Before
After
Saturday 29 March 2014
On Thursday evening Enid and I passed a little group of people (3) with a swan - walking along on a not too busy Dublin road.
So we decided to get out to see what was the story and if we could help (and to get some photographs also!!).
We walked along with the group - it was so funny, it was a bit like the film Forest Gump - where Forest is running and there are different people joining and running with him for a while and then leaving and being replaced by other people joining.
And seeing a swan in the middle of an old Georgian Dublin street was just so cute and funny!!!
The swan himself was "okay". He was not distressed and did not seem phased by all the attention or the traffic. He was a little tired it seemed and sat down for a rest every now again. He was a young swan because he still had some of his grey feathers mixed in with his white feathers. Sometimes he seemed unsure of walking e.g. getting up on the kerb but I think was just because he was tired. He also didn't walk in a straight line(!) and was walking on the path and then in the middle of the road at times(!)
He was very docile and placid which was helpful...sometimes you hear of swans being very aggressive.
How did he get on the road?
The guy in the hi-viz jacket was leading the "escort". Apparently two of his friends found the swan on Pembroke street during the day so they took him into the guy's basement. He rang the guards/police (Gardai Siochana) but they didn't want anything to do with it. He then rang some bird/animal rescue places etc but they earliest they would be able to help was the next day. So he figured he would wait for the evening and try escort him back to the canal. Which is where we all came in the story. Fair play to him, plus the hi-viz jacket was great but really I don't think he could have done it without other people's support - alerting traffic/standing behind/beside the swan pointing him in the right direction.
Anyhoo final outcome was we got the swan to the Grand Canal! But he decided he just wanted to sit on the waters edge and eat grass instead of getting into the water. We all kind of wanted to see him in the water but after 10 minutes with him at the canal we agreed there was nothing more we could do so we left him there.
It was a really nice "community"type of adhoc thing to be part of :-)
Sunday 23 March 2014
Saturday 22 March 2014
Have you heard about the #nomakeupselfie trend which is currently viral on facebook?
It seems to be in reaction to (in my opinion, the very silly) online drinking game neknominate. The concept is that you upload a selfie of yourself with no makeup in order to increase Breast Cancer awareness.
Well! At least that was the original concept. It subsequently has turned into a trend of uploading a "no makeup selfie" PLUS making a donation to a cancer charity.
This I think is brilliant! Being completely honest when I saw the first few selfies going around (with no donation) I didn't see the point of this trend at all. I really don't see how a picture of your friend on facebook is "raising Breast Cancer awareness".....
So how much money has been raised?!
Well currently this viral trend has raised nearly €500k and it is still rising!
So! Here is my selfie:
Plus here is a copy of my donation:
And finally here is my tip for making sure you carry out regular breast checks/for increasing awareness of Breast Cancer:
Most hair conditioners work better if you leave them in for 2/3 minutes before rinsing.
Why not use this time to carry out your breast check?
I got this idea from a really cool funky hair condition that had instuctions to leave in for 4/5 minutes and they suggested "shave your legs in that time".
Well I think all hair conditioners should carry the suggestion to do a breast check in that time :-)
Are you on facebook?
Why not start this viral trend in your country?!
I have known for some months now that I will at some point need to buy a new tv for my bedroom - the tv I currently have was "on loan" from David's brother until he bought a house.
That time has now come.
Kevin has purchased his very first home at the age of 30. Good for him!
But bad for me :-(
However one positive is that as part of my bonus this year (yay, first time I have got a bonus in about 4 years!) my work is giving a small additional bonus payment in a one4all giftcard.. This is a really handy card which can be used in tons and tons of different shops.
And the great thing about getting a giftcard from work is that it is tax free (the company pays the tax or something like that).
So while I had been thinking of using the giftcard for all kinds of other nice stuff, I don't mind too much using it for a new tv. I think I would begrudge it much more having to hand over €250 cash for the tv...
The tv that we had the loan of was a 22 inch which was a perfectly acceptable size. But we are going to "future proof" it and go a little big bigger.
I have found a nice Bush tv/dvd combo 28" in Argos for €250 which I am very happy with. I am waiting on my giftcard to come through so should be through early next week and will go collect tv then - have it on reserve at the moment.
The Bush 28 Inch LED TV/DVD combi comes HD ready and with its NICAM sound system, it promises to enhance your television viewing experience. Finished in a sleek professional black and created with an in-built DVD player, you can be guaranteed that this compact TV would be ideal for any bedroom, kitchen or family room.
Television picture quality:
- HD Ready display resolution.
- Resolution 1366 x 768 pixels.
- Edge-lit LED TV screen.
- 28in (71cm) TV screen.
- Motion rate 50Hz.
- Viewing angle 170/170 degrees.
Connectivity:
- 2 HDMI sockets, 1 SCART socket and 1 USB port.
- Headphone socket.
- AV socket.
Sound quality:
- NICAM sound system.
- 2 x 6 watts RMS power output.
Digital features:
- Saorview digital tuner.
Additional features:
- Sleep timer.
- Colour of TV black.
- Size of TV H40.7, W64.1, D4cm.
- Weight of TV 4.5kg (unpackaged).
- Size of TV with stand H45.1, W64.1, D20.3cm.
- Weight of TV with stand 8.6kg.
- 100 x 100 bracket.
DVD-specific features:
- Playback compatibility:
Energy efficiency information:
- Energy efficiency rating: A.
- On mode power consumption 33 watts.
- Annual power consumption 48kWh.
EAN: 5060234047597
Ben is the true (heartbreakingly true) story about the disappearance of 21 month old Ben Needham on the island of Kos.
Although a tough subject it is a quick and easy read. Throughout the book the pain of Ben's mother, grandparents and uncles is palpable and brought tears to my eyes - in particular the incidences when a child has been spotted who may be Ben and they travel to see him and find out it is not. The disappointment and sadness they feel is heartbreaking.
It is frustrating to read about the investigations and what was done (and not done) to find Ben - at the time of initial disappearance and over the years. The Greek police seem to be reluctant to acknowledge that something bad may have happened to the child and that it occurred on their island of Kos.
Location, time and technology also went against the Needham family. Nowadays with facebook and twitter it is very easy to mobilise a campaign to find a missing child. Even before facebok and twitter the newspapers and tv would be great for raising awareness. The Needham family were living in Kos in 1991 and these things did just not apply to them.
In the book Kerry Needham does explore the case of another missing child Madeleine McCann and how the McCann family got so much exposure so quickly, and raised (a huge amount of) money to fund their campaign, so quickly. She does acknowledge that it is a different time and the technology certainly helped but she also feels that the media got behind a perceived "upper class family/two doctors", whereas they were a family who had moved to Kos and were living in a caravan.
I wasn't sure about that when I read it first but the more I think about it I think she might be kind of right. I didn't think so because I had read all about how her mother and father were hard workers and how they had moved to Kos for a better life. Yes, they were living in a caravan (what is wrong with that anyway!) but they had already got jobs and were working away.
But! I guess if you did not know this background...I guess it just "didn't look great".
So ultimately there is no good ending to this book. Ben Needham is still missing. And this is the important message from the book:
This is what Ben Needham might look like today (picture is from book published May 2013).
If you ever see someone who looks like him (blonde blue eyed) in amongst a country or group of people who all look different (i.e. dark olive skinned) then report it on the Help Find Ben website or to Yorkshire Police (phone numbers and emails for reporting are on the Help find Ben website)
Photo credits:
All photos are from the book Ben by Kerry Needham
Monday 17 March 2014
My sister sent me money from the Middle East where she is based (cabin crew) via Western Union. I had awful problems finding a WU where I could collect. There are a couple of branches near me in work but all had only sending facilities, but no receiving money facilities.
But then I located a Western Union near my house. I rang them and they confirmed I could collect and send.
So down I went this evening. It is a funny little shop...full of food from different countries, internet access, photocopier, fax services etc and Western Union!
It was quick and easy. Filled in a form, gave a copy of my id to the shop assistant, and after he keyed the details into the computer we were all done!
I had a lovely St Patrick's day today with my family around for dinner.
I spent the morning prepping veg! I did roast carrots, parsnips, peppers, red onion, garlic and cherry tomatoes.
 Enid & Ciaran brought Bones over with them and we had fun dressing him up in an Irish wig.  He also modelled his stylish green hoodie :-)  |
How smart does our President Michael D Higgins look with his traditional shamrock in his lapel. Our first lady Sabina Higgins looks even more smart with her stylish hat and shamrock festooned scarf.  |
A really lovely day! And now just 4 days left in work until the weekend.
Time to put my green jacket away until next year!
You might see the "green" in my jacket better in this pic. It doesn't photograph well for some reason.
Yes, I have chopped my head off on purpose. I was having a bad hair day and also did not have any time to put a scrap of makeup.
Every morning David would stroll (1/2 minutes) to the local bakery and buy lovely big fat pain au chocolat
Generally they would only make it out of the paper bag and straight to people's plates but on this morning Tanya laid the table lovely and displayed them in a nice bread basket.
Per (our Danish group member) also made lovely eggs and sausage (chorizo style)
Everyone digging in getting set up for a great day on the slopes!
Sunday 16 March 2014
1976 - when shorts were short and men were moustachioed (is that the correct word!)
Lifeguard tells the story of Rick, a 30 something year old lifeguard and the old adage (and his personal battle) between happiness in your job versus making more money.
I really really enjoyed this film!
And personally, I think this movie poster is misleading about the type of film it is and the themes explored throughout.
I was disappointed by this film. I've always wanted to see it and I while I threw my eye over the storyline in wikipedia before it started it did not live up to my expectations.
It certainly looked beautiful.
The sets were pure mid-century glamour and the three main females are of course stunning.
But overall I found the characters underdeveloped (aside from Neely O'Hara) and the script turgid.
Not one I'd recommend I am afraid!
We were based in Meribel village which is a short ski bus ride to Meribel Centre.
I was surprised with how small the village was! Literally one bakery, one bar, and two restaurants.
The Lodge Bar & Restaurant was the big "apre-ski place"...well I guess there is no other bar anyway!
The restaurant served good "rustic" food. I liked it a lot :-)
They also served the local drink speciality - toffee vodka! Mmmm! If you are ever in Meribal you must try.
Saturday 15 March 2014
Ireland won the Six Nations today!
On St Patrick's Day weekend, plus on the retirement of Brian O'Driscoll.
Makes me feel very proud to be Irish :-)
Check this video out...lots of other stuff that makes me feel proud to be Irish.
Happy St Patrick's day to all my friends near and far!
Wednesday 5 March 2014
My sister's house is in the final/down to the last 5 for an Architizer award. It is an international/global architecture competition and they are up against houses in Norway, Japan and Germany!
Please can you give them a vote. There is a public choice award and a jury award. So while it is a long shot that they will win, wouldn't it be great to think that a small practice (ODKM Architects - facebook) in Ireland could win....so every vote counts!
Hover over "Ranelagh House" and click vote - you can vote via facebook or with gmail. I think the fb option is easier... Thanks in advance all!
So in my post title I promised you some fabulous photographs!
Sunday 2 March 2014
If you have been following my blog you may have seen that I was recently featured in the Ikea Live magazine. If you have not seen the feature yet then check out the article on the Ikea Live Magazine website.
You might also be interested in seeing another Irish house which was recently featured - I follow a lovely blog by Ashling from Cavan and her house was featured last year.
Ashling's house feature in the Ikea magazine is here.
And if you like her style in the magazine you will love her All things nice 4 life blog which as the name suggests contains all kinds of niceness!
You might also be interested in seeing another Irish house which was recently featured - I follow a lovely blog by Ashling from Cavan and her house was featured last year.
Ashling's house feature in the Ikea magazine is here.
And if you like her style in the magazine you will love her All things nice 4 life blog which as the name suggests contains all kinds of niceness!
Happy Sunday all!
We had neighbours over for dinner last night which was really lovely.
For mains I made steak and chips with green beans and baton carrots. For starters I intended buying some party food from M&S and just throwing it in the oven.
But strangely enough they only do their party food at Christmas :-(
So I had to make my starter :-(
First I got all my glassware arranged. The mini glasses are actually schnaps glasses from Ikea. I have always wanted mini martini glasses but they are so expensive, so these are a great compromise.
In the middle of the tray I have two little mini kiln jars which I think are so cute! I filled these up with hummus from M&S.
The mini little tea spoons were given to me by a school friend - via facebook - I asked on fb did anyone know where I could buy mini spoons and she said she would post some to me (her husband is Turkish and they use these spoons with their tea/coffee which they serve in mini cups). Wasn't that nice of her! I love social media for things like this :-)
Mini Prawn Cocktail
Crackers & Peri Peri Hummus
Prawns & dip
Deconstructed Brown Bread & Salmon
(If you'd like step by step instructions to make the salmon click here)
So that was the starter! I wish I took a picture of the main because I had it laid out much nicer then the way I normally serve steak and chips - I had the chips laid out criss cross 3 on top of 3 etc. Plus the beans and carrots were stacked nicely as well.
My neighbour Dee brought dessert. Homemade from scratch!
A pecan and redcurrant bakewell. FABULOUS!
We also nibbled on some 60% dark chocolate which tasted very nice with the wine.
It was a lovely evening. And bonus my head is okay this morning.
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