And just like that... Two weeks fly by. The first few days here, I distributed presents to mom's friends (Nancy, Sandy, Sandi, Connie and Janey) and ran errands with mom. Most of my presents were related to the coronation – something uniquely British. But also socks from the lovely Avoca mill – uniquely Irish.
Out with a bang Final days in Belfast before the annual trip to the US. Tuesday 12 Dec. we didn't have our final golf outing of the year due to rain. However we still had the best-costume contest. I wore a Brussels sprout hat, which was not enough for victory. But I
Torrents It has rained every day and every night for the past week. Not the rain-of-no-consequence that lets you go about your daily life unhindered. This is epic, biblical rain that makes you question the safety of driving. Needless to say the golf course has been closed for a week. Which
You better work As RuPaul would say. Supermodel I am not, just a mere editor. This entry is to memorialise the annus horribilis of the PRI. This year the good people of PWC designed a new model – not a super one – for how PRI works. I was once part of a coherent editorial
It's beginning to ... Before we get to the Christmassy bit... Thursday 30 Nov. was dinner with Ben and a sustainability talk at Queen's. I was very underwhelmed by the panel's presentation. More posturing than substance. The convener closed by saying how inspiring the panel was and how we were
Thanksgiving 2023 This month, this year – they are fairly flying by. Let's see, highlight of the weekend of 18-19 November was taking the bus to Derry to go to an artisan market, visit with my friend Julie and visit Mary. A festive day. Monday the 20th I finished editing a
Slow weekend After all the running around to prepare for the party, I took it easy this weekend. I walked Paddy at Redburn forest one day. Another day he got soaked: Mom requested photos of the new sunroom so I took some better ones. This is the hallway from the original house
Autumn splendour Isn't my street lovely? I've been working in the upstairs lounge to take advantage of the view: Close up of middle window and right-hand window: Close up of middle window and left-hand window: You feel as if you are in a park. The downside is a
Drumroll, part two Sticking with the chronology: Monday: train trip after work to Derry to have dinner with niece Kate and her husband Andrew, who were visiting the Maiden City for Halloween. It was great to hear about their wedding this summer, their new house, new jobs, and their weeklong tour of Ireland.
Drumroll please Being a linear person, I have to stick with chronology. On Sunday, 22 Oct., I took Paddy on a 6.5 mile hike with my old hiking club along the River Roe. The golf club has been closed the past week, and today, due to rain, so the river was
Weekends away The weekend after I returned from the US I drove up to Derry and spent the night with my bestie, Julie. The purpose of the visit was the annual Foyle dinner. Here I am with fellow pupil Cathy Arthur. The speeches were good – yet another teacher hired b/c he
H2BH Happy to be home. But first I had to get here. Thursday I had researched two things: 1. How to avoid paying Hertz $77 in fees plus any tolls. My research showed I had a $2.70 toll southbound (which I wasn't aware of, toll gates have become
Buttons Mom and I went back to the Golf Club of West Virginia the next day for a second round, 18 holes this time. It was a lovely course, but so hilly! Like a roller coaster. The following day I played at mom's old club with our friend Sandy.
Slow lane My last meeting in London was supposed to be from 10-12 on Friday 10 Sept. It started late and our Dutch consultant droned on and on (product playbook! governance playbook! product cycles! transitional strategy! leveraging insights! change management! cross-team dependencies!). I had to leave the meeting "early", at
Pushing the limits I played golf Sun, Mon & Tues in three competitions and under a hot sun. Did not distinguish myself – in one of the competitions, I missed out on going to an all-Ireland competition. Mon-Thurs I tried to meet deadlines on three projects – signing off on the web and print versions
Refuge Because construction is noisy and I'm tired of editing amidst the noise and mess, I have decamped to friends' houses a few times. When I was at Christine's house, her alarm went off. So I bunged her dog and my dog in the car while
Progress Not doing much posting recently because work, golf and construction are all full on. The last two weeks we've had golf competitions on Tuesday and Thursday, instead of just Tuesday. I've also been editing more than 100 pages of content – in the midst of a construction
Friends and Contractors An odd title, granted. All will be clear. Looking back at the weekend, two things stand out. First is my amazing friends. I visited Ann Friday morning after walking Paddy. I had dinner that night with Eddis after an exhausting day. Saturday a long convo by phone with my friend
Hike #7, part two Today is travel day back to Belfast--and it's a lovely sunny day. I needed to be on the road by 10:30 a.m. At breakfast I asked a trip leader how long he thought it might take to get to the top of Black Crag and back
Hike #7, part one Today should have been hike #7, however another sketchy forecast (high winds, periods of heavy rain) made me reconsider my options. I leave tomorrow for Belfast, returning to a backlog of work and a busy schedule. I thought about the two pre-departure posts titled 'Overdrive' and thought better
Black Crag and Tarn Hows Heavy rain during 7:30 a.m. breakfast and a poor forecast (afternoon heavy rain and thunder) was not a promising start to the day. However hikers are hopeless optimists and off we trotted. The skies had cleared by our 9:15 a.m. start for option 2. I declined
Free day #2 My only job today was to get from Derwent Bank house to Monk Coniston house on Coniston Water, about a 50 minute drive. I started with a 15 minute walk from Derwent Bank house through the woods to the next estate, Lingholm Estate, where Beatrix Potter spent her holidays as
Place Fell As I said, option 2 today, eight miles, 2200 feet of ascent. We had a bright sunny day all day, so I couldn't resist a morning shot from the back terrace. We took a coach ride through the farms and glens leading to Ullswater. The views on the
Bleaberry Fell and High Seat Today I did another option 3, despite weather that was at times grim. We started with a climb above Derwent Water, with Keswick seen on the right. We had our elevenses in the shelter of a sheep fold due to it being a bit windy. The ascent was not nice
Derwent Fells Today's hike was advertised as 9 miles, 3300 feet of ascent. Except it was 11.5 miles and more than 3300. It was the number 3 hike, the hardest, and was harder than many of us expected. It started innocently enough. The description: "We venture out to