Royal Palm

A royal palm, Roystonea regia, in Arizona.

Spooky Happenings at Rock Island, West Cork

We took heart from the fact that they continued loading the lorries onto the ferry, as we waited in the terminal building and sipped the dreadful coffee from the vending machine. It was touch and go whether the ferry would sail, as a big storm was blowing in, although we had been told that it rarely fails to sail, unlike the regular car ferries.





Finally car drivers and passengers were called to their cars - all seven of them! We were using the overnight ferry, which transports the commercial vehicles to Dublin, rather than the usual car ferry. We had used it before and found it a really nice way to travel - no screaming children, clean cabins, simple food, a reasonable night's sleep. The lorry drivers made great company, their main aim being to have a meal, a drink, and then get their heads down.

Fastnet Lighthouse, opposite Rock Island

Not my image.

The weather was wild. We had scarcely left the docks before you could feel the force of the wind, it didn't put us off supper though. We treated ourselves to a couple of large brandies - medicinal purposes - and then retired to the cabin as the call to breakfast would come early the next morning.





What a night that was. Luckily neither of us has a problem with sea-sickness, unlike lots of other unfortunate folk that night. The boat rocked and rolled so much that at times I was sure I would be flung from my bunk, belongings rolled around the cabins, and doors would suddenly fly open and then just as suddenly close themselves again as the ship righted. It was a roller coaster ride and I have to admit that I really enjoyed it.





Not many people made it to breakfast with us the next morning. When we handed our cabin key to the Purser we asked about the wind and she told us it had been a Force 9 gale!





We disembarked at Dublin and enjoyed a wonderfully easy drive through Dublin in the dark of a winter's morning as we made our way down to West Cork. One of our very favourite holiday destinations, especially during winter. George was perfectly fine, but I discovered that I felt as though I was still on the ferry with the floor rising and falling. It persisted for a couple of days. Preferable to being seasick though!

Amazing views, very comfortable surroundings!

Borrowed image.

Our destination was Rock Island, near Crookhaven. We had booked to stay in a wonderful building which used to be a lighthouse keeper's cottage. This building had had a makeover though. A huge glass and steel construction was placed on top of the original building, giving breathtakingly beautiful views in three directions, including a wonderful view of Fastnet lighthouse across the sea.





The whole of the upper floor was one large room, incorporating a kitchen area. The sleeping accommodation, bathroom and laundry were downstairs, in the original cottage.





That first night we were tired, we had driven from coast to coast in England to reach the ferry and then driven the length of Ireland. I awoke to the sound of either a pebble, or a marble, being dropped onto a hard floor and then rolling around. This went on, and on, very odd. I fell asleep again and presumably it stopped. This continued happening but only at night. It stopped whenever I woke George, to get his opinion on what it could be. Eventually I got cross and told whatever it was to stop it, as I wanted to sleep. It stopped!





A few days before the end of our holiday I had to nip to the loo in the middle of the night. I didn't bother to put any lights on, left George sleeping and made my way to the bathroom which was located at the end of a pretty long hallway. I had just got into the room when I heard footsteps coming down the hallway. I thought it was George and told him not to come in as I was already in there.





When I got back to bed I gave George a poke, to tell him that the bathroom was free. He was not best pleased as he had been fast asleep and hadn't been out of bed....





For our remaining nights there I would put on every light I could when I took a trip to the bathroom in the middle of the night. There were no more mysterious footsteps, I am happy to say.





Would I recommend the holiday house - absolutely! It has one of the most beautiful views I have ever seen, constantly changing, never dull, especially on stormy days when the waves crash onto shore. It is a wonderful place.

Crookhaven Lighthouse, a stunningly beautiful place to stay.

Borrowed image.

The tiny hamlet of Crookhaven is packed out in the holiday season with yachts and sailing boats. In winter it is a haven of peace and delightful company. O'Sullivan's Pub serves fabulous chowder and delicious seafood, according to what has been caught. The landlord and his wife are charming hosts, their greetings are as warm as the fire they keep.

Crookhaven harbour and O'Sullivans Bar

Borrowed image.

West Cork is a marvellous place, the scenery is very beautiful, the people are charming. The roads (in autumn and winter) are quiet. We met some wonderful people and were made very welcome. We holidayed there three times that year, it was that good. If it were not for the complications of animals, family and grandchildren we would be back there like a shot!

Thinking Like a Man

You know how when a man sets out to do a task, he has tunnel vision and gets the job done?  Or you ask him to watch the kids while you go shopping, and when you get back  everyone's still alive but nothing else has been done?  He didn't think to unload the dishwasher, vacuum the house, do the laundry, etc.  He was watching the kids!  
I used to be amazed by this when it happened.  How come I can do fifteen things at once and he can only do one?  Well, I think it's because we're made differently!  Are you having a lightbulb moment?  This really is going somewhere, I promise.
This week I got tons of stuff done.  I also had a revelation about my work habits.  
Years ago B.C. (before children), I had the ability to focus for long periods of time; hours even.  I'd begin and end a project on the same day.  Then the children came along.  I remember fussing to a friend about my inability to get anything done for all the interruptions.  She gave me this advice that I've used now for almost thirty years.  She said, "You have to learn to work piecemeal."  I had no idea what she meant never having heard that word before.  She explained, "When you sew, instead of trying to make the whole thing at one time, just thread your machine.  If you are able, go ahead and lay out your pattern, etc."  In other words, learn to work in very small increments. 
So that's the way I've trained myself to work, and Flylady says the same thing.  You can conquer the world fifteen minutes at a time.  That's great advice and really keeps you from being frustrated.  You eventually get things done.
But now that I'm in a position to have longer stretches of time to work, I don't know what to do.  My attention span is almost zero or about fifteen minutes long!  I'm going to have to retrain myself to think.  The book The Power of an Hour by Dave Lakhani that I'm reading does just that.  He says that great amounts of work can be done in an hour of focused attention.
Studies have shown that it takes about twenty minutes to get in "the zone".  I've found this to be exactly right.  I love when the zone happens.  The world fades away.  It's just you and your work.  It's a very satisfying place to be.  
So that's what I'm going to try to do this month.  I'm going to make myself stick to a project for an hour at a time.  Hopefully I'll be able to retrain myself to work the way I once could.  And young women, don't hate me because I have this kind of time now.  It took me thirty years to get here!  Well, actually twenty seven, but who's counting.
 

China - London and finally, home!

At 7.20pm tonight, the coach pulled into Louth bus station - the first passenger to alight was Jonny!

We soon had his bags stashed into the back of the car and were on our way home.......Mother Nature treated us to this beautiful rainbow. By my reckoning the end of the rainbow was somewhere pretty close to Pear Tree Towers.

Forgive me if I go quiet for a few days, I need to cook and bake and talk, or perhaps talk while cooking and baking. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

St Andrews jewels

It's raining stair rods again today (after 2 dry days!) but I thought we'd all had enough of rainy photos. So from a recent dry day my daughter and I spent in St Andrews - although such are the micro climates of Scotland that it was raining in Edinburgh - here's some colour and summer fun.

St Andrews is like a jewel box: there are small delights to be uncovered at every turn. They don't hit you in the face as Edinburgh's do. This is rather restful when you're used to things like a whopping big castle on a rock. Above, a display of traditional seaside accoutrements outside an ironmongers shop. There must be slim profits this summer for makers and sellers of shrimp nets and whirly windmills to stick onto sandcastle turrets.

Below, a little gem of a window.





Of course I had to get closer to see what the little models were. Perhaps a leftover from the Jubilee celebrations?





And even closer, to see Mrs Queen. By this time the sound of daughterly eye-rolling behind me was deafening...

Lehigh Trail

The Lehigh Trail is in Flagler County, Florida. A Rails-2-Trails corridor. I rode the trail this morning because there was a local bike shop (PC Bike) ride. Turn-out was a little space - likely because of the holidays.
Three of us rode the trail end-s-end. My riding companions had ridden from other parts of the area for the ride. I had driven to the Graham Swamp trailhead and rode the 1/2 mile to the Lehigh Trail trailhead.
We stated at Colbert Road and rode the 7 miles to US 1. With just 3 of us riding, the pace was a little faster than "leisurely". Most of the ride was at 13-14 mph. Got my heart rate up and worked up a sweat.
Of course it was not hard to work up a sweat this morning. It was in the 70s when we were on the trail - on December 21st!
When we turned around to return, I told the guys to not wait for me - I likely would be stopping to take photos. Got a couple that could be considered for a future calendar.
After the ride, I stopped in at the bike shop. Picked up a new helment 9mine has been getting pretty bad) and a Trails Guide for the area.
Thanks for the ride, Sam & Patrick. Watch for more info on trails in the aea.

Fav Photographs For Pinterest

These are some photos from other blogs that I just love. I've been saving them on my computer desktop, and now that I'm on Pinterest I wanted to Pin them. The only way I could figure to do this was to put the images in a blog post and THEN pin them. It worked. If anyone knows an easier way, please let me know! I was going to delete the photos after pinning them but then thought that ya'll might like seeing them. My favorite is the reading nook. Oh...my...goodness. If I had a place like that in my house, I might never come up for air!

BRRP: Back for Labor Day Weekend

We’re baaack!  Back at Bull Run Regional Park (BRRP), that is.

With the long Labor Day weekend extended by leaving the house Thursday after work, instead of Friday, we did consider going to a more distant campground at first.  Then we remembered how horrid traffic can be around here, especially during a long weekend.  So, here we are just about 16 miles (25.5 km) from home instead.

We left the house around 4:30p, and two hours later we were all set up in site 21.  This is a 50-amp electric-only site (jurisdiction rate of $32.50 + tax) on our favored outer loop.  It’s even better than our usual spots further back on the loop; here there are no campsites on the other side of the road.  We have plenty of privacy even though the sites before and after us are all occupied for the holiday weekend.

Once set up chores were completed, we brought out the table that forms the base of the trunk of our CR-V and dined al fresco.  Nothing elaborate; a couple of frozen spaghetti Bolognese entrées were quite satisfactory.  Then, we sat outside and watched a BBC DVD entitled, Shackleton: A Voyage of Endurance.  The story of this Antarctic expedition gone terribly wrong, yet deemed a successful failure because Shackleton managed to bring everyone back alive, was just as enthralling this time as it was the first time we watched the documentary.  (There’s an excellent animation of the two-year saga here.)

The makings of a good “soft camping” weekend.

This was our first opportunity to watch a show on the TV built-into the exterior of the coach.  I was really happy about the way the sound was directed straight towards us and could not be heard at all when I walked to the front and back of the coach.  Good; no possibility of bothering our neighbors.

Let the long weekend begin!