NorthDownMuse

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

Belfast radicals

For a book club at church, I just read a biography of Archibald Hamilton Rowan, a leader of the United Irishmen. Last night, I saw a BBC preview screening of a documentary about William Tennent, another leader of the Irishmen. Rowan was Dublin-based while Tennent was based in Belfast. Rowan

Friday the 13th

I've been trying to figure out how to write about the attacks in Paris. And I'm not quite sure what to say. I don't have any solutions. I don't like how news events unfold on social media--I know that at least. I

Blue door

I mentioned that we painted the door blue. I looked on my camera card for a "before" picture and the only one I found is at the height of construction, when a new water line and gas line were being laid to the house. But you can see

Running joke

I've seen a lot of alarmist headlines that tell me running is terrible exercise. I don't read the articles, but I've certainly noticed the prevalence of anti-running headlines. I run anyway because it clears my head, I think creatively, I get outside, and I

I made the grade

A year ago I made up my mind to quit pursuing a master's at Queen's for many many reasons. 1. I didn't understand or enjoy or learn from many of the readings, most of which were written in an impenetrable academic style. 2. I

Curtain time

I believe I mentioned that I have new curtains. And here they are: Also one on the side window: While I'm at it, here's the dining room, with lovely roses from Hillary. 11-9

Remembrance

Today was Remembrance Sunday, when wreathes of paper poppies are laid at cenotaphs throughout the U.K. commemorating those who died in the First and Second World Wars. I spoke to a man at church this morning who has attended the Remembrance service at the Queen's University cenotaph

The very best kind of day

My high school friend Julie was in town today for a workshop and came by for lunch. Then we walked the coastal path for hours, and sat on a sea wall and talked for another hour, past sunset. One of those intense conversations that you don't want to

Lanyon and on and on

I was on Queen's campus today so I couldn't resist a few shots of Lanyon, my favourite building. It has to be the most photographed building in Belfast--tour groups stop by all the time. You also see lots of parents taking photos of their kids and

One year

We bought our house one year ago. Hard to believe, probably because we didn't move in until March. Today I went down the street to visit a neighbour, a widow who I've chatted to a few times. She told me a few stories about her recent

3 X 18

Soliana & Ian caught the Thursday morning bus to Dublin, from where they caught a flight to Rome for a week's holiday with Sol's family. I spent Thursday and Friday mostly avoiding my job search efforts. My analysis of Why I Am Procrastinating So Much has

Wednesday at Winterfell

I don't know anything about Game of Thrones, but I guess Winterfell is the place where it is based? Today we drove up the beautiful Antrim coast and stopped at a harbour we hadn't visited before, one that is a GOT location. It is called Ballintoy

Tuesday travel

We took Ian and Sol to Giant's Causeway. They were pretty impressed. The sun kept trying to break through, but at least we didn't have rain. We walked the loop along the water, up the hill, and back across the top field. Then we went to

Monday meetings

David's son and daughter-in-law, Ian and Soliana, arrived today for short visit before going to Italy for a week. They napped for part of the day then David took them to the Titanic museum. I had lunch with one of my favourite Queen's students, Felicity de

Hike=Like

Today we hiked in Kilbroney Forest, which borders the Mournes on the south side, not the north side, where Newcastle is. To our south is Carlingford Lough, with the Republic on the other side of the water. To our east is the Irish sea. From this vantage point you get