Horses! I grew up riding, so of course I spent time yesterday watching the horses. Ireland loves its horses, so there were two horse rings. First, the traps, harkening back to the pre-tractor days of the draught horse (who is making a return in an era of fossil free farming). Note
That’s some crazy chick Today I did succeed in getting out of the house. I went to the Balmoral Show, which is NI’s big agricultural show/fair/breed competition rolled into one. On the continuing theme of irony, I was starved when I got there and immediately visited the food tent to get
You have to laugh Yesterday was gorgeous but I spent it copy editing. Today was gorgeous too, but I had to send more information to Copylab and I had a 2 pm meeting with a woman from Business in the Community, which works with local companies on a range of issues, including improving their
Copylab One of the jobs I applied for recently was with Copylab, which has both in-house writers and freelancers. It’s a similar (but larger) set-up to my friend Kyle’s system: provide an outsourcing outlet for financial companies, particularly during quarter end. I spent all day today, and I mean
Walkathon I went for my second walk with Ann O’Dwyer, daughter of my mom’s close friend Peggy O’Dwyer. Ann likes to walk. Fast. We power walked for 2.5 hours around the Lagan Meadows and Belvoir Forest, after which I collapsed onto her kitchen chair and she fed
Spring cleaning I really must put up a photo of my new study, which is at least a month old. Finishing that room unleashed a lot of unpacking and rearranging of books and files. In turn that unleashed a reorganising of what was left in the attic spaces. Today was a dusty,
HMD Happy Mother’s Day to mothers of all stripes, including the non-reproducing variety. This photo was taken in 2008 of (back row) my godmother, Aunt Rosemary; my namesake, Aunt Kathleen; my mom and (front row) Aunt Eleanor and Aunt Joanne. Aunt Eleanor and Aunt Rosemary have since died, sadly. I
Sixty with Style I have a friend from church, Sheena, who invited me to her 60th birthday party, which was tonight. I snagged a photo off of Facebook of her with her three kids. L to R: Courtney, a symphony conductor in the U.S.; Cara, a doctor in London; Sheena; and Adam,
Lagan Again We’ve had gorgeous weather all week so yesterday I got out on my bike and cycled to Lisburn on the Lagan towpath. That was about 25 miles roundtrip and I was done for when I got home. But I succeeded in my quest. I bought two Ulster Weaver tea
Election Yesterday and today I stuck to my knitting regarding my job search. Also lined up B&Bs for my mom’s visit in June. Today was election day, when 18 people are elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly to represent 1.8 million people. Ulster residents are also represented
Refugee day Today I put together a newsletter for Nicras, the agency serving refugees in Northern Ireland. I trimmed 11 pages of copy provided to me down to seven pithy pages. I think Northern Ireland and England/Wales (but not Scotland) have the same approach. Deny asylum to most applicants, which means
Apple 1.0 Ardress started life as a simple farmhouse in the early 1600s, but was upgraded with a new facade (note the wings on either side of the chimneys) in the early 1800s. Here’s an internet photo: We took a tour of the apple orchards. Ardress is in County Armagh, which
The Argory and Ardress David and I joined the National Trust a year ago so our membership is about to expire. We went to two NT properties today that we haven’t seen before, both just south of Lough Neagh, which is in the middle of Ulster. The Argory looks like this: This is
Fooling around I missed what was on offer at the Belfast Film Festival--some 130 films and events. The catalog was just too overwhelming. How many films can you read about? All the ones I read about sounded good--so I went to none. Today I went to the Festival of Fools--another catalog of
Paycheck The article I wrote for Responsible Investor about the Edinburgh conference was published yesterday and they did a direct deposit of my freelance fee into my bank account today. How cool is that? White stag sculpture at Mount Stewart: I have a thing for mature trees. This is one of
Rhodies Mount Stewart is famous for its collection of rhododendrons. Here’s a few: I love the creamy colour of this variety. And the salmon pink petals of this variety: Did I say I wondered around for two hours? There’s so much to see--so many kinds of gardens and so
Yo shorty ...it’s your birthday, we’re gonna party like it’s your birthday, and drink Bacardi like it’s your birthday... I started the day with a run along the Lagan River at Belvoir Park listening to the dawn chorus. Just a lovely outing (I usually run in my neighbourhood
Thinking ahead I had tea today with my fellow choir member, Monica, before we went to a debate on the Brexit vote, where four economists spelled out what a disaster it would be for Northern Ireland, the only place in the United Kingdom that shares a border with an EU country. One
Battered but not beaten I made cookies today for the first time since I moved out of the states. My neighbour Marshall meets with one group of retired men on Mondays and another group, who call themselves the Caledonian Smoothies, on Tuesdays. One of his buddies is a keen gardener and he stopped by
Weighing on my mind At the beginning of the year, I weighed 148 pounds, about 10 pounds above my weight when I left the U.S. (15 above my pre-accident weight when I was training for a triathlon). My goal was to shed 10 pounds this year. I watch what I eat, I consume
Dark Hedges! David’s sister Susan flew in today from Sheffield for a one-day visit. In making our way to the Antrim coast, we drove through the Dark Hedges, made famous by the Game of Thrones. I have seen spectacular photos of this road. Mine is not one of them. Next stop
Honest labour I’ve worked two solid days producing two conference summaries and my last quarterly performance summaries. I was at my desk all day for two days straight. The last two days have been gorgeous outside, but I didn’t get to enjoy the weather at all. I did get to
Don’t fence me in It was a gorgeous morning yesterday as I walked around Edinburgh. Then I took a bus to the airport to head home to Belfast. I was in a really bad mood and it took me a while to figure out why. When you are in an airport, you are a
Monumental Edinburgh has lots of monuments.This guy was a physicist. Not sure about the higher guy. One of the things I like about Edinburgh is most of the statues I saw memorialised philosophers, writers, and scientists. You don’t see a lot of guys on horseback brandishing swords. In Ulster
Networked I came, I saw, I took a lot of notes, and I networked. Good conference overall. Yesterday I got a rejection from ShareAction (not enough campaigning experience), so I didn’t walk into today feeling super confident. Rejections take their toll. I’ve applied to most of the organisations represented
