NorthDownMuse

Intense interlude

I had 10 days between returning from the US and departing for a hiking holiday in Yorkshire. As always, I'm writing in hindsight, so memories are fragmented. The highlight of week one was just working intensely for PRI – two weeks of work crammed into one. The highlight of

Almost heaven

The week commencing 10 June was all about getting my ducks in a row prior to travelling to West Virginia on 16 June. An incredibly annoying array of tasks weighed on me. I tried and failed over multiple sessions to do my taxes online, due 17 June for international filers

Five rounds in seven days

The match on Monday was carnage. Everything I thought I knew about golf, I forgot. It was unnerving to not be able to hit a tee shot – usually my best shot. I assume my nerves got the best of me, causing me to look to see where the ball was

Four rounds in five days

In addition to yesterday's McKee match, I had matches Tuesday and Thursday this week at Shandon (the Challenge Cup) and a practice round at Ardglass Golf Club on Friday, where I will have a match on Monday 3 June. I did not play well in the Challenge Cup

Adieu Donegal

Friday morning I walked Paddy then finished my book about a young lad trying to escape multi-generational trauma on the mean streets of West Belfast. Then went to the Olde Glen Bar, which allows dogs. Here's the gable wall: I met a woman from New York who walked

Donegal Day 3

Began at Tramore beach north of Dunfanaghy. Paddy is such a Donegal dog. It was windy so the sea was frothy. The beach was pristine. People are encouraged to collect rubbish on the beach, which they clearly take to heart – you pass this bin when you leave the beach and

Donegal Day 2

The day began at Ards Forest Park. More Frisbee throwing. Lovely beaches. Constantly changing light. Paddy in his heaven. I'm pretty happy too. Maybe because my mom is from Atlantic City – I love to be on a beach. But not a hot beach. Donegal is perfect. The water

Donegal Day 1

I am off the next two weeks and absolutely delighted. Monday I hosted book club so was busy all day mowing, watering plants, hoovering, food shopping, tidying. The nine of us had a good conversation about The Sixteen Trees of the Somme. Tuesday morning I played with my buddy Patricia.

Golfathon part 2

I attended the Junior Cup match on Friday to be a ball spotter. Because it's a shame to lose a match b/c you can't find your ball and have to take two penalty strokes. Sunday I played in the Minor Foursomes. My partner and I

Golf-a-thon

We are coming into competition season. Beginning the week commencing Monday, 13 May, I was scheduled into four competitions. So the first two weeks of May have involved a lot of golf as I try to work out problems like topping the ball. Our course is in woeful condition and

Synchronicity

I was born in 1962, which means I turn 62 this year. I'm taking that as a sign it will be a phenomenal year. The festivities began a week early with the trip to Mount Stewart (see earlier post). This, my birthday weekend, began with dinner at an

Belfast Exposed

Today I went to an event at City Hall organised by Friends of the Earth. City Hall has a grand staircase. And the city crest is in the carpet on the landing. The event consisted of four short films about environmental issues in Northern Ireland – organised along the lines of

Macabeanum

Today I played golf in the morning with Patricia then visited lovely Mount Stewart in the afternoon. The McCabe rhododendron (Rhododendron macabeanum) is my favourite and it is in full flower. Each truss of flowers looks like a wedding bouquet to me. This variety is native to northeastern India and

Decades digitised

Hard to believe but it has been just over a decade since I began this blog. Amazing. In that time, I've obtained three visas, UK citizenship, a UK driver's license and a graduate degree. I've bought and redecorated an Edwardian house. I've

Decades erased

Lola and I worked together at a newspaper in Kansas City in the early 90s. Since then, we corresponded by handwritten letter for many years. Then it became the odd email. But we never lost track of each other as we moved to successive cities. Two years ago she moved

A lively bunch for brunch

A lot of the week following my return from Spain was getting ready for an Easter Sunday brunch I hosted for six. Two grocery stores, one bakery, one florist, one wine store (champagne). Clean the house, polish the silver, mop the floors, on and on. This arrangement was moved elsewhere

The marvelous month of March

Not one but two holidays this month! On 18 March in the wee hours of the morning I collected Patricia and we drove to Belfast Int'l airport for a 6:30 a.m. flight to Alicante. From there an hour in a rented car to her apartment on

Interstices

The nice thing about returning on a Friday is you have the weekend to catch your breath before getting back in the 9-5 saddle. It was really cold when I returned so I built a fire. It was really lovely to come home and be out of my normal routine.

Adeus Porto

Dara's flight left earlier than mine so I went walkabout on another fine morning. The city hall above sits at the top of a long hill bracketed by stately buildings. Yesterday and today I enjoyed hot chocolate and pastries in two of the 100s of cafes along the

Final day

Sadly our trip is coming to an end. Rain was predicted today so we started in the National Museum Soares dos Reis. On the way there, I snapped this lovely building. My favourite painting was a self portrait of of Aurélia de Souza done in 1900. "Unanimously considered a

Douro Valley

I wasn't able to take the bike tour with Dara outside of Lisbon because the fangs of the cold were in deep. But I have come round enough that I joined her on a 6-mile hike in the Douro Valley, where port wine is produced from a wide

Adeus Lisboa

I went for a long walk on the final morning of my stay in Lisbon. I continued to take photos of tiles. Because of the endless variety. I have not spent as much time noting here the filigree of wrought iron on the windows and doors. Or the beautifully carved

Tile Town Two

Today we had the leisure of no schedule, no timetable. We meandered our way up to the Castelo de Sao Jorge, a hilltop Moorish castle and ruin visible from throughout Lisbon. Dara has spent a lot of time in Morocco and told me a bit about the influence of the

Tile Town

I've never seen so many tiles in one place. They are on the buildings: In infinite variety. They are in the churches, illustrating the lives of the saints. They take many forms, such as these polychrome tiles: And then there are the public squares. Not knowing Portugese, I

Lisboa!

I left my house at 11 am Friday, after an early walk at Cairnwood with Paddy. My 4pm flight out of Dublin was delayed until 6:45pm or so. The plans laid out in the last post (bus, walk, metro, walk) were scrapped given the late hour and the misery