Booming Banter

Scooby and I were up at six as usual and had a lovely little quiet time to ourselves to start the year.

We went for a long walk and only met a few other dogs and their walkers. Until that is we happened on a herd of deer. We’d like to think they may be Santa’s trusty helpers taking a well deserved break after their recent labors. They chewed away nonchalantly until we got very close then all eight up tails and took off.

When we came home the boys were still asleep so Scooby decided he hadn’t had enough exercise and that he’d play and do stairs!

While he amused himself it was time to watched my favorites Hoda and Jenna covering all things NEW from style to healthier food choices and of course resolutions.

Mine is that I’m going to cut my screen time in half. That will mean a fair bit of free time.

Today my plan was to use it to make candles and cake neither of which went without incident.

After an hour of wax melting in the microwave my trusty little Pyrex jug exploded. Poor thing gave good service but left a mess to clean up. The microwave did need a rub down though.

With candle making now at a standstill it was time to bake. Our lovely neighbors Karen and Mike had given us a whole collection of homemade jams at Christmas. The strawberry one seems just perfect to make a Swiss Roll. A first for me

All went well except we got a bit more of a rise in the sponge than anticipated and so we have more a  Swiss Loaf or Lump than a Roll. Not to worry we’ll eat it anyway.

On yet another little trot to get in our 10000 steps all we saw was a hawk. Scooby is now out for the count so it’s a good time to have a snooze while the dinners doing.

Hope your day was good I’ll be checking up on you with a little vino later!

Blessing # 564 – A Good Start

Some people love New Years Eve others can’t stand it. It’s not a favorite day of mine.

The last time I got excited about it was the millennium. Maybe my Mother’s dislike of the event rubbed off on me. She abhorred the song Auld Lang Syne that is always sung at midnight.

Its one of those days when you’re forced to look back and there is an expectation that there should be lots of merriment. One thing I regret is not going to Times Square when we lived so close to NYNY.

We’ve gone to lots of fun parties on New Years Eve, hosted a few ourselves too but invariably these resulted in a not so good feeling the next morning.

It will sound so boring but now I much prefer a good movie at home and hardly ever stay up till midnight.

One thing I’ve always thought of doing is going to somewhere warm for New Year but have never got round to it.

You see people like the Middletons on beaches in the Caribbean and it looks so appealing.

You can imagine having a nice lie on the beach or at the pool then a good late lunch and a nap to set you up for a partying. The next day maybe a spa session and then back to the beach.

But then there’d be no little wet nose to give you a warm kiss first thing in the morning or take you for a good walk so it wouldn’t be such a great start to the year at all.

Blesssing # 563 – Party Pooping

A mega wind of change is blowing here. We have gusts up to seventy miles an hour. Wonder what this new decade will bring. 2020 sure sounds good doesn’t it!

The last time a double numbers thing like this happened was 1919 and my how times have changed since then. Funny New Year also fell on a Wednesday back then!

Like many expats we enjoy being connected with the homeland and today social media helps so much.

We can read the Times of India and The Belfast Telegraph online every day if we choose.

Today the headlines in the Tele as we locals call it was about the release of state papers under the thirty year secrecy rule. Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister back then and it was the height of civil unrest in the province. Those days are thankfully long gone with so much change for good.

This afternoon when Aaron left for work it was too early for dinner so I decided to watch Philadelphia one of the on demand movies.

Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington and Antonio Banderas all looked so young and the technology you see in the movie like cameras, computers and cell phones all look so primitive.

Its the medical and social progress though that’s remarkable and encouraging. Back when the movie was made those suffering HIV and AIDS had a life sentence and were often treated in a terrible way.

It pays sometimes to look back.

Rejoice in the progress that has occurred but reflect also on areas where strife and injustice still exists and commit to do something about it.

Blessing # 561 – Replays

There are rivers running down our streets. It has been raining heavy and non stop since last night. Of course a certain person still needs the odd outing so we have been drenched several times already today.

What to do? Return the presents that didn’t fit or you had already of course. All three humans took to the store and we all searched for things we liked as replacements.

We were leaving totally empty handed when we found by the exit the one and only OUD candle in the store! A Happy Mummy. Good for masking wet dog on wool too!

So now Aaron is on his war games, Dad is trying to sleep and I’m binge watching some good old British TV.

The series Escape to the Chateau follows the exploits of the Strawbridge family who buy a huge castle in the Loire valley for next to nothing and take on all the renovations themselves. It’s helps that Dick the Dad is and engineer and Angel the Mum is a designer but it’s the stuff of dreams.

Pity they aren’t close by maybe could interest them in some fine bone china and crystal for all those weddings they hope to host.

Blessing # 560 – Sunday Slumbers

The day didn’t get off to an auspicious start. The yard was like a ploughed field so Scooby walked in a ton of muck that he managed to spread over the tiles and carpet like greased lightening. He then proceeded to choke and puke up over the sofa. Fortunately he hadn’t eaten his breakfast so it wasn’t a big deal to clean. 

For a third day in a row work beckoned. This time to place all the glass we’d bought back in spring when we thought we’d open a guest house.

By the time all the pricing was done for this and the Blue Danube I was punctured. It was past four by the time it was all finished.

Great then to have a treat in store our end of year family outing to the club. It’s such a lovely place. I’m here ever day for gym and Aaron comes sometimes too but Krishna only makes it to eat.

The decor at this time of year is so beautiful. It’s the sort of clutter free streamline stuff I dream off. If only I could resist the temptation to stick another elf on the shelf!

Blessing # 559 – Rewards

With Aaron’s new job at Panera there are a few end of day treats that find their way home to become temptations for parents in the morning.

Must say the chocolate croissants slip down very easily with a fresh brew!

Aaron has taught Scooby to sit up at table and he’d take anything that’s going. Fortunately mothers wisdom has prevailed and he is not allowed even a single crumb.

Fortified, it was time to stack the shelves at the new store and bring out some very special inventory that had been waiting for months in our garage. This is a donation for our Kairos prison ministry from my friend Mary’s sister and it’s absolutely beautiful Blue Danube china and blue glass too!

If you know any collectors spread the word there’s enough here to hold much more than three French hens, two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree!

Blessing # 558 – Dishes

As expected the consumption of the Christmas pudding was quickly followed by a comatose state. Like magic though I stirred just in time to watch Call The Midwife Christmas Special at 9:00 pm.

It was an enjoyable tale of the nurses going to the outer Hebrides even if a bit far fetched.

All their packing up and moving their business North got us in the mood for our efforts today.

The Antique Mall where our little booth is based is finalizing the move from one building to another. The distance between the two locations is less than a quarter of a mile but involves crossing two main junctions.

Many dealers already relocated before Christmas but those of us going into the back room had to wait till the renovations in the new mall were complete. We were so lucky and couldn’t have had a better day for the move it was glorious if a little windy at times.

 

As Aaron wasn’t working till 5:00 pm he helped so much. There were many nick knacks to pack up that I could manage but it was the two big bookcases used as shelving that was the biggest challenge.

There is no way I could have moved them myself and they are far to big to get into the car but with the great weather Aaron managed to haul them through the streets like a super hero.

Did you know that the origin of BOXING Day has nothing to do with sport? It’s all about giving and receiving gifts also known as Christmas Boxes. Well we sure boxed a lot today and man did we get our steps in too 15000 at last count without breaking a thing!

Blessing # 557 – Safe Deliveries

It was like an Irish summer day here. When we went for our walk this afternoon Aaron was in shorts as usual but someone went one step further. We met a jogger running bare chested.

Santa came. He delivered some good British chocolates and our favorite biscuits so we can nosh down on those later. All gifts went down well except my present to Dad that didn’t fit. Thank goodness Santa didn’t bring them!

For our dinner we had a big ham at Aaron’s request. We made our pavlova wreath and it turned out OK. Hardly a Mary Berry but fine for family. We even made custard from scratch for our plum pudding. It’s a first and looks good  but we haven’t tasted that yet as we are stuffed.

After the Sound if Music is over we’re watching Scooby Doo the Movie and then we’ll have to get in a good snooze before the evening viewing starts. Gotta make these twelve days last as long possible.

Blessing # 556 – Fuss Free Fun

 

We are just back from Church. Here we go to the 6:00 pm youth led service as Aaron ushers.

In Ireland we always went to the 11:00 pm service so with the time difference we are perfectly coordinated. This beautiful photo of Holy Trinity Ballylesson was taken last week by Glenn Jamison and shows just how very special this lovely country Parish is. It brings us close to all our loved ones especially those at rest there.

Young Scooby has been allowed to break into his stocking already. He is making short work of yet another indestructible. Today it hit home who he resembles. We know he is part Wheaten Terrier now we understand why he chews so well.

This advent has been fun with Scooby and with lots of get togethers and merry making. A few simple things also stand out.

The flowering of the Christmas cactus. How can one tiny plant have such a spectacular bloom.

Finding by chance a new way to display the Christmas cards on the stair rail and wondering why we’d never done this before. Each card is a special part of the festive joy.

Lastly the beauty of the skies. A gift that keeps on giving be it dawn or as this photo from last night shows at the setting of the sun.

So with the last sleep upon us what remains but to say merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Oh and one last thing ……….

Blessing # 555 – Night and Light

 

As soon as we reach Northern Ireland we always tune into our favorite local radio station U105.

Thanks to the miracle of the internet we can now listen to the station live here in Ohio. It’s rare that we do this but Christmas is different. The humor is the BEST!

So his morning while having a good soak after our constitutional I tuned into the Carolyn Stewart show. She’s a really great DJ very down to earth, has a wonderful local accent and is such fun!

Carolyn was playing requests and some were coming in from abroad so I decided to give it a go and sure enough the message was no sooner sent to wish my besties all the best than it was read! Amazing!! Even better one of them Phyllis sent me a WHATsApp to say she’d heard it!

There are so many things now that allow us to keep in touch through the internet like live chat with friends and family. It’s unbelievable how fast things have advanced.

Yesterday when I woke up Aaron had activated all the upgrades for the programs on my phone. This was long overdue and one thing it prompted was an app on Facebook to help make your own emoji.

It was really fun to do a bit like a photofit picture or Mr. Potato Head if you prefer. With lots of options the outcome was quite a good likeness.

Of course once available you have to use your emoji don’t you think? So this morning when my friend sent a text I replied with an emoji. To which Barb replied with hers!

What would our parents have made of this? My Mum would have loved the video chats but the emoji   not so sure. Just mind blowing!

Blessing #554 – Instant Messaging