NorthDownMuse

The good life

The day started with laundry, ironing, cooking potatoes, cleaning pots, updating the blog, and walking Paddy along the Lagan, throwing a stick into the river over and over and over for him to fetch. The day finished in an ornate bar in a grand Victorian railway hotel, where I currently

Rowallane

Plan A was a visit to a decorator's shop on the very upscale Lisburn Road. Turns out it's open only Mon-Fri. Plan B was a tour of the Grand Opera House. Tours not being offered currently. Plan C worked out: a trip to Rowallane Garden. I

Down time

I worked Weds-Fri and mom entertained herself by finishing Toast and beginning Amy & Isabelle, the first book by Elizabeth Strout (Olive Kitteridge). She's also working her way through both seasons of Derry Girls. In the evenings we have been watching Strictly Come Dancing, which we are both

Ards Friary, Killahoey & Derry

We covered a lot of ground today. As usual, I was up early while mom slept. I had a gorgeous walk at Ards Friary. It's possible Paddy loves Ards Friary more than I do. There are two beaches for him to swim on and a beautiful forest full

Ballyliffin Day

I began the day with Paddy in Duntally Woods in Creeslough, where I went for a very wet walk with high school friend Siobhan. She has been winning her battle with cancer since 2014 and is a remarkable person. Very strong, very positive – she reminds me of her mother, whom

Dunfanaghy Day

Paddy and I were out early to the Boardwalk beach. There's a restaurant on a quiet horseshoe bay (last photo from yesterday) and a very long, snaking boardwalk that leads to Downings beach and a crashing sea. The photo below is taken from the point, where you can

Downings Day

I awake at 6:30, read until it's light out, then take Paddy to Downings beach at 7:30. The morning light is so soft, the beach feels sacred. Then home to make breakfast for mom. Slab of wholemeal toast with avocado and fried egg. We head off

Derry Day

This morning, after walking Paddy at the golf course, I loaded up the car with an unreasonable number of bags then we headed north. First stop the O'Dwyers' lovely Victorian home for tea, our hosts as gracious as ever. Then I dropped mom off for more tea

Betty @ the beach

I worked this morning while mom had a lie in. I spent an hour and a half on a zoom call with a fixed income analyst trying to explain the flaws in the logic and construction of a 20-page paper. He's the nicest guy--he agreed the paper needs

Betty Bookworm

I worked today (Weds) so mom got to spend some quality time in the upstairs sitting room. She had a good lie in--more than 12 hours. She said it took her a long time to fall asleep b/c she was so cold. Poor thing. But she's back

Betty in a buggie

Today was a long but productive day. Mom passed PCR test number two so all arrangements moved a week later. I got up at 2:30 this morning, drove to Dublin and found my poor mother waiting in the arrivals lounge, where she had been for a half hour. At

A mooo-vable feast

Moo to You is a local farm that delivers fruit, veg, baked items. And stuff I don't eat--meat, cheese, etc. I put in an order in anticipation of the Royal Visit. It arrived hours after mom was meant to be here. I may have to do some entertaining.

Best laid plans V. Covid

I spent a good part of the summer trying to get clear on travel rules, with very little assistance from a travel agent, who went quiet in August. Then my sister offered to collect mom, book her PCR test, print the result, do the locator form, buy her ticket and

The full bedroom saga

Not that kind of saga. In the beginning was a room with carpets and curtains and built in wardrobes on two walls. On the right below you can see the partial remains of one of the wardrobes, which had a vanity in front of the chimney breast. We took out

Fencing

I selected a fence paint brand that had lots of fun colour choices, and was warned off by a neighbour b/c it's water based and requires frequent repainting. At the hardware store, an employee swore by another brand--fewer colour choices but a five year guarantee on coverage.

Glad and Sad

That is a gotcha headline. Here is glad: Here is sad: Not much news to report. Three new tires on the car, 300 pounds. Rabies vaccine for Paddy and pet passport, 95 pounds. Saturday (4 Sept) I polished the brass on the front door, did laundry, ironed the top sheet

Betty > Belfast

I have been trying for a few months to figure out the rules for an American flying into Dublin and then traveling to Belfast, in the UK. The rules have changed repeatedly for England vs. Northern Ireland, vs. Ireland. Not one who deals well with complexity, I turned to a

The Job

I don't think I've wirtten much about my job, which began in mid-May. I would divide it into three categories. 1. Editing copy from our specialist teams (fixed income, private equity, real estate, etc.). I like this part. 2. Formatting content for web presentation. We have

Cruella

The funny thing about this blog I never write in is I'm paying for the privilege. Silly me. As I've written before, I'm breaking the cycle of Saturdays=chores and Sundays=golf, plus taking Paddy out for stick triathlons: fetch stick from river, fetch

Golf glut

Two weeks after my last post, I had another golf related day out. This time I went to Newcastle, home of Royal County Down Golf Course, one of the most famous and most difficult courses in Ireland. It's a classic links course--fairways and greens dotted among high dunes,

Galgorm

I tend to do chores on Saturdays and play golf on Sundays. This weekend I wanted out of that rut so I went with some friends to a golf tournament at Galgorm Castle. Here we are: It was a really fun day, and interesting to watch the women golfers. It

Entertaining

Saturday I had three friends over for dinner. As expected Ann and Shaun--well traveled, well informed, politically astute--had no problem finding common ground with Marek. I'm writing well past the date of the dinner, but recall lively conversations about the role of technology in our lives, the role

Roses

My godmother's name was Rosemary Casey McMunigal. Her nickname was Roses. Just thought I'd share. The two things I most love in my garden are inherited from Hilary, the previous owner. One is an azalea, which in the spring is covered with deep pink pom poms.

Productive week

Tuesday I had my best ever round of golf, with my handicap dropping from 40 to 36 as a result. I started the year at 49, so happy with my progress. Wednesday I visited the dentist for inspection of a temporary filling inserted before I went to Wales. I expected

Reentry

Reentry has been tough. The fun part of my job--editing reports, papers, articles--has a down side, I've learned. While the designer creates a pdf of, say, a 40 page paper, the editors create a web version of the paper. This involves coding--the horror! Inserting bits of html code