Interstices

The nice thing about returning on a Friday is you have the weekend to catch your breath before getting back in the 9-5 saddle. It was really cold when I returned so I built a fire.

It was really lovely to come home and be out of my normal routine. I did not have a long list driving my every waking hour. I watched stuff on my laptop (Our Flag Means Death is my latest obsession) and read a book called Wild Places. The feeling that I must be productive and must knock things off the to do list just was not there. And the weather was horrible, so no golf. Except Sunday, when I played virtual golf with a friend – where you hit a ball at a net (with an image of a real hole on it) and a camera records your shot and a big monitor shows where you "landed" on the course. It's actually quite fun. We played a few holes of the Old Course at St. Andrews and LaHinch in Ireland. Both very difficult links courses so I was rubbish.

Mon - Thur was another story. As I was off last week and will be off next week (Spain) I had to get four projects done. I did, but only just. Friday I had my neck x-rayed. I have had the proverbial pain in my neck for nearly a year and I'm trying to get to the bottom of it. Then tea with Ann then 18 more holes of virtual golf on "Pebble Beach" with two friends. I did much better on this course, which had actual fairways instead of occasional postage stamp sections of fairway.

While running around I got a photo of the latest mailbox yarn bomb.

Here's one from Christmas:

Aren't people amazing? I ran around so much on Friday (back in my groove) that I didn't go to a swing dance Friday night, missing the excellent Belfast Jazz Orchestra.

Saturday there was also much erranding and pre-trip planning and energetic Paddy outings. But I rallied to attend a concert by De Danann at the Ulster Hall. Frankie Gavin, the lead fiddler, was amazing. How his fiddle doesn't explode under the speed and pressure of his bow is beyond me. In the first song, Belfast Hornpipe, he squeezed whole symphonies of notes into each beat. It was extraordinary. I wanted to get a selfie with the band in the background but couldn't b/c the lights went down when the band came on. I got my hair cut Saturday morning so was trying to capture my straightened hair – my hairdresser tongs my hair straight and cuts it dry, saves time and money. Putting this in on mom's behalf. I still don't know where to look when I take a selfie.

Today is St. Patrick's Day, Sunday. I'd like to go into town to hear some music however Paddy's Sunday walker hasn't arrived yet (it's 3:15pm). She'll keep him overnight, as I'm leaving at 3 a.m. tomorrow :-0

I don't want to leave until she has him because he's very anxious at the moment. Also, I haven't finished hoovering, I need to change the sheets, and I haven't finished packing. So I'm not sure if I'd enjoy myself if I were in town.

I do believe I enjoy the luck of the Irish. There are so many many things that could go wrong in my day, as I rush about, that don't. Sometimes I'm aware of them ("that was a close shave!") sometimes I'm blissfully ignorant of my good fortune. But in a macro sense, I am very lucky. I live in Northern Ireland! I have friends who invite me on trips to Portugal and Spain – trips I wouldn't undertake on my own. I enjoy generally good health (I'm in week three of a cold, but it hasn't stopped me, just a minor inconvenience). I love my home. I have no mortgage, due to a lot of luck in my career. My mother is also in good health. I have the world's best dog. And I'm officially on vacation!

9-17 March