Amongst lakes, idyllic landscapes and laughter (and a few mosquitoes)

I am back to work now the last two weeks. Easing Stumbling back into everyday life… – funny how that happens so fast again even after almost three weeks off.

I had a lovely two weeks in Sweden visiting family. We have a few new family members this year and it was fun meeting everyone though I am not 100% sure of what they thought about meeting their “great-aunt”… lord, am I really a great-aunt!? Scary!

The two weeks were pretty hectic, seems like there were 50 people around most of the time. Not to mention several dogs, horses and cats. Even with all the visiting and seeing everyone; it was great. So much laughter and catching up.

I started in Copenhagen in Denmark and then went up the east coast of Sweden to my parents for a few days. I could only stay for a few days as they have a smaller apartment and with three adults, two cats and one dog it does get crowded. Not to mention that although I love my parents to bits; I can only take that many days before I go slightly mad. We then drove to my brother’s place which is inland. Well, I drove. I persuaded my Dad to let me drive his car. He was notably nervous as I mainly drive on the left hand side these days (he frequently reminded me every time we came to a roundabout…). Well let’s face it, I was not going to travel 200km at 60km/hour due to my Dad’s regrettably slightly diminished eyesight.

I stayed a good few days at my brother’s place. They live in the middle of nowhere. It is fab. So quiet at night. Surrounded by forest, horses, big dogs and seemingly a constant stream of people. Most days there were at least eight of us. I helped out a bit on the farm and loved it. Though I was less fond of those blasted horse flies and mosquitoes that took a liking to me. I did not understand why they were biting me like never before until I realized that they seemed to like the body-butter I used. So hint, hint… Body Shop’s Body Butter is great but avoid in the vicinity of horse flies. Though everyone else was grateful…

My sister and her partner (or maybe I should say boyfriend.. though can you really say boyfriend if someone is over 45?? Haven’t figured it out) arrived on her birthday so we had a great birthday celebration. I laughed until my belly hurt.

Then I left with my sister to go and see my nephew who lives in the most gorgeous idyllic place, in a place that is the essence of the county where I am from; Småland. He and his family live in this gorgeous red wooden house with white corners built in the 1600’s. They are surrounded by lakes, cows and more dogs and cats (seems to be an ongoing theme in my family).

Then as my last stop I stayed with my sister on the west coast of Sweden. Shopping, a bit of sunbathing (when the sun decided to actually make an appearance), a round of mini-golf (which I suck at ), lots of chats and laughter and meeting everyone else (and again some more dogs and cats).

The weather was not great unfortunately during my two weeks but I had so many laughs that it did no matter. Not to mention all the absolutely fantastic food. I normally do not have a second helping but during these two weeks I ate until I was stuffed til bursting point. Best food ever! Oh a few beers, cocktails and wine found its way to me as well…

Then it was back to Dublin for a few days of chilling. I rounded off my holiday with a long (20km) walk along the coast of Dublin with a good friend. The sun was shining (for once) and it was fabulous.

I’ll leave you with a few pictures. Hope you all had a lovely July as well!!

All quiet in the hood:

Småland:

Then there was a bit of time for just pure chilling as well:

A little hiatus

In less than 24 hours I will have some time of work. Away from work for 2.5 weeks. I look forward to seeing people I haven’t seen in some time, to just chill out and with a little help from the weather gods I hope to catch some sunny rays. Am hoping that there will be a few sunny days so that I can sit on my balcony with a glass of wine.

I will most likely not be able to post much during this time. I promise I will be back though and update the blog after my break.

I found this today. I like the Irish band the Coronas. This is their song “Heroes and Ghosts” but this is the Gaeilige version (Irish version) of the same song.

Enjoy and have a lovely July wherever you are!

Balm for my soul

Walking for hours (not quite knowing where the path would lead) in fabulous surroundings, taking a few pictures, soaking up the fresh air and the sun… it does not get much better for the soul than that. This weekend gone by was like balm for my soul.

Last week a very good friend and I decided to go away for the weekend. We decided to go to the northwest of Ireland, to an area called County Donegal – specifically to a lovely place called Killybegs.

It was a fantastic weekend. I could most likely write for hours but instead I will share with you some highlights and most importantly some pictures of this beautiful place.

• The best little hotel in town Tara Hotel, highly recommended! Try to get a room with the view of the harbor – so you can see the fishing boats go out at night and come back early morning.
• The seafood chowder… ohh soo good!
• Sheep… lots of sheep…
• Stillness – only disturbed by those cheeky seagulls.
• A perfectly calm sea (just a few ripples caused by a few hungry seals).
• Sea mist that slowly lifted, sunshine and hardly a breeze.
• Absolutely beautiful views.

 

The harbor in Killybegs:

The beauty about being here off-season is that we hardly saw any other walkers/hikers around. Just a few locals and plenty of sheep (one was even leading us for quite some time)

The nearby Slieve League Cliffs are a must visit and absolutely stunning. The sea mist came and went but never fully lifted in the sunshine.

So 407.3 miles by car, several hours by foot and two fantastic days – makes one great weekend. The only bad thing was that it ended too quick. So for the next trip away it will have to be a two nights stay. Can’t wait!

 

 

 

 

Is it January already?

Time seems to have flowed past at speed the last few weeks. All the sudden it is mid-January already and no blog post has been written. Ouch! Not sure how that happened.

I spend Christmas with one of my best friends together with her boyfriend, who also happens to be a good friend of mine, and their two adorable boys. Two boys, who at the tender age of 4 and 7, were extremely excited about Santa coming. Their faces when we called NORAD’s Santa Tracker was priceless.

So Christmas was full of early mornings and lots of toys but it was also relaxing and with more food than it is humanly possible to eat. One thing to keep in mind: when putting a bottle of Bailey’s in the freezer… yes, the cream stays frozen but not the pure alcohol… it does give quite a kick!

Oh and this sweet shop is just fabulous. They have all kinds of chocolates, hard-boiled sweets, fudge, toffee, liquorice and so on. It feels like you are stepping back in time when you enter.

As usual the long weekend ended way too fast and it was time to go home once again. Back to a really busy week in work, which ended with a pretty chilled out New Years Eve. I really enjoyed spending it with a very good friend, just eating cheese and crackers and drinking some wine. I guess in a way I “should” feel a bit freaked out that I rather stayed in (like my parents) than went out into town (getting pissed in a crowded pub) but to be honest it was great just chilling. Hmmmm…. not sure what that says about me.

Well, I made up for it a bit the weekend just gone by. My sister and her partner came over for a weekend visit. It was great!! There was lots of fish & chips, Guinness (OK, not much for me as I still am not too keen on the black stuff), pubs and lots and lots of laughs.

My sister and I, in stitches as always.

Proper fry up’s (sausages, bacon, scrambled eggs and toast) in the mornings kept us going. We ended up in a variety of places. All from the traditional Irish pub with a traditional Irish music session to the heavy metal rock bar in town. It was brilliant fun and over way too fast.

So now I am sitting here, trying to survive the rest of the month. The January blues and all that. As most others I am properly skint and like many I am looking over my budget and mulling over various health ideas. Oh the joy…

But at the same time, it is a new year and new opportunities looming around every corner. I do not really do the whole new years resolution thing but I do try to keep some ideas in mind. I will make this year mine. Not decided how yet but if the world will end in 2012 (like some seem to believe) then I want go out with a bang and a smile on my face.

Or in the wise words of Eleanor Roosevelt: “Life is what you make it. Always has been, always will be.”

Merry Christmas!

Image by paparutzi via Flickr

I was just about to sit down on the sofa and put on a Christmas film when I realized that part from this very moment, I really will have no time for blogging at all before Christmas.

The work laptop is shut down for now – ready to get fired up again tomorrow morning at the crack of dawn. I have a million and one things I want sorted before Christmas (and no, not all is work related).

I am looking forward to a relaxing Christmas weekend with friends (and small children, whom I will feed Bailey’s so that they have a nice long snooze… shhhhhh don’t tell their mum… oh and if she “happens” to read this – it was the evil muse who wrote it, not me… never). Then some more work and then a relaxing New Year’s Eve with friends (at this stage I will most likely be comatose and fall asleep before midnight but let’s pretend I am a party animal this day).

Anyhoo, before I loose the thread completely (or my mind, not sure which is most likely) I just wanted to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a fantastic New Years!!! MUAH!!!!

“Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.”

Candles lit

Tomorrow is the 1st of Advent. Traditionally in Sweden this means that all the Christmas decorations come out of the storage units and in every window you can find lit stars or candelabras. The dark is no longer depressing, it is now cosy and warm. The only thing that is not put up yet is the Christmas tree, that will have to wait a few more weeks.  Christmas music is played and the smell of mulled wine, home-baked ginger cookies and oranges is everywhere.

I have cleaned the whole apartment today and put up what Christmas decoration I have. This also meant that my cat decided that he found the stars hanging in the windows offending and tried to attack them… major fail as he could not reach them! I was prepared…

Now the sun is soon setting and the stars will be lit as well as the candles that are dotted around my living room. Bring on the coziness!

Hope you all will have a lovely 1st of Advent!

p.s there is a new post up on Living3703: 5 Things I Like About Dublin

Buuuuu…

Tick tock, tick tock…

The night is never-ending. No light is lit. Sleep is fleeting.

Darkness slithers around like wisps of smoke. Shadows that cannot be seen.

In fright eyes open. A breathless scream is felt. The room is seething.

… and before I forget I wish you all a Happy Halloween.

 

 

Senses and images.

The last two weeks have passed really, really fast and I am once again back in Dublin. I have had a great time in Sweden and could write a long detailed account about all the good times, hysterical laughs, great conversations, lively discussions, divine wines drunk and fabulous food eaten… but… I decided not to. Instead I will focus on what tickled my senses and share a few photos with you.

Because it is easy to just write down a point by point description of what I did but this was a holiday that I tried to experience with all my senses. In a way that really relaxed me and did what it was supposed to do – recharge me. So I will try to do my best to convey this to you. If I fail, well then at least you will know one thing… it still was a fabulous holiday!

Laughs with my brother. The smell of paint in the summer air. The sun warming in my back as I work away. Muscles aching in the evening. Feeling relaxed.

The scent of freshly cut grass. The adrenaline when I nearly keeled over – lawn mover go-kart…

That first taste of a cold beer after a day outside. The divine smell from the BBQ.

The sense of calm in the forest. Seeing the light filtering through the trees. The peace all around.

The amazing scent of fir trees after a warm summer shower.

The sweet taste of wild strawberries.

The belly aching laughs when playing Kinect with my sister and brother. The groans of embarrassed despair when seeing the recordings of said gameplay.. (and forget it, NOT sharing those.. ).

The beauty of all the many small lakes dotted between the trees. Sinking into warm still water as the sun sets. The faint sound of buzzing insects.

The smell of the salty ocean. The laughter from children running into the water. Sand between my toes. The sun warming my tummy. The intoxicating scent of sun-kissed skin. Feeling the world slowly tuning out as my eyes get heavy and I snooze in the sun.

The smooth taste from a 10yr old Tullamore Dew single malt. Feeling thoughtful, happy and content in the evening sun.

Calm sea. Not even a breeze to be felt. Distant cries from seagulls echo across the water.

Walking through Ale forest along the coast. A bird sanctuary can be found in a small swamp. The green colours are amazing. The buzzing and blood sucking mosquitoes are not as amazing. The itching bites are annoying but still… part of summer.

The food… oh the fabulous food. Every bite to be savored. Taste bud heaven.

The stormy spray of sea mist. The wind blowing through my hair. Giggles as we try to get at least one pic we both can live with.

Holidays, check-in’s, regression, cattery anxiety and the colour red

Image via Wikipedia

It is finally that time again. Holiday time! I started my holiday today by going to the hairdresser and my hair is a vibrant red again. All cut and styled and looks good. The red will hopefully last a while but it does have a tendency to wash out quickly and get stuck everywhere else; my sheets, my towels, down the drain… Whoever invents a nice red hair colourant that doesn’t wash out so fast is onto a winner. As long as it isn’t a carroty red – cos that is maybe not THAT great…

In less than two days I will head to Dublin airport and then off to Sweden I go. Bag will be packed with shorts and tops, flip-flops and oh maybe a pair of jeans (this is where I am challenging the weather gods to behave and let it stay sunny and warm for the next two weeks).

As per usual I will forget something semi-important and pack too much stuff that I won’t use. I will get dazzled in the airport shop and ignore the sorry state of my credit card and happily find more stuff I do not really need. The obligatory shopping spree in the booze section is not to be forgotten. Why does everyone I know like whiskey so much?

As I am no longer capable of being totally off-line I will spend a substantial part of my holidays checking-in on FB at various locations, just so that all can keep tabs on me. Why you might ask… well ‘cos I can. It gives me a weird and something a shrink would find fascinating freaky sense of achievement doing so (yes I know, we could derive many issues out of that statement but lets not).  This blog will suffer a bit unfortunately as I will not have much time to spend blogging but I will follow-up when I am back. As I will be staying with family the whole time I am away my internet access will suffer somewhat. Thank god for smartphones and this is where I once again will ignore financial drawbacks – in this case my forthcoming phonebill.

I will spend the beginning of my holidays at my parents. Will definitely not have much internet access there. Am pretty sure they have not even heard of WIFI. They do have a PC and internet but trying to explain why I need to go on that “facebook thing” as my Dad calls it will just be too much work. As per usual procedure when I am visiting my parents I will regress back to a 14 year old, which always happens after a day in their presence. I just have to accept the fact that I will start coming out with heavy sighs, go all “ahhh but Muuuuum”, demand my favorite foods and argue with my Dad about the remote control. I might go insane…

After those “rejuvenating” days I will stay with my brother and his family and then with my sister after that. I am looking forward to meeting all, have many laughs, lots of outdoorsy days and evenings, nice food, lots of a few drinks and just a good time.

Tomorrow I have to bring my cats to the cattery. They will stay in this really nice place on the country side with a dedicated little hut and their own enclosed outdoor space… it is like a cool luxury cat hotel. Still… I will miss the little buggers and I have a funny feeling they know what is coming considering the major sucking up that is happening this evening. As the drive to this place will be a little under an hour I will be treated to howling cats in the car. They are not too fond of driving… anywhere.

Once I am back I will hopefully have lots of pictures that I can share with you (note to self – remember to bring camera). No dreadful bikini shots will be included.

So adios for now and hope you all will have a great few weeks of summer ahead wherever you are!

 

 

Merry Christmas!

Just a quick post this Christmas Eve as I am stuffed from all the food I have eaten and slightly zombied out after reading too long on the sofa. Eaten too much Ferrero Rocher chocolates, drunk too much Julmust, had a few schnapps and eaten loads of clementines… yep we celebrate Christmas on the 24th.

I have blatantly stolen my partners new camera and played around with it. Though he managed to get it back to take a pic of the schnapps… I was momentarily distracted…

Hope you are all having a lovely weekend, doing what you want and having a good time.