Chocolate, again!

So, this morning, I was having a lovely time at the computer, catching up on my favourite blogs, and out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw something flicker. My imagination?

Went on reading, then something again caught the corner of my eye, as I saw a tail disappear around the corner. Yes, a mouse.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaagh! I hate them! Not in my house!

I screamed, which made elder daughter scream, which brought other daughter running to see what all the commotion was about. We then ran into the garden, with phone in hand. Rang hubby, who exploded laughing, and told us he'd be home later, and would deal with it then.

I actually managed to calm myself enough to set 2 traps (sorry anyone humane or squeamish), complete with chocolate. We then beat a hasty retreat to the shops.

We got home just before hubby, so sat in the car in the driveway, too scared to go in ourselves. We need not have worried, both traps empty.

Hubby then began pulling out couches, next thing he's sweeping behind it with dustpan and brush. A little bar of chocolate emerges, well nibbled. I have a faint recollection of throwing it to daughter about 3 weeks ago, she missed, and we forgot all about it amidst a flurry of re-decoration. Obviously, I haven't hoovered under the couch in 3 weeks, and now I'm paying the price.

Now, why would a mouse bother going into a trap for a little piece of chocolate when there's a full bar elsewhere? What a clever fellow. I hope he hasn't made a stash under the floor. And I hope he hasn't sent out invitations "Hey guys, party at Mimi's, tons of chocolate, come on over". Because, if he has, he's in big trouble.

Will you miss us?

Had an interesting conversation with my two girls today.

Them: "You know the way you miss M while he's at his camp?"
Me:"Yes?"
Them: "It doesn't fit in with your plans to kick up your heels, have lots of fun and travel when we all leave home.We think that in reality you'll be really lonely and miss us like crazy. We also think that you'll be driving us crazy looking for grand-children."

Then tonight, I picked up Sunday's newspaper, and there was an article on precisely that topic! The writer said, in relation to her 18 year-old "I adore every molecule in her body, and while I will always be there for her, after 18 years hard labour (gladly given) I am also happy that my life will soon be my own again."

I agree. With the Boy being only 13, I've a bit to go yet, but I am looking forward to that freedom when it comes.
I don't think I'll be at all short of ideas on what to do with my time, places to go, things to see..as far as I'm concerned, the world is my oyster. I don't intend to be sitting at home missing them, I intend to be all over the world! Yes, I will miss their views, their energy, their fresh non-cynical outlook on things.
I won't miss the endless piles of washing!

Here at last.

Well, Ikea Dublin opened today. Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah!

We have, over the years, like thousands of Irish people, travelled to Manchester, Bristol, London, Brussels and Belfast, all in search of that wonderful Swedish stuff. We were bitterly disappointed when Belfast was chosen over Dublin a couple of years ago, and we thought then that we had missed our chance.

But today, all our birthdays came together!

Sounds trite? Well it's not, because as far as our household is concerned, Ikea products just do the biz. Here are 5 things I like about Ikea stuff:

1. They're cheap.

2. They're well designed.

3. They last.

4. They have more than one function where possible.

5. They're easy to assemble (even for non-diy'ers like us).

So, of course, we had to head out there today, myself and the girls. We thought we'd escape the initial rush, so went out for 3pm.

In true Ikea style, traffic was well-managed, you were directed to the next available parking spot, they were giving out Chokladflarn in the (short) queue, all the tills were open. I could just go on and on.

At one point, I looked out the window (though Ikea was described in one of our newspapers as a "windowless box") and I could see the Dublin mountains in the distance- I simply couldn't believe that at last I was in Ikea in my own city!

We got some shelves for daughter's bedroom, now we have to get hold of the carpenter to put them up. In contrast to our best efforts, his shelves don't fall down.

We didn't buy very much, knowing that we can come back tomorrow, and the next day if we want. All our other visits, mainly to kit out bedrooms for start of secondary-school, were time-managed to the last. We either had a ferry or a flight to catch, and we had a specific list, with measurements of each item and of our car. Then, as closing time would approach, we'd make a last-minute dash to grab a few extra things, knowing that the next visit was probably a year away.

You know, I think I will go back over tomorrow, just for the sheer hell of it!

Healing Garden

Some years ago, our local Flower Show had a childrens' category.

The entries had to be on a dinner plate, which was a bit of a challenge for little ones.

However, my daughter decided she wanted to make a "Healing Garden", so I helped her a little, by explaining which plants from our limited collection had healing properties.

She produced a very nice display, with Lavender, Rose, Rosemary, Hypericum and Thyme, spending ages arranging them on the plate.

I was so proud and delighted when she got 2nd prize! She was delighted with the prize- namely an envelope with €10 in it! To a 5-year old, this was a lot of money!

Sitting in the garden today, I was reminded of that time. The Hypericum and Thyme have, unfortunately died, but the other plants are still thriving.

As to the healing properties- well, Lavender is calming and very good for insomnia.However, if you overuse it, especially in the oil form, it can actually have the opposite effect. I wonder does the bee in this picture sleep well? He/she was certainly busy today.

Rose is one of the most wonderful oils for healing a grieving heart. True Rose oil is expensive, but when you consider that it takes the petals from over 40 roses to make just one drop of essential oil, you appreciate how powerful just one drop is. I always think that it's impossible not to be uplifted by the look, feel and scent of a rose.

Hypericum (St. John's Wort) is usually macerated in olive oil, and is used as a carrier oil. It is excellent for inflammatory conditions, especially when used together with calendula.

Thyme has antibacterial and antifungal properties, and is also a good circulatory stimulant.

I'm not the world's greatest photographer, but these photos were taken today in the garden. The last one shows Lavender, Rose (peeping through) and one yellow blossom of Hypericum. A branch of the apple tree insisted in getting in the photo too. I was tempted to clip its wings, but in the end relented!

The rose bush actually belongs to my son, who's still away at his writing camp. I need to see that flower- I miss him like crazy. He decided not to come home this weekend, instead opting to go on some outings. The novel they were writing is finished-165,000 words in 4 days! Apparently their group wrote more words in less time with fewer members than last year's group. That's one way of measuring success!

Chocolate..again!

I meant to give details about those dairy-free chocolates.

Pig in the Kitchen blogspot is where the recipe is from, and they are called "Chocolate Orange Truffles for the Girls". Her recipes are delicious, I've made a few of them, and her stories are very entertaining. I left out the orange (see below) and the recipe still worked fine. Or you could try the Apricot Running Truffles..I haven't tried them yet, maybe tomorrow.



Incidentally, I never eat chocolate and orange together, it makes me nauseous because of something that happened when I was 7 yrs old! We were doing a "tour" of our relatives around my father's native Monaghan and Armagh (Northern Ireland). At the time, N.I was distinctly separated from the South, with different currency and lots of things that were unavailable in the South.




One of these things was Jaffa Cakes. So, with the money I got from my grand-aunt, I indulged in the delicacies of Armagh shopping. A full packet of Jaffa Cakes, all to myself!



The 3-hour car journey home combined with my gluttony was not a good combination. And to this day, I do not eat chocolate and orange together. Even the sight of a Terrys Chocolate Orange is revolting to me, and the smell would definitely set me off. As far as I'm concerned, Terry can have it all to himself.



Funny how, all these years on, my brain and my nose still remember!

"Music in the rain"

My daughter's band were playing a short little concert today, again in Marlay Park. This time, however, the setting was a beautiful walled garden. I didn't even know this garden existed- it's actually 2 gardens- a Victorian one that then leads to a Regency one.

The range of plants was of great interest to me, in particular the herbs, from an aromatherapy point of view. One example- Hyssop Officinalis is a very useful oil in aromatherapy, for asthma among other things. I hadn't seen the plant growing before, but in the Regency garden it was thriving. Also, they had several pear trees trained against a wall, and I thought "I could do that at home".

The band were just about to start playing when the rain started, so chairs were turned upside down and we all decamped to the pavilion, where there was a flower show. About 15 minutes later, the sun was out, so the concert took place. About a further 20 mins later, the rain started all over again!

All photos were taken by hubby, in between the drops!

He came home!

So, I got a text from the Boy on Thursday night, short and to the point- "I'm coming home sat at 12". I couldn't wait to see him! And to hear all his news.

It put me thinking of how it was for my Mum when I was at boarding school. I went when I was 11, and loved it from day one. I clearly remember how thrilled she would be to see me and how she'd have saved up all the news to tell me. I would have zero interest in most of what she was telling me, news of neighbours and relatives, but of course I would listen politely while she recounted these tales (sometimes more than once, at which point I would intervene with "Ma, you already told me that!", wondering how on earth she couldn't remember that she had ).

What goes around comes around, and today at 12 noon was my turn! I was so excited going to collect him, but in my case I wanted to hear all his stuff. However, you have to be careful with teenagers not to crowd them in, so I held back and let him lead the conversation.

3 useful snippets that I got were:
1. Thursday is dressing gown day, when they wear dressing gowns over their clothes.
2. They played a game that involved throwing a sock filled with peanuts up in the air and seeing who could catch it.
3. They did a mock of the Late Late Toy Show last night that involved making a toy from cardboard and tinfoil, standing on stage and dramatising the toy's attractions to the audience. Most of them did robots.
Sounds like fun!

Hubby brought them to Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (which, incidentally, seems to be the main reason why he came home!). He (the Boy, not the Hubby) was not impressed with a boy in the row in front of him, who talked loudly to his mother during the film. He said "ssh"- no response, then "SSSSH"- still no response, so he then gave the seat a little kick.
That worked!