NorthDownMuse

4 big news items

My decorating obsession has squeezed out a few important items. Yesterday, Climate Action 100+ published its Net Zero Company Benchmark, the new industry standard for measuring corporate progress--or lack thereof--on transitioning away from carbon. In the newsletter I sent to 1,200 people yesterday (signatories, staff), I called it Ground

Still during

How is the upstairs lounge going? A picture is worth a thousand words: The gaps in the plaster moulding are not large, but the cornice moulding is elabourate and I'm cutting up and glueing together bits of wood moulding to mimic the shape. Then I have to figure

Before & During

In the beginning, in Januaary 2014, we tore the bedroom apart. We removed a built-in bench below the bay windows, we tore out carpets and curtains and wallpaper, and our contractor removed the wardrobe/vanity you see on the right above, revealing the chimney breast below. I don't

Dundrum Bay

I spent Saturday doing a lot of catch-up housework, now that my shoulder is mostly pain free and no more stomach pains/headaches. I didn't do much of anything for three weekends in a row starting with the 6 Feb. fall. It was really interesting to be aware

Rowallane

PRI closed its offices today to force everyone to take a day off. This is the second time they've done this. People aren't booking time off because they can't go anywhere. The result is a build up of stress, particularly for those schooling children

Viewing buddy

Paddy's always close by when I watch TV. On this particular night he made himself very comfortable. He looked broken. One more. I'm doing PT and my shoulder is improving. While I had the doctor on the phone, I also got a PT prescription for my

Lockdown viewing

For two weeks after I fell, I had severe stomach pains and headaches. I finally talked to a GP, who prescribed a medicine that sorted my stomach out in one day. Apparently I caused gastritis by taking four Aleve on Day One of my fall--trying to get ahead of the

It’s about time

Well I haven't had an injury in a while, so surely I'm due. It has rained almost non-stop for two weeks. I let my dog out 20 times a day, at least, often throwing a ball, which makes him very happy. But he tracks a lot

A productive month

I've been back in the UK for a month. Life in the US was business as usual--restaurants packed, most businesses open. Here in the UK, only grocery stores, chemists, and hardware stores are open. Without much to distract me, I've kept at the home improvement work.

The return journey

I'm really glad I went home for Christmas. Mom has been pretty isolated because her friends are largely staying away, to protect her. She's been a brick through it all and it was just really nice to spend time together. We tried one day to get

Gee but it’s great to be back home

As Simon and Garfunkel sang. It really is though. I wasn't sure about this trip because I was very afraid of exposing mom to the virus. I read a lot of things and talked to a lot of people who made me think traveling would be safe. However,

Prep

The first two weeks of December were about finishing Christmas shopping, writing and delivering cards, packing, spending time on logistics, cleaning the house, and meeting a lot of pesky deadlines at work. Then on Dec. 13, David took me downtown and I caught a bus to Dublin. The driver allowed

Much to be thankful for

Thanksgiving bouquet with Belleek. Which is arranged in front of a painting I bought as part of my redecorating project. The painting is of Fairhead, near Ballycastle, a headland where I really enjoy hiking. I'm thankful for my home, which I am loving more each day, as I

SSJ

The work on my ceiling continued while Aelish was there. It was great having her help out with cooking and dishes, so I could make progress upstairs. Here are some photos she took to capture how I spent the second lockdown. She called the next one Sweet Suffering Jesus. My

Aelish

It is the last day of 2020 so I'm going to post a few items from the past two months. When we left off, Aelish had just begun her two-week quarantine with me before moving to Newcastle. We had a good time together, reminiscing about our days at

Extraterritoriality

This week has been nuts, even by my standards. Back on October 5 I submitted my application for UK citizenship. As with the three visa applications, much stress over whether I was interpreting the questions correctly and providing accurate answers. I had to, for instance, list all travel for the

Paddy paws

This little guy keeps me sane. I took these photos one weekend at Belvoir Forest. That's the Lagan towpath at the bottom of the hill with the Lagan behind it. Paddy is a freak about swimming, he gets so excited when we're near water. Nothing like

Lockdown II

I will remember Lockdown I for the upstairs hallway that I painted yellow (and the white trim and the grey stairs) and for mom's Shutterfly photo album, capturing nearly 60 years of our lives together. Mother's Day present, natch. Then I had my July trip to

Western Greenway

A railroad line converted to 42 kilometres of bike path. Brilliant idea. This is how I chose to spend my first full day in Westport. I took a van from Westport to Achill Sound and then cycled back to Westport. This photo, near Achill Sound, has a Paul Henry quality

Achill Island

I follow a group on Facebook that celebrates the Wild Atlantic Way. Someone posts  loads of photos of Achill Island, so I spent a day exploring it. I wasn't disappointed. On the drive to the island, I stopped at Mallaranny for a lovely shot of Clew Bay. Mallaranny

Croagh Patrick

On my last full day in Wesport, I started off with a swim at Old Head Beach. I was proud of myself for doing this without Ann as my fellow paddler. She's the braver of the two of us. The water was slightly warmer than in Belfast Lough

Westport getaway

I went to Westport for a long weekend Sept. 17-21. It was a perfectly timed trip, thanks to gorgeous weather. And my need to get away from house projects and work. This is very hard for a linear person to do, but I'm going to post backward. These

The wrath of grapes

The house came with a grapevine that ran the length of the conservatory. For the past few years the grapes and leaves have been covered in a white powder mold. The only way I found to eradicate it was with a fungicide, which I'm not eager to spray

An Outing!

I was meant to play golf with Marian in Ballycastle today, the summer bank holiday. However my shoulder is in a bad way. I've been icing it to relieve the pain and taking lots of Aleve. I had arranged for David to walk Paddy today. Since I couldn&

Things are going swimmingly

I've started swimming in Belfast Lough with my friend Ann. The water temperature is in the mid 50s. I've been in six times so far--going twice a week. I'd say my tolerance of the cold has already increased. We have tea afterwards, natch. It&