Monday, March 21, 2011

Rocks I Have Loved



Diamond Rocks, Kilkee, Co.Clare

 I love Rocks. Rocks, stones, pebbles. Hell, even gravel has its merits. I love them all. Big ones, small ones, flat ones, round ones, white ones. I have brought them home from every beach I have ever been to. On family holidays when I was a child, I stashed bags of them in the car. My Dad complained about his suspension the whole way home, unaware of the 5 stone sack of contraband lurking in the boot.
Rocks speak to me. They are the world in its purest form. They are the salt smell of summer days. They are the coolness of a rock pool on your childhood feet. They are the cliffs that sweep down to the sea in your mind. They are the earth. I love them. They give me comfort.
                            

This Rock travelled home alone by bus because it was too heavy for the car.


My European Rocks

Sunday, March 20, 2011

A - Z of Me

 Inspired by @plasticrosaries, @ljastars and @F_a_B_ of twitter fame,
 I present my first ever blog post. The A-Z of me.
 Hope I don't embarass myself! Too much!


A. Age:  Do I really have to? Oh, if I must. I'm 38. This is both an achievement and a disappointment. Why? Well, as a former suicidal maniac, I never imagined I would be 38. Ever. So I  should be proud. However, in the words of Marianne Faithfull: "at the age of 37 she realised she'd never drive through Paris, in a sports car, with the warm wind in her hair." So I am always a bit vexed with myself.But hey, Ces't la Vie and all that jazz!

B. Bed Size:  Make mine a Double.

C. Chore I Dislike: That would be a definite toss-up between cleaning/dusting and washing-up. Where does all the bleeping dust come from??? Anyone? I dream of owning a dishwasher, but I can't fit one in my 1940's kitchen. Not 1940's style kitchen. Just built in the 1940's. Somehow not so House & Garden.

D. Dogs:  I wouldn't eat a whole one! Seriously, I already have to clean up after too many Two Legs. Can't do Four Legs as well.

E. Essential Start to my Day: Tea and Toast. I am famous for it.

F. Favourite Colour:  Currently in my Green Phase. That does not mean I'm hungover. Honest!

G. Gold or Silver:  Used to do Silver when I went through a very brief Goth phase as a teenager. Now it's Gold all the way. The blinger the better!

H. Height:  5ft 6. Distinctly Average.

I. Instruments I Play(ed): I humoured my future Husband when we first met by attempting to finger his guitar. Boom Boom. But to no avail. I am completely musically untalented.

J. Job Title:  Does Raving Nutjob count?

K. Kids:  Three. All girls. They all the same but completely different. So far they all seem very happy and well-balanced. Have no idea how that has happened.

L. Live:  Limerick, Ireland. Dya know wha I mean like! Home is a 3 bed end-of-terrace in the subarbs. Eleven doors from my Parent's House. What was I thinking?

M. Mum's Name:  Clementine. Her mother really loved her......

N. Nicknames:  My Granda used to call me Neefie. That still makes me weepy. I loved my Granda. I am also fairly certain that my Mother-in-Law calls me "That Bitch".

O. Overnight Hospital Stays:  My 3 C-Sections. The End. Touch wood!

P. Pet Peeves:  My Mother-in-Law. Lateness. People who don't say "Thank You" when you hold a door open for them. Dust.

Q. Qoute from a Movie:  "There is nothing you can do to me that Castro hasn't already done". Al Pacino as Tony Montana in the sublime "Scarface"

R. Recreation:  Running. I would like to run away, but I can't. So I just run.

S. Siblings:  Two sisters and a brother. All younger than me. Love them loads.

T. Time I Wake Up:  The 4 year old is our family alarm clock. So getting up time is generally around 7am. Every day of the week. What's this lie-in thing I hear so much about?

U. Underwear:  Yes, I wear it all the time. Not in the shower though. Obviously!

V. Vegetables I Don't Like:  My Parents. And Parsnips. Can't see the point of them.

W. What Makes me Run Late:  The Husband. He has the lateness gene. I am always early for everything.

X. X-Rays I've Had:  Teeth, Lungs. That's it.

Y. Yummy Food I Make:  The Children love my beef stew, lasagne and chicken fajitas. My trifle goes down quite well too. Husband is very fond of a boiled fruit cake I occasionally agree to make using my Gran's recipe. I don't enjoy cooking. It's simply feeding time at the zoo in this house at meal times. I am good at it inspite of myself.

Z. Zoo Animal Favourites:  I live in a Zoo for Christ's sake.