The Packing Code

About half-way through clearing the upstairs, I remembered that Packing Days necessitate the presence of pizza and wine and myriad easy-access treaty things.

All of which I am off to buy now :-)

Meanwhile, life feels kinda like this.

The boxing commenceth in earnest

Manky drizzley day here. The morning was spent trying to problem-solve aspects of moving; most frustrating. Eventually took sanctuary in coffee & catch-up lunch with friends - lovely and re-energising and perfectly timed, for another friend had lots of boxes ready for me, which I shall fill up presently with a miscellany of things :-)

Those pretty paper flowers? Well, one was eaten by a dog this morning - for ages, he held it in his mouth all Ermintrude-esque, then finally chomped down. And Dubh is skating across the floor with another two. Little multi-use decorations...

folding the time

Yesterday felt like something of a washout. Heading to bed, I was trying not to think of the last week as 'x days lost, days when I really had a zillion things to do'. I was trying to encourage patience, compassion, permission to be ill and recover in my own time...

Anyhoo, as I powered down the house for the night, I went to blow out the candles, and remembered that during Columbo, I tried my hand at making origami kusudama blossoms.

And I thought that, despite the glumness of the day, it had still managed to bring forth colour and light :-)

Improvement Shown

Well, it's open to debate, but *I* think I'm much better today. Took it pretty easy: caught up on admin this morning, the very fabulous TP arrived with Forager's Soup - chock-full of Vitamin C and all kinds o'goodness. It was very very tasty; nettle was one of main ingredients (a first for me). I am totally sold, and Thick Gardening Gloves shall be procured forthwith.

Napped, listened to HP Lovecraft on the Classic Tales Podcast, trawled craftey supplies websites... I haven't done any writing, apart from a few notes. If I had, I suspect the plot for the book would have come out something like this:


Star Wars: Retold (by someone who hasn't seen it) on Vimeo. Note: this may only be funny if you *have* seen Star Wars.

There are basking sharks at the mouth of Baltimore harbour, visible from the Beacon. Dying to get up there - maybe tomorrow...

Sick Day

Despite being Queen of the Fester, I've had a nice day. Decadently reading, and even managing to get a fair bit of writing done - at least, until the Dizzy Elves sprinkle their magic dust over me. Then I just lie very still, and snooze a bit.

Anyhoo, Raymond Chandler & Alfred Hitchcock films are helping (thanks, GP), as are the pamplemousse juice & Kurt Wallander book (thanks, TG).

Virtual fish fed. Gonna brew up a Perry Magic Cure (thanks, TP) then it's back to the sofa for me.

Hard life :-)

Fiddle Weekend

A lovely, busy weekend: many trad. sessions and a little rugby and a fabulous sunshiney brunch & walk (thanks, D&A) and a couple of days catch-up with a friend who came bearing the best oatmeal cookies ever (thanks, T). And books finished and more to read (I am going to be a total Basque nerd before long).

Moving plans are - well, moving along, slowly. Some hiccups, but that's as expected. Speaking of which, my coughey-sore throat is all grown up into a head cold. Little sigh.

Remnants of the festival folk sat in the square this afternoon; as I left, a single fiddle started up - an elegy for a great weekend of music.

Lusitania

Between election results and fiddles galore, I'm taking a moment for the Lusitania, torpedoed off the Old Head of Kinsale this day in 1915 (also a Friday). She sank in under 20 minutes. Figures vary slightly, but of the 1961 aboard, it's likely that 1197 died: crew, passengers, and the three stowaways who snuck aboard in New York and were confined below deck.

After a morning of warning and rising anxiety about U-Boats off the South Irish coast, the Lusitania received another Admiralty message: "SUBMARINE FIVE MILES SOUTH OF CAPE CLEAR, PROCEEDING WEST WHEN SIGHTED AT 10 AM." They thought they had come through the worst. When the torpedo hit the starboard side, it made a noise like the slamming of a door.


(Lusitania in New York, 1907, having completed her maiden voyage from Liverpool)

I was reading through some of the Lusitania sites; fascinating to learn that some of her lifeboats survived, and ended up on the Isle of Man, where they were used as viking boats from the 1970s onwards. One was rowed over to Strangford Loch to raise funds in the International Year of the Child: the same boat still helping to save, albeit in an utterly different capacity. Of the 129 children aboard the Lusitania, 94 died in the sinking.

Okay then! On that somewhat sombre note, wishing all a lovely weekend X

Time for Fiddlin'

Well, the Fiddle Fair 2010 beginneth.

Hard to believe it's been a year since we sat in the Glebe being entertained by Les Violons du Rigodon... The forecast is better than last year - cold but dry; hopefully the marquee at Casey's won't take such a battering this time around.

The line-up snakes its way through venues in Baltimore and out to Sherkin, and has something for everyone: concerts, masterclasses and sessions (planned and impromptu) in a variety of trad styles, ending on Sunday night with Lunasa and Kevin Burke, in what promises to be a storming gig. For full details see fiddlefair.com.

The fun kicks off this evening with our own Baltimore Beginners in The Algiers :-)

Pixel invasion

Writing away... breaks to read up on ferry calendars, travelling-with-pet regulations, admiring the deep-blue seaglass that I found yesterday on my little shore walk :-)

Anyhoo, here's a wacky short film by Patrick Jean, called 'Pixels'. I didn't imagine that the destruction of New York could bring a smile, but there you go...

If the viewer isn't showing properly, the original is on youtube over here.



Space Invaders, Pacman, Tetris blocks falling into skyscrapers... it's got it all.

Right, back to work!

Louth Craftmark

Snippets from Drogheda on Saturday: after checking out the book in Easons, and after the hailstones abated, Sharon and I set up Nosey's stand amidst the woodturners and jewellers and silk-painters and felters...

Although there were two official storytimes scheduled, we took turns reading Nosey at intervals through the day, both outside in the courtyard, and inside in the gallery (where a breadcrumb trail of hats lead to us).

A duo from Nationwide covered the event, so Nosey may be included in the feature - more on that in a couple of weeks. Thanks to the staff of Highlanes Gallery for their hospitality, and to the gallery cafe - a branch of the ever-lovely Anderson's :-)

And after coffee and stories and colouring and felting, we went in to the craft shop, for a little shopping :-)



On the trip back down, we kicked around ideas for the Nosey sequel, but now it's back to my book; tappy tap tapping away...