NorthDownMuse

HGTV

My mom is a big fan of shows where people go around looking for houses to buy. What struck me was how humongous the houses were and how, reliably, the wife would say it wasn’t big enough. She wants a bigger bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, family room, yard. One woman,

Bobbi

The day after Christmas is a blur. Two days after Christmas, David drove to New Jersey and I drove an hour north to Ohio to meet a friend who was driving from Johnstown PA to Indianapolis. She used to stay with me regularly when I lived in Pennsylvania and we

Poker face

After opening presents and having our Christmas breakfast, we had a great time playing poker and Trivial Pursuit. I don’t ever recall spending Christmas playing games. David is from a games-playing family so we borrowed TP and Scrabble from a neighbour and got to work. It was such a

Midnight Mass

...is at 10 pm and over by 11. Go figure. Today we went to Marietta, Ohio, to do some Christmas shopping. David is heading to New Jersey after Christmas to see his kids, so he bought a few things at a cooking shop we like. We were stunned to see

Time warp

When I’m at my mom’s, time moves differently. We eat, we shop, we watch TV, we visit mom’s friends. And that’s about it. It’s lovely. I have no responsibilities. No deadlines. I don’t have to follow databases to see if jobs are posted. I

Greenbrier

My mom has always wanted to take me to The Greenbrier, “America’s Resort since 1778.” It was on our way home yesterday so we stopped for lunch. Luckily, there was an hour and half wait, so we had to high tail it to a more modest restaurant (it was

Ye Olde Theme Park

So yesterday we went to the morning-after brunch. We spent a second night in W’burg then today headed back to West Virginia, where my mom lives. I took a few early morning photos of Colonial Williamsburg after a run. It was decked out for Christmas. And chilly. When I

Love American Style

David joined us at the Marriott the night of the 18th (he had flown into Newark, not D.C. for a host of reasons) and yesterday morning we three drove down to Williamsburg, Va., for my nephew’s wedding. His fiancé is an only daughter and it was a money’

Choirs singing

(I’m catching up my blog on Jan. 8 and backdating a bunch of posts.) I flew out of Dublin yesterday and was treated to a school choir singing carols at the arrivals lounge. I noticed a pack of media types, cameras hoisted onto shoulders. Turns out a fella had

Christmas crush

We are flying back to the states today out of Dublin, rather than Belfast, because I’m flying to D.C., not Newark. David is flying to Newark but got a better fare out of Dublin than Belfast. The upshot is we drove down to Dublin last night so we

Mince pies and Christmas pud

Last night was David’s company Christmas party at a restaurant called the Northern Whig (for an old newspaper). That is the fourth Christmas dinner I’ve had and I am at the point where, if I see another mince pie or Christmas pudding, I’m going to scream. There

F&F Part Two

The dozens of events that made up the Human Rights Festival followed the 140 events of the Belfast Festival and the dozens of events as part of the C.S. Lewis Festival. I’ve never been anywhere that has so many festivals--and so many things I want to attend. The

Festivals and festivities

Last week I went to five events that were part of the Human Rights Festival, which coincides with the UN Human Rights Day. This week I went to a sixth event that didn’t make it onto the calendar. At these events, researchers, activists, politicians, and historians: 1. Discussed racism

Graduation Day

I like how I’m in David’s shadow in this photo. He has shadowed me through this process, helping me through the low points and high fiving me through the good parts. My “hood” is held in place by a pin from my mom--a butterfly, which seems appropriate--appropriate in

Cregagh Glen and Lisnabreeny Cemetery

When we moved away from Crawfordsburn, we knew we’d miss the beautiful coastal path along Belfast Lough, where we loved walking Maysie every day. What we’ve found since moving to East Belfast is that our walking choices include: Comber Greenway, Stormont Estate, Belvoir Forest, Lagan Towpath, Tullycarnett Park

Besties

My high school buddy Julie was in town today so we met for another intense gabfest. I’m not sure if I mentioned after her last visit that my mom made a sweater for Julie before we moved back to the states in 1980. Julie shrunk it while in college

Charity begins at home

In the U.S., when you make a charitable donation, you can deduct the donated amount from your taxable income. So your donation is in effect less than the nominal amount. In the U.K., when you make a charitable donation, you can fill out a form so that the

Optimism

The Guardian ran a wonderful article in which it invited two people who didn’t know each other to have a conversation, the premise being that social media has undermined our ability to focus and have a meaningful exchange. One of the pairs was Greek economist Yanis Varoufakis and British

A change in climate, part 2

The day we arrived in Sheffield was a global day of action on climate change to mark the beginning of climate change negotiations in Paris. I didn’t go to Paris out of paranoia regarding my UK spouse visa. When I apply to renew the visa, I have to report

A change in climate, part 1

We spent Saturday, Sunday, and Monday visiting David’s family in Sheffield. This includes his sister, her husband, and their three kids. By her own admission, David’s sister is “the most antisocial person in the world” while she describes her husband as grumpy. Having been frustrated during previous visits

Job update 2

One of the things that makes applying for jobs tedious is that you have to fill out each potential employer’s application, which can run to 12 pages, if it’s a document, or seven sections, if it’s an online system. You have to write essays about how your

Job update 1

I send one or two job applications out most days, some for jobs I think I’d love, some for jobs I’m willing to tolerate. The process can be painfully slow, partly because I need to research the targeted employer, which can range from the Bank of England to

Thanksgiving

We essentially celebrated Thanksgiving two days ago, when we had a meal out with our neighbours on either side and Hillary, former owner of our house. It was a festive night for all. Hillary took a cab to the restaurant and home again and I saw Marshall slip the cab

TDoR

Lover of all things linear, I will catch up a few things in chronological order. David and I toured Mountstewart yesterday. Here's a photo from last summer: The house has recently undergone a 7.5 million pound renovation and David hadn't been since the rooms were

A law of physics

On the way to book club, I stopped into a pub for dinner. Sitting at the table next to me was a petite black woman. I asked her if she taught at Queen's or was a student? (the pub was a stone's throw from campus) She