Upbeat

Sorry that I haven't been around for almost all of February, at least in terms of posting.

It's been a busy month, I've been doing lots of knitting, and I've been eating the delicious stuff that you see in the picture!

Busy month - 2 lots of exams (not for me-yay! Mocks!) eldest daughter was doing Mock Leaving Cert and Son was doing Mock Junior Cert.

School for me has been very busy, with some intense and difficult meetings. To say that we were ready for mid-term break is an understatement!

But what a lovely break! I went to Brussels on Sunday, to visit my friend C and in particular her daughter Ais, who has been very sick for a year now. I wrote about the terrible thing that happened to her here. Ais has been making great progress in the Rehab centre that she is now in, but she still has a lot of breathing problems, and was re-admitted to hospital on Monday with a respiratory infection. She is such a brave lady who works very hard at her recovery. She is inspirational.

But, in spite of that, we had a lovely time for my three days there, I was able to give both Ais and C some little foot massages each day, and we had some delicious meals. The family are great cooks, and they also all enjoy sitting around the table over a leisurely meal. We had long chats, caught up with other mutual friends and some good arguments too!

And on Tuesday, C and I went to a favourite restaurant in Brussels, where the chef is a very talented Irish lady. Little Ais insisted that we go ahead with the planned meal even though she was now in hospital, and we were able to reward her with a takeaway of mixed appetisers and one of these chocolate mousse creations!

And tonight, another Opera!

Eldest Daughter and I have gone to all the Met Live in HD this season, courtesy of the Sunday Times (until tonight- they changed from first-come-first-served free tickets to lottery, and we didn't win their lottery!Boo!) ; we've enjoyed it so much that we were unable to contemplate missing this treat, so we bought two tickets. Placido Domingo and Susan Graham were the leads in Iphigénie en Tauride and both were suffering from colds, but they gave wonderful performances. I think it's safe to say that I'm completely converted to Opera.

And as I sit typing this, the result of our General Election is coming in. There has been a seismic shift in Irish politics, the likes of which we haven't seen since 1915. About time too.

Listening to Enda Kenny, leader of Fine Gael, who will probably form the next Government in a coalition with Labour, I feel some confidence that the country will be able to get out of the mess that Fianna Fail led us into, and that we will be proud to be Irish again. I haven't heard Eamon Gilmore yet, but I'm sure he must be delighted with the huge vote his party got. Looking forward, for the first time in about 2 years, to tomorrow's papers!

So much to be thankful for. Update, with photos, of knitting in the next few days.

Phoenix Park

Thought I'd share with you some of the beautiful views I am privileged to enjoy on my journey to and from work each day. The Phoenix Park has lots of these benches dotted around, and they are very inviting!

On the other side of the road the view is something quite different, all office blocks and commercial activity.

Often, there are cars parked along this stretch, but I can never see where the occupants have gone! They certainly are not sitting on the benches!

I pulled in on my way home on Friday and just took this out of the open window, cos it was a pretty miserable day. But sometimes, I do get out and have a little walk, then continue on my journey.

"The Park", as it's known in these parts, is 1752 acres of beautiful open space and is one of the largest parks in any European city. It is home to lots of wildlife, and to 450 deer. It is also where President Mary Mc Aleese resides, in Áras an Uarhtarán. Dublin Zoo is also in the Park, as is the Garda Headquarters, so it's a busy place. You wouldn't think it to look at these photos!

And, from the website, I just discovered that they have a Knitting and Crochet Group which meets every Wednesday morning! Now, if only I didn't have to go to work!!