Another year is over...

...another is about to begin!

What can I say that's not been said over and over again, every new year???

Not much! But then, why do I need to say anything different?

We all have the same thing to look forward to...another new beginning! Another chance to do it right, do it better, or just keep going the way we are! Sometimes what we have is all we need!

I am going to keep looking, and moving forward. But I am going to keep stopping to smell the roses on the way!

I look forward to taking more photos and sharing more coffees, to living life and enjoying every moment!

I'm grateful for the wonderful memories we have made in 2013, and the chance to make more in 2014!

I wish you peace and joy, love and laughter.

Gratefully yours.
xx

Ready, set...not quite yet!

As you might expect, I was all organise this morning for my darling sister to arrive....and her flight was delayed!!

What was I going to do to pass the extra two hours??

It was alright for her, "stranded" at the airport....shops, cafe...need I say more?

But I was stuck here, house preened and ready, and nothing to do but pace the floor in anticipation!!

It's okay, I found a programme that I had recorded the other night to keep me going!!

The good news is, she's here now.

Cuddles have been exchanged, tongues have never halted and the brandy bottle has taken a hit or two!!

Today I am grateful for my sisters...all of them!

I love them all so much, so it's lovely to be able to have one all to myself for a few days!!!

Gratefully yours.
xx

The visit

I love when any of my family come to stay with us....and not just because I love to see them!

Forget all the cuddles, chats and coffees......I get a tidy spare room!

And for the very special visit of my big sis Mags, we even have a new bed! Well, okay, we've been waiting for the sales to buy one, she's just in luck that it arrived before she did!!

I am so, so looking forward to this visit!

I am so grateful that the world is a much smaller place than it was even a hundred years ago!

Imagine living in a foreign country with no hope of seeing your family again!!!

I am lucky to be able to have the best of both worlds.

Now, all I have to do is get the cuddle apparatus in working order, ready to give and receive!!!

Gratefully yours.
xx

The day after

After a day of excitement.....

....a day of rest!!!

Long lie in, leisurely breakfast,nice walk, board game with kids, Lord of the Rings (all three films!!) on the tv, turkey sannies for lunch, turkey and ham pie for tea....

....bed!!

Today I am grateful for a day of rest.

Be grateful for the little things!!

Gratefully yours.
xx

And he's off!!

So, it's arrived.

Last sleep before the big day!

I had a great day.

I was working this morning, and the atmosphere was great. We all had Christmas jumpers on, which gave the customers a good laugh, we handed out our Kris Kringle presents to each other, and were all in great humour.

I spent most of the afternoon cooking....you know, the usual - ham, soup, spag bols, cheesecake! Then we went to the childrens' mass at 6pm at our local church.

After dinner we sat down to a game of Risk. I hadn't played it in years, but it was great fun. I don't know who was more blood-thirsty and power hungry, Meg the megalomaniac or Nanny the Invincible!!! They didn't give Attila the Dad or Vlad the Impaler a look in!!! Who knew!!!

The kids are almost ill with the excitement of it, and have retired to their beds relatively early! Amazing!

So, all that remains is for me to tell you all how grateful I am to you for reading this, and that I hope Christmas brings you some peace and joy, and that the coming year is one of your best.

Each day is a new beginning.

Gratefully yours.
xx

2 more sleeps

Santa is definitely on the final countdown.

And I'm ready for him!!!

Got a good lot done today....even hoovered the stairs (just in case Santa creeps up in the middle of the night!)!!

I'm grateful that the kids did their bit and helped with the chores!!

I have work tomorrow morning, and then it's Christmas all the way!!

Looking forward to a nice, relaxed family day.

Merry Christmas!

Gratefully yours.
xx

Growing up

I know it was bound to happen.

I even knew that it would happen soon.

I just didn't expect that the realisation that it had already started would hit me so suddenly...like a tonne of bricks!

My wee baby boy is growing up!

I know that by numbers he is a teenager, but I hadn't quite got my head round the fact of it!!

I noticed it last night, at our friend's annual Winter Solstice party. Thomas was a wee bit awkward and unsure of himself, and completely monosyllabic. I think he still enjoyed watching and listening to all the goings on, but he gave me the impression that he wished he could be invisible at times.

Then today he has been racing out to his pals as often as he could. It's freezing and miserable out, and I voiced  my opinion that he was mad, and why would he be so desperate to go out on a day like this, and K's reply was "because he's a teenager! Why would he want to stay in with us and be  bored?"

I guess he's right!!

Now I have to get my head round the fact that being a teenager won't mean that he doesn't love me any more....at least I hope it won't!!!

Oh the joys!!!

Today I am grateful that Thomas is growing up in a happy and secure environment, full of love and support. And I hope he knows that K and I will always be there for him.

Gratefully yours.
xx

Countdown

Only 5 more sleeps!

Not that I'm counting, of course!

I had a great "bitty" day today. Got lots of wee bittys done!

Nearly there now! Only the food shopping to do, and I don't intend to go overboard! There is only so much you can eat, so I don't see the point of stocking up as if the shops are going to close for a month!

And what with a photo with Santa at one end of the day, and carol singing at the other, I'm in no doubt that Christmas is definitely coming!!!

Today I am grateful that I have successfully navigated myself almost all the way to another Christmas!!

Keep on rolling!!!

Gratefully yours.
xx

Stovies

I have finally made the perfect pot of stovies!!!

When I was at home, growing up, my mam made gorgeous stovies, with tinned corned beef. I just assumed that that was how it was meant to be. I certainly couldn't imagine how it could taste any better!

In more recent times, I can remember being totally gobsmacked on finding out that stovies are traditionally meant to be made with beef, or, more precisely, the left-overs from the Sunday roast!

I have tried it a few times, but have never been happy with the results, as the meat never broke-up properly through the tatties.

During a conversation with Mam the other day, however, we came up with the idea (I honestly can't remember if I suggested it, of if Mam did!!!) of slow-cooking stewing beef till it was very tender, and then using it to make the stovies.

Well...all I can say is RESULT!!!

When I came home from work today the smell of the stew filled the house, and it was gorgeous! Or, to use an expression from my childhood - the smell went roon ma hert like a hairy worim!!!

I then used the beef from the stew, along with tatties and onions, salt and pepper, to make the most delicious stovies ever!!!

Thomas and K had it with a bit of the stew gravy, but I prefer my stovies straight from the pan, as they are! All I was missing was the oatcakes and beetroot!!!

So, today I am grateful finally cracking it!!!

Guess what we'll be having  for tea on a regular basis from now on???

Gratefully yours.
xx

He's making a list...

...and you better believe he's checking it twice....'cos otherwise I'd just forget everything, as usual!!!

I had to get Kieran to write a list for me, for my day off today. So much to do, and no room in my noggin for any of it!!! I swear, if my head wasn't screwed on!!!!

So,K had about 8 items for me to do, and foe every one I managed to tick off as done, I remembered another couple of things I needed to add to it!! The list currently stands at eleven items, six of which have been completed!!

So, today I am grateful that I am more than half way there!!

Assuming, of course, that I stop adding things to the list faster than I can do them!!!

Don't you just love Christmas??

Gratefully yours.
xx

Twas the night before Tuesday...

...and all through the house,
not a creature was stirring...'cos they've all gone to bed and left me, as usual! Even the cat!!!

Can I help it if there are programmes I like to watch on the telly at 9pm, or that I then have a blog to write, and facebook to check, and pinterest to view, and Zoo Atlanta's pandacam to follow???

Ah well, on the positive side...at least the bed will be warm when I get there!!

No rest for the wicked!

Today I am grateful to know that all my brood are safely tucked up in their beds. I can go to bed without worrying about any of them!

Oh....send Thomas luck....he has his Christmas exams starting tomorrow (or today, 'cos I guess it's Tuesday by the time you're reading this!!).

Gratefully yours.
xx

Away in a manger

We went to see a "live crib" in Adare today.

Our friends, Rosemarie and Eamon, and their wee babba, Eanna, were stepping in as  the stars of the show for a short while (couples with youngish babies take 20minute slots all during the afternoon).

It was a lovely, festive experience.

Kids from one of the local schools were singing carols, there was mulled wine and sandwiches, and the stable itself, complete with a donkey, two wee lambs, a calf and, of course, Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus.

I thought it was just lovely.

Also lovely were the cappuccino and cookies at the Dunraven Arms afterwards. Well....it wouldn't be an afternoon out without coffee, would it??

Today I am grateful for a lovely, festive family weekend.


Gratefully yours.
xx

NOT the live crib!!

The Spirit

Well, I got the Christmas shopping started.

It's all the wee stocking fillers that are the real problem! Still, I am getting there.

It's not all about the presents anyway. I love the idea of Christmas. The Christmas Spirit, if you like. There is a lot of happiness about. Lots of parties and glitter. Lots of people laughing and mixing with people they normally don't mix with.

Even with all the commercialism, I think people do tend to think a bit more about people in need at Christmas time. Again, it's the Spirit of Christmas permeating everything.

We are having a family day tomorrow.

Shopping in the morning, with a break in the best cafe we can find for coffee, of course. Then the cinema in the afternoon, to see the new Hobbit movie. A stop in at the local Chinese restaurant before coming home, followed, possibly - if we are still all on speaking terms! - by a new board game!

I'm grateful for the wee nudge that Christmas gives us, to open our hearts a bit wider than usual, and share the love!!

Gratefully yours.
xx

Time

Time is what you make it,

It's never long enough, or fast enough, or slow enough, or, well, enough.

When you think you have plenty, it disappears,

and once it's gone, it's gone.

But

Time is what YOU make it.

Use every second, minute, hour. Notice it, make the most of it.

Make memories with it. Make fun. Make smiles.

'Cos once it's gone, it's gone.

Every second is precious.

It is unique, one of a kind, like a snow flake.

There will never be another like it.

Don't waste it on regret, or fear, or sadness.

Use each second to grow stronger and wiser and happier..

Use it to your advantage.

Time is what you make it. So make it amazing.

Prima Ballerina

Meggie had her last ballet class before Christmas.

As usual, the parents were invited in to watch the class, much to the embarrassment of the girls!

It was so lovely to see how much they have all grown over the last three and a half years. They look so much more like ballerinas now, and less like new-born giraffes - all legs and no co-ordination!!

It's just so wonderful to watch her enjoying something that I used to love as a girl too. I just wish I was still young enough and skinny enough to fit into one of their gorgeous neon tutus!!

Ah well!! I guess you're only young once!! All the more reason to make the most of every moment!!

Today I am grateful for the lovely memories I have, and the fact that Megan gets the same joy out of ballet that I did.

Can you spot Meggie's legs??

Gratefully yours.

xx

Walkies!

I treated myself to some fresh air and sunshine today.

I had to go into town this morning, just for a short message, and decided that I was going to walk.

The decision took me about half an hour to make, as I argued with myself as to the pros and cons of the two half hour walks (there and back!).

I mean, what else should I have been doing with that hour?

Christmas is looming ever closer, ever faster, and I've no cards done and hardly any presents bought! I could have use that hour well, writing cards or shopping on-line!

Even once the decision was made, I still had to convince myself that it wasn't going to rain, even though the sky was a bit grey. Honestly, I was talking to myself as I was going out the door! If I could have got behind myself to kick me out the door, I would have!!

So...it didn't rain. It was cold but bracing. It was lovely to be out getting some exercise. And I don't think I could have used that hour any better.

Good decision making!

Today I am grateful that I took my advice and got outside for a bit.

Several birds with one stone, if you ask me. Fresh air, exercise, sunshine on skin boosting Vit D, saved petrol and, thus, the environment, relaxation.....

Need I say more?

Gratefully yours.
xx

A good day

You've just got to love Sunday!!

I had a lovely, uninterrupted long lie, followed by a freshly bought pecan danish and a mocha in my bed - amn't I lucky that my hubby gets up early, even on Sunday?

I stayed in bed for a while longer with my book....well, it's another Rachel Hore book, and I just can't put it down!

I did rouse myself eventually to cook a brunch for the boys before they went out to their rugby match! Then Maggie and I went off to the cinema. We saw "Frozen" - a new animated film about a snow queen, with a really brilliant wee snowman, called Olaf, who got all the best lines!! It comes highly recommended by both Megan and me!!!

We then all headed out to see Nanny, who has just returned from 5 weeks in Oz, and had tea and scones by a real roaring fire, hearing all her stories and looking at photos.

The day was finished with pizza and Strictly.

A good day!

I am grateful to have my wonderful family around me. I cherish them all, and know just how lucky I am!

Gratefully yours.
xx

Carols ahoy!

As part of our fund raising for the choir, we were asked to do two nights carol singing (out of a possible 6 nights) in one of the hotels in the city, for their party nights.

It was the last thing I felt like doing today, as Thomas was late home last night from a school concert, and I was pacing the floor waiting for him!! One of his pal's mam was picking him up, so we weren't sure when he'd be in. God help me, in a few years when he's out in town with pals till all hours!!!!! He was so full of adrenaline after his show that he couldn't sleep, and guess who was awake with him?? (We really need to sort out some method of communicating our middle-of-the-night-wakefulness with each other, so that we can have a chat!!!)

Anyway, I've been like a slightly wrung out, damp rag all day, so carol singing was not my number one choice of a way to spend the evening!!

It was fun!!! Great fun, in fact! Not as stressful as a concert, 'cos it was much more informal. We all just had a laugh and sang our wee hearts out....to a bunch of party-goers who barely looked in our direction! Ah well, if we even made one person smile, it was worth it!

Today I am grateful that I was forced to get off my backside and make a difference!!

Looking forward to my next carol singing night now, in two weeks time. It'll be very Christmassy by then!!

Gratefully yours.
xx

And breathe!!

Deep breath!!

Another concert done and dusted.

Went well, I think. And it was fun...well, after the first rush of pure panic had subsided!!

It's funny how it always seems to come together on the night! Adrenaline, I guess.

Anyway, today I am grateful to be part of something so wonderful!

Singing really is a joy!

Gratefully yours.
xx

Wah, wah, wah waaaah!

Today I am just grateful that I've been with the choir long enough to know that a bad "dress rehearsal" doesn't mean a bad concert.

Just back from a 3 hour practice.

It was meant to be 2 hours but they were still going strong when I left to get back to my poor children! Need I say more???

Watch this space! Concert tomorrow night!

Gratefully yours.
xx

Sensory walk

I really enjoyed my walk into work this morning.

It was cold and dry - just right for this time of year. The leaves are now all dry and crunchy underfoot and the whole walk looks as if it's covered in a beautiful yellow and orange carpet.

I found it very peaceful. The river was not too low, or too high, and seemed to be flowing with strength and purpose (if that makes any sense!!)

There was noise all around me - hammering and drilling from the work going on across on the other side of the river, cars and lorries, sea-gulls squabbling over scraps - but the silence of the river overshadowed it all.

It was just a lovely start to the day.

I am grateful to have such a wonderfully uplifting walk between home and work!

Gratefully yours.
xx

All lit up...

...like a Christmas tree!

It was just lovely to get up this morning and put the Christmas tree lights on!

We really are on the countdown now, what with Christmas films on 24/7, the Christmas radio station blasting out all the oldies, but goodies of the Christmas hits, and now all our decorations up.

I saw a wonderful (new??) Christmas film the other day, where, instead of presents, Santa delivered Christmas Spirit from his sleigh, falling like pixie-dust from a crop-duster!! I really liked that thought.

So today I am grateful for that spirit. The spirit of love, of giving, of family, of compassion.

I think I might put some pots out into the garden on Christmas eve to collect some of that pixie dust, and spread it out over the year!

Gratefully yours.
xx

High five - Meggie and her Dad put the Angel on the tree.

The Day of the Decorating!

This afternoon Christmas arrived in Ashbrook!

At least, it did in our house!

K was sent up to the attic, and then box after box of stuff came down!

Tree, strings of beads, tinsel, garlands, snowmen....you name it! It's amazing how much we have accumulated in the last 17 years!!

Thomas came in from playing with his pals to help out with the tree. Meg did the crib and then got to put the finishing touch to the tree...K lifted her up to put on the fairy!! It may be the last year he's able to lift her!!

The house looks lovely now. Porch, hall, lounge, kitchen and stairs all decked out in their Christmas finery! Now all I have to do is get my head round the present shopping!!!!!

Today I am grateful for family traditions. And long may the kids want to take part!

Gratefully yours.
xx