Letter to my mother 1 / If I could get a plane to heaven.

August is a funny month for me, quite like December 31st for other people.
I suppose it's because I teach, and the school year becomes your measurement of time.
Each August, I subconsciously look at how time is passing by, what I've done, what's left undone, and so on.
August also reminds me so much of time spent with my mother. In my 20's I usually went home for several weeks during the summer holidays. My mother would have lots of outings planned, we'd take off in my little Ford Fiesta and do some of these things she wanted - shopping, being tourists, visiting relatives, more shopping, having coffee. We'd also do lots of cooking, preserving, knitting, and house decorating. It was as though we were trying to pack a year's activities into a few short weeks, knowing that a long winter lay ahead, when there would be little time.

Sometimes I wish that I could get on a plane to heaven and visit her, even just for a weekend.
Looking at the sky this evening was one of those times, as I saw a plane go by- it's in this photo.

I've been thinking for some time of sharing some letters that I wrote to my mother after she died so suddenly, age 65, and the time seems right now. The reference to sad world is that for 2 years before she died, my mother was taking care of my brother who had become mentally ill..very difficult job for her..So here goes:

" 17/5/1990
Hello Ma,
Do you know how much I miss you? I'd love to have you back but this world we live in is a sad old place and you're better off where you are.
Ma, all we have is memories. I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't write to you now and again. The pain is as bad today as it was the first day. I was just thinking "will I ever forget that it was on a Friday that you died?" I don't think so- I think there are still a lot of Thursday nights when I feel a sense of sadness (sometimes subconsciously) - like a retrospective foreboding.
I was thinking this evening about Christmas Day 1987- the first Christmas after you died, and Dad's last Christmas. I was thinking of how sister and myself cooked his last Christmas dinner-then it was also the last Christmas dinner in Rocklands. I know as we sat down to dinner everyone was thinking of you and I wanted so much to say "Here's to Ma and all the lovely Christmas dinners that she cooked for us", but I didn't think I'd be able to say it without crying so I stayed silent.
I'm sorry now that I didn't say it anyway, and to hell with crying or not.
I hope that you know anyway what was on our minds. One thing I am glad about is that we all went home that Christmas and had that first one without you and last one with Dad.

Bye for now, Ma, and thanks for the good times and the memories,
Mimi "

A welcome break

Looking after 3 teenagers all summer is hard work. They've been off school since the beginning of June. Yes, the summer holidays are longer here in Ireland than in some other countries.

Even though they are self-sufficient as regards food and most other stuff, there are still lifts involved and keeping track of various arrangements, not to mention the usual housework (ugh!) and washing (endless chore!).
So I bagged myself an internet bargain, and went off for a little break to http://www.monart.ie/

Here's the view from my window.

I was staying only one night, but managed to turn it into 2 days of bliss. I've never stayed in such a luxurious place, but the staff were really friendly and helpful. I normally don't like much attention, preferring to do things myself, but they were just lovely, and not in an intrusive way. I couldn't believe it when at check-in the girl told me that everyone comes to breakfast in their dressing gowns- right up my street! I tried it, and it was the most enjoyable breakfast I've ever eaten!

They have so many different parts to the spa, from the usual sauna (mmm) and steam room, to light relaxation room and kneippe cure pool (a cold, cold pool walk on stones- reflexology effect). I didn't book treatments, preferring to just chill out, take little walks in the grounds, and enjoy the peace. Besides, I had brought a few little treats of my own!

I've come back a new woman- chilled out and refreshed, ready to begin a new school year. I took some more photos, but in true blogger fashion, I'm saving these for Mellow Yellow Monday and Ruby Tuesday, so you'll just have to wait!

Ruby Tuesday

Here's another photo that I took in Dublin city centre recently.

This pub has been there for as long as I've been in Dublin , and that's a long time! It's a traditional pub off Grafton Street, not at all like some of the new "superpubs" that sprang up a few years ago.

I wonder what they're doing to celebrate Guinness 250 next month?

Click on the link to the left to see more Ruby Tuesday photos.

New crop

We've harvested our potato crop. I love saying that, makes me feel really Irish somehow. All brown bits are clay, not blight.

Last year, we had this plant growing in the flower bed, and a friend asked something about our potatoes..the first we knew of potatoes. You've worked it out- the sprouting potatoes that I throw in the compost bin had grown when the compost was spread on the flower bed. And we had a neat little crop of approx 6 small potatoes.

This might not impress those gardeners or farmers among you, but I was thrilled, and relished every bite. Daughter tells me my "inner farmer" is coming out! This year's crop is much more substantial at about 30 potatoes.

We've already made some potato salad, and I'm planning to bake some at the weekend in a fabulous Remoska oven that turns out the most amazing ones.

I might also try a recipe I have for chocolate potato cake- used to make it years ago and it is delicious.

Then again, I have to start my coffee shop tour tomorrow, camera in hand, so I may not have time. We'll just wait and see what happens.

What is it about builders?

We're getting a few jobs done around the house, just little things, in an effort to get storage organised before the school year begins.

Second daughter has an attic bedroom and we bought a new wardrobe for her in Ikea. We knew it was slightly too tall for the area, but I decided that builder guy would easily slice a bit off the top with his slicing saw.

So he arrived on Tuesday, and all was going smoothly till I discovered that there's a radiator in the way. Plumber guy came yesterday and moved the radiator, but we then discovered that there are 2 ceiling lights in the way.

Builder guy will be able to move them, and was supposed to do it this evening. But he has now got involved in another job, so says he'll have to postpone till tomorrow.

In the meantime, the house is like a tip. There's no point in cleaning, because they will come with dusty, building-site boots and dirty it all again.

I think the only thing I can do is spend the time out and about, drinking coffee in nice, clean, organised coffee shops.

This may well prove to be a very expensive wardrobe!

Car shopping

We left our car in for a service.
Garage phoned to tell us it needs a new gearbox and a new clutch.

Now, this car is 10 years old, and, although it had been going fine, there was an additional problem.
Daughter got a new tuba, which is ENORMOUS. It doesn't fit in the boot.

So we decided to look for a new (2nd hand) car, and have spent the last week going around garages trying to get one to fit our criteria. We want the engine no bigger than 1.4, and the boot has to take this new tuba case.To be sure, we've hauled the (empty) tuba case with us, trying it out in every boot. The reaction of salesmen is very funny, from "what on earth is that?" to "could you not get her to play a mouth organ instead?"

So far, we've found 3 cars that fit the bill- Renault Megane, Ford Focus and Peugeot 307, but now we need to find one of those at the right price.

The saga continues... I'm getting tired of it. Maybe we can buy either a yellow or a red one, and a picture of it will fill my Yellow Mellow Monday or Ruby Tuesday. There's a deadline!

Ruby Tuesday

I took this photo on a recent visit to St. Stephen's Green in the centre of Dublin.

The flower beds there are really beautiful, very well kept.

Click on the link below to see more Ruby Tuesday images.