NorthDownMuse

The worst and the best

Bill & Mary Beth reserved a black taxi tour for this morning, so we joined them. I've been wanting to do one of these for a while, but I really wasn't prepared for the bleakness of the narrative. This mural memorialises an attack by a loyalist

We have a garden?

We spent part of the morning in the back garden, pulling weeds, trimming hedges, deadheading flowers, and scything the edges. In Pennsylvania, I tried to spend an hour in the gardens before work and at least two hours in the evening--weeding, watering, planting, hacking at invasive vines. That lifestyle seems

Au revoir

Sadly, mom's trip is over. A parting shot in the living room, with the Laura Ashley pillows she helped me select. Last night, we watched four episodes of VEEP. I think the show is hilarious, however it is very raunchy. Hopefully we didn't traumatise her too

To the castle

Today was the last day of mom's trip, so it was hard to select the final outing. We squeezed in one more road trip, this time to Castle Ward at the mouth of Strangford Lough. Mom and I took the tour of the castle and learned about its

Pillow time

Covered a lot of ground today. S.D. Bell Tea Merchant for breakfast; a stop at the Irish craft shop in the cute village of Crawfordsburn; tea and cake with Hillary, where we got to enjoy her seaside view and the coming and going of sailboats; a walk around the

Hop on hop off

Today mom & I took the hop on hop off bus around Belfast. We toured the political murals, St. Anne's Cathedral, the dockyards, Customs House, the High Court--with its 10-foot reinforced concrete wall to protect it during the car bomb era--the "peace wall" on the "

Stairway to heaven

Before After After looking into foyer. That cabinet will be replaced by a radiator cover. The cabinet is hiding the electric panel. The radiator cover will be narrower and painted to be less prominent. The foyer walls will eventually be yellow. Before from our bedroom at the front of the

3M

One M Two M Three M Mom and I went to Mount Stewart today, where they were having a vintage car show. David wasn't feeling well, so he didn't join us. So I took photos of three Morris Minors, which his parents had when he was

Gardens galore

At Braeside Nurseries, I was encouraged to hire David McGurigan to plan my gardens. He did an excellent job and today we visited his gardens near Comber. We went with David, Stuart, and David's cousin Tonya. The gardens were absolutely beautiful. As you can see. For yourself. We

Before and after

Here's the front yard before. Notice the black hose on the ground designating the future lawn. Also note that this photo was taken on my computer so is back to front. Here's a "during" shot, when a new water line is being laid. The

My heart will go on...

Today was the kind of day I don't enjoy. Too many things to do so nothing is done right. First thing was drive into Queens (in a lot of traffic) to meet with my dissertation advisor. Bottom line is she isn't concerned that I haven'

A must-buy musket

The morning was hijacked by the carpet runner man, Ryan, who showed up, measured, and cut our runners. Then mom and I went to Ross Auctions for preview day. There was a TV crew there filming two appraisers. Ross had a very special item on offer: an 1685 musket used

Friends forever

Our day started with a lovely breakfast at Beech Hill House (photo from internet below). We went across the street to Ardmore Chapel, where we attended church for many years. I was struggling to juggle a few schedules so I didn't do a good job with photos today.

Betty does Derry

The morning began with the plantsman planting a wonderful array of geraniums, coreopsis, rudbeckia, fuchsia, salvia and boxwood. Photos to come at a later date. Mom & I hit the road to Derry and spent three-plus hours visiting Sean and Peggy O'Dwyer, whom mom has known for more

Betty does Belfast

No awards for headlines this week. Our day began with a visit from Hillary--prior owner of the house. She had dinner last night with Carrie, across the street, and spent the night with her, so I told her to stop by to visit mom. I was nervous about whether she

Betty does Bangor

We picked mom up in Dublin at around 11 a.m. and called at Wilson's [http://www.wilsonsyard.com] Architectural Salvage on the way home. Mecca for people who like beautiful old things. We gave mom the penny tour of the house, then our neighbour Marshall stopped by

Running out of steam

I spent over three hours today painting the stairs to the guest bedroom--a grey runner up the middle with white on either side. It looks killer. Picture to follow at some point. We had David and Stuart over for dinner to thank them for the many dinners they've

The corners of my mind

... as in memories, like the corners of my mind. I was painting a wood floor with grey floor paint and all I could think about was summers in Atlantic City, NJ in the 1970s. We stayed with my grandfather and visited aunts and uncles and cousins at either their summer

Johnston Contracting

As I said, I'm sending our contractors before and after shots, so I'm going to do the same in blog land. Dining room: What you don't want to see when you look at the ceiling: It got a new ceiling, a new plaster wall,

Job fair

I went to a job fair today. So depressing. Partly because the companies are looking for shiny new YOUNG graduates, not an old fart like me. And, because I stopped exercising when I became a student, I feel not just old but fat and old. And, having worked for the

Kitchen. Done.

The contractor has asked for before and after shots of the house. Here are a few of the kitchen. The first view is taken from the conservatory--the kitchen is behind that wall. After: The grapevine needs some trimming. The old kitchen: The new kitchen: Front to back: Front to back

Comber, Cuan, Castle Ward

We cycled to Comber on the greenway in the morning, then went to church, then drove down to Strangford, where we had a late lunch at a restaurant [http://www.thecuan.com] recommended by our neighbour. Then we went to Castle Ward, where you could wander from room to room,

Back to being tourists

It's been a while since David and I had a down weekend, so this weekend was it. Today we went to Islandmagee, which used to be an island but now is connected to the Antrim coast north of Belfast. We toured a garden, which was more like eight

Back to brass tacks

I took R&B to the airport this morning. Their last two days were spent touring the north Antrim coast and the historic Derry walls, then visiting some of Belfast's wonderful pubs. They packed a lot into their week and seemed to really enjoy themselves. I then

Moving movies

If you've ever wondered what life would be like in a village taken over by jihadis, I highly recommend the film Timbuktu. A village in Mali is overrun by Libyan jihadis enforcing sharia law. The director Abderrahmane Sissako tells his tale beautifully and with great love for the