourth wouldn’t be complete without a barbecue. We are back on the low-carb diet (not because of the scale, but because our clothes weren’t fitting any more – been off the diet since April, whoops) so tonight is a meat-feast. Craft butcher sausages from our local butcher, ribs from him also, and best of all, beer-butt chicken. Here’s the scene before cooking:

Chicken is rubbed inside and out with butter, olive oil, lemon, and my mixture of spices from our garden: sage, thyme, garlic, basil and oregano. And, of course, there’s a can of beer shoved up it’s arse. Or what used to be its arse… Oh and the tuna-can has wood chips in, for smoking. Nom!

We’ve never made the chicken before. Never had a grill big enough until he came home one day with his much-lusted-after Weber. I can’t wait to try it! It takes a while, and hubby made a huge mess during prep. Better be worth it…

So… We both took the day off today, because today happened to be the day I got to talk to someone about the results of my MRI. Finally. Been ages since this journey into WTF is wrong with my back started.

And as it turns out, not very much. I do have one disc that is dried up and cracked and so is squishing out through the crack and bulging a bit. To the right. My nerve issues are nearly all on my left side. Doc couldn’t see any reason that the bulge on the right would be pressing on a nerve on the left. So, surgery was 100% ruled out. Nothing to operate on. He did offer what I had been told were ‘shots’ but actually is an epidural. I agreed, even though I have no idea what they might be pumping into my spinal fluid, and it probably won’t help. If it does, then they know a nerve is indeed being squarshed and that’s a valuable bit of knowledge, to me. Because if the nerve isn’t being pinched at the spine, just what the hell is the issue? Cuz my leg burrrns. Or aches like it is bruised, or itches in a way that can’t be scratched.

But I can live with the leg being wonky. I can’t live with this backache. I can’t do anything! I’m only 40, not too chubby, and like doing things with my hands. When I can’t even do the things I have to do, like the damn dishes, without needing to go sit down for a while, what chance do I have for doing fun things like vacuuming the car? And YES, dammit, that is fun, sort of – I love me a clean car, and I’m in the bitch more than anyone else these days.

Oooooh the sun just came out! I can taste it! Seriously, I can open my mouth and feel the sun on my tongue and oh, I need the sunshine. My current music (hubby testing songs for tomorrow’s radio show, with a USA theme, surprised?) is The Pogues, The Body of an American – “I’m a free-born man of the USA” first heard by me on The Wire. Apparently it’s a wake song; if so – play it for me when I go, please?

Back to the back. Needle in 4-6 weeks, and probably another day off of work. Be interesting to see what result, if any, I get. In the meantime they said my issue appears to be muscular. My lower spine has very little curve to it. Doc said this is because the muscles are supposed to pull tight and make the curve, but mine are weak and haven’t been doing the job. I asked about any options to strengthen the muscles that might be provided by the HSE – none. So Pilates on my iPad it is then, I guess. I can’t afford classes with someone to show me how to do it right – even though I have never done regulated exercises and I doubt I do them right. Only time I ever tried anything close was the Haidong Kumdo and that is what really, really fucked my back up! Even with an instructor. Imagine what I can do to myself, by myself!

Right, just had a looong pause while taking the chicken off the grill. I love crispy skin – the only fatty thing I eat and like – only if crispy! Had to run in and peel the chook, because if you leave the skin on the bird it goes soggy. I have to say the crispness is a bit lacking, so I scraped off the oooky fatty bits and we’ll put the skin back on the grill for a bit, because the ribs and sausages aren’t quite done yet. Last photo before I went inside:

Had a little taste of the chicken. WOW. Oh yeah, baby.

Nothing in there for dogs, sorry Neko!

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