Marquess of Dufferin and Ava If you were a member of the Protestant Ascendancy [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protestant_Ascendancy], you could build vast land holdings in Ireland from the 1600s onward and construct stately homes such as nearby Clandeboye House. The family that owned the estate consisted of a succession of lords, barons,
Zumba zombie Last week I took a zumba class, very excited about getting some exercise while having fun. It was fun--but also humbling. I thought my biggest problem would be learning the patterns quickly and keeping up with the class. The teacher was so good that that wasn't a problem.
Lollygagging on the Lagan The Lagan River flows through Belfast to the lough. There's a towpath along sections of it and a beautiful trail that makes you feel you are far away from anything manmade. We hiked a few miles along it from Stranmillis--near where we've made the offer on
Shop til you drop David's co-worker Helen got me out with two of her friends today to hit the charity shops. We started in Holywood--a wealthy area, so good pickings--then went to a shop in Connswater where everything was 99 pence ($1.70), then to Cregagh (pronounced Creggie) Road, which has the
Heat wave The temperature has been in the high 70s to low 80s for three days, making this an unusual heat wave. In the U.S., I wouldn't have blinked at 80 degrees but here it feels very hot--you quickly get accustomed to a more moderate climate. The air conditioning
Aelish's sister Today's destination was Downpatrick, where I was to meet Frances, the sister of my former co-worker, Aelish. On my way, I passed this amazing castle in Killyleagh. I stopped to take photos but mine were so poor that I'm stealing one from the internet. I knew
The Troubles Today David and I viewed a house that we may make an offer on. It's a townhouse in Belfast, meaning David can walk to work and we are close to Queens University and night-time activities. We give up the coastal path, but you can't have it
Mental maps To improve the chances of running injury free, I've gone to Aurora to warm up and stretch before I run outside, picking up on my early spring Aurora workout but dropping the treadmill part. So I'm learning a network of trails on the grounds of Bangor
Monty Python's failing circus The remaining members of Monty Python reunited to put on a show in London's massive O2 Center, with live broadcasts to theaters around the world. One of those was in Belfast and David and I went last night, looking for a good laugh. We looked everywhere and we
Rory! Rory! Rory! Rory McIlroy won the British Open today. He is from County Down, where I am living, specifically from Holywood, right up the road. Everyone has been following his progress in the tournament all week. I think it has surpassed the weather as the main topic of conversation (Brits are notorious
A rose is a rose Today we looked at some Belfast townhouses, visited some Belfast parks, then went to a house warming party at the home of one of David's co-workers, Helen. I helped Helen strip wallpaper one day and David and I helped her paint another day, so it was exciting to
Wee pet I don't get around to blogging every day, so I blog in batches. Today, Monday, I'm writing entries for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Of course I can't remember what I did on Friday. The default is pictures of Marco, Isabelle, and Maysie. As Youtube
Homeless For a variety of reasons, we didn't pursue buying the Queens Parade townhouse on the marina in Bangor. One factor is the pound-dollar exchange rate, which has been going against us for months, making our proposed purchase much more expensive. And so I am back in the real
A joyless Yahoo! So much of what I do on the web has become irritating. For instance my e-mail account. I think it used to have ads just on the left-hand panel. Then an animated strip of annoying ads appeared on the right-hand panel. Then a strip appeared across the top--what looks like
Maureen's hydrangea This is Maureen, who lives around the corner. This is her hydrangea bush, which her father planted 45 years ago. The picture doesn't do it justice. The hydrangea colors here are amazing. Some surreal blues, vibrant pinks, maroon, you name it. Maureen's house, and Trudy'
Ireland in bloom Flower boxes at The Old Inn Foxglove in the glen A driveway up the street Trudy's cottage A random hydrangea 7/14
World Cup Cuisine I have been gleefully unobservant of capitalization style in my headlines. Some are all cap, some are sentence-style cap. After decades of obeisance to the grammar gods and the keepers of consistency, I write with reckless abandon. Yes, we writers are a wild bunch once you remove our restraining rails.
A day I have dreaded The 12th of July marks the anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne, the 1690 battle north of Dublin between the Dutch King William of Orange (half of the William and Mary couple known to all Virginians) and the Catholic King James II. King William won, which was a major
Running is so weird At my mom's there is a loop in McDonough Park that I decided I would do twice. It took 44 minutes and I did it every other day. I was liberated from the treadmill at Aurora and loving my freedom--running very slowly at first and faster when I
B&B History Lesson Yesterday at the B&B in Derry I had an interesting conversation with the proprietor, Thomas. He spent a considerable amount of time in the U.S. working for Fruit of the Loom. He talked about being in training in a factory in Alabama in the 1970s where 90%
Derry Day Deux The day began with a run downhill from Rosemount, through city centre onto the Peace Bridge. I ran along Lough Foyle for miles then retraced my steps. It was a gorgeous day and the city shone like a polished diamond. It makes me so happy to see the city reclaimed
Dearest Derry I took a spontaneous trip to Derry to see an old friend who is in hospice. As it turned out, she wasn't up for a visitor, understandable given the ebb and flow of her energy level. I did pack in quite a few other visits over two days
Mournes, p4 At the top of Slieve Donard, we met a man who had just completed the six peaks [http://www.sixpeakschallenge.co.uk/] challenge. He kindly posed for a photo to mark the occasion. Once we headed back down, the hike got more challenging. Thunder, lightning, rain, and hail were our
Mournes, p3 See that line going down into the saddle and up the far mountain? That is the amazing Mourne Wall. From Wiki: "It was built between 1904 and 1922 by the Belfast Water Commissioners to enclose the water catchment in the Mournes. "The wall was crafted from natural granite
Mournes, p2 One of the things I missed this spring was the blooming of various loved plants in my Chester Springs gardens. The volume and variety of blooms in Ulster has definitely assuaged my loss. Foxglove was blooming along the trail to Slieve Donard--purple and white. Below I'm looking back