5 days to go

With only five days to go until the 'Race for Life' I have given up
any pretense of training and am instead asking everyone to pray that
the weather improves dramatically and it stays dry on Sunday morning!

The thought of being out in the kind of rain we've been having for the
length of time this is going to take me is not a happy one. Even for
charity.

Sometimes it's not easy being an Ulster rugby fan

And other times it's nigh on bl%dy impossible.

Now that Joanna Lumley has sorted out the Gurkhas, I wonder would she
consider trying to solve the problems at Ravenhill?

Sent from my iPhone

OK, so it's a bit rude

but this product, which is allegedly on sale in Irish supermarkets, is also hilariously funny ...

(read the bottom of the pack)

... nuff said

If music be the food of love ....

I'm a bit stuffed.

The Rev Garibaldi Biscuit plays a wee game about the tunes on your iPod. My iPhone is a relatively new acquisition and I haven't yet worked out (or had the time to work out) how to transfer my existing music onto it, so I have a mere 7 downloaded tracks to play with.

Ridiculously unbelieveable, I know. I shall work to improve that for next weeks round of the competition.

By the way, my 7th download was 'Life in a Northern Town' although not this (currently playing) traditional Dream Academy version. Back in the day I was more rock chick than disco babe and was a big fan of an American singer Rick Springfield, so when I discovered his version of this song on iTunes I just had to have it!

So go on, tell me ... what's the 7th track on your ipod / iPhone / phone / MP3 player / significant other music playing device? You never know, you might just inspire me for download no.8!

Dear Tooth Fairy

At 11.46am this morning Dolly lost a tooth. She performed the extraction herself, I think my hysterectomy took less time and was less dramatic, but that's a side issue.

We are all delighted the tooth has been successfully removed as a note had been written to the tooth fairy earlier in the week expressing concern that the tooth was so wobbly that there was genuine concern it might come out during the night and be swallowed.

I, for one, was not hunting that tooth out.

I have never been as close to a cow's arse

as I was at the Balmoral* show today. It wasn't a pretty sight, and as I tried to navigate nine excited children between two fairly squashed up lines of the animals, I did start to understand how Moses might have felt whilst negotiating the Red Sea crossing.

But in fact my overwhelming thought as we marched through what could definitely be called the 'splash' zone was if any of them (the cows obviously) as much as start to 'raise a tail' it's every man for himself, and I'm out of here!

I should mention that the experience was made all the richer by one student who ducked down under every beast, only to resurface and shout 'that one's a boy' or 'that one's a girl' much to the merriment of the farming folk around us.

Don't even ask what happened in the pig pens, or when they asked the farmer about his goats which were actually sheep, or how come the ASDA stand ran out of cake samples before ten thirty in the morning. All in a day's work!

* The Balmoral show is an annual event when the country comes to the town and literally set up farmyard in a large open venue in Belfast

Blogging on the go

Well, I can now blog on the bog so to speak. Not that I would you
understand, but I do have the technology to blog whenever or from
wherever I want. I shall try to restrain myself!

Victory!

Remember this? When Marks and Spencer started to charge £2 more for bras with cups larger than a DD, I was forced to join the paramilitary group otherwise known as 'Busts for Justice.'

To keep you abreast of the news, I would like to pass on that today M&S admitted they had made a boob. Customers have gone for the jugular and Marks & Spencer's unfair pricing decision has gone tits up. So there's a lesson for all you knockers who thought boycotting £10 meals deals wouldn't have any effect.

Read all about it here.

... happy birthday dear blog ...

My blog is three years old today. Originally known as 'Chemical's Blog', laterally 'The Diary of a Reformed Workaholic', it has been 36 months to the day since I posted my first ramblings thinking nobody would read them ... and three years and some 13,500 visitors later ....

Wow!

Did I ever think, three years ago, that I would make such great friends and acquaintances through blogging? NO! Did I ever think that blogging would take me half way round the world?? NO! Did I even think I would still be blogging in three weeks, never mind three years .... NO!!!

Thankyou to everyone who visits, reads, comments, look at the pictures or hides on this site. You could have no idea the difference your presence has made to me over the past three years. Yes Pluto, even you :-)

In honour of the occasion, have re posted my original rambling post below. Enjoy:

We were having lunch today when my sister-in-law (to be) casually suggested that I should have/keep/write (I'm not particularly IT literate, what exactly is the term I'm looking for here?) a blog. Blogging is new to me, in fact I've only ever seen two in my life, one of which belonged to afore mentioned sister-in-law (to be) and neither of which had lasted more than two months.

At least I don't have much to live up to then!

Anyway, I thought it would be good therapy for my poor confused mind, so here I am, blogging away (to myself, probably!)

I'm not too sure what to do now, but I have it on good authority that I should mention my interests. As such, I have spent the entire afternoon making up interests I could mention. I didn't come up with much, but thought that a good place to start would be rugby and geocaching, which are actually interests I do have.

An enthusiastic rugby fan, I support Ulster (Heineken Cup winners 1999; Celtic Cup winners 2002 and probably Celtic League winners 2006) first, Ireland second and any other team after that. I have relatives in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne who would have me say Falcons third, and if I thought there was a remote chance of them coming across this blog, I would. I am a season ticket holder at Ravenhill, the home of Ulster rugby, and also travel to a substantial number of away matches every season.

I am quite new to Geocaching. It has about a four week headstart on Blogging. Geocaching is a sort of hi-tech hide and seek 'sport' that uses GPSs and plastic lunchboxes full of old McDonalds freebies and the contents of last years Christmas Crackers. Some people take it very seriously, that said, it is quite addictive. If you are interested, and lets face it, if you are bored enough to read my ramblings, you probably need a new hobby, find out more here: http://geocaching.com/

I introduced my sister-in-law (to be) to Geocaching, I guess when she told me about Blogging she felt she owed me :-)

Off to paint my snails

Last week I met Dolly in the hall, armed with half a dozen bottles of brightly coloured nail polish. 'Where are you going with that?' I asked. 'I'm just going out to paint my snails' she replied.

No, it's not a typo.

Apparently some CBBC programme said if you painted snails in your garden with nail polish you could keep track of them better. So she did.

So, if you see a snail with bright red or glittery pink nail polish ... please take care of it; it's more than likely one of ours!

Sharing resources

Pluto very kindly sent me a video of a French lesson from his school to help me as I cover a maternity leave in French.

Phil Packer

Major Phil Packer, an officer in the Royal Military Police, was injured in a rocket attack in Basra on 19 Feb 08. As a result of the accident he lost the use of his legs and is now a paraplegic with what are classed as catastrophic injuries.

Originally told he would never walk again, there have been positive improvements and it is his aspiration to walk the Flora London Marathon from the 26th April this year over a two week period, on crutches.

He does this in an attempt to raise £1million for Help for Heros, a charity launched in October 2007 by a group of friends and service relations who wanted to do something to help the wounded coming back from Afghanistan and Iraq.

This makes my 'dander for life' efforts pale into total insignificance. Please, consider sponsoring him

I'm in love

The most perfect partner a girl could ask for; good-looking, intelligent, slim, sexy, entertaining, musical, does exactly what you want and doesn't answer back. Or snore.

We are inseparable

Ohhhhh la la!

So I am teaching French. Finally all those years of intensive study of the French and their rugby physique has paid off.

And I kid you not, the first unit I am teaching is parties du corp! Well, my accent might not be up to scratch, but you should see my visual aids :-)

View from my window

The offending tree

Hey-ho, hey-ho; it's off to work I go

I am about to start a long stint of work. Tomorrow is the first day of a maternity leave I am covering which will keep me gainfully employed until next January! Although it seems like a long (very long!) time, it has the advantage of being broken down into two sessions; the first from now until the end of June and the second from September until January, so that will help it seem just not quite so intensive.

Of course, I don't get paid for July and August, that's because being a substitute teacher, I only get paid for the days I work and not holidays. Not that this worries me as I have a bit of a Joseph thing going on whereby I store up during the time of the fat cows.

Resigning a very well paid, full-time job with nothing to go to was a big step off the edge of a high cliff, but one which, for health reasons, just had to be taken. However, if you believe things are 'meant to be', then this was definitely one of those things.

Since I resigned, I have been extremely fortunate in that I have had plenty of substitute work and could have in fact been gainfully employed virtually every school working day. And there's the added advantages of having the flexibility of being able to say 'no' if or when I need to and of having much less stress and therefore no more brain-rot. But don't for one minute think that I take any of this for granted - I know there are subs out there who are getting little or no work.

So it's off to work I go. Anyone care to guess what subject I will be teaching ..... ;-)

Postcrossing

A couple of months ago we started (another) new project called Postcrossing. Basically, you send a postcard and receive a postcard back from a random person somewhere in the world!

It's been a big hit with the kids and we are charting our progress on a big world map on the wall of the playroom and here on our special Postcrossing blog.

Worth a look if you are into collecting stamps, postcards, or have kids who like the idea of penpals but not the enthusiasm for writing long letters!

Update on No. 2395

In preparation for 'Dander for Life', I bought my first pair of trainers in 25 years last week. Do they ask everyone if they want life insurance with them?

I have some frankly unbelieveable news to share about my fundraising. Sit down and get yourselves a cup of tea or a whiskey before you read on.

When I set the total I hoped to raise at £100 I reckoned that, although ambitious, I would at least be able to make up many mysterious donations to myself in order to achieve that total and not lose face!

I can hardly believe that, so far, I have managed to raise a jaw dropping £124.00 for Cancer Research UK. And although some of the names on the list look pretty mysterious, I swear none of them are me!!

Together we are helping Cancer Research UK work at preventing, diagnosing and treating cancer. What can I say, other than a big, BIG thankyou for your support.

Ali

Here's politician I would vote for

There's been talk of having a homecoming parade for the regiment of two soldiers shot dead in Antrim last month. Surprise, surprise - Sinn Féin was the only party to object.

The motion was put forward by the Ulster Unionist councillor Adrian Watson. You got to love his response to Sinn Féin:

"You don't have to get out of your lazy bed to come down and be offended, just stay away."

Couldn't have put it better myself. Well, OK ... I might have used something a bit stronger than 'lazy'.

Lightning; it does strike twice

Why do I always get the Minis who want to 'Mini adventures' all on their own? Some of you may remember this story about my previous Mini, Mini Mouse.

Well today, not to be outdone, new Mini, Mini Sidewalk had an adventure all of her own.

The kids and I had just returned home from a few jobs we'd had to do on the first day of the holidays. Dolly was helping me carry the shopping into the kitchen and Michael was putting his rugby balls away in the garage.

Suddenly Dolly started screeching 'mummy, mummy, mummy!!' and I ran into the hall just in time to see Mini Sidewalk roll down the driveway into the garage wall.

Crunch.

And yes, before you ask, the handbrake was on. Needless to say, Mini Sidewalk now has an urgent appointment with the mechanic.

2395

My number. For 'Race for Life'. I sustained a training injury this week - I got a blister.

Please sponsor me

Proud as Punch

Dolly was selected to play in a Mini Rugby Tournament today. It was a rotten old day weather wise but she didn't let that deter her and she played a blinder, even though she was soaking and freezing.

Here she is enjoying a post tournament hotdog after a hard mornings graft. Please also notice my lovely candy-stripe wellies!

Did you know

Stansted airport is one of the most secure airports in the world? If you've ever been there, you'll be as bemused by this statement as I was when I was told.

I fell in with a security man at the airport on Tuesday night as I was heading home from London. As I was walking down to my departure gate he called me over to inspect my boarding pass. As he checked, he looked both ways up and down the corridor, leaned towards my ear and whispered 'President Obama is landing here within the hour.' I think I even got the wink. I gave him the honour of feigning suitable excitement but stopped just short of performing the happy dance.

I did, however, ask the obvious question ... why in the world would he fly into poxy Stansted Airport? (Although, obviously I didn't use the word poxy as I didn't want to hurt his feelings ... or be arrested) Well, apparently Stansted is one of the most secure airports in the world! My new conspirator tells me it has it's own permanent SAS presence and a tank battalion on site. Not so poxy, eh??!

When I got to the gate, in an attempt to beat Obama's arrival, our Ryanair crew did everything bar tell us there was £50 notes sellotaped to the aircraft seats to get us on board as quickly as possible, but it was no good. We had to wait on the apron whilst Airforce One landed and the President cleared the airport by helicopter. A major delay by Ryanair's standards.

We got to watch Airforce One land, big wow. Well, I didn't find it that exciting but the man across the aisle from me was fairly interested and moved into the empty row behind me for a better view.

When we eventually got clearance to 'go ... go ... go ...!' a stewardess arrived and instructed the man he 'must move back to his original seat on the other side of the plane for the correct balance of the aircraft.' Everyone looked up, expecting to see a big ten tonne tussie squeeze himself out of the row and across the aisle, and this wee weed of a thing appears ...

We did experience some mild turbulence on our flight home and every time we had a wee bump or wobble, everyone glared at our friend who had dared to move seats, blaming him for the temporary imbalance of the aircraft.

Finally, on the subject of airlines ... this from Pluto:

A man is sitting in the bar in departures at a busy airport. A beautiful woman walks in and sits down at the table next to him. He decides that because she's got a uniform on, she's probably an off-duty flight attendant. So he decides to have a go at picking her up by identifying the airline she flies for, thereby impressing her greatly.

He leans across to her and says the Delta Airlines motto:'We love to fly and it shows' The woman looks at him blankly. He sits back and thinks up another line. He leans forward again and delivers the Air France motto: 'Winning the hearts of the world'. Again she just stares at him with a slightly puzzled look on her face. Undeterred, he tries again, this time saying the Malaysian Airlines motto: 'Going beyond expectations'.

The woman looks at him sternly and says; 'What the %*$&*# do you want?'

'Ah!' he says, sitting back with a smile on his face. "Ryanair."

Barking!

I think that when you meet someone for the first time under a 20 foot high Freddy Mercury that's a sign it's you're going to have a mad time.

'Well,' says Judy after a few minutes confusion and a phonecall to get us both to the same tube exit at the same time, 'you know London better than me - you'd better show me around.' LOL! What a start!

And so, as we tramped down Oxford Street, we fell into conversation as if we'd been meeting each other for lunch for years.

Judy takes me to the local Internet cafe

We had such a laugh I couldn't possibly start to go into it all here, but a personal highlight of the afternoon, in particular for those sitting around us in Starbucks at the time, had to be when we both rolled up our trousers to the knee and compared varicose veins and dodgy ankles, as you do!

And, if you ever have the opportunity to meet Judy, ask to see her moonwalk. Extraordinary, and that's just the facial expressions!

After a great afternoons craic, Judy had to rush off to realign her garden lights to simulate the runway at Stansted in the hope O'Bama's plane would land in her back garden. As you do.

Waiting to meet Obama

I am sat at Stansted airport waiting to meet President Obama who is arriving here later for G20. I hope he is as much fun as Judy ... more on that to follow :-)

Blog meet: Debenhams

I am going to London for a couple of days to shop in Mango (ours has been removed and I feel the loss keenly) and meet Secret Agent Schultz, she of the most contagious laugh!

For those of you who are confused by the title of this post, Judy lives in Debenhams at Barking. Barking. I should fit right in.

Why I can't have football

This would never happen at a rugby match. Bloody Neanderthals.

Crown of Thorns

Clark Datchler, former singer with 80's wonders 'Johnny Hates Jazz' in case you recognise the dulcet tones.

I love love love this song. I bought it on 12" when it was released in 1990. I've not heard it for years, and years ... and years! I was, and still am, mesmerised by the lyrics.

There's a really strong message here and I'd love to ask Datchler where he stands spiritually and what's behind his words.

Enjoy ... opinions welcome!

Breaking News ...

There is a camping trip in the offing ...

Race for Life

Can I start by saying that although the title of this fundraiser is 'Race for Life' I will absolutely not be moving any faster than a dander*. That sorts out any Trade Description issues up front.

Please feel free to dig deep or alternatively, chuck in a couple of quid. Any money raised means Cancer Research UK can work at preventing, diagnosing and treating cancer, and that's a very worthy cause, even if watching me walk 5 km on two dodgy ankles isn't!

If you know me online, maybe you'd like to sponsor me online – it’s quick, easy enough for even me to understand and totally secure. Just click on the sponsor me button thing over there -->

If you are a UK taxpayer, please tick the Gift Aid box when donating so that an extra 25%, plus a 3% supplement, can be added to your gift at no cost to you. That means your £2 becomes £2.57 or something like that; maths was never a strong point.

Anyway, what's important about Gift Aid is that we get a chance to fleece the government together !

Thanks in advance for any monetary donations. Chocolate donations are also welcome, but no training advice please. Feel free to pop along and watch the event ... feel free to bring an oxygen tank with you if you do.

*dander, leisurely stroll: 'John's just gone out for a wee bit of a dander.'

Random thoughts

Aircrew (and even apparently one pilot) on Irish airlines have allegedly been wearing Irish rugby shirts this week. The party rolls on.

I got word that in Houston they are having an Irish music festival. Here in Belfast we have just started a month long shopping festival. I wonder did someone somewhere got those two venues mixed up.

Mother's cat is staying with us this week. Await disaster.

Having said I would do the Cancer Research 'Race for Life' it is now probably time I actually did something to get ready for that. Like walk the length of myself, or even registering would be useful.

I am babysitting my nine month old niece tomorrow. She is very smiley and very contented and I trained nursery assistants for 5 years so I'm sure we will get on great. She doesn't need a litter tray so already she's on a better footing than the cat.

Spandau Ballet are reforming again today. A lot of 80's groups seem to be taking up their zimmers and boosting their (probably collapsed) pension plans by reforming. I'm not excited. Now, if Johnny Hates Jazz were to do it ...

Finally, when asked to name the core values of the Ireland rugby team, Paul O'Connell (next Lions captain - watch this space) responded "Honesty and integrity - big Irish things - and being humble as well."

I think that sums us up pretty well. Here endeth the lesson.

And now, we can breathe again

Green is the colour

I have just returned from a quick dash to the local shopping centre where I stocked up on supplies to enable us to sit in front of the tele and watch three consecutive rugby matches as the rugby Six Nations comes to it's finale today.

It's a big day for Ireland, first chance at the grand slam in 61 years. Not that I honestly think we'll do the slam, but I believe we'll win the championship.

Anyway, it appears everyone in Ireland is wearing green today; I saw more green in Forestside this morning than I even saw in Houston on St Patrick's Day, and that's saying something! One in ten shoppers was sporting an Irish rugby shirt. The shopping centre was buzzing, but come 12.30pm I'd say the shops will be deserted!

My prediction then: Italy for the spoon, I think England will win the Calcutta Cup, mores the pity, and although I think Wales will beat Ireland robbing them of the Grand Slam, I don't think they will get the win of 13 points they need to deprive Ireland of the Championship. So ...

C'MON IRELAND ...

Did you hear the one about the Irish woman

trying to cross the road in Houston?

Everythng is bigger in Texas, even the roads. Yesterday I had occasion to cross a minor seven lane road to get to the shops. An absolute necessity!

So I pushed the button and waited for the green man, but here he is white. Interesting point - is the green man only green in Ireland??

So I am waiting and waiting because I don't want to be caught jaywalking and sent to jail as I think they might have the death penalty here. Eventually the white man appears and I start to walk. I get to the end of the second of, don't forget seven lanes of traffic, and the white man disappears and the big red hand starts flashing at me.

I stop dead. Panic!! What do I do? Do I turn back to where I started, or do I keep going in my original direction? Peopel in their cars are looking at me oddly and I know it's not because I'm wearing my St Patrick's Day bloopers. SO I make a snap decision to continue to the other side ... and run like hell!

I'm safe mum, all those posts Nancy's about to make about visiting me in hospital - they're not true!

Houston

I can't really blog too well as I am working from a funny wee keyboard thing on my knee sitting on the bed in my room. I am still on Belfast time which means I was awake from 5am local, ready for the shops at 8am just to discover that the shops don't open until 10am!!!

And they call this civilised society?? :-p

I am now speaking American quite fluently, although not as fluently as some of my American friends are speaking Belfast. Dana has an 'awesome' Belfast accent ... say 'now' Dana! I have read a lot of phonebooks and repeated a lot of nursery rhymes for peoples pleasure.

I love the ads on TV here. You gotta love them - they go on forever. And they are not afraid to advertise anything. I was in the bathroom last night cleaning my teeth listening to the ads and this one comes on "Ladies, is your contraception pill not working for you..." (told you they advertise everything) "... then try neutering!" I'm thinking 'wow! now I've really heard it all, human neutering advertised on the tele!'

Out of curiosity I dashed into the bedroom to see what pictures they had put with these words to discover the ad was for Nuta-Ring, a new form of contraceptive coil.

I am having a great time here with the 'gals', Houston First Baptist blew my tiny Irish brain, Southern hospitality is all it's cracked up to be and today there is a rumour going about that the sun will shine! Yee-ha!

To finish, yesterday in Barnes and Noble I finally discovered what the 'X' in the St Patricks day alphabet stands for. I can't believe I didn't think of it myself ... that most Irish of musical instruments ... Xylaphone. My education is now complete.

Thankyou

to the lovely people of Texas who went out of their way to welcome me to Houston in a traditional Irish way by blowing up the offices next door to my hotel at 7am (local) this morning!

Bloggers meet: Houston

In just a couple of hours I will be leaving to start the first leg of my journey to Houston, Texas, to meet Dana, Kelly and Nancy. And possibly a yellow rose, or two.

I will also be exporting enough bread to keep the Irish economy ticking over for the foreseeable future and to clear Paul Rankin's tax bill!

Friday 13th

Flying to Houston with Continental on a Boeing 777-200. From todays Independent; should I be worried:

Warning over safety of Boeing engines
Rolls-Royce ordered to redesign fuel component to resist build-up of ice

A faulty component in the engines of Boeing 777 aircraft which caused two near-fatal accidents could malfunction on other planes at any moment, the US air accident investigation body warns.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued an "urgent safety recommendation" on Wednesday in which it said there was a "high probability of something similar happening". It instructed engine manufacturers Rolls-Royce to redesign the part, and told airlines to ensure it is fitted to all aircraft using the affected engines at the earliest available opportunity.

Yes please, like TODAY ;-)

Belfast, 10/03/09, 13:00hrs

Genius

'Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.'

Brian O'Driscoll March 2009

Happy Mothers Day!

When they were four, my children had to write little bits for the inside of Mothers Day cards they made at school. This is what my pair had to say about me ...

Dolly:

My mum's name is Alison. Her hair is blonde and her eyes are green. My mum has curly hair. My mum likes to have a bath. Me and Michael keep mum busy. I love mum because she is beautiful.

Michael:

My mum's name is Alison. She has blue eyes and yellow and brown hair and sometimes curly hair. My mum works in a school. My mum bosses Graham around. I love my mum because she hugs and kisses me.

My name is Alison. I actually have grey eyes and blonde (out of a bottle) hair with lots of grey bits. I do work in a school, I do like to have baths and I do boss Graham around. Still.

Breaking News

Team Book Circle are signing up to Race for Life, charity event for Cancer Research UK.

On second thoughts, maybe we should call ourselves team Pudding Club and nip any false expectation in the bud.

Looking for something to read?

At Book Circle and Pudding Club this month we carried out a rather interesting little exercise. Yes, we did (briefly) discuss the book of the month, which was Danny Wallace's 'Friends Like These'. And yes, we did eat pudding as normal, but this month we also rated all the books we've read to date.

If you are interested in the titles we have read and maybe discussed so far, look here. If you don't read but are interested in the puddings we've eaten you'll find a list of some of those there too.

However, I digress; the ratings. A complicated system was employed to work out which book we favoured and the results were as follows:

• joint first place The Island (Victoria Hislop) and The Memory Keepers Daughter (Kim Edwards)
• third place The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (John Boyne)
• last place Labyrinth (Kate Mosse)
• very closely followed by I Predict a Riot (Bateman)
• and A Place Called Here (Cecelia Aherne)

You gotta love Michael O'Leary

Payback

Rarely is a victory so sweet as when we beat the English. Sorry if you are English and you are reading this, but when it comes to sport, we just don't like you.

Which is why even I got excited on 7 Sep 2005 when David Healy's goal gave Northern Ireland an amazing, unexpected victory in the football World Cup qualifier against England.

This weekends 14-13 victory over England in the Six Nations was sweet indeed. Sweeter still as it was against a team coached by the man who infamously refused to move for Irish President Mary McAleese before the Ireland v England Rugby game in Lansdowne in 2003.

Well, slap that up ya big lad :-)

Lets hear it for the boys

What's a bomb-scare?

There was a bomb-scare in Belfast today. It's been a long time, but in other respects it seems like only yesterday.

My experience of bombs was real from a very young age; I heard them, felt them, saw them and learned not to be too disconcerted by them. Blase? You had to be there.
Bomb-scares were a part of everyday life. We put up with the disruption, diversions, inconvenience and added time to our journeys that today has caused total chaos in a city that can no longer cope. How quickly things change.

On the other hand, my children's experience of bombs is what they've learnt about World War Two in history at school. So the first question when the news broke this afternoon was 'what's a bomb-scare?'

I explained there was a bomb in town. I could see immediately daughter was worried and explained that it was too far away to hurt us. Anyway, the army were sorting it out. Sudden excitement in son's eyes ... the army ... are in Belfast??! Wow! He stopped short of asking if we could go and see them.

Changed days indeed.

I told them we were very safe, but went on to tell them that once our house had been blown up in a bomb. The reaction: don't be so silly mum - you're not old enough to be alive when the Second World War was on!

I stopped him from going outside to build an Anderson Shelter and her from going upstairs to pack her evacuee suitcase and sent them off to play while I finished dinner.

Five minutes later a flight that had taken off from Belfast City airport flew overhead, and daughter reappeared at the kitchen door. That plane won't drop any more bombs on us, will it mum?

Bloggers meet: just down the road

Sometimes those closest to you seem farthest away. Often, that's because that's the way you like it!

There is nothing else for it; I have arranged a bloggers meet with Pluto. Next Tuesday, his place. He's providing the coffee, I'll provide the buns and photos. Watch this space.

And talking of feet ...

My son has just returned from his school residential trip. This was only his second time away from home alone. The first time was a church weekend when he went and returned wearing exactly, and I mean exactly, the same clothes.

18 months and a fair amount of intensive training in personal hygiene later, I didn't really hold out much hope of a more successful event - boys will be boys after all.

So imagine the joy of seeing him arriving home wearing different shirt and jeans than those he had left in, two days earlier.

Imagine the pride swelling in my chest when he handed me a plastic bag full of laundry, sorted just like I'd explained to him to do, from his trip to wash.

And imagine the smell when he removed his trainers to reveal he'd worn the same socks for three days running.

Another foot note

As nothing else of interest (point taken, I know my foot is also not interesting) has been happening round here I am resigned to blogging that my foot is now a delicious shade of yellow.

On a brighter, OK maybe not brighter as my foot really is quite yellow, but happier note, I am pleased to report the football, which has been taunting me from my study window all week, is finally down from the tree.

Finally, this time three weeks I hope to be attending Houston First Baptist. Now there's something to put a smile on the foot of even a yellow-footed woman.

Yes, I see it now, and of course it should say face ...

I'm not blogging because

my foot's too sore to type.

And I'm reading a very exciting book: Blind Spot by Terri Persons

The next time a football gets stuck in the bloody tree

it stays right there.

That's because today I tried to do the decent thing and retrieve a football that had become well and truly lodged in a cherry tree in the front garden. Lodged so well I was using a hockey stick to whack (technically term) it out.

However, as it was too high in the tree for just a plain old whack, I used the old jump and whack technique.

Next moment I was lying on the ground, with a sharp pain in my right (good) (as in currently non-arthritic) ankle. And a moment after that, I also realised that the undignified noise that sounded like a pig squealing somewhere down the street was actually coming from me.

Simultaneously I'm hoping the neighbours don't all arrive home at that particular moment to see me writhing and squealing on the front lawn lest I be put back on the medication.

This all takes milliseconds - I know this because as I continue to writhe and squeal, the hockey stick loosens itself from the branches where it had become momentarily lodged and hits the ground with a thump not three inches from my head. Thank the Lord.

And so, this evening I found myself in casualty explaining to the nice doctor that I hurt my ankle retrieving a football from a tree and feeling utterly ashamed that I hadn't insisted that someone shaved my right leg and painted my toenails before it was touched, twisted, prodded and x-rayed.

PS the verdict came back 'not broken'. With one week of work to go and a trip to Houston in the offing, thank the Lord for that too!

Wake up, wake up!

The phone rang at 8.20am this morning. Saturday morning. Awake, but still dozing I'm thinking 'who the flip's calling this early?'

I hear mother's voice on the other end of the line 'quick, quick! Esther's on the radio!!' and I'm thinking 'who?' 'Esther from your blog is on the radio!!'

Now I'm awake.

And sure enough, I tune into the local BBC radio station, Radio Ulster, and there is Esther giving an interview about her My Secret Northern Ireland blog.

Can you believe that ... or did I dream it?

**UPDATE** Follow this link to hear Esther's interview on BBC iPlayer. Her bit starts at about 20:46 minutes in. But don't forget who brought this site to your attention first ;-)

RBS 6 Nations

With one round down I am going to (arrogantly) call it and say it will all come down to the last game where the winners will be decided by the outcome of the Wales v Ireland match.

But what a brilliant start to the tournament last weekend; Ireland's victory over the French, arguably with a little help from the referee, was particularly sweet after their last meet on Irish turf when I watched from 'the hill' and thought we had it in the bag ... until the French scored in the very last minute of the game.

Unfortunately, a potentially sweeter moment of the rugby weekend was lost because the English Saxons stayed in their changing room and refused to play Ireland A, resulting in the match being cancelled just seconds before kick-off. The Saxons cited a frozen pitch as the reason, with Danny Cipriani (the current English rugby 'pretty boy') apparently being the main protagonist. However, the pitch had twice been passed as fit earlier in the day ... let the argument on that one begin.

And speaking of arguments, when Scottish player Simon Webster knocked himself unconscious in the game against the Welsh, surely he should have been immediately substituted, instead of being allowed to play on until he started vomiting on the pitch and the referee insisted he was taken off.

Of course, he wasn't the only one - I think there were a total of three KOs in that game. It's true what they say: football's for girls :-p

Then there was poor Mauro Bergamasco, (the right Bergamasco!) who was led like a lamb to the English slaughterhouse. Briefly, for those who are vaguely interested, for some unknown reason Italy didn't have a fit scrumhalf and Mauro was required to play in that position, rather than his normal place on the field, in what is actually a very pivotal role. Basically it was an unmitigated disaster. And yet of all the English, who should have had a cricket score on the Italians, didn't capitalise.

:-)

So, round two and we have the Italians this weekend, and with three Stade Francais players in their squad, there's always going to be something interesting to watch.

Onwards and upwards to Irish domination - in BO'D we trust!

(Brian O'Driscoll)

Bore, bored, boring

Nothing that might even be construed as vaguely interesting happening here. How bad is that?

if you can't beat them ....

Whoop whoop!

I have just won a competition on the radio :-)

Have a go yourself:

1. Who was forever in blue jeans on a September morning?
2. The humming bird is the only bird that can fly backwards, true or false
3. What year did Wet Wet Wet have a hit with 'Love is all Around', Nelson Mandela become President of South Africa and Schindler's List win 7 oscars?
4. What do Charles Darwin, Laurence Olivier, Charles Dickens and Sybil Thorndike all have in common?
5. What is at 1600 Pennslyvania Avenue?

5 out of 5 to beat, and no cheating please!

Infamously famous

The postcard project that we started a couple of weeks ago has started to take off. Although we had sent many postcards (well, it felt like that as the children were writing them!) we have only just started to receive postal offerings.

An interesting experience so far; we have received a photograph someone took themselves of what looks like their local bank and a postcard from Toledo, Ohio, with a picture of a rusty buoy on the front.

However, this particular card did cause great excitement as we know someone from Toledo!! Yes indeed - as the kids were very quick to point out, Toledo is the hometown of Corporal Maxwell Q. Klinger (the one who dressed as a woman in M*A*S*H)

Fun Monday

AOJ at The Lurchers set the task of telling about the book you are reading.

I am just finishing off our current Book Circle read, the Chiamanda Ngozi Adichie novel which won the Orange Broadband prize for fiction in 2007, 'Half of a Yellow Sun' The novel is based on the Nigeria-Biafra War which happened in Nigeria from 1967-70. In fact, the title is taken from the emblem of the breakaway state in eastern Nigeria that survived for only three years, and whose name became a global byword for war by starvation.

It follows the lives of five very different characters in the years leading up to the war and during the violent political turmoil itself. Ugwu is a poor villager‚ employed as a houseboy for the university lecturer and revolutionary freedom fighter, Odenigbo. Olanna, the London-educated daughter of a "nouveau riche" businessman and Odenigbo's partner, is a young beautiful middle−class woman. Richard is an English writer who, having been in Nigeria at the start of the conflict, considers himself Biafran and who falls in love with Olanna's remote and enigmatic twin, Kainene.

Aspects are quite gritty and brutal and some might find it difficult to read, but it explores a range of issues including culture, fear, conflict and moral responsibility. I recommend it.

And part two of the task; if I were stranded on a desert island, which book would I take? Crumbs, I imagine it would have to be Ray Mears book 'Outdoor Survival Handbook: A Guide To The Resources And Materials Available In The Wild And How To Use Them For Food, Shelter,Warmth And Navigation'

:-)

Ulster '99 European Cup winners reunion match

Today

I have been a mummy for 10 years

Hey Brigitte

How's your foot? :-)

Whoever said the French were an arrogant race ...

... obviousy hadn't met our tour bus driver.

Imagine the scene. Daughter formerly known as Dolly and I sheltering in a telephone box from heavy, heavy rain and gale force winds in Paris on Friday morning, waiting for the Paris City Tour Bus to arrive. The weather dictated that a morning on the tour bus was just the ticket.

When the bus did eventually (late) arrive we scrambled on board with the rest of the passengers and waited our turn to pay. 46 Euro, but cheap at half the price if it kept us amused and more importantly, dry.

Only ... (there's always an only) they didn't take credit cards as payment and I only had 20 Euro cash. And not enough French to explain to a bus driver who had even less English what my predicament was.

But somehow he understood the problem: 'No worry, no worry! I drive you to ze bank'

And that, is precisely what he did! He drove his big red tour bus through the sidestreets of Paris and stopped outside a bank, waiting long enough for me to disembark and retrieve some cash before heading back onto his tour of the City.

I can only start to imagine what the others on the tour must have thought. Vive la France!

Look what I'm watching

This blog should be temporarily out of service

Because I should be in Paris. Well, if you are reading this, I must be. Whether or not I manage to make my way home again or not ... now that's debatable!

Near miss

There are two airports in Belfast, Belfast City, which is about 20 mins from my house, and Belfast International - don't be fooled, it's nowhere near the city and takes about an hour to get to.

Tomorrow Dolly and I head to Paris for the weekend. We are all organised and I did on-line check-in so we could just arrive at the City airport and walk through to the gate. That means that for our 11:30 am flight, we only have to leave the house at 10:15 or 10:30am. Sorted!

Until my husband (who is in the South of France skiing at the moment) phoned tonight because his mates insisted he did. They insisted because it suddenly struck one of them that Aer Lingus didn't fly from Belfast City Airport.

And actually, it turns out that they don't. So if I had arrived, as planned, at the City Airport at 10:45am for a flight leaving the International Airport at 11:30am ... well ...

My mother has started a 24hr prayer vigil for our safe return, and we haven't even gone yet!

I love a good jigsaw

A blonde calls her boyfriend and says 'Please come over here and help me. I have a killer jigsaw puzzle, and I can't figure out how to get started .'

Her boyfriend asks, 'What is it supposed to be when it's finished?' The blonde says, 'According to the picture on the box, it's a rooster.' Her boyfriend decides to go over and help with the puzzle. She lets him in and shows him where she has the puzzle spread all over the table.

He studies the pieces for a moment, then looks at the box, then turns to her and says, 'First of all, no matter what we do , we're not going to be able to assemble these pieces into anything resembling a rooster.' He takes her hand and says, 'Second, I want you to relax. Let's have a nice cup of tea, and then ...' he said with a deep sigh, . .. . .. . .

'Let's put all the Corn Flakes back in the box.'

Have you ever been so wet ...

... that the rain has been running down your leg on the inside of your trousers??

Welcome back to the joys of Ulster Rugby Wils :-)

There's a LOT to be said for good interpersonal skills

I've just caught a snippet of one of those 'Police Camera Action' type programmes. The little bit I saw featured a RTA where a car had hit a man on a motorbike. The man, we were told by the serious sounding narrator, was in a critical condition.

Indeed, he is lying on the pavement as paramedics work with him; he is screaming in agony. There is blood flowing down into the gutter. A conversation is going on, instigated by a cyclist who was first to arrive at the scene. It has been subtitled for the benefit of those of us who can't quite hear over the screaming. It goes something like this:

'Your alright mate, you're not dead.'

Pause

'Well, your left leg's OK anyway'

Pause

'But your bikes buggered.'

Pause

'But it looks like it was a cheap one'

Between fits of the giggles (I don't know whether to be shocked or disbelieving) I manage to make out that the accident took place outside the local hospital, and as well as the two paramedics, the man is being treated by a doctor who had just left work. On his bicycle.

Where in the name of all things holy did he learn his bedside manner??

(the answer is Sheffield. Don't EVER have an accident in Sheffield)

My ever-growing carbon footprint

Another blog meet has been arranged.

I am travelling to that well known borough in London, Barking and Debenhams, at the end of March to meet up with Secret Agent Schultz. This blogging friend, I have to tell you, has the most contagious laugh!

Here's another interesting thing, I was charged more to book my flight over than I was to actually fly on it! £2 for my return flight (all taxes waived) £10 to book said flight. Now, go work that one out.

Another project

Yep, another one!

Bloggers Meet: Dublin

Well, it's true: Cosmo doesn't look anything like his avatar.

It struck me as I was getting out of the car at a little bistro in Dublin last night that I had arranged to meet someone that I have never clapped eyes on, never mind met before, and I hadn't had the wit to reply 'yes, wear that red carnation!' I had a momentary scary image of me walking from table to table whispering 'Cosmo?' in peoples ears, and subsequently being arrested by the Garda Síochána for a breach of the peace.

Alternatively, I could just have shouted 'OK, who's going to own up to flying from Dublin to Cork just to drink a cup of Starbucks coffee in Cork airport??'

My first International blog meet took place last night with Cosmo and Mrs Cosmo, aka Dublin Mom. I cannot explain how lovely and yet how weird it was to hold a fullscale conversation with people you've never talked to before, but know lots about.

We had a great night and I learnt a lot about Cosmo's family, work and coffee drinking habits (I know why he's not been blogging so much of late) and he learnt that I drink tea just whatever way it comes, that we have a tendancy to be late and that my husband is, without a shadow of a doubt, deluded ;-)

And ears will have been burning because of course we talked about all you other bloggers as well.

Hopefully we will be able to do it again either here or there, but so we can keep in touch meantime in blogland, I have added Dublin Mom to my recycled blogroll. Thankyou both for taking time out of your busy schedules to meet up. I know your free time is very precious, so I'm doubly doubly grateful!

Who's next??

Dublin

I am off to the Fair City tomorrow evening to see a friend I've not yet met. Cosmo, here I come :-)

Please, no no no!

Donal MacIntyre cannot be taking part in Dancing on Ice. Man, what is the world coming to?

501 Must-Visit Islands

I love travelling, and I love islands - generally because so many of them are in hot places and they have beaches. So when I got a copy of the book '501 Must-Visit Islands' for Christmas I was delighted.

I have to say, I have travelled pretty extensively. Well, I thought I had, so imagine my shock when I started flicking through the 501 must-visit islands to discover that I have only visited 19 of them. That's only 3.79% Good grief, if my son scored that in a test I'd flatten him!

Of course, there is the fact that some of the islands I have visited don't make the cut, like Oahu for instance. And if you could count islands I had nearly visited, well, I'd have fared much better, but I have to admit that, eh, well, eh ... out of the 12 must-visit islands listed for Ireland, I have been to none.

Which islands did I manage then? Well:

Manhattan Island; Statten Island;Long Island; Rhode Island; Barbados; St Lucia; Isle of Man; Jersey; Majorca; The Canaries; Malta; Gozo; Crete; Corfu; Cyprus; The Maldives; Bali; Gili Islands; Lombok.

Obviously there's quite a bit of work to do on this. Another project!

Mashed turnips

Tonights Magners League score:

Munster 11 Ulster 37

Un-feckin-believable

Cupcakes

I got a cupcake desk calendar for Christmas with a different cupcake for every day of the year, so I thought I would post the 'cupcake of the day' on this blog, just to make your mouths water! If, like Kelly, you are a big fan of cupcakes and you fancy getting your hands on the recipe of the day - please ask.

Talking of cupcakes, I had an email from Ulster rugby today to tell me that the tickets for the Stade V Ulster Heineken match Dolly and I want to see in Paris go on sale on Monday, at £51 a ticket. 51 squidly-didly!! I only want to sit on the seat, I don't actually want to rent it for the season! For that money, I expect them to throw in a calendar for free, and the Stade guys to play the game in the nude. Curse the weak pound.

Finally, and this has nothing to do with cupcakes, there is a new blog listed in my blogroll; Esther lives in the Philippines, but has done the most fantastic blog on Northern Ireland. If you have any questions about this little corner of the world, I refer you to her site.

Oh, I should have said earlier - you might want to turn the sound off on your computer for this post. Opps, too late :-)

Bloggers meet 1

When you decide to meet people over a period of time, you have to, simply must start with the most important people first.

I had my first bloggers meet today, and here is the photo to prove it. It might not have been the most difficult to arrange, or the furthest away, but (with apologies to Pluto for bursting his bubble) it was with the most important bloggers.

Michael, Dolly, Gracie and I all met up (with a few other people in attendance!) at Gracie's and her mum and dad made us all a fantabulous dinner. After that we played Family Fortunes and our team won.

That had nothing to do with cheating but was thanks largely to the efforts and imagination of the three wee bloggers. That and the fact that all the oldies were on the other team. And grandad doesn't know too much about ballet :-)

We had a really great afternoon, we'll have to make sure we do it again soon!

Lemonade ... and then ...

You may have noticed that Dana presented me with a 'Lemonade Award' this week for 'taking those lemons thrown at you and squeezing back. Real hard' . Amazing, that someone who has been through so much herself this year should think I am deserving.

The Lemonade Award is not really a traditional tag, but apparently, if I want, I can pass it on.

Well, I want to mark the start of 2009 by passing it on to a friend who has also been through a lot in the last 12 months. She has had more lemons thrown at her than Sprite and 7UP combined would use in their respective beverages, and yet of all she has just kept making lemonade with a smile on her face and faith in her heart.

Wils, I promise I won't tag you again this year :-)

Goodness, it's like buses! You blog for two and a half years and think noone even looks at your mad ramblings and then all of a sudden really generous people start giving you awards! I'm like 'what?? me??'

Judy has bestowed another award upon me thus:

"This blog invests and believes the PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are extremely charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly written text into the body of their award."

I guess all those words mean I have an award for being friendly, and hey ... I'm going to pass this one on to all the friends I've made through my blogging.

Happy New Year everyone

Looking forward to meeting many of you next year :-) Really looking forward to that!

And ... tomorrow I get to use my new cupcake calendar.

Vienna

As a frequent vistor to my blog you are very welcome. Please, leave a wee comment to say hello? :-)

I had this wee idea

It is well documented that I am mad, and sometimes do mad things.

I sort of hinted of my latest mad idea to Judy a couple of months ago, and I would have provided a link back to that hint, but Judy has started a whole new blog since then and I can't access the old one. To be fair, I didn't give too much away at the time, but I did say that I had a little project I'd be working on in the new year.

As you know, my mother is a great reader of blogs, and one morning we were discussing Cosmo's blog when mum (who has just become eligible for her free bus and rail travel pass) suggested we should meet Cosmo for a coffee in Dublin some day. It turns out, this throw-away comment started some very dangerous thought processes in my head.

What a fantastic idea to go to Dublin for the day and meet Cosmo, but why stop there? I have been blogging for two and a half years now, and I 'meet' people online on nearly a daily basis that I have never met in the flesh. Always one to love a daft project, I decided it was time to change all that, and I set myself the task of meeting as many people who access my blog as possible in 2009.

Warning No. 1: Don't leave me alone with a computer on Boxing Day

See, that's exactly what happened yesterday, and by the time the other half came back from a demonstration rugby match I had managed to price a day trip to Stansted, London to see Judy, a round trip which included an Ulster rugby match at Newport (South Wales) via Bristol, which is near Nailsea and a cheap flight to Houston, Texas.

We were at mum's for dinner yesterday, and during the meal I was recounting my findings to everyone with enthusiasm. However, my findings seemed to be getting a rather lukewarm reception. Being me I persisted, and as we supped tea and coffee after the meal I got the laptop out and continued to search for even cheaper flights to Texas.

And then my poor husband could contain himself no longer and blurted it all out. You see, what some of you who read this blog knew, but I had absolutely no understanding of, is that behind the scenes, he had been secretly making contact with my fellow bloggers to arrange little 'meets' up and down the country. In fact, the first 'meet' had been arranged for the weekend of my up-and-coming birthday, in a little coffee shop in Dublin. Guess who?? :-)

A subsequent tea for two 'meet' had also been tentatively arranged for a venue in East London, and an initial contact had been made about the same trip which included an Ulster rugby match at Newport (South Wales) via Bristol, which is near Nailsea.

What is it they say ... great minds think alike ... or fools seldom differ??

And so it is that I have now booked a flight to Houston, Texas, which means that on that day of all Irish days I will once again be in the US of A celebrating the saint we know as Patrick with three blogging friends; Dana, Nancy and Kelly. And any other American readers of my blog who care to turn up and join in!

Some of you are now probably thinking that 2009 might be a good year to travel the world, or are wondering how you might gain access to the witness protection programme. Alternatively, let's 'meet' and put names to faces and faces to avatars.

Who all's in??

Happy Christmas

Little Random Acts of Kindness

The Father Ted Christmas special was on last night. This I know because, knowing it to be a favourite of mine, my son left little notes stuck all around the house with the time and channel scribbled on them so I wouldn't miss it.

As it happens, I hadn't been feeling too good the night before that, hadn't been able to sleep too well and so last night I was knackered and went to bed pretty early. Without seeing the Father Ted Christmas special.

This morning, my son's waking question was 'did you watch Father Ted last night?' I explained that I hadn't, worried he might not take it too well considering his not insignificant notemaking efforts. He didn't actually say anything, but once I had made myself a cup of tea, he called me into the living room, announcing that he had got last nights Father Ted on the 'on demand' service for me and we should sit and watch it together.

Which we did, and it was just lovely, even though Dolly didn't really get it, and it lead to me having to try and explain what a Catholic was and what a Protestant was. Where is Steve Tilley when you need him? Later this afternoon, I started to prepare some (OK a lot of) vegetables for a little event thats coming up. After about five minutes my daughter arrived on the scene. Without so much as a word, she got herself a chefs hat, an apron, a kitchen chair so she could reach the sink and a peeler and stood for two hours, I kid you not - two whole hours peeling potatoes, sweet potatoes and parsnips.

Now if that's not two of the best Christmas presents a mum could ask for this Christmas, I don't know what is.

The real meaning of Christmas

As I am working round the house today I have some obsure cable music channel on TV playing Christmas music. The current programme is 'Christmas with the Stars', where stars pick their favourite Christmas song and explain why it's their favourite ... you get the general idea.

So there have been a lot of festive ditties and then we get to Lemar. Lemar has, we are told, chosen a very unconventional tune and the man himself appears on screen to explain that his choice is Silent Night.

Oh, I'm thinking, great! Let's hear why he has chosen this.

Well, Lemar explains he chose this song because it conjures up images of all the things Christmas is about: snow, reindeer flying in the sky at night and little choir boys freezing their nuts off in the cold.

I've since switched channels to the rugby.

I mind the days when the only lights you'd have seen in the sky in Belfast were sparks from bomb explosions:

8 Things

My good blogging friend Nancy from Texas tagged me for this. It's more difficult than it looks, let me tell you, but here goes ....

8 TV shows I watch:

1. Top Gear
2. NCIS
3. Strictly Come Dancing
4. Father Ted
5. Deal or No deal
6. Desperate Housewives
7. Come Dine with Me
8. Extreme Makeover Home Edition

8 favourite restaurants:

1. Bourbon
2. Scalinis
3. Niks Warehouse
4. Metro
5. Bushmills Inn
6. Beatrice Kennedys
7. Villa Italia
8. Thai Village

8 things that happened to me today:

1. I got kisses from my kids
2. I had a past student come back to visit me
3. I got a free ticket to an ice hockey game
4. I got a really nice compliment from a colleague
5. I received a Christmas card from someone I've not seen in years
6. I had a phonecall offering me work
7. I got a special cuddle from my son
8. I was accosted by a man dressed up as a Subway sandwich

8 things I look forward to:

1. taking my boots off!
2. having all the family round for Christmas
3. finishing work for the holidays tomorrow
4. book circle and pudding club
5. going to Paris with Dolly
6. having my mortgage paid off
7. Ulster rugby matches
8. sleep

8 things I wish for:

1. good health, happiness and sanity for my family
2. all my Christmas shopping to be done
3. a trip to the islands of the South Pacific
4. troops to be brought home from Iraq and Afganistan
5. a lifetimes supply of benefit makeup
6. a landscaped garden
7. a cure for cancer
8. my mortgage to be paid off

8 people I tag:

1. Dana
2. Judy
3. Kelly
4. Jewel
5. Wils
6. Jessie
7. Alice
8. Cosmo

or anyone else who knows me and feels that way inclined :-)

Maple & Mustard Glazed Parsnips

• 1lb peeled parsnips
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 4 tbsp maple syrup
• 2 tbsp wholegrain mustard

Preheat oven to 400 oC. Halve parsnips and place in roasting dish, sprinkle over oil stirring well to coat. Season and roast for 40-45 minutes or until parsnips are soft and golden. mix maple syrup and mustard and pour over parsnips for the last 5 minutes of cooking time.

Creamed Brussel Sprouts

• 1/2 pint fresh double cream
• 1 clove garlic, bruised
• 2lb brussel sprouts
• nutmeg

Boil the cream and garlic in a saucepan until the quantity is reduced by half, stirring to keep from burning. Keep warm. Boil the sprouts in salted water until tender. Drain and finely chop. Mix the cream with the sprouts and add salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste.

Candied Sweet Potatoes

An all American recipe from my good friend Rose in Boston, Mass. really for Thanksgiving, but adaptable :-)

• 4 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes
• 9 tbsp butter
• 1 cup cider
• 1 cup orange
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp light brown sugar
• 1 cinnamon stick

Preheat oven to 400 oF. Parboil peeled sweet potatoes, sliced into 1/2 to 3/4 inch slices. Arrange sweet potatoes in a greased casserole dish. Combine cider, orange juice, brown sugar and cinnamon in a pan and boil for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove cinnamon. Whisk in butter and pour over sweet potatoes. bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until heated through.

Yum yum!

Christmas preparations

My christmas preparations are underway, and you can imagine my delight to discover a 'Countdown to Christmas' checklist.

It reads as follow: One week to go -

• make cranberry sauce (done! I did that last week when cranberries were BOGOF at Tesco!)
• decorate tree (done! Did that last weekend in time for Dolly's birthday)
• ice and decorate cake (thankfully M&S sell them like that)
• check thawing time for turkey (ahem, slight bone of contention there ... )

Not so happy to read back a bit though and discover -

• make Christmas decorations (8 weeks to go!)
• buy store cupboard essentials for the Christmas period, see list page 14 (5 weeks to go!)
• begin to make your table decorations (4 weeks to go)
• make wreath (3 weeks to go)

Ah well, we shall just have to struggle through the season without the pleasure of homemade decorations and table centres this year.

Oh, and in case you are concerned about having appropriate store cupboard essentials for over the Christmas holidays, the list on page 14 reads thus:

• dried beans and lentils for soup
• dried mushrooms
• canned beans
• canned tomatoes
• hoi sin sauce
• dried milk
• soy sauce
• sun-dried tomatoes
• selection of pastas
• walnut oil

Does anyone feel an Ainsley Harriott 'Ready, Steady Cook' moment coming on?? No, me neither. Now, pass me the crepe paper 'til I start making paper chain decorations ....

Return of absent Bloggers

In recent days the junior bloggers Dolly, Michael and Gracie have all started posting again. Check out their new blogs, I hope they all manage to stick with it this time :-)

Oh, and Wils has also made a return to BlogLand, so it's just Pluto who remains in absentia!

Nous allons à Paris

My daughter's surprise for her birthday was a trip to Paris in January with mum. She loves France and all things French, so it was the perfect surprise for her.

And, as my brother was very quick (too quick, truth to be told) to point out, the best presents to give are the ones you can actually enjoy yourself as well!

So I should point out now that the fact that we are going to be in Paris the weekend Ulster play Stade Francais (remember them??!) is a complete and utter non-coincidence :-)

Oh, and ever sacrificial, I'm more than happy to take orders for the calendar ...

Eight years ago today

I was nine months minus one day pregnant and hobbling round on crutches because I had fallen at work and 'probably broken that ankle, but we can't x-ray until after the baby is born.' Of course, once baby was born I never went back for the x-ray, and two years later was diagnosed with osteoarthritis in the joint.

I was living with my mother because the extension to our house was not quite finished. Mind you, I spent the day putting a Christmas tree up, much to the merriment of the plasterers, plumbers, electricians, painters, industrial cleaners, furniture movers and Tesco delivery driver who at one point or another were all on site. The plan was to move from mothers to delivery ward and from maternity ward to home, and we managed it.

I opened mum's front door to find two Mormons standing there, and instead of giving them the brush off, entered into a full scale conversation with them. I even invited them back to finish the conversation 'in a couple of weeks after the baby arrives'. They've been turning up at mum's door looking for me ever since :-)

We decided it was time to start thinking of a name or two. You have nine whole months to do these things - why do they get left to the last 18 hours??

I had my last sleep before little Jill weighed in at 6lb 11oz, delivered by Caesarian section at 2.25pm on 13th December 2000. And here's the interesting bit for American friends: while I was having the surgery, Bill and Hil Clinton were just a mile down the road, having a cup of tea with Ian Paisley. Of course, they didn't pop in to visit us, oh no!

Happy Birthday for tomorrow Dolly Dill xx

You asked for it mother ...